The diagnosis of diseases of the brain, spinal cord, nerves, and their appendages.

  • Reynolds, J. Russell (John Russell), Sir, 1828-1896.
Date:
1855
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The diagnosis of diseases of the brain, spinal cord, nerves, and their appendages. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the University of Massachusetts Medical School, Lamar Soutter Library, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the Lamar Soutter Library at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.

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    the symptoms in their threefold relationships of locality, func- tion, and structure, that we can arrive at conclusions with regard to either; and the correct interpretation of symptoms being a matter of great difficulty, a separate chapter is devoted to their consideration. The heads given in this section are those under which the morbid conditions of function in an organ may be ranged, when, by careful examination, the seat of disturbance has been discovered: and thus the second object of diagnosis is obtained. Third Problem.—The Anatomical Condition. Some of the conditions referred to in this section occur much more frequently in one portion of the nervous system than another; others are common to them all. I. The nervous organs may be healthv; (i. e., so far as our present means of investigation enable us to decide the point.) There are many diseases in which there is no reason to believe that the nervous centres undergo, necessarily, any static or physical change, although, during life, there may be most marked and important symptoms. Allusion is made to the class of diseases known under the names of epilepsy, chorea, hysteria, neuralgia, &c. &c.; and it is not unphilosophical to believe in the existence of morbid functions without demon- strable physical lesion, since the material world presents us with similar relations between the static and dynamic properties of matter. This treatise is not the proper place for a discussion of the question at issue, but some remarks will be found upon it in the Appendix.* Although many of these affections will come under notice, the most numerous may be ranged under the second group: — II. Diseases accompanied by some physical change in the organs. _ A. Without change in the tissues themselves. 1. Blood abnormal in quantity. a. Ansemia; or, in less degree, Hypremia. It is not pro- posed to decide, either positively or negatively, the question as to whether more than a fixed proportion of blood can find its * Vide Appendix B.