Volume 1

A text-book of the theory and practice of medicine / by American teachers ; edited by William Pepper.

Date:
1893-1894
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A text-book of the theory and practice of medicine / by American teachers ; edited by William Pepper. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    871/962 (page 851)
    ally one of the sequelfe of typhoid fever. There are instances on record in which it apparently has been the primary affection. Myositis ossificans profjressiva is a rare disease in which the nuiscles nndei- go a progressive calcification. In this remarkable disorder either in localized spots or in widespread areas the muscle-tissue undergoes gradual ossification. Of 22 cases collected by Seidcl, a majority were in men, and in more than one-half of the cases the disease began before puberty. Tlie onset is nsuallv with indications of an inflammatory process in the muscle, sometimes with swelling and tenderness. This gradually subsides, and the muscle becomes firm, hard like gutta-percha, and gradually undergoes convei'sion into bony tissue. The process may be confined to one or two muscles or to certain groui)s. In other instances the process is widespread and involves many muscles of the trunk and extremities. In Rogers's case, for exam])le, the first reported in this country, the disease began at thirteen years of age. At the time of observation it was found that the pectoralis major muscle was ossi- fied at its superior part and extended in the direction of the clavicle to the arm, the bony deposits foi-ming high and irregular elevations. The sterno- cleido-mastoideus was ossified from the sternum to its middle portion, with several elevations. The back exhibited the greatest quantity of tissific mat- ter, having a tubercular appearance. The scapula was fixed to the ribs and studded with bony excrescences. All the muscles going to the sca})nla ap- peared more or less affected—viz. the trajiezius, rhomboideus, subscapularis, etc. The latissimus dorsi formed a large bony plate from its origin to the . angle of the scapula ; at this part it had united to the ribs, forming a large tubercle. The longissimus dorsi was in a similar condition, extending upward along the spine, resembling a splint, and to this may be attributed the entire loss of motion in the lumbar vertebra. Tlie disease lasts many }-ears, and may ultimately lead to complete dis- ability. No remedial measures have ])roved of any avail. THE MUSCULAR DYSTROPHIES. IniopATiiic MuscTTLAR Atropiiv. The following classification, taken from Raymond's monograph, gives a useful synopsis of the varieties and causes of muscular atrophy : Atrophy from compression. xVtrophy in inflammatory conditions (pleurisy, joint Circumscribed atrophies. I disease, etc.). Atrophy from injury or inflammation of individual nerves.