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complete and prolonged loss of consciousness from which a patient cannot be roused. There are various degrees of coma: in the slighter forms the patient can be partially roused only to relapse again into a See also:

state of insensibility; in the deeper states, the patient cannot be roused at all, and such are met with in See also:

APOPLEXY (Gr. arov n i.a, from aroaMvvew, to strike down, to stun)

apoplexy, already described. Coma may arise abruptly in a patient who has presented no pre-existent indication of such a state occurring. Such a See also:

CONDITION (Lat. condicio, from condicere, to agree upon, arrange; not connected with conditio, from condere, conditum, to put together)

condition is called See also:

PRIMARY

primary coma, and may result from the following causes: (1) concussion, See also:

COMPRESSION

compression or laceration of the See also:

BRAIN (A.S. braegen)

brain from See also:

head injuries, especially fracture of the See also:

SKULL

skull; (2) from alcoholic and narcotic poisoning; (3) from cerebral See also:

HAEMORRHAGE (Gr. atµa, blood, and prryvvvac, to burst)

haemorrhage, embolism and thrombosis, such being the causes of apoplexy. Secondary coma may arise as a complication in the following diseases:—diabetes, uraemia, See also:

general See also:

PARALYSIS, or PALSY (from Gr. aapal,6a , to relax; Wycliffe has palesy, and another old form of the word is parlesy)

paralysis, See also:

MENINGITIS (from Gr. z veyE, a membrane)

meningitis, cerebral See also:

TUMOUR (Lat. tumor, a swelling)

tumour and acute yellow See also:

ATROPHY (Gr. It- priv., rpo4, nourishment)

atrophy of the See also:

LIVER (O. Eng. lifer; cf. cognate forms, Dutch lever, Ger. Leber, Swed. lefver, &c.; the O. H. Ger. forms are libara, lipora, &c.; the Teut. word has been connected with Gr. i'prap and Lat. jecur)

liver; in such diseases it is anticipated, for it is a frequent cause of the fatal termination. The See also:

DEPTH

depth of insensibility to stimulus is a measure of the gravity of the symptom; thus the conjunctival reflex and even the See also:

SPINAL

spinal reflexes may be abolished, the only sign of See also:

LIFE

life being the respiration and See also:

heart-See also:

BEAT (a word common in various forms to the Teutonic languages; it is connected with the similar Romanic words derived from the Late Lat. battere)

beat, the muscles of the limbs being sometimes perfectly flaccid. A characteristic See also:

CHANGE (derived through the Fr. from the Late Lat. cambium, cambiare, to barter; the ultimate derivation is probably from the root which appears in the Gr. «a urmu', to bend)

change in the respiration, known as See also:

CHEYNE, THOMAS KELLY (1841— )

Cheyne-See also:

Stokes breathing occurs See also:

prior to See also:

DEATH

death in some cases; it indicates that the See also:

RESPIRATORY

respiratory centre in the medulla is becoming exhausted, and is stimulated to See also:

ACTION

action only when the venosity of the See also:

BLOOD

blood has increased sufficiently to excite it. The breathing consequently loses its natural See also:

RHYTHM (Greek pvBµds, from bap, to flow)

rhythm, and each successive breath becomes deeper until a maximum is reached; it then diminishes in depth by successive steps until it See also:

DIES, CHRISTOPH ALBERT (1755-1822)

dies away completely. The condition of See also:

APNOEA (Gr. airvoia, from a-, privative, avEOiv, to breathe)

apnoea, or cessation of breathing, follows, and as soon as the venosity of the blood again affords sufficient stimulus, the signs of See also:

air-See also:

HUNGER

hunger commence; this altered rhythm continues until the respiratory centre becomes exhausted and death ensues. Coma See also:

VIGIL (Lat. vigilia, "watch ")

Vigil is a state of unconsciousness met with in the algide See also:

STAGE (Fr. 6/age; from Lat. stare, to stand)

stage of See also:

CHOLERA (from the Gr. Xo)du, tile, and Map, to flow)

cholera and some other exhausting diseases. The patient's eyes remain open, and he may be in a state of See also:

low muttering See also:

DELIRIUM (a Latin medical term for madness, from delirare, to be mad, literally to wander from the lira, or furrow)

delirium; he is entirely insensible to his surroundings, and neither knows nor can indicate his wants.

There is a distinct word " coma " (Gr. Om, See also:

HAIR (a word common to Teutonic languages)

hair), which is used in See also:

ASTRONOMY (from Gr. &arpov, a star, and v ,usiv, to classify or arrange)

astronomy for the envelope of a See also:

COMET (Gr. Koµieiis, long-haired)

comet, and in See also:

BOTANY (from Gr. l3or6v17, plant; ,66vicety, to graze)

botany for a tuft.

End of Article: COMA (Gr. K(.7)

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