The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-09-10

tient Can Speak, Read Manuscript
or Print, but Cannot Write.
Russia's ear is suffering, according to
reports from aphasia. So is Gen. But
terrified. a young woman of this city,
Miss Helen Williams by name, is reported
to have been cured by a potent prescrip-
ton of iodides, sedulously administered
for six months or more. VIII the ear,
will the general be tempted to follow this
heroic lead? Physicians have hitherto
looked upon aphasia as mental nalady,
incurable save by a severe surgical op-
Grafton, and that is effective only in rare
cases, says the New York Herald.
Now, aphasia is not a pleasant life Com-
panion Perhaps you never heard of it.,
for luckily it is not a common complaint.
Ii you haven't, you won't take 1t amiss
if I begin by explaining that the word is
Greek for speechlessness. In its medical
use it is authoritatively defined as the
impairment or abolition of the faculty of
using and understanding language writ
ten or spoken Independently Of any fail
ure of the intellectual processes or any
disease or paralysis of the vocal organs.
The trouble is all in the brain itself.
Sometimes the aphasia is compete, some
times only partial. Physicians group its
different degrees under various heads.
DIFFERENT KINDS OF APHASIA.
Thus sensory aphasia is the name they
give TO its seveIer aspect, when the pa
tient can neither read nor speak intelli-
gently. He is then said to be both word
blind and word deaf He is not deaf to
sounds, ne is not blind TO written charac-
tiers, but he no longer associates them
with the idea that underlies them. The
casual observer might imagine that he
was an idiot the doctor sees that he
preserves his intelligence, reason and per-
ceIves surrounding objects, but is unable
to communicate with others; he can no,
longer speak or understand the words ad-
dressed TO him; he cannot write or read;
sometimes even the language Of gesture
is lost to him.
When the patient is merely word blind
his case is described as motor aphasia.
He picks up a book or newspaper and it
says nothing to him. lie hears, under
STANDS ana SpSdhSy 4AC NeA4A SfOAA UAANSB
but he cannot read. AS a rule his writing
looks as though done in the dark, guided
by the muscle feelings of the hand alone.
He cannot read what he has just written,
nor can he write from copy. His own
name, that has been well impressed upon
his motor centers, he usually writes very
well, but he cannot read it. The disease
here, then, is in the loss of the memory
for the visual word signs; the patient is
not blind, but word blind"
AGRAPHIA.
The exact converse of this condition is
known as agraphia. Here the patient can
speak, can read manuscript or print, but
he cannot write.-He takes the pen in
hand to write a word, knows what he
ought to write, how 1t would look If
written but he cannot write it. He~has
lost the memory of the movements neces-
sary to form the letters The association
between the movements made in writing
and the word has been lost. He is not
word blind or word deaf, but the motor
word sense is defective.
The patient who is word deaf, or who,
in technical language, suffers from verbal
aphasia can read and write and hear.
He can even hear the sounds of the hui
man voice. But he attaches no meaning
to them Inferring that he is spoken to,
he may attempt to answer, but will say
something entirely irrelevant. Gradually
approaching that he is not speaking to
the point, he may with some .impatience
ask you why he cannot understand what
you say. Your speech Is as an unknown
language to him-just 50 much sound.
ha hos IOst = 20
meaning out Of sounds; the only acquired
associations between the word sound and
the idea are broken down. his memory for
word meaning Is lost He is not deaf to
sounds, but deaf to words-a verbal
deafness" as it is called.
AtaXic aphasia is the term used to de-
note the inability to express ideas iii
spoken words. The loss here is the link
between the Idea and the appropriate
movements of tongue, etc, necessary to
make the sounds of words. Often the
patient retains a few phrases used on
ell occasions. The power Of hearing and
understanding is retained, writing and
reading are intact, and speaking alone
has dropped out.
The mildest Of all forms of aphasia is
q modification Of the latter, and is known
as amnesic aphasia. Here the patient is
unable TO recall the word he wants,
though able to speak it when found
ALL MEN ARE APHASIACS.
1t is an accepted commonplace that no
man Is absolutely sane. In the same way
no man is without some touch Of apha-
STA OF the amnestic variety. You who
read must have experienced occasional
difficulty In bringing to the surface q
particular word at the moment you wish
ed to use it. In vain you summon It from
the Vastly deep of your memory. You
know that 1t is somehow within the
sphere of your consciousness, by q dar-
Ing metaphor you cry impauently that It
Is at the very tip Of your tongue, but
you cannot, memory cannot, sioze 1t nor
can tongue utter 1t. You find yourself
verbally insolvent, not from want of as
sets, but because the assets are not i'm
mediately available.
IRasmuch as every other man suffers
at intervals from the same difficulty Won
rightly consider yourself In normal con.
dition. Let this difficulty, however, be
only slightly aggravated, and you have
the rudimentary form of aSdisease aris-
ing from an abnormal cerebral condition;
In other words, you are suffering from
aphasia
An eminent French jurist, on consult
ing his physician, exhibited the following
mental peculiarities: In the middle of
a conversation he would find himself at
a loss for the word he wanted, and at
times substituted q strange one for 1t.
On other occasions he would say to his
wife, "Give me my-dear me! you know"
and he would point to his head.
You HAITI"
80, yes; my hat"
Sometimes, again, he would ring the
bell before going out, and say ito his SER
want: Give me my um-umbrel-um-
brel-O, dear!''
Your umbrella?'
20, yes; my umbrella"