REFLEX PARALYSIS, OR PARALYSIS FROM INDIGESTION. 
769 
REFLEX PARALYSIS. OR PARALYSIS FROM INDI¬ 
GESTION. 
By Dr. J. G. Parslow, Marshalltown, Iowa. 
A Paper read before the Iowa State Veterinary Medical Association, Jan. 13, 1898. 
Is reflex paralysis a proper term, or is it a misnomer? 
To argue this question, it will be necessary to offer a defini¬ 
tion of a reflex act, and I think the following a very good one : 
Definition. Involuntary movements, or actions due to an 
irritation, which was conveyed to the spinal cord by afferent 
nerves, and was reflexed directly upon the efferent nerves, 
without intervention of consciousness or direction— (Keating). 
Accepting this as a definition for a reflex act, will the same 
apply to what we call reflex paralysis? I will speak of the 
different cases of paralysis as we meet them and that are said to 
be reflexed as a result of indigestion. I will first take paralysis 
of the bowel, which has really been an enigma to me, from the 
fact that paralysis, as secondary, occupies the primary seat of 
irritation and is classed as reflex paralysis, and all reflexed 
paralysis as s^'mptoms. Now, if reflex paralysis is a symptom, 
as onr authors say, here is a case where the symptoms reacli^n 
aggravated form of the disease and require primar}^ attention, 
the disease only secondary. 
Again, this case differs from others, inasmuch as the afferent 
and efferent nerves both suffer directly in the process of indi¬ 
gestion before the so-called reflex act produced paralysis. We 
can hardly say this in other cases we have to contend with. In 
a case like I speak of here we first have indigestion ; the result 
is malnutrition, or, in other words, starvation of the nerve end¬ 
ings, and over a graded course we find this condition until we 
have complete paralysis. This does not appear to me as a re¬ 
flexed act, for in all other so-called reflexed acts, where the seat 
of irritation is in the vaso-motor system, the reflex is shown by 
paralysis of the motor system. Now, as a result of indigestion, 
where paralysis of the bowel follow'^s, we have two distinct condi¬ 
tions that may be presented and worthy of notice : One will 
