Rolleston and McNee,1 in their splendid book on diseases of the liver, gallbladder and bile ducts, stated:
The minor degrees of peripheral neuritis are often thrown into the shade by ascites or other effects of cirrhosis on which attention is focused, and so pass undetected. Cramps, muscular tenderness and loss of the tendo Achilles and knee jerks may occur in cases of cirrhosis admitted for ascites or hematemesis, and are, generally speaking, to be referred to alcoholism. Peripheral neuritis in the early stages of cirrhosis is usually alcoholic; it may be due to a combination in varying degrees of alcoholism and hepatic insufficiency.
It is the purpose of this paper to examine the connection between peripheral neuropathy (to use the term proposed by Wechsler2 to replace peripheral neuritis) and hepatic cirrhosis in the light of the evidence which has recently been given on the etiology of the former