By Lord Campbell—What do you call the disease?—I call it inflammatory sore throat from cold and exposure to the weather. The symptoms became tetanic in consequence of an extremely nervous and anxious disposition. He had a very large family, and was a very hard-working man. I did not hear the evidence of the witnesses who described the symptoms of Mr. Cook.
Cross-examined by the Attorney-General—That is what you call idiopathic tetanus?—Yes, decidedly so. I have had a vast number of cases of inflammatory sore throats and a great many anxious, nervous patients. That is the only case I have ever seen of idiopathic tetanus.
If I rightly apprehend your history of the symptoms, the disease was altogether progressive in its character, and, although there was an occasional cessation of the more painful symptoms, there never was a full cessation of the symptoms?—He was not suffering from tetanic affection. There was a twitching of the muscles going on, but there was not that violent convulsion. The lockjaw was the first of the more aggravated symptoms that presented itself, the muscular spasms about the trunk of the body progressing onwards to the extremities. He was conscious till the tenth day, when insensibility supervened while the convulsions were upon him. I consider the brain had been affected and congestion had taken place, and that produced insensibility.
After that was there some diminution in the severity of the convulsions?—Very great diminution, but they still continued.
Would that be likely to take place from the constant recurrence of the convulsions?—From the constant recurrence of the convulsions the brain would be congested.
You would expect to find a difference in that respect in a case where a man died very early in such a disease, and where it was spread over a longer period?—That would depend greatly on the violence of the convulsions.
By Lord Campbell—And the repetition?—And the repetition.
Ninth Day, Friday, 23rd May, 1856.
The Court met at ten o’clock.
J. B. Ross