Dislocation of cervical vertebrae : five cases, recovery without operation / by George L. Walton.

  • George Lincoln Walton
Date:
1889
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Dislocation of cervical vertebrae : five cases, recovery without operation / by George L. Walton. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    hra and above. The head is held stiffly to the left, the (dun Ix-ing depressed towards the left shoulder. The muscles are quite tense on the right and coni- j)aratively lax on the left, liotation and tiexion of the head are possible only in a very slight degree. There is a proininenee over the fourth cervical vertebra; a prominence, which apjKwrs to lx* the Spinous prwess of the second, is found to the right of the median line. There i.s atrophy of the scaj)ular muscles, most marked on the left. Jn marked contra.st to these cases, as regards paralytic synqttoms, are two civses which formed the original subject of this }»ajx*r, and which I shall pre.sent more in detail. The first of these ciuses was one of typical bilat- eral dislocation, the third cervical vertebra lx*ing disbM-ated forward on the fourth, jmralysis of all extremities following, as is commonly the case, through pre.ssure of the posterior arch on the spinal cord. The interesting feature is the fact that s]>on- toneous rejdaeenient ami n*covery ensued after fail- ure of operative interference, and after j)rogrt*ssive jwralysis and enfeeblement lasting over a period of fifteen months. Case IV. A. W., cook, single, thirty-five years of age. was admitted to the 3Ia.ssachusetts General Hosjtital in the service of Dr. .1. C. Warren, with whom I saw him from time to time during his stay. He was seen also by a numl>er of other ]»liysicians, including l»r. .1. .1. riitnam and Dr. ,M. H. Kicluml- son. The history was ;is follows: — ».)n January 3,1885, he fell down a flight of steps V»:vckwanls, striking his neck on the edge of a doorj*ost. Ilis head wtts thrown forward with the chin elevated, in which position it remained up to the time of entrance. He lost consciousness for six hours, and remained