196 



CHAPTEK XIV. 



GALL-STONES. 



are usually formed in the gall-bladder, 

 where the bile becomes concentrated from the absorp- 

 tion of the watery portion of the fluid ; but it some- 

 time happens that u r -'ill -stones form in the subs! 

 of the liver, and in brunches of tl: duct. These 



hepatic stones are very small, irregular in form, of a 

 dark olive or black colour, and chiefly composed of 

 solid biliary matter. 



HISTORICALLY.- i no correct account extant of 



gall-stones having been observed anterior to the fifteenth 

 it-lit ury, \vhentl iev \\ereli ist noticed by. I nhann Kentmann, 

 of Dresden, \vho eoiiimnnicated hi- 

 who made use of them to adorn his work on f 

 About the same time a similar d; 



lillS, Fallopi: .!, and (llissnn, who contri- 



buted valuable additions to the history of these con- 

 cretions. 



As regards the early pathology, [g, and ti 



ment of gall-stones, we owe much to the researches of 

 Hotl'mann, Mor u r agni, IWrhaave, and Sydcnliam. For 

 the first chemical examination of ^all-stones we are 

 indebted to Galeatti, 1748; and for the first accurate 

 description of the structure of gall-stones to 1 . A 

 Walter, 1796. 



