A treatise on diseases of the bones / By Thomas M. Markoe.
- Thomas M. Markoe
- Date:
- 1872
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: A treatise on diseases of the bones / By Thomas M. Markoe. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by the Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library at Yale University, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library at Yale University.
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![of tlie operation, hy which tlie pliysical conditions alone can be affected, 8cen)5 to me the 8tron«jjest proof that it is upon tliese phvtiical conditions that tlie difficulty depends, a conviction which I think must force itself upon the mind of any one who has watched the beautiful reparative appearances which the wound presents from the moment of the operation, and the cer- tainty and soundness of the cure which follows its thorough ]ierf<>niiance. Tlie following cases will serve to illustrate the main features of what I think may properly be termed c/ironic sinuous ab- scess of hone: Case I.—George Brown, aged nineteen, a German seaman, came to the New York Hospital, November 17,1857, with a dis- eased condition of his left tibia. It commenced about fourteen months previously, after severe exposure in going round Cape Horn, and seemed at first of a rheumatic character, attacking first one ankle and then the other. He was recovering from the lameness caused by this attack, when, without evident cause, the inflammation concentrated itself upon the lower part of the left leg. He was again confined to his bed, and sutFered much from pain and fever. An abscess formed in about three weeks, and broke on the anterior surface, about four inches above the joint. The swelling and inflammation continued, and, during about five months, he was scarcely ever able to leave his bed, except on crutches. During this time, ab- scesses formed and broke at several ]ioints of the swollen limb, and, at different times, ten or twelve minute pieces of bone came away, the largest not bigger than a pea. For the last few months, since the acuter symptoms have subsided, he has been able to go about most of the time, but not without great discomfort and inconvenience. On examination, the lower third of the tibia was found enlarged to more than double its natural size. Over it the tissues were thickened and brawny, and the skin j)resented the orifices of several sinuses which led down into the substance of the bone, and discharged a moder- ate quantity of pus. The ]^robe, passed into any of these, goes deeply into the bone, and encounters some rough, exposed, bony points, but no distinct or considerable surface of seques- trum can be recognized. One of the openings on the anterior](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b21014413_0050.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
