Diseases of the throat, nose, & ear : a clinical manual for students and practitioners / by P. McBride.

  • McBride, P. (Peter), 1854-1946.
Date:
1900
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Diseases of the throat, nose, & ear : a clinical manual for students and practitioners / by P. McBride. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    both for simple examination of the pharynx and for rhinoscopy. With it the tongue must be depressed by pressure exercised on its posterior part. The pharynx is thus brought thoroughly into view, and its component parts can be examined. The condition of the uvula, and soft palate is noted, the tonsils seen embedded between the anterior and posterior pillars of the fauces are inspected, and finally the posterior wall is studied. The colour of all these parts in health can he best described as a rosy pink. A slight degree of congestion may, however, often exist without causing any discomfort. It is also not uncommon to observe dilated blood vessels coursing over the posterior wall. In the ideal throat the tonsils do not pro¬ ject from between the pillars of the fauces ; at the same time it must be admitted that in quite a large number of persons, who, even in answer to leading questions, do not acknowledge any throat trouble, these glands are more or less prominent. Before concluding an examination of the pharynx, it is always well to make the patient say “ ah.” This causes the soft palate to rise, and we are thus enabled to estimate its mobility; the elevation of the soft palate further enables us to see part of the posterior wall, which has hitherto been excluded from view by the veil of the palate. In 1898 Paterson and Killian seem, independently of one another, to have arrived at the conclusion that the supra- tonsillar fossa may he of considerable importance from a clinical point of view. According to the former, this space can be best studied in children and young adults. Killian states that the walls of the cavity may be either smooth or lined with adenoid tissue. In any case, where the fossa exists, a probe can be passed above the tonsil for a consider¬ able distance into the soft palate. According to Killian, the orifice can be best seen by—(1) Turning the patient’s head to the opposite side; (2) making him put out the tongue ;