On retroflexion of the uterus / by Murdoch Cameron.

  • Cameron, Murdoch.
Date:
[1887]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: On retroflexion of the uterus / by Murdoch Cameron. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The University of Glasgow Library. The original may be consulted at The University of Glasgow Library.

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    ment. Can erosion and cervical catarrh be cured without replacement of the fundus, and, if not, why do so many cases of retroflexion exist without even a trace of erosion, and very little hypertrophy of the cervix ? In many cases of newly formed flexion the tissue of the uterus is already oedematous, and this results from congestion. The uterus is heavy and thickened, and yet in a few days after replacement it is found to have regained its normal condition. In such a case a badly placed pessary will set up pains and excite perimetritis. With the proper replacement, however, all feeling of discomfort disappears and the bleeding ceases, the patient menstruates without pain, the uterus contracts and remains in good position. In time the case is cured, and the pessaiy can be removed. I have met with cases of women who had reached their 46th or 48th year, and who suffered so much from menorrhagia as to give rise to a suspicion of cancer. Yet these same cases, on having the displaced organ put in good position, have been immediately relieved, the bleeding disappeared, and the patients very soon regained their health. One is accustomed with patients who are always complain- ing of indescribable pains. They feel as if their inside was going to fall out; they have a constant desire to pass some- thing from the bowels, and say if it was gone they would be quite well. On coming down stairs, dancing, lifting any weight, standing a long time, or even driving over a rough road, the feeling is increased almost to pain. Yery little exertion tires them out. These symptoms result from the pressure backwards of the fundus, from peritonitis, and from pressure on the fundus during defecation. The pains resulting from the rectum are often increased when the body of the uterus is large, and heavy or fixed. On making a vaginal examination one frequently feels, immediately above the region of the anus, a large mass of fsecal matter, and above this the fundus, which is often fixed, and if pressed forwards gives rise to pain. Patients with such displacements are inclined to rest, and sitting induces constipation. Defecation is painful, and there- fore the patient avoids going to stool.. As a result we have the rectum loaded with a dry, hard mass, which is only passed with the most excruciating pain, in a manner justifying the answer of an old maiden aunt to a niece near her confine- ment, when asked if the pains of labour would be hard to bear: They canna be waur than extreme costiveness. Pain during the sudden occurrence of retroflexion is very marked, as the pelvic peritoneum has not yet adapted itself