On the hydatidiform or vesicular mole : its nature and mode of origin / by Graily Hewitt.

  • Hewitt, Graily, 1828-1893.
Date:
1860
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: On the hydatidiform or vesicular mole : its nature and mode of origin / by Graily Hewitt. 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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    a hydatidiform mass (in bulk about three piuts) was expelled together with a normal placenta. In this case it is most probable that there was a double conception, and if the remains of the diseased ovum had not been expelled with the normal placenta, but some weeks or months sub- sequently, the case would have come under the above category. A second possible case is that a portion of the chorion villi may become separated organically from the foetus at an early period and undergo the hydatidiform degeneration, whilst the remainder grow and nourish the foetus up to the full time, as in the case related by Mr. Michael before alluded to. If the diseased portion were retained in the uterus, the supposition before alluded to might arise. One other question only remains to be discussed: Can true hydatids be expelled from the uterus ? and if so, how are they to be distinguished from the vesicular bodies which owe their origin to the degeneration of the chorion villi ? There can be no question but that the cases related of expulsion of the true hydatids from the uterus are, with the exception of one or two cases (and these are not altogether free from doubt), in reality cases of hydatidi- form degeneration simply. Still, it would appear that the possibility of an expulsion of true hydatids from the uterine cavity must be admitted. M hen so expelled they, doubtless, originate in the substance of the uterus, and subsequently burst into the cavity of that organ. A case which I had an opportunity of observing in St. Mary’s Hospital, about a year ago, presented some data which may be usefully and appropriately mentioned in con- nection with this question. A young unmarried woman died with excessive enlargement of the abdomen, and on examination it proved that the peritoneal cavity was beset with true hydatid cysts which had originated primarily in the liver. These hydatid cysts were found attached to the uterus anteriorly as well as posteriorly, to the ovaries, to the walls of the pelvis, in fact, few portions of the peritoneal