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be split, most deceitfully, on the one hand, while, on the other, they sometimes adhere to each other, or to the sac; while the sac itself may be either very thick, or of extreme tenuity. To shew that I have not overstated these difficulties, I shall not rely on the cases I could produce myself, (although some of them may be mentioned) but shall quote some authorities on the subject, which will hardly be questioned.

First, with regard to the investments in ist. inbu. bubonocele, Scarpa says, p. 62* "On ^o^^^^^^making an incision into a scrotal hernia, of large size and long standing, we met with, in the first place, the aponeurotic web of the fascia lata, f and the sheath of the remaster muscle, unusually dense, rigid, and somewhat coriaceous; then the cellular substance lying between the sheath of the remaster muscle and the hernial sac, presents itself, so firm and indurated, that, at first sight, it appears to be a dense and compact capsule, formed of

y ^ » I Uncertainty

many layers lyins: one over the other: of the number

J J <j o ' of the layers.

lastly, under an indeterminate number of these layers, of hard cellular substance, the true hernial sac appears, the density of which, in spite of its excessive bulk and long standing of the hernia, does not at all, or very little, exceed the natural pellucidity and thinness of the perito- Andthinness neum." °^^^ ^^

I could produce other authorities for the multiplication of laminae, but it will not be required. I may also refer to some of the cases I have related in the

t Fascia Superiicialis.
 * Translation by Wishart.