A treatise on gall-stones : their chemistry, pathology, and treatment / by J. L. W. Thudichum.

  • Thudichum, J. L. W. (John Louis William), 1829-1901.
Date:
MDCCCLXIII. [1863]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A treatise on gall-stones : their chemistry, pathology, and treatment / by J. L. W. Thudichum. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by King’s College London. The original may be consulted at King’s College London.

    326/384 (page 304)
    Case 10.— Gall-stone colic, jaundice, and expulsion of calculi. (Coe, 1. c., p. 40.) “ One of the first remarkable cases of gall-stones which fell under my observation many years ago was called by the person who had the care of the patient before me an odd kind of colic. And, indeed, there appeared to me some- thing uncommon. Therefore, as the case was perplexed, and as jaundice had not yet appeared, I am not ashamed to say that I sat by the patient a whole hour, observing, examining, considering, and comparing the seat and man- ner of the complaints with all the other circumstances of the case. At length I declared my opinion to be that neither the stomach nor the guts were the parts primarily affected, but that obstructions in the biliary ducts were the cause of this colic, and that probably we should soon see a jaundice come on, which would give further light into the case. My opinion was not assented to at first. How- ever, I said I had formed it upon mature consideration, and I would not depart from it unless I saw reason to alter my mind. Within four days the jaundice appeared, which gained some credit to my opinion, and within four more the obstructing bodies were found in the stools, and the patient very soon grew well. I had committed the search to a very careful person; otherwise the calculi, which were small, had been thrown away undiscovered, and the patient got well, though it had not been known how, as often happens in this case for want of a proper examination of the stools.” To this case Coe adds a useful caution in a note to the following effect:—When solid bodies are found in the stools of these patients they should be preserved for the inspec- tion and examination of proper judges, and not concluded