On congenital fistulae of the trachea : A pathologico-therapeutic commentary ... / Translated ... by R. Knox.

  • Dzondi, Carl Heinrich, 1770-1835
Date:
1848
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Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: On congenital fistulae of the trachea : A pathologico-therapeutic commentary ... / Translated ... by R. Knox. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    monograph ON CONGENITAL FISTULA] OF THE TRACHEA I doubt not but that most, on reading these pages, wfil be much surprised that observations concerning congenital fistuhe of the trachea, first spoken of by me, had never been made or mentioned by any surgeons from the most ancient times untH the present period. And truly may we wonder that an anomaly so often noticed by one surgeon, should not have been observed by any other during such a senes of years. But, however this may be, it appears at least certain that no writer has ever handed down by tradition any thing concerning this anomaly, (congenital fistuhe of the trachea) • for although I have diligently searched all the chief writers on pathological subjects, I have found none who notice it. Prom this view it appears certain, at least, that this anomaly (although, perchance, it may have been noticed by some, which I doubt not,) had never been described or communicated to the public. That it may not be supposed I assert this without just cause, I shaU briefly review those authors, and those sources of information, I searched with the intention of finding some mention of this matter, and state what I found. First I ex¬ amined the Literature* Medico-Digesta of Plouquet,—a very fuH work and unequalled in science,-and there, indeed, I found fistula, of the trachea twice mentioned, by no means congenital, but remaining after the healing of a wound. I afterwards consulted the collections of medical literature by Both Burdach, Ersch, Bernstein, and Spreugel, but in none of them did I find any mention of fistuhe of the trachea. I had already examined the pathological collections written by Lieutand, Sandifort, BailHe, Bichat, Cruveilher, Meckel and PaUeta, but I found that the anomaly of fistuhe of the larynx or trachea had not been observed by them. Next, I turned to the medico-chirurgical Lexicons commencing with that verbose and copious French Dictionaire des Sciences Medicates. In vain I perused those works published by Barrow feue, Blancard, Bernstein, and S. Cooper ; nor did I find any mention of it in the works of Lipenius, Mangetus, Haller, Richter, and Langenbeck At length I looked over the surgical works of the principal authors from the founder of medicine, Hippocrates, “ icepi avptyyuv”, and that chief patron of the actual cautery, Albucasus, the Arabian, up to the most recent times but I met with nothing to prove that this fistula had either been noticed or cured. Lastly, I searched periodicals, repetoria, and the best medical diaries of ancient and modern times, written in Herman, English, and French which my library contains, but without success 3 nor do any of my medical colleagues whom I have consulted, remember having observed this anomaly. Such emg; the case, either accounts of tins anomaly are yet concealed in unexa- mmed writings, or, being observed, had not been recorded, or were not at all B 2 c