the streets, and were to be seen at night congregated about the heaps of refuse, prepared for the scavenger. That numbers of these useless, masterless dogs, infested this town, was well known, and some very summary means of reducing their number should be devised. The mere issuing of an edict, enjoining the muzzling of dogs during hot weather, was not sufficient to prevent the risk which the inhabitants of a town were subjected to from rabid animals.

Professor Dick stated his opinion, that the annual edict directing dogs to be muzzled, was likely to be productive of more harm than good. He had always opposed the issuing of this temporary regulation, and at his suggestion it had, on one occasion at least, been relaxed, without unpleasant consequences following.

Dr W. T. Gairdner made some observations on the pathology of the disease. The thick frothy mucus was evidently a secretion from the air-passages, and not merely saliva mixed with air, as was vulgarly supposed. In Dr Struthers' case, air was found in the right side of the heart, and in the veins of the pia mater; there was no other evidence of putrefaction detected, and the air was not found in the pulmonary veins. Yet, during life, there were neither the signs of air in the circulation, nor was cough observed.

Dr Simpson remarked, in relation to the theory which ascribed the symptoms of hydrophobia to a lesion of the eighth pair of nerves, or of its origins, that physiologists had observed, after section of these nerves, that the efforts of expectoration ceased, and that the pulse of the animals subjected to the experiment sometimes became irregular.

Some remarks were then made by various members, upon different cases in which death from hydrophobia had resulted long after the infliction of the bite of the dog. One case was instanced, in which death had taken place, and in which no abrasion of the cuticle was known to have taken place. This case occurred at Leeds.

Professor Dick having mentioned his intention of inoculating a horse with some of the saliva procured from Dr Struthers' patient,

Dr John Gairdner begged to protest against any conclusions which might be drawn from such an experiment. The investigations of Hertwig, and other foreign authorities, tended to prove that, after a certain period, the virus lost its power. The period usually mentioned was twenty-four hours; and a full week had now elapsed since the death of Dr Struthers' patient. If it were desirable to re-investigate the subject, the experiments should be very numerous, undertaken by a number of individuals interested in the inquiry, and performed upon a variety of different animals, with all the precautions requisite to ensure success. A single experiment, such as Mr Dick proposed, would be absolutely worthless.

FISTULA OF THE STOMACH.

Dr Robertson gave a short sketch of the history of a patient at present under his care in the Infirmary, in whom a communication between the stomach and external surface of the abdomen, had existed for several years. The perforation had resulted from internal causes, and the present condition of the patient encouraged the hope that a series of experiments upon the digestive process, might be undertaken without prejudice to the woman's health. Dr Christison, Dr Spittal, Dr Maclagan, and Dr Simpson, made some observations on the case, and a committee was named to make the necessary investigations on the subject. The committee consists of the President, Dr Christison, Dr Bennett, Dr Douglas Maclagan, Mr Goodsir, and Dr W. Robertson.

(This case is published at page 1 of this No.)

EDINBURGH OBSTETRICAL SOCIETY.

SESSION X.

MEETING I. December 11, 1850.-Professor SIMPSON, President, in the Chair.

CASE OF THE DELIVERY OF A DOUBLE MONSTER. BY DR STUART, OF

CHIRNSIDE.

[This case will be found detailed at full length among our Original Articles, p. 5.]

CASE OF PERFORATION OF THE PERINEUM BY THE ARM OF THE CHILD DURING LABOUR. BY DR GRAY, OF PERTH.

[This communication will be found at full length among our Original Articles, p. 7.]

CENTRAL LACERATION OF THE PERINEUM. BY DR THATCHER.

Mrs C, in her first pregnancy, had been in labour for some hours previous to her sending for me. The first stage was over, and the head advancing correctly in the pelvis, and nearly on its outlet. The parts were well relaxed; the pains moderate; but the patient unhappily most restless and impatient,-in fact scarcely controllable. The sacral part of the vagina appeared much deeper than natural, and the head was constantly pressing backwards forcibly, as if wishing to be extruded through the posterior part of the perineum and anus, instead of the superior and natural direction. As the perineum distended, it was quite evident that it was unusually elongated; the set of the pelvis reminded me much of that of the Hottentot Venus, pressing pubis and sacrum out of the ordinary line. Every exertion was made to guide the head superiorly to its proper position by the fingers, but this was of little use; and before the forceps could be employed, a sudden terrific pain, aided by the over-exertion of the patient,-to my surprise and great distress, and despite of every retarding exertion,-forced the head through the perineal space, between the lower commissure of the labia and the anus, keeping the lower fraenum of the labia entire, as also, fortunately, sphincter ani. The body was extracted in the same manner, as also the placenta. The patient was told that she had hurt herself by this unhappy exertion.

the

In the afternoon the parts were examined, and the above statement confirmed. The divided perineum was uniting at its edges, and appeared like two portions of a saw closing. They were kept united by ligature, and healed most favourably. The vagina also was kept clean, and after a fortnight all the parts were in their normal state. I have heard of two other similar cases, but this rare case is one evincing what may occur in any deviation from natural conformation, in defiance of the best care and aid.

LOCAL PARALYSIS IN INFANCY. BY DR SIMPSON.

Dr S. called the attention of the Society to the frequency of local paralytic attacks during infancy and childhood, and pointed out the following circumstances as the most important points in their history —

1. The paralysis most frequently seems to affect a single limb-as one leg or one arm sometimes a few fingers only; occasionally it appears in the form of hemiplegia, affecting one whole side; sometimes in the form of paraplegia. Dr S. mentioned a case in which the paralysis occurred in early infancy, and affected both lower extremities, the left upper extremity, and the left side of the face, the child, now several years old, being very acute and intelligent. 2. The side of the face, but more particularly the upper and lower extremity, when paralysed in infancy, do not grow in relative proportion with the corresponding healthy parts; so that, when the individuals affected reach adult life, the para

lysed extremity appears small, diminutive, and shorter than natural. 3. The paralysed limb does not appear to want sensation, and the motory muscular power, although greatly diminished, is not entirely abolished. When the local paralysis is seated in the leg, the person hence usually walks imperfectly, throwing out the foot at each step with a flap-like motion, and often with the toes or external surface of the foot somewhat drawn in, as the leg is each time extended. 4. The disease generally comes on during the first three years of life, and especially during the currency of that morbidly irritable state of the nervous system, which co-exists with teething. Dr S. had seen an instance in which two children of the same family were affected within a week of each other. 5. The disease generally supervenes very suddenly, sometimes in the course of a single night, and is often, at the time of the attack, accompanied with little or no constitutional derangement; but occasionally it comes on with a fit of convulsions, or other symptoms of some temporary cerebral derangement. 6. The affection is frequently first noticed immediately after fever, especially after the eruptive fevers; and occasionally it comes on during the period of convalescence from them. Dr S. described a case of paraplegia in a child three years old, which came on during the convalescence from scarlatina-the patient going to bed apparently well, and waking paraplegic, and astonished at her own want of power of movement in both her legs. Intestinal irritation in some cases appears to be the exciting cause. 7. When the patients do not recover from the paralysis within a few days after the attack, under antiphlogistic measures (when the state of the system has allowed them), and careful correction of the condition of the intestinal canal and other functions, the paralytic affection almost always proves chronic, and, indeed, permanent. Dr S. had seen counter-irritation to the spine, galvanism, &c. &c., employed, but without success. He had seen three instances in which small and long-continued doses of nux vomica had appeared to act beneficially in diminishing the state of paralysis. Keeping all the functions of the body as near the standard of health as might be, friction and bathing of the affected limbs, and inculcating as much muscular exercise of them as possible, seemed to be the principal indications of treatment, when the disease had already passed into the chronic type. 7. The true pathology of the disease was as yet little known, though the affection was of frequent occurrence. No autopsic investigations appear to have been made with the view of ascertaining the state of the brain, spinal cord, and nerves, in the local paralysis of infancy.

RAVAGES OF THE CHOLERA IN JAMAICA.

A letter, of the 27th November last, from Dr Gilbert Macnab, of Kingston, Jamaica, to his brother, superintendent of the Botanic Garden here, gives a fearful account of the devastations of the malignant cholera on that island. In Kingston alone, out of a population of about 30,000, no fewer than 6,000 have been already buried. Among these, we regret to learn, is the well-known physician and botanist, Dr M'Fadyen, author of the "Flora of Jamaica." He expired on the 24th ultimo, of cholera, brought on apparently by excessive exhaustion and fatigue, from attending to his practice. Those who had to do with the comparatively mild visitation of the disease in the large cities of this island, can alone form an adequate idea of the labours and anxieties of their brethren in Jamaica; who, alas! can, in these straits, receive, from their distant professional friends, nothing but sincere sympathy. Dr Macnab, "fagging night and day, and having himself had two smart attacks of cholera," alone attended Dr M'Fadyen on his death-bed, put the body unaided into the coffin, and, without help, buried him. The second volume of the "Flora of Jamaica" was nearly finished, and will be published by Dr Macnab, if he escapes the fearful epidemic.

VARIETIES.

COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS OF EDINBURGH.-At the annual meeting of the College, held in December, Professor Simpson was elected President of the College for the ensuing year.

The Council have, with the sanction of the College, arranged a series of evening lectures to be delivered by Professors Goodsir, Bennett, Christison, Gregory, and Balfour, in the new hall of the College. The first lecture of the course, which Professor Goodsir has kindly undertaken, will take place on the evening of the 8th January, and its subject will be, "The Progress recently made in the Anatomy of the Circulating System."

MEDICO-CHIRURGICAL SOCIETY.-At the election meeting, held on the 18th December, Dr Begbie was unanimously elected President of the Society.

ROYAL SOCIETY.-Professor Faraday delivered the Bakerian lecture on Thursday the 28th of November, when he explained his recent discoveries in reference to the magnetism of gases. He finds that oxygen is magnetic like iron, and that nitrogen is not affected by the magnetic force, being, in this respect, in the same condition as a vacuous space. He also finds that the magnetism of oxygen decreases as the temperature of the gas increases, from which circumstance the magnetism of the atmosphere must be subject to constant variations, and it is probable that this will be found to account for the variations in the magnetic dip.-Pharmaceutical Journal.

PREPARATION OF ANHYDROUS PRUSSIC ACID-The preparation of anhydrous prussic acid is much facilitated, according to Wöhler, by elevating the neck of the retort to an angle of 45°, and now and then slightly cooling it, so that most of the water may be condensed and flow back: the liquefaction of the chloride of calcium is then not to be feared. Between the neck of the retort and the U tube containing the chloride of calcium, he recommends the introduction of another vessel, with a small quantity of chloride of calcium or rough cyanide of potassium. The latter, as well as the tube with the chloride of calcium, is to be surrounded with water of 86° Fahr. If the high condensing vessel be surrounded with a mixture of ice and common salt, the prussic acid is immediately crystallized. The latter is developed by boiling a mixture of ten parts of prussiate of potash, seven parts of sulphuric acid, and fourteen parts of water, over an open charcoal fire. The residue may be converted into Prussian blue by boiling it with commercial nitric acid.-Central Blatt. and Pharmaceutical Journal.

ANECDOTE OF MARJOLIN.-While Marjolin was an interne at the Saltpêtrière, his surgical superior used to examine once a-month the notes which his pupils were expected to make, regarding the cases which had fallen under their observation in the hospital. At one of these examinations the eye of the master fell upon a case of cataract, treated by extraction, the narrative of which had been drawn up by Marjolin. It terminated as follows:-"L'operation a parfaitement reussi; tout est sorti, excepté le cristallin,"-The operation was perfectly successful; everything came out except the lens.-Revue Médico-Chirurgicale de Paris.

AMERICANA-The New York Express has a leader on Mr Littlefield, late janitor of the Medical College, where Dr Parkman was murdered, wherein Mr L. receives a severe castigation for travelling with a model of the college and wax-figures of Parkman and Webster.

Medical lectures in New York, it appears, have commenced under promising circumstances. A poem, instead of a scientific lecture, was delivered as an introductory, by Professor Paine of the new school.-Boston Medical Journal.

THE EL DORADO FOR PHYSICIANS.-Extracts from the Fee Bill of the San Francisco Medical Society.-For a single visit or advice, in a case in which no further visits are required, 32 dols.

For each visit in a case in which the physician is in regular attendance, or for advice at his office, 16 dols.

Every necessary visit on the same day to be charged, whatever their number, at the same rate.

When detained, for each hour, 32 dols.

For a visit as consulting physician during the night, 100 dols.

For visiting distant patients, 10 dollars to be charged for every mile from the city.

For an opinion involving a question of law, 150 dols.

For a post-mortem examination in case of legal investigation, 200 dols.

For a post-mortem examination made at the request of the family or relatives of the deceased person, 100 dols.

For the application of the forceps, 3000 dols.

For reducing recent luxations, 32 to 100 dols.

For removing of stone from the bladder, 500 to 1000 dols.

For the introduction of the catheter in ordinary cases, 16 to 32 dols.

For division of stricture of the urethra, 300 dols.

For examination per anum or vaginam, 50 to 100 dols.

For amputation of a finger or toe, 100 dols.

For trephining, 1000 dols.

For the operation for cataract, 1000 dols.

In all surgical operations not included in the Fee Bill, the charge to be discretionary with the surgeon.-From British American Journal, Dec. 1850.

REPORT OF AN OPERATION THAT WAS NOT PERFORMED.-In the "Standard" of Monday, November 18, there is a circumstantial and complimentary account of an amputation at the hip-joint, performed by Mr Guthrie, jun., with copious lists of all the distinguished surgeons who assisted, or were merely present on the occasion. It turns out from subsequent information, that the operator found it unnecessary to remove the limb higher than the trochanter, so that all this flourish of trumpets has been sounded for an affair no greater than amputation of the thigh. It is deemed prudent to deliver speeches before they are reported, and we beg to recommend a similar precaution in regard to the performance of operations.

PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED.

The Surgeon's Vade Mecum. By Robert Druitt, F.R.C.S. Fifth Edition. London, 1851.

By

Operative Surgery. By Frederic C. Skey,
F.R.S. London, 1850.
Contributions to Clinical Medicine.
Robert L. Macdonnell, M.D. Montreal,
1850. (From the British American Jour-
nal of Medicine.)

The Crystalline Lens and Cataract. By Bernard Edward Brodhurst. London, 1850.

New York Register of Medicine and Phar-
macy. Edited by C. D. Greswold, M.D.
Vol. I., Nos. 4 and 5.

The Correlation of Physical Forces. By
W. R. Grove, M.A., F.R.S. London, 1850.
Second Edition.

Dr Friedrich Günsburg of Breslau requests us to intimate that the "Zeitschrift für Klinische Medizin," which he edits, will in future contain critical notices of English medical works and journals. Authors, editors, and publishers are requested to address their communications to Dr Günsburg, and to forward them through some of the foreign booksellers to the care of Ed. Trewdent, publisher in Breslau.