On the corpus Morgagni, with reference to diseases of the testicle / by S. Osborn.

  • Osborn, Samuel, 1848-1936.
Date:
[1874]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: On the corpus Morgagni, with reference to diseases of the testicle / by S. Osborn. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    tesselated epithelium, contained within which is a perfectly limpid and colourless fluid containing no albumen, and therefore not coagulable by heat, thereby differing from that contained in the ordinary vaginal hydrocele; it is at times milky in character, and occasionally tinged with blood ; the opalescent appearance is due to spermatozoa and seminal corpuscles, the origin of which must be considered hereafter; the presence of blood within the cyst also remains to be con- sidered. From this description it will be seen that in struc- ture, as well as in its seat of origin, an encysted hydrocele resembles the corpus Morgagni. Encysted hydrocele of the cord resembles in many respects that of the testis, but whether such should be in all cases attributed to a dilatation of the unobliterated tunica vaginalis is open to doubt, some encysted hydroceles of the cord being probably collections of fluid in the unobliterated Mullerian duct, and quite unconnected with the processus vaginalis of the peritoneum. That such is probable is evident by the occasional presence of a cyst between the testicle and epididymis, or even at parts of the cord altogether behind the obliterated tunica vaginalis, and in the contents of the cyst being non-albuminous, with the occasional presence of spermatozoa. The following diagram, taken from preparation XIII, 26, in St. George’s Hospital, shows the presence of an encysted hydrocele in the digital fossa corresponding to the track of the obliterated Mullerian duct. The internal wall of one of these cysts may become uneven and nodulated from the deposition of calcareous matter, which, increasing gradually, will eventually end in those calcareous nodules met with in connection with the testicle or cord. As there is encysted hydrocele of the testis or cord, so there are encysted haematoceles of the same ; the presence of the blood being due to rupture of some vessel either b}r distension of the cyst-wall or by external violence. With reference to the presence of spermatozoa in these cysts as first discovered by Mr. Liston about 1813, two opinions are held by different authors. Curling and others believe their presence to be due to rupture of spermatic tubules passing in proximity to the cyst-wall in exactly the same manner as