Louise Lateau of Bois d'Haine : her life, her ecstasies, and her stigmata, a medical study / by F. Lefebvre ; translated from the French ; edited by J. Spencer Northcote.

  • Lefebvre, Ferdinand J. M., 1821-1902.
Date:
1873
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Louise Lateau of Bois d'Haine : her life, her ecstasies, and her stigmata, a medical study / by F. Lefebvre ; translated from the French ; edited by J. Spencer Northcote. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, Harvard Medical School.

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    slight and partial winking continues; but when the ecstasy is at its height the eyelids are altogether motionless, and during whole hours there is not the slightest winking to be observed. The eyes, fixed on the far distance, do not respond to ordinary stimuli; an object may be passed suddenly before them, or a bright light brought rapidly near them, without causing any movement of the lids or of the eyeball itself. Hearing, like sight, is in abeyance, or at least the ear is insensible to ordinary excitants. Several times it has happened that one of the observers placed behind her has suddenly shouted loudly in her ears, and never has the slightest start given evidence that the auditory nerve trans- mitted the perception. Sensation, in general, is almost entirely absent during the ecstasy. I say, almost entirely. This reservation is necessary, for there is in fact one part of the body where sensation continues in a slight degree— it is the conjunctiva.^'^ In ev€ry other part of the body I have found it impos- sible to produce the slightest sign of sensation. I have- made many trials, and will now briefly record my experi- ments. It is well known that the best means of ascertain- ing the continuance of sensation is to observe the reflex movements when the skin or mucous membranes are strongly irritated. These movements indicate, beyond the control of their subject, the slightest traces of sensation.-^ 22 The conjunctiva is that delicate* membrane v,^liicli lines the inner surface of the eyelids, where it is rose-coloured, and thence passes over the eyeball, where it becomes very thin and quite trans]parent. The per- sistence of sensibility in the conjunctiva explains a phenomenon which I have several times observed in Louise Lateau : a bright light may be suddenly brought near the eyes without producing a wink; but if the open hand is rapidly pushed towards the face, as if going to strike it, a slight winking occurs; and this is caused bj the impact of air on the conjunc- tiva. A similar movement occurs when this membrane is touched by the tip of the finger. 23 By reflex movements are understood the involuntary movements produced when the sensory nerves are excited. There are two kinds of nerves, the sensory, which conduct to the nervous centres—the brai< and spinal cord—the impressions received by the senses; and the motor or conductors of the power of movement, which pass from these centres into