The Incidence of Portal Cirrhosis of the Liver in Vizagapatam, Based on a Critical Study of Autopsy Records and Observations

In a series of 535 autopsies performed in the King George's Medical College Hospital, Vizagapatam, there were 50 cases (9.3 per cent) of cirrhosis of the liver. The material in this paper is based on a critical study of the autopsy findings in these 50 cases. The causes of cirrhosis of the liver in the 50 cases under discussion are given in the table. It will thus be seen from the table that, out of the 50 cases, 1 decompensated cirrhosis' was present in 40 (80 per cent) while in 10 (20 per cent) ascites was not present. Coarsely nodular cirrhosis of the Laennec's type was found in 26 cases. In 3 cases in this series the portal cirrhosis was a terminal complication of primary splenic anaemia (so-called Banti's disease) while in the rest (23 cases) the portal cirrhosis was primary, with no definite evidence to account for its causation. The diagnosis was made only post mortem in both cases of portal cirrhosis without ascites. The liver was much smaller than normal in all cases of decompensated portal cirrhosis. It was much enlarged in one case of portal cirrhosis without ascites, and the patient died suddenly after an epileptiform fit, while he was undergoing anti-syphilitic treatment for gumma of the floor of the mouth. As pointed out by Rolleston and McNee (1929), ' the liver is larger in cases of cirrhosis in which the disease is latent, and death occurs from