Transactions of the American Philosophical Society . ich I have the honour of presenting to theSociety, contains the history of a steatomatous tumour, ofvery unusual magnitude, successfully extirpated. The patient, Julia Richards, a negro woman, from Carlisle,in Pennsylvania, was aged about forty-five years, and enjoyedgood health; she was corpulent, but active, until her exer-tions were restrained by the incumbrance of her tumour. She stated that it had been first noticed about eighteen yearsbefore I saw her;—that it had grown gradually, and had neverbeen painful. When she applied to me, her
Transactions of the American Philosophical Society . ich I have the honour of presenting to theSociety, contains the history of a steatomatous tumour, ofvery unusual magnitude, successfully extirpated. The patient, Julia Richards, a negro woman, from Carlisle,in Pennsylvania, was aged about forty-five years, and enjoyedgood health; she was corpulent, but active, until her exer-tions were restrained by the incumbrance of her tumour. She stated that it had been first noticed about eighteen yearsbefore I saw her;—that it had grown gradually, and had neverbeen painful. When she applied to me, her attitude in walk-ing resembled that of a woman carrying a large and heavysack. On examination, I found the tumour arising at theupper part of the back, extending equally on both sides, andalthough pendulous from its weight, yet the root of it wasvery large. The annexed engraving, (Plate VIII.) representsit better than it can be described;—the dimensions were asfollow. Circumference atthe neck or narrowest part of the tumour,two feet ten ACCOUNT OF A LARGE WEN. 299 Circumference at the thickest part, vertically, three feet nine horizontally, three feet one inch and a half. The circumference of the waist after the wen was removed,was two feet nine and a half inches, so that the narrowestpart of the tumour was thicker than the patients body. The surface of the tumour was tolerably regular, but verylarge and numerous veins were seen in various parts of it. The patient was admitted into the Pennsylvania Hospital,and on the 22d of February, 1815, I proceeded to removethe tumour. Having previously administered an opiate, iplaced her (at the suggestion of Dr. Physick,) on her faceupon the table, fifteen minutes before commencing the ope-ration, and directed assistants to elevate the tumour in sucha manner as to empty it as completely as possible of blood,and I was greatly delighted to perceive the change in the sizeof the superficial veins, which resul
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