Case of peripheral neuritis of obscure origin, with secondary changes in the spinal cord / by Arch. W. Harrington and John H. Teacher.

  • Harrington, Archibald W. (Archibald Wilson)
Date:
[1911]
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Case of peripheral neuritis of obscure origin, with secondary changes in the spinal cord / by Arch. W. Harrington and John H. Teacher. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The University of Glasgow Library. The original may be consulted at The University of Glasgow Library.

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    present on putting the hands into water. Sometimes there is a feeling of pins and needles in the fingers, while at other times they are numb. She has dilRculty in walking, and sometimes feels very dizzy for a day at a time. The appetite has been poor, and the bowels are irregular, tending to be constipated. Previous health..—Measles and whooping-cough in childhood and rheuuiatism as a girl; bronchitis for the past thirty years. Menstruation ceased thirteen or fourteen years ago. She used to have bilious headaches frequently, but these have ceased since the onset of the pains in the limbs. The family histoiy is unimportant. Patient has had no children or miscarriages. She has always been in comfortable circumstances. During the last three or four years, however, she has not been so well ott, and has been considerably worried. She drinks tea to excess, but denies alcohol. On admission, patient is a very thin, small woman, with flabby muscles and very little subcutaneous fat. She looks anxious, and complains a good deal in rather a querulous fashion. The temperatui-e is normal. The left pupil is slightly lai'ger than the right. Both pupils react normally, and the ocular movements are good. The grip of the hands is very poor, and the power of the arms and legs is impaired. The flexor-jerks in the arms are very active. The triceps- jerk cannot be elicited, nor can the knee-jerks, but it is doubtful whether the latter are entirely absent. The plantar reflexes are present, equal and flexor. The epigastric reflexes are present but not active. Umbilical reflexes are very slight. There is probably no sensory disturbance. Some enlarged glands are present in the right groin. The mouth is practically edentulous. The tongue is clean, and the fauces and pharynx normal. The lumbar and lower dorsal regions of the spine are very stifl'. The pulse is small and regular, numbering 104 per minute. The systolic blood-pressure is 160 mm. Hg. The arteries feel distinctly thickened. The cardiac sounds are pure but somewhat distant. The second aortic sound is relatively loud. At the left base there is comparative dulness, with some diminution of the breath sound but no rales. Otherwise the lungs seem normal. Nothing abnormal can be detected on examination of the abdomen. The bowels are rather constipated. 16th August, 1909.—Condition is much the same, the pains being slightly less. To-day there is some anaesthesia of the