Dr. J. Burdon Sanderson's reports of an experimental study of infective inflammations.

  • Burdon-Sanderson, John Scott, 1828-1905.
Date:
[1875]
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Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Dr. J. Burdon Sanderson's reports of an experimental study of infective inflammations. 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.

    17/34 (page 63)
    erroneous. The symptoms which we recognise in the clog ns those of Are. No. 2. intense infective fever, viz., collapse attended with vomiting and purging, 0ll xnfectivo manifested themselves so early in all the cases, and particularly in the inflammation^ animals which were injected by the jugular vein, that it would be difficult Sanderson, to regard them as secondary to the peritonitis. The rapidity and com- bably n“tho pleteness of the recovery which takes place in some instances (c.y. in immediate cause dog No. I.) after collapse of some duration affords additional ground for of death, attributing collapse itself with its accompanying phenomena to the direct action of the infective agent. In all the very rapid cases the peritoneal liquid exhibited the same Microscopical character. It was viscid, and coagulated lmpertectly or not at all. it peritoneal exuda- contained pus corpuscles, but they were relatively not numerous; the tion-liquid. plasma (liquor puris) often exhibited a tremulous movement which under high powers is found to be due to the presence of minute rods. With lower powers particles cannot be distinguished; all that can be seen is the peculiar tremulous movement of the liquid, which, however, is sufficiently characteristic. In addition to this appearance, the liquid always contains other actively moving rod-like bodies, larger than the particles above mentioned, but still not greater than of a millimeter in length. In the most rapid cases dumb-bells and chains are mostly absent, but they soon appear if the peritonitis lasts long enough, or if the liquid is kept for a day in the warm chamber in a plugged eprou- vette. In all the acutely infected animals to which the Table relates in Microscopical which the blood was examined, it exhibited microscopical appearances kioodCtors °f the which were characteristic and unequivocal. They were of two kinds, and corresponded to those already referred to as presenting themselves in the serous exudation-liquids. The blood plasma exhibited more or less distinctly tremulous movement of the particles above described, and contained short colourless corpuscles, often contained rods in their sub- stance, and that the blood discs seemed to adhere to each other, the blood possessing a remarkable viscidity, the nature and significance of which will be a subject for future investigation. The symptoms observed during life, and the changes found on dissec- General account tion in acute phlegmonous infection, which terminate in less than 24 hours, differ considerably according to the animal used. In guinea-pigs appearances. collapse comes on very rapidly after injection, whether into the venous Symptoms, system or into the peritoneum. It is marked chiefly by loss of muscular power and diminution of temperature. After death there is intense peritonitis. In the dog or cat the phenomena are more marked. In some few cases the animal passes rapidly into the state of collapse, but more commonly an hour or two elapses before any very striking effect is observable. Among the earliest obvious phenomena are muscular twitchings and shiverings, which may come on during the second or third hour ; but thermometrical measurements in the rectum show that the temperature rises from the first. The supervention of collapse is indicated by failure of muscular powei*. This is accompanied by retch- ing and vomiting, which are soon followed by diarrhoea. The retching is associated with violent spasmodic muscular movements. As soon as the contents of the stomach have been expelled, a frothy greenish liquid of viscid consistence begins to be discharged. The diarrhoea is at first attended with tenesmus, but afterwards becomes colliquative. The alviue discharge is mucous, shreddy, and always more or less stained with altered blood. A few hours before death the temperature begins to sink, eventually falling below the normal ; this depression begins soon after the accession of the more severe symptoms, so that the period at which the vomiting and purging come on with violence usually