. A treatise on nervous and mental diseases, for students and practitioners of medicine. ard, partially covered by the eyelids. These characteristics arebeautifully seen in Fig. 149. There is usually considerable mentaldefect, and such physical symptoms as paralysis of one or morelimbs, convulsions, and contractures. Occasionally there is amau-rosis, and ophthalmoscopically optic nerve atrophy is observed. Thechild usually evidences symptoms of mental irritation simulating amild meningitis, viz , restlessness, sharp cries, disturbed sleep, the disease occurs late in life these symptom
. A treatise on nervous and mental diseases, for students and practitioners of medicine. ard, partially covered by the eyelids. These characteristics arebeautifully seen in Fig. 149. There is usually considerable mentaldefect, and such physical symptoms as paralysis of one or morelimbs, convulsions, and contractures. Occasionally there is amau-rosis, and ophthalmoscopically optic nerve atrophy is observed. Thechild usually evidences symptoms of mental irritation simulating amild meningitis, viz , restlessness, sharp cries, disturbed sleep, the disease occurs late in life these symptoms may be entirelywanting, and there may be excellent mental capacity. Prognosis. The prognosis of hydrocephalus is grave, inasmuchas a case has never been cured. 328 NERVOUS DISEASES. Diagnosis. Hydrocephalus may be confounded with rickets andthickening of the cranial bones. In rickets the head has a somewhatsquare form, and the fontanelles are not bulged. In thickening ofthe cranial bone there is usually, in the few cases I have seen, hyper-trophy of the bones of the face. Fig. Case of hydrocephalus.] Treatment. The treatment of hydrocephalus is of very littleavail. An operation can be done, puncturing one of the fontanelles,best the anterior one, or if this is closed, trephining the skull andpuncturing into the subarachnoid space, but this is only a temporarybenefit, and is sometimes attended with fatal results. The injectionof tincture of iodine through the fontauelle or through a cranialpuncture is open to the same objections, namely, that it is only atemporary relief, and sometimes causes death. Compression of theskull by diachylon plaster is often of temporary benefit, and if thecompression is not allowed to become extreme, it cannot do harm. Themethod of application is very simple. Strips of plaster should bebrought over the head from back to front and from side to side, anddiagonally, in such a way as to exercise the most effective compres-sion. This same compress
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