TREATMENT OF SPECIAL DISEASES.—Continued.
=Gangrene of the Lung.=—_Definition._—A putrefactive necrosis of the lung.
_Cause._—Many putrefactive bacteria thrive in the necrotic soil, but whether they are the cause or the result is not known.
_Pathology._—When the gangrene is due to the plugging of one of the large branches of the pulmonary artery, a large part of the lung becomes dark, greenish brown, or a black fetid mass, softening rapidly in the center, forming an irregular cavity, containing a foul-smelling disgusting, greenish fluid.
_Treatment._—Give complete arterial injection. Inject the pleural sac on the affected side through the first intercostal space or through the apex of the cavity. Spray fluid into the mouth and nose and close them with absorbent cotton. For shipment of these cases govern yourself according to the transportation rules.
=Pulmonary Hemorrhage.=—_Synonyms._—Hemoptysis; Broncho-pulmonary hemorrhage; Bronchorrhagia; Pneumorrhagia.
_Definition._—An expectoration of blood, due to hemorrhage from the mucous membrane of the bronchi, trachea, or larynx and from erosion or rupture of capillaries in lung cavities.
_Cause._—The hemorrhage may result from congestion of the lungs, due either to pulmonary lesions or from cardiac derangements. It may accompany malignant affections, infectious fevers, scurvy, cancer of the lung, gangrene, and abscess of the lung.
_Pathology._—There is, in most cases rupture of the capillaries of the bronchial mucous membranes. If tubercular cavities are formed, a ruptured aneurism is sometimes seen, or large blood vessel eroded by ulceration. If pulmonary apoplexy has existed, the parenchyma may be lacerated.
_Treatment._—Some operators wait until fluid passes from the mouth before taking steps to stop the hemorrhage due to the injection of fluid. We prefer to use plaster of paris and cotton, making a paste of them and forcing the paste down upon the epiglottis to prevent the waste of fluid from that source. When the cause of death is known, this operation must be done before the injection is begun or the throat will have to be dried out before the plaster of paris will set properly. Another treatment to prevent the leakage of fluid would be to tie off the trachea just above the upper border of the sternum.