On the pathological anatomy of cholera / [Sir W.T. Gairdner].

  • William Tennant Gairdner
Date:
1849
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: On the pathological anatomy of cholera / [Sir W.T. Gairdner]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    PATHOLOGICAL ANATOMY OF CHOLERA. BY W. T. GAIRDNER, M.D., PATHOLOGIST TO THE ROYAL INFIRMARY OF EDINBUBGK. [from the monthly journal of MEDICAL SCIENCE, JULY 1849.] The following statement is founded on the examination of eighty- nine fatal cases of cholera during the late epidemic, in the theatre ot the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh. In the course of my duties as pathologist to that institution, I have had unusual opportunities of contrasting and comparing the appearances in cholera with those presented to my notice in connection with other diseases ; and the constant use of this comparative method of observation has led me to consider many statements as erroneous, which are generally, and in some cases all but universally, received in relation to this dis¬ ease. The greatest care has been taken to verify or correct the results obtained by previous observers, more especially where any theory of the disease appeared to be involved ; microscopical ana¬ lysis and chemical tests have been applied wherever they promised to aid in the investigation; and in regard to such doubtful points as appeared likely to acquire precision by numerical analysis, the results have been preserved in the tabular form. The bodies opened were mostly from the cholera hospital, being taken at random from those who died under the care of Dr W. Robertson; a few, however, were from the Infirmary. The pro¬ portion of females to males was 2 to 1. The average age of the patients was thirty-three, by far the greater number being between twenty and forty. Four of the females were in different stages of pregnancy; but as the greater number of the bodies of females known to be pregnant were giventoMrGoodsir by his special request, this number does not give an accurate idea of the large proportion of pregnant cases. Several of the females had been nursing, as was shown by the distended mammae, which readily yielded milk on pressure. The great majority of the bodies examined were evi- SUTHERLAND AND KNOX, 23, GEORGE STREET, EDINBURGH.