Observations on the diseases of the rectum / by T.B. Curling.

  • Curling, Thomas Blizard, 1811-1888.
Date:
1851
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Observations on the diseases of the rectum / by T.B. Curling. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, Harvard Medical School.

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    CHAPTER III. SPASM 0E THE SPHINCTER MUSCLE. Persons occasionally suffer from symptoms similar to those described in the last chapter, but more moderate in degree. There is pain in defecation, increased afterwards, and lasting for half an hour or an hour. It is described as a forcing sensation, or a feeling as if the bowel were unrelieved. The anus is strongly contracted and drawn in by the action of the sphincter. Any attempt to examine the part induces spasm; and, the finger being passed through it, is tightly grasped by the muscle, as if girt by a cord. In cases of some standing, the muscle often becomes hyper- trophied, and forms a mass, encircling the finger like a thick unyielding ring. The spasm is not always confined to the anus, for the fibres of the internal sphincter occasionally become enlarged, contracting the lower part of the gut, and closing strongly around the finger. The faeces, however, are not streaked with blood: there is not the racking and constant pain ex- perienced in the case of ulcer, and there are intervals of ease and relief from pain, particularly when the patient's attention is engaged. This affection occurs commonly in hysterical females.