TREATMENT.—In the rapid cases death occurs before anything can be attempted. In the less severe cases absolute rest must be enjoined, and free stimulation with brandy, ammonia, and ether attempted. It might be worth while to place the patient with the head lower than the body, to favor the flow of blood to the brain.
DISEASES OF THE SUPERIOR MESENTERIC ARTERY.
Aneurism.
Aneurism of both the superior and the inferior mesenteric arteries occurs. The former is the more frequent, though still a rare disease.
The symptoms are pain in the epigastric and lumbar regions, a globular pulsating tumor in the median line, the pulsation being accompanied by a bellows murmur. The tumor has been seen in at least one instance to be so large as to press on the renal arteries. Rupture is apt to take place with the signs of internal hemorrhage. The cause of the disease is the same as of aneurism elsewhere. Embolism is said to be a not infrequent precedent. The aneurism is seldom larger than a hen's egg, and is usually globular.
A positive DIAGNOSIS of the locality of the aneurism is not possible.
The TREATMENT must follow individual indications. Compression has been successful in a few instances.
Embolism.
Several cases where the superior mesenteric artery was found at autopsy to be completely occluded by coagulated fibrin were mentioned by Tiedemann in a work published in 1843. Virchow first described the characteristic post-mortem appearances which follow this lesion in his Gesammelte Abhandlungen, and since then records of cases have been numerous.