Neurosyphilis : $b Modern systematic diagnosis and treatment presented in one hundred and thirty-seven case historiesSouthard, Elmer Ernest
Science
Neurosyphilis : $b Modern systematic diagnosis and treatment presented in one hundred and thirty-seven case histories
Southard, Elmer Ernest
Neurosyphilis
On admission to the hospital, aside from obesity, the general viscera
showed no points of special interest, and there was no evidence of any
new growth outside of the nervous system. She was unsteady on her feet,
standing with them wide apart. The gait was quite ataxic; the whole
right side was weaker than the left and used more awkwardly. There was a
paralysis of the right side of the face; the right angle of the mouth
drooped; the right eyelid could not be closed but remained continuously
open; nor could the right side of the forehead be wrinkled. Vision and
hearing were not affected. She miscalled tastes and smells; whether this
was due to aphasic difficulties or to cranial nerve involvement could
not be divined. There seemed to be some difficulty in deglutition. The
knee-jerks were markedly exaggerated; slight clonus was obtained but was
not always present. Both pupils reacted well to light and distance and
consensually. Sensation could not be readily tested. There was marked
ataxia, especially with the eyes closed. The speech was thick and
mumbling. The patient was unable to write or copy. Mentally the patient
was quite dull; at times, stuporous; when aroused, was found to be
entirely disoriented. Memory almost entirely absent. In general she
showed herself to be very much confused.
She remained practically in this condition, even gaining in weight, for
the following two years, when suddenly one morning, she had an epileptic
seizure, vomited, coughed a great deal, with bleeding from the mouth and
ears, and died in a few hours.
The symptoms in this case pointed to brain tumor. The only inconsistent
thing was the long-continued life,—four years,—after the symptoms were
observed. As she lived before the W. R. and spinal fluid tests were
known, no light was gained in these ways. The post mortem examination
showed the patient had a GUMMA OF THE BRAIN.
The =summary of the anatomical diagnoses= at autopsy was:
Decubitus.
Lymphadenitis of the mesenteric nodes.
Chronic fibrous peritonitis.
Chronic fibrous myocarditis.
Pulmonary hypostasis.
Thrombosis of vein in right adrenal, with hemorrhage.
Syphilitic leptomeningitis.
Gumma of left hemisphere.
Focal softenings in the pons.
The =anatomical description of the head= (Dr. A. M. Barrett) is as
follows:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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