Malignant pustule in the United States / by A.N. Bell.

  • Bell, A. N. (Agrippa Nelson), 1820-1911.
Date:
1862
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Malignant pustule in the United States / by A.N. Bell. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    several little apertures wore seen on the lip; we divided it freely from below the vermilion border through its entire substance, to the apex of the chin ; it bled, but discharged no pus; the tissues did not retract and the cut sides were in contact; we gave him sulph. quinia, gr. ii, every four hours, and intermediately ten drops of muriated tincture of iron, milk punch, wine, whey, and beef tea, and a pulv. Doveri at night; he was very anxious about himself, apprehending a fatal result; Tuesday morning no better; on removing the yeast and flaxseed poultice which we had applied to the part, the skin had united so that it required some force to open the wound ; the right half of the lip looked a little better and the pustule also ; swelling less, and on pressure, a little white matter could be forced from several openings in the lip ; the swelling, however, had extended on the left cheek and down the neck ; was hard and more livid ; we extended the incision through the border of the lip, put a tent in the wound and reapplied the poultice; treatment continued ; had consider- able pain in his bowels so that opiates had to be given ; his bowels had been freely evacuated by blue pills and oil. Wednesday, 8 o'clock, A. M.—Had slept but little ; face more livid, pulse 130. 5, P. M—Sinking; lip cool; pus oozes from several points on the lip, no pus from the incision; did not deem it best to cut more. Prof. Parker saw him at 8 o’clock in the evening. He advised, though rather reluctantly, ma- king two free incisions in the cheek, which I did, one four and the other three and a half inches long, through the skin and cellular tissue. He supposed we should find pus, but none fol- lowed the knife. They bled more freely than the first incision ; but blood was dark. He advised the continuance of the same medication, but the patient gradually sank and died the next day at 2, P. M.” In the discussion of this case by the members of the society present at the time it was reported, it was elicited that malig- nant pustule appears to be a recent disease in Brooklyn ; several cases having occurred within the last three or four years, while no one present recollected any cases as having occurred here at an earlier period. Dr. Cullen stated that he had had three cases. And that having seen many cases of the same disease as an epidemic in Mexico, he regarded it as true malignant pustule. He also mentioned that he had never known a case where pain in the abdomen or chest did not occur in the course of the disease.