A case of tumour of the pons / by J. Dixon Mann and Sheridan Delépine.

  • Mann, J. Dixon (John Dixon), 1840-1912.
Date:
[between 1890 and 1899]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A case of tumour of the pons / by J. Dixon Mann and Sheridan Delépine. 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.

    2/18 (page 476)
    visioa on the temporal side of the left eye; vision was otherwise unaffected. The humming or buzzing sound in the left ear was now associated with impaired audition on the same side. The perception of acid substances appHed to the tongue was equally good on both sides. The pain in the head had almost dis- appeared. When tested with the point of a pin and with test- tubes respectively filled with hot and cold water, sensation was found to be unaffected on both sides of the face, on the arms and on the legs. On the right side the knee-jerk was slightly increased. The speech was much impaired, being thick and bulbar; there was also some difficulty in swallowing. The mental faculties were unaffected. Whilst in hospital the patient had twenty to thirty seizures, in which, for the most part, the head and the eyes were turned to the right side, the left eye being less deflected than the right. When the patient was in a passive condition, no difference was perceptible between the movements of the left eye and those of the right. The seizures were characterised by a condition of tonic spasm, which lasted from a few seconds up to two or three minutes, the right arm and the right leg being absolutely stiff and rigid. The left arm and leg were not affected. The pupils were dilated and did not respond to light. The respirations were slowed. During the seizures and for a varying period after- wards—from a few minutes to half an hour—the patient was quite unconscious. On one or two occasions there were slight indications of an epileptiform character, and once, slow clonic spasms—one every four or five seconds—were observed to affect the right arm. In two of the seizures the right side of the face appeared to be partially paralysed, the cheek flapping with the respirations at the maximum of the attack. In February, 1895, both sides of the face, both arms, and both legs twitched during an attack. On another occasion the twitching was limited to the fingers of the right hand, the face not being affected. On March 21 the left eye was observed to remain closed for about twelve hours after an attack. During the interval between the attacks, if the patient (who was then quite conscious and intelligent) was asked a question, the answer to which involved some reflection, the left eyelids usually twitched convulsively. After a seizure on March 27, ptosis on the left side recurred and persisted until death, which took place on April 4, 1895. No sugar was found in the urine, nor albumin until a fortnight before death.