A manual of the practice of surgery / by W. Failie Clarke.

  • Clarke, W. Fairlie (William Fairlie), 1833-1884.
Date:
[1882], ©1882
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A manual of the practice of surgery / by W. Failie Clarke. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Augustus C. Long Health Sciences Library at Columbia University and Columbia University Libraries/Information Services, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the the Augustus C. Long Health Sciences Library at Columbia University and Columbia University.

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    SURGICAL DISEASES. XiOCAIi UYBEItmiailL OR COITGESTIOir means the accumulation of blood which takes place in a part when the vessels are overcharged and dilated. Such accumulation may be either active and arterial, or passive and venous. Active congestion (Determination) is a vital process and de- pends upon an excess of blood in the arteries—this excess being brought about sometimes by external irritation, sometimes by increased functional activity of the organ or part. The arteries are distended, and the bright red blood flows through them with great rapidity. Active congestion is not always a morbid state. 'J'he afflux of blood to the breast during pregnancy is a true ex- ample of determination. When, however, it occurs unnaturally, or interferes with healthy nutrition or secretion, it becomes a disease. It may be either acute or chronic. When acute, it may relieve itself by hBemorrhage; when chronic, it may lead to serous effusions, or to changes in the nutrition or secretion of the part. The treatment is that of inflammation in its milder degrees, and will be described hereafter. Passive congestion is generally brought about by mechanical causes. Most frequently it depends upon venous obstruction; but it may also arise from general debility, or from a want of tone in the vessels of the part, as well as from other causes. When the circulation is only retarded, the blood flows slowly through the distended vessels; when, however, it is altogether arrested, complete stagnation takes place. If the obstruction be removed, the circulation will soon recover itself, and the part return to its normal state. But if the cause of the disorder remain in operation, one of two things will speedily occur—either the B