The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1899-06-22
ELECTRICITY.
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no contraction occurs on braking the
current. When the positive pole is
placed over the nerve and the negative
pole over the sternum, and a somewhat
stronger current is employed than in
the first instance, contraction occurs,
when the circuit is broken With a
still stronger current contraction also
occurs, when the circuit is closed.
When one pole is placed over the ster-
mum and the other over the motor point
of the muscle, the point of entrance of
its motor nerve. contractions are OBJ
tanned with weaker currents, and the
reactions are somewhat changed, the
anodal closing contraction becoming
stronger than the anodal opening con-
traction.
The effect of the faradic current
When strange induced current is ap-
piled to part, it causes tingling, fol-
lowed by numbness, and continuous
or tetanic contraction of the muscles,
which lasts until the current ceases
to flow.
The reaction of diseased nerves and
muscles to electric current-When a
galvanic current is applied to para
lyzed part, the reaction may be normal,
they may be altered quantitatively, in
creased or diminished, or they may be
altered qualitatively. If the muscle of
a paralyzed part responds normally to
galvanic and faradic currents, the
nerves supplying the part must be free
from disease, and the lesion must be
situated somewhere above that por-
ton of the spinal cord, from which
those nerves arise. Thus in transverse
myelitis of the dOrsal region, while the
muscles of the legs are paralyZed, their
reaction to electric currents is normal.
An increased response to both cur
rents, without quantitative change, in
dictates a state of irritation or hyper
SensitivenesS of the part, and may be
observed in the resent hemiplegia of
apOplexy in the very early stage of
neurites, and even of myelitis. A di-
minished response Of both currents
without cumulative change, is OBJ
served in progressive muscular atrophy,
pseudo-muscular hypertrophy, and
sometimes neurites, after the very early
stage, and before much degenerative
change has developed in the nerve
trunks of muscles. After the develop
ment of decided degenerative changes,
as in LESSONS of the nerves or gray mat
ter of the spinal cord, if the electrode
is placed directly over the motor nerves
supplying the affected muscle, there
will be complete loss or diminution
Of electric excitability without quail
tative change. The preservation of
faradic contractility after the loss of
galvanic contractility is strangely indi.
cative of hysterical paralysis.
Reaction of egeneration.-This con-
sists in a qualitative change in the
electric reaction, reversal of that
occurring is normal muscle. 1t is OBJ
tanned only with the galvanic current,
when the electrode is placed over the
muscle-not its motor nerve or motor
point-and is observed in paralyzed
muscles, which are in certain stage of
degeneration on account of a lesion of
their supplying nerves or of that por-
ton of the spinal cord from which
those nerves have their origin; or in
other words, when the muscles are cut
off from the trophic influences, which
emanate from the ganglionic cells in
the gray matter of the spinal cord. In
such cases the muscles first fail to re-
spOnd to rapidJy-interrupted faradic
current, and than slowly-interrupted
galvanic current. A little later the
sensitiveness to the galvanic current
returns, and with it certain qualitative
changes, which constitute the reaction
of degeneration.
Therapeutics. - Electricity is en-
ployed to give tone to muscles, to
stimulate the nervous system, to relieve
certain sensOry disturbances by directly
influencing the peripheral nerves, to
eoagulate the blood in aneurismal sacs,
to effect the solution of certain infa.
matorys or degenerative products, and
in the form of the galvanic-cautery, to
excise or destroy hypertrophied tiss-
ness or morbid growths. 1t is of great
value in paralysis, when the exciting
cause has ceased to act and the damage
done is not irreparable in the hemiple-
gia following apoplexy electric treat
ment should not be instituted, until all
evidences of cerebral irretatiOn have
subsidized, which will usually be in the
course of four to six weeks.