Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: On inflammation / by G. Thin. 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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![aUsoriitioii ])liysiolo,',Mcally or patliol(),L;i<'iilly, ov are ])ro(luco.(l by an ahurlive cll'urt mi Llie ])art uf colourless blcjod-cells to fbnu such a layer. In disintegrating processes their Ibiin will depend to a certain extent on tlie tissue in which disorganization is taking place, and a giant cell may, amongst other things, be simply a dead and tlisintegrating capillary vessel. In all inflammatory processes the occurrence of giant cells is possible, and is in no sense specific. When the destructive effects of the inflammatory processes have ceased, the elements which have lost their vitality undergo various changes, and are either discharged from a free surface or are absorbed, and a new tissue is formed which is destined to restore the lost integrity of the part. Every step of this process is as much a matter of controversy as are the primary inflammatory changes discussed in the earlier chapters of these papers. In this instance, however, considerations of space prevent my entering minutely into the histological details, and I shall, instead of criticizing the various doctrines which are taught by pathologists, give a summary of my own views, and the nature of the investiga- tions on which they are founded. The plasma which escapes from the bloodvessels of an inflamed part coagulates, as is very strikingly shown in pericarditis or pleuritis, when the surftices of the membranes are covered with the soft yellowish substance, which at a later period is capable of becoming organized and forming false membranes. This substance is coagulated blood plasma, and contains a gi-eater or less number of colourless blood-corpuscles. From these two elements—the formed and unformed, or cellular and non-cellular—the newly formed tissue takes its origin. The blood plasma contains albumen and fibrine-forming sub- stances, whilst the fibrillary tissue that forms the groundwork of the new growth is largely gelatinous. The mechanism of the formation of this gelatinous tissue is not understood. What can be observed is, that in a transparent homogeneous substance, rich in cells, fibrillation takes place, and with this fibrillation the tissue begins to a.ssume its characteristic and permanent appearance. If accurate knowledge has not been obtained regarding tliis process, tlieory lias as usual done its best to make the want unfelt. The theories regarding the question are not many, and have their source in the opinions which have long held undisputed sway regarding certain imaginary properties of cells. Some observers describe the fibrillte of tlie gelatinous tissue as being given off L](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b22292743_0081.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
