Page:Intubation of the Larynx - Waxham (1888).djvu/13

Rh strangulation, being helpless to afford relief by the refusal of parents to permit the opening of the trachea. By reference to the comparative statistics of these operations, it will be seen that intubation is not secondary in importance to tracheotomy, for not only are we permitted to operate where tracheotomy would not be allowed, but after operating we can then save as large a per centage of cases at all ages, and a much larger proportion under the age of three years.

The object of this volume is to give all the information possible upon the subject of intubation.

As the operation requires a maximum amount of manual dexterity, in order that it may be performed gently and quickly, it necessarily follows that one cannot become an expert without some practical experience, and cannot reach the highest degree of perfection without a great deal of it. The more knowledge, however, that one possesses of intubation, and of the anatomy of the larynx, together with its relations, the easier will it become to acquire the technique of the operation. As an aid to those who desire to practice it, a brief chapter will be devoted to the anatomy of the larynx. (In treating of the anatomy of the larynx, Gray has been recognized as authority, while many of the illustrations are