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87
the assigned cause of 53 deaths, 17 of them in the Brompton
sub-district; Atelectasis of 7—6 of them in the Town subdistrict;
and Congenital Malformation of 5. Old Age was the
registered cause of 113 deaths, 109 of them at ages over sixtyfive:
between seventy-five and eighty-five there were 53 deaths
so classified, and 29 at eighty-five and upwards.
Class VI.— Local Diseases.
The diseases in this Class, containing eleven Orders
named after the systems or organs to which the diseases relate,
were accountable for 1223 deaths, or 50.7 per cent, of the
deaths from all causes: 981 were registered in the Town subdistrict-,
and 243 in Brompton: 330 were of children under five
years of age.
1. Nervous System.— Diseases of the nervous system
were the registered causes of 318 deaths (against 302, 289 and
310 in 1886-7-8); viz., 259 in the Town sub-district and 59 in
Brompton : 92 of the deaths were of children under five years
of age. The quarterly numbers were 84, 84, 62 and 88. The
fatal diseases were Inflammation of Brain or Membranes, 35
deaths; Apoplexy, Softening of Brain, Hemiplegia, Brain
Paralysis, 167 (134 in the Town sub-district, 33 in Brompton,
and 146 at ages over forty-five); Insanity, General Paralysis
of the Insane, 4; Epilepsy, 9; Convulsions, 53 (all under five,
and 47 under one year); Laryngismus Stridulus (spasm of
glottis), 11; Disease of Spinal Cord, Paraplegia, Paralysis
Agitans, 14; Other Diseases of Nervous System, 25. Convulsions
as a cause of death is frequently associated, in medical
certificates, with definite diseases, and with "teething." The
convulsions being a symptom only, such deaths are classified to
the primary disease named, or to dentition, as the case may be.
Laryngismus Stridulus (spasm of the glottis), included in the
new classification with diseases of the nervous system, is not infrequently
the assigned cause of death of children "found dead