Before communication throughout the region was as easy
as it is now, it was thought lucky to have one of these dwarfs in
a family, and the dwarfs were hired out and even sold to be used
in beggary in neighboring cities. There are somewhat similar
dwarfs in other valleys of the Pyrenees, but the number is
decreasing, and those of the Ribas Valley are reduced to a few
individuals."
Hiccough is a symptom due to intermittent, sudden contraction of
the diaphragm. Obstinate cases are most peculiar, and sometimes
exhaust the physician's skill. Symes divides these cases into
four groups:--
(1) Inflammatory, seen particularly in inflammatory diseases of
the viscera or abdominal membranes, and in severe cases of
typhoid fever.
(2) Irritative, as in direct stimulus of the diaphragm in
swallowing some very hot substance; local disease of the
esophagus near the diaphragm, and in many conditions of gastric
and intestinal disorder, more particularly those associated with
flatus.
(3) Specific or idiopathic, in which there are no evident causes
present; it is sometimes seen in cases of nephritis and diabetes.
(4) Neurotic, in which the primary cause is in the nervous
system,--hysteria, epilepsy, shock, or cerebral tumors.
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