On encephaloid cancer occurring as an isolated manifestation of malignant disease, and on the cancerous degeneration of warty excrescences : with the operative treatment applicable to each / by Richard G.H. Butcher.

  • Butcher, Richard G. H., 1819-1891.
Date:
1856
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: On encephaloid cancer occurring as an isolated manifestation of malignant disease, and on the cancerous degeneration of warty excrescences : with the operative treatment applicable to each / by Richard G.H. Butcher. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    upon as enlarged capillaries, that were never intended to carry red blood, and whose walls were thinned and weakened by distention from the incurrent afflux; but, in addition to these, there were many of new creation, imperfect in their organiza¬ tion, and that readily yielded and broke up, extravasating their contents where superficially situated, and occasioning, as I believe, the yellowish hue so characteristically prominent in this form of malignant disease. Around the confines of the tumour the integuments were soft, flaccid, and immovable, while over the more projecting and discoloured parts they were tense, shining, thinned, and of an almost transparent de¬ licacy, and adherent to the structure beneath. On manipulating the tumour, taking it en masse, balanc¬ ing it in the hands, an idea of its inordinate size and weight was more strikingly enforced; it glided but little upon the chest, to which its concave base was moulded, and any force exerted upon it influenced the entire upper extremity ; in many parts firm, unyielding portions could be felt, while in others a springy, elastic feel was communicated to the touch; and in others a distinct undulating sensation, almost amounting to fluctuation. In two parts the latter was strikingly characterized, and produced by the flow from disruptured vessels in the softened and broken-down tissues of the morbid product, from half to three-quarters of an inch from the surface. Such was the condition of the local manifestation of disease on the date of admission; and coexistent with this state was the constitutional disturbance augmented. Unrelenting pain, seldom varying day or night for weeks, produced its marked effects: emaciation, debility, a haggard and wretched aspect, and, as typical of the morbid poisoning, a yellowish tinge per¬ vaded the entire body. The pulse, too, pointed to the fatal malady—it was 125; and I may here state I have seldom seen it below 120 when malignant disease has been fairly established in the system. The limb was placed in a relaxed position and propped up with pillows; the most suitable diet and support were afforded to lift the drooping powers of life, while sedatives were care¬ fully administered to allay pain, to soothe, and solicit sleep. So rapid was the growth of the tumour, that on the 28th of November its bulk had become considerably augmented in every direction; gradually increasing upwards, it passed beneath the clavicle and became prominent in the posterior inferior triangle of the neck. On the 15th of December that portion of the tumour in the neck had assumed the size of the section of a large melon, and the annoyances created by it were