Tuberculous disease of the spine, commonly called caries of the spine, angular curvature or Pott's disease / by G.E. Armstrong.

  • Armstrong, George E., 1854-1933.
Date:
1899
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Tuberculous disease of the spine, commonly called caries of the spine, angular curvature or Pott's disease / by G.E. Armstrong. 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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    CARIES OF THE SPINE, ANGULAR CURVATURE, OR POTT’S DISEASE. BY G. E. Armstrong, M.D., Associate Professor of Clinical Surgery, McGill University ; Surgeon to the Montreal General Hospital and Attending Surgeon to the Western Hospital; Con- sulting Surgeon to the Protestant Hospital for the Insane, Verdun. GENTLEMEN :—The disease which I have to discuss to-day is called “Pott’s Disease” because it was first accurately described by Percival Pott of St. Bartholemew’s Hospital, in 1779. My first illustration is an adult, whom I have selected because she is not nervous and will lie quietly without making any disturbance. In her, you see a fairly good example of Pott’s disease of the lower dorsal region, involving the last dorsal and the first two lumbar vertebrae. These three vertebrae stand out quite prominently, particularly the middle one. This is a good example of angular curvature. The age at which Pott’s disease is found is, usually, up to the tenth year,—you may from the third to the tenth;—a few cases have been seen earlier than that. Mr. Howard Marsh has reported a case at the tenth month, and other cases at a year and under. On the other hand, you find illustrations of Pott’s disease at the opposite extreme of life, and cases are reported at sixty, sixty-one, and sixty-four years. It is well to bear in mind the occurrence of the disease at the extremes in age, in order that the symptoms may not be allowed to pass unrecognised when appearing in infants or old people. The great majority of cases, how- ever, occur from the third to the tenth year. In the matter of sex, in this period of life the sexes are about equally represented. You know that boys and girls, up to about ten years of age, enjoy about the same amusements, romp and play, climb fences, and get tumbles, about equally; and there is not much difference in the fre- quency of the disease in the two sexes at that time of life. With regard to the etiology of the disease. Pott's disease is always tubercular. There are, however, other pathological processes occurring in the vertebras. Angular curvature may be due to traumatism alone, or there may be curvature due to osteitis, and softening from pathoge- nic organisms, not tubercular. These cases are generally rapidly cured.