8 
Mr. Home’s Lecture 
ceased; in thirty hours, there was only one slight spasm, which 
did not go beyond the wrist. 
The sixteenth day, the wound was intirely healed ; and, as 
there had been no return of spasms, the patient was considered 
as well. 
On the twenty-fourth day, which was a fortnight after the 
spasms had ceased, at nine o’clock in the morning, he was 
awakened by a violent spasm, which passed directly up to the 
head, and affected the brain, producing insensibility ; this was 
the only time the brain had been affected since the operation. 
Two days previous to this attack, he had a violent diarrhoea; 
and, on the preceding day, had undergone unusual fatigue. 
The tourniquet, which had been laid aside, was now applied ; 
and, for the greater security, two were placed on the fore-arm, 
and one upon the arm itself. At six in the evening, there was 
another spasm, attended by insensibility, although the tourni- 
quets had been tightened. The hand was found swelled, as 
well as the wrist, and the cicatrix formed a hard welt, tender to 
the touch. This hard state of the cicatrix, in which the end of 
the divided nerve was included, appeared to be a probable cause 
of the return of the spasmodic attacks. 
The twenty-fifth day, the pulse was 100 in a minute; and, 
every two hours, there were slight spasms. 
The twenty-sixth day, there were eleven spasms, at irregular 
intervals, in twenty-four hours, eight of which, went up as high 
as the head. As the spasms were not stopped by the tourniquet, 
as before, it was proposed to make the pressure directly upon 
the nerve : this was done by placing pieces of cork in the course 
of the nerve, and confining them there by the band of the tour- 
niquet, so that, when the screw was tightened, the cork was 
f 
