Page:A descriptive catalogue of the Warren Anatomical Museum.djvu/666

 644 MORBID ANATOMY.

the general anasarca, and a numbness of the lower extrem- ities that she had suffered much from. At the urgent solicitation of the patient, the tumor upon the hip was opened, and the finger passed in, but a soft tissue only was felt, and very much like the omentum.

After the relief above referred to, the patient's health improved, she again became pregnant, and in 1848 was delivered at the full period ; artificial means being re- quired, and the child dying during the labor. When this was over she returned to her former condition.

Before this last pregnancy, when she was in a sitting posture, which she sometimes attempted, the abdominal tumor rested upon her thighs, and as far as her knees ; there being no marked increase of size before delivery, nor diminution afterward. The tumor of the hip was 15 in. long, 10 in. in diameter at its longest part, and 4 in. in diameter at the point of its connection with the perineo- ischiatic region. Ibs. Her greatest weight, before marriage, and when in full health, was 108 Ibs. ; and her flesh being very much reduced, her own weight was estimated at the above date at 90 Ibs., and that of the tumor at 179 Ibs. From this time, or from the year before, she was confined entirely to her bed as long as she lived.

In June, 1851, when Dr. Buckner saw her, the circum- ference of the abdomen was 7 ft. 8 in., and the distance from the ensiform cartilage to the pubes, 3 ft. 6 in. ; the form of the abdominal tumor being regular and very prom- inent, so that the outline, if continued, would be rather ovoid than round. The tumor of the hip extended along the thigh, and measured 2 ft. 6 in. in length, and 18 in. transversely. The circumference, longitudinally, was 4 ft., and that of the neck of the tumor was 2 ft. 2 in. It was of a regular, elongated form, and considerably larger at the upper extremity than the lower. Some slight mamil- lary elevations, however, existed upon the surface ; but these were subsequently found not to differ from the rest of the tumor in structure.

During the last year of the patient's life, there was fre-

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