Observations on the Nature and Consequences of Wounds and Contusions of the Head, Fractures of the Skull, Concussions of the Brain, etc.

Pott, Sir Percivall

Date d'édition : 1760

A propos de cet article

London: C. Hitch & L. Hawes, 1760, 8°, XXXII, 182 pp., contemporary calf; ExLibris Eugene S. Flamm; fine copy. First Edition! Signed by Levi Barthlett (1763-1828) and John Thomas !**) "This book, which showed Pott's extensive knowledge of surgical literature, systematized the treatment of head injuries. It shows what a variety of injuries of the head could be sustained even before the advent of the motor-car. Includes the first description of "Pott's puffy tumour". Pott was born in Threadneedle Street, where the Bank of England now stands; he succeeded Cheselden as the greatest surgeon of his day. The book was altered and re-published under a different title in 1768." G&M "I have previously suggested that Percivall Pott (1713-1788), the English surgeon at St. Bartholomew's Hospital from 1736 until 1787, may be considered a central figure in the transition of neurosurgery from a part of general surgery to a specialized discipline in its own right. *) This is based on his writings about head injuries as well as spinal disorders. In addition to discussing his own extensive clinical experience, he was well aware of the contemporary French literature. Finally, Pott's works were widely translated into German and French, thus greatly extending their influence across the continent. Just where Pott first encountered these new views on head injuries cannot be determined. Through the English translations of the books of Le Dran or from the English edition of the Memoirs of the Royal Academy of Surgery Pott may have become aware of this important observation. The clarity of Le Dran's ideas about the distinction between concussion and compression are representative of the French school of surgery, which undoubtedly influenced Pott's views on head injuries. '. the first symptoms which appear after a violent blow upon the head, are the effects of the concussion of the brain, and do not proceed from a fracture of the skull; whereas those which do not appear till some hours or days after the accident, (supposing there were not any other symptoms at first, or if there were, and they had disappeared) these second symptoms, I say, are produced by the extravasation between the dura mater and the fractured cranium, or by an extravasation in the brain.' It may be proper to add here, that in a very considerable fracture, the drowsiness proceeding from the extravasation upon the dura mater follows so close upon the first symptoms arising from the concussion, that they are confounded together. In Le Dran's work, the technique of excising the scalp to accommodate the trephine was illustrated with comments by William Cheselden (1688-1752). It was this technique that Pott recommended in his works on head injury some years later. Cheselden was the outstanding English surgeon of the first half of the 18th century and the first to organize anatomical lectures in London. Although he did not publish any general work of surgery, he was highly regarded as a lithotomist and anatomist. His involvement with formation of the new Company of Surgeons, his friendship with Le Dran, and the publication of the English edition of this important surgical work indicate his involvement with the significant developments in surgery of his period. Pott was a major proponent of an aggressive approach to the management of head injuries. He credited Le Dran for calling attention to the lucid interval that occurs prior to the onset of coma due to cerebral compression from an epidural collection. The preface to the 1760 edition, not reprinted in the 1768 edition, sheds considerable light on Pott's deeper understanding of surgery and the role of a "neurosurgeon." Speaking of wounds of the head, he notes that they are: '. accompanied with more uncertainty, creates more anxiety to the surgeon, and more hazard to the patient, than almost any other ill, to which the human frame is liable from external violence.' It was apparent .

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Détails bibliographiques

• Titre: Observations on the Nature and Consequences of Wounds and Contusions of the Head, Fractures of the Skull, Concussions of the Brain, etc.
• Date de parution: 1760
• Signé: Signé par l'auteur
• Catalogues du vendeur:
  • Chirurgie