Produced by Bryan Ness, Irma Spehar and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This book was produced from scanned images of public domain material from the Google Print project.) CASES OF ORGANIC DISEASES OF THE HEART. WITH DISSECTIONS AND SOME REMARKS INTENDED TO POINT OUT THE DISTINCTIVE SYMPTOMS OF THESE DISEASES. READ BEFORE THE COUNSELLORS OF THE MASSACHUSETTS MEDICAL SOCIETY. BY JOHN C. WARREN, M. D. BOSTON: PRINTED BY THOMAS R. WAIT AND COMPANY. COURT-STREET. 1809. PLATE I. Appearance of the valves of the aorta in Case 3d, Article 10. _a a_ The two valves thickened. _b b_ Bony projections, one of which extends across the cavity of the valve. _c_ The orifices of the coronary arteries. _d d_ Fleshlike thickening of the aorta. PLATE II. Is a representation of the fleshlike thickening of the aorta in case 7th. The valves are smaller than usual, and their form is in some degree changed. A round spot, thickened, is seen at a little distance from the seat of the principal disease. [Illustration] [Illustration] CASES OF ORGANIC DISEASES OF THE HEART, WITH DISSECTIONS. Morbid changes in the organization of the heart are so frequent, as to have attracted the observation of those, who have devoted any attention to the study of morbid anatomy. Derangements of the primary organ of the circulation cannot exist without producing so great disorder of the functions of that and of other parts, as to be sufficiently conspicuous by external signs; but, as these somewhat resemble the symptoms of different complaints, especially of asthma, phthisis pulmonalis, and water in the thorax, it has happened, that each of these has been sometimes confounded with the former[1]. The object of the following statement of cases is to shew, that, whatever resemblance there may be in the symptoms of the first, when taken separately, to those of the latter diseases, the mode of connection and degree of those symptoms at least is quite dissimilar; and that there are also symptoms, peculiar to organic diseases of the heart, sufficiently characteristic to distinguish them from other complaints.