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
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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![of the internal table only. The second specimen, which is in the museum at Netley, is the skull cap taken from the soldier who was under Dr. Cowan’s care, and it shows a straight fracture a few inches long, with slight separation of its edges, affecting the internal table only, of the right parietal bone. In each instance there was no fracture nor fissure of the external table, and in each the con- dition of the bones was quite normal. I have purposely excluded all references to those specimens of fracture of the internal table in which there were any fissures m the external as being imperfect illustrations, for, if the case be one of fracture of the internal ])late with a fissure in the outer, it is, in reality, a complete fracture of both laminee. It will often be found, in complete fractures of both tables, that there are certain fissures or fractures in one table with- out any corresponding ones in the other ; but they have no bearing whatever on the present subject. Thus, it will be seen that the occurrence of fracture of the internal table, without the slightest injury whatsoever to the outer table, from violence applied to the exterior of the skull, is placed beyond all doubt. It is here necessary to make some remarks regarding the physi- cal properties of the skull. It may be, temporarily, depressed at a spot without any fracture being produced, as is well seen when a dry skull cap, being allowed to fall on a stone floor, rebounds without any fracture taking place. This can only result from the elasticity of the bone, which implies that there was a certain amount of depression, or flattening, of the part struck, at the moment of impact—it is the act of the depressed bone in recover- ing its former position which causes the rebound. It is imagined that, on account of the arched form of the skull, the efiects of violence on the inside of the cranium must be very dissimilar to those on the outside. Now this is certainly true regarding those bodies which act over a large portion of the head, but small bodies, such as bullets, which only strike a very limited part of the skull, produce exactly similar effects, whether they act on the inner or outer surface of the calvarium, supposing always the amount of force similar, inasmuch as every point on the inside or outside of the](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b22346090_0008.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
