Picture that Manifests
The eyes present a picture that manifests the general condition of the body, whether
it be healthy, disposed to disease, or suffering from disease.
Protruding eyes are the sure symptom of the disease known as Basedow's disease;
they indicate also short-sightedness, and hereditary epilepsy.
The condition of the mucous membranes of the eyes permits certain conclusions as
to the genital organs.
If the eyes are abnormally small, we draw the conclusion that there is general
weakness and deficiency in nutrition. They indicate retarded development, which
may be seated in the central nervous system. The eyes usually recede during severe
diseases.
A hyperaemic condition of the eyelids, with or without inflammation, is
always a symptom of a dysaemic condition of the entire system (scrofulosis). In
some cases of scrofulosis there is not another visible sign on the entire body, and
yet the eyelids and eyelashes, which sticks together most of the time, tell the story
of an inherited condition of dysaemia.
A yellowish hue of the eyes indicates disease of the liver.
The color of the iris does not indicate much in itself, although the theory of
Liljequist, which deserves some attention, claims that if a person deteriorates in
health, the eyes, if originally light blue, darken more and more and finally change
into brown or the color of the hybrid race. Liljequist's scale of healthy eyes reads:
Light blue, medium blue, dark blue; then light, medium and dark brown. However,
brown eyes do not represent sickness; they but indicate nervousness and sensibility.
According to Liljequist, individuals belong to the hybrid race when they are born of
parents one of whom has blue eyes and the other brown eyes. The weaker race
transmits the brown colour of its iris to the middle part of the iris of the child, while
the colour of the stronger race reappears in the outer part of the iris; not, however,
as pure blue, but tinted with a delicate shade of green, in consequence of the light
brownish-yellowish colour which emanates from the central part.
When death is imminent, the iris displays a grayish-black, muddy gray or muddy
brown colour.
The pupil of the eye is irritated in cases of nervous disease and indicates this
condition. In cases where only one pupil is dilated, a local disease of the optic
nerve or one side of the brain is evident. If the pupils are insensible to external
irritations and remain rigid, the conclusion is that the brain or the spinal cord is
badly affected.
It may be stated in a general way that clear, brilliant eyes, (when not caused by
fever) are usually an indication of the good quality of the blood as well as of all
other humours of the body, together with normal activity of all the central organs.
The mouth and tongue:
Pathological indications manifested by the mouth are
principally displayed by the lips, which are clear red in healthy people, while a
hectic red indicates fever and pulmonary disease. Pale lips indicate anaemia and
chlorosis, and lips of a bluish hue are signs of a generally weakened organism.
Frequent, vivid contractions of the lips (usually thin in this case) indicate great
nervousness.
The color of the mucous membrane of the tongue is a very fair indication of health
or sickness. If a person is in health, the tongue is rosy and not coated. But any
disturbance in the intestines causes a more or less coated tongue, and consequently
shows the detrimental influence these particular ailments exert upon the brain and
nerves. Hence, a coated tongue affords a valuable indication in making a correct
diagnosis, especially in case of chronic catarrh of the stomach, this being one of the
main causes of depression, and melancholia, as stated by Piderit.
The forehead, or rather the record traced thereon, in lines
of nature's unimpeachable calligraphy, warrants certain conclusions as to mentality and
character; and these may be important in determining the truthfulness of the
patient's stories of suffering and other items which facilitate or impede a correct
diagnosis.
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