Central Autonomic Paralysis

Blood Flow in the Hand and Forearm After Paravertebral Block of the Sympathetic Ganglia. Evidence Against Sympathetic Vasodilator Nerves in the Extremities of Man

“…In certain of these patients, the vessels of the extremities on the side of the lesion are not able to constrict fully when the body is cooled, but they dilate normally when the body is heated (4). They resemble cases of unilateral peripheral sympathectomy in that the involved hand is the warmer one when the body is exposed in a cool room, but they differ from the unilateral sympathectomy in that warming the body produces as great an increase in blood flow in the involved hand as it does in the normal hand.…”

“…No data are given to show that novocainization of the peripheral nerves had produced complete sympathetic paralysis. Lack of sweating of the anesthetized skin was noted, but recent investigations have shown that sweating may be markedly decreased without interfering with other functions of the sympathetic nerves (4). The authors point out that the circulation in the forearm is considerably increased immediately after sympathetic ganglionectomy, and they are unable to account for the difference between the effect of blocking a mixed nerve to a part of the limb and the effect when the sympathetic nerves supplying almost the whole limb are blocked.…”