The Apallic Syndrome
Overview
The subject of the apallic syndrome is one which has long been familiar to me, although I have not personally studied it as deeply as I would have wished. I became acquainted with this syndrome long before the last war, when my neurosurgical colleague Hugh Cairns (1952), made his pioneer contribution under the term "akinetic mutism" . This was an ar- resting title, but it was one which did not altogether satisfy some of his colleagues, includ- ing myself. We found it difficult to suggest an alternative. That is one reason why I wel- come the expression "apallic syndrome" . Forensic practice has forced me from time to time to consider rather more deeply this distressing syndrome, and to try and marshal my ideas in a form which would satisfy my colleagues in the legal profession. More than once I have been instructed to make a medico- legal assessment of these unfortunate patients. The points which have concerned my lawyer friends have not been matters of diagnosis, or of morbid anatomy, or of etiology. The fac- tual problem which has been put before me was to make some approximate assessment as to the expectation of life. Vague guess-work is unacceptable in such circumstances. What the lawyers require is a precise and dogmatic answer.
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Details
- ISBN-13: 9783642811531
- ISBN-10: 3642811531
- Publisher: Springer
- Publish Date: January 2012
- Dimensions: 9.61 x 6.69 x 0.6 inches
- Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
- Page Count: 259
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