Sympathetic disorders in obstetrical paralysis of the newborn.

In addition to the classical description of involvement of the cervical sympathetic in low root lesions (Claude Bernard-Horner syndrome), other sympathetic syndromes have been described accompanying the motor and sensory changes in obstetrical paralysis of the upper limb. Loss of sweat secretion can be deomonstrated by electrical skin resistance tests, and the authors describe their apparatus and method of investigating this in the newborn. Although sweat secretion is often scanty in the newborn, it can be enhanced with appropriate techniques, particularly in the areas richer in sweat glands. This method of investigating sympathetic nerve function has been used to clarify the location of the neurological damage and therefore it is of some value for the prognosis in obstetrical paralysis of the newborn.