Professional Documents
Culture Documents
NETTERS
SURGICAL ANATOMY
AND APPROACHES
CONOR P. DELANEY
MICHAEL S. BENNINGER TONY CAPIZZANI
TOMMASO FALCONE STEPHEN R . GROBMYER
JIHAD KAOUK MATTHEW KROH SEAN P. LYDEN
-
JOHN H. RODRIGUEZ MICHAEL J. ROSEN
CHRISTOPHER T. SIEGEL * ALLAN SIPERSTEIN
SCOTT R. STEELE • R. MATTHEW WALSH
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NETTER’S
SURGICAL ANATOMY
AND APPROACHES
Conor P. Delaney,
MD, MCh, PhD, FACS, FRCSI, FASCRS, FRCSI (Hon)
Chairman
Digestive Disease and Surgery Institute
Cleveland Clinic
Victor W. Fazio Endowed Professor of Colorectal Surgery
Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine
Cleveland, Ohio
Illustrations by
Frank H. Netter, MD
Contributing Illustrators
Carlos A. G. Machado, MD
Kristen Wienandt Marzejon, MS, MFA
James A. Perkins, MS, MFA
John A. Craig, MD
Paul Kim, MS
Sara M. Jarret, MFA
Elsevier
1600 John F. Kennedy Blvd.
Ste 1800
Philadelphia, PA 19103-2899
No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or
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Center and the Copyright Licensing Agency, can be found at our website: www.elsevier.com/permissions.
This book and the individual contributions contained in it are protected under copyright by the Publisher
(other than as may be noted herein).
Permission to use Netter Art figures may be sought through the website NetterImages.com or by emailing
Elsevier’s Licensing Department at H.Licensing@elsevier.com.
Notice
Practitioners and researchers must always rely on their own experience and knowledge in evaluating
and using any information, methods, compounds or experiments described herein. Because of rapid
advances in the medical sciences, in particular, independent verification of diagnoses and drug dosages
should be made. To the fullest extent of the law, no responsibility is assumed by Elsevier, authors, editors
or contributors for any injury and/or damage to persons or property as a matter of products liability,
negligence or otherwise, or from any use or operation of any methods, products, instructions, or ideas
contained in the material herein.
Printed in China.
And their inspiring excellence, attention to detail, and care for optimizing
Frank H. Netter, MD
Frank H. Netter was born in 1906 in New York City. He studied art at the Art Students’ League
and the National Academy of Design before entering medical school at New York University,
where he received his MD degree in 1931. During his student years, Dr. Netter’s notebook
sketches attracted the attention of the medical faculty and other physicians, allowing him to
augment his income by illustrating articles and textbooks. He continued illustrating as a sideline
after establishing a surgical practice in 1933, but he ultimately opted to give up his practice in
favor of a full-time commitment to art. After service in the United States Army during World
War II, Dr. Netter began his long collaboration with the CIBA Pharmaceutical Company (now
Novartis Pharmaceuticals). This 45-year partnership resulted in the production of the extraor-
dinary collection of medical art so familiar to medical professionals worldwide.
In 2005, Elsevier, Inc. purchased the Netter Collection and all publications from Icon Learn-
ing Systems. Over 50 publications featuring the art of Dr. Netter are available through Elsevier,
Inc. (in the United States: https://www.us.elsevierhealth.com/ and outside the United States:
www.elsevierhealth.com)
Dr. Netter’s works are among the finest examples of the use of illustration in the teaching of
medical concepts. The 13-book Netter Collection of Medical Illustrations, which includes the greater
part of the more than 20,000 paintings created by Dr. Netter, became and remains one of the
most famous medical works ever published. The Netter Atlas of Human Anatomy, first published
in 1989, presents the anatomical paintings from the Netter Collection. Now translated into 16
languages, it is the anatomy atlas of choice among medical and health professions students the
world over.
The Netter illustrations are appreciated not only for their aesthetic qualities, but, more
important, for their intellectual content. As Dr. Netter wrote in 1949, “… clarification of a sub-
ject is the aim and goal of illustration. No matter how beautifully painted, how delicately and
subtly rendered a subject may be, it is of little value as a medical illustration if it does not serve to
make clear some medical point.” Dr. Netter’s planning, conception, point of view, and approach
are what inform his paintings and make them so intellectually valuable.
Frank H. Netter, MD, physician and artist, died in 1991.
Learn more about the physician-artist whose work has inspired the Netter Reference collec-
tion: https://netterimages.com/artist-frank-h-netter.html.
Carlos Machado, MD
Carlos Machado was chosen by Novartis to be Dr. Netter’s successor. He continues to be the
main artist contributing to the Netter collection of medical illustrations.
Self-taught in medical illustration, cardiologist Carlos Machado has meticulously updated
some of Dr. Netter’s original plates and has created many original paintings of his own in the
style of Netter as an extension of the Netter collection. Dr. Machado’s photorealistic expertise
and keen insight into the physician–patient relationship informs his vivid and unforgettable
visual style. His dedication to researching each topic and subject he paints places him among
the premier medical illustrators at work today.
Learn more about his background and see more of his art at: https://netterimages.com/
artist-carlos-a-g-machado.html.
iv
Preface
The Atlas of Human Anatomy by Frank H. Netter, MD, has been the pinnacle of demonstrat-
ing the anatomy of the human body for generations of students. To those who would wish to
perform or understand surgical procedures, however, there has been no direct link between
the beautiful images created by Dr. Netter and the surgical procedures being performed. In
Netter’s Surgical Anatomy and Approaches, we try to address a request by many Netter users to tie
these anatomical diagrams to the procedures they perform, while advancing the book from the
description and images used in the first edition.
This book portrays the curriculum of basic and common general surgical procedures in chap-
ters that describe the relevant anatomy for each procedure. In his very first edition, Dr. Netter
stated that “anatomy of course does not change, but our understanding of anatomy and its
clinical significance does.” Consequently, in some cases we have been able to pair the anatomy
demonstrated in his illustrations with a modern intraoperative photograph or radiographic
image, particularly focusing on the new approaches required for minimally invasive surgery.
For many chapters, new Netter-style illustrations have been created to demonstrate key ana-
tomical points for an operative procedure or to show a key surgical perspective or orientation
that is not captured in the original Netter images. The result is a volume that covers the most
important and common areas in surgery, as well as exploring complex areas such as transplan-
tation and advanced cancer surgery.
A book like this would not be possible without the help of many people. Being fortunate to
work at an institution like the Cleveland Clinic, I elected to enlist the support of my colleagues
from many different surgical specialties. It is only with the guidance and assistance of the edito-
rial team of Michael S. Benninger, MD, Tony R. Capizzani, MD, FACS, Tommaso Falcone, MD,
FRCSC, FACOG, Stephen R. Grobmyer, MD, Jihad Kaouk, MD, Matthew Kroh, MD, Sean P.
Lyden, MD, John H. Rodriguez, MD, FACS, Michael J. Rosen, MD, Christopher T. Siegel, MD,
PhD, Allan Siperstein, MD, Scott R. Steele, MD, MBA, R. Matthew Walsh, MD, and the direc-
tion and guidance of the ever-patient Dan Fitzgerald and Marybeth Thiel at Elsevier that this
project has been completed.
On behalf of my co-editors and myself, we hope you enjoy this second edition of Netter’s
Surgical Anatomy and Approaches.
Conor P. Delaney, MD, MCh, PhD, FACS, FRCSI, FASCRS, FRCSI (Hon)
v
Contributors
Saranya Reghunathan, MD
Department of Otolaryngology
Cleveland Clinic
Cleveland, Ohio
Tracheostomy
Contributors xv
xxi
xxii VIDEO CONTENTS
The Neck
2 Tracheostomy
Paul C. Bryson and Saranya Reghunathan
C H A P T E R
1
Selective (Supraomohyoid) Neck
Dissection, Levels I-III
Patrick Tassone, Chad A. Zender, Evan R. McBeath,
Pierre Lavertu, and Jamie A. Ku
VIDEO
1.1 Neck Dissection
INTRODUCTION
Neck dissection has been a standard method of removing at-risk or involved cancerous lymph
nodes in the head and neck for more than 100 years. Crile first described the radical neck dis-
section in the early 1900s, but modifications by Bocca and others helped reduce the morbid-
ity associated with lymph node removal, allowing for nerve and structure preservation when
oncologically sound. This chapter discusses one of these modifications in detail, the selective
or supraomohyoid neck dissection. A selective neck dissection, including levels I through III, is
typically used for malignancies of the oral cavity in patients with N0 disease. When a larger
nodal burden is present, an extended (levels I-IV) selective neck dissection or a modified
radical neck dissection (levels I-V) is indicated. Lesions in the oral cavity that approach or
cross the midline require treatment of both sides of the neck.
3
4 SECTION 1 T HE NEC K
Mandibular
nodes
Superior lateral
Submandibular superficial cervical
nodes (external jugular)
node
Accessory nerve (XI)
Submental Jugulodigastric node
nodes
Posterior lateral
The patient is positioned superficial cervical
on the table with his neck Suprahyoid node (spinal accessory)
extended, typically on a nodes
Superior deep lateral cervical
shoulder roll, and head (internal jugular) nodes
turned away from the Intercalated node
operative side. Superior thyroid nodes
Inferior deep
lateral cervical
Jugulo-omohyoid node (scalene) node
Anterior deep cervical
(pretracheal and thyroid) nodes Thoracic duct
(deep to infrahyoid muscles)
Transverse
Anterior superficial cervical cervical
nodes (anterior jugular nodes) chain of
nodes
Jugular trunk
Supraclavicular nodes*
Subclavian trunk
and node
*The supraclavicular group of nodes (also known as the lower deep cervical group),
especially on the left, are also sometimes referred to as the signal or sentinel lymph
nodes of Virchow or Troisier, especially when sufficiently enlarged and palpable.
These nodes (or a single node) are so termed because they may be the first
recognized presumptive evidence of malignant disease in the viscera.
Parotid
gland
Posterior
facial vein
Superior flap dissected up along deep surface of anterior facial Platysma Common
muscle facial vein
vein and facial (external maxillary) artery, thus elevating ramus
marginalis mandibulae of facial nerve out of operating field. Facial (external
Vessels ligated and distal end of vascular stump sutured to maxillary)
undersurface of flap. artery and
anterior
facial vein
Ramus
marginalis Great auricular
mandibularis nerve
of facial nerve
External jugular
Mandible vein
Accessory
Hyoid bone nerve
Fascia over Trapezius
strap muscles muscle
Anterior
jugular vein Platysma
muscle
Platysma
muscle
Transverse
cervical nerves
Sternocleidomastoid
muscle
Supraclavicular
nerves
Operative field exposed
C D
FIGURE 1.2 Incision design in selective neck dissection.
The incision is two fingerbreadths below the angle of the mandible (marked in purple, D) to protect the marginal man-
dibular nerve. The course of the external jugular vein (marked in blue, D) can also be seen through the skin.
8 SECTION 1 T HE NEC K
Marginal mandibular
branch of facial nerve
Level Ia
Parotid gland
Greater
auricular nerve
External
jugular vein
Digastric muscle
(anterior belly)
Mylohyoid muscle
B C
FIGURE 1.3 Subplatysmal flaps and level Ib dissection.
The greater auricular nerve (marked in yellow, C) and external jugular vein (marked in blue, C) can be seen cours-
ing together over the superficial surface of the sternocleidomastoid muscle. The marginal mandibular nerve
(marked in yellow, C) can be seen coursing over the facial artery (marked in red, C) at the facial notch of the man-
dible. The facial artery then travels deep and posterior into the neck, deep to the posterior belly of the digastric
muscle (marked in orange, C), where it takes off from the external carotid artery.
10 SECTION 1 T HE NEC K
Sternocleidomastoid muscle
Cervical rootlets
B C
D E
FIGURE 1.4 A, B, and C, Spinal accessory nerve and level IIb dissection.
The spinal accessory nerve (marked in yellow, C) can be seen traveling from the jugular foramen through the sterno-
cleidomastoid muscle. The spinal accessory nerve divides levels IIa and IIb and is seen in its typical relationship superfi-
cial to the internal jugular vein (marked in blue, C). D and E, Vagus nerve and levels IIa and III dissection. The vagus nerve
(marked in yellow, E) can be seen traveling in the carotid sheath, medial to the internal jugular vein (marked in blue, E).
12 SECTION 1 T HE NEC K
Level Ib
Mylohyoid muscle
(retracted)
Lingual nerve
Submandibular
ganglion
Hypoglossal nerve
A Submandibular gland
B C
FIGURE 1.5 Hypoglossal nerve and level IIa dissection.
The posterior belly of the digastric muscle (marked in orange, right) is retracted superiorly to reveal the hypoglos-
sal nerve (marked in yellow, C). The hypoglossal nerve can be identified running deep to the internal jugular vein
and its branches (marked in blue, C) but superficial to the external carotid artery (marked in red, C).
SUGGESTED READINGS
Janfaza P, editor. Cummings otolaryngology: head and neck surgery, 5th ed. Philadelphia:
Saunders; 2010.
Myers EN, editor. Operative otolaryngology: head and neck surgery, 2nd ed. Philadelphia:
Saunders; 2008.
C H A P T E R
2
Tracheostomy
Paul C. Bryson and Saranya Reghunathan
VIDEO
2.1 Tracheostomy
INTRODUCTION
Tracheotomy (tracheostomy) is one of the oldest surgical procedures known, with the first
reference in 3600 BCE. Chevalier Jackson is credited with standardizing the tracheotomy
procedure in 1932, outlining the individual steps for establishing a direct airway through
the anterior neck tissues and into the trachea. This technique was subsequently used dur-
ing the polio epidemic. Throughout the years, this technique has evolved to include three
primary techniques: percutaneous dilatational, open surgical, and other new percutaneous
techniques. This chapter focuses primarily on the open technique and briefly reviews the
classical percutaneous dilatation technique. At present, the tracheostomy is more commonly
used for prolonged mechanical ventilation rather than for upper airway obstruction.
13
14 SECTION 1 T HE NEC K
PREOPERATIVE CONSIDERATIONS
Once a tracheotomy is planned, certain factors influence whether patients should have an open
tracheotomy or a percutaneous dilatational tracheotomy (PDT), as first described by Ciaglia in
1985.
If the consideration for PDT is present, the following ideally should also be present: (1) easily
palpable tracheal landmarks, (2) a skilled bronchoscopist who helps guide the proceduralist and
prevent extubation, and (3) knowledge of when conversion to open tracheostomy is necessary.
Regardless of the tracheotomy method chosen, a patient’s overall medical condition must
be optimized, body habitus assessed, and coagulation profile addressed, because these too help
determine which tracheotomy method is most ideal. Other important considerations include
the urgency of the procedure, which is often directly related to the current status of the airway.
In determining whether to perform the procedure open vs. percutaneously, surgeons must
consider availability of proper equipment, patient portability, surgeon’s experience (open vs.
percutaneous technique), and capability of the institution to perform bedside procedures. This
will determine which team performs the procedure and whether it will be done in the operat-
ing room or at the bedside in the intensive care unit.
PERIOPERATIVE CONSIDERATIONS
In anticipation of placement of the tracheostomy tube, it is prudent to consider the options for
tracheostomy tube size and type. In choosing the size of the tube, both gender and age play the
most important roles. Looking at the inner and outer diameter of tracheostomy tubes helps in
choosing the most appropriately sized tube. In the absence of time for consideration, a Shiley 6
tracheostomy often fits the widest range of adult male and female patients.
Thyroid cartilage
1. Position of patient for tracheotomy;
shoulders elevated by sandbag Cricothyroid membrane
Cricothyroid muscle
Strap muscles
Thyroid Isthmus
The strap muscles are separated in the midline through the avascular midline raphe and retracted
to either side until the thyroid isthmus is visible. The isthmus of the thyroid gland generally lies
across the first to fourth tracheal rings. It must be divided when overlying the tracheotomy site,
because this will make reinsertion safer and easier in the setting of accidental dislodgement.
Moreover, the isthmus is very vascular and is ideally managed in a controlled setting.
The isthmus can be addressed in one of several ways. First, the fascial attachments of the
thyroid to the anterior trachea may be dissected free, thus allowing the gland to be retracted
above or below the planned entry site into the trachea. If the thyroid is enlarged and cannot
be retracted out of the way, it will have to be divided by further dissecting it from the anterior
tracheal wall in the immediate pretracheal plane to establish a bloodless plane of dissection.
By identifying the bright-white layer of the tracheal cartilage, the surgeon minimizes bleeding
from trauma to the posterior aspect of the gland.
Once the thyroid isthmus is elevated from the trachea, the surgeon may use two clamps on
either side, then cutting in the midline with a cautery device. Once divided, the two ends of
isthmus are then suture-ligated using a running or figure-of-eight 2-0 silk stitch. If available,
energy devices may be used, based on surgeon preference. Use of cautery alone to divide the
thyroid may be appropriate in the case of a small isthmus.
Omohyoid muscle
(superior belly) Sternohyoid and omohyoid
muscles (cut)
Sternohyoid muscle
Thyrohyoid muscle
Median cricothyroid
ligament Oblique line of thyroid cartilage
Cricoid cartilage Cricothyroid muscle
Styloid process
Mastoid process
Sternothyroid muscle
Scapula
Infrahyoid and Sternum
suprahyoid muscles and
their action: schema
FIGURE 2.2 Infrahyoid and suprahyoid musculature for tracheotomy.
18 SECTION 1 T HE NEC K
SUMMARY
Tracheotomy is used to establish a surgical airway in patients requiring prolonged mechani-
cal ventilation or those who require anatomic bypass because of either obstruction or lack of
function. Surgeon mastery of anatomy and ability to use proper techniques in specific settings
maximizes successful patient outcomes and minimizes potential complications.
SUGGESTED READINGS
Ciaglia P, Firsching R, Syniec C. Elective percutaneous dilatational tracheostomy: a new simple
bedside procedure: preliminary report. Chest 1985;87:715–9.
Jackson C. Tracheotomy. Laryngoscope 1909;19:285–90.
Lassen HC. A preliminary report on the 1952 epidemic of poliomyelitis in Copenhagen with special
reference to the treatment of acute respiratory insufficiency. Lancet 1953;1(6749):37–41.
Moore KL. The cardiovascular system. In: Moore KL, Persaud TVN, editors. The developing
human: clinically oriented embryology, 8th ed. Philadelphia: Saunders; 2008. pp. 285–337.
Pierson DJ. Tracheostomy from A to Z: historical context and current challenges. Respir Care
2005;50(4):473–75.
S E C T I O N 2
Endocrine
4 Laparoscopic Adrenalectomy
Allan Siperstein and Edwina C. Moore
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C H A P T E R
3
Thyroidectomy and Parathyroidectomy
Allan Siperstein and Cassandre Benay
VIDEO
3.1 Thyroidectomy and Parathyroidectomy
THYROIDECTOMY
Thyroidectomy is the most common endocrine surgical procedure. By definition, a total thyroid-
ectomy requires the resection of both thyroid lobes and isthmus, whereas a thyroid lobectomy
requires the resection of one lobe with the isthmus up to the contralateral lobe. Indications for
thyroidectomy include benign causes such as mass effect of nodule(s) (on the aerodigestive
tract, recurrent laryngeal nerve [RLN], major vessels), thyrotoxicosis (Graves disease refractory
to medical therapy, Graves disease in the context of thyroid nodules, toxic nodular goiter), as
well as malignancy or suspected malignancy on cytology from fine-needle aspirations.
Although thyroidectomy is a safe procedure in experienced hands of a high-volume endo-
crine surgeon, it carries inherent rare but serious risks: cervical hematoma, hypocalcemia, and
RLN injury. Preoperative evaluation should include thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), com-
prehensive central and lateral neck ultrasonography to rule out metastatic disease, and, in
selected patients, voice examination by laryngoscopy.
21
22 SECTION 2 ENDO C R I NE
Brachiocephalic veins
Aortic arch
Thyroid cartilage
Cricothyroid ligament
Medial margin of
sternocleidomastoid muscle
Cricothyroid muscle
Cricoid cartilage
Thyroid gland
OUTSIDERS.
After all, outsiders furnish quite as much fun as the legislators
themselves. The number of men who persist in writing one letters of
praise, abuse, and advice on every conceivable subject is appalling;
and the writers are of every grade, from the lunatic and the criminal
up. The most difficult to deal with are the men with hobbies. There is
the Protestant fool, who thinks that our liberties are menaced by the
machinations of the Church of Rome; and his companion idiot, who
wants legislation against all secret societies, especially the Masons.
Then there are the believers in “isms,” of whom the women-
suffragists stand in the first rank. Now I have always been a believer
in woman’s rights, but I must confess I have never seen such a
hopelessly impracticable set of persons as the woman-suffragists
who came up to Albany to get legislation. They simply would not
draw up their measures in proper form; when I pointed out to one of
them that their proposed bill was drawn up in direct defiance of
certain of the sections of the Constitution of the State he blandly
replied that he did not care at all for that, because the measure had
been drawn up so as to be in accord with the Constitution of Heaven.
There was no answer to this beyond the very obvious one that
Albany was in no way akin to Heaven. The ultra-temperance people
—not the moderate and sensible ones—are quite as impervious to
common sense.
A member’s correspondence is sometimes amusing. A member
receives shoals of letters of advice, congratulation, entreaty, and
abuse, half of them anonymous. Most of these are stupid; but some
are at least out of the common.
I had some constant correspondents. One lady in the western part
of the State wrote me a weekly disquisition on woman’s rights. A
Buffalo clergyman spent two years on a one-sided correspondence
about prohibition. A gentleman of Syracuse wrote me such a stream
of essays and requests about the charter of that city that I feared he
would drive me into a lunatic asylum; but he anticipated matters by
going into one himself. A New Yorker at regular intervals sent up a
request that I would “reintroduce” the Dongan charter, which had
lapsed two centuries before. A gentleman interested in a proposed
law to protect primaries took to telegraphing daily questions as to its
progress—a habit of which I broke him by sending in response
telegrams of several hundred words each, which I was careful not to
prepay.
There are certain legislative actions which must be taken in a
purely Pickwickian sense. Notable among these are the resolutions
of sympathy for the alleged oppressed patriots and peoples of
Europe. These are generally directed against England, as there
exists in the lower strata of political life an Anglophobia quite as
objectionable as the Anglomania of the higher social circles.
As a rule, these resolutions are to be classed as simply bouffe
affairs; they are commonly introduced by some ambitious legislator
—often, I regret to say, a native American—who has a large foreign
vote in his district. During my term of service in the Legislature,
resolutions were introduced demanding the recall of Minister Lowell,
assailing the Czar for his conduct towards the Russian Jews,
sympathizing with the Land League and the Dutch Boers, etc., etc.;
the passage of each of which we strenuously and usually
successfully opposed, on the ground that while we would warmly
welcome any foreigner who came here, and in good faith assumed
the duties of American citizenship, we had a right to demand in
return that he should not bring any of his race or national antipathies
into American political life. Resolutions of this character are
sometimes undoubtedly proper; but in nine cases out of ten they are
wholly unjustifiable. An instance of this sort of thing which took place
not at Albany may be cited. Recently the Board of Aldermen of one
of our great cities received a stinging rebuke, which it is to be feared
the aldermanic intellect was too dense fully to appreciate. The
aldermen passed a resolution “condemning” the Czar of Russia for
his conduct towards his fellow-citizens of Hebrew faith, and
“demanding” that he should forthwith treat them better; this was
forwarded to the Russian Minister, with a request that it be sent to
the Czar. It came back forty-eight hours afterwards, with a note on
the back by one of the under-secretaries of the legation, to the effect
that as he was not aware that Russia had any diplomatic relations
with this particular Board of Aldermen, and as, indeed, Russia was
not officially cognizant of their existence, and, moreover, was wholly
indifferent to their opinions on any conceivable subject, he herewith
returned them their kind communication.[7]
In concluding I would say, that while there is so much evil at
Albany, and so much reason for our exerting ourselves to bring
about a better state of things, yet there is no cause for being
disheartened or for thinking that it is hopeless to expect
improvement. On the contrary, the standard of legislative morals is
certainly higher than it was fifteen years ago or twenty-five years
ago. In the future it may either improve or retrograde, by fits and
starts, for it will keep pace exactly with the awakening of the popular
mind to the necessity of having honest and intelligent
representatives in the State Legislature.[8]
I have had opportunity of knowing something about the workings
of but a few of our other State legislatures: from what I have seen
and heard, I should say that we stand about on a par with those of
Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Illinois, above that of Louisiana, and
below those of Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and
Wyoming, as well as below the national legislature at Washington.
But the moral status of a legislative body, especially in the West,
often varies widely from year to year.
FOOTNOTES:
[6] The Century, January, 1885.
[7] A few years later a member of the Italian Legation “scored”
heavily on one of our least pleasant national peculiarities. An
Italian had just been lynched in Colorado, and an Italian paper in
New York bitterly denounced the Italian Minister for his supposed
apathy in the matter. The member of the Legation in question
answered that the accusations were most unjust, for the Minister
had worked zealously until he found that the deceased “had taken
out his naturalization papers, and was entitled to all the privileges
of American citizenship.”
[8] At present, twelve years later, I should say that there was
rather less personal corruption in the Legislature; but also less
independence and greater subservience to the machine, which is
even less responsive to honest and enlightened public opinion.
VI
MACHINE POLITICS IN NEW YORK CITY[9]
“HEELERS.”
The “heelers,” or “workers,” who stand at the polls, and are paid in
the way above described, form a large part of the rank and file
composing each organization. There are, of course, scores of them
in each assembly district association, and, together with the almost
equally numerous class of federal, State, or local paid office-holders
(except in so far as these last have been cut out by the operations of
the civil-service reform laws), they form the bulk of the men by whom
the machine is run, the bosses of great and small degree chiefly
merely oversee the work and supervise the deeds of their
henchmen. The organization of a party in our city is really much like
that of an army. There is one great central boss, assisted by some
trusted and able lieutenants; these communicate with the different
district bosses, whom they alternately bully and assist. The district
boss in turn has a number of half-subordinates, half-allies, under
him; these latter choose the captains of the election districts, etc.,
and come into contact with the common heelers. The more stupid
and ignorant the common heelers are, and the more implicitly they
obey orders, the greater becomes the effectiveness of the machine.
An ideal machine has for its officers men of marked force, cunning
and unscrupulous, and for its common soldiers men who may be
either corrupt or moderately honest, but who must be of low
intelligence. This is the reason why such a large proportion of the
members of every political machine are recruited from the lower
grades of the foreign population. These henchmen obey
unhesitatingly the orders of their chiefs, both at the primary or
caucus and on election day, receiving regular rewards for so doing,
either in employment procured for them or else in money outright. Of
course it is by no means true that these men are all actuated merely
by mercenary motives. The great majority entertain also a real
feeling of allegiance towards the party to which they belong, or
towards the political chief whose fortunes they follow; and many
work entirely without pay and purely for what they believe to be right.
Indeed, an experienced politician always greatly prefers to have
under him men whose hearts are in their work and upon whose
unbribed devotion he can rely; but unfortunately he finds in most
cases that their exertions have to be seconded by others which are
prompted by motives far more mixed.
All of these men, whether paid or not, make a business of political
life and are thoroughly at home among the obscure intrigues that go
to make up so much of it; and consequently they have quite as much
the advantage when pitted against amateurs as regular soldiers
have when matched against militiamen. But their numbers, though
absolutely large, are, relatively to the entire community, so small that
some other cause must be taken into consideration in order to
account for the commanding position occupied by the machine and
the machine politicians in public life. This other determining cause is
to be found in the fact that all these machine associations have a
social as well as a political side, and that a large part of the political
life of every leader or boss is also identical with his social life.