On healthy and diseased structure and the true principles of treatment for the cure of disease : especially consumption and scrofula; founded on microscopical analysis.

  • Addison, William, 1802-1881.
Date:
1849
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: On healthy and diseased structure and the true principles of treatment for the cure of disease : especially consumption and scrofula; founded on microscopical analysis. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library at Yale University, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library at Yale University.

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    of a tubercle, the examination should be made in the lungs of young persons who have died of other diseases ; for in those who die of consumption so many changes have taken place, and the several textures of the lungs have been so altered, that it is impossible to find tuber- cles in that early condition in which alone their nature and situation can be determined. I have repeatedly examined with the microscope the material deposited in the air-cells of the lung in pneumonia, and compared its characters and appearance with that forming a tubercle, without being able to detect any more essen- tial or specific difference between them than exists be- tween purulent matter recently excreted and that of an old chronic abscess. The same class of objects, colourless cells and altered protoplasmatous matter constitute in both cases the bulk of the material. And were we to imagine the fluid elements of old pus, removed or ab- sorbed, the remaining solid matter would appear to possess the characters of tuberculous matter; the co- lourless elements of blood—pus and tubercle—passing by insensible gradations into each other. In pneumonia, the consolidating matter is as it were suddenly thrown out over a wide extent of lung. All the capillaries are loaded with colourless elements. The blood itself, when withdrawn by venisection, assumes the buffy-coat, and the texture from the various blendings of the red colour of the blood with the white colour of the new material separated from it, assumes various hues between dark red and whitish yellow.