A young man, nineteen years old, was so much addicted from his infancy to masturbation, that all mechanical means were tried in vain to conquer this fatal habit. It was even proposed to scarify the penis, in order that his motions might be prevented by pain. All attempts were in vain; and this unfortunate young man, exhausted by continual losses of semen, died three months after entering Hotel Dieu, in the most complete state of marasmus. He had often experienced attacks of epilepsy. On opening the dead body, we found in his cerebellum an encephaloid tumor the size of a nut, which had began to soften.
A girl ten years old, addicted to masturbation, and of a melancholy temperament, complained for four months of severe pains in the head. These pains increased to such a degree, that for the last three weeks of her life she was constantly crying. She was finally carried to the Hospital des Enfans. The only additional information obtained in regard to her was, that the patient was bedridden for twelve days—that she was affected with vomiting of bile, followed by somnolence—that for three days she had ceased to speak, or answered with difficulty—that she constantly kept her hand to her head, which was thrown back. During the last four days, she was comatose: there was a slight degree of strabismus, and dilatation of the pupil. A post-mortem examination showed inflammation, with purulent infiltration of the arachnoid membrane,at the upper part of the cerebellum. The substance of the brain presented tubercles and a softening.
Combette has related a case, which to our knowledge is unparalleled; viz., complete destruction of the cerebellum in a girl eleven years old, who was addicted to onanism. In place of this organ was found a gelatiniform membrane, attached to the medulla oblongata by a peduncle of a similar character. The genital organs of this girl presented evident marks of her habit: the finger could easily be introduced into the vagina; the hymen was absent; the external labia were of a bright red colour, and seemed to have been frequently irritated. All that is known of this patient, who died at the Hospital des Enfans, in 1831, is reduced to a few facts. She was born healthy and well-made, although she was slight; and her physical and intellectual development was slow, and very imperfect. On entering the Foundling Hospital the 13th of January, 1830, she was feeble and ricketty, had but little intelligence, and seemed indifferent to surrounding objects. She answered questions with difficulty and hesitation. Her legs, although feeble, still supported her; but she fell frequently. She was in the full possession of all her senses: her appetite was good. Her health suffered more the following months, and she was finally obliged to remain constantly in bed. Her constitution then appeared impaired, and she was as it were stupified. She was depressed, and complained neither of pleasure nor pain; if questioned, she merely answered yes or no. She laid constantly on her back, her head turned to the left, and she moved her limbs with great difficulty. She soon became affected with a continual diarrhœa; and she died fifteen months after entering the hospital, in a state of complete exhaustion. What was the effect of masturbation in this case? Was it the cause or effect of the malady, which had disorganized the brain? This habit certainly had a great deal to do with it. (Revue Medicale, April, 1831.)
To these facts others might easily be added, where the affection of the brain was manifest, although notverified by a post mortem observation: thus, in the following case mentioned by Serrurier, the epilepsy, loss of sight, and the destruction of the intellectual faculties, certainly indicated a deep lesion of the brain. “I always remember with horror,” says this author, “the frightful picture presented by a young soldier, after frequent indulgence in onanism, and of nocturnal pollutions, which were more violent and copious after each epileptic fit. This young man was in a perfect state of marasmus: his sight was lost entirely; he was perfectly imbecile, and even the calls of nature were unanswered by him. His body exhaled a particularly nauseous odour; his skin was livid; his tongue trembled; his eyes were sunken, his teeth decayed; and his arms were covered with ulcers, which indicated a scorbutic affection. This state continued for six months, when the melancholy man died, having struggled for a long time against death, which finally terminated his sufferings.”
In the preceding case we can remark, in addition to the symptoms of the cerebral affection, the symptoms of the exhaustion of the cachexy, presented by individuals who have been reduced very low by onanism. A similar state is seen in the following case related by Tissot. Here the encephalic affection, to judge of it by the throwing back of the neck, and the violent pains experienced by the patient in this part, seemed to be situated in the cerebellum, medulla oblongata, or in those parts of the arachnoid membrane which are near them.
L. D—— was by profession a watchmaker. He had lived prudently, and had enjoyed a good state of health, till he was about seventeen years of age. At this period, he gave himself up to masturbation, which he repeated every day, sometimes even to the third time; and the ejaculation was always preceded and followed by a slight insensibility, and a convulsive motion in the extending muscles of the head, which drew it very much back, whilst the neck was extremely swelled. A year had not elapsed, before he began to feel a great weakness after every act. This notification wasnot sufficient to rescue him from his filthy practices: his soul, already devoted to this base habit, was incapable of forming any other idea, and the repetition of his crime became every day more frequent, till such time as he was in a state which gave reason to apprehend his death. Too late grown wise, the evil had already made so great a progress, that he was incurable; and the genital parts were become so easily irritated, and were so weak, that it was no longer necessary that this unhappy youth should be an agent, in order to shed his seed. The slightest irritation immediately procured an imperfect erection, which was constantly followed by an evacuation of this liquor, which daily increased his weakness. This spasm, of which he was not before sensible but in consummating the act, and which ceased therewith, was now become habitual, and frequently attacked him without any apparent cause, and in so violent a manner, that during the whole period of the fit, which sometimes lasted fifteen hours, and never less than eight, he felt such violent pains in the back part of the neck, that he did not scream out, but absolutely howled; and all this while it was impossible for him to swallow either solids or fluids. His voice was become hoarse; but I did not observe that it was more so while the fit continued. He entirely lost his strength, and was obliged to give up his profession, being altogether incapacitated: thus overwhelmed with misery, he languished, almost without any assistance, for some months; and was the more to be pitied, as what memory he had remaining, and which he was at length entirely bereft of, only served him to take an incessant retrospect of the cause of his misfortunes, which were increased by all the aggravating horrors of remorse. I heard of his situation, and went to him; I found a being that less resembled a living creature than a corpse, lying upon straw, meager, pale, and filthy, casting forth an infectious stench; almost incapable of motion, a watery palish blood issued from his nose; saliva constantly flowed from his mouth: having a diarrhœa, he voided his excrement in the bed without knowing it: he hada continual flux of semen; his sore, watery eyes were deadened to that degree, that he could not move them: his pulse was very small, quick, and frequent: it was with great difficulty he breathed, reduced almost to a skeleton in every part, except his feet, which became œdematous. The disorder of his mind was equal to that of his body; devoid of ideas and memory, incapable of connecting two sentences, without reflection, without being afflicted at his fate, without any other sensation than pain, which returned with every fit, at least every third day. Far below the brute creation, he was a spectacle, the horrible sight of which cannot be conceived, and it was difficult to discover that he had formerly made part of the human species. I had immediate recourse to the assistance of strengthening remedies, in order to remove these violent spasmodic fits, which so dreadfully brought him back to sensibility only by pain: I contented myself with having given him some ease in this respect, and I discontinued administering remedies, which could not ameliorate his condition; he died at the end of a few weeks, in June, 1757, his whole body having become dropsical.
In a case related by Bouteille, surgeon-general of the hospital at Lyons, most of the symptoms resulting from the cerebral affection existed in the right side of the body, and consequently indicated an affection of the opposite side of the cerebrum. The patient was a young girl twelve years old, whose constitution was weak and irritable, and very slightly developed—doubtless, on account of the enervating habit of onanism, in which she had indulged for several years, and which her mother’s vigilance could not prevent. Just after recovering from a severe illness, which yielded readily to remedies, this young girl was very much terrified, which had a great deal of influence upon her, as she was extremely sensitive; her sensibility being increased by the weak state of her nervous system, produced by onanism. Soon after, she was affected by slight convulsive motions in the right foot and arm, accompanied by a disagreeable pain in the right knee and in thesole of the foot of the same side. Notwithstanding the use of remedies, the disease increased, and she was soon unable to carry her food to her mouth, her arm was so much agitated. The appetite was variable, and the pulse was regular. Sometimes, and contrary to her usual custom, the patient was silent; sometimes she was extremely lively, and even foolish; sometimes her ideas were incoherent, and she often indulged in tears.
Headache and dizziness were perceived, but they soon yielded. At a later period, the sight and hearing of the right side were considerably weakened: at the same time, the pain in the sole of the foot, knee, and part of the right hand became more intense, and the difficulty of walking increased. After a time, the disease seemed to improve a little: the convulsive motions abated; the intelligence and memory returned, as before the disease; but the sight and hearing remained as they were. An active mode of treatment was now used: electricity formed the principal remedy. The patient was finally cured. Need we remark, that in all probability the fright was only the occasion which excited the development of a disease already prepared for by the onanism. (Traité de la chosée, p. 352.)
The convulsive form, theepileptic, is one of those assumed most frequently by the cerebral diseases produced by masturbation; we can easily conceive of this by remembering, that what takes place in the act of venery has, as we have already seen, a striking analogy with an attack of epilepsy: hence the ancients termed the act of coition,a short fit of epilepsy. It is unnecessary to state here the numerous testimonials found in authors, in regard to the influence of onanism as a cause of epilepsy. This influence is a fact mentioned and assented to by all. We shall relate a few examples.
There are some individuals who are so susceptible, and present so great a disposition to epilepsy, that they have a regular attack of it whenever they indulge in the act of venery. Didier knew a merchant ofMontpelier, of whom this was true. Similar cases are related by Galen, Van-Hers, Tissot, Hoffmann, Haller, and many other authors. A similar thing is observed even in animals. Alfred Menard had a strong watch-dog, who was affected with epilepsy whenever he coupled with a slut. These attacks were characterized by convulsions, and a loss of consciousness: their duration varied, and was always connected with the ardour of the animal, who never was affected except under the circumstances mentioned. (Revue medicale, March, 1825.)
Epilepsy sometimes supervenes directly after the excesses which cause it. Cole, cited by Esquirol, relates the case of a female, who became epileptic three days after marriage: but venereal abuses generally act slowly, and prepare the body for an attack of epilepsy, which this or some other cause excites. Esquirol relates the case of a young man, twelve or thirteen years old, who early in life was addicted to masturbation, and became extremely nervous, although strong and robust: at fifteen years of age he was affected with epilepsy. These attacks came on at the moon’s first quarter, and were very sudden: the patient fell down, uttered loud cries, and was generally convulsed: his eyes were open, fixed, and injected: the pupils were very much dilated: and when the fit passed off, he remained exhausted the rest of the day. This young man, like most onanists, was extremely susceptible, fretting upon the slightest pretext. After six months of treatment, the attacks became less frequent: at the end of a year they ceased. This young man might have been considered cured, but the pleasure of seeing his mother, from whom he had been separated for two years, caused a relapse: the same remedial means were again employed, and with success. He has, since that, entered into business, and has travelled extensively: his nervous system is strengthened: he married when twenty-seven years old, and has continued in good health.
Another curious fact has been communicated to us by the celebrated Dr. Goupil. A little boy, onlyeighteen months old, who had been put out to nurse, returned home with the habit of masturbation. At first, his parents thought but little of this; but when two years old, he was affected with an epileptic form of disease, characterized by loss of consciousness, convulsions of the muscles of the face and eyes, stiffness of the limbs, and sometimes he fell down. These fits becoming more and more frequent, Dr. Goupil was consulted. The patient was now three years and a half old, and still continued his bad habit. He was constantly sad, morose, and stupid. The doctor, not being at first aware of the cause, employed different medicines, but unsuccessfully: he then discovered the cause, and tried mechanical modes. He put on the boy, at night, a kind of strait jacket, by which his arms were kept crossed in front of the chest; and during the daytime, he was watched carefully. These means succeeding but imperfectly. Dr. Goupil employed another strait waistcoat, which was laced behind, and was furnished in front with a silver apparatus, to contain the genital organs, and having only an opening for the urine. This new obstacle did not answer as well as was expected, and the child sometimes escaped all vigilance: but as this was rare, he soon gained flesh, and also his strength and vivacity. The fits of epilepsy gradually became less frequent. This boy is now from nine to ten years old; enjoys good health; and, with the exception of a remarkable loss of memory, retains no trace of former indiscretions.
These two cases show how far the system can be restored, when the cause which disturbs it ceases to act. The following, which was communicated by Zimmerman to Tissot, proves the same thing; but it also shows how soon a return to the bad habit destroys the good effects resulting from its abandonment.
“I have seen,” says Zimmerman, “a man, twenty-three years old, who became epileptic, after debilitating his body by frequent masturbation. Whenever he had nocturnal pollutions, a fit of epilepsy ensued; and the same thing occurred after masturbation—from which, however, he did not abstain, notwithstanding the badsymptoms with which it was followed. After the fit had subsided, he felt very severe pains in the kidneys, and around the coccyx. Having, however, abstained from his manipulations for some time, the pollutions disappeared; and we had hopes of curing the epilepsy, the attacks of which were less frequent. He had regained his strength, appetite, sleep, and color, after resembling a cadaver; but having returned to his bad habits, which were always followed by fits, he was found dead in his chamber one morning, bathed in blood.”
Another convulsive affection,St. Vitus’ dance, has sometimes been caused by onanism. Marc Ant. Petit has published a case of it, which was communicated by Dr. Morelot. It is as follows:—A young girl, eight years old, became remarkably thin: her lower limbs were agitated by extraordinary motions, which were extended to the upper limbs. She soon lost all control over them. The twitching in the muscles of the face and eyes was excessive; the patient could not continue in her bed, and she was confined to a large chair. Her attending physician thought that this might be attributed to the presence of worms, and gave several anthelminthics, but without success. Dr. Morelot was consulted at this period, and thought that he could perceive the effects of a bad habit: he soon became convinced of its existence. By means of great watchfulness on the part of her parents, the use of cold baths, musk, and camphor, she was radically cured.
Mental derangement is often the prevalent symptom in diseases of the brain, produced by excess of masturbation or coition. We have already spoken of idiocy; but this is by no means the only change observed in consequence of these excesses. Every variety of affection of the mind may be caused by them, as is proved by statistics collected by several authors, in insane asylums. Yet these abstracts are far from presenting the truth. “So many circumstances combine,” says Esquirol, “to embarrass the discovery of causes of mental alienation, that the one mentioned,like other causes, must often be unascertained by physicians.” According to this sagacious observer of all the forms of mental alienation, mania is produced least frequently by venereal excesses. He adds, that maniacs, during the duration of the periods of access, are less addicted, generally, than other deranged persons to masturbation; but when they do indulge, this act must be considered as a bad symptom, since it constitutes an insurmountable obstacle to the cure: it destroys the strength, and finally produces in the patients stupidity, phthisis, marasmus, and death.
Dementia is, perhaps, the kind of derangement most frequently observed after masturbation. I saw a remarkable instance of this disease in a young man, twenty years old, who, indulging in these excesses for several years, gradually lost his mental faculties, became averse to even his relatives and dearest friends, and finally fell into a most perfect state of dementia. The relative frequency of this form of mental alienation in onanists has been pointed out in France by Esquirol, and in Norway by Holst. (Annales d’hygiene publ.December, 1830.)
Holst has remarked, that paralysis, that fatal symptom which so frequently attends all varieties of derangement, particularly monomania and dementia, is observed particularly in those insane who are addicted to onanism, and to other venereal excesses. This remark is confirmed by the two facts, that paralysis is much less common in females than in males, and that onanism produces mental alienation much less frequently in the former than in the latter. Thus, of 256 persons, admitted at the asylum at Charenton, during 1826-7-8, there were 44 men, in whom derangement could be attributed to libertinism or to onanism, while the same was true of only 3 women. Dr. Holst has shown that a similar proportion exists between the deranged of the two sexes in Norway. This relation, however, must not be considered as strictly correct; for females, being generally very reserved in their disclosures, onanism probably passes undiscovered in them more frequently than it does in men. It is wellascertained, that one twentieth of the deranged at Salpetrière, is composed of public women, who are for the most part affected with dementia and paralysis. Now, consider that masturbation is much more frequently a cause of derangement among the rich than among the poor. (Dict. des Sc. Med., vol. xvi., p. 179.) And remark, too, that at the Charenton asylum, where only persons in easy circumstances are received, there are proportionally more patients with paralysis than at Bicetre, the population of which is composed of men, belonging to the poorest classes of society.
We have only to consider the phenomena which attend and usually follow the venereal act, to infer that the spinal marrow may frequently be affected in consequence of the abuse of that act. Agitation, the involuntary contractions of the muscles, particularly of those surrounding the pelvis, and the tetanic spasm with which they are affected at the time of the ejaculation of the semen; the cramps which frequently attend it; the general feeling of pain, fatigue, and debility, which follows it—a feeling which is always more perceptible in the loins and lower part of the body, than elsewhere, indicate the powerful impression made on the spinal marrow, and the part which it takes in all going on. This participation is also demonstrated by different pathological facts, and by the results of experiments which we shall mention, when treating of the influence exercised by affections of the spinal marrow, as the cause of venereal excesses.
The local symptoms of the medulla, in onanists, consist in different and more or less acute sensations felt along the vertebral column. At first, these sensations do not appear until after the act of venery, and pass off; they then continue a longer time; and finally become constant. The pain is generally of a dull character—inconvenient, rather than severe—which obliges the patient, when sitting or standing, to change his position frequently; and it is generally less perceptible, or even disappears, when the patient assumes a horizontal position. Sometimes there is a feeling as if of ants crawling over the body, descending from thehead along the spine: this symptom was first noticed by Hippocrates. Sometimes, these sensations have a special character, which each patient expresses in his own manner: thus, a man who indulged night and morning, for two years, in coition, complained to me that he felt beatings constantly between his shoulders. Others say that they have a knot in the back. The pains in the spine are sometimes very severe; sometimes they are extremely sharp. Onanists, and individuals affected with pollutions, most generally complain of their loins.
The frequent occurrence of the symptoms mentioned in persons exhausted by venereal excesses, has caused the termsconsumption, phthisis dorsalis, and tabes dorsalis, to be applied to the state which they then present.
The other symptoms of the affection of the spinal marrow are more or less severe pains—more or less distinct sensations of cold, of numbness, and formication in the limbs, particularly in the lower extremities; cramps; constant trembling, or convulsive motions in these parts; a kind of tetanic stiffness; gradual debility of the lower half of the body; and, finally, paraplegia. We shall find these symptoms, in addition to the other effects of masturbation, in cases to be mentioned.
Pains in the loins and extremities were very marked in an individual of whom Serrurier remarks as follows:—“A patient whom I attended was reduced to a most dreadful state of marasmus, in consequence of nocturnal pollutions, determined by venereal excesses. I prescribed a tonic mode of treatment, and varied it in every form; but the patient died, after four months of frightful pains in the loins and articulations.” There was apparently, in this case, an affection of the lumbar part of the medulla, or of its membranes. A similar malady existed, probably, in a man whose case was published by Hattè, and who was affected, in consequence of excesses in coition, with a lumbago, which alternated with satyriasis. There is no doubt, in regard to the affection of the spinal marrow, in the followingcase related by Van Swieten:—“For three years” says he, “I used all the aids of medicine for a young man, who, in consequence of onanism, was affected with general wandering pains—with a sensation, sometimes of heat, sometimes of cold, which was extremely unpleasant, over the whole body, but particularly in the loins. After a time, these pains diminished slightly; and then the thighs and legs were so cold, that although these parts, on being touched, seemed to preserve their natural heat, yet he was constantly warming himself at the fire, even during the warmer days of summer. I observed, particularly, a constant rotation of the testicles in the scrotum; and the patient felt a similar motion in the loins, which was very troublesome to him.”
Was the spinal marrow perfectly healthy in the onanist who wrote to Tissot the following:—“My nerves are extremely weak. My hands have no strength: they tremble constantly, and perspire freely. I have violent pains in my stomach, arms, and legs; and sometimes in the kidneys, chest,” &c. Persuaded, also, from a great many cases, that most of the pains termed rheumatic are neuralgic, and that many neuralgias depend on an affection of the spinal marrow; I think there is reason to suspect this affection, whenever it is found in onanists.
The following case, related by Dr. Bertini of Turin, presents, as a principal symptom, convulsive trembling of the lower extremities. The disease commenced, as is frequently the case, under the influence of an accidental cause; but when this had occurred, the patient presented for a long time symptoms of an affection of the medulla; and it is evident that their origin must be ascribed to onanism.
The patient was twenty-eight years old, and of a lymphatic-bilious temperament. When twelve years of age, he became addicted to masturbation, and then began to perceive tremblings in the arms and legs, vertigo, and pains in the head. He continued his fatal habit till twenty-two years old. At the beginning of August, 1824, he was attacked with a tertian intermittent,but for this he took no medicine. On the 20th of the same month, while cutting wood in Sesia, and while in a profuse perspiration, he went in swimming. He soon felt a sensation of shivering, followed by cold, spasms, vertigo, pain in the head, and thirst; aversion to food, difficulty of respiration, sensation of oppression in the sacrolumbar region, constipation, pains, and trembling in the lower extremities. These latter symptoms became so urgent, that the patient was obliged to have advice. In this state, he was carried to the hospital of Vercelli; and in a few days he was bled eleven times, and drastic purgatives were administered without success. A month afterward, he left the hospital; and since that time, the man has become a beggar and an object of public commiseration. The 18th of October, at which time he came under the charge of Dr. Bertini, he presented the following symptoms: he had no fever, nor pains in the head, nor derangement in the intellectual faculties; but he had a pain in the two sides of the sacrolumbar region, which was increased by pressure. The patient complained, also, of a kind of formication in the legs and feet, which parts, as also the rest of the body, trembled constantly: the agitation was so great, that the patient could not rest in bed, nor sit without support. Twenty-five leeches were applied to the lumbar region, and these drew about twelve ounces of blood. The trembling diminished, and the patient could soon rise and walk without a stick, and in fact without assistance. From this time, he felt no pains nor trembling, and he left the hospital eight days afterward. Dr. Bertini has since seen him, and he was well. (Revue Med., Dec. 1825.)
The tetanic form of the disease of the spinal marrow has rarely been observed as arising from onanism. Tissot saw a case of it in a young man:—“The disease commenced with rigidity of the neck and spine; this extended successively to all the limbs; and the patient, for some time before death, was obliged to lie in bed on his face, unable to move either his feet or hands. All motion was impossible; and he wasobliged even to be fed. He lived several weeks in this sad state; and died, or rather sunk away, almost without suffering.”
Paralysis, which is the consequence of myelitis, or of any other affection of the spinal marrow, has been seen much more frequently than tetanus, in onanists. It is most generally confined to the lower parts of the body; but if the disease be seated in the cervical portion of the spinal marrow, the four extremities may be paralyzed. This was seen in the case of a young man who was under the care of Dupuytren, in September, 1833:—
This young man was twenty years old: he was very much addicted to masturbation, and his disease could be attributed to no other cause. This affection had existed for two years, when the patient entered Hotel Dieu. The attack of paralysis had been sudden, like a clap of thunder: the patient had lost the use of his limbs suddenly. The muscles of the neck were paralyzed, and the head fell in any direction: a short time before, however, the patient had recovered the power of sustaining it. The paralysis of the four limbs, also, varied in degree, alternately increasing and diminishing. After the patient entered the hospital, it was not equal on both sides: thus, he had some power over his left arm, but not over his right arm. Both the upper limbs, also, were atrophied, or wasted: those of the right side more so, however, than those of the left. Many remedies had been tried for this patient, but without success. At the time the case was published, purgatives and moxas were proposed. Dupuytren remarked to his pupils, that the situation of the myelitis corresponded in this young man to the cervical vertebræ; and that, if it ascended a little, and extended to the origin of the diaphragmatic nerve, it would cause death. He regarded the passion for masturbation, which existed in this young man, as the probable cause of this myelitis; and, consequently, of an atrophy of the anterior roots of the spinal nerves. (Lancette Française, 1833, p. 339.)
The disorganization, also, occupied an elevated portionof the spinal marrow, in the following case stated by Tissot:—“I was called upon,” says he, “to visit in the country a man, forty years old, who had been very strong and robust, but who had indulged excessively in sexual commerce and in wine, and who had been often engaged in athletic exercises. He began to be affected, a few months since, by a weakness in his legs, which made him totter in his walk, as if drunk. He sometimes fell, when walking on a plane; he could not descend the stairs without much difficulty; and hardly dared to leave his apartment. His hands trembled very much; he wrote with very great difficulty, and very badly; but he dictated with ease, although his speech, which had never been very fluent, began to be less so. His memory was still good; and the only ground for suspecting a lesion in his mind was the want of attention at thejeu de dames, and the change of countenance. His appetite was good, and he slept well; but it was difficult for him to turn in bed.
It occurred to me that his gallantries, and a too free use of wine, were the first causes of the disease; and that his athletic exercises, in which he had been frequently engaged, were the origin of the particular affection of the muscles. The season was not favorable for the use of remedies; but it was necessary to attempt to arrest the progress of the disease. I advised frictions of the whole body with flannels, and some tonics. I directed the doses to be increased, and to add also the use of the cold bath, at the commencement of summer. In a few weeks, the trembling of the hands seemed to be a little diminished. A consultation was had in the month of April: the disease was attributed to his having written some months, two years since, in a chamber recently plastered. Warm baths—oily frictions, with diaphoretic and anti-spasmodic powders, were employed without benefit. In the month of June, in a second consultation, he was advised to visit the medicinal spring of Leuk, in Valais. On his return, the trembling and stiffness had increased. From this time, (Sept. 1760, to Jan. 1764,) I saw himbut three or four times. In 1762, he procured from Frankfort the remedies mentioned in the English treatise,Onania, which were of no use. He consulted a foreign physician the last year with as little success. The disease has slowly, but daily progressed; and for several months before death, his legs were too weak to support the weight of his body. He could not move his hands nor arms without help; his speech was so embarrassed, and his voice so feeble, that it was difficult to understand him; the extensor muscles of the head allowed it to fall continually on the chest; he had constant pains in the loins; his sleep and appetite were sensibly diminished. During the last few months of his life, there was much difficulty in swallowing; after Christmas, there came on an irregular fever, and his eyes were singularly dim; when I saw him in the month of January, he passed the whole day and most of the night reclining on a sofa, with his feet in a chair, with a domestic constantly in attendance near him, in order to change his position, raise his head to feed him, and to listen attentively to all he said. As he approached the period of his dissolution, he was obliged to articulate letter by letter, which was written down as it was pronounced. Seeing that I gave him no encouragement, as I only employed some palliatives for his fever and oppression, and actuated by a desire of living, he sent one of his friends to tell me the cause to which he attributed all these symptoms, viz.,masturbation; that he commenced this infamous practice several years since; had continued it as long as possible; and that he had perceived his difficulties increase, in proportion to his indulgence in it. He confirmed this statement a few days afterward; and it was this which induced him to use the remedies recommended inOnania.”
This case shows us paralysis confined at first to the abdominal limbs, but extending afterward to the upper part of the body. We find a similar case of this progression, in a case related by Olivier, of Angers:—
“M—, of a sanguine temperament, of a strong constitution, and of a lively and gay character, had alwaysenjoyed good health until seventeen years old, when he unfortunately became addicted to masturbation. He soon languished, and grew debilitated. Having, however, conquered this fatal habit, his strength gradually returned, and a proper regimen soon restored him to his former vigor. When twenty years old, he perceived a marked debility in the motions of the articulation of the right foot; but this disappeared: he was then affected twice with blenorrhagia, the last attack of which continued for several months.
“When twenty-five years old, he again indulged in masturbation, and similar symptoms to those first presented soon appeared: the lower extremities, also, became weakened; at times, also, the sensibility of the skin was obtuse, and even lost; but it soon reappeared. Under the influence of remedies, the weakness in the limbs diminished slightly. M— could walk three quarters of an hour without resting, but he could not stand longer; his legs, which were evidently wasted, refusing to sustain him. He was extremely costive; and since the last attack of blenorrhagia, the excretion of urine was painful.
“This affection remained stationary for several years, and then became more serious: the patient was now twenty-nine years old. At this period, the paraplegia became complete. He could not walk, nor even support himself on crutches; his lower limbs were often stiff; both arms, also, were at times insensible; and sometimes the sense of touch was blunted. The wasting away had increased; the excretion of urine was often involuntary, and the constipation was habitual. He was somewhat benefited by Hallé’s prescriptions, consisting in frictions with cantharides, and douches to the spine; but the next year the evil increased, the sensibility in the hands diminished, and there was difficulty in moving the right hand.
“Eighteen months afterward, the lower extremities became perfectly paralyzed: they were less warm than the rest of the body; yet, when cold water was applied to them, it produced a burning sensation. The right arm, forearm, and hand, often felt fatigue: its motionswere less free, and the patient sometimes found it difficult to write. The limb of the opposite side was not affected. The disease of the bladder, which had existed for several years, was also increased.
“Paralysis, during the following years, progressed slowly, but constantly. The arm of the right side lost its motion entirely; the forearm was flexed upon it, and retained this position. At a later period, the fingers became stiff, crooked, and they continued to be so flexed, that a tampon of linen was placed on the palm of the hand, to prevent the nails from lacerating the skin. A singular symptom, also, appeared: if the internal part of the thigh was gently rubbed, the limbs extended quickly, as if by a galvanic shock, and then resumed their first position, which was that of a permanent state of semiflexion.
The paralysis finally affected the left upper extremity, which had hitherto been free from it; at the same time, the respiration became more difficult, the voice more feeble, and speech more painful, so that the patient choked, after talking a few moments. These different symptoms, and those described above, gradually became intense; and at the time this case was recorded, the patient was still alive—but in a most lamentable situation. Very severe pains supervened in the right side; the limbs were frequently convulsed; the constipation was obstinate; the urine passed involuntarily; the intellectual faculties, however, remained unaffected; and the patient, who was then fifty years old, proved, by his easy and agreeable conversation, that, notwithstanding his unfortunate situation, he had lost none of his natural gayety of character.” (Traité de la moelle epinière, &c., vol. ii., p. 594.)
The lower part of the medulla alone was affected in an individual whose case is mentioned by Tissot.
In another case related by Weszpremi, the spinal marrow and brain were affected. The patient, who was thirty years old, complained of pains along the spine, especially when he stooped. His legs were so weak, that he could scarcely stand erect for a moment; his memory was considerably weakened, and he seemedstupid; his sight was also affected, and he was extremely thin. This man, having long denied the cause of his disease, finally confessed it. After some months, his health was restored. (Observ. Med., p. 175.)
The disease is not always confined to the spinal marrow, and its membranes: it frequently extends to the parts adjacent, and particularly to the vertebræ. The latter are then destroyed; and the disease described by Pott, and which takes his name, appears. Sabatier was aware of the influence of masturbation on the bony part of the vertebral column. “The most terrible and most frequent results of onanism,” says he, in a letter to M. A. Petit, “are nodosities of the spine. My opinion has always been regarded as unfounded, on account of the youth of the patients; but I was enlightened by the admission of some of my patients, that many were guilty of this thing before their sixteenth year.” This fact, which was afterward stated by Boyer, in his lectures, is now no longer doubted. The relation, however, between the caries of the bodies of the vertebræ in onanists, and the affection of the medulla, or of its membranes, had not been observed; it had not been remarked that this latter always precedes caries, which in this case is only the result of the extension of the primitive disease. The facts which are to be stated will prove this to be true.
L. E. G., twenty-one years old, a turner, of a lymphatic temperament, of a slender and delicate constitution, addicted to masturbation from childhood, experienced, at the beginning of February, 1825, a slight pain in the epigastric region, difficulty of digestion, and constipation: he also had laborious breathing, caused by palpitations, which were much increased by walking, and particularly by going up stairs.
On entering the hospital la Pitié, April 28th, 1825, this young man presented all the symptoms of a hypertrophy of the left cavities of the heart: these phenomena, which diminished after a few days, were followed by symptoms of enteritis and peritonitis, which were attributed to excesses in eating. Duringthe continuance of this latter affection, the patient complained of uncommon debility in the abdominal limbs. These symptoms disappeared; and when it was expected to see the patient convalescent, he was affected with complete paraplegia. He lost the use of his legs: they, however, retained their sensibility. As motion in them was lost, this sensibility was even increased; for the patient cried whenever he was touched, or when the position of the lower limbs was changed. The bladder was soon paralyzed, and the sound was used, which caused inflammation of this organ. A broad and deep eschar, followed by ulceration, laid bare the whole posterior part of the pelvis. From this time, the symptoms increased more and more, and the patient died the 11th of August, about six weeks after the first symptoms appeared.
On opening the body, a softened tubercle was found on the surface of the right hemisphere of the brain;the body of the third dorsal vertebra was slightly changed; the corresponding portion of the dura mater presented a cancerous degenerescence, which extended from the body of the third dorsal to that of the fifth cervical vertebra. The bodies of all the vertebræ connected with this alteration were whitish, and slightly softened. The tissue of the spinal marrow was softened, especially on the level with the seventh cervical and first three dorsal vertebræ: the softening occupied the anterior cords, which were of a grayish white color; the posterior cords were slightly softened but only on a level with the first three dorsal vertebræ The lungs were healthy and crepitating; the right contained superiorly a small softened tubercle.The heart was healthy: its size was normal; the left cavities possessed their usual size and thickness. Traces of inflammation were found in the peritoneum, intestines, and bladder. (Journal de Physiol. Experim.July, 1825.)
In this case, we see in a measure the mode in which caries of the vertebræ is produced. This caries is only at its commencement; the vertebræ are affected superficially, and in those parts only which correspond tothe diseased portions of the dura mater and medulla. There are none of the local symptoms of Pott’s disease—no collapse of the vertebral column—no gibbosity; yet the paraplegia appeared, as in the cases where these alterations exist: it resulted, then, from the softening of the medulla, or the alteration of its membranes. If a little time had elapsed, and several spinous processes had deviated from their true direction, this paralysis would have been attributed to the commencement and progress of this deviation. These relations between the state of the medulla and that of the vertebræ have been already remarked by several authors. M. Latour, in a memoir inserted among those of the Society of Emulation, has sought to establish that paraplegia, in Pott’s disease, resulted from a primitive alteration of the medulla. Janson has since expressed a similar opinion. Cases have also been published by Louis, which leave little doubt on this subject. (Mem. and Recherches, 1826, p. 410.)
One symptom in the preceding case, which deserves to be noted, is the difficulty of respiration, the palpitations, and other symptoms which led to the belief that the heart was diseased. On opening the body, however, this organ was found perfectly healthy. Similar phenomena are often seen in onanists: it would therefore be wrong to consider them always as signs of an organic alteration of the heart and large vessels.
In the following case, the vertebræ were more changed. The spinal column was gibbous: but this was preceded by paraplegia, and other symptoms of myelitis. This case was published by M. Dalandeterie:—
A shoemaker, twenty-four years old, of good constitution, who has always enjoyed good health, contracted the habit of masturbation at the age of sixteen years, and became so addicted to it, that he indulged seven or eight times a-day: his strength soon diminished, and he lost flesh and his color.
After an interruption, caused by an acute disease, the patient resumed his fatal habit with the same earnestness. He finally became so weak; languid, andpale, that he was discharged from military service, in which he was inscribed.
A little while afterward, this young man, who had never shown any symptoms of scrofula, presented scrofulous engorgements in the groins and axillæ, and swellings, with caries, in several phalanges of the fingers. At the same time, a singular phenomenon appeared: the hair, which was chestnut colored, came off; on growing again, it appeared of several colors: but after coming off once or twice, it resumed its natural shade.
The patient continuing to indulge in onanism, finally became extremely weak, and was obliged to keep his bed. Marked symptoms of myelitis now appeared. The patient gradually lost the use of his lower limbs: first they became weak, and showed a disposition to be crossed; but finally wasted away, and lost the power of motion. He was now obliged even to be turned in bed, as he could not move. The articulation of the feet and knees became stiff and inflexible, and his legs were so much retracted, that the end of the foot only touched the ground, when the patient was placed in an erect position. The sensibility of the limbs, also, was as much affected as their motions; they were cold, numb, and even when pinched they were not painful. The general languor was increased every day. He suffered from thirst, dyspepsia, pains in the stomach, rumblings, night sweats, &c. At this period, the patient quitted a woman with whom he had lived for a year, and who, having but little inclination for coition, caused him to indulge in masturbation.
The erections were frequent, powerful, short, and always terminated with a more or less abundant discharge of mucus from the urethra—perhaps, also from the prostate gland; or even the discharge might be of thin semen. After a while, the ejaculations were composed, instead of semen, of a half-clotted, blackish or yellowish blood: sometimes, as much as a tablespoonful was lost. These emissions were always painful, and were followed by extreme prostration.
For some time, the patient was in this sad state, when he experienced a crawling sensation, like that caused by ants, descending along the back: he experienced, in the same region, a severe and fatiguing pain, which extended into the ribs and loins. These symptoms subsided; but at the lower part of the dorsal region appeared a hard tumor, which at first was small; but it gradually enlarged, as long as the patient continued to masturbate. This tumor was evidently formed by the curve of the spine, and the projection of three spinous processes.
In three months, the patient was improved by the use of moxas and of antiscrofulous remedies, by a suitable regimen, and particularly by abstaining from onanism, for which he had conceived not only disgust, but even a horror. The abdominal limbs regained their strength, heat, and sensibility; the patient could walk on crutches, and could even stand erect for a few moments, and could take a few steps unaided.
In this case, which is remarkable in more than one respect, the symptoms of myelitis preceded the curve of the spine, and then disappeared, although the spine did not regain its primitive rectitude. The debility, numbness, retraction, and paralysis of the limbs, appeared long before the pain in the back, after which the curve in the back began to appear; and then these limbs regained their sensibility, force, and motion, while the gibbosity remained always the same. This curve, then, could not be the cause of the paraplegia, because the latter appeared first, and the spine remained curved after the paralysis was removed. The development of symptoms apparently scrofulous, in a man more than twenty years old, who had hitherto presented nothing analogous, and whose parents were healthy; the loss of his hair; the affection of the seminal passages, and the state of the genital organs, &c., &c.—facts to which we shall recur hereafter—all contribute to render this case interesting.
We shall see, in the following case, also related by M. Dalandeterie, an instance of vertebral caries in an onanist:—
A cook, forty-five years old, of bad constitution, but having always enjoyed robust health, indulged in masturbation, although not to very great excess. Eighteen months before his case was published, he perceived pains and weakness in the loins, frequent colics, often followed by brownish dejections, and sometimes by obstinate constipation. He suffered, too, from flatulency; and in the left haunch there was a pain, which increased or diminished with this flatulence.
The patient, notwithstanding the progress of these symptoms, continued to masturbate. Debility and pains in his loins extended into the abdominal limbs, and increased so much, that he was obliged to keep his bed: he could only lie on his left side; but in this position his motions were easy. The diminution in the natural heat, the livid color of the skin, the softness and flaccidity of the flesh, debility, loss of sleep and of flesh, thirst, constipation, &c., were added to the symptoms already mentioned.
At the same time, a hard, indolent tumor, the size of a pullet’s egg, was formed at the lower part of the dorsal region. This tumor, which did not enlarge, evidently resulted from the prominence of the spinous processes, and consequently from a curve in the spine, which was doubtless caused by a softening of the bodies of the vertebræ.
Nearly at the same period, there was developed, at the lower part of the sternum, a hard, indolent tumor; the color of the skin was unchanged: it gradually became the size of a nut, suppurated, and assumed the appearance of a scrofulous ulcer. The lymphatic ganglions of the neck, which were somewhat swelled, now returned to their natural size. The treatment was similar to that used in the former case, and was attended with the same result: the strength, bodily heat, and appetite returned. Finally, the patient was able to walk with crutches; and could stand, unsupported, for a few moments.
The circumstances in this case are not detailed with sufficient accuracy, to enable us to follow exactly the cause of the symptoms. We would remark, however,that one of these seen first was the neuralgic pains, which extended from the loins into the lower extremities. Now, as this symptom belongs to irritation of the medulla or its membranes, more than to their compression, there is reason to think that this irritation preceded the curve of the spine. In this patient, also, as in the preceding case, the affection of the marrow had not so much influence in causing the destruction of the bodies of the vertebræ, as a disposition to caries—a disposition which was evidently increased by onanism, and which appeared at the same time in several bones.
The following case, from Meyrieu, is not sufficiently detailed, to affect in any manner the question, how caries of the vertebræ is produced in onanists; but it is interesting, as it shows that the disease may extend to the soft parts which cover or are adjacent to the affected vertebræ.
L—, twenty-two years old, was moderately tall, with a narrow chest, and had never enjoyed good health, particularly for the six years preceding the time when he entered the prison at Bicetre, when he indulged in the disgusting practice of onanism. In the course of January, 1819, he was affected with general numbness, with frequent cough and expectoration of mucus: these symptoms were occasionally attended with slight fever. When admitted to the infirmary, the 1st of February, he complained, in addition to the symptoms already mentioned, of a violent pain in the posterior part of the neck. A slight swelling was seen at the level of the first and second cervical vertebræ, and pressure on that part was painful; the head was bent to the left side, and remained motionless; the thoracic abdominal limbs were numb; and deglutition was painful. Local resolvent frictions, blisters, and moxas were used. The 15th of February, he was affected with hemoptysis, which yielded in two days to the use of bleeding and astringents. The vertebral disease, however, generally made progress, like that of the chest, which seemed to relax. In July, the thoracic limbs were perfectly paralyzed; and in August,this was true also of the abdominal limbs. At this period, the head was absolutely immoveable; the phthisis seemed as yet in the second degree. Finally, the patient died suddenly, from moving his head, while the attendants were changing him.
Post-mortem Examination.The soft parts of the posterior region of the neck were changed to a whitish, lardaceous substance; the right condyle of the occipital bone was carious: there was also a deep caries of the upper part of the right lateral mass of the first vertebræ, and of the odontoid process. The transverse and odontoid ligaments were degenerated and softened; and the medulla oblongata presented a kind of strangulation, resulting from the compression caused by the left posterior part of the edge of the occipital foramen: in fact, there was a dislocation of this bone, on the first vertebræ. The cerebrum was unaffected; the right lung was tuberculous, and very small; that of the left side was also tuberculous, but was larger. The peritoneum presented some marks of inflammation.
In the preceding cases, the caries of the vertebræ was not attended with a congested abscess. The following case, published by Levêque Lasource, will present to us this symptom, which is so common in this disease:—
N— O— was addicted to onanism, from twelve to eighteen years of age; but could not renounce this fatal habit, although reminded of its danger by a curve in the spine, and by other symptoms. When received at la Charité Hospital, in 1806, beside a well marked gibbosity, he presented a congested abscess at the upper and inner part of the thigh. Two cauteries were applied to the sides of the vertebral prominences: these suppurated freely, but did no good. The abscess was punctured in several places. This young man, who could not survive, left the hospital; so that the organic changes produced by his disease could not be verified. (Jour. de Med., Chir. and Phar.; vol. xvii., p. 261.)
The same author has related another case, which terminated more fortunately:—A child, seven or eightyears old, addicted to masturbation, entered at la Charité, affected with gibbosity and paralysis of the lower limbs. During the month he stayed in the hospital, several cauteries were applied around the tumor, which suppurated; tonics and strengthening medicines were administered internally. He left, perfectly cured of the paralysis, and of the other symptoms caused by the affection of the medulla; but the deformity resulting from the prominence formed by the spinous processes of the vertebræ continued. Three years after, this child, who had abstained from this bad habit, had experienced no relapse.
We have seen, in several of the preceding cases, that permanent contractions of the lower limbs resulted, in onanists, from affections of the spinal marrow. Guersent, also, admits the possibility of essential contractions—that is, those which do not result from a disease of the nervous centres. According to this practitioner, these kinds of contractions are seen most frequently in those nervous children who indulge in bad habits, like that of masturbation. The following case has been considered by him as an instance of this affection:—
D— E—, five years old, and addicted to masturbation, after passing a part of the winter at the Hospital des Enfans, to be treated for scrofulous engorgements of the glands of the neck, was sent to the country in the spring. He had been there about three months, when he was suddenly affected with a contraction of the lower extremities. Examined the 5th of July, he complained neither of pain in the head nor spine. The digestive passages were in very good state; there was no derangement in the circulation or respiration; the muscles of the lower extremities were permanently rigid: the tension, however, was more marked in the adductors; for the patient constantly kept his knees crossed. There was no deviation in the vertebral column. Different remedies were employed, but without success; except a little improvement under the use of carbonate of iron. The legs and thighs of the patient could be flexed and extended with the hands;but he could neither flex them when extended, nor extend them when flexed. This child was cured in a singular manner. His state was as described, when, at the beginning of September, he was affected with symptoms of roseola. The contraction of the lower extremities disappeared, when the fever came on. The eruption went through its course, and the contraction of the limbs did not return. Thus, this disease, which had resisted several efficacious remedies, disappeared before another disease.
The loss or debility of the external senses, particularly those of hearing and sight, when this state is the consequence of venereal excesses, often result, as may be seen in several of the cases above stated, from a disease of the brain. This organ was probably diseased in the old man whose case was mentioned by Réveillé Parise. This man was desirous of living with a young Italian girl, whose temperament was extremely ardent. He paid for his imprudence by blindness, which occurred in eight days, and which was followed by death. Sometimes, however, the eye alone is diseased: at least, the pathological state which it presents is unattended by any symptoms indicating an affection of the brain or its membranes. Many libertines present only an irritation of the conjunctiva and of the edge of the eyelids. It is a sort of chronic ophthalmia; their eyes are red, watery, fatigued, painful; and they cannot engage in the evening in any occupation, such as reading, which requires the attention to be confined to one object. Sometimes, a severe and deep-seated pain proves that, beside the outer parts of the eye, the interior of this organ is the seat of a severe irritation. Hoffmann has seen several cases of this. He cites that of a young man, who indulged in onanism from the age of fifteen to that of twenty-three. “His eyes and head were so weak,” says he, “that these organs were often affected with violent spasms, during the emission of semen. Whenever he attempted to read, he experienced a sensation similar to that of drunkenness: the pupil was considerably dilated, and excessive pains were felt in theeye. The eyelids were glued together every night; the eyes were also watery; and there was, at the two angles, a collection of whitish matter. These irritations, especially when seated within the eye, may be followed by the loss of sight.” Dr. Juengken, professor of clinical ophthalmology at the Berlin faculty, and who has published an excellent work on the diseases of the eye, indicates, when speaking of amaurosis resulting from masturbation, that the pupil assumes a peculiar form, which is found only (says this professor) in those individuals habitually addicted to this vice. In these cases, the pupil, instead of being in the centre of the eye, is removed upward, but does not lose its roundness: the upper part of the iris seems narrower, and contracted on its ciliary edge. This symptom has been mentioned, also, by Dr. Sichel, as occurring in certain scrofulous ophthalmias: iritis then exists. Photophobia, which is a greater or less aversion to light, resulting from the pain which it occasions in the eye, has been indicated, by Sanson, as sometimes preceding amaurosis, caused by too frequent a loss of semen.
All authors agree in placing venereal excesses, and particularly those from masturbation, among the causes of amaurosis. They are so unanimous on this point, that we shall cite no authorities. They generally agree to regard amaurosis, in onanists, as produced by the exhaustion caused by diurnal or nocturnal pollutions. Beer, and many others, assimilate, in this respect, the loss of semen to that of other fluids; and compares venereal excesses, especially those from onanism, with cholera, diarrhœa, &c., as a cause of amaurosis. This idea of exhaustion probably led Scarpa to remark, that amaurosis, resulting from premature abuses of masturbation or coition, must generally be regarded as incurable. This prognosis may be made, we believe, in regard to most cases of amaurosis. Dr. Buzzi has published, with four other cases of amaurosis, which were cured, that of an individual in whom it had been produced by masturbation. It, however, yielded, on the abandonment of bad habits,to the moderate use of good wine, combined with milk diet.
Dr. Rognetta, in a memoir on the causes of amaurosis, insists on the opinion that onanism produces this disease, by exhausting the sensibility of the body. He compares this habit to decay. “Nothing,” says he, “enervates the body so much as too frequent emissions of semen, especially when they are caused by the hand: the spasm which attends them throws the body into all the infirmities of old age. The retina and optic nerve then gradually lose their sensitive faculty, which finally becomes extinct. Those who masturbate are affected with amaurosis, like decrepit old men.” Rognetta adds, that he has the notes of several cases of amaurosis, which had resisted all remedies, and which were caused entirely by theluxuria manuensis. He relates the history of a young ecclesiastic, nineteen years old, a native of Palermo, whose sight became very weak. This unfortunate young man had been in the habit of masturbating seven times a-day: he was also prone to sodomy. Rognetta advised him to leave off this bad habit, and to return to his native place and take cold baths.
Sanson, also, places voluntary and involuntary pollutions among the asthenic causes of amaurosis: he, however, regards these pollutions as sometimes causing irritation of the retina. He assimilates them, as do many other authors, to all abundant discharges of fluids. The following case has been considered by him as one of asthenic amaurosis, produced in this manner:—A notary’s clerk, twenty-four years old, experienced for a year a progressive debility in his sight. He had labored much at night, by lamp-light, and attributed his disease to this cause; but another, which had contributed to the development of the amaurosis, was the excesses of this young man, in onanism and coition. Venereal disease, which he had contracted, might also contribute to this bad result. The pupil was dilated; the iris was immoveable; the eye was perfectly clear; and the retina, of a dull color, could be seen through the pupil. An antivenereal treatment,purgatives, emetics, and blisters around the organ, &c., produced no effect.
In my opinion, blindness from amaurosis, being not so much a disease as a symptom, or rather the consequence, of many other diseases, is not, in onanists, the result of exhaustion, of asthenia, any more than the debility and paralysis of the lower extremities are, when the spinal marrow is diseased. Besides, what difference does it make, how the sight is lost in onanists? the most essential thing to be known is, that they can lose it. This unfortunate circumstance is to be dreaded by those whose sight is much affected during the act of venery, and who remain, as it were, in a mist for a few moments after this act. Thus, amaurosis was predicted in a public girl, whose case is mentioned by Hoffmann, and whose sight was obscured whenever she had connexion with men. She finally became blind. (De morbis ex nim. ven., § 26.) The sight is rarely lost suddenly: it commonly fades away gradually; and the onanist, if he can understand this warning, may, by abandoning his bad habits in time, preserve the vigor he still possesses; and, sometimes, even may recover what he has lost.
The weakness and loss of sight, and the other affections of the eye already mentioned, are not the only ones which may arise from excessive onanism or coition: the muscles of the eye may also be affected. Lorry was, we believe, the first to notice this fact. “The eyes,” says he, “are affected with convulsive and spasmodic motions, after venereal excesses, rather than with blindness.” He states, that strabismus may be caused by onanism. We have before stated the case of a young man, whose eyes were affected with violent spasms at the moment of a discharge of semen. Demours has observed similar facts. “Masturbation,” says he, “affects the optic nerves, and also acts on the motor nerves of the eye.” He admits that he can see no reason for this. The same author mentions venereal excesses among the different causes of partial paralysis of the muscles of the eye.
We have already mentioned the wandering pains,which frequently affect onanists; we have also alluded to those which depend on an affection of the spinal marrow. We have reason to think, from our own observations, and the statements particularly of English authors, that the number of pains dependent on an affection of the spinal marrow is much larger than is generally thought: we think, that most of the pains termed rheumatic, particularly those affecting the trunk and the limbs, are neuralgic; and that most of these neuralgias proceed from an irritation of the medulla or its membranes. We do not say that the spinal cord is always affected then, as in those cases of myelitis which attend paralysis and death: we think that it is affected in some manner; and that these pains, which are commonly so severe, and frequently so general—sometimes attended with tumefaction, but more frequently without it—which are felt in the course of these nerves, are the usual consequences of this affection. Hence, it is not surprising, that the act of venery, which excites the nervous system so much—which has so marked an action on the spinal marrow, has frequently predisposed to neuralgic or rheumatic pains, and has directly caused or increased this kind of pains. It is well ascertained, and many authors—particularly Hoffmann—have remarked, that those who indulge in onanism, during youth, are more subject to these pains than others. The act of venery, even when indulged in to a moderate extent, generally increases their violence. I have often seen attacks of neuralgia supervene immediately after coition. It was an affection of this kind which was felt by the onanist who wrote to Tissot, that he felt in his face a pain similar to that caused by applying a great number of pins.
Individuals who have braved the usual causes of rheumatism with impunity, not unfrequently become vulnerable to these causes after venereal excesses. M. Villeneuve relates the case of a stonecutter, who had long been exposed to changes of weather without inconvenience, and who was violently attacked with rheumatism after unusual venereal excesses. He also mentions the case of a groom, who had long slept in adamp and narrow stable without suffering, but who was attacked with rheumatism the winter after his marriage. Saucerotte has seen a similar case: it was that of a man who had constantly braved the changes of weather, and who was affected with rheumatism after indulging in women and wine. The same author has established, in the memoir where this fact was reported, that muscular rheumatism is only a variety of neuralgia. Among the proofs which he gives of it, he states that many authors, as Barthez, Scudamore, Chaussier, Olivier, and Ferrus, have placed venereal excesses among the causes of neuralgias and those of rheumatism.
Most authors have considered these excesses as one of the predisposing causes of gout. Hippocrates, probably, entertained the same idea, if we may judge from these two aphorisms:—“Eunuchi neque podagra laborant, neque caluescunt. Puer podagra non tentatur ante venereorum usum.” Sydenham also regarded excessive indulgence in venereal pleasures as tending to produce gout. Guilbert remarks, that even hereditary gout is neither a disease of infancy nor of youth: he admits, however, that venereal excesses may produce it before the time it generally appears. Roche exclaims against this opinion: he thinks that venereal excesses can only cause attacks of gout. He says—
“What influence have masturbation and venereal excesses in producing gout? According to men of the world, and even to some physicians, they are the most fruitful source of this infirmity: and yet on what facts does this opinion rest? On this, that several gouty people have been great libertines in their youth. But how many chaste persons, and how many prelates, too, are attacked by this cruel disease? On the other hand, are there not as many, and even more libertines among the poor, than among the rich? and yet, in general, they are not attacked by the gout. Finally, the shameful vice of onanism is observed most frequently among the young; and we have already said that gout is a disease of manhood and old age. Hence, it iswrong to attribute to this order of causes a part of the influence which it has not, and cannot have, in producing gout. Here, doubtless, has been committed the error which has been several times pointed out: attacks of gout have frequently been known to supervene after venereal excesses or masturbation; and it has been concluded that these causes concur powerfully in producing the disease itself. Good living and gormandizing are, we repeat, the real—the only sources of gout: sobriety, frugality, are the best preservatives from it.”
This last phrase shows clearly the origin of Roche’s opinion. It is evident that he denies the influence attributed to venereal excesses, in the production of gout, only to sustain a favorite theory. Roche certainly never would have said, that there is more libertinism in the lower than in the higher walks of life, if he had not been preoccupied with the desire of proving that good living is the cause of gout, to the exclusion of every other cause. It may be asserted, that one mode of living predisposes to the gout more than another; and we will agree with every author, that this disease appears particularly in individuals who are well fed; but we cannot admit, that the possible action of certain influences, as that of venereal excesses, should be denied. Impressed, however, with the vast extent of the influence of venereal excesses, and with the uncertainty of its limits, we prefer to allow, with all authors, that venereal excesses, like many other known and unknown causes, may predispose to gout. This opinion seems to be more logical than that sustained by Roche with his usual ability.
Roche, also, in accordance with other authors, regards venereal excesses as injurious to those affected with gout. “The indulgence in venereal pleasures,” says Barthez, “should seldom be permitted to those affected with gout; for they should abstain from whatever weakens or exhausts. Coste, who has written on gout, is much more formal. “A gouty person,” says he, “should choose between living apart from his wife, and being cured of his disease; or caressing her, andrendering his disease incurable. Whenever a gouty person sees a female,” he adds, “if young, a new root to his disease sprouts forth; and if he be old, he drives a nail into his coffin.” This opinion differs from that of Pietsch, who maintains that gout arises from the absorption of vitiated semen, which is retained by continence in the seminal vesicles.
Can venereal excesses cause hemorrhoidal affections? For want of facts on this subject, we would remark, that these excessesmaycontribute to develop these affections, and particularly the exacerbations to which they are subject. This was Montegre’s opinion: he admitted, that the nervous debility which resulted from the abuse of the genital organs, generally favored the occurrence of fluxes, motions which occur most frequently in people subject to hemorrhoids; and also, that in those females who have hemorrhoidal tumors on the rectum or vagina, the abuse of coition may excite inflammation of these tumors. Montegre, however, thinks that excessive continence has a more detrimental effect on those affected with hemorrhoids than the contrary. He thought that the irritation which extreme continence causes in the seminal vesicles and adjacent parts, may excite a hemorrhoidal paroxysm: hence, he regards the act of venery as generally useful to persons affected with hemorrhoids, provided it is confined within certain limits. On this opinion, we would say, that if the irritation of the seminal passages may extend to the adjacent passages, venereal excesses which produce this irritation may also cause inflammation of the hemorrhoidal tumors much more frequently than continence. This is the opinion of Begin, also, who mentions, among the direct causes of hemorrhoids, “excesses in venereal pleasures—excesses which are always attended with a state of orgasm and vascular fulness in the genital system, and in all the parts connected with it; and particularly in the lower region of the rectum, which receives the same vessels in the neck of the bladder, the prostate gland, and the seminal vesicles, in the male, and in the uterus and vagina in the female.”
We may believe, from the enervating action of masturbation, that the development of scrofula may be excited or favored in those young patients who are addicted to it. Few proofs of this, however, are found in authors; and it is rare to find records of scrofulous symptoms in the histories of those onanists which have been published. It, however, would be absurd to conclude, from this silence, that the coincidence of these symptoms and the ordinary effects of onanism never occur, or that this habit cannot call into action a disposition to disease. But we must admit, that if masturbation be an active cause of this disease, this fact would have been noted more frequently.
Further: Certain circumstances seem to indicate, that onanism must be but little favorable to the development of scrofula. First, onanism renders the limbs thinner, dries them, then deprives them of those white fluids with which the flesh of scrofulous persons is generally infiltrated. Next, since in these latter the sensibility is as it were blunted, and the susceptibility is slight, onanism tends to excite them. Besides, one of the most common effects of the action of the genital organs, at puberty, is the disappearance of scrofulous engorgements and other symptoms, if they exist. Sometimes, the normal development of the genital apparatus excites in those who have arrived at puberty the swelling of the lymphatic ganglions of the neck, axillæ, and particularly of the groins: but in this case, these ganglions are painful, and present a kind of inflammatory state, analogous to that which is attempted to be produced when they are affected with scrofulous engorgements. Cabanis has well described what then takes place:—“From the time,” says he, “that the evolution of the genital organs commences, there is a general motion in the whole lymphatic apparatus; the glands of the groins, the mammæ, those of the axillæ, and neck, swell: they often become painful. It is not only in girls that the mammæ swell; in young men, I have frequently seen them form tumors, which seemed inflammatory: they have often been considered as such by ignorant quacks. This symptom generallycauses uneasiness in those who experience it: but this depends not so much on the pain, (which sometimes impedes the free motions of the body,) as on the influence of this new action—the commotion caused in the imagination by the new system.” This state of the lymphatic system would be, as is seen, rather antithetic, than analogous to what is seen in scrofulous patients. Farther: we have only to compare the eunuch with him who has vigorously passed through puberty, to see that the action of the genital organs is not adapted to favor the development of this affection.