SECTION III. 



AFFECTIONS OF THE (ESOPHAGUS. 



CHAPTER I. 



INFLAMMATION OP THE CESOPHAGUS CESOPHAGITIS DYSPHAGIA 

 INFLAMMATOEIA. 



ETIOLOGY. Catarrhal, croupous (diphtheritic), and pustular inflam- 

 mations may affect the mucous membrane of the oesophagus, which 

 may also be the seat of ulcers, or even mortify from the action of strong 

 chemical agents ; lastly, there are inflammations and suppurations of 

 the submucous tissue. 



Catarrhal inflammation is most frequently caused by the action of 

 local irritants, such as acrid or too hot food, awkwardly-introduced 

 oesophageal sounds; in other cases, the catarrh extends from the 

 stomach or pharynx to the oesophagus ; in still others, it may depend 

 on venous congestion, which, in diseases of the heart and lungs, often 

 exists throughout the whole intestinal canal. 



Croupous inflammation of the oesophagus is rarely seen, and, when 

 it does occur, it is almost always in company with similar inflamma- 

 tions of the larynx and pharynx, or in protracted typhus, cholera, and 

 the acute exanthemata. 



Pustular inflammation comes in some rare cases of variola, or after 

 the use of tartar emetic. 



Ulcers of the oesophagus are mostly caused by pointed bodies, 

 which penetrate the mucous membrane, or by angular bodies that have 

 become lodged at some spot in the oesophagus ; more rarely, it comes 

 from corrosion of the mucous membrane, or in the course of chronio 

 catarrh. The same causes may excite inflammations and suppurations 

 of the submucous tissue. 



Lastly, the mucous membrane is sometimes burned by corrosive 

 substances, particularly by concentrated acids. 



ANATOMICAL APPEARANCES. Acute catarrhal inflammation of the 



