On amaurosis, accompanied by pains in the head, two years' duration : convulsions, three months : examination p.-m., cyst in the cerebellum / by James Reid.

  • Reid, James, 1803-1854.
Date:
[1851]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: On amaurosis, accompanied by pains in the head, two years' duration : convulsions, three months : examination p.-m., cyst in the cerebellum / by James Reid. 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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    I i / ON AMAUROSIS, ACCOMPANIED BY PAINS IN THE HEAD, TWO YEABs’ DTJHATION CONVULSIONS, THREE MONTHS—EXAMINATION P.-M. CYST IN THE CEREBELLUM. By JAMES REID, SURGEON TO THE KENT AND CANTERBURY HOSPITAL. Read on Thursday, March 27, 1851. F. A., aged 15, the son of a labourer, was of fair comple.'cion and tolerably i robust frame. From an early period « he bad suffered occasionally from head- . aches, which were usually attended by i vomiting, but in other respects be had I enjoyed good health, passing through ' 1 measles and small-pox without any bad I result One of his brothers is liable to eriodic head-ache of the same kind, ut, with this exception, the whole 1 family, consisting of ten, are healthy. : He was known amongst his neighbours I as a quick, intelligent boy, and was I generally referred to in matters requir- iing calculation, such as the valuing . articles to be bought or sold, and his I t decision was generally accurate. In the poor kind of education that his parents could afford him he exhibited i gi’eat proficiency. I In October 1848 be perceived that fe he could not discern objects so well as I usual, especially by candle-light; he I experienced difficulty in wi-iting in the F evening at the school he went to, but, ti by the aid of some glasses that were > lent to him, he managed to continue his work. His parents did not notice II this particularly at the time. Subse- I i quently, whilst serving as a stable-boy, he was very much'frightened by the I movement of a horse in the yai-d,—it ) was thought afterwards owing in some manner to his imperfect sight; and he > remedned at home ill from the effects of ! the alarm for two or three days. His mother now perceived that his sight w'as defective, and the boy complained occasionally of pain in his head. In the spring of 1849 these symptoms in- creased, and medical advice was sought for the first time. He became an out- patient of the Kent and Canterbury Hospital, under the care of one of the physicians. Vision was then very im- perfect, being only sufficient to enable him to guide himself about; the pupils were widely dilated and fixed. He suffered pain in the occiput and fore- head, which was sometimes very severe. Whilst under rieatment at the hospital, he was suddenly affected with exces- sively severe pain in the forehead, that was constant for three or four days. Nothing afforded rehef, until a profuse discharge of offensive matter burst from the nose, when the pain at once remitted. The discharge, however, continued abun- dant for some time, and did not en- tirely cease, though issuing very scantily, until his death. Mercury and all the other remedies tried had no effect upon the amaurosis. A seton was passed in the nape of his nock, but he was so soon depressed by the irritation and the discharge from it, that it was obliged to be removed. He gi-adually became totally blind. For a considerable time beforehand he could discern objects indistinctly by placing himself in such a position that the light fell on the outside of the right eye, and consequently upon the left