On Some Varieties of Paraplegia with Lateral Sclerosis, with Cases

I propose in this paper shortly to consider some cases of paraplegia in which the main symptoms were those that are taken to indicate sclerosis of the crossed pyra-midal tracts in the spinal cord, and in which the arms were not affected. The symptoms of this lateral sclerosis are paraplegia, with spasm and rigidity of muscles, and marked increase of myotatic irritability. The lateral sclerosis may arise in two chief ways: it may be the primary lesion, or it may be secondary (descending) to some other mischief in the cord. The symptoms resulting from it may exist unmixed, or be variously combined with concomitant symptoms due to disease of other parts of the cord, e.g. affections of sensation, ataxy of movement, atrophy of muscles, according as the lateral sclerosis is the sole lesion'or is merely a part of the morbid process. Adopting a pathological classification, in many ways the most convenient, we may divide the cases in which the chief or only symptoms of disease of the spinal cord are those due to lateral sclerosis, into two main groups: (I.) those in which the sclerosis, is primary in origin, and (II.) those in which it is secondary to some