On the Symptomatology of Total Transverse Lesions of the Spinal Cord; with Special Reference to the Condition of the Various Reflexes

Abstract

THE symptomatology of total transverse lesions affecting the spinal cord either in the cervical or in the upper dorsal region is a subject of great interest both for the physiologist and for the physician.The physiologist, by reason of his observations upon certain of the lower animals, seems to have instilled into the minds of clinical observers the notion that when the spinal cord is absolutely cut off from communication with the encephalon the reflexes dependent upon the spinal cord below the point of section will, in the course of a very short time-that is, as soon as the immediate effects of shiock resulting from the operation