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

  • Sternberg, Maximilian, 1863-
Date:
[1899]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

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

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    of tlie tliTimis, and ]\Iosler found the dulness appear for tlie •first time during the progress of the disease, it must he ex- plained by the thickening of the manubrium sterni and ribs. It can easily be understood that yith such rigidity of the thorax bronchial catarrhs are frequent. In addition^ the ex- pectoration indicates by a bloody or rusty colour the existence of congestion. Organs of Digestion. Among the most constant phenomena are the changes in the mucous membrane and lymphatic organs of the pharynx. The mucous membrane is often so thick as to hang into the mouth like a swollen mass at the boundary between the hard and soft palate (jN^aunyn). The enlarged tongue affects speaking and eating: the patients often bite into it. Polyphagia and polydypsia are frequently observed, either together or alone. The patients often consume incredible quantitieSj to the wonder of their acquaintances. Such, for example, was the patient, whose skeleton was described by Tarutii, and who was a celebrated gourmandiser of Bologna.^ Alibert’s patient drank eighteen bottles of water daily. Both symptoms sometimes disappear entirely after a few years duration (Yalat). Pechadre saw dyspeptic symptoms. Diseases of the stomach as complications are mentioned at p. 42. Obstinate constipation is a frequent and unpleasant symptom (Marie, Ivojewnikoff, and others). In Yerga’s case the coprostasis remained for twenty-two days if artificial evacuation was not employed. The constipation often passes off again by itself (Dodgson). Urine, Metabolism, Is’ltuition. In the smaller number of cases, the quantity of urine is normal, but more frequently increased owing to the poly- * Po3siV)ly tho enormous appetite which Kibelais gives to his hero in “G.irgantua and Pantagruel” was suggested by his observation of a giant with acromegaly; Rabelais was moreover a physician.