Under the Knife: A History of Surgery in 28 Remarkable Operations

by Arnold van de Laar

The word gangrene is a general term to describe the dying off of living tissue. It is the terrifying final stage of a shortage of oxygen in the skin, the subcutaneous tissue, the muscles or even an entire limb. Although the dead tissues feel as cold as ice, the victim develops a high fever. Gangrene can be caused by a blocked artery. You could then speak of an infarction. That leads to a sharply defined black mummification of part of the limb. The dead part dries out. That is referred to as dry gangrene. But tissue can also die off due to infection of a wound. Because of the pus and the rotting fluids that this produces, it is called wet gangrene. Some bacteria also produce gas, resulting in a form of wet gangrene called gas gangrene.