A system of practical medicine. By American authors. Vol. 5 : $b Diseases of the nervous system
Science
A system of practical medicine. By American authors. Vol. 5 : $b Diseases of the nervous system
Medicine -- Practice
(_d_) Titubation, or staggering, is the inability to stand erect or
walk straight because of impaired equilibrium. There is neither tremor
nor ataxia present, and paralysis and anæsthesia are not necessary
factors. It is distinguished from vertigo and dizziness by absence of
subjective sensations of movement. Staggering may show itself in a
general way or in the shape of latero-, retro-, or propulsion (disease
of the internal ear, paralysis agitans). A well-defined variety of
staggering is the wrongly-termed cerebellar ataxia. In this the
patient, having disease of the cerebellum involving its vermis
superior, stands with feet widely separated to increase his base of
support; the body is bent somewhat forward, and the arms and hands are
used as balancing-rods to maintain a sort of equipoise. In walking,
this attitude is exaggerated, and if the feet be bare it will be seen
that the toes are unconsciously clutching the floor for support; there
is no outward jerk of the leg or stamp of the heel as in the ataxic
gait, and closing the eyes does not aggravate the attitude or walk.
Besides, if the extremities be separately tested, it is found that
with closed eyes the patient can perfectly well place his fore-finger
on his nose or one heel on the opposite patella (lying down). The
proper term for the disorder is cerebellar titubation. Yet it must be
remembered that titubation also occurs from disease of the oblongata
and pons, from lesions of the base of the brain in general, and from
alcoholic, etc. intoxication. In many cases titubation occurs in
connection with vertigo or dizziness.
(_e_) Inco-ordination more or less of the ataxic form often affects
the muscles of articulation, phonation, and deglutition, giving to the
symptoms dysarthria, dysphonia, and dysphagia. Dysarthria and
dysphagia are probably often caused by lesions of the insula and
subjacent white substance, as well as by those affecting the
oblongata. There are two recent autopsies which would indicate that
there may be a cerebral cortical centre for phonation laryngeal
movements: in the ventral extremity of the right third frontal gyrus—a
part homologous to the speech centre on the left side of the brain. In
some cases, however, dysphonia and aphonia indicate a lesion of the
laryngeal nerves or of the oblongata (nucleus of NN. x. and xi.).
(_f_) Doubtless the internal muscular organs and the blood-vessels are
frequently the seat of inco-ordinate or quasi-ataxic movements, but
our present knowledge of these conditions amounts to very little.
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