release time:2023-12-04 08:22:51 source:Vivid in the ear network author:{typename type="name"/}
Quite similar to the cases of fetus in fetu are the instances of dermoid cysts. For many years they have been a mystery to physiologists, and their origin now is little more than hypothetic. At one time the fact of finding such a formation in the ovary of an unmarried woman was presumptive evidence that she was unchaste; but this idea was dissipated as soon as examples were reported in children, and to-day we have a well-defined difference between congenital and extrauterine pregnancy. Dermoid cysts of the ovary may consist only of a wall of connective tissue lined with epidermis and containing distinctly epidermic scales which, however, may be rolled up in firm masses of a more or less soapy consistency; this variety is called by Orth epidermoid cyst; or, according to Warren, a form of cyst made up of skin containing small and ill-defined papillae, but rich in hair follicles and sebaceous glands. Even the erector pili muscle and the sudoriparous gland are often found. The hair is partly free and rolled up into thick balls or is still attached to the walls. A large mass of sebaceous material is also found in these cysts. Thomson reports a case of dermoid cyst of the bladder containing hair, which cyst he removed. It was a pedunculated growth, and it was undoubtedly vesical and not expelled from some ovarian source through the urinary passage, as sometimes occurs.
The simpler forms of the ordinary dermoid cysts contain bone and teeth. The complicated teratoma of this class may contain, in addition to the previously mentioned structures, cartilage and glands, mucous and serous membrane, muscle, nerves, and cerebral substance, portions of eyes, fingers with nails, mammae, etc. Figure 64 represents a cyst containing long red hair that was removed from a blonde woman aged forty-four years who had given birth to six children. Cullingworth reports the history of a woman in whom both ovaries were apparently involved by dermoids, who had given birth to 12 children and had three miscarriages--the last, three months before the removal of the growths. The accompanying illustration, taken from Baldy, pictures a dermoid cyst of the complicated variety laid open and exposing the contents in situ. Mears of Philadelphia reports a case of ovarian cyst removed from a girl of six and a half by Bradford of Kentucky in 1875. From this age on to adult life many similar cases are recorded. Nearly every medical museum has preserved specimens of dermoid cysts, and almost all physicians are well acquainted with their occurrence. The curious formations and contents and the bizarre shapes are of great variety. Graves mentions a dermoid cyst containing the left side of a human face, an eye, a molar tooth, and various bones. Dermoid cysts are found also in regions of the body quite remote from the ovary. The so-called "orbital wens" are true inclusion of the skin of a congenital origin, as are the nasal dermoids and some of the cysts of the neck.
Weil reported the case of a man of twenty-two years who was born with what was supposed to he a spina bifida in the lower sacral region. According to Senn, the swelling never caused any pain or inconvenience until it inflamed, when it opened spontaneously and suppurated, discharging a large quantity of offensive pus, hair, and sebaceous material, thus proving it to have been a dermoid. The cyst was freely incised, and there were found numerous openings of sweat glands, from which drops of perspiration escaped when the patient was sweating.
Dermoid cysts of the thorax are rare. Bramann reported a case in which a dermoid cyst of small size was situated over the sternum at the junction of the manubrium with the gladiolus, and a similar cyst in the neck near the left cornu of the hyoid bone. Chitten removed a dermoid from the sternum of a female of thirty-nine, the cyst containing 11 ounces of atheromatous material. In the Museum of St. Bartholomew's Hospital in London there is a congenital tumor which was removed from the anterior mediastinum of a woman of twenty one, and contained portions of skin, fat, sebaceous material, and two pieces of bone similar to the superior maxilla, and in which several teeth were found. Dermoids are found in the palate and pharynx, and open dermoids of the conjunctiva are classified by Sutton with the moles. According to Senn, Barker collected sixteen dermoid tumors of the tongue. Bryk successfully removed a tumor of this nature the size of a fist. Wellington Gray removed an enormous lingual dermoid from the mouth of a negro. It contained 40 ounces of atheromatous material. Dermoids of the rectum are reported. Duyse reports the history of a case of labor during which a rectal dermoid was expelled. The dermoid contained a cerebral vesicle, a rudimentary eye, a canine and a molar tooth, and a piece of bone. There is little doubt that many cases of fetus in fetu reported were really dermoids of the scrotum.
Ward reports the successful removal of a dermoid cyst weighing 30 pounds from a woman of thirty-two, the mother of two children aged ten and twelve, respectively. The report is briefly as follows: "The patient has always been in good health until within the last year, during which time she has lost flesh and strength quite rapidly, and when brought to my hospital by her physician, Dr. James of Williamsburg, Kansas, was quite weak, although able to walk about the house. A tumor had been growing for a number of years, but its growth was so gradual that the patient had not considered her condition critical until quite recently. The tumor was diagnosed to be cystoma of the left ovary. Upon opening the sac with the trocar we were confronted by complications entirely unlooked for, and its use had to be abandoned entirely because the thick contents of the cyst would not flow freely, and the presence of sebaceous matter blocked the instrument. As much of the fluid as possible was removed, and the abdominal incision was enlarged to allow of the removal of the large tumor. An ovarian hematoma the size of a large orange was removed from the right side. We washed the intestines quite as one would wash linen, since some of the contents of the cyst had escaped into the abdominal cavity. The abdomen was closed without drainage, and the patient placed in bed without experiencing the least shock. Her recovery was rapid and uneventful. She returned to her home in four weeks after the operation.
"The unusual feature in this case was the nature of the contents of the sac. There was a large quantity of long straight hair growing from the cyst wall and an equal amount of loose hair in short pieces floating through the tumor- contents, a portion of which formed nuclei for what were called 'moth-balls,' of which there were about 1 1/2 gallons. These balls, or marbles, varied from the size of moth-balls, as manufactured and sold by druggists, to that of small walnuts. They seemed to be composed of sebaceous matter, and were evidently formed around the short hairs by the motion of the fluid produced by walking or riding. There was some tissue resembling true skin attached to the inner wall of the sac."
There are several cases of multiple dermoid cysts on record, and they may occur all over the body. Jamieson reports a case in which there were 250, and in Maclaren's case there were 132. According to Crocker, Hebra and Rayer also each had a case. In a case of Sangster, reported by Politzer, although most of the dermoids, as usual, were like fibroma-nodules and therefore the color of normal skin, those over the mastoid processes and clavicle were lemon-yellow, and were generally thought to be xanthoma until they were excised, and Politzer found they were typical dermoid cysts with the usual contents of degenerated epithelium and hair.
Hermaphroditism.--Some writers claim that Adam was the first hermaphrodite and support this by Scriptural evidence. We find in some of the ancient poets traces of an Egyptian legend in which the goddess of the moon was considered to be both male and female. From mythology we learn that Hermaphroditus was the son of Hermes, or Mercury, and Venus Aphrodite, and had the powers both of a father and mother. In speaking of the foregoing Ausonius writes, "Cujus erat facies in qua paterque materque cognosci possint, nomen traxit ab illis." Ovid and Virgil both refer to legendary hermaphrodites, and the knowledge of their existence was prevalent in the olden times. The ancients considered the birth of hermaphrodites bad omens, and the Athenians threw them into the sea, the Romans, into the Tiber. Livy speaks of an hermaphrodite being put to death in Umbria, and another in Etruria. Cicero, Aristotle, Strabonius, and Pliny all speak concerning this subject. Martial and Tertullian noticed this anomaly among the Romans. Aetius and Paulus Aegineta speak of females in Egypt with prolonged clitorides which made them appear like hermaphrodites. Throughout the Middle Ages we frequently find accounts, naturally exaggerated, of double-sexed creatures. Harvey, Bartholinus, Paullini, Schenck, Wolff, Wrisberg, Zacchias, Marcellus Donatus, Haller, Hufeland, de Graff, and many others discuss hermaphroditism. Many classifications have been given, as, e.g., real and apparent; masculine, feminine, or neuter; horizontal and vertical; unilateral and bilateral, etc. The anomaly in most cases consists of a malformation of the external genitalia. A prolonged clitoris, prolapsed ovaries, grossness of figure, and hirsute appearance have been accountable for many supposed instances of hermaphrodites. On the other hand, a cleft scrotum, an ill-developed penis, perhaps hypospadias or epispadias, rotundity of the mammae, and feminine contour have also provoked accounts of similar instances. Some cases have been proved by dissection to have been true hermaphrodites, portions or even entire genitalia of both sexes having been found.
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