Cerebral thrombophlebitis and fibrinogen B.

Thrombophlebitis of the superficial cerebral veins and the dural venous sinuses is now a well-recognized complication of infective processes, not only about the head and neck but elsewhere in the body (Symonds, 1931, 1937, 1940; Purdon Martin and Sheehan, 1941; Purdon Martin, 1941). Most. observers, however, have realized the difficulty in establishing the final pathological diagnosis, particularly in the early stages where the patient may present with high bilateral papilleedema and no abnormal physical signs, or with some evidence of increased intracranial pressure and paretic or. convulsive phenomena. It is always important in those cases in which visual acuity is deteriorating rapidly as the result of papillcedema to exclude a space-occupying lesion within the skull, as it is not otherwise safe to embark upon a course of repeated spinal drainage in order to save a patient's vision. The diagnostic difficulties are well illustrated in the following case: