The Morton lecture on cancer and cancerous diseases : delivered at the Royal College of Surgeons of England, Thursday, Nov. 29, 1888 / by Sir Spencer Wells.

  • Wells, Spencer, 1818-1897.
Date:
1889
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The Morton lecture on cancer and cancerous diseases : delivered at the Royal College of Surgeons of England, Thursday, Nov. 29, 1888 / by Sir Spencer Wells. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    conglobate form of gland not previously described, in one of the lowest mammalians, with an invest¬ ment of unstriped muscular fibres in parallel order around each crypt, so as to constitute a basement membrane upon which the epithelial cells are seated. These sweat-glands differ in important respects from the ordinary skin glands of man. They are not usually in the substance of the skin, but adhere to its under surface, lying between the skin and the axillary fascia, and sometimes extending to the lateral and anterior regions of the chest. They are variously developed in different individuals, and must be regarded as a sort of survival or rudimentary organ, and subject to all the risks of such survivals or rudiments. Dr. Creighton says: ‘ I have, in one instance, found perfect exam¬ ples of them in intimate association with the breast structure.’ I show you here the tumour which I removed entire on October 30, as well as the fragments of another somewhat smaller tumour, and the tissue I removed in dissecting away the investing membrane after the interior had been cleared out. Dr. Creighton was present, and made a careful examination on the same day of all that I removed. The smaller or pectoral tumour was so closely connected with the breast that I removed with it a small piece of the outer border of the gland, enough to show that the breast itself was quite healthy. In order to be sure of removing the whole of the tumours, I removed some of the surround¬ ing fat also, and Dr. Creighton reported to me that he found ‘ embedded ’ in the fat, round, reddish bodies, about the size of a large pin-head. ‘ One of these, easily extracted from the surrounding fat, proved to