A manual of auscultation and percussion : embracing the physical diagnosis of diseases of the lungs and heart, and of thoracic aneurism / by Austin Flint.

  • Flint, Austin, 1812-1886.
Date:
1890
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A manual of auscultation and percussion : embracing the physical diagnosis of diseases of the lungs and heart, and of thoracic aneurism / by Austin Flint. 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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    familiar, if it be not already so, by reference to works treating of the anatomy and physiology of the chest. Physical diagnosis is an art; like every art it has its limitations. Failure to realize this fact leads to error and disappointment. Morbid processes, which do not immediately cause coarse structural changes, or marked disturbances of function, may not appreciably modify normal physical signs; again, lesions constituting im- portant changes in the physical structures of organs may be limited in extent and deeply situated, and thus elude the methods of physical exploration. The Morbid Physical Conditions Incident to the Different Diseases of the Respiratory System. The various morbid physical conditions incident to different diseases must be known, for it is the immediate object of auscultation, percussion, and the other methods of exploration, to ascertain either the existence or the absence of these morbid conditions. Knowledge of all the important conditions which are deviations from those of health, and the relations of each to different diseases, is, therefore, an essential requirement. Deviations from the normal conformation of the chest and the various abnormal movements of respiration, belong properly among the physical signs obtained by inspection, palpation, and mensuration. For the most part, these signs represent morbid physical conditions within the chest. Certain conditions relate to the pres- ence of liquid, either serous, sero-fibrinous, or purulent, within the pleural sac. The quantity of liquid may be large enough to compress the lung into a solid mass, and to enlarge the affected side, at the same time re-