Intestinal Obstructions: Physiological, Pathological and Clinical Considerations with Emphasis on Therapy, Including Description of Operative Procedures

This new edition represents an expansion of the previous edition to include much new material. The author is one of the foremost students of the subject. Although his name has become identified with all manner of suction apparatus, a summary of the contributions of predecessors to gastroduodenal intubation is presented (page 257). John Hunter is cited as having used a stomach tube to feed a patient with paralysis of the muscles of deglutition as early as 1790. The first portion of the book, dealing with the physiology of intestinal obstruction, is an admirable discussion based on modern data. The "toxin theory" to explain deaths in patients with neglected intestinal obstruction is discounted for want of evidence. Replacement of water and correction of electrolyte imbalance are of paramount importance in the management of high obstruction that causes severe vomiting. The relief of mechanical distention is of equal importance, but the two