Consistency

CONSISTENCY (from Latin consistere - to consist of), the state of an organ or tissue upon palpation, a term used in medicine in various senses and meanings. Often this term is used to define the well-known physical designations of the properties of matter, speaking of more or less liquid consistency, semi-liquid, solid, etc.; sometimes for comparison, the consistency of some well-known object or organ is taken; thus, one speaks of a porridge-like, jelly-like consistency, or of hepatic, splenic consistency (hence the terms: hepatization, splenization). When judging the consistency of organs and tissues, what is meant mainly is the relative increase or decrease of their density compared to the normal state of the organ. An increase in consistency is observed with a change in the state of colloids of the organ or tissue, with the proliferation of dense connective tissue in the organ, with strong tension of the organ due to its sharp blood congestion (congestive liver, kidneys, spleen), or tension of the wall from overfilling with fluid (for example, the bladder with bile), or due to an increase in its muscle tone (for example, the intestine in dysentery, arteries in hypertension), or as a result of the deposition of any dense substances in the tissue (e.g. amyloid). Often such processes associated with an increase in consistency are designated as induration (see). A decrease in consistency may be associated with phenomena of the opposite order (decrease in tone, decrease in blood filling) or with special moments leading to a decrease in tissue turgor, its elasticity, such as: degenerations (especially fatty), necrotic changes, inflammations, edemas, mucous changes, etc. The consistency of organs and tissues post-mortem can undergo significant changes in both directions in connection with the phenomena of rigor mortis, putrefaction, blood filling, etc. The methods of determining consistency applicable to clinical needs are the usual clinical methods of physical examination: percussion, auscultation, palpation, inspection. Determination of the consistency of various organs, tissues and secretions of the body can have great diagnostic and differential-diagnostic significance in CLINICS.