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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![IT f,p TilE in SI ■ ^ *!^inr*’ ‘in a Clair so cm- ! arms in a sitting posfiire. Ha «! boan] wbiclj passed jjjfutj fet,oneof tkin slipped itom iwonraWuo call the assist- tn replace il- Having been on for aWt two hours, aftet one of peil down, the hand had become I. In the same mannei, if her 1 the thotai, it remained in that .inllilll* xSrwfS l)jenliaHnf®' i^d pain: _ I (oub «,hat verl rail* jjje eli»^'. rtrf va'* 3 'alll .VI''' a®'*' |W ’.«e ■ ns \\y functions 'vs'ere natural, and the motion of the loirer ex- tremities ivas not at all affected. About a fortnight before her death, she became affected with dyspnoea, which occurred in paroxysms, sometimes very severe. An appearance of projection was now observed, with pain upon pressure, in several of the lower cervical ver- tebra;. Issues were inserted in this place, and for a week she seemed better ; she was free from dyspnoea, and the motion of the arms was considerably improved. On the evening of the 4th October, she became sudden- ly comatose with some convulsion, and had a peculiar convulsive motion of the lower jaw, which was for some time in a state of constant and rapid motion, opening and shutting Avith violence. The arms also became more paralytic. She seemed relieved after a bleeding, but, after two hours, sunk again into a comatose state, and died suddenly. Inspection.—In the upper part of the pharynx and larynx, there Avas a superficial redness like very recent inflammation; but, on the most careful examination, no disease could be discovered in the brain, the spinal cord, or the bones of the spine ; and all the other viscera were in a healthy state. I shall add no comment on the simple relation of these remarkable affections, but merely illustrate them by an important case described by Bretanneau.* A lady, whose age is not mentioned, W'as affected wdth palsy in the little finger of the left hand, Avhich gradu- ally extended over the hand, and then over the arm. The left lower extremity then became affected in the same gradual manner, and after this, the arm and leg of the right side, Avith the exception of the thumb and tw'o fingers of the right hand, which preserved the poAver of motion. The motion of the tongue was then lost, and at last deglutition Avas much impeded. She pre- served her intellect to the last, and expressed herself by moveable letters, Avhich she arranged with the thumb * Kevuc IMediciile, May 182(3. :k](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b21959432_0421.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
