PUNCH DRUNK
- HARRISON S. MARTLAND, M.D.
Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text.
Excerpt
For some time fight fans and promoters have recognized a peculiar condition occurring among prize fighters which, in ring parlance, they speak of as "punch drunk." Fighters in whom the early symptoms are well recognized are said by the fans to be "cuckoo," "goofy," "cutting paper dolls," or "slug nutty."
Punch drunk most often affects fighters of the slugging type, who are usually poor boxers and who take considerable head punishment, seeking only to land a knockout blow. It is also common in second rate fighters used for training purposes, who may be knocked down several times a day. Frequently it takes a fighter from one to two hours to recover from a severe blow to the head or jaw. In some cases consciousness may be lost for a considerable period of time.
The early symptoms of punch drunk usually appear in the extremities. There may be only an occasional
Footnotes
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Read before the New York Pathological Society, at the New York Academy of Medicine, New York, May 10, 1928.
