Injuries and diseases of the knee-joint considered from the clinical aspect / by Sir William Bennett ; with thirty-four illustrations.

  • Bennett, William Henry, Sir, 1852-1921.
Date:
1909
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Injuries and diseases of the knee-joint considered from the clinical aspect / by Sir William Bennett ; with thirty-four illustrations. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, Harvard Medical School.

    119/292 (page 93)
    the patient to completely extend the limb remain unchanged by the manipulation^ but it will be found that even under an anesthetic it is impossible to completely straighten it. It is true that if the patient, whilst anaesthetised, be laid on his back^ the limb can be put practically straight if firm back- ward pressure be made upon the front of the knee ; but upon removal of the pressure the knee imme- diately springs forward^ leaving the limb bent to the same degree as before it was straightened in the manner indicated. The failure of attempts at reduc- tion in these cases is due^ not necessarily to any want of skill in the manipulation^ but to the fact that there is nothing present which in the ordinary sense is reducible. In spite of the apparent intractability of these cases at firsts they invariably recover completely if properly treated^ and show no tendency to recur. The important point to notice in their progress is this: the recovery of complete extension is gradual^ never suddeuj as is the case when a foreign body has been withdrawn from between the bones. In these cases the symptoms arise from the swelling due to bruising and laceration about the peripheral margin of the semi-lunars and their attachments without displace- ment, the gradual recovery of free movement being due to the slow absorption of the effused products. The gradual way in which the normal state is regained is in itself enough to negative the existence of any- thing like a foreign body, in the ordinary sense of the