Shell-shock and other neuropsychiatric problems : $b Presented in five hundred and eighty-nine case histories from the war literature, 1914-1918Southard, Elmer Ernest
History
Shell-shock and other neuropsychiatric problems : $b Presented in five hundred and eighty-nine case histories from the war literature, 1914-1918
Southard, Elmer Ernest
War neuroses; World War, 1914-1918 -- Medical care; World War, 1914-1918 -- Psychological aspects
_Re_ complicated pictures of organic and functional nature, some
experimental work has been carried out. Mairet and Durante set off
explosives, such as melinite, at a distance of 1 to 1.5 metres, near
rabbits. Some died at intervals from an hour to thirteen days; others
lived. Pulmonary apoplexy was found in the cases dying early. Spinal
cord and root hemorrhages, hemorrhages in the cortical and bulbar gray,
perivascular and ependymal hemorrhages were found, always small and
without diffusion, suggesting rupture by rapid decompression following
the first wave of aerial compression. The functional effects are
thought to be brought about through the anemia of the areas supplied by
the ruptured vessels. Russca of Berne got similar results and notes
direct and contrecoup brain lesions, tympanic perforations, intra- and
extra-ocular hemorrhages, thoracic, cardiac, and splenic hemorrhages,
ruptures of kidney, stomach, intestine, and diaphragm. As in the work
of Mairet and Durante, the lung proved the most sensitive organ.
(Compare also the human case of Sencert [Case 201].) Some experiments
with fishes yielded lesions of the swimming bladder. Persalite and
other explosives were used.
GASSING: Organic-looking picture.
=Case 215.= (NEIDING, May, 1917.)
A German soldier, 21, was a serious case of gassing. He was unconscious
two days (venesection twice). When he came to, he could not walk and
felt as if he were drunk. October 22, 1916, he was incoördinate in
walking and tended to fall forward when standing with eyes closed.
The ataxia of the legs was demonstrable in the position of dorsal
decubitus, and there was also a slight ataxia of the arms. The pupils
were dilated and reacted poorly to light.
December 12, all symptoms had disappeared. The clinical picture in
this case was somewhat like that of a multiple sclerosis. According to
Neiding, the disorder is not a functional one but an organic cerebellar
disorder.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account