On types of imbecility : (paper read before the Harveian Society) / by Fletcher Beach.

  • Fletcher Beach
Date:
1882
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: On types of imbecility : (paper read before the Harveian Society) / by Fletcher Beach. 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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    OX TYPES OF IMBECILITY. Before proceeding to the immediate subject of my paper it will be necessary to say a few words on the classification of cases of imbecility. Many systems have been adopted. Some authors, as Esquirol, base theirs upon the power of speech possessed; others, as Bucknill and Tuke, classify according to the degree in which the reflex and volitional functions are manifested. My own is chiefly based upon certain characters existing in imbeciles, the system being one which I have found useful in demonstrating the disease to students. I classify under the headings of “ congenital ” and “acquired” imbecility, including under the former those cases occurring at the time of birth, under the latter those supervening afterwards. The classification is as follows :— Imbecility. Congenital- 1. Simple congenital. 2. Microcephalic. 3. Hydrocephalic. 4. Scaphocephalic. 5. Paralytic. 6. Cretinism—sporadic and endemic. CONGENITAL Acquired. 1. Eclampsic. 2. Epileptic. 3. Hydrocephalic. 4. Paralytic. 5. Inflammatory. a. Hypertrophic. 6. Traumatic. 7. Cretinism—endemic. IMBECILITY. Before proceeding to describe types of imbecility, I will call your attention to the points to be observed in diagnosing the disease. In diagnosing imbecility in infancy, we should observe the size and shape, with reference to symmetry, of the head (heads below 17 in. in circumference rarely containing much intelligence) ; whether there is inability to support it (so that it hangs back motionless', inability of the spine to support the body, any flaccidity of the limbs, any difficulty
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