Extras Lecture anil Letter Scnca. 



On the sbln a great rrnnv alteration- may bo observed. 

 A bulla, which H a rl.-inir like a bMsl-T on tin- epid riuis, 



ft liquid belnfflwtween the epidermis and tin- M;in mav 

 be formed, or what \vc cull pemphygus, or pai> 

 which Is the rising 1 of a part f the skin with rodnes-, 

 or what IB known under the name of herpes all these 

 in i\- In- due t i an Irritation of tho nervous sv^tem. The 



'M'-nt in h' rp ta n to be that :>f -nni>li- in-ur i!uia. 



A gangrene nriv a'so in- d l>y a nervous afT-c- 



tlon. It is well known that in-ain- patien' s espe.-iallv 



those havin_- tr lull .mini i'i in of the gray matter 



of tin 1 liraiti an I iho nitil'ill-t ''<i, ami those at- 



taoked -with what Is known as !_ r <-:ii rai par iiv>i- of tin' 



ln-<ane, liavi' a plight effusion of hlooil in tlio car ami 

 Bomctinn-4 inn/rene. Ir used to It.- thought that the 

 nurses. \v h" a: i- nnrortnnat'-'y ofti-u vi-ry violent to in- 

 sane patients, hid been abusing iin-m. But It Is cer- 

 tain, alao, that the troiiiili- Is frequently due to an in- 

 flammation. K<>r I h'-i c i, no reason why nurses should 

 always mid t-s]., . i.ii: , them ou the car. Acain, 



they- may h ive ha 1 tr-'nblo ni that orean when at- 

 tacked; an 1 t:.i;dly. I h r: actually founii that an 

 Injury nf a certain p ir: u' tin- base of ttio brain i>rodu--- - 

 almost invariable a hemorrhage of tbocar and ga!i.-_:n -M- 

 ' : It. It occurs in several epeeiea of animals, 

 especially in Gu- m- . pi _-. .So that there is no doubt 

 whatever in mv m:ml that the affection of the ear in 

 Insane patient.- is produced iiy a morbid Irritatiou of the 

 iierviiua system, di-c-at changes may also occur in the 

 hulr. in tin- nails, and even tho color of the iris mav 

 bo changed ir.i.u the same cause. The nails ceaso to 

 prow, as Dr. Mitchell of Philadelphia baa shown, in 

 nianv oases t-y di-'-aso of tho brain. They become 

 alti n-d in shape, and -Inw a series of lines, depressions, 

 and protrusion^, or rnii:--3 and canals. So that a morbid 

 Intlii' noe takes place on tlnne parts which are only 

 secreted from tir- Mood. The hair may change color 

 from one cl.iy to another under a uioi-bid influence. It 

 may he i-haau'ed imt only in C"lor but in density and 

 tliii-knesH, and become <lry or oily. There is a morbid 

 liberation i if tin- ; Un and the i-ellulnr tissue, which is iiot 

 ran-ly oii.-i-rved In casaa of disease of the bruin or spinal 

 cord. It to the slonahlnx of a part due to injury of the 

 in i vi! - .- . --ti-m. It v. a - p. : ici-tiy well known that such 

 ploii.-iiini,' mu'iit api)ear after an injuri r to the nervous 

 often called these appearances " bed 

 o:e.-." ];nt we Icnow that pressure in people who have 

 not an In .(all >n of tao nci voua njstem will not produce 

 lieil sore-. In c i-'-s of fracture of tlio limbs, for instance, 

 tho patn-nt lyiiu' In thu position to have a pres- 

 sure of th" iiati-s \\ill not have these sores. Ent 

 on tin- other haul and these has loJ mo to 

 I piopouuded loiijj aRO, and which is 

 iilntra .u iinlinals. in dogs, for instance, 



win-si i. -.ion N nro liiccJ. which causes an inflammation 

 of tin- hpmal coid and an inflammation of the nerves 

 uriMii^; fiimi It, v. i il a. i a slouirhina- coming from a part 

 of the ".icnini, wlncli u \-\-\ tie- .- une. Q H in man. In 



.in-.te.id of lying down aa we do on the back, the 



<!o\\ n i- on the li-oiit p u-t u f tlio belly and on the 

 k-h, \\hile i!n- . :i!iek-as, appears Just 



\\ li re it doe* in man. on th n .: >s. Therefore, it cannot 

 lie construed at liem^ >aa - -il i v pressure. Besides, I 

 li.i\i .-.ecu u H!II u trlil iik r a i>ii ar u u :u i Ciix-o days aft(>r an 

 in|urv, HO that e\. u :f v,.- Imax-im-d thai tlui poor 

 i . .it n 1 1 liad 1 1 1 rued and pi 136 I on ih,- part for a time, 



yet tin- ii-n^ih of lime would not be sufficient to pro- 



(Ui'-e tin- troiiba- t..i re, N'-;ih.-r Id the ' \ planation that 



the Blougblna -i due From decomposed water from tho 



pailciit u al. factory one. L'ud lUljte.Ky Ihi., ) 3 a pow- 



erful cause of incn-a^o of the slouphlncr, but rot 

 original cause, as in those animals I refer to there was 

 not a drop of that water irritating the bai-lc. 

 IMIl.-NAI. OKCANS SUFFKU FROM EKTT.KNAL IRniTATIOX. 



AH sorts of inflammation in tho viscera can b:- pro- 

 duced from an irritation of tho nervous svsteiu. lnil.ua- 

 m (ion of tho hums is extremely common in certain 

 - of (iise ises of the brain. And iatl unmation of tho 

 kidneys or bladder, or bowels, may come from an inflam- 

 mation of tho spinal cord. Burns will produce also 

 phenomena of that kind. A burn on the skin will fre- 

 quently prove fatal by pro hieing an inflammation of 

 that part of the bowels called the duodenum ; the inflam- 

 mation may bo so rapid as to pro luce an ulceratiou in a 



few (lavs. 



The eyes are the theater of c on . si d arable alteration 

 from tho nervous system. It is almost useless to ^o into 

 a demonstration of the influei cr which an irritation on 

 tho nerve of one eye may orotluco on tho other eye, 

 because it is generally admitted now that an injury to 

 one eye can Injuriously aff ct tho other. When I first 

 upheld that theory I was alone in ir, and it was neees- 

 s.ry to pile up my facts; now everybody Ins f,, mil it 

 out. It is quite certain that an ininry to tho frontal 

 norvo then, will produce disease in the corresponding 

 eye, and the best thing to do in those cases Is to divide 

 tho nerve between tho part which has been injured and 

 the brain, so as to prevent the transmission of the in- 

 jury to the brain, from which it is reflected to the othei 

 eye. In tao same way an irritation of one eye maj 

 produce inflammation in tho other. And if a patieni 

 who has ono eye very much altered and irritated, ec 

 that it is sure to bo lost, if tho patient begins to have 

 inflammation in the other eye, it is now a common thing 

 for surgeons to take away the eyo flrst injured to save 

 the other. That of course acts in dividing tho nerve! 

 which connect tho eye flrst injured with tlio brain, and 

 prevents a propagation of tho irritation from tho brain 

 to the second eye. Even oafaract and glaucoma can be 

 produced by a nervous influence. 



But more than this, all tho inflammation of viscera 

 that wo suffer from may and does como fr >m an Irrita- 

 tion of the nkin. Of tho persons in thU room now whc 

 suffer from coughing I daresay that nine out of ton yes, 

 10 out of 20 owe their c>m^h to an Irritation which was 

 brought to other parts than the part which, beins in- 

 flamed, causes the cougn. An irritation of tho neck by 

 cold, an irritation of tho feet, or arms, or any other part 

 of tho body by cold, especially by damp or wot col. I, 

 may bring on inflammation of some organ. When per- 

 sons have an Inflammation Of the lungs, almost invaria- 

 bly I was on the point of saying iu all cases this in- 

 flammation has its origin, in croat measure, if not en- 

 tlrely, iu some irritation of the skin, or of tho mucous 

 mcmoranesln the neighborhood of tho skin, in tho nos- 

 trils or iu the throat. 



rOWEH OF THE NEUVES OVER NL'TKITION*. 



There is a cjiie*tioa which now uns s, after having 

 shown you how various and how groat is tho action ol 

 the nervous sjstem on nutrition. It is, Aro wo to con- 

 Mdcr th nervous sy.teni.is e.montlal to nutrition I It is 

 certainly not essential to nutrition, but witho-u doubt 

 also it la mo-t ns-eful to nutrition. Bat, unfortunately, 

 beside being most useful to nutrition, it Is in a inorlin] 

 state most del i Imental to nutrlt ion. So that these three 

 points are now particularly established: (i.) In tho first 



place the nervous system is not essential to nutrition, 

 which can and does go on without it, as you well know 

 it coes on in plants and fcotuses before tho nervous sys- 

 tem 13 formed, aud as it goes on also in completely do- 



