Online Encyclopedia
Search over 40,000 articles from the original, classic Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th Edition.
NEURITIS (Gr. veupov, nerve)
Online EncyclopediaEncyclopedia Home :: NAN-NEW
del.icio.us it!
|
See also:NEURITIS (Gr. veupov, See also:nerve) , a See also:term applied to the inflammation of one or more bundles of nerve See also:fibres. Two varieties are known, the localized and the multiple. The localized See also:form frequently follows on exposure to See also:cold and may attack a single nerve. Facial See also:paralysis (See also:Bell's palsy) is commonly seen following a neuritis of the facial nerve. Neuritis may follow blows and wounds of a nerve, injuries involving stretching of a nerve or See also:long continued pressure such as may occur in a dislocation of the See also:elbow See also:joint, or the nerve may See also:share in the See also:extension of a neighbouring inflammation, The first symptom of a localized neuritis is See also:pain of a See also:boring See also:character along the course of a nerve and its See also:distribution, the See also:part being sensitive to pressure. There may be slight redness and oedema along the course of the nerve, See also:movement becomes painful in the muscles to which the nerve is distributed, numbness may follow and the tactile sense be impaired, finally the muscles See also:atrophy, and degenerative changes may take See also:place in the nerve or nerve sheath. Slight cases following cold or injury may pass off in a few days, while severe cases such as those following the pressure of an unreduced dislocation may last for months. Multiple neuritis or polyneuritis is a disease which may affect many of the peripheral nerves symmetrically and at the same See also:time. For the pathological changes see See also:NEUROPATHOLOGY. The difference in these changes is due mostly to the difference in the See also:aetiology of the neuritis. The causes may be divided as follows: (r) The toxins of acute infective diseases, such as See also:diphtheria, See also:influenza, typhoid See also:fever, See also:malaria, See also:scarlet fever and-septicaemia. (2) Acute or chronic poisoning by See also:lead, See also:arsenic, See also:mercury, See also:copper and See also:phosphorus. (3) See also:General disorders: See also:gout, See also:rheumatism, tubercle, carcinoma. (4) The See also:local See also:action of leprosy and syphilis. (5) Endemic disease: beri-beri. (6) See also:Alcohol, the most See also:common. Alcoholic neuritis occurs as a result of See also:constant steady drinking, particularly in those who drink See also:beer rather than spirit. The earliest symptom is numbness of the feet and later of the hands, then painful cramps in the legs appear and there is pain on moving the limbs, or the patient complains of deadness, tingling and burning in the hands and feet, and superficial tenderness is occasionally See also:present. In other varieties of the disease the earliest symptoms are weakness of the legs and extreme fatigue, leading to a characteristic " steppage gait," or marked inco-ordination of movement may occur and the gait become ataxic. Trophic changes soon appear, in some cases See also:early and rapid See also:muscular wasting occurs, the skin becomes dry and glossy, the nails brittle and the See also:hair thin. In time actual contractures takes place, the See also:hip and See also:knee-See also:joints become flexed and the See also:foot dropped at the See also:ankle. In cases that recover there may be permanent deformity. Should the See also:case progress the patient may become bedridden and powerless, and degenerative See also:mental changes may take place, loss of memory, irritability of See also:temper and emotional instability. Various complications such as See also:bronchitis, fatty changes in the See also:heart, See also:albuminuria and a liability to pulmonary See also:tuberculosis, tend to carry off the victim of chronic alcoholic neuritis. Cases seen early in the progress of the disease, who can be placed under supervision, may recover under treatment, but those in whom the attacks have recurred several times and in whom there is much mental impairment rarely make a See also:complete recovery. The treatment consists in putting the patient to See also:bed, with the See also:administration of See also:strychnine hypodermically, and See also:attention should be paid to the position of the limbs so as to avoid the development of contractures, cradles being used, the limbs kept in the correct positions by See also:sand-bags, and See also:gentle See also:massage being employed as soon as possible. Should contractures have already formed some See also:mechanical See also:device adapted to stretch the contracted muscle must be resorted to. Biers' hyperaemic suction apparatus is very useful in the painless stretching of contracted joints, or old-See also:standing adhesions may have to be broken down under an anaesthetic, extension apparatus being afterwards worn. In the later treatment the galvanic and faradaic currents combined with massage are useful in helping to restore the wasted muscles, and hot-See also:air See also:baths and warm applications are appreciated. Arsenical neuritis mostly affects the See also:lower extremities, as contrasted with lead, which mainly paralyses the fingers and wrists; recovery is even slower than in alcoholic neuritis, the treatment being on the same lines, with the removal of the cause of the disease. In the neuritis of chronic lead poisoning a See also:fine tremor of the hands is an early symptom and sensory symptoms are usually absent; the muscles affected are the extensors of the wrists, thumb and fingers (see LEAD POISONING). The course of the disease is long, and an the study of (r) the causes which. give rise to morbid conditions, which are often complex and due to various combinations of factors arising from without and within the See also:body, and (2). the changes in the structure and functions of the See also:nervous See also:system brought about by See also:intrinsic and extrinsic causes. The causes of pathological processes occurring in the nervous See also:units (neurones) may be divided into See also:internal and See also:external, and it may be remarked that in all cases except See also:direct injury the two See also:groups are generally more or less combined. A. Internal Causes.—Of all the causes of nervous disease hereditary predisposition stands pre-eminently first; it may be convergent, paternal, maternal; from grandparents or even more remote ancestors. Moreover, no study of See also:heredity is complete that does not take into See also:consideration collaterals. Especially does this statement apply to functional neuroses, e.g. See also:epilepsy, migraine, See also:hysteria and See also:neurasthenia; and to psychoses, e.g. delusional See also:insanity, See also:mania and See also:melancholia, manic-depressive, See also:attempt should be made to eliminate the lead from the system by purgatives and the administration of See also:potassium iodide. The diabetic neuritis paraesthesia is slight, and the legs are chiefly affected; weakness and ataxia may be present. Trophic sores on the feet are of frequent occurrence in this variety. The treatment is that of the disease. See also:Post-diphtheritic neuritis occurs in about lo % of all cases of diphtheria. In this form paralysis of the soft See also:palate is the earliest symptom, and this may be the only one, or the pharynx may be affected. The limbs are affected much later, usually about the 5th or 6th See also:week. Atrophy of the muscles is frequently rapid. If the See also:respiratory muscles are unaffected the See also:prognosis is See also:good, but the paralysis of the limbs may last for several months. The treatment Is complete See also:rest, good See also:food and the administration of strychnine. Acute polyneuritis with numbness and motor weakness has been noted after influenza, together with slight muscular wasting and See also:electrical degeneration. Later, loss of sensation in the peripheral portion of the limbs is complained of, and the motor weakness may affect the muscles of the See also:trunk and See also:face. Such cases tend towards complete recovery. Additional information and CommentsThere are no comments yet for this article.
» Add information or comments to this article.
Please link directly to this article:
Highlight the code below, right click, and select "copy." Then paste it into your website, email, or other HTML. Site content, images, and layout Copyright © 2006 - Net Industries, worldwide. |
|
|
[back] NEURI |
[next] NEUROPATHOLOGY |