The Ethics of Medical Homicide and MutilationO'Malley, Austin
Religion
The Ethics of Medical Homicide and Mutilation
O'Malley, Austin
Medical ethics
The moral guilt of a person who infects another with gonorrhea
is affected by the extent of the physical injury done. Gonorrhea
causes, besides the effects already described: (1) chronic cystitis,
with all the suffering, loss of work, and danger of renal infection
in such a condition; (2) lymphadenitis of the inguinal canal, and
rarely of other places; (3) proctitis, or inflammation of the rectum,
especially in women and young children; (4) ophthalmia, vaginitis,
and proctitis in infants and children, and metastatic conjunctivitis;
(5) stomatitis or inflammation of the mouth in adults and children;
(6) nasal gonorrhea (a doubtful condition); (7) gonorrheal
septicemia, bacteremia, or toxemia, which may affect any organ
in the entire body; (8) bone and joint lesions: (_a_) gonorrheal
arthritis in any joint in the body (this condition may be fatal,
or it may leave permanent disability, or it may disappear); (_b_)
tenosynovitis, or pain, swelling, and edema along affected tendon
sheaths; (_c_) gonorrheal periostitis, where the bone and periosteum
near a joint are affected; (_d_) perichondritis and chondritis, a
rare condition, where cartilage is attacked; (9) endocarditis, or
inflammation of the lining membrane of the heart (one of the most
frequent secondary lesions of gonorrhea); (10) pericarditis, or
inflammation of the sac which contains the heart; (11) myocarditis,
an inflammation of the heart muscle itself, usually as an extension
of endocarditis; (12) aortitis, or inflammation of the aorta--a rare
condition; (13) phlebitis, an inflammation of the veins--a very
rare condition; (14) thrombosis, or blocking of a blood-vessel by
exudate (this may be fatal); (15) skin lesions, as erythema, erythema
nodosum, bullous and hemorrhagic eruptions, hyperceratosis, and
ulcers; (16) gonorrhea of the lungs in septicemia; (17) gonorrheal
pleurisy in septicemia; (18) gonorrheal nephritis, which is frequent
in gonorrheal septicemia--the condition is often fatal; (19)
perinephritis, a very rare condition; (20) gonorrhea of the nervous
system, as neuritis or neuralgia, or neuroses, which vary from slight
melancholia to severe mental disturbances; (21) parotiditis, a very
rare condition; (22) otitis, or inflammation of the middle ear, a
very rare condition; (23) suppuration in muscles, or under the skin;
(24) wound septicemia; (25) venereal warts; and (26) epididymitis,
which often causes not only sterility but impotence.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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