13.07.2015 Views

History of medical practice in Illinois - Bushnell Historical Society

History of medical practice in Illinois - Bushnell Historical Society

History of medical practice in Illinois - Bushnell Historical Society

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

Create successful ePaper yourself

Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.

1 82 <strong>History</strong> <strong>of</strong> Medical Practice <strong>in</strong> Ill<strong>in</strong>oiscerta<strong>in</strong>ly by the younger men <strong>of</strong> the pr<strong>of</strong>ession. The older men, <strong>in</strong> many <strong>in</strong>stances,stand alo<strong>of</strong> from the method. Bancock and Tait <strong>in</strong> England arereported as hav<strong>in</strong>g discarded the spray <strong>of</strong> carbolic acid <strong>in</strong> major operationsand <strong>in</strong> ovariotomies. The follow<strong>in</strong>g plan seems to be universally acceptedby surgeons:(1) Free dra<strong>in</strong>age by a strand <strong>of</strong> silkworm gut or horse hairfor 72 hours. (2) Close coaptation. (3) Perfect rest. Rubber tubes for dra<strong>in</strong>agealthough clean, were recognized as a source <strong>of</strong> suppuration by somesurgeons. Bone tubes (Neubauer) had been used for dra<strong>in</strong>age, and Mac-Ewen (Glasgow) used bird bones (as chicken legs). . . . They used catgutprepared by Lister's method. There were some secondary hemorrhages,<strong>in</strong> which case the surgeon went back to silver wire or waxed silk or silkwormgut, for control. Rest <strong>in</strong>cluded spl<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>g and equable pressure <strong>of</strong> padsand bandages. Lister at that time is quoted (on his theory for the need <strong>of</strong>antiseptic surgery): 'Theory, there is no theory about it ... it is a solemnfact.'There were remarks on ve<strong>in</strong> ligation for varicocele, also an approv<strong>in</strong>greport on antiseptic surgery for open ligation and nerve stretch<strong>in</strong>g orrestoration by Dr. R. G. Bogue <strong>of</strong> the Cook County Hospital. Us<strong>in</strong>g freshcadavers, he had performed experiments to determ<strong>in</strong>e the tensile strength<strong>of</strong> nerve trunks, and presented a table <strong>of</strong> the strength <strong>of</strong> various nerves, andhe thanked Drs. E. P. Davis and A. D. Bevan for their help.Dr. Thomas J.Maxwell <strong>of</strong> Biggsville, Ill<strong>in</strong>ois, gave a report on <strong>in</strong>tracapsularfractures <strong>of</strong> the femur <strong>in</strong> which he said:"Remarkable changestake place <strong>in</strong> the nutrition <strong>of</strong> the head and neck <strong>of</strong> the femur <strong>in</strong> olderpersons . . . spongy tissue becom<strong>in</strong>g more rarefied and filled with fat." Henoted that union did not take place for the follow<strong>in</strong>g reasons: " (1) Defectivevascularity; vessels which supply the head <strong>of</strong> the bone enter its substancethrough the ligamentum teres and the reflect<strong>in</strong>g portion <strong>of</strong> thecapsular ligament. When fractures take place the bone must depend entirelyfor its vitality upon the arterial branch which ascends the round ligament,a supply barely sufficient for its own existence and sometimes notequal to that.(2) No support<strong>in</strong>g accessory structure as a connective tissueto act as a nidus for support<strong>in</strong>g material (callus). (3) Reparative materialfurnished by vessels greatly diluted with <strong>in</strong>creased synovial fluid, <strong>in</strong>capable<strong>of</strong> progressive organization. (4) Maladjustment <strong>of</strong> fragments and <strong>in</strong>abilityto ma<strong>in</strong>ta<strong>in</strong> perfect quietude so necessary to repair, and f<strong>in</strong>ally (5)spastic action <strong>of</strong> the muscles on the distal portion <strong>of</strong> the bone." All this hequoted from Agnew's "Surgery"; it was so understood <strong>in</strong> 1881.Dr. Edmund Andrews reported on "Experiments <strong>in</strong> the Use <strong>of</strong> ChianTurpent<strong>in</strong>e, Mastic and Sulphur for Cancer," accord<strong>in</strong>g to the method <strong>of</strong>Clay <strong>of</strong> England. The use <strong>of</strong> turpent<strong>in</strong>e pushed its price away up; thetotal amount <strong>of</strong> genu<strong>in</strong>e Chian turpent<strong>in</strong>e ever brought <strong>in</strong>to Chicago was

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!