A clinical lecture on dementia resulting from poisoning by carbon monoxide : delivered at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary on June 20th, 1895 / by Alexander Scott.

  • Scott, Alexander.
Date:
[1896]
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Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A clinical lecture on dementia resulting from poisoning by carbon monoxide : delivered at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary on June 20th, 1895 / by Alexander Scott. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The University of Glasgow Library. The original may be consulted at The University of Glasgow Library.

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    venous blood in the motor centres, the stronger overpower the weaker, and the extensor muscles of the back, being more powerful than the flexors, bend the spine backwards.1 In this connexion it is extremely interesting to note that in every stage of this man's illness there was an entire absence of cyanosis, the pathological significance of which will be explained further on. In this semi-comatose condition the patient remained for ten days, and we were hopeful that he would speedily recover. But here the drama did not end, for on the fifteenth day after the accident, without any warning, he was attacked with acute mania, and had again to be put under restraint. At this time, you will remember, I was asked to take charge of Dr. Anderson's wards, and for the purpose of obtaining a more careful observation of the case he was admitted to Ward 7 on April 3rd. So violent was he after admission that the services of male attendants had to' be procured for twenty-four hours, when he once more relapsed into his former comatose state. For the next eight days he remained in statu quo. The following notes were taken :— ■ April 13th.—Listlessness disappearing. Patient, on being asked this morning to put out his tongue, complied. Continues to talk incoherently, but the articulation is more distinct. Faint tremors occasionally present. 17th.—Patient does not look so ghastly or so stupid. He sits up in bed; his eye and body generally very restless, and he seems to take no intelligent notice of his surroundings. When roused and asked if he knows me he appears to be dreaming or trying to think. I mention my name, and for an instant he brightens up and says, ' Yes, yes,' and then lapses into unconsciousness. Nurse informs me that for the last twenty-four hours his bed has been perfectly dry and clean, his necessities having been anticipated, though the only indication was restlessness. 24th.—To-day he took a biscuit in his hand and ate it. May 22nd.—The lucid intervals are occurring more fre- quently and they last longer. To-day he repeated the names of the months of the year in one sustained effort. June 5th.—Up till this date he was fed by the nurse. He now sits at table and attends to his own wants. 1 Pharmacology, Therapeutics, and Materia Medica, third edition, p. 189.