The operative treatment of intra-thoracic effusion / by Norman Porritt.

  • Porritt, Norman, 1858-
Date:
[1883?]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The operative treatment of intra-thoracic effusion / by Norman Porritt. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Augustus C. Long Health Sciences Library at Columbia University and Columbia University Libraries/Information Services, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the the Augustus C. Long Health Sciences Library at Columbia University and Columbia University.

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    Power of Power of inspiratory muscles. expiratory muscles. I -5 .... Weak 2-0 inches of Mercury raised. 2-0... .Ordinary 2-5 do 2-5... .Strong 3-5 do 3-5 .... Very strong 4-5 do 4-5 .. . .Remarkable 5-8 do 5-5 ... .Very remarkable .. 7-0 do 6-0... .Extraordinary .... S-S do 7-0....Very extraordinary lo-o do Thus measured the power capable of being exerted during expiration is one third greater than during inspiration. Where the expiratory and inspiratory power are the same, disease is indicated. The know- ledge of these facts compels me to reiterate my statement regarding the natural tendency of the lung to collapse, in order that the reader may appreciate its practical value when I discuss the operative treatment of those conditions where the lung is squeezed and pressed upon. The Fissures of the Lungs divide them into lobes, of which there are three on the right and two on left side. The fissures almost completely divide the lungs, and can be best traced from the posterior surface, where they commence, in the root of the lung, at about the level of the lower part of the second intercostal space, whence they take a direction almost corres- ponding to that ol the ribs, and their anterior aspect comes into relation with about the fourth nb. A needle, therefore, thrust into the posterior or latero- posterior portion of the chest, below the fourth rib, passes directly to the surface, and penetrates the substance of the lower pulmonary lobe, and we desire to point out the greater distance an incision made behind in the eighth interspace is from the free edge of one of the pulmonary lobes, than one made in the fifth interspace anteriorly, where its proximity is much closer, not only to the pulmonary lobes, but also to the inferior border of the lung. The fissures of the lung on each side are two, and although the right lung has three lobes, the supernumerary one is the result of a short upward branch from the main fissure, and does not have any bearing upon the operative treatment of the intra-thoracic effusion.