[Alexia and agraphia caused by a lesion of the right hemisphere in a non-aphasic right-handed patient].

Oral and written speech centers are commonly attributed to the dominant hemisphere, while body, spatial and facial recognition to the non-dominant. This paper examines the case of a 63 year old entirely right-handed male who presents alexia, agraphia, difficulties in spelling and word-finding together with left spatial and body agnosia, musical, letter and face agnosia, constructional apraxia and left hemianopsia. Computerized axial tomography confirms a right occipital tumor identified as an adeno-carcinoma probably of digestive origin. The role of right hemisphere as a spatial prerequisite to final elaborate speech is discussed.