The annual address, delivered before the members of the Hunterian Society of London, on February 19th, 1851 / by John C.W. Lever.
- Lever, John C. W., 1811-1858
- Date:
- 1851
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: The annual address, delivered before the members of the Hunterian Society of London, on February 19th, 1851 / by John C.W. Lever. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.
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![(litis, or both, in the abdomen peritonitis or hepatitis; the museular tissue may suffer, and when such is the case, inflam- mation is more frec][ucntly seen in the muscles of the fore-arm, and in the calf of the leg, occasionfdly, the joints are extensively painful and inflamed. An erysipelatous eruption is sometimes visible, there may be phlegmatia dolens to add to the patient’s misery; sometimes there are patches of erythema; rarely the body is covered with a rash similar to scarlatina, and which Dr. Helm has called scarlatina puerpcralis, and a remarkable, but a fatal case of this occurred in Guy’s Lying-in Charity some years since, under the care of INIr. Holden. General and destructive inflammation of the globe of the eye is an occasional result, and when this organ is affected the left is most usually attacked, while lastly, before the termination of life, gangrene is sometimes developed, attacking most fre- (}U(3ntly the calf of the leg, secondly the vagina, thirdly the vulva, and rarely the sacral region. I have thus. Sir, and I fear wearisomely, described the symptoms of the four forms of Puerperal Fever, which I have noticed, and before endeavouring to point out the identity be- tween this disease and Erysipelas, I will briefly detail the patho- logical changes that are found on antopsical investigation in the former disease. The bodies of patients who die of Puerperal Fever, shoidd be examined quickly after death, as changes rapidly take place and decomposition is speedily produced, and in the conduction of such, great care should be taken by the operator to avoid punctures, and to protect any abrasion of the skin or wound of the hand. In directing attention to the uterus its peritoneal investment may be found injected, it may have lost its brilliancy, be covered with lymph, it may be raised or sepa- rated from the subjacent proper tissue, by a layer of lymph or pus or by both combined, its tissue is frequendy found to be soft and flabby, generally, there is but little diminution of its volume, and indeed if death have been delayed until some days after delivery it will be found as large as previous to the ex- pulsion of the placenta; sometimes in its walls there will be](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b22334750_0018.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
