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felt exceedingly grateful for what I had done for her. She wasquite well before I was ready to leave the house.CASE 5.-Jan. 20th: My own son, fourteen years of age, suf-

fering from a bad tooth, wished me to remove it while lie wasunder the influence of ether; with a few inhalations he wentoff; I then lanced the gum without his knowledge, but con-sciousness appearing to be returning, I desisted from extract-ing the tooth; having passed him off a second time, and desiredone of my children to " give me the instrument;" I extractedthe tooth, which was a difficult one, having one of the fangsmuch expanded. During the operation he raised his hands andcried out. A servant entering the room to speak to me, I calledout, Come in, Charles, and shut the door." When my son re-covered, he said he had felt no pain, but had seen me standingover him, it being an upper tooth, and placing the instrumentin his mouth; lie heard his scream, as also my request for theinstrument and to have the door shut; he repeated my words;he dreamt there was a number of persons dancing about in theair, (his brothers and sisters were moving about before him,)and that as I called out so they all repeated my words.CASE 6.-Jan. 19: A young gentleman, twelve years of age,

requiring a portion of the nail of the great toe to be removed,wished to take the ether for the purpose of avoiding the painnecessarily attending such an operation. Upon this occasionhe took a few inhalations, and then dashing the pipe from him,said he would take no more, and commenced dancing about theroom, tossing up his hands, and declaring he was mad. Hismother was much alarmed, but I assured her he would be quitewell in a few minutes: this proving to be the case gave her andthe boy confidence for the following day, when he inhaled theether, and upon its effects passing off, told his mother he hadhad a beautiful dream about her, but he could not recollectwhat it was, and looking at his foot, he exclaimed, " What’has Mr. Lansdown cut out the nail ? I did not feel it."

CASE 7.—January 23rd: The extraction of another tooth. Avery delicate lady, about twenty, who all but fainted at mypassing a probe into her mouth to be certain which wasthe tooth. She readily became insensible ; the gum waslanced, and the tooth extracted with ease, although a verylarge one, with three diverging fangs. This patient held thetube so firmly in her mouth, that there was no room to with-draw the tooth from it until she awoke.CASE 8.-January 28th: Elizabeth W-, aged fifteen, dis-

eased knee of seven years’ duration. Had recovered with par-tial ankylosis. The head of the tibia had passed backwardsunder the condyles of the femur, and had there found a rest-ing-place, the under halves being absorbed for its accommoda-tion. This girl, in consequence of the ether, sent to request Iwould remove her limb, on account of the inconvenience of itsposition, and, also, its occasional pain. She entered the ope-rating theatre very cheerfully, and was apparently readilyaffected by the ether. The operation was with the anteriorand posterior flaps. Considering her perfectly insensible, Ithrust in the knife; this appeared to give her pain. I keptthe knife steady, without withdrawing it, for probably half aminute. I then made my incisions: with these she still ap-peared to feel, but not so much. During the progress of theoperation, she shrieked out several times. To a person whohad not seen a case before, it would have appeared a completefailure; indeed, that was almost the impression upon my ownmind. When the limb was bandaged up, I aroused her, andinquired,—had she felt anything, any cutting, sawing, or

pricking ? Her replies were all in the negative. She said shehad had a very unpleasant dream about being at the bar ofjudgment, and being punished for her sins. She further saidshe did not know whether her leg was off or not. In thecourse of the evening, she remarked she knew nothing of theconversation in the operating room; that she was not consciousuntil she was in her own bed, and there saw some gentlemenstanding around her, which was about twenty minutes aftershe had been removed to her ward. IFrom the above cases, as well as from others already pub- ;,

lished, it is evident that persons, while under its influence, canboth see and hear; that they will act from their sight, andreply to questions proposed to them, and give reasonableanswers without being aware of what they are doing. It istherefore well to have the eyes bandaged previous to even theslightest operation, and also, if possible, to have silence ob-served during the period the effect is required to be kept up.I have now administered the ether thirty times, and in noinstance has there been anything like a tendency to apoplexy,neither have I seen any injurious effects resulting from it.-I remain, Sir, yours obedientlv.

J. G. LANSDOWN.Feb. 1847.

OPERATIONS ON THE TEETH.

To the Editor of TaE LANCET.SIR,—Permit me to forward for your notice an account of

two operations performed by me, the first on Tuesday the 5th,the other on Thursday the 7th inst.A medical student now walking one of the London hospitals,

applied to me to extract three teeth for relief from disease ofthe peridental membrane, and disease of the periosteum ofthe left superior alveolus and maxilla. The only cure to besuggested was the removal of three very carious teeth. Thepatient brought with him an apparatus which he had described

tome the previous day,to beused withsulphuric etlier,tosuspendor lull the susceptibility of the nervous system. It consisted ofa small glass jar, four inches and a half high, two inches in dia-meter, the wide mouth of it being stopped with a flat bung madefrom apiece of cork cut thin; in this bung two holes were bored,and to each hole was fixed (air tight with sealing wax) a glasstube; the one extended from the bung to within half an inchof the bottom of the jar, and it dipped in the ether to thedepth of about one inch; this tube admitted atmospheric airinto the spirit; the other tube was two inches and a half in thejar and three inches and a half out, and adapted for inhalingthe vapour; the whole was put together by the patient; andhaving some doubt in my mind as to the efficiency of this ma-chine, I provided a large bladder, which, when inflated, formeda reservoir for about three quarts; and for want of a betterimplement, I used the last joint of a German flute, to form atube for the bladder; this is four inches long, and a very goodsubstitute too. I next cut off the neck of the bladder andsoftened the outside of the bladder with warm water, andwiped it dry and clean; I put a bit of dry sponge, about fourinches and a half long, one inch thick, and two inches wide,into it, and then tied the aperture of the bladder, folded andair tight, round the open tube, extending two inches into thebladder, and having two inches outside for a mouth-piece.By this method free egress and ingress in the wide part orgreatest volume was readily obtained. Thus prepared, thepatient preferred to use the glass jar, and placing the end ofthe tube into his mouth drew in the etherial vapour mostvehemently; in about six to seven minutes the pupils beganto dilate; in eight to ten minutes from the commencement thepupils became dilated; and there was considerable congestionabout the tissues and vessels of the neck and face, and heappeared to be in a sound sleep, with his eyelids wide open,and the body in an erect sitting posture. We gently reclinedhim in the operating-chair. It having been determined thatthree teeth should be drawn at this sitting, in this instance Ideemed it prudent to lance the gum, (in order to avoid anysubsequent disease or delay in the healing process, frequentlymet with, by the appellation of a cold in the gum after draw-ing a tooth.) The shoulders and body moved at this part of theoperation, and on laying hold of the first tooth, the patient,through great muscular exertion, threw himself back on thechair, raising the body and throwing the chest convexly for-ward, with considerable curvature. In fact, for a moment oftime the contortion was so violent as to create an idea of aspecies of tetanus called opistliotonos. This I chiefly imputedto the imperfectly constructed apparatus; that during the lat-ter part of the patient’s first inhalation, with the intensity ofhis endeavour to completely intoxicate the nervous system, hedrew into his mouth and swallowed some few drops of thespirit; however, he quickly rallied, (but we had only one toothout), he stood erect, and placed each hand to his head, and rub-bing it violently,he burst into hearty laughter, inquiring wherehe then was, desiring to know where he had been, and saidlie had had the most delightful dreams, and believed his toothwas out, but felt no pain; it was evident to us that the lancingwas understood by him to be the extraction, and that he wasquite vacant when the tooth was drawn, and when he raisedhimself from the chair. He was anxious to have the otherteeth out, saying it was no pain but a pleasure to be inthat state; but still doubting the efficacy of his apparatus,I recommended.the one I had provided myself. I pouredthrough the bit of flute tube on to the sponge in the bladder,one ounce of strong sulphuric ether, procured from Bell’s, inOxford-street. I then inflated the bladder, stopping theaperture of the tube with the end of my thumb, and I found,by the slightest inhalation, that I had a large volume of airpowerfully charged with ether. The patient applied the endof the tube to his mouth, whilst I with my right hand sup-ported the bladder, and with my left thumb and forefingergently closed his nostrils, thus inspiration and expiration werecarried on between the air contained in the patient’s lungsand the vapour generated in the bladder, the sides of it

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collapsing and expanding during respiration. I believe inless than two minutes the patient was perfectly motionlessand quietly reclining in the chair. I extracted the two otherteeth, and no symptom of pain or disturbance was at all

perceptible; he laid quiet for about two minutes longer, andthen revived. We could not persuade him the teeth weredrawn till he had ascertained the fact by feeling in the mouthwith his finger and thumb; he then found that a fourth tooth wasmuch diseased, and he requested me to etherize him once more,but I deemed it prudent to delay this for a couple of days. Iobserved that the patient was much sooner influenced by usingthis short tube, and breathing to and fro in the bladder; thusbringing the lungs and the medicated air in closer contact;and this time there was much less apparent congestion, and atotal absence of muscular disturbance and nervous suscepti-bility. The patient came true to his appointment on theThursday following, and went to work energetically, givingpreference to the second-named apparatus. In about threeminutes, the pupils of the eyes showed some degree of dilata-tion ; in another minute or two they became much dilated, andcongestion followed; he permitted his hands to be removedfrom the tube, and we laid him against the chair; on approach-ing with the instrument to the tooth, he evinced sensitiveness,and the instant the tooth was touched he sprung up from thechair and bent his body to the right side and backward overit; but being held by two medical friends who were present,I succeeded in bringing away the tooth in that position. Herecovered directly and was totally ignorant of the tooth havingbeen extracted and appeared to derive a delightful sensationfrom the state he had been in.

I remarked that there was less haemorrhage and lessmuscular resistance to the operations than I have usually metwith in teeth similarly circumstanced as those I have extractedin this case.-I am, Sir, your most obedient servant,Langham-place, Jan. 1847. T. E. EDEN, M.R.C.S.

Correspondence.ON EXPERIMENTS IN PHYSIOLOGY AS A

QUESTION OF MEDICAL ETHICS." Accusez toujours." — MACCHIAVELLI.

To the Editor of THE LANCET.

SIR,—The experiment noticed by the Reviewer in theMedico-Chirzcrgical Reviezv, at p. 135 of your journal, was byno means so fraught with suffering as your correspondentwould make it appear; whilst it elicited, or confirmed, fivemost important views, bearing strict relation to the diagnosisof diseases of the nervous system.

Possibly your correspondent thinks the cerebrum &c. enduedwith sensation. If so, he is egregiously ignorant of that which,as a Reviewer! he ought to know. The pain inflicted waslimited to that occasioned, 1, by dividing the izztegur.zezzts; and2, by removing a portion of tlae cranium; for I leave out of theethical question the unexpected difficulty opposed to thequick performance of the operation; to lay bare a nerve isfar more inflictive.Such as the experiment is, however, I wished to prevent

the necessity of repeating it. I therefore gave it twice—that is, both in my own words, and in those of the excellentindividual who kindly assisted me; and we, accordingly, neverhave repeated it, although we have discussed the advantageof doing so, fifty times at the least, since the date of that ex-periment ; being deterred solely by the reluctance we havefelt to perform an experiment involving pain at all. But I.hate cant, and therefore have always refrained from obtrudingthese feelings on the public. But for this reluctance, I shouldhave continued my experiments on the effects of loss ofblood, which, among other results, first revealed one cause,the anaemic, of the " bruit de soufflet;" and but for the inflic-tion of pain, there is not a nerve in the animal economy whosefunction I would not have endeavoured to ascertain. Nomere labour or other consideration would have deterred me,for an instant, from accomplishing this object. I speak of in-niction; the word cruelty I leave to reviewers and othercalumniators.But now for the important results of this experiment. 1,7first,

we confirmed the well-known opinion, that the cerebrum andcerebellum are in-sensitive and in-excitor; secondly, we proved,most irrefragably, that whilst moderate pressure upon thecerebrum produces coma, greater pressure induces convulsion,facts further illustrated in my little volume, p. 295, or rather

illustrating a case of terrific cerebral disease; lastly, we dis-covei-ed that convulsive affections are induced by irritation ofthe dura mater and other membranes of the brain, and maytherefore be the source of such affections in the human sub-

ject.To such experiments we are indebted entirely for the in-

valuable work of M. Flourens.Whether what I have said, in reference to 6ur real feelings

on this subject, or in regard to the results of our experiment,may be sumcient to justify our procedure, I now leave to thejudgment of my professional brethren.But may I not be allowed to ask why I should be so singled

out for special attack, while others are permitted to pursue theircareer of inquiry unmolested ? But that I disdain to mentionnames, I might adduce those of the late Dr. Hope and Dr.Williams; Dr. Addison and Mr. Morgan; Sir B. Brodie, Mr.Travers, and a host of others, to whose experiments physiologyand medicine are deeply indebted.And then, may I ask whether this same writer is con-

sistent, and refuses to partake of the bird which has beencruelly " winged," or of the hare, which has been still morecruelly " coursed" to death, or of the fish, with whose terrorsand sensibilities the angler has "played"? More pain andsuffering have been inflicted in one day’s " good sport," thanby all the physiological experiments which have been madesince the world began !But I will add that I am the last who ought to be thus

attacked; for no one in reality has performed experimentswith greater precautions and care to avoid the infliction ofsuffering, than myself; or, as I may also add, with greater andmore beneficial results to medical science, and, consequently,to suffering humanity.On the other hand, though my reviewer may think there is

no suffering except that inflicted on integument or bone, I willinform him that I never, in secret, calumniate my professionalbrother. Nor will I, even now, drag this person from his ob-scurity. Only, in future, let him quietly occupy himself withhis page of somewhat ancient date, and let others be permit-ted, without molestation, to endeavour to decipher the bookof Nature.

I would again urge upon the profession the institution of aPhysiological Society, the objects of which should be, to deli-berate on proposed experiments, to adopt or reject them, toassist in their performance, to witness their results, to rendertheir repetition, as far as possible, unnecessary, and thus reallyto prevent cruelty, to promote physiological science, and, ashas now become requisite, to protect individual character.

I will conclude by repeating that the epithets applied to myexperiments are unjust; the writer is obviously ignorant, orwrites for the ignorant. There is no sensibility in the cere-brum ; paralysis, coma, convulsions, are all alike free frompain. I again appeal to a COURT-MEDICAL. Let my calumnia-tor come forth like an honest man, freely, for I will not namehim, though I have already, in three words, given him to un-derstand that lie is not unknown to me. A Court-Medicalwould tend to determine the ethics, not only of physiologicalexperiments, but of anonymous and calumnious medical

reviewing. Without some such step, of attacks, and of what is,verv erroneouslv. called controversv, there seems no end.-Iam, Sir, your_obedient servant, MARSHALL HALL.London, Jan. 1847.

ON PHYSIOLOGICAL EXPERIMENTS.To the Editor of THE LANCET.

SIR,—No one could be a regular attendant at the RoyalMedical and Chirurgical Society, during the presidency of SirB. C. Brodie, without being charmed with the happy utilityand aptness of his illustrations of every subject brought beforethe Society. Such I believe to have been the lasting im-pression made on the mind of every member, every visitor.Those to whom these brief remarks may bring the recollec-

tion of those evenings, will also remember how frequentlythose illustrations of the president were drawn from his storeof well-devised experiments.Such experiments, therefore, are as a light thrown upon the

nature of symptoms and the application of remedies. Theyare of infinite utility, in the hands of the physician andsurgeon, in treating disease. Can we, then, refrain fromderiving information from this, as from any other source,without making ourselves guilty of the suffering or deathwhich may be the result of our ignorance ? I answer-No.And I imagine this view to be one which unfolds a fearful re-sponsibility.Of this I am certain, that Sir B. C. Brodie is a more able