338 IRELAND.-PARIS.

operation as regards all regular students of medicine whobegin their course after Oct. lst next.

University of Aberdeen : the Vacant Ch,cairs. (

The chairs of Medicine and Midwifery in the University of (

Aberdeen are at present vacant through the resignations ofProfessor D. W. Finlay and Professor W. Stephenson. For the chair of Medicine it is understood that Dr. A. H. Lister and Dr.Ashley W. Mackintosh, of Aberdeen, and Dr. C. 0. Hawthorne,of London, are applicants. For the chair of Midwifery it is understood that Dr. R. G. McKerron, of Aberdeen, is acandidate.

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Aberdeen School Board : Assistant Medical Offcership.At a meeting of the Aberdeen school board held on

July 26th Dr. P. Sinclair Hunter was appointed assistantmedical officer under Dr. G. Rose. There were five candidates.Dr. Hunter is a graduate in arts and medicine of the Uni-versity of Aberdeen, where he also obtained the Diploma ofPublic Health. Recently Dr. Hunter has been acting asbacteriologist to the public health authorities of the city ofAberdeen and neighbouring counties.

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Aberdeen Medical Corps in Camp.The Aberdeen Corps (R.A.M.C.) are at present in camp

at Banff. The corps left the city on the morning of

July 25th by special train for Duff House, Banff. Colonel

Kelly was in command. The corps, numbering about 230men, was accompanied by their band of buglers and pipers.Macduff was reached about 11 o’clock, and here the menand officers detrained. At the Princess Royal Park everythingwas found to be in order, the advance party having arrivedtwo days previously. The officers, 17 in number are

quartered in the Fife Arms Hotel.July 31st.

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IRELAND.(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENTS.)

The National Insurance Act.THE Local Medical Committee of the county borough of

Dublin has made satisfactory progress in the organisation ofthe profession in regard to contract practice. Some 80 percent. of the medical men resident in the city have signed apledge in the same terms as that signed by the medical menof Belfast and published in THE LANCET last week. Onlyone or two have definitely refused to sign. Most of thosestill outstanding are absent on holidays or are out of

practice, and not concerned with the question. The LocalMedical Committee has been invited by the Insurance Com-mittee to suggest conditions under which medical practi-titioners would be prepared to assist in the administrationof the sanatorium benefit.

The Peamount Sanatorium.Four men have been arrested and sent for trial on the

charge of being concerned in the attack on the PeamountSanatorium on July 22nd. The Celbridge guardians recentlypassed a resolution protesting against the erection of asanatorium at Peamount, and forwarded a copy of it to LadyAberdeen, as president of the Women’s National HealthAssociation. At their last meeting a reply was read fromLady Aberdeen in which she says :-

I cannot help thinking that there must be some mistake as regardsthe position at Peamount, as you speak of a large population in theimmediate neighbourhood. If you will consult an Ordnance map and arecord of the population in the townland of Peamount and the three orfour townlands around, you will find the population numbers one to 15acres, and it would be hard to find any other district in Ireland whichis so thinly populated as this. Galway, which is considered a thinlypopulated county, numbers one to every five acres. As regards theCrooksling Sanatorium, we understand its resources will be severelytaxed by the demands made upon it by the city and county of Dublin,and that the buildings which are to be added there will all be neededfor the city and county. You may have noticed in the newspapers thatseveral experienced medical men have examined Peamount and theland attached to it, and express their opinion that it is eminently suit-able for a sanatorium, and their opinion is also shared by Messrs. Kaye,Perry, and Ross in their professional capacity of sanitary engineers.

The Registrar-General’s -Report.The number of deaths registered in Ireland during 1911

was 72,475, a death-rate of 16 6 per 1000, or 0 - 5 below 1910and 0.8 below the average of the decennium 1901-10.From tuberculosis the number of deaths had fallen from10,016 in 1910 to 9623-a decrease in ratio from 2-3 per1000 in 1910 to 2- 2 per 1000 in 1911, the lowest death-rate

yet recorded for Ireland. This disease, however, is still atthe head of the 22 principal causes of death in Ireland, withcancer as sixth. The cancer death-rate was 0’ 82 per 1000 ascompared with 0 84 per 1000 in 1911. The births numbered101,758. Of these, 52,448 were boys and 49,310 were girls,106’ 4 boys to every 100 girls. The percentage of illegitimatebirths, 2’8 8 per cent., as has always been the case, bearsfavourable comparison with the returns for most othercountries. The marriages registered numbered 23,473, a

marriage-rate of 5- 37 per 1000, showing an increase of 0’ 32as compared with 1910.

TJce late Dr. James McIlroy.The death occurred on July 28th, after two days’ illness,

of Dr. James McIlroy, at his residence, Ballycastle, countyAntrim. The deceased, who was born 67 years ago at Bush-mills, county Antrim, graduated M.B. of Glasgow Universityin 1867, and in the same year became L.R.C.S. Edin. Heacted for a time as assistant to the late Dr. J. M ‘Caw, of Bush-mills (a medical man greatly respected in North Antrim),and subsequently, for a period of 22 years, was dispensarymedical officer of Castlequarter district of the Ballymoneyunion, residing at Lavan. In 1889 he was appointed dis-pensary doctor of Ballycastle district, a position he filledfor 23 years. Fifteen years ago he was also appointed medicalattendant to the Ballycastle workhouse. Last year he wasobliged to resign both appointments on account of symptomsfollowing injuries to his spine and neck, occasioned someyears previously by a driving accident. He was medicalattendant to the local Royal Irish Constabulary, and theRathlin Island lighthouse, and a justice of the peace forcounty Antrim. He leaves a widow and four daughters tomourn their loss. Two of his daughters-Dr. A. LouiseMcIlroy and Dr. Janie H. McIlroy-are well known in themedical profession, one in obstetrics and gynaecology, theother in ophthalmic practice. Dr. McIlroy was a hard-working practitioner who was greatly respected by a

large clientele in Ballycastle and the surrounding districts ofNorth Antrim. He was buried on July 30th in Ballycastle,his funeral being attended by a large concourse of friendsand former patients.

Louth Tuberculosis Dispensary.At a meeting of the Louth county council held in Dundalk

on July 25th Mr. J. A. McQuillan, of Ardee, was appointedmedical superintendent of the Central Tuberculosis Dis-

pensary, at a salary of E400 per year, with R100 expenses.Anatomy Appointnaent.

It is understood that Dr. J. Stuart Dickey, senior demon-strator in the Anatomy Department of Queen’s College,Belfast, has been appointed professor of anatomy in LondonUniversity, Ontario, Canada.July 30th.

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PARIS.(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

The Treatment of Duodenal Ulcer.ON July 17th, before the Société de Chirurgie, M. Pauchct

discussed duodenal ulcer. He said that it was evidenced

particularly by the occurrence some three to five hours afterfood of pains relieved by a further ingestion of food, and bysubjective signs of gastric hyperacidity (pyrosis). Duodenalulcer when acute or recent is curable by medical treat-ment, but the chronic duodenal ulcer, the recurringform, ought always to be operated on, for it threatensthe life of the patient, or at least curtails his exist-ence and paralyses his social life. The operationis, moreover, one of little danger in the handsof a trained surgeon. Gastro-enterostomy effects fre-

quent and often definitive cures, but at the same timerecurrence is common, for after the cure of the ulcer thepylorus begins again to function, and the passage offood laden with altered gastric juice lights up anew thehealed ulcer. It is necessary, therefore, excluding cases ofstenosis, to complete the gastro-enterostomy systematicallyby pyloric exclusion. Out of 21 patients operated on, threeof them under spinal anaesthesia, the author had not a

single death to record. ’

The Dangers of Colowred Toys. -

The coloured toys used by children ought to be subjected

339BERLIN.

to strict regulation, and a close supervision should be aexercised over the manufacture of these objects, otherwise c

their handling by children becomes a source of danger. Dr. JPierreson has drawn special attention to this subject by Bbringing forward the case of two children who have c

successively come under his care. The first had been i

playing with some coloured balls. Half an hour later, on c

putting its fingers into its mouth, the child was attacked i

with an erythema and some puffiness around the lips, and Iwith intense swelling of the gums. These phenomena were i

accompanied by a violent burning sensation and by itching, t

which caused the child to cry. After washing the parts iwith boiled water the symptoms diminished and dis-

appeared in about 20 minutes. Another child, after i

playing with the same balls, presented like accidents ’of equal intensity. The balls were found on examination to be coloured with lead chromate, a substance doublydangerous on account of the association of the poisonous andcaustic action of the chromic acid with that of the lead. lBut in the two cases cited the phenomena appeared todisclose another cause. The balls were made of compressedclay, covered with a layer of resin to fix the colour. It wasthis resin which, by adhering to the fingers, set up the

symptoms in these cases.A Frequent Variety of Senile Rheumatic Deformity.

M. Pierre Marie and M. Andre Leri on July 5th showed atthe Société Medicale des Hopitaux several patients attackedwith a special deformity of the hand. This deformity con-sisted in a bony prominence of the back of the hand in itsupper and outer part. It was generally oblong, elongatedtransversely. It might be raised about 2 cm., and have asuperficies of from 4 to 5 cm. of breadth by 2 or 3 in length.This deformity is extremely frequent in the aged, althoughit has not hitherto been pointed out so far as the authorsknow. In the aged of the Salpetriere it is present in a verymarked form in 4 per cent. of the cases, is pronounced in12-5 per cent., and just indicated in nearly all subjectsover 70 years, and often at an earlier age. This deformityis due to the projection of the second and third meta-

carpals and of the corresponding bones of the second rowof the carpus (trapezium, trapezoid, and os magnum).Under the microscope all the alterations of chronic rheu-matism are to be seen : congestion and inflammationof the synovial membrane, multiplication of the cartilagecells, with a fibrillar and granular condition of the

ground substance, swelling of the bones with dilatation ofthe cancellous tissue filled with marrow, and thinning of thecompact tissue. This swelling is entirely analogous to thatproduced in the phalanges in Heberden’s or Bouchard’s

nodes; the seat alone differs, and the deformity describedby the authors deserves in like manner to be called carpalnodes. Very frequently, moreover, it coincides withHeberden’s or Bouchard’s nodes, as well as with an analogousdeformity of the foot, which may be called tarsal nodes.July 29th.

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BERLIN.

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

Death of Professor Neumann.THE city of Berlin and the medical profession have to

mourn the death of Professor Hugo Neumann, who died onJuly 12th from tuberculosis. Professor Neumann was bornin Berlin in 1858, and after qualifying was for some yearsan assistant physician to the Moabit Hospital in Berlin. Hethen devoted himself to the study of the diseases of children.Coming of a well-to-do family, he founded out of his privatemeans a policlinic for sick children which gradually becamea model institute for the care of children. At thetime of his death this institute, called the Kinderhaus,contained departments for the internal and surgical treat-ment of children, for diseases of the eyes and of the throatand ears, for nervous diseases, a dental and an orthopxdicdepartment, each under an experienced specialist. But his

special care was for infants, so that his institute includesan asylum for lying-in women, where the mothers were

obliged to nurse their own and other infants, a departmentfor the training of children’s nurses, and a dispensary forpoor mothers. Professor Neumann was the author of workson the etiology of meningitis and broncho-pneumonia,

and on the infection of the feetus by the bacillus pyo.yaneus. Of his well-known book ’’ Letters to a Medicalan on the Diseases of Children," the fifth editionas lately published. His statistical publications onlild-study are very numerous, especially those onlegitimate children and their future prospects, and2 mentally deficient children. Professor Neumann was atan of enormous activity who devoted all his life to work ; te was scarcely ever seen at a social gathering. When a)w years ago the first symptoms of tuberculosis caused him) winter in Arosa, Switzerland, he was just as busy there asi Berlin, pursuing his researches on the influence of highltitude on children and on the mortality of infants inthe canton of Grisons. He had a large practice as a con-stant, but he could never be induced to go to a privateonsultation during the five to six hours he devoted daily to’ork for the poor and destitute children in his Kinderhaus."Although the time of his funeral had not been published,undreds of poor mothers with their children were present at.3, evincing their gratitude to their benefactor.

Treatment of Malignant Crowths in Animals.Before the Berlin Medical Society Professor Neuberg,

’rofessor Caspary, and Dr. Lohe recently reported theiresearches concerning the treatment of malignant growths in,nimals by certain metallic compounds. They had foundnetallic compounds which produced an autolysis of the

growth without acting on the normal tissue. Subcutaneous

njection proved somewhat ineffective, for while the growth)ecame softer it still continued to grow. Intravenousnjection, as suggested by Professor Wassermann in his’esearches on selen-eosin, proved more efficacious. The bestesults were’obtained by a composition of copper, tin, platinum,:obalt, and silver. The effective quantity was different inach case, being 0’ 005 of platinum and 0’ 066 of cobalt for eachgramme of a mouse weight. By microscopical examinationIt was proved that after an injection the metals were presentin sublimated form within the growth. An effect wasobtained in mouse cancer in nearly every case, and also insarcoma of rats and in a case of adenocarcinoma of a dog.The action of the compounds is very quick ; after a fewminutes hyperæmia of the growth occurs, and on the

following day a hæmorrhage is visible. The growth thenbecomes a flaccid sac with hard knots within. Whenanother injection is made the knots gradually disappear andthe wall of the growth becomes a thin transparent membrane.This membrane shrivels still further, and finally consists onlyof a rigid cord. There were some difficulties, as the effectivedose came very near the lethal dose, and when the dosewas lessened the growth sometimes did not disappear butrather showed an increase in growth. A section of theanimals died from intoxication by the toxin produced bythe autolysis which entered from the growth into thecirculation. The injections were made into the tail,where the space is small and only a limited numberof injections is possible, so that the treatment mustbe interrupted although some remains of the tumourare still present. Injections into the femoral vein wererather badly supported by the mice. By subcutaneousinjection of iodide of sodium the remains of the growthbecame indurated and were discharged. The resultsof the authors’ experiments are that certain compoundshave a selective action on the cells of sarcoma andcancer in mice and rats whereby they are able to destroythem in a living animal. Although a great many of themembers had already left Berlin for a holiday, the assemblyroom of the Langenbeck House was overcrowded notwith-standing the tropical temperature, and the address waslistened to with great interest. The president, ProfessorOrth, in closing the meeting, said that the experiments ofProfessor Neuberg and his fellow workers, although, atpresent merely of theoretical interest, emitted a ray of hopefor the discovery of an efficacious treatment of malignantgrowths.

The International Congress of Obstetries and Gynœcology.The proceedings of this Congress will commence on

Monday, Sept. 9th, at Berlin, when the International Organi-sation Committee meets. The discussions will commence onthe Tuesday, and will continue until the following Thursday,Full information may be had from the honorary secretaryto the Congress, Dr. E. Martin, Berlin, N., 24, Artillerier-strasse 18.July 29th.

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