An inquiry into the causation, diagnosis, and treatment of fracture of the internal table of the skull / by William Frederic Teevan.

  • Teevan, W. F. (William Frederic), 1834-1887
Date:
1865
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: An inquiry into the causation, diagnosis, and treatment of fracture of the internal table of the skull / by William Frederic Teevan. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    The next diagrams show the rationale of fracUire of the External Table only, by a blow from within the skull. A c c D E F Fig. 3. H L n M Fig. 4. K Let A B (Fig. 3) be a section of the skull. Draw two vertical lines parallel to one another, C E, D F. WTien pressure is applied at a point, G, on the inside of the skull, the bone is temporarily depressed very slightly and assumes the shape H K (Fig. 4), and the lines C E, D F, are now no longer parallel to each other but converge at 0, so that the distance from I to J is less than that from C to D, but the distance from L to M is greater than that from E to F; therefore, the atoms of bone from I to J have been brought nearer to each other by being compressed, whilst those from L to M have been extended. If any fracture should take place it must do so in the line of extension L M, and at the point in the line where the greatest amoimt of extension is taking place, N, which is in the outside of the skull. Proof: Take a cane and bend it slightly, A B, (Fig. 3.) Insert two pins or wires, C E, D F, vertically, so that they may be parallel to each other—^the longer the pins, the more manifest will be the result. Exert pressure on the concavity at the point G, so that the cane assumes the shape H K (Fig. 4). It will now be found that the wires are no longer parallel, but converge towards each other at O in the upper surface, and that the distance from I to J is less than that from C to D, but that the distance from L to M is greater than that from E to F, showing that the atoms along the line I J have been brought nearer to each other by being compressed, whilst those along L M have been extended. Therefore, if any fracture takes place, it is clear that it will com- mence along the line of extension, L M, and at that point, N, in the line where the greatest extension is going on. Consequently, if the pressure at 0 be continued till the stick begins to break, it
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