92 DISEASES CLASS I. 2. 3. 16. 



of people, seemed to have been much weakened by the hardship 

 of a cold floor, and little or no bed, with bad food; and who to 

 these evils had to bear the unceasing obloquy of her neighbours, 

 and the persecution of parish officers. 



The following is abstracted from a letter of my friend Mr. 

 Power, surgeon, at Bosworth in Leicestershire, on examining the 

 body of an elderly lady who died of this disease, March 29, 

 1 793. " On opening the abdomen I found a large cyst attached 

 to the left ovarium by an elastic neck as thick as the little fin- 

 ger, and so callous as not to admit of being separated by scissars 

 without considerable difficulty. The substance of the cyst had 

 an appearance much resembling the gravid uterus near the full 

 period of gestation, and was as thick. It had no attachment to 

 the peritoneum, or any of the viscera, except by the hard callous 

 neck I have mentioned; so that the blood must with difficulty 

 have been circulated through it for some time. Its texture was 

 extremely tender, being easily perforated with the finger, was of 

 a livid red colour, and evidently in a sphacelated state. It con- 

 tained about two gallons of a fluid of the colour of port wine, 

 without any greater tenacity. It has fallen to my lot to have 

 opened two other patients, whose deaths were occasioned by en- 

 cysted dropsy of the ovarium. In one of these the ovarium was 

 much enlarged with eight or ten cysts on its surface, but there 

 was no adhesion formed by any of the cysts to any other part; 

 nor had the ovarium formed any adhesion with the peritoneum, 

 though in a very diseased state. In the other the disease was 

 more simple, being only one cyst; without any attachment but 

 to the ovarium. 



" As the ovarium is a part not necessary to life, and dropsies 

 of this kind are so generally fatal in the end, I think I shall be 

 induced, notwithstanding the hazard attending wounds, which 

 penetrate the cavity of the abdomen, to propose the extirpation 

 of the diseased part in the first case, which occurs to me, in 

 which I can with precision say, that the ovarium is the seat of 

 the disease, and the patient in other respects tolerably healthy; 

 as the cavity of the abdomen is often opened in other cases 

 without bad consequences." 



An argument, which might further countenance the opera- 

 tion thus proposed by Mr. Power might be taken from the dis- 

 ease frequently affecting young persons; from its being gene- 

 rally in these subjects local and primary; and not like the ascites 

 ? reduced or accompanied with other diseased viscera; and last- 

 y, as it is performed in adult quadrupeds, as old sows, with 

 safety, though by awkward operators. 



16, Jlnasarca pulmonum. The dropsy of the cellular mem- 



