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From Algebraic Structures to Tensors
Matrices and Tensors in Signal Processing Set
coordinated by
Gérard Favier

Volume 1

From Algebraic Structures

to Tensors

Edited by

Gérard Favier
First published 2019 in Great Britain and the United States by ISTE Ltd and John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, as
permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, this publication may only be reproduced,
stored or transmitted, in any form or by any means, with the prior permission in writing of the publishers,
or in the case of reprographic reproduction in accordance with the terms and licenses issued by the
CLA. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside these terms should be sent to the publishers at the
undermentioned address:

ISTE Ltd John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

27-37 St George’s Road 111 River Street
London SW19 4EU Hoboken, NJ 07030
UK USA

www.iste.co.uk www.wiley.com

© ISTE Ltd 2019

The rights of Gérard Favier to be identified as the author of this work have been asserted by him in
accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2019945792

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 978-1-78630-154-3
 Contents

Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi

Chapter 1. Historical Elements of Matrices and Tensors . . . . . . . 1

Chapter 2. Algebraic Structures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

2.1. A few historical elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2.2. Chapter summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.3. Sets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2.3.1. Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2.3.2. Sets of numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
2.3.3. Cartesian product of sets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
2.3.4. Set operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
2.3.5. De Morgan’s laws . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
2.3.6. Characteristic functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
2.3.7. Partitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
2.3.8. σ-algebras or σ-fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
2.3.9. Equivalence relations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
2.3.10. Order relations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
2.4. Maps and composition of maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
2.4.1. Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
2.4.2. Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
2.4.3. Composition of maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
2.5. Algebraic structures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
2.5.1. Laws of composition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
2.5.2. Definition of algebraic structures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
2.5.3. Substructures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
2.5.4. Quotient structures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
2.5.5. Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
vi From Algebraic Structures to Tensors

2.5.6. Rings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
2.5.7. Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
2.5.8. Modules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
2.5.9. Vector spaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
2.5.10. Vector spaces of linear maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
2.5.11. Vector spaces of multilinear maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
2.5.12. Vector subspaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
2.5.13. Bases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
2.5.14. Sum and direct sum of subspaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
2.5.15. Quotient vector spaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
2.5.16. Algebras . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
2.6. Morphisms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
2.6.1. Group morphisms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
2.6.2. Ring morphisms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
2.6.3. Morphisms of vector spaces or linear maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
2.6.4. Algebra morphisms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Chapter 3. Banach and Hilbert Spaces – Fourier Series and

Orthogonal Polynomials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
3.1. Introduction and chapter summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
3.2. Metric spaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
3.2.1. Definition of distance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
3.2.2. Definition of topology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
3.2.3. Examples of distances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
3.2.4. Inequalities and equivalent distances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
3.2.5. Distance and convergence of sequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
3.2.6. Distance and local continuity of a function . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
3.2.7. Isometries and Lipschitzian maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
3.3. Normed vector spaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
3.3.1. Definition of norm and triangle inequalities . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
3.3.2. Examples of norms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
3.3.3. Equivalent norms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
3.3.4. Distance associated with a norm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
3.4. Pre-Hilbert spaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
3.4.1. Real pre-Hilbert spaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
3.4.2. Complex pre-Hilbert spaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
3.4.3. Norm induced from an inner product . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
3.4.4. Distance associated with an inner product . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
3.4.5. Weighted inner products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
3.5. Orthogonality and orthonormal bases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
3.5.1. Orthogonal/perpendicular vectors and Pythagorean theorem . . . 76
3.5.2. Orthogonal subspaces and orthogonal complement . . . . . . . . . 77
3.5.3. Orthonormal bases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
3.5.4. Orthogonal/unitary endomorphisms and isometries . . . . . . . . 79
 Contents vii

3.6. Gram–Schmidt orthonormalization process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

3.6.1. Orthogonal projection onto a subspace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
3.6.2. Orthogonal projection and Fourier expansion . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
3.6.3. Bessel’s inequality and Parseval’s equality . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
3.6.4. Gram–Schmidt orthonormalization process . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
3.6.5. QR decomposition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
3.6.6. Application to the orthonormalization of a set of functions . . . . 86
3.7. Banach and Hilbert spaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
3.7.1. Complete metric spaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
3.7.2. Adherence, density and separability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
3.7.3. Banach and Hilbert spaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
3.7.4. Hilbert bases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
3.8. Fourier series expansions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
3.8.1. Fourier series, Parseval’s equality and Bessel’s inequality . . . . . 97
3.8.2. Case of 2π-periodic functions from R to C . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
3.8.3. T -periodic functions from R to C . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
3.8.4. Partial Fourier sums and Bessel’s inequality . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
3.8.5. Convergence of Fourier series . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
3.8.6. Examples of Fourier series . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
3.9. Expansions over bases of orthogonal polynomials . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

Chapter 4. Matrix Algebra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

4.1. Chapter summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
4.2. Matrix vector spaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
4.2.1. Notations and definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
4.2.2. Partitioned matrices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
4.2.3. Matrix vector spaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
4.3. Some special matrices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
4.4. Transposition and conjugate transposition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
4.5. Vectorization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
4.6. Vector inner product, norm and orthogonality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
4.6.1. Inner product . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
4.6.2. Euclidean/Hermitian norm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
4.6.3. Orthogonality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
4.7. Matrix multiplication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
4.7.1. Definition and properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
4.7.2. Powers of a matrix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
4.8. Matrix trace, inner product and Frobenius norm . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
4.8.1. Definition and properties of the trace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
4.8.2. Matrix inner product . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
4.8.3. Frobenius norm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
4.9. Subspaces associated with a matrix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
viii From Algebraic Structures to Tensors

4.10. Matrix rank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141

4.10.1. Definition and properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
4.10.2. Sum and difference rank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
4.10.3. Subspaces associated with a matrix product . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
4.10.4. Product rank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
4.11. Determinant, inverses and generalized inverses . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
4.11.1. Determinant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
4.11.2. Matrix inversion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
4.11.3. Solution of a homogeneous system of linear equations . . . . . . 149
4.11.4. Complex matrix inverse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
4.11.5. Orthogonal and unitary matrices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
4.11.6. Involutory matrices and anti-involutory matrices . . . . . . . . . 151
4.11.7. Left and right inverses of a rectangular matrix . . . . . . . . . . . 153
4.11.8. Generalized inverses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
4.11.9. Moore–Penrose pseudo-inverse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
4.12. Multiplicative groups of matrices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
4.13. Matrix associated to a linear map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
4.13.1. Matrix representation of a linear map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
4.13.2. Change of basis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
4.13.3. Endomorphisms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
4.13.4. Nilpotent endomorphisms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
4.13.5. Equivalent, similar and congruent matrices . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
4.14. Matrix associated with a bilinear/sesquilinear form . . . . . . . . . . . 168
4.14.1. Definition of a bilinear/sesquilinear map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
4.14.2. Matrix associated to a bilinear/sesquilinear form . . . . . . . . . 170
4.14.3. Changes of bases with a bilinear form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
4.14.4. Changes of bases with a sesquilinear form . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
4.14.5. Symmetric bilinear/sesquilinear forms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
4.15. Quadratic forms and Hermitian forms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
4.15.1. Quadratic forms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
4.15.2. Hermitian forms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
4.15.3. Positive/negative definite quadratic/Hermitian forms . . . . . . . 177
4.15.4. Examples of positive definite quadratic forms . . . . . . . . . . . 178
4.15.5. Cauchy–Schwarz and Minkowski inequalities . . . . . . . . . . . 179
4.15.6. Orthogonality, rank, kernel and degeneration of a bilinear form . 180
4.15.7. Gauss reduction method and Sylvester’s inertia law . . . . . . . . 181
4.16. Eigenvalues and eigenvectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
4.16.1. Characteristic polynomial and Cayley–Hamilton theorem . . . . 184
4.16.2. Right eigenvectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
4.16.3. Spectrum and regularity/singularity conditions . . . . . . . . . . 187
4.16.4. Left eigenvectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
4.16.5. Properties of eigenvectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
4.16.6. Eigenvalues and eigenvectors of a regularized matrix . . . . . . . 190
4.16.7. Other properties of eigenvalues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
 Contents ix

4.16.8. Symmetric/Hermitian matrices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191

4.16.9. Orthogonal/unitary matrices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
4.16.10. Eigenvalues and extrema of the Rayleigh quotient . . . . . . . . 194
4.17. Generalized eigenvalues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195

Chapter 5. Partitioned Matrices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199

5.1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
5.2. Submatrices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
5.3. Partitioned matrices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
5.4. Matrix products and partitioned matrices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
5.4.1. Matrix products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
5.4.2. Vector Kronecker product . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
5.4.3. Matrix Kronecker product . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
5.4.4. Khatri–Rao product . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
5.5. Special cases of partitioned matrices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
5.5.1. Block-diagonal matrices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
5.5.2. Signature matrices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
5.5.3. Direct sum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
5.5.4. Jordan forms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
5.5.5. Block-triangular matrices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
5.5.6. Block Toeplitz and Hankel matrices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
5.6. Transposition and conjugate transposition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
5.7. Trace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
5.8. Vectorization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
5.9. Blockwise addition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
5.10. Blockwise multiplication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
5.11. Hadamard product of partitioned matrices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
5.12. Kronecker product of partitioned matrices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
5.13. Elementary operations and elementary matrices . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
5.14. Inversion of partitioned matrices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214
5.14.1. Inversion of block-diagonal matrices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
5.14.2. Inversion of block-triangular matrices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
5.14.3. Block-triangularization and Schur complements . . . . . . . . . 216
5.14.4. Block-diagonalization and block-factorization . . . . . . . . . . . 216
5.14.5. Block-inversion and partitioned inverse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
5.14.6. Other formulae for the partitioned 2 × 2 inverse . . . . . . . . . 218
5.14.7. Solution of a system of linear equations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
5.14.8. Inversion of a partitioned Gram matrix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
5.14.9. Iterative inversion of a partitioned square matrix . . . . . . . . . 220
5.14.10. Matrix inversion lemma and applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
5.15. Generalized inverses of 2 × 2 block matrices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
5.16. Determinants of partitioned matrices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224
5.16.1. Determinant of block-diagonal matrices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224
5.16.2. Determinant of block-triangular matrices . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
x From Algebraic Structures to Tensors

5.16.3. Determinant of partitioned matrices with square diagonal blocks 225

5.16.4. Determinants of specific partitioned matrices . . . . . . . . . . . 226
5.16.5. Eigenvalues of CB and BC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
5.17. Rank of partitioned matrices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
5.18. Levinson–Durbin algorithm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
5.18.1. AR process and Yule–Walker equations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
5.18.2. Levinson–Durbin algorithm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
5.18.3. Linear prediction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237

Chapter 6. Tensor Spaces and Tensors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243

6.1. Chapter summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
6.2. Hypermatrices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
6.2.1. Hypermatrix vector spaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244
6.2.2. Hypermatrix inner product and Frobenius norm . . . . . . . . . . 245
6.2.3. Contraction operation and n-mode hypermatrix–matrix product . 245
6.3. Outer products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
6.4. Multilinear forms, homogeneous polynomials and hypermatrices . . . . 251
6.4.1. Hypermatrix associated to a multilinear form . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
6.4.2. Symmetric multilinear forms and symmetric hypermatrices . . . . 252
6.5. Multilinear maps and homogeneous polynomials . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
6.6. Tensor spaces and tensors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
6.6.1. Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
6.6.2. Multilinearity and associativity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
6.6.3. Tensors and coordinate hypermatrices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
6.6.4. Canonical writing of tensors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258
6.6.5. Expansion of the tensor product of N vectors . . . . . . . . . . . . 260
6.6.6. Properties of the tensor product . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
6.6.7. Change of basis formula . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266
6.7. Tensor rank and tensor decompositions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
6.7.1. Matrix rank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
6.7.2. Hypermatrix rank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
6.7.3. Symmetric rank of a hypermatrix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269
6.7.4. Comparative properties of hypermatrices and matrices . . . . . . . 269
6.7.5. CPD and dimensionality reduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
6.7.6. Tensor rank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273
6.8. Eigenvalues and singular values of a hypermatrix . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274
6.9. Isomorphisms of tensor spaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276

References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291
 Preface

This book is part of a collection of four books about matrices and tensors, with
applications to signal processing. Although the title of this collection suggests an
orientation toward signal processing, the results and methods presented should also
be of use to readers of other disciplines.

Writing books on matrices is a real challenge given that so many excellent books
on the topic have already been written1. How then to stand out from the existing,
and which Ariadne’s thread to unwind? A way to distinguish oneself was to treat in
parallel matrices and tensors. Viewed as extensions of matrices with orders higher than
two, the latter have many similarities with matrices, but also important differences in
terms of rank, uniqueness of decomposition, as well as potentiality for representing
multi-dimensional, multi-modal, and inaccurate data. Moreover, regarding the
guiding thread, it consists in presenting structural foundations, then both matrix and
tensor decompositions, in addition to related processing methods, finally leading to
applications, by means of a presentation as self-contained as possible, and with some
originality in the topics being addressed and the way they are treated.

Therefore, in Volume 2, we shall use an index convention generalizing Einstein’s

summation convention, to write and to demonstrate certain equations involving multi-
index quantities, as is the case with matrices and tensors. A chapter will be dedicated
to Hadamard, Kronecker, and Khatri–Rao products, which play a very important role
in matrix and tensor computations.

After a reminder of main matrix decompositions, including a detailed presentation

of the SVD (for singular value decomposition), we shall present different tensor
operations, as well as the two main tensor decompositions which will be the basis of
both fundamental and applied developments, in the last two volumes. These standard
tensor decompositions can be seen as extensions of matrix SVD to tensors of order

1 A list of books, far from exhaustive, is provided in Chapter 1.

xii From Algebraic Structures to Tensors

higher than two. A few examples of equations for representing signal processing
problems will be provided to illustrate the use of such decompositions. A chapter
will be devoted to structured matrices. Different properties will be highlighted, and
extensions to tensors of order higher than two will be presented. Two other chapters
will concern quaternions and quaternionic matrices, on the one hand, and polynomial
matrices, on the other hand.
In Volume 3, an overview of several tensor models will be carried out by
taking some constraints (structural, linear dependency of factors, sparsity, and non-
negativity) into account. Some of these models will be used in Volume 4, for the
design of digital communication systems. Tensor trains and tensor networks will
also be presented for the representation and analysis of massive data (big data).
The algorithmic aspect will be taken into consideration with the presentation of
different processing methods.

Volume 4 will mainly focus on tensorial approaches for array processing,

wireless digital communications (first point-to-point, then cooperative), modeling and
identification of both linear and nonlinear systems, as well as the reconstruction of
missing data in data matrices and tensors, the so-called problems of matrix and tensor
completion. For these applications, tensor-based models will be more particularly
detailed. Monte Carlo simulation results will be provided to illustrate some of the
tensorial methods. This will be particularly the case of semi-blind receivers recently
developed for wireless communication systems.

Matrices and tensors, and more generally linear algebra and multilinear algebra,
are at the same time exciting, extensive, and fundamental topics equally important
for teaching and researching as for applications. It is worth noting here that the
choices made for the content of the books of this collection have not been guided
by educational programs, which explains some gaps compared to standard algebra
treaties. The guiding thread has been rather to present the definitions, properties,
concepts and results necessary for a good understanding of processing methods and
applications considered in these books. In addition to the great diversity of topics,
another difficulty resided in the order in which they should be addressed, due to the
fact that a lot of topics overlap, certain notions or/and some results being sometimes
used before they have been defined or/and demonstrated, which requires the reader to
be referred to sections or chapters that follow.
Four particularities should be highlighted. The first relates to the close relationship
between some of the topics being addressed, certain methods presented and recent
research results, particularly with regard to tensorial approaches for signal processing.
The second reflects the will to situate the results stated in their historical context,
using some biographical information on certain authors being cited, as well as lists
of references comprehensive enough to deepen specific results, and also to extend the
biographical sources provided. This has motivated the introductory chapter entitled
“Historical elements of matrices and tensors.”
 Preface xiii

The last two characteristics concern the presentation and illustration of properties
and methods under consideration. Some will be provided without demonstration
because of their simplicity or availability in numerous books thereabout. Others will
be demonstrated, either for pedagogical reasons, since their knowledge should allow
for better understanding the results being demonstrated, or because of the difficulty to
find them in the literature, or still due to the originality of the proposed demonstrations
as it will be the case, for example, of those making use of the index convention. The
use of many tables should also be noted with the purpose of recalling key results
while presenting them in a synthetic and comparative manner.

Finally, numerous examples will be provided to illustrate certain definitions,

properties, decompositions, and methods presented. This will be particularly the case
for the fourth book dedicated to applications of tensorial tools, which has been my
main source of motivation. After 15 years of works dedicated to research (pioneering
for some), aiming to use tensor decompositions for modeling and identifying
nonlinear dynamical systems, and for designing wireless communication systems
based on new tensor models, it seemed to me useful to share this experience and this
scientific path for trying to make tensor tools as accessible as possible and to motivate
new applications based on tensor approaches.
This first book, whose content is described below, provides an introduction to
matrices and tensors based on the structures of vector spaces and tensor spaces,
along with the presentation of fundamental concepts and results. In the first part
(Chapters 2 and 3), a refresher of the mathematical bases related to classical algebraic
structures is presented, by way of bringing forward a growing complexity of the
structures under consideration, ranging from monoids to vector spaces, and to
algebras. The notions of norm, inner product, and Hilbert basis are detailed in order to
introduce Banach and Hilbert spaces. The Hilbertian approach, which is fundamental
for signal processing, is illustrated based on two methods widely employed for signal
representation and analysis, as well as for function approximation, namely, Fourier
and orthogonal polynomial series.
Chapter 4 is dedicated to matrix algebra. The notions of fundamental subspaces
associated with a matrix, rank, determinant, inverse, auto-inverse, generalized
inverse, and pseudo-inverse are described therein. Matrix representations of linear and
bilinear/sesquilinear maps are established. The effect of a change of basis is studied,
leading to the definition of equivalent, similar, and congruent matrices. The notions of
eigenvalue and eigenvector are then defined, ending with matrix eigendecomposition,
and in some cases, with its diagonalization, which are topics to be covered in Volume
2. The case of certain structured matrices, such as symmetric/hermitian matrices and
orthogonal/unitary matrices, is more specifically considered. The interpretation of
eigenvalues as extrema of the Rayleigh quotient is presented, before introducing the
notion of generalized eigenvalues.

In Chapter 5, we consider partitioned matrices. This type of structure is inherent

to matrix products in general, and Kronecker and Khatri–Rao products in particular.
xiv From Algebraic Structures to Tensors

Partitioned matrices corresponding to block-diagonal and block-triangular matrices,

as well as to Jordan forms are described. Next, transposition/conjugate transposition,
vectorization, addition and multiplication operations, as well as Hadamard and
Kronecker products, are presented for partitioned matrices. Elementary operations and
associated matrices allowing the partitioned matrices to be decomposed are detailed.
These operations are then utilized for block-triangularization, block-diagonalization,
and block-inversion of partitioned matrices. The matrix inversion lemma, which is
widely used in signal processing, is deduced from block-inversion formulae. This
lemma is used to demonstrate a few inversion formulae very often encountered in
calculations. Fundamental results on generalized inverse, determinant, and rank of
partitioned matrices are presented. The Levinson algorithm is demonstrated using
the formula for inverting a partitioned square matrix, recursively with respect to the
matrix order. This algorithm, which is one of the most famous in signal processing,
allows to efficiently solve the problem of parameter estimation of autoregressive
(AR) models and linear predictors, recursively with respect to the order of the
AR model and of the predictor, respectively. To illustrate the results of Chapter 3
relatively to orthogonal projection, it is shown that forward and backward linear
predictors, optimal in the sense of the MMSE (minimum mean squared error), can be
interpreted in terms of orthogonal projectors on subspaces of the Hilbert space of the
second-order stationary random signals.

In Chapter 6, hypermatrices and tensors are introduced in close connection with

multilinear maps and multilinear forms. Hypermatrix vector spaces are first defined,
along with operations such as inner product and contraction of hypermatrices – the
particular case of the n-mode hypermatrix-matrix product being considered in more
detail. Hypermatrices associated with multilinear forms and maps are highlighted,
and symmetric hypermatrices are introduced through the definition of symmetric
multilinear forms. Then, tensors of order N > 2 are defined in a formal way as
elements of a tensor space, i.e., a tensor product of N vector spaces. The effect of
changes to the tensor space on the coordinate hypermatrix of a tensor are analyzed.
In addition, some attributes of the tensor product are described, with a focus on
the so-called universal property. Following this, the notions of a rank based on the
canonical polyadic decomposition (CPD) of a tensor are introduced, as well as the
ranking of a tensor’s eigenvalues and singular values. These highlight the similarities
and the differences between matrices, and tensors of order greater than two. Finally,
the concept of tensor unfolding is illustrated via the definition of isomorphisms of
tensor spaces.

I want to thank my colleagues Sylvie Icart and Vicente Zarzoso for their review of
some chapters and Henrique de Morais Goulart, who co-authored Chapter 4.

Gérard FAVIER
August 2019
[email protected]
 1

Historical Elements of Matrices

and Tensors

The objective of this introduction is by no means to outline a rigorous and

comprehensive historical background of the theory of matrices and tensors. Such
a historical record should be the work of a historian of mathematics and would
require thorough bibliographical research, including reading the original publications
of authors cited to analyze and reconstruct the progress of mathematical thinking
throughout years and collaborations. A very interesting illustration of this type
of analysis is provided, for example, in the form of a “representation of research
networks”1, over the period 1880–1907, in which are identified the interactions and
influences of some mathematicians, such as James Joseph Sylvester (1814–1897),
Karl Theodor Weierstrass (1815–1897), Arthur Cayley (1821–1895), Leopold
Kronecker (1823–1891), Ferdinand Georg Frobenius (1849–1917), or Eduard
Weyr (1852–1903), with respect to the theory of matrices, the theory of numbers
(quaternions, hypercomplex numbers), bilinear forms, and algebraic structures.

Our modest goal here is to locate in time the contributions of a few mathematicians
and physicists2 who have laid the foundations for the theory of matrices and tensors,
and to whom we will refer later in our presentation. This choice is necessarily very
incomplete.

1 F. Brechenmacher, “Les matrices : formes de représentation et pratiques opératoires

(1850–1930)”, Culture MATH - Expert site ENS Ulm / DESCO, December 20, 2006.
2 For more information on the mathematicians cited in this introduction, refer to the document
“Biographies de mathématiciens célèbres”, by Johan Mathieu, 2008, and the remarkable site
Mac Tutor History of Mathematics Archive (http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk) of the
University of St. Andrews, in Scotland, which contains a very large number of biographies of
mathematicians.

From Algebraic Structures to Tensors,

First Edition. Edited by Gérard Favier.
© ISTE Ltd 2019. Published by ISTE Ltd and John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
2 From Algebraic Structures to Tensors

The first studies of determinants that preceded those of matrices were conducted
independently by the Japanese mathematician Seki Kowa (1642–1708) and the
German mathematician Gottfried Leibniz (1646–1716), and then by the Scottish
mathematician Colin Maclaurin (1698–1746) for solving 2 × 2 and 3 × 3 systems
of linear equations. These works were then generalized by the Swiss mathematician
Gabriel Cramer (1704–1752) for the resolution of n × n systems, leading, in
1750, to the famous formulae that bear his name, whose demonstration is due to
Augustin-Louis Cauchy (1789–1857).
In 1772, Théophile Alexandre Vandermonde (1735–1796) defined the notion of
determinant, and Pierre-Simon Laplace (1749–1827) formulated the computation
of determinants by means of an expansion according to a row or a column, an
expansion which will be presented in section 4.11.1. In 1773, Joseph-Louis Lagrange
(1736–1813) discovered the link between the calculation of determinants and that of
volumes. In 1812, Cauchy used, for the first time, the determinant in the sense that it
has today, and he established the formula for the determinant of the product of two
rectangular matrices, a formula which was found independently by Jacques Binet
(1786–1856), and which is called nowadays the Binet–Cauchy formula.

In 1810, Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss (1777–1855) introduced a notation using a

table, similar to matrix notation, to write a 3 × 3 system of linear equations, and he
proposed the elimination method, known as Gauss elimination through pivoting, to
solve it. This method, also known as Gauss–Jordan elimination method, was in fact
known to Chinese mathematicians (first century). It was presented in a modern form,
by Gauss, when he developed the least squares method, first published by Adrien-
Marie Legendre (1752–1833), in 1805.

Several determinants of special matrices are designated by the names of their

authors, such as Vandermonde’s, Cauchy’s, Hilbert’s, and Sylvester’s determinants.
The latter of whom used the word “matrix” for the first time in 1850, to designate
a rectangular table of numbers. The presentation of the determinant of an nth-order
square matrix as an alternating n-linear function of its n column vectors is due to
Weierstrass and Kronecker, at the end of the 19th century.

The foundations of the theory of matrices were laid in the 19th century around the
following topics: determinants for solving systems of linear equations, representation
of linear transformations and quadratic forms (a topic which will be addressed in detail
in Chapter 4), matrix decompositions and reductions to canonical forms, that is to say,
diagonal or triangular forms such as the Jordan (1838–1922) normal form with Jordan
blocks on the diagonal, introduced by Weierstrass, the block-triangular form of Schur
(1875–1941), or the Frobenius normal form that is a block-diagonal matrix, whose
blocks are companion matrices.
 Historical Elements of Matrices and Tensors 3

A history of the theory of matrices in the 19th century was published by Thomas
Hawkins3 in 1974, highlighting, in particular, the contributions of the British
mathematician Arthur Cayley, seen by historians as one of the founders of the theory
of matrices. Cayley laid the foundations of the classical theory of determinants4 in
1843. He then developed matrix computation5 by defining certain matrix operations as
the product of two matrices, the transposition of the product of two matrices, and the
inversion of a 3 × 3 matrix using cofactors, and by establishing different properties of
matrices, including, namely, the famous Cayley–Hamilton theorem which states that
every square matrix satisfies its characteristic equation. This result highlighted for the
fourth order by William Rowan Hamilton (1805–1865), in 1853, for the calculation
of the inverse of a quaternion, was stated in the general case by Cayley in 1857, but
the demonstration for any arbitrary order is due to Frobenius, in 1878.
An important part of the theory of matrices concerns the spectral theory, namely,
the notions of eigenvalue and characteristic polynomial. Directly related to the
integration of systems of linear differential equations, this theory has its origins in
physics, and more particularly in celestial mechanics for the study of the orbits of
planets, conducted in the 18th century by mathematicians, physicists, and astronomers
such as Lagrange and Laplace, then in the 19th century by Cauchy, Weierstrass,
Kronecker, and Jordan.

The names of certain matrices and associated determinants are those of the
mathematicians who have introduced them. This is the case, for example, for
Alexandre Théophile Vandermonde (1735–1796) who gave his name to a matrix
whose elements on each row (or each column) form a geometric progression and
whose determinant is a polynomial. It is also the case for Carl Jacobi (1804–1851)
and Ludwig Otto Hesse (1811–1874), for Jacobian and Hessian matrices, namely,
the matrices of first- and second-order partial derivatives of a vector function, whose
determinants are called Jacobian and Hessian, respectively. The same is true for the
Laplacian matrix or Laplace matrix, which is used to represent a graph. We can also
mention Charles Hermite (1822–1901) for Hermitian matrices, related to the so-called
Hermitian forms (see section 4.15). Specific matrices such as Fourier (1768–1830)
and Hadamard (1865–1963) matrices are directly related to the transforms of the
same name. Similarly, Householder (1904–1993) and Givens (1910–1993) matrices
are associated with transformations corresponding to reflections and rotations,
respectively. The so-called structured matrices, such as Hankel (1839–1873) and
Toeplitz (1881–1943) matrices, play a very important role in signal processing.

3 Thomas Hawkins, “The theory of matrices in the 19th century”, Proceedings of the
International Congress of Mathematicians, Vancouver, 1974.
4 Arthur Cayley, “On a theory of determinants”, Cambridge Philosophical Society 8, l–16,
1843.
5 Arthur Cayley, “A memoir on the theory of matrices”, Philosophical Transactions of the
Royal Society of London 148, 17–37, 1858.
4 From Algebraic Structures to Tensors

Matrix decompositions are widely used in numerical analysis, especially to solve

systems of equations using the method of least squares. This is the case, for example,
of EVD (eigenvalue decomposition), SVD (singular value decomposition), LU, QR,
UD, Cholesky (1875–1918), and Schur (1875–1941) decompositions, which will be
presented in Volume 2.

Just as matrices and matrix computation play a fundamental role in linear algebra,
tensors and tensor computation are at the origin of multilinear algebra. It was in the
19th century that tensor analysis first appeared, along with the works of German
mathematicians Georg Friedrich Bernhard Riemann6 (1826–1866) and Elwin Bruno
Christoffel (1829–1900) in geometry (non-Euclidean), introducing the index notation
and notions of metric, manifold, geodesic, curved space, curvature tensor, which gave
rise to what is today called Riemannian geometry and differential geometry.

It was the Italian mathematician Gregorio Ricci-Curbastro (1853–1925) with

his student Tullio Levi-Civita (1873–1941) who were the founders of the tensor
calculus, then called absolute differential calculus7, with the introduction of the
notion of covariant and contravariant components, which was used by Albert Einstein
(1879–1955) in his theory of general relativity, in 1915.

Tensor calculus originates from the study of the invariance of quadratic forms
under the effect of a change of coordinates and, more generally, from the theory of
invariants initiated by Cayley8, with the introduction of the notion of hyperdeterminant
which generalizes matrix determinants to hypermatrices. Refer to the article by Crilly9
for an overview of the contribution of Cayley on the invariant theory. This theory
was developed by Jordan and Kronecker and involved controversy10 between these
two authors, then continued by David Hilbert (1862–1943), Elie Joseph Cartan
(1869–1951), and Hermann Klaus Hugo Weyl (1885–1955), for algebraic forms

6 A detailed analysis of Riemann’s contributions to tensor analysis has been made by Ruth
Farwell and Christopher Knee, “The missing link: Riemann’s Commentatio, differential
geometry and tensor analysis”, Historia Mathematica 17, 223–255, 1990.
7 G. Ricci and T. Levi-Civita, “Méthodes de calcul différentiel absolu et leurs applications”,
Mathematische Annalen 54, 125–201, 1900.
8 A. Cayley, “On the theory of linear transformations”, Cambridge Journal of Mathematics 4,
193–209, 1845. A. Cayley, “On linear transformations”, Cambridge and Dublin Mathematical
Journal 1, 104–122, 1846.
9 T. Crilly, “The rise of Cayley’s invariant theory (1841–1862)”, Historica Mathematica 13,
241–254, 1986.
10 F. Brechenmacher, “La controverse de 1874 entre Camille Jordan et Leopold Kronecker:
Histoire du théorème de Jordan de la décomposition matricielle (1870–1930)”, Revue d’histoire
des Mathématiques, Society Math De France 2, no. 13, 187–257, 2008 (hal-00142790v2).
 Historical Elements of Matrices and Tensors 5

(or homogeneous polynomials), or for symmetric tensors11. A historical review of the

theory of invariants was made by Dieudonné and Carrell12.
This property of invariance vis-à-vis the coordinate system characterizes the
laws of physics and, thus, mathematical models of physics. This explains that
tensor calculus is one of the fundamental mathematical tools for writing and
studying equations that govern physical phenomena. This is the case, for example, in
general relativity, in continuum mechanics, for the theory of elastic deformations, in
electromagnetism, thermodynamics, and so on.
The word tensor was introduced by the German physicist Woldemar Voigt
(1850–1919), in 1899, for the geometric representation of tensions (or pressures)
and deformations in a body, in the areas of elasticity and crystallography. Note that
the word tensor was introduced independently by the Irish mathematician, physicist
and astronomer William Rowan Hamilton (1805–1865), in 1846, to designate the
modulus of a quaternion13.

As we have just seen in this brief historical overview, tensor calculus was
used initially in geometry and to describe physical phenomena using tensor fields,
facilitating the application of differential operators (gradient, divergence, rotational,
and Laplacian) to tensor fields14.

Thus, we define the electromagnetic tensor (or Maxwell’s (1831–1879) tensor)

describing the structure of the electromagnetic field, the Cauchy stress tensor, and
the deformation tensor (or Green–Lagrange deformation tensor), in continuum
mechanics, and the fourth-order curvature tensor (or Riemann–Christoffel tensor) and
the third-order torsion tensor (or Cartan tensor15) in differential geometry.

11 M. Olive, B. Kolev, and N. Auffray, “Espace de tenseurs et théorie classique des invariants”,
21ème Congrès Français de Mécanique, Bordeaux, France, 2013 (hal-00827406).
12 J. A. Dieudonné and J. B. Carrell, Invariant Theory, Old and New, Academic Press, 1971.
13 See page 9 in E. Sarrau, Notions sur la théorie des quaternions, Gauthiers-Villars, Paris,
1889, http://rcin.org.pl/Content/13490.
14 The notion of tensor field is associated with physical quantities that may depend on both
spatial coordinates and time. These variable geometric quantities define differentiable functions
on a domain of the physical space. Tensor fields are used in differential geometry, in algebraic
geometry, general relativity, and in many other areas of mathematics and physics. The concept
of tensor field generalizes that of vector field.
15 E. Cartan, “Sur une généralisation de la notion de courbure de Riemann et les espaces à
torsion”, Comptes rendus de l’Académie des Sciences 174, 593–595, 1922. Elie Joseph Cartan
(1869–1951), French mathematician and student of Jules Henri Poincaré (1854–1912) and
Charles Hermite (1822–1901) at the Ecole Normale Supérieure. He brought major contributions
concerning the theory of Lie groups, differential geometry, Riemannian geometry, orthogonal
polynomials, and elliptic functions. He discovered spinors, in 1913, as part of his work on the
6 From Algebraic Structures to Tensors

After their introduction as computational and representation tools in physics

and geometry, tensors have been the subject of mathematical developments
related to polyadic decomposition (Hitchcock 1927) aiming to generalize dyadic
decompositions, that is to say, matrix decompositions such as SVD.
Then emerged their applications as tools for the analysis of three-dimensional data
generalizing matrix analysis to sets of matrices, viewed as arrays of data characterized
by three indices. We can mention here the works of pioneers in factor analysis by
Cattell16 and Tucker17 in psychometrics (Cattell 1944; Tucker 1966), and Harshman18
in phonetics (Harshman 1970) who have introduced Tucker’s and PARAFAC (parallel
factors) decompositions. This last one was proposed independently by Carroll
and Chang (1970), under the name of canonical decomposition (CANDECOMP),
following the publication of an article by Wold (1966), with the objective to generalize
the (Eckart and Young 1936) decomposition, that is, SVD, to arrays of order higher
than two. This decomposition was then called CP (for CANDECOMP/PARAFAC) by
Kiers (2000). For an overview of tensor methods applied to data analysis, the reader
should consult the books by Coppi and Bolasco (1989) and Kroonenberg (2008).
From the early 1990s, tensor analysis, also called multi-way analysis, has also
been widely used in chemistry, and more specifically in chemometrics (Bro 1997).
Refer to, for example, the book by Smilde et al. (2004) for a description of various
applications in chemistry.
In parallel, at the end of the 1980s, statistic “objects,” such as moments and
cumulants of order higher than two, have naturally emerged as tensors (McCullagh
1987). Tensor-based applications were then developed in signal processing for solving
the problem of blind source separation using cumulants (Cardoso 1990, 1991; Cardoso
and Comon 1990). The book by Comon and Jutten (2010) outlines an overview of
methods for blind source separation.

In the early 2000s, tensors were used for modeling digital communication
systems (Sidiropoulos et al. 2000a), for array processing (Sidiropoulos et al. 2000b),
for multi-dimensional harmonics recovery (Haardt et al. 2008; Jiang et al. 2001;
Sidiropoulos 2001), and for image processing, more specifically for face recognition

representations of groups. Like tensor calculus, spinor calculus plays a major role in quantum
physics. His name is associated with Albert Einstein (1879–1955) for the classical theory of
gravitation that relies on the model of general relativity.
16 Raymond Cattell (1905–1998), Anglo-American psychologist who used factorial analysis
for the study of personality with applications to psychotherapy.
17 Ledyard Tucker (1910–2004), American mathematician, expert in statistics and psychology,
and more particularly known for tensor decomposition which bears his name.
18 Richard Harshman (1943–2008), an expert in psychometrics and father of three-dimensional
PARAFAC analysis which is the most widely used tensor decomposition in applications.
 Historical Elements of Matrices and Tensors 7

(Vasilescu and Terzopoulos 2002). The field of wireless communication systems

has then given rise to a large number of tensor models (da Costa et al. 2018;
de Almeida and Favier 2013; de Almeida et al. 2008; Favier et al. 2012a; Favier and
de Almeida 2014b; Favier et al. 2016). These models will be covered in a chapter
of Volume 3. Tensors have also been used for modeling and parameter estimation of
dynamic systems both linear (Fernandes et al. 2008, 2009a) and nonlinear, such as
Volterra systems (Favier and Bouilloc 2009a, 2009b, 2010) or Wiener-Hammerstein
systems (Favier and Kibangou 2009a, 2009b; Favier et al. 2012b; Kibangou and
Favier 2008, 2009, 2010), and for modeling and estimating nonlinear communication
channels (Bouilloc and Favier 2012; Fernandes et al. 2009b, 2011; Kibangou and
Favier 2007). These different tensor-based applications in signal processing will be
addressed in Volume 4.

Many applications of tensors also concern speech processing (Nion et al. 2010),
MIMO radar (Nion and Sidiropoulos 2010), and biomedical signal processing,
particularly for electroencephalography (EEG) (Cong et al. 2015; de Vos et al. 2007;
Hunyadi et al. 2016), and electrocardiography (ECG) signals (Padhy et al. 2018),
magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) (Schultz et al. 2014), or hyperspectral imaging
(Bourennane et al. 2010; Velasco-Forero and Angulo 2013), among many others.
Today, tensors viewed as multi-index tables are used in many areas of application for
the representation, mining, analysis, and fusion of multi-dimensional and multi-modal
data (Acar and Yener 2009; Cichocki 2013; Lahat et al. 2015; Morup 2011).

A very large number of books address linear algebra and matrix calculus, for
example: Gantmacher (1959), Greub (1967), Bellman (1970), Strang (1980), Horn
and Johnson (1985, 1991), Lancaster and Tismenetsky (1985), Noble and Daniel
(1988), Barnett (1990), Rotella and Borne (1995), Golub and Van Loan (1996),
Lütkepohl (1996), Cullen (1997), Zhang (1999), Meyer (2000), Lascaux and Théodor
(2000), Serre (2002), Abadir and Magnus (2005), Bernstein (2005), Gourdon (2009),
Grifone (2011), and Aubry (2012).

For multilinear algebra and tensor calculus, there are much less reference
books, for example: Greub (1978), McCullagh (1987), Coppi and Bolasco (1989),
Smilde et al. (2004), Kroonenberg (2008), Cichocki et al. (2009), and Hackbusch
(2012). For an introduction to multilinear algebra and tensors, see Ph.D. theses by
de Lathauwer (1997) and Bro (1998). The following synthesis articles can also be
consulted: (Bro 1997; Cichocki et al. 2015; Comon 2014; Favier and de Almeida
2014a; Kolda and Bader 2009; Lu et al. 2011; Papalexakis et al. 2016; Sidiropoulos
et al. 2017).
 2

Algebraic Structures

2.1. A few historical elements

We make here a brief historical note concerning algebraic structures. The notion
of structure plays a fundamental role in mathematics. In a treatise entitled Eléments
de mathématique, comprising 11 books, Nicolas Bourbaki1 distinguishes three main
types of structures: algebraic structures, ordered structures that equip sets with an
order relation, and topological structures equipping sets with a topology that allows
the definition of topological concepts such as open sets, neighborhood, convergence,
and continuity. Some structures are mixed, that is, they combine several of the three
basic structures. That is the case, for instance, of Banach and Hilbert spaces which
combine the vector space structure with the notions of norm and inner product, that is,
a topology.
Algebraic structures endow sets with laws of composition governing operations
between elements of a same set or between elements of two distinct sets. These
composition laws known as internal and external laws, respectively, exhibit certain
properties such as associativity, commutativity, and distributivity, with the existence
(or not) of a symmetric for each element, and of a neutral element. Algebraic structures
make it possible to characterize, in particular, sets of numbers, polynomials, matrices,
and functions. The study of these structures (groups, rings, fields, vector spaces, etc.)
and their relationships is the primary purpose of general algebra, also called abstract
algebra. A reminder of the basic algebraic structures will be carried out in this chapter.

The vector spaces gave rise to linear algebra for the resolution of systems of
linear equations and the study of linear maps (also called linear mappings, or linear
transformations). Linear algebra is closely related to the theory of matrices and matrix
algebra, of which an introduction will be made in Chapter 4.

1 Nicolas Bourbaki is the pseudonym of a group of French mathematicians formed in 1935.

From Algebraic Structures to Tensors,

First Edition. Edited by Gérard Favier.
© ISTE Ltd 2019. Published by ISTE Ltd and John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
10 From Algebraic Structures to Tensors

Multilinear algebra extends linear algebra to the study of multilinear maps, through
the notions of tensor space and tensor, which will be introduced in Chapter 6.
Although the resolution of (first- and second-degree) equations can be traced
to the Babylonians2 (about 2000 BC, according to Babylonian tables), then to the
Greeks (300 BC), to the Chinese (200 BC), and to the Indians (6th century), algebra
as a discipline emerged in the Arab-Muslim world, during the 8th century. It gained
momentum in the West, in the 16th century, with the resolution of algebraic (or
polynomial) equations, first with the works of Italian mathematicians Tartaglia
(1500–1557) and Jérôme Cardan (1501–1576) for cubic equations, whose first
resolution formula is attributed to Scipione del Ferro (1465–1526) and Lodovico
Ferrari (1522–1565) for quartic equations. The work of François Viète (1540–1603)
then René Descartes (1596–1650) can also be mentioned, for the introduction of the
notation making use of letters to designate unknowns in equations, and the use of
superscripts to designate powers.
A fundamental structure, linked to the notion of symmetry, is that of the group,
which gave rise to the theory of groups, issued from the theory of algebraic equations
and the study of arithmetic properties of algebraic numbers, at the end of the 18th
century, and of geometry, at the beginning of the 19th century. We may cite, for
example, Joseph-Louis Lagrange (1736–1813), Niels Abel (1802–1829), and Evariste
Galois (1811–1832), for the study of algebraic equations, the works of Carl Friedrich
Gauss (1777–1855) on the arithmetic theory of quadratic forms, and those of Felix
Klein (1849–1925) and Hermann Weyl (1885–1955) in non-Euclidean geometry. We
can also mention the works of Marie Ennemond Camille Jordan (1838–1922) on the
general linear group, that is, the group of invertible square matrices, and on the Galois
theory. In 1870, he published a treatise on the theory of groups, including the reduced
form of a matrix, known as Jordan form, for which he received the Poncelet prize of
the Academy of Sciences.
Groups involve a single binary operation.

The algebraic structure of ring was proposed by David Hilbert (1862–1943)

and Emmy Noether (1882–1935), while that of field was introduced independently
by Leopold Kronecker (1823–1891) and Richard Dedekind (1831–1916). In 1893,
Heinrich Weber (1842–1913) presented the first axiomatization3 of commutative
fields, completed in 1910 by Ernst Steinitz (1871–1928). Field extensions led to

2 Arnaud Beauville, “Histoire des équations algébriques”, https://math.unice.fr/beauvill/

pubs/Equations.pdf and http://www.maths-et-tiques.fr/index.php/Histoire-des-maths/Nombres/
Histoire-de-l-algebre.
3 Used for developing a scientific theory, the axiomatic method is based on a set of propositions
called axioms. Its founders are Greek mathematicians, which include Euclid and Archimedes
(c. 300 BC) as the most famous, for their work in geometry (Euclidean) and arithmetic. It was
 Algebraic Structures 11

the Galois theory, with the initial aim to solve algebraic equations. In 1843, a first
example of non-commutative field was introduced by William Rowan Hamilton
(1805–1865), with quaternions.

Rings and fields are algebraic structures involving two binary operations, generally
called addition and multiplication.

The underlying structure to the study of linear systems, and more generally
to linear algebra, is that of vector space (v.s.) introduced by Hermann Grassmann
(1809–1877), then axiomatically formalized by Giuseppe Peano, with the introduction
of the notion of R-vector space, at the end of the 19th century. German mathematicians
David Hilbert (1862–1943), Otto Toeplitz (1881–1940), Hilbert’s student, and Stefan
Banach (1892–1945) were the ones who extended vector spaces to spaces of
infinite dimension, called Hilbert spaces and Banach spaces (or normed vector
spaces (n.v.s.)).

The study of systems of linear equations and linear transformations, which is

closely linked to that of matrices, led to the concepts of linear independence, basis,
dimension, rank, determinant, and eigenvalues, which will be considered in this
chapter as well as in Chapters 4 and 6. In Chapter 3, we shall see that by equipping
v.s. with a norm and an inner product, n.v.s. can be obtained on the one hand, and
pre-Hilbertian spaces on the other. The concept of distance allows for the definition
of metric spaces. Norms and distances are used for studying the convergence of
sequences in the context of Banach and Hilbert spaces, of infinite dimension, which
will also be addressed in the next chapter. The extension of linear spaces to multilinear
spaces will be considered in this chapter and in Chapter 6 through the introduction of
the tensor product, with generalization of matrices to hypermatrices and tensors of
order higher than two.

2.2. Chapter summary

The objective of this chapter is to carry out an overview of the main algebraic
structures, while recalling definitions and results that will be useful for other chapters.
First, we recall some results related to sets and maps, and we then present the
definitions and properties of internal and external composition laws on a set. Various
algebraic structures are then detailed: groups, rings, fields, modules, v.s., and algebras.
The notions of substructures and quotient structures are also defined.

at the end of the 19th century that the axiomatic method experienced a growing interest with
the works of Richard Dedekind (1831–1916), Georg Cantor (1845–1918), and Giuseppe Peano
(1858–1932), for the construction of the sets of integers and real numbers, as well as those of
David Hilbert for his axiomatization of Euclidean geometry.
12 From Algebraic Structures to Tensors

The v.s. structure is considered in more detail. Different examples are given,
including v.s. of linear maps and multilinear maps. The concepts of vector subspace,
linear independence, basis, dimension, direct sum of subspaces, and quotient space
are recalled, before summarizing the different structures under consideration in
a table.

The notion of homomorphism, also called morphism, is then introduced, and

morphisms of groups, rings, vector spaces, and algebras are described. The case of
morphisms of v.s., that is, of linear maps, is addressed in more depth. The notions of
isomorphism, endomorphism, and dual basis are defined. The canonical factorization
of linear maps based on the notion of quotient v.s., and the rank theorem, which is a
fundamental result in linear algebra, are presented.

2.3. Sets

2.3.1. Definitions

A set A is a collection of elements {a1 , a2 , · · · }. It is said that ai is an element of

the set A, or ai belongs to A, and it is written ai ∈ A, or A ∋ ai .

A subset B of a set A is a set whose elements also belong to A. It is said that B is

included in A, and it is written B ⊆ A or A ⊇ B
B ⊆ A ⇔ ∀x ∈ B ⇒ x ∈ A.
If B ⊆ A and B ̸= A, then it is said that B is a proper subset of A, and we write B ⊂ A.

The empty set, denoted by ∅, is by definition the set that contains no elements.
We have ∅ ⊆ A, ∀A.

A finite set E is a set that has a finite number of elements. This number N is called
the cardinality of E, and it is often denoted by |E| or Card(E). There are 2N distinct
subsets.

An infinite set E is said to be countable when there exists a bijection between E

and the set of natural numbers (N) or integers (Z). This definition is due to Cantor4.
This means that the elements of a countable set can be indexed as xn , with n ∈ N
or Z. This is the case of sampled signals, namely, discrete-time signals, where n is
the sampling index (t = nTe , where Te is the sampling period), while sets of analog
signals (i.e. continuous-time signals) x(t) are not countable with respect to the time
variable t ∈ R.

4 Georg Cantor (1845–1918), Russian mathematician who is at the origin of the theory of sets.
He is known for the theorem that bears his name, relative to set cardinality, as well as for his
contributions to the theory of numbers.
 Algebraic Structures 13

2.3.2. Sets of numbers

In Table 2.1, we present a few sets of numbers5 that satisfy the following inclusion
relations: N ⊂ Z ⊂ P ⊂ R ⊂ C ⊂ Q ⊂ O. We denote by R∗ = R\{0} the set of

Sets Definitions
N Natural numbers including 0
Z Integers
P Rational numbers
R Real numbers
R+ Positive real numbers
R− Negative real numbers
C Complex numbers
Q Quaternions
O Octonions

Table 2.1. Sets of numbers

non-zero real numbers. Similarly for N∗ , Z∗ , P∗ , and C∗ . In Volume 2, a chapter will

be dedicated to complex numbers, quaternions, and octonions6, with the purpose of
highlighting the matrix representations of these numbers, and introducing quaternionic
and octonionic matrices.

2.3.3. Cartesian product of sets

The Cartesian product7 of N sets A1 , A2 , · · · , AN , denoted A1 × A2 × · · · × AN , or

N
still × An , is the set of all ordered N -tuples (x1 , x2 , · · · , xN ), where xn ∈ An , n ∈
n=1
⟨N ⟩ = {1, 2, · · · , N }:
N
× An = {(x1 , x2 , · · · , xN ) : xn ∈ An , n ∈ ⟨N ⟩}.
n=1

5 For the set of rational numbers, the notation P is a substitute for the usual notation Q, which
will be used to designate the set of quaternions instead of H, often used to refer to Hamilton,
discoverer of quaternions.
6 Quaternions and octonions, which can be considered as generalizations of complex numbers,
themselves extending real numbers, are part of hypercomplex numbers.
7 The notion of Cartesian product is due to René Descartes (1596–1650), French philosopher,
mathematician, and physicist, and author of philosophical works including the treatise entitled
Discours de la méthode pour bien conduire sa raison et chercher la vérité dans les sciences
(Discourse on the Method for Rightly Conducting the Reason, and Seeking Truth in the
Sciences), which contains the famous quote “I think, therefore I am” (originally in Latin
“Cogito, ergo sum”). He introduced the Cartesian product to represent the Euclidian plane and
three-dimensional space, in the context of analytic geometry, also called Cartesian geometry,
using coordinate systems.
14 From Algebraic Structures to Tensors

Operations Definitions

Equality A = B if and only if A ⊆ B and B ⊆ A.

Transitivity if A ⊂ B and B ⊂ C , then A ⊂ C .

Union (or sum) A ∪ B = {x : x ∈ A or x ∈ B}.

Intersection (or product) A ∩ B = {x : x ∈ A and x ∈ B}.

Complementation A ⊂ Ω ⇒ A = {x ∈ Ω : x ∈
/ A}.

Reduction (or difference) A − B = A ∩ B.

Exclusive or A ⊕ B = (A − B) ∪ (B − A).

Table 2.2. Set operations

For example, we define the Cartesian product of N sets of indices Jn = {1, · · · , In },

N
as J = × Jn . The elements of J are the ordered N -tuples of indices (i1 , · · · , iN ),
n=1
N
with in ∈ Jn . Later in the book, × In will be used to highlight the dimensions.
n=1

N
When An = A, ∀n ∈ ⟨N ⟩, the Cartesian product will be written as × An = A N .
n=1

If the sets are vector spaces, we then have a Cartesian product of vector spaces
which is a fundamental notion underlying, in particular, the definition of multilinear
maps, and therefore, as it will be seen in section 6.6, that of tensor spaces.

2.3.4. Set operations

In Table 2.2, we summarize the main set operations8.

Union and intersection are commutative, associative, and distributive:
– Commutativity: A ∪ B = B ∪ A ; A ∩ B = B ∩ A.
– Associativity: (A ∪ B) ∪ C = A ∪ (B ∪ C ) ; (A ∩ B) ∩ C = A ∩ (B ∩ C ).
– Distributivity: A ∪(B ∩C ) = (A ∪B)∩(A ∪C ) ; A ∩(B ∪C ) = (A ∩B)∪(A ∩C ).

Exclusive or (also called exclusive disjonction), noted A ⊕ B, is the set of all

elements of A or B which do not belong to the two sets at once.

8 Set union and intersection are also denoted by A + B and A B, respectively.

 Algebraic Structures 15

N sets A1 , · · · , AN are said to be mutually exclusive if they are pairwise disjoint,

that is, if Ai ∩ Aj = ∅ , ∀i, j ̸= i.

The following properties hold for A ⊂ Ω and B ⊂ Ω:

– A ∪ A = Ω ; A ∩ A = ∅ ; A = A.
– Ω = ∅ ; ∅ = Ω.
– If B ⊂ A then B ⊃ A.

2.3.5. De Morgan’s laws

De Morgan’s laws, also called rules9, are properties related to the complement of
a union or an intersection of subsets of the same set. Thereby, for two subsets A and
B, it follows that:
A ∪B =A ∩B ; A ∩B =A ∪B
and in general for N subsets:
N N N N
∪ An = ∩ An ; ∩ An = ∪ An .
n=1 n=1 n=1 n=1

The equalities above are logical equivalences, and the symbol of equality can be
replaced by the symbol of equivalence (⇔).

De Morgan’s laws express the fact that the complement of unions and intersections
of sets can be obtained by replacing all sets by their complements, unions by
intersections, and intersections by unions. Therefore, for example:
A ∩ (B ∪ C ) ⇔ A ∪ (B ∩ C ),
or equivalently:
A(B + C ) ⇔ A + B C .

2.3.6. Characteristic functions

For a given subset F of E, the characteristic function, or indicator function, is the

function χF : E → {0, 1} such that:
{
1 if x ∈ F
E ∋ x 7→ χF (x) = .
0 if x ∈
/F

9 Augustus de Morgan (1806–1871), British mathematician who is the founder of modern logic
with George Boole (1815–1864).
16 From Algebraic Structures to Tensors

2.3.7. Partitions

A N -partition of Ω is a collection of N disjoint subsets An , n ∈ ⟨N ⟩, of Ω whose

union is equal to Ω:
N
An ⊂ Ω , ∪ An = Ω , An ∩ Ai = ∅ ∀n and i ̸= n.
n=1

2.3.8. σ-algebras or σ-fields

Let Ω be a non-empty set. A σ-algebra (or σ-field) on Ω is a collection A of

subsets of Ω satisfying the following properties:
– A is not empty.
– A is closed under complement, namely, ∀An ∈ A, then A n ∈ A.
– A is closed under countable unions, namely, if An ∈ A, ∀n ∈ N, then
∪ An ∈ A. A union is said to be countable because the set of subsets An is countable.
n∈N

The pair (Ω, A) is called a measurable space, and the subsets An are called
measurable sets. By equipping the measurable space (Ω, A) of a measure µ : A →
[0, +∞], the triplet (Ω, A, µ) is called a measure space.

In probability theory, Ω is the universal set, that is, the set of all possible
experimental outcomes of a random trial, also called elementary events. Defining an
event An as a set of elementary events, a collection (or field) A of events is called
a σ-field, and the pair (Ω, A) is a measurable space. When this space is endowed
with a probability measure P , the triplet (Ω, A, P ) defines a probability space, where
P satisfies for any element An of A: P (∅) = 0; P (Ω) = 1; 0 ≤ P (An ) ≤ 1 and
P (∅) = 0, meaning that the empty set is an impossible event, whereas P (Ω) = 1
means that Ω is a sure event, that is, an event which always occurs.

2.3.9. Equivalence relations

Let E be a non-empty set. An equivalence relation on E, denoted by ∼, is a binary

relation that is reflexive, symmetric, and transitive:
– Reflexivity: ∀a ∈ E , a ∼ a.
– Symmetry: ∀(a, b) ∈ E 2 , a ∼ b ⇒ b ∼ a.
– Transitivity: ∀(a, b, c) ∈ E 3 , a ∼ b and b ∼ c ⇒ a ∼ c.

The elements equivalent to an element a form a set called the equivalence class of a,
denoted by ca ⊂ E. The set of all equivalence classes associated with the equivalence
relation ∼ forms a partition of E, denoted by E/ ∼ and called quotient set or quotient
space of E.
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 Fig. 514

Coin lodged in esophagus, successfully removed by external esophagotomy. From

the Author’s Clinic. (Skiagram by Dr. Plummer.)

The condition being suspected or made known, the location of the

foreign body may be determined by the esophageal bougie and by
the use of the x-rays. With certain irregularly shaped objects the
latter prove a desirable help, especially when irregular plates
containing false teeth, or toys have been passed into the esophagus.
They afford an indication not only as to their exact situation and
emplacement, but also as to the best method of attack, that is,
whether from without or within. Considerable distress may be
produced by even small particles, as chips from an oyster-shell,
small pieces of glass, and the like.
 Fig. 515

Esophageal forceps.

Fig. 516

Horse hair probang, expanded and unexpanded.

Treatment.—A foreign body which produces the slightest

discomfort or recognizable symptoms should be
removed. Only occasionally can this be done by making the patient
endeavor to swallow something else, this being too uncertain a
method of procedure; although I have known a peach-stone
impacted in the esophagus to be pushed into the stomach by the
passage of an esophageal bougie. The situation and the nature of
the object being known, one then decides how best to proceed. The
available methods of operation are:
1. The introduction of a bougie and the enforced passage of
the object into the stomach (questionable).
2. The use of the esophageal snare.
3. The use of the esophageal forceps or similar means of
extraction.
4. The more directly operative methods by external incision.
The esophagoscope is an instrument of comparatively recent
device and perfection. We owe it largely to the ingenuity of Mikulicz.
It is to the esophagus what the endoscope is to the urethra, and
may be regarded as essentially an enlarged endoscope. Its
introduction is comparatively easy, but its retention is distressing to
the patient, so that opportunity may thus not be afforded for
profiting by its use. The employment of cocaine anesthesia, and
perhaps of morphine hypodermically, will sometimes enable it to be
used satisfactorily. It may also be used for exploratory purposes
previous to commencing a formal operation under general
anesthesia. There are furnished with the instrument itself forceps
and extractors, by which it may be possible, when the object is once
seen, to grasp and withdraw it. The use of the esophagoscope is,
moreover, not limited to these lesions, since it can be used in
revealing the character of strictures, small wounds, diverticular
openings, and the like. Endeavors may be first made to locate the
body by those possessing such an instrument and expert in its use.
The esophageal snare is a simple instrument which, after being
introduced, is shortened in such a way as to cause to protrude a
basket-like meshwork of bristles in which, as the instrument is
withdrawn, a small object may be entangled and so withdrawn. In
the same way an ingeniously made coin catcher is furnished, which,
in cases of impacted coins or similar shaped objects in the
esophagus, may be introduced beyond them and then withdrawn,
the object being caught in a miniature cradle, from which it cannot
escape until brought up into the pharynx. Esophageal forceps are
made with long blades, curved like all the instruments used within
the pharynx, and serving admirably for grasping objects impacted
high in the tube (Figs. 515 and 516).
Dislodgement being impossible by either of the above-mentioned
expedients, recourse may be had to the operation of external
esophagotomy. This may require to be done as an emergency
measure, but is practically always indicated when an impacted object
cannot be otherwise removed. A dangerous location for a foreign
body in the esophagus is at a distance of about nine inches from the
upper incisor tooth, at which point it will be located directly behind
the arch of the aorta, at which level ulceration would perhaps result
disastrously, as Richardson has shown. The operation was devised
by Goursault, in 1773, and has proved a satisfactory surgical
measure. It is performed upon the left side of the neck. The incision
is made along the anterior margin of the sternocleidomastoid from
the middle of the neck downward. The larynx and trachea are
separated to the inner side, the muscles and the large vessels to the
outer side, the omohyoid divided, the descendens noni and the
recurrent laryngeal nerves, which lie in the groove between the
trachea and the gullet, are protected from injury, and the
esophageal tube thus exposed. The surgeon will feel more secure in
opening it if he now pass downward through the mouth a bougie or
instrument upon whose beak or tip he may cut down. The
esophagus being opened, the margins of the wound are secured by
sutures which serve as retractors, and the interior of the tube is then
subjected to the necessary manipulation. Even now it may not be an
easy matter to dislodge a pointed object, which may have become
partially impacted. Thus it may be dislodged at first by pushing it
down a short distance and turning it, the direction having been
already indicated by an x-ray picture. The manipulation should be as
gentle as possible. Extraction having been accomplished, the
esophageal wound is closed by the sutures introduced for traction
purposes. Over this the external wound is closed, with suitable
provision for drainage, as it is almost certain to have been infected
during the procedure. In rare cases it has been necessary to
combine a gastrotomy with this operation, in order that by combined
manipulation a peculiarly shaped object may be dislodged.
Gastrotomy will be necessary in but few instances, as, for
instance, when an object known to be one which cannot pass
through the pylorus has been dislodged into the stomach by
pressure from above—as plates containing false teeth, and various
similar objects. It will probably be safer to open the stomach and
remove the object than to leave a patient to his otherwise uncertain
fate. On the other hand objects which are sure to be in time
dissolved or disintegrated by the stomach juices may be allowed to
remain to await this event.

WOUNDS OF THE ESOPHAGUS.

Wounds of the esophagus occurring in other ways than those
above indicated may be the result of gunshot and various
perforating injuries. The tube may be also partially cut across in so-
called cut-throat.
Any external wound of the esophagus which can be recognized
should be closed with sutures, and the parts brought together, if
possible, with provision for drainage. Those lacerated wounds
constituting some forms of cut-throat, however, permit of very little
in this direction, for when seen they are too infected. Through an
esophageal opening thus inflicted the patient may be fed for a time
by a tube, the wound being left to close later by granulation or by a
secondary operation. When the esophagus has been anywise injured
it would be better to abstain from feeding or else to introduce food
through an esophageal tube.

RUPTURE OF THE ESOPHAGUS.

Rupture of the esophagus has been known to occur in
consequence of severe vomiting, there being some twenty-five cases
of this character now on record. (Dennis.) A tear is rarely complete,
but it may be followed by hernia and formation of a diverticulum.
The accident will be indicated by violent pain following severe
vomiting in connection with an effort to dislodge a foreign body.
There will be more or less shock and perhaps collapse, with escape
of blood. Emphysema of the neck and upper part of the chest may
result and the injury prove fatal. The condition being suspected, it
would be advisable to do an external esophagotomy or else to
carefully introduce a stomach tube and leave it in situ.

PERFORATION OF THE ESOPHAGUS.

Perforation—i. e., rupture without traumatism—may result from
the existence of ulcers or from the advance of malignant disease. It
may occur in either direction. Thus while the mediastinum may be
infected from entrance of septic material into it the direction may be
reversed and an abscess or other lesion of the surrounding tissues
may evacuate itself into the esophagus. Should this prove to be an
aneurysm the patient will die with uncontrollable escape of blood.
The treatment of such a case, if any be permitted, will depend
entirely on the nature of the exciting cause. Perforation has also
followed injudicious use of bougies when exploring or treating
strictures (especially cancerous) of the esophagus.

ESOPHAGISMUS.
Esophagismus, or spasmodic contraction of the esophagus, is
usually an expression of hysteria, or else is a reflex spasmodic effect
due to the presence of some neighboring irritation. In the
esophagus, as in the urethra, there may be spasmodic stricture,
which will afford considerable obstruction. Thus I have seen it as a
functional neurosis, absolutely without explanation, in an apparently
healthy workingman. It is noticed also in connection with
hemorrhoids and with hepatic lesions. It is seen in pregnancy, and a
certain degree of it will complicate many cases of gastric ulcer,
gastritis, or esophagitis such as is produced by swallowing mild
caustics. While producing dysphagia and obstructive phenomena it is
intermittent and interposes little real obstacle to the passage of a
full-sized bougie or tube. It is frequently accompanied in the
hysterical by globus hystericus, and by regurgitation of whatever
food the patient attempts to swallow.
The local treatment consists of dilatation by the passage of full-
sized instruments at frequent intervals. If a neurosis the patient may
require other treatment, addressed either to the nervous system or
to any well-marked constitutional condition.

STRICTURE OF THE ESOPHAGUS.

Stricture of the esophagus has an etiology practically identical with
that which pertains to stricture of any other passage of the body. It
may be due to extrinsic or intrinsic influence. Among the former may
be mentioned the presence of tumors, either benign or malignant, or
of cicatricial tissue, while among the latter should be mentioned the
injuries resulting from the presence of foreign bodies, the extensive
ulcerations due to the swallowing of various caustic fluids, and the
cicatricial contraction which may follow other lesions like ulceration.
Those cases which are due to serious congenital defects will usually
die early. Of the ulcerative lesions which lead to stricture the most
common are the cancerous. Syphilitic and tuberculous ulcerations
may occasionally produce the same effect. By far the most common
causes are the traumatic, which are connected either with foreign
bodies or with the unfortunate accidental use of caustics.
Esophageal strictures are recognized by the difficulty in swallowing
which they produce and the later dilatation of the esophagus above,
which is the frequent result of their long existence. The degree of
difficulty experienced by the patient in deglutition is to a
considerable degree a measure of the extent of contraction. It may
be nearly always assumed that such a stricture as is produced by the
swallowing of caustic fluids will leave a tortuously contracted
passage-way, and the instrument passed for its recognition, while
arrested in its upper portion, may give little or no correct idea as to
the arrangement below. In some instances it may be possible here,
as in the case of diverticula, to introduce sufficient bismuth emulsion
into the esophagus to make it cause a shadow in an x-ray picture,
and in this way to give pictorial information not otherwise attainable.
 The surgeon should distinguish between hysterical spasm or
esophagismus and cicatricial stenosis. The former will offer but little
obstacle to the passage of a full-sized bougie. In fact it will be
frequently benefited, usually cured by it, while in the latter instance
this is almost impossible.
Fig. 517 Fig. 518
 Stricture of the esophagus. (Dennis.) Esophageal bougies.

Fig. 517 shows the possibilities in a case of actual obstruction, and

how different such a condition is from mere esophagismus or globus
hystericus. It has been recently shown, especially by Dennis, that
during or just after typhoid fever, ulcers occur in the esophagus
which may produce serious stenosis. At present writing I have under
observation a little girl of nine years who has an extreme condition
of this kind. It is with difficulty that she can swallow fluid
nourishment, and she was so nearly starved that her life was only
saved by a gastrotomy. Those congenital defects which may produce
esophageal stricture are usually of such a serious and extensive
character as to afford no opportunity for relief.
The location and caliber of these strictures may be ascertained by
the use of esophageal bougies, such as represented in Fig. 518.
These are made of various sizes, and are fastened upon the end of a
flexible rubber handle, which affords a degree of elasticity in
manipulation. They should be used with care and caution, as minor
degrees of injury produced by them may cause a spreading
infection, while still more harm may be done by rupture of an
ulcerated area, or perhaps the perforation of an aneurysm.
The patient should sit before the surgeon, with the head thrown
backward, the mouth comfortably widely opened, while the surgeon,
standing, introduces the left forefinger into the pharynx and with it
depresses the tongue and guides the tip of the instrument, be it
bougie or tube, along this finger, which serves as a guide. Unruly or
hysterical patients will not only gag, but may attempt to bite the
operator’s finger. To prevent such accidents a metal thimble is made,
which, being inserted between the teeth, protects the finger, but
makes the manipulation more awkward. Should the patient show
any tendency to folly of this kind, it should be remembered that
when the finger is forced back into the pharynx the mouth is
instinctively opened. If necessary, at the same time, the nostrils may
be grasped and held closed, in which case the patient is sure to
open the mouth widely and thus release the finger. After the tip of
the instrument is engaged in the pharynx it sometimes assists in the
manipulation if the patient’s head be now tipped a little forward. This
manipulation is not very different from that by which a small and
long flexible rubber tube may be inserted through the nostril into the
stomach for the purpose of feeding, as is frequently done with the
insane who refuse to eat, or may be done in the presence of certain
diseased conditions.
The intent in this exploration is to determine the distance from the
upper incisor teeth of the obstruction, as well as its caliber. When
the instrument is withdrawn the surgeon marks the location of the
teeth by grasping it at this point with the thumb, and the distance is
measured off afterward so that it may be read in inches if desired.
The caliber is determined by the success or non-success met with in
passing an instrument of given diameter. The size with which the
attempt should be made may be determined largely by the history
and statement of the patient. With a patient who cannot swallow no
ordinary bougie should be expected to pass, while a small solid
instrument might produce a perforation. Flexible bougies are also
provided by the instrument makers, made as are the silk catheters,
some of them being loaded with small shot in order to give them a
certain degree of weight. A small, soft, flexible instrument may be
thus passed when the ordinary probang would fail. Here, as in the
urethra, an olivary bougie may pass, after which the same sort of
resistance will be offered upon its withdrawal. In this case the
stricture is passed twice, going and coming. A slight degree of
constriction is met opposite the cricoid cartilage at the entrance to
the esophagus. This should not be mistaken for a pathological
condition. Information may be afforded by material brought up by
the instrument, such as shreds of tissue, blood, etc. A small bougie
coated with sponge may be used for the purpose of retaining and
bringing back such material as it may engage.
It will be of assistance to let the patients dissolve in the mouth a
tablet containing a little cocaine and swallow it, or to spray or gargle
the pharynx with a weak solution. It prevents the gagging and
discomfort of an operation which otherwise is almost painless.
 ESOPHAGEAL HEMORRHAGE.
Esophageal hemorrhage occurs especially in connection with
cirrhosis of the liver. Stockton and others have called attention to a
peculiar varicose condition of the esophageal veins in certain of
these cases, and the possibility of repeated hemorrhages which may
terminate fatally. The same is true of obstructive jaundice with
Riedel liver.

CANCER OF THE ESOPHAGUS.

Cancer of the esophagus may be either primary or secondary, and
may be either sarcoma or carcinoma. Its first expression will be
ulcerative or stenotic, according as it originates on the inner surface
or not. Sooner or later it will produce stricture, with the ordinary
evidences thereof, and is to be detected in the same way. Cancer is
usually of the carcinomatous type or squamous epithelioma. The
disease is more common near the lower than the upper end of the
canal. The disease spreads and involves the adjoining lymphatics, as
well as various other structures. In addition to the ordinary
evidences of stricture it is accompanied by a certain degree of pain,
which is likely to be referred to the interscapular region or the back
of the neck. The emaciation which always accompanies it is not
merely an expression of the disease itself, but of the starvation
which stricture in time produces. Frequent expulsion of bloody
mucus or shreds is extremely indicative.
Esophageal cancer admits only of esophagectomy, as a very
unusual method of relief, or gastrostomy, which is a palliative
measure intended to prevent death from starvation, but not
affording exemption from the advance of the disease.

OPERATIONS UPON THE ESOPHAGUS.

Operations upon the esophageal canal include:
1. Dilatation;
2. Internal esophagotomy;
 3. External esophagotomy;
4. Esophagectomy.
1. Dilatation is practised ordinarily with olivary or conical-tipped
bougies. The former are usually metal or ivory tips fastened to a
firmer handle, while the latter are fashioned like silk catheters having
more or less conical tips. These are introduced until they are
engaged within the stricture, after which the amount of pressure or
force used should be graduated to the character of the trouble, the
density of the tissues, and the tolerance of the patient. Daily
dilatation may be practised either for the prevention or relief of
strictures following cicatrices due to caustic fluids and the like. A
small passage may in time be stretched up to nearly the normal
diameter, after which instruments may be passed at regular
intervals, as the tendency to recontraction is inevitable. These
methods of dilatation have taken the place of more complicated
mechanical procedures performed with instruments like those
intended for use in the urethra. The writer has, however, in one or
two instances used with advantage the Otis dilating urethrotome in
cicatricial strictures of the gullet.
2. Internal esophagotomy is practised either with instruments
carrying concealed blades, like those used within the urethra, or by a
method suggested by Abbe, where the stomach is first opened, and
a retrograde divulsion effected, or at least a small bougie is pushed
upward from beneath. When its tip is felt in the mouth there is firmly
attached to it a strong silk thread which, as the instrument is
withdrawn, is brought down into the stomach and then out through
the stomach opening. With one hand in the stomach and the other
in the mouth this thread is then manipulated in such a way as to
saw through the strictured passage. It is well, should the surgeon
use silk in this way as he would use a Gigli saw, to pass it through a
piece of rubber tubing, both above and below, in order that its
sawing effect may be limited to the esophagus proper. This is a
procedure which should be done with great precaution. The operator
should stop at short intervals, and, by using a bougie, satisfy himself
whether the strictured passage has been enlarged. When the
desired result has been attained the thread is withdrawn, the
stomach and abdominal wounds closed, and dilatation resorted to
every day or two in order that the benefit gained may be
maintained.
The use of the esophagoscope may permit the exposure of a
cicatricial band or an annular stricture, so placed that it may be
divided by a fine knife directed through the tube. Whatever cutting is
done in this region should be done cautiously, so as to avoid injuring
adjoining structures.
3. External esophagotomy is easily performed for the removal of
foreign bodies. When done from below it may be combined with a
gastrotomy, the cardiac end of the esophagus being thus exposed
and exploring instruments or those intended for either removal of
foreign material or division of stricture being thus introduced. After
the measure is complete the stomach is first closed and then the
abdomen.
4. Esophagectomy is an operation undertaken from without, and is
seldom performed for other purposes than for the removal of
malignant growths. A cancer of the esophagus should be seen early
and be favorably located in order to be amenable to such a radical
measure, yet cases of this kind have been successful. Too often,
however, they are done too late. The esophagus is exposed by the
same incision as that described for esophagotomy, namely, on the
left side along the anterior border of the sternomastoid, the vessels
and nerves being retracted to either side in such a way as to permit
its clear exposure. The portion to be removed is then isolated by
blunt dissection and resected. This leaves two ends of the canal,
which can usually be brought together by sutures, after the fashion
of an end-to-end intestinal anastomosis. The principal difficulty met
with will be adhesions and infiltration caused by extension of
disease, and these of themselves in well-marked cases would be
contra-indications to operation.
Transthoracic Resection of the Esophagus.—Bryant and
others have
shown how the esophagus may be exposed from the posterior
aspect of the thorax by a posterior thoracotomy, made in the third
and fifth intercostal spaces, where, by resection of the ribs and
dissection, the esophagus may be exposed behind the hilum of the
lung. The azygos vein which crosses it at about this level should be
either retracted or divided after a double ligation. Experimentation
has shown that it is possible at this point to stretch the tube in such
a way as to permit of restoration of its caliber, if but a small amount
have been removed, but great care should be exercised, otherwise
tension would be extreme. Because of the doubt regarding the
success of such a resection Mikulicz has suggested the following
procedure of externalization of the esophagus: After exposure the
distal end of the esophagus is closed and dropped back. An opening
is next made along the anterior border of the sternomastoid, where
the esophagus is exposed, pulled up and out of its situation—i. e.,
dislocated—and brought out through the upper opening, which can
be done because of its loose connective-tissue surroundings. A third
incision is then made over the second intercostal space in front,
where a bridge of skin is lifted up, the esophagus drawn down
beneath it and fastened, the intent being to connect this opening
with the stomach through a gastric fistula by means of some special
apparatus, thus making it possible to again feed the patient through
the mouth. The incisions in the back are closed by layer sutures. The
principal objection to this method is that the passage of fluid
through the externalized portion of the esophagus would have to be
accomplished by massaging the part and forcing it down through the
tube. Sauerbruch and others have shown that in animals at least it is
possible to make a transdiaphragmatic anastomosis of the stomach
and esophagus. By much the same method as that last above
described, i. e., through a posterior opening, the esophagus can be
exposed near its lower end, resected, and then turned into an
opening in the stomach, the latter having been brought up through
an opening in the diaphragm. It is hardly necessary to go into details
of this operation here, since the occasions which would justify it are
almost as rare as the individuals who could be entrusted with its
performance.

OPERATIONS UPON THE THORAX.

 Exploratory puncture, either of the pericardial sac or of a pleural
cavity, is an exceedingly simple matter, the ordinary hypodermic
needle sufficing for many instances, while in some cases the
contained fluid will be too thick to flow through a finer needle and
will necessitate the use of a larger one. Such needles are furnished,
with so-called exploring syringes, and their use is a convenient
preliminary to the use of the aspirator—i. e., thoracentesis—or open
division—i. e., thoracotomy. It is essential that both the patient’s
integument, the instrument, and the operator’s hands be absolutely
clean. When several points are explored at one time and fluid is
found at but one it is well to indicate this with a little nitrate of silver
or tincture of iodine, which will make a temporary mark.
Thoracentesis implies a withdrawal of fluid through a hollow needle,
which will make a small puncture that will promptly close, a vacuum
apparatus of some kind being attached to it. The needle may be
introduced at various points to enter either the pericardium or the
pleura. Ordinarily no harm pertains to exploratory puncture and but
little to withdrawal of fluid, providing certain precautions are used,
though fatal syncope has been known to immediately follow it.
Beyond absolute sterilization the most important feature is to
withdraw fluid slowly rather than rapidly, and to desist so soon as
symptoms of a serious nature appear, such as faintness or collapse.
When a collection of fluid has existed for some time in one of the
pleural cavities it may have gradually so displaced the heart that its
too sudden withdrawal may permit a too sudden restoration to its
normal position—so sudden, in fact, as to place extra stress upon it
and perhaps to seriously embarrass or completely check its action.
This is always a matter requiring attention. The position of the
patient also should be regarded, and a patient who is seated in a
chair, in order that fluid may gravitate to the lower part of the chest
cavity, should be promptly placed in the recumbent position so soon
as alteration in pulse or coughing or serious embarrassment of
respiration are noted.
The skin over the point selected for puncture may be anesthetized
with the freezing spray or with a sterile cocaine solution. The needle
point should be driven in sufficiently to secure fluid and not such a
distance as to puncture the heart or the lung within. The better
aspirating needles are provided with rounded points rather than with
sharp ones, in order that scratching with a sharp end may be thus
avoided. When using a more blunt needle of this type it is well to
make a trifling puncture in the skin with a small knife-blade. While
the more elaborate instrument outfits sold by the dealers are
pleasing to use, fluid may be siphoned through a needle and tube
with a fountain syringe just as in lavage of the stomach.
Consequently it is not necessary in emergency cases to have
anything more than a satisfactory needle. Care should always be
given that no air is introduced. Thus in managing the last-named
expedient the tube and the needle itself should be filled with fluid
before the latter is introduced. Then the bag may be lowered in
order that no fluid escape into the chest. It is an advantage to have
a piece of glass tubing connected with the apparatus, in order that
the character of the fluid first withdrawn may be easily ascertained.
If the patient begin to cough or to have a feeling of oppression the
operator should temporarily cease, and if symptoms are not
ameliorated he should withdraw the needle, renewing the procedure
a day or two later. A lung too suddenly forced to expand by removal
of fluid may not only give distress to the patient, but there is a
possibility of hemorrhage.
Thoracotomy.—The term thoracotomy implies an incision made
through the chest wall, usually for withdrawal of
fluid, with or without removal of some portion of its bony structure.
Thoracotomy performed for pericardial collections of fluid has been
described. That for removal of ordinary empyemic collections is
usually a simple measure. It may be practised under local
anesthesia. In a general way the extent of the fluid collection is
made out by percussion, and its character by exploratory puncture.
The endeavor should be to make the opening laterally and
posteriorly near the lower aspect of the cavity to be emptied in order
that it may drain by ordinary force of gravity with the patient in the
dorsal position. Unless it be intended to remove a portion of rib the
incision need not be more than one inch in length.
 Ordinarily the skin is pushed a little one way or the other so that a
rib can be seen underlying it, in order to steady it for the external
incision. Then it is allowed to glide back to its normal position and
the knife-blade is so directed as to at once enter the thoracic cavity.
Only rarely is it necessary to make a careful dissection. It is not
often that vessels of importance will be divided, and one may usually
proceed boldly with the incision. It will be promptly followed by
appearance and usually by forcible expulsion of fluid, perhaps even
in a jet, for which a basin should be provided. In fresh cases this
fluid will be thin; in old empyemic cases there will be so much
caseous material mixed therewith that it may obstruct the opening
and check escape of fluid. In these cases it may be pushed aside
with forceps or by the introduction of a finger. When such material is
present, however, there is need also for its evacuation, and in such
cases the incision should be extended and an inch or more of rib
may be removed in order to afford sufficient exit.
The objection above mentioned regarding speedy evacuation
applies theoretically rather than practically to this procedure, for
when it is necessary to open the chest cavity widely it is because the
walls of the cavity thus opened have already become so thickened or
stiffened by the disease process that there is not the danger of
sudden change of position of the thoracic viscera which obtains in
the less serious and more acute cases.
The fluid having been removed the next question is one of
irrigation. This is only rarely necessary or even justifiable. Even in
cases where the evacuated pus has a more or less offensive odor it
is found sufficient to remove it, while experience shows the
inadvisability, sometimes the practical danger of prolonging the
procedure and trying at this time to wash out the chest cavity. If
irrigation be practised it should be with a bland fluid, for antiseptics
are here peculiarly irritating.
The third question is one of drainage. In recent cases it will often
be sufficient to insert some flexible material, like a piece of oiled silk
folded upon itself, secured externally by a safety-pin, or stitched to
the skin in such a way that it shall not be lost within the cavity. In
the older and more serious cases more complete drainage should be
provided. This is usually effected with a short piece of rubber tubing,
which needs to be amply secured against loss, either with a large
safety-pin or by being stitched to the skin with silk rather than with
gut, lest the latter soften too soon. This tube should ordinarily be
quite short, in order that it may not irritate the pleural surface of the
expanding lung. It is rarely necessary to make valve-like protection
of the opening, nor is it usually advisable to insert any sutures in the
external wound. These openings in most instances close too soon
rather than too slowly.
The surgeon should avoid making the opening too low, lest the
diaphragm, having been pushed downward by the accumulation
above it, rise and cover the end of the tube. Well-marked cases of
empyema will often improve more quickly if a counteropening be
made. It is an easy matter to introduce the end of a long forceps
and determine the best point at which to make this opening. The
forceps being then held at this point, one may easily cut down upon
its end, force it through, and utilize it for drawing backward,
completely through the chest, a long piece of perforated drainage
tube, which perhaps may be eventually replaced by a few strands of
silkworm gut. A very large and copious external dressing should be
applied, and changed as often as need be, in order to receive and
provide for such discharge as may take place. Sometimes this will be
quite considerable, and necessitate, for the first two or three days, a
change every few hours.
Some surgeons have endeavored to make drainage more
complete by a vacuum irrigating apparatus, on the Bunsen pump
principle. Should it be necessary to resort to this the more
complicated older methods may be supplanted by the simple
procedure, illustrated later in this work, for continuous drainage or
siphonage of the bladder.
One should never attack a case of this kind without being
prepared to remove a section of one or more ribs. Indications for
this will be found in the character of the contained fluid, or in the
thickness of the wall of the abscess, i. e., the old pleural cavity. The
difficulty usually is that these openings tend to close too promptly,
and that, especially in children, the proximity of the ribs to each
other affords too small space for the maintenance of drainage. When
it becomes necessary to remove a piece of one or more ribs there is
little object in trying to preserve the periosteum, and the operation
may be made within a few seconds by simply retracting the skin
wound and the musculature, introducing the bone-cutting forceps,
with which the rib or ribs are divided at points one inch or more
apart, the intervening portion being promptly lifted out with forceps
and cut away with strong scissors. The operation of dividing the rib
will often so compress the intercostal arteries that there will be little
hemorrhage from this source. Should they bleed too much strong
forceps should be used to compress the lower edge of the rib, and,
by crushing it produce hemostasis, as though the artery were itself
seized with forceps, or the vessel itself may be seized and secured. A
special form of forceps for dividing ribs, known as the costotome,
has been devised and has proved serviceable, since it is so made as
to prevent easy slipping of the rib from the grasp of the blade.
The larger opening thus made is treated in practically the same
way as the smaller. Through it the fingers or a blunt spoon may be
inserted and any cheesy material lifted out, or a sponge or gauze
swab held in the grasp of a long forceps may be introduced, and
with it the cavity thus opened may be wiped out or swabbed. In this
way a considerable amount of caseous material or shreds of
membrane may be removed. The more that can be removed the
better, since there is so much less to come away later. Such
manipulation is, however, sometimes attended by embarrassment of
respiration, and one should use discretion in the extent to which he
practises it. Hemostasis having been secured, it will depend on the
case and its extent whether any effort is made to partially close the
wound or whether it should be left open. Even large defects thus
made usually heal kindly and fine or careful suturing is rarely
needed.
The subsequent management of such a case is usually simple.
After the first few days it may be advisable to practise irrigation.
According to the age of the case will be found the expansile capacity
of the lung. The lung itself expands by relief of pressure and by its
own inherent tendencies and returning function. Again by a process
of granulation it is gradually made to attach itself to the chest wall
and is thus withdrawn toward its surface. The combination of these
agencies will usually in time produce satisfactory results. The
functionating power of the lung may be determined by filling the
cavity with fluid, the patient lying upon the other side, and then
noticing the difference between the amount of fluid held in extreme
inspiration and extreme expiration.
Thoracoplastic Operations.—In old and neglected cases of
empyema, especially of tuberculous
type, the pleura itself becomes more or less thickened and stiffened,
and affords such an obstacle to lung expansion as to justify more
radical measures. These have sometimes to be undertaken as
secondary operations, while in other instances, where there has
been spontaneous perforation and escape of purulent overflow,
perhaps for months or years, the necessity for such measures may
be foreseen. This necessity was first appreciated by Warren Stone,
an American surgeon, but the procedure was first formally placed
before the profession by Estlander, of Helsingfors. The principle upon
which it and all similar operations has been based may be likened to
the various efforts which it is necessary to make when a person tries
to collapse an ordinary barrel whose heads have been knocked out.
So long as the hoops of the barrel are intact the staves cause it to
retain its cylindrical form. If, however, the hoops be divided it easily
falls apart. In the case of a human chest, the lung, having been so
long bound down, is incapable of expansion, and the chest walls are
rigidly maintained by virtue of the hoop-like arrangement of the ribs.
It is necessary then to divide and remove a section from several of
these ribs, in order that the wall, falling in, may meet, at least half-
way, the lung, which may be expected to partially expand to meet it.
Fig. 519
 Incision for resection of thorax. (Bergmann.)

Fig. 520

Trap-door thoracotomy. (Lejars.)

The original Estlander operation has been modified by Schede,

and as now practised is made by a long incision passing obliquely
across the lateral aspect of the chest, from the origin of the
pectoralis major, at the level of the axilla, to the tenth rib in the
posterior axillary line, and then ascending to a point between the
spine and the scapula. The large flap thus outlined is made to
envelop all the tissues outside the ribs. The ribs thus exposed are
resected from the tubercles forward to their insertion into the costal
cartilages. The large area of the chest wall thus exposed is then
removed with the underlying pleura, and all hemorrhage checked.
This flap includes the periosteum, the intercostal muscles, the ribs,
and the pleura, and thoroughly uncovers the entire abscess cavity. It
makes a formidable procedure, but is more often life-saving than the
reverse. Over the opening the skin flap may be later drawn down
and tacked in place at points sufficiently near to each other to
properly hold it in place (Figs. 519 and 520).
This procedure may be modified to suit the indications of any
given case, and simply includes what may be done in extreme cases.
The surgeon who thus for the first time uncovers such a cavity will
be surprised at its interior appearance, and at the shreds of tissue
and debris which hang from its walls. The measure thus described
provides for collapse of the chest wall. Fowler and others have
shown, however, that even now the principal obstacle to expansion
of the lung is not removed, and have suggested what Fowler has
aptly described as decortication of the lung—namely, a removal of its
thickened pleura by a process of dissection and stripping, which may
be made partial or complete, as circumstances permit. In some
respects this adds to the gravity of the case and will perhaps better
be done at a second operation. Should it, however, be justified by
the condition of the patient it is best done in connection with the
resection of the chest wall.
When decortication cannot be practised Fowler has advised that a
series of incisions be made, and that by thus gridironing the
thickened membrane it may be weakened or caused to lose its
inelasticity and thus a mild degree of similar effect secured. Fig. 521
illustrates the end result of such an extensive thoracoplasty.
Fig. 521
 End result of an extensive thoracoplasty. (Park.)

Pneumotomy.—This is a term applied to an attack upon the lung

itself, it having been exposed by a thoracotomy. It
is necessary in cases of gangrene, abscess, hydatid cyst, and
occasionally in large bronchiectatic cavities. It is not ordinarily a
difficult procedure when the lung has attached itself to the chest
wall in the course of the disease process. Here the lesion having
been located a part of one or more ribs is removed, as may be
needed, thus exposing the lung surface, the cavity is then opened
either with a knife or by dilatation with the blades of a forceps, or
preferably with the thermocautery blade, by which hemorrhage is
better controlled and possibilities of absorption reduced. If such a
cavity can be located it may be opened with a large trocar and
cannula, which should be introduced with great care, lest it be thrust
too far, the method by incision being therefore preferable. If after
opening the chest the lung be found non-adherent, it depends on
the character of the lesion whether adhesion should be provoked or
the cavity itself attacked. In the former case adhesions may be
produced by stitching the exposed lung surface to the margins of the
wound, and waiting for sufficient exudate to be poured out to ensure
that the pleural cavity has been hermetically sealed. The same result
may be obtained more crudely by packing gauze around the
opening.
In case of urgency it would probably be best to attach the lung to
the chest wall with sutures and secure it there. This is a
comparatively safe method in dealing with hydatid cysts, and will
give a fair measure of success in many other instances. The
suppurating or gangrenous cavity being opened its contents should
be removed, dead or sloughing tissue excised, and the cavity then
packed for drainage purposes, the external wound being kept open
until it can be safely allowed to close.
Pneumonectomy, that is, removal of a portion of the lung
substance, may be done with comparative safety upon animals, but
rarely upon human patients. It is occasionally required in connection
with the removal of malignant tumors of the chest wall, to which the
lung has affixed itself. In exceedingly rare instances it may be
justified for localized tumors of the lung itself. It would be equally
valuable for circumscribed, primary tuberculosis of the lung, were it
possible to recognize this in time. This an Italian surgeon once
thought that he had done, in the case of his fiancée, and proceeded
to resect the upper lobe of one of her lungs. His lack of success
quickly led to his own suicide a few days later.
The lung is exceedingly vascular and at the same time bears
sutures well. The suturing, however, should be accurate in order to
prevent secondary hemorrhage and favor the process of repair.
Other operations may be practised upon the chest wall for relief of
such conditions as acute osteomyelitis of the ribs or sternum, caries
of the ribs, necrosis, and the like. It should be scarcely necessary to
give explicit directions, save that the pleural cavity should never be
opened unless the pleura itself be involved in the disease. Every
case demanding such operative relief should be measured by its own
needs, and the operative procedure adapted to them. Necrosed
portions of bone may be completely removed. The suppurative and
carious conditions necessitate rather a sufficiently wide exposure
from without and then a judicious use of the bone curette. One need
never hesitate to remove so much bone as is diseased, this being
true even of the sternum.

THE THYMUS.
The possibility of suffocative and other disturbances proceeding
from enlargement of the thymus has been discussed, as well as the
use of long trachea tubes in cases of this character which call for
tracheotomy, as they usually do if they permit of any surgical
intervention. The thymus is seldom the site of primary malignant
disease. Certain acute lesions are due to a peculiar form of
hypertrophy in the young, which takes place instead of that
spontaneous disappearance which should have occurred during the
earliest months of infancy. Its connection with the status
lymphaticus, with thymic asthma, and laryngismus stridulus has
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