Observations on Madness and Melancholy Part 4

CASE XXIII.

E. L. was a man, about seventy-eight years of age; had been admitted on the incurable establishment, January 3, 1767. By report, I have understood that he was formerly in the navy, and that his insanity was caused by a disappointment of some promotion which he expected. It was also said, that he was troublesome to some persons high in office, which rendered it necessary that he should be confined. At one time he imagined himself to be the king, and insisted on his crown. During the time I had an opportunity of knowing him, he conducted himself in a very gentlemanly manner. His disposition was remarkably placid, and I never remember him to have uttered an unkind or hasty expression. With the other patients he seldom held any conversation. His chief amus.e.m.e.nt was reading, and writing letters to the people of the house. Of his books he was by no means choice; he appeared to derive as much amus.e.m.e.nt from an old catalogue as from the most entertaining performance. His writings always contained directions for his release from confinement; and he never omitted his high t.i.tles of G.o.d's King, Holy Ghost, Admiral, and Physician. He died June 13, 1797, worn out with age. He was opened two days after death. The scull was thick and porous. There was a large quant.i.ty of water between the different membranes. The tunica arachnoidea was particularly opake: the veins seemed to contain air: in the medullary substance the vessels were very copious and much enlarged: the lateral ventricles contained two ounces of pellucid water: the consistence of the brain was natural.

It has been stated, by a gentleman of great accuracy, and whose situation affords him abundant opportunity of acquiring a knowledge of diseased appearances, that the fluid of hydrocephalus appears to be of the same nature with the water which is found in dropsy of the thorax and abdomen.[10] That this is generally the case, there can be no doubt, from the respectable testimony of the author of the Morbid Anatomy: but in three instances, where I submitted this fluid to experiment, it was incoagulable by acids and by heat; in all of them its consistence was not altered even by boiling. There was, however, a cloudiness produced; and, after the liquor had stood some time, a slight deposition of animal matter took place, which, prior to the application of heat or mineral acids, had been dissolved in the fluid. This liquor tinged green the vegetable blues; produced a copious deposition with nitrat of silver; and, on evaporation, afforded cubic crystals (nitrat of soda). From this examination it was inferred, that the water of the brain, collected in maniacal cases, contained a quant.i.ty of uncombined alkali and some common salt. What other substances may enter into its composition, from want of sufficient opportunity, I have not been enabled to determine.

CASE XXIV.

S. W. a woman, thirty-five years of age, was admitted into the hospital, June 3, 1797. It was stated that she had been one month disordered, and had never experienced any prior affection of the same kind. The disease was said to have been produced by misfortunes which had attended her family, and from frequent quarrels with those who composed it. She was in a truly melancholic state; she was lost to all the comforts of this life, and conceived herself abandoned for ever by G.o.d. She refused all food and medicines. In this wretched condition she continued until July 29th, when she lost the use of her right side. On the 30th she became lethargic, and continued so until her death, which happened on August the 3d. She was opened two days after death. There was a large collection of water between the different membranes of the brain, amounting at least to four ounces: the pia mater was very much inflamed, and was separable from the convolutions of the brain with unusual facility: the medullary substance was abundantly loaded with b.l.o.o.d.y points: the consistence of the brain was remarkably firm.

CASE XXV.

D. W. a man, about fifty-eight years of age, had been admitted upon the incurable establishment in 1789. He was of a violent and mischievous disposition, and had nearly killed one of the keepers at a private mad house previously to his admission into the hospital. At all times he was equally deranged respecting his opinions, although he was occasionally more quiet and tractable: these intervals were extremely irregular as to their duration and period of return. He was of a very constipated habit, and required large doses of cathartic medicines to procure stools. On August 3, 1797, he was in a very furious state; complained of costiveness, for which he took his ordinary quant.i.ty of opening physic, which operated as usual. On the same day he ate his dinner with a good appet.i.te; but about six o'clock in the evening he was struck with hemiplegia, which deprived him completely of the use of his left side. He lay insensible of what pa.s.sed about him, muttered constantly to himself, and appeared to be keeping up a kind of conversation. The pulse was feeble, but not oppressed or intermitting. He never had any stertor. He continued in this state until the 12th, when he died. He was opened twelve hours after death.

There was some water between the tunica arachnoidea and pia mater: the former membrane was opake in many places; bearing the marks of former inflammation: in the veins of the membranes of the brain there was a considerable appearance of air, and they were likewise particularly charged with blood: the vessels of the medullary substance were numerous and enlarged. On opening the right lateral ventricle, which was much distended, it was found filled with dark and grumous blood; some had also escaped into the left, but in quant.i.ty inconsiderable when compared with what was contained in the other: the consistence of the brain was very soft.

CASE XXVI.

J. S. a man, forty-four years of age, was received into the hospital, June 24, 1797. He had been disordered nine months previous to his admission.

His insanity was attributed to a violent quarrel, which had taken place with a young woman, to whom he was attached, as he shortly afterwards became sullen and melancholy.

During the time he remained in the house he seldom spoke, and wandered about like a forlorn person. Sometimes he would suddenly stop, and keep his eyes fixed on an object, and continue to stare at it for more than an hour together. Afterwards he became stupid, hung down his head, and drivelled like an ideot. At length he grew feeble and emaciated, his legs were swollen and oedematous, and on September 13th, after eating his dinner, he crawled to his room, where he was found dead about an hour afterwards. He was opened two days after death. The tunica arachnoidea had a milky whiteness, and was thickened. There was a considerable quant.i.ty of water between that membrane and the pia mater, which latter was loaded with blood: the lateral ventricles were very much enlarged, and contained, by estimation, about six ounces of transparent fluid: the brain was of its natural consistence.

CASE XXVII.

T. W. a man, thirty-eight years of age, was admitted into the house, May 16, 1795. He had then been disordered a year. His disease was stated to have arisen, from his having been defrauded, by two of his near relations, of some property, which he had acc.u.mulated by servitude. Having remained in the hospital the usual time of trial for cure, he was afterwards continued on the incurable establishment, in consequence of a strong determination he had always shewn, to be revenged on those people who had disposed of his property, and a declared intention of destroying himself.

He was in a very miserable state, conceived that he had offended G.o.d, and that his soul was burning in h.e.l.l. Notwithstanding he was haunted with these dreadful imaginations, he acted with propriety upon most occasions.

He took delight in rendering any a.s.sistance in his power to the people about the house, and waited on those who were sick, with a kindness that made him generally esteemed. At some period of his life he had acquired an unfortunate propensity to gaming, and whenever he had collected a few pence, he ventured them at cards. His losses were borne with very little philosophy, and the devil was always accused of some unfair interposition.

On September 14, 1797, he appeared jaundiced, the yellowness daily increased, and his depression of mind was more tormenting than ever. From the time he was first attacked by the jaundice he had a strong presentiment that he should die. Although he took the medicines which were ordered, as a mark of attention to those who prescribed them, he was firmly persuaded they could be of no service. The horror and anxiety he felt, was, he said, sufficient to kill him, independantly of the jaundice.

On the 20th he was drowsy, and on the following day died comatose. He was opened twenty-four hours after death. In some places the tunica arachnoidea was slightly opake: the pia mater was inflamed; and in the ventricles were found about two tea-spoons full of water tinged deeply yellow, and the vesicles of the plexus choroides were of the same colour: to the whole contents of the cranium there was a considerable congestion of blood: the consistence of the brain was natural: the liver was sound: the gall-bladder very much thickened, and contained a stone of the mulberry appearance, of a white colour. Another stone was also found in the duodenum.

CASE XXVIII.

R. B. a man, sixty-four years of age, was admitted into the hospital, September 2, 1797. He had then been disordered three months. It was also stated, that he had suffered an attack of this disease seven years before, which then continued about two months. His disorder had, both times, been occasioned by drinking spirituous liquors to excess. He was a person of liberal education, and had been occasionally employed as usher in a school, and at other times as a librarian and amanuensis. When admitted he was very noisy, and importunately talkative. During the greatest part of the day he was reciting pa.s.sages from the Greek and Roman poets, or talking of his own literary importance. He became so troublesome to the other madmen, who were sufficiently occupied with their own speculations, that they avoided, and excluded him from the common room; so that he was, at last, reduced to the mortifying situation of being the sole auditor of his own compositions.

He conceived himself very nearly related to Anacreon, and possessed of the peculiar vein of that poet. He also fancied that he had discovered the longitude; and was very urgent for his liberation from the hospital, that he might claim the reward, to which his discovery was int.i.tled. At length he formed schemes to pay off the national debt: these, however, so much bewildered him that his disorder became more violent than ever, and he was in consequence obliged to be confined to his room. He now, after he had remained two months in the house, was more noisy than before, and had little sleep. These exertions very much reduced him.

In the beginning of January, 1798, his conceptions were less distinct, and although his talkativeness continued, he was unable to conclude a single sentence. When he began to speak, his attention was diverted by the first object which caught his eye, or by any sound that struck him. On the 5th he merely muttered; on the 7th he lost the use of his right side, and became stupid and taciturn. In this state he continued until the 14th, when he had another fit; after which he remained comatose and insensible.

On the following day he died. He was opened thirty-six hours after death.

The pericranium adhered very loosely to the scull: the tunica arachnoidea was generally opake, and suffused with a brownish hue: a large quant.i.ty of water was contained between it and the pia mater: the contents of the cranium were unusually dest.i.tute of blood: there was a considerable quant.i.ty of water (perhaps four ounces) in the lateral ventricles, which were much enlarged: the consistence of the brain was very soft.

CASE XXIX.

E. T. a man, aged thirty years, was admitted a patient, July 23, 1796. The persons who attended, related, that he had been disordered eleven months, and that his insanity shortly supervened to a violent fever. It also appeared, from subsequent enquiries, that his mother had been affected with madness.

He was a very violent and mischievous patient, and possessed of great bodily strength and activity. Although confined, he contrived several times during the night to tear up the flooring of his cell; and had also detached the wainscot to a considerable extent, and loosened a number of bricks in the wall. When a new patient was admitted, he generally enticed him into his room, on pretence of being an old acquaintance, and, as soon as he came within his reach, immediately tore his clothes to pieces. He was extremely dexterous with his feet, and frequently took off the hats of those who were near him with his toes, and destroyed them with his teeth.

After he had dined he generally bit to pieces a thick wooden bowl, in which his food was served, on the principle of sharpening his teeth against the next meal. He once bit out the t.e.s.t.i.c.l.es of a living cat, because the animal was attached to some person who had offended him. Of his disorder he appeared to be very sensible; and after he had done any mischief, always blamed the keepers for not securing him so, as to have prevented it. After he had continued a year in the hospital he was retained as an incurable patient. He died February 17, 1798, in consequence of a tumor of the neck. He was opened two days after death.

The tunica arachnoidea was generally opake, and of a milky whiteness: the vessels of the pia mater were turgid, and its veins contained a quant.i.ty of air; about an ounce of water was contained in the lateral ventricles: the consistence of the brain was unusually firm, and possessed of considerable elasticity: it is the only instance of this nature which has fallen under my observation.

CASE x.x.x.

T. G. a man, about fifty-five years of age, was admitted into the hospital, January 20, 1798. It was stated, that he had been disordered a year and half, and that his madness arose from repeated intoxication.

Having set fire to several hay-stacks, and committed frequent depredations on the neighbouring farmers, it had been found necessary to confine him in the county goal. His behaviour in this situation marked the cunning and malignity of his mind, so that he was always attempting some mischief either by violence or stratagem.

When brought to the hospital he conducted himself with propriety and order, and appeared to be in a state of recovery. On the second of May he was attacked with a diarrhoea which daily encreased, notwithstanding the medicines employed for its removal. His mind became violently agitated from the commencement of the diarrhoea, and it was found proper to secure him. On the 8th, dysenteric symptoms appeared, which continued to the 13th, when he died.

_Appearances on Dissection._

The head was opened twenty-four hours after death. The pericranium was loosely attached to the scull, and the dura mater adhered but slightly to the internal surface of the cranium; there was a considerable quant.i.ty of water between the dura mater and tunica arachnoidea, this latter membrane (especially where the hemispheres meet) was of a milky whiteness, and generally so in the course of the veins of the pia mater. The glandulae Pacchioni were very large and numerous. Between the tunica arachnoidea and pia mater there was much water; and from the lateral ventricles, which were uncommonly enlarged and distended, eight ounces of fluid were collected: the infundibulum was remarkably large: the membrane lining the cavity of the lateral ventricles had its veins very turgid: the consistence of the brain was softer than natural.

The fluid obtained from the brain in this case being very pellucid and abundant, it was submitted to some chemical tests in order to ascertain its composition.

An attempt of this kind had been made before; (vide Case 23) the present may be considered a small addition to our knowledge of this fluid, though by no means a satisfactory developement of its materials, according to the severity and precision of modern a.n.a.lysis.[11]

a.n.a.lYSIS OF THE FLUID.

_Tincture of Galls_, produced a white precipitate in moderate quant.i.ty.

_Lime Water_, afforded a considerable quant.i.ty of a white precipitate, which was redissolved without effervescence by muriatic acid.

_Solution of Sulphat A drop of this solution added to of Copper._ two drams of the brain fluid tinged it with a pretty deep blue.

The presence of animal matter is inferred from the deposition produced by infusion of galls.

The precipitation by lime-water indicates the phosphoric acid.

And it appears from the blue tinge given to the fluid by the sulphat of copper, that ammonia or some of its combinations was contained.

As it occurred on many former trials, there was no coagulation by heat; a slight sediment fell, after boiling some minutes.

As this patient remained in the hospital from the middle of January to the beginning of May, in a state perfectly tranquil, and without the appearance of disarrangement of mind, it is improbable that a so great enlargement of the ventricles, and acc.u.mulation of water, could have taken place within the short s.p.a.ce of two weeks, it is therefore most likely that the greatest part of this fluid had been previously collected.

It may be conjectured that a very gradual acc.u.mulation of water (although the quant.i.ty be at last considerable) would not affect the sensorium so as a sudden secretion of fluid; or, that a quant.i.ty, which at one time had occasioned great disturbance, would by habit become less inconvenient.

We are not well informed, but there is reason to believe, that gradual pressure on the brain, will not occasion those serious symptoms which a sudden pressure would excite.

CASE x.x.xI.

H. K. a woman, aged thirty, was admitted into the hospital, October 15, 1796. She had then been mad about four months, and her disorder was stated to have supervened on the birth of a child. From subsequent enquiry it was ascertained that her mother had been insane, and that her elder sister had been similarly affected; but from the best information it did not appear that her brothers (she had two) had ever been visited with this calamity.

Previously to her admission she had frequently attempted to destroy herself, and had also endeavoured to take away the life of her husband. In the hospital she was extremely violent; supposed her neighbours had conspired to take away her liberty, and became jealous of her husband: she was often naming some female of her acquaintance who had artfully ensnared his affections, and whom he had decked out in her best apparel: she breathed revenge when she should return home, and seemed much delighted with the idea of destroying these favourites, when they were dressed for some excursion with her husband.