Observations on some of the most frequent and important diseases of the heart; on aneurism of the thoracic aorta; on preternatural pulsation in the epigastric region: and on the unusual origin and distribution of some of the large arteries of the human body. Illustrated by cases / by Allan Burns.
- Date:
- 1809
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: Observations on some of the most frequent and important diseases of the heart; on aneurism of the thoracic aorta; on preternatural pulsation in the epigastric region: and on the unusual origin and distribution of some of the large arteries of the human body. Illustrated by cases / by Allan Burns. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. The original may be consulted at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.
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![chest for this disease. Some tumours evidently not aneurismal, assume so much of the appear- ance of this disease, that without a very careful examination, they are extremely apt to be con- sidered as such. I REMEMBER a case of a man in whom a pretty large pulsating tumour appeared from be- hind the sternal extremity of the left clavicle. It was bigger than a hen’s egg, pulsated very strongly, and produced an irrregularity in the pulse at the wrist ; great difficulty in swallow- ing, and a slight dyspnoea. The surgeon never doubted but that it was an aneurism ; and ac- cordingly, he explained to the man his danger, and the great risk which he would run of the tumour bursting, if he fatigued himself, or lived freely. On the faith of this, he prevailed on the patient to keep quiet in the house, and persuad- ed him to take great care of himself; and regu- larly once a day, for some months, he went to visit him. During all that time, the tumour did not enlarge, neither did the pulsation become either more violent or more obscure. This te- dious restriction being not altogether to the patient’s mind, and as he did not perceive that the danger was such as had been represented, . he began to have an opinion of his own; he walked out, and ate and drank as plentifully as ]iis means would permit, and found that the swelling, in place of enlarging, as had been pre- dicted, really became smaller, the pulsation de-~](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b2194670x_0270.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
