Hammond reported a case of a young man
who was the subject of merycism, and whose mental condition was
also impaired. No special treatment was undertaken, but the
patient was trephined, with the purpose of improving his mental
condition. There were no unusual features connected with the
operation, but it was noticed that there were no ruminations with
the meals he took until the fifth day, when a slight rumination
occurred. Eight days later a similar button was removed from the
corresponding side of the left skull, and from that time (about
six months) to the time of report, there had been no
regurgitation. Whether the cure of the merycism in this case was
directly due to the operations on the cranium, or the result of
the mental improvement, is a question for discussion. Hammond
added that, when acquired, merycism was almost invariably the
result of over-eating and loading the esophagus, or the result of
fast eating.
In remarks upon Hammond's paper Knapp said that two cases had
come to his knowledge, both in physicians, but one of them he
knew of only by hearsay. The other man, now over thirty, had
regurgitated his food from early childhood, and he did not know
that he had anything very unusual the matter with him until he
began some investigations upon the functions and diseases of the
stomach.
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