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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![face, aiul an eczematous rash on the ]mhus of the hands. It was subsequently found, however, that xerodermia is not a constant condition, that the palms of the hands are often moist, and vmlike the mouth, nose and eyes, the skiii could be rendered profusely wet by stimulation of its fjlands. Every other system and function appears to be normal. The common and reliex sensibilities of the mouth, nose, and eyes, and of all other parts are unahected. Taste, hearing, vision, and smell are sufficiently acute. The respiratory, cir- culatory and ahmentary organs are healthy. Menstruation is regular, but the patient beUeves that during two or three days Ijefore and also after the appearance of tlie menses, the mouth dryness is more marked than at other times. The urine is normal in quality and quantity, and the lu-ea has averaged about 400 grains per diem.^ As the patient remained in the hospital fur several weeks, u number of observations were made in the hope of defining still further the conditions that were present. In the carry- ing out of these observations, I was nuich indebted to Mr. James V. Paterson, the clmical clerk in charge of the case, and to Drs. Clarkson and Livingstone, resident physicians in my wards. It has been stated that the patient frequently suffers from a sensation of imdue heat m the mouth. Thermometric observations showed that the temperature of the month was usually higher than that of the axilla. On some occasions tlie difference was found to be only a few tenths of a degree, but not infrequently the month temperature was from one to two degrees higher than that of the axilla. The difierence was least in the early morning, and greatest m the afternoon and evening. The followuig are the details of the temperatures taken on eight consecutive days :— 1 It is obvious that tlie word xerostomia is insufficient to deliue the conditions l.reseut in this case. For the mere niouth-dryuess it is possible that the word stomaxerosis would be a better one than xerostomia, in so far that the construction of tlie former could better be extended to the analogous conditions of the nose and eyes • which would then Ijecome rhinoxerosis and oplithalmoxerosis, respectively. With either construction, however, it is difficult to suggest one convenient word that would include the three conditions combiued.-stoma-rhino-oplithalmoxerosis being undoubtedly cumbrous.](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b21996829_0006.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
