Acromegaly / by Maximilian Sternberg ; translated by F.R.B. Atkinson.

  • Maximilian Sternberg
Date:
[1899]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Acromegaly / by Maximilian Sternberg ; translated by F.R.B. Atkinson. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    30/186 page 26
    ACROMEGALY. clii ect eiicroaeluneiit, partly tliroiio'lx secoudary growths in diftereiit places. The upper surface of the sphenoid seldom supports true osteoph^'tes: Brig’idi has described two abnormally pointed and long clinoid processes (medii.®). The body of the sphenoid also has no share in the hyperostosis: the canalis craniopharyngeus lateralis discovered by me,* which in the general hyperostotic skulls usually disappears without a trace, remains frequently in acromegaly partly preserved. The pterygoid processes are, on the contrary—as muscular attachments—hypertrophied and rough. The vertebral column in advanced cases shows a kyphotic curve in the upper dorsal and lower cervical region, which is compensated for by a suitable lumbar lordosis. Lateral curva- tures may also be present. The kyphosis is in many cases based on the shape of the vertebral bodies (Broca, Sternberg), since these are lower in front than behind. If the kyphosis is very considerable, the height of the vertebral bodies con- cerned is diminished. A single vertebra may also have melted away (Brigidi). The anterior surface of the vertebral bodies is very rough, which is not surprising, as the broad anterior longitudinal ligament is here attached. The upper and lower edges of the bodies often support small exostoses. The bodies are thick, somewhat porous, the longitudinal and transverse diameters increased. The processes are thick and rough, the spongy end of the spinal processes especially much thickened, which is well seen in our skiagraph, Fig. 10 (p. 54). The transverse foramen (vessel foramen) of the cervical vertebrre is widened, whereas the intervertebral foramina are narrowed, owing to increased size of the condv- loid process and of the bod}L The ribs are compact and considerably thickened and ex- panded. The expansion consists chiefly in this, that the- lower edge which surrounds the intercostal artery is very greatly developed, also in the thickening of the intercostal canal. The roughnesses for the muscles are increased. The sternum is greatly broadened and thickened. The * M. Sternberg'. An up to now undojcribed canal in the sphenoid in man and many mammalia. (Archiv fUr Anatomie und Physiologic, Anatomische Abthei- lung, 1690, S. 304.)
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