Nervous and mental diseases . The more extensiveinjury to the brain is attended almost of necessity by greater mentalimpairment and idiocy marks many cases. Microcephalia some-times results or the skull may have so defective a shape that poren-cephalia and anencephalia may be suspected. Such children areeither noticed to be rigid and inactive at birth, or after birth-in-juries and convulsive manifestation develop rigidity and contracturesduring the early months of infancy. Frequently it is only whenthe child is found incapable of learning to sit up or to use its legs in 252 DISEASES OF THE BRA
Nervous and mental diseases . The more extensiveinjury to the brain is attended almost of necessity by greater mentalimpairment and idiocy marks many cases. Microcephalia some-times results or the skull may have so defective a shape that poren-cephalia and anencephalia may be suspected. Such children areeither noticed to be rigid and inactive at birth, or after birth-in-juries and convulsive manifestation develop rigidity and contracturesduring the early months of infancy. Frequently it is only whenthe child is found incapable of learning to sit up or to use its legs in 252 DISEASES OF THE BRAIN PROPER. efforts at walking that the paralytic state is recognized. Mental back-wardness, slowness in the development of speech, and other indicationsof injury to the highest brain functions are often neglected until thethird or fourth year in the misguided hopefulness that the child will outgrow it. The rigidity and spastic state is frequently so great thatthe legs and arms present a lead pipe resistance to passive move-. Fig. 94.—Athetosis of feet. ments. Voluntary efforts are hindered or defeated, and some of thesechildren never get the hands to the face, much less their toes to theirmouths. They are difficult to handle and to dress. Their arms andlegs are as unmanageable as stiff-jointed manikins. They are allthumbs and awkwardness. The spasticity in the lower extremities,which tends to flex hips and knees and especially to adduct thethighs, holds the knees closely together, makes it difficult to dressand bathe them as infants and defeats locomotion later on. Placedon a chair, the lower limbs have a tendency to maintain a rigidhorizontal position. If they are placed on their feet the legs cross,the heels can not be brought to the floor, and if steps are taken itis only by advancing the foot that is in front and then bringing up theone in the rear. As they grow older a tendency to equinovalgus orvarus and genu valgum is induced, but by keeping the feet widelyseparated th
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, bookid, booksubjectnervoussystem
