Review of Dental Literature and Art. [Volume: 2, Issue: 7, February, 1861, pp. 385-400]

398

THE DENTAL COSMOS.

culty to the "carious tooth" nor the "splinter of wood," but to the true
cause, periodontitis, as the following extract, which precedes the case
cited, will prove:"The sympathetic irritation arising from odontitis or periodontitis,
when extending beyond the dental organs to other parts of the fifth pair,
may either be located in the face, simulating tic douloureux, or it may, as
in the following case, mentioned by Lawrence, not only induce intense
pain in the eye, but also bring on impaired vision or amaurosis."
With regard to the remark, "You might as well say, 'Amaurosis from
having teeth,' " we would ask why may not even such a statement be correct? Physicians who have had much experience in the treatment of
infantile affections will bear testimony to the fact that temporary amaurosis frequently accompanies and is dependent upon the sympathetic irritation induced by difficult dentition.
In illustration of this, we can cite a case which escaped our memory
when preparing the article on the Fifth Pair of Nerves: Willie, aged two
years, was attacked during the eruption of a tooth with a cerebral difficulty, accompanied by slight delirium. While in this condition he took
no notice of anything, although the eyes were wide open; the pupils,
however, were dilated to such an extent that the iris was hardly visible;
and when the child was taken to the window by the attendant physician,
Dr. Morehouse, the stimulus of light appeared to have no effect upon the
eyes, as the pupils still remained dilated. By proper treatment, restoration
to consciousness, vision, and health was effected. We will not pretend to
say that this difficulty unquestionably had its origin in dental irritation,
although we have reason to believe so. It certainly was coincident with
it, however. As additional evidence in support of the position maintained,
we would refer to the case cited from Tomes by Dr. Barker, at the recent
meeting of the Pennsylvania Association of Dental Surgeons, reported in
this number of the DENTAL COSMOS.
In conclusion, it is somewhat surprising, if the printer has not committed a typographical error, to find a writer who complains of "the ambiguity
of the articles" found in medical journals making use of such an expression as "normal or abnormal physiological and pathological states."
Quoting his own words, we would ask, is this "sense or nonsense?"
Would not normal physiology and abnormal pathology be rather a tautological mode of expressing one's self? or would not abnormal physiology
and normal pathology constitute a contradiction of terms?
Scorning to take an ungenerous advantage when we have reason to believe that the printer has not done justice to the writer, (for we feel satisfied
that the manuscript would be found differently worded, running no doubt as
follows: normal and abnormal, or physiological and pathological states,)
our principal object in directing attention to this, has been to show what a
difference the dropping of one word (and) and the transposition of another