Remarks on puerperal fever / A.L. Peirson.

  • Abel Lawrence Peirson
Date:
[1831?]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Remarks on puerperal fever / A.L. Peirson. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the National Library of Medicine (U.S.)

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    producing analogous symptoms. A fine lad of fifteen years old was suffering under an inflammation of an obscure kind, but evidently seated in the abdomenr which was tender to the touch, especially in the left iliac region. For this affection he had been bled, leeched, and blistered, with alleviation of the symp- toms, when very suddenly, August 10th, 1828, at four o'clock, A. M. he became affected with a severe rigor, and at six o'clock was attacked with acute pain and extreme tenderness of the abdomen, accompanied by great paleness, cold extremities, pulse 140, small and feeble. Death took place nine hours from the access of the rigor. On examination of the body, I found a considerable abscess had been formed by the side of the rectum, low down in the pelvis, bounded in front by the bladder and abdominal parietes, and covered by the small intestines, which formed the upper wall of the abscess. The cavity of the ab- scess, which was capable of holding a pound, was found partly empty, and pure pus in contact with the intestines, the peritoneal coat of which was but slightly altered in appearance. The symptoms just previous to death were occasioned by the bursting of the abscess. Every one who has seen the rapid sink- ing which occurs in bad cases of puerperal fever, will admit the similarity between the symptoms in these cases and those of the cases I have brought forward. All practitioners perceive and admit the necessity of active treatment in this highly dangerous disease. But active treatment to be useful, must be applied
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