The relations of pain to weather : being a study of the natural history of a case of traumatic neuralgia / by S. Weir Mitchell.

  • Silas Weir Mitchell
Date:
[1877]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The relations of pain to weather : being a study of the natural history of a case of traumatic neuralgia / by S. Weir Mitchell. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    ably depressed, and the temperature correspondingly increased. Rain was predicted for the 10th, but it seems not to have fallen at tips place. The Neuralgia of the 12th.—This attack regularly preceded the rain with normal conditions, and corresponds to depression III. on map. The Neuralgia, of the 15th.—The description above answers for this, and corresponds to depression IY. on map. The Neuralgia of the 19th.—This attack followed instead of preceding the storm, as is usual. The storm Y. on map originated in Kansas on the 16th, and “thence moved nearly due east to the middle Atlantic coast with unusually progressive velocity (highest speed 30 miles an hour) from the midnight of the 1Tth to the afternoon of the 18th, when it was lost sight of beyond Sandy Hook.” Its principal rain-area lay well to the north : And as will be seen, the barometric curve was very slightly depressed at this locality, just recog- nizing the rain point by a very modest bending towards it, while the two temperature curves almost completely ignored the barometer on their pre- established downward course. The greater disturbance occurred immedi- ately after the storm left the coast, when the barometer shot up under the influence of a rapidly advancing high pressure. The burning in the small toes preceding the regular attack, shows that during the storm of the 18th the neuralgic elements were only mustering their strength. Besides, im- mediately before the advance of the high barometer, there was over the greater part of the United States a low barometer equilibrium which was not materially disturbed by the passage of the storm. The Neuralgia of the 22d.—This attack was perfectly normal, and cor- responds to depression marked YI. on map. The Neuralgia of the 26///.—This attack corresponds to depression X. on map. One oscillation of this storm preceded this attack, and two succeeded it. The burning in small toes and the rain which followed, were produced by a slight depression (not marked on map) which moved from the Ohio valley into the upper St. Lawrence on the 29th. The depression marked I. on the map was not felt further east than the Ohio valley. The depression VII. did not reach beyond Lake Huron in its effects. In the foregoing attacks belonging to low barometer storm centres, we find the attack of the 6th was felt 460 miles in advance of the lowest depression (No. IX.) ; that of the 9th, 900 miles (No. II.) ; that of the 12th, 120 miles (No. III.); that of the 15th, 640 miles (No. IY.); that of the 22d, 675 (No. YI.) ; that of the 26th, 360 miles (No. X.). Notes on the Relation of Neuralgia to Meteorological Changes for December, 1875.—In viewing the curves for this month, it will be seen that the barometer maintained about the average height, rather be- low the first half of the month, but above the latter half. The tempera- ture curve was unusually erratic, at times wandering into the polar regions and again almost up to the summer mean. The rain-fall has been light, a little less than two inches, while the number of attacks of neuralgia and their duration seem not to have fallen at all behind records of previous months, but almost equalled the month previous (November), which was rather severer than usual. The, Neuralgia of the 1 si.—By referring to the curve, it will be seen that this attack commenced on a medium high and rising barometer with clearing weather. These conditions are not unusual, but they aie not
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