Neuchâtel, or NEUFCHÂTEL (Ger. Neuenburg), a canton in the west of Switzerland, between Lake Neuchâtel and the French frontier. Neuchâtel lies in the midst of the Jura Mountains, four chains of which, running from north-east to south-west, traverse the canton, and are separated by elevated longitudinal valleys. The greater number of the numerous streams which water the canton flow into the Rhine; several are feeders of the Lake of Neuchâtel, which, lying 1420 feet above sea-level, and 472 feet deep, is 25 miles long by from 3 to 6 wide. The Thièle serves as its outlet, and carries its waters into the neighbouring lake of Bienne, and thence into the river Aar. Pop. of the canton (1870) 97,284; (1888) 108,153, of whom three-fourths speak French, and four-fifths are Protestants. Asphalt and absinthe are exported; good wine and lace are made; but the speciality of the canton is watch-making, which occupies from 18,000 to 20,000 persons, and is prosecuted mainly in the homes of the work-people. The history of Neuchâtel was identical with that of Burgundy till the 11th century; and after the principality had been for a time incorporated with the territories of the Counts of Chalons, to whom it had been granted in 1288 by Rudolph of Hapsburg, it passed to the House of Longueville. In 1707, on the extinction of the Neuchâtel branch of the latter family, some fifteen claimants came forward to advance more or less valid pretensions to the Neuchâtel territory. Frederick I. of Prussia, who based his claim to the principality of Neuchâtel on the ground of his descent from the first Prince of Orange, a descendant of the House of Chalons, was the successful candidate; and from his time it continued associated with Prussia till 1806, when Napoleon bestowed it upon General Berthier; but in 1814 it was restored to the House of Brandenburg. A republican constitution was adopted in 1848, in spite of Prussian protest; and there was civil war in 1856. The connection with Prussia was wholly dissolved in 1857, and Neuchâtel is now a member of the Swiss Confederation. See SWITZERLAND.
NEUCHÂTEL, chief town of the canton, occupies a magnificent site on the north-west shore of the Lake of Neuchâtel, 85 miles by rail NNE. of Geneva. It is noted for its many charitable, educational, and artistic institutions, and has a château (restored 1866), a college (1828), a statue of Farel (1875), &c. There are manufactures of watches, jewellery, &c. Pop. (1870) 13,321; (1888) 16,504.—The famous Neufchâtel cream-cheeses are made, not here, but at Neufchâtel-en-Bray, a small Norman town, 25 miles SE. of Dieppe by rail.
Neuilly, or NEUILLY-SUR-SEINE, a town in the French department of Seine, immediately to the north of the Bois de Boulogne, and practically a suburb of Paris. Here, near the Seine, and in a large and beautiful park, formerly stood the Château de Neuilly, built by Louis XV., and the favourite residence of Louis-Philippe, which was burned at the revolution in 1848. When Louis-Philippe took refuge in England he assumed the title of Count de Neuilly. Pop. (1891) 29,444.
Neumünster, a prosperous manufacturing town of Holstein, on the Schwale, a head-water of the Stör, 20 miles by rail S. by W. of Kiel. It has large cloth-mills, dye-works, breweries, &c. Pop. (1875) 10,124; (1885) 13,659.
Neu-Pommern. See NEW BRITAIN.
Neuralgia (Gr. neuron, 'nerve;' algos, 'pain') is a term employed to designate pain of a purely nervous character, usually unaccompanied by inflammation, fever, or any appreciable change of structure in the affected part. The pain, which occurs in paroxysms, usually followed by complete remissions, is of every possible degree and character, being described in different cases as piercing, tearing, burning, &c. These paroxysms may occur at intervals of a few seconds only, or they may take place daily or on alternate days, or they may be separated by much longer intervals, which are often, but by no means always, of a regular length. The pain is usually felt not only at the place where the nerves terminate, but along their course. It is usually confined to one side of the body, and is very rarely, if ever, quite symmetrical. In prolonged cases 'tender points' are developed along the course of the affected nerves. After the pain has subsided the painful parts are usually tender to the touch. Very frequently the sensibility of the skin supplied by the affected nerve is somewhat diminished. With the pain there is frequently spasmodic twitching of the adjacent muscles. The duration of the disease is very uncertain. The patient may have only a single attack, or he may be liable to recurring attacks for months, years, or even for his whole life; it is, however, very seldom that the disease occurs but once. Death scarcely ever results directly from this affection, but the pain may, by its severity and persistence, gradually undermine the constitution.
The disease may attack any part of the body where there are nerves; but in no part does it occur so frequently as in the face, its seat being in the facial branches of the fifth pair of nerves (the trifacial nerves; see NERVOUS SYSTEM). The most severe form of facial neuralgia, happily rare, is known as tic douloureux. 'The absolute suddenness with which the pain comes on is one of its most remarkable characters. The patient is perhaps sitting quietly reading, when he jumps up from his seat, and rushes up and down the room with his hand forcibly pressed against his cheek. Or he may rock himself backwards and forwards in his chair, crying out or uttering deep groans. In ten or twenty seconds, or a minute at the longest, the paroxysm is over. It ceases as abruptly as it began.' 'The paroxysms may return every few minutes.' 'Sometimes remissions occur, the patient remaining free from the disease for several days together, or even for months. But presently it returns, and is as severe as ever.' 'A patient who suffers under tic douloureux acquires an expression of intense distress and suffering; his countenance is worn and wrinkled, and looks like that of a much older person' (Fagge, Practice of Medicine).
'The paroxysms of suffering in this frightful disease are apt to be brought on by apparently trivial causes—by a slight touch, by a current of air blowing upon the face, by a sudden jar or shake of the bed on which the patient is lying, by a knock at the door, or even by directing the patient's attention to his malady, by speaking of it or asking him questions about it. The necessary movements of the face in speaking or eating are often sufficient to provoke or renew the paroxysm. At the same time, firm pressure made upon the painful part frequently gives relief, and causes a sense of numbness to take the place of the previous agony' (Sir J. Watson).
Facial neuralgia of a less severe type than tic douloureux is very much more common, in fact it is by far the most frequent form of the disease; the reason probably being that the trifacial nerve, lying superficially, and being distributed over a part of the surface which is usually unprotected by any artificial covering, is very liable, for that reason, to be affected by exposure to atmospheric influences, which are undoubtedly to be included among the exciting causes of this disease. Amongst other seats of neuralgia may be mentioned the arm, especially the forearm, the spaces between the ribs, especially between the sixth and ninth, and the lower extremity, where it most frequently affects the sciatic nerve, giving rise to the affection known as Sciatica, which, however, not always being pure neuralgia, will be noticed in a separate article. The internal organs may also be the seat of neuralgia—e.g. the heart (some cases of Angina Pectoris, q.v.), stomach, or kidney.
The causes of neuralgia are various. Excluding inflammation of the nervous trunk or neuritis, the pain may be excited by a tumour pressing on the nerve or originating in its substance, or by roughness of a bony surface with which the nerve may be in contact, as when it passes through a foramen. Sometimes, again, irritation applied to one branch of a nerve will give rise to pain at the extremity of another branch of the same nerve, the sensation being reflected along the branch which is not directly exposed to the irritation. Thus, facial neuralgia very frequently depends upon diseased conditions of the teeth, even if they themselves are not painful. In this way we may explain the pain in the shoulder which often accompanies disease of the liver; the pain in the thigh, which is often associated with irritation of the kidney; the pain in the left arm, which is often coincident with disease of the heart, &c. Persons suffering from debility, anaemia, and a gouty or rheumatic constitution are so especially liable to neuralgia that these conditions, as also exposure to malarious influences, must be placed among the predisposing causes. Amongst the exciting causes exposure to cold and wet, or to a cold dry east wind, is the most frequent; but fatigue, strong mental emotions, the abuse of tea, coffee, tobacco, and alcoholic drinks, a wound or bruise, the retrocession of gout, rheumatism, or cutaneous eruptions, &c. occasionally suffice to excite the disease.
The resources of the materia medica have been exhausted in searching for remedies for this cruel disease. But, in the first place, a careful search must be made for any possible local source of irritation; and next, 'hygienic conditions must be very carefully attended to; fresh air, regular bodily exercise, freedom from worry and overstrain of mind, plenty of sleep, an abundant supply of wholesome nourishment, are each essential' (Fagge). Fatty food, as cod-liver oil, butter, cream, is of especial importance.
Of drugs which give immediate relief to the pain, morphia, especially when administered hypodermically (q.v.), holds the first place. But it must be used with great caution, and not entrusted to the patient himself, lest a 'morphia habit' become established. Antipyrin and exalgin, coal-tar derivatives recently introduced into medicine, sometimes take the place of morphia, and are free from some of its disadvantages. Croton-chloral and gelsemium are often useful in facial neuralgia. Relief from the suffering is often the first step towards recovery.
But in most cases some treatment is necessary to remove the constitutional state on which the neuralgia depends. Iron, quinine (especially when the pain recurs at regular intervals), arsenic, phosphorus, chloride of ammonium, are the medicines most generally useful. But the treatment must of course be adapted to the disorders, frequently digestive, present in each particular case.
Local applications can be of no permanent service in cases where the pain results from organic change, or from general constitutional causes; they will, however, often give considerable temporary relief. Amongst the most important local applications may be mentioned laudanum, tincture of aconite or aconitina ointment, belladonna-plaster, and chloroform (which should be applied upon a piece of linen saturated with it, and covered with oiled silk to prevent evaporation), mustard leaves or poultices, and small fly-blisters. Galvanism is also valuable.
Lastly, neuralgia, being a purely nervous affection, is often influenced by means calculated to make a strong impression on the mind of the patient; and hence it is that galvanic rings, electric chains, mesmeric passes, and other applications which, like these, act more upon the mind than upon the body of the patient, occasionally effect a cure.
In cases which have resisted all other modes of treatment, surgical measures are sometimes necessary—viz. acupuncture, nerve-stretching (see under SCIATICA), or, in the last resort, removal of a portion of the affected nerve.