History and method of cure of the various species of epilepsy : being the second part of the second volume of a treatise on nervous diseases / by John Cooke.

  • Cooke, John, 1756-1838.
Date:
1823
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: History and method of cure of the various species of epilepsy : being the second part of the second volume of a treatise on nervous diseases / by John Cooke. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by King’s College London. The original may be consulted at King’s College London.

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    incr-sickness, is too evident to need illus- tration. Epilepsy has been variously defined by different authors. I think it may be ac- curately and shortly described, by saying, that it is a disease consisting of paroxysms of convulsion, returning at uncertain pe- riods, accompanied by an abolition of sense and voluntary motion, and ending in som- nolency or complete sleep. The attacks of epilepsy are sometimes sudden ; sometimes, as in apoplexy, they are preceded by certain premonitory symp- toms, such as languor, torpor, pain or giddiness in the head, drowsiness, or dis- turbed sleep, dimness of sight, and tinnitus aurium. Besides these, many other pre- cursors of epilepsy have been mentioned by authors. Among them, Aretseus enu- merates fulness and distention of the veins of the neck, and nausea and vomiting, especially after eating. Immediately before the fit, he says, flashes of light appear to the eyes, of purple, or black, or of various colours mixed together, as in the rainbow ; there is a singing in the ears ; disagreeable odours are perceived ; and persons become