Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: Lectures on the theory and practice of physic (Volume 1). 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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![of this nature, marked by constipation, fecal vomiting, hiccup, &c, gastrotomv was performed by M. Monod, one of the surgeons of the Hospiu] Cochin, at Paris. After exposing a portion of intestine, which proved to be the colon, the surgeon replaced it, and, inserting his finger into the wound, drew down gently a loop of the small in- testine! which was red and tumefied, and into which he took a fancy, for reasons not explained, to make an opening with scissors to the extent of about an inch and a half. A quantity of fecal matter flowed out, and the patient acknowledged that she experienced great relief.—But on such terms! A ligature was applied through the mesentery of the divided intestine, and retained at the edge of the wound bv means of strips of adhesive plasters, light dressings were applied, and the patient put to bed. On the following day the loop of intestine was found to have retracted inwards; but it was easily found, and was then fixed more securely than before, by means of two sutures. The patient became rapidly worse, and died on the fol- lowing day. Examination of the body showed that, while the surgeon had in- flicted an injury on the small intestine which was of itself sufficient cause of death, he had not reached the real seal of obstruction, nor, if he had reached it, could he have removed it. On opening the abdo- minal cavity, some sero-purulent fluid flowed out ; the convolutions of the intestines in the pelvis were coated with semiconcrete pus, and were redder than the other portions of the canal. The intestine which had been opened in the operation proved to be the ileum, eight or more inches above the caput coli; a very trifling adhesion had taken place at the seat of the artificial anus. On examining the intes- tinal canal, for the purpose of discovering where the obstruction had been sealed, it was found to be at the point of junction of the caecum with the ascending colon; the contraction of the tube was so con- siderable, that the point of the little finger could scarcely be passed through it. The caecum rested posteriorly on an indurated mass of scirrhous-like formation; but the mucous coat of the gut was not in- jured. The other portion of the intestinal canal exhibited no morbid appearances, with the exception of patches, here and there, of redness. (Archiv. Gin., 1838.) The duration of the disease, which was mani- fested by swelling in the ileo-cascal region, constipation succeeding diarrhoea, and vomiting, at first bilious, and afterwards stercoraceous, ought to have deterred the surgeon from operating. Three months ne iily had elapsed from the time of the first symptoms appearing to that of the operation. LECTURE XXXVI. Paintkr^' Comc—Effect of metallic poisons on the nervous system—Symptoms of painters colic—Pathology of neuroses— Action of lead on the system—Abdo- minal and cerebral symptoms—Species of painters' colic—Dr. Thomson's re- searches on lead—Effects of, in animals—Effects of, on the generative system. A great deal of our time has been already occupied with the diseases of the digestive system — in fact, much more than I originally in-](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b21156955_0343.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
