1*70 Sjirgical Cases in the Finslury Dispensari/. 



plrtined of a picldiness in her head, which prevcTitcd her 

 from walking across the floor without danger of falling; 

 she was sick and vomited occasionylly, had fiver, and 

 the bowds were costive; her eves were not directed to 

 the 6a".)e focus. The family physician was now consuhed, 

 who prescribed a calomel pill and some infus. ros^ : the 

 symptoms continued uith little variation for 7 day^, (during 

 which time the accustomed discharge fruin the ear had 

 cea.^ed,) when a swellmir was ui)scrved below the ear, which 

 beinjj poulticed soon broke, and all the symptoms gradu- 

 ally disappear-cd, so that from the 3()th of October to fhe 

 19th of November 110 medical attendance was required. She 

 was then seized with violent pain in the' head, had occasion- 

 ally starlings with rigor, which terminated in convul- 

 sive fits of short disration : between these paroxvsms, which 

 were irregular, she was pnj'ectly SF.s-^iv.Ln and (/j/ile easi/. 

 A large blisicr was applied to the head, fomentations were 

 vstd, and purging clysters were injected : but theic did 

 rot avert the svni)itoms : — she died on the 23d. 



On removing the upper part of the scull, the mem- 

 branes of the brain and the cerebrutr. were perfectly na- 

 tural and licalthy : the lateral ventricles contained about 

 four ounces of a serous fluid : the right lobe of the cere- 

 bellum was more dark than usual, and flabby ; on ciuting 

 into its substance an abscess was found which contained 

 about an ounce of purulent matter; the dma mater was 

 ulcerated at the posterior part of the petrous pt)rtion of 

 the temporal bone, or round the internal auditory fora- 

 men ; where the bone had become carious, the nien)brana 

 tympani and small bones of the ear were destroyed, and 

 a probe could be passed with ease from the internal through 

 the external auditory foramen. 



The sutures of the scull being completely clo^erl, the 

 brain must have been compressed from the accumulation 

 of fluid in the lateral ventricles, which probably took 

 place about the 21st of October: it nuist also have suflfered 

 from the abscess which had destroyed the right lobe of 

 the cerebellum, and which there is reason to believe had 

 c.xisted for years; yet we find the reasoning faculty was 

 8 continued 



