Elements of pathological anatomy . ot unlike frankincense. W hen thereis only one gall-stone, it is usually of an oval shape, with a rough, grooved ortuberculated surface. The principal colors of these concretions are brown,cinnamon, and black ; with numerous intermediate shades, which it is difficultto indicate. Sometimes they are semi-transparent, and of a white pearlylustre : when they are formed in the substance of the liver, it is not unusual tofind them of a dingy black, not unlike grumous blood. Gall-stones often possess a considerable degree of solidity, and are com-monly found to cons
Elements of pathological anatomy . ot unlike frankincense. W hen thereis only one gall-stone, it is usually of an oval shape, with a rough, grooved ortuberculated surface. The principal colors of these concretions are brown,cinnamon, and black ; with numerous intermediate shades, which it is difficultto indicate. Sometimes they are semi-transparent, and of a white pearlylustre : when they are formed in the substance of the liver, it is not unusual tofind them of a dingy black, not unlike grumous blood. Gall-stones often possess a considerable degree of solidity, and are com-monly found to consist of a number of concentric lamina?, placed around a ra-diating nucleus. This central structure is frequently much softer than the ex-terior°and is sometimes made up entirely of inspissated bile. The nature of these concretions has been investigated by numerous chemists ;but the most satisfactory analysis is that by Chevreul. According to this, gall-stones are composed of the yellow coloring matter of the bile and choleslerme ;. GALL-STONES. — SPLEEN- 673 the latter generally predominating, and, in many instances, forming the entireconcretion. Professor Thomson,* of the University of Glasgow, supposes that all biliaryconcretions may be referred to three species — the cholesteric, mellitic, andinspissated. The first variety, composed nearly entirely of cholesterine, is of awhite pearly lustre, with a slight shade of brown, of a spherical shape, and ofa crystallized, laminated structure. It is of low specific gravity, without tasteor smell, without acid or alkaline properties, insoluble in water, partiallysoluble in boiling alcohol, and fuses at a temperature of about 279°. Themellitic concretion, by far the most common, has been thus named by ProfessorThomson, from its dark, honey-like color. It is soft, smooth, and always of apolygonal shape, being generally composed of two tetrahedrons, applied baseto base, with their edges and angles rounded off. Externally it consist
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