APOPLEXY is a term applied to an engorgement of blood, with or without extrava sation, in or upon any organ, as the brain (cerebral A.), the spinal cord or lungs (pulmonary A.). As popularly used, the term denotes vaguely a condition arising from some disturb ance within the head. A. occurs in fits, which may be sudden or come on by degrees: They are characterized by loss of sense and motion, speechlessness, and heavy sleep, with stertorous respiration and a slow pulse. The fit may last from a few hours to two or three days, and passes off, leaving generally more or less paralysis, and recurs at intervals of months or years. The age at which A. occurs most commonly is from 50 to 70, and is comparatively rare before and after these ages. Cerebral A. may arise from mere congestion of the blood-vessels of the brain, caused by impeded return of the venous blood, as from the military stock pressing on the jugular veins, keeping the head long in one position, or turning it quickly. Stout persons, with short necks, are more liable to this form of A., though lean persons are also frequently its victims. But, in addition to congestion, there may be an escape of the watery portion of the blood from the congested vessels, and, this collecting, produces serous A.; or, owing to a diseased
condition of the arterial walls, the vessels may burst, and A. from cerebral hemorrhage be the result; the latter is the most common, and is usually preceded by some softening of the brain substance itself. If this bleeding be to any great extent, death results; if only a small quantity escapes, it coagulates, and forms a clot, which is absorbed in time. Persons with diseased heart and lungs, and pregnant females, are liable to apoplectic fits. The attack is generally preceded by vertigo, headache, partial or temporary loss of memory, and occasionally double vision. When these warnings occur, medical advice should be sought to correct the digestive functions; and, by relieving the oppressed brain, ward off the fit. When the latter occurs, the patient's head should be raised, cold applied, and in some cases blood should be withdrawn from the temporal artery or external jugular vein. As soon as possible, purgative medicines should be admin istered. For the results of A., see PARALYSIS. Tumors within the skull produce symptoms of A.