Anaemia / by J.H. Bryant.

  • Bryant, John Henry.
Date:
1901
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Anaemia / by J.H. Bryant. 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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    was healthy, so that phthisis and Bright’s dis- ease were excluded. There were no glandular enlargements. The result of the physical ex- amination, therefore, was not in favour of malignant disease, but suggested the possibility of infective endocarditis; it was, thus im- possible, even after the physical examination, to arrive at any justifiable conclusion as to the cause of the very marked anaemia. The result of the blood examination, how- ever, made the diagnosis quite evident, for the changes found were characteristic of pernicious anaemia. In the light of recent investigations on the nature of this disease, it is a question whether it should be classed under the heading primary or idiopathic. Hunter looks upon pernicious anaemia as a disease of septic origin. Pie states that it is the result of a special infection of the digestive tract, especially of the mucosa •of the stomach, and that the mouth and intestine are also frequently affected. He considers that oral sepsis, resulting from cario-necrotic con- ditions of the teeth, plays an important role in its production. One important element of the infection he believes to be streptococcal, but he does not consider it to be entirely streptococcal. It is of interest to note that with other organisms, streptococci were found in the cultures taken from the pus which welled out from around the teeth of the case I have under consideration. The mouths of patients suffering from pernicious .anaemia,do not always show septic changes.