Neurosyphilis: Modern systematic diagnosis and treatment presented in one hundred and thirty-seven case histories

About this book

Neurosyphilis is a comprehensive medical monograph that presents a systematic approach to diagnosing and treating syphilitic disease of the nervous system. Compiled by Harvard physicians E. E. Southard and H. C. Solomon, the work opens with a detailed preface that explains its purpose for general practitioners, while also addressing neurologists, psychiatrists, and syphilographers. The authors draw on material from the Boston Psychopathic Hospital, Danvers State Hospital, and private practices, arranging 137 case histories into sections that cover the nature of the disease, diagnostic dilemmas, medico‑legal and social implications, and the outcomes of various treatment regimens. The introductory pages outline a meticulous classification of cases, from mild extra‑ocular palsy to severe general paresis, and promise cross‑references to aid clinicians in navigating the complex spectrum of neurosyphilitic presentations.

Written in the formal, didactic prose of early‑20th‑century American medicine, the text reflects the era’s emphasis on exhaustive clinical observation, autopsy correlation, and emerging laboratory techniques such as the Wassermann test. Its voice is scholarly yet practical, interweaving detailed pathology with commentary on therapeutic optimism. Readers with an interest in the history of neurology, psychiatry, or infectious disease, particularly those who appreciate original case reports and the evolution of diagnostic methodology, will find this volume a valuable window into the medical thinking and institutional collaborations of the 1910s.

Opening lines

Being Monograph Number Two of the Psychopathic Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts. (Monograph Number One was A Point Scale for Measuring Mental Ability by Robert M. Yerkes, James W. Bridges and Rose S. Hardwick. Published by Warwick and York. Baltimore 1915.) …

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