Volume 1

Descriptive catalogue of the pathological specimens contained in the museum of the Royal College of Surgeons of England.

  • Royal College of Surgeons of England. Museum.
Date:
1846-9
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Descriptive catalogue of the pathological specimens contained in the museum of the Royal College of Surgeons of England. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by Royal College of Physicians, London. The original may be consulted at Royal College of Physicians, London.

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    the same animal, and that the legs have much less than the comb; they also show that there is a material difference in the powers of the male and the female. The spurs of a cock were found to possess powers beyond those of a hen, while, at the same time, the one animal as a whole has more power than tlie other ; yet when I apply these principles to the powers of cure in local diseases of the two sexes in the human race, I can hardly say that I have observed any difference. It is to be observed, how- ever, that women commonly live a much more temperate life than men, which certainly must have considerable influence both with regard to resisting and curing diseases.— Hunter; On the Blood, ^c. ; Works, vol. iii., p. 273. Series III.—Sub-Series E.—Effects of the continued Presence of Foreign Bodies in the Tissues. That the living principles in two bodies which have a perfect affinity to one another should not only be a preservative, but a cause of union, is evident; but even in bodies which appear foreign to one another the stimulus of an extraneous body is not produced where union is not intended, and cannot take place, although we should at first suppose that the extraneous stimulus would be given, and suppuration succeed. Tills is verified by the eggs of many insects which are laid under the skin of dif- ferent atiimals, producing only (he adhesive inflammation in the surrounding parts, by which the skin is thickened and a nidus is fjrmed for the eggs. The Guinea-worm, called vena medinensis \_Filaria Medinensis, Rudolphi], is also a striking instance of this; for while the animal is endowed with the living principle it gives but little trouble, yet if killed it gives the stimulus of an extraneous body, wi)ich produces suppuration through its whole length. Other instances of the same sort are—the oestrum l)ovis [ (Estrus Bovis, Fabricius], which lays its eggs in the backs of cattle ; the oestrum tarendi [ Oestrus Tarandi, Fa- bricius], which lays its eggs in the back of the reindeer ; the oestrum nasale [ihid.^, which lays its eggs in the noses of reindeer ; the oestrum haemorrhoidale [ (Estrus eqni, or Gasterophilus equi, Leach], which lays its eggs in the rectum of horses; the oestrum ovis \^CEstrus ovis, Fabricius], which lays its eggs in the nose and frontal sinuses of ruminating animals, particularly sheep ; the little insect in Mexico called migna [^Acarus Americanus, Linnaeus], which lays its eggs under the skin; and, lastly, the cheggars \^Pulex penetrans, Linnaeus], which get into the feet of animals.—Hunter; On the Blood: Works, vol. iii. p. 256, in a note to the passage quoted, p'. 23. This circumstance of the deeper-seated parts not so I'eadily taking on the suppu- rative inflammation as those which are superficial, is shown in cases where extraneous bodies irritate any parts; for we find that extraneous bodies are in general capable of producing inflammation, but if these extraneous bodies are deeply seated, they may remain for years without doing more than producing the adhesive inflammation, by which means they are inclosed in a cyst, and only give some uneasiness; or if they are such as can be made to change their situation by the actions of the body upon them, as pins and needles, or from gravity, as is the case sometimes with bullets, then the parts E 2