Appendix to the annual report on the Montrose Royal Lunatic Asylum. 1863 / [James Howden].

  • Howden, James C.
Date:
1863
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Appendix to the annual report on the Montrose Royal Lunatic Asylum. 1863 / [James Howden]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    right ventricle, and 1 oz. of serous fluid. The brain substance around the clot on the left side, including the optic thalamus and corpus striatum, was softened and disintegrated. The extravasation in the arachnoid sac extended to the inferior and lateral margin of the hem¬ ispheres. There was also an extensive extravasation beneath the arachnoid, over both lobes of cerebellum. The arteries of the base were all highly atheromatous. The substance of the medulla oblong¬ ata, corpus striatum, and optic thalamus, was soft. Heart: opacity along the course of the coronary arteries. Muscular substance, pale. Valves, competent. Atheromatous deposit and thickening of mitral and tricuspid valves, and in ascending aorta. Lungs: normal. Liver: slightly fatty. Gall bladder containing seven angular gall stones. Spleen and Kidneys : normal. Microscopic Appearances in Brain. In the cortical substance of both cerebral hemispheres and cerebel¬ lum, there were numerous copora amylacea, besides exudation gran¬ ules, especially around the walls of the minute vessels. There were likewise cells, rather larger than the normal cells of the gray sub¬ stance, containing minute brownish-coloured granules. These cells were very distinct, and five or six might be seen in the field at a time. The white substance of the left hemisphere surrounding the clot, pre¬ sented broken up nerve fibres, and numerous granular corpuscules, besides irregular masses and isolated specimens of granules of a yellowish-brown colour. Delirium.—Loss of sight and hearing. Coma. Autopsy.—Serous effusion in ventricles. Granulations on lining membrane. D. T., a mason, ret. 35. Was an attendant in the Asylum for five months. He was a big, muscular man, of a dark complexion, and rather melancholy expression. He was steady and sober in his habits, but always dull and lifeless. His wife and fellow workmen state, that they had known him work all day without speaking to any one. For about a year, he had suffered from a varicose ulcer, which had latterly healed. He complained of lassitude, want of appetite, and dull pain in the forehead, more or less, for some months before his
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