. Diseases of the nose and throat . irregularly dis-tributed over the mucous membrane of the posteriorpharyngeal wall. In youth these elevations are smalladenoid masses, later in life by the involution of thelymphoid tissue they become patches of congested andthickened mucous membrane. In inflammatory conditionsthey become more prominent. They may produce no symp-toms, in other cases they are the cause of irritation. Thecommon method of treating them is to touch each onewith the point of a galvanocautery, or with nitrate of silver. ELONGATION OF THE UVULA The mucous membrane of the uvula may b
. Diseases of the nose and throat . irregularly dis-tributed over the mucous membrane of the posteriorpharyngeal wall. In youth these elevations are smalladenoid masses, later in life by the involution of thelymphoid tissue they become patches of congested andthickened mucous membrane. In inflammatory conditionsthey become more prominent. They may produce no symp-toms, in other cases they are the cause of irritation. Thecommon method of treating them is to touch each onewith the point of a galvanocautery, or with nitrate of silver. ELONGATION OF THE UVULA The mucous membrane of the uvula may become sostretched that it hangs down below the end of the muscle,even into the deeper parts of the pharynx. It is thenespecially liable to edematous swelling during acute in- DISEASES OF THE PHARYNX 215 flammation, and this swelling tends to increase the elonga-tion. It may irritate the epiglottis and deeper pharynxand cause cough. A second form of elongated uvula is a hypertrophy of thewhole structure, due to chronic Fig. 46.—Elongation of the uvula. Treatment.—If an elongated uvula is causing irritation,it should be shortened. In the first form this is done bycutting off the redundant mucous membrane, leavingenough to cover the muscle. A specially devised pair ofscissors is desirable because the uvula will slip away fromthe blades of common scissors as the incision is made. Inthe second form the scissors should first seize the mucousmembrane, and should then be moved up toward the base 216 DISEASES OF THE NOSE AND THROAT of the uvula, so that after the amputation the cut throughthe mucous membrane will be at a lower level than thedeeper tissues, making a cuff to cover the stump. It isbetter to make the cut on a bevel, the anterior point beingbelow the posterior. A uvula should not be shortened toless than its normal length. If cut off close to the palatalmargin there is danger that there may be incompleteclosure of the nasopharynx in swallowing and speaking.
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Keywords: ., bo, bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, booksubjectnose, bookyear1915
