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iodine and mercury, &c., and externally with leeches,blisters, and embrocations for nearly four months, until thepoor creature became quite a skeleton, without, however,any reduction in the supposed tumour. At last she hadsuch a bad smell from the body that no one would attendher. She had also an ulceration and fistula near the navel,which discharged matter and faeces; likewise, for about amonth, a discharge of pus from the rectum in great quantity.In this state she was sent to the hospital. I examined

the swelling or tumour, and it appeared to me that thewoman was right about her pregnancy.’ I explored theuterus and found it empty. I made an injection throughthe fistula near the navel into the abdomen, and with lightpressure the liquid returned immediately, bringing with itmatter and faeces. I thought I could detect some foreignbody at the mouth of the fistula. I took a pair of smallforceps and extracted it, and, to my surprise, the radius ofthe child in a few seconds appeared. I extracted also theulna. Another slight compression brought nothing butmatter. The greatest volume of the tumour being morethan four inches to the right further down, I proposed tothe patient to operate, and she consented.At 2 P.M. the same day I administered chloroform with

some reluctance, considering her weak state (pulse 50), andperformed the Csesarean operation. Having made an in-cision six inches long, and cut through the walls of theabdomen and peritoneum, I found there was a completeadherence with the walls and no cavity. I tried to pass myfinger into the opening, but found a resistance every way.I cleaned away with a sponge the clots of blood and some

liquid, and made a minute examination. I found quite afabric of cells and foreign membranes attached to the wallsof the peritoneum, cellular membranes and a fibrous net-work with vessels forming a second diaphragm, envelopingthe intestines and also keeping the fcetus from view. Theovaries were quite shrivelled up. I could not attempt suchan enormous dissection, so I determined to separate what Icould by the finger to get at the foetus. Having done this,I extracted the child in a state of complete decompositionor putrefaction. The body was intact, but it had partedfrom the head, hands, and feet. I found the head, thebones of which were complete. I could not find the handsor feet in the cavity. I concluded that, as the radiusand ulna had been discharged, so the tarsus and meta-carpus and phalanges might have passed by the rectum,as she had for upwards of a month discharged a greatquantity of matter before being brought into hospital.Having cleaned out the cavity with a sponge dipped inchlorinated soda, camphorated oil and compound tinctureof benzoin, I made an exploration by the uterus, rectum,and incision. The uterus was in its normal state, butdid not communicate with the abdomen except throughthe Fallopian and ovarian tubes. Both ovaries wereshrivelled up and almost atrophied. The rectum containedthree nstulse, communicating with the cavity of the abdo-men, through which the matter and faeces were discharged.The large intestine had ruptured, ulcerated, and separated.I could not detect the end, being buried in the mass of cells.The whole of the intestines were completely hidden in new-’formed membranes. The sphincter appeared to have lostits contractile power, the anus being quite shrivelled up.The intestine appeared to have parted near the anal orifice.On the left side of the ovary was a fistulous opening, whichafterwards proved to be a point of the intestine. The stateof the uterus, the vessels, and foreign membranes that Imet with in the peritoneum, observed through the incision,proves to me that the pregnancy had been abdominal.Having closed the wound and put on the bandages, Iordered the patient three grains of opium and one ounceof aromatic infusion for the night.The next morning she told me that she had not slept so

well and passed such a good night for many months.Oct. 14th.-Pulse 55, very weak. Has had chills ; com-

plains of great exhaustion. Ordered port wine and quinine.Great discharge of matter, mixed with faeces, from the in-cision.From this date she gradually improved, till the 10th of

November, when the incision had almost cicatrised, andthe faeces were discharged through the rectum by the anus.She complained of a little pain in the canal, but walkedabout and wished to leave the hospital.Sorocaba, Brazils, 15th November, 1871.

A MirrorOF

HOSPITAL PRACTICE,BRITISH AND FOREIGN.

GUY’S HOSPITAL.(Cases under the care of Dr. WILKS.)

Nulla autem est alia pro certo noscendi via, nisi quamplurimas et morborumet dissectionum historias, tum aliorum, tum proprias collectas habere, etinter se comparare.-MORGAGNI De Sed. et Caus. Morb., lib. iv. Prommium.

ON the 4th inst. we paid a visit to the clinical wards ofthis hospital, and accompanied Dr. Wilks (who is at presentin charge of the wards) while he made the round of hispatients.

The Relative Advantages of Stimulants and Bloodletting; the,

tricus _pid bruit.-Dr.Wilks discussed at some length the treat-ment indicated for a case of emphysema and bronchitis whichhad just been admitted. The patient was a thin old woman ofabout sixty years. She was intensely cyanotic; the small veinsof the face were enlarged and distended, the jugulars stand-ing out in bold relief. She was lying supported by pillows,with her head high, gasping for breath. There was next

to no expansion of the chest. The feet were swollen, theabdomen was large and contained fluid, and the pulse wassmall and weak. She complained of feeling cold and ex-hausted, and begged for a little wine. The majority of prac-titioners, said Dr. Wilks, would at once accede to her request,and, because her pulse was feeble, would order her a consider-able quantity of alcohol. This was not his idea of scien-tific treatment. The pulse was weak because the bloody,being unable to pass the right side of the heart, entered theleft ventricle in only small quantities. The blood was dammedback in the veins, and throughout the body there was acondition of extreme venous engorgement, which no amountof alcohol would relieve. The real scientific treatment forthe case would be, he believed, to relieve the venous systemby taking some blood. The jugular vein was by its swollencondition asking to be opened. Ultimately the patient was.ordered to be bled to five or six ounces. There was nodoubt, from the general condition of the patient, and espe-cially from the state of her jugular veins, that there wa&

considerable dilatation of the right side of the heart. Therewas undoubtedly regurgitation through the tricuspid ori-fice, and yet no murmur was audible. This was quite inaccordance with Dr. Wilks’s experience, that no amount ofregurgitation through this orifice gave rise to a bruit un-less there was disease of the valves as well. There was aconsiderable quantity of fluid in the peritoneal cavity, andthere was little doubt that there was some cirrhosis of the-liver. Very many of the patients had cirrhosis, and it washighly probable that the stimulants taken to relieve thebreath were often answerable for this. It was most im-

portant to give alcohol with precisely the same care andexactness as other drugs. Dr. Wilks had a patient up stairs(a boy) to whom he was giving spirits of wine in drachmdoses, and he was doing very well upon it. It was highlyprobable that the plan of universal bloodletting pursuedby our forefathers was, on the whole, productive of less evitthan the modern plan of universal stimulation.We have since learnt, through the kindness of Mr. C. J.

Oldham, that this patient, as well as another in a similarcondition, experienced immediate and marked relief aftersix ounces of blood had been taken from the arm.

The Diagnosis of Thoracic Tumours; the assistance to be de-rivedfrom the laryngoscope.-Another case which presented it-self for diagnosis was that of a man past the prime of life witha frequent laryngeal cough. There was considerable expecto-ration of watery fluid with some mucus. There was dulness inthe right infra-clavicular region, with some doubtful pulsa-tion in the second right interspace. The air did not enter the

. left lung so freely as the right. There was some difficultyof swallowing, but the mouth and pharynx were to all ap-pearance healthy. Auscultation gave no decided informa-tion. The second sound of the heart was accentnated. The

great probability here was that we had to deal with a

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thoracic tumour, possibly an aneurism ; but the facts werehardly sufficient to warrant a certain diagnosis. We couldlearn something from the matter expectorated. Secretionfrom the bronchial tubes or larynx would cause cough; and,on the other hand, repeated cough would cause secretion.In the former case we should expect to find the expecto-ration purulent, and in the latter we should expect it to bewatery, with a slight admixture of mucus, as was the casehere. The character of the cough and the expectoratedmatter would not lead one to suppose that there was anyorganic change in the lungs or larynx. The laryngoscopewould be of considerable assistance. If the larynx werefound healthy, this would be in favour of thoracic tumour;and if one of the vocal cords were found paralysed, thisprobability would be greatly increased. The sphygmographmight also give assistance. We should possibly find theforce of the pulse on the two sides different, or we might-find it delayed upon one side. The accentuation of thesecond sound of the heart was in favour of aneurism.

CHARING-CROSS HOSPITAL.THE following series of operations, some of which illus-

trate what have been called the conservative principles ofsurgery, cannot fail to interest our readers.

EXCISION OF THE ASTRAGALUS.

(Under the care of Mr. HANCOCK.)The patient, a strong, healthy man, aged forty-seven,

was admitted on September 18th. While at work he hadfallen off some steps, giving his foot a twist inwards as healighted. The astragalus of his right foot on his admissionwas found to be dislocated forwards and outwards. Thebone was twisted nearly upside down, and was fractured aswell at its lower part. The skin was tightly stretched overthe astragalus, but there was no wound.Mr. Hancock was at once summoned to the patient, and

resolved to remove the dislocated bone, which he did bymaking an incision directly over it. The wound wasbrought accurately together by wire sutures, and coveredwith a pad of lint soaked in a weak watery solution ofcarbolic acid. The limb was placed on a back splint, witha foot-piece, and swung in Salter’s cradle, the wound beingkept constantly moist (with the carbolic-acid solution) bymeans of a bottle and syphon attached to the cradle. Thefirst dressings were not removed till November 13th. Onremoval of the pad a small amount of pus escaped. Thewound was found completely filled up, the only trace of theoperation being a narrow line of exuberant granulationsmarking the situation of the original incision. This patient’ssatisfactory progress has been really remarkable. He suf-fered no pain after the first forty-eight hours, and he hasslept well and had a good appetite from the first. At

present the wound has completely healed, and the limb isencased in a plaster-of-Paris bandage. The shape of thefoot is excellent, and firm pressure on the heel causes nopain or inconvenience. We may remind our readers that themortality after this operation, when performed in cases likethe present, has been stated by M. Broca (as quoted by Mr.Holthouse, in Holmes’s "System of Surgery") to be25 per cent.

EXCISION OF THE WRIST.

The patient, a woman aged forty-seven, sprained herwrist about a year ago. From that time she has not beenable to use it. On her admission to the hospital, onNovember 7th, it was swollen, reddened, tender, painful,and perfectly useless. There was a free discharge of pusfrom three or four small openings on the radial side of thejoint. After admission, and notwithstanding treatment ofvarious kinds, the condition of her joint got graduallyworse, and Mr. Hancock determined to excise it. This waseffected on December 9th, in the following way. A semilunarincision over the dorsum of the joint was first made, begin-ning in the " snuff-box" between the extensor tendons of thethumb, and ending between the carpal extremities of thefourth and fifth metacarpal bones. The faap of skin thusmarked out was reflected towards the hand, the extensortendons of the thumb and forefinger being drawn to eitherside by an assistant ; the joint was opened in this situation,and a copious gush of pus ensued. A pair of small necrosisforceps was then introduced into the joint, and the carpal

bones, which were all extensively diseased, were removedone by one. The diseased ends of the radius and meta-carpal bones were next removed by cutting pliers. Thewrist was wrapped in lint soaked with weak watery solutionof carbolic acid, and a splint was applied on the palmarsurface of the limb, extending from the elbow to the tipsof the fingers. This patient has made excellent progressup to the present time. She has suffered very little pain,the discharge has been trifling in amount, and her consti-tutional condition has undergone marked improvement.The joint is still supported by a splint. The wound isgranulating healthily, and has nearly healed.

REMOVAL OF BOTH SUPERIOR MAXILLÆ.

(Under the care of Mr. CANTON.)The early history of the case will be found in Mr.

Christopher Heath’s work on the Diseases and Injuries ofthe Jaws. The patient was a married woman thirty-fiveyears of age, suffering from a myeloid tumour affecting theleft superior maxilla, and in 1864 Mr. Canton removed thejaw with the tumour. The specimen was exhibited to thePathological Society, and a careful microscopic examinationshowed it to be myeloid. In June of last year she again

presented herself at the Charing-cross Hospital with a largetumour filling up the antrum of the right upper maxilla,and extending forwards, causing a projection of the upperlip. Mr. Canton accordingly removed the remaining uppermaxilla. The operation was perfectly successful and pre-sented in itself no points of particular interest. The edgesof the incision were brought together with silver sutures,and no dressing of any kind was used, the mouth beingsimply kept perfectly clean and sweet by the frequent useof Condy’s fluid. Within a week of the operation sheleft her bed, and within three weeks she was dischargedfrom the hospital. Five months later the patient wrote tosay that she had enjoyed perfect health since she had leftthe hospital. On microscopic examination the tumourproved to be simply fibrous. It had been growing for ayear before removal. Notwithstanding that a great part ofthe framework of the face had been taken away, and thata portion of the orbital plate was removed at both opera-tions, there was remarkably little deformity of the face.The patient had lost all power of muscular expression,but beyond this there was nothing to attract attention,except a slight falling in of the upper lip on the right side.There was no falling in of the nose, the raphe of what wasthe roof of the mouth deriving great support from a firmpseudo-palate which had formed of cicatricial tissue afterthe first operation. The cicatrices of the incisions werescarcely noticeable as they followed the natural lines ofthe face.

EXCISION OF THE KNEE.

The patient who has been subjected to this operation isa puny little girl six years old. She was admitted on the1st August last. Her left knee-joint was swollen, painful,and fixed at nearly a right angle. There was an opening onthe inside of the patella, from which there was a continuousslight discharge of pus. The child was much weakenedand exhausted by the constant pain and discharge. Everyattempt was made, by a liberal supply of nourishment &c.,to improve the health of the patient before’ operating.This, however, signally failed, and she slowly lost groundtill October 14th, on which day the joint was more swollenand painful than on admission, and the discharge from ithad increased; the patient’s appetite had failed, and hergeneral health was even worse than on admission. Mr.Canton therefore determined to excise the joint, which hedid by means of an H incision. The joint was found tobe completely disorganised. After the operation the limbwas placed on an interrupted back splint, with a foot-piece,there being a movable trap-door corresponding to the pop-liteal space. The transverse incision was brought togetherwith silver sutures, but the lateral incisions were left opento allow of the free drainage of the joint. The dressingsconsisted simply of a few layers of lint laid across the kneekept constantly moist with a weak watery solution ofcarbolic acid. The limb was only moved once (to changethe splint). Nine weeks after the operation, when the splintwas taken off, the joint was found firmly anchylosed and thewounds nearly healed. The patient never had a badsymptom, but showed a marked improvement a very few