The position of the head in cases of cerebral tumor is sometimes a phenomenon of sufficient importance to deserve careful analysis.
At present, I shall consider only those positions which appear to be forced and which the patient assumes because he cannot do otherwise even if he should wish to, or because this position is the most agreeable to him. I shall not consider the faulty position of the head due to diplopia, etc.
In the majority of cases, the position of the head is to be considered as the result of some defective postural reaction of a general nature. For instance, a certain patient with a tumor of the frontal lobe lies in bed with his head straight. If, however, he attempts to walk (in which case he walks backward and mostly toward the unaffected side), his head assumes a typical position, that is, bent toward the healthy side