Neuralgia and the diseases that resemble it / by Francis E. Anstie.

  • Francis E. Anstie
Date:
1885
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Neuralgia and the diseases that resemble it / by Francis E. Anstie. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Augustus C. Long Health Sciences Library at Columbia University and Columbia University Libraries/Information Services, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the the Augustus C. Long Health Sciences Library at Columbia University and Columbia University.

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    neuralgic afiFection in both the examples just mentioned ap- peared to produce great weakening of the muscvdar power of the rectum, occasioning most obstinate and troublesome con- stipation. It would appear, from, recorded cases, that both the bladder and the uterus are liable to be affected with neuralgia from malarious influences ; but I have never chanced to see any such cases. Neuralgia of the kidney_ is spoken of by several writers, and I suj)pose there there is no doubt that it may exist as a si^ecial neurotic disease with obvious organic cause. For my own part, I cannot say that I have ever seen it except in in- stances where there was either the certainty, or a very strong suspicion, that the cause was the mechanical pressure and iiTi- tation of a calculus within the kidney. The diagnosis of the simple functional disorder must be excessively perfjlexing ; for in the first place there is the greatest difficulty m making sure that the pain is not external, and seated either in the muscles of the back, or in the superficial doi^sal or lumbar nen'es, and certainly I am strongly inclined to su.spect that this has been reaUy the case in many examples of so-called renal neuralgia. That neuralgia of the kidney may arise secondarily, as a reflex extension of jDelvic neuralgia, does, however, a^^pear proljal^le enough: for it is almost certain that in the latter affection at least, the vaso-motor nerves of the kidneys must be strongly influenced in a reflex manner: since the crisis or acme of a paroxysm of pelvic pain is not unfre- quently attended with a copious secretion of jDale urine. Keuralgia of the rectum has been carefully descril>ed by ]\Ir. Ashton, but is probaljly not often seen excejit by practitioners who possess special ojoportimities of observing rectal diseases. In the one pure case which has fallen under my notice the patient complahaed of acute paroxysmal cutting pains extend- ing about one inch witliin the anus, and, as these were gi^eatly increased by defecation I suspected the existence of fissure. Nothing of the kind, however, was found on examination; and the pain ultimately j'ielded to repeated subcutaneous in- jections of atrojDme. This patient had got wet through, and had sat in his damp clothes, getting thoroughly chilled: the pain came on with gi'eat suddenness and severity, and the ten- derness which has been mentioned was developed very quickly, probably the influence of coldand wet is among the counnon- est causes of the complaint. Mr. Ashton also reckons as causes, reflex irritation from other parts of the alimentary canal, and the influence of malaria. He observes that the subjects of the affection are most frequently anarmic. and of a gererally ex- citable and dei'anged susceptibility, and that females, who, from menorrhagia, or frequent child-bearing with much hcemor- rhage, have lost a great deal of blood, are specially predisposed.
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