Hydatids from the left lung, subsequently to the occurrence of typhoid fever, complicated with double pneumonia.

  • Black, Cornelius, 1822-1887.
Date:
[1853]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Hydatids from the left lung, subsequently to the occurrence of typhoid fever, complicated with double pneumonia. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    1. To maintain the connection between the hydatids and the surfaces on which they are formed, in order that they may become vascular, and, to a certain extent, independent structures. 2. To maintain the status quo of the exudation which has been poured into the pulmonary tissues around the exca- vations, and to heal bronchial ulceration in the few tubes which are yet patent in the lower lobe of the left lung. Now, the first indication will be fulfilled by maintaining a brisk circulation through the skin, and thereby guarding against pulmonary congestion, by allaying cough, which would disturb the connection between the hydatids and their parent surfaces, and by restoring the vital tonicity of the capillaries from which the exudation, necessary for the formation of hydatids, takes place. Hence the necessity for the use of warm clothing, the occasional exhibition of anodynes and sedatives, the observance of quietude of the voice, of a light, nutritious, but unstimu- lating diet, and of the steady perseverance in mild tonics, together with the maintenance of slight counter-irritation over the seat of disease. To fulfil the second indication it will, in addition to the means already specified, be necessary to maintain a uniformity of temperature of the air breathed, which should be cool rather than otherwise, in order that the vital tonicity of the capillaries of the affected bronchi may be gradually excited to a healthier degree of action, by which the pathological condition of the vessels, necessary to the occurrence of further exudation, would be destroyed. Here, I conceive, that the use of the alkalies, which have elsewhere been shown to exert such beneficial influence in the removal of inflammatory exudation, is powerfully contra- indicated; inasmuch as they, by the chemical action which they would exert upon such exudation, would not only tend to destroy the connection between the hydatids and their parent- surfaces, but also to excite the latent tendency to germination in the exudation surrounding and constituting the walls of the pulmonary excavations, and thereby to favour the extension of the latter. This objection, however, to the use of alkalies will