Transactions of the Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, Vol. 7

Excerpt from Transactions of the Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, Vol. 7: June, 1914 The occurrence of haemorrhage from puncturing a liver by a hollow needle can only be dangerous when the inferior vena cava is wounded. To avoid this, I investigated the position Of the inferior vena cava and its relation to the surface Of the body. After examining the frozen sections of the body made through the region of the liver in the London museums, I found that the inferior vena cava was equally distant from all points in the Operable area over the liver, namely, from the middle line in front to the angle of the right ribs behind. In a body of say 32 inches, the commonest size in circumference over the Operable area, the centre of the inferior vena cava is 4% inches from the surface at all points. I therefore have my needles made not more than 3% inches long, SO that I cannot touch the vena cava even when the needle is pushed in to its full length. The danger of haemorrhage under these circumstances is nil. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.