On the influence of mechanical and physiological rest in the treatment of accidents and surgical diseases, and the diagnostic value of pain : a course of lectures, delivered at the Royal College of Surgeons of England, in the years 1860, 1861, and 1862 / by John Hilton.

  • Hilton, John, 1804-1878.
Date:
1863
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: On the influence of mechanical and physiological rest in the treatment of accidents and surgical diseases, and the diagnostic value of pain : a course of lectures, delivered at the Royal College of Surgeons of England, in the years 1860, 1861, and 1862 / by John Hilton. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, Harvard Medical School.

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    pain, and heard and felt a grating sensation in his neck, he was somewhat alarmed, and came to me, suffering from pains indicating disease of the second or third cervical ver- tebra. He was ultimately cured by lying down—that is, by rest. On the 8th of February last he came to me per- fectly well, and he says he was quite cured by rest. Time will not permit me to dwell upon the details of this sur- geon's case, although I have his permission to use his own notes of his symptoms. The anatomical diagrams (Figs. 14 and 15) were taken from dissections made by myself many years ago, and I merely refer to them as they point out the relation of the occipital bone, the atlas, and the vertebrae dentata, and the various ligaments associated with the upper cervical ver- tebras. These are the strong means employed by nature to support the head and neck, and at the same time to permit flexion, extension, and rotation of the head. Disease of the Spine, Pain at the Bach of the Head, with Loss of Power and Sensation in the Limbs. On the 28th of February, 1858, I was requested to see Mrs. S , aged forty-five. I found her sitting in a large high-backed arm-chair, supported by pillows, with her head resting upon the side of the chair, unable to rise from her seat. I ascertained the following facts from her husband, and partly from herself. Her voice was very feeble, and her breath extremely short. During several months back, she had been suffering from pains in both arms and weak- ness of both legs, accompanied by pains in the neck and shoulders. She had been under medical treatment during the whole time, and had consulted a physician and an hos- pital surgeon. Both, according to the patient's report, considered the case as one of rheumatism or neuralgia, and ordered her to take walking exercise daily: one of them said two hours daily; the other, as much as possible. Iodide of potassium, colchicum, and opium, to relieve the pains, had been freely administered. Her pains were really terrific (that was her own description) in the arms at night, generally commencing about twelve, and continuing until four in the morning,' when she usually dropped off into a