Pathological and practical researches on diseases of the brain and the spinal cord / by John Abercrombie.
- Date:
- 1845
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: Pathological and practical researches on diseases of the brain and the spinal cord / by John Abercrombie. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. The original may be consulted at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.
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![syjlPlOM?' guard against a period of anxiety which is still before us. An attentive observer may generally remark, in such cases, something which leads him to suspect, that the appearance of amendment is deceitful. Sometimes there is a dilated state of the pupil, giving to the eye a peculiar expression, and sometimes there is a remark- able tendency to sleep. Frequently something unusual may be observed in the patient’s manner, such as a fret- fulness or querulousness which is not natural to him, —a quick and hurried manner of speaking, or, on the contrary, a remarkable slowness of speech ; difficult ar- ticulation, or a peculiar confusion of thought and for- getfulness on particular subjects. But it cannot be too strongly impressed upon the younger part of the profession, that cases occur in which all these s^'mptoms are wanting, and in which the patient appears for seve- ral days to be in the most hopeful state of recovery, while in fact his disease is advancing rapidly to a fatal termination. In this description I have been entirely practical ; and I have not entered upon the inquiry, whether all the forms of disease which I have mentioned are to be con- sidered as primary and idiopathic affections of the brain, or whether some of them ought to be looked upon as secondary or symptomatic. It is, however, an important fact, that this disorder does very often occur as a symp- tomatic affection in the course of other diseases ; the most common of which ai'e,—continued fever,—scarla- tina,—hooping cough,—measles,—pneumonia,—phthis- is, and diseases of the kidnies. It may be useful, there- fore, to keep in view those symptoms, which, in the course of any disease, indicate a tendency to this dan- gerous affection of the brain. They are chiefly the following : In the Head Violent headach Avith throbbing and giddiness, especially if the pain be referred to a particular spot, and always to the same part, —tinnitus—sense of weight and fulness— siDpor-asrcatpwps^'J’ obicare and insidious of uiddiness is llio oalv rfn i l5 THE ErE.-Inipatieiice of liglit- fa or dilafafion of llie sion-!i]iiiiitiiig-l)lindness. ms oatnards-paraiysis ( tfe eyelids, producirg.aoooi tht is affeoled, eillier (lie pping eye-transient atlac! wnllesision-obiectssccn -ak«-sioUeJ Mison si attacks in?. l.'TS ‘Vir. ' y,. ^ '’I A of. 3ki 01 \yi i](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b21959432_0038.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
