Injuries of nerves and their consequences - Reflex Sympathetic ...

VARIETIES OF MECHANICAL INJURIES OF NERVES. 87
the ball of the thumb, where it was retained iu an imperfect
degree. The little finger had no sensation on either
side, nor had the ring, middle, or forefingers. There was
no sensation at the backs of the little, ring, and middle
fingers; very little at the back of the forefinger, but
somewhat more behind the thumb. Over the back of the
hand, sensation was imperfect, being more so as the uhiar
border was approached. The extremity of her ringfinger
was inflamed, and presented au open sore, on the
face of which, however, the prick of a pin was not felt in
The ends of the middle and little fingers were
the least.
also inflamed. She had had no pain during the formation
of these whitlows, but a continued aching in the
palm of the hand. The palm, it should be observed, was
not in the least swollen, nor was it tender to pressure.
^'Nutrition.— About ten days after the accident, the tips
of the little, ring, and middle fingers inflamed. In each
the exact tip was affected, and serum was effused beneath
the skin over the entire extremity ; the finger-ends were
slightly swollen, reddened, and, in the case of the ring-
was felt. The effusion
finger, somewhat tense. No pain
in the little flns-er was absorbed.
The skin at the end of
the ring-finger died over the space of the size of a sixpence,
and there is now an open sore at that part. On
the middle finger, the subcutaneous bulla still exists.
The cuticle is elevated by eftused serum (subcuticular
whitlow), and there is an areola of reddened skin about it,
'^Temperature.— On cursory examination, no difference
from normal heat would have been observed in the
affected hand (the weather being sultry).
On comparison
with the other hand, a difference is, however, very
perceptible; the nails of the affected hand feel, indeed,
slightly cold. By the thermometer, a difference of about
nine degrees
is shown between corresponding parts of the
two hands. On the finger most inflamed, the heat is