Cases of diseases of the nervous system in patients the subjects of inherited syphilis / by J. Hughlings-Jackson, M.D.

  • Jackson, J. Hughlings (John Hughlings), 1835-1911.
Date:
1868
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Cases of diseases of the nervous system in patients the subjects of inherited syphilis / by J. Hughlings-Jackson, M.D. 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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    syphilitic taint in a family^ is to be found usually in but one of the children of that family. It is to be particularly observed, that although Mr. Hut- chinson has described many dental peculiarities in children, he relies only—for a test of congenital syphilis—on a certain malformation of the two upper central incisors of the perma- nent set. Normally these teeth are chisel shaped, i.e. broader at their cutting edges than at their insertions into the gum. The malformation which Mr. Hutchinson has discovered to be a sign of congenital syphilis consists (First) in a reversal of the normal shape so far as this, that the two teeth above-named are narrower at their cutting edges than at their insertions into the gum. Hence they are then, as Mr. Dixon has observed, like screw-drivers. (Second)—The teeth are often notched. Hence such teeth are often called notched teeth. It is well to add that Mr. Hutchinson attaches no special importance to bad teeth, to irregular teeth, &c., but, I repeat, to a particular kind of malformation of two of the permanent teeth. In the first of the following cases there is plenty of evidence to show that the patient is deeply syphilised, besides the pecu- liar shape of the upper central incisors. But in some cases the only thing to draw attention to the possibility of the existence of the taint is the presence of the dental malforma- tion. Now, it is quite true, as I shall afterwards more fully point out, that just such nervous symptoms as the child. Case I, had, occur in children who present no signs of syphilis. We cannot, therefore, without an autopsy, say with scientijic certainty that the symptoms are the result of syphilitic disease of the brain. Putting on one side the easily explained cases of hemiplegia coming on with valvular disease, or with rheumatic or scarlet fever, most cases in young children of hemiplegia after a con- vulsion, or cases of convulsion, or epilepsy, cannot be satisfac- torily explained. It seems to me that Mr. Hutchinson's work will help us greatly in investigating the nature of these obscure cases. It will help us to determine whether some of them are