Hepatitis and hepatic abscess : their ætiology, diagnosis and treatment / by G. Harrison Younge.

  • Younge, G. Harrison.
Date:
1889
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Hepatitis and hepatic abscess : their ætiology, diagnosis and treatment / by G. Harrison Younge. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    tissues is lowered ; the liver is congested ; its nutrient vessels are blocked by dead blood corpuscles ; the blood within it is impure as it contains the unexcreted elements of the bile, together with ptomaines absorbed from the stomach and intestines ; digestion is impaired; and the general health is below par. Under these circumstances slight influences, which would have little or no eflect on a healthy organ, are apt to excite a destructive form of inflammation of the liver. In India, owing to the cachetic condition of most of the European residents, all inflammations tend to assume an asthenic type, and to pass rapidly into sup- puration. This tendency to suppuration is even more marked in the liver than in any other organ or tissue. There is one point in regard to the geographical distribution of inflammation and abscess of the liver which has caused much discussion, viz., their compara- tive rarity in certain tropical countries, especially Hong Kong and the West Indies. If, however, we carefully study the climate of these regions we will find that it is quite difterent from that of India. The climate of Hong Kong and the West Indies is insular, and is not, there- fore, subject to the great and sudden changes of tem- perature which occur in India. Instead of the intense heat and scorching winds, which prevail in India for a large part of the year, there are cool and refreshing sea\reez8s during the day, followed by comparatively cold nights. No exact analysis of the air of Hong Kong and the West Indies appears to have been made ; but we are justified in concluding that oxygen and ozone are not lowered, or only to a trifling extent, in these insular climates. In the West Indies, also, malarial diseases are comparatively infrequent, and when they do occur are much less severe than in India. Personal habits have also their influence, and these are by no