Xerostomia (mouth-dryness), with dryness of the nose and eyes / by Thomas R. Fraser.
- Date:
- [1893?]
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: Xerostomia (mouth-dryness), with dryness of the nose and eyes / by Thomas R. Fraser. 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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![years, and apparently subsided under treatment with iron; for, although eight teeth were extracted, no relief was tliereby obtained. In 1889 she was unexpectedly summoned to her lionie, un account of the serious illness of her mother. The news caused her much alarm and distress; and, on arriving at her mother's house, she found that she was unable to, shed tears, although her condition was one of great grief. Since this time she has never been able to weep. In April 1890 the •remaining teeth were all extracted, as they had become decayed and blackened. In June 1890 she was supplied with a set of false teeth, and suffered much, for six or seven weeks, from the ii-ritation produced Ijy wearing them. When this irritation had subsided, tlie tongue was observed to be tender, and soon afterwards the mouth became dry, requirmg water to be frequently sipped to relieve the discomfort and enable food to be masticated and swallowed. Following the mouth-dryness by a brief but uncertain interval, the nose also became dry. The patient is a well-developed, well-nomished, healthy- looking, intelligent woman, of cheerful disposition. Her con- dition in February 1892 was as follows:—The lips are dry and rather pale. On examination, the blood showed moderate anaemia, for the ha?mocytes number 3,500,000, and the leuco- cytes 6000, per cmm.; there is 42 per cent, of haiuioglobin, and the blood has a specific gravity of 1038. The gvmis, inner surface of the cheeks, and the fauces are dry and rather pale. The tonsils are not enlarged. The back wall of tlie- pharynx looks particularly dry and glazed, and has red vessels coursing over it. The tongue is perfectly smooth, dry, and glazed, witliout any fissures or furrows, and is bright red in colom-. The filiform and fungiform papill* are indis- tinguishable, while the circumvallate group are barely discern- ible. Tlie whole surface of the buccal cavity, though soft, is so dry that no perceptible moistiu-e is conveyed to the finger or to blotting-paper placed on it for a few seconds; but this dryness ceases at the epiglottis, and tlierefore does not extend into the larynx. Both ]iarotid glands are moderately enlarged,](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b21996829_0004.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
