The object of the following Thesis, is to consider the
conditions that determine the development of the
degenerative changes in the muscular,/systems of patients
suffering from chronic diseases, and some contribution
to our knowledge tbf the pathology under -lying such
changes and the most suitable means for their prevention.
In the numerous text books and monographs that have
-been consulted, considerable space is devoted to the
primafy patholog -cal changes that may be said to
constitute the disease ìn'these patients; but scarcely
any reference has been found to those secondary
changes with *hi ch this Thesis is mainly concerned.
In many of the conditions which will come under
discussion, these secondary changes play a much
greater part in the invalidity of the patient, than
the primary disease, for it shall be found that
patients who have recovered from their original disease
are left permanently crippled, or even completely
helpless, owing to the secondary changes that have
developed at a distance from the original focus of
disease
