Case of hypertrophy of the spleen and liver, which death took place from suppuration of the blood / by John Hughes Bennett.

  • Bennett, John Hughes, 1812-1875.
Date:
[1845?]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Case of hypertrophy of the spleen and liver, which death took place from suppuration of the blood / by John Hughes Bennett. 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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    squeezed readily broke down into agrumous pulp. The yellow por- tion was of a light yellow colour, opaque and dull, in no way resem- bling the gelatinous appearance of a healthy decolorized clot. When squeezed out of the veins as was sometimes accidentally done where they were divided, it resembled thick creamy pus. In some por- tions of the veins the clot was wholly formed of red coagulum. In others it was divided into red and yellow. In a few places the yellow formed only a streak or superficial layer upon the red, or covered the latter with spots of various sizes. Whether this coagu- lum existed in all the veins could only have been ascertained by a complete dissection of the body. It was seen, however, that the femoral veins, after passing under Poupart's ligament, were empty and perfectly healthy as far down as the Sartorius muscle. The external and internal iliac veins, as well as the pelvic veins were full and distended. The azygos, both axillary and jugular, veins, were full, also the longitudinal, the lateral, and other sinuses at the base of the cranium and veins ramifying on the surface of the brain. In this last situation some of the veins appeared as if full of pus, whilst others were gorged with a dark coagulum. In the aorta and external arteries were a few small clots resembling those found in the veins. These vessels, however, were comparatively empty. The basilar artery at the base of the brain was distended with a yellow clot. Vessels.—The arteries and veins themselves were perfectly healthy. Although carefully looked for, in no place could thicken- ing or increased vascularity be observed. Nowhere was the clot adherent to the vessels, but, on the contrary, readily slipt out when an accidental puncture was made in them. Head.—On removing the dura mater., the veins which empty themselves into the longitudinal sinus were considerably engorg- ed, especially posteriorly. Some were filled with the red and others with the yellow clot previously described. Others again were half-filled with red and half with yellow coagulum, the pas- sage of the one into the other being clearly perceived. Both he- mispheres with the longitudinal sinus wix^falx in situ were removed by a section across the brain, as low down as the division of the cranium would permit. The brain was then discovered to be very soft uniformly,—a circumstance accounted for by the time which had elapsed since death. The part removed was put aside in order to be preserved and hardened in spirit. The lateral ventricles were found healthy, contained no serum, and the choroid plexus was perfectly normal. At the base of the brain the basilar artery was seen distended with the yellow coagulum, as were also a few of the arteries, but to a very slight extent.