A system of practical surgery / by William Fergusson.

  • William Fergusson
Date:
1852
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A system of practical surgery / by William Fergusson. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    26/878 (page 2)
    such an instance, before the knife is used, the skin and other textures to which it is to be applied, may have become inflamed and swollen, infiltrated with serum or sero-purulent fluid, and consequently much altered from their more healthy condition; even under more ordinary circumstances, where inflammation has not as yet attacked those textures, the skin, fasciae, and openings are all very different from the usual appearances met with in the dissecting-room: the hernial sac on many occasions bears but a slight resemblance to the peritoneum, and the bowels, generally, present a different aspect from what is usually considered a healthy condition. _ It may be affirmed that the elements of Surgical Anatomy can only be acquired by examination of the healthy structures, and that a com- prehensive knowledge of the subject can never be obtained without a study of the effects of injury and disease. Sometimes in the perform- ance of certain amputations, or ligature of main arteries (operations generally done at a distance from the seat of disease), an acquaintance with healthy anatomy will suffice for the operator; but in the greater number of instances, when a practitioner’s knowledge of Surgical Ana- tomy is called into service, there is a necessity that it should be much more comprehensive than is required merely for the appreciation ot healthy textures. . . , From what has been stated, then, it will appear, that I include a certain amount of knowledge of what is termed Pathological Anatomy in my definition of Surgical Anatomy; and I need not here do more than simply state my belief, that no one can possess a competent ac- quaintance with either of these two departments of knowledge, who is not conversant with Descriptive or Elementary, and also with General Anatomy. . , . T , v, • Having these views with reference to Surgical Anatomy, I shall in the following pages, when I deem the subject of much importance, not confine my descriptions to the healthy parts alone, but shall occa- sionally digress, when it may appear advantageous to do so. Indeed, without a constant reference to injuries and surgical diseases, it is impossible to deal with the subject of Surgical Anatomy with much practical efficiency. c Under the term Practical Surgery, I shall include the symptoms ot disease and injury, the principles and objects of treatment, and such medicinal means of cure as seem to me to belong to the province ot surgery; and under what is commonly called Operative Surgery, 1 shall describe not only those operations which are performed with cutting instruments, but also the various duties required on t e par of the surgeon, in the setting of fractured bones, reduction of disloca- tions, application of bandages, and usual manipulations of Practical Surgery.