When the injury is below the fourth, the diaphragm
continues forcibly in action, but the lungs are imperfectly expanded,
and life will not be maintained for more than a day or two. When the
injury is in the dorsal region, there is paralysis of the legs and of
the sphincters of the bladder and rectum, but power is retained in the
arms and the upper intercostal muscles act, the extent of paralysis
depending on the level of the lesion. In injuries to the lumbar region
the legs may be partly paralysed, and the rectal and bladder sphincters
may be involved.
_Railway spine_, or traumatic neurasthenia, may be set up by concussion
of the cord as a result of blows or falls. Passengers after railway
accidents, or miners, often suffer from this affection.
3. =Of the Face.=--These produce great disfigurement and inconvenience,
and there is a risk of injury to the brain. The seventh nerve may be
involved, giving rise to facial paralysis. Punctured wounds of the orbit
are especially dangerous. Wounds apparently confined to the external
parts often conceal deep-seated mischief.
4. =Of the Eye.=--The iris may be injured by sharp blows, as from the
cork of a soda-water bottle.
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