Volume 2

The seats and causes of diseases, investigated by anatomy; containing a great variety of dissections, and accompanied with remarks ... / John Baptist Morgagni ; abridged, and elucidated with copious notes by William Cooke.

Date:
1822
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The seats and causes of diseases, investigated by anatomy; containing a great variety of dissections, and accompanied with remarks ... / John Baptist Morgagni ; abridged, and elucidated with copious notes by William Cooke. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. The original may be consulted at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.

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    opened another channel, through which an ade- quate discharge of excrement takes place, the inconveniences are to be preferred to an operation which is attended with danger, and ought only to be performed in a case of urgent necessity. Unless the anus should be closed merely by a mem- braneous production, so that on making a slight incision an exit may be afforded to the meconium, the operation will only tend to expedite the infant’s death. If the whole rectum should be solid, or totally wanting, (for of both these circumstances examples have occurred,) the division must be completely unsuccessful. The imperforation sometimes presents a form which may easily deceive the surgeon, for the lower part of the rectum is sufficiently pervious, but on introducing the finger a short distance, and perceiving an obstruction, he is led to believe that it consists merely of an interposing membrane, and indulges the hope of successful division. Never- theless, it may be found that the intestine had terminated at the upper part of the os sacrum. Several infants in the same family have been the subjects of this malformation. In a case in which death took place the day after an incision had been made, two brothers of the little patient had previously been born with an imperforate rectum. Although the surgeon may not always be blame- worthy if the infant dies as early as happened in the case alluded to, yet, unless it should appear from dissection that the operation had not been the cause of death, he will not escape the reproach of having hastened that event, unless he shall have