[Presented to the Section on Surgery and Anatomy, Cleveland, June, 1883.]
It may be accepted as an undisputed fact that our operative art has won its greatest triumphs during the last decade in the field of abdominal surgery. The peritonæal cavity is no longer the “terra incognita” of the surgeon, and its invasion is not attended with the fears or dangers of even a very recent period.
The removal of ovarian tumors is not invested with serious dangers. Hysterectomy is considered a justifiable operation in quite a variety of diseases. Kidneys are extirpated, with a fair showing of success. Biliary calculi are not exempt from surgical interference.
Gun-shot wounds of the abdomcn and intestines are no longer treated with opium, and death awaited as almost certain, but the injured portions are, so far as possible, restored in their continuity or resected; and the removal of malignant growths involving the digestive