A case of spondylolisthesis, with description of the pelvis / by J. Whitridge Williams.

  • Williams J. Whitridge.
Date:
[1899]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A case of spondylolisthesis, with description of the pelvis / by J. Whitridge Williams. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. The original may be consulted at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.

    29/48
    was in a man, thus making a total of 123 cases, 6.5 per cent, of which were in males. With the exception of the specimen described by Jelliug- hans and later by Wedekind, all the other cases were observed clinicallv and were described by R. von Braun, Bar and Keim, Lovett, Flint, Ludwig and Savor, and Vedeler. All of these cases were more or less carefully described, except those of Flint and Ludwig and Savor, which were merely mentioned in their articles upon contracted pelves. As none of the cases, however, presented any particularly new features, we shall not consider them in detail. On looking over the total number of cases which have been reported, we find that five occurred in this country— namely, those of Blake, Lombard, Flint, Gibney, and Lovett. The last two cases occurred in men, and in both the diagnosis appears quite doubtful; as in neither of them was the dis- placed body of the last lumbar felt by rectal examination, the diagnosis having been based upon a certain amount of lumbar lordosis following traumatism. The cases of Blake and Lombard, however, were appar- ently well-marked examples of spondylolisthesis, though the description of each leaves a good deal to be desired. Flint’s case is simply mentioned in his statistics, without an attempt at description, so that we are unable to make any statements concerning it. So far as we can learn from the literature, the present case appears to be the only one which has thus far come to autopsy in this country, and accordingly is the only specimen which has been described in detail, and we regret extremely that we are unable to express more positive opinions concerning its etiology. It is quite likely that many such cases have escaped observa- tion, or have not been reported, as Dr. Arthur Dean Bevan, of Chicago, informed me some months ago that he had ob- served the deformity several times in the dissecting-room. When we come to consider the treatment which was pur-