On the influence of mechanical and physiological rest in the treatment of accidents and surgical diseases, and the diagnostic value of pain : a course of lectures delivered at the Royal College of Surgeons of England, in the years 1860, 1861, and 1862 / by John Hilton.

Date:
1863
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: On the influence of mechanical and physiological rest in the treatment of accidents and surgical diseases, and the diagnostic value of pain : a course of lectures delivered at the Royal College of Surgeons of England, in the years 1860, 1861, and 1862 / by John Hilton. 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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    from the pressure or state of congestion of the organs in the interior of the skull. I conclude that we find the cause of the stomach affection in the great distension of the fourth ventricle, and the consequent pressure upon the pneumogastric nerves at its floor; and the cause of the deafness in the pressure upon the auditory nerves as they take their courses outwards between the corpus restiforme and the cerebellum. If the fourth ventricle be filled with fluid, it must for the time exert some pressure upon the auditory nerve, thus explaining the temporary deafness. “ His pulse was usually extremely weak, irregular, and slow, from 50 to 60 beats per minute. He was thought to be suffering from heart disease. A peculiar restless, uneasy look of the eyes and stare, with dilated pupils, and a muddiness of the conjunctive, afforded a ready indication of any temporary derangement of his health. For the last year of his life, he was gradually losing flesh; he became more feeble, too, and acquired a slight stoop in his gait. He also carried his head peculiarly, as if affected with slight stiffness of the neck.” [This is the way in which hydrocephalic patients carry their heads.] “ A few months before his death, while in the country, he had a severe attack of vomiting, with great prostration, without any apparent cause. The last month or two were marked by a morbid activity and restlessness. Amongst other things, he became greatly excited about the prepara- tion for a scientific meeting; and this was followed by great prostration and collapse. On the day of his death he had been to the Crystal Palace. He had had some vomiting in the morning, and again about two hours before he reached home. He walked from the Crystal Palace, and when he entered the room he staggered, and said he felt giddy and oppressed. He was placed on a bed, and cold was applied to his forehead; but he died in a short time with stertorous breathing [indicating pressure upon the medulla oblongata], but was sensible almost to the last moment.” If I were to select this opportunity to enlarge upon the apposite circumstances of this case, perhaps I might do so at too great length. I will merely observe that I think it an important and interesting experiment in reference to the circulation through the brain, the administration of food
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