Page:A Treatise on the Diseases of the Bones.djvu/47

Rh from bruising, that surgeons have been induced to remove those portions of them that project, in cases of compound fracture, and to approximate, as nearly as possible, their fractured extremities, with the view of promoting union by the adhesive inflammation. It is surprising to observe the power and success of nature, in reproducing bone in those cases where very large portions of the tissue have been carried away by external violence, and there are many specimens to be found in pathological collections that illustrate this fact.

A great deal depends upon the situation and structure of particular bones, as to the facility with which they will unite, by means of osseous matter, after fracture; for, although in healthy subjects the adhesive inflammation takes place in most situations, to a greater or less extent, still