An unusual abnormal condition of the tongue and cheeks considered in connexion with life assurance / by J. Moore Neligan.

  • Neligan, J. Moore (John Moore), 1815-1863.
Date:
1862
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: An unusual abnormal condition of the tongue and cheeks considered in connexion with life assurance / by J. Moore Neligan. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    may have fallen to have had more than ordinary experience in the examination of lives. One especial difficulty is thrown in the way of medical men by the nature of the forms which they are called upon to fill up, and which are also intended to be guides to them as to the manner in which they are to conduct their examination. No uniform plan or form is adopted by assurance companies, and scarcely any two of them agree; in some undue prominence is given to mere trifles that can have but little effect on the duration of human life, while in others the most important points are left unnoticed. I have before me now the form supplied to their medical officers by a recently established company, which contains no less than 36 questions to be put by them to the proposer, the mere recording the answers given to which, would, if conscientiously performed, occupy at least an hour, and, when recorded, the only value of many of them would be to puzzle the board of directors and their chief medical officer, before whom they would be laid for a final decision on the case. Take for example the following:— “Query 16. Can he run or take violent exercise without more than ordinary inconvenience ? Query 19. How many miles does he walk each day, upon an average; and what other exercise does he take ? Query 20. What is his usual beverage; beer, wine, spirits; and their general amounts ? Query 21. Does he sleep well at night ? Query 33. Is he active or sluggish; excitable or apathetic; nervous, cheer¬ ful, or of a fretting disposition ?” !! On the other hand, in another form I have before me, there is no query as to the ages of the parents, or whether they are living or dead; one of the most important points, perhaps, in coming to a conclusion as to the chances of longevity. As the drawing up of these forms is usually left to the principal medical adviser of each company, it would be surely easy for the profession to agree upon, if not an uniform, at least, an approximate set of questions. I should, perhaps, apologize for this digression, as it is not my intention at present to enter upon the general question of life assurance in its medical bearings; I merely wish to put on record a single case, in which, in a perfectly healthy body there existed a peculiar condition of the tongue, a description of any similar