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.

    33/56 (page 25)
    abscess, but it is not nearly as frequent as in chronic ones. Dr. P. Manson has described an emphysematous crackling as felt and heard over an abscess of the liver, and he attributes it to generation of gas within the abscess cavity, owing to decomposition of its contents. The writer has never detected this sign, and is strongly inclined to doubt its existence. Chronic hepatic abscess is rarely seen, except in natives or in Europeans whose constitutions are greatly undermined by prolonged residence in a tropical climate. In such subjects the formation of an hepatic abscess gives rise to little constitutional disturbance. Occasionally a large part, or even the whole, of the liver may be destroyed without giving rise to any symptoms whatever, and the disease may remain unsus- pected until sudden death occurs from rupture of the sac of the abscess. The importance of these cases has been especially dwelt on by Sir Ranald Martin and Pro- fessor Maclean. In the majority of cases there are general malaise, with languor and inability for exertion. The appetite fails, and there is a tendency to chronic diarrhoea. There are frequent chills, and in many cases distinct rigors, followed by sweating. A steady, progressive loss of flesh occurs in most cases. One of the most frequent symptoms is a constant dry, hacking cough. The face has a peculiar haggard anxious expression, the complexion is muddy and parchment-hke, and the conjunctive are often of a greenish-yellow colour. A careful study of the temperature is of great importance in the diagnosis. It rarely exceeds 102° Fahr., and its course is very irregular. The morning temperature may be normal, or even subnormal, or it may exceed that reached in the evening. This constant variation in the temperature should always excite suspicion. The symptoms of chronic hepatic abscess often closely E