An introduction to pathology and morbid anatomy / by T. Henry Green.

  • Green, T. Henry (Thomas Henry), 1841-1923.
Date:
1876
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: An introduction to pathology and morbid anatomy / by T. Henry Green. 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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    of rye are the most important of these. The necrosis of the jaw which results from phosj)horus appears, however, to be owing to the direct contact of the phosj)horus witli the bone, and the gangrene of the extremities which sometimes follows the long-continued ingestion of ergot is probably due to that contraction of the small arteries which this substance produces. Senile Gangrene.—This is a form of mortification which affects especially the lower extremities of old people, and is the result of sev- eral of those conditions which have already been enumerated as causes of gangrene. The most important element in the production of senile gangrene consists in the occurrence of atheromatous or calcareous changes in the arteries of the limb, in consequence of which the circulation in it becomes impeded and its vitality impaired. This is evidenced by the coldness of the feet, the cramps, and the other abnormal sensations which are so often experienced by the patient some time before the gangrene sets in. This tendency to local stagnation of the circulation is usually materially increased by the simultaneous atrophy or degen- eration of the muscular substance of the heart itself. The combined effect of the diminished vis a tergo and of the arterial degeneration may, in some cases, be alone sufficient to cause arrest of the circula- tion and the formation of thrombi in the vessels of the limb, and thus to cause gangrene. The supervention of the gangrene, however, is usually determined by some injurious stimulation of the tissue, as a slight abrasion of the foot, a bruise, injury to a corn, or excess of heat or cold, which sets up inflammation in the already weakened part, and thus, by still further obstructing the circulation in it, and impairing its vitality, causes its death. Senile gangrene is usually of the dry variety.