On diseases of the throat and windpipe : as reflected by the laryngoscope; a complete manual upon their diagnosis and treatment.

  • Gibb, G. Duncan (George Duncan), Sir, 1821-1876.
Date:
1864
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: On diseases of the throat and windpipe : as reflected by the laryngoscope; a complete manual upon their diagnosis and treatment. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library at Yale University, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library at Yale University.

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    he still speaks in a whisper, and in the afternoon in a stronger tone. He reminds one of a delicate, frightened, hysterical girl. His sister was speechless for seven years, but now speaks quite well. D. Certain local influences.—Overstraining of the laryngeal muscles in violent declamation or loud exertion of the voice, especially in the open air, produce paralysis resulting in aphonia. The nervous force appears to be completely destroyed for the time being, and may be sometimes only partially re- gained, when hoarseness is the sequel. There may be loss of voice from a local palsy similar to that in other parts of the head, face, and neck, probably associated with neuralgia (see Neuralgia of the Throat, in Chapter Til), arising from cold, or from irritation in any of the nervous centres, or along the course of the pneumogastric nerves and any of their ganglia. Simple congestion of the vessels of the mucous membrane of the larynx, and that covering the vocal cords, impeding their free action, and necessarily impairing their nervous force, some- times, but not commonly, engenders aphonia j when this occurs, the vascularity on the surface of the cords is seen to be punctiform; or streaked, red lines running along parallel to their length, sometimes with cross bars, giving them a fenes- trated look; or there may be partial or general hyperemia and redness. The effects of certain throat diseases locally upon the nerves produce aphonia, for example diphtheria and hooping-cough, an account of which is given in the chapters relating to those affections. These two diseases, but especially the former, act as a local poison, unless the general system is so contaminated as to affect the entire nervous tract of the body. E. Pressure on nervous trunks.—Compression of the pneu- mogastrics or their branches, by tumours in the neck, or in the chest, give rise to incurable aphonia, unless by some for- tunate circumstance their removal was accomplished by the aid of the surgeon. Aneurisms, bronchoceles, and enlarged