'Common' cirrhosis of the liver : an analysis of 121 cases / by T.N. Kelynack.

  • Kelynack, T. N. (Theophilus Nicholas), 1866-1944.
Date:
[1897]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: 'Common' cirrhosis of the liver : an analysis of 121 cases / by T.N. Kelynack. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    quently tapped. In the female cases the amount of ascites was generally less extensive than in the males. Considerable ascites was almost always present in the cases which presented marked hjematemesis. Certainly these important secondary conditions do not mutually exclude each other. Weight of the Liver.—The weight of the liver was obtained in 93 cases, 6i males and 32 females. Result:— WEIGHT. MALE. FEMALE. Maximum - - 118 ounces - 104 ounces. Minimum - - 26 - - 18 ,, Average - - 53-20 „ - - 53-89 „ Size of the Liver.—Special note as to the bulk of the liver was made in 73 cases. The result was as follows :— SEX. NO. OF CASES. INCREASED. NORM.VL. DIMINISHED. Males - 52 17 3 32 Females - 21 7 I 13 Totals - 73 24 4 45 Report as to size of an organ naturally depends entirely on the opinion of the pathologist making the examination. Com- paring my own observations with records made twenty to thirty years ago, it has seemed to me that the small cirrhotic liver is much less frequently met with now than it was formerly. I wish here, however, to clearly point out that there is a fallacy in comparing enlargements of the liver clinically and pathologically. Many cases which appear, and undoubtedly are, above the normal size during life, may be found of natural extent, or even diminished, at the post-mortem examination. This applies particularly to states of active and passive engorgement, and__to a less extent the same variation occurs in many cases of cir- rhosis. Considerable confusion must occur unless this variability in size between the ante- and post-mortem liver is carefully kept in mind. Character of the Cirrhotic Liver.—A “hob-nailed” liver is not of common occurrence in our post-7nortem department.