Percussor stethoscope / by B. Wills Richardson.
- Richardson, Benjamin Wills.
- Date:
- [cbetween 1800 and 1899?]
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: Percussor stethoscope / by B. Wills Richardson. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by The University of Glasgow Library. The original may be consulted at The University of Glasgow Library.
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![and midpoint, and 3J near the apex. The longitudinal diameter of the heart was 42 lines, the transverse 54 lines. The walls of the right auricle averaged 1^ lines in thickness, those of the left auiicle 2 lines. In a second case the subject was a boy 18 years of age, and tlie disease was the sequence of rheumatism four yeai's before. The organ weighed 16 oz» The pericardium was adherent, and both the aortic and mitral valves were thickened and incompetent. The cir- cumference of the heart measui-ed 122 lines. The cavity of the right ventricle was 27 lines in length, the left 48 lines. The walls of the right ventricle measured 3 lines in thickness, those of the left 8 lines. The aortic orifice had a capacity of 42 lines, the mitral of 45, the pulmonic of 42, and the tricuspid of 54. The longitudinal diameter of the heart was 42 lines, the transverse 56 lines. 7. Only one case of combined obstruction of the right and left auriculo-ventricular apertures is included in the tables ; and in this instance the most remarkable featm'e was the great degree of con- traction which existed in both openings, the left auriculo-ventricular aperture having a circumference of only 18 lines, and the right of only 21 lines; yet with this very great amount of obstruction, which had probably commenced before birth, the walls of the right ven- tricle was only 1*5 lines in width, and those of the left ventricle 4 lines. The right auricle was very gi'eatly dilated, and its walls were from ^ a line to 2 lines in thickness; the right ventricle was some- what dilated. The left auricle was also dilated, and the left ventricle, though to a less degree. The aortic orifice measured 30 lines in circumference, the pulmonic 35 lines. The aortic valves were also thickened and adherent. The subject of the case was a female 37 years of age. 8. The dimensions of the heart in cases of malformation vary with the kind of the deviation from the natural structui-e. The most frequent form of irregular development is that in which the pulmonary orifice is contracted, and the septum ventriculorum im- perfect, or the foramen ovale 0]»en. Three cases of this description are included in the tables. The subjects were males, 15 and 20 years of age, and a female, 19 years old. In the first case the pul- monary artery was so contracted, as only to give passage to a ball 13 lines in circumference, in the second of 12 lines, and in the last of 8 lines. In the fii-st and third cases the aorta ai'ose from both ventricles, in the second the foramen ovale was open. In each of these cases tlie right ventricle was very greatly hypcrtrophied, measuring 54, 66, and 84 lines in circumference externally, while the left ventricle had only a girth of 42, 42, and 48 lines. The walls of the right ventricle measured 5^, 7, and 4 lines, those of the left ventricle 4-^, 6, and 6 lines. It will thus bo seen that, though the enlargement was chiefly on the right side, allowance being made for the age and sex of the subjects, the left ventricle must also have partaken of the hypertrophy; and this is still more obvious in cases of malformation in younger persons. The auricles were also](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b21477784_0085.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
