Surgery : its theory and practice / by William Johnson Walsham.

  • William Walsham
Date:
1890
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Surgery : its theory and practice / by William Johnson Walsham. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    85/902 page 69
    2, chronic inflammation; and 3, injury; but whetlier t]iese conditions are in themselves caijable of producing tumours unless the j^atient is otherwise in some unknown way preclisposed to tumour-formation is still perhaps open to question. The presence in the completely developed tissues of embryonic remains which from some un- explained cause have taken on active growth later in life, and the action of some unknown form of parasite or ferment are also regarded by some pathologists as local causes. Tumom-s have further been ascribed to sucb constitutional causes as hereditary predisposition, the activity of tissue-growth in early life, the slow degenera- tion of advancing age, and the lessened resisting power of the tissues that may be occasioned by such depressing influences as grief, anxiety, or mental strain. Eesidence in certain localities is considered by some observers to be a predisposing cause of some forms of malignant tumour. Clinical co^trse.—Clinically, tumours are spoken of as innocent and malignant. I. Innocent tumours as a rule grow slowly, and resemble the fully-formed tissues of the body, and usually those amongst which they grow. They are generally encapsuled, circumscribed, and freely moveable, merely displacing the tissues around, not infiltrating them. They do not involve the lymphatic glands, nor become disseminated in distant organs; neither do they recru- if completely removed. They may, however, attain a large size and destroy life by pressing upon a vital organ, or in other ways interfering with its functions. II. Malignant tumours, on the other hand, grow rapidly, do not resemble the fully-formed tissues in structure, and ditfer markedly in appearance from the tissues in which they grow. They are generally non- oncapsulcd and infiltrate the surrounding parts, whether these be inuscle, fat, bone, &c., and in consequence become more or less fixed and adherent. They frequently involve the lymphatic glands, and become disseminated through the body by means either of the lymph- or blood- stream. They usually recur after removal, in the scar, in the corresponding lymphatic glands, or in internal orga'ns, and sooner or later give rise to a general cachectic condition known as the cancerous cachtxia. Death is cominonly due to exhaustion caused by the local vdcoration, htcmor- rhage and pain, combined with the mental distress, and the general interference with nutrition induced by the
    digitised image 1
    digitised image 2
    digitised image 3