Clinical notes on diseases of the larynx ... / by William Marcet.

  • William Marcet
Date:
1869
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Clinical notes on diseases of the larynx ... / by William Marcet. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The University of Leeds Library. The original may be consulted at The University of Leeds Library.

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    with the general adoption of the Laryngoscope; these are :— 1st. That a number of instruments are required, which, for practitioners residing in the country, may be difficult to procure. 2nd. That the time for a good laryngoscopic exami- nation is, occasionally, inconveniently long. 3rd. That some degree of experience is necessary to apply the instrument to its best advantage; or to be able to introduce readily a camel-hair brush into the larynx, or scarify the ^Droper place in a case of supra- glottic oedema or tubercular disease of the epiglottis, or remove a laryngeal tumour; the instruments being guided entirely by their reflection in the laryngeal mirror, which alone is seen. My answer to the first objection is that the instru- ments wanted are but few; the necessary arrangement need be made but once, and will be always ready for use. The time required for the examination of the larynx is an objection which only holds good with those who cannot bear the presence of the Laryngoscope in the mouth, and between the fauces, without being seized with involuntary contractions of their pharyngeal mus- cles. I should say, from my experience, that there is some delay from this cause, with about one in every two or three patients submitted to examination for the first time. With most of them a little coaxing and gentle manipulation will overcome the difficulty, and no more than a very few minutes need be lost; with others I cause a few whiffs of chloroform to be inhaled, or sj^inge the throat with a solution of alum and chlorate of potash—five grains of each to one ounce of water, using Gibb's laryngeal syringe; when ice is at hand, or can be easily procured,
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