On inadequacy of the valves of the aorta / by William Henderson.

  • William Henderson
Date:
[1837?]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: On inadequacy of the valves of the aorta / by William Henderson. 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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    5thly. The usually full pulse and tortuous state of the arteries are natural consequences of the great volume of the left ventri- cle, which, since the time of Haller, has been known to result from insufficiency of the semilunar valves. (Biol. Von. Trevir. iv.) The longer the continuance of the disease, the more re- markable these become. Case I.—A. B. aged 42, a gardener, July 30, 1836. He states that he enjoyed good health till about three months ago. He then became subject to asthma or difficulty of breathing, which usually attacked him in the evening. After a short time he was liable to fits of palpitation, and pain, during the paroxysms, all over his left arm. For six weeks past his complaints have been particularly troublesome, and he is now unable to leave his room, and often spends the night without sleep, owing to the severity of his dyspnoea. Pulse 90, regular and firm ; pulsation of the carotid arteries visible-; and also of the radials, though less remarkably so. In the region of the heart there are two morbid murmurs in place of the healthy sounds, of which the first is loudest. About the sternal extremity of the fourth rib the two sounds are loud- er and more superficial, and there is less difference between them. They are heard nearly equal in intensity, as far as the upper end of the sternum, and immediately above this bone they be- come of a deeper and hoarser tone, while at the same place there is some degree of impulse during the diastole of the arteries. The two sounds are audible on every part of the chest; in front they are less distinct on the sides than on the sternum, and are faint on the back. They are of the character of a harsh bel- lows-murmur, except in the space above the sternum, and in the carotids. In these vessels, the first sound is hoarse and dis- tant, the second feebler than towards the region of the heart. Dulness of percussion extended in the precordial region. The pulse of the heart against the side is now and then energetic during the diastole, or with the second sound, while little more than an undulation is felt to accompany the preceding first sound ; generally, however, the impulse occurs, as usual, during the systole of the heart. The first sound of the heart, and the pulse of the radial artery, alternate in the most distinct manner, as also do the beat of the heart and of the same artery, when the former marks the contraction of the ventricles. When, however, the impulse of the heart attends the second sound, it coincides with the radial pulse. He died in a few weeks after. I was not present at the exa- mination of the body, but am favoured by Dr Begbie, whose patient lie was, with the following notice by the gentlemen who conducted the inspection. I may observe, that the writer of
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