Observations relative to the state of the skull and of the brain in congenital chronic hydrocephalus, and to idiocy and paralysis attending it : with cases / by Francis Battersby, M.B.

  • Battersby, Francis.
Date:
1851
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Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Observations relative to the state of the skull and of the brain in congenital chronic hydrocephalus, and to idiocy and paralysis attending it : with cases / by Francis Battersby, M.B. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The University of Glasgow Library. The original may be consulted at The University of Glasgow Library.

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    brain from the cavity of the arachnoid, in fact nothi ng but a layer of this membrane. A similar occurrence was remarked in several of Mr Smith's cases, but in none of them, he states, was the fluid in the cavity of the arachnoid. With regard to the intellect of hydrocephalic patients, we find Dr Monro stating, it is incredible how little the powers of the mind are impaired by this disorder, considering the great enlarge- ment of the ventricles of the brain. I have had opportunities of seeing several examples of this form of hydrocephalus, and have watched the progress of the symptoms for years, yet I have never met with any one instance in which the powers of the mind could be said to be completely deranged.* This opinion, so entirely subversive of phrenological doctrines, is, however, not universally correct. Dr Watson says, most commonly the mental and voluntary functions are maimed or perverted ; and this we find the case in the cases already quoted from Howship, Solly, Chatto, Reil, and Cardinal's case, as well as those given by Dr Craigie, Ecmark, Schmitt, and Ryan. Dr Donald Monro remarks, there are few cases where the unhappy patients have preserved their faculties entire, when the head has become large.f The following case is by Dr Craigie.^ A woman died, aged twenty-one years, with an unusually large hydrocephalic skull. Tt was of a natural size at birth, and was firmly ossified at twelve years of age. This woman, who was unable to manage her skull, had the free use of her hands, yet never could walk, but moved her legs by raising them one over the other. She was irascible, susceptible of pity, she had a good memory, and distinct ideas of right and wrong. Ecmark's patient, who died at forty-five years of age, was affected with congenital hydrocephalus. She could never raise her head, nor stand, and was continually in bed. She could not turn nor feed herself Her face was smiling, her mouth gaping, with sa- liva flowing from it. Her speech was indistinct, and she continually exhibited a sort of fatuity. She had learned one or two short prayers, but had never learned to read. Her face, neck, and thorax were of a childish form. The dura mater adhered so to the skull, that, in dividing the former, a great quantity of fluid escaped. There were no anfractuosities on the brain, which was but a line in thickness. Michaelis's§ case is interesting. The patient was aged twenty- nine years. His head began to enlarge three weeks after birth. He entirely lost the use of his limbs, a slight motion of the arms * On Hydrocephalus, p. 138. f Trans. College of Physicians, Vol. ii., p. 358. X Loc. cit,, p. 41. § London Med. Communications, Vol. i., p. 404.