Cases and observations illustrating inflammatory effusions into the substance of the lungs, particularly as modified by contagious fevers / by William Aitken, M.D.

  • Aitken, William, 1825-1892.
Date:
1848
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Cases and observations illustrating inflammatory effusions into the substance of the lungs, particularly as modified by contagious fevers / by William Aitken, M.D. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The University of Glasgow Library. The original may be consulted at The University of Glasgow Library.

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    made apparent by microscopic examination after death ; and that in the series of changes which take place in a part where exuda- tion from the blood-vessels has occurred, the forms of organi- zation depend as much upon the nature of the particular dys- crasia which exists, as upon the stage of development at which the organization of the exuded liquor sanguinis has arrived at the period of examination. The cases of which 1 have witnessed the dissections in the Edin- burgh Royal Infirmary, in which consolidation of the substance of the lung mainly contributed to cause death, or in which no other local lesion was apparent after death sufficient to account for the fiital termination, have been 101 in number, and were observed from June 10, 1847, until March 13, 1848. Many more cases of pulmonary disease during that period in the same hospital proved fatal, but only 101 could be inspected after death. The following table presents a condensed analysis of the conditions under which the pulmonary lesion existed. The lung was more or less condensed— in 56 cases of fever (34 of typhus, 22 of fever other than typhus); 13 do. in which Bright's disease existed; 13 do. marked by a cachexia, indicated by habitual bad health, various local lesions, and attended by in- temperance ; 6 do. of fatty heart, hypertrophy, and softening of texture ; 4 do. of tuberculosis ; 2 do. of secondary deposits; 2 do. of variola and rubeola ; 2 do. with no other apparent lesion ; 2 do. where disease extended from neighbouring parts ; 1 do. with softening of corpus striatum. 101 Of these 101 cases of pulmonary condensation, 56 occurred durino- the progress of fever. Of these 56 cases, 34 occurred during the progress of typhus and 22 during the course of fever other than typhus, such as continued fever or synocha. In ten of the cases where the condensation occurred durino- the progress of typhus fever, the lung was the only organ affected. In the remaining twenty-four, other organs besides the lung ap- peared to have been the seat of exudation from the blood-vessels. In twelve cases the spleen was affected, in seven the pleura, in five the intestines, in four the liver, in three the pericardium ;'in two the heart was soft and flabby to a marked degree; in one there was gangrene of the toes; and in one there was softenino- of the corpus striatum ; and in this latter case, the lung was in a state of gangrene; in one tliere was extensive ulceration of the tonsils.