A manual of the practice of surgery / by W. Fairlie Clarke.

  • Clarke, W. Fairlie (William Fairlie), 1833-1884.
Date:
1880
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A manual of the practice of surgery / by W. Fairlie Clarke. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The University of Leeds Library. The original may be consulted at The University of Leeds Library.

    32/464 (page 16)
    the air undoubtedly causes in a wound is due to the organic par- ticles which it contains, and not to its chemical or physical qualities, seems to me a proposition which is not proven. Still there can be no question of the value of carbolic acid, what- ever may be its modus operandi, and of the credit which is due to Lister for having introduced it into practice. When it is used as a simple lotion (F. 12), or when dressings are kept constantly moist with it by droppings from a syphon bottle, its beneficial effect is beyond a doubt; but it should be borne in mind that this is not Lister's method, and that cases thus treated should not be classed with those in which all the details recom- mended by him have been thoroughly carried out. Inthetreatment of abscesses Callender has recommended that they should be opened and injected with a solution of carbolic acid (1 part in 20), until they are hyper-distended. By this means the antiseptic wash is brought into contact with every part of the interior surface. Carbolic acid is not the only substance which has been used to check suppuration. Mr. Campbell De Morgan introduced a strong solution of chloride of zinc (40 grains to the 5.]) to sponge out wounds immediately after operation; and a weaker solution (F. 27) may be used in subsequent dressings. Sulphurous acid lotion (F. 14) may be employed with great benefit for the same purpose. The constitutional treatment of suppuration consists in sup- porting and improving the patient's health. This may best be done by placing him in the most favourable hygienic conditions, ordering a light and nutritious diet, and such medicines as the mineral acids, steel, cod-liver oil, and quinine. ULCERATION, Ulceration is commonly described as the molecular death of a part; and this destructive action may either occur where the surface is already broken, or it may itself give rise to a solu- tion of continuity. The essential nature of ulceration is involved in some obscurity. We may, however, divide the process into two stages—(1) That in which the tissues are broken down and disintegrated; (2) That in which the debris is removed or dis- charged. The first stage, that of disintegration, seems to arise either from simple arrest, or from an impairment of nutrition. When the supply of blood to a part is cut ott', ulceration is apt to follow, from simple arrest of nutrition. There are certain situations—the aim nasi, for example—where the circulation is naturally feeble, which are specially prone to this form of disease.