380 Historical 



constipation could be overcome only by enemas; there was paralysis 

 of the rectum. The bladder was also paralyzed; urination could take 

 place only by use of the catheter. He had lost appetite, and the cough 

 often caused vomiting. 



Knowing the perfectly regular life of this young man, we asked 

 him about the date and the mode of onset of this disease. 



He told us that while he was employed at the railroad works at 

 Lorient, he had gone down into a caisson under a pressure of three 

 atmospheres (including the outer pressure), where he had remained 

 three hours to check the progress of the work in the foundation of a 

 pier. Three or four minutes after his exit, he felt an icy cold, sudden 

 and penetrating, as a result of the enormous rarefaction of the air in 

 proportion to the inner pressure. When he tried to wash his hands, 

 he perceived that movements of the arms were impossible, he could 

 not put his hands into the tub because he could not lift them higher 

 than his waist. 



Taken home by two men who supported him under the arms and 

 placed his feet on the steps he had to descend, he went to bed; after 

 four or five hours he wished to get up, but he was completely paral- 

 yzed. An energetic treatment was given him and made him able to 

 come to Paris after a fashion. On the tenth day he was in the 

 condition which we described above. 



For ten days we gave belladonna (twelfth) and bryonia, which 

 checked the cough a little. June 2, we began to apply every other day 

 the rheophores of an electro-galvanic machine over the hypogastrium, 

 to overcome the paralysis of the bladder. After the third treatment, 

 he began to urinate without the catheter, but the next day, he was 

 forced to have recourse to it again. After the fourth treatment, he 

 urinated voluntarily only during the day. After the fifth, the urine 

 resumed its natural course. The constipation persisted. We electrified 

 the walls of the abdomen and the anus. Defecation, although some- 

 times difficult, was reestablished about the eighth treatment. After 

 the tenth treatment, the abdominal organs had gained strength and 

 activity, especially on the left. The right leg was still dragging, and 

 in certain positions it was still affected by convulsive trembling; he 

 could not have stood up on one leg; he used a cane in walking. 



In July, he went to the baths of Balaruc, from which he returned 

 August 1. His condition was improved, but there was still a faltering 

 in the right leg. The cough persisted, although not so bad; respiration 

 was still incomplete. Soundness of speech, ideas, and memory was 

 reestablished. He no longer experienced pruritus or hyperesthesia 

 of the skin. Six more applications of electricity caused a great im- 

 provement in the movements; he could walk without support. 



Today, January 12, that is, after eight months of treatment, he 

 has at times tiring fits of coughing; his respiration is almost normal, 

 he becomes breathless if he walks too far or too quickly. He walks 

 without support, but there is still stiffness in the right leg, and we 

 cannot say when he will be completely cured. (Vol. XVII, p. 198-200.) 



Also in 1862, a bridge was constructed over the Adour, in 

 Bayonne, in the construction of which the pressure had to be 



