3. Fracture of the larynx. Rupture of the trachea.
4. Scalds and burns of the larynx.
5. Incised and gunshot wounds of the throat.
6. Poisonous bites inflicted by certain insects about the mouth or neck.
7. Suffocation from the passage of blood, fluids, etc. into the air-passages (tracheotomy, with aspiration of the windpipe and artificial respiration).
8. Suffocation from the acute collection of either mucus or serum in the bronchia (ditto).
9. Suffocation from the inhalation or development of poisonous gases (tracheotomy, with artificial respiration).
Finally, although it pertains alone to the province of the surgeon, I may allude to the temporary tracheotomy and "tamponing of the trachea" which has been recommended—and certainly found efficient—in preventing the entrance of blood to a dangerous degree into the lower trachea and lungs during the performance of certain operations in the neighborhood of or upon the air-passages, such as resection of the upper jaw, the extirpation of large nasal and naso-pharyngeal polypi, removal of the tongue, subhyoidean pharyngotomy, laryngotomy, and extirpation of the larynx.1
1 For the details of this procedure consult Schüller, Die Tracheotomie, etc., Stuttgart, 1880.
All-important as a preliminary to the operation itself is a thorough knowledge of the surgical anatomy of the region upon which it is proposed to operate; and this not alone in the adult, but especially in the child, where essential differences often exist. Possible anomalies also are not to be forgotten.2 The assurance of the surgeon depends upon this knowledge: mere, manual skill will not compensate for its want; the success, both immediate and remote, of the operation is in great measure the reward of its possession.