The significance of intra-abdominal 'bands,' 'folds' and 'veils' / by William Seaman Bainbridge.

  • Bainbridge, William Seaman, 1870-1947.
Date:
1914
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: The significance of intra-abdominal 'bands,' 'folds' and 'veils' / by William Seaman Bainbridge. 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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    constipation. . 1 his state of affairs, he maintained, is very common but not sufficiently recognized. In 1903 Lane again called attention to the subject of this inter- ference with the drainage of the intestinal canal, and again em- phasized the vital importance of its recognition. He contended that the free passage of the intestinal contents through the hepatic flexure is interfered with by the development of a mesentery which is attached to the outer surface of the cecum, ascending colon, and the hepatic flexure. He presented a diagram showing the “bridles” formed by the shortening.up of the longitudinal fibres on the front of the ascend- ing colon, stating that these “bridles” are so marked in some cases as to require to be partly divided in order to restore the colon and cecum to their normal position and their capacity for the efficient performance of their function. When I first began to study these conditions with Lane, this peri- toneal apron to which your distinguished president subsequently gave the name, “pericolic membrane,” as well as the various other folds and bands which are commonly found in chronic intestinal stasis, were demonstrated to me by him numbers of times at Guy’s Hospital. They were not given specific names, and were not considered by him as separate entities, each with its own particular sphere of activity in the production of abnormal conditions within the abdomen, and each invested with its own particular set of symptoms; he rather considered them as parts of the great whole,—the causation and symptomatology of chronic intestinal stasis. Lane’s dominant idea in studying the cases which have come to be known under the diagnostic term of chronic intestinal stasis, was to work back from the widely divergent manifestations which we now consider to be the symptom-complex of stasis, to the underlying cause or causes. At the same time, naturally, he was working in the oppo- site direction, from the abnormal intra-abdominal manifestations which have come, carelessly, and without his approval, to be known as “Lane’s bands,” and “Lane’s kinks,” to the possible pathological effects produced by these. Coincidentally, of course, he studied the pathogenesis of these intra-abdominal tissue formations. Thus Lane, recognizing the existence of these pathological structures within the abdomen, studying their pathogenesis, tracing their rela- tionship to a wide variety of pathological manifestations, and develop- ing a system of preventive and correctional measures, has played the role of the true pioneer, pointing the way to a new field for explora- tion, a new territory for useful endeavor. Lane, in other words, has stood on the mountain-top, so to speak, and has swept his eye com-, pletely around the horizon. Having worked with him on my various visits to London for several years, having studied his cases before, during, and after operation, having repeatedly seen his hypothesis with reference to the existence of these causative factors in the production of chronic intestinal stasis verified upon the operating table, and having substantiated his findings in a large series of my own cases, I have tried to follow his example, and to sweep my own mental vision around the horizon rather than to fix my gaze upon this, that or the other particular point. Therefore, with no possible desire to detract in the slightest degree from the brilliant work of your distinguished president, of Jonnesco and Juvara, of Douglas Reid, of Treves, and of the many others who, latterly, have contributed to the investigation of this interesting and important subject, I wish to emphasize what seems to me to be the logical point of view, that of considering all these intra-abdominal