The operative treatment of intra-thoracic effusion / by Norman Porritt.

  • Porritt, Norman, 1858-
Date:
[1883?]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The operative treatment of intra-thoracic effusion / by Norman Porritt. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Augustus C. Long Health Sciences Library at Columbia University and Columbia University Libraries/Information Services, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the the Augustus C. Long Health Sciences Library at Columbia University and Columbia University.

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    defined; where, indeed, it is incumbent upon the Physician to overstep the boundary which separates his work from that of the Surgeon, or for the Surgeon to traverse fields which the Physician considers his own. To whom can be assigned the treatment of lardaceous disease of the kidneys, or other lung disease, the result of continued suppuration ? Within whose domain does the performance of tracheotomy for cruup or laryngitis come ? Or which is entitled to an exclusive right to treat struma, hydrophobia, glanders, erysipelas, aneurism, or syphilis ? And lastly, shall we grant to the Physician or to the Surgeon the privilege of treating cases of Intra-thoracic Effusion ? The class of diseases which the term Intra-thoracic Effusion comprises finds a place upon that debateable ground, where Physician and Surgeon must meet, and working in harmony, mutually throw their individual and combined efforts into combat with the disease which is perhaps threatening the life of the patient. Arduous duties will devolve upon the Physician and heavy responsibilities rest upon the Surgeon : each will find opportunity for the display of his skill and know- ledge, though neither alone is competent to have charge of every case of this description. In no other class of cases does methodical physicial examination ol the chest prove of greater value, and never is surgical aid, invoked at the proper moment, more beneficial: it is in these cases that refinements in diagnosis, that percep- tive ability and intelligent appreciation of delicate and obscure sounds stand out prominently ; whilst it is in these cases that the Surgeon's presence of mind and readiness of resource will often be put to the test. He, therefore, who aspires to deal with these cases must have been trained in that part of his duties which would fall to the lot of the pure Physician, as well as in the science and practice of the Surgeon's art and skill. And one cannot but feel on commencing an essay on The Operative Treatment of Intra-thoracic Effusion, that it will be difficult, if not impossible-, to complete it without allusion to medical facts and treatment. The subject itself is a wide one, and medical facts cannot