654

necessary for each injection could easily be gauged. Thistreatment could be used in cases of mixed nerves, so that painwas eliminated without any abolishing of motor function.Dr. Ostwalt added that he had cured sciatica by one or twoinjections in a few days.

X Rays in the Trecctrraent of Hypophyseal Tumours.At a meeting of the Hospitals Medical Society held on

Feb. 5th M. Beclere, after having enumerated the variousaffections which go more or less together with acromegalyand gigantism, such as adiposity and infantilism, said that,in his opinion, all these symptoms were due to some hypo-physeal mischief. We can, he went on to say, do but littlefor these lesions. If we suspect syphilis we can give specifictreatment or do a hypophysectomy under certain conditions.But this operation is only partial and palliative. M. B6clereasked whether a tumour of the hypophysis might notdiminish under the influence of the x rays, so that the func-tional troubles mia’ht improve and the compression symptomsbe lessened. In thyroid tumours the rays not only diminishthe tumour but also improve the troubles due to the secre-tory disturbance. He had made trial of the rays in

acromegaly. The rays were applied to the frontal and

parietal regions and several patients had undergone thetreatment with remarkable results.

Laryngostomy in Stenosis of the Larynx follorred byDilatation.

At a meeting of the Academy of Medicine held onFeb. 9th M. Sieur gave an account of two patients sufferingfrom stenosis of the larynx. In the first case the troublewas due to trauma and in the second to typhoid fever, andin this one the cricoid region was blocked by fibrous tissue.Both were treated by laryngostomy and dilatation by anindiarubber bougie. The first patient has been well for

eight months and the second, who a year ago could onlytolerate a No. 14 Nelaton sound, can now take a tube No. 46.A Practical and Economical Method for Sulphuring Ships.At a meeting of the Academy of Medicine held on

Feb. 2nd M. Chantemesse and M. Borel discussed the above-mentioned subject. Sulphur dioxide is to-day recognised asthe most efficient method of destroying rats, fleas, andmosquitoes on board ships, whether it be obtained by thedirect combustion of sulphur (which entails the risk offire), by using liquid sulphur dioxide (which is costly),or by using some special apparatus for the productionof the gas. Most of the apparatus at present inuse is costly, mainly owing to patent rights, and,moreover, works very slowly. In view of these deficienciesM. Chantemesse and M. Borel have devised a simple form ofapparatus which they demonstrated to the Academy. The

apparatus is not patented and is constructed from objects incommon use. By means of it a large ship can be disinfectedin two or three hours. It consists of a stove for burning thesulphur, of a force-pump to liquefy the gas, a reservoir, agas-holder, and a fan which drives the gas into a distributingpipe. The whole can easily be fitted up on a lighter, andany sanitary maritime service can easily fit up this apparatuswith the plant at its command.

Animal Radio-Activity.The permanent secretary of the Academy of Sciences read

on Feb. 8th a new note from Commandant Darget, the dis-coverer of the " v " rays, who showed recently that the humanforehead emits rays analogous to those of radium since theyact upon photographic plates enveloped in three wrappings.Other parts of the body, and particularly the middle regionof the chest and the extremities, emit the same rays, as theirdiscoverer has shown by new photographs in his recent con-tributions. Animals and doubtless plants are likewise radio-active. Commandant Darget showed a very beautiful photo-graph of the lobes of a sheep’s brain which he obtained byplacing the triply wrapped plate on the animal’s head whilstit was dying.

Curettage and Iumredvate Radiotherapy in the Treatmentof Epithelioma.

M. Lenglet and M. Sordeau laid before the French Societyof Dermatology and Syphilology at its February meetingthe results of three years’ treatment of 122 cases of epithelia]cancer and especially of superficial epitheliomata. 87 pelcent. of cures were obtained by the method of combined

curettage and radiotherapy. The authors treat everyepithelioma, irrespectively of its situation, by a preliminary

vigorous scraping. Absolute hasmostasis is obtained bysimple compression and immediately after the operationirradiation is performed on the fresh wound without anydressing, the dose being 6 or sometimes 7 H ( a measure ofquantity which the authors explain). The rays employed areat least No. 6. The second sitting is not held till thereaction has entirely finished, that is, in from three to fourweeks, and the sittings follow each other until cicatrisatioil,is complete. By this means a complete cure is obtained.

Electro-Diognosis.M. d’Arsonval communicated to the Academy of Sciences,

on Feb. 15th a special method of electro-diagnosis devisedby Dr. Guyenot. It consists in an application of inductioncurrents by the instantaneous discharge of a condenserdescribed for the first time by M. d’Arsonval in 1876. Itallows both the progress of the results of treatment in cases-of motor paralysis to be gauged by an exact method andalso the immediate detection of any simulation or exaggera.tion of symptoms in such cases. Its use is especiallyindicated in the assessment of industrial injuries.

The Relief of the Blind.A permanent committee of investigation into the methods

of relieving the blind has been established by the HomeOffice to study the problems involved in the prevention ofblindness in France, the effect which the Old Age Relief Actwill have on blind paupers, and on the help which can beafforded to the blind by the establishment of workshops forthem. The committee includes the Director of PublicAssistance and of public health and is chiefly composed ofteachers at schools for the blind and of blind peoplethemselves.Feb.23rd.

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SWITZERLAND.

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

Veplarectmny in Tuberculosis of ttee Kidneys.Professor M. Kronlein, Director of the Surgical Clinique in

Ziirieb, has just published the results of 71 nephrectomieswhich he had performed between 1890 and 1908 in cases whichhave been all carefully followed up. 18 cases died, 53 hadsurvived. 14 of the 18 fatal cases died within the first yearafter the operation. Very serious cases recovered remark-ably. Tuberculosis of other organs (lungs, joints, genitals)was often arrested by the operation, and even secondarytuberculosis of the bladder often cleared up as a consequence.The deaths were generally due to miliary tuberculosis.

Investigations into the Radio-activity of Swiss Springs.These investigations have been carefully made by M.

de Lurg in Fribourg and Professor A. Schweitzer ofthe Polytechnic Federal School in Zurich. The emana-tion of various springs has been tested by photographicand by electric methods. The well-known springs of Andeer,Baden near Zurich, Fideris, Pfilffers, and St. Moritz werefound to contain one to two units (Mache) of radio-activesubstances. Three Swiss springs gave better results: Solis(near Thresis), 8 ’ 2 ; Larey-les-Bains (Valais), 11’ 0 ; andDiscutis, in the Rhine-Valley, a ferruginous spring contain-ing 46’ 7 units of radio-active substances. It thus vies withthe strongest springs known in Europe-viz., the Butt springin Baden-Baden, some Gastein springs, the Joachimstalspring, and the Italian spring Lacco Ameno on the island ofIschia. The therapeutics of emanation have still to be

studied, but good results have been already obtained inrheumatic and neuralgic affections, anaemias, and arterio-sclerosis.

Ziirich, Feb. 20th. __________________

VIENNA.

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

The Question of Wet Nurses.THE results of theoretical and practical studies conducted

at the " Säuglingsschutz " (Infants’ Institute) in Vienna haverecently been published and some of the conclusions arrivedat may be mentioned here. Certain leading principles arerecommended for adoption by legislation for the welfare of-

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the public. (1) No woman should be allowed to hire herself c

out as wet nurse unless her baby is at least six weeks old and tweaned. This would not only insure better prospects for the baby and its health but it would also enable any symptoms 1of disease or weakness in either the wet nurse or her child Ito be detected. Syphilis is the special danger which threatens babies who are handed over to wet nurses. If the I- nurse’s baby is suckled by the mother for six weeks without (any syphilitic symptoms appearing one may be nearly con- 1vinced of the absence of the disease. Therefore, the next re- commendation is (2) : the examination of the baby of the nursebefore hiring the nurse should be a matter of obligation, ora testimonial by a medical man should be produced. (3)Private people should not be allowed to do business in theshape of finding wet nurses for families. This should bedone only by "infants’ institutes whereby conscientiousadherence to the rules of science would be insured. On theother hand, the would-be wet nurse should be induced to leaveher child with the infants’ institute, where it could be lookedafter much better than by a foster mother. The danger forthese, mostly illegitimate, children is enormous : the mortalityamong them is twice as high as that of children cared for bytheir own mother. The imminent regulation of medicalstudies together with the proposed new Public Health Act "will give the medical men in Parliament ample opportunityto bring this matter to the notice of the legislators.

When shall a Medical Appointment be Boycotted ?At the last meeting of the local medical councils of

Austria (Aerztekammertag) Dr. Grun laid before the meet-ing the following proposals which were adopted. The appoint-ment of a medical man to a public post is an affair affect-

ing all members of the profession and therefore certainrequirements must be fulfilled before a boycott may be

proclaimed as affecting any such appointment. The

following rules, it was decided, should be followed. Ifan appointment is apparently incapable of producing the so-called minimum of payment for existence applicants should,be warned. If one or several practitioners have been dis-missed unjustifiably or if there is a difference on grounds ofprinciple between the practitioners and the corporationoffering an appointment a boycott may be proclaimed. If

a, practitioner has been dismissed on account of differenceof opinion as regards remuneration, so that anyone accept-ing this post would undersell the former holder, or if theexistence of other practitioners is put in question by theacceptance of an appointment by a newcomer, the post maybe proclaimed boycotted. A simple disproportion, however,between the number of practitioners and of inhabitants doesnot justify such an act.

,

Scarcity of Anti-diphtheritec Serum.Much anxiety was caused recently amongst the population

’of this city by some incautiously published reports from theSerotherapeutic Institute, reprinted without the necessaryexplanations by the lay press. In the report the fact wasconceded that the quantity of anti-diphtheritic serum wasnot sufficient to meet, for a prolonged period, the demand incase of an epidemic. Public comments were soon made, andboth in Parliament and at a ‘meeting of the town repre-sentatives severe charges were made against the managingboard of the institute. Therefore Professor Paltauf, thedirector of the institute, in a communication to the board ofhealth, explained the reason of the unsatisfactory conditions.The moderate finances of the institute allowed only 20horses to be kept in the stabling for use in the productionof serum. On the other hand, the space allotted to the

stabling was also so small that it was impossible to adaptit for more animals. The reasons for lack of serum werelack of stables, lack of animals, and lack of funds. The

quantity of serum at present in hand was sufficient tomeet even urgency demands for a few weeks. What waswanted was at least 40 horses, and it seems that bureaucracyalone is responsible for the insufficient funds allotted forthis purpose.

Proposed Instr2t,ction in Medical Ethics.In a petition presented by the "Vienna Aerztekammer"

to the Board of Education the suggestion was made ofcreating a special chair for the teaching of medical ethicsand sociology to graduates. The suggestion containedalso a complete plan of the curriculum, which should

comprise five distinct subjects : the relation of the practi-tioner towards the general public and the law (criminal and

civil) ; the medical man and the medical local organisation ;the medical man and the patient, a point which embracesall questions as regards the duties and the rights of thepractitioner arising out of the patient having committedhimself to the care of the medical man and also theduties towards his fellow practitioners, consultants, andhospitals. Contract practice, club practice, or what iscalled with us ’’ cassenpraxis," together with the examina-tions for insurance companies, form another part of thestudy, whilst instruction as regards the legal require-ments of notification of diseases-infectious or industrialor occupational-is also provided for. The second sectionof the curriculum deals with the study of social hygiene.The following suggestions are made as worth considera-tion : history of social hygiene, social statistics (com-prising morbidity and mortality of various classes, occupa-tions, races, ages, and both sexes), and special hygiene,considering chiefly food and dwellings.

Injection of Combinations of Narooticsfor Chronic Pains.In a communication to the Medical Society Professor

Schlesinger explained his method of using a combination ofmorphine, dionin, and scopolamin for chronic painful affec-tions to obviate the permanent use of morphine. Suchindications are now given chiefly in cases of neoplasmata innervous structures, in the vertebral column, or in cases ofgrave neuralgias. The solution consists of scopolamini hydro-bromati, 0 - 0025 gramme (1/30 grain) ; morphii muriat., 0 - 2gramme (3 grains); dionin, O. 3 gramme (5 grains) ; aquædestill., 10’0 cubic centimetres (1/3 of an ounce). Of thissolution from 10 to 20 drops are injected hypodermically daily,going up to two cubic centimetres a day (40 drops) if neces-sary. If freedom from pain is still not obtained the dose ofscopolamin is increased to double the strength. ProfessorSchlesinger has never been forced to use a stronger solu-tion. Sometimes it is advisable to use the scopolaminalone and follow it up by an injection of morphine-dioninalone. In any method the result is most gratifying.Within from 10 to 20 minutes the pain vanishes and doesnot reappear for hours or even for the whole day. The

patients are not stuporous, as in the scopolamin anaesthesiaof the gynæcologist; they can keep up a conversation, andadmit being free from pain. In several cases the injee-tions have been continued for weeks and months withoutproducing intoxications. Several of these patients hadreceived before the commencement of the combined injec-tions excessive doses of morphine (from 3 to 5 grainsper day) without satisfactory result. Under the new planthe morphine dose was diminished to one tenth of itsformer strength without the patients showing any symptomsof abstinence.Feb. 20th.

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BUDAPEST.(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

The First Hungarian Darwinican.AT present, when the whole scientific world is engaged ia

the commemoration of Darwin on the occasion of the

centenary of his birth, it will not be without interest torevive the memory of Professor Theodor Margo, that greatHungarian scientist who first gave his verbal and literarysupport to Darwin’s theory and pointed out in public anduniversity lectures what a flood of light his assumption threwupon the study of evolution and selection. Everybody knows

’

that Darwin’s great work, The Origin of Species," waslooked on with deep suspicion by many conservative

,

scientists. Darwin himself complained in his autobio-. graphy that his statements were often misrepresented.

Darwin has been no less misunderstood by those German.

theorists who have deduced the most ridiculous and far-fetched conclusions from his work. Theodor Margo, how-ever, at once perceived Darwin’s true meaning and becamehis whole-hearted disciple. He founded a school to teach

’ the theory and supported it against a great number ofE foreign zoologists by his essay, ’’ Darwin and the Animal3 World," his book, "General Zoology," and his memorial:1 lectures on Agassiz, Darwin, and Owen, held in the Hungarian1 Academy of Sciences. In these he gave proof not only of

his sincerity but also of his clear sight and his intuition in1 recognising the importance of the new theory. Our zoologists