Exophthalmic goitre : its etiology, symptoms and treatment / by Casey A. Wood.

  • Wood, Casey A. (Casey Albert), 1856-1942.
Date:
[1901]
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Exophthalmic goitre : its etiology, symptoms and treatment / by Casey A. Wood. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by UCL Library Services. The original may be consulted at UCL (University College London)

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    for the diseased manifestations. Owing: to the preference of exophthahnic g-oitre for women it has been supposed, in some way or other, to depend on alterations in function or organic chang-es in one or other of the reproductive orgfans, just as its connection with nasal disease, with the so-called strumous condition, with floating kidney, disease of the bladder, etc., has been noted. Apart from the eye symptoms let me remind you of the hypertrophy and degeneration of the thyroid gland, of the pal- pitation of the heart, (usually the first of the cardinal symptoms to appear and the most constant of them all), its irregularity, its occasional enlargement, the occurrence of systolic murmurs of the anemic type, the pulsation of the enlarged arteries,—particu- larly in the carotids in the neck and the abdominal aorta (occur- ring with the tachycardial), the weak and soft radial pulse and the pulsation and enlargement of the spleen, noticed by C. Gerhardt. As a continuation of this catalogue I may mention the extreme nervousness, often bordering on and sometimes complicated with hysteria, the fine tremor or tremulousness, the insomnia, the vertigo, the paresthesias, as well as the muscular cramps and the various pareses. Other skin symptoms are (Vigoroux's sign) the diminished electric skin resistance, the various dermal eruptions and the sweating,—the last often alternating with extreme dryness. I may perhaps be allowed here to speak of a symptom that I have noticed, once only, in a patient with exophthalmic goitre, whom I saw some fifteen years ago. I refer to a peculiar form of fetid night sweats. I spoke of it at that time to Prof. Sattler because I had been unable to find any mention of it in the litera- ture then at my command. The patient, one of the two men whom I have seen with the disease, had attacks of the most foul smelling diaphoresis I have ever experienced and they persisted as long as I attended him, requiring disinfectant sponge baths for their relief. Sattler had not seen such a case; you may imagine my satisfaction, therefore at finding several years after- wards that Basedow himself mentions an example of it. Next in order comes swelling of other glands besides the thyroid lymph glands, the spleen, the thymus, often appearing with tumefaction and other affections of the joints. We also notice the dry cough, the weakness of the voice, the difficulty of breathing and the occurrence of Bryson's sign (defective expan- sion of the chest in respiration), disorders of digestion with