Volume 1

A system of medicine / edited by J. Russell Reynolds.

Date:
1866-1879
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A system of medicine / edited by J. Russell Reynolds. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    178/976 (page 158)
    opposite eye has generally become hazy in the same manner as the first had been on the previous day. In twenty-four hours more the groove in the first eye may have doubled its size. Examined with a lens, the surface of the groove is of a dirty ash colour, and opaque, having indeed all the character of a minute slough. The ulcer may spread, and penetrate the entire thickness of the cornea, and extend at its margins, but in the majority of cases the patient dies before such extensive destruction occurs. The mischief is generally symmetrical; but the eye last attacked is less advanced than the first. If the patient recovers, the eye is generally preserved without any very serious disfigurement. With his general improvement the ulcers also improve. There is first arrest of disintegration, then diminution of haziness and opacity, then cleaning of the surface of the ulcer, which becomes beautifully clear and transparent. Cicatrization follows, per- haps rapidly, and the repair is generally perfect, so that unless the ulcer is very deep, in a few days it is often difficult to discover where the mischief has been. Permanent opacity, hernia of the iris, or staphyloma are rarer than would be supposed. In the later stages, there may be vascularity of conjunctiva and sclerotic, but they are effects, not causes, of the ulcers. This state of the cornea is frequently met with in India, in cases of chronic diarrhoea and other debilitating diseases, and of course, is not peculiar to Cholera. Gangrene of various parts.—Among some of the rarer sequelae, I have seen, among the natives of Bengal, complete gangrene of the penis and scrotum, and partial gangrene of the scrotum and of the point of the nose; also superficial gangrene of the mucous membrane of the mouth. I have never seen mortification of the intestines. When the mortified parts are small in extent they may be cast off, but in the extensive gangrenes of the penis and scrotum I believe that death always happens. Parotid Glands.—Swelling and inflammation of these are not unfrequent; they often, though not always, end in suppuration. It is unnecessary to give an account of the symptoms of this affection. It appears during the second or third week, and with low fever. Both sides generally suffer in succession. The patients often sink during its progress. It is always a grave symptom, indicating a very asthenic state of the system, and interfering much with the patient’s power of taking food. Bedsores, Boils, Ulcers, Law Inflammation of Lungs, Pleura, &c.—lfie patient often suffers very much from these. They often greatly retard convalescence, but do not require any special notice.