Excerpt from The Physician and Surgeon, 1880, Vol. 2: A Monthly Magazine, Devoted to Medical and Surgical Science

At present the muscles below the knee are flabby, the leg generally smaller than the opposite one, and shortening partly from overlapping and partly from partial arrest Of development, to the extent Of one and one-fourth inches.

Professor Green, in a few clinical remarks, said that the history indicated that these bones had not been properly nourished for three or four years before they were fractured, and, undoubtedly, there had been an attempt toward bony union, but owing to some particular condition of the bones modifying the character and quantity of the exudate, the provis ional callus had undergone absorption before bony union had been accomplished. The process of repair stopped short Of bony union, and we have here the result - an ununited fracture. You will remember the principle I laid down for you when we were discussing the healing of wounds: namely, other things being equal, the quality Of the scar texture is in inverse proportion to the quantity of lymph thrown out; the same principle holds good in the repair and union of bone. Among the conditions favoring the union or repair Of any solution of continuity, the perfect nutri tion of the parts involved is the most essential. In this case we must set aside all constitutional disturbances, yet there is evidently defective nutrition Of these bones, which was present at the time of the fracture, eighteen months ago. Were the bones Of the opposite fellow similarly affected I should regard it as a case Of rachitis, for in that disease one of the most prominent features is softening and bending of the long bones; but the other bones are well nourished and developed, and he presents none of the other symptoms of that disease, so we shall exclude it as the cause Of the non-union. In this case the cause lies in the bones them selves, and it is this that renders the prognosis more unfavorable.

About the Publisher

Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com

This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.