On the treatment of ulcers on the leg without confinement : with an inquiry into the best mode of effecting the permanent cure of varicose veins / by Henry T. Chapman.

  • Chapman, Henry T. (Henry Thomas), 1806-1874.
Date:
1848
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: On the treatment of ulcers on the leg without confinement : with an inquiry into the best mode of effecting the permanent cure of varicose veins / by Henry T. Chapman. 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.

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    Whatever may be the amount of influence exerted by the former of these causes, that of the latter may be easily demonstrated; as long as the limb is maintained in the horizontal position, no very perceptible difference can be detected between a simple ulcer of the leg and one situated elsewhere; but immediately the patient stands, or allows the foot to hang down, the surface and cir- cumference of all but the most callous of these sores present a tumid, livid aspect, a copious exudation of serous ichor takes place, and, not unfrequently, a gush of blood from the loaded vessels occurs;* let the leg be raised to its former position, and a rapid alteration for the better is observed; the turgidity of the vessels disappears, and a hue, more or less florid, succeeds to the livid tint resulting from the dependent posture. The following details of an experiment recorded by Dr. Hastings,f in which he traced, by the aid of the microscope, the state of the capillary circu- lation, from the commencement of inflammation to * See the case related by Mr. Hunter, and his deductions therefrom,—Treatise on Inflammation, chapter on Granulation, section 11. Mr. Whately's tenth case is a still more striking illustration of the injurious effects of the dependent position on ulcers of the leg.—Whately on Ulcers of the Leg. f Treatise on Inflammation of the Mucous Membrane of the Lungs, p. 84.