Abstract des Autors

Despite marked improvement in the effectiveness of the football helmet-face mask protective system, significant head injuries persist. Three players from the Philadelphia area manifested various signs and symptoms of central nervoussystem pathology while playing tackle football. in each case the blow to the head was not unsually severe. All three youngsters, however, had infectious mononucleosis with positive Monospot tests. The purpose of this communication is to question whether individuals with clinically active infectious mononucleosis have an increased susceptibility to the effects of minor trauma to the head sustainedin tackle football, and to alert coaches, trainers, and team physicians to the possibility that this condition may be present in an athlete who manifests symptoms and findings of a cerebral disorder in the absence of observed head trauma. Verf.-Referat