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.