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substance of the cerebellum was broken in several places; and small
abscesses, filled with blood, were grooved along the superior
vermicular process.

In some individuals, apoplexy supervenes so soon after venereal

excesses, that we might reasonably anticipate that they contributed
to its invasion. Thus, a steward, forty-nine years old, whose case is
mentioned by Andral, fell down in the street, on coming from a
house of ill-fame. He was immediately carried to the Maison de
Santé, near, where he died shortly afterward. On opening his body,
two apoplectic lesions were found; one in the right hemisphere of
the cerebellum, the other in the left hemisphere of the cerebrum.

In coition, a marked congestion of blood takes place toward this

organ. It is fair to presume, that such an act frequently repeated
may predispose to an attack of apoplexy, which is decided sooner or
later under the action of different causes. It is a fact, however, that
this affection occurs frequently in those individuals who are
accustomed to indulge in venereal pleasures. Serres reports the case
of a man who indulged frequently, and who was attacked with
apoplexy soon after a day passed in a house of ill-fame. He died two
days afterward, presenting, among other symptoms, the erection of
the penis, and an abundant discharge of semen. Post mortem
examination showed, as in the preceding cases, apoplexy existing in
the cerebellum. A similar case was reported by Dr. Guiot. It was that
of a man, fifty-two years old, who was much addicted to women,
and who, after several times suffering from cerebral congestions,
was affected with mania. His genital organs were very much
developed, and he was frequently affected with pollutions. He died,
finally, of congestion, with hemiplegia, in twelve hours. Among the
symptoms presented, were remarked erection of the penis, and as it
were automatic motions of masturbation.

Deep and chronic lesions have been observed in the encephalon of

onanists, much more frequently than acute diseases. We published,
in 1817, a case of chronic arachnitis, which seemed to depend on
this cause. The patient was a boy seven years old, who entered the
Hospital des Enfans, at the beginning of the preceding year. This
child, who was much addicted to masturbation, was usually affected
with convulsions during this act. He finally became idiotic. He was
extremely repugnant to take exercise, and he remained very quiet.
His strength failed, his limbs wasted away, and finally he became
affected with almost total blindness. The hearing, and generally the
external and internal senses were also much weakened. Galvanism
and other remedies were employed in vain. The patient died; and on
opening the cadaver, we found a very marked inflammation of the
portion of the meninges which follows the course of the superior
longitudinal sinus. The surface of the brain, also, appeared to some
assistants to be inflamed. In another patient, whose history is stated
by Desruelles, in his memoir on the effects of onanism, the
substance of the brain was affected. There was paralysis of the left
arm, convulsions of the right arm and of the muscles of the face. On
opening the cadaver, an encysted abscess was found in the
hemisphere of the brain, on the side opposite to the paralysis, and
corresponding to the convulsed limbs.

Chronic alterations have frequently been found in the cerebellum of

onanists. They have been mentioned by some as the cause, by
others as the effect of onanism. But even admitting that in some
cases these alterations may have been the beginning of this habit,
this fact shows the bond which unites the genital organs and the
cerebellum, and renders more probable the influence which they
may exercise upon it. In fact, when the disease of one organ
deranges the functions of another, we may be satisfied that an
opposite result is possible. Farther, it would be impossible, in most of
the cases of which we speak, to distinguish whether the cerebral
affection or the masturbation had precedence. The only thing
positively known is their coincidence; and this latter has appeared
too frequently not to attract attention. We will mention several
instances of it.
A female, addicted at an early age to the pleasures of venery, finally
indulged in prostitution; she was at the same time addicted to
onanism, and at last became affected with nymphomania. Ashamed
of her situation, she submitted to cauterization of the clitoris, but
without any good result. She finally died; and we found chronic
irritation, with induration of the middle lobe of the cerebellum. Small
sinuses, with callous edges, indicated that an inflammation had
existed for a long time in this organ.

Gall (in his treatise on the functions of the brain, Vol. III., p. 314)
has given us the history of a boy, three years old, who was strongly
addicted to onanism, and in whom two thirds of the cerebellum was
found to be suppurated.

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 not verified 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 was not 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 had a 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 the sole 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, the epileptic, 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
of Montpelier, 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, only eighteen 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 bad
symptoms 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 well ascertained, 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 the head 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 terms consumption,
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 following case
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
was obliged 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 portion of 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 the jeu 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 him but 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 in Onania.”

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 always enjoyed 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 motions
were 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 seemed stupid; 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. During the 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 to the 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, and pale, 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 eight years 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 the eye.
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 the luxuria
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,
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