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the more usual type of abscess seen in infections bythe commoner pyogenic organisms. There were alsomalignant endocarditis with infarcts in variousorgans and one case in which a piece of a clot ridingastride a patent foramen ovale had broken off andlodged in the middle cerebral artery, causing softeningof the brain. The teaching value of such a collectionis evident. In no way inferior were the series oforgans in which each specimen illustrated a typicallesion. Each of its kind was perfect. Among thehearts were beautiful examples of pericarditis, and oneespecially where the sac was shown distended by avery large effusion. Similarly, in the lung series, astudent might find examples of the principal diseasesaffecting that organ. The specimens were so goodthat the lesion could be identified at a glance. Amongthe stomachs was a remarkable dissection showing thelymphatics of that organ permeated by cancer. Newgrowths of the alimentary canal were well represented,and there were several excellent specimens of foreignbodies, as well as of cancer, in the oesophagus.A very interesting collection of syphilis in various

organs was lent by Sir CLIFFORD ALLBUTT. Micro-scopical sections were appended to each of the organs shown. The series showing syphilis of arteries wasextremely complete. Another beautiful exhibitillustrating a special paper was Prof. STEWART’scollection of organs from cases of hsemochromatosis.Portions of liver and pancreas, spleen and glandswere shown from several cases. In three, carcinomahad supervened in the liver on the top of the primarylesion. Considering the rarity of carcinoma of theliver, its occurrence in such high proportion was verystriking.Among the exhibits illustrating recent research,

mention must be made of Dr. DA FANO’s remarkablesections from cases of encephalitis lethargica. Thefirst four preparations illustrated the pigmented andnon-pigmented granules first discovered by himselfin this disease. Others showed the typical peri-vascular and interstitial infiltration. In one veryinteresting acute case, where death took place on thethird day of the illness, the infiltration was seen to becomposed of polymorphs and macrophages instead ofthe usual lymphocytes and plasma cells. One sectionshowed an inflamed salivary gland-an interestingconfirmation of Netter’s observation that as in rabies,so in encephalitis lethargica, the salivary glands maybe the seat of infection. Sections from encephalitislethargica were also shown by Dr. SHAW. Theyillustrated clearly the focal oedema, perivascularhæmorrhage, and neuronophagia seen in this disease.

Another exhibit of the results of research, whichalso illustrated a paper read at the pathologicalsection, was shown by Dr. FORD ROBERTSON. He hasby using special methods succeeded in cultivating ananaerobic diphtheroid organism from scrapings frommalignant tumours, and seeks by his experiments toprove that this organism is the cause of cancer. Hispreparations showed cancerous tumours which haddeveloped in mice following inoculation by thisorganism ; the tumours were present in severaldifferent organs, although the inoculations had beenmade subcutaneously.Among the pathological curiosities of the museum

must be mentioned a case of malakoplakia of thekidneys and bladder. Only 22 instances of this raredisease have been reported and this is the only onein which the kidneys are affected. Macroscopicallysmall greyish semi-transparent nodules are seen in themucosa of the bladder and in the kidneys. Thesenodules tend to coalesce. Microscopically largecharacteristic cells are seen with cell inclusions some-what resembling the corpora amylacea of the prostate.The cause of the disease is quite unknown, but itappears probable that it is due to an infective agent.Another unique specimen was a calculus hydro-nephrosis of the kidney due to cystin calculi. Thedilated pelvis contained small round stones and alarger one blocked the ureter. A case of hyper-nephroma with secondary deposits in the heart andother organs was also shown. An astonishing tonsillar

calculus, measuring two inches in length, excited con-siderable curiosity. The specimen came from theEast, the home of pathological monstrosities. Amongthe tumours a rare specimen was that of lipomaglandulare, lent by the West London Hospital. Thefat in this tumour has the peculiar arrangement of thatfound in hibernating glands of animals. Suchtumours arise in the region of the shoulder and arethought to be derived from a vestigial hibernatinggland in man.Treatment by radium was illustrated by means of

photographs and the various tubes used were shown.Besides pathological specimens a large and ex-

tremely interesting collection of X ray plates and printswas on view. They ranged from an excellent seriesillustrating bone deformities to tuberculous lungs,which were illustrated by some very beautiful photo-graphs. A very interesting exhibition was that con-tributed by Mr. THOMSON WALKER of X rays of renalcalculi. The prints showed the calculi not only fromthe antero-posterior aspect, but from the lateral viewas well. By this method renal calculi can be differen-tiated with certainty from gall-stones. With thetechnique elaborated by Dr. Knox, gall-stones, whichwere in former times only seen occasionally, can nowbe revealed with certainty. In one case renal andbiliary calculi were present together and were clearlyseen in the photograph.Whether looked at from the teaching or from the

purely pathological standpoint, the museum was aremarkable one. Museum workers might gain manyideas in the arrangement and mounting of specimens,while few could examine the collection withoutcarrying away with them some new facts. Theorganisers may be congratulated on their achievement.

SECTION OF PHYSIOLOGY, PHARMACOLOGY,THERAPEUTICS, AND DIETETICS.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 20TH.The proceedings began by a resolution moved by

the President, Prof. H. H. DALE, F.R.S., and secondedby Prof. A. V. HILL, F.R.S. (Manchester), of regretand condolence on the sudden death of one of thevice-presidents, Prof. J. A. MENZIES.

Various Uses of the " Hot Wire."The first paper was by Prof. HILL, the subject being

" The Use of the Hot Wire for Investigating (a) theTime Relations of the Pulse ; (b) the Characteristics ofVoluntary Contractions in Man." The principle ofthe use of the hot wire is that if a platinum wire isheated by passing an electric current through it apuff of cool air on the wire will cause a change ofelectric resistance. This change can be recorded bymeans of a string galvanometer. The apparatuscontaining the hot wire was shown, and also thesmall funnel connected by an indiarubber tube,which transmitted the impulse from the pulse to thewire. Only the changes of current must be trans-mitted to the hot wire, and various methods weredescribed to prevent the recording of the steadycurrent used for heating the wire. A number oflantern-slides were shown illustrating the use of thehot wire. The tracings were in many cases takensimultaneously with a mechanical record by meansof a mirror connected to a tambour. In all cases

the records of the different phases of pressure in thepulse exactly coincided in the optical and hot-wiretracings. By this apparatus the velocity of the pulsecan be very accurately measured, since simultaneousrecords can very readily be taken from differentparts of the circulatory system. The apparatus isquite incapable of mechanical vibrations, and sincethe vibrations of the galvanometer can be completelydamped an absolutely reliable record can be obtained.Since in tracings obtained by this method contamina-tion by mechanical vibrations is prevented, this factenables one by comparison to establish which of thevibrations obtained by other methods are mechanicalin origin.

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In the second part of the paper Prof. Hill describedthe method of using the apparatus with modificationsfor recording the electric changes in a contractingmuscle. He found that in normal individuals 40 or50 vibrations per second were recorded, but that inthe case, e.g., of an old man, the record showed obvioustremors. His explanation of this was that in a

contraction of the muscle not involving intenseactivity of the muscle some fibres only were in a stateof contraction, and that these fibres were in a stateof maximal contraction, obeying the " all or none "law. If the contraction was maintained there was aswitching over to another set of fibres. In a healthyindividual this switching over was so well coordinatedthat it occurred with perfect smoothness as shownby the curve. In fatigue or old age it was accom-panied by tremors.

In the discussion the PRESIDENT and Dr. W.MARTIN took part.The second paper was by Dr. W. R. GROVE (St.

Ives) and Dr. H. W. C. VINES (Cambridge), onThe Ætiology and Treatment of Varicose Ulcers.Dr. Grove said that in these cases there was a

deficiency of ionised calcium in the blood, andintramuscular injections of calcium were tried.When improvement occurred it was found to beassociated with a diminution of the calcium deficiency.Later thyroid extract and calcium were given by themouth with negative results, except in one case,which showed a marked advance. This suggested thepossibility of a contamination with parathyroid, andfuture cases were treated with parathyroid extract,which, especially in early cases, caused remarkablyrapid improvement. Since it has been suggested bythe authorities on the subject that the parathyroidgland controls the calcium metabolism of the body,these results indicate that parathyroid deficiency maybe the primary cause of the varicose ulcers andexplain the beneficial effect of parathyroid extract.In cases of gastric ulcer improvement also followedon the parathyroid administration.The third paper, on

Anaphylatoxin,was read by the PRESIDENT, who said. in substance :It is generally agreed that anaphylaxis is due tothe formation of an antibody which combines withreinjected antigen. One theory attributes thesymptoms caused by the reinjection to the occurrenceof this combination in the cells. According to thisview antibody in the blood is protective. The othertheory supposes that union of antigen and antibodycauses the formation there of a toxic substance-" anaphylatoxin." Many methods of imparting suchtoxicity to guinea-pig’s serum have been found. mostof them having little direct relation to anaphylaxis.Dale and Kellaway have investigated the nature ofthe change taking place in serum when it has beenrendered toxic by incubation with starch, agar, &c.They find no evidence of protein cleavage, nor anychange of viscosity or of surface-tension correspondingto the appearance of the toxicity.

"

Anaphylatoxin "

does not act directly on plain muscle, as it should intheory, but by producing changes in the bloodresembling the changes which precede clotting. Ananimal can be rendered immune to ’’

anaphylatoxin "

by a sub-fatal dose, and its serum will transmit theimmunity to another guinea-pig ; but this guinea-pig,if previously anaphylactic to an antigen, retains itssensitiveness unimpaired. Excess of antibody addedto the saline bath in which anaphylactic plain muscleis suspended will protect it from the effect of theantigen. The author regards the similarity of thesymptoms produced by

"

anaphylatoxin " to those

of the true anaphylactic reaction as superficial andmisleading, and adheres to the theory which attributesanaphylaxis to antibody located in the cells.The proceedings terminated by a short paper from

Prof. M. C. POTTER (Newcastle) uponCertain Electrical Signs of the Human Body.

He described experiments showing that an E.M.F.

was produced during the action of yeast on a solutionof glucose. He demonstrated a negative charge inthe breath exhaled in the human subject.

In the afternoon Dr. G. A. CLARK gave a demon-stration on " The Passage of Sulphate through theCells of the Tubules of the Kidney of the Frog."The aorta was perfused with oxygenated Ringer,and the renal portal vein with Ringer containing0’2 per cent. sodium sulphate. The urine formedcontained sulphate.

THURSDAY, JULY 21ST.Dr. H. MUIR EVANS (Lowestoft) gave a paper onPoison Organs and Venoms of Poisonous Fishes.

He described the position and histological structureof the poison glands in the spiny dog-fish, sting ray,and weaver. Specimens of these types were shownand microphotographs of the poison glands. andsurrounding tissue shown. The slides from whichthe microphotographs were taken were on view inthe Museum. He described his experience of theeffects of the wounds inflicted by the fish and theresult of the poison. In the case of the woundinflicted by the weaver, one symptom is acute pain,such as to cause the sufferer to express the wish tohave the part amputated. Immediate alleviation isobtained by the local subcutaneous injection of5 per cent. potassium permanganate.The second paper was by Dr. J. SIM WALLACE

(London) onThe Physiology of Oral Hygiene.

He emphasised his view that the saliva was of greatervalue in connexion with oral hygiene than- as a

digestive juice. He disputed the importance usuallyattached to the ptyalin of the saliva and attributedits importance to the secretion of mucus, which heconsiders effective both in protecting and cleansingthe teeth.

In the discussion which followed the paper hepointed out that yellow teeth had a thin covering ofenamel, and white teeth a thick covering, but thatyellow teeth were less liable to decay. He wasopposed to the view that imperfect development ofthe teeth is due to lack of fat-soluble A in the diet.

Prof. C. H. BROWNING (Glasgow) was unable to bepresent, but sent to the President his paper on" Recent Work on Chemo-therapy."A demonstration was given in the afternoon by

Prof. POTTER of the E.M.F. produced by the actionof yeast on glucose.

SECTION OF DERMATOLOGY.

THURSDAY, JULY 21ST.At the meeting of the Dermatological Section,

with Dr. J. FARQUHAR CHRISTIE, President of theSection, in the chair, the morning session was devotedto the reading and discussion of three papers.

Dr. GEORGE H. LANCASHIRE (Manchester) read apaper on

The Association of Skin Tuberculosis with V’isceraland other Tuberculous Manifestations.

He suggested that the discussion should be concen-trated on the practical point : How far is a subjectof primary cutaneous tuberculosis liable to secondaryvisceral infection ? The other side of the question-i.e., the secondary invasion of the skin from primaryvisceral disease-was much simpler and would includethe following forms of cutaneous tuberculosis-scrofulodermia, verruca necrogenica from auto-inocu-lation, acute miliary tuberculosis of the mucous

orifices, post-exanthematic dissemination, and thetuberculides. With regard to the tuberculides, thebacillary theory was now being more favoured thanthe toxic theory. Concerning the question for dis-cussion, any evidence would be only statistical andpresumptory, and the literature on the subject wassomewhat scattered and fragmentary. Continentalfigures showed a high incidence of visceral-mainlypulmonary-tuberculosis, many of these with a fatal