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nv-"" 


THE  CINCINNATI 


Medical  Advance 


VOLUME  VI. 


T.  P.  WILSON,  M.  D.,  Editor, 


CINCINNATI,    OHIO: 
JAS.  P.  GEPPERT,  PRINTER  AND  BINDER, 

1879. 


INDEX  TO  VOL.  VI. 


Aocidental  Poisoning-. 1 

An  Atlopkthic  Iden  of  Uoinceo- 

p»lbj '£ 

Anomalous  Cane  Frnm  Praclice,  % 

AgaricuB 2 

Action  of  the  Hom.  Med.  Societ; 

of  Allegheny  Co.,  Pa 3 

Aiir.  Met.  in  Henta!  Uerange- 

mentB 3! 

ADotnalous  CoKes- 4' 

Abuse  of  InBlriuuenla  in  Ojam- 

cology 5 

Breyfogel  t«.  Swanopothj 

Crilique,   A 1 

Cue  of  Malpractice,  A I 

Case  of  Heroia  Cerebri,  A 2 

Corrosive  Sub) i male 2 

CiM  of  Traumatic  Hemorrhage,  2 

Cystitis  from  Strictnre 3 

ConUgion .- 3 

Case  of  Hour  Olaai  CoutraclioD,  3 

Coii6n«inentB~ « 4 

ConsaltalioD  Case .>  4 

Correapondence- 4 

Cure  of  UiBeiuw  b;  Drugs 4 

Cosea&ired  by  Cau»ItcuDi & 

Contribution  to  the  Fathult^y  of 

Sjrjihilis 5 

ComiMjative  Mortality & 

Correspondence 5 

Ctniceming  the  Teot  of  (he  Effi- 

OK7  of  ibe  Thirtieths 5 

C«u«eii  of  Tedious  Labors 5 

Caxe  of  Obtitet^icH ~  5 

Diphtheria 

Dr.   Unggert  and   the   Materia 

Medica .1. 

DcUh  of  Mndam  Hahnemann...  I 

Drug  Taking  Mania 4- 

Dentistry  and  Medicine & 

Dr.  Lilienthal's  Answer 6 

Epidemic  Influenia 

Kvcnts  Viewed  Unequally i 

Enlfigui  AtnericannB li 

Elevating  HoniiEopflthy 2 

Experiments  in  Animal  Poisons,  4< 
Extract  From  the  Tranpactions 

of  the   Hom.  Socielv   of   the 

Khine  and  ■WoBinhiilia <•' 

Fruit  Ket  During  Pregnnney..-  1 


r  Fads  1*  Theories ...-  3. 

Few  EaiTiedt  Words  About  Yel- 

t      low  Fever,  A 3 

I  Fourteen  Yeera  Without  Food(?)  i 
i  Fatal  Errors _  4. 

Fingal..... 4 

i  Frederick  Fo«ter Quinn^M.  D...  .■> 

"Give  Honor  to  Whom  Honor  is 

I     Due" 4 

<  Homo^puthy   Wounded   in  the 

HotiBc  of  its  Friendx  (?) ' 

i  Hom.  Med.  Society  of  Michigan    < 

)  Hygiene  of  tbe  Eyea 2 

(  How  to  8(udy  the  Materia  Med- 

>  ica 4 

)  How  Can  the  Study  of  the  Ma- 

!      teria  Medica   be  Made  More 

Available 4 

'Hahnemann 505  5 

t  lllinais  Slate  Board  of  Medical 

i      Eiaminem .■ 

I  Iodine  in  the  Bite  of  n  RatllO' 

>  snake 

)  Inflammation  of  the  Knee  Joint,  1 

'  Intermittent  Fever 2 

)  InHunitj — Its     Palbology     and 

Treatment.^ S 

i  Kali  Cioricum  and  Diphthera.-.  4 

i  Liberalism- 2 

1  Lithulotny -  2 

Liberalism  in  Medicine 3 

}  Lilienthal's  Therapeutics 5. 

(  Life  is  Magnetism 6 

(  Materia  Medica 2B,  1 

1  My  Fiwt  and  Best  Cure 

Han 'a  Average  Height 

)  Medical  Conventions 

)  M.  Claud  Bernard S 

;  Malignant  IHphlheria ~  2 

i  Medical  Exjperis 3 

t  Morbus  Coxarlus. 3 

i  ■■Malignttnl  Theory  and   Prac- 

)      Uce,T' 3 

!  Management  of   Pregnant  Wo- 

)      men 4 

I  New  York  Hom.  Med.  College.- 

New  Microscope,  A 

Nat'onal  Sanitary  Precaution,  A  2 

.  NewsFrom  lh«  Colleges 371,  Q 

I. Nailed  to  the  Counlfir 5 


Our  Foreign  CorrCBpondenee 1 

Obituarj  of  TwoHoin.  Journola,  2 

Ortbodoi  Homuwpiithy 2 

Obsteliical      nnd      Rc^menial 

Treatment  of  After  Pains 3 

On  Cells 3 

On  the  Power  of  Small  Donea  of 
Medicine  in   Qenernl  and    of 

Belladonna  in  Parlicalnr 5 

Our  AiiKWer & 

On  the  Vcneral  Dineaoe  unil  IIb 
Ordinary  Improper  Treat- 
ment   6 

Pb^iicsl  Examintttion 

Profenoional  Competition 1. 

Practical  Anatomy 1 

Post  Pariain  Hemorrliage -  2 

"         "        Uemorrliages.  300,  3 

QuMtion  a*  (D  Mortality,  A 4 

Quidmuck  on  tbe"Albany  Keao- 

lution^" ....~  4 

Bepnri  on  DiaenMi  of  Women... 

Review,  A 5 

Some     Caned    From    our    Note 

Book 22, 

Something  Neir  About  Oxvgen» 

SpeeialiRin  in  Medicine....: 2 

Saul  Among  the  Prophets 3 

Some  ProTtngHoF  LacCanintim,  3 
Some  Brain    Leeiooa  and  Their 

Mantfrntationa ■■  41 

The  Homieopathic  Socii^ty  oF 
Tuwawarua  and  Adjacent 
Counties „ 


'  That  Bcport  on  IntueaceFception, 

(  The  Studenla'  Hyaleria 

'  The     Pathological     Efiect«     of 

DrugH 75,  1 

I  The  [Jw  of  Macrotinein  DiataBo 

t      Peculiar  lo  Women 1 

The  Hue  of  the  Forceps I 

The  Clinical  Uaeof  tiie  Spygmn- 

l      graph ~ 2: 

!  The  Pain  of  a  New  Idea 2 

"Too  Many  Papers" 3 

To   a  Yonog   Doctor  From  hia 
1      Father 3 

>  The  Relnlion  of  the  Ciliary  and 
I      Becli  Muaclea  From   a   fher- 

)      apeu lie  Standpoint 3< 

)  The  Relation  lit  the  Fovea  Cen- 
)      Iralia  to    the    Work    of   Ac- 

l     commiidation 3< 

The  YelloH  Ferer  CommiflHion..  3 

>  The  Progrens of  Medicine 4 

)  The  True  and  the  Faliie 41 

[  Thermomelrical  Obaervatioiis  in 

Acuie  Mania ~  5; 

S  The  Teat  of  theThirtieih  Diln- 

!     tion 5' 

I  The  KelatioDB  of  Pathology  and 

)      Therapeutics ~  51 

I  Vermont  Horn.  Society 31 

Western  Maai.  Horn.  Med.  So- 

Women  Doctora 3 

Wabash  Valley  Horn.  Mod.  Soe.  4i 
i  Yellow  Fever  Commiaaion 4 


ling,  C.  P 
ndf,  H.  R 


1.  C.tM,  I 


Allen 


40T,  S 


)rl|r>iiiin,G.  N    U,  Tl 
JrcliiTith.D.  H 11 

Buck, J.  D  ...     

Beck»ltli,B.C  

Blair.G.i     _,_ 

Beck  with,  S.  R.  ..  3U,  GU 

Butcher,  W.IJeiin 31* 

Bowen,G.  W  Ml 

ColcH.^     .'....'.'."'..  114 

Cummin  j»,T.C HT 

CampbelT,^.  A  1ST 

Ctuhetin,  Aueosiui...  180 

Comi*uci.T.G.. n« 

Couch,  I..11  MS 

C(»)<,Mti.E.G iai 

CDmuIon,!.  A IM 

CtnU,  A-" M 

Corno]l,Geo.  B B36 

DsTfoot.H.M 44 

Oakt,J.P aw 


CONTRIBUTORS. 

Entail.  M.M 34,  EM 

EgslEilon.  E,  B 383 

(S?a.m.H.B  IS 

Green,  W.  G   ..Be,  113, 

Gmll»rt,H.  \.....'.i3» 

Gactniey.H.  N 4J5 

Hag^an  D n 

Hunt,!.  B    V1,4M 

'Hak,«.M  81.  wm 

Hunt,  W.  H    ns 

illllo.D.  A     3«2,  40S 

HAjcamhe.  W.  II   ...    .313 

n'h"*m»nn,V"    .60i',  BOO 

HuweDii,  May SK 

Jeffrey,  Geo.  C         .SW.  *W 
Kcrthaw.J.  M.3ia,«3,  fiM 

I..«:i-ii.  F.Park     ■  mi  an 

t-iaee.H.  M  ...       .,     — 

ijiWint,  M.  B  .  ..  ni 

Xjppc,  Conatantine  .. 
li^ihal.'s.."'!..'.    . 


Phillipt,  W.  A  .  .  ..    9 

Phillipa,  W.  H * 

Pomeroj.T.  F....  K»,  h 
Rickey,  A.  C     .  1S,TS.  1 

RuDDflls   U.  S I 

Roberts,  D.  11  ' 

Rysll.  T  .     .   .   3 

Sal^hTt^G.  B Vi,\. 

Sanborn.  E.  U.  B. 1 

Siind™'  J.'C  ;"  '.".'.'.  a 

Swan.Ssm'i S 

Smilh,  C.  Stoddard....  3 

Sherman,  Ltwia     S 

Tiiylar,  H.  W     IS,  »l), 

V.n«.I.W  '....'% 

Vila*.  C.  H      .       .     , ,  4 
Wilson,  T.  P    119,  I3S,  3 

W«d'j.K     "  ■  'l 

Womlyall,  W.  H.  3 


.^^tia^i  mnsi,  ^^^^ 


g;litg    'g^estwaL 


V 


^ 


^ 


T. 

P.  WILSON,  M.  D. 

,  G«««RAL  EDITOR. 

Voiumi  VJ. 

Cincinnat:,  O., 

May,  1878. 

Number  1. 

All  buiineu  cominuii 

,i«Uoi.,  «I.H„g  to 
luON,  mBtoiulw.! 

;.  CincinnMi,  O.    Tt 

rmsii.««ay«r. 

_  Do.  Wilson. — Dear  Sir;  "Plettse  aeiid  me  a  epecimen  copy  ol  your 
Taloable  journal,  aod  oblige.  Yours  t^uly,  W.  H.  H.,  H.  O." 

Answh. — Dear  Doctor : — We  recognize  in  your  note  the  fact  that 
yoa  beloDK  to  a  numerous  family.  By  blood  ties  you  all  are  related 
to  the  blood  leech's  daughter  who  cries  "give,  give."  More  than 
two  hundred  of  you  are  already  on  our  list,  and  we  have  been  just 
green  enough  to  comply  with  eaca  several  request,  and  what  do  you 
think  has  been  the  result  7  Not  a  half  dozen  of  you  have  ever  sent 
in  the  expected  subscription,  or  acknowledged  the  reception  of  the 
copy  sent,  although  each  one  has  been  requested  to  do  so.  Now  the 
fact  is,  the  half  dozen  who  have  acted  in  good  faith,  do  not  belong  to 
your  tribe.  And  when  these  latter  persona  send  for  a  specimen  copy 
it  is  hard  to  diHtinguish  them  from  the  large  number  of  professional 
dead  beats,  who  get  a  respectable  amount  of  reading  in  the  course  of 
the  year,  by  seuding  in  regular  rotation  to  all  the  medical  journals 
for  a  "specimen  copy."  "Your  valuable  journal!"  Ah,  Doctor,  you  flat- 
ter US.  Let  us  hide  our  rising  bluahea.  It  has  often  ao  seemed  (o  us 
— a  peculiarly  "valuable"  journal,  judged  even  from  the  low  stand 
point  of  the  printer's  bilL  Howe'er  you  came  to  know  it,  you  have 
arrived  at  the  exact  truth.  The  Advance  is  valuable  to  the  amount 
of  twenty  cents  for  a  specimen  copy,  and  two  dollars  for  a  year's  sub- 
scription. This  specimen  copy  busicesa  is  a  swindle,  and  the  sooner 
9  May-i 


10 


\nnti  Medical  Advance 


tbe  publishers  of  journals  come  to  know  it  and  act  upon  it  the  h 
But  what  a  god-send  to  these  [rauds  ia  a  new  medical  Jonrnnl,  They 
are  sure  to  get  it  eix  months  or  a  year  [or  nothing.  It  would  make 
you  smile  to  look  over  the  first  year's  ledger  of  a  medical  journal.  Ah, 
what  great  expectations  of  future  rewards !  It  lakes  about  five  years 
to  rid  B  journal  of  its  bamaoles.  At  the  end  of  that  time  a  pubilsher 
comes  to  know  who  is  who,  and  above  all  to  abut  down  on  filling 
orders  for  specimen  copies  not  accompanied  with  the  cash.  Please 
remit  and  oblige,  yours  truly. 

It  is  urged  that  the  highest  and  in  fact  the  only  duty  of  a  phym- 
dan  is  the  curing  of  his  patient,  under  or  without  any  law  of  cure, 
and  that  a  strict  adherence  to  a  certain  line  of  policy,  lo  a  certain 
law  of  cure  ia  not  always  expedient,  if  possible,  but  often  involves  a 
disregard  of  a  patient's  best  interests.  It  must  be  granted  tliat  the 
relief  of  pain,  the  eradication  of  disease,  and  the  saving  of  life  are  the 
especial  duties  of  medical  men :  and  it  is  well  that  physicians  realize 
this  reapoDsibility. 

Bat  is  not  the  welfare  of  humanity  as  a  whole  of  far  more  import- 
ance than  that  of  the  single  individual  ?  And  are  not  the  interests  of 
the  one  so  closely  interwoven  with  that  of  the  many,  that  anything 
which  advances  the  welfare  of  the  many  will  in  turn  benefit  each  in- 
dividual part  of  the  whole?  And  are  not  the  interests  of  humanity 
best  served  by  the  careful,  systematic  and  persevering  working  out  of 
principles  of  cure  which  shall  place  the  medical  man  into  a  position 
where  he  can  not  merely  diagnose  correctly,  but  treat  the  sick  with 
that  intelligence  which  will  enable  him  to  see  clearly  marked  out  be- 
fore him  the  line  of  treatment  which  shall  restore  health  to  the  indi- 
vidual patient?  And  <^n  that  goal  ever  be  readied  without  careful 
and  strict  adherence  to  certain  propositions,  certain  laws  of  cure? 
How  can  the  insuflieiency  of  a  taw  be  demonstrated  except  by  re- 
peated fnihires  under  its  conscientious  application  ?  How  can  its 
correetness  be  proven  except  by  its  successful  cures  made  under  its 
painstaking  application  7 

If  such  a  law  be  found— and  has  it  not  been?  what  a  blesning  to 
humanity,  what  a  blessing  to  the  individual  sick !  And  what  of 
him  who  willfully  tramples  upon  it  white  pleading  the  utmost  devo- 
tion to  his  patient's  interests? 

The  physician  is  a  dual  being;  on  theonehand  he  is  a  man  standing 
upon  the  common  level ;  on  the  other  he  is  something  more,  a  being 
of  higher  power  and  of  greater  responsibility  than  all  others — a  phy- 
sician. The  kindliness  of  disposition,  the  hearty  sympathies  of  pure 
manhood  added  in  a  proper  measure  to  the  dignity  of  the  physician 
e  his  usefulness ;  but  if  not  properly  held  in  check  they  miky 


i 


Editorial 


11 


,  beeoiDQ  s,  Bourre  of  weakness  to  himgelf  and  oE  ruin  to  bie  p&tient  by 
unnerving  the  hand  that  should  be  firm ;  by  clouding  the  judgment, 
tluit  ehould  he  unerring ;  by  perplexing  and  confusing  where  perfect 
cluRTneas  bIiouKI  exist.  Witb  eume  men  this  well  meant  but  un- 
hapjiy  outflow  of  a  too  anxious  intoreet  in  the  welfare  of  a  patient 
prevents  the  cool,  deliberate  adherence  to  a  fixed  line  of  treatment. 
In  the  case  of  many,  a.  lack  of  stability  of  aim  nnd  purpose  cduses  it. 
Empiricism  is  quackery  in  tbe  weak  minded;  it  is  a  crime  in  the 
well  informed.  The  pntient  is  far  safer  in  the  hnnda  of  a  j>hysician 
■who  employs  the  most  heroic  treatment,  the  massive  dose,  but  un- 
derstands himself  and  the  nature  of  the  means  he  uses  and  who  is 
trying  to  work  out  a  certain  distinct  jiroblem,  than  he  la,  under  tlie 
carv  of  him  who  gives  a  professed  adherence  to  the  most  beneliccnt 
theory  or  law  of  cure,  hut  is  so  swayed  by  every  impulse  that  he 
has  not  the  Srmness  to  try  one  thing  and  abide  by  its  consequence. 
or  whose  conceptions  of  facts  are  so  mixed  up,  that  he  does  not  from 
one  day  to  another  know  where  he  stands,  what  he  believes  wh  i 
he  is  trying  to  do,  and  what  he  can  do.  Akndt, 

LBa*LU(Ei>  Vice. — Our  esteemed  friend  and  co- laborer,  Dr.  Caaolihb 
B.  WfSsLuw,  of  Waahington,  D.  C,  editor  of  the  Alpha,  writes :  "I 
It  rejoiced  that  you  take  a  stand  agftinat  legalizing  vice.  You  are 
setting  a  good  example  for  olbers  to  follow.  1  hope  you  will  invigor- 
ate the  lone  of  other  M.  Ds."  This  is  a  clear  case  of  unconscious 
een^bration.  If  we  have  done  it,  we  don't  know  iL  Aud  that  may 
be  the  very  point  we  don't  see  in  tbe  Doctor's  compliment.  We 
have  no  knowledge  of  having  said  anything  upon  the  subject,  and 
bence  the  statement  may  be  pure  sarcasm.  No  doubt  it  is  well  de- 
served. Well,  w«  have  honestly  tried  to  have  an  opinion  upon  thie 
very  important  question  and  here  it  is.  If  not  original,  it  is  at  least 
genuine.  A  l>ad  man  is  no  better  than  a  bad  woman.  In  unlawful 
cohiibitation  they  ore  both  prostitutes  (consult  our  forthcoming  \exi- 
n  fur  new  and  improved  definitions).  In  the  scales  of  justice  they 
actly  batanceeach  other.  Just  what  the  law  can  or  should  do  with 
them,  we  are  not  able  to  aay,  but  whatever  it  may  attempt  to  do,  it 
should  not  discriminate  against  the  women.  This  thing  can  not  be 
safely  ignored,  and  yet  it  seems  to  ua  an  or>en  question  eiactly  what 
to  do.  We  confeaa  ourself  open  to  conviction  upon  several  poitits. 
Ji»  for  tlie  M.  Da.  too  much  must  not  be  expected  from  them.  Tliey 
an  all  good  fellows,  but  not  moralists  by  trade. 

pHOtiAniuTiKS. — Low  barometer  with  dark  ciouda  and  high  winds 
•bout  the  city  of  New  York.  Tbe  course  of  the  storm  is  weMward, 
J  may  strike  Ihe  region  of  Put-in-Bay  about  nest  .Tune,  Look  out 
Idr  aouie  heart  and  jaw  breaking  resolutions  about  freedom  to  be 


12  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

nominally  a  homoeopath  and  practically  what  any  one's  fancy  may 
dictate.  If  such  nonsense  as  that  doesn't  break  up  the  homoeopathic 
school  into  pieces  we  are  greatly  mistaken.  But  then  the  fragments 
will  be  worth  saving. 


■♦••- 


\tmi  att&  3%uiiu* 


SpidonUC  Ixiflxionza.     By  D.  H.  Beckwith,  M.  D.     Read  1>e- 
fore  the  Homoeopathic  State  Society  of  Ohio.     Part  IL 

Jessius  says  that  "Grippe  of  1733  appeared  in  France  after 
an  offensive  fog."  Pettet  says  "Influenza  appeared  after  a 
dense  fog,"  Darwin  supposed  the  material  which  caused  a 
dry  fog  caused  epidemic  catarrh  in  that  year.  Dr.  Syden- 
ham says,  "It  appeared  after  a  dense,  moist  fog."  Rush, 
Gilchrist,  Currie  and  other  scientific  men  take  the  same  view 
of  the  appearance  of  catarrh.  Dr.  Clymer  says,  "Whenever 
influenza  has  prevailed,  the  atmosphere  has  been  marked  by 
moisture."  M.  Currie  says,  "Air  containing  ozone  has  an 
irritating  action  upon  the  throat  and  lungs  when  an  excess  be 
present.  When  it  is  breathed  in  large  quantities  it  will  pro- 
duce death.  Inaction  will  reduce  the  number  of  respirations 
per  minute  and  lower  the  temperament  of  the  body." 

Experiments  made  by  Dr.  Redfern,  of  Queen's  College, 
Belfast,  show  that  inhalations  of  oxygen  containing  only 
1-240  of  its  volume  are  rapidly  fatal  to  animals.  M.  Schoen- 
bein,  of  Basle,  says,  "It  has  the  effect,  when  breathed  in  large 
quantities,  of  irritating  the  mucous  membrane  of  the  air  pas- 
sages." While  making  his  chemical  experiments,  and 
breathing  an  excessive  quantity  of  ozone,  he  had  an  asthmatic 


Theory  and  Practice,  13 

cough,  which  compelled  him  to  discontinue  his  investigations. 
Cavill  says,  "Ozone  has  an  antiseptic  effect  on  decomposing 
matter,  and  is  a  salutary  application  for  foetid  ulcers."  Wat- 
son says,  "The  occurrence  of  epidea-ic  catarrh,  as  well  as 
most  other  epidemics,  is  unquestionably  connected  with  some 
particular  state  or  contamination  of  the  atmosphere."  Gil- 
christ says,  "At  the  time  that  influenza  occurred,  the  weather 
vras  thick,  warm  and  rainy."  "In  1816,"  says  Currie,  "it  oc- 
curred during  a  thick,  damp  and  unusually  mild  state  of  the 
atmosphere,  and  the  very  severe  epidemic  of  183 1  was  pre- 
ceded by  great  variations  of  temperature."  In  1837  the 
disease  occurred  in  damp  weather.  In  1847  ^^^  disease  was 
severe  in  London,  the  mortality  being  much  greater  among 
aged  people.  Dr.  Cleme,  of  Frankfort,  Europe,  says  that 
eleven  saddle  horses  contracted  inflammation  of  the  lunges  in 
consequence  of  being  run  against  a  South  wind,  very  power- 
ful and  rich  in  ozone.     The  greater  number  died. 

In  1876,  during  the  summer  months,  experiments  were 
made  with  the  atmosphere  of  the  Adirondacks.  Ozone  was 
found  prevalent  at  all  times.  Similar  tests  were  made  at 
Hoboken;  ozone  was  deficient,  while  at  the  same  time  catarrh- 
al colds  were  abundant.  Dr.  Seitz,  for  the  past  four  years 
has  been  experimenting  with  the  atmosphere  at  Munich,  and 
finds  that  in  the  months  that  ozone  is  more  abundant,  catarrh- 
al affections  were  increased. 

The  experiments  made  by  the  medical  and  scientific  club 
of  Koninsburg  in  the  year  1878,  prove  that  an  excess  of 
ozone  did  not  always  increase  catarrh.  Dr.  Pfaff,  of  Saxony, 
concludes  from  his  experiments  that  "a  large  porportion  of 
ozone  acts  in  a  mischievous  manner  on  diseases  of  the  re- 
spiratory organs,  that  it  favors  the  development  of  inflamma- 
tory affections,  and  has  little  or  no  effect  on  other  diseases." 
Dr.  Spengler  made  experiments  at  Roggendorf,  and  says: 
"Just  before  an  epidemic  of  influenza  no  ozone  was  to  be  de- 
tected. Directly,  however,  catarrhal  troubles  set  in  and  every 
one  was  coughing,  ozone  was  manifested.  As  the  disease 
gradually  diminished,  so  did  the  indications  of  this  body  de- 
crease."    Dr.  Heidenreich  says,    *a  strong  ozone  reaction  co- 


14  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

incided  with  an  exhibition  of  pulmonary  affections."  It  has 
recently  been  ascertained  that  the  test  paper  used  to  detect 
ozone  contained  impurities  rendering  it  unfit  for  scientific 
purposes.  This  explains,  in  part,  why  writers  differ  as  to 
the  quantity  of  ozone  in  the  atmosphere. 

Disinfectant. — For  several  months  past  I  have  used 
ozone  as  a  disenfectant  in  cases  of  diphtheria  and  scarlet  and 
typhoid  fevers.  I  am  sure  that  my  patients  have  not  been 
injured  by  it,  but  how  much  they  have  been  benefited  by 
breathing  an  air  rich  in  ozone  I  can  not  tell.  I  have  one  pa- 
tient suffering  from  great  nervous  prostration,  who  has  used 
it  daily  for  some  months,  with  great  benefit,  so  she  thinks. 
Mild  cases  of  influenza,  which  have  prevailed  here  for  the 
past  few  months  have  been  relieved  by  it  in  the  primary 
stage. 

Hay  Fever. — I  wish  to  call  your  attention  for  a  few 
moments  to  **hay  fever,"  or  what  may  be  more  properly 
called  summer  influenza.  The  symptoms  are  similar  to  those 
which  I  have  described  in  common  influenza.  As  to  the 
cause.  Dr.  Wyman  says  truly,  "we  know  but  little  of  the  ori- 
gin of  this  strange  disease."  The  most  common  hypothesis 
being  that  it  is  due  to  animal  or  vegetable  germs. 

Elevated  regions  prove  good  resorts  for  persons  attacked, 
or  liable  to  be  attacked  during  the  summer  months.  At  an 
elevation  of  twenty-five  hundred  feet  the  ozone  in  the  atmos- 
phere increases,  and  there  is  the  stimulating  air  to  breathe, 
which  lessens  the  sensitiveness  of  the  mucous  membrane  of 
the  air  passages.  The  ozone  in  the  atmosphere  diminishes 
during  warm  weather,  and  reaches  its  lowest  point  in  July 
and  August.  There  are  more  attacks  of  hay  fever  in  these 
months  than  at  any  other  period. 

As  soon  as  a  patient  reaches  an  altitude  where  the  air  is 
rarefied,  the  catarrh  disappears.  The  White  mountains, 
Adirondacks,  Rocky  mountains,  summit  of  the  Allegheneys 
and  Denver,  Colorado,  are  all  points  of  elevation  from  three 
to  five  thousand  feet,  and  are  places  where  patients  find  re- 
lief from  hay  fever.  As  the  winter  months  approach,  the 
air  contains  more   ozone  and  patients  can  return   to  their 


Theory  and  Practice,  15 

homes.  Those  in  the  old  world  who  suffer  from  this  sum- 
mer catarrh,  generally  find  immediate  relief  in  visiting 
Switzerland  for  a  few  weeks.  Often  a  trip  across  the  ocean 
will  cure  a  person  whom  the  disease  has  already  attacked, 
the  ocean  air  containing  an  excess  of  ozone. 

I  trust  that  in  a  short  time  chemistry  and  microscopy  will 
enable  us  to  give  a  scientific  explanation  of  the  cause  of  in- 
fluenza, hay  fever  and  diphtheria,  and  that  when  the  atmos- 
phere has  been  thoroughly  studied  by  scientific  men,  they 
w^ill  point  out  to  us  the  causes  of  many  diseases  of  which 
we  now  know  nothing. 

In  this  city  diphtheria  has  been  much  more  prevalent  for 
the  past  three  years  on  the  west  side  of  the  Cuyahoga  river 
than  on  the  east  side,  the  cases  being  much  more  severe  and 
attended  with  a  much  greater  fatality.  This  may  be  due  to 
the  machine  shops  and  oil  refineries  in  that  vicinity  rendering 
the  air  impure  and  so  causing  a  diminution  of  the  ozone. 

Treatment. — ^The  room  of  a  patient  suffering  from  influ- 
enza should  be  kept  at  the  temperature  of  sixty  to  sixty-five 
degrees  Fahr.  A  thermometer  should  always  be  kept  in  the 
room  and  the  nurse  instructed  to  keep  an  even  temperature 
both  day  and  night.  A  sleeping  room  looking  east  or  south 
is  to  be  selected,  if  possible,  where  the  sun's  rays  can  have 
free  access.  The  room  should  be  kept  well  ventilated;  an 
open  stove  or  grate  aiding  the  ventilation  more  than  most 
people  are  aware  of.  If  the  attacks  are  of  a  mild  character 
it  will  not  be  necessary  for  the  physician  to  insist  upon  the 
above  rules. 

Diet. — During  the  inflammatory  stage  the  food  should 
consist  of  milk,  farina,  oat  meal,  imperial  granum  and  such 
articles  of  food  as  will  digest  readily.  If  diarrhoea  should 
be  one  of  the  symptoms,  boiled  flour  and  milk  should  be 
used  in  preference  to  any  other  kind  of  food.  As  soon  as 
convalescence  begins,  a  more  generous  diet  may  be  allowed, 
beef  tea,  beefsteak,  oysters.  Iamb  broth,  etc.  If  there  is 
great  prostration  the  patient  being  advanced  in  life  or  having 
bronchial  or  lung  disease,  Whisky  and  Glycerine  may  be  given 
three  times  a  day,  the  physician  in  attendance  to  prescribe 
the  quantity. 


16  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

If  influenza,  hay  fevei,  typhoid  fever,  scarlatina  and  c^iph- 
theria  are  caused  by  a  deficiency  of  ozone  in  the  atmosphere, 
the  treatment  would  point  to  supply  the  deficiency  by  chemi- 
cal means.  Dr.  Bell  says,  (Sanitarian,  1875,  page  504):  "Re- 
cent theories  in  regard  to  the  bacterian  origin  of  diphtheria 
would  soem  to  give  this  study  an  additional  impulse,  or,  at 
least,  should  give  ozone  a  new  application,  for  if  this  theory 
of  the  cause  of  diphtheria  be  true,  and  ozone  is  as  potent  as 
it  IS  said  to  be  in  the  prevention  and  destruction  of  bacteria 
in  the  atmosphere,  we  see  no  reason  why  its  local  application 
would  not  be  an  important  agent." 

Dr.  Cornelius  Fox  says,  in  his  work  on  Ozone  and  Anto- 
zone:  "As  the  recent  investigations  of  Chaubeau  and  San- 
derson prove  that  the  poison  of  an  infectious  disease,  as  scar- 
let fever,  measles,  etc.,  consists  of  excessively  minute  parti- 
cles of  living  matter,  which  may  be  diflTuscd  or  wafted  by 
the  air,  and  that  bacteria  are  carriers  of  infection  there  is 
some  reason  for  thinking  that  a  materies  morbi  may  be  ren- 
dered inert  by  atmospheric  ozone." 

I  have  used  ozone  in  several  attacks  of  hay  fever  and  the 
patients  have  been  so  much  benefited  by  it,  that  they  have 
not  deemed  it  necessary  to  leave  the  city.  I  have  also  used 
ozone  with  marked  benefit  in  attacks  of  catarrhal  cold,  where 
there  was  sneezing  and  a  copius  watery  discharge  from  the 
nose. 

Principal  Remedies. — Aconite  and  GeUemtum  for  in- 
flammatory symptoms. 

Arsenicum^  violent  pains  in  the  head,  discharge  acrid  and 
burning;  tongue  red  at  point  and  side. 

Belladonna^  spasmodic  cough,  heat  in  the  head,  restlessness, 
tongue  red;  delirium. 

MacrotiUy  rheumatic  pains,  pain  in  the  back;  tired,  op- 
pressed feeling;  tongue  coated  brownish,  constipation. 

Mercuriiis,  sore  throat  fluent  coryza,  bleeding  at  the  nose; 
bilious  diarrhoea;  pain  in  the  head  and  teeth. 

^^ux  vomica^  rough,  hollow  cough,  violent  frontal  head 
ache,  vertigo,  constipation,  nausea,  sleeplessness,  loss  of  ap- 
petite. 


2'heory  and  Practice,  17 

Podophyllin,  watery  discharge  from  nose,  sore  throat,  pains 
in  the  back,  bilious  diarrhoea. 

I  regard  the  above  remedies  as  the  polycrests  indicated 
in  ordinary  attacks  of  influenza.  I  have  found  ozone  bene- 
ficial in  malignant  cases  of  diphtheria,  typhoid  and  scarlet 
fever  and  measles.  Patients  suffering  from  pulmonary  dis- 
ease think  they  derive  benefit  from  using  it  in  their  rooms. 
I  am  now  using  an  ozone  generator  in  the  room  of  a  patient 
who  has  heart  disease  attended  with  dropsy,  and  I  think  it 
renders  breathing  easier. 

If  it  could  accomplish  in  my  hands  what  some  physicians 
claim  it  has  done  for  them,  I  should  never  fail  to  recommend 
its  use.  The  following  statement  is  from  a  physician  favor- 
ably known  to  many  of  you: 

M.  MiLSOM,  Buffalo,  N.  Y.: — I  have  within  the  past  year 
experimented  with  ozone  in  various  forms  of  sickness,  and 
have  seen  very  beneficial  results;  notably  so  in  two  cases  of 
heart  disease.  In  one  case  of  enlargement  of  heart  by  dila- 
tation, with  dropsy,  where  there  was  great  dyspncca,  so 
that  the  patient  was  unable  to  lie  down  at  all,  and  great  dis- 
tress in  breathing  in  any  position.  Entire  relief  of  this  dis- 
tressing symptom  followed  within  six  hours  after  the  ozone 
was  taken  into  his  room.  The  other  case  was  valvular  dis- 
ease, where  the  patient  had  not  been  able  to  lie  down  in 
seventeen  vears,  and  in  one  weeks  time  he  was  able  to  do  so. 
I  am  satisfied  it  will  do  much  in  relieving  whooping  cough, 
and  that  in  diphtheria  it  is  an  excellent  aid  in  the  treatment. 
Respectfully  yours,  L.  M.  Ken  yon,  M.  D, 

How  TO  MANUFACTURE  Ozone. — For  a  disinfectant  I 
prefer  M.  Leider's  formula;  equal  parts  of  Per  oxide  of  man- 
ganese^ Permanganate  of  potash  and  Oxalic  acid.  For  a 
medium  sized  room  place  in  a  saucer  one  tablespoonful  of  the 
mixture  and  add  one  ounce  of  water. 

Second,  Another  method  of  manufacturing  ozone  is  to 
pass  electric  sparks  through  air  by  the  electrolysis  of  acidu- 
lated water. 

Third.  Take  three  parts  of  Sulphuric  acid,  two  parts  of 
Permanganate  of  potash,  mix,  and  ozone  is  generated. 


18  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance^ 

Fourth.  By  slow  oxidation  of  Phosphorus  in  moist  air. 
Take  from  four  to  six  cups,  two  inches  deep,  fill  them  nearly 
full  of  water,  add  to  each  one  a  stick  of  Phosphorus^  two 
inches,  and  cover  them  all  with  a  porous  jar  in  order  to  ad- 
mit air. 

If  the  patient  be  affected  with  lung  or  heart  disease,  the 
generator  may  be  left  in  the  bed  room  or  near  it.  The  Phos* 
phorus  will  last  from  two  to  three  weeks. 

In  preparing  the  first  formula  great  care  should  be  exer- 
cised, as  the  least  concussion  will  cause  the  powder  to  ignite. 
I  use  this  formula  in  all  cases  of  diphtheria,  scarlatina  and 
typhoid  fever.  One  to  two  teaspoonfuls  make  a  great  change 
in  the  air  of  the  room. 


■»  »■ 


That  Beport  on  Intnssuoeption. 

In  the  December  number  of  the  Advance,  Dr.  Lippe  re- 
views and  comments  on  my  case  of  intussusception  publish- 
ed in  the  same  journal  in  March,  1877. 

With  no  desire  to  begin  or  keep  up  a  controversy  in  regard 
to  the  management  of  such  cases,  and  wishing  only  to  come 
at  the  truth,  I  will  notice  several  things  in  this  reply  of  Dr. 
L.'s  which  very  much  surprise  me,  coming  as  they  do  from 
a  physician  who  occupies  the  position  of  a  teacher  in  our 
school  and  whose  opinions  on  medical  questions  are  received 
as  good  authority  by  younger  practitioners.  Had  such  state- 
ments been  made  by  a  young  practitioner  who  was  fired  by 
enthusiasm  and  so  carried  away  by  his  success  in  treating 
simple  disorders  as  to  believe  that  the  infinitesimal  similimum 
could  cure  every  thing,  I  should  allow  them  to  pass  unnotic- 
ed; but  coming  from  such  an  authority  I  wish,  in  a  most  posi- 
tive manner,  to  enter  my  protest  against  such  teaching. 


Theory  and  Practice,  19 

First,  on  page  356,  twentieth  line,  the  writer  asserts  that  to 
deny  that  an  invaginated  bowel  can  be  cured  by  internal 
medication,  is  worse  than  ordinary  folly.  In  other  words  he 
assures  us  that  we  may  confidently  depend  on  curing  such  a 
disorder  by  medicine  alone.  With  a  full  knowledge  of  the 
pathology  and  morbid  anatomy  before  him  as  revealed  by  the 
autopsy,  and  knowing  that  the  suffering  of  this  child  was 
caused  by  a  displaced  bowel,  he  still  insists  on  our  applying 
the  law  of  similars,  and  sets  us  to  thumbing  our  symptom- 
atology, to  find  the  right  remedy. 

If  I  were  called  to  see  a  man  whose  humerus  was  luxated, 
and  should  take  out  my  Repertory  and  go  hunting  through 
it  for  a  remedy  that  caused  "pains  as  if  dislocated,"  and  should 
take  out  my  bottle  of  Rhus  cc  and  should  put  ten  drops  into 
ten  teaspoon fuls  of  water,  and  order  a  dose  every  two  hours, 
promising  to  return  on  the  morrow,  I  should  most  certainly 
find  on  my  return  that  some  doctor  who  understood  the  case 
had  been  called  and  by  mechanical  means  reduced  the  luxat- 
ed bone,  relieved  my  patient  of  his  suffering,  and  if  he  had 
branded  me  as  an  ignoramus,  I  could  not  have  said  he  was 
mistaken. 

Now  if  Dr.  Lippe  can  show  me  the  difference  so  far  as  the 
principles  of  treatment  are  concerned,  between  a  displaced 
colon  and  a  displaced  humerus,  and  can  furnish  well  authen- 
ticated evidence  of  cases  of  intussusception  cured  by  medi- 
cine, I  will  then  give  credence  to  his  assertions. 

I  do  know  that  dislocated  bones  are  occasionally  spontan- 
eously reduced.  It  would  be  just  about  as  reasonable  to  at- 
tribute such  a  cure  (?)  to  medicine  that  might  have  been 
given,  as  to  assert  that  we  had  cured  intussusception  with 
nnedicine,  because  in  a  given  case,  where  we  had  a  few  of  the 
symptoms  of  this  affection,  recovery  followed  the  exhibition 
of  -Bry.,  Merc,  Thuja.,  etc. 

If  Dr.  Lippe  will  refer  to  page  518  of  my  report  he  will 
see  that  there  are  several  distinct  diseases  which  closely  sim- 
ulate and  may  readily  be  confounded  with  invagination,  some 
of  which  are  amenable  to  treatment  by  medicine.  To  illus- 
trate, I  was  once  called  to  see  a  child  one  year  old,  who  was 


20  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

suddenly  seized  by  abdominal  pain,  coldness,  collapse  and 
stcrcoraceous  vomiting.  I  prescribed  the  indicated  remedy, 
and  in  a  few  hours  the  child  recovered.  Here  was  a  case  of 
what  I  diagnosed  as  intestinal  obstruction  from  rotation  of 
the  intestine  on  its  own  axis,  reduced  not  by  my  medicine, 
but  spontaneously  by  the  act  of  vomiting. 

Again,  I  was  called  to  a  case  of  typhlitis,  in  which  there 
was  present  the  abdominal  pain  and  tenderness,  t^e  sausage 
shaped  tumor  in  the  right  lumbar  region,  obstruction  of  bow- 
els, etc.  Medical  treatment  cured  the  case.  I  have  seen 
such  cases  reported  in  our  medical  literature  as  invagination 
cured  by  medicine,  the  result  of  which  can  only  be  to  mis- 
lead the  credulous  in  their  therapeutics. 

Now  if  Dr.  Lippe  had  given  a  small  portion  of  the  time  he 
has  devoted  to  the  study  of  materia  medica  to  the  study  of 
pathology,  that  branch  of  medical  science  which  he  seems  to 
disdain,  I  doubt  if  he  would  encourage  us  to  believe  that  in- 
ternal medication  would  cure  such  affections.  His  article  re- 
minds one  of  the  anecdote  of  the  four  blind  men  who  went 
out  to  view  the  elephant,  each  examining  a  single  limb  or 
member,  and  going  away  satisfied  that  he  had  a  definite  idea 
about  the  animal.  If  one  were  to  judge  by  this  article,  they 
would  be  forced  to  believe  that  the  Doctor  had  seen  but  one 
part  or  limb  of  the  medical  elephant.  The  law  of  the  simi- 
lars is  a  great  law,  but  it  won't  do  when  we  come  to  treat  in- 
tussusception, which  is  not  a  disease  any  more  than  a  dislo- 
cated humerus  is  a  disease. 

In  the  case  reported,  the  coecum  was  inverted  into  the 
colon.  This  irritation  of  course  excited  violent  peristaltic  con- 
tractions of  the  muscular  walls  of  the  colon,  the  inevitable 
result  of  which  would  be  to  force  the  invaginated  portion 
further  and  further  into  itself,  and  by  the  continued  constric- 
tion to  render  the  parts  tumid. 

Now  to  any  rational,  unprejudiced  mind,  it  at  once  occurs 
that  in  Opium,  whose  primary  action  is  to  paralyze  the  peri- 
staltic action  of  the  bowels,  we  possess  just  the  remedy  we 
need  to  relieve  the  spasm,  stop  the  pain  and  relax  the  parts, 
rendering  it  possible  to  replace  the  invaginated  part  by  the 


Theory  and  Practice,  21 

application  of  vis  a  tergo,  provided  the  constriction  has 
not  rendered  the  parts  so  tumid  as  to  prevent  reduction. 
The  fact  that  we  find  nothing  in  the  Organon  justifying  such 
use  of  Opnim,  is  too  weak  an  objection  to  merit  notice.  ^The 
letter  killeth"  when  we  so  poorly  comprehend  its  spirit  a&  to 
attempt  to  practice  surgery,  obstetrics  and  every  thing  else 
b\'  the  exclusive  use  of  the  law  of  similars. 

Second,  I  am  further  surprised  that  Dr.  Lippe  should  criti- 
cise me,  because  after  ten  or  twelve  hours  fruitless  endeavor 
to  relieve  the  most  terrible  agony  of  this  child,  by  well  indi- 
cated homoeopathic  remedies,  I  should  consent  to  bring  re- 
lief by  an  agent,  which  at  the  worst  could  do  less  harm  than 
the  continued  and  intense  suftering  which  the  patient  was 
undergoing.  What  is  the  true  calling  of  a  physician.'*  Dr. 
Lippe  writes  as  though  it  were  at  all  hazards  to  stick  to  and 
verify  the  law  of  similars.  My  conception  of  his  duty  i&, 
that  it  is  his  business  to  relieve  pain  and  suffering,  and  that 
failing  in  one  way  after  a  reasonable  time,  he  is  blameworthy 
if  he  does  not  resort  to  other  means.  Yes,  I  prescribed 
Opiumy  and  iny  only  regret  is  that  I  did  not  give  it  sooner. 

Third.  But  Dr.  Lippe  confidently  affirms  that  the  treat- 
ment of  the  case  was  not  homoeopathic.  I  am  proud  to  ad- 
mit that  as  soon  as  it  became  known  that  the  case  was  one  of 
intussusception,  all  hope  of  a  cure  hy  the  action  of  any  medi- 
cine was  abandoned.  But  if  I,  after  a  studv  of  the  materia 
medica  for  ten  years,  and  my  counseling  physician  after  a 
large  and  very  successful  experience  in  hom(uopathic  prac- 
tice of  twenty-six  years,  are  prepared  to  judge,  the  remedies 
were  indicated,  according  to  our  best  authors,  at  the  time  they 
were  given.  The  coldness  which  led  to  the  choice  of  Verat, 
did  not  develop  until  three  hours  after  Nux  v.  was  prescribed. 
When  a  patient  is  frantic  with  agony,  I  consider  three  hours 
quite  long  enough  to  wait  for  relief  from  any  remedy,  and 
both  my  counseling  physician  and  myself  have  studied  the 
Organon. 

Now  I  wish  Dr.  Lippe  no  greater  harm  than  to  have  the 
privilege  of  treating  a  case  of  intussusception  according  to 
his  plan.     It  takes  no  prophet  to  write  the  prognosis — death, 


22  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

unless,  perchance  the  patient  should  recover,  after  sloughing 
off  the  constricted  portion  of  the  bowel.  If  the  Doctor  had 
had  a  few  such  cases,  I  doubt  if  he  would  have  written  such 
an  article. 

I  want  to  say  in  conclusion,  that  I  make'  this  reply,  and  a 
year  ago  reported  this  case,  not  to  get  into  a  controversy,  but 
to  stimulate  some  of  my  professional  brethren  to  investigate 
and  be  prepared  readily  to  diagnose  and  skillfully  to  treat 
this  rare,  dangerous  and  alarming  affection.  It  occurs  so 
rarely  that  many  who  have  practiced  ten  years  and  upwards 
have  never  seen  a  case.  It  is  an  affection  where  we  do  not 
dare  first  to  experiment  with  remedies,  and  then  resort  to 
mechanical  means  as  a  last  expedient.  What  is  done  must 
be  done  quickly.  Even  when  on  the  alert  it  is  not  always 
easy  to  diagnose  intussusception  until  it  is  too  late. — A.  C. 
Rickey,  M.  D.,  Dayton,  O.,  Jan.  15,  1878. 


-♦♦- 


Some  Cases  from  our  Note  Book. 

In  this  paper  I  purpose  to  report  a  few  cases  which  seem 
to  show  the  action  of  highly  potentized  remedial  agents  in  a 
class  of  diseases  usually  considered  incurable.  That  in  one 
instance  at  least,  and  I  could  give  others,  the  curative  response 
was  not  obtained  from  lower  potencies  when  given  under 
Equally  favoring  circumstances,  though  a  prompt  response 
followed  the  giving  of  a  high  potency.  We  do  not  ignore 
any  potency  found  capable  of  effecting  the  curative  response 
and  we  are  far  from  being  able  to  say  that  low  potencies  will 
not  sometimes  prove  the  most  effective.  Our  object  is  to  show 
that  what  is  called  the  extreme  of  attenuation  or  potentization 
is  followed  with  curative  reaction ;  and  also  to  throw  out  some 
suggestions  which  may  lead  us  possibly  to  more  profound  en- 


Theory  and  Practice,  23 

quiries  into  the  philosophy  of  pathogenetic  relations  to  cura- 
tive reactions.  And  here  let  me  remark  that  I  think  the  true 
similimum  is  what  is  essentially  pathologically  analogous,  as 
well  as  what  is  typical  and  characteristic  in  symptoms,  that 
one  remedy  is  always  better  than  two,  for  in  one  must  always 
be  included  the  truer  similimum.  If  I  confess  that  I  some- 
times alternate  or  use  an  intercurrent  remedy,  I  also  affirm 
that  my  most  splendid  achievements  have  been  uniformly 
with  a  single  remedy. 

Case  I.  Chas.  W.  Willard,  member  of  Congress,  First 
District  of  Vermont,  of  a  nervous  sanguine  or  nervous  lym- 
phatic temperament,  light  hair  and  blue  eyes;  subject  to 
family  consumption.  The  second  year  that  he  was  in  Wash- 
ington, began  to  run  down  with  a  cough;  was  treated  in  Wash- 
ington for  a  while  and  then  went  to  Boston  to  consult  Dr.  Bow- 
ditch,  who  decided  his  case  to  be  tubercular  consumption. 
Sent  him  to  Rye  Beach  in  June  where  he  grew  rapidly  worse, 
and  went  to  his  home  at  Montpelier,  Vt. 

Was  examined  by  allopathic  physicians  there  and  case  pro- 
nounced incurable.  He  afterwards  came  into  my  hands.  I 
found  him  emaciated  and  with  an  almost  entire  arrest  of  the 
functions  of  the  stomach.  He  had  frequent  chills  followed 
by  heat  and  afterward  inclined  to  sweat;  odor  of  sweat,  fetid 
or  mouldy;  chills  apt  to  begin  on  the  back  of  the  hands  where 
he  frequently  felt  horriplation,  also  run  over  the  back,  usually 
from  below  upwards.  Expectoration  rather  free,  of  a  muco- 
purulent kind,  inclined  to  greenish  streaks,  tough  and  some- 
what ropy,  more  free  than  Sulpkvr  usually  has;  apex  of  right 
lung  dull;  very  despondent  and  gloomy,  thinks  his  case  about 
hopeless;  tenderness  over  upper  region  of  the  chest  on  right 
side.  Gave  Pulsatilla  and  Phosphorous  to  no  purpose;  Stan- 
num  did  no  better.  Gave  one  dose  o£ Sulphur  looiw,  Fincke, 
selected  from  two  or  three  symptoms,  the  constitution  and 
temperament,  but  from  the  fact  that  I  had  recently  seen  strik- 
ing results  in  one  or  two  cases  of  incipient  tuberculosis  as 
much  as  from  any  symptoms  I  found  in  the  case.  I  was  grati- 
fied to  have  him  tell  me  the  next  time  I  saw  him  that  I  must 
have  given  him  a  different  remedy  for  he  felt  the  effects  of  it 


24  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

almost  instantly,  and  he  also  felt  that  it  was  doing  him  good. 
I  did  not  give  him  Sulphur  again  for  a  week,  but  when  I  did 
he  remarked  the  next  time  I  saw  him  that  he  had  experienced 
the  same  sensations  as  a  week  ago,  and  he  thought  I  must 
have  given  him  the  same  remedy.  The  result  was  that  by 
adding  a  good  hygienic  management  and  sending  him  to  Den- 
ver in  the  August  following  that  he  made  a  recovery  on  three 
or  four  doses  of  the  loom  of  Sulphur.  The  following  year 
he  had  fistula  in  ano,  and  which  I  think  goes  to  confirm  the 
fact  of  a  tubercular  diathesis. 

Case  II.  a  farmer  by  occupation,  began  to  decline  in 
winter  from  what  seemed  to  be  gastric  troubles  accompa- 
nied with  constipation.  He  lost  flesh,  and  after  awhile  began 
to  cough;  cough  mostly  dry  and  hacking.  He  was  de- 
scended of  a  family  in  which  consumption  was  the  family 
scourge.  Grandfather,  mother,  uncle,  several  aunts  imd  all  of 
his  sisters,  three  in  number,  having  died  of  the  disease;  later 
his  father  died  of  it;  he  had  done  little  for  himself  when  he 
consulted  me.  I  gave  him  iV?«;  hoping  to  relieve  him  of  his 
constipation  and  told  him  I  should  be  that  way  in  a  few  days 
and  I  would  see  him  again.  I  do  not  remember  what  I  gave 
him  at  my  next  call,  but  it  did  him  no  good.  He  spoke  of  the 
family  disease  and  said  that  he  supposed  nothing  could  be 
done;  I  told  him  to  come  to  my  office  in  eight  days.  As  yet 
his  lungs  did  not  seem  to  be  very  extensively  infiltrated,  but 
there  was  marked  tissue  waste,  loss  of  assimilation  and  retro- 
grade metamorphosis  was  setting  in  with  rapidity,  without 
the  arrest  of  which  in  my  opinion  he  would  have  died  of 
tuberculosis  of  the  lungs  in  twelve  months;  was  indeed  in  the 
second  stage  of  tubercle.  He  came  ten  miles  to  my  office  and 
not  a  whit  improved  or  one  symptom  ameliorated.  I  gave 
him  three  doses  of  Sulphur  lOom  he  taking  one  at  my  office, 
with  the  injunction  not  to  take  another  for  one  week  and  if 
improving  to  still  wait.  He  commenced  to  improve  from  the 
first  dose.  That  the  Sulphur  had  something  to  do  with  his 
improvement  seems  a  great  deal  more  than  probable  from  the 
fact  that  his  constipation  which  had  been  on  him  for  months 
was  immediately  cured.     Curative  reaction  was  instituted  and 


Theory  arid  Practice,  25 

he  went  on  to  complete  recovery  taking  only  five  or  six  doses 
in  the  following  six  months. — G.  N.  Brigham,  M.  D.  Grand 
Rapids. 


♦  ♦ 


Wi^lnH  A$6ka* 


A   Proving.      By    H.     W.    Taylor,    M.  D.,    Crawfordsville, 
Ind. 

All  along  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  redoubtable 
Wabash  country,  there  is,  running  beyond  the  memory  of  the 
oldest  inhabitant  an  autumnal  erythema,  known  as  the  "paw- 
paw rash,"  "pawpaw  measles,"  '*pawpaw  scratches,"  etc., 
from  the  traditional  connection  between  the  eating  of  the 
succulent  fruit  of  the  uvaria  triloby  and  the  appearance  of  a 
characteristic  eruption. 

On  the  27th  day  of  September,  1877,  I  brought  home  a 
half  bushel  of  the  fruit  in  various  stages  of  ripening,  some 
specimens  being  hard  and  green.  All  of  my  children,  (they 
were  five  then,  heaven  help  me,  they  are  but  three  now), 
partook  very  freely  of  the  pawpaw  without  being  fastidi- 
ously nice  as  to  the  ripenness  or  greenness. 

Next  morning  they  seemed  a  little  languid  and  pale,  but 
being  unusually  strong  and  healthy,  I  took  little  note  of  their 
condition,  and  the  pawpaw  eating  went  on  unrestrained  by 
a  parental  veto.  However,  about  ten  o'clock  p.  m.,  of  the 
2Sth,  I  found  my  only  boy  with  a  violent  fever.  He  had 
vomited  awhile  before  I  arrived,  and  on  throwing  a  bright 
light  upon  him,  I  found  that  he  was  covered  with  a  bright 
scarlet  eruption.  His  pulse  was  one  hundred  and  thirty,  full 
May -2 


26  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

and  steady,  and  at  half  past  ten  p.  m.,  the  thermometor  re- 
maining in  the  axilla  ten  minutes,  showed  a  temperature  of 
one  hundred  and  five  degrees.  Among  the  vomited  ingcsta 
were  many  small  pieces  of  unripe  pawpaw. 

On  the  29th  the  eruption  remained  in  full  blush,  the  tem- 
perature dropped  to  one  hundred  and  four  degress,  the  fau- 
ces were  red  and  somev/hat  swollen,  the  tonsil  and  submax- 
illary glands  were  considerably  enlarged,  and  a  diarrhoea  of 
yellowish  discharges  sat  in. 

Each  day  the  temperature  dropped  until  on  the  30th  it  was 
normal;  a  general  desquamation  of  the  cuticle  took  place, 
and  a  carbuncle  formed  on  the  anterior  aspect  of  the  left 
thigh,  and  was  two  weeks  finishing  the  process  of  suppura- 
tion. The  diarrhoea  continued  more  than  four  weeks,  al- 
though many  remedies  were  given  to  check  it  or  control  it. 

I  should  have  said  that  this  little  boy  was  but  two  years 
and  six  months  old.  He  was  of  robust  health,  strongly  built, 
dark  complexion,  large  black  eyes,  hair  yellow  and  curling. 
He  talked  plainly;  complained  of  frontal  headache,  soreness 
of  the  throat  and  nausea.  The  eruption  in  all  its  phases,  the 
fever,  the  diarrhoea,  were  much  like  some  cases  of  scarlet 
fever.  All  the  other  children  had  the  eruption  on  the  neck 
and  upper  extremities — all  had  diarrhoea  lasting  a  long  time 
after  the  other  symptoms  had  disappeared. 

Less  than  two  months  after  this  proving,  I  carried  this  lit- 
tle sinless  child  dead  in  my  arms — dead!  and  such  a  death! 
Only  those  who  have  seen  their  young  children  strangled  by 
malignant  diphtheria,  can  form  an  idea  of  the  horrible  torture 
that  seems  to  have  broken  my  heart  and  my  spirit  in  those 
three  terrible  weeks  when  my  best  loved  children  fared 
slowly  and  painfully  on  that  horrible  road  to  death.  This 
may  seem  irrelevant  matter,  but  it  appears  to  lead  up  natur- 
ally to  what  I  wish  to  say  upon  another  subject.  Has  any 
one  examined  the  pharynx  and  larynx  after  death  by  hydro- 
phobia? So  far  as  my  recollection  goes,  all  the  inquiry  has 
been  expended  upon  the  brain  and  spinal  cord  in  the  few 
autopsies  reported.  I  nursed  and  carried  about  in  my  arms 
my  two  best  beloved  children  night  and  day,  while  they  were 


Materia  Medica,  27 

dying  with  malignant  diphtheria.  When  the  fell  disease  had 
passed  into  the  larynx,  1  was  horrified  by  the  likeness  of  the 
hoarse,  short  cough  to  the  fierce  bark  of  a  mad  dog  that  I 
saw  and  heard  when  I  was  a  child.  The  tough  unyielding 
saliva  that  worked  out  of  their  parched  and  blackened 
mouths  and  defied  all  efforts  for  its  complete  removal  was 
like  that  which  clung  to  the  jaw  of  the  rabid  brute  that  was 
the  terror  of  my  infancy. 

The  restless  moving  about  from  place  to  place,  the  wild, 
fierce,  yet  apprehensive  glitter  of  their  eyes,  the  staggering 
trembling  walk  were  as  they  had  been  burned  upon  njy 
childish  brain  on  a  summer  day  many  years  ago.  The  repul- 
sive likeness  of  my  dying  children  (my  darlings  for  whom  I 
would,  oh!  so  gladly  have  yielded  up  my  life)  to  a  rabid  dog 
forced  itself  upon  my  mind,  and  was  finally  completed  in  Ihe 
most  horrible  characteristic.  My  gentle  dove-eyed  daughter 
of  five  years,  she  who  had  gotten  spontaneously  from  all  who 
knew  her  the  title  of  "angel,"  before  it  became  hers  in  real- 
ity, she  who  was  so  buoyant  of  sjDirit,  so  glad  of  heart,  so 
joyous,  so  patient,  so  uncomplaining,  turned  upon  me  with 
a  fierce,  snarling  cry,  and  sunk  her  four  little  white  teeth 
in  the  skin  of  my  neck,  and  clung  there  with  a  horrible  per- 
tinacity, that  froze  the  blood  in  my  veins.  Even  now  I  can 
see  two  little  round  purplish  spots  upon  my  neck  where  her 
teeth  were  planted.  The  wound  was  but  skin  deep — the 
pain  went  down  into  the  soundless  depths  of  my  parental 
heart. 

Would  Swan's  Lac  caninum,  mm  have  helped  her?  May 
there  not  be  a  nearer  relation  between  Dog'^s  milk  and  mal- 
ignant diphtheria  than  my  friend  Breyfogle  thinks.?  Had  it 
been  the  milk  of  the  bitch  mother  of  Cerberus,  I  would  have 
given  it  freely  to  my  children  with  the  hope  that  it  might 
help  them  in  their  struggle  with  death. 

But  if  an  uncertainty  rests  upon  Lac  caninum  in  malignant 
diphtheria,  there  is  another  drug  which  in  my  mind  is  as  uni- 
versal a  specific  for  this  dread  malady  as  Cinchonia  for  ma- 
laria. Sometime  I  may  tell  how  large  doses  of  Kali  Chlori- 
cum  kept  a  part  of  the  sunshine  from  going  out  of  my  home, 


28  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

kept  a  little  of  hope  in  my  heart,  and  planted  the  wavering 
feet  of  my  faith  in  drugs  upon  a  rock  as  unyielding  as  the 
Rock  of  Ages.  It  will  be  the  one  great  regret  of  my  hfe  that 
I  did  not  know  the  imbecility  of  all  other  drugs  in  this  dis- 
ease, that  I  might  have  flown  to  the  scarce  tested  power  of 
Kali  chloricum  while  yet  it  was  not  too  late  to  keep  my  little 
group  unbroken.  It  shall  be  a  cause  for  thanksgiving 
every  day,  that  I  did  (ly  to  it  before  it  was  too  late  to  save  all. 
I  know  that  this  is  not  a  scientific  article,  perhaps  it  is 
hardly  worth  publication;  but  who  can  say  what  is  good  and 
what  is  bad,  save  the  great  doctor  of  Gallilec?  Let  us  prove 
'^W  things,  even  Swan's  Laccaninum  mm,  if  the  Kali  ehlori- 
^.u     should  not  blossom  according  to  its  budding. 


MatoriA  Modica.  Read  before  the  Homoeopathic  Medical 
Society  of  Marion  Co.,  Indianapolis,  Ind.  By  D.  Hag- 
gart,  M.  D. 

Truly  the  present  age  is  one  of  notable  progress  and  im- 
provement, yet  we  should  in  no  degree  less  respect  the  labors 
and  accumulated  knowledge  of  ages  past  since  they  have  open- 
ed up  the  way  for  wider  fields  of  research  and  improvement 
to  the  living  and  moving  present.  But  in  viewing  the  hom- 
oeopathic  materia  medica  from  a  stand  point  of  the  present 
advanced  stage  of  medical  science,  we  can  not  do  otherwise 
than  pronounce  it  faulty  in  many  respects. 

Our  materia  medica  when  once  perfected  diflfers  widely 
from  that  of  other  schools,  since  it  is  not  based  upon  vague 
theories  which  have  been  and  are  still  constantly  changing  as 
the  minds  of  medical  men  progress  in  knowledge  and  experi- 
ence. But  the  homoeopathic  materia  medica  is  based  upon  an 
unalterable  natural  law,  and  contains  within  itself  its  primary 
facts  or  fundamental  principles,  its  law   of  development  and 


Materia  Medica,  29 

practical  application,  hence  it  is  susceptible  of  being  consti- 
tuted a  fixed  science.  These  are  propositions  which  I  pre- 
sume all  intelligent  homceopaths  will  admit.  But  a  science 
necessarily  implies  the  idea  of  a  system,  and  it  is  impossible 
for  a  science  to  be  of  any  practical  benefit  without  first  being 
reduced  to  a  system;  and  this  I  suppose  you  will  also  accept 
as  a  well  defined  and  incontrovertable  proposition;  conse- 
quently it  follows  that  our  materia  medica  can  not  be  accepted 
as  a  practical  reliable  science  in  the  true  sense  of  the  word 
until  it  is  thoroughly  and  concisely  systematized.  Indeed 
so  clearly  manifest  is  the  need  for  a  systematized  and  satisfac- 
torily classified  materia  medica  that  it  has  become  the  object 
and  study  of  some  of  our  most  eminent  practitioners;  and  we 
may  safely  predict  that  the  time  when  we  will  have  such  a 
classified  and  practical  work  on  materia  medica  is  already  in 
the  near  future.  I  know  not  how  it  may  be  with  you  con- 
cerning this  matter,  but  of  one  thing  I  am  sure,  and  that  is 
that  I  am  eagerly  wishing  for  the  time  to  come  in  which  I 
can  have  in  my  possession  such  a  desirable  and  valuable  med- 
ical guide;  for  I  must  now  acknowledjje  my  utter  inability  to 
select  at  all  times  the  proper  remedy  to  meet  a  given  case 
from  the  great  mcdiy  of  incoherent  and  pretended  facts  mass- 
ed together  in  our  materia  medica. 

I  am  not  unmindful  of  the  fact  that  the  classification  and 
systcmization  of  homoeopathic  therapeutics  seems  impractable 
and  perhaps  at  first  view  impossible  to  those  of  your  number 
who  yet  hold  to  the  spiritual  doctrine  of  Hahnemann,  that 
there  is  in  man  an  intermediate  principle  between  the  body 
and  the  soul  to  which  is  referable  all  our  diseases,  and  all  our 
vital  functions;  and  that  there  is  in  medicine  a  like  force,  and 
that  by  and  through  a  sort  of  affinity  between  these  two  pow- 
ers or  principles,  diseases  are  cured.  This  hypothetical  idea 
like  many  other  vague,  ephemeral  notions  of  the  past,  is  rap- 
idly vanishing  before  the  onward  march  of  the  naturalistic 
view^s  promulgated  by  the  profoundest  thinkers  in  our  ranks; 
consequently  I  care  not  whether  you  accept  as  the  cause  of 
disease,  the  germ  or  the  zymotic  theory,  or  the  septinous 
theory  lately  advanced  by  Dr.  Richardson  before  the  Sanitary 


3  0  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

nstitute  of  Great  Britain,  you  will  have  to  acknowledge  and 
except  the  fact,  that  drug^s  can  only  effect  and  act  upon  the 
animal  economy,  and  disease  in  two  ways,  namely  mechani- 
cally and  chemically;  and  this  fact  once  fully  understood  and 
established  the  classification  and  systemization  of  our  materia 
medica  would  be,  comparatively  speaking,  an  easy  task.  Just 
how  such  a  classification  should  be  made,  I  will  not  now  Stop 
to  consider  in  detail,  but  may  do  so  at  some  future  time. 

The  entire  want  of  system  and  of  a  proper  classification  of 
the  different  remedial  agents  is  by  no  means  the  least  and  only 
fault  of  the  homoeopathic  materia  medica. 

The  fundamental  law  of  the  "healing  art"  as  promulgated 
by  the  great  founder  of  our  school,  that  similars  by  similars  are 
cured,  is  no  longer  a  question  of  dispute  among  intelligent 
homoeopathic  people.  This  fixed  unchanging  law  ought  then 
surely  to  enable  the  practitioner  to  make  his  prescriptions 
with  the  same  fixed  accuracy  and  unerring  precision;  and  it 
would,  had  he  recourse  to  a  materia  medica  equally  as  true 
and  reliable  in  its  records  and  teachings.  I  here  ask  you  has 
he  such  a  materia  medica  at  his  command.'^  The  answer  comes 
echoing  to  us  from  every  page  of  these  conglomerate  volumes, 
no,  no,  the  latest  edition  not  excepted.  Let  us  see  for  one 
moment  whether  the  facts  in  the  case  will  bear  us  out  in  this 
emphatic  assertion. 

First.  The  multiplicity  of  symptoms  given  to  a  majority  of 
the  remedies  are  too  numerous  for  any  ordinary  mind  to  rcmem 
ber.  Take  for  exampleour  polycrests  and  you  will  find  that  the 
recorded  pathogenesis  of  any  one  of  them  represents  or  covers 
almost  every  symptom  and  sensation  "human  flesh"  has  ever 
experienced,  either  in  health  or  in  sickness;  and  the  same  may 
be  said  of  a  number  of  other  agents  which  are  of  mfinitely  less 
importance  or  value  than  the  polycrests. 

Second.  The  frequent  and  unceasing  repetition  of  the  same 
symptoms  in  different  drugs  makes  it  a  matter  cf  impossibility 
to  obtain  a  clear  discriminating  view  of  each  separate  Jigent 
and  most  always  makes  a  proper  selection  doubtful. 

Third.  A  very  large  proportion  of  our  most  useful  remedies 
have  been  proven  by  illiterate  and  ignorant  men  —men  who 


Materia  Medtca,  31 

were  perhaps  in  some  instances  too  enthusiastic,  and  in  others 
too  dishonest  to  be  reliable  authority.  For  proof  of  this  we 
need  only  refer  to  the  silly  and  contradictory  reports  them- 
selves, which  are  in  many  particulars  a  stain  and  a  reproach 
upon  the  literature  of  our  school.  Certainly  the  testimony 
of  one  who  can  not  distinguish  between  actual  drug  symptoms, 
and  the  frequent  and  constantly  varying  thought  dreams,  and 
bodily  sensations  which  almost  every  individual  is  constantly 
experiencing,  should  not  be  accepted  as  a  reliable  guide  to 
the  conscientious  practitioner. 

Fourth.  We  havescarcely  a  single  instance  given  in  which 
the  prover  himself  hns  been  proven  before  taking  the  drug  to 
be  tested,  which  is  always  essential  in  order  to  obtain  a  cor- 
rect pathogeneses,  for  there  are  but  few  individuals  who 
have  not  at  times  aches,  pains,  and  unnatural  sensations, 
foolish  thoughts  and  dreams,  who  do  not  fear  approahcing 
death,  are  sad,  full  of  mirth,  weep  or  whistle  at  intervals; 
have  fear  of  ghosts,  have  fear  of  men,  aversion  to  labor,  chat 
and  laugh,  are  embarrassed  in  society,  make  mistakes  in 
writing  and  speaking;  have  a  want  of  moral  feeling,  are 
given  to  wickedness  and  cruelty,  are  exalted  in  love,  who  do 
not  become  giddy  after  smoking  the  third  pipe,  who  do  not 
sweat  after  drinking  a  hot  cup  of  tea,  who  do  not  pass  rest- 
less nights  after  eating  hearty  suppers,  have  involuntary  erec- 
tions and  emissions,  and  so  on  to  the  end  of  the  most  su- 
preme nonsense  that  has  ever  been  recorded  by  man.  All 
this  and  an  abundance  of  equally  as  foolish  and  trashy  stuff, 
we  are  told  are  true  drug  symptoms,  and  men  who  proudly 
add  A.  M.  and  M.  D.,  etc.,  to  their  name  profess  to  believe 
every  word  of  it. 

Fifth.  We  have  a  full  array  of  drug  symptoms  recorded 
of  a  number  of  inert  substances  comparatively  speaking,  and 
from  which  none  but  the  one  prover  himself  could  ever  elicit 
or  obtain  any  pathogenesis,  or  any  alteration,  or  impression 
upon  the  organism.  The  idea  that  a  substance  which  pro- 
duces no  pathogenesis  or  impression  upon  the  healthy  or- 
ganism, should  possess  the  power  to  cure  a  formidable  or 
even  a  mild  disease  is  perfectly  preposterous  and  contrary  to 


32  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

reason,  common  sense,  and  science,  and  can  not  be  recog- 
nized by  the  law  which  governs  Homoeopathy,  ^^Similia  Sim- 
ilibn^  Curantwr,^^  but  must  be  classed  under  the  law,  if  such 
a  law  there  be  of  ^^H  Xilibus  Curantur^  or  as  the  Dutchman 
would  render  it,  "iVta;  by  nix  ish  cured^ 

Sixth.  In  the  provings  of  man}'  of  the  most  important 
remedies,  quite  a  number  of  the  pathogeneses  recorded,  have 
never  yet  been  corroborated  by  any  one,  and  can  not  be  re- 
produced either  by  large  or  by  small  doses,  by  high  or  by 
low  potencies.  Gentlemen,  can  we,  I  ask  rely,  upon  such 
flimsy  testimony?  Can  our  patients  safely  trust  themselves 
to  our  care,  if  we  blindly  accept  such  provings  for  our  infal- 
lible guide?  provings  which  have  not  been  and  can  not  be 
verified  and  substantiated?  Certainly  not.  Suppose  a  phy- 
sician were  to  administer  the  same  remedy  in  the  same  kind 
of  a  dose,  to  one  hundred  difl'erent  patients  with  the  most 
beneficial  and  happy  results,  excepting  the  last  case  which 
dies  soon  after  taking  the  remedy,  that  had  been  acting  so 
kindly  in  ninety-nine  other  cases,  could  an  action  for  mal- 
practice be  sustained  against  the  physician,  even  in  an  In- 
dian court  of  justice?  You  all  answer,  not  by  any  meniis, 
and  yet  we  as  educated  and  intelligent  physicians  accept 
just  such  evidence  for  our  guide  when  the  health  and  life  of 
our  patient  is  at  stake. 

It  may  be  claimed  that  the  pathogeneses  of  all  our  remedial 
agents  have  been  repeatedly  verified  through  clinical  exper- 
ience. 1  admit  that  the  characteristic  pathogeneses  are  daily 
being  verified  by  such  experience,  but  they  comprise 
only  that  class  of  drugs  upon  which  there  is  no  dispute,  and  for 
which  the  profession  generally  is  testifying.  That  class  of 
drugs  which  have  no  pathogeneses,  can,  of  course,  not  be 
verified  according  to  the  homccopathic  law  of  testing  the 
curative  properties  of  drugs,  and  the  limited  and  scattering 
testimony  we  have  in  their  fiivor  clinically,  must  be  accepted 
with  the  greatest  degree  of  allowance,  since  men  may  err 
and  a  large  proportion  of  the  ailments  of  humanity  are  self- 
limiting  and  will  right  themselves  without  the  aid  of  our 
good  brethrcns'  miraculous  inert  agencies. 


Materia  Medica,  33 

The  conscientious  physician  can  not  be  content  with  "guess 
work,"  when  dehiys  and  mistakes  may  prove  fatal.  When 
he  has  an  infallible  law  of  cure,  and  when  he  can  have  a 
therapeutic  guide  equally  as  reliable,  he  should  insist  upon 
the  coming  of  a  redeemer  of  our  school,  who  will  give  the 
present  materia  medica  such  a  thorough  sifting,  that  it  will  be 
utterly  cleansed  from  its  rubbish,  and  entirely  separated  from 
its  chair,  and  Homoeopathy  be  purified  thereby,  and  elevated 
to  the  proud  position  of  a  positive  science. 

That  we  can  have  such  a  materia  medica  as  this  paper  con- 
templates, is  a  fact  so  seemingly  self-evident  to  the  minds  of 
all  practical  thinking  homoeopathic  physicians,  that  any  argu- 
ment upon  the  question  would  be  deemed  entirely  super- 
fluous. 

How  we  can  have  such  a  materia  medica  is  a  question 
that  can  be  answered  in  a  few  sentences.  Exclude  all  inert 
substances  which  have  no  pathogenesis,  which  are  non -med- 
icinal, if  you  please,  for  they  are  not  entitled  to  sj^ace  in  a 
therapeutic  work  claiming  to  be  a  reliable  and  r\x\  infallible 
homoeopathic  materia  medica,  and  admit  no  pathogenesis  or 
drug  symptoms  of  any  given  remedy,  which  can  not  be  defi- 
nitely corroborated  or  reproduced  upon  the  healthy  organism. 
Admit  no  provings  where  the  provcr  himself  has  not  first 
been  proven.  Have  all  doubtful  lemedies  tested  by  healthy 
honest,  intelligent,  educated  persons,  who  are  actuated  by  no 
other  motive  than  that  of  discovering  and  developing  truth, 
by  individuals  who  are  not  interested  in  selling  their  own 
wonderful  medicines.  By  grouping  the  remedies,  and  prop- 
erly classifying  their  pathogenetic  effects,  a  materia  medica 
might  be  made  that  would  become  the  crowning  glory  of 
our  art,  that  would  enable  the  physicians  to  cease  their 
stumbling  in  the  dark,  that  would  lessen  the  number  of  mis- 
erable failures  that  must  necessarily  occur  while  our  materia 
medica  remains  in  its  present  unsystemized,  mixed,  muddled 
and  unreliable  condition. 

Doctors  would  then  no  longer  disagree  upon  the  remedy 
to  be  selected,  unless  they  were  not  well  posted.  This  ar- 
rangement  need    not   of  course,   do  away  with  our  present 


34  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

materia  medica.  It  could  remain  as  a  therapeutic  land  mark, 
as  a  kind  of  a  history  of  the  embryo  state  of  HomcEopathy, 
and  for  the  absolute  benefit  of  those  of  our  profession  who 
still  prefer  "to  hunt  the  needle  in  the  hay  stack,"  and  who 
still  prefer  to  deal  in  old,  mystical,  intangible  theories,  instead 
of  the  practical  common  sense  truths  of  every  day  experience. 


Short  articles  and  reports  of  cases  in  this  department  may  be  addressed  to  M.  M. 
Eaton,  M.  D.,  Gibson  House,  Cincinnati,  O. 


Atmospheric  FreSSUro  the  most  Important  Factor  in  Support- 
ing^ the  Uterus  in  Situ.  By  M.  M.  Eaton,  M.  D.,  Cin- 
cinnati. 

Viewed  in  the  light  I  now  have,  I  wonder  that  this  asser- 
tion was  not  long  since  made.  I  wonder  at  myself  that  for 
over  twenty  years  I  have  been  willing  to  have  no  satisfactory 
understanding  of  the  supports  of  the  womb. 

Physicians  tell  us  of  the  support  given  by  the  round  and 
broad  ligam:  nts,  but  we  are  reminded  that  there  is  little 
power  of  contraction  in  them,  and  their  attachment  above 
is  such  as  to  preclude  the  idea  that  they  exert  any  consider- 
able influence  in  elevating  the  uterus.  We  also  hear  of  the 
supporting  agency  of  the  vaginal  walls.  This  agency  after 
the  birth  of  a  child  is  non  est.  I  deeply  feel  that  upon  a 
proper  understanding  of  the  anatomy  of  the  uterus  and  ap- 
pendages depends  the  rational  and  successful  treatment  of 
prolapsus,  retroversion,  antevcrsion  and  I  may  add  metritis 
as  well.  Though  some  stumble  into  a  rational  treatment  as 
I  believe  I  did  years   ago  without   being  able   to  give   the 


Obstetrical  and  Gyncecological,  35 

modus  operandi  of  the  cure,  i.  e.  hold  up  the  abdominal  vis- 
cera, create  a  vacuum  in  the  lower  abdomen  and  the  uterus  is 
supported  by  atmospheric  pressure  through  the  vagina  if  the 
air  is  allowed  to  enter  freely.  I  have  always  bad  the  most 
gratifying  success  in  these  ailments  by  the  holdin*^  up  of  the 
abdominal  viscera,  sometimes  one  way  sometimes  another; 
particular  appliances  are  unimportant  so  the  object  is  ob- 
tained. We  must  concede  that  the  abdominal  cavity  is  not 
occupied  by  atmospheric  air  outside  the  intestines.  When 
we  draw  down  the  uterus  forcibly  with  the  tenaculum  or 
otherwise,  and  then  let  go  the  traction  how  soon  it  rebounds, 
as  it  were,  to  its  normal  position.  This  every  experienced 
gynaecologist  knows  from  observation.  Now  there  is  no 
contractile  power  in  the  broad  or  round  ligaments  to  account 
for  this,  neither  is  there  sufficient  contractility  in  the  average 
vagina  to  exert  any  upward  pressure  to  explain  the  return  of 
the  uterus.  Now  if  it  was  not  atmospheric  pressure  that 
does  this,  what  is  it? 

Accepting  this  theory  I  can  see  how  ring  pessaries  have 
been  sometimes  useful  by  distending  the  vagina  and  giving 
more  free  ingress  to  atmospheric  air  which  combined  with 
the  wearing  of  clothing  suspended  from  the  shoulders,  in- 
stead of  around  the  abdomen,  conjoined  with  the  maintain- 
ing of  the  recumbent  position  for  a  considerable  part  of  the 
time,  thereby  causing  the  bowels  to  gravitate  upwards, 
cpses  of  prolapsus  have  been  cured.  I  have  used  hundreds 
of  abdominal  supporters  with  good  effect  in  uterine  mis- 
placements, but  the  rationale  of  their  action  has  but  recently 
occurred  to  me. 

Dr.  Sims  in  his  Uterine  Surgery  has  barely  hinted  at  the 
action  of  atmospheric  air  in  aiding  the  restoration  of  the 
uterus  in  retroversion  while  using  his  speculum,  but  he  does 
not  develop  the  idea  further,  and  in  retaining  the  uterus  in 
situ,  makes  no  mention  of  this  factor;  and  so  far  as  I  have 
learned,  no  one  has  before  me,  and  as  1  have  remarked  I  am 
greatly  surprised  at  it  as  it  now  appears  so  simple  and  clear 
that  I  wonder  it  has  not  always  been  taught. 


36  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

I  recently  had  a  case  fully  under  the  influence  of  Chloro- 
form at  College  Hill,  Ohio,  for  the  purpose  of  removing  a 
fibrous  uterine  polypus  and  being  unable  to  get  my  ecraseur 
over  the  tumor  in  the  vagina,  I  inserted  a  stout  tenaculum 
into  the  tumor  and  drew  the  tumor  out  of  the  vagina  bring- 
ing the  OS  uteri  to  the  mouth  of  the  same,  applied  the  chain, 
then  of  course  easily,  and  as  it  cut  through  the  pedicle  of  the 
tumor,  the  uterus  at  once  retracted,  and  on  examination  I 
found  it  about  as  high  in  the  pelvis  as  I  could  reach.  The 
patient  being  under  Chloroform  there  certainly  was  no  mus- 
cular contraction  anywhere  to  account  for  this,  and  if  it  was 
not  the  atmosphere  that  pressed  it  back  into  the  vacuum  caus- 
ed by  drawing  it  forcibly  down,  then  what  was  it?  In  pro- 
lapsus the  pressure  of  the  abdominal  viscera,  together  with 
the  weight  of  clothing  overcomes  the  pressure  of  the  atmos- 
phere, and  we  should  remove  the  cause  in  treating  the  dis- 
placement. Strains  and  heavy  lifting  may  also  produce  pro- 
lapse and  other  misplacements  by  pressing  down  the  abdo- 
minal organs  upon  the  uterus,  and  when  displaced  the  natu- 
ral weight  of  the  abdominal  organs  resting  upon  the  de- 
pressed uterus  may  prevent  its  rising  until  we  restore  and 
hold  into  position  the  displaced  bowels,  when  a  vacuum  in  the 
lower  abdomen  is  produced  and  the  uterus  rises  as  high  as 
the  vaginal  attachments  will  allow.  In  inflammation  of  the 
organ  we  have  engorgement  and  increased  weight  conjoin- 
ed with  tenderness.  Take  oflf  the  pressure  from  above,  and 
we  in  a  great  measure  aid  recovery  by  relieving  pressure. 
Then  other  treatment  has  a  chance  of  success.  Being  pre- 
pared for  criticism  on  this  paper,  I  invite  it  and  will  cheer- 
fully acknowledge  it  if  shown  to  be  wrong. 


J.  AuAXOpy  has  obtained  an  organic   derivative  of  Phos- 
phorus termed    metkyldiethy1phosphomumx>henylocidehydrate. 


iu$lUnum. 


lUinois  State  Board  of  Medical  Examiners. 

In  the  January  number  of  the  Medical  Investigator,  is  pub- 
lished a  list  often  questions  in  pathology,  and  an  equal  number 
on  the  diseases  of  woman,  which  were  propounded  by  Prof. 
Ludlam,  the  representative  of  Homoeopathy  in  the  above 
named  board. 

Section  nine  of  the  law  governing  the  action  of  the  said 
board,  provides  that,  ''Examinations  may  be  in  whole  or  in 
part,  in  writing,  and  shall  be  of  an  elementary  and  practical 
character,  but  sufficiently  strict  to  test  the  qualifications  of 
candidates  as  a  practitioner." 

Let  us  examine  the  list  of  questions  asked  by  the  learned 

Professor,  and  see  how  far  they  comply  with  the  spiiitof  the 

law. 

The  sixth  question  in  pathology  is  this,  ''What  are  the  three 

cardinal  conditions  of  Grave's  disease." 

When  we  read  that,  we  gave  it  up.     We  did  not  know  any 
thing  about  Mr.  Graves  or  his  disease.     Feeling  deeply  cha- 
grined at  our  deplorable  ignorance  of  matters  "elementary  or 
practical"   in  medicine,  we  set  to  work  to  inform   ourselves 
on  so  important  a  subject.    We  consulted  the  following  works 
viz:  Da  Costa's  Medical  Diagnosis,  Watson's  Practice,  (old 
edition),  Raue's  Pathology,  Baehr's  Therapeutics,  Jahr's  Forty 
Year's  Practice  and  Repertory;  Hill's,  Gibson's,  and  Ashurst's 
Surgeries;  Gilchrist's    Surgical  Diseases;    Churchill,  Tucker 
Tyler,  Smith,  Guernsey,  Hill  and  others  on  obstetrics;  Thomas, 
Barnes,  West,  Jahr,  Ludlam  and  Peters  on  the  diseases  of 
Females;  ten  volumes  of  the  transactions  of  the  Homoeopathic 
Medical  Society  of  the  State  of  New  York;  first  four  volumes 
f  Raue's  Record,  forty  volumes  of   homoeopathic    medical 
journals  published  during  the  last  twenty-five  years,  nobody 
seemed  to  know  that  Mr.  or  Mrs.  Graves  had  been  sick.    We 
began  to  grow  desperate,  and  to  think  we  must  be  the  most 


38  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

unmitigated  ignoramus  in  the  profession.  We  lost  our  appe- 
tite and  sleep,  began  to  have  a  fear  of  meeting  other  members 
of  the  Profession  lest  they  should  discover  our  dense  ignorance 
of  "elementary"  medical  lore.  We  then  began  to  skirmish 
around,  first  examining  the  Bible,  then  the  w^ritings  of  Swed- 
borg,  Wesley,  Tom  Paine  and  Bob  Tngersol. 

It.  was  evidently  not  a  religious  mania.  Then  the  writings 
of  Darwin,  Huxley,  Tyndall  and  other  scientists,  and  several 
volumes  of  the  Popular  Science  Monthly  were  then  consult- 
ed; none  of  them  seemed  to  have  heard  of  the  trouble  in  the 
Graves  family.  Wc  had  now  lost  so  much  flesh  that  we 
barely  tipped  the  scales  at  two  hundred  pounds,  and  our  stand- 
ing in  the  Fat  Men's  Association  was  in  imminent  danger. 

We  then  thought  we  should  look  into  some  of  the  later 
authorities  which  wc  might  have  done  before,  but  we  thought 
these  examinations  were  of  an  eminently  "practical"  character, 
and  of  course  would  not  hold  physicians  i)racticing  without 
a  diploma  or  license  to  an  exhaustive  knowledge  of  the  latest 
acquisitions  in  medical  science.  We  looked  into  one  of  the 
latest  volumns  of  Ziemsen,  and  lo!  there  we  found  out  what 
was  the  matter  with  Mr.  Graves.  We  discovered  that  he  was 
troubled  with  the  same  diseacse  that  afflicted  Mr.  Basedow  and 
Mr.  Parry,  viz:  Exophthalmic  Goitre. 

We  felt  relieved  then,  for  we  had  read  about  Mr  Basedow's 
infirmity  in  Raue's  Record.  We  then  looked  into  Angell  on 
the  Eye,  and  there  found  fifteen  lines  about  Mr  Grave's  dis-. 
ease. 

We  felt  so  elated  that  the  suspicion  of  ignorance  had  been 
removed,  that  we  rushed  across  the  street  into  a  doctor's  oflice 
and  exclaimed,  Eureka!  Excelsior!!  E.  Pluribus  Unum!!!  Ne 
Plus  Ultra!!!!  until  our  little  stock  of  Latin  was  about  exhaust- 
ed, when  they  gave  us  a  smart  shaking  and  asked  what  was 
the  matter,  and  suggested  that  we  must  have  been  proving 
some  deadly  drug,  as  homoeopaths  are  wont  to  do.  and  that 
the  grain  must  be  pumped  out  instantly.  So  three  or  four  of 
them  held  us  in  a  chair,  while  another  got  the  stomach  pump, 
and  was  about  to  apply  it,  when  we  managed  to  tell  them 
that  we  knew  what  ailed  Mr.  Graves.    Who  is  Mr.  Graves  and 


Miscellaneous,  39 

where  does  he  live  said  they.  Why  don't  you  know  about 
Mr.  Graves,  disease  and  its  three  cardinal  conditions  said  we. 
No  we  never  heard  of  Mr.  Graves  nor  his  disease.  We  then 
took  the  opportunity  to  show  up  their  gross  ignorance  in  a 
marked  manner,  and  proceeded  to  read  Ludlam's  questions. 
When  we  came  to  the  question,  "what  are  the  symptoms  and 
treatment  of  vaginismus"  we  felt  very  self-confident,  because 
we  had  seen  and  cured  a  case,  one  of  the  others  had  also  had 
a  case,  but  the  remainder  of  the  party  had  no  experience  and 
could  not  answer  the  question. 

Among  the  lot,  was  an  old  army  surgeon  who  graduated 
in  1S33,  and  was  medical  director  of  an  army  corps  during  the 
rebellion,  also  two  other  army  surgeons  of  twenty  to  twenty- 
five  years  experience,  and  one  professor  then  lecturing  in  a 
medical  college.  When  we  came  to  the  last  question,  "Is  the 
so  called  puerperal  fever  an  essential  fever,"  the  old  medical 
director  remarked  that  he  thought  not,  as  he  had  seen  many 
hundreds  of  woman  recover  from  the  puerperal  state  without 
having  it.  Another  question  is  this:  "Name  the  uterine  displace- 
ments in  the  order  of  their  comparative  frequency."  This 
question  seems  to  show  that  a  knowledge  of  statistics  is  more 
to  be  valued  by  the  Illinois  practitioner,  than  a  knowledge  of 
the  disease.  Another  question,  "What  are  the  causes  of 
menorrhagia?"  How  many  doctors  can  on  the  spur  of  a  mo- 
ment give  all  the  causes  of  this  disease?  The  old  medical 
director  thought  the  propounder  of  the  above  questions  had 
one  or  both  of  the  following  objects  in  view,  cither  to  show 
off  his  own  superior  acquirements,  or  to  compel  the  doctors  on 
examination  to  attend  a  course  of  medical  lectures  at  the  col- 
lege of  which  he  is  a  professor. 

We  submit  it  to  an  intelligent  profession  that  the  questions 
are  unfit  to  be  asked  at  such  an  examination,  because  not  ten 
per  cent,  of  those  holding  diplomas  more  than  ten  years  old 
ever  heard  of  these  diseases;  besides  they  are  chronic  diseases 
which  gives  the  practitioner  ample  time  to  read  up  the  same 
degree  of  ready  knowledge,  not  being  necessary  as  would  be 
in  a  case  of  placenta  praevia  or  some  similar  exigency  in  prac- 
tice.    Those  who  have  neither  diploma  nor  license  should  not 


40  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

in  justice  be  required  to  have  a  greater  amount  of  medical 
knowledge  than  those  who  have  them.  If  such  knowledge  is 
absolutely  necessary  for  a  physician  who  seeks  to  practice  in 
Illinois,  then  let  all  be  put  upon  the  stand,  diploma  or  no 
diploma,  and  then,  let  the  fittest  survive.  There  would  soon 
be  a  good  scarcity  of  doctors  in  Illinois.  Medicus 


Breyiogle  w«w  Swanopathy. 

Dear  Doctor  Swan: — In  your  article  you  refer  to  an- 
other case  of  malignant  diphtheria,  which  I  presume  was 
treated  by  Dr.  W.  C.  Pardee,  in  which  you  claim  the  one 
millioneth  potency  o(  Dog^s  milk  was  the  only  remedy  given, 
and  the  case  recovered.  How  you  can  make  this  statement 
I  can  not  understand,  for  the  first  remedies  used  were  Bell 
3  afterwards  Merc.  prot.  2x,  Now  I  believe  in  the  teachings 
of  Hahnemann  and  I  believe  the  Merc.  prot.  continued  to  act 
for  several  days,  and  really  all  the  medicine  the  child  got, 
in  m}'  judgment,  was  the  Bell,  and  Merc,  and  the  recovery 
was  due  in  a  great  measure  to  the  strong  supportive  treat- 
ment. '^Coivs  milk^  Milk  punch  and  Brandy  every  half  hour" 
during  the  whole  course  of  the  disease.  It  is  certainly  not 
scientific  treatment  to  give  ^^Bog^s  milk  one  millionth''  or  any 
other  remedy  every  half  hour,  for  three  whole  weeks,  to  the 
exclusion  of  old  and  well  tried  remedies.  Such  a  physician 
is  unsafe  and  tampers  with  human  life.  Next  if  your  poten- 
cies are  what  they  are  represented  to  be,  certainly  alternating 
the  millionth  o(  Bog's  milk  every  half  hour  with  Brandy^  Milk 
Punch,  Beef  tea,  Wine  whey,  and  Cow's  milk  is  not  consistent 
(and  Brandy  itself  is  a  compound)  any  physician  of  experi- 
ence can  see  at  once  that  the  supportive  treatment,  saved 
the  child's  life.     But  to  admit,  my  dear  Doctor,  which  I  do  not, 


Miscellaneous,  41 

that  this  case  was  actually  cured  by  "dogs  milk,  one  millionth" 
of  what  value  is  it  to  the  profession?  Would  you  have  us  lay 
aside  our  materia  medica,  discard  all  the  things  that  are  good, 
all  the  well  proven  and  tried  remedies,  and  take  up  with 
remedies  that  have  never  been  proven,  and  follow  you  in 
your  blind  effort  to  establish  "Swanopathy?"  In  regard  to 
the  potency,  or  more  properly  the  dilution  used,  and  as  to  my 
own  acquaintance  with  them,  I  have  this  to  say,  viz:  that  high 
potencies  as  prepared  by  Hahnemann,  are  upon  what  I  rely 
in  my  daily  practice  for  successfully  treating  disease.  On 
page  193  in  Hahnemann's  chronic  diseases,  he  says  that  we 
should  mark  the  third  trituration  the  i,ooo,ocx)th  and  so  on. 
Every  student  of  Homoeopathy  knows  this,  but  Hahnemann 
never  taught  us  to  make  dilutions  after  the  modern  form,  and 
as  you  pretend  to  do,  even  to  the  extent  of  mixing  one  drop 
of  Dog's  milk  in  "forty-five  and  one  quarter  barrels,  of  thirty- 
six  gallons  each."  Such  a  proceeding  would,  to  my  mind, 
bring  the  blush  to  Hahnemann's  cheek,  were  he  living  lo-day. 
You  even  go  further  and  say  "that  your  manner  of  preparing 
potencies  is  quite  different  from  Hahnemann's,"  that  yours  are 
"better  than  his,  and  cure  where  his  faiV^  and  you  even  go 
further  and  say  that  when  the  "machine"  you  have  sent  for 
arrives,  you  can  do  even  better  than  that.  But  the  climax  is 
reached,  when  with  unblushing  effrontery  you  set  yourself 
up  as  the  model  exponent  of  Hahnemanns  teachings,  and 
proclaim  all  others  as  "rebels,"  "eclectics,"  "mongrels,"  etc. 

Like  cats,  you  make  your  little  senate  laws 
Then  sit  attentive  to  your  own  applause. 

Am  I  not  a  homoeopath  because  I  do  not  swallow  your 
dictum  without  question?  Cannot  a  man  practice  homoeo- 
pathy who  uses  the  third  and  sixth  decimal  dilutions?  Would 
you  denounce  and  read  out  of  our  societies  all  the  so-called 
low  potency  men? 

In  the  formation  of  our  county  and  state  societies  and  the 
American  Institute  of  Homoeopathy,  all  are  admitted  who  are 
of  good  moral  character  and  who  believe  in  the  law  of 
Similia  Similihus  Curantur.  Would  you  after  taking  a  man 
into  full  fellowship,  expel  him  as  an  eclectic,  because  he  does 
May-3 


42  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

not  acknowledge  ready  allegiance  to  your  mysterious  trans- 
cendentalism? I  repeat  again  that  true  Homoeopathy  is  advanc- 
ing and  becoming  more  popular  every  day,  but  it  should  not 
be  held  responsible  for  all  the  vagaries  and  innovations  of  some 
of  our  modern  "would  be  leaders"  who  out  Herod  Herod 
himself.  No,  the  load  would  be  too  much  to  carry.  In  regard 
to  the  use  of  high  potencies,  you  purposely  misconstrue  my 
words.  I  use  in  my  daily  practice  ahnost  entirely  high  poten- 
cies, have  depended  for  years  upon  the  thirtieths,  and  can  see 
no  utility  or  good  in  such  high  dilutions  as  your  millionths,  the 
preperation  of  which  is  held  secret  by  you.  You  say  I  do 
not  know  the  thirtieth  from  the  two-hundredth,  or  whether 
it  is  the  the  third  or  sixth.  Ah!  Doctor,  there  is  the  rub;  this 
secret  preparation  of  medicines  by  any  one  should  not  receive 
the  endorsement  or  credence  of  the  profession. 

It  seems  it  is  not  fasoionable  any  more  to  report  cases  that 
have  been  cured  by  anything  less  than  the  two-hundredth, 
and  it  really  requires  some  nerve,  for  a  man  to  do  so.  I  am, 
sir,  truly  yours,  W.  L.  Breyfoglk. 


HomoBopathy  Wounded  in  the  House  of  its  Friends  f  ?)    By  G. 

M.  Pease,  M.  D.,  San  Francisco,  Cal. 

It  is  not  from  the  allopathic  ranks  that  we  now  receive  our 
most  dangerous  wounds;  that  we  are  most  likely  to  be  rid- 
iculed, but  from  those  who  pretend  to  be  our  friends. 

It  seems  strange  that  when  one  is  ignoraut  of  a  thing,  he 
should  seek  to  display  that  ignorance  by  boldly  asserting  it 
and  claiming  credit  for  liberality.  One  would  naturally  think 
when  a  person  is  not  sufficiently  conversant  with  the  materia 
mcdica  to  enable  him  to  select  a  proper  remedy  for  a  given 
disease,  that  he  would  not  seek  to  cry  down  those  who  are 


Miscellaneous.  43 

better  posted,  and  who  may  be  able  to  successfully  treat  such 
disease.  But  alas,  such  seems  to  be  the  case.  This  crying 
out  against  our  school  by  those  who  pretend  to  belong  to  it, 
and  then  calling  themselves  **liberal,"  reminds  one  of  the  old 
couplet, 

"No  thief  e'er  felt  the  halter  draw, 
With  good  opinion  of  the  law." 

These  remarks  are  made  because  of  a  letter  received  from 
a  physician  of  the  old  school,  who  has  been  for  sometime  in- 
vestigating the  law  of  "similia/'  and  who  writes  as  follows: 

"In  spite  of  my  leaning  to  Homa^opathy,  I  have  always 
been,  as  you  know,  sceptical  in  reference  to  your  potencies. 
I  am  glad  that  I  am  not  singular  in  my  obtuseness.  In  the 
Ohio  Eclectic  Medical  Journal  for  the  last  month,  (Oct.)  there 
are  several  extracts  from  an  article  of  Dr.  W.  L.  Breyfogle, 
in  the  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance.  No  doubt  you 
have  seen  the  article,  therefore  I  will  make  but  one  or  two 
extracts.  'What  one  of  you  would  stand  by  the  bedside  of  a 
little  patient  with  membranous  croup,  and  prescribe  llepar 
sulph.  or  Spongia  J$fn.  or  loowi.,  and  fold  your  hjmds  and 
wait  the  result.^  I  would,  if  necessary  vomit  him  with  Alum, 
I  would  use  the  fumes  of  Lime,  or  some  other  ready  expedi- 
ent, and  stand  ready,  in  case  all  fails,  to  use  the  knife'      *     * 

*  *  *  *I  believe  that  some  physicians  honestly  deserve 
the  reputation  of  high  potency  men,  and  that  they  actually 
practice  what  they  preach,  but  certainly  these  men  can  not 
have  much  practice.'  In  the  same  article  I  lind  the  following 
extracts  from  the  proceedings  of  the  Homoeopathic  Medical 
Society  of  Northern  New  York.  'These  remedies  (high  po- 
tencies), ought  not  to  receive  the  approval  of  the  profession' 

^  4t  *  ¥t  *  'the  proving  of  medicines  in  doses  so 
small  as  to  be  inappreciable  in  quantity,  have  no  qualities 
that  can  command  them  to  the  confidence  of  the  medical 
profession.' 

"Now  Doctor,  if  the  esoterics  thus  stagger  in  their  faith,  you 
must  not  be  surprised  if  an  exoteric  continues  his  exclama- 
tion 'how  can  these  things  be?'  And  yet  I  like  to  read  the 
ifprature  of  your  school,  and  converse  with  the  intelligent 
men  of  the  same.'* 


44  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

Now  I  ask  can  we  wonder  that  we  are  laughed  at  by 
other  schools,  when  from  our  seeming  midst  comes  such  ut- 
ter disregard  of  all  our  boasted  triumphs  based  upon  what 
some  of  us  suppose  and  know  to  be  a  fundamental  law  of 
cure?  An  honest  homojopath  is  always  respected  by  those  of 
the  other  schools,  though  they  do  not  any  the  more  believe 
in  his  doctrine,  because  of  the  sayings  and  doings  of  those 
who  claim  so  much  liberality. 


VLj  First  and  Best  Cure. 

Soon  after  being  emancipated  from  college,  I  sat  in  my 
office  gazing  at  my  diploma  and  wondering  what  the  plag- 
uey  thing  meant  anyway,  when  enter  patient.  Mrs.  A.,  aet. 
forty;  lymphatic  temperament;  has  been  a  sufferer  for  fifteen 
years.  Trouble  commenced  with  occasional  attacks  of  pain, 
once  a  month  or  so,  located  in  the  epigastric  and  right  hypo- 
chondriac regions,  commencing  gradually,  increasing  in  se- 
verity and  leaving  suddenly.  The  history  of  the  case  shows 
that  from  the  inception  of  the  disease  to  the  present  time,  the 
attacks  have  increased  in  frequency  and  severity,  until  now 
they  come  on  every  day  before  noon  and  are  of  the  most  ex- 
cruciating character.  Each  paroxysm  is  dreaded  to  such  an 
extent,  that  in  her  own  words,  "Life  is  a  burden  and  I  wish 
I  were  dead."  During  the  attack  patient  is  very  restless, 
throwing  herself  about  in  the  vain  effort  to  get  relief  from 
change  of  posture;  bowels  constipated  and  at  times  distend- 
ed with  gas.  My  diagnosis  was  gall  stone  colic,  in  which  I 
was  confirmed  by  all  my  professional  predecessors.  As  to 
treatment  patient  had  "tried  everything,"  external,  internal 
and  eternal;  Allopathy,  Hydropathy,  Homoeopathy,  "roots 
and  herbs,"  and  electricity,  but  all  without  avail.      I  was   in- 


Miscellaneous.  45 

debted  for  my  call  simply  because  I  was  the  new  doctor  in 
town,  (and  a  green  one  too).  I  went  to  my  medicine  case  to 
make  a  prescription,  the  good  Lord  only  knew  what,  I  did 
not,  but  I  was  foreordained  to  prescribe  Podophyllum  peltate 
205,  five  powders  of  about  three  grains  each;  the  directions 
were  to  take  a  powder  before  the  usual  attack  came  on.  Re- 
sult: next  day  the  paroxysm  was  not  so  severe;  the  second 
day  it  was  still  lighter;  the  third  day  merely  a  trace;  the 
fourth  day  entire  relief,  and  from  then  till  now,  eleven  years, 
patient  has  had  no  return.  I  do  not  pretend  to  explain  the 
modus  operandi  of  the  cure  and  perhaps  with  the  light  of  day 
I  would  have  prescribed  China  after  the  manner  of  Thayer, 
but  I  do  know  that  I  stumbled  into  practice  and  reputation 
with  the  help  of  Pod,,  and  1  wish  to  enquire  if  any  of  the 
veterans  can  tell  me  how  my  patient  was  cured? — H.  M. 
Day  FOOT,  M.  D.,  Mt.  Morris,  N.  Y. 


Iodine  in  the  Bite  of  the  Battlesnake. 

I  have  treated  about  one  dozen  cases  of  poisoning  by  the 
bite  of  the  rattlesnake  within  the  last  three  or  four  years, 
curing  every  case  splendidly  with  Iodine  alone.  I  gave  from 
one  to  two  drops  of  the  tincture  every  hour  according  to  the 
severity  of  the  case.  Have  had  severe  cases,  one  especially; 
a  lady  about  thirty  had  been  bitten  about  thirty  hours  when 
called  to  see  her;  swollen  terribly;  mottled  spots  appearing 
over  the  entire  body;  breathing  with  great  difliculty,  and  ap- 
parently near  death.  Gave  Iodine,  four  drops  every  hour. 
In  a  few  hours  all  the  symptoms  were  better,  and  in  a  few 
days  was  entirely  well.  I  have  used  for  the  last  four  years 
no  other  remedy.  I  have  never  tried  the  dilutions,  but  doubt 
their  efficacy  in  a  recent  case,  but  would   most  certainly  try 


46  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

them  in  cases  where  the  primary  effects  had  passed  off",  and 
my  patient  was  laboring  under  the  secondary  results  of  the 
poison.  I  do  not  know  whether  I  cured  these  cases  hom- 
CDopathically  or  not,  but  it  will  cure  every  time  notwithstand- 
ing.— E.  F.  Brown,  M.  D.,  Hastings,  Mich. 


-^^ 


The  HoMa:oPATiiic  Society  of  Tuscarawas  and 
Adjacent  Counties. — December  13,  1877.  Pursuant  to 
adjournment,  the  first  regular  meeting  of  the  HomGcopathic 
Medical  Society,  of  Tuscarawas  and  adjacent  counties  was 
held  at  Dr.  Cash's  office.  The  meeting  being  called  to  order 
by  the  President,  Dr,  Dickson,  Dr.  John  Miller,  of  New 
Philadelphia,  was  elected  a  member.  An  election  of  the 
officers  was  held  for  the  next  half  year.  All  of  the  old  offi- 
cers were  elected  the  second  term.  The  chair  appointed  a 
committee  to  select  delegates  to  the  State  Homceopathic  So- 
ciety at  its  next  annual  meeting.  Drs.  Cash  and  Dickson 
were  selected,  after  which  Dr.  Carter  read  a  paper  on  dropsy 
being  clinical  cases.  The  next  paper  presented  and  read, 
was  upon  obstetrics,  by  D**.  Druinm  which  drew  out  some 
discussion.  Dr.  Peck  followed  by  remarks  upon  materia 
medica.  Dr.  Dickson  then  read  a  paper  upon  cholera  infant- 
um and  its  treatment  which  was  freely  discussed.  Dr. 
Cash  offered  in  writing  an  amendment  to  the  constitution 
which  would  elect  the  officers  one  year  instead  of  six  months. 
Drs.  Peck,  Drumm  and  Wilcox  were  appointed  a  committee 
on  appointments  of  bureaus.  Dr.  Drumm  was  appointed  to 
gynaecology;  Dr.  Carter,  clinical  medicine;  Dr.  Cash,  ob- 
stetrics; Dr.  Wilcox,  surgery;  Dr.  Dickson,  materia  medica, 
with  Dr.  Miller  on  indiginous  remedies,  Dr.  Peck,  diseases 
of  children,  after  which  the  president  delivered  his  semi-an- 
nual address. — Nathan  Cash,  M.  D.,  Secretary. 


Miscellaneous  47 


Western  Mass.  Hom.  Med.  Society — The  quarterly 
meeting  of  the  Homoeopathic  Medical  Association  of  West- 
ern Mass.  was  held  at  Springfield,  Wednesday,  February, 
2oth,  1878. 

An  excellent  paper  was  read  by  Dr.  Cate,  of  Northampton, 
on  diseases  of  the  kidneys,  also  papers  by  Dr.  Woods,  of  Holy- 
oke,  on  surgery,  and  Dr.  Sterling,  of  Amherst,  on  functional 
diseases  of  crystalline  lens  and  ciliary  muscle.  During  the 
afternoon  session  free  discussions  of  various  interesting  med- 
ical subjects  occupied  the  time  very  pleasantly.  Cases  from 
practice  were  presented,  accounts  of  recent  post-mortems  etc- 
This  society  although  young  is  active  and  vigorous.  Its  mem- 
bership increases  by  squads  of  six  or  eight  at  every  meeting 
and  it  already  numbers  some  of  the  best  men  in  the  state,  al- 
though nominally  for  Western  Mass.  it  draws  members  from 
the  eastern  part,  also  representatives  from  Southern  Ver- 
mont and  Northern  Connecticut,  who  are  decided  acquisi- 
tions. The  society  met  with  a  severe  loss  in  the  death  of  Dr. 
Swazey  who  took  a  warm  inteiest  in  it.  The  next  quar- 
terly meeting  will  be  held  at  Springfield  on  the  third  Wed- 
nesday in  May  next,  (15th),  and  if  any  of  your  readers  are 
in  the  vicinity  at  that  time  they  may  rest  assured  they  will 
meet  with  a  hearty  welcome  on  presenting  themselves. — C. 
F.  S. 


The  Student's  Hysteria. 

In  a  paper  on  hysteria,  which  received  a  prize  at  the  Physi- 
cal Society  of  Guy's  Hospital  this  year,  Mr.  P.  Horrocks 
writes: — 


48  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

*'During  the  fortnight  following  the  death  of  the  late  Na- 
poleon, Sir  James  Paget  was  consulted  for  stone  in  the  blad- 
der, by  no  less  than  four  gentlemen  who  had  nothing  the 
matter  with  them.  And  this  leads  me  to  speak  of  a  form  of 
hysteria  which  is  frequent  in  males,  and  perhaps  more  so  in 
our  own  profession  than  in  any  other  class  of  people.  How 
many  students  are  there  of  one  year's  standing  or  more,  in 
this  hospital  or  any  other,  who  have  not  imagined,  and  really 
become  convinced,  that  they  were  suffering  from  some  disease 
generally  a  fatal  disease  ?  I,  myself,  must  confess  that  I 
have,  since  coming  to  Guy's,  been  thoroughly  convinced 
that  my  heart  was  diseased.  After  a  time,  however,  I  felt 
that  I  was  laboring  under  a  great  delusion;  it  was  not  my 
heart,  after  all,  it  must  be  my  lungs.  I  remember  listening 
with  breathless  attention  to  Dr.  Habershon,  as  he  lectured  on 
phthisis,  for  I  was  so  convinced  that  my  chest  was  clTected.. 
that  I  had  not,  at  that  time,  called  up  sufficient  courage  to 
read  it  in  books,  for  fear  of  finding  out,  without  any  doubt, 
that  I  was  a  doomed  man.  One  thing,  however,  I  could  not 
get  over,  and  that  was  that  phthisical  patients  lose  their  appe- 
tites. I  have  never  had  that  symptom  yet,  and  so,  after  all,  I 
may  only  have  been  suffering  from  mental  delusion.  I  am 
not  alone  in  this  kind  of  thing;  scores  of  students  consult, 
yearly  medical  men,  for  complaints  of  which  they  have  not 
a  single  symptom.  Ask  any  of  our  staff;  they  have  had  am- 
ple experience,  and  will  fully  bear   out  what  I  have  stated." 


Something  New  About  Ozygen. 

Recent  investigations  have  disclosed  the  singular  fact  that 
oxygen  under  high  pressure  rapidly  destroys  all  living  beings 
and  organic  compounds.     All  the   varied  phenomena  of  fer- 


Miscellaneous,  49 

mentation,  in  which  the  chemical  action  depends  upon  the 
presence  of  living  organisms,  are  completely  arrested  by  the 
action  of  compressed  oxygon,  even  if  exerted  for  only  a  brief 
time;  while  fermentations  due  to  dissolved  matter  like  dias- 
tase, perfectly  resist  its  influence.  Mr.  Bert,  to  whom  this 
curious  discovery  is  due,  has  found  a  practical  application  of 
it  in  the  field  of  ph\'siological  research.  The  ripening  of 
fruits  is  arrested  by  exposure  to  compressed  oxygen,  and 
hence  it  must  arise  from  cellular  evolution.  The  poison  of 
the  scorpion,  on  the  other  hand  whether  liquid,  or  dried  and 
and  redissolved  in  water,  entirely  resists  the  action  of  the 
compressed  gas.  Such  poisons  evidently  owe  their  power  to 
chemical  compounds  akin  to  the  vegetable  alkaloids.  Fresh 
vaccine  matter,  subjected  for  more  than  a  week  to  oxygen  un- 
der a  pressure  equal  to -fifty  atmospheres,  retained  its  virtue; 
from  which  it  would  appear  that  the  active  principle  in  vac- 
cine matter  is  not  certain  living  organisms  or  cells,  as  some 
have  supposed.  The  virus  of  glanders,  after  similar  treat- 
ment, quickly  infected  horses  inoculated  with  it;  and  carbun- 
cular  blood,  though  freed  from  bacteria,  was  found  to  retain 
its  dangerous  properties  after  the  same  test.  These  must, 
therefore,  be  put  in  the  same  class  with  vaccine  matter. 

If  these  results  are  confirmed  by  further  investigations,  the 
discovery  is  certainly  a  most  important  one,  and  will  lead  to 
the  settlement  of  many  disputed  questions  in  physiological 
chemistry. — Jour,  of  Ckem. 


Man's  Average  Height. 

Statistical  tables  taken  by  army  surgeons  during  the  war 
show  the  mean  height  of  over  a  half  million  men  of  different 
nativities.  From  these  it  appears  the  American  Indian  stands 
at  the  head  of  the  list,  his  mean  height  being  67.934  inches. 
The  American  white  man  is  next  in  order,  being  67.673  inches. 
The  Scotch  67.066.  English  66.575.  Russia  66,393.  France 
66.227.     Mexico  66.1 10. — Exchange. 


50  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 


New  York  Homoeopathio  Medical  College. 

The  eighteenth  annual  commencement  was  held  at  Chicker- 
ing  Hall  on  the  evening  of  Thursday,  Feb.  28th,  1878.  The 
Dean,  Prof.  Dowling,  gave  an  introductory  address,  after 
which  the  degrees  were  conferred  upon  the  graduating  class 
by  Hon,  Salem  H.  Wales,  President  of  the  Board  of  Trustees. 

The  Secretary  of  the  Faculty,  Prof.  Bradford,  then  presented 
certificates  to  the  juniors  who  had  passed  a  satisfactory  exam- 
inalion  in  any  or  all  of  the  junior  studies,  after  which  Prof. 
Helmuth,  in  the  happiest  manner  conferred  the  prizes  upon 
the  various  successful  competitors  in  the  senior  and  junior 
classes  in  the  following  order,  viz: 

First.  A  Faculty  Prize,  a  fine  microscope,  one  hundred 
dollars,  conferred  upon  the  graduate  attaining  the  highest 
grade  of  scholarship  through  the  whole  course,  to  G.  R. 
Stearns,  uf  Buffalo,  N.  Y.  In  connection  with  this  prize  the 
following  graduates  received  honorable  mention:  C.  A.  Wal- 
ters, Jr.,  Greenpoint,  L.  I.,  N.  W.  Rand,  Francistown,  N.  H., 
T.  W.  Swalm,  of  Mahoney  C.ty,  Pa. 

Second.  Prize  presented  by  H.  B.  Millard,  M.  D.,  to  the 
best  operator  on  the  cadaver  and  showing  the  most  aptitude 
for  surgery,  a  line  set  of  operating  instruments  to  Thomas 
Dickenson  Spencer,  of  Utica,  N.  Y. 

Third.  Prize  "Allen  Gold  Medal,''  for  the  best  original  inves- 
tigation in  materia  medica.  Gold  medal  to  Edward  Chapin, 
of  Chapinsville,  N.  Y.     Apocynum  cannahinum. 

Fourth.    Prof  Burdick's  prize.     A  pair  of  obstetrical  for 
ceps,  for  the  greatest  proficiency  in  the  branch  of  obstetrics, 
to  G.  R.  Stearns,  of  Buffalo,  N.  Y.      Honorable  mention: 
Wm.  H,  McLenathan,  of  Jay,  N,  Y.,  Henry  Von  Musits,  of 
New  York  city,  B.  C.  Shenstone,  of  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

Fifth.  Prof.  Lilenthal's  prize.  **A,"  for  the  best  record  of 
the  medical  clinics  held  at  the  college,  pocket  case  of  m  po- 
tences,  to  Arthur  A.  Camp,  of  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.  "B,"  for 
the  best  thesis  on  nervous  disorders,  "Wickers  on  Nervous 
Diseases,"  Lond.  1S78,  to  C.  A.  Waters,  Jr.,  of  Greenpoint,  L. 


Miscellaneous,  51 

I.  The  subject  of  Mr.  Walters'  thesis  was  Chorea.  These 
two  prizes  were  adjudged  by  medical  gentlemen  not  connect' 
ed  with  the  college  in  any  way. 

Sixth.  Prof.  Helmuth's  Prize.  For  the  best  record  of  the 
Surgical  Clinics  held  at  the  College  and  at  Wards  Island 
Hospital,  a  very  fine  pocket  case  of  general  operating 
instrnments,  to  H.  C.  Blauvelt,  of  New  York  city,  of  the 
junior  class.  Honorable  mention,  Arthur  A.  Camp,  of 
graduating  class. 

Seventh.  Wale's  Prize.  Presented  bv  Hon.  Salem  H.  Wales 
to  the  memberof  the  junior  class  attaining  the  highest  grade  of 
excellence  in  the  junior  branches,  to  E.  V.  Moffat,  of  Brooklyn, 
N.  Y.,  a  Helmuth  pocket  case  of  instruments.  Honorable 
mention,  J.  W.  Candee,  of  Syracuse.  N.  Y.,  R.  M.  Weed,  of 
New  York  city. 

J.  T.  O'Conor,  M.  D.,  Professor  of  Chemistry,  then  deliv- 
ered a  most  excellent  valedictory  address,  on  behalf  of  the 
faculty  to  the  graduating  class;  after  which  B.  C.  Slienstone, 
M.  D.,  delivered  the  valedictory  address  on  behalf  of  the 
class. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Tucker,  after  an  address,  giving  some  well 
chosen  advice  to  the  graduating  class,  closed  the  exercises  of 
the  evening  with  the  benediction. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  graduates: 

H.  J.  Beals,  New  York;  C.  K.  Belden,  New  York;  T. 
P.Birdsall,  New  York;  G.  C.  Blakelock,  New  York;  M.  M. 
Bose,  Calcutta;  L.  T.  Botsford,  New  York;  A.  A.  Camp, 
New  York;  Eugene  Campbell,  Iowa;  J.  H.  Chamberlain, 
New  Jersey;  E.  Chapin,  New  York;  O.  C.  Cole,  New  York; 
G.  W.  Crosby,  New  York;  A.  M.  Curtiss,  New  York;  J. 
G.  B.  Custis,  District  Columbia;  R,  N.  Denison,  M.  D.,  New 
York;  W.  A.  Durrie,  New  Jersey;  W.  E.  Gorton,  New 
York;  H.  W.  Garrison,  New  York:  H.  D.  Gould,  New 
Hampshire;  S.  M.  Johnson,  New  York;  J.  Kastenduck, 
New  Jersey;  G.  Lounsberry,  New  York;  C.  McDowell, 
New  Jersey;  W.  H.  McLenathan,  New  York;  E.  J,  Morgan, 
Jr.,  New  York;  H.  Musets,  New  York;  J.  L.  Nevin,  Penn- 
sylvania; N.  W.  Rand,  New  Hampshire;  O.  S.  Ritch,  New 


52  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

York;  B.  C.  Shenstone,  New  York;  T.  D.  Spenser,  New 
York;  C.  E.  Stark,  Connecticut;  G.  R.  Stearns,  New  York; 
E.  C.  Strader,  New  York;  J.J.  Sutton,  New  York;  T.  W. 
Swalm,  Pennsylvania;  C,  S.  Van  Shoonhoven,  New  York; 
C.  A.  Walters,  Jr.,  New  York. 


A  New  Microscope. 

Zentmeyer'8  Histological. — The  new  Histological  stand 
recently  invented  by  Mr.  Zentmcyer,  of  Philadelphia,  posses- 
ses a  number  of  features  that  make  it  altogether  a  very  desir- 
abl  einstrumcnt.  It  is  of  small  size,  compact,  ot  pleasing  form 
and  neatly  finished.  It  is  also  furnished  at  a  very  moderate 
cost.  For  the  physician's  use  it  has  all  the  advantages  of 
the  very  best  microscopes  made.  Among  other  points  of 
special  merit  wo  notice  the  fine  adjustment — which  is  the 
same  as  used  on  his  Centennial  stand,  and  the  plan  of  at- 
taching the  sub-stage  and  mirror  to  the  same  bar,  and  so 
adjusting  the  bar  that  when  an  objective  is  used  for  con- 
densing the  light,  the  object  is  always  in  the  line  of  the 
principal  axis;  to  what  point  it  may  bo  swung,  even  when 
brought  above  the  stage  for  opaque  illumination.  Another 
excellent  feature  is  the  short  tube  When  the  draw-tube  is 
closed,  giving  a  heighth  of  only  seven  inches  above  the  ob- 
ject, making  it  very  convenient  when  working  with  the 
tube  in  the  vertical  position.  When  drawn  out  it  gives  the 
normal  length  of  ten  inches. — C.  P.  Allino, 

HoM.  Med,  Society  of  Michigan. — The  next  annual 
meetin<]^  will  be  held  in  Lansing,  Tuesday  and  Wednesday, 
May  2ist  and  22d,  1878.  A  fine  meeting  is  anticipated.  C. 
\V.  Prindle,  M.  D.,  Gen.  Sec'y. 


cml  MMu$* 


Address.  Introductory  to  the  Eighteenth  Annual  Course  of  Lectures 
of  the  Hahnemann  Medical  College  and  Hospital,  Chicago,  111. 
By  Profs.  A.  E.  Small  and  H.  P.  Cole. 

Accompanying  this,  we  have  four  other  pamphlets  from  the  same 
college  faculty,  first.  An  Address,  by  Prof.  Vilas ;  second,  ditto,  by 
Prof.  Couch ;  third,  a  Lecture  on  Clinical  Instruction  as  a  Factor  in 
Medical  Education,  by  Prof.  Leavitt;  fourth.  The  Constitution  and 
By-Laws  of  the  Clinical  Society  of  the  Hahnemann  Medical  Hos- 
pital. All  this  shows  enterprise,  and  is  quite  characteristic  of  Chica- 
go. Undoubtedly  there  are  live  men  connected  with  the  Hahnemann, 
and  they  know  the  value  of  advertising.  Of  the  many  good  things 
these  gentleman  have  said  we  have  not  space  for  more  than  a  general 
commendation.  Of  the  queer  things  they  have  said  we  can  not  help 
noticing  one.  Speaking  of  the  past  history  of  the  college,  Prof.  Cole 
in  his  address,  says :  "It  was  found  as  the  faculty  increased  in  num- 
ber the  different  topics  had  to  be  so  divided  and  subdivided  and  re- 
arranged so  frequently  that  nobody  knew  just  what  he  was  going  to 
talk  about  and  spent  most  of  his  time  in  explaining  some  pet  theory 
he  had  discovered,  advertising  some  specialty  or  describing  remarkable 
cases  he  had  cured  to  say  nothing  of  the  three  or  four  professors  who, 
while  attempting  to  cover  the  same  ground  could  not  agree  in  a 
single  particular."  This  is  in  the  nature  of  a  revelation,  but  unfor- 
tunately po8<  hoc,  rather  than  prophetic,  for  now  the  obvious  damage 
to  students  is  fait  acompH,  and  therefore  not  to  be  avoided.  Still  the 
case  may  not  be  so  bad  after  all,  for  if  before  the  word  **8pent,"  the 
preceding  pronoun  "nobody"  is  understood  to  stand  it  results  that  the 
faculty  of  the  Hahnemann  have  been  all  they  ever  professed  to  be, 
but  if  instead  we  are  to  supply  *'each  one"  before  "spent,"  then  all 
we  have  to  say  is  that  this  is  the  worst  voluntary  confession  ever 
made  by  a  medical  college  in  this  country  or  age.  To  compare  this 
aber  gUiuhe  (after  thought)  with  the  annual  announcements  put  forth 
by  this  college  during  the  years  this  state  of  affairs  is  said  to  have 
existed  would  be  to  show  a  fearful  discrepancy  of  stiitemcnt.  Prof. 
Cole  must  see  that  if  what  he  says  is  true,  he  and  his  confreres  have 
been  party  to  a  grand  fraud,  and  his  confession  of  it  could  have  no 
other  object  than  to  throw  discredit  upon  other  parties.  The  fact  is, 
we  don't  believe  the  statement,  and  we  caution  the  public  from  be- 
lieving that  Hahnemann  Medical  College  of  Chicago  is  or  ever  has 
been  half  so  bad  as  here  represented. 


64  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 


Cyclopaedia  of  the   Practice  of  Medicine.     Vol.  XI.    Diseases  of  the 
Nervous  System.    AVm.  Wood  &  Co.,  New  York. 

The  present  volume  treats  of  diseases  of  the  peripheral  cerebro- 
spinal nerves,  and  is  entirely  the  work  of  Prof.  Erb,  of  Heidelberg. 
The  singleness  of  authorship  gives  a  smoothness  and  unity  to  the 
works  that  are  always  pleasing  to  the  student.  The  author  covers  a 
DT.uch  neglected  ground  in  medical  studies.  To  the  general  practi- 
tioner the  pathology  of  the  nervous  system  is  often  a  terra  incognita. 
But  had  investigations  into  it  been  always  as  plain  as  now  made  by 
Prof.  Erb,  it  would  have  been  the  favorite  rather  than  the  generally 
avoided  ntudy.  AVe  can  not  praise  too  highly  the  author's  systematic 
arrangement  as  well  the  ^reat  clearners  and  ease  with  which  he  dis- 
cusses his  subjects.  He  treats  of  all  forms  of  neurosis,  neuralgia,  an- 
aesthesia, hyperesthesia,  spasms  and  paralysis,  with  their  concomi- 
tant and  resultant  conditions.  Taken  altogether  this  is  one  of  the 
most  interesting  of  the  series,  and  will,  we  are*  sure,  be  read  with 
pleasure  by  all  who  are  so  fortunate  as  to  possess  it.  Rob't  Clarke 
&  Co.,  Cincinnati. 

The  St.  Louis  Clinical  Review.    Vol.  I.    No.  I.    Monthly  at  $2.00  a 
Year. 

Who  says  the  world  doesn't  move?  It  is  bound  to  move  some- 
where and  somehow  when  our  gallant  friend,  Prof.  P.  G.  Valentine 
takes  hold  of  it.  It  is  enough  to  say  that  he  is  the  originator  and 
conductor  of  this  new  enterprise,  and  therefore  it  is  bound  to  win.  It 
gives  us  pleasure  to  welcome  this  journal,  for  it  is  our  only  Trans- 
Mississippi  representative,  and  we  heartily  wish  it  success.  Pray  add 
it  to  your  list  of  journals  at  once,  for  in  subscribing  since  it  were  well 
when  it  were  done,  it  were  well  it  were  done  quickly. 


€bmi$  ^Mt 


We  can  publL'^h  the  MEDICAL  ADVANCE  at  the  low  rate  of  two  doh 
harB  a  ytar^  only  by  adhering  to  the  i-uie  qf  advance  payment  for  eubscription. 


Editor's  Table.  55 

We  expect  to  hear  from  all  our  friends  whose  bills  are  enclosed  on 
the  reception  of  this  first  number  of  Volume  VI.  The  promptness 
we  show  we  would  like  to  have  reciprocated. 

Prof.  J.  AV.  Dowling,  of  New  York,  rises  to  explain.  In  the  re- 
cent controversy  among  the  members  of  the  Homoeopathic  Society  of 
that  city,  he  was  reported  through  the  papers  of  the  country  as  say- 
ing that  ''as  for  himself  he  used  in  his  practice  emetics,  cathartics  and 
quinine  in  enormous  doses."  This  treatment  has  raised  a  general 
questioning  as  to  what  sort  of  Homoeopathy  was  being  taught  in  the 
New  York  Homoeopathic  College  of  which  Prof.  Dowling  is  dean. 
The  Professor  says  in  a  communication  to  this  journal,  that  on  the  oc- 
casion referred  to  he  said :  ''I  am  a  homoeopath,  and  as  firm  a  be- 
liever in  the  homoeopathic  principle  of  cure,  SimHia  Similibus  Curantur, 
as  any  physician  present  this  evening  or  practicing  Homcxjopathy  to- 
day." He  further  says :  "In  a  practice  of  over  twenty  years,  I  have 
exclusively  followed  that  principle  within  the  field  to  which  it  is  ap- 
plicable." And  he  then  at  some  length  explains  in  what  cases  he 
judges  the  law  not  applicable.  His  entire  letter  to  us  may  be  found 
in  the  April  number  of  the  American  Observer. 

Our  Joint  Convention  promises  to  be  a  grand  success.  As  at  pres- 
ent arrangefl  the  societies  will  meet  at  nine  a.  m.,  in  the  College 
Rooms,  corner  Mound  and  Seventh  streets,  May  14th.  The  amphi- 
theater of  the  College  will  be  used  for  the  joint  sessions.  A  cordial 
invitation  is  extended  to  the  medical  fraternity  to  be  present  with 
their  families  and  friends  to  join  in  the  festivities  of  the  occasion. 

American  Institute  op  Hom(eopatiiy  next  annual  meeting  at  Put- 
in-Bay, June  18, 19,  20  and  21.    Head  quarters  at  Put-in-Bay  House. 

The  Wisconsin  Homoeopathic  Society  will  meet  in  Milwaukee, 
June  13th  and  14th.    0.  W.  Carlson,  M.  D.,  Secretary. 

The  California  Homoeopathic  Medical  Society  holds  its  next  meet- 
ing in  San  Francisco  the  second  Wednesday  in  May.  G.  M.  Dixon, 
Secretary. 

Charles  Dickens  said  that  "the  first  external  revelation  of  the  dry 
rot  in  men  is  a  tendency  to  lurk  and  lounge ;  to  be  at  street  corners 
without  intelligible  reason;  to  be  going  any  where  when  met;  to  be 
about  many  places  rather  than  any  ;  to  do  nothing  tangible,  but  to 
have  an  intention  of  performing  a  number  of  tangible  duties  to-mor- 
row or  tlie  day  after." 

Bv  THE  WAY,  I  have  never  seen  an  answer  to  your  question,  why 
some  doctors  get  rich  while  others  toil  hard  all  their  lives  and  ))arely 
make  a  living.  Let  us  have  the  answer.  Give  us  the  key  that  will 
unlock  the  mystery.    C.  W.  H. 


56 


Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 


Dr.  D.  a.  Hiller,  of  San  Francisco,  lias  opened  a  Free  Homceo- 
pathic  Dispenaary  at  Baglcy  Place.    Success  to  the  enterprise. 

Dr.  a.  M.  Curtis  has  been  appointed  resident  physician  to  the 
Ward's  Island  Homoeopathic  Hospital.  AVe  cordially  approve  the 
appointment. 

Dr.  J.  C.  KiLfJORE  has  changed  his  location  to  New  Richmond,  O. 

The  Nebraska  Hom<i'opathic  Me<lical  Association  meets  in  Omaha, 
May  22(1  and  23d.  A  cordial  invitation  to  all.  H.  A.  Worley, 
Secretary. 

RECEIVED. 

A  Plea  for  Pure  Homu^opathy  Against  Eclectic  Homoeopathy.  By 
Edward  Bayard,  M.  D. 

Hoyne's  Annual  Directory  of  Illinois,  Indiana  and  Missouri,  1878. 

**The  Blood  is  the  Life."  A  Treatise  on  Immortality.  By  Joseph 
Wheeler  Bath,  New  York. 

Annual  lIoma*opathic  Gazetter,  Iowa,  Arkansas,  Nebraska,  Louisi- 
ana, Tennessee  and  Texas.    Dubuque,  Iowa,  1878. 

The  Reformation.  A  S(»rmon  on  Ritualism.  By  Rev.  P.  B.  Mor- 
gan, M.  D.,  Cincinnati,  1878. 

Diseases  of  the  Brain  and  Nervous  System.  By  J.  Martinc  Ker- 
shaw,  M.  D.,  St.  Louis.  To  bo  issued  in  eight  separate  parts.  Parti, 
Facial  Neuralgia  and  the  Visceralagia. 

Cydoptedia  of  the  Practice  of  Medicine.  Vol.  XVII.  General 
Anoinali(»s  of  Nutrition  and  Poisons.  AVm.  Wood  &  Co.,  New  York. 
Rob't  Clarke  &  Co.,  Cincinnati. 


EDITORIAL. 
THEORY    AND   PRACTICE. 

Epideinii'   Influenza 12 

That  ri'port  on  Intussusception  18 
Soiui'    Casus   from   our    Note 

Jiook 22 

MATERIA    MEDICA. 

A  Pn>vin«( 25 

Materia  Modica 28 

OBS T l-TT R IC A  L   A:   <  i Y  X  .EL'< )  L<  K ;  I C A L. 

Atiuo.spheric*  Pressure  the  most 
Important  Factor  in  Sup- 
porting the  Uterus  in  Situ...  ?A 

MIS<'KLLAXKOrs. 

Illinois  State  Board  of  Medical 

Examiners ?u 

Breyfo^le  i«/j<w«  Swanopathy..  40 
Iloiui.eopathy     Wounded      in 


the  II(Hiso  of  its  Friends  (?)  42 

My  First  and  Best  Cure 44 

Iodine  in  the  Bite  of  a  Rattle- 
snake   45 

The  ]Iom<eopathic  Society  of 
Tuscarawas    and     Adjacent 

Counties 4€ 

Western  Mass.  Horn.  Med.  So- 
ciety   47 

The  Student's  Hysteria 47 

Something?  New  About  Oxygen  4fi 

Man's  Averajre  Height 4fl 

New  York  Horn.  Med.  College  5C 

A  New  MicroscoiH? hi 

Ilom.  Med.  Society  of  Mi<^hi- 
gan *. 52 

BOOK     NOTIt.ES.  5S 


,'o 


EDITOR  S   TABLE. 


JAS.    P.   GEPPKRT,   PR. 


ClMClN!f*TI,  0,  Jdsb,  1878, 


Tax  EoiTOB  of  "The  Organon"  banters  ns.    Dr.  Blundgli.,  ot  1>od- 
don,  lately  died,  leavin;;  an  eatate  wortli  two  million,  seven  hundred 
and  fifty  thousand  dollars,  and  theeditoraggravntingl;  inquires,  "can 
yoo  ilo  anything  like  that  in  the  obBt«tric  line  in  the  Slates?"    To  be 
•are  we  can.    And  besides,  our  wealth  is  not  as  in  England,  all  in  tht' 
bands  of  our  obstetricians.    Even  our  contmon  doctors  die  here  and 
lear«  more  money  than  that.    And,  besides,  most  of  them  are  saved 
lh«  trouble  of  making  bequests.    A  midwife  with  hut  a  limited  prac- 
tice died  here  not  long  ago,  and  left  tbe  whole  world  to  her  suocesn- 
an.    By  the  way,  Brother  Skinner,  how  would  it  do  to  suggest  thin 
n  the  line  of  epitaphs:  For  ordinary  people  engrave  on  their  tomh 
tone  Finia — for  defunct  obitetricione  Funu  t 
"Tbe  Fall  op  Homocopatbv." — It  doesn't  take  much  to  amuse  a 
I    child-     He  is  sure  to  be  "pleased  with  a  rattle  and  tickled  with  a 
stnw."    And  speaking  of  straws,  such  as  show  which  way  the  wind 
btaws  here  is  one.    It  is  taken  from  an  allopathic  journal  editorial. 
What  do  our  New  York  resolutioners  think  of  it?    Bobbib  Blrnh' 
prayer  is  answered  at  last    They  can  see  themselves  now  as  others 
I  Ihem.    But  to  us  it's  sncb  a  comfort  to  see  the  old  school  enjoy- 
ing themselves  over  tlie  sup[)oeed  death  of  their  ancient  enemy, 
Hera  is  what  the  editor  solaces  himself  with: — [Ed. 
The  present  month  has  been  made  memorable  by   two  notable 
I  evenla— tbe  death  of  TwBGD  andof  Homceopntbyl  These  events  have 
June-i  57 


■'iti  Mediol  Advan 


BO  much  in  common,  as  that  both  Tweed  and  Homeopathy  were  be- 
lieveii,  by  their  (oUowere,  to  be  worthy  of  confideiii'e,  when,  in  faci, 
both  were  frauds,  anil  both  have  come  to  untimely  and  violent  deaths. 
Tweed  hao  died  of  b  broken  heiirt,  heeause  he  could  not  break  the 
bars  of  bia  prison,  and  Homttopitthy  boa  committed  euicide  In  the 

For  several  years  bom  ceo  path  is  la  have  sboirn  signs  of  mortitication 
and  of  bumiliation  when  the  finjier  of  ridicule  ha8  been  pointed  to 
their  absurd  doctrine  of  infinitesimals;  and  one  after  another  they 
have  denied  the  faith  in  tbieonce  cardinal  element  of  their  doctrines 
but  only  that  they  mif;ht  contract  the  more  valiantly  for  the  doctrine 
of  Sim'dia  SimilUme  Oarantur.  But  now  they  have  pulled  dovn  this, 
the  only  remaininf:  column  upon  which  the  edtficn  stood,  and  they 
lie  buried  and  gasping  beneath  its  ruins.  The  Horateopntbic  Society 
of  this  city  has  declared  thai  it  will  no  longer  "obstruct  science,"  or 
make  itself  the  jest  and  amusement  of  a  luoghing  world;  and  it  has 
formally  announced  its  intention  in  the  future  to  use  any  medicine 
which  experience  had  proven  to  be  useful,  whether  it  operated  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  rule  oi  limilia,  or  o[  amtraria,  etc.  In  short  to  use 
what  medicine  they  pleased  without  reference  to  rules  or  doctrines ; 
and  this  is  now,  and  always  has  been  the  iirecept  and  jiractice  of  the 
school  of  medicine  from  which,  for  the  sake  of^fnin — in  order  that 
they  might  profit  by  a  stupid  but  popular  delusion — they  had 
formally'  separated  themselves.  The  eround  now  taken  by  the  horn- 
<£opathists  ia.the  onl^  possible  ground  for  any  science  toaiand  upon; 
and  in  admitting  this,  they  have  Wrtually,  ao  far  as  they  and  their 
followers  ure  concerned,  terminated  the  existence  of  Homroopathy. 
As  to  the  number  of  the  desertera— those  gentlemen  who  have  laheQ 
the  lead  in  flrins  upon  and  hauling  down  their  own  flag,  say  that  not 
three  genuine  homceopalhista  can  be  found  in  Ibis  city — probably 
not  one,  not  so  many,  perhaps,  as  were  required  to  save  Sodom  and 
Gomorrah.  Thev,  Ihe  ungodly  people,  and  their  viaionary  doctrines 
are,  therefore,  to  l>e  sunk  and  buried  forever  beneath  allopathic  floods 
of  sulphur. 

An  honest  confession  ie  good  for  the  rouU  So  Tweed  thought: 
but  who  will  pay  buck  to  the  people  the  money  lie  has  taken  uudot-i 
faJse  pretences? 

We  have  one  favor  to  ask  of  these  gentlemen,  and  that  ig,  that 
their  search  for  a  new  name  In  place  of  that  wnich  they  have  n( 
repudiated,  they  will  not  call  themselvea  "Doctors,"  but  leave  to 
the  Bole  and  exclusive  right  to  our  ancient  title. 

Perhaps  we  may  suggest  that  they  call  themselves  "eclectics" — that 
is,  men  who  do  as  they  choose,  or  polypathista,  or  noodles,  or  any- 
thing else  but  doctors.  For  reasons  which  we  do  not  feel  obliged  to 
give,  we  prefer  not  to  be  considered  as  belonging  to  the  same  family, 
or  as  in  any  way  related  to  them  for  a  generation  or  two  to  coue. 

There  is  something  queer  in  the  blooii,  or  brains,  or  hearts  o'  these 
unfortunate  men,  which  will  not  be  got  out  of  them  in  a  da^,  perhapa 
not  in  a  life  time.      In  the  meantime,  as  our  own  family  is  alrendf^ 
pretty  large,  and  aa  the  alma  maters  are  very  prolific,  we  i 
to  wait  awhile  before  we  adopt  the  children  of  others. 

Thb  HMrtT. — Commencing  with  the  fiasco  of  Dr.  Wvld  i 
last  year,  we  have  had  running  through  the  homo'opathii 


'tnl^l 


I  alrendv , 

onalToiftH 

L  Londo^^l 
echoed  ^^^H 

J 


Editorial. 


59 


1  HomiKOpathy  ?    They  all 
Tliey  are  not  content 


PfMnllnF  epWemie.  Wherever  it  a|ipear8  it  in  but  r  rejietition  of  ttie 
I  foUy  of  Wyld.  It  IB  an  uuBeemiDifly  haste  on  the  part  of  indiviiluals 
1  anfl  aoc'ieties  to  make  themselves  coDBpiuiioiis  as  repreHentativee  of 
I  whftt  they  consider  Uom>Fo|>athy.  It  m  one  of  thoae  myBterioua 
I  tidal  vaves  of  thought,  for  which  it  is  hnrd  to  j^ve  h  rational  cause. 
I  The  mme  Uiing  is  observed  in  other  departmenta  of  thouglit. 

Tho  iDind,  like  the  body,  m  prone  to  morbid  states,  and  delusions 
I  like  disetwe  Bimiiltiineoualy  or  successively  attack  a  large  number  of 
I  people.    There  is  do  accounting  for  it  with  our  present  knowledge. 
J  It  ia  idle  to  complain  of  these  things.     We  must  set  ourselves  ener- 
}   gedcally  at  work  to  counteract  and  cure  them.     The  present  epi- 
doiDio  among  hb  and  to  which  we  now  refer,  is  the  epidemic  of  defi- 
nitions.     Everybody    attacked    with  the   complai 
uiawer  this  oft-uiooted  question:    What  is 
vaat  to  go  upon  the  record  with  a  defiuitio 

that  UoRKEopathy  should  spread  and  multiply,  and  day  by  day  add 
to  its  rictories  and  its  followers.     Prosperity  of  that  sort  is  notliing 
without  »  definition.    And  so  it  follows  thatarticles  must  be  written, 
wherenses  and  resolutions  must  be  drafted  and  these  must  be  dis- 
played to  ihe  wondering  eyes  of  the  public.    There  is  no  more  sense 
in  tt,  Iban  there  is  in  an  epidemic  of  cholera,  and  it  is  productive  of 
I   Joft  aa  little  good.    Kay,  if  its  results  were  negalivB  merely  we  might 
I   be  tliHiikfuL    The  simplest  apmleriori  oboervation  shows  the  result  to 
I  be  moat  disastrous.    What,  pray,  have  we  gained  by  it?     Nothing. 
I   On  the  contrary  we  have  lost  with  each  recurrence  of  the  nttacic 
I   Once  Uomceopathy  was  universally  thought  to  be  alive  and  prosper- 
'    otifl.    To-day,  in  ten  thousand  hamlets  and  houses  in  America  it  is  be- 
.    heved  Ihst  Homceopathy  is  dead;  that  it  lies  mangled  and  lifeless, 
and  Is  sbaadoned  by  its  friends.     It  is  our  individual  experience  to 
meet  almost  daily  intelligent  persons  who  eiclaiiu,    "Well,  I  see  you 
I   honiceoputhic  doctors  have  given  it  up."    Patients  to  whom  we  give 
1  medicine  took  up  in  astonishment  and  say,     "Why  I  thought  you 
I  homueopatha  didn't  use  sugar  pills  any  more."    From  the  far  west 
Icomca  til e  word  of  a  physician,  "God  savt 
P itHotu lions.    They  have  lieen  printed  in  a 
Most  busineiMi,  and  Uoniu?opathy  has  lost  ci 

f  this  thing  is  not  on  its  face.  It  seems  plausible  and  takes  well  with 
I  the  tboughtlesB,  but  with  a  cry  goiug  up  through  all  the  land  witli 
I  allopathic  and  eclectic  journals  swelling  the  echo,  ''Homiiiopathy  ia 
Idekdl"  there  must  be  evil  and  only  evil  in  the  course  pursued  by 
BtboM  who  arc  so  anxious  to  show  how  tittle  they  know  of  what  they 
■  proteHS,  Mid  to  put  Uiemsclvcs  forward  as  representative  of  pHaci- 
l-plM  which  at  the  most  they  oidy  half  believe.  For  heaven's  sake  let 
I  hftve  an  end  of  further  detinitions.  Let  ua  tend  to  business  and 
Ikow  the  world  what  we  can  do  and  not  what  we  believe. 


s  from  any  more  such 
tur  papers,  and  I  have 
e  by  it."     The  evil  of 


Cincinnnti  Medical  Advance. 


Events  Viawed  Unequally.     By  j.  B.  Hunt,  M.  D.,  Deli 
ware,  Ohio. 

I  have  been  much  interested  in  the  perusal  of  an  article] 

ihe  Popular  Science  Monthly,  vols,  iii  and  iv,  a  translatii  

from  thb  German  of  a  lecture  by  Prof  Toseph  Czermac,  on 
the  subject  of  Hypnotism  in  Animals,  notably  crawfish  and 
fowls. 

Some  very  interesting  experiments  are  reported  showing 
that  these  animals  under  certain  circumstances  and  by  cer- 
tain manipulations  may  be  rendered  unconscious,  or  at  least 
lose  the  normal  excitability  of  their  nervous  systems,  and  be 
brought  to  a  condition  resembling  the  mesmeric  influence  in 
man.  A  crawfish  under  the  manipulations  of  this  distin- 
guished scientist  would  suddenly  lose  all  power  of  motion, 
and  remain  standing  on  its  claws  and  nose  for  some  time, 
then  wake  up  and  resume  its  eSbrts  to  escape  as  before. 

Wild  hens  were  brought  lo  the  table  and  during  their  fran- 
tic efforts  lo  escape  would  suddenly  become  entirely  uncon- 
scious and  lie  upon  their  backs,  or  in  any  unnatural  position 
for  a  quarter  of  an  hour  or  more. 

But  I  do  not  propose  to  write  of  "hypnotism,"  but  of  a 
subject  incidentally  introduced  by  the  Professor  in  his  lecture 
which  interested  me  far  more,  viz:  the  quality  in  man  of  un- 
equal perception.  He  says:  "Such  a  circumstance  consti- 
tutes an  event  not  thoroughly  tested,  or  an  incident  uneqally 
investigated,  and  I  believe  we  are  not  merely  logically  justi- 
fied, but  morally  forced  lo  distinguish  among  events  in  the 
perception  of  nature  a  new  and  especial  category,  that  of 
events  viewed  imequally."  The  facts  he  gives,  or  illustra- 
tions rather,  which  force  him  to  this  conclusion  arc  as  follows, 
I  quote  again  from  the  lecture:  "During  the  autumn  of  the 
past  year,  while  sojourning  in  Bohemia,  I  made  the  acquain- 
tance of  a  gentleman  who,  in  the  course  of  one  of  our  sci> 
entific  discussions  communicated  to  me  the  striking  informa- 
tion that  he  had  not  only  seen  others  magnetize  crawfish,  but 
had  himself  succeeded  in  the  attempt.  On  being  asked  to 
explain,  the  gentleman  told  me  that  the  whole  thing  was  un- 


Events    Viexoed    Uneijuallg. 


61 


mmonly  simple.  You  hold  the  crawfish  lirtnty  in  one 
nd  and  with  the  other  make  magnetic  strokes  from  the 
end  of  the  animid  toward  the  head.  •  •  Under  this  ma. 
iiipQiation  the  craWiiRh  in  a  short  time  becomes  quiet,  places 
itself  on  its  head  in  a  vertical  position,  using  its  feelers  and 
the  two  daws,  which  are  pushed  inward,  as  a  support.  In 
this  peculiar  and  unnatural  position  the  animal  remains  mo- 
tiunless  until  passes  are  again  made  in  the  opposite  direction, 
at  which  it  begins  to  move  once  more,  tries  to  lose  its  equi- 
librium, at  last  it  falls  and  moves  away." 

Now  this  Bohemian  friend  was  a  scientific  gentleman,  but 
not  quite  so  careful  in  his  investigations  as  the  learned  pro- 
fessor. He  had  seen  the  passes  made,  had  witnessed  the  im- 
mobility of  the  crawfish,  and  believed  the  one  was  a  direct 
result  of  the  other.  But  he  viewed  it  unequally,  for  the  Pro- 
fcEBor  showed  him  by  experiment  in  a  few  minutes  that  the 
crawlish  would  do  the  same  thing  by  merely  being  held  with  a 
'  string,  and  the  string  attached  to  a  glass  tube,  without  any  passes 
ill  all.  Itseemslobetiicnalural  tendency  of  the  human  mind  to 
look  for  a  cause  for  every  result.  That  is,  we  reason  from 
eflect  to  cause  and  not  from  cause  to  efTect,  as  is  often  said. 
But  while  this  is  u  fact,  it  is  astonishing  how  easily  the  mind 
»  satisfied  in  regard  to  cause.  We  see  a  fact,  a  result,  and 
the  unskilled  mind  readily  accepts  almost  anything  which 
preceedcd  it  as  its  cause.  The  result  of  this  novel  experi- 
ment was  no  doubt  a  surprise  to  the  Bohemian  gentleman, 
and  if  he  were  as  obstinate  as  many  of  our  would  be  scien- 
tists of  this  country,  time  again  he  still  insisted  on  the  mag- 
itic  theory.  However  that  may  be,  the  incident  called  to 
e  mind  of  Prof.  Czermac  an  experiment  he  had  seen  with 
.hens,  the  effect  of  which  was  similar  to  that  produced  on 
Ibc  crawfish,  and  he  concluded  at  once  to  experiment  upon 
the  poultry  yard  of  his  frieiul,  where  he  was  staying.  The 
result  of  these  investigations  is  given  to  the  class  before 
whom  he  is  lecturing  in  these  words:  "He  caused  one  of  his 
SMistants  to  bring  him  a  hen  and  hold  it  fast  upon  the  table. 
TbU  was  done  after  much  resistance  and  many  cries  from  the 
frightened  bird;  then  with  his  left  hand  he  held  the  head  and 


62  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

neck  upon  the  table,  and  with  his  right  hand  drew  a  chalk  line, 
beginning  from  the  end  of  the  benk,  on  the  flat  surface,  which 
was  of  a  dark  color.  Left  entirely  free;  the  hen,  though 
breathing  heavily,  remained  entirely  quiet  upon  the  table, 
then  without  moving  it  allowed  itself  to  be  placed  upon  its 
back,  and  remained  in  this  unnatural  position  until  the  close 
of  the  lecture."  Now  here  was  science;  a  wild  hen  bound 
immovable  with  a  chalk  mark.  There  was  a  plain,  simple 
fact;  they  had  all  seen  the  mark  made,  and  the  result  a  mo- 
tionless hen.  No  one  could  doubt  what  their  own  eyes  had 
seen.  But  hold!  another  case  of  an  event  viewed  unequally. 
The  Professor  in  a  few  moments,  with  other  hens  demonstrat- 
ed that  the  chalk  mark  had  nothing  whatever  to  do  with  it; 
simply  holding  the  fowl  and  stretching  out  its  neck  would 
produce  the  same  effect. 

(I  remember  when  a  boy,  in  killing  chickens  for  the  table,  I 
would  frequently  put  them  to  sleep,  as  I  called  it,  to  see  how 
still  they  would  keep  after  their  heads  were  off.  My  pro- 
cess was  this:  I  would  hold  them  firmly  by  the  legs  with  one 
hand  and  with  the  other  stretch  out  the  neck  and  give  them 
a  swinging  motion  for  a  few  moments,  then  lay  them  on  the 
block,  sever  the  head,  and  lay  them  gently  down  on  their 
backs,  and  instead  of  **hbpping  around  like  a  hen  with  her 
head  cut  off,'*  they  would  remain  perfectly  quiet,  not  mov- 
ing a  muscle,  or  at  most  a  very  little  motion.  I  knew  noth- 
ing of  mesmerism  or  hypnotism  then,  but  explained  it  in  this 
way:  I  thought  the  hen  went  to  sleep  and  did  not  wa^e  up 
until  it  was  too  dead  to  kick.)  I  give  this  bit  of  personal 
experience  partly  to  .corroborate  what  the  distinguished  Pro- 
fessor has  said,  and  to  show  the  reader  that  I  have  some 
knowledge  of  the  subject  myself.  "It  is  the  easiest  thing  in 
the  world  to  be  deceived."  So  true  is  this  sentence  that  it 
has  come  to  be  a  proverb,  and  men  love  to  be  deceived — that 
is,  they  would  rather  cling  to  a  delusion  than  suffer  the  mor- 
tification of  confessing  an  error.  If  mankind  were  less 
credulous  and  would  patiently  and  carefully  investigate  the 
mysterious  events  which  present  themselves,  we  should  soon 
be  rid  of  the  many  foolish  and  superstitious  notions  which 


£ventf   Fiewerf  Vneqvtilly.  03 

have  been  hnnded  down  to  os  from  the  hoary  past.  But  we 
arc  prone  to  view  events  unequnlly.  and  when  we?  do  the 
opemtion  for  properly  adjusting  the  mental  vision  is  harder 
to  bear  than  the  operation  for  strabismus,  and  men  resist  it. 
The  healing  art  is  a  science,  and  surely  withia  Us  sacred 
laboratory  there  should  be  no  unequal  vision.  Though  ex- 
amination in  tins  domain  should  lead  from  every  elTect  to  its 
true  and  legitimate  cause. 

We  of  this  nineteenth  century,  and  especinlly  of  this  glo- 
rious country,  are  wont  to  boast  of  our  attainments, — our  sci- 
entific attainments, — and  indeed  pride  finds  a  right  good  foot- 
bold  when  we  compRTc  ourselves  with  those  who  lived  a  few 
centuries  ago.  Still  we  ought  not  to  be  loud  in  our  boast- 
ing. We  are  yet  inclined,  I  fear,  to  insist  upon  it  that  our 
crawlish  is  magnetized.  I  have  on  my  table  a  very  old  book, 
"A  Synopsisof  Medicine,"  written  by  Dr.Wm. Salmon  over 
two  hundred  years  ago;  printed  in  the  year  16^1,  which  is  full 
of  the  wisdom  of  that  day.  Dr.  Salmon  was  a  scientist  and  one 
of  no  mean  pretensions  either.  He  was  a  botanist,  chemist  and 
astronomer.  He  knew  more  about  the  twelve  signs  of  the 
zodiac,  it  would  seem,  than  the  combined  knowledge  of 
all  the  almanac  makers  uf  the  present  day,  except,  perhaps^ 
Josh  billings.  He  understood  perfectly  all  the  movements 
of  the  planets  and  the  lunar  and  solar  revolutions,  and  the 
relation  of  each  to  the  other,  and  talks  learnedly  of  the  in- 
fluence ihey  have  upon  things  terrestrial;  knew  which  star 
was  to  be  lord  of  the  ascendant  in  the  radix,  and  its  influence 
on  the  «ick,  and  also  the  moon  at  the  decumbation  or  other- 
wise, and  ils  influence  over  plants,  herbs  and  all  medicinal 
substances.  Indeed,  one  would  think  from  the  many  max- 
concerning   the  r 


observations 


of  the  Doctot 
and  its  influence  over  men  and  medicine;  that  the  "moon 
shine  theory,"  of  which  we  have  heard  much  of  late,  was 
not  indigenous  to  American  ihought,  or  a  discovery  of  the 
nineteenth  century  He  was  a  very  close  observer  and 
nought  to  know  the  cause  of  every  thing  that  transpired,  but 
like  too  many  of  his  followers  he  was  very  liable,  as  1  think, 
to  view  things  unequally,  and  accept  as  a  cause  for  a  given 


lUti  Medical  Advance. 


effect  that  which  was  not  a  cause  at  all.  It  would  no  doubt 
be  interesting,  if  not  instructive,  if  1  were  to  make  some 
quotations  from  this  voluminous  work,  but  want  of  space 
forbids,  I  will  content  myself  with  simply  giving  a  rccipi 
for  whEit  be  calls  a  sympathetic  ointment,  viz: 
a     Bear's  grease. 

Brains  of  a  bear. 

Powder  of  washed  earthworms. 

Red  Sanders, 

Mummy, 

Bloodstone,  aaji 

Maes  of  a  dead  roan's  skull  not  buried,  3i 

Make  an  oyntment  S.  A. 
This  ointment  was  an  infallible  remedy  for  a)l  wounds, 
mode  of  its  application  is  peculiar,  and  was  as  follows:  ' 
noint  the  weupon  that  made  the  wounil  daily  once,  if  there* 
be  need  and  the  wound  be  great,  otherwise  it  will  be  suffi- 
cient to  annoint  it  every  other  day.  Where  note,  tirst.  that 
the  weupon  be  kept  in  clean  linnen  and  in  a  temperate  heat 
lest  the  patient  be  hurt,  for  if  the  dust  fall  or  wind  blow  upon 
it,  or  it  be  cold,  the  sick  will  be  much  tormented.  Second, 
that  if  it  be  a  stub,  the  weapon  be  annointed  toward  the  point 
descending."  Note  three  goes  on  to  slate  that  if  you  want 
to  use  the  instrument  that  made  the  wound,  you  can  take  a 
stick  and  annoint  it  and  lay  it  away  in  linen  as  directed  for 
the  weapon,  and  the  cure  will  go  on  just  the  same.  J 

Now  I  have  no  doubt  of  the  success  of  tliis  mode  of  treabj 
ment.     Close  observation  would  reveal  the  fact  that  in  hun>l 
dredsof  cases  there  would  not  be  a  single  fallure;yet  I  presume 
we  will  all  agree  with  Prof.  Czermac  that  the  good  doctor 
viewed  his  events  unequally,  and  that  a  cure  in  each  case 
would  have  been  just  as  certain  if  he  had  omitted  the  sympR^ 
thetic  ointment,  and   given  instead  one  or  two  doses  of  tlu 
one  hundred  thousandth  potency  of  2litch'a  milk.     The  lat*] 
ter  for  real  efficacy  I  am  sure,  would  have  been  as  good  a 
much  nicer,  nothing  greasy  or  mussy  about  11 

Looking  now  at  the  medical  profession  through  the  sciea^J 
tific    glass  of  Ihe  learned  Prof.,  I   see  them   here  and   thcM 


Hvents  Viewed  Unequally,  65 

manipulating  their  hens  or  crawfish,  and  with  their  chalk 
marks  or  magnetic  passes  producing  effects  which  are  sur- 
prising. It  was  found  by  one  of  these  scientific  investigators 
that  to  begin  the  chalk  mark  just  six  inches  from  the  hen^s 
beak,  the  same  quiet  would  result  and  with  less  injury  to  the 
hen.  And  Dr,  A.,  with  deeper  penetration  and  actual 
experiment,  observed  that  one  foot  away  was  a  still  better 
point  to  begin  the  mark.  Then  Dr.  B.  with  zeal  for  the 
cause  and  careful  investigation  claims,  that  three,  six,  twelve 
and  even  twenty  feet  away,  if  the  mark  be  carefully  drawn, 
the  effect  will  be  the  same  and  more  lasting.  But  the  work 
of  scientific  observation  stops  not  with  Dr.  B.,  for  here  are 
Drs.  C.  D.  and  E.  pursuing  the  same  line  of  experiments  and 
demonstrating  in  the  clearest  possible  manner,  that  if  proper 
care  be  exercised  in  the  selection  of  the  chalk,  and  the  mark 
be  made  in  exact  conformity  to  the  angle  of  the  hen's  eye, 
that  it  may  begin  ten,  twenty,  fifty  and  even  a  hundred  thous- 
and feet  away,  and  some  of  them  go  so  far  even  as  to  assert 
that  a  single  dot  with  prepared  chalk,  upon  a  board  one  hun- 
dred and  seventy  thousand  feet  away  if  it  be  made  to  corre- 
spond minutely  with  the  totality  of  the  spots  on  the  hen's 
feathers  will  have  a  most  charming  effect.  Now  this  is  sci- 
ence; it  may  not  be  exact  science,  but  careful  observation  has 
been  made  ^very  foot  of  the  way,  and  I  admire  the  patient 
persevering  effort  of  the  men  who  have  so  labored.  I  be- 
lieve their  experiments  have  been  honest  even  if  they  have 
viewed  some  things  unequally.  Science, 


^Iiong  at(&  §nu%iu. 


Physical  ExftPllnfttlOTli      By  O.  S.  Runnells,  M.  D.      Read 
before  the  Joint  Convention,  Indianapolis,  May,  1877. 

Investigation  is  the  doorway  to  truth;  is  the  revealer  of 
the  actual;  it  is  the  strongest  ally  to  the  comprehension;  it 
is  the  process  of  exploration  and  discovery;  the  handmaid  of 
invention,  the  forerunner  of  art  and  the  only  pathway  to 
science.  The  investigator  is  always  inquisitive;  is  painstak- 
ing and  minute  in  a'll  his  analyses,  is  radical  and  puritanical 
in  every  pursuit.  He  requires  to  have  a  knowledge  in  order 
that  he  may  have  a  consideration  of  all  the  facts.  He  de- 
mands to  know  the  obscure  as  well  as  the  obvious  in  regard 
to  his  subject,  and  is  inexorable  in  these  exactions.  Out  of 
this  process  of  accurate  inquiry  comes  that  certainty  of  un- 
derstanding that  is  the  enduring  frame  work  of  science,  and 
without  which  progression  is  a  failure.  In  its  train,  also,  le- 
gitimately follows  the  best  demonstration  of  art,  which  is 
practical  application,  usufruct,  skill. 

It  is  to  a  consideration  of  this  course  of  action  that  I  de- 
sire  to  draw  the  attention  of  the  medical  profession  in  gene- 
ral, and  of  gynaecologists  in  particular.  Why  is  it  that  medi- 
cal science  is  such  a  cripple  to-day?  that  apology  is  necessary 
here  more  than  in  any  other  field  of  thought?  that  the  "disa- 
greement of  doctors"  passes  without  discount  in  the  mutual 
currency  of  the  nations,  and  that  of  all  the  soldiers  of  truth 
^sculapius  must  ever  be  considered  the  weakest  and  most 
unreliable?  Is  it  because  of  the  tender  years  and  immaturity 
of  the  profession?  It  originated  in  the  very  infancy  of  hu- 
man society.  Have  the  laborers  been  few?  No  vocation  has 
had  so  many  enlistments.  Are  the  ends  to  be  attained  igno- 
ble? They  are  paramount  to  the  goal  of  every  earthly  am- 
bition. Let  the  truth  be  told:  It  is  because  of  a  radical 
fault  as  old  as  history,  that  stumbling  has  occurred  through 
all  the  ages.  The  signs  have  been  disregarded  or  but  super- 
ficially considered.      The  evidences  as  to  fact  have  been  but 


Theory  and  Practice.  67 

meagerly  taken,  and    diagnosis  has  been  for  the  most  part 
shabbily  treated. 

"Art,'*  so  called,  has  preceded,  and  in  the  main  superseded 
science.  It  is  a  disgraceful  record  of  empiricism  and  ignor- 
ance, and  we  may  well  share  the  humiliation  of  our  patron 
saint. 

But  at  this  point,  the  end  of  the  three  score  centuries,  we 
have  little  time  for  sack  cloth  and  ashes.  It  will  resound 
more  to  our  credit  if  we  give  vigorous  consideration  to  the 
causes  of  this  condition  and  expeditiously  banish  them.  We 
have  not  been  the  sole  architects  of  our  misfortune.  We  have 
been  both  the  builder  and  the  tool — a  tool  in  the  hands  of  so- 
ciety. Society  has  furnished  the  atmosphere  for  the  work- 
men; she  has  poisoned  their  blood  and  paralyzed  their  mem- 
bers. During  the  infancy  and  youth  of  the  race,  and  so  still 
in  varying  degrees  the  world  over,  the  doctor  or  **medi- 
cine  man"  was  regarded  as  an  awful  person;  as  one  having 
superhuman  foresight  and  ability;  a  kind  of  clairvoyant  or 
special  divinity  on  earth.  His  acts  were  passed  without 
scouting,  and  his  words — from  which  there  was  no  thought 
of  appeal — were  received  and  acted  upon  with  the  most  im- 
plicit and  sublime  faith.  His  commands,  like  the  bulls  of  a 
pope,  were  edicts  of  power.  The  fiats  of  no  other  vocation 
had  the  force  of  such  absolute  obedience.  This  is  to  be  ac- 
counted for  by  the  fact  that  medicine  in  its  introduction  and 
practice  had  the  help  of  theology.  The  doctor  was  a  priest, 
and  the  priests  were  doctors — a  combination  of  great  potency. 
The  material,  worship  and  fanaticism  of  the  period,  furnished 
the  soil  for  the  propagation  of  its  kind — ignorance;  it  sup- 
plied the  causes  for  the  lethargy  and  paralysis  of  truth,  and 
i^  gave  birth  to  superstition,  a  ruler  than  whom  no  potentate 
has  ever  exerted  such  damaging  power.  The  blighting  ef- 
fects of  this  influence  have  been  painfully  manifest  in  every 
field  of  human  thought,  but  in  none  more  than  in  our  own. 

As  we  enter  to-day  this  temple  dedicated  to  the  healing  of 
the  race,  it  will  be  profitable  for  us  to  pause  on  its  threshold 
and  study  its  walls.  They  are  one  vast  engraving  of  history, 
the  record  of  hard  fought  battles  and  slow  advances.      The 


CincinnalC  Medical  Adva; 


background  of  the  picture  is  murky  and  recedes  into  nebj 
losity  and  blackness,  into  indistinctness  and  chaos.  As 
back  as  wc  can  discern,  soldiers  armed  with  the  weapon: 
the  time  are  on  guard  or  in  deadly  battle  for  the  preservation 
of  what  they  believe  to  be  the  already  ultimate  or  perfect 
truth.  They  consider  any  modiRcation  or  transposition  of  it 
to  be  heresy,  and  various  courts  martial  are  visible  determin- 
ing the  measure  of  punishment  to  be  meted  out  to  tlte  "base 
wretches"  who  have  been  so  guilty  and  wicked  as  to  meddle 
with  it — to  innovate  or  differentiate  upon  it.  Each  trial  has 
but  one  culprit,  and  he  stands  alone  against  the  surging  tide 
of  persecution.  Here  in  the  Alexandrian  period  are  men 
under  concial  ordeal  for  dissecting  human  bodies,  which, 
having  the  God-image,  it  is  desecration  and  profanation  to 
destroy.  Further  on  is  a  man  arraigned  for  stating  that  the 
arteries  were  not  filled  with  air,  but  are  occupied  by  a  red' 
fluid  termed  bloods  another  for  maintaining  that  the  blood 
not  stationary  but  moving;  that  it  goes  out  and  conies  in,  per< 
forming  the  circuit  of  the  system.  And  so  on,  ad  injinitum, 
the  field  over.  In  the  foreground  of  the  picture  the  shades 
grow  lighter,  but  still  portray  a  continuation  of  the  conflict; 
the  same  in  kind  with  a  difference  only  in  degree.  Every  ad- 
vance costs  reputation,  struggle  and  time,  and  the  engraving 
goes  on  linking  the  present  to  the  past,  of  which  it  is  but  a 
continuation.  The  old  influences  meet  us  on  every  hand  to- 
day. We  still  have  persecutions  and  ostracisms  for  ths 
truth's  sake.  The  age  only  of  a  dogma  is  yet  urged 
argument  in  favor  of  its  perpetuity.  The  preconceived  coni 
tinues  in  the  endeavor  to  establish  preemption  over  all  ten  ~ 
tory,  and  it  is  only  bv  fiercest  struggle  that  new  revelalioi 
gain  foothold  and  supremacy.  There  is  the  same  foolish  fe( 
that  error  will  disestablish  truth  and  the  cause  of  the  eternal 
thereby  suffer  ruin  and  decay.  Superstition,  the 
tcrday,  to-day  and  forever,  meets  us  in  the  avenu 
advancement,  and  adapts  itself  in  varying  attitude  •■ 
ditions  of  every  question.  Science  is  each  day  asked 
show  cause  why  it  is  not  materialistic  and  a nti -christian. 
.  [b  expected  to  prove  in  advance  that  its  facts  will  bring 


1 

l^ 


Theory  and  Pmclice. 


69 


disturbance  to  accepted  belief;  that  fanatical  dogma  shall 
still  have  unmolested  and  harmonious  existence.  Every  sci- 
entist, from  Adam  to  the  present,  has  been  called  upon  to 
confront  this  expression  anddeinonslratesatisfactorilv  that  he 
is  not  controlled  by  a  spirit  of  evil,  and  has  not  ulterior  de- 
signs on  the  Ark  of  Isra?l.  People  of  good  inient  have 
thus  through  all  the  ages  been  egregiously  slow  in  accepting 
Ihe  lesson  of  experience.  Opposition  never  yet  strangled  a 
truth;  persecution  never  impeded  it  and  martyrdom  never 
(tilled  it.  It  is  mighty  and  will  prevail;  while  error,  like  the 
glow  worm  will  scintillate  its  false  and  uncertain  light  for  a 
brief  period  and  die  of  its  own  volition.  This  truth  that  has 
been  verified  forever  will  serve  the  world  in  the  present. 
Darwin  and  Huxley,  Spencer  and  Tyndall  are  not  for- 
ces to  be  feared  for  the  crucible  of  discussion  and  the  re- 
tort of  time  will  educe  the  genuine  and  establish    the  ever- 

These  facts  it  is  true  are  general  and  of  sweeping  applica- 
tion; but  they  are  also  special  and  relate  to  medicine  with 
peculiar  energy.  In  our  profession,  generally,  there  is  a  la- 
mentable amount  of  bias  and  bigotry;  of  intolerance  and 
(uspicion;  of  inexactness  and  uncertainity;  of  narrow  mind- 
edncss  and  one  sidednesa.  As  a  class  we  do  not  possess  that 
liberality  of  conference,  of  view  and  of  investigation  that 
scientific  nobility  and  true  progress  demands.  There  is  too 
ready  an  inclination  to  discount  another  and  all  that  he  pleads 
if  he  does  not  accord  with  us  in  our  pleading;  too  great  an 
eagerness  to  mildew  his  reputation  with  the  terms,  allopath, 
mongrel,  fool,  if  he  differs  with  us  on  dose,  potency  or  other- 
wise; to  manifest  an  aptness  to  get  into  a  deep  and  crooked 
net  that  is  difficult  to  get  out  of.  and  that  completely  bank- 
rupts Ihe  vision  in  every  direction.  These  things  lie  athwart 
the  threshold  of  advancement  and  are  a  disgraceful  barrier. 
It  is  the  purpose  of  this  physical  examination  to  furnish  a 
definition  of  them  and  an  effort  at  removal. 

It  is  an  established  fact  that  the  less  a  man  knows,  the  more 
of  an  intolerable  higot  is  he;  and  conversely  the  wider  and 
deeper  his  knowledge,  the  greater  his  humility  and  the  more 


7CI 


Cincitmati  Medical  Atlvarice. 


of  a  Dunham  is  he.      The  reform  then  is  in  the  alphabet; 
the  orthography  and  etymology,  medically  speaking;  in 
lines  of  special  study  and  of  radical,  accurate  inquiry, 
vesligalion  is  the  only  word  that  embodies  the  idea,  and  1 
happy  to  note  a  more  wide  spread  adoption  of  it.     The  a 
division  of  medical  thought  into   specialties,  therefore,  i 
measure  pregnant  with  the  greatest  good,  and  is  destined  to 
lead  to  the  grandest  results.      A  man  is  no  longer  ccnaured 
for  not  knowing  everything  as  he  once    was;  if  he  knows 
and  does  one  thing  well,  he  is  most  willingly  admitted  to  thi 
right  hand  of  power  and  glory.      As  exponents,  then, 
undeveloped  science  of  gynsecology,  we  have  a  large  n 
of  effort  before  us.     From  Hippoci'atesdown,  there  has  bed 
endeavor  to  furnish  the  better  half  of  humanity  a  way  of 
cape  from  her  untold  and  untcllablc  sufferings,  but  the  cffoi 
has  been  for  the  most  part  a  vague  and  uncertain  wandering. 
When  Recamier,  fifty -five  years  ago  ( iSiS)  introduced  and 
popularized  the  vaginal  speculum,  the  tirst  enduring  step  was 
taken — investigation  was  commenced,  and  what  we  know  of, 
the  diseases  of  women  is  for  the  most  part  subsequent  dii 
covery. 

It  is  to  this  much  villitied    and  abused  instrument  and 
use  that  I  desire  to  draw  especial  attention,  for  it  is  upon  ll 
christian  employment  that  our  progress  mainly  dependi 
is  our  ophthalmoscope,  microscope,  telescope,  and  without  its 
revelations  little  that  is  substantial  can  be  accomplished.       I 
plead  thus  for  scientific  inquiry  in  this  vast  field  of  useful- 
ness.     Let  the  same  rigid  rules  be  applied  in  the  search  for 
facts  here  that  are    enforced  in    other  lines   of  cxploratii 
Consent  to  no  dallying  and  enter  into  no  compromise  for  di 
lay,  but  be  absolute  master  of  the  situation.     So  shall  our 
dcrstanding  be  built  up  and  our  feet  established  on  the  rocldj 
of  truth.     You  who  are  familiar  with  the  trials  to  be  met  caA\ 
fully  understand  the  difficulties  of  absolute  adhesion  to  these 
laws:  but  1  assure  you    they  are  more    apparent    than  real. 
With  gentle  but  absolute  firmness,  manly  dignity  and  undevi- 
Hting  integrity,  every  barrier  can  be  broken  dowi 
pediment  removed  and  light  established  where  darkness  now 
abides. 


low  ^1 


Theory  and  Practice,  71 


Diphtheria,     By  G.  N.  Brigham,  M.  D. 

Much  has  been  written  upon  this  subject,  and  perhaps  by 
this  time  you  may  think  the  subject  is,  or  should  be  exhaust- 
ed, but  we  have  hardly  learned  to  treat  the  disease  after  all 
our  discussion,  as  the  records  of  mortality  clearly  show. 
Having  given  spme  study  to  the  disease,  and  tried,  for  it  and 
its  closely  allied  disease,  scarlatina  maligna,  several  of  the 
more  noticeable  remedies  of  the  homaeopathic  materia  medica, 
I  beg  a  little  space  in  your  journal. 

I  have  remarked  that  I  consider  the  disease  closely  related 
to  malignant  scarlatina.  If  my  theory  be  correct  we  must 
expect  the  same,  or  analogous  remedies  to  meet  what  will  be 
similar  indications  in  the  two  diseases.  The  prophylactic  of 
malignant  scarlatina  is  not  Belladonna^  but  Sulphur,  if  we 
have  any,  and  Sulph.  is  much  more  a  remedy  in  that  type  of 
the  disease  than  Bell, 

m 

What  have  we  characteristic  and  diagnostic  in  diphtheria? 
First,  the  feeling  of  weakness  and  lassitude  such  as  attends 
venous  congestion  and  structural  degradation.  We  then  have 
sore  throat  with  plastic  exudations  upon  the  tonsils,  pharynx 
or  other  outlets  of  the  body.  We  have  albumen  set  free 
from  the  blood  and  often  passing  through  the  urinary  emunc- 
tories.  Wc  have  decomposition  of  exudations  and  foetid  dis- 
charges where  the  mucus  membranes  are  broken  down.  We 
have  lymphatic  swellings  of  the  parotid  and  submaxillary 
glands.  To  summarize,  we  have  emphatically  an  arrest  of 
vitality  through  the  vegetative  system  of  organic  life.  We 
have  much  the  same  phenomena  in  scarlatina  maligna. 

What  remedies  have  the  most  power  to  modify  the  func- 
tions of  the  organic  system?  The  first  we  would  be  likely  to 
think  of  is  Sulph,  Sulph.  produces  the  venous  congestion 
and  acts  through  the  vegetative  or  ganglionic  nervous  sys- 
tem. It  acts  powerfully  upon  the  mucus  membranes  and 
lastly  upon  the  cerebro-spinal  axis,  where  the  diphtheritic 
symptoms  more  lately  are  manifested.  We  will  select  a 
Sulphur  group  of  symptoms  for  the  sake  of  seeing  what  are 


72 


Cincinnatt  Medical  ^rftJanoe. 


the  analogies  of  the  drug  to  our  more  usual  cases  of  di 
iheria.  Pale  countenance;  or  redness  and  heat  about 
cheeks;  swelling  of  cheeks,  swelling  of  lips;  stitches  in 
ear;  glandular  swellings  of  the  submaxillaries;  sore  thr 
with  swelling  of  cervical  glands;  painful  pressure  in 
throat  when  swallowing,  as  if  the  palate  were  swollen;  i 
throat  during  empty  deglutition,  as  if  some  substance  was  in 
contact  or  uvula  was  enlongaled;  choking  and  sore  feeling  in 
the  throat  when  swallowing  as  if  the  tonsils  were  swollen, 
with  pain  and  prickings  in  the  ear;  wc  have  also  the  symp< 
toms  of  fetid  breath  and  fetid  odor  from  ulcerated  surfaces. 
I  would  regard  Sulph.  as  an  excellent  remedy  to  begii 
treatment  of  diphtheria  or  malignant  scarlatina  with,  and  n< 
to  be  lost  sight  of  at  any  stage  of  the  diseases.  Anothi 
remedy  will  be  found  in  Apium  vir.  In  this  also  we  find 
remedy  affecting  the  glands  and  mucus  membranes.  Its 
dications  are  found  when  we  have  red  and  highly  inflamed 
tonsils,  with  stinging,  burning  pains  on  swallowing;  the  false 
membranes  quickly  assumes  a  dirty,  grayish  color;  counte- 
nance is  bloated,  and  urine  scanty  or  suppressed;  parotid  en* 
Urged,  particularly  the  right.     It  admirably  supports  SulpA. 

Scarcely  inferior  to  the  last  as  a  remedy  for  this  formidi 
disease  will  be  found  Lacheats.  It  will  be  indii 
we  have  internal  and  external  swellings  of  the  throat,  p&l 
ticularly  when  beginning  on  the  left  side;  intensely  fetid 
uviie  from  the  mouth  and  nose;  pseudo  membranes  heavy 
and  spreading  to  fauces;  swallowing  very  difficult.  We  have 
also  cured  cases  of  malignant  scarlatina  with  enormous  swell- 
ing  of  the  left  parotid;  tongue  swollen,  jaws  open,  and  lower 
JBW  hanging  down;  small  pulse;  urine  albuminous,  dark  and 
scanty;  with  fetid  ulcers  extending  high  up  the  nostrils;  pa- 
tient restless  and  unconscious;  the  capillaries  at  the  same 
time  only  slowly  responding  from  pressure  on  the  skin,  with 
Lach.  30O  and  ApU  30.  The  analogies  of  this  case  to  dipl 
theria  are  sufficiently  obvious.  Nor  is  this  the  only  ci 
cured  by  these  remedies, 

A  remedy  which  I  have  never  tried,  but  from  its  provin] 
demands  a  trial,  is  Crotal\u.      Crotalua  acts  upon  the 


he 

1 


1x9 


Theory  and  Practice,  73 

plexus  and  pneumogastric  nerves.  Its  characteristics  for 
diphtheria  are  great  prostration  of  vital  forces;  very  foul 
breath;  tendency  to  hemorrhages  at  the  outlets  of  the  body; 
red  blood  stains  in  the  skin;  prominence  of  right  side  symp- 
toms; bluish  or  yellow  hue  to  the  skin;  tendency  to  general 
dropsical  effusior^s.  Its  analogies,  as  is  seen,  correspond  to 
the  stage  of  dissolution  of  blood  corpuscle.  We  believe  we 
have  here  given  the  most  reliable  remedies  for  malignant 
diphtheria.  To  the  list  may  be  added  Lycopodium,  an  ana- 
logue of  Sulph.  often  adapted  to  exudations  affecting  the  right 
side.  As  it  has  produced  false  membrane  upon  the  tonsil, 
presumably  it  will  cure  such  cases  as  present  the  Lycopod. 
type.  It  hardly  belongs  to  our  first  class  remedies,  though 
often  a  very  good  one  and  becomes  the  best  if  the  symptoms 
and  pathology  of  disease  best  agrees  with  characteristics  and 
organic  symptoms  of  drug.  • 

Phytolacca  has  many  suggesting  symptoms,  and  in  the 
milder  forms  of  the  disease  is  a  sufficiently  reliable  remedy 
supported  with  Sulph,  But  in  the  greater  forms  of  the  dis- 
ease, it  has  done  little  for  us,  and  lacking,  as  it  does,  the  char- 
acteristic blood  changes,  I  do  not  see  how  it  could.  Sulph.^ 
Apis,  Lach,  and  Crota.  are  our  remedies. 


♦  ♦■ 


Catarrll.     By  E.  B.  Graham,  M.  D.,  Albany,  N.  Y. 

It  is  not  my  intention  to  give  the  readers  of  this  journal  a 
complete  history  or  treatise  on  this  disease.  I  take  it  for 
granted  that  it  is  so  common  and  so  prevalent  that  it  needs 
no  extensive  article  relative  to  its  etiology,  or  its  real  patho- 
logical conditions.  What  I  desire  is  to  call  the  attention  of 
the  medical  profession  to  the  treatment  of  those  catarrhal 
diseases  that  the  busy  practitioner  finds  daily  in  his  practice 
Tun-2 


74  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

and  which  proves  to  be  so  obstinate  that  many  physicians 
are  averse  to  treating  those  cases.  In  fact  people  have  come 
to  the  conclusion  that  the  physicians  can  not  cure  catarrh, 
and  quite  frequently  they  boldly  proclaim  it.  The  past  two 
years  I  have  been  treating  catarrhal  diseases  by  atomization, 
and  to  say  that  I  am  more  than  well  pleased  with  the  result 
does  not  express  the  gratitude  that  my  patients  proclaim  in 
its  behalf.  I  procure  a  Delano  atomizer,  no  other  atomizer 
answers  the  purpose  that  I  have  seen.  This  has  a  long  oval 
tube  that  is  nicely  adapted  for  inserting  in  the  nose,  and  by 
holding  the  head  back  and  using  the  following  recipe  for 
the  atomizer: 

5r     Aqua  rosa  or  Aqua  dist,  3i 

Carbolic  acid,  gtts  viii 

Atomize  until  it  passes  down  through  the  posterior  nasal  cavi- 
ties into  the  throat  so  it  can  be  ejected  through  the  mouth,  and 
then  using  it  freely  in  the  mouth  so  it  thoroughly  atomizes  on 
the  pharyngeal  walls.  The  sensation  it  produces  is  very  pleas- 
ant and  agreeable,  and  the  relief  that  follows  is  quick.  The 
dropping  that  frequently  occurs  from  the  back  part  of  the 
nasal  cavities  into  the  throat  is  soon  removed;  the  patient 
breathes  freer  in  almost  every  instance  after  using  it.  It  can 
readily  be  seen  that  in  applying  the  atomizer  in  this  way  its 
action  is  two  fold.  First,  it  dislodges  all  incrustations  or 
sordes  by  coming  directly  in  contact  with  the  diseased  parts, 
acting  as  a  cleanser  and  n  no  way  irritating  the  parts.  Sec- 
ond, the  provings  of  Carbolic  acid  show  it  to  be  homoeopath- 
ic to  a  very  large  number  of  symptoms  that  catarrh  presents. 
I  do  not  use  Carbolic  acid  for  everv  case  of  catarrh;  I  find 
it  oftener  indicated  than  any  other  remedy.  Any  remedy 
that  is  indicated  can  be  used  in  the  atomizer.  The  liquid 
should  be  warmed  to  blood  heat  before  using:  it.  It  can  be 
used  once,  twice  or  three  times  a  day  as  the  patient  desires; 
twice  a  day  is  about  the  number  of  times  I- usually  advise 
patients  to  use  it. 

I  wish  also  to    speak  of  the    use  of  the    atomizer  in    the 
treatment  of  scarlatina  and  diphtheria.     In  the  former  I  have 


Thnori/  and  Practice.  75 

^^'itnessed  surprising  results.  In  scarlatina  malign^  where 
there  Avas  a  pseudo  formation  extending  from  the  fauces  up 
into  the  posterior  nasal  cavities,  I  have  witnessed  the  happiest 
result  by  using  the  spray  through  the  nostrils^  also  in  the 
throat  after  using  through  the  nostrils.  The  remedy  that 
seemed  to  be  most  eflectual  in  removing  the  formation'  was 
Sulphurous  ucid^  in  strength  just  sufficient  to  taste  the  Acid^ 
The  medical  profession  will  find  it  to  be  invaluable  in  all 
those  cases  of  scarlatina  where  there  is  any  quantity  of  sticky, 
stringy>  ropy^  tenacious  mucus,  which  many  times  is  very 
obstinate  to  expel  or  remove,  and  if  left  there  produces 
ulceration  and  sloughing  and  rcabsorption  of  the  virus  into 
the  system.  I  have  seen  an  application  through  the  nostrils 
remove  every  particle  from  the  throat,  and  as  often  as  it  col- 
lected the  atomizer  would  remove  it  and  give  the  little  suf- 
ferers much  relief>  and  they  Would  call  for  it  quite  frequently. 
The  cheapness  of  the  atomizer  brings  it  within  the  reach  of 
all.  I  commend  this  to  the  profession,  hoping  they  will  try 
it  faithfully  before  condemning  it  or  casting  it  aside* 


-♦♦- 


The  Pathological  Effects  of  Drugs.    By  A.  C.  Rickey,  M.  D,, 

Dayton,  Ohio,      Part  I. 

In  a  former  paper  (page  419,  VoK  V,  Medical  Advance) 
we  set  forth  our  views  as  to  the  value  of  an  accurate  knowl- 
edge of  the  pathological  action  of  drugs  when  used  in  con- 
nection with  the  subjective  symptoms.  We  wish  herewith 
to  present  the  readers  of  the  Advance  a  condensed,  sys- 
tematiscd  arrangement  of  the  drugs  in  more  common  use, 
which  are  capable  of  causing  the  pathological  conditions 
named. 


76  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

A  large  proportion  of  these  remedies  have  been  tried  b 
the  writer,  and  the  correctness  of  their  provings  verified.  No 
effort  has  been  made  to  include  all  the  remedies  that  arc 
adapted  to  these  diseases,  but  rather  to  group  together  those 
which  clinical  experience  has  shown  can  be  relied  on;  to  be 
used  when  the  busy  practitioner  has  no  time  to  look  over  ex- 
tended repertories.  It  is  better  to  be  thoroughly  acquainted 
with  the  action  of  fifty  remedies,  than  to  have  a  smattering 
of  five  hundred.  That  order  has  been  pursued  which  the 
writer  has  found  most  convenient  for  ready  reference. 

gi.  Stomach. — Sour:  Calc.  c,    Carbo  v.,  China,  Kali  c, 
Natr.  m.,  Nux  v.,  Phos.,  Sepia,  Sulph. 

Bilious:  Ars.,  Bry.,    Cham.,    Ipc.,  Mcr.  c,  Nux  v.,  Podo , 
Puis.,  Vcrat.  a. 

Heartburn:  Carbo  v.,  China,  Nux  v.,  Phos.,  Sulph. 

Atony  of:  Hydras.,  Igna.,  Iris  v.,  Nux  v.,  Cocc. 

Anorexia:  Ars,,  China,  Hepar.,  Hydras.,  Mcr.  c,  Natr.  m., 
Rhus.,  Puis.,  Sepia,  Sulph. 

Burning  in:  Ars.,    Canth.,    Hepar.,    Lach.,  Nux  v.,  Phos., 
Puis.,  Sepia,  Sulph. 

Flatus:  Carbo  v.,  China,  Cham.,  Lyco.,  Nux  v..  Puis.,  Sali- 
cylic acid,  Sulph. 

Nausea:  Ars.,  Bry.,  Ipe.,  Puis.,  Verat.  a.     2.  Carbol.  acid, 
Phos.,  Tart,  em..  Sepia. 

Vomiting:  Ant.  cr.,  Ars.  of  cuprum,  China,  Cocc,  Natr. 
m.,  Nitr.  acid. 

§2.  Mouth. — Aphtha:  Borax,    Hydr.,  Mer.  c,  Nitr.  acid. 
Staph. 

Ptyalism:  Merc,  Nitr.  acid,  Sulph.  acid.  Bell.,  Lach. 

Toothache:  Aco.,  Bell.,  Cham.,  Coff.,  Merc  c,  Nux.,  Puis., 
Spig.,  Staph. 

§3.  Liver. — Jaundice:  Aco.,  Bry.,  Merc,  c,  Nux  v.,  Podo., 
Puis. 

Portal  Congestion:  -.'Escul.  h.,  Chcl.,  China,  Merc,  c,  Nux 
v.,  Podo.,  Puis.,  Sepia,  Sulph. 

Biliarv  Calculus:  China.,  Calc.  c 

§4.  Stool. — Painful  diarrhea:  Ars.,  Bry.,  Coloc,  Merc.  c. 


Theory  and  Practice.  77 

Painless  diarrhea:  Ars.,  China,  Colch.,  Croton  tig.,  Ferri , 
Hepar.,  Phos.  acid,  Podo. 

Undigested:  Ars.,  Calc,  China 

Slimy:  Aco.,  Mer.  c,  Podo.,  Sulph.     2.  Bell.,  Bry.,  Cham. 

Bloody:  Canth,,  Caps,,  Colo.,  Colch.,  Ham.,  Ipe.,  Rhus., 
Sulph. 

Constipated:  ^Escul.,  Bry.,  Calc.  c,  Colins.,  Hydras.,  Lyco., 
Nux  v.,  Podo.,  Sepia.,  Sul.  2.  Alum,  Graph,,  Kali  c,  Igna., 
Opi.,  Plumb.,  Verat.  a. 

§5.  Anus  and  Rectum. — Fissure  of:  Nitr.  acid.  Graph., 
Caust,  Silic,  Argent.  Nit. 

Fistula  in  ano:  Silic,  Caust,,  Sulph.,  lod.  calc,  Potassa, 
Sesqui.,  Carb.  locally. 

Ulceration  of  rectum:  Hydras.,  Merc,  Podo. 

Prolapsus  of  rectum:    Podo.,  Ignat,  Colch.,  Ferri.  iod.  ix. 

Piles:  -^scul..  Aloes.,  Colins.,  Graph.,  Ham.,  Hydras., 
Muriat.  acid,  Nitr.  acid,  Nux  v.,  Sulph. 

§6.  Colic  Enteralgia. — From  indigestion:  Ipe.,  Nux  v., 
Puis, 

From  worms:  Cina.  or  Santo.,  Merc,  Sulph.  2.  Aeon., 
Bell,,  China,  Puis. 

From  rheumatism:  Aeon.,  Coloc,  Dulc,  Puis.,  Rhus. 

From  neuralgia:  Bell.,  Cocc,  Coloc,  Ignat,  Nux  v. 

From  lead  poisoning:  Alum,  Ars.,  Cocc,  Nux  v.,  Opi., 
Plat.,  Zinc 

From  biliousness:  Bry.,  China,  Merc,  Nux  v..  Puis. 

From  flatulence:  Carbo  v.,  Cham.,  China.,  Cocc,  Lycop., 
Nux  v.,  Salic,  acid. 

§7.  Uterus. — Congestion  of:  Bell,,  Graph.,  Nux  v..  Sepia. 

Inflammation  of:  Aeon.,  Ars.,  Bell.,  Bry.  Canth.,  Merc, 
Nux  v..  Plat.,  Puis.,  Secale.,  Sepia. 

Catarrh  of:  .^scul.,  Alum,  Calc.  c.  Graph.,  Hydr  Kali, 
bich.,  Merc,  cor..  Puis.,  Sepia. 

Prolapsus:  Bell.,  Calc.  c,  Coni.,  Ferri.  iod.,  Nux  v.,  Podo., 
Rhus.,  Sepia. 

Ulceration  of:  Hydras.,  Kreos,,  Sepia. 

Metralgia;  Bell.,  Cini.,  Cocc,  Coni.,  Ignat.,  Gels.,  Pla. 


78  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

§8.  Menstruation. — Too  late,  scanty:  Graph.,  Natr.  m., 
Phos,,  Puis.,  Secale,  Sulpli. 

Too  late,  profuse:  Caust,,  lodium. 

Too  early,  scanty:  Coni,,  Natr.  m.,  Phos.,  Sepia^  Silic. 

Too  early,  profuse:  Bell.,  Calc.  c.  and  Phos.,  Nux  v.  2. 
Cini.,  Croc,  Plat,  Sabi,,  Trill. 

Painful:  Bell.,  Caul.,  Cini.,  Cocc,  Coni.,  Gcaph.,  Nux  v,. 
Puis.,  Sepia,  Amyl,  nitr. 

Climacteric  flushes,  etc.:  Amyl.  nitr.,  Lach.,  Sang^  Sepia. 
2.  Bell.,  Cini.,  Ustilago. 

Flooding:  Bell.,  Cina.,  Croc,  Ham.,  Ipe.,  Sabi.,  Secale 

§9.  Mamm.«,  Ovaries,  etc. — Inflammation:  Bell.,  Bry., 
Coni.,  Graph.,  lod.,  Phyto.,  Phos.,  Silic. 

Tumors  of:  Hepar.,  Coni.,  Ars. 

Cancer  of:  Coni.,  Hydras.,  Phyto.,  Sang.,  ScutilL 

Ovaritis:  Apis.,  Bell.,  Bry.,  Canth.,  Coni.,  Ham.,  Plat, 
Val.  zinc. 

Vaginismus:  Atro^  Borax.,  Cimi.,  Coni.,  Gels.,  lodo,.  Ham,, 
Plat.,  Plumb.,  Sepia,  Thuja. 

Pruritus  vulvae:  Borax,  Carb.  acid,  Glyc,  Ham.,  Musk. 

Coitus,  painful:  Fcrri.  acet..  Sepia,  Delph.,  Stapk 

Chlorosis:  Fenn-Red,  China,  Natr.  m.,  Puis. 

Backache:  -<^scul.,  Bell,  Bry.,  Nux  v.,  Sepia. 

Hysteria:  Brom.,  Camph.,  Cini.,  Cocc,  Gels.,  Igna.,  Mur., 
Plat.,  Torant.,  Val.  zinc. 

gio.  Labor,  etc. — Pains  too  weak:  Puis.  lar,  Caul.  lar, 
Cimi.  I  a;,  Ergot,  o. 

Pains  too  strong:  Caul.  6a:,  Cimi.  6x,  Cham.,  Nux  v.,  Gels. 

False  pains:  Secale  ix.  Puis.  3. 

Hour  glass  contractions:  Secale  cor. 

Rigid  OS  or  vulva:  Aco.,  Bell.,  Cimi,,  Gels, 

Lochia  excessive:  Calc,  Cham.,  Nux  v..  Puis.,  Secale, 
Ustil. 

Lochia,  scanty  or  suppressed:  Aco.,  Bell.,  Bry.,  Caul.,  Cimi., 
Puis. 

Lochia,  oflfensive:  Lach.,  Kreos.,  Secale. 

§11.  Urinary  Organs. — Nephritis:  Aco.,  Apis.,  Ars., 
Benzoat  of  lithia,  Canth.,  Lyco.,  Nux  v..  Sepia,  Terebin. 


Theory  and  Practice,  79 

Cystitis:  Aco.,  Bell,,  Benzo.  acid,  Canth,,  Dig.,  Nux  v.,  Puis., 
Sepia, 

Diabites  mel.:  Ars.,  Helon.,  Kreos.,  Lycop.,  Lycopus, 
Phos.  acid,  Uran.  nitr. 

Albuminuria:  Ars.,  Canth.,  Tereb.,  Phos.,  Kali,  ars.,  Berb.  v. 

Urine  retention:  Aeon.,  Arn.,  Camph.,  Canth.,  Bell.,  Ars., 
Coni.,  Dig.,  Nux  v. 

Urine  incontinent:  Bell.,  Equis,,  Ferri.  phos..  Gels.,  Puis., 
Rhus.,  Sepia.,  Sulph,     2,  Arn.,  Caust,  Kreos.,  Saleto. 

Urine  sandy  red:  Lyco.,  Sepia.,  Phos.,  Sars.,  China,  Natr. 
m.,  Puis. 

Urine  milky:  Phos.,  Phos.  acid,  Coni.,  Santo. 

Urine  watery,  pale:  Cham.,  Coni.,  Gels.,  Phos.  ac.  Puis. 

Urine  painful:  Canth.,  Caps.,  Coni.,  Dig,,  Nux  v.,  Puis., 
Sarsa. 

Urine  bloody:  Ars.,  Canth,,  Ham.,  Ipe.,  Mil.,  Nitr.  ac, 
Secalc,  Terebura  ursa. 

Urine  fetid:  Bcnz.  ac,  Merc,  Nitr.  ac, Sepia.,  Sulph. 


■♦-♦- 


Short  articles  and  reports  of  cases  in  this   department  may  be  addressed  to  M.  M. 
Eaton,  M.  D.,  Gibson  Tlouse,  Cincinnati,  O. 


Boport  on  Diseases  of  Women.    By  Dr.   D.  H.  Roberts. 

Read  before  the  Homoeopathic  State  Institute,  Minn. 

The  diseases  peculiar  to  women  have,  within  the  pasft  few 
years,  received  especial  attention.  Yet  doctois  disagree,  and 
our  unhappy  sisters  still  complain  almost  if  not  altogether  as 
piteously  and  as  despondingly  as  ever.      Indeed   it  is  very 


80  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

questionable  whether  the  physical  health  of  our  women,  this 
centennial  year  will  favorably  compare  with  that  of  the 
mothers  and  daughters  of  one  hundred  3'ears  ago. 

Since  the  speculum  has  revealed  the  os-uteri,  the  cervix 
and  the  walls  of  the  vagina  to  the  eye,  examinations  with 
this  instrument,  digital  examinations,  probing  with  the  sound, 
etc.,  have  become  very  fashionable,  and  no  doubt  by  these 
means  much  has  been  learned  of  the  tangible  abnormal  con- 
ditions to  which  the  female  sexual  organs  are  subject.  As  a 
consequence,  local  treatment  seems  to  have  become  the  rule 
and  not  the  exception. 

While  our  allopathic  brethren  in  accordance  with  their 
time  honored  ideas  of  the  treatment  of  diseases  freely  use  the 
knife  and  caustics,  astringent  applications  and  blisters,  pes- 
saries and  supporters  of  every  imaginable  shape  and  quality, 
we  as  homoeopaths  have  been  carefully  and  copiously  experi- 
menting in  the  same  direction. 

It  is  believed,  however,  that  in  the  treatment  of  these  dis- 
eases, as  in  all  others,  in  proportion  as  we  deviate  from  the 
homoeopathic  law,  we  are  ever  doomed  to  disappointments 
and  vexation. 

It  is  true  that  we  may  have  to  deal  with  mechanical  dislo- 
cations and  condititions  that  require  mechanical  interference, 
just  as  a  broken  bone  should  be  set  and  supported.  Yet,  as 
every  honest  physician  can  testify,  these  cases  are  compara- 
tively rare.  With  few  exceptions  all  the  diseases  peculiar  to  wo- 
men depend  upon  some  general  diathesis,  or  arise  from  interior 
causes  connected  with  the  nervous  system, — with  electric  or 
magnetic  conditions,  concerning  which  we  may  theorize  if 
we  will;  but  the  modus  operandi  has  not  yet  been  revealed. 

We  are  not,  however,  left  in  the  dark.  Hahnemann 
teaches  us  that  all  theorizing  and  conjecturing  in  regard  to 
the  interior  causes  of  disease  are  practically  worthless, 
amounting  to  nothing  more  than  so  many  idle  dreams  and 
vain  imaginings.  But,  says  he,  "by  the  totality  or  mass  of 
the  symptoms  the  disease  always  points  out  the  remedy  it 
stands  in  need  of."  That  this  beautiful  homoeopathic  law  is 
applicable  to  the  diseases  of  women,  and  that  by  it  we  are 
enabled  to  cure,  has  been  proved  a  thousand  times. 


Obstetrical  and'  Gyncecological.  81 

The  nature  of  the  disease  may  be  such  that  several  weeks 
or  even  months  are  required  for  a  cure,  but  this  is  no  reason 
that  the  intelHgent  homoeopath  should  go  back  to  the  pallia- 
tive leeks  and  onions  of  Egypt. 

It  is  the  beauty  and  glory  of  Homoeopathy  to  make  real 
and  permanent  cures,  and  he  who  would  successfully  do  this, 
must  not  only  consider  the  tangible  pathological  conditions, 
but  also  the  more  ethereal  and  more  potent  forces,  both  phy- 
sical and  mental  that  cause  them.  Not  that  some  beautiful 
theory  may  thus  be  woven,  a  high  sounding  name  given  to 
the  disease,  and  that  name  doctored,  but  that  the  right  reme- 
dy may  be  chosen,  a  remedy  the  provings  of  which  will 
cover  all  the  symploms;  and  also  that  all  the  external  condi- 
tions favorable  to  the  restoration  of  health  may  be  observed. 

When  we  remember  the  very  delicate  organization  of 
women,  and  the  elasticity  with  which  her  physical  system  re- 
sponds to  the  slightest  mental  emotion,  the  deleterious  effects 
of  frequent  examinations  of,  irritating  pessaries,  supporters 
and  injections,  are  quite  easily  accounted  for.  The  wonder 
being,  in  fact,  that  such  unfortunate  patients  do  not  die  out- 
right instead  of  dragging  out  a  miserable  existence. 

The  allopathi-c  school  deals  in  palliatives,  the  homoeopathic 
in  cures,  and  we  hope  this  distinction  will  ever  be  carefully 
preserved.  To  do  this  in  the  treatment  of  female  diseases, 
we  must  not  ignore  the  beneficial  effects  of  proper  living, 
proper  food,  clothing,  exercise,  cheerfulness  and  mental  dis- 
ciphne,  for  the  neglect  of  these  may  thwart  all  the  curative 
effects  of  the  best  chosen  remedies. 

The  true  physician  has  a  duty  to  perform  as  an  educator. 
Every  women  should  understand  how  best  to  take  care  of 
herself.  And  as  many  of  the  popular  ideas  of  the  present 
day  are  notoriously  absurd  and  deleterious,  we  can  not  be  too 
careful  in  giving  wholesome  instruction  to  our  patients. 

We  do  not  sympathize  with  the  general  cry  that  our 
daughters,  like  their  grand  mothers,  should  be  brought  up  to 
severe  physical  labor. 

The  world  moves,  and  the  character  and  constitution  of 
people  must  and   will  keep  pace.     All  the  tendencies  of  the 


82  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

present  age  are  to  relieve  from  the  drudgery  of  severe  mus- 
cular labor  and  to  develop  nerve  and  brain  force.  With  this 
comes  greater  harmony  and  beauty  of  the  human  form,  and 
higher  and  more  refined  enjoyments.  Asa  consequence,  dis- 
eases assume  a  more  dynamic  character  and  our  methods  of 
treatment,  to  be  successful,  must  reorganize  this  important 
fact.  Especially  should  we  be  careful  in  the  treatment  of 
diseases  of  women,  to  do  no  violence  to  the  finer  elements 
and  life  forces. 

Jt  may  be  well  sometimes  to  use  the  appropriate  homoeo- 
pathic remedy,  per  vaginam,  directly  to  the  eflTected  parts. 
This  can  often  be  done  by  the  patient  herself.  The  delicate 
nature  of  the  operation,  when  performed  by  the  physician, 
and  the  risk  of  evil  results,  should  not  be  forgotten.  Nor 
should  we  forget  that  palliation  is  not  cure,  and  can  not  in 
the  end  prove  an  advantage  to  the  patient. 

The  homoeopathic  physician  of  the  present  day  is  placed 
in  a  ver^'  important  and  responsible  position,  and  a  very  large 
proportion  of  that  responsibility  is  incurred  by  the  treat- 
ment of  diseases  of  women.  As  the  advocate  of  a  broader, 
deeper,  and  more  interior  philosophy  the  tender  germ  of  a 
highei,  purer,  more  spiritual  and  more  enlightened  manhood 
are  entrusted  to  our  keeping,  we  may  not  accept  Hahne- 
mann as  the  ultimatum  of  medical  science,  yet  we  surely  will 
gain  nothing  by  gathering  up  the  filthy  rags  that  he  threw 
away.  Having  decided  upon  the  fundamental  startmg  point 
and  direction  of  all  true  medical  science,  we  should  resolve 
to  "fight  it  out  on  this  line,"  for  in  the  end  it  must  prove  the 
shortest  and  best. 

It  is  not  our  purpose  in  the  present  brief  article  to  particu- 
larize the  multiform  abnormal  conditions  of  women  that  phy- 
sicians are  constantly  called  upon  to  treat  nor  to  enumerate 
the  specific  remedies  required,  but  rather  to  call  attention  to 
such  general  principles  as  the  tendencies  of  the  times  seem 
to  demand. 

Having  first  secured  all  the  advantages  of  proper  living 
and  removed  as  far  as  possible  every  irritating  cause  for 
trouble,   the   materia  medica  should   be  carefully   consulted 


Obstetrical  and  GyncBcologicaL  83 

Mental  and  nervoussjmptoms,so  far  from  being  disregarded, 
should  receive  especial  attention. 

The  patient  should  also  be  taught  that  the  doctor  can  not 
be  expected  to  cure  without  her  assistance.  One  of  my  pa- 
tients, after  having  received  instruction  on  this  point,  replied 
that  she  would  do  her  best  to  perform  her  part,  and  she 
added,  "I  sincerely  hope  that  we  will  be  able  to  cure  me." 
She  did  not  say  she  hoped  that  I  would  be  able  to  cure  her. 
she  appreciated  the  situation  and  said  we.  If  all  our  patients 
could  see  this  point  and  work  in  good  faith  with  the  physi- 
cian, how  much  more  successful  and  pleasant  would  our  la- 
bors become.  Perhaps  the  cure  of  no  other  class  of  diseases 
so  positively  requires  the  united  eflbrts  of  both  physician  and 
patient  as  the  one  under  consideration. 

The  intelligent  physician  must  learn  to  keep  cool,  even 
though  he  may  have  to  contend  with  all  the  powers  of  dark- 
ness and  interfering  neighbors. 

Amid  the  general  turmoil  and  confusion  consequent  upon 
the  restless,  unsatisfied  spirit  of  this  past  age,  a  calm,  clear, 
beautiful  undercurrent  of  hygienic  and  medical  truth  is  here 
and  there  coming  to  the  surface  and  being  recognized,  not 
only  by  the  better  educated  and  more  intelligent,  but  by  the 
unpredudiced  of  all  classes  all  over  the  country.  The  differ- 
ence between  present  palliation  and  pvermanent  cure  is  be- 
ginning to  be  talked  about  and  appreciated  by  the  masses. 

But  when  professed  homoeopaths  resort  to  palliative  tricks 
and  deception,  science  is  shamed  and  liomo&opathy  weeps. 

LiLiUM  Tegkinum — Bearing  down  with  sensation  of  heavy 
weight  and  pressure  in  the  region  of  the  womb,  as  though 
the  whole  contents  would  press  through  the  vagina.  Fre- 
quent desire  to  urinate  during  the  day,  with  scanty  discharge 
and  a  feeling  of  smarting  and  irritation  after  every  discharge. 
— [These  symptoms  have  been  abundantly  verified. — Ed.] 


In  charec  of  Prof.  Wm,  Owens,  who  will  receive  and  promptljr  answer  any  cases 
submitteuto  his  judgment.  Points  to  be  observed  by  those  wishing;  satisfactory  re- 
plies to  their  clinical  and  consultation  cases:  First,  ag^e  of  patient;  second,  sex;  third 
occupation;  fourth,  history,  statement  of  morbid  affections  the  party  has  been  subject 
to;  fifth,  complexion  and  physical  appearance;  sixth,  growth  and  development  during 
childhood,  puberty  and  maturity;  seventh,  history  of  morbid  condition  under  con- 
sideration; eitj^hth,  leading  pathological  phenomena  of  the  case;  ninth,  a  complete 
history  of  the  medication  resorted  to,  with  results. 

Motto:— Brevity  is  the  Soul  of  Wit. 


Case  reported  by  G.  M.  T.  A  lady,  aet.  fifty-six,  widow, 
no  children;  nervo-bilious  temperament,  complexion  dark; 
occupation  tailoress,  lately  housewife;  suffered  fifteen  or 
twenty  years  with  pain  in  nape  of  neck  and  occiput,  of 
drawing,  aching  character;  wakes  every  morning  with  head- 
ache, relieved  by  throwing  the  head  back  for  a  moment  only; 
pushing  it  forward  gives  the  same  result;  overwork,  sitting 
in  church,  excitement  and  constipation  aggravate  the  suffer- 
ings: she  drinks  coffee  morning  and  noon,  tea  at  night;  has 
violent  thirst  before  breakfast,  often  dnnks  a  dozen  times  be- 
fore she  gets  her  moal;  usually  eats  bread,  butter,  meat,  po- 
tatoes, and  for  lunch,  pie  or  cake;  tongue  coated  yellow  or 
whitish,  sometimes  patchy  as  if  scalded;  slightly  fissured; 
large  stout  prints  of  teeth  on  edges;  papilla  much  enlarged; 
sitting  a  long  time  in  one  position  causes  aching  and  drawing 
in  back  of  head  and  nape  of  neck  extending  to  shoulders; 
when  sitting,  the  right  leg  becomes  stiff,  and  is  obliged  to 
move  it  with  her  hands  when  rising;  has  aching  pain  with 
boring  under  right  scapula,  like  a  gimblet  boring  into  the 
back. 

Diagnosis:  Hyperaesthesia  of  sensory  branches  of  superior 
cervical  and  probably  sixth  to  eighth  dorsal  nerves. 

Etiology:  These  conditions  arise  from  protracted  confine- 
ment in  one  position,  in  which  a  considerable  degree  of  ten- 
sion is  made  upon  the  dorsal  and  servical  muscles  which  im- 
pinge upon  and  irritate  these  branches;  the  pains  from  which 
are  always  aching,  boring,  pinching  and  stinging;  not  un- 
frequently  the  nerve  fillaments  of  the  nerve  branches  of  the 
brain  and  cord  partakes  of  this  irritation   and  causes  the  suf- 


General  Clintc9.  85 

ering  in  the  occiput  and  along  the  medulla  spinalis,  and  in 
this  case  causes  the  subparalytic  condition  of  the  right  leg; 
as  the  pains  in  the  head,  neck  and  shoulder,  and  stiffness  of 
the  right  leg  are  not  permanent,  it  is  probable  that  as  yet  no 
organic  leison  of  the  neurotic  substance  of  the  brain  or  coid 
has  taken  place,  we  therefore  offer  a  favorable  prognosis  as 
to  life,  but  unfavorable  as  to  permanent  relief,  for  the  reason 
that  the  irritation  has  been  long  continued,  rendering  the 
nerves  exceedingly  liable  to  take  on  similar  conditions  on  re- 
application  of  the  exciting  cause. 

Treatment:  First,  change  of  occupation;  let  the  patient 
move  about,  sit  but  a  few  minutes  at  a  time;  omit  coffee  and 
tea,  drink  nothing  while  eating,  afterward  drink  water  or 
milk;  no  hot  drinks  or  food  at  any  time.  Second,  reduce  the 
local  hyperemia  and  hyperesthesia  by  frequent  bathing  of 
the  spine  from  occiput  to  sacrum  with  a  strong  solution  of 
Salt  in  water,  followed  by  brisk  friction.  The  position  of 
the  body  night  and  day  should  be  such  as  to  avoid  pressure 
or  tension  upon  these  parts.  Against  bad  effects  from  coffee 
Cham.  3;  for  stiffness,  drawing,  boring,  pressing,  aching  and 
lacerating,  Rhus,,  Bry.;  for  burning  pains,  Merc,  Nux.  or  Ars. 


%tm%til  €Iitiic$. 


Some  Headaches  and  their  Cure. — Mrs.  A.,  aet. 
about  twenty- three,  consulted  me  for  headache;  said  she 
had  it  constantly,  or  at  least  could  not  remember  the  time 
when  she  had  been  {entirely  free  from  headache  except  for 
short  periods  of  time;  she  awoke  every  morning  with  a 
headache,  the  pain  increasing  until  midday,  and  continuing 
until  sundown;  she   was  weak;  troubled    a   great  deal  with 


86  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

palpitation  of  the  heart;  mouth  dry,  but  water  tasted  so  bad 
she  could  not  drink  it,  etc.      Katrum  mur,  30  speedily  cured. 

Mrs.  J.  C,  aet.  sixty-five,  had  been  troubled  since  her  youth 
with  violent  "sick  head  aches;"  they  would  come  on  as  often 
as  every  week  or  two  weeks,  and  continuing  a  variable  time 
ranging  from  twelve  to  forty-eight  hours  induration;  usually 
the  attack  would  come  on  suddenly,  although  at  others  pre- 
ceeded  by  a  feeling  of  general  malaise  and  dimness  of  sight; 
pain  commenced  over  left  eye  and  went  to  right;  as  soon  as 
headache  came  on  was  so  dizzy  as  to  be  unable  to  sit  up; 
sometimes  the  pain  would  be  confined  to  the  left  side  and  ex- 
tend to  the  neck  and  shoulders;  attacks  attended  by  nausea; 
patient  was  weak  and  peevish;  appetite  poor,  generally  felt 
unrefreshed  in  the  morning  after  sleep.  Lack.  200  greatly 
ameliorated,  and  Psori.  30  completed  the  cu;e. 

Mrs.  L.,  of  a  nervosanguine  temperament,  had  for  several 
years  a  headache  recurring  every  Saturday;  she  thought  it 
sometimes  come  from  the  noise  of  her  children  who  were 
home  from  school  on  that  day,  but  so  sure  as  Saturday  came 
the  headache  returned;  the  pain  was  of  a  boring  char.icter 
from  within  outwards,  and  was  attended  by  nausea  ani  vom- 
iting; binding  the  head  up  tightly  relieved  it  somewhat,  and 
if  she  could  get*a  good  sleep  would  wake  up  much  better 
Sepia  200  cured. 

Mrs.  G.,  bilious  temperament,  complained  of  a  pressing 
pain  in  the  forehead,  coming  on  especially  when  thinking  or 
reading,  attended  by  flickering  before  the  eyes;  had  bad 
taste  in  mouth  and  foul  tasting  eructations,  accompanied  by 
languor  and  drowsiness.  yux  v,  was  given  without  relief, 
but  Am.  6  quickly  cured. — G.  M.  Ockford,  M.  D.,  Indian- 
apolis, Ind. 

Clinical  Notes. — I  have  found  Lac  can.  to  be  a  valuable 
remedy;  it  has  made  some  remarkable  cures  for  me  which 
could  not  have  been  made  with  anything  else,  and  I  would 
as  soon  part  with  any  remedy  in  our  list  as  with  it.  I  am 
sure  that  if  it  was  thoroughly  studied,  that  not  one  homoeo- 
pathist  in  a  hundred  would  be  willing  to   be  without    it.     I 


General  Clinics^  87 

have  a  case  now  on  hand  in  which  I  gave  Natrum  mur.  cc  in 

water,  to  be  taken  one  teaspoon tul   every    two  hours;   three 

days  after  the  woman  came  back   and  said,    "I  can  not  take 

that  medicine;  I  have  tried  it  for  three  days,  and  every  time 

I  take  it,  it  makes  me  so  sick  that  I  have  to  go  to    bed;  can 

not  set  up  after  taking  it;''  says  she  has  violent  heat  in  front 

part  of  head,  with  great  thirst,  and  had  some  relief  by  lying 

down;  trembling  of  the  limbs;  stinging  and  burning  in  the 

eyes  and  lids,  (look  red);  acrid  tears   in   the  eyes;  heat  and 

redness  of  the  face;  bitter  taste  in  the  mouth;  frequent  de* 

sire  to  urinate;  dry,  hacking  cough  from  tickling  in  the  throat; 

limbs  feel  weak  and  sore;  vivid,  frightful  dreams;  feels  as  if 

some  one  was  coming  to  kill  her.      I  gave  her  Sac  lac.  for  a 

week,  then  gave  Natr.  m.  lom.     She  came  back  the  third  day 

and  said,  "You  have  given  me  that  horrid  medicine  again;  it 

made  me  feel  worse  than  the  other  time,"      I  gave  Sac.  lac, 

for  another  week  when  I  repeated    JSTatr.  m.  lom.      On    the 

second  day  she  returned  and  said,  "You  have  given  me  that 

awful  stuff  again;  it  made  me  wild.     I  shall  kill  somebody  if 

you  give  it  to  me  again."     She  is  now  on  Sac  lac.      Now  is 

this  all  imagination?     There  are  the  symptoms  laid  down  in 

Lippe's  Materia  Mcdica  almost  word  for  word.      Could  she 

fabricate  them?      She    knows    nothing  of  medicine,  neither 

what  she  was  taking. — J.  R,  H. 

Stillingia  in  Scrofulosis  of  Children. — While  we 
possess  in  Calc.  carbonica  a  powerful  remedy  against  scrofu- 
losis in  children,  I  believe  it  is  used  too  generally  in  a  routine 
manner.  Hahnemann's  original  indication,  that  it  is  only 
indicated  in  children  of  pale,  lymphatic  temperament,  with 
tendency  to  fat,  but  general  flabbiness,  is  often  forgotten  and 
lost  sight  of.  Calc.  phos.  will  often  prove  a  better  prepara- 
tion when  there  is  a  tendency  to  emaciation. 

I  have  often  found  that  Cistus  canadensis  was  a  better 
remedy  than  either  when  the  patient  was  thin  and  scrawny, 
Cistus  and  Stillingia  are  near  congeners.  They  correspond 
to  similar  conditions  of  the  system.  Both  are  remedies  for 
the  scrofulous  diathesis,  as  we  understand  the  term,  but  while 


88  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

Cistus  is  better  when  we  suspect  tuberculosis,  Stillingia  is  to 
be  preferred  when  there  is  any  recent  or  remote  syphilitic 
taint  in  the  blood. 

For  several  years  I  have  relied  on  the  above  four  remedies 
with  occasionally  the  Calc.  tod.,  which  is  often  indispensable. 

The  indications  for  Stillingia,  however,  are  not  generally 
known,  and  I  will  here  present  them  as  I  have  verified  them 
[n  practice: 

Enlarged  cervical  glands;  moist,  brownish,  excoriating 
eruption  on  the  scalp;  muco  purulent  discharge  from  the 
nose,  with  excoriations  of  the  upper  lip  and  alae  nasi;  a  dull 
pasty  complexion;  capricious  and  unnatural  appetite; 
tumid  and  enlarged  abdomen;  white,  pasty  stools,  very  fetid; 
dull,  red,  soft,  tubercular  (or  syphilitic)  eruption  on  the  skin, 
ulcerating  and  furnishing  a  large  quantity  of  unhealthy  pus; 
a  tendency  to  laryngeal  cough. 

When  these  symptoms  occur,  give  the  child  steadily  for 
weeks  a  few  drops  of  the  first  or  third  dil„  in  a  spoonful  of 
Glycerine  and  Water,  equal  parts,  or  a  sirup  made  of  Sugar  of 
milk.  This,  together  with  an  appropriate  diet  and  good 
nygienic  measures,  will  cure  all  cases  presenting  the  above 
characteristic  symptoms. — E.  M,  Hale, — iVew  England  Med, 
Gazette, 


-•■♦- 


iu$lUnum. 


Treatment  of  CarbTmcleS.      By  W.  E.  Green,  M.  D.,  Little 
Rock,  Ark. 

I  have  obtained  more  satisfactory  results  in  the  treatment 
of  this   painful   and   often    intractable  disease  by  the  use  of 


/ 


Miscellaneous.  89 

Carbolic  acid  and  Collodion^  than  from  any  method  recom- 
mended by  our  text  books.  I  claim  nothing  original  for  this 
treatment;  Carbolic  acid  having  been  very  generally  used  on 
account  of  its  antiseptic  and  anaesthetic  qualities,  wrhile  the 
use  of  Collodion  is  only  a  more  convenient  and  efficient 
means  of  applying  pressure,  than  the  strapping  with  adhesive 
plaster  recommended  by  some  writers.  This  local  treatment 
is  not  intended  to  supersede  the  internal  use  of  the  indicated 
remedy,  but  is  to  be  used  only  as  an  accessory,  greatly  fiicili- 
tating  a  cure,  and  lessening  the  suffering  of  the  patient 

The  mode  of  application  is  as  follows,  viz:  remove  all 
sloughing  and  diseased  tissue  as  far  as  possible  with  the 
forceps  and  scissors,  and  after  the  wound  has  been  thoroughly 
cleansed  and  the  superimposed  surface  cleanly  shaved,  pure 
undiluted  Carbolic  acid  should  be  applied  with  a  soft  stick  or 
a  camel's  hair  pencil  to  every  part  of  the  ulcerated  surface, 
care  being  taken  to  reach  every  recess.  Any  small  punctoe 
or  papulae  surrounding  its  summit,  should  be  punctured  and 
the  acid  applied.  This  should  also  be  done  if  the  disease  is 
seen  in  its  incipiency.  The  application  of  the  caustic  causes 
a  sharp  sticking  pain  which  is  but  momentary,  and  fol- 
lowed by  anaesthesia.  The  sloughing  process  is  suspended 
and  the  disagreeable  odor  measurably  destroyed  by  the  acid. 
Its  application  should  be  followed  by  the  use  of  Collodion, 
The  whole  carbuncle  and  the  surface  for  several  lines  beyond 
its  periphery  should  be  painted.  Several  coatings  should  be 
applied  allowing  each  one  to  dry  for  a  moment,  and  contract 
before  another  is  put  on.  This  dressing  should  be  repeated 
daily  as  circumstance  may  require  until  a  cure  is  effected, 
always  cleansing  the  wound  thoroughly  before  the  dressing 
is  applied. 

As  the  Collodion  contracts  upon  the  diseased  tissue,  the 
engorged  capillaries  are  rapidly  depleted  and  the  red  swollen 
surface  becomes  pale  and  shrunken.  Retained  secretions  are 
forced  through  the  opening,  and  pain  and  suffering  are  re- 
placed by  ease  and  comfort.  The  extent  of  the  disease  is  at 
once  circumscribed,  and  the  excoriated  skin  is  protected  by 
the  shielding   influence  of  the   Collodion,    The  same  treat- 


90  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

ment  may  be  applied  to  boils  and  felons,  but  I  have  found  in 
these  troubles,  most  excellent  results  from  painting  them  two 
or  three  times  daily  with  the  following  paste,    which  if  used 
in  the  early  stages  will  abort  the  disease: 
5r     Pulv.  Acacia. 

Pulv.  Tannin,  P.  ae. 

Tinct.  Arnica,  qs. 

To  form  a  paste. 
This  should  only  be  prepared  as  needed  for  use  as  it  rapidly 
dries   and    becomes    hard.     It    contains  much  the  same  con- 
trading  properties  as  the  Collodion^  and  has  in  addition  the 
medicinal  virtues  oi  Arnica. 


Dr.  Haggart  and  tha  Materia  Msdica.     By  G.  B.  Sarchet, 

M.  D.,  Charleston,  111. 

I  wish  the  privilege  of  making  a  reply  in  answer  to  a  pa- 
per read  by  Dr.  Haggart,  of  Indianapolis,  before  the  Marion 
County  IIoma3opathic  Society  recently,  and  I  feel  it  my  duty 
to  compliment  the  Doctor  on  his  paper,  as  being  able,  well 
put  and  a  thrust  in  the  right  direction. 

I  am  satisfied  and  many  of  our  school  are  satisfied  that  our 
materia  mcdica  abounds  in  vast  thousands  of  symptoms, 
useless,  worthless  and  nonsensical  in  the  extreme,  and  the 
next  stride  Homccopathy  makes  must  be  in  ridding  herself  ol 
this  abomination,  and  I  know  of  no  better  way  for  Dr.  H.  to 
immortalize  himself  than  by  doing  this  great  work.  Before 
beginning  this  Herculean  task,  however,  I  want  to  find  a  little 
fault  \vith  the  Doctor's  prescribing.  You  may  think  it  none 
of  my  business  how  you  prescribe,  and  doubtless  directly  it 
is  not,  yet  indirectly  it  is. 


Miscellaneous,  91 

When  we  clamor  for  reform   we  should  see  to  it  that  re- 
form begins  at  home. 

It  is  not  within  the  bounds  of  possibility  for  Homoeopathy 
to  be  very  materially  advanced,  or  that  any  physician  should 
very  materially  improve  his  stock  of  experience  from  the 
constant  and  never  varying  practice  of  ahernating  remedies. 
I  do  not  dispute  that  patients  get  well  under  such  treatment; 
so,  too,  do  they  get  well  without  any  medicine,  but  looking 
at  the  extenuation  of  the  practice,  a  man  who  alternates  is 
very  apt  in  extreme  cases,  not  only  to  alternate,  but  if  in  his 
judgment  the  case  requires,  he  will  interpolate  a  third,  or  even 
a  fourth  remedy.  Now  suppose  such  a  man  in  the  course  of 
professional  life  has  one,  two,  three  or  more  students,  all  of 
whom  he  teaches  to  alternate,  and  they  in  turn  teach  their 
complement  of  students  to  alternate,  how  long  before  the}' 
would  mix  two,  three  or  four  remedies  in  one  glass,  stir,  ad- 
minister and  call  it  Homoeopathy,  followers  of  Hahnemann, 
etc.?  Christ's  burning,  scalding  tears  shed  at  the  destruction 
of  Jerusalem  could  not  be  more  intense  than  the  efl'ect  of 
such  practice  upon  Samuel  Hahnemann  were  he  living. 

As  I  understand  the  law  similia^  it  requires  us  to  prescribe 
from  the  totality  of  the  symptoms,  and  this  can  always  be 
done  with  the  single  remedy.  Suppose  a  given  case  to  indi- 
cate two  remedies,  we  shall  always  find  by  closely  studying 
up  the  case  that  there  are  more  indications  for  one  than  the 
other  remedy.  We  exhibit  that  remedy'  covering  the  most 
of  the  symptoms,  and  we  shall  do  away  with  those  symptoms 
and  the  symptoms  of  the  other  remedy  will  also  pass  away, 
and  our  patient  gets  well. 

I  look  upon  the  practice  of  alternating  remedies  as  pro- 
ductive of  more  injury,  infinitely  more  injury  to  Homoeopa- 
thy than  any  to  arise  from  a  discussion  of  the  potency.  We 
can  practice  Homoeopathy  and  exhibit  any  potency.  We 
can  not  practice  Homoeopathy  at  all  and  alternate. 

Not  long  ago  I  read  a  short  article  from  the  pen  of  Dr.  E. 
M.  Hale,  a  report  of  a  case  in  which  he  gave  two  remedies 
in  alternation.  I  looked  at  Hering  and  found  one  an  anti- 
dote to  the  other.      One   or  the  other  of  these  gentlemen  is 


92  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

wrong,  and  a  great  error  promulgated.  If  Hering  is  wrong 
that  the  remedies  were  not  antidotal,  then  a  great  error  has 
gone  forth.  If  he  is  correct,  that  they  are  antidotal,  then  Hale 
has  published  for  the  gaze  of  the  homcBopathic  world  a  very 
serious  error,  being  a  teacher  that  he  alternated. 

We  can  not  always  select  the  right  remedy,  and  after  giv- 
ing a  remedy  a  reasonable  length  of  time  to  act,  and  see  no 
result,  we  can  make  another  selection,  and  this  is  a  thousand 
times  better  and  more  satisfactory  practice  than  to  alternate. 
Many  of  our  failures  in  practice  come  from  the  fact  of  our 
having  our  materia  medica  full  of  trash,  symptoms  unreliable 
and  foolish  withall. 

The  time  has  come  and  now  is,  when  a  thorough  cleansing 
is  necessary,  when  some  physician  must  lay  hold  of  the  task 
and  separate  the  good  from  the  bad.  I  am  satisfied  it  will 
be  and  must  be  dono,  and  the  work  of  Prof.  Allen  is  the  cul- 
mination in  magnitude  of  symptoms,  and  the  next  step  will 
be  the  minimum. 


-•■♦- 


Medical  Conyentions. 

It  is  always  with  peculiar  pleasures  that  we  look  forward 
to  the  summer  season;  for  with  its  annual  recurrence  comes 
the  anticipation  of  meeting  our  professional  friends  in  conven- 
tions. The  renewing,  creating,  and  cementing  of  acquaint- 
anceship on  these  occasions,  is  most  highly  prized  by  us;  and 
this  feeling  is  largely  shared  by  all  our  friends.  We  are  very 
sorry  to  confess  that  we  do  kno-w  a  few,  who  sneer  at  medi- 
cal conventions,  but  they  are  those  unfortunate  sore-heads, 
who  will  never  cease  to  find  fault  until  they  attend  their  own 
funerals.  So  far  we  have  been  privileged  to  attend  three 
meetings,  and  without  exception  they  were  of  great  interest 


Miscellaner. 


93 


and  profit.  First  we  went  up  to  Dayton  to  nttcnd  the  Mont- 
gomery County  HomiEopatliic  Sociely.  The  atlcndiince  was 
not  large  but  earnest  and  industrious.  Dr.  Miller  of  Springfield, 
presided  with  dignity  and  grace.  His  address  was  well  received 
and  gently  criticised.  Dr.  J.  W.  Clemmer  read  a  paper  on  Uter- 
ine Hemorrhage,  Dr.  H.  E.  Beebe  followed  with  a  paper  on 
Eclampsia,  and  Dr.  Egry  closed  the  woik  with  a  paper  on 
Varicose  Ulcers.  Each  paper  was  thoroughly  discussed,  and 
we  hope  to  have  the  pleasure  of  printing  them.  The  society 
was  handsomely  entertained  at  the  Beckel  House,  and  every 
one  went  away  happy.  Next  we  found  oursclf  in  Paris,  III-, 
at  the  meeting  of  the  Wabash  Valley  Homoeopathic  Associ- 
ation, Here  the  attendance  was  good,  and  a  day  of  profita- 
ble woik  enjoyed.  Dr.  W.  R.  Elder  occupied  the  chair  and 
did  honor  to  the  position.  Papers  were  read  by  Drs.  Hoyt, 
Sarchet,  Branstrup  and  Elder.  They  were  all  excellent.  Dr. 
Obetz  presented  some  interesting  clinics,  and  describes  his 
treatment  in  one  case  of  a  disease  of  the  knee  joint,  and  in  an- 
other :ui  cxsection  of  the  hip  joint.  Dr.  Obetz  is  certainly  a 
rising  knight  of  the  scalpel.  He  will  carve  his  way  to  surgical 
eminence  if  no  accident  befalls  him. 

Prof,  Richardson,  of  St.  Louis,  was  present  and  greatly 
helped  in  the  success  of  the  day.  In  ihe  evening  the  editor 
addressed  n  large  and  intelligent  audience  in  the  Methodist 
Church.  Our  thanks  are  due  Drs.  Mullins,  Hoyt  and  Obetz 
for  a  pleasant  day  in  Paris. 

The  Joint  Convention. — Coincident  with  our  grand 
Musical  Festival  came  the  joint  convention,  Ohio  in  friend- 
ly converse  with  the  great  West  The  meeting  was  a  suc- 
cess. The  gathering  of  distinguished  medical  men,  the 
brawn  and  brains  of  our  great  West,  was  never  in  our  exper- 
ience larger  or  put  t  j  a  better  purpose.  A  detail  of  proceed- 
ing is  impossible  at  this  lime.  One  thing  we  recall  with 
plensuie,  and  that  is,  not  a  discordant  note  was  sounded,  not 
the  slightest  ill  wilt  was  roused  during  the  entire  three  days' 
sebsion.  The  college  was  beautifully  decorated,  thanks  to  the 
students.  The  amphitheater  was  kept  comfortably  filled,  and 
all  seemed  to  enjoy  the  proceeding  as  well  they  might.     Drs, 


94  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

J.  Hartz  Miller  and  J.  B.  Hunt  as  alternate  presiding  officers, 
did  all  they  could  to  make  things  go  on  rapidly  and  smoothly. 

The  mass  of  papers  presented  was  almost  overwhelming. 
It  seemed  a  pity  to  have  so  many  of  them  read  by  title  and 
referred.  Those  present  were  justly  entitled  to  the  floor  with 
their  productions,  but  it  does  not  follow  that  the  convention 
heard  its  best  papers,  or  that  its  poorest  we  passed  upon  by 
title  only.  Some  reform  is  needed  here,  and  we  shall  suggest 
a  plan  upon  this  point  before  long. 

On  Wednesday  afternoon  the  convention  went  to  the  Zo- 
ological Garden,  and  after  the  wonderful  sights  had  been 
fully  enjoyed,  the  entire  party  returned  to  the  city  by  the  way 
of  Look  Out.  At  this  point  they  were  entertained  with  a 
lunch  after  Mr.  Harfs  best  style.  The  following  toasts  were 
duly  responded  to: 

First.  The  Zoo.  Thanks  to  the  enterprise  and  liberality 
that  enabled  us  to  take  a  look  at  our  ancestors.  Response  by 
Dr.  W.  L.  Breyfogle.  The  doctor  is  evidently  not  a  Dar- 
winian, and  he  didn't  elucidate  the  toast  upon  that  point,  but 
he  made  a  pleasant  speech  nevertheless. 

Second,  Cincinnati  "The  Paris  of  America,"  and  the 
rest  of  creation.  Response  to  the  first  part  by  Dr.  D.  H. 
Beckwith  who  found  much  to  admire  in  the  Qiieen  City,  but 
his  biting  sarcasm  was  greatly  enjoyed.  Dr.  P.  G.  Valentine 
responded  the  last  part,  and  told  what  he  knew  about  "the 
rest  of  creation."  The  doctor  always  makes  it  count  when 
called  on.     He  was  greatly  applauded. 

Third.  Medicine  and  Music.  Both  when  of  the  right  quality 
are  sweet  and  pleasant  to  take.  Response  by  Dr.  T.  C, 
Duncan  who  made  it  plain,  he  knew  something  upon  both 
heads.  The  doctor  is  musical  as  well  as  medical  in  his  com- 
position. 

Fourth.  Homoeopathy.  A  lively  corpse  for  a  dead  one. 
Funeral  indefinitely  postponed.  Response  by  Dr,  J.  C.  San- 
ders. The  doctor  was  happy  in  showing  the  inherent  vital- 
ity of  Homctiopathy,  and  claimed  that  the  system  would  not 
die  until  Gabriel  blew  his  last  horn. 


Miscellaneous.  05 

Fifth.  The  Ladies.  Response  by  Drs.  J.  Hartz  Miller 
and  Jas.  A.  Campbell.  Of  course  it  was  a  drawn  «^amejbe- 
tween  them  which  could  praise  the  ladies  most  highly  and 
truthfull} .  The  ladies  present  were  all  delighted  with  their 
champions,  and  showered  upon  them  great  applause.^ 

After  this  the  press  was  toasted  and  the  company  departed 
for  the  city  and  the  Musical  Festival.  Of  this  last  we  can 
say  nothing  adequate  with  its  deserts.  The  papers  of  the 
convention  were  divided  between  the  following  medical 
journals:  The  Clinical  Review  of  St.  Louis,  the  American 
Homoeopathist,  and  Medical  Investigator  of  Chicago,  and  the 
Medical  Advance  of  Cincinnati,  Through  these  chan- 
nels the  work  of  the  convention  will  eventually  find  its  way  to 
the  public  eye.  Dr.  J.  Hartz  Miller  was  elected  president  of  the 
Western  Academy  and  Dr.  H.  H.  Baxter  was  made  President 
of  the  Ohio  Society.  The  Academy  meets  next  at  St.  Louis, 
and  the  State  Society  at  Cleveland.  It  was  a  glorious  meet- 
ing. 


Some  Cases  from  our  Note  Book.    By  G.  N.  Brigham,  M,  D., 

Grand  Rapids,  Mich. 

Miss  M.  of  Stavee,  Vt.  belonging  to  a  consumptive  family, 
began  coughing  attended  with  emaciation,  and  such  symp- 
toms as  are  exhibited  in  the  second,  and  commencement  of 
the  third  stages  of  phthisis;  she  applied  to  Dr.  Thomas  for 
treatment.  After  giving  her  every  conceivable  remedy 
promising  amelioration  or  help,  I  was  sent  for  in  consultation, 
I  found  her  expectorating  with  difficulty  a  small  quantity  of 
muco-purulent  matter.  She  had  night  sweats,  forenoon  chills 
followed  by  a  mild  hectic.  Auscultation-  revealed  dullness 
in  the  apex  of  left  lobe  extending  down  to  third  intercostal. 


96  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

There  was  a  bronchial  rale  with  distinct  voice  sounds;  a  pain 
in  the  chest  going  from  the  front,  back  into  shoulder  blade. 
I  am  almost  certain  that  there  was  a  small  cavity  in  this  part 
of  the  left  lobe.  Retiring  to  a  private  room  I  said  to  the 
doctor,  I  see  nothing  but  Sulphur  here.  He  said  I  have 
given  it  with  no  effect.  Very  well,  I  said,  in  what  potency 
did  you  give  it  ?  In  the  fourth  and  two  hundredth.  Well 
said  I,  if  Sulphur  will  not  cure  her,  nothing  will;  she  must 
die,  and  very  likely  she  will  any  way.  But  let  her  alone  till 
I  send  you  some  of  the  20m,  and  then  give  her  a  single  dose 
and  watch  her  for  a  full  week,  and  if  at  that  time  you  see  no 
effect,  repeat  the  dose,  but  if  she  respond,  wait;  do  not  re- 
peat as  long  as  she  impioves.  He  did  so,  and  at  the  end  of 
the  week  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  her  show  evidence  of 
curative  reaction.  But  saw  as  he  said  no  action  before  about 
the  sixth  day.  She  recovered  without  any  other  remedy  and 
without  a  repetition  of  the  dose. 

A  similar  case  but  not  so  far  along,  with  same  pain  ex- 
tending through  from  the  anterior  walls  to  the  left  shoulder 
blade  was  promptly  cured  with  the  same  potency,  although 
I  repeated  the  dose  once  or  twice.  I  would  add  that  most 
of  these  cases  were  of  the  sanguine  or  sanguine  lympathic 
temperament.  None  of  them  were  of  dark  complexion.  Al- 
though a  majority  of  these  cases  where  I  have  made  any  suc- 
cess in  the  treatment  of  consumption  have  been  with  Sulphur^ 
and  always  with  high  potencies,  yet  I  have  in  my  note  book 
one  cured  by  a  trituration  of  Stannum^  hardly  less  brilliant  in 
its  results.  The  case  came  to  my  hands  after  being  treated 
by  two  or  three  different  allopathic  physicians.  I  learned  that 
she  had  a  scrofulous  tumor,  discussed  from  the  neck  by 
Iodine  just  previous  to  tliis  attack  upon  the  lungs.  I  found 
her  with  a  pulse  from  one  hundred  and  fifty  to  one  hundred 
and  sixty  per  minute,  with  hectic  fever  and  a  racking  ex- 
haustive cough  day  and  night  causing  her  to  expectorate  near- 
ly or  quite  a  quart  of  tough,  glairy  mucus  mixed  with  puru- 
lent matter  every  twenty-four  hours.  The  quantity  ex- 
ceeding anything  I  ever  saw  before  or  since.  She  was 
rather  stout  built  and  of  sanguine  bilious  temperament  and 


Miicellaneous, 


9T 


had  lost  her  husband  a  few  months  previous.  Auscultation 
showed  a  large  cavity  in  the  upper  third  of  right  lobe.  I 
first  gave  her  Calcarea  30  which  improved  her  so  far  as  to 
bring  the  pulse  down  to  one  hundred  and  twenty  und  di- 
minish the  expectoration  about  one  fourth.  In  the  course 
of  four  or  five  weeks  her  pulse  began  to  accelerate,  nnd  no 
further  improvement  was  made  in  cough  or  expectoration  I 
then  gave  three  doses  of  Slannum;^  in  the  course  of  the  next 
eight  days.  She  was  so  much  improved  at  my  next  visit 
which  was  in  about  ten  days,  that  she  called  herself  well. 
The  pulse  had  fallen  to  about  ninety  and  she  expectorated 
very  little.  How  there  could  be  such  a  check  of  the  matter 
expectorated  from  the  lung,  and  at  the  same  time  such  an 
nbatement  of  the  fever,  was  to  nie  a  puzzle.  She  had  but 
two  or  three  doses  more  to  complete  the  cure. 

The  next  case  which  I  will  report  is  that  of  Isaac  Tucker; 
he  had  hemorrhage  of  the  lungs  nine  months  previous  to  my 
visit.  Had  been  treated  by  three  difTerent  physicians,  and 
given  up  as  a  man  in  the  last  stages  of  tubercular  phthisis. 
So  hopeless  was  his  case  that  the  idea  of  sending  for  me  forty 
miles  away,  was  ridiculed  by  them  with  the  signiticant  state- 
ment, that  there  were  not  enongh  doctors  in  Christendom  to 
keep  him  alive  six  weeks.  When  I  saw  him,  I  thought  so 
myself,  and  refused  to  visit  him  the  second  time;  but  arranged 
to  8end  him  remedies  by  mail.  I  found  bim  with  cavities  in 
both  lungs,  showing  symptoms  of  septicemia  from  the  absorp- 
tion of  pus  from  the  cavities,  a  clammy  cadaverous  sweat  was 
covering  his  whole  body,  which  had  tlie  feeling  as  if  mould 
was  forming;  no  appetite,  and  raising  large  quantities  of  thick 
heavy  m  11  co-purulent  matter,  largely  purulent.  I  gave  him 
Silicia  300  every  other  night  for  a  week  and  then  once  in 
four  days  one  dose.  He  came  to  my  oflice  ten  ^eeks  later 
«nd  I  found  the  cavities  very  nearly  closed  and  only  a  slight 
expectoration  was  attending.  My  first  visit  was  in  April  and 
in  August  he  rode  on  his  mowing  machine  in  the  hayfield  and 
has  so  far  as  I  know  had  no  return  of  the  disease. 

Now  two  things  are  learned  by  these  cases  unless  we  say 
that  each  is  a  case  of  spontaneous  cure.     First,  that  high  po- 


98  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

tencies  are  capable  of  calling  out  the  curative  responses 
where  grave  and  dang'erous  invasions  upon  the  vital  economy 
have  been  made  and  structural  lesions  well  declared;  and 
secondly,  that  it  does  not  require  a  frequent  repetition  of  the 
dose.  The  cases  I  have  given,  hardly  would  be  expected  to 
recover  by  spontaneous  reaction.  And  then  the  changes 
were  so  sudden  and  of  a  nature  which  could  hardly  mislead. 
The  cases  in  which  I  have  seen  marked  results  from  sulphur 
were  accompanied  with  no  very  large  amount  of  expectora- 
tion, except  that  of  Mr.  Willard's  where  there  was  consider- 
able. 

All  cases  were  of  light  complexion  or  inclining  that  way. 
All  had  a  constitutional  taint.  What  was  most  peculiar  in 
the  Stannum  case,  was  the  amount  or  expectoration  which 
was  largely  ropy  mucous  coming  from  the  walls  of  the  cav- 
ity. The  cure  by  Silicia  was  an  extreme  case,  which  the 
more  I  think  of,  the  more  I  marvel  at.  The  expectoration 
was  copious  and  purulent.  The  system  nigh  overwhelmed, 
and  yet  we  find  it  responsive  and  able  under  the  promptings 
of  a  single  remedial  agent  to  go  on  to  an  arrest  of  a  long  con- 
tinued retrograde  metamorphosis  by  which  both  lobes  of  the 
lungs  are  crippled  and  to  eliminate  from  the  system  all  effete 
accumulations  and  close  up  large  cavities. 


Sodety  Meeting. 

The  semi-annual  meeting  of  the  Marion  County  homoe- 
pathists,  at  the  office  of  Drs.  Jones,  Mitchell,  and  Brigham, 
Indianapolis,  October,  1S77,  was  an  interesting  one,  and 
characterized  by  much  harmony  and  good  feeling.  The  at- 
tendence  was  quite  full.  The  meeting  was  called  to  order  at 
8:15  by  the  president,  Dr.  C,  I.  Corliss.     After  the  reading  of 


Miscellaneous. 


the  minutes  Dr.  Boyd  read  a  paper  on  "Illiberality  in  Medi- 
cine," substantially  as  follows:  The  different  methods  which 
have  prevailed  in  the  treatment  of  disease  show  that  medicine 
is  not  an  exact  science.  One  theory  has  succeeded  another, 
and  every  author  condemns  his  predecessors.  This  is  par- 
ticularly true  in  therapeutics,  that  branch  of  medicine  per- 
haps least  .understood.  The  folly  of  any  one  school  claiming 
to  have  all  truth  is  evident.  Allopaths  make  medical  belief 
the  test  of  fellowship.  The  dean  of  one  of  the  medical  col- 
IjBges  of  the  city  was  asked  how  many  of  his  graduates  could 
enter  the  second  year  of  a  first  class  Eastern  medical  college, 
and  answered:  "Not  one."  There  is  something  more  than 
professional  illiberality  in  the  refusal  of  allopathic  physicians 
to  meet  at  the  bedside  or  consult  with  homoeopathisls  when 
such  unfledged  cubs  are  fellowshipped.  The  old  school 
physicians  are  further  from  the  position  held  by  them  twen- 
ty five  years  ago  than  they  are  from  homoeopathy  now. 
Their  bitter  opposition  to  Harvey  and  Jenner  should  teach 
them  modesty.  Something  of  this  intolerance  is  growing  up 
in  our  own  school.  A  belief  in  the  exclusive  use  of  extreme- 
.ly  high  attenuations  is  causing  this  feeling — another  instance 
of  the  proneness  of  the  human  mind  to  be  most  captious 
where  least  certain.  Let  us  be  progressive  and  make  the 
goal  of  yesterday  the  starting  point  of  to-day. 

The  paper  was  received  and  the  president  called  for  com- 
ments. 

Dr.  Haggart  indorsed  the  paper,  and  thought  that  the  pre- 
scription among  homoeopathists  was  really  getting  beyond 
endurance — worse  in  some  points  than  that  of  other  schools. 

Dr.  Mitchell  was  also  fully  in  accord  with  the  author  of  the 
paper.  It  concerns  homoeopathists  little  that  they  are  pro- 
scribed bv  the  members  of  other  schools.  If  we  are  liberal 
and  they  are  not,  we  win  the  hearts  of  the  people.  In  the 
matter  of  potencies  he  did  not  stand  on  the  200th  or  the 
20poth.  As  an  individual  he  used  high  and  low,  as  the  case 
seemed  to  require.  The  main  point  is  for  physicians  to  be 
honest  in  reporting  cases  and  the  remedies  and  potencies 
used. 


100 


Cincinnati  JUedical  Adve 


Dr.  Corliss  never  stopped  to  inquire  nbout  potency,  but 
asked  what  remedy  was  used.  He  did  not  like  the  idea  of 
always  dragging  in  the  matter  of  high  attenii.ilion. 

Dr.  O.  S.  Runnels  spoke  of  the  restlessness  of  some  homoe- 
opathists  to  curry  favor  with  those  not  their  friends,  and  allu- 
ded to  the  disastrous  concessions  made  by  Dr.  Wyld,  in  Eng' 
land,  in  trying  to  hring  the  old  and  new  schools  together. 
Oil  and  water  will  not  mix.  We  are  in  the  van  of  progress; 
let  us  remain  so.  The  question  of  high  and  low  dilutions 
should  never  have  been  made.  It  is  simply  a  question  of  ex- 
perience.    Professional  honesty  is  the  thing  most  necessary. 

Dr.  Brigliam  had  never  seen  any  reason  for  liberality.  The 
only  cause  of  division  is  ambition  without  knowledge. 

Dr.  M.  T.  Runnels  said  we  represent  a  separate  and  dis- 
tinct school  which  was  born  eighty  years  ago,  and  has  never 
changed  since.  If  it  lives,  the  other  schools  must  die.  It  is 
important  that  we  sustain  each  other  and  make  our  profession 
harmonious.  Sooner  or  later  the  law  of  similars  must  be  rec- 
ognized. We  can  not  compromise  that.  The  old  school  is 
gradually  giving  up  that  Hahnemann  was  right.  We  find 
his  law  extends  into  the  whole  vegetable  and  mineral  world. 
There  must  be  an  idtimate  harmony  on  that  law  and  all  phy- 
sicians will  be  guided  by  it.  We  may  be  courteous  to  other 
schools  on  all  other  points,  but  we  must  not  give  up  the  vic- 
tory when  it  is  almost  won. 

s  thought  there  vvns  a  greater  difference  among 

I  on  the  prescribing  than  on  the  attenuation  of 

Lie  homceopathisis  prescribe  on  symptoms,  but 

ng  the   name   prescribe  homoeopathic  remedies 

Allopaths  have  a  just  ground  for   refusing  to 

consult  with  us  in  the  difference  in  theory,  but  they  base  their 

refusal  on  an  alleged  superiority  in  knowledge. 

Dr.  Boyd  closed  the  discussion  by  summing  up  the  points 
of  his  paper.  Homteopathists  have  this  advantage,  that  the 
symptomatology  of  eighty  years  ago  is  unchanged  now- 
Wherever  a  fact  is  well  established  it  is  as  fixed  as  a  truth 
of  mathematics.  Hence  homceopalhists  are  not  compelled  to 
throw   away   their  old   books  as   are  other  schools.     He  was 


.  Williar 
homceopathis 


many   claimi 
empiricnlly. 


Book  Notices,  101 

glad  to  see  the  harmonious  feeling  lately  established  among 
homcBopathists  and  reiterated  the  opinion  of  pathogenesis  and 
not  potency  should  be  given  as  a  remedy. 


»  » 


Sloo|  ^oliti$* 


Congenital  Occlusion  and  Dilatation  of  Lymph  Channels.    By  Sam'l  C. 
Busey,  M.  D.,  etc.,  etc.    Wm.  Wood  &  Co.,  New  York. 

To  us  this  seems  a  remarkably  interesting  book.  That  it  opens  a 
new  field  in  pathology  or  gives  a  needed  prominence  to  a  hitherto 
neglected  department  must  be  apparent  at  first  sight.  The  author 
flays,  "When  case  numbered  one  first  came  under  my  observation  on 
the  8th  of  July,  1874,  it  was  so  novel  and  anomalous  to  me,  that  I 
neither  knew  by  what  nosological  term  to  designate  it,  neither  did  I 
appreciate  the  significance  of  the  associated  morbid  phenomena.'' 
He  here  presents  eighty-eight  cases  in  all,  and  has  so  arranged  and 
studied  them  as  to  make  clear  what  before  was  an  obscure  and  per- 
plexing form  of  disease.  The  work  is  well  illustrated,  and  wonder- 
fully assists  the  reader  to  comprehend  the  appearance  of  patients 
suffering  from  this  fearful  malady.  Many  a  perplexing  case  of 
tumors  and  hypertrophy  of  the  tissue  would  find  a  ready  solution  by 
consulting  this  little  work.  The  treatment  to  be  sure  is  not  promis- 
ing in  favorable  results,  but  then  it  is  all  important  we  should  under- 
stand our  cases  whether  we  can  cure  them  or  not  For  sale  by  Kob't 
Clarke  &  Co.    Price  $2.00. 

Clinical  Therapeutics.    Vol.  1.    No.  V.    By  Temple  S.  Hoyne,  M.  D., 
Chicago. 

With  commendable  promptness  the  first  volume  has  been  completed, 
and  this  last  number  furnished  with  a  full  index  for  ready  reference 
to  anything  the  volume  includes.  There  must  have  been  a  very 
large  amount  of  preparatory  work  done,  or  else  the  issue  would  have 


102  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

inevitably  dragged,  and  thus  greatly  lessened  the  general  interest  in 
the  work.  But  tlie  editor  has  long  been  known  as  one  of  the  fore- 
most students  of  our  materia  medica,  and  he  has  evidently  given  to 
the  work  not  only  a  large  amount  of  close  application,  but  also  the  aid 
of  a  large  experience  in  homoeopathic  therapeutics.  We  are  pleased  to 
note  that  the  book  has  met  with  very  general  favor,  and  the  succeed- 
ing volume  will  be  pushed  to  completion  in  good  time.  The  present 
number  includes  Nitric  and  Phos.  acid,  Sepia,  Silicia,  Staphymgria,  Alu- 
mina, Causticum,  Cocculus,  Chamomilla  and  Hepar  gulph.  As  a  thoroughly 
practical  work  suited  to  the  wants  of  the  busy  doctor,  Dr.  Hoyne's 
CHnical  Therapeutics  is  unrivaled  by  any  work  in  our  rapidly  extend- 
ing literature. 


€&ilo/s  ^M$. 


Pay  up. — Some  of  our  sabscribers  are  behind  hand,  and  we  beg 
to  admonish  them  that  our  terms  arc  low  for  cash. 

Put  in  Bay — June  18,  19,  20,  21.  Don't  forget  the  time  and  place. 
Buy  your  tickets  to  Sandusky,  From  thence  by  boat  we  go  over  to 
the  Island.  Boats  also  run  to  the  Island  from  Cleveland,  Detroit,  and 
Toledo.  Better  all  things  considered  go  by  cars  direct  to  Sandusky. 
The  sessions  of  the  American  Institute  of  Homa'opathy  and  the 
American  Homoeopathic  O.  and  O.  Association  will  occur  jointly  at 
that  time,  and  physicians  and  their  friends  will  find  ample  amuse- 
ment in  boating  and  fishing.  Don't  think  of  spending  less  than  a  week 
on  the  Island. 

The  State  of  the  Market. — Picric  acid  has  gone  up, — "Urohwma- 
tine  Jones"  has  gone  down.    (Vide  Hom.  Times,  April,  78). 

Ophthalmic. — Prof.  J.,  of  Ann  Arbor,  Mich.,  is  said  to  have  cata- 
ract.    He  has,  however,  been  CourMd,  and  vision  is  returning  slowly. 

Dr.  Geo.  C.  Jeffery  has  removed  to  -225  Tomkinson  Avenue 
Brooklyn.  , 

Dr.  S.  E.  Peck  has  removed  to  Stonnington,  Conn. 


Editor's  Table,  103 

Dr.  Geo.  M.  Ockford  has  settled  in  Indianapolis.  He  will  be  a 
substantial  addition  to  the  railroad  city. 

Db.  Henry  C.  Houghton  has  removed  to  44  West  35th  Street,  New 
York. 

Dr.  Wm.  Tod  Helmuth  has  removed  to  229  Madison  Avenue,  New 
York  City. 

Dr.  M.  H.  Phister  has  located  in  Parkersburg,  West  Virginia. 

Dr.  J.  W.  DowLixQ  has  removed  to  313  Madison  Avenue,  New  York 
City. 

Dr.  S.  W.  Rutledoe  has  removed  to  Rose  Creek,  Minn. 

J.  H.  BuFFUM,  M.  D.,  from  Pittsburg,  Pa.,  to  201  East  Twenty- 
third  street,  New  York  City — having  been  elected  Resident  Surgeon 
of  the  New  York  Ophthalmic  Hospital. 

Dr.  B.  L.  Paine  has  located  in  Lincoln,  Nebraska. 

Alfred  Wanstall,  M.  D.,  (late  Resident  Surgeon  of  the  New  York 
Ophthalmic  Hospital),  has  opened  an  office  at  124  North  Charles  St., 
comer  oi  Hamilton,  Baltimore ;  and  will  devote  himself  exclusively  to 
the  treatment  of  diseases  of  the  eye  and  ear. 

We  have  just  received  a  new  set  of  Physicians'  Account  Books, 
Day  and  Cash  Book  and  Ledger,  Published  by  the  Henry  Bill  Pub- 
lishing Co.,  of  Norwich,  Conn.  They  are  by  all  odds  the  best  thing 
of  the  kind  we  have  seen.    Call  and  examine  our  set. 

Tolerance  and  Liberality. — Tolerance  is  a  kind  of  moral  sense  of 
the  mind  that  allows  to  others  what  it  asks  for  itself — the  right  to 
think  soberly  and  honestly  without  passion  or  self-will.  It  is  a  duty 
like  paying  our  debts  or  tellinj^  the  truth.  It  has  no  imagination  or 
moral  sympathy.  It  is  simply  a  matter-of-fact  practical  Chinese  qual- 
ity that  gives  as  good  as  it  takes.  Liberality  is  an  ability,  an  endow- 
ment. It  is  inclusive  and  finds  the  kindred  tie  that  runs  through 
things  different.  It  is  a  grace  of  soul,  a  climate  of  reason,  a  latitude 
and  longitude  of  thought,  and  feeling  within  which  varied  fruits  are 
ripened,  and  many  races  have  their  dwelling  place.  Tolerance  is 
founded  in  conscience ;  liberality  is  founded  in  reason  and  imagina- 
tion. 

The  Homoeopathic  Mutual  Life  Insurance  Co.,  of  New  York. — 
The  examination  of  the  affairs  of  this  company  has  just  been  comple- 
ted by  the  Insurance  Department,  and  although  there  are  one  or  two 
items  of  difference  in  the  valuation  of  securities  as  assumed  by  the 


104  Cincinnati  Medical  Advafice. 

department  and  the  managers  of  this  company,*  we  are  happy  to  find 
that  even  with  all  these  dedactions  conceded,  the  department  arrives 
at  the  conclusion  that  the  surplus  as  to  policy-holders,  after  provid- 
ing for  all  liabilities,  amounts  to  $51,552.68,  a  feature  of  safety  that 
must  afford  to  all  those  concerned  the  satisfaction  of  perfect  security. 
But  in  arriving  at  this  balance  there  are  left  in  abeyance  $13,000  in 
town  bonds  in  which  the  management  has  confidence,  and  there  is 
also  a  similar  amount  deducted  as  shrinkage  in  the  value  of  its  real 
estate  investment,  which  there  is  no  doubt  will  be  recovered  upon  the 
return  of  greater  confidence.  These  two  sums  will  increase  ^e  sur- 
plus allowed  by  the  Superintendent  to  $78,552.68.  The  salient  point 
is,  that  the  statment  of  the  company  was  completely  verified. 

RBCBIVBD. 

Medical  Forces  as  a  Distinct  Class  in  Nature.  By  J.  P.  Dake,  M. 
D.,  Nashville,  pp.  9. 

The  Evolution.  Vol.  II.  No.  IV.  This  is  the  monthly  issue  for 
April,  1878.  Send  fifteen  cents  for  this  particular  number  to  A.  K. 
Butts,  14  Cortland  street,  and  after  reading  it  you  will  not  fail  to  send 
in  your  year's  subscription.    Take  it  on  our  recommendation. 

Diseases  of  Infants  and  Children  and  their  Homoeopathic  Treat- 
ment   Edited  by  T.  C.  Duncan,  M.  D,,  etc.,  etc.     Chicago,  Part  L 

Congenital  Occlusion  and  Dilatation  of  Lymph  Channels.  By  8. 
C.  Busey,  M.  D.    Wm.  Wood  &  Co.,  New  York. 

Address  of  the  President  of  Missouri  Institute  of  Homoeopathy. 
W.  H.  Jenney,  M.  D. 


EDITORIAL. 

Events  Viewed  Unequally 60 

THEORY   AND  PRACTICE. 

Physical  Examination 66 

Diphtheria 71 

The    Pathological     Efiects    of 


DEPARTMENT     OP      CONSULTATION 

CASES. 

GENERAL  CLINICS. 

MISCELLANEOUS. 

Dr.  Haggart  and  the  Materia 

Medica 00 

Medical  Conventions- 92 


Drugs 75    !    Some  Cases  from  our  Note  Book  98 

"  i .,^-,.^,:^  1/11 


OBSTETRICAL    A    OYN^COLOOICAL. 

Beport  on  Diseases  of  Women..  79 


book  notices.  101 

editor's  table  102 


JXB,  p.  GBPPBRT,  PR. 


I 


^^_       uone 
^^K     abamlc 


DocTUBS  AND  TfiBiR  Dead. — A  moflt snd occuTence  transpired  incur 
city  a  few  dnye  since.  A  gentleman  of  prominence  from  a  neighbor- 
ing hiwii  WB9  searching  one  of  our  medical  colleges  for  the  remains 
ol  taia  friend,  and  he  came  most  unexpectedly  upon  the  body  of  hia 
own  fatlier,  buried  only  a  few  hours  before.  The  shock  which  he 
felt  at  this  discovery  has  naturally  pnsaed  through  an  excited  com- 
munity, and  awakened  an  intense  and  wide  spread  interest  That 
wlildi  before  has  been  epoken  of  with  bated  breath,  is  now  londly 
mouthed  upon  our  streets.  Tliat  which  before  flitted  like  a  vague 
dream  through  tlie  minds  of  men,  bas  taken  form  and  aubslance  and 
AVery  one  that  reads  our  newspapers  has  taken  a  peep  behind  the 
cortuin.  We  can  not  discuss  the  merits  of  this  case  ;  we  have  the 
deepest  sympathy  for  the  friends  of  the  discovered  dead  and  there  we 
must  rest.  But  we  can  noton  this  public  ware  of  indiKnation  be  swept 
back  to  the  dark  ages  and  have  practical  anatomy  place<I  under  bans. 
There  imi't  the  siighlest  danger  uf  it,  though  the  wish  is  in  many 
hearts.  It  is  our  hope  that  out  of  this  discovered  wrong  there  will 
come  future  good  to  the  medical  profession.  Superficial  thinkers 
would  have  us  believe  that  doctors  rob  graves,  like  hyenas  tor  the 
love  of  it.      On  the  contrary  we  know  they  shrink  from  such  a  task 

one  Uiey  would  gladly  avoid.     But  cadavers  tliey  must  have,  or 

abandon  the  farther  teaching  of  medicine.     Without  anatomy  there 

Jly-I  105 


106  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

is  little  to  be  desired.  If  the  law  will  not  step  in  and  decide  whose 
bodies  the  doctors  shall  have,  the  doctors  must  decide  for  themselves. 
Once  upon  the  dissecting  table  all  bodies  are  alike.  It  must  be  left 
for  our  moralists  to  preserve  the  distinction  between  the  rich  and 
poor,  old  and  young,  high  or  low.  It  is  not  possible  for  a  doctor  to 
see  more  than  the  anatomy  he  is  searching  for. . 

AVe  are  in  Doubt. — AVe  have  been  at  considerable  expense  and 
trouble  to  organize  a  bureau  of  medical  information,  and  for  several 
months  we  kept  up  our  reports  from  various  parts  of  the  country. 
For  several  issues  of  our  journal  we  have  been  prevented  making 
use  of  these  reports,  and  they  have  accumulated  on  our  hands 
Meantime  we  have  heard  nothing  from  the  profession  on  the  question. 
We  are  in  doubt  if  they  should  be  continued.  Directly,  as  wo  are 
aware,  little  can  be  learned  from  such  reports.  Like  statistics  they 
make  dry  reading,  but  like  statistics  they  become  eloquent  when  a 
sufficient  number  of  them  shall  have  been  grouped  together. 
Whether  the  busy,  practical  doctor  cares  to  make  such  or  any  other 
use  of  these  things  is  the  query  we  would  like  to  have  solved.  Our 
energetic  superinten(ient  of  the  department  will  gallantly  push  for- 
ward with  his  corps  or  gracefully  retire,  just  as  the  profession  may 
demand.  Perhaps  the  profession  is  divided  on  the  question.  If  any 
are  interested  let  them  speak. 

Treatment  of  Cholera — An  Alix)pathic  View. — As  in  well  estab- 
lished cases  about  as  many  have  died  under  one  plan  of  management  as 
another,  not  much  encouragement  can  be  ofTered  for  any  particular 
line  of  practice.  If  you  wish  to  give  Calomel  in  doses  of  twenty  grains 
or  one-fourth  grain,  if  you  make  Opium  or  Ipecac  your  sheet  anchors 
or  from  a  malarial  stand  point  give  Quinine,  if  you  rely  on  Castor  oil 
and  Cold  uxiter,  after  Johnson,  or  decide' to  inject  *Sa/tne  «o/u/io7w  into 
the  veins  for  the  deceptive  improvement  it  will  furnish,  or  finally,  if 
you  fold  your  hands  and  employ  no  medicine,  I  will  furnish  you  re- 
spectable authority  for  any  of  these  plans.  This  is  not  encouraging 
and  should  stimulate  our  effects  to  improve  our  therapcautical, 
resources. 

Heaven  forbid  such  means  should  be  improved.    They  are  quite 

effective  enough  as  they  are.    Better  abandon  them  than  attempt  any 

improvement  of  them. 

Too  Many  Papers. — This  is  the  universal  cry  from  our  large  con- 
ventions. We  are  over  run  with  manuscripts.  Our  bureaus  are 
full  of  ready  writers.  The  members  are  all  there  each  with  a  pocket 
full  of  written  material — much  of  it  we  regret  to  say  copied  almost 
verbatim  from  the  text  books,  and  old  ones  at  that.  And  it  beats  the 
life  out  of  the  convention  to  make  it  sit  and  hear  all  this  read.  What 
the  convention  wants  is  more  off  hand  discussion.      But  now  its  like 


Editorial.  107 

targ:et  shooting  where  all  the  time  is  wasted  in  setting  up  the  target. 
And  who  wants  to  knock  down  a  text  book  first  or  second  hand  ? 
Nobody.  The  remedy  for  this  great  evil  is  one  of  two  things.  Either 
have  abstracts  in  place  of  full  papers  read,  or  else  have  a  committee 
of  judicious  gentlemen  who  can  select  a  few  of  the  best  papers,  these 
only  to  be  read  and  discussed.  Either  of  these  plans  is  feasible  and 
we  hope  some  such  remedy  will  be  applied  to  convention  work.  Let 
us  agitate  this  question  and  bring  about  a  speedy  reform. 


Nutrition.     By  J.  D.  Buck,  M.  D.,  Cincinnati.      Read  before 
the  Homoeopathic  Medical  Society  of  Ohio,  June  i6. 

The  definition  of  an  organism  which  is  at  once  the  most 
concise  and  the  most  comprehensive  is  that  which  refers  to 
capacity  of  certain  structures  for  taking  up  material  from 
without,  changing  its  character  and  adding  it  to  its  own  struc- 
ture. This  taking  up  and  transforming  process  is  nutrition. 
It  is  characteristic  of  every  living  structure,  from  the  lowest 
plant  to  the  highest  animal,  and  is  the  only  function  or  pro- 
perty possessed  in  common  by  all  organisms,  and  found  ab- 
sent in  all  non-organisms.  Nutrition  is,  therefore,  to  the 
physiologist  the  problem  of  problems,  while  to  the  patholo- 
gist or  physician  the  question  of  nutrition  is  not  only  involv- 
ed in  every  case  which  comes  under  his  observation,  but  a 
large  class  of  diseases  are  now  known  to  consist  almost  solely 
in  some  pervertion  of  nutritive  processes.  But  little  investi- 
gation would  seem  to  be  necessary  to  prove  the  foregoing 
propositions,  and  yet  in  text  books  on  physiology,  with  barely 
one  or  two  exceptions,  this  most  important  subject  receives 
very  superficial  and  inadequate  handling,  while  among  phy- 
sicians so  deficient  of  any  correct  knowledge  on  the  subject 
have  they  been,  that  at  this  present  time  at  least  one  physi- 
cian is  making  for  himself  a  national  leputation  by  rational 
attention  to  the  condition  of  flesh  and  blood  of  his  patients. 


108  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

Among  all  classes  of  physicians  the  giving  of  medicines 
has  made  up  by  far  too  large  a  share  of  the  art  called  heal- 
ing, even  while  recovery  from  diseased  conditions  has  gene- 
rallv  been  admitted  as  due  to  the  natural  reaction  of  the  or- 
ganism,  rather  than  to  any  direct  drug  effect,  whether  of  large 
or  small  doses;  prescribed  according  to  the  law  of  similars, 
or  no  known  law.  The  attention  of  homoeopathic  physi- 
cians has  been  directed  almost  solely  to  the  prohibition  of 
certain  articles  of  diet,  and  that  more  often  from  some  real  or 
fancied  antagonism  which  they  were  supposed  to  bear  to  the 
medicines  used,  as  if  forsooth  the  sole  consideration  were  the 
giving  of  drugs,  before  which,  every  other  consideration  van- 
ished, while  among  the  venders  of  larger  pills,  general  and 
indiscriminate  feeding,  and  the  so-called  "tonics,"  which  are 
supposed  to  facilitate  the  stuffing  process,  have  formed  the 
large  part  in  the  treatment  of  many  diseased  conditions. 
Now  if  the  natural  reaction  of  the  organism  is  to  be  depend- 
ed upon  to  rid  it  of  disease,  whether  aided  or  hindered  by  the 
use  of  drugs,  nutrition  must  sustain  such  reaction  against  both 
the  natural  wear  and  tear,  and  the  prostrating  or  destructive 
ravages  of  disease.  Nor  does  the  mere  question  of  over  or 
under  feeding,  nor  yet  that  of  arbitrary  selection  or  exclusion 
of  certain  articles,  cover  the  ground  of  nutritive  requirement. 
For  an  arbitrary  rule,  which  works  good  in  one  case,  is  very 
certain  to  work  ill  in  another.  If  I  were  to  estimate  the  re- 
lation of  the  two  schools  of  medicine  to  the  health  of  com- 
munities, I  should  say  that  often  the  principle  difference  con- 
sists in  the  fact  that  one  does  far  less  harm  than  the  other, 
while  the  amount  of  positive  good  accomplished  by  either, 
has  seldom  been  a  tithe  of  what  it  ought  to  have  been,  or  is 
likel}'  to  be  in  the  future. 

Every  experienced  physician  understands  the  important  re- 
lation which  a  rapid  loss  of  flesh  bears  to  a  case  of  incipient 
tuberculosis,  but  till  very  recently,  few  if  any  understood  what 
were  the  anatomical  structures,  which  are  at  once  intimately 
concerned  in  both  the  formation  of  tubercle  and  in  all  nutri- 
tive processes. 


ITutrition.  109 

There  is  not  only  every  reason  to  believe,  but  many  facts 
to  prove,  that  the  tissues  feed  directly  on  living  matter;  on  a 
substance  very  far  removed  in  quality  or  endowment  from 
inert  and  often  indiscriminate  massy  food  undergoing  diges- 
tion, and  which  already  possesses  the  fundamental  properties 
exhibited  by  the  living  tissues. 

The  modern  conception  of  the  animal  body  as  the  sum  of 
vital  unities,  or  an  association  of  relatively  independent  or- 
ganisms, is  no  more  true,  than  that  these  vital  unities  feed 
upon  others  no  less  vital,  though  far  less  complex  than  they. 
To  say  that  the  food  is  "vitalized"  during  the  process  of  di- 
gestion, absorption,  etc.,  conveys  no  idea  whatever,  of  the 
important  change  which  occurs.  Nor  is  the  matter  much 
more  clear  when  we  tabulate  articles  of  food,  digestive  fluids, 
and  chemical  changes,  as  they  occur  in  the  process  of  diges- 
tion. 

All  such  facts  are  indeed  important,  and  in  many  ways  as 
matters  of  knowledge,  but  after  all  furnish  no  adequate  con- 
ception of  the  process,  by  which  food  becomes  flesh.  Of  all 
single,  nutritive  substances,  probably  none  approaches  so 
nearly  to  the  exact  requirements  of  growth  and  repair  of  tis- 
sues, as  albumen,  and  yet  we  have  no  evidence  that  any  tis- 
sue of  the  body  feeds  directly  on  albumen,  for  though  it  ex- 
ists in  the  blood  in  solution,  in  the  process  of  digestion  it  is 
converted  into  albuminose,  and  the  like  change  happens  to 
most  other  substances.  The  most  marked  exception,  is  in  re- 
gard to  fat,  which  is  simply  emulsified,  entering  the  circula- 
tion, and  being  deposited  in  the  tissues  with  very  little 
change.  Nevertheless,  fat  by  most  physiologists,  is  regarded 
as  non-nutritious,  as  it  contains  no  nitrogen.  There  is  evi- 
dence that  fat  is  more  directly  related  to  nutrition  than  has 
generally  been  supposed.  The  function  of  absorption  has 
generally  been  assigned  to  the  lymphatic  system;  when  one 
speaks  of  the  absorbents,  the  lymphatics  are  generally  referred 
to.  In  this  way,  a  far  more  important  function  has  generally 
been  overlooked,  which  can  be  traced  directly  to  them. 

If  we  observe  any  vital  process  as  it  occurs,  we  shall  find 
no  abrupt  transition.     All  processes  of  growth  and  repair  of 


110  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

tissue,  are  not  only  by  gradual  transition,  but  the  materials  of 
growth  and  repair  do  not  at  once  pass  from  inert  to  living 
matter.  After  all  the  complicated  changes  incident  to  the 
procesb  of  digestion  have  occurred,  we  have  simply  as  the 
result  an  emulsion  or  structureless  mass,  which  after  passing 
through  the- lymphatics  of  the  small  intestines  is  poured  into 
the  left  sub-clavian  vein,  when  it  joins  the  general  circulation. 
Incidentally  we  find  mentioned  the  fact  that  during  the  pas- 
sage of  the  chyle  through  the  mesentery,  the  chyle  corpus- 
cle appears.  It  is  this  fact  that  I  would  emphasize;  food  here 
first  becomes  nutriment.  This  is  the  birth  of  nutritive  ele- 
ments. Here  we  have  a  substance  which  approaches  so 
nearly  the  likeness  of  the  living  tissues  as  to  need  little  fur- 
ther change  that  it  may  manifest  the  vital  functions;  a  con- 
dition from  which  all  the  tissues  of  the  body  may  be  regard- 
ed as  having  originated;  a  substance  which  is  abundantly 
present  wherever  and  whenever  the  repair  of  tissue  is  going 
on,  as  seen  in  suppurating  and  granulating  wounds. 

Co-incident  with  the  appearance  of  the  chyle  corpuscle  is 
the  disappearance  of  fat  and  albumen,  though  the  exact  re- 
lation of  these  substances  to  the  corpuscle  is  not  known.      I 
desire  at  this  time  to  point  out  the    relation  of  fat  and  albu- 
men to  the  corpuscle,  and  the  relation  of  the  corpuscle  to  nu- 
trition.      Now  the  mesenteric  glands  and  tubes  are  a  part  of 
the  system  of  lymphatics  which  pervades  the  tissues  of  the 
body,  and  wherever  a  tube  enters  a  gland,  on  its  emergence 
the  number  of  such  corpuscles  is  found  to  have  been  greatly  in- 
creased.    No  distinction  whatever  can  be  discovered  between 
corpuscles  formed  in   the  lymphatics  of  the  small  intestines, 
and  those  formed  elsewhere  in  the  lymphatic  system,  or  be- 
tween those  and  the  white  blood  cell.     Aside  from  the  ordi- 
nary tubes  and  glands  known  as  the  lymphatics,  another  sys- 
tem of  irregular  open  spaces  has  also  been  discovered,  con- 
nected with  the  general    system  of  lymphatics  on    the    one 
hand,  and  forming  a  peculiar  and  very  important  relation  to 
blood  capillaries  on  the  other.     A  minute  description  of  these 
relations  would  exceed  the  necessary  limits  of  this  paper.     I 
will  only  mention  the  fact  that  the  blood  vessel  forms  a  plexus 


Nutrition.  Ill 

within  the  lymphatic  space,  so  that  it  is  surrounded  by  it,  and 
any  exudation  from  the  capillary  would  pass  into  the  lym- 
phatic spaces,  or  absorption  from  the  lymphatic  into  the  blood 
vessel  might  also  readily  occur. 

Now  while  the  question  of  nutrition  enters  more  or  less  into 
the  treatment  of  all  diseases,  it  is  of  more  especial  import- 
ance in  diseases  like  marasmus,  tabes  messenterica  and  tuber- 
culosis. In  these  cases  mal-nutrition  is  from  the  first  or  soon 
becomes  the  leading  consideration.  In  the  deposit  of  tuber- 
cle on  the  one  hand,  wherever  it  occurs,  we  have  an  obstruc- 
tion of  the  tubes  and  glands,  and  a  premature  organization 
or  degeneration  of  nutritive  material.  In  the  rapid  wasting 
of  flesh  incident  to  marasmus  and  tuberculosis,  we  have  also 
a  failure  in  the  elaboration  of  nutritive  material  and  a  rapid 
consumption  of  fat.  The  relation  of  fat  in  a  general  way  to 
these  conditions,  has  long  been  recognized,  and  the  frequent 
administration  of  Cod  liver  oil,  is  but  an  effort  on  the  part  of 
the  physician  to  supply  a  palpable  want  of  the  system.  The 
result  which  has  followed  such  treatment,  has  been  by  no 
means  uniformly  successful. 

Success  in  a  few  cases,  to  which  it  was  applicable,  has 
been  followed  by  its  indiscriminate  use  in  many,  where  it  has 
done  more  harm  than  good.  In  another  class  of  cases,  where 
in  addition  to  mal-nutrition,  there  was  great  nervous  prostra- 
tion, or  irritability.  Dr.  S.  Weir  Mitchell,  of  Philadelphia,  has 
achieved  very  remarkable  results  by  systematic  efforts  to  im- 
prove the  general  nutritive  conditions,  making  that  the  chief 
aim  of  treatment  rather  than  seeking  to  remove  by  drugs  those 
nervous  conditions,  whether  of  depression  or  irritation  which 
have  generally  claimed  almost  the  entire  attention  of  the  phy- 
sician. His  treatment  consists  first,  of  absolute  control  of  the 
patient,  perfect  repose,  absolute  inactivity,  frequent  feeding 
with  food  easily  converted  into  fat  and  tissue,  mild  stimulants 
or  tonics,  and  to  avoid  ill  efl^ects  from  such  over  feeding,  a 
daily  bath,  massage  and  electricity.  The  result  which  has 
followed  such  treatment  in  numerous  instances,  is  worthy  of 
very  careful  consideration,  for  it  suggests  a  wider  range  of  cases 
which  are  to  be  benefitted  by  his  suggestions.     His  theory  is 


112  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

very  simple.  Inasmuch  as  many  diseases  are  characterized 
by  mal-nutrition  whatever  other  conditions  may  exist,  by  in- 
creasing the  quantity  of  fat,  and  improving  the  quality  of 
the  blood,  such  cases  ought  geneially  to  improve,  and  the  re- 
sult in  a  majority  of  such  cases  has  amply  justified  his  expec- 
tations. 

In  systematic  efforts  to  improve  the  nutritive  condition, 
there  are  a  number  of  conditions  which  have  to  be  very  rig- 
idly observed.  The  directions  in  regard  to  food,  amount  to 
what  would  generally  be  regarded  as  over  feeding.  A  very 
liberal  allowance  of  Fresh  milky  Oreaniy  Beef  tea.  Brown 
bread  and  Ale^  from  all  of  which  injurious  results  will  follow 
if  the  patient  takes  little  exercise  which  is  also  one  of  the  re- 
quirements. If  these  are  the  sole  requirements,  gastric  dis- 
turbance, constipation,  etc.,  are  likely  to  ensue.  To  avoid 
these  conditions,  in  the  first  place  the  condition  of  the  skin 
must  be  carefully  considered.  A  daily,  cool  sponge  bath  fol- 
lowed by  rubbing  and  massage,  should  be  used.  By  massage 
is  meant,  a  general  kneading  of  the  muscles  of  the  body  from 
head  to  foot,  pinching  and  rolling  the  short  muscles  between 
the  thumb  and  finger  of  the  operator,  and  grasping  more  firm- 
ly the  long  muscles  of  the  arms  and  legs,  and  tne  broad  mus- 
cles of  the  back,  hips,  chest  and  abdomen  so  as  to  exercise 
them  all,  each  and  severaly,  and  thus  increase  the  quantity  of 
blood  brought  to  them,  and  still  further  to  insure  such  a  re- 
sult. Faradic  electricity  should  be  applied  to  the  muscles  of 
the  legs  and  arms  particularly. 

I  have  witnessed  the  result  of  such  treatment  in  some  cases, 
and  employed  it  myself  in  others,  and  with  most  marked  and 
satisfactory  results,  and  when  I  have  seen  such  remarkable  re- 
sults follow  in  cases  which  had  resisted  all  other  modes  of 
treatment,  I  have  been  surprised  that  such  simple  and  effectu- 
al methods  have  remained  so  long  unrecognized.  No  one 
who  has  thoroughly  tested  this  method,  taking  pains  to  ob- 
serve all  necessary  conditions,  can  fail  to  approve  it. 

The  selection  of  food  should  be  with  special  reference  to 
its  known  nutritive  quality,  readiness  of  absorption  and  as- 
simulation,  while  attention  to  the  condition  of  the  skin,  which 


Kutrition.  113 

favors  exhalation,  and  a  healthy  temperature  favors  also  the 
movement  of  fluids,  and  elaboration  of  nutritive  material  bv 
the  lymphatics.  In  some  cases  it  is  also  desirable  to  annoint 
the  whole  surface  of  the  body  daily,  for  which  purpose  Cocoa- 
nut  oil  is  highly  recommended. 

I  am  free  to  confess  that  I  have  so  much  of  the  "physiologi- 
cal livery"  about  me,  that  I  do  not  believe  that  any  amount  of 
drugs  administered  in  any  dose,  or  upon  any  principle  will 
atone  for  lack  of  such  nutritive  measure  as  I  have  described? 
but  that  in  many  cases,  if  compelled  to  forego  either,  I  should 
certainly  dispense  with  all  medicines. 

V  hen,  however,  in  addition  to  such  precautions,  the  prop- 
erly selected  remedy  is  also  administered  the  most  satisfactory 
results  may  be  obtained.  With  increase  of  flesh,  there  is  a 
gradual  disappearance  of  fatigue,  nervous  depression  o'*  irri- 
tability. The  complexion  before  sallow,  blotched  and  gener- 
ally unhealthy,  becomes  clear  and  healthy,  and  as  exercise  is 
gradually  resumed  the  gait  becomes  firm  and  elastic,  till  final- 
ly long  walks  are  taken  with  pleasure,  and  the  most  benefi- 
cial results.  Many  chronic  invalids,  where  no  severe  organic 
disease  actually  bars  recovery,  may  in  this  way  be  restored  to 
health.         ■•• 

The  uses  of  fat  in  the  system  have  by  no  means  been  ac- 
curately or  exhaustively  tabulated.  As  already  shown,  fat 
bears  a  very  important  relation  to  the  conversion  of  food  into 
living  matter,  and  the  fact  that  its  rapid  disappearance  takes 
place  in  the  incipient  stage  of  many  formidable  and  finally 
incurable  diseases,  proves  also  the  important  relation  which 
a  due  proportion  of  it  bears  to  health. 

In  cases  of  incipient  tuberculosis.  Dr.  Mitchell  reports  a 
few  instances  in  which  satisfactory  results  have  been  obtained. 
I  have  also  some  cases  now  under  treatment  which  with  in- 
crease of  flesh  show  general  improvement.  In  such  cases, 
however,  the  stage,  extent  and  condition  of  tubercular  deposit 
will  no  doubt  have  most  to  do  in  determining  results.  In 
cases  of  bronchial  and  pulmonary  catarrh,  though  I  have  had 
little  opportunity  to  test  this  mode  of  treatment,  I  should 
expect  more  uniformly  satisfactory  results,  provided  severe 
structural  lesion  had  not  already  occurred. 


114  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

I  consider  it  exceeding  desirable  that  careful  and  thorough 
experiment  in  this  direction  should  be  instituted,  and  results 
carefully  noted  and  reported,  and  I  shall  be  much  mistaken  if 
the  list  of  confirmed  invalids  and  incurable  diseases  is  not 
thereby  materially  decreased,  a  result  which  is  not  only  de- 
voutly to  be  desired,  but  to  the  accomplishment  of  which 
every  true  physician  will  devote  his  best  energies  and  his 
most  careful  thought. 


m%mi 


Inflamniatioxi  of  the  Knee  Joint — Leather  Splint.    By  H.  P. 

Cole,  M.  D, 

On  February  i,  Mrs.  B.  called  in  the  afternoon  for  some 
medicine  to  make  her  baby  sleep,  Upon  inquiry  I  learned 
that  the  child  had  been  suffering  for  the  last  two  years  from 
an  inflamed  knee  joint;  he  is  now  three  years  of  age.  The 
symptoms  called  for  Chamomilla  which  I  prescribed,  but 
told  the  mother  she  would  get  but  little  relief  from  the  medi- 
cine until  something  was  done  for  the  knee,  I  said  she  had 
better  bring  him  to  me  and  I  would  see  what  could  be  done. 
She  told  me  she  was  almost  discouraged,  as  the  boy  had  been 
treated  for  about  two  years  and  did  not  seem  to  be  any  bet- 
ter, but  was  anxious  to  have  all  done  that  could  be  and  prom- 
ised to  bring  him. 

In  two  days  Mrs.  B.  returned  with  the  child.  I  found  on 
examination  that  the  knee  was  very  much  enlarged  and  hot, 
and  so  sensitive  that  every  attempt  to  examine  it  was  stoutly 
opposed  by  the  patient.      The  lower  margin  of  the  swelling 


Surgery,         ^  115 

was  prominent  and  abrupt,  looking  as  though  there  was  a 
thick  band  about  the  knee  under  the  skin,  and  so  hard  that  I 
could  not  find  either  patella,  femur  or  tibia  at  the  joint.     Fear- 
ing there  might  be  enlargement  of  all  these   bones  from  so. 
long  continued  inflammation  of  the  joint,  I  refused  to  give  a 
positive  diagnosis  until  time    was  allowed  for  reduction  of 
this  swelling  by  the  pressure  of  a  bandage  which  I  at  once 
applied  from  the  toes  to  the  middle  of  the  thigh,  pressing  as 
firmly  as  possible  at  the  knee.     As  this  bandage  would  have 
to  remain  on  the  leg  for  three  or  four  days  at  least,  and  prob- 
ably have  to  be  reapplied  once  or  twice  in  this  time  as  the 
swelling  should  decrease,  1  improved  the  opportunity    thus 
granted  to  cast  about  for  some  appliance  that  would  allow 
the  child  to  use  the  limb,  for  it  would  be  impossible  to  keep 
him  in  bed  as  long  as  would  be  necessary  to  heal  the  inflam- 
ed joint.      I  searched  the  books  and  instrument   catalogues, 
but  found  nothing  that  could  be  adapted  to  so  small  a  leg,    A 
plaster  or  starch  bandage  would   be   large   and  heavy,   and 
could  not  be  removed  as  often  as  the  change  in  size  of  the 
swollen  knee  would  demand,  nor  could  the  pressure  be  pro- 
perly regulated.     I  saw  nothing  remaining  but  the  bandage, 
(which  would  be  daily  loosened  by  motion  and  rubbing,  and 
would  consequently  have  to  be  daily  re  wrapped),  and  abso- 
lute rest,  which  could  not  be  secured.     Having  exhausted  all 
these  resources,  it  occurred  to  me  that  a  leather  splint  might 
be  made  to  answer  my  purpose.      To  this  end  I  had  the  leg 
measured,  and  made  of  white  leather  a  splint  that  would  cover 
its  anterior  half  and  the  top  of  the  foot;  notching  it  deeply 
at  the  sides  to  give  room  for  the   malleoli,  and  permit  it  to 
bend  at  the  ankle.     A  straight  back  splint  was  made  extend- 
ing from  the  top  of  the  thigh  to  just  above  the  heel,  it  being 
split  and  trimmed  at  the  lower  extremity  so  it  should  not  press 
upon  the  heel  orten  do  achilles.     As  the  leg  was  only  twelve 
inches  long,  and  the  flesh  very  tender,   you  may  imagine  it 
was  quite  difficult  to  adapt  a  splint  that  would  prevent  mo- 
tion, and  produce  counter  extension  without  too  severe  pres- 
sure at  some  point.      The  splints  were  softened  by  dipping 
them  a  moment  in  water,  padded  and  firmly  applied  to  the 


116  Cin<^nnatt  Medical  Advance, 

limb  by  a  roller  bandage,  extending  from  the  toes  to  the  top 
of  the  thigh.  The  leg  was  bound  to  a  board  to  prevent  any 
bending  of  the  leather  while  it  was  hardening.  A  difficulty 
now  appeared:  after  the  splints  had  become  hard  and  smooth 
the  bandage  which  kept  them  in  position  would  be  easily 
rubbed  off  and  have  to  be  frequently  reapplied.  This  was 
easily  remedied  by  punching  holes  along  the  edges  of  the 
splint  and  lacing  them  together.  The  portion  adapted  to  the 
top  of  the  foot  was  easily  retained  by  a  short  bandage  which 
the  mother  could  remove  or  apply  when  occasion  required. 

With  this  apparatus  I  hoped  to  produce  pressure  on  the 
joint  sufficient  to  relieve  the  congestion  and  thereby  relieve 
the  inflammatign  of  the  part,  and  cause  an  absorption  of  a 
portion  of  the  fluid  contained  in  its  cavity.  The  first  day  af- 
ter the  splint  hardened,  the  child  began  to  use  the  leg,  and 
soon  became  so  adept  that  he  could  run  as  fast  as  other  chil- 
dren of  his  age,  playing  as  hard  as  any  of  them  from  morning 
to  night.  He  had  a  good  appetite,  slept  well  and  gained  in 
flesh  so  rapidly  that  in  a  few  months  he  outgrew  his  boot,  as 
he  calls  it,  as  was  shown  by  a  recurrence  of  the  inflammation, 
loss  of  appetite  and  sleep  from  the  unequal  pressure  of  the 
splint.  A  larger  one  was  at  once  made  and  applied.  This 
was  followed  by  a  rapid  reduction  in  the  inflammation  and 
absorption  of  the  exudation  which  had  occurred.  To-day  the 
child  eats  and  sleeps  well  and  will  not  be  satisfied  without  his 
boot. 


Short  articles  and  reports  of  cases  in  this  department  may  be  addressed  to  M.  M . 
Baton,  M.  D.,  Gtbson  House,  Cincinnati,  O. 


The  Use  of  Macrotin  in  Diseases  Peculiar  to  Women.     By 

D.  H.  Beckwith,  M.  D.,  Cleveland,  Ohio. 

A  few  isolated  cases  treated  successfully  by  a  physician 
with  a  certain  medicine  does  not  prove  much  for  that  medi- 
cine, as  some  other  remedy  might  perhaps  have  accomplished 
the  same  result.  But  when  a  practitioner  has  used  a  certain 
remedy  for  over  a  quarter  of  a  century,  he  will  in  all  pro- 
bability know  if  it  has  been  beneficial  to  the  class  of  diseases 
for  which  it  has  been  prescribed. 

In  this  paper  I  wish  to  call  your  attention  to  a  few  of  the 
many  cases  which  I  have  treated    with  Macrotin. 

My  attention  was  first  directed  to  the  use  of  Cimic\fuga 
racemosa  in  1849  and  '50,  by  Professor  T.  V.  Morrow  of 
of  this  city,  who,  at  that  time,  had  a  very  extensive  gynaeco- 
logical practice.  He  says,  "I  have  used  the  root  of  Cimici- 
fuga  for  the  past  sixteen  years  with  good  results  in  diseases 
peculiar  to  women."  In  1848,  W.  G.  Merrill  produced  from 
the  root  of  Cimicifuga  racemosa  a  resinoid  to  which  he  gave 
the  name  oi Macrotin. 

This  has  been  used  moie  or  less  by  all  schools  of  medicine 
since  its  introduction.  Professor  Morrow  explains  the  differ- 
ence of  the  two  preparations  as  follows:  **The  difference  in 
the  modtM  operandi  is  but  slight  consisting  in  the  increased 
liability  of  Macrotin  to  produce  a  heavy,  dull,  aching  sensa- 
tion in  the  forehead  in  connection  with  a  feeling  of  d  zziness; 
while  Cimicifuga  appears  to  manifest  a  greater  tendency  to 
produce  an  aching  and  somewhat  painful  sensation  in  the 
joints  and  limbs."  The  diseases  for  which  Macrotin  is  j>e- 
culiarly  adapted  are  leucorrhcea,  dysmenorrhoea,  prolapsus 
uteri,  and  certain  cases  of  epilepsy.  The  great  value  of  Mao- 
rotin  is  to  assist  parturition.     I  shall  not  attempt  to  explain 


118  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

why  or  how  it  acts  on  certain  organs  of  the  body,  but  simply 
report  a  few  cases  which  in  my  judgment  were  benefitted  by 
its  use. 

Case  I.  In  1868  a  girl  aet.  twelve,  was  brought  to  my  of- 
lice.  She  appeared  to  be  in  good  health,  and  her  mother  stat- 
ed that  she  had  been  so  until  a  year  and  a  half  before,  when 
she  was  taken  with  spasms,  which  the  attending  physician 
called  epilepsy.  She  had  been  under  the  charge  of  the  most 
eminent  physicians  of  the  "old  school"  without  any  per- 
ceptible benefit.  The  spasms  generally  came  on  in  the  night 
while  she  was  asleep,  and  were  from  two  to  six  weeks  apart* 
the  severity  of  the  attacks  being  proportional  to  the  length  of 
the  intervals  between  them.  She  was  of  medium  size,  of  a  bil- 
ious, nervous  temperament;  her  brothers  and  sisters  were  all 
healthy,  and  no  cause  for  the  disease  could  be  ascertained. 
Hoping  that  she  would  be  relieved  as  soon  as  menstruation 
could  be  established,  I  directed  my  treatment  to  that  point 

I  prescribed  out  door  exercise,  diet  to  consist  of  plain  food, 
using  beef  twice  daily,  and  eggs  and  milk  freely,  discarding 
tea  and  coflee,  as  well  as  all  high  seasoned  food.  1  gave  her 
Macrotin  three  doses  daily,  and  in  a  few  months  her  menses 
appeared,  soon  became  regular  and  she  had  no  more  attacks 
of  epilepsy.  No  other  remedy  was  used,  except  an  occa- 
sional prescription  of  Belladona  for  headache. 

Case  II.  Miss  P,  ofa  nervous  sanguine  temperament  was 
attacked  with  chorea  caused  by  over  study  at  school.  Her 
symptoms  were  such  that  she  conld  not  cat,  drink,  or  dress 
herself  without  assistance.  I  had  her  discontinue  her  studies, 
take  plenty  of  out  door  exercise,  and  gave  her  Nux  and  Bella- 
donna for  a  few  weeks  without  any  particular  eflfect.  I 
then  prescribed  Macrotin^  which  cured  her  in  two  weeks,  so 
that  she  could  again  attend  school,  and  there  has  been  no  re- 
turn of  the  disease. 

Leucorrhea:  Patients  having  pain  in  the  back;  frontal 
headache,  pain  on  top  of  the  head,  heat  in  the  head;  debility, 
colic,  rheumatic  and  neuralgic  pains  in  the  uterus,  will  receive 
decided  benefit  from  the  use  oi  Macrotin\  also  women  at  the 
olimateric  period,  as  well  as  those  in  pregnancy  having  a 
yell  owish,  creamy  discharge,  or  a  dark  ofiensive  one. 


Obstetrical  and  Gfyn(Ecological.  119 

I  am  notable  to  point  out  accurately  the  particular  form 
of  leucorrhea  to  which  Macrotin  is  adapted,  but  I  have  found 
it  beneficial  when  the  symptoms  correspond  to  those  just 
stated. 

Suppression  of  the  lochia  from  nervous  excitement  has 
been  successfully  treated  in  several  cases,  by  this  remedy. 

The  best  results  from  Macrotin  are  seen  in  the  treatment 
of  women  during  pregnancy.  For  the  past  four  years  I  have 
given  it  in  almost  every  case  which  has  been  under  my  charge. 

My  obstetrical  business  is  not  very  extensive,  at  least  not 
as  large  as  some  physicians  in  an  adjoining  state  claim    to 
have,  and  I  hope  it  never  will.be,  although  the  number  of 
cases  compares  favorably  with  those  of  any  physician  in  our 
city. 

In  the  cases  where  Macrotin  has  been  used,  I  have  not 
lost  a  mother  or  child,  «nd  all  the  patients,  without  exception, 
have  convalesced  rapidly. 

In  1874  I  had  several  primiparae  patients  who  were  con- 
fined in  June  and  July  their  ages  ranging  from  twenty-five  to 
thirty-six.  Every  patient  took  Macrotin  daily  for  three  or  four 
months  previous  to  confinement.  The  labor  of  each  was  easy 
and  natural,  none  of  them  detaining  me  more  than  five  or  six 
hours. 

Case  I.  Mrs.  S,  aet.  twenty-six,  of  a  nervous  sanguine 
temperament  was  delivered  July,  1874,  of  a  male  child  weigh- 
ing ten  and  a  half  pounds,  and  was  in  labor  only  three  hours, 
although  it  was  her  first  born.  In  1877  she  again  became  preg- 
nant, and  I  gave  her  no  treatment,  being  desirous  to  know  the 
result  in  the  same  patient  when  Macrotin  was  not  used.  In 
December  she  was  delivered  of  a  daughter  weighing  eight 
and  a  half  pounds  after  being  in  labor  twelve  hours. 

Case  II.  Mrs.  H,  aet.  twenty-five,  took  Macrotin  from 
three  and  a  half  to  four  months  before  her  first  confinement; 
labor  lasted  seven  hours,  not  being  severe,  child  weighed 
eight  pounds.  In  her  second  confinement  two  years  later  she 
had  no  preparatory  treatment,  and  was  delivered  only  after 
twelve  hours  quite  severe  labor. 


120  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

Case  III,  Mrs.  C,  aet.  thirty-eight  was  confined  in  Octo- 
ber, 1874,  She  was  tall,  muscles  firm,  of  a  nervous  bilious 
temperament,  and  her  friends  were  quite  anxious  over  her 
case  on  account  of  her  age.  She  had  some  pains  during  the 
day  previous  to  her  delivery  but  was  able  to  be  up  and  at- 
tend to  her  usual  work.  I  was  called  at  one  a.  m.  and  at 
seven  she  was  delivered  of  a  child  weighing  eight  pounds. 

Case  IV.  In  the  last  four  years  only  one  tedious  case  has 
occurred  in  my  practice  when  Macrotin  was  given:  Mrs.  P., 
a  small  delicate  nervous  woman,  it  being  her  third  confine- 
ment. In  her  first  she  was  in  labor  four  days  and  had  to  be 
delivered  with  instruments.  In  her  second,  two  years  later, 
she  was  again  delivered  with  instruments  after  four  days 
labor.  Her  recovery  this  time  was  very  slow,  as  she  was 
not  able  to  ride  out  for  four  months.  Eight  years  later,  at 
the  age  of  forty,  she  became  pregnant  /or  a  third  time.  She 
was  given  Macrotin  during  the  three  or  four  last  months; 
her  labor  was  twenty  hours;  the  child  weighing  twelve  and 
one-half  pounds.  Four  weeks  afterward,  she  called  at  my 
office,  three  miles  distant  from  her  residence.  Her  recovery 
was  rapid,  the  only  diflficulty  she  experienced  being  sore  nip- 
ples which  had  troubled  her  at  her  previous  confinements. 

I  have  stated  that  all  my  patients  made  rapid  recoveries, 
and  not  in  a  single  case  where  Macrotin  was  given,  did  I 
make  more  than  three  or  four  visits  after  confinement. 
Among  the  numerous  letters  I  have  received,  I  take  the  lib- 
erty of  making  the  following  extract: 

"As  to  my  experience  with  my  first  child  when  I  was 
twenty-three  years  old.  I  was  taken  sick  Friday  night  and 
was  quite  sick  all  Saturday  and  Saturday  night,  and  from 
twelve  o'clock  until  seven  Sunday  morning.  I  had  those 
hard  pains  which  a  woman  has  just  at  the  last.  With  the 
second  child  I  was  sick  just  as  long,  but  not  so  hard.  With 
the  third  child  after  taking  your  medicine,  I  was  sick  only 
from  twelve  to  four,  and  with  the  fourth,  at  the  age  of  thirty* 
I  was  sick  only  from  half-past  five  to  seven,  and  my  baby 
weighed  eleven  pounds.  Number  one  weighed  ten  pounds, 
number  two  ten  pounds,  and  number  three  ten  pounds  and  a 


Obstetrical  and  GynascologtcaL  121 

half.     I  am  so  glad  that  you  are  to  publish  your  medicine,  for 
I  would   have  every  woman  in  the  land  benefitted  by  it." 

If  Macrotin  succeeds  in  the  hands  of  other  physicians  as  it 
has  in  mine  shortening  the  time  and  making  parturition  more 
easy,  and  parturition  more  rapid,  it  certainly  is  one  of  the 
most  valuable  medicines  in  use. 


-♦-♦- 


Pruit  Diet  During  Pregnancy.    By  Emma  U.  E.  Sanborn, 

M.    D.,    St.    Louis,   Mo.     Read    before   the   Western 
Academy  of  Homoeopathy,  June  i6. 

To  quote  from  a  celebrated  English  author,  Dr.  Abernethy, 
he  says;  "I  tell  you  honestly  what  I  think  is  the  cause  of  the 
complicated  maladies  of  the  human  race;  it  is  the  gormand- 
izing and  stuffing,  and  stimulating  their  digestive  organs  to 
an  excess,  thereby  producing  nervous  disorders  and  irrita- 
tions. The  state  of  their  minds  is  another  grand  cause. 
The  fidgeting  and  discontenting  yourselves  about  what  can 
not  be  helped,  passions  of  all  kinds,  malignant  passions 
pressing  upon  the  mind,  disturb  the  cerebral  action  and  do 
much  harm." 

That  there  is  much  sound  sense  in  these  remarks  and  that 
they  are  as  true  today  as  when  they  were  uttered,  has  been 
proved  over  and  over  again.  The  physical  and  mental  state 
of  the  ofTspring  reproducing  the  state  of  its  parents  being 
easily  traced  by  an  attentive  observer. 

Some  authors  advise  the  preparation  for  healthy  children; 
and  for  certain  traits  in  them,  by  the  attention  of  each  parent 
some  time  before  the  conception,  being  directed  to  those 
special  traits  themselves. 

The  matter  seems  to  have  weight  with  many  thinking 
minds,  audit  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  pursuits  of  the 


122  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

physician  to  trace  cause  to  effect  and  effect  from  cause. 
Among  other  preparations  is  one  which  leads  to  an  easier 
state  of  mind  in  the  matter  and  consequently  more  comforta- 
ble parturition.  I  mean  the  fruit  diet,  which  is  better  adpa- 
ted  by  her  during  the  whole  pregnancy,  but  is  of  use  if  only 
practiced  during  the  last  months,  the  result  being  the  osseous 
system  of  the  infant  at  birth  is  in  its  more  early  state  like 
gristle,  and  presents  less  obstruction  by  being  able  to  give 
with  its  elasticity,  thus  nor  pressing  so  much  more  upon  one 
point  than  another,  and  upon  the  mother's  adapting  herself 
after  parturition  to  the  usual  food  which  goes  to  produce 
bone  more  rapidly,  the  infant  at  six  months  is  not  behind 
the  general  child  of  that  age  in  bony  strength  and  is  often  in 
advance,  other  matters  being  seemingly  equal.  The  rule 
which  has  been  used  as  a  standard  is  so  bimplc.  that  many 
have  used  it  unknowingly;  only  seeking  to  live  naturally, 
eating  when  hungry  and  not  overloading  the  stomach  at  any 
time,  taking  proper  exercise,  and  living  without  excitants  or 
stimulants  of  any  kind.  The  questions  are  usually  asked, 
how  is  one  to  live  on  fruit  during  the  winter  months?  And 
does  not  one  tire  of  the  limited  variety? 

The  fresh  fruit  is  best  always  when  it  can  be  had,  and 
lemons  stand  at  the  head  as  containing  more  citric  acid  than 
the  orange,  and  may  be  eaten  with  sugar  as  lemonade  or  any 
way  that  taste  dictates  at  any  time.  Oranges  come  next, 
apples,  bananas,  grapes  and  dried  fruits,  prunelles,  prunes, 
dates,  figs,  peaches,  pears  and  the  host  of  canned  fruits  gives 
a  fine  variety  and  readily  obtainable  supply,  while  young 
meats,  fish,  fowl,  broths  and  vegetables,  puddings,  the  West 
Indian  grains,  rice,  sago,  etc.,  oatmeal,  bread  of  various  kinds 
leaves  no  necessity  unsupplied.  The  rich  meats,  pies,  cakes 
and  spices  being  hardly  beneficial  at  any  season. 

There  being  an  allowance  of  two  hundred  and  eighty  days 
to  produce  the  amount  in  weight  of  ten  pounds,  or  three- 
quarters  of  an  ounce  per  day  at  most,  the  force  is  expected 
to  extend  throughout  that  time  and  not  necessarily  to  be  ex- 
pended at  once,  so  that  if  the  suggestion  is  made  to  the 
mother  in  this  Hght  she   will  easily   see  that  it  is  by  keeping 


Obstetrical  and  Gyncecological,  123 

her  own  blood  and  system  in  a  healthy  condition  that  the 
welfare  of  her  child  is  secured  and  not  by  eating  a  few 
pounds  a  day  extra  on  its  account. 

This  experiment  has  been  tried  for  nearly  forty  years;  dur- 
ing which  it  has  gained  a  good  repute  among  many  of  our 
best  authorities,  and  many  friends  among  those  in  whose 
special  comfort  we  are  all  interested;  and  in  many  cases  su- 
perseding the  necessity  of  ether  or  other  anajsthesia. 

There  is  alarming  need  for  mothers  and  daughters  to  know 
the  proper  rules  for  living,  and  that  nature's  laws  more  close- 
ly followed  bring  peace  and  comfort,  and  being  abused, 
more  suffering  is  entailed.  Far  too  many  from  ignorance 
which  a  few  words  would  teach,  form  for  themselves  lives  of 
suffering  under  the  mistaken  impression  that  they  need  to  go 
through  a  pathological  instead  of  a  natural  process  during 
parturition. 


-♦•-•- 


§ftmml  Minln. 


Post  Partem  Fever — Trismus  Naceutium — Labial 
Abscess. — Was  called  to  see  Mrs.  G.,  a  strong,  healthy  wo- 
man who  had  been  confined  five  days  previous  attended  by  a 
midwife.  The  husband  expressed  great  fear  lest  his  wife  was 
crazy,  stating  that  she  was  very  much  out  of  her  head,  believed 
him  and  all  her  friends  to  be  enemies,  tried  to  run  away  and  de- 
stroy her  child.  On  visiting  the  patient  at  10:30  a.  m.,  I  found 
her  raving  with  delirium ;  face  flushed,  pupils  dilated,  intolerant 
of  light  and  noise;  pulse  one  hundred  and  sixty-five,  full  and 
bounding;  temperature  one  hundred  and  six  and  a  half;  urine 
scanty,  and  high  colored  watery  diarrhoia;  lochia  suppressed. 


124  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

great  tenderness  over  the  hypogastrium  with  slight  tympan- 
ites. I  diagnosed  puerperal  metritis,  and  prescribed  tr.  Ver, 
vir.,  gtts  x  to  half  glass  of  water,  teaspoon ful  every  hour, 
and  ordered  fomentation  of  Hops  to  be  applied  over  the  ab- 
domen. 

Six  p.  m.  Patient  somewhat  better,  temperature  one  hun- 
dred and  five  and  a  half,  pulse  one  hundred  and  fifty -two; 
discharges  from  the  bowels  less  frequent.  Continued  treat- 
ment. 

March  2,  ii  a.  m.  Patient  still  improved,  temperature  one 
hundred  and  four,  pulse  one  hundred  and  forty-five;  diar- 
rhoea about  controlled;  less  delirium  and  soreness  over  bow- 
els. 7  p.  m.,  temperature  one  hundred  and  three  and  a 
half,  pulse  one  hundred  and  thirty-two;  mental  condition  im- 
proved.    Treatment  continued. 

March  3d,  9:30  a.  m.  Patient  much  improved;  had  slept 
some  during  the  night;  desired  to  see  her  child;  urine  more 
profuse  but  still  high  colored;  diarrhoea  entirely  controlled; 
temperature,  one  hundred  and  two  and  a  half,  pulse;  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty;  pain  and  tenderness  in  womb  much  less, 
but  ovaries  sensitive;  skin  slightly  moist,  throbbing  headache 
in  top  and  back  of  head.  Prescribed  BelL^x  fifteen  drops  to 
one-half  glass  water,  teaspoonful  every  two  hours  in  alterna- 
tion with  Cimicifuya  first  decimal  prepared  as  above. 

March  4th,  11:20  a.  m.  I  found  my  patient  very  comfort- 
able, sipping  a  little  porridge;  had  rested  well  during  the 
night;  temperature  one  hundred  and  one  and  a  half;  pulse 
one  hundred;  skin  moist,  headache  relieved;  bowels  slightly 
constipated.     I  substituted  Bryonia  3a;  for  Belladonna, 

March  5th,  4:30  p.  m.  The  same  ratio  of  improvements 
having  continued  during  the  past  twenty  four  hours,  the 
same  treatment  was  kept  up  and  my  professional  visits 
discontinued.  Within  the  next  three  weeks,  I  treated  four 
other  cases  of  like  character  all  terminating  favorably.  Rem- 
edies used  during  the  early  stages  were  Verat.  vir.,  AconitCy 
Bell.,  Cim.  and  Kali  chloricuvi;  during  the  decline  of  the  dis- 
ease Bell.,  ^^H'l  Cim.  and  Merc. 


General  Clinics,  125 

March  13th.  The  husband  requested  me  lo  call  in  and  see 
the  baby  now  aged  eighteen  days,  said  it  had  been  cross 
during  the  fore  part  of  the  night  refusing  the  breast,  and  since 
midnight  had  been  having  spasms.  I  called  at  9:30  a.  m,,  and 
found  the  little  boy  a  robust  looking  child  suffering  from  a  well 
marked  attack  of  tetanus  infantum.  The  voluntary  muscle 
of  the  face,  trunk  and  limbs  were  in  a  state  of  tonic  contrac- 
tion, the  head  thrown  back,  jaws  almost  closed  and  immova- 
ble and  a  great  difficulty  in  swallowing.  The  forehead  and 
cheeks  were  drawn  and  wrinkled,  and  the  contractions  of  the 
orbicular  muscles  gave  the  characteristic  features  peculiar  to 
this  disease;  the  fore  arms  were  flexed,  and  the  thumbs 
drawn  across  the  palms  were  clinched  by  the  fingers.  The 
legs  were  likewise  aflfected;  the  slightest  noise  or  touch 
would  aggravate  the  spasms;  the  respiration  was  quick  and 
irregular;  bowels  constipated,  and  the  child  moaned  or 
whined.      I  gave  an   unfavorable  prognosis  and  prescribed 

Bell,  3a;,  dil. 

Three- thirty  p.  m.  Visited  the  child  again,  and  found 
symptoms  considerably  aggravated,  otherwise  no  perceptible 
change.  Discontinued  Bell.^  and  gave  2a?  dil.  of  Calabar 
made  from  the  solid  extract  (one  grain  in  loom  Alcohol), 
Eight  drops  were  added  to  twelve  teaspoonfuls  water,  dose, 
one  teaspoonful  every  hour  until  a  change  should  take  place. 

Seven-thirty  p.  m.  Visited  the  child  again  and  thought 
I  could  see  some  improvement.  Ordered  time  between 
doses  to  be  lengthened  to  two  hours. 

March  14,  9:15  a.  m.  Spasms  had  almost  entirely  subsided, 
only  two  or  three  having  occurred  during  the  night.  Had 
nursed  and  slept  for  more  than  an  hour  during  the  lat- 
ter part  of  the  night;  bowels  had  moved  two  or  three  times; 
evacuations  were  greenish,  which  I  attributed  to  the  medicine. 
Prescription  continued  every  three  hours. 

Five  p.  m.  Child  seems  entirely  relieved,  but  is  suffering 
from  severe  cramps  in  the  bowels,  has  diarrhoea,  seems  ner- 
vous and  can  not  sleep.  This  was  due  to  the  medicine  which 
I  now  discontinued  and  gave  Chloral  hydrate  every  hour  until 
relieved. 


126  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

March  15th.  The  father  called  at  my  office  and  reported 
that  after  giving  the  third  dose  the  child  slept  quietly  for  six 
hours,  then  awoke,  took  the  breast,  and  slept  the  remainder 
of  the  night  seeming  quite  bright  but  very  weak.  The  child 
is  now  strong  and  healthy, 

November  19th,  1877,  was  consulted  by  Mrs.  P.,  who  for 
two  years  had  been  suffering  from  a  tumor  of  the  left  labia 
It  was  very  painful,  intolerant  of  manipulation,  entirely  pre- 
vented intercourse,  and  had  become  a  source  of  great  mental 
worry.  Upon  examination  I  found  a  fluctuating  tumor  about 
the  size  of  a  pullet's  egg,  a  serous  enlargement  of  the  vulvo- 
vaginal gland.  It  pressed  over  against  the  opposite  side  dis- 
torting the  parts  and  eflectually  occluding  the  vagina.  It 
was  very  sensitive  to  the  touch,  being  the  seat  of  sharp  shoot- 
ing pains  upon  the  slightest  manipulation.  I  made  a  free  in- 
cision into  the  tumor  and  a  tablespoonful  or  more  of  glairy 
mucus  looking  fluid  was  evacuated.  The  scat  of  disease  was 
now  explored  with  the  probe  and  found  to  extend  deep  into 
the  ischia  pubic  fascia. 

The  probe  was  now  wrapped  with  cotton  and  dipped  into 
a  saturated  solution  of  Carbolic  acid.  This  was  introduced 
into  the  fistulous  tract  thoroughly  cauterizing  every  part  of  the 
diseased  structure.  The  pain  was  but  momentary  and  slight 
and  the  results  most  gratifying,  the  healing  process  being 
complete  in  seven  or  eight  dtiys, 

I  have  found  this  treatment  much  more  efficient  and  satis- 
factory than  the  stuffing  with  lint  or  injection  of  Iodine 
recommeded  in  the  text  book;  the  operation  being  less  tedi- 
ous than  the  former,  and  very  much  less  painful  than  the  lat- 
ter, the  Carbolic  aci(Z  producing  anaBsthetic  efl^ects,  while  the 
Iodine  produces  most  excruciating  and  prolonged  pains. — W. 
E.  GiiEEX,  M.  D.,  Little  Rock,  Ark. 

Diphtheria — Dr,  Taylor's  Article, — Reading  Dr. 
Taylor's  very  interesting  and  exceedingly  sad  article,  induced 
me  to  report  my  experience  with  Chlorate  of  jwtash  (Kali 
chloricum).  When  I  was  an  old  school  physician,  I  was  call- 
ed to  a  plantation  in  La.,  on  which  diphtheria  had  broken  out 


General  Clinics^  127 

in  an  epidemic  form.  Out  of  the  first  six  cases  five  had  died 
before  I  was  called.  When  I  arrived,!  found  a  colored  child 
dead  in  a  cabin,  and  the  ^Dlanter's  baby  dead  in  the  house;  his 
oldest  child  convalescing;  as  I  said,  the  only  one  living  of  the 
first  six  attacked.     I  found  several  cases  in  the  cabins. 

There  was  high  fever,  and  a  scarlet  rash.  So  the  three 
physicians  attending  the  cases  at  first,  thought  it  was  scarlet 
fever,  among  them  a  homoeopath,  (though  more  of  a  planter, 
than  a  physician). 

Reading  a  description  of  diphtheria  in  the  London  Lancet, 
Dr.  Calderwood,  (a  most  excellent  physician),  and  myself 
had  agreed  to  treat  the  disease  with,  Aconite;  Chlorate  of  pot- 
ash as  a  gargle,  and  cauterize  the  throat  with  a  strong  solu- 
lion  oi  Nitrate  of  silver,  I  showed  the  young  physicians  on 
the  place,  how  to  use  the  caustic  with  a  sponge  probang.  I 
made  a  saturated  solution  of  Chlorate  of  potash^  to  be  used 
as  a  gargle,  every  two  or  three  hours,  and  directed  him  to  give 
one  drop  doses  of  Fleming's  tinct.  of  Aconite  rad.  to  children 
and  five  drop  doses  of  the  same  to  adults  every  two  or  three 
hours.  The  planter  afterward  told  me,  there  were  thirty 
more  cases  after  my  visit,  and  only  one  death  of  an  infant. 
Now  with  the  light  of  Homoeopathy  before  me,  I  see  that  the 
Nitrate  of  silver  was  worse  than  useless,  and  that  Aconite  ix 
or  305  would  have  done  as  well  as  the  tincture  did,  A  good 
deal  of  Potash  was  swallowed,  and  absorbed  whilst  gargling 
the  throat. — J.  C.  Cummings,  M.  D. — [This  is  of  special  in- 
terest on  several  points.  It  is  not  homoeopathic  but  never- 
theless instructive. — Ed. 

Tumor — Causticum — N.  L,,  aet.  forty,  nervo-bilious  tem- 
perament, had  a  tumor  the  size  of  a  walnut  in  the  supra-sca- 
pular region,  hard,  round  and  movable  under  the  integu- 
ment; at  times  there  was  sharp  stinging  pain  and  at  other 
times  the  pain  was  of  a  burning  character,  radiating  in  all 
directions  from  the  tumor.  It  had  been  examined  by  two 
physicians  who  pronounced  it  scirrhous  and  desired  to  ex- 
cise it,  but  the  patient  being  rather  timid,  could   not  be  in- 


128  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

duced  to  submit  to  the  operation.  He  consulted  me  when  I 
gave  Causticum  12,  fifteen  powders,  one  powder  each  eve- 
ning. After  the  third  day  the  tumor  began  to  decrease  and 
at  the  end  of  thirty  days  had  entirely  dissappeared. — C. 

Chronic  Arthritis — Silicia — J.  K.,  act.  twenty  years; 
two  years  previous  had  received  a  bruise  just  above  the  inner 
tibial  tuberosity;  .had  been  treated  for  two  years  by  different 
physicians  without  benefit,  when  he  came  to  me  for  treatment, 
January  10,  1876.  The  condition  of  his  knee  was  as  follows: 
The  joint  was  enlarged  to  twice  its  natural  size,  with  constant 
pain  through  the  joint  of  a  .<iharp,  cutting  nature;  patella  im- 
movable and  almost  total  immobility  of  the  joint  and  consider- 
able atrophy  of  the  limbs.  Silicia  30,  one  gr,  dose.  Sac,  lac, 
one  dose  every  evening  for  two  weeks.  Within  two  hours 
after  taking  the  first  dose  the  pain  increased  until  it  became 
almost  unbearable,  when  it  began  to  subside.  January  24, 
Silicea  cc  one  gr.  dose.  Sac.  lac.  one  dose  every  evening. 
February  10,  pain  all  gone  and  perceptible  decrease  in  the 
size  of  the  joint.  Sac.  lac.  continued.  February  17,  some 
pain;  AS'^7^cm  cc  one  gr.  dose,  Sac.  lac.  one  dose  every  morning 
with  simple  warm  fomentation  every  evening.  March  i,the 
pain  absent;  the  patella  can  now  be  displaced  a  very  little; 
the  joint  is  also  becoming  more  flexible.  Sac.  lac.  one  powder 
every  week.  April  10,  has  dispensed  with  the  use  of  a  cane 
but  there  remains  a  slight  limp  in  walking  owing  to  short- 
ning  of  the  flexor  ligaments.  Calc.  carb.ccj  one  gr.  dose. 
Sac.  lac.  one  powder  every  week.  July  i,  case  improving 
constantly  and  discharged  as  needing  no  more  treatment. — 
C,  Burbank,  O. 

Chii-L8  and  Fever — Female  aet.  twenty-two,  school 
teacher,  dark  complexion,  firm  muscular  fiber;  chills  with 
external  coldness;  drinks  large  quantities  of  water;  menses 
supressed;  drowsy  during  day.  Bt'y,  30  in  water,  dose  each 
three  hours;  no  more  chills  after  fifth  day;  menses  came  on 
normal. 


Miscellaneoxis.  129 

Hysteria. — Female  aet.  twenty,  main  symptoms  violent 
palpitation  of  heart  from  fright;  patient  pregnant  three 
months.  Aeon,  200,  dry  each  four  hours.    Cured  in  two  days. 

Neuralgia  from  Decayed  Molar. — Female  aet.  twen- 
ty-three, pregnant  one  month;  left  lower  jaw.  Tried  Merc, 
cor,  30;  did  no  good;  tried  my  tooth  forceps  and  extracted  it 
clear;  cured  in  one  and  a  half  minutes. 

Chills  each  third  day. — Female  aet.  ten,  worse  at 
night;  no  sweat;  small  sips  water;  twitchings  when  falling 
asleep.  Ars.  200  in  water  each  four  hours.  No  chills  after 
sixth  day. 

Cough. — Male  aet.  eleven,  attacks  him  every  spring;  worse 
at  night;  aphonia  at  night;  scraping  in  throat;  glands  swollen. 
Oarbo  veg,  200,  dose  morning  and  evening.  Cured  in  ten 
days. 

H-^EMORRHOiDS. — Male  aet.  thirty-four;  pain  shoots  up  the 
rectum  from  the  tumor;  great  aching;  lame  feeling  in  back. 
Aesc,  hip,  30,  in  water  each  three  hours.  Cured  in  four  days. 
This  is  myself  and  I  am  ready  to  testify  to  it. — O.  J.  Lyon, 


♦ » 


iutlUmmi. 


Death  of  Madam  Eahnemann. 

We  are  pained  to  announce  the  death  of  this  distinguished 
lady,  the  wife  of  Dr.  Samuel  Hahnemann.  She  died,  as  will 
be  seen,  in  Paris,  on  the  27th  of  last  May.  She  was  seventy- 
eight  years  old.  Our  readers  are  aware  that  since  the  death 
of  Hahnemann,  now  some  thirty  years  ago.  Madam  Hahne- 
mann has  been  in  possession  of  a  large  amount  of  unpub- 
lished manuscript,  the  work  of  her  husband.      From  causes 

TJy-3 


130  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

not  worth  while  to  mention  here,  they  have  been  witheld 
from  the  profession.  Negotiations  have  of  late  been  pend- 
ing for  the  purchase  of  the  manuscripts  with  a  view  to  their 
publication.  In  this  work  the  medical  profession  of  America 
has  shown  a  lively  interest.  As  will  be  seen  by  the  subjoin- 
ed letter,  there  is  hope  that  the  scheme  may  yet  be  consum- 
mated.    The  following  has  just  come  to  hand: 

104  Faubourg  St.  Hoxore,  Paris,  France, 

June  5tb,  1878. 

M  LR  DOCTEUR  WiLSOX  : 

I  come  to  announce  to  you  the  sad  loss  I  have  sustained  in  the 
death  of  my  well  beloved  mother,  Madam  Samuel  Hahnemann.  On 
the  27th  of  May  she  succumbed  to  a  pulmonary  catarrh  from  which 
she  had  suffered  many  years.  I  am  her  adopted  daughter,  and  liave 
had  charge  of  her  correspondence  with  you  in  reference  to  the  un- 
published manuscripts  of  Hahnemann,  and  I  am  quite  dis{>osed  to 
complete  the  plan  already  proposed  by  you  and  accepteil  by  her.  It 
is  now  several  mouths  since  she  made  me  commence,  under  her  su- 
pervision, the  first  copy  in  German  of  the  sixth  edition  of  the  Orga- 
non.  I  have  already  advanced  a  long  way  with  the  work,  and 
happily  1  know  her  wishes  exactly  in  regard  to  it.        *        ♦        • 

Receive,  Monsieur  Doctor,  my  high  esteem, 

S.  Bop:NiN(jnAv.sEX  Haiixemaxn. 

It  will  be  remembered  from  our  former  correspondence 
published  in  the  Advanck,  that  Madam  Hahnemann  pro- 
posed to  make  a  gift  of  all  Hahnemann's  unpublished  works 
'*to  the  homa^opathic  physicians  of  America  as  a  token  of  her 
appreciation  of  the  regard  they  have  always  had  for  her  dis- 
tinguished husband."  In  return  for  this  it  was  proposed  to 
raise  a  fund  sufficiently  large  for  its  interest  to  support  the 
donor  during  the  balance  of  her  life.  Already  considerable 
money  had  been  subscribed  and  but  for  the  death  of  Madam 
H.  the  whole  matter  would  have  been  placed  in  the  hands  of 
the  American  Institute  of  Ilonfid'opathy,  and  probably  the 
plan  completed  under  its  direction.  In  this  we  have  now 
been  frustrated,  and  some  negotiations  must  be  entered  upon 
to  be  reported  upon  some  subsequent  time.  If  Madam  E. 
Hahnemann  proves  to  be  what  her  letters  indicate,  we  will 
have  no  special  trouble  in  becoming  possessed  of  the  works 
in  question.  We  solicit  suggestions  and  advice  upon  the 
matter  from  our  readers. — T.  P.  Wilsox. 


Mtscellaneotis,  131 


FrofdSSional  Competition.     By  S.  R.  Geiser,  M.  D.,  Cincinnati. 

That  the  competition  of  the  professions  generally  is  dis- 
proportionately great  in  this  country,  there  being  too  many 
persons  engaged  in  nearly  all  of  them  to  lead  to  practical 
success  is  a  pretty  generally  admitted  fact,  nevertheless  the 
rush  toward  professional  life  remains  as  great  as  ever.  There 
are  too  many  physicians,  especially  allopathic,  too  many 
lawyers  and  too  many  clergymen,  but  the  mill  of  our  schools 
of  education  is  steadily  grinding  out  thousands  of  candidates 
for  the  various  professions.  How  great  the  surplus  really  is 
only  becomes  apparent  when  we  look  over  reliable  statistics 
and  compare  them  with  those  of  other  countries.  Placing 
the  statistics  of  this  country  parallel  with  those  of  the  dif- 
ferent countries  of  Europe,  we  have  the  following  results: 
The  United  States  have  a  total  population  of  forty-four  mill- 
ion, eight  hundred  and  seventy-four  thousand,  eight  hundred 
and  fourteen;  the  number  of  physicians  in  the  United  States 
is  sixty-two  thousand,  three  hundred  and  eighty-three,  and 
ninety-four  medical  schools,  giving  us  an  average  population 
of  six  hundred  persons  to  every  physician.  France  has  a 
population  of  thirty-six  million,  one  hundred  thousand,  and 
only  nineteen  thousand,  nine  hundred  and  two  physicians,  or 
about  one  physician  to  a  population  of  one  thousand,  eight 
hundred  and  seventeen,  and  not  more  than  six  medical  schools. 
England  with  thirty-two  million,  four  hundred  and  twelve 
thousand,  and  ten  inhabitants  has  nineteen  thousand,  three 
hundred  and  eighty-five  physicians,  or  one  to  one  thousand, 
six  hundred  and  seventy-two  inhabitants  and  seventeen  medi- 
cal schools.  In  Germany  there  is  only  one  physician  to 
three  thousand  inhabitants.  These  figures  show  the  position 
a  physician  holds  in  the  diflferent  countries  named.  Upon  the 
European  continent  it  has  been  estimated  that  an  average 
population  of  two  thousand,  five  hundred  to  three  thousand 
is  required  to  support  one  physician.  That  this  proportion 
could  be  essentially  diflferentin  this  country — a  much  smaller 
proportion  being  sufficient  to  support  one  physician — is  not 
to  be  supposed. 


132  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

As  there  is  one  physician  to  a  population  of  only  six 
hundred  in  this  country,  the  position  one  holds  practicing  the 
healing  art  must  be  far  inferior  to  those  of  other  countries.  The 
sentence,  '^Dat  Galenus  opes  dat  Jusdnianvs  honores,^'  is  worth 
a  great  deal  in  the  old  world,  and  has  certainly  some  validity 
with  us,  but  only  in  a  very  limited  degree.  A  great  many 
followers  of  Galen  arc  not  accumulating  wealth,  neither  do 
'd\\  junior  Justitions  attain  positions  of  honor.  Notwithstand- 
ing the  very  unfavorable  relations  physicians  hold  in  this 
country  in  regard  to  their  attainments  in  the  minds  of  the 
public,  and  in  regard  to  their  prosperity  in  the  future  in  a 
financial  point  of  view,  some  medical  schools  exert  their  ut- 
most efforts  to  have  the  largest  number  of  graduates  regard- 
less of  qualifications.  In  France  about  seven  hundred  and  fifty 
physicians  are  graduated  annually;  in  England  one  thous- 
and, seven  hundred  and  forty-three;  in  Germany  five  hun- 
dred and  fifty,  and  in  this  country  the  various  schools  gradu- 
ate about  three  thousand  annually. 

The  valedictorian  at  the  annual  commencement  exercises 
of  the  Medical  College  of  Ohio,  in  giving  the  causes  of  fail- 
ure in  the  practice  of  medicine,  in  the  presence  of  one  hun- 
dred and  two  graduates — of  which  about  fifty  were  from  this 
city — gave  as  a  permanent  cause  that  some  physicians  claim- 
ed to  cure  disease  with  a  sugar  pellet  of  the  millionth  of 
nothing,  thus  bringing  ridicule  and  disgrace  upon  the  nfedi- 
cal  profession.  That  a  great  many  do  not  endorse  this  kind 
of  practice,  and  probably  does  harm  our  school  in  the  eyes 
of  some  1  do  not  deny,  but  the  practice  of  those  using  that 
kind  of  medicine  compare  favorably  with  those  using  crude 
drugs,  consequently  they  must  have  success.  It  would  be  a 
difficult  matter  to  give  all  the  causes  of  failure  in  the  prac- 
tice of  medicine,  but  I  think  the  worthy  professor  failed  to 
give  the  principal  cavse  of  failure  in  the  practice  of  medicine 
by  not  stating  that  they  ''ground  out  too  many  doctors." 
Should  this  incongruity  continue  for  a  number  of  years 
longer,  probably  the  question  can  be  asked,  how  many  phy- 
sicians to  one  inhabitant? 

In   the  minds  of  some,  the  consolation    prevails  that   the 
great  competition   existing   between  physicians  and  profes- 


Miscella  neous,  1 33 

sional  men  generally  will  have  a  tendency  to  equalize  the 
disproportion,  making  it  only  possible  for  those  best  quali- 
fied and  more  thoroughly  educated  to  support  themselves  by 
the  practice  of  medicine,  compelling  those  less  qualified  to 
follow  other  pursuits.  It  is  also  claimed  by  some  that  medi- 
cine and  surgery  belong  to  the  sciences  in  which  physicians 
of  this  country  are  willing  to  compete  with  those  of  other 
countries  in  regard  to  learning  simply  on  account  of  the 
great  competition  existing  among  physicians,  thereby  making 
each  one  use  his  utmost  skill  in  discharging  his  duties  as  phy- 
sician. This  may  be  true  to  a  certain  extent,  nevertheless 
we  find  a  large  proportion  of  physicians,  "regulars''(?) 
charging  about  half  price  for  their  services  in  order  to  keep 
their  patrons,  sell  their  horses  on  account  of  being  ''lame," 
and  go  on  foot  in  order  to  get  "exercise." 


-♦•■♦- 


A  Critique. 

Dear  Dr.  Wilson: — It  would  undoubtedly  be  the  very 
heighth  of  presumption  in  me  to  say  what  you  should  or 
should  not  put  in  the  pages  of  the  Advance,  and  I  hope 
you  will  not  look  upon  me  as  a  self-constituted  critic.  I  am, 
however,  compelled  to  notice  briefly  two  articles  in  the  last 
number  of  your  valuable  journal.  I  wish  to  notice,  first. 
the  paper,  Physical  Examinations,  over  the  signature  of  O. 
S.  Runnells,  M.  D..  Indianapolis.  I  heard  the  aforesaid  pa- 
per read,  and  from  its  title  expected  to  receive  some  valuable 
instructions  relative  to  the  examination  of  our  patients,  but 
when  finished,  concluded  I  had  mistaken  the  title,  or  that  the 
author  had  his  subject. 

It  is  wordy  and  reads  beautifully,  and  if  one  did  not  know 
upon  what  subject  the  papar  was  intended  to  bear,  should 
most  certainly  conclude  he  was  reading    an  introduction  to 


134  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

some  novel,  or  perhaps  listening  to  an  oration  from  that  very 
flowery  gentleman  of  St.  Louis,  who  roars  so  wildly  about 
the  unsalted  seas.  Now  this  style  of  composition  is  good  in 
its  place,  and  when  tired  and  weary  pouring  over  medical 
lore,  is  very  acceptable  and  even  grateful  when  rehashed 
from  some  magazine  or  periodical  devoted  to  like  literature, 
but  to  fill  up  four  and  a  half  pages  in  a  medical  journal  with 
such  a  display  of  words  to  make  an  especial  point  of  ten  or 
a  dozen  lines  is  deserving  of  more  charity  than  I  am  willing 
to  grant. 

I  am  not  discussing  either  the  rhetoric  nor  grammar  of  this 
paper,  but  its  bearing  upon  medical  science  and  the  instruc- 
tions to  be  gained  upon  physical  examination,  as  the  title 
would  soem  to  indicate. 

We  learn  from  the  last  clause  that  the  author  desires  to  call 
especial  attention  to  the  vaginal  speculum,  but — says  nothing 
about  it.  One  would  infer  from  the  remarks  that  from  its 
conception  by  Recamier  in  i8iS  down  to  the  writing  of  this 
paper  it  had  been  sleeping  in  oblivion  and  forgetfulness,  only 
to  be  revived  by  the  author  of  this  paper. 

What  we  wish  by  the  production  of  papers  or  articles,  long 
or  short,  to  be  published  and  read  in  a  leading  journal  is 
absolute  literature  for  the  advancement  of  medical  science 
thereby  enabling  the  physician  to  relieve  human  pain  and 
control  disease  in  a  certain  and  scientific  manner.  Now  here 
are  fi\e  pages  of  a  much  valuable  journal,  given  to  what.^  to 
the  publication  of  a  lengthy  article  on  physical  examination 
and  if  it  were  read  till  the  Mississippi  changed  its  course  it 
would  profit  him  nothing,  absolutely  nothing. 

Second:  Events  viewed  unequally,  by  J.  B.  Hunt,  M.  D. 
This  article  covers  six  pages,  and  if  any  man  this  side 
heaven's  gate  will  clearly  define  to  my  mind  the  points  made 
or  what  the  reader  is  to  infer,  or  the  author's  object.  Til  give 
him  credit  for  a  clearer  and  more  lucid  conception  than  I  am 
in  possession  of.  I  very  dimly,  as  through  a  glass  darkly, 
perceive  a  very  faint  thrust  at  potency.  If  such  be  the 
case,  the  Doctor  has  certainly  wandered  over  a  great  amount 
of  time  and  space,  to  leave  the  reader  in  great  doubt  as  to 
the  potency  he  drills  under. 


Miscellaneous,  135 

Suppose  a  crawfish  is  rendered  unconscious  by  a  few 
passes  from  aft  forward,  or  that  a  hen  is  anaesthetised  by  a  chalk 
line  passing  down  the  beak  on  the  flat  side,  of  what  impor- 
tance is  it  in  the  practice  of  medicine?  How  much  weight 
would  this  fact  have  on  the  selection  of  a  remedy?  or  how  far 
would  it  go  towards  the  correct  diagnosis  of  a  case?  Clini- 
cal reports  of  cases  cured  with  the  single  remedy,  the  promi- 
nent symptoms  or  characteristic  of  a  remedy,  the  proving  of 
a  remedy  new  or  old,  and  the  expunging  of  the  many  symp- 
toms about  as  worthless  as  the  foregoing  articles,  would  have 
redounded  much  more  to  the  glory  and  renown  of  their  re- 
spective authors  than  the  above  articles. — Geo.  B.  Sarchkt, 
Charleston,  111. 


» » 


The  Pathological  Effects  of  Drugs.    By  A.  C,  Rickey,  M.  D., 

Dayton,  Ohio.     Part  II. 

§13.  Respiratory  Organs. — Catarrh  dry:  Aco.,  Bry., 
Camph.,  Gels.,  Graph.,  Nitr.  ac,  Nux.,  Sticta. 

Fluent:  Ars.,  Cham.,  Hydras.,  Lycop.,  Merc,  s.,  Puis., 
Sulph. 

Discharge  green  or  yellow:  Aurum.,  Merc,  Puis.,  Sepia, 

Chronic:  calc.  c,  hydras.,  lod.  ars.,  lod.  mere.  Kali  b., 
Lyco.,  Phyto.,  Sang. 

Hay  Fever:  Ars.,  lod..  Gels.,  Euphr.,  Grind.,  Arum.,  Eu- 
phorb.,  Sticta. 

Throat:  Aco.,  Baryta,  c,  Bell.,  Caps.,  Hep.,  Lach.,  Merc, 
Phyto.,  Phos.,  Sang.,  Silic. 

Chronic  Pharyngities:  Alum,  Arg.,  Nit.,  Arum.,  Ars.,  lod.. 
Ham.,  Hydras. 

Chronic:  Kali  b.,  Merc,  lod..  Sang.,  Tannin.  ,  ug  oPs 
Solution. 


136  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

Uvula  relaxed:  Carbo.  v.,  Caps.,  Hepar.,  Igna.,  Lach.,  Nitr 
ac,  Phyto. 

Larynx:  Aco.,  Bell.,  Cham.,   Ilepar.,  Lach.,  Merc,  Phos., 
Spong. 

Chronic  Laryngitis:  Carbo.  v.,  Caust,  Coni.,  lod.,   Kali  b., 
Phos.,  Rumex. 

Croup:  lod.,  Kali  b.,   Spong.,  Tart  e.,   Phos.,  Aco.,  Bell., 

CEdema  glottis:  Ars.,  Bell.,  Hyos,  lo?.  Kali  bro..  Sang,  ix. 

Spasm  glottis:  Bell.,  Hyos.,  Kali  bro..  Sang. 

Cough  dry:  Aco.,  Bell.,  Bry.,  Caust.,  Cham.,  Nux;,  Phos., 
Rhus. 

Loose:  Ipe.,  Kali  b.,  Lyco.,  Merc,  Phos.,    Puis.,  Sulph.i 
Tart.  em. 

Titillating:  Atrop.,  Coni.,  Igna.,  Ipe.,  Lach.,  Rumex,  and 
same  as  for  drv. 

Purulent  and  chronic:    Carbo.    v..   Grind.,  lod..   Kali  bi., 
Lyco.,  Phos.,  Silic,  Sulph. 

Pertusis:    Bell.,  Cham.,  Cupri.,  Dros.,  Ipe.,  Kali  b.,  and 
bro.,  Merc,  Nux.,  Puis.,  Ver.  a. 

Dyspncea. — From    Flatus:  Carbo.  v.,  Cham.,  China,  Nux,, 
Opi.,  Phos.,  Sulph. 

From  hysteria:  Caulo.,  Igna.,  Lach.,  Nux.,  Mos.,  Puis. 

From  Heart  disease:  Cactus.,  Colins.,  Dig. 

From  anemia:  Fcrrum,  Puis.,  Ars. 

From  pulmonary  congestion:  Aco.,  Bell.,  Bry,,  Chi.,  Gels., 
Ipe.,  Phos.,  Ferri. 

From  asthma  nervous:  Atrop.,  Bell.,  Pot.,  Nitr.,  Stram. 

From   asthma  catarrhal:    Ars.,  Camph.,  Carbo.   v..  Grind., 
Ipe.,  Tart.  em. 

Lungs. — Congestion:  Aco.,  Bry.,  Chi.,  Cimi.,  Gels.,  Phos., 
Sang. 

Inflammation:  same  as  for  congestion,  and  Carbo.  v..  Lyco., 
Men,  Rhus.,  Sul. 

Hemorrhage  from:  Aco.,  Arn.,  Chi.,  Ferrum,  Ham.,  Phos., 
Rhus. 

Phthisis:  Ars.,  Calc,  Chi.,  Ferri.,  lod..  Kali  c,  Lyco.,  Natr. 
m.,  Phos.,  Sang.,  Sili.,  Sul. 


Miscellaneous,  137 

§14.  Heart. — Palpitation:  Aco.,  Bell.,  Cact,  Calc,  Cocc, 
Dig.,  Ferri.,  Gels.,  Igna.,  Kali  c. 

Weak  action  of:  Cocc,  Colin.,  Dig.,  Ferri.,  Igna.,  Nux.  m., 
Ver.  a. 

Over  action  of:  Aco.,  Ver.  vir.,  Iberis.,  Lycopus. 

Renal    obstruction    from:  Apis,,  Apocy.  c,  Colch.,  Dig. 
Eupator.  pur.,  Tereb. 

Fatty  degeneration:  Phos.,  Ferrocyanide  pot. 

Angina  Pectoris:  Amyle  nitr.,  Arn.,  Ars.,  Dig. 

§15.  Nervous  System. — Cerebral  Anemia:    Brom.,  Pot., 
Secale. 

Cerebral  congestion:  Aco,,  Bell.,  Bry.,  Calc,  Cimi.,  Gels., 
Glon.,  Nux,,  Phos.,  Opi.,  Ver.  vir. 

Headache  catarrhal:  Aco.,  Ars.,  Bell.,  Bry.,  Cham.  Gels., 
Nux. 

Headache   gastric:    Bry.,    Hydras.,    Ipe.,  Natr.  m.,  Nux., 
Puis.,  Sang.,  Sepia. 

Headache  menstrual:  Bell.,  Caul.,  Cimi.,  Cocc,  Puis.,  Plat. 

Headache  nervous:  Bell.,  Cham.,  Cimi.,  Coff.,  Gels.,  Igna,, 
Nux.,  Ver.  a,,  Val.,  Zinc 

Headache  rheumatic:  Bry.,  Cham.,  Cimi.,  Merc,  Rhus. 

Mental  exaltation:  Bell.,   Croc,  Gels.,  Hyos.,  Lach. 

Mental  depression:  Aco,,  Bry.,  Aurum,,  Cimi.,  Lyco.,  Natr. 
m.,  Phos,,  Phos.  ac 

Sleepless:  Cham  Cimi.,  Coff.,  Gels.,  Igna,,  Nux.,  Verat.  v. 

Sleepless  umefreshing:  Bry.,  China,  Lyco.,  Nux.  v.,  Sulph. 

Sleepy   during  the  day:    Calc,  Ham.,  Lyco.,  Merc,  Natr. 
na.,  Opi.,  Puis.,  Sulph. 

Sleepy  but  can  not  sleep:  Bell.,  Opi.,  Brom   pot.  Chloral, 

Spine. — Sleepy  from  eating:  Bry.,  Nux.,  Phos. 

Anemia:  Nux.  o,  Phos.  o,  Phos,  ac,  Chi.,  Cimi.,  Ergot,  yc. 
Gels.,  Igna.,  Ver.  v. 

Congestion:    Ergot  o,  Hypericum,    3,    Phos.  3-30,  Cimi., 
Platina. 

Spasms:  Bell.,  Brom.,  Camph.,  Cham.,  Cimi.,  Gels.,  Nux,, 
Opi.,  Ver.  v..  Zinc. 

Paralysis:  Caust.,  Cocc,  Nux.,  Phos.,  Plum bi.,.  Rhus. 

Neuralgia:    Aco.,    Ars.    of    cincho,   Cham.,    Cim.,    Coff., 
Gels.,  Iodoform. 


^  ^ 


138  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

Neuralgia:  Merc,  Nux,,  Opi.,  Phos.,  Plat.,  Puis.,  Spig.. 
Val.  of  zinc. 

§i6.  Eye  and  Ear. — Conjunctivitis:  Acuta.,  Ars.,  Arg. 
nit.,  Allium.,  Cepa.,  Graph.,  Hepar.,  Aeon,,  Bell.,  Cham., 
Euphra.,  Merc,  Puis.,  Rhus.,  Sulph. 

Conjunctivitis  chronic:  Calc  c.  Alumina,  Ars.,  lod.,  Nitr, 
ac,  Ver.  alb.,  Sulph. 

Amaurosis  and  amblyopia:  Bell.,  Macro.  las,  Gels,,  Phos.» 
Zinc 

Trachoma:  Aluminate  of  Copper,  Sang.,  Soda,  Ars.. 
Aurum.,  Kali  b.,  Thuja.,  Merc,  Nat.  mur.,  Proto.,  Arg.  nitr,, 
Sulph. 

Earache:  Aeon.,  Apis.,  Ars.,  Berkvis,,  Bry.,  Bell.,  Capsicum, 
Cham.,  Merc,  Proto.,  Puis. 

OtorrhoRa:  Ars.,  Arg.  nit.,  yEthusa,  Aurum,  Borax.,  Calc, 
Capsicum,  Graph.,  Hepar.,  Sulph.,  Silicia,  Puis.,  Psor.,  Lye, 
Hydrast. 

Tinnitus:  China,  Phos.,  Merc  s..  Bell.,  Calc,  Graph.,  Nux., 
Nat.  mur. 

Dry  wax:  Alcohol,  Arnica,  Coni.,  Gels.,  Aurum.,  Lach., 
Merc. 

§17,  Skin. — Dryness  of:  Ars.,  Graph; 

Scaly  eruption:  Ars. 

Moist  eruption:  Baryta,  Calc,  Graph.,  Hep.,  Lycop.,  Merc, 
Rhus.,  Staph.,  Sulph. 

Scabby  eruption:  Calc,  Lycop.,  Rhus.,  Staph.,  Sulph. 

Urticaria:  Aeon.,  Apis.,  Ars.,  Copaiba.,  Dulc,  Ipe.,  Rhus., 
Urt.  ur. 

Urticaria  chronic:  Ars.,  Calc,  Hepar.,  Lyco.,  Sepia.,  Sulph., 
Soda  sulph. 

Purpura:  Arn.,  Ars.,  Bry.,  Coni.,  Ergot.,  Ham.,  Lach., 
Phos. 

Night  sweats:  Ars.,  Calc,  China,  Gels.,  Merc,  Nux,,  Phos., 
Phos.  ac,  Sil.,  Sulph.  ac,  Sulph. 

§18.  Dropsy. — From  anemia:  China.  Ferrum,  Ars., 

From  heart  disease:  Ars.,  Cact.,  Dig.,  Spig. 

From  lung  disease:  Apis.,  Apoc,  Ars.,  Bry,,  Merc ,  Dig., 
Spig. 


Miscellaneous,  139 

From  kidney  disease:  Apis.,  Apo.,  Ars.,  Canth.,  Tereb. 

§19,  Anemia. — Ferrum,  Puis.,  China. 

Hydremia:  Ars.,  China. 

Low  nutrition:  Ars.,  China,  Ferri.,  Natr.  m,,  Phos.  ac. 
Plumb.,  Puis.,  Sepia. 

Nervous  debility:  Calc,  Chi.,  Gels.,  Natr.  m.,  Nux.,  Phos., 
Phos.  ac,  Ver.  a. 

Muscular   debility:  Caul.,  Chi.,  Cimi.,  Cocc,  Gels.,  lod. 
Natr.  m.,  Phos.,  Sulph.,  Ver.  v. 

§20.  Abscess:  Ars.,  Bell,,  Bry.,  Hep.,  Merc,  Rhus.,  Silic, 
Sulph. 

Bones. — Diseases  of:  Aurum,  Calc,  Fluor,  ac,  Lycop,, 
Merc,  Nitr.  ac,  Phos.,  Phyto.,  Sepia.,  Silic,  Sulph. 

Cancer:  Ars.,  Coni.,  Hydras.,  Sang.,  Graph.,  Kreos.,  Chrom. 
chlor..  Thuja, 

Erysipelas:  Aeon.,  Apis.,  Ars.,  Belh,  Graph.,  Hep.,  Rhus., 
Sulph.,  Vei.  vir. 

Gangrene:    Ars.,   Lach.,    Secale.,    Carbo.,  China,    Silicia. 

Glands:  Ars.  iod.,  Baryta.,  lod.  and  Merc,  Calc,  lod..  Hep., 
Merc,  Silicia,  Sulph.  iod. 

Lumbago:  Bell.,  Bry.,  Nux,,  Rhus.,  Tart.  em. 

Rheumatism:  Aeon.,  Bry.,  Caul.,  Cim.,  Merc,  Nux,,  Puis  , 
Rhus.,  Sulph.,  Sal.  ac. 

Scrofula:  Ars.,  Calc,  Lycop.,  Sulph. 

Ulcers:  Ars.,  Iod.,  Graph.,  Hep.,  Hydras.,  Kali  b.,  Lach., 
Lyco.,  Merc,  Nitr.  ac 

• 

Plumbum. — Sallow  complexion;  loss  of  memory;  excessive 
pain  in  the  abdomen,  radiating  thence  to  all  parts  of  the  body; 
constipation  with  black  fceces;  urine  dark,  scanty,  passed  with 
difficulty. 

Natrum  MuRiATicuM, — Great  depression  of  mind;  pres- 
sive  pain  in  the  head;  eyes  weak  with  itching  and  smarting; 
swelling  with  burning  and  vesicular  eruption  about  the  lips; 
hitter  taste  in  the  mouth;  unquenchable  thirst;  emaciation 
and  weakness. 


^»  -  —t 


140  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 


Practical  Anatomy.  By  G.  C.  Smythe,  M.  D.,  Greencastlo 
Ind.  Read  before  the  District  Medical  Society  of 
Western    Indiana. 

Mr.  President  and  Gentlemen  op  the  Society:  On  pick- 
ing up  the  Cincinnati  Enquii^er  on  last  Friday  evening  1 
read  the  startling  headline,  "The  Grave  of  Hon  J.  Scott 
Harrison  Robbed — The  Remains  Recognized  by  His  Own 
Son  in  a  Cincinnati  Medical  College  Dangling  at  the  End  of 
a  Rope  in  a. Dark  Chute/'  etc.  A  few  hours  before  Tread  in 
one  of  our  daily  prints  that  Dr.  A.  B.,  of  Fort  Wayne,  had 
been  fined  four  hundred  dollars  and  costs  for  dissecting  hu- 
man bodies  in  that  city.  And  only  a  short  time  ago,  I  am  in- 
formed, that  Drs.  C.  and  D.,  of  Morgan  county,  were  damaged 
in  a  lawsuit  for  malpractice  in  the  sum  of  several  thousand 
dollars.  These  statements,  together  with  others  of  like  char- 
actor,  have  suggested  several  thoughts  to  my  mind  which  I 
propose  briefly  to  discuss  in  this  paper. 

There  must  certainly  bo  something  wrong,  radically  wrong, 
in  the  constitution  of  society  which  demands  certain  knowl- 
edge of  anj''  class  or  profession,  in  the  prosecution  of  their 
business,  and,  at  the  same  time  imposes  a  heavy  fine  or  im- 
prisonment if  they  use  the  only  means  under  heaven  by 
which  they  can  obtain  that  knowledge. 

This  is  the  exact  position  occupied  now  by  the  state  of 
Indiana  and  other  states,  and  by  the  medical  profession 
practicing  their  calling  within  their  borders.  The  commun- 
ity demands  that  we  locate  disease  with  exactness,  naming 
the  particular  organ  affected,  and  the  pathological  process 
taking  place  therein,  and  every  surgeon  is  expected  to  know 
the  exact  locality  of  every  artery,  nerve  and  vein,  and  their 
relation  with  each  other,  and  he  must  know  those  things  be- 
fore he  undertakes  to  perform  any  important  operation. 
And  yet  this  same  community  coolly  informs  him  at  the  same 
time  she  makes  this  demand  that  if  he  undertakes  to  learn 
those  things  in  the  only  way  they  are  to  be  learned — that  is 
by  practical  dissection   of  the  human   body — that  she   will 


Miscellaneous,  141 

either  fine  him  one  thousand  dollars,  as  is  the  law  in  this 
state,  or  put  himnn  prison  as  is  the  law  in  some  other  states. 
Can  anything  be  more  absurd  than  this  condition  of  affairs? 
Does  it  argue  well  for  the  intelligence  of  a  community  that 
will  allow  itself  to  occupy  such  a  position  ?  Whence  comes 
this  prejudice  against  dissection?  Is  it  not  the  legiti- 
mate offspring  of  ignorance  and  superstition?  Lot  us 
look  into  the  history  of  the  subject  and  see  if  we  can  dis- 
cover the  cause.  Of  course,  in  a  short  paper  like  this — all 
of  which  has  been  written  within  the  last  forty-eight  hours 
— it  is  impossible  to  go  very  extensively  into  the  history  of 
the  subject  on  account  of  the  difficulty  of  tracing  it. 

The    first  knowledge  of  human   anatomy  was  evidently 
gained  in  pre-historic   times  by  the  abominable  practice  of 
offering  human  sacrifices,  as  was  the  custom  with  nearly  all 
pre-historic  nations,  and,  in  fact,  it  continued  long  after  his- 
tory began  to  be  recorded. 

The  Druids,  who  were  priests  and  judges,  as  well  as  phy- 
sicians demanded  human  victims  as  sacrifices  of  those  who 
came  to  consult  them,  and  it  is  not  unlikely  that  they  avail- 
ed themselves  of  these  circumstances  to  acquire  a  knowledge 
of  this  subject.  Eeligion  seems  to  have  a  great  influence  in 
this  matter. 

The  Jews  did  not  study  practical  anatomy,  because  they 
believed  man  to  bo  made  after  the  image  of  God,  and  conse- 
quently sacred.  The  touching  of  a  dead  body  also  required 
the  process  of  ceremonial  uncleanliness  to  be  gone  through 
with  afterward.  The  religion  of  the  Arabs  also  forbade  con- 
tact with  dead  bodies,  and  so  on.  Yet  there  were  people 
well  advanced  in  civilization  who  did  not  accept  the  Jewish 
religion,  and  who  did  practice  dissection  of  the  human  body. 

There  was  some  knowledge  of  anatomy  existing  in  Homer's 
time,  as  witness  his  description  of  wounds  in  the  Iliad. 
Pythagorus  had  some  knowledge  of  physiology,  obtained 
perhaps  in  Egj'pt,  whure  ho  witnessed  human  sacrifices;  also 
the  Egyptian  process  of  embalming  the  dead.  It  does  not 
appear,  however,  that  either  Democritus,  Ilippocrates,  Escu- 
lapius  or  Aristotle  ever  dissected  a  human  body,  yet  they 
nearly  all  dissected  the  lower  animals. 


,^  t* 


142  Cincinnati  Medical  Adoance, 

Diodes  380  B.  C,  was  the  first  who  treated  of  the  proper 
manner  of  making  anatomical  examinations  for  the  purpose 
of  demonstration;  yet  it  appears  that  his  preparations  were 
made  from  animals. 

Erastratis,  who  was  born  300  years  B.  C,  was  the  first  to 
teach  practical  anatomy  by  the  actual  dissection  of  the 
human  body.  He  obtained  the  bodies  of  criminals  from  the 
authorities,  and  is  said  to  have  actually  dissected  some  of 
those  condemned  to  death  while  they  were  yet  alive. 

Herophelis,  who  lived  about  the  same  time,  is  also  said  to 
have  dissected  living  subjects.  Partlienus,  who  lived  200  B. 
C,  published  a  book  entitled  ^'Dissection  of  the  Human 
Body."  So  you  will  observe,  gentlemen,  that  considerable 
progress  had  been  made  in  practical  anatomy  before  the  bo- 
ginning  of  the  Christian  era.  Now,  mark  the  change  that 
takes  place.  Early  in  the  first  century  of  the  Christian  era 
the  dissection  of  human  bodies  was  forbidden  under  heavy 
penalties.  It  is  recorded  that  Rufus  the  Ephesian  taught 
anatomy  in  the  j^ear  112  A.  D.,  but  made  use  of  animals  in 
his  demonstrations,  stating  in  his  work  on  this  subject  *'that 
of  old  human  bodies  were  used  for  this  purpose/*  Galen  131 
A.  D.,  dissected  apes  as  being  most  like  human  bodies,  al- 
though it  is  stated  that  he  appropriated  the  bodies  of  per- 
sons found  murdered  for  the  purpose  of  dissection,  but  was 
obliged  to  use  the  greatest  secrecy.  There  was  at  this  time 
no  regularly  prepared  skeleton  in  existence.  There  was  a 
Eoman  law  in  force  at  this  time  forbidding  the  use  of  dead 
bodies  for  dissection. 

There  now  supervenes  a  gap  of  nearly  a  thousand  years 
in  which,  under  the  prosecutions,  or  rather  persecutions,  of 
the  Church  there  was  no  progress  made  in  pactical  anatomy 

Some  of  the  Popes  issued  **bulls"  of  excommunication 
against  any  person  found  guilty  of  such  practices.  All  good 
Christians  were  forbidden  to  have  any  communication  with 
such  a  person,  thus  inflicting  as  a  punishment  an  ostracism 
worse  by  far  than  solitary  confinement. 

The  study  of  practical  anatomy  went  down  under  the  uni- 
versal darkness  and  gloom  that  overspread  the  world  at  this 


3f%8cellaneott8.  143 

time  under  the  influence  of  the  Church-  The  reason  for 
this  is  perfectly  plain.  They  taught  the  erroneous  doctrine 
that  man  instead  of  being  made  after  the  imaga  of  an  ape 
was  made  after  the  image  of  a  God,  and  consequently  his  re- 
mains were  sacred  after  death.  Another  worse  than  foolish 
doctrine,  universally  believed  and  taught  by  Christians  of  that 
day,  and  still  believed  by  a  considerable  number  of  the  intel- 
ligent Christians  of  to- day  was  the  resurrection  of  the  body 
in  the  flesh. 

So,  gentlemen,  you  can  readily  see  how  repugnant  the 
dissection  of  the  dead  body  would  be  to  persons  holding  the 
preceding  religious  views. 

It  would  bo  profitable  and  pleasant  to  trace  this  history 
down  to  the  present  but  want  of  time  will  not  allow  me  to 
do  so.  I  must  add  here,  however,  that,  with  a  few  honor- 
able exceptions,  the  Church  has  opposed  every  obstacle  in  its 
power  to  the  study  of  practical  anatomy. 

Practical  dissections  of  the  human  body  were  not  legal- 
ized in  Great  Britain  until  1832,  and  came  about  in  this 
wise :  It  appears  that  for  several  years  previous  to  the  pas- 
sage of  the  law,  two  men,  named  respectively,  Burke  and 
Hare,  had  been  engaged  in  furnishing  material  for  dissection 
and  finding  it  easier  to  commit  murder  than  to  open  graves, 
they  actually  did  so,  and  continued  this  atrocious  crime  un- 
til no  less  than  sixteen  persons  had  been  murdered  and  their 
bodies  sold  to  the  surgeons,  when  one  of  them  (Hare)  was 
seized  with  a  disease  somewhat  common  in  this  country  at 
this  time,  viz:  a  quickened  conscience,  and  revealed  their 
horrible  doings  to  the  authorities,  which  was  followed  by  the 
trial  and  execution  of  Burke,  in  1828.  This  produced  the 
greatest  excitement  throughout  all  Britain,  and  led  to  the  in- 
vestigation of  the  whole  subject  by  Parliament,  and  the  pas- 
sage of  the  law  of  1832,  legalizing  dissections  under  whole- 
some restrictions;  also,  giving  origin  to  the  verb  to  '*burke,'* 
with  its  partciples  "burking"  and  "burked,"  which  are  good 
English  words,  though  not  much  used  in  this  country. 

1  have  not  the  necessary  documents  at  hand  to  show  what 
hag  been  done  in  this  coutry  in  the  way  of  legalizing  the  dis- 


144  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

section  of  human  bodies,  but  suffice  it  to  say  that  several  of 
the  States,  recognizing  the  necessity  of  such  knowledge,  have, 
under  wholesome  restrictions,  allowed  the  bodies  of  certain 
parties  who  have  been  cared  for  at  the  public  expense,  and 
whose  remains  after  death  are  unclaimed  by  friends,  to  be 
used  for  the  purpose  of  demonstration  in  practical  anatomy. 
This  is  eminently  proper  and  the  natural  result  of  the  logic 
of  events,  and  as  soon  as  our  authorities  begin  to  understand 
the  absolute  necessity  for  such  knowledge  and  the  impossi- 
bility of  preventing  dissections  by  imposing  penalties,  it  will 
be  legalized  in  every  state.  From  two  thousand  to  three 
thousand  cadavers  will  be  used  in  this  country  every  year, 
and  you  might  as  well  attempt  to  stop  the  wheels  of  Time  as 
to  try  to  prevent  it.  The  state  demands  that  the  medical 
profession  possess  this  knowledge  for  the  well  being  of  her 
own  citizens,  and  the  medical  profession  must  demand  in  re- 
turn that  the  state  furnish  them  the  necessary  means  to  ob- 
tain that  information. 

Just  so  long  as  this  thing  has  to  be  done  clandestinely 
the  medical  colleges  can  find  men  who  for  money  will  rob 
the  graves,  it  maj'  be  of  our  best  and  most  respected  citi- 
zens; for  it  w^ill  be  a  matter  of  indifference  to  them  whose 
corpse  they  sell  so  they  obtain  the  money  therefor.  And 
who  can  answer  as  to  how  many  of  the  mysterious  disap- 
pearances of  which  we  read  in  the  papers  have  been  burked 
and  their  bodies  sold  to  the  medical  colleges? 

As  long  as  body  snatching  is  a  business,  deplorable  inci- 
dents will  occur  like  the  one  recently  at  Cincinnati,  and  all 
Eome  will  howl,  so  to  speak.  But  in  the  end  the  proper 
remedy  for  such  sad  occurrences  will  be  found  in  the  passage, 
by  our  next  Legislature,  of  a  well  regulated  dissecting  law. 


Miscellaneous  145 


A  Case  of  ICalpractica. 

Dr.  Royston  sued  Peter  Beunet  for  his  bill,  long  overdae, 

for  attending  the  wife  of  the  latter.     The  doctor  proved  the 

number  of  visits,  their  value  according  to  local  custom,  and 

his  own. authority  to  do  medical  practice.     Peter's  lawyer 

told  him  that  the  ph^'sician  had  made  his  case,  and,  as  there 
was  nothing  whatever  to  rebut  or  offset  the  claim,  the  only 

thing  left  was  to  pay  it. 

Peter  therefore  volunteered  to  argue  his  own  case  and 
this  is  the  way  he  did  it: 

"  Gentlemen  of  the  jury,  3'ou  and  I  is  plaiu  farmers,  and 
if  we  don't  stick  together  these  'ere  lawyers  and  doctors  will 
git  the  advantage  of  us.  I  ain't  no  objection  to  them  in 
their  proper  places,  but  they  ain't  farmers,  gentlemen  of  the 
jury.  Now.  this  man  Royston  was  a  new  doctor,  and  I  wont 
for  him  to  come  an'  doctor  my  wife's  sore  leg.  And  he  came 
and  put  some  salve  truck  onto  it,  and  some  rags,  but  never 
done  it  one  bit  of  good,  gentlemen  of  the  jury.  1  don't  be- 
lieve he  is  a  doctor,  no  way.  There  is  doctors  that  is  doc- 
tors, sure  enough,  but  this  man  don't  earn  his  money;  and  if 
you  send  for  him,  as  Mrs.  Susan  Atkinson  did,  for  a  negro  as 
was  worth  one  thousand  and  ninety-six  dollars,  he  just  k.lls 
him  and  wants  pay  for  it, 

**A8  I  was  sayin"  gentlemen  ol  the  jury,  we  farmers  when 
we  sell  our  cotton,  has  got  to  give  the  valley  for  the  money 
we  ask,  and  a  doctor  ain't  none  too  good  to  be  put  in  the 
same  rule.  And  I  don't  believe  this  Sam  Royston  is  no 
doctor,  no  how." 

The  physician  put  in  his  oar  with  *'Look  at  my  dipl(»ma, 
if  you  think  I'm  no  doctjr.'' 

"His  diploma?"  exclaimed  the  new  fledged  orator  with 
great  contempt,  **His  diploma  I  Gentlemen,  this  is  a  big  word 
for  printed  sheepskins,  and  il  didn't  make  no  doctor  of  the 
sheep  as  first  wore  it,  nor  does  it  of  the  man  who  now  car- 
ries it,  and  I  pint  out  to  ye  that  he  ain't  no  doctor  at  all." 

The  man  of  medicine  was  now  in  a  fury,  and  screamed  out: 
„A8k  my  patients  if  I  am  no  doctorl" 


146  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

"1  asked  my  wife,"  retorted  Peter,  "an'  she  said  as  how 
she  thought  you  wasn't." 

"Ask  my  other  patients,"  saidDr,  Koyston. 

This  seemed  to  be  the  straw  that  broke  the  cam  el's  back, 
for  Peter  replied  with  a  look  and  tone  of  unutterable  sadness: 

"This  is  a  hard  saying,  gentlemen  of  the  jury,  and  one  that 
requires  me  to  die,  or  to  have  powers  as  I've  heard  tell  ceased 
to  be  exercised  since  the  apostles.  Does  he  expect  me  to 
bring  the  angel  Gabriel  down  to  toot  his  horn  before  the 
time,  and  cry  out,  *Awakc,  ye  dead,  and  tell  this  court  and  jury 
your  opinion  of  Royston's  practice?'  Am  I  to  go  to  the  tomb 
and  say  to  him  as  is  at  last  at  rest  from  physic  and  doctor's 
bills,  *Git  up  here,  you,  and  state  if  you  died  a  natural  death, 
or  was  you  hurried  up  some  by  doctors?'  He  says  ask  his 
patients,  and  gentlemen  of  the  jury,  they  are  all  dead!  Where 
is  Mrs.  Bcasley's  man,  Sam?  Go  ask  the  worms  in  the  grave- 
yard where  he  lies.  Mr.  Peck's  woman,  Sarah  was  attended 
by  him,  and  her  funeral  was  appointed,  and  he  had  the  corpse 
ready.     Where  is  that  likely  Bill,  as  belonged  to  Mr.  Mitchell? 

Now  in  Glory  a'  expressin'  his  opinion  on  Royston's  doc- 
terin.'  Where  is  the  baby  gal  of  Harry  Stephens?  She  are 
where  doctors  cease  from  troublin',  and  the  infants  are  at  rest. 
Gentlemen  of  the  jury,  he  has  eat  chickens  enough  at  my  house 
to  pay  for  the  salve,  and  I  furnished  the  rags,  and  I  don't 
suppose  he  charges  for  making  her  worse,  and  even  he  don't 
pretend  to  charge  for  curin'  her,  and  I  am  humbly  thankful 
that  he  never  gave  her  nothin'  for  her  inwards,  as  he  did  his 
other  patients,  for  somethin'  made  them  all  die  mighty  sud- 
den." 

Here  the  applause  made  the  speaker  sit  down  in  a  great 
confusion,  and,  in  spite  of  a  logical  restatement  of  the  case, 
the  doctor  lost  and  Peter  Bennet  won  the  case. 


Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 


American  Hem.  Ophthalmolegieal  and  Otelegieal  Seeiety. 

This  society  held  its  second  annual  meeting  at  Put-in  Bay 
June  19th  and  20lh,  the  President  Dr.  T.  P.  Wilson  in  the 
chair.  In  the  absence  of  Dr.  Hills,  Dr.  F.  P.  Lewis  filled  the 
position  of  secretary.  The  following  members  of  the  society 
were  present:  Drs.  Wilson,  Woodyatt,  Norton,  Phillips, 
Hunt,  Boynton,  Vilas,  McGuire  and  Lewis.  After  an  able 
address  from  the  President,  the  following  papers  were  offered 
for  the  consideration  of  the  society: 

Recent  Advances  in  Ophthamology;  by  Dr.  A.  Wanstall, 
Baltimore.  Embolism  of  Central  Artery;  by  Dr.  Geo.  S. 
Norton,  N,  Y,  Myopia,  with  Result  of  Examination  of  Re- 
fraction of  Five  Hundred  Schoolchildren;  by  Dr.  F.Park 
Lewis,  Buffalo,  N.  Y.  On  the  Relation  of  the  Recti  and 
Ciliary  Muscles;  by  Dr.  W.  H.  Woodyatt,  Chicago,  111 
Case  of  Pemphigus  Conjunctival;  by  Dr.  Jas.  A.Campbell 
St.  Louis.  Abuses  of  Atropia;  by  Dr.  D.J.  McGuire.  Re 
lation  of  Fovea  Centralis  to  Accomodation;  by  Dr.  T.  P.  Wil 
son,  Cincinnati,  O.  Anomalous  Case  from  Practice;  by  Dr 
W.  A.  Phillips,  Cleveland,  O. 

These  paper&  were  all  read  and  fully  discussed  in  this  and 
subsequent  meetings  during  the  session.  Dr.  C.  H.  Vilas  re- 
ported verbally  some  peculiar  cases  from  practice.  The  re- 
port of  the  Board  of  Censors  was  favorable  on  the  names  of 
the  following  persons  who  were  elected  to  membership  in 
the  society: 

W.  H.  Winslow,  M.  D.,  Pittsburg,  Pa.;  C.  L.  Hart,  M.  D., 
Sioux  City,  Iowa;  Frances  G.  Janney,  M.  D.,  Columbus,  O.; 
E.  D.  Van  Norman,  M,  D.,  Springfield,  O.;  L.  B.  Couch,  M. 
D.,  Nyack,  N.  Y.;  C.  C.  White,  M.  D.,  Columbus,  O.;  Chas. 
Deady,  M.  D.,  New  York;  L.  Kimball,  M.  D.,  Bath,  Maine. 

It  was  moved  and  adopted  that  hereafter  an  initiation  fee 
of  two  dollars  and  annual  dues  of  one  dollar  will  be  required. 

The  officers  chosen  for  the  ensuing  year  are:  President,  Dr, 
Geo.  S.  Norton;  Vice-President,  Dr.  W.  A.  Phillips;  Secretaiy 


148  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

and  Treasurer,  Dr.    F.  Park   Lewis;  Censors,   Drs.  W.  H. 
Woodyatt,  F.  H.  Boynton  and  D,  J.  McGuire. 

Adjourned   to  meet  at  Lake  George  at  such   time  as  the 
President  might  appoint.  F.  Park  Lewis,  Secretary. 


-♦-•- 


^oo|  MMtti* 


The  tiomceopathic  Treatment  of  Spinal  Curvatures  According  to  the  New 
Principles.  By  E.  C.  Franklin,  M.  D.,  Prof,  of  Surgery,  etc.,  etc., 
pp.  80. 

We  have  held  in  reserve  our  opinion  of  this  book  for  a  long  time 
lest  we  might  speak  hastily.  And  now  it  would  give  us  great  pleas- 
ure to  give  it  unqualified  commendation  for  few  men  have  done  so 
much  for  homaK)pathic  surgery  as  Prof.  Franklin.  We  must,  how- 
ever, distinguish  between  Dr.  Franklin  the  surgeon  and  Dr.  Franklin 
the  author.  In  the  former  character  he  is  always  a  success,  in  the 
latter  he  has  never  been  brilliant.  The  present  little  brochure  shows 
how  hard  it  is  to  beat  a  scalpel  into  a  steel  pen.  The  title  page  is  a 
curiosity.  **The  homoeopatliic  treatment'*  "according  to  the  new 
princple''  is  what  we  can  not  understand.  The  statement  is  confus- 
ing, for  we  don't  see  how  plaster  jackets,  artificial  spines  and  jury 
masts  constitute  a  new  principle  at  all  applicable  to  homoeopathic 
treatment.  Three  pages  out  of  eighty  seem  to  be  devoted  to  the 
homwopathic  side  of  the  question  and  the  balance  to  pathology  and 
surgery.  This  much  hardly  warrants  the  giving  to  the  word  **hom. 
luopathic"  so  much  prominence.  Besides  the  title  is  misleading  if 
we  expect  to  find  a  complete  showing  of  what  Homoeopathy  can  do 
for  these  cases.  If  we  say  Franklin's  work  is  the  l)est  perhaps  we 
have  upon  the  subject  we  still  insist  that  in  what  it  represents  itself 
especially  to  be,  it  falls  far  below  the  mark.  Before  we  drop  the  title 
page  we  beg  to  enquire  what  it  represented  by  this,  copied  verbatim  : 

"One  Grand  scheme  well  learned, 
Is  better  thun  many  half  studied." 

Is  it  poetry?    What  is  there  in  it  that  such  a  statement  is  elevated  to 


Book  Notices.  149 

the  dignity  of  a  motto?  It  was  doubtles  taken  from  some  old  copy 
book  and  used  to  fill  up  space.  It  has  no  merit  save  as  a  cold  plati- 
tude. However  we  pass  to  the  matter  included  in  the  work  and 
then  find  much  to  admire  especially  the  four  photographs  of  the 
worthy  professor  and  his  little  patient  including  his  good  looking  as- 
sistant. The  relief  of  spinal  curvatures  by  improved  methods  has 
recently  received  marked  attention  from  surgeons.  Dr.  Franklin's 
method  is  an  improvement  upon  the  latest  and  will  undoubtedly  be 
a  substantial  addition  to  the  many  honors  he  already  bears.  So 
small  and  concise  is  the  book,  that  we  think  it  might  be  much  better 
read  by  the  profession  than  to  read  a  lengthy  review  of  it.  Our  read- 
ers may  rely  upon  the  work  as  including  the  best  that  is  known  of 
this  fearful  and  often  fatal  and  always  painful  disease.  For, sale  by 
H.  0.  G.  Luyties,  St.  LouiSw 

Cyclopedia  of  the  Practice  of  Medicine.    Vol.  X.     Diseases  of  the  Fe- 
male Sexual  Organs.    Wm.  Wood  &  Co.,  New  York. 

This  entire  volume  is  written  by  the  distinguished  Prof.  Carl 
Shroeder,  of  Eriangen,  Bavaria.  It  forms  in  most  respects  the  most 
interesting  volume  of  the  series.  The  subjects  are  treated  with  com- 
mendable brevity  as  well  as  remarkable  clearness,  and  besides  are 
profusely  and  handsomely  illustrated.  The  various  chapters  discuss 
the  following  subjects  in  their  regular  order :  Gynaecological  examin- 
ation, Disease  of  the  Uterus,  Menstruation  and  its  Derangements, 
Diseases  of  the  Fallopian  Tubes,  Ovaries,  Uterine  Ligaments  and  the 
adjacent  portions  of  the  Peritoneum,  Vagina  and  Vulva.  The  care 
and  correctness  with  which  these  diseases  are  described  are  unsur- 
passed by  any  modem  writer.  But  in  looking  over  the  work,  one  i& 
astonished  at  the  universal  lack  of  knowledge  of  genuine  modern 
therapeutics.  It  would  bo  a  dreary  prospect  indeed,  if  women  with 
their  thousand  ills  could  look  over  this  work  and  see  how  little  is 
promised  them  for  relief,  save  by  the  knife  or  other  mechanical  in- 
terference. It  does  not  seem  possible  that  such  a  book  could  be 
written  in  utter  ignorance  of  the  use  of  such  remedies  as  Pidsaiiilaf 
Sepiaj  Jiell.j  LUinm  and  many  others  now  made  so  familiar  through  our 
current  literature  as  well  as  some  ol  our  modern  text  books.  Ignor- 
ance of  these  things  seems  almost  criminal,  and  the  wonder  is  that 
our  allopathic  authors  will  not  open  their  eyes  to  what  is  so  freely  of- 
fered them  by  way  of  improving  their  therapeutic  agencies.  But 
then  we  are  hopeful  of  the  future.  There  is  abundant  signs  of  pro- 
gress, and  we  do  not  fear  the  result.  Meanwhile  as  homieopathic 
practitioners  it  is  well  for  us  to  swell  our  statistical  reports  of  gynse- 
cological  cases  cured  by  the  law  of  Similia. 


150  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

Encyclopedia  Materia  Medica.     By  T.  F.  Allen,  M.  D.    Boerieke  & 
Tafel.  New  York.    Vol.  VI. 

The  present  number  includes  remedies  from  Lyeopodium  to  Nia>- 
lun.  We  have  fairly  exhausted  our  vocabulary  of  commendatory 
words  over  the  preceding  volumes,  and  we  can  only  say  of  this  tnat 
it  is  as  good  as  the  rest,  and  that  we  think  is  high  praise.  The  mem- 
bers of  the  medical  profession  who  do  not  think  this  the  best  work 
ever  issued  on  materia  medica  are  getting  scarce.  One  may  have  it 
in  the  library  and  never  use  it  and  never  know  its  value,  but  we 
would  give  little  for  for  such  a  person's  opinion.  A  careful  study  of 
the  plan  of  the  work  is  to  our  mind  sisine  qua  non  to  a  right  use  of  the 
matter  it  contains.  As  a  book  for  constant  or  frequent  reference  we 
have  never  seen  its  equal.  The  ''multiplicity  of  symptoms''  seems  a 
great  bugbear  to  some,  but  that  very  fact  increases  the  probability 
that  upon  searching,  one  will  find  the  very  symptoms  wanted. 
When  the  symptoms  of  drugs  exceed  the  symptoms  of  diseases,  it 
will  be  time  to  curtail  our  pathogeneses.  The  present  volume  contains 
some  new  and  many  old  and  well  tried  remedies.  For  sale  at  the 
pharmacies. 


€iilo/6  ®aH$. 


American  Institute  Meeting  Pdt-in-bay. — It  would  give  us  great 
pleasure  to  tell  all  about  it,  for  in  every  respect  it  was  a  pleasurable 
affair.  We  feel  sure  the  best  of  the  meeting  will  not  all  be  found  in 
the  reported  proceeeings.  The  doors  of  the  Put-in-Bay  House  were 
widely  swung  to  offer  the  most  generous  hospitality  to  all  comers. 
About  two  hundred  gathered  under  the  ample  protection  and  en- 
joyed without  stint  all  the  heart  of  man  could  desire  on  such  an  oc- 
casion. President  Burgher  opened  the  work  with  an  address  that 
took  us  all  by  surprise.  It  was  not  that  any  one  tliought  he  could 
not  do  so  well,  but  that  he  did  it  then  and  there,  thus  establishing 
his  claim  to  having  produced  one  of  the  most  finished  and  satisfactory 
addresses  ever  presented  to  the  American  Institute.    There  then  fol- 


Editor's  Table.  151 

lowed  a  series  of  papers  and  discussions  the  bare  extract  which  would 
fill  our  entire  pages.  We  hope  the  proceedings  will  soon  bo  in  the 
hands  of  all  our  readers.  It  is  clearly  apparent  that  the  quality  of 
work  done  by  the  members  of  the  Institute  is  steadily  improving 
from  year  to  year,  and  that  the  present  session  in  this  respect  stands 
unrivalled.  We  have  less  superficial  thinking,  less  of  ill  considered 
statement,  less  waste  of  precious  time  from  words  without  wisdom. 
In  these  respects  we  regret  to  say  there  is  still  room  for  improvement 
And  we  suggest  to  each  contributor  to  the  forthcoming  volume  that 
he  carefully  compares  his  own  with  the  production  of  others,  and 
hereafter  make  the  best  papers  his  model.  The  members  owe  it  to 
themselves  individually  and  to  the  school  which  they  represent  to 
reach  in  their  papers  and  discussion  a  higher  standard  of  scientific 
and  literary  excellence.  Now  as  for  scientific  facts  it  was  painfully 
plain  that  some  had  tasted  but  not  drank  deeply  of  the  springs  of 
knowledge.  There  was  evidently  a  smattering  of  things  that  might 
easily  have  been  better  understood  by  a  little  more  careful  study- 
Why  men  should  so  readily  dash  into  subjects  about  which  they  are 
slightly  informed  and  in  such  a  public  way  is  past  our  comprehen- 
sion. And  again  too  little  attention  is  paid  to  the  literary  work  which 
the  production  of  a  paper  involves.  Undoubtedly  the  work  of  the 
Institute  in  these  particulars  is  steadily  improving,  but  what  we 
want  is  a  more  rapid  improvement.  Next  year  let  us  have  less  in 
quantity  and  better  in  quality. 

The  Ophthalmological  and  Otological  Association  held  its  first  ses- 
sion on  Wednesday,  and  consumed  the  afternoon  and  evening  in 
doing  its  maiden  work  in  this  new  field  of  science.  The  result  was 
better  than  we  had  hoped  for,  and  if  the  Treasurer  is  successful  in 
raising  the  needed  funds  there  will  soon  be  a  handsome  volume  of 
transactions,  the  product  of  this  meeting,  presented  to  the  profession. 
Dr.  Conrad  Wesselhoeft,  of  Boston,  was  elected  President  of  the  In- 
stitute. Dr.  N.  F.  Cooke,  of  Chicago,  Vice-President,  Dr.  Geo.  A. 
Norton,  of  New  York,  and  Dr.  W.  A.  Phillips,  of  Cleveland,  wore 
elected  respectively  President  and  Vice-President  of  the  Ophthalmol- 
ogical and  Otological  Association.  The  next  place  of  meeting  for 
these  two  bodies  will  be  at  Lake  George,  the  well  known  place  of  re- 
sort in  north-eastern  New  York.    May  we  all  be  there  to  see. 

Inter-Collegiate  Conference. — All  the  homoeopathic  colleges  of 
the  United  States  were  invited  to  send  delegates  to  Indianapolis,  May 
21,  1878.  At  the  time  appointed  the  following  named  delegates  re- 
reported:  Prof.  E.  C.  Franklin,  from  the  Homoiopathic  Medical  Col- 
lege o\  Missouri;  Prof.  J.  C.  Sanders,  from  the  Cleveland  Homd'O- 
pathic  College;  Prof.  J.  S.  Mitchell,  from  the  Chicago  Homeopathic 
College;  Prof.  A.  C.  Cowperthwaite,  from  the  Homoeopathic  Medical 


152  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

Department,  of  the  Iowa  University,  and  Prof.  C.  H.  Vilas,  from  the 
Hahnemann  Medical  College  of  Chicago.  Prof.  Franklin  was  chosen 
Chairman,  and  Prof.  Vilas,  Secretary.  By  invitation  of  the  delegates. 
Prof.  T.  P.  Wilson  represented  Pulte  Medical  College  of  Cincinnati* 
An  informal  discussion  occupied  the  forenoon  session,  and  in  the  af- 
ternoon a  general  '^compact"  was  adopted,  which  in  eflEect  was  to 
hind  together  the  colleges  represented  under  certain  restrictions  and 
penalties.  If  it  shall  be  ratified  by  the  colleges  to  whom  it  will  })e 
referred  then  it  will  becon^  of  force.  After  lengthy  and  harmonious 
discussion  it  was  unanimously  agreed, 

First.  That  students  should  be  required  to  study  three  years  before 
graduation. 

Second.  They  should  also  be  required  to  attend  three  full  courses 
of  lectures. 

Third.  It  was  resolved  that  students  before  entering  college  should 
successfully  pass  a  preliminary  examination  in  English  scholarship 
physics  and  chemistry. 

Fourth.  The  college  course  of  lectures  are  to  be  given  upon  a 
graded  curriculum,  so  that  each  of  the  three  years  should  have  its 
own  subjects. 

Prof.  Wilson  offered  the  following  which  passed  unanimously : 
^* Resolved^  That  it  is  the  sense  of  this  Inter-Collegiate  Conference  that 
all  homoeopathic  colleges  should  admit  all  matriculates  of  suitable 
qualifications  without  distinction  of  sex.**  Other  matters  were  pro- 
posed and  carefully  discussed,  but  in  the  opinion  of  all  it  was  thought 
best  to  defer  them  to  subsequent  meetings  of  the  Conference.  Our 
impression  is,  that,  this  meeting  did  our  educational  work  great  good. 
Those  colleges  who  ratify  the  compact  and  help  to  sustain  the  work 
of  the  Conference,  will  hold  an  appreciated  stock  and  their  diplomas 
will  be  at  premium.  We  hope  the  Conference  will  possess  vitality 
enough  to  live  on  and  make  itself  felt  and  heard,  for  there  is  yet  more 
for  it  to  do.  It  will  meet  next  year  at  the  call  of  the  president,  and 
if  by  that  time  no  more  than  three  or  four  of  the  colleges  have  rati- 
fied, we  trust  they  will  have  back  bone  enough  to  go  on  in  the  work 
of  elevating  the  standard  of  medical  education. 

Prof.  ( '.  H.  Vilas,  of  Chicago,  has  gone  to  Europe  to  spend  a  few 
months.  He  will  look  up  the  eye  and  ear  hospitals  and  clinics 
especially. 

Dr.  W.  D.  Smith  has  settled  in  Leipsic,  0. 

Dr.  R.  W.  Covert  recently  graduated  at  the  Pulte.  lias  settled  in 
Portsmouth,  O. 

Dr.  J.  A.  Campbell,  of  St.  Louis,  has  departed  for  Europe.  Our 
readers  will  hear  from  him  anon. 


JEditor's  Table. 


153 


Wb  are  at  last  officially  notified  of  the  death  of  the  Ohio  Medical 
and  Surgical  Reporter.  The  sympathies  of  our  paternal  nature  is 
somewhat  roused  hy  the  fact  inasmuch  as  we  held  intimate  ]>arental 
relations  to  the  journal.  We  are  not,  however,  responsible  for  its 
death  and  regret  the  financial  necessity  that  demands  its  extinction. 

Dr.  C.  F,  Kuechler  removes  to  Kansas  City,  Mo. 

Dr.  J.  F.  Edgar,  late  assistant  surgeon  to  Prof.  Wilson^s  Eye  and 
Ear  Clinic,  has  opened  an  offi(^e  in  Louisville  as  oculist  and  aurist. 
The  doctor  understands  his  business. 

We  learn  from  private  sources  that  our  esteemed  colleague,  Dr. 
Thos.  Skinner,  editor  of  the  Organ  on,  has  been  obliged  to  quit  Liver- 
pool and  has  gone  to  the  country  for  his  health.  We  wish  him  a 
speedy  recovery  and  return  to  his  indispensable  journal  work. 

RECEIVED. 

Hemorrhoids,  their  Scientific  Treatment  and  Radical  Cure.  By  E. 
J.  Fraser,  M.  D.,  San  Francisco. 

Doctors,  their  Duty  as  Teachers.  By  W.  P.  Brooks,  M.  D.,  Lines- 
ville,  Pa. 

How  to  be  Plump.  By  T.  C.  Duncan,  M,  D.  Duncan  Bros., 
Chicago. 

The  Effects  of  Lead  on  Healthy  Individuals.    By  T.  F.  Allen,  M.  D. 

Butler  on  Electro-Therapeutics  and  Electro-Surgery,  By  John 
Butler,  M.  D.    Boericke  &  Tafel,  New  York. 


EDITORIAL. 

Nutrition.. 107 

Inflammation  of  the  Knee  Joint  114 

OBSTETRICAL  A  OVN^.COLO(UCAL 

The  Use  of  Macrotin  in  Dis- 

en»e«  Peculiar  to  Women 117 

Fruit  Diet  during  Pregnancy..  121 

GENERAL   CLINICS. 
MISCELLANEOUS*. 


Death  of  Madam  Hahnemann  129 

Professional  Competition  131 

A  Critique 133 

The    Pathological    Eflects    of 

Drugs 135 

Practical  Anatomy 140 

A  Ca^e  of  Malpractice 145 

IJOOK   NOTICEH,  148 

150 


EDITOR'S  TABLE 


J  AS.  P.  Geppert,  Pr. 


LIST  OF  ADVERTISERS. 

Wm.  Autenrieth,         .         ,         .  Surgical  Instruments 

J.  P,  Geppert,         ....  Professional  Printer 

HoMCEOPATHic  MuTUAL  LiFE  Ins.  Co.         ,  Insurance 

L.  Mueller  &  Son,         ....  Glass  Blowers 

Max  Wocher  &  Son,  .  ,  .  .  .  Instruments 
E.  Zeuschner,  ....  Electrical  Instruments 
Spencer  &  Crocker,  .         .        .         Instruments,  etc. 

H.  H.  Burrington Uterine  Supporter 

Flemming  &  Talbot,  Electro-Medical  Batteries,  etc. 

C.  Am  Ende,         ,  ,  .  Borated  Cotton,  etc. 

Drs.  Beckwith  and  Eaton,         .  Consulting  Surgeons 

Dr.  D.  W.  Hartshorn,  .         .        Consulting  Surgeon 

Dr.  J.  D.  Buck,      ....  Consulting  Physician 

Dr.  Wm.  Owens,       ....      Consulting   Physicin 

Geo.  W.  Smith, Pharmacy 

Lewis  Sherman,  A.  M.,  M.  D.,      .         ,        .         Pharmacy 

T.  L.  A.  Greve  &  Bro.,       ....  Pharmacists 

Wm.  H.  Adderly,         .         .  Syrup  Bromide  of  Chloral 

Merrell,  Thorp  &  Lloyd,     .        .  Specific  Tinctures 

Geo.  p.  Rowell  &  Co. 

Phrenological  Journal. 

Wakefield  Earth  Closet  Co. 

The  Organon, 

J.  Edwards  Smith,        ....         Microscopy,  etc. 

Henry  Bill  Publishing  Co.,         .  Physicians'  Books. 

INSTITUTIONS  OF  LEARNING. 

Pulte  Med.  College. 

Homceopathic  Medical  College  of  Missouri. 

Missouri  School  of  Midwifery. 

New  York  Homceopathic  College, 

Hahnemann  Homceopathic  College  of  Philadelphia. 

Hahnemann  Homceopathic  College  of  Chicago. 

Chicago  Homceopathic  College. 

Alfred  Heath,  HomoBopathic  Chemist,  114  Ebury  St., 
Eaton  Square,  London,  Sole  Agent  for  the  Cincinnati 
Medical  Advance  in  Great  Britain. 

Ziemsson'sCyclop^diaofthe Practice  of  Medicine. 
Robert  Clarke  &  Co.,  Cincinnati. 

Popular  Science  Monthly,  $5.00  per  annum,  50  cents 
pcj  number.     D.  Appleton  &  Co.,  New  York, 

Scribner's  Monthly,  $4.00  per  annum,  35  cents  per 
number.     Scribner  &  Co.,  New  York. 

9 


T. 

P.  WILSON,  M.  D. 

,  Gkhikai 

.  Eortan. 

VotDME  VT. 

Cincinnati,  0., 

,  Atoubt,  1878. 

Ndhber  4. 

All  Imttncit  coi 

ni  cat  ions,  relating  lo 

Ihe  Mem. 

'i'o^To" 

'Z: 

fis.UOayMr. 

Oun  MEDiCAt  LiTKRATORB  is  getting  to  be  something  « 
What  with  monographs,  lest  hooks,  society  proceedin|;s  and  journnls 
it  ia  Hstonishing  what  we  are  producing  in  the  course  of  each  year. 
And  the  exbaustless  producers  are  looking  to  the  medical  profession 
to  comsume  oil  this  and  pay  for  it  besides.  This  fact  Of  excessive 
production  is  both  a  virtue  and  a  vice.  Coincidently  with  I  lie  in- 
crease of  our  literature  comes  the  elevation  of  our  profession.  Doc- 
tors Cfti  not  read  without  improving  their  mental  standard.  A  meit- 
icnl  man  who  doesn't  take  the  jnumHls  and  buy  new  books,  and  in 
this  way  keep  up  with  the  times,  is  doing  worse  thiin  standing 
still — be  is  going  backward  and  dowuwnrd.  It  needs  but  a  slight 
Rcquaintonce  with  such  a  person  to  enable  one  to  see  that  he  ia  not 
only  n  pigmy  but  is  atrophying  at  that.  But  now  after  saying  all 
this  it  remains  equally  true  that  in  our  medical  literature  we  are  suf- 
fering from  over  production.  The  profession  is  burdened  with  too 
much  literary  material.  Everystate,  county  and  district  society  ia  flood- 
ed with  papcra  and  such  hh  tliey  are  there  ia  enough  of  them  and 
enough  of  them  such  us  they  are.  If  all  that  is  really  new  or  of 
special  value  could  be  selected  out  of  the  whole  mass,  and  that  alone 
printed,  it  would  not  take  many  volumes  to  contain  it.  This  we  do 
not  ask  to  be  sure,  but  it  may  be  well  for  our  future  essay  writers  to 
consider  if  they  can  not  cut  their  articles  down  fifty  percent,,  and 
Augi  155 


156 


CincitinaCi  Medical  Advance. 


thereby  greatly  improve  the  value  ot  tbeir  works.  So  fur  as 
member  only  two  members  of  the  last  meetiDc  ot  the  American  In- 
stitute got  in  their  work  within  the  apeuified  fifteen  minutes,  and  one 
member  consumed  just  one  hour  and  a  quarter.  This  last  named  ef- 
fort killed  the  work  of  the  Institute  for  one  evening.  Now  as  we  arc 
pleading  for  brevity,  we, feel  the  necessity  for  being  oureelf  brief. 
Ttien  while  we  do  not  desire  to  check  production  we  plead  foran  im- 
proved quality.  Boil  down  your  articles,  and  you  will  have  many 
gratified  readers,  and  at  least  one  thnnklul  editor. 

Matlhpsianihm.— At  present  this  doctrine  is  exciting  a  widB' 
spread  interest  in  all  classeB  of  society.  Its  originator  ia  Kev.Tnoiui, 
BoB&HT  Maltkvb,  formerly  a  ilislinguished  clergyman  of  the  Churcb] 
of  England-  Briefly  stated  it  amounts  to  this:  First,  over  produce] 
tion  of  population  is  the  great  cause  of  pauperism  and  crime.  B 
ond.  to  radically  arrest  these  it  becomes  necessary  to  check  the 
production  of  human  species.  It  is  now  a  good  many  years  since 
these  statements  were  first  put  forth  by  their  originator.  They  did 
not  at  firat  arrest  public  attention.  But  when  they  were  earnestly 
espoused  by  the  late  Jobn  Stuabt  Mill,  and  elaborately  defended 
in  his  writings  they  began  to  receive  very  wide  spread  attention. 
And  since  sociology  has  been  elevated  to  the  dignity  of  a  science 
Maltliusianism  has  been  vigorously  attacked  and  defended  by  num- 
erous writers.  As  an  abstract  principle  of  social  science  even  the 
most  fastidious  could  look  with  moderate  complacency  upon  the  argu- 
ments advanced  in  its  favor,  but  when  put  into  practical  shape  ao 
as  to  furnish  people  with  special  instruction  bow  to  avoid  pregnancy, 
it  has  roused  a  storm  among  moralists  equaled  by  no  single  sot '  '" 
question  extant  in  society.  Under  this  aspect  it 
question  invades  the  domain  of  medical  science,  and  sooner  or  later 
medical  men  will  be  inevitatily  drawn  into  ttie  (-ontrovetsy.  As  a 
purely  social  or  moral  question  it  has  no  special  claim  upon  oar  At- 
tention, but  as  far  as  it  involves  physiological  principles  it  moat  be 
the  duty  of  the  medical  man  to  furnish  an  important  share  of  the 
controversy.  We  con  not  escape  this  duty  unless  wo  are  willing  to 
aee  the  most  absurd  and  untruthful  statements  concerning  the  mat- 
ter pass  current  as  science.  With  paupers  and  criminals  as  important 
factors  of  society  we  must  leave  them  to  be  theoretically  dealt  with 
by  moraliata,  and  to  be  practically  dealt  with  by  politicians,  and  on- 
lortunately  we  know  tliis  latter  class  are  neither  moralists  nor  scien- 
tists. But  when  it  comes  to  the  prevention  of  conception  and  to  aa 
inquiry  into  its  effect  upon  those  sustaining  a  sexual  with  or  without 
a  marriage  relation,  then  it  becomes  tlie  physician  to  interpoae  bia 
opinion,  and  to  enforce  them  by  such  knowledge 


I 


B  ao  . 

>ci«^H 
ater  ^^^ 


le  should  pO^^^H 


Editorial.  157 

8688  upon  this  vital  question.  It  may  be,  and  most  likely  is  true,  that 
none  of  us  is  prepared  to  offer  such  opinions,  but  then  it  is  equally 
true  that  before  this  great  controversy  is  ended  an  appeal  will  be 
taken  to  our  decision.  And  this  shows -us  that  as  professional  men 
we  should  be  alive  to  the  merits  of  this  question,  and  we  should  be 
prepared  to  offer  both  facts  and  opinions  to  aid  in  its  final  settle- 
ment 


» ♦ 


Out  Foreign  CorrespondenCd — The   Home   of  Hahnemann — 
Death  of  Madam  H. — ^The  Unpublished  Manuscripts. 

Editor  Medical  Advance: — When  I  left  America 
bearing  your  letters  of  introduction  to  Madam  Hahnemann 
with  authority  to  confer  with  her  in  reference  to  the  unpub- 
lished manuscripts  of  her  illustrious  husband,  I  looked  for- 
ward with  much  interest  to  the  occasion  which  would  take 
me  into  the  personal  presence  of  the  one  nearest  the  great 
founder  of  oui:  system  of  practice;  one  almost  to  be  venera- 
ted by  reason  of  association;  one  who  would  be  full  of  per- 
sonal reminiscences,  and  one  who  would  be  surrounded  on 
all  sides  by  things  which  were  with  and  were  a  part  of 
Hahnemann's  every  day  life.  But  as  you  are  probably  al- 
ready informed  Madam  Hahnemann  is  now  peacefully  at 
rest  by  the  side  of  her  husband  in  the  cemetery  of  Mont- 
martre. 

I  have  had  two  interesting  interviews  with  Madam  Boenn- 
inghausen,  the  adopted  daughter  of  Madam  Hahnemann,  and 
the  wife  of  Dr,  Carl  Boenninghausen.  I  know  it  will  be  of 
some  interest  to  give  a  brief  account  of  some  of  the  facts  thus 
obtained. 

Madam  Hahnemann  had  suffered  more  or  less  for  about 
two  years  with  catarrh  of  the  lungs  (thus  it  was  given  me). 
No  particular  attention  was  given  it  as  it  was  not  regarded 


158  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

as  very  serious.  About  eight  days  before  she  died  it  became 
much  aggravated  and  she  rapidly  sank,  and  on  the  twenty- 
seventh  of  May  died  at  the  advanced  age  of  seventy-eight. 

I  sat  by  the  side  of  Madam  Boenninghausen  at  the  little 
table  wrhich  Madam  Hahnemann  had  just  left  as  it  were. 
Before  me  stood  pictures  in  miniature  of  her  taken  when 
young  and  fair.  By  its  side  one  of  Hahnemann.  In  the  cor- 
ner of  the  room  stood  the  bed  in  which  Madam  Hahnemann 
had  so  recently  died.  And  as  one  by  one  the  reliques  of 
Hahnemann  and  his  former  life  were  placed  before  me,  it 
was  to  me  indeed  as  if  I  felt  his  very  presence.  Here  is  a 
full  curly  lock  of  his  hair  once  pure  and  white,  but  now 
golden  with  age;  I  could  almost  be  superstitious  and  believe 
it  an  emblematic  symbol  by  fate  ordained — silver  turned  to 
precious  gold.  There  was  his  pocket  handkerchief,  collar 
and  neckerchief,  the  last  worn  by  him  and  just  as  he  left 
them.  On  one  side  was  a  large  bundle  of  his  correspond- 
ence from  patients,  with  marginal  notes  of  the  remedies  pre- 
scribed. Before  me  hung  a  magnificent  oil  portrait  of 
Hahnemann,  painted  when  he  was  about  sixty.  In  the  cor- 
ner stood  a  grand  bust  in  marble  (by  David),  the  original 
of  the  many  fine  plaster  casts.  In  fact  every  thing  about  me 
was  Hahnemann  and  of  Hahnemann. 

As  the  subject  of  Hahnemann's  manuscripts  and  the  sixth 
edition  of  the  Organon  has  been  taken  hold  of  with  so  much 
interest  in  America,  a  few  facts  on  this  topic  will  be  in  place 
here.  Madam  Boenninghausen  received  me  very  cordially, 
and  has  given  me  the  fullest  information  possible  upon  the 
subject.  She  showed  me  an  old  edition  of  the  Organon 
full  of  marginal  notes,  interlineations  and  additions  made  by 
Hahnemann.  Madam  B.  says  this  has  never  been  published. 
And  this  is  to  be  the  sixth  edition  promised.  About  three 
months  before  Madam  Hahnemann's  death.  Madam  Boenn- 
inghausen commenced  to  copy  all  of  this  into  an  intelligible 
form,  under  the  immediate  supervision  and  direction  of  Mad. 
Hahnemann  herself.  The  death  of  the  latter  has  necessarily 
caused  a  temporary  suspension  of  the  work,  but  Madam  B.  in- 
forms me  that  she  will  have  it  all  completed  in  about  three 


Foreign  Correspondence,  159 

months.  It  is  all  in  German,  and  rathei  difficult  to  decipher 
and  understand  unless  previously  instructed.  This  Madam 
B.  claims  to  have  been,  and  she  informs  me  that  she  is  fol- 
lowing the  general  instructions  given  Mad.  Hahnemann  by 
Hahnemann  himself,  and  that  she  will  faithfully  and  accur- 
ately transcribe  it,  and  when  finished  will  send  it  in  this  form 
to  America  for  translation  and  publication. 

The  other  manuscript  spoken  of  consists  of  a  large  number 
of  letters  from  patients  to  Hahnemann,  describing  their  symp- 
toms, while  on  the  margins  are  notes  by  Hahnemann,  of  the 
remedies  given,  showing  how  he  treated  cases  and  what  he 
gave.  These  letters  make  a  bundle  weighing  about  thirty 
pounds. 

Madam  B.  informs  me  that  she  has  had  many  applications 
from  Germany  and  from  France  by  parties  very  desirous  of 
obtaining  these  papers  for  publioation,  but  she  says  that  to 
America  they  must  go.  Such  was  Mad.  Hahnemann's  de- 
sire, which  she  seconds  with  all  her  heart.  She  says  that  it 
is  to  America  that  Homeopathy  must  look  for  its  best  sup- 
port and  its  proper  promulgation,  and  that  America  is  the 
nation  for  great  enterprise  and  action.  She  further  says  that 
she  intends  to  leave,  by  will,  to  some  properly  constituted 
representative  body  in  America,  Hahnemann's  original  man- 
uscript, his  magnificent  bust,  and  the  grand  portrait  spoken 
of,  and  other  mementoes  connected  with  our  great  leader  and 
his  life's  history  while  here. 

And  now  how  will  America  respond?  How  will  she 
show  that  she  is  worthy  of  this  distinction,  as  above  all  other 
nations  the  champion  of  the  great  cause .^  This  is  the  ques- 
tion to  be  answered  by  the  profession  at  large. 

A  few  words  as  to  Mad.  Boenninghausen.  Mad.  Hahne- 
mann was  thirty-five  years  old  when  she  married  Hahne- 
mann; just  before  he  died,  by  his  special  request  Madam  H. 
adopted  Mad.  Boenninghausen,  then  about  five  years  of  age. 
She  is  now  the  wife  of  Dr.  Carl  Boenninghausen.  They  all 
lived  here  together  in  Paris  until  the  breaking  out  of  the 
Franco-German  war;  they  then  went  to  Westphalia,  where 
Dr.  B.    is  at   present    attending   a    large     practice,    going 


160  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

backwards  and  forwards  from  time  to  time.  Madam  B.  was 
the  constant  companion  of  Mad.  Hahnemann  and  her  main 
reliance,  and  thus  she  ought  certainly  better  than  any  one 
else  understand  the  task  before  her. 

But  I  must  close  as  I  leave  Paris  in  a  few  hours,  to  return 
again  in  August. 

Please  accept  these  hasty  notes  as  an  evidence  of  my  en- 
deavor to  inform  through  you  at  my  earliest  opportunity  the 
profession  at  large,  some  of  the  circumstances  connected  with 
the  events  above  spoken  of. 

Fraternately  yours, 

James  A.  Campbell,  M.  D. 

Paris,  June  22,  1878. 


al^t^ia  witbim. 


Alstonia  Constricta.  A  New  Remedy.  By  Augustus  Cat- 
heart,  M.  D.,  Newtown,  near  Sidney,  New  South 
Wales,  Australia. 

To  THE  Editor  of  the  Medical  Advance: — I  have 
the  honor  to  introduce  to  the  notice  of  the  profession  an 
entirely  new  remedy — one  of  great  value.  It  is  the  Al- 
stonia constricta  of  the  order  Apocynece,  It  grows  in  the 
form  of  a  tall  shrub  or  tree,  and  is  known  by  the  name  of 
'^Bitter  hark^  It  is  indigenous  to  the  Colony  of  New  South 
Wales  and  to  Queensland,  and  is  found  in  the  interior  in 
some  of  the  "scrubs,"  and  occasionally  in  open  forests.  The 
portion  to  be  used  in  medicine  is  the  bark,  which  is  thick, 
yellow,  deeply  fissured,  and  of  an  intense  bitterness.  A  few 
of  the  shepherds  in  the  interior  have  somehow  or  other  (pro- 


2d  liter  iit  Medico. 


161 


itly  either  from  acciilei) tally  finding  out  its  bitterness,  or 
by  the  direction  of  the  natives)  discovered  its  use  in  fever 
and  ague,  and  some  of  them  in  addition  to  calling  it  the 
"Bitter  bark"  call  it  "^nd'ue  quinine"  as  they  look  upon  it 
as  'possessing'  properties  similar  to  those  of  Quinine.  As  a 
remedy  for  fever  and  ague  they  use  it  in  decoction,  so  I  was 
informed  hy  an  old  up  country  shepherd  who  first  made  me 
acquainted  with  it.  An  esteemed  friend  has,  at  my  request, 
carefully  watched  the  effects  of  this  drug  upon  -'beer  topers" 
those  who  had  drunk  large  quantities  of  a  certain  beer  which 
had  been  adulterated  with  this  bitter  drug  as  a  cheap  substi- 
tute for  hops,  and  from  the  effects  which  he  observed  and 
from  those  produced  in  other  persons  whom  I  have  prevailed 
upon  to  lake  large  doses  of  the  drug  while  in  robust  health, 
and  those  produced  in  my  own  person.  I  have  abundantly 
satisfied  myself  that  in  large  doses  its  action  is  invariably  tliat 
of  producing  great  debility  and  general  prostration  or  low 
fever — often  also 'with  diarrhoea,  and,  when  pushed  sufficient- 
ly far,  rigors,  sweats,  (usually  cold)  and  other  symptoms  re- 
sembling fever  and  ague.  Taking  these  large  dose  effects 
for  my  guide,  I  have  used  this  remedy  with  far  greater  suc- 
cess than  China  in  convalescence  from' acute  diseases  of  every 
kind  whatever,  even  to  postdiphtheritic,  and  post  scarlatinal, 
debility,  and  the  debility  following  parturition,  overlactation, 
diarrhoea,  etc.,  etc.  In  the  great  majority  of  those  other 
cases  where  China  is  indicated,  I  have  found  the  Alilonia  a 
more  efficacious  and  far  more  reliable  remedy.  This  use  of 
it  would  alone  stamp  it  as  an  invaluable  remedy  in  all  coun- 
tries where  most  patients  have  already  been  overdosed  with 
Quinine  at  some  time  or  other  by  allopathic  practitioners,  In 
cases  of  summer  diarrhcea  (in  this  hot  climate)  where  undi- 
gested food  is  passed  more  especially  and  even  when  tinged 
with  blood  I  have  found  it  specific.  I  have  used  it  in  cases 
of  dysentery  with  success,  especially  where  I  have  thought 
the  attack  was  complicated  with  symptoms  of  malarial  pois- 
oning or  proceeded  from  drinking  bad  water  or  swamp  water 
impregnated  with  decayed  vegetable  matter,  a  frequent  cause 
of  dyscnterv.      Such  a  specific   has  it  proved  in  cases  of  tliis 


162  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

kind  that  I  feel  confident  it  will  prove  the  best  remedy  yet 
introduced  for  "camp  diarrhoea"  and  the  dysentery  of  soldiers 
from  this  cause.  In  simple  atonic  dispepsia  with  loss  of  ap- 
petite, etc.,  its  action  is  very  satisfactory.  In  fevcSr  and  ague, 
and  in  low  fevers,  especially  those  following  upon  attacks  of 
acute  disease,  its  extraordinary  powers  are  manifest — for 
these  it  will  be  found  a  more  reliable  remedy  than  Quinine 
or  Beeberinum,  or  Chinoidine,  and  moreover  not  being  liable 
to  affect  the  head,  it  may  be  confidently  regarded  as  a  safe 
anti-periodic  and  also  a  preventive  of  ague.  This  could  only 
be  dealt  with  in  the  form  of  a  separate  thesis  to  do  it  justice. 
In  carrying  out  and  conformatory  of  a  rule  for  the  homoeo- 
pathic dose,  (of  which  rule  I  claim  to  be  the  sole  discoverer, 
and  which  in  my  practice  has  proved  itself  invaluable  and 
invariably  produces  the  best  result — a  most  rapid  and  perma- 
nent cure)  I  find  that  it  takes  comparative  large  (homoeo- 
pathic) doses  to  cure  fever  and  ague,  a  weak  decoction  being 
the  most  reliable  form  or  even  nauseous  doses  of  the  mother 
tincture.  Other  cases  require  from  the  o  to  205  in  from  one 
to  five  drop  doses,  according  to  the  strength  of  the  disease 
and  the  age  and  susceptibility  of  the  patient.  Being  of  a 
very  bitter  nnd  unpleasant  taste  to  some  persons  the  dose  has 
sometimes  to  be  diluted  with  plenty  of  water  for  those 
patients  who  have  a  great  repugnance  to  bitters  of  any  kind. 

I  make  my  mother  tincture  from  the  coarsely  powdered 
bark,  using  rectified  spirit  (or  proof  spirit  will  do)  in  the 
proportion  of  one  pint  to  two  ounces  of  the  bark,  and  this  o 
I  invariably  carry  in  my  pocket  case  being  one  of  my  most 
frequently  called  for  remedies. 

It  is  a  peculiar  circumstance  that  our  local  manufacturing 
chemist  has  failed  to  extract  an  alkaloid  from  this  bark — it 
appears  to  contain  none. 

Having  already  sent  a  sample  to  *'the  Father  of  the  New 
Remedies,"  Dr.  E.  M.  Hale,  I  hope  he  will  test  the  powers 
of  this  remedy  extensively  and  report  his  results,  by  which 
wc  shall,  I  doubt  not,  learn  all  that  it  is  capable  of  effecting. 
From  my  own  experience  with  it  I  can  not  but  think  that  it 
will  prove  to  be  one  of  the  most  valuable  remedies  ever  in- 
troduced into  the  homoeopathic  materia  medica. 


Materia  Medioa,  163 


lEatoria  Modioa.  By  Wm.  Owens,  M.  D.,  Cincinnati.  Read 
before  the  Homoeopathic  State  Medical  Society  of 
Ohio  and  Western  Academy  of  Homoeopathy. 

How  shall  materia  medica  be  taught  to  make  it  interesting 
to  the  student  and  useful  to  the  physician? 

To  the  student  no  department  of  our  professional  studies, 
if  we  may  except  that  of  anatomy,  is  so  dry,  uninteresting  and 
unsatisfactory  as  this — none  so  arbitrary  and  unreasonable  as 
found  in  our  text  books  and  as  usually  taught  from  the  lec- 
ture stand.  To  many  it  has  proven  a  stumbling  block  and  in 
many  instmces  a  snare  to  those  who  have  sought  to  be 
enrolled  in  our  ranks.  Professing  to  be  governed  by  law,  in 
many  instances  it  is  taught  without  regard  to  law,  and  even 
contrary  to  law,  degenerating  into  empiricism,  key  notes  and 
special  characteristics.  So  far  as  these  are  the  result  of  drug 
pathogenesis,  we  should  hail  them  with  pleasure,  and  even 
accept  accidental  or  toxical  as  contributions  to  our  arma- 
menture  when  offered.  When  we  abandon  drug  pathogene- 
sis and  totality  of  symptoms  for  key  notes,  special  character- 
istics and  clinical  observations,  we  depart  from  Homoeopathy 
and  find  ourselves  sailing  in  a  sea  of  empiricism  without  an- 
chor, rudder  or  compass.  How  shall  these  errors  in  regard 
to  our  teachings  and  practice  be  corrected?  It  is  our  duty  as 
physicians  and  students  to  follow  the  law  similia,  lead  where 
it  will.  We  are  not  to  stop  with  the  enumeration  and  classi- 
fication of  drug  symptoms;  it  is  our  duty  to  seek  an  explana- 
tion of  every  phenomenon  that  occurs  under  their  influence 
upon  a  rational  and  philosophical  basis.  The  student  wants 
to  know  not  only  that  a  drug  will  produce  certain  phenomena 
but  also  why  it  produces  them  and  the  modus  operandi  of 
their  production.  He  wants  to  know  also  the  composition 
of  the  various  drugs,  their  physical  history,  their  medical  his- 
tory, their  chemical  properties,  their  medical  properties  and 
their  therapeutic  uses  under  the  law  "similia."  No  mere 
enumeration  or  grouping  of  symptoms  will  satisfy  the  minds 
now  seeking  to  enter  our  profession.     Something  more  is  re- 


164 


Cincinniiti  Medical  Adiiani 


quired  than  mere  symptomatology,  and  they  musl  and  ougl 
to  have  it;  if  it  can  be  secured  in  our  collcgts  well;  if  ni 
they  will  and  ought  to  seek  it  elsewhere. 

Minds,  the  most  Intelligent  and  progressive  of  the  age  ai 
now  turning  their  attention  to  the  profession  of  medicine  as 
tlie  future  hope  of  the  race.  Our  branch  of  ii  should  be  pre- 
pared to  receive  ihcm  iind  exhibit  and  demonstrate  to  not 
only  them  but  to  the  world,  the  relation  of  the  homceopathicj 
law  to  cause  and  effect  in  the  production  of  any  morbid  pro-j 
cess  appertaining  to  disease,  and  that  the  homccopathic 
therapeutic  law  can  be  shown  to  harmonise  with  natural  law 
and  can  therefore  be  sustained  from  a  rational  and  scientific 
standpoint;  if  it  can  not  it  ought  not  to  be  sustained  at  all. 
The  teacher  of  materia  medica  should  comprehend  all  forms 
of  so  called  disease  or  morbid  conditions  of  the  system,  and 
be  able  to  analyse  and  explain  to  the  student  the  cause  of  the 
disturbed  function,  and  trace  the  disturbance  from  its  first  ill' 
ception  to  its  ultimate.  He  should  he  prepared  to  show  thai 
all  so  called  disease,  except  such  as  arise  from  traumatic 
causes  originate  in  disturbed  function,  and  that  normal  func- 
tion is  dependent  upon  normal  nutrition,  cell  genesis  and 
molecular  metamorphosis.  The  thoughtful  student  will  seek 
to  know  whether  disturbed  function  is  brought  about  through 
impressions  made  upon  the  nerves  or  by  blood  poisoning,  or 
if  both  be  found  present  in  a  given  case,  which  had  preced- 
ence. If  blood  poisoning  then  we  have  evoked  the  ghosts 
of  fungi,  spores  and  bacteria,  "et  omne  genus,"  to  allay  which, 
additional  poison  is  added  to  the  system — a  philosophy  un- 
worthy the  name  of  even  rational  medicine,  much  less  Hom- 
teopathy. 

If  on  the  other  hand  it  be  recognized  that  lesion  of  func- 
tion is  the  primary  objective  phenomena  of  all  morbid  pro- 
cesses, we  are  immediately  led  to  inquire  what  agency  con- 
trols tho  functions  thus  disturbed;  when  iraced  to  its  ultimate 
it  will  be  found  that  all  functions  are  carried  on  under  con- 
trol  of  a  class  of  nerves  essential  to  organic  life  known  as 
the  vegetative  organic  or  sympathetic  system  of  nerves.  It 
follows  then  that  if  all  function  is  performed   under  the  con 


I 


Materia  Mediea. 


trol  of  this  class  of  nerves,  that  all  aberrations  from  noimal 
function  must  result  from  impressions  made  upon  this  class 
of  neivcs.  This  suggestion  will  lead  us  to  contemplate  drug 
action  from  h  broader  and  yet  more  exact  stand  point  under 
a  law  universal  in  its  relations  and  exact  in  its  results. 

Vicissitudes  of  temperature  and  exposure  under  like  con- 
ditions will  invariably  develop  rheumatic  catarrh,  or  con- 
gestive conditions.  Crude,  indigestable  or  acid  substances 
taken  into  the  stomach  will  as  certainly,  under  like  conditions, 
produce  gastric  or  intestinal  disturbances,  the  limit  of  which 
will  in  a  great  degree  be  measured  by  the  susceptibility  of 
the  system  and  Its  recuperative  energy.  These  morbid  con- 
ditions are  among  those  most  frequently  met  with  in  our  ex- 
perience, and  can  he  shown  to  stand  in  the  exact  relation  of 
cause  and  effect.  The  student  should  be  taught  that  drug 
pathogenesis  under  like  conditions  invariably  shows  similar 
results.  It  shows  that  Belladonna  causes  dilations  of  the 
pupil;  Aconite  produces  intense  vascular  excitement;  Mercury 
induces  increased  glandular  secretion,  and  Shus  develops 
vesicular  eruptions  with  very  great  certainty  and  accuracy  to 
the  same  law.  These  phenomena  must  be  recognised  as  dis- 
turbed function  and  will  serve  in  some  measure  to  illustrate 
the  genera]  principle  applicable  to  all  drugs.  The  student 
must  be  made  fumiliar  with  drug  irritation  as  applied  to  nerve 
tissue  and  resulting  in  disturbed  function,  and  nnust  be  taught 
to  compare  this  drug  irritation  with  the  nerve  irritation  and 
disturbed  functions  arising  from  so  called  disease. 

Irritation  of  the  vaso  motor  nerve  filaments  and  their  gan- 
glia induces  disturbed  function  of  the  vascular  system. 

Irritation  of  the  organic  nerves  of  the  skin,  mucous  mem- 
brane and  glands  induces  increased  functions,  secretions  and 
exhalation  from  these  surfaces  and  organs. 

Teach  the  student  that  long  continued  or  greatly  intensified 
irritation  of  nerve  tissue  will  result  in  exhaustion  and  nerve 
pareitis  or  paralysis.  Explain  to  the  student  the  nature  and 
pnlhot,ogical  significance  of  increased  or  diminished  function 
in  disease  and  under  drug  pathogenesis  at  different  periods 
of  its  administration,     With  this  knowledge  the  student  will 


166  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

be  able  to  comprehend  why  Aconite  at  one  time  gives  the 
hard,  full,  frequent  and  rapid  pulse,  and  at  another  the  small 
varying  and  almost  extinct  pulse;  why  at  one  time  it  gives 
us  the  bright  red  face  with  bright,  shining,  glistening  eyes,  and 
at  another  the  blanched,  paled  and  death  like  hue  as  in  afiright 
with  protruding,  staring  eyes.  Why  I^ux  vom,  and  Opium 
under  certain  conditions  relieve  constipation  and  induces  it, 
and  why  Alumium^  a  most  powerful  astringent  is  an  exceed- 
ingly valuable  drug  for  the  relief  of  chronic  constipation, 
and  why  Arsenicuiny  a  great  cure  all  in  cholera,  cholera  mor- 
bus and  certain  kinds  of  watery  diarrhoea,  is  quite  a  specific 
in  the  opposite  condition  attending  tubercular  consumption. 
And  thus  we  might  continue  until  we  embrace  every  medica- 
ment in  the  pharmacopia,  showing  the  relations  of  drugs  to 
opposite  pathological  conditions,  with  the  reasons  therefor. 

This  law  of  drug  action  and  system  action  should  be  con- 
stantly before  the  mind  of  the  student  to  the  exclusion  of 
key  notes  and  all  special  characteristics  not  sustained  by  the 
law  similia.  To  make  his  subject  interesting  to  the  student 
the  teacher  must  constantly  compare  the  pathogenesis  of  the 
drug  with  the  etiology,  semiology  and  the  pathological 
changes  in  the  morbid  process;  he  should  impress  the  stu- 
dent continually  with  the  modus  operandi  of  the  drugs — ex- 
plain to  him  process  of  drug  action,  whether  its  effects  are 
manifest  locally  by  irritating  and  increasing  the  function,  or 
by  diminishing  it,  and  whether  it  performs  its  office  by  vir- 
tue of  its  acrid  and  caustic  nature,  disintegrating  and  destroy- 
ing the  structure,  inducing  gangrenous  disorganization  by 
contact,  or  whether  it  accomplishes  the  same  results  by  a 
slower  process  by  paralysing  the  organic  nerves  of  the  parts 
and  suspending  circulation  and  innervation  by  intense  con- 
gestion and  infiltration,  etc. 

How  many  of  the  symptoms  of  Kali  bich.,  as  recorded, 
are  the  results  of  its  toxical  application  upon  those  who  have 
been  employed  in  its  use  in  the  arts.  How  many  symptoms 
of  Arsenic,  Calcarea,  Phosphorus,  ^itric  acid  and  Mercurius 
have  been  developed  under  similar  accidental  conditions,  and 
yet  they  are  none  the  less  truly  pathogenetic  because  the  re- 


Materia  Medica,  167 

suits  of  these  accidents  have  been  uniform  and  are  in  har- 
mony with  direct  provings  of  the  drugs. 

Under  the  head  of  general  therapeutics  the  teacher 
should  compare  the  drug  phenomena  with  all  phenomena 
occurring  under  the  various  phases  of  so  called  disease.  It 
will  then  be  found  that  similar  phenomena  imply  similar 
nerve  irritation  and  similar  results  on  the  organic  function. 
If  the  irritating  eflecfs  of  Cat,,  Svlph.  and  Jihus  induce  ecze- 
matous  eruptions  upon  the  hand,  face  or  other  portions  of  the 
body,  the  character  of  vesicles  will  in  no  perceptible  way 
vary  from  each  other.  If  infiltrations,  thickening,  cracks,  fis- 
sure and  rhagades  occur  from  these  drug  elTects,  the  same 
take  place  as  a  sequence  of  eczema  arising  from  other  or  al- 
lied natural  causes.  The  teacher  of  materia  medica  should 
be  prepared  to  show  the  modus  operandi  by  which  these 
conditions  were  brought  about;  show  what  changes  take 
place  to  cause  the  formation  of  the  vesicle  and  what  patho- 
logical state  induces  or  permits  infiltration;  why  we  have 
thickening  of  the  integument  and  the  changes  incident  there- 
to; why  cracks  and  fissures  occur  in  connection  with  this 
turqecsence. 

The  teacher  of  materia  medica  should  .explain  why  we 
have  the  petechia  and  ccchymosis  of  Bhus^  and  the  "macula 
vasculosa  wolfi"and  waxy  complexion  of  Phosphorus;  he 
should  advise  the  student  of  the  naUire  of  these  processes 
and  their  effect  upon  the  animal  economy. 

By  this  process  of  instruction,  reasoning  and  analysis  of 
drug  action,  the  student  will  become  interested  and  be  led  to 
think  according  to  law,  to  reach  out  after  more  truths,  until 
he  shall  be  able  to  master  for  himself  the  rational  and  philo- 
sophical relation  of  any  drug  to  the  etiology,  semiology  and 
pathology  of  any  morbid  process. 


169  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 


Aocidental  Poisonixig  ^y  the  drug  Bhus  radican.      By  H.  M. 
Logee,  M.  D,,  Oxford,  Ohio. 

Mrs.  W.,  act.  about  sixty,  a  healthy  woman,  drank  the  tea 
of  Sa8sc{fras  root  in  which  was  some  roots  of  the  Hhus  rad. 
She  took  one  teacupful  on  Friday  evening,  and  rather  more 
than  a  cupful  on  the  following  morning,  which  developed  the 
following  symptoms:  In  about  an  hour  after  the  morning 
draught,  she  complained  of  burning  pains  in  the  stomach, 
sickness  of  the  stomach  with  dizziness;  the  stomach  felt  as 
though  it  was  too  large,  hanging  down  like  a  bag;  soon  fol- 
fowed  by  chills  running  from  the  feet  to  the  head,  followed 
by  flashes  of  heat;  chilled  every  morning  during  the  inflam- 
matory stage  from  two  to  three  o'clock;  the  pulse  was  full 
varying  in  frequency  from  eighty- four  to  ninety -eight  beats 
per  minute;  the  eruption  made  its  appearance  on  Saturday 
afternoon  of  a  bright  redness  and  an  intense  burning  sensa- 
tion; it  soon  covered  the  whole  body  from  scalp  to  toes;  the 
head  and  limbs  badly  swollen;  the  eruption  first  smooth,  soon 
assumed  a  minute  vesicular  appearance  which  in  places  ran  to- 
gether forming  small  bulbs  filled  with  serum.  On  the  fifth  day 
the  vesicles  began  to  dry  up,  followed  by  a  desquamation  of  the 
cuticle  with  intense  itching;  the  cervical  glands  were  swollen 
and  sore  to  the  touch  when  the  eruption  made  its  appearance; 
swelling  of  the  eyelids  with  ocima  of  the  upper  lid;  shooting 
semilateral  pain  from  temples  to  vertex,  both  sides  alike  ef- 
fected;  shooting  pain  from  nape  of  neck  to  vortex;  head  feels 
too  large;  intellect  clouded,  has  little  recollections  of  hersufler- 
ings;  increase  of  saliva,  with  burning,  pricking  pain  in 
the  tongue;  tongue  feels  sore  at  the  tip;  great  desire  for  raw 
oysters;  shooting  pain  in  the  region  of  the  liver,  thence  to 
right  shoulder;  the  fajces  were  unaltered  until  near  the  close 
of  the  inflammatory  stage,  when  a  painless,  brown,  watery 
diarrhoea  set  in;  there  was  occasionally  a  little  pain  before 
getting  up  to  stool;  urine  red,  frequent  and  in  small  quanti- 
ties; restless,  sleepless  nights,  must  move  about  in  bed  con- 
stantly; rheumatic  stiflTness  of  all  the  joints;  pain   shooting 


Materia  Medica.  169 

through  the  knee  joints  from  side  to  side;  wandering  pains 
sometimes  on  one  side,  and  then  suddenly  appearing  on  the 
other;  pricking  in  the  feet  and  fingers;  feeling  of  great 
weakness;  the  fiesh  feels  as  though  it  would  drop  from  the 
arms  and  limbs;  pain  seems  deep,  or  as  the  patient  expressed 
it,  "down  to  the  bone;"  all  pains  were  aggravated  by  gentle 
friction,  relieved  by  hard  rubbing  only  so  long  as  rubbing 
was  continued;  wants  to  lyiove  the  limbs  frequently,  which 
relieves  the  rheumatic  pain,  but  soon  has  to  change  position 
for  similar  relief.  A  chronic  backache  has  been  cured.  All 
of  the  sufferings  were  aggravated  at  two  o'clock  a.  m.,  grad- 
ually improving  till  about  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and 
growing  worse  toward  evening. 


■  »♦ 


Xpifitgns  AmericanXlS — Beech  Drop— Cancer  Root.      By  E. 
C.  Beckwith,  M.  D.,  Columbus,  O. 

A  few  years  since  a  prominent  allopathic  physician  remark- 
ed that  they  looked  upon  a  person  who  attempted  to  intro- 
duce a  new  remedy  as  a  professional  humbug;  they  had  too 
many  remedies  and  did  not  use  half  their  old  ones  Not 
wishing  my  friends  to  regard  me  as  a  humbug,  I  will  not  call 
the  Epifagua  a  new  remedy.  Our  allopathic  neighbors  have 
used  it  in  treating  cancers.  While  at  the  American  Institute 
of  Homoeopathy,  at  Put-in  Bay,  I  obtained  a  specimen  of  this 
curious  plant,  and  carried  it  in  my  pocket  for  two  days. 
From  this  or  some  other  cause,  I  escaped  the  nervous  sick 
headache  for  nearly  a  year.  From  childhood  I  had  rarely 
escaped  a  month  without  at  least  one  visit  from  my  heredi- 
tary enemy.  A  short  proving  of  this  plant  shows  its  action 
to  be  peculiarly,  in  the  direction  of  the  brain  and  nervous 
system.     I  hope  our  bureau  of  proving  will  give  this  plain, 


170  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

unpretending  beech  drop  more  than  a  drop  of  their  attention. 
I  find  this  remedy  acts  far  better  where  given  in  the  fifth  or 
sixth  dilutions,  than  when  ministered  in  a  crude  state.  I 
have  never  used  it  higher  than  the  sixth,  therefore  can  not 
speak  of  its  actions  in  higher  potency. 


-♦  ♦- 


Witmml  €Iit(ic$* 


Enuresis — Circumcision. — Bcnnie  B.,  aet.  fourteen,  has 
since  infancy  suffered  from  nocturnal  enuresis.  On  twenty- 
fifth  of  March,  1877,  his  father  requested  me  to  examine  him, 
and  if  possible,  do  something  to  relieve  his  trouble,  stating 
that  he  had  been  under  treatment  from  several  physicians, 
and  that  neither  their  prescriptions  nor  any  parental  influ- 
ences either  mild  or  severe  had  produced  any  good  eflfect. 
The  boy  himself  seemed  deeply  mortified,  and  implored  me 
if  possible,  to  relieve  him,  saying  that  he  had  done  all  in  his 
power  to  overcome  the  propensity,  but  without  avail.  A 
careful  examination  revedling  no  cause  for  the  trouble,  I  pro- 
posed an  inspection  of  the  genital  organs  to  which  the  little 
fellow  readily  consented.  I  found  an  elongated  prepuce  and 
adhesions  to  the  glans  penis.  Qiiestioning  him,  he  stated  that 
an  accumulation  of  water  in  the  bladder  was  followed  by  an 
erection,  pain,  and  an  immediate  desire  to  micturate.  I  judged 
the  preputial  adhesions  to  be  the  cause  of  the  incontinence  of 
urine,  recommended  circumcision  and  directed  him  to  call 
at  ten  a.  m.  the  next  day  to  undergo  the  operation.  This  I 
performed  with  the  assistance  of  Dr.  George  D.  Strccter. 
The  prepusc  was  pealed  of  from  the  glans,  much  as  you 
would  pare  the  rind  from  an  orange  only  the  operation  was 


Gener/il  Clinics,  173 

a  little  more  delicate.  The  cervix  was  filled  with  smegma 
which  had  caused  considerable  excoriation  and  irritation  of 
the  parts;  the  preputial  fold  was  completely  retracted  and  all 
the  adhesions  broken  up.  The  wound  was  bathed  with  an 
Arnica  lotion  and  dressed  with  Carholized  cosmoline.  The 
recovery  was  prompt  and  satisfactory,  and  the  patient  from 
that  day  has  not  wet  the  bed. — W.  E.  Green,  M.  D.,  Little 
Rock,  Ark. 

Lachesis  Cask. — Early  in  the  spring,  April  5th,  was 
called  upon  by  a  young  man  suffering  from  consumption  who 
related  the  following  symptoms:  cough,  deep  seated,  with 
much  hoarseness,  increased  by  speaking,  obliging  him  every 
now  and  then  to  clear  the  throat  in  order  to  speak  at  all; 
hoarseness  painful  to  hear;  cough  worse  after  sleep,  in  fact 
wakens  with  a  cough;  sensation  as  of  a  dry  crumb  in  the 
throat,  obliging  him  to  swallow  frequently,  but  such  effort  is 
painful;  throat  feels  very  raw;  can  swallow  solid  food  better 
than  liquids',  the  latter  giving  sensation  as  if  they  would  re- 
turn by  the  nose;  great  exhaustion,  particularly  in  the  morn- 
ing, better  after  being  up  a  while.  Laches,  200,  three  powders, 
was  given,  a  powder  every  other  day.  In  a  few  days  report- 
ed many  symptoms  better.  Advised  a  change  of  the  air  and 
he  went  into  the  country  among  tjie  redwoods,  taking  a  num- 
ber of  powders  of  Sac.  lac.  A  letter  received  from  him  has 
the  following,  under  date  of  April  21st:  'Within  the  last  ^vq 
days  a  new  symptom  has  developed  which  perhaps  should 
have  your  consideration.  It  is  a  frequent  and  excessive  ex- 
pectoration from  the  throat;  it  fills  in  the  upper  part,  and  re- 
quires attention  every  fifteen  minutes  day  and  night,  interfer 
ing  much  with  sleep;  it  raises  easily  without  cough;  the  amount 
is  quite  large,  and  it  consists  of  light  green  phlegm;  there  is 
also  a  large  expectoration  of  saliva  with  it.  I  find  this  very 
annoying  especially  at  night.  My  throat  is  still  so  sore  as  to 
be  troublesome  in  eating  and  drinking,  so  that  sometimes  I 
find  it  difiiicult  to  satisfy  my  appetite  which  is  not  very  great 
but  better  than  when  I  left.  *  *  *  i  nearly  forgot  to 
say  that  the  more  deep  seated  cough  has  almost  ceased;  I  do 
Aug-2 


174  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

not  cough  more  than  two  or  three  times  in  twentv-four  hours." 
After  receiving  this  information,  I  did  not  deem  it  best  to 
change  the  remedy  which  had  begun  so  well  and  therefore 
sent  him  one  dose  of  Laches,  mm.  (Tafcl's).  The  next  report 
was  made  in  person.  He  had  gained  considerably  in  strength, 
could  swallow  much  easier  and  had  concluded  to  follow  my 
advice  and  go  back  to  the  East  to  his  home.  The  action  of 
the  one  dose  of  the  millionth  of  Laches,  was  so  prompt  as  to 
be  very  noticeable,  and  he  was  anxious  to  know  what  it  was 
that  gave  him  such  relief.  The  action  of  the  200th  had  not 
been  as  prompt  nor  as  thorough,  and  the  eflcct  had  worn  off 
in  a  few  days,  while  in  twenty  days  the  last  dose  was  still 
doing  him  good. — G.  M,  Pease,  M,  D.,  San  Francisco,  Cal. 

Erysipelas — Tinct.  Cantiiarides. — I  wish  to  call  your 
attention  to  the  local  use  of  the  tincture  Cantharides  in  ery- 
sipelas. 1  have  fo  jnd  it  a  remarkable  remedy  in  the  above 
disease,  allaying  and  soothing  the  inflammation.  It  will  stop 
all  the  most  distressing  symptoms,  especially  the  frequent 
and  incipi.ent  burning.  I  believe  it  to  be  the  best  local  appli- 
cation in  use.  Relief  is  always  rapid.  I  would  recommend 
a  tcaspoonful  of  ihe  tincture  to  a  large  tumbler  of  water  and 
applied  with  cloths  constantly  wet  with  the  solution.  It  was 
oiiginally  recommended  to  me  by  my  father.  Prof.  A.  O. 
Blair,  and  successfully  used  in  his  practice  for  many  years. — 
G.  S.  Bi-AiR,  M.  D.,  Westerville,  O. 

Deafness,  Conjunctivitis,  Gleet — Sulphur  45M. — 
From  die  Allgemine  Horn.  Zeitung,  by  Dr.  A.  Berghaus. — 
Augustus  X.,  act.  nineteen,  lost  his  hearing  in  the  right  ear 
in  consequence  of  catarrh  of  that  organ.  Different  special- 
ists of  the  old  school  had  treated  him  in  the  usual  way,  viz: 
injections  of -ZV^Yrw/e  of  silver  in  the  eustachian  tube,  Politzer's 
air  bath,  nasal  douches,  etc.,  but  all  in  vain.  The  patient 
also  suffered  at  the  time  he  came  to  me  from  mild  conjuncti- 
vitis, dryness  of  the  throat,  empty  feeling  in  the  pit  of  the 
stomach,  swollen  toes  with  large  corns,  so  that  he  was  com- 
pelled to  slit  his  shoes  over  the  little  toes,  and  he  also  suftcred 


General  Clinics.  175 

for  ten  years  from  gleet.  He  could  hear  with  the  right  ear 
when  the  watch  was  held  close  to  it,  with  the  left  at  a  dis- 
tance of  nine  and  a  half  inches.  I  gave  him,  Jan.  23,  1877, 
one  dose  of  Sulph.  45^?,  Fincke's,  and  Placebos  night  and 
morning.  On  Jan.  29th  he  heard  with  the  right  ear  at  three 
and  a  half  inches,  the  left  nine  and  a  half;  the  feeling  of 
emptiness  of  the  stomach  has  disappeared  and  the  gleet  is 
hardly  perceptible;  Placebos.  Feb.  23,  right  ear  seven  and 
a  half  inches,  left  eleven  inches;  the  nose  secretes  great 
quantities  of  watery  fluid;  Placebos  in  the  evening.  Feb. 
10,  right  ear  ten  and  a  half  inches,  left  same;  the  gleet  has 
entirely  disappeared;  feet  less  sensitive;  Placebos,  Feb.  17, 
right  ear  two  and  a  half  inches,  left  thirteen ;  has  taken  a 
cold  and  his  nose  is  stopped  up;  Sulph,  45rw,  one  dose,  and 
Placebos  night  and  morning.  Feb.  24,  right  seven  inches, 
left  fifteen;  feels  stronger  than  he  has  for  months;  nose  freer; 
Placebos,  March  3,  right  six  inches,  left  sixteen;  is  not  as 
well  as  eight  days  ago;  Sulph.  lOom,  one  dose.  Placebos  night 
and  morning.  March  10,  right  nine  inches,  left  seventeen  as 
at  the  last  time;  Placebos.  March  24,  right  eleven  inches, 
left  seventeen;  Placebos.  lie  must  travel  till  April  24,  on 
which  date  the  right  ear  eleven  inches,  left  eighteen;  his  feet 
are  so  much  better  that  he  can  wear  his  shoes  without  any 
trouble.  His  friends  congratulate  him  on  his  improved  ap- 
pearance and  better  hearing.  May  22,  right  car  fifteen 
inches,  left  nineteen.  June  15,  same  as  last.  He  is  entirely 
satisfied  with  the  result  of  my  treatment;  he  feels  better  than 
for  years.  The  apparantly  short  distance  at  which  the  watch 
is  heard  arises  from  the  fact  that  the  watch  employed  in  the 
examination  ticks  very  softly. 

Spasmodic  Croup — Hepar  sulph.  40M. — I  was  called  at 
eleven  p.  m.  to  see  a  girl  nine  years  old  who  suffered  from 
spasmodic  croup.  I  found  the  patient  with  violent  fever; 
facial  expression  indicative  of  great  anguish,  and  accompan- 
ied with  by  weeping  and  restlessness;  the  cough  sounded 
hoarse  and  rough,  without  expectoration.  I  gave  Hepar 
sulph,  407/i,  Fincke.  The  child  became  quieter  and  was  asleep 
in  half  an  hour,  interrupted   only  by  a  few  light  attacks  of 


176  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

of  cough.     Next  forenoon  I  found  ihe  patient  well  and  cheer- 
ful, sitting  at  the  piano  free  from  every  trace  of  cough. 

Neuralgia — Lachesis  45M. — Mrs.  N.,  a  delicate  lady 
who  suffered  from  periodical  attacks  of  neuralgia,  and  has 
tried  almost  the  entire  allopathic  pharmacopia,  has  just  re- 
covered from  a  threatened  abortion.  She  was  in  the  third 
month  of  pregnancy;  for  several  days  she  has  been  suffering 
from  pains  in  the  left  side  of  oesophagus  and  great  restless- 
ness which  compellrid  her  to  jump  out  of  bed  and  walk  about; 
after  she  gave  me  her  symptoms  she  begged  me  not  to  give 
her  anything  to  put  her  to  sleep,  for  on  every  attempt  to 
sleep  she  started  up  feeling  as  if  she  must  die;  her  entire  left 
side  is  painful.  I  promised  to  comply  with  her  request,  and 
gave  her  at  eleven  p.  m.  a  dose  of  Lachesis  45m,  Fincke,  and 
yS'rtc.  lac.  every  hour.  The  next  morning  her  husband  inform- 
ed me  that  she  slept  nearly  all  the  rest  of  the  night  quietly, 
and  that  she  wakened  strong  and  fresh.  Gradual  improve- 
ment till  her  delivery  of  a  boy  during  her  seventh  nionth; 
the  child  died  the  next  day,  but  the  mother  did  well  consid- 
ering the  circumstances. 

Eczema — Ars.  30,  64M  and  iom. — Mrs.  T.,  aet.  sixty- 
four,  an  apparently  healthy  lady,  has  had  for  five  years  an 
eczema  on  the  right  side  of  the  neck  and  up  to  the  nasal 
bone,  which  had  been  treated  here  by  different  physicians  of 
the  old  school  with  all  possible  salves,  etc.  On  her  journey 
to.  Europe  she  had  consulted  many  specialists,  among  these 
Ilcbra,  who  by  caustics  turned  the  red  spots  on  her  nose  to  a 
white  scar.  Last  summer  when  the  eruption  showed  on  the 
left  eve  and  the  right  cheek,  she  received  from  a  homa'opath 
Arsenicum  3d  trituration,  which  she  took  faithfully  for  several 
months.  In  the  meantime  spots  showed  on  the  breast  bone, 
otherwise  she  was  in  status  quo.  The  patient  came  to  me 
complaining  of  violent  burning  in  the  dry  eruption  from 
which  the  epidermis  falls  off  in  fine  scales;  the  burning 
abates  bv  warmth;  besides  the  desire  to  drink  frequentlv 
small  (luantities  of  water  and  the  burning,  she  complains 
only  of  a  pressure  or  a  feeling  of  anguish  on  the  breast,  other- 
wise she  was  entirely  well.      On  November  6,  1876,  I  gave 


General  Clinics,  }77 

■ 

her  a  dose  of  Arsenicum  64m,  Fincke,  and  Placebos  for  two 
weeks.  November  20,  the  spots  on  the  breast  had  ahnost 
disappeared;  on  the  other  hand  the  eruption  on  the  face  had 
increased  considerably,  so  that  she  is  despairing  and  only  goes 
on  the  street  when  thickly  veiled.  I  told  her  that  I  consid- 
ered the  extension  of  the  spots  a  good  indication;  at  the  same 
time  the  burning  on  the  breast  had  abated  and  even  the  spot^ 
on  the  neck  began  to  be  paler;  Placebos  for  two  weeks.  Af- 
ter two  weeks  more  the  spot  on  the  face  had  decreased  so 
that  it  was  not  much  larger  than  a  dollar,  considerably  paler, 
and  even  the  spots  on  the  neck  began  to  be  paler;  Placebos. 
She  presented  herself  every  two  weeks  and  believed  that  in 
two  months  more,  during  which  time  she  had  taken  the  lom 
as  a  slight  aggravation  had  occurred,  that  she  is  as  beautiful 
as  can  be  expected  at  her  age,  with  the  exception  of  the  scar. 
— ^A.  McNeil,  M.  D.,  New  Albany,  Ind. 

A  New  and  Strange  Symptom — Hysteria — Igxatia 
30. — July  15,'  i877>  I  was  called  about  ten  a.  m„  to   see  Mrs. 

,  aet.  about  twenty,   has  had   good  Ivealth  hitherto   with 

the  exception  of  some  hysterical  manifestations;  has  never 
had  a  child,  but  is  pregnant;  has  messinterics.  I  found  her  in 
bed  with  labor  pains  which  had  existed  for  several  hours; 
some  hemorrhage;  the  day  before  had  been  frightened  by  a 
rat  jumping  into  her  lap;  afterwards  trembling.  I  was 
struck  by  the  position  in  which  she  laid;  she  was  lying  on 
her  back  without  a  2>illow,  and  the  lower  end  of  the  mattress 
elevated.  On  enquiring  her  reasons  for  her  strange  position, 
she  said  that  her  pains  were  better  in  that  position.  Taking 
her  hysterical  predisposition  in  consideration,  and  her  fright 
followed  by  trembling,  ]  gave  her  Ignatia  30  in  water.  Alter 
three  hours  I  returned,  found  her  lying  in  bed  with  a  pillow 
under  her  head.  The  pains  had  ceased  almost  instantly;  the 
hemorrhage  was  also  controlled.  She  has  done  well.  The 
italicised  symptom  is  not  in  the  first  five  volumes  of  Allen, 
neither  in  Ignatia  or  any  other  drug.  I  think  it  will  prove 
to  be  a  key  note.  Will  the  profession  report  any  cases  either 
confirming  or  disproving  its  morateristic  value. — A.  McNeil, 
M.  D.,  New  Albany,  Ind. 


Short  articles  and  reports  of  cases  in  this  department  may  be  addressed  to  M.  M. 
Eaton,  M.  D.,  Gibson  House,  Cincinnati,  O. 


Tho  US9  of  tho  ForCOpSy  More  Especially  in  Shortening  the 
Second  Stage  of  Labor,  and  the  General  and  Special 
Indications  for  Their  Application.  By  T.  G.  Corn- 
stock,  M.  D.,  Master  in  Obstetrics  of  the  University  of 
Vienna,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 

It  is  quite  unnecessary  for  me  to  remind  this  honorable 
body  of  medical  gentlemen  that  within  the  past  few  years 
a  great  change  of  opinion  has  taken  place  in  regard  to  the 
indications  that  warrant  a  resort  to  the  forceps  in  a  natural 
labor.  In  accordance  with  the  advice  of  the  elder  authorities 
the  obstetrician  when  called  to  attend  a  woman  in  labor, 
would  hardly  think  it  proper  to  take  the  forceps  with  him. 
Such  a  proceeding  was  not  only  regarded  as  rash  and  fool- 
hardy, but  almost  next  to  criminal.  A  celebrated  professor  of 
midwifery  in  one  of  our  best  medical  schools,  twenty-six 
years  ago,  was  wont  to  say  jocosely  in  his  lectures,  *'Whcn 
you  are  called  to  a  woman  in  labor,  do  not  be  particular  to 
take  the  forceps  with  you,  as  they  might  by  accident  fall  out 
of  your  pocket  and  slip  into  the  vagina!"  If  now  and  then, 
twenty-five  years  since,  a  cautious  and  experienced  practi- 
tioner of  midwifery,  when  called  to  a  case  of  labor  miles  away 
from  his  residence,  should  cautiously  and  quietly  place  the  for- 
ceps in  his  buggy,  presuming  that  a  contingency  might  occur 
requiring  them,  he  carefully  and  perhaps  superstitiously  kept 
the  fact  to  himself,  and  even  refrained  from  mentioning  it  to 
a  brother  practitioner,  who  might  be  called  with  him  to  at- 
tend the  case,  because  the  forceps  were  regarded  with  abhor- 
rence. 

The  elder  Dr.  Beatty,  of  Dublin,  in  a  paper  lead  before  the 
college  of  physicians  in  1829,  criticising  the  frequent  use  of 
the   perforator   and    crotchet    in    obstetrical   practice,   says: 


Obstetrical  and  Gyncecological.  179 

***This  has  been  done  at  a  time  when  even  to  mention   the 
name  of  the    instrument,   (the    forceps)   was    considered   a 
heresy,  and  nothing  short  of  excommunication  could  be  ex- 
pected by  him  who  was  rash  enough  to  recommend  its  use." 
He  also  states,  "that  for  a  period  of  full  forty  years,  the  for- 
ceps was  banished  from  practice  in  this  country."     Also  page 
four  of  the  same  work  Dr.  Beatty  says:  "Previous  to  the  elec- 
tion of  Dr.  Joseph  Clark  to  the  mastership  of  the  Dublin  Ly- 
ing-in Hospital,  in   1786,  that  the  forceps  were  in  common 
use  in  England   and   in  Ireland.     So  it  seems  the  prejudice 
against  the  forceps  in  England  from  1786  until  about  1830  was 
due  to  Dr.  Clark,"  who  although  confessedly  one  of  the  ablest 
and  most  distinguished  men  who  raised  the  reputation  of  ob- 
stetric practice,    should    have    adopted  an    early  prejudice 
against  the  forceps.     Dr.  Beatty  instances  a  similar  prejudice 
in  Denman,  "Than  whom  a  sounder  and  more  brilliant  writer 
never  lived,  who  seems  at  that  early  day  to  have  been  op- 
posed to  the  midwifery  binder  after  labor,  but  who  in  con- 
demning the  bandage,  most  surely   caused  the  loss  of  many 
lives."      The  writer  of  this  well  recollects  when   it  was  a 
rule  among  the  best  and  ablest  practitioners,  who,  finding  it 
necessary  in  private  practice  to  use  the  forceps,  considered  it 
not  proper  to  do  so  until  a   consulting  physician  was  first 
called,  who  should  approve  of  the  expedient,  and  besides  as  a 
rule,  it  was  insisted  upon  that  the  circumstances  and  gravity 
of  the  case  must  be  such  as  to  make  it  next  to  impossible  for 
the  labor  to  terminate  without  a  resort  to  instruments.     In 
this  country  we  were  governed  principally  by  the  English 
authorities,   whose  dictum   upon  the  subject  was  not  ques- 
t.oned. 

Among  English  obstetricians  eighty  years  ago,  Dr.  Joseph 
Clark  used  the  forceps  only  once  in  seven  hundred  and  forty - 
two  cases;  Dr.  Collins  once  in  six  hundred  and  seventeen  cases: 
the  elder  Ramsbotham  once  in  seven  hundred  and  twenty-nine 
cases;  while  in  British  Hospital  practice  craniotomy  was  re- 
sorted to  once  in  every  one  hundred  and  forty-one  cases.    Dr. 

•Contributions  to  Medicine  and  Midwifery.  By  Thomas  E.  Beatty 
M.  D.,  p.  2,  Dublin,  1862. 


180  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

Robert  Lee  said,  "there  are  few  practitioners  of  judgment  and 
experience  who  have  recourse  to  the  forceps,  or,  who  employ 
it  before  the  orifice  of  the  uterus  is  fully  dilated,  and  the  head 
of  the  child  is  descended  so  low  into  the  pelvis,  as  to  make  an 
ear  to  be  felt."  The  writer  of  this  was  taught  these  doctrines, 
and  came  fresh  from  college  imbued  with  them. 

The  words  of  Denman  were  quoted  to  us,  and  they  were 
learned  by  heart;  he  said:  "The  head  of  the  child  should  have 
rested  six  hours  as  low  as  the  perineum,  that  is,  in  a  situation 
which  would  allow  of  their  application  before  the  forceps  are 
applied;  the  pains  should  have  altogether  ceased  during  that 
time."  Think  of  this!  How  many  a  poor  woman  has  been 
allowed  to  suflfer  and  become  exhausted  beyond  resuscitation, 
who  might  have  been  revived  and  saved  if  this  dogmatic  rule 
had  not  been  the  law  governing  the  practitioner.  Modern 
science  and  experience  fortified  by  authority,  now  teaches  us 
that  as  soon  as  the  head  rests  upon  the  perineum,  and  does 
not  advance  with  the  next. coming  pain,  the  forceps  skillfully 
applied,  will  at  once  terminate  the  sufferings  of  the  lying-in 
patient.  But  the  rule  in  British  practice  was,  to  let  her  first 
suflfer  six  hours,  and  then  use  the  forceps. 

Denman  further  says:  "It  is  scarcely  possible  to  say  too 
much  against  a  hasty  recourse  to  the  forceps,  even  in  cases 
which  may  ultimately  be  relieved  by  using  them,  and  neither 
this  nor  any  other  instrument  is  used  in  the  piactice  of  mid- 
wifery one- twentieth  part  so  frequently  as  they  were  fifty 
years  ago.''*  Denman,  however,  very  properly  adds:  ''We 
are  to  remember  that  the  forceps  are  not  to  be  applied  be- 
cause we  have  the  power  of  using  them,  but  because  the  ne- 
nessity  of  the  case  is  such  as  to  require  their  use,"  Nothing 
better  than  this  could  be  said  at  the  present  date,  and  in  this 
caution  we  heartily  join.  From  these  extracts  we  learn  that 
in  1824  in  Great  Britain,  physicians  contemporary  with  Den- 
man, did  not  use  the  forceps  in  one  case  in  twenty  where 
they  had  applied  them  fifty  years  previously.  Even  so  re- 
cent an  authority  as  Ramsbotham,  London  edition  185 1,  p. 
283,   says:    "It  is   certainly  a  good  general   rule    to  consider 

^Denman's  Midwifery,  London  Edition,  1824,  p.  254. 


Obstetrical  and  Gynaecological,  181 

that  if  the  labor  has  lasted  twenty-four  hours  from  the  rup- 
ture of  the  membranes,  there  is  a  great  probability  that  in- 
struments will  be  required,  and  that  if  the  head  has  been  im- 
pacted four  hours,  the  soft  parts  must  be  much  endangered." 
He  further  says  on  the  same  page:  "If  the  head  advances  at 
all,  and  be  not  impacted,  provided  the  strength  and  spirits  are 
good,  there  is  seldom  need  to  interfere;  but  if  no  progress 
has  been  made  for  a  number  of  hours,  and  especially  if  im- 
paction should  have  existed  for  four  hours,  then  provided  an 
ear  can  be  felt,  and  the  parts  are  not  rigid  as  to  endanger 
laceration,  we  are  justified  in  employing  forceps."  Thus 
wrote  one  of  the  best  authorities  in  England  only  twenty-one 
years  ago,  but  I  hope  there  is  not  a  single  medical  man  pres- 
ent at  this  convention  who  is  not  better  instructed  than  this, 
and  consequently  far  in  advance  of  the  teachings  of  Rams- 
botham  at  the  date  in  which  he  wrote  his  book. 

From  the  above,  we  infer  that  Ramsbotham's  principle  ob- 
jection to  the  forceps  was,  that  he  feared  laceration  of  the 
perineum.  Formerly  young  practitioners  had  the  forceps  de- 
scribed to  them  as  an  instrument  capable  of  producing  such 
sad  results  to  both  mother  and  child,  that  they  were  pretty 
certain  to  steer  clear  of  them;  they  were  described  as  liable  to 
endanger  the  perineum,  liable  to  injure  the  womb,  and  to 
cause  vesico-vaginal  fistula. 

The  late  Dr.  Meigs,  although  such  an  advocate  of  the  for- 
ctps  himself,  speaks  of  the  danger  of  experienced  practition- 
ers plunging  a  blade  of  the  forceps  through  the  thin  and  dis- 
tended wall  of  the  vagina  into  the  douglas-cul-sac;  and  he 
says  "a  student  is  very  liable  to  do  it."  We  can  not  but  think 
that  this  is  a  slight  exaggeration,  at  least  we  hope  that  no  such 
students  can  be  found  at  this  dale  in  any  such  case,  'Hhe  fault 
would  not  lay  in  the  instrument,  but  in  the  hand  that  used  it." 
The  head  resting  upon  the  perineum  for  hours,  is  far  more 
dangerous,  and  more  liable  to  interfere  with  the  integrity 
of  the  same  than  the  skillful  application  of  the  forceps,  and 
in  making  this  assertion,  I  am  merely  stating  the  results  of 
the  experience  of  all  modern  obstetrical  anfl  gyniecological 
authorities,  especially  Haker,  Brown,  Jobert  de  Lambelle,  and 


182  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

Emmet.  There  is  a  prejudice  against  the  forceps  among  the 
lay  people,  and  it  is  true,  if  they  are  not  skillfully  applied  by 
one  who  perfectly  understands  the  mechanism  of  labor,  they 
are  certainly  capable  of  doing  great  injury.  The  practitioner 
who  is  fully  conversant  with  the  mechanism  of  labor  need 
not  fear  the  forceps. 

Smellie  said,  "It  is  best  to  avoid  the  calumnies  and  misrep- 
resentations of  those  people  who  are  apt  to  prejudice  the  ig- 
norant and  weak  minded  against  the  use  of  any  instruments, 
and  who,  taking  advantage  of  unforsecn  accidents  which  may 
afterwards  happen  to  the  patient,  charge  the  whole  misfor- 
tune to  the  innocent  operator."  This  touches  the  point  in 
question.  We  are  often  swayed  from  our  duty,  and  even 
governed  in  the  lying-in  room  by  the  fears  or  notions  of  some 
volunteer  attendants  present.  In  some  cases  of  confinement, 
the  position  of  the  child  and  advance  of  the  same,  may  be 
such  as  that  we  arc  convinced  that  an  immediate  resort  to  the 
forceps  would  shorten  the  labor,  and  safely  deliver  the 
mother  of  the  child ;  yet  we  wait  and  wait  until  every  body's 
patience  is  exhausted,  and  the  woman's  agony  is  no  longer  to 
be  tolerated,  when  as  a  last  resort  we  apply  the  forceps. 

Why  are  the  forceps  held  in  fear  and  dread  by  practitioners? 

First.  From  ignorance  or  an  imperfect  understanding  of 
mechanism  of  labor. 

Second,  From  a  fault}'  diagnosis  of  the  exact  position  of 
the  child,  and  a  failure  to  recognize  and  appreciate  the  dan- 
gers of  both  mother  and  child  of  a  prolonged  and  tedious 
labor. 

Third.  From  a  foolish  and  superstitious  dread  of  instru- 
ments, and  a  settled  and  erroneous  belief  that  in  a  tedious 
labor  there  is  less  danger  of  the  pressure  of  the  child's  head  to 
cause  laceration  of  the  perineum  or  vesico-vaginal  fistula,  and 
other  traumatic  lesions  than  there  will  be  if  the  forceps  are 
applied,  or  in  other  words,  it  is  implied  and  the  tacit  admis- 
sion made,  that  the  forceps  may  in  some  way  complicate  the 
danger.  This  last  notion  is  radically  wrong  in  both  theory 
and  practice.  It  is  the  experience  of  gynaecologists,  who 
have  operated   upon  the   most  cases  of  vesico-vaginal  fibtula 


Obstetrical  and  GynoBcologicaL  183 

and  lacerated  perineum,  that  such  lesions  and  injuries  have 
been  usually  caused   by  tedious   labors,   and  not  only  rarel}' 
but  very  exceptionally  are  the  consequences  of  accidents  from 
the  use  of  forceps  when  skillfully  applied. 

Fourth.  The  great  skill  required  in  using  forceps  when  the 
child  is  above  and  just  entering  the  superior  strait,  has  pro- 
bably frightened  many  operators  from  using  them,  even  when 
the  head  is  favorably  situated  lower  down  in  the  pelvic  cav- 
ity, where  their  application  is  a  very  easy  matter. 

There  is  perhaps  more  reason  in  this  fear  of  producing 
injury  when  introducing  them  high  up  in  the  pelvis,  than  any 
other  we  have  mentioned,  because  when  applying  forceps 
above  the  superior  strait,  unless  as  previously  stated,  the  op- 
erator is  perfectly  conversant  with  the  mechanism  of  labor, 
there  is  danger  of  injuring  the  soft  parts  of  the  mother,  by 
making  traction  in  the  wrong  direction.  The  direction  of 
the  axis  of  the  inlet  or  superior  strait  is  downwards  and 
backwards,  and  of  the  outer  or  inferior  strait,  downwards 
and  forwards. 

What  are  the  forceps?  You  all  know  they  are  a  substi- 
tute for  a  delicate  pair  of  hands  to  be  applied  to  the  convex- 
ity of  the  child's  head  to  make  traction,  and  assist  in  bring- 
ing it  through  and  out  of  its  narrow  channel  or  enclosure. 
It  is  well  to  be  conversant  with  the  forceps.  We  have  the 
short  or  straight  forceps,  and  the  long  or  double  curved  for- 
ceps, the  latter  having  a  pelvic  curve,  in  addition  to  the  cranial 
curve;  the  cranial  curve  is  alike  peculiar  to  both  the  short 
and  long  forceps.  The  forceps  of  Chamberlain  were  the 
short  forceps,  and  a  second  new  curve  or  pelvic  curve  was 
first  given  to  them,  and  was  the  invention  of  Dr.  Benjamin 
Pugh,  of  Chelmsford,  Essay,  in  1736,  although  obstetrical 
authorities  have  always  until  quite  recently,  given  Levret 
and  Smellie  the  credit  of  this  improvement. 

From  recent  researches  made  by  Dr.  McClintock,  of  Dub- 
lin, it  has  only  within  the  past  year  been  discovered  that 
Levret  first  proposed  this  new  curve  to  the  blades  in  1747, 
«ind  Smellie  in  1751,  so  that  to  Dr.  Pugh  we  must  accord  the 
credit  of  the  improvement.     The  short  forceps  may  be  used 


184  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

when  the  child's  head  is  in  the  pelvic  cavity,  but  when  it  is 
above  the  superior  strait,  the  long  forceps  with  the  second  or 
pelvic  curve  will  be  required. 

It  is  our  advice  for  practitioners  to  accustom  themselves 
always  to  use  the  long  forceps,  and  they  should  be  patterned 
something  after  the  model  of  Simpson's  which  really  is  after 
the  German  type  of  forceps. 

The  forceps  of  Elliott,  Bandelocyne,  Hodge  and  the  Com- 
stock's  St  Louis  forceps,  are  all  thus  shaped  with  rather  long 
blades,  with  a  pelvic  curve,  the  fenestrai  being  only  modest- 
ly wide,  and  arc  based  upon  the  principle  that  it  is  more  im- 
portant to  introduce  the  instrument  transversely  as  regards 
the  anatomy  of  the  maternal  pelvis,  than  to  apply  them  to 
the  sides  of  the  child's  head,  regardless  of  the  anatomy  of  the 
mother.  Years  ago,  in  all  of  the  American  medical  schools, 
we  were  taught  the  opposite,  doctrine,  viz:  that  in  order  to 
preserve  and  favor  the  synclitism  of  the  foetus  in  its  descent 
through  the  pelvic  and  vaginal  canal,  we  must  observe  and 
adopt  the  cej^halic  method  in  applying  the  forceps,  that  is, 
aj^ply  them  to  the  sides  of  the  child's  head.  Authorities  at 
present  are  almost  united  in  insisting  upon  the  rule  to  intro- 
duce them  transversely,  and  to  be  governed  by  the  curve  of 
pelvis,  and  regard  the  same  rule  in  making  traction.  Pajot's 
rule  for  introducing  and  withdrawing  the  t'orceps,  was  "to 
follow  the  circle  of  which  the  instrument  forms  the  part." 
In  introducing  the  forceps  transversley,  Dr.  Fauntleroy  says: 
"We  may  recollect  that  the  blades  and  structures  of  the  pel- 
vis are  in  consonance,  so  that  for  this  reason  there  is  little 
chance  for  the  instrument  to  injure  the  child's  head."  In  ap- 
plying forceps  transversley,  we  have  found  by  experience, 
and  as  the  head  advances  and  rotates,  finally  the  sides  of  the 
child's  head  will  be  embraced  within  the  blades. 

1  will  close  these  remarks  by  giving  the  indications  for  the 
use  of  the  forceps. 

First.  In  cases  where  the  second  stage  of  labor  is  complet- 
ed, but  the  pains  although  severe  and  trying,  "cease  to  be  ac- 
tively progressive."  The  obstetrician  in  such  cases  should 
not  wait  longer  than  two  hours,  and  in  some  cases  need  not 


Obstetrical  and  Gyncecological,  185 

even  delay  so  long,  especially  if  the  pains  should  be  very 
strong,  and  the  head  not  seeming  to  advance  or  make  any 
progress  proportionally. 

Second.  Head  of  the  child  in  the  vagina;  pains  intense; 
vagina  swollen;  perineum  rigid;  head  apparently  just  ready 
with  each  pain  to  clear  the  outlet,  but  the  obstetrician  scarce- 
ly less  than  the  agonized  mother,  is  tantalized  because  the 
labor  delays  and  is  not  completed.  In  such  cases  hot  cloths 
may  be  first  applied  to  the  perineum,  or  the  parturient  pa- 
tient may  be  placed  by  assistants  in  a  sitz-bath  of  hot  water, 
and  remain  in  it  for  fifteen  to  twenty -five  minutes,  which 
failing  to  relieve,  the  forceps  may  be  resorted  to. 

Third.  In  posterior  occipital  positions,  where  the  normal 
rotation  can  not  be  efl^ected,  and  the  head  partially  impacted. 
(Fortunately  rare). 

Fourth.  In  cases  of  puerperal  convulsions,  dangerous  hem- 
orrhage, exhaustion,  rupture  of  the  uterus,  presentation  fair, 
and  the  head  within  reach  so  that  we  can   apply  the  forceps. 

Fifth.  In  breach  presentation  where  the  after  coming  head 
can  not  be  readily  extracted,  first  by  grasping  the  body  of 
the  child  with  the  left  hand,  and  raising  it  upwards  as  a  lever 
towards  the  abdomen  of  the  mother,  and  placing  the  finger 
of  the  right  hand  on  the  back  of  the  child's  neck,  so  as  to 
favor  flexion;  failing  in  this,  which  is  called  the'"Kiewisch 
maneuver,"  we  may  apply  the  forceps. 

Sixth.  In  complicated  labors,  such  as  prolapsus  of  the 
funis,  descent  of  the  hand  with  the  head,  after  other  expedi- 
ents have  been  tried  without  eflfect. 

Seventh.  In  cases  of  placenta  previa  with  a  head  presen- 
tation, it  is  clearly  safer  to  trust  to  the  forceps,  (even  if  we 
have  to  dilate  the  os  in  applying  them)  than  to  resort  to  the 
old  time  honored  method  of  turning.  In  such  cases  Barnes' 
or  Molesworth's  dilators,  the  colpeurynter,  the  tampon  or 
ergot  should,  if  possible  be  tried  (as  the  case  may  require) 
before  the  forceps  are  applied.  As  authority  for  this  new  in- 
dication for  the  forceps,  we  refer  to  Dr.  Eshleman,  of  Phila- 
delphia.    (See  Phil.  Med.  Times,  March  20th  and  Aug.  14, 

1875). 


1^6  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

Eighth.  In  cases  of  moderately  contracted  pelvis. 
Ninth.  Incases  of  pendulous  uterus,  where  the  expressive 
pains  are  misdirected  and  inadequate. 

Tenth.  In  cases  of  uterine  inertia  where  it  is  impossible  to 
rouse  uterine  contractions  by  stimulants,  such  as  pressure  ex- 
ternally applied  over  the  region  of  the  uterus  (after  the 
method  of  (Kristeller  and  Crede),  Galvanism  or  Ergot  having 
been  cautiously  given. 

Eleventh.  Any  complications  or  conditions  that  may  sud- 
denly set  in  during  labor,  causing  delay  calculated  to  endan- 
ger the  life  of  either  mother  or  child:  e.  g.,  the  last  stage  of 
phthisis  pulmonalis  in  the  mother,  hernia,  asphyxia,  etc. 

Twelfth.  In  face  presentations,  when  we  fail  in  bringing 
the  chin  forward,  the  forceps  are  perhaps  preferable  to  turn- 
ing.     (Prof,  Wright,  of  Cincinnati). 

Thirteenth.  When  the  natural  powers  of  the  mother  do 
not  expel  the  child  within  two  hours  after  the  rupture  of  the 
membranes  and  full  dilatation  of  the  os. 

N.  B. — In  uterine  inertia  we  have  of:en  seen  the  introduc- 
tion of  the  first  blade  of  the  forceps,  excite  a  good  contrac- 
tile pain,  and  this  fact  should  not  be  forgotton  by  the  practi- 
tioner. As  a  preliminary  to  the  use  of  the  forceps,  the  blad- 
der should  if  possible,  always  be  emptied,  by  micturition  or 
by  the  catheter. 

Position  of  the  woman. — She  may  lie  on  her  back,  or  on  her 
left  side,  but  for  the  beginner,  or  one  who  seldom  uses  forceps, 
it  may  perhaps  be  best  to  place  her  across  the  bed,  with  her  hips 
hanging  over  the  edge  of  the  same,  each  limb  being  carefully 
supported  by  an  assistant;  then  the  operator  standing  or  seat- 
ing himself  in  front,  having  carefully  made  an  examination,  and 
if  possible,  assured  himself  of  the  exact  position  of  the  head, 
should  plunge  the  forceps  in  hot  water,  then  wipe  them,  and 
smear  them  well  with  cosmoline  or  vaseline.      The  left  or 
male  blade  is  taken  in  the  left  hand,  between  the  tips  of  the 
index  middle  finger  and   thumb,  and   the  lingers  of  the  right 
hand    are   inserted  within    the    vagina  by    the    side    of  the 
head  as  a  guide  for  the  blade,  and  if  the  cervix  can  be  reached, 
care  must  be  taken  to  insert  a  finger  within   the  same,   and 


Obstetrical  and  Gyncecological.  187 

guide  the  extremity  of  the  blade  so  that  it  will  be  applied  di- 
rectly upon  the  convexity  of  the  child's  head,  and  circumstan- 
ces may  occur,  requiring  that  the  extremity  of  the  blade  shall 
be  inserted  within  the  cervix,  but  in  no  case  must  they  com- 
press the  cervix  against  the  head  of  the  child.  The  blade 
must  be  passed  along  the  palmar  aspect  of  the  right  hand  and 
introduced  in  a  direction  towards  the  hollow  of  the  sacrum, 
then  the  handle  is  to  be  depressed  so  that  the  blade  may  as- 
cend forward  in  the  direction  of  Cams'  curve  (remember  that 
the  axis  of  the  outlet  is  upwards  and  forwa'-ds,  and  that  it  is 
a  rule  in  obstetrics,  indeed  a  fundamental  canon,  never  to  use 
any  force  in  introducing  and  adjusting  the  forceps);  the  first 
blade  being  now  inserted,  the  handle  is  given  in  charge  to 
an  assistant,  and  the  operator  proceeds  to  introduce  the  sec- 
ond blade.  The  second,  right  or  female  blade  is  to  be  intro- 
duced directly  opposite  the  first,  taking  it  in  the  right  hand, 
and  introducing  the  left  hand  within  the  vagina  as  a  guide  in 
the  same  manner,  and  with  the  same  precautions  as  when  ap- 
plying the  first  blade.  The  two  handles  are  now  taken  by 
the  operator  who  proceeds  to  lock  them,  and  if  they  have 
been  b6th  properly  introduced,  this  can  usually  be  efTectcd 
without  difficulty.  No  force  must  be  applied  in  so  doing, 
but  the  whole  operation  must  be  made  with  gentleness  and 
skill.  When  the  blades  are  locked,  as  soon  as  pain  comes  on 
traction  may  be  made,  the  operator  taking  the  handles  in  his 
right  hand,  and  extracting  always  in  a  direction  correspond- 
ing with  the  axis  of  the  pelvis.  During  this  time,  an  assistant 
should  make  compression  over  the  region  df  the  womb,  and 
the  operator  be  careful  not  to  make  any  more  compression 
than  is  requisite,  in  order  to  hold  the  head  firmly,  and  keep  the 
blades  from  slipping.  When  the  pains  cease,  desist  from 
making  traction,  and  relay  at  once  the  compression  upon  the 
head.  As  the  head  is  passing  through  the  outlet,  give  atten- 
tion to  the  perineum,  and  elevate  the  handles  of  the  forceps, 
and  should  the  perineum  be  very  thin  and  tense,  it  may  be 
best  to  remove  the  blades,  and  leave  the  rest  to  nature. 

In  using  the  forceps  do  not  be  in  too  great  a  hurry  to  term- 
inate the  labor,   because  a  uterus  emptied  too  quickly,   might 


188  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

not  properly  contract,  and  then  we  should   have  a   predispo- 
sition to  a  post  partum  hemorrhage  from  a  uterine  inertia. 

Summary  advantages  of  the  forceps. — First.  By  their  timely 
use  we  are  enabled  to  anticipate  the  evils  resulting  from  delay 
in  tedious  and  prostrate  labors,  and  thereby  prevent  the  com- 
plications and  consequences  (immediate  and  remote)  which 
are  so  apt  to  follow  in  such  cases. 

Second.  By  their  timely  application  in  preventing  a  linger- 
ing labor,  they  allow  the  patient  to  "get  up"  quicker. 

Third,  The  forceps  materially  shcJrten  the  second  stage, 
and  cut  short  any  tendency  to  impaction,  thereby  pre- 
venting traumatic  inflammation,  which  latter  is  frequently 
a  cause  of  defective  involution,  one  of  the  most  .serious 
lesions  that  a  woman  who  has  borne  children  can  suITer 
from.  The  progress  and  pathology  of  defective  or  sub-invo- 
lution of  the  womb,  we  well  understand,  but  we  are  almost 
powerless  to  cure  it  by  remedial  agents,  and  therefore  pro- 
phylaxis in  such  cases  is  a  desideratum  to  be  always  kept  in 
mind. 

Fourth.  We  may  frequently  save  foital  life,  because  it  is  a 
maxim  in  obstetrics,  that  "the  danger  is  proportionate  to  the 
delav/' 

Fifth.  We  save  maternal  life,  because  according  to  Dr. 
Simpson  it  is  plainly  demonstrated  that  the  mortality  of  both 
mother  and  child  increases  in  a  direct  ratio  with  the  duration 
of  labor. 

Sixth.  We  abbreviate  and  diminish  the  sufTerings  of  the 
mother. 

Seventh.  By  the  timely  use  of  forceps  we  prevent  impac- 
tion and  inflammatory  complications,  thereby  avoiding  in  not 
a  few  instances  a  resort  to  the  old  and  frecjuent  operation  of 
craniotomy,  an  operation  always  fatal  to  the  child,  and  fre- 
quently dangerous  to  the  mother. 

The  mortality  to  the  mother  in  craniotomy  operations  is 
about  one  in  fiwQ  and  a  half,  and  in  forceps  according  to 
Churchill  one  in  twenty-two,  hence  the  advantages  of  fr- 
ceps,  viz:  In  cases  where  the  forceps  are  indicated,  we  se- 
cure for  our  patient  a  short  convalescence  after  delivery,  and 
a  prompt  and  speedy  recovery. 


%P]^aItt(oIa^g  mi  $hU^^ 


EmbolisSl  of  the  Central  Artery  of  the  Retina  and  Hemor- 
rhage into  the  Optic  Nerve.  By  Geo.  S.  Norton,  M.  D. 
Read  before  the  American  Homoeopathic  Ophthalmo- 
logical  and  Otological  Society,  at  Put-in  Bay,  June 
19th,  1878. 

Since  the  time  when  Von  Graefe  first  described  a  case  of 
embolism  of  the  central  retinal  artery  up  to  the  present,  these 
cases  have  always  had  a  special  interest  for  the  ophthalmolo- 
gist. This  has  been  particularly  true  within  the  past  few 
years,  during  which  time  doubts  have  been  raised  by  Magnus 
and  others,  whether  or  not  these  so-called  cases  are  depend- 
ent upon  embolism,  hemorrhage  into  the  optic  nerve  or  some- 
thing else.  It  is  our  purpose  in  this  paper  to  endeavor  to 
clear  up  some  of  the  mystery  attending  this  subject  if  possi- 
ble. As  a  basis  to  start  from  we  shall  detail  a  few  cases  which 
have  come  under  our  own  observation,  and  then  follow  by 
deductions  drawn  from  the  literature  on  the  subject.  In  order 
not  to  consume  too  much  time,  we  shall  omit  the  narration 
and  discussion  of  several  cases  of  so  called  embolism  of 
branches  of  the  central  artery,  and  confine  ourselves  to  com- 
plete embolism. 

The  first  three  cases  were  seen  in  the  clinic  of  Drs.  Lie- 
bold  and  Hunt,  and  the  history  given  taken  from  their  records 
in  the  New  York  Ophthalmic  Hospital. 

Case  I.  Mary  N.,  act.  thirty-three,  applied  for  treatment 
April  19,  1877.  Lv.  20-20.  Rv.  o.  On  January  2d  first 
noticed  that  she  could  not  sec  with  right  eye,  even  at  first 
could  not  discern  light.  Commenced  with  an  attack  of  diz- 
ziness, and  some  pain  in  the  side  of  the  head.  For  some  time 
afterwards  she  had  diflficulty  in  judging  distances,  would 
make  false  steps  or  pour  tea  on  the  table  instead  of  in  the  cup. 
Has  had  inflammatory  rheumatism  and  now  sufl^ers  from  mi- 
tral insufliciency.  Ophthalmoscopic  examination  shows  white 
Aug-3 


190 


Cincinnati  Medical  Ailvauce. 


atrophy  of  the  optic  nerve,  and  all  the  vessels  very  small,  es*^ 
pecially    the   artery    downwards   and  inwards  in  the  direct  1 

Case  II.     August  2,  187^,  Mrs,  B.,  aet.  forty,  hecame  sud- 
denly blind  in  one  eye,  (which,  not  recorded)  two  days  ago. 
The  heart  beats  very  rapidly.      Ophthalmoscopic  examina- 
tion shows  a  serious    exudation  around  the  optic  nerve;  no    1 
pulsation  ofthe  artery  could  be  produced.     No  further  record  J 
of  case  found. 

Case  III.  March  iS,  1878.  Owen  H.,  aet.  thirty-one  lost  j 
the  vision  in  his  left  eye,  suddenly,  nine  days  ago;  can  I 
barely  distinguish  light  with  the  left  eye;  had  no  headache, 
dizziness  or  numbness  at  the  time  of  the  attack;  has  had  in- 
flammatory rheumatism  years  ago;  now  has  hypertrophy  of 
left  ventricle  (apex  displaced  two  inches  downward  and  as 
much  to  the  left)  with  mitral  insufficiency;  stenosis  of  arotic 
valves;  ophthalmoscopic  examination  shows  ccdema  about  j 
the  entrance  of  optic  nerve. 

Case  IV.  January  25,  1877,  Mary  H.,  act  nineteen,  was  1 
sent  to  me  by  Dr.  P,  H.  Mason  for  treatment  of  her  eyes. 
Was  apparently  in  perfect  health,  and  vision  good  in  both  j 
eyes,  until  ten  days  ago  when  upon  awaking  in  the  morning  1 
found  that  she  could  sec  nothing  with  right  eye;  concludo.| 
that  she  is  correct  in  this  statement  of  sudden  blindness, 
since  that  time  she  has  been  unable  to  estimate  distances  cor<l 
rectly,  so  that  she  will  make  false  steps  in  going  up  or  downf 
stairs,  etc.,  when  before  had  no  difficulty  in  this  respect. 

Status  presens.    Rv.  can  not  distinguish  shadows;  Lv.  20-^ 
20.     Right  eye,  pupil  dilated  and  immovable  by  direct  light 
though  contracts  readily  by  reflex  irritation  through  the  other 
eye;  optic  papillie  quite  white,  outlines  irregular  and  striated; 
all  around  the  optic  nerve  entrance  and  macula  lutea,  particu- I 
larly  the  latter,  is  seen  a  clear  bluish- white  mass  in  the  ietina,J 
which  gradually  slopes  off"  into  clear  retina  towards  the  peri-^ 
phcry  of  the  fundus;  in  the  macula  lutea  is  a  black  spot;  (the 
patient  is  of  a  dark  complexion);  retinal  veins  nearly  normal 
though  veiled  here  and  there;  arteries  are  smaller  and  almost 
lost  in  portions,  though  still  can  be  traced  over  the  whole  1 


m 

al 
most  I 

le  of^^ 


Ophihalmology   and  Otology, 


101 


ft  Infiltrated  portion,  nnd  ace  especially  marked  around  the 
yellow  spot;  some  small  braachcs  of  the  arteries  are  lost  and 
one  main  branch  nearly  so;  pulsations  may  be  produced  in 
veins  by  pressure  on  the  ball. 

Left  eye:  fundus  perfectly  normal;  examination  of  heart 
shows  a  slight  valvular  murmur,  though  nothing  further  ab- 
normal; urine  natural  color,  test  revealed  albumen  last  eve- 
ning, but  none  this  morning,  no  sugar,  specific  gravity  1032 
last  night,  102S  this  morning;  menses  regular;  appears  to  be 
in  perfect  health  every  way;  no  headache  or  cerebral  symp- 
toms. Apis  30  was  prescribed  and  she  was  requested  to  come 
to  the  city  within  three  or  four  weeks  and  report,  but  owing. 
I  presume,  to  our  prognosis  being  unfavorable  she  failed  to 
again  make  her  appearance. 

On  account  of  the  marked  changes  in  the  fundus,  which 
were  different  from  any  case  on  record,  the  density  of  the  ex- 
udation being  greater,  the  spot  in  the  macula  lutea  blacker, 
etc.,  and  on  account  of  some  differences  of  opinion  in  the 
diagnosis  we  took  the  case  to  Knapp  for  his  opinion,  which 
was  the  same  as  ours,  "embolism  of  the  central  artery  of  the 

Cash  V.  December  26,  1877,  Edwin  S.,  aet.  eight,  one 
year  ago  was  struck  in  left  eye  causing  immediate  and  total 
loss  of  vision;  the  lid  was  injured  slightly,  but  he  soon  re- 
covered from  all  the  external  effects  of  the  blow,  though  the 
sight  did  not  return. 

Status  presens:  R.v.  20-20;  Lv,  no  preception  of  light;  to 
external  view  nothing  abnormal;  ophthalmoscopic  examina- 
tion, vitreous  hazy  with  some  floating  opacities  in  it;  optic 
nerve  atrophied;  retinal  arteries  very  small;  veins  smaller 
than  usual,  though  larger  than  the  arteries. 

This  case  we  had  the  opportunity  of  watching  four  or  five 
months,  and  using  remedies,  chiefly  Arnica  and  Lyco.,  though 
as  we  expected,  no  change  was  observed. 

Case  VI.  November  12,  1S77,  Bernard  R.,  aet.  seventy- 
two  presented  himself  at  my  clinic  in  N.  Y.  Ophthalmic 
Hospital  on  account  of  loss  of  vision  in  right  eye.  Three 
days  previous,  at  two  o'clock    in  the  morning    was    up   and 


192  Cincinnati  Medicol  Advance. 

could  see  as  well  as  ever,  but  later  in  the  morning  on  rising 
found  that  he  only  had  perception  of  light  in  the  right  eye; 
at  that  time  and  the  night  before  he  was  apparently  as  well 
as  ever,  had  had  no  injury,  headache  or  other  trouble. 

Status  presens:  Rv.  barely  perception  of  light;  Lv.  20-50; 
Hm.  1-16,  with  which  (  +  16);  Lv.  29-20;  for  ne.ir  vision  re- 
quires 4-8. 

Right  eye:  pupils  somewhat  dilated  and  sluggish  upon  di- 
rect irritation;  lens  a  trifle  hazy  but  the  other  media  clear; 
oedema  of  retina  around  the  optic  nerve,  and  macula  lutca, 
especially  the  latter;  the  bright  cherry  red  spot  is  very  mark- 
ed in  macula;  optic  nerve  paler  and  outlines  hazy;  retinal 
arteries  very  small  and  almost  absent  in  portions;  pulsation 
can  not  be  produced  in  them  by  pressure,  though  can  in  the 
veins  which  are  more  nearly  normal  in  size;  all  the  arteries 
of  the  body,  the  carotids  in  particular,  were  very  hard  and 
alhromatous;  pulse  fifty  and  irregular.  As  no  note  of  the 
condition  of  the  heart  was  made  in  my  case  book  at  this  time, 
he  was  sent  in  January  to  Dr.  C.  E.  Beebe,  for  examination 
of  the  chest  with  the  following  result: 

"At  the  request  of  Dr.  Norton,  B.  R.  presented  himself  at 
my  ofiicc  on  the  twenty-fifth  of  January,  1878,  for  physical 
exploration  of  the  chest  with  the  view  of  ascertaining  the 
condition  of  the  heart.  The  thoracic  walls  were  deformed 
to  an  extraordinary  extent,  there  being  present  a  partial  an- 
gular curvature  of  the  spine,  and  the  so  called  barrel-shaped 
chest  as  found  in  pulmonary  emphysema.  This  deformity 
necessarily  placed  many  impediments  in  the  way  of  a  satis- 
factory examination.  Notwithstanding  this  the  following 
condition  was  quite  clearly  defined:  cardiac  hypertrophy, 
with  dilatation,  associated  with  tricuspid  regurgitant  and  arotic 
obstruction  and  regurgitant  murmurs;  the  condition  of  the 
mitral  valves  and  the  extent  of  the  hypertrophy,  it  was  im- 
possible to  ascertain  in  consequence  of  the  above  mentioned 
deformity." 

Remedies  were  advised  as  we  desired  to  watch  the  course 
of  the  disease,  and  Lach,  10  was  given. 


Ophthalmology  and  Otology  193 

Nov.  1 6.  Infiltration  gradually  growing  less;  complains  of 
some  pain  in  the  head  in  the  morning.     Nux  vom,  30. 

Nov.  28.  Optic  nerve  very  much  whiter;  still  slight  hazi- 
ness around  the  papilla  and  yellow  spot,  though  rapidly  di- 
minishing; veins  decidedly  smaller,  while  the  arteries  remain 
the  same. 

Dec.  6.  Infiltration  still  less  but  can  be  distinguished  around 
the  nerve  entrance  and  macula;  optic  nerve  whiter;  vessels 
smaller,  and  can  not  produce  pulsation  in  them;  vision  seems 
a  little  brighter  to-day. 

Dec.  12.  Infiltration  hardly  perceptible. 

Dec.  24.  No  haziness  of  retina;  optic  nerves  quite  white; 
vessels  very  small,  especially  on  the  disk;  no  vision. 

Jan.  9,  1878.  White  atrophy  of  the  optic  nerve  with  no 
haziness  of  fundus;  the  arteries  are  mere  threads. 

Remarks — ^These  cases  of  sudden  blindness  have  almost 
invariably  been  ascribed  to  embolism  of  the  central  artery  of 
the  retina,  though  the  question  has  arisen  within  the  past  few 
years  whether  this  assumption  is  correct  or  not.  Many 
theories  have  been  advanced  to  account  for  these  cases,  chief 
among  which  are  hemorrhage  into  the  optic  nerve,  and  em- 
bolism of  the  central  artery.  In  these  remarks  we  shall  pur- 
posely throw  out  thrombosis,  as  suggested  by  Loring,* 
spasm  of  the  vessels,  by  Stellwag,f  retrobulbar  muritis  and 
various  other  conditions  which  have  been  given,  often  with 
reason,  as  the  cause  of  sudden  loss  of  sight,  and  confine  our- 
selves to  the  discussion  of  the  two  chief  causes  just  noted. 

In  the  first  place  let  us  consider  hemorrhage  into  the  optic 
nerve,  and  in  so  doing  we  shall  draw  largely  from  that  able 
monograph  by  Dr.  Hugo  MagnusJ  who  is  the  pnncipal  ad- 
vocate of  this  theory.  He  experimented  quite  extensively 
upon  animals,  first  by  injecting  various  quantities  of  blood 
into  the  optic  nerve,  and  afterward  by  ligating  or  dividing  the 
nerve.  By  injection  of  small  quantities  of  blood  no  changes 
were  observed  in  the  fundus,  and  even  large  quantities  pro- 

•Am.  Jour.  Med.  Science,  Apr.,  1874. 

tStell wag  Treatise  on  Diseases  of  the  Eye.    (Am.  Ed.) 

{Magnus.    Dir  Sehmeroen — Blutunger.    1874. 


1D4 


Cfncinnati  Meilieal  Advance. 


duced  no  marked  changes  except  in  the  circulation,  thoiigl 
is  true  these  artificial  hemorrhages  can  not  be  said  to  corres- 
pond to  spontaneous  for  the  vis  atergo  is  not  the  same,  the  re- 
sistance unequal  and  the  relative  destruction  of  nerve  ele- 
ments in  comparison  to  the  pressure  on  vessels  decidedly  dif- 
ferent in  the  two.  In  the  retinal  circulation  only  transitory 
changes  were  observed  when  small  quantities  of  blood  were 
injected,  which  became  more  pronounced  as  the  quantity  was 
increased  and  varied  according  to  the  amount  of  injury  done 
the  vessels.  From  these  experiments  M.  draws  the  conclu- 
sion that  the  temporary  aomblyopia  which  sometimes  pro- 
ceeds total  blindness,  is  dependent  upon  small  hemorrhages, 
claiming  that  this  is  much  more  reasonable  than  the  other  ex- 
planations given,  particularly  Mauthuer''s,*  which  many  ac- 
cept, that  an  embolus  has  lodged  in  the  entrance  of  the 
central  artery,  protruding  in  the  ophthalmic  and  afterwards 
is  swept  along  by  the  blood  current  into  the  ophthalmic  and 
its  branches.  Magnus  now  goes  on  to  describe  the  ophthal- 
moscopic appearance  of  hemorrhage  into  the  optic  nerve,  as 
gained  from  injections  of  blood  into  the  nerve,  ligation  and 
division  of  the  nerve  and  cases  of  injury  to  the  nerve  in  man, 
which  appearances  correspond  very  closely  to  those  hitherto 
described  as  characteristic  of  embolia  art.  cent,  retins.  We 
will  pass  over  this  to  his  difTerential  diagnosis,  which,  if  it 
were  borne  out  by  post  mortem  examinations,  would  be  one 
of  the  most  convincing  arguments  that  could  be  advanced  to 
prove  that  the  large  majority  of  the  so-called  cases  of  embo- 
lism were  in  reality  hemorrhage  into  the  nerve.  It  is  un- 
necessary to  follow  out  his  reasoning  in  detail,  so  will  only 
give  the  results.  In  hemorrhage  the  grayish-white  haziness 
around  the  nerve  and  macula  lutea  appears  early,  sometimes 
within  a  few  hours  and  is  dependent  upon  necrotic  changes 
in  the  nerve  elements.  In  embolism  these  changes  are  not  | 
seen  until  later,  after  several  days,  (as  in  t 
Graefe's,f  fourteen  days),  for    in  a    complete  closure    there 

•Mautimer.    Strieker  Medicin — Jnhrbucher,    1873. 

tGraefe  Arch  of  Ophth.  Bel.  v.  Abtli.  1.  , 


Optknlmology  and  OtotBy. 


195 


would  at  first  be  a  bloodless  condition  of  the  retina  as  in 
tschaemia,  in  which  the  retina  has  remained  transparent  for 
a  long  time  (see  cases  by  v.  Graefe,*  Heddasis.f  v.  Roth- 
mund^ and  others);  also  that  these  changes  should  commence 
toward*  the  periphery  instead  of  around  optic  papilla.  The 
second  important  point  in  the  diagnosis  is  the  condition  of 
the  %'essels.  In  embolism  there  should  be  in  the  beginning 
absolute  anaemia  of  both  arteries  and  veins,  for  the  closure  of 
the  artery  is  complete,  and  there  is  no  hindrance  to  the  return 
of  blood  through  the  veins.  The  collateral  circulation  w^ould 
not  be  established  so  early,  and  if  it  was  there  would  be  a  re- 
turn  of  vision  as  the  retina  has,  in  some  cases,  been  ansmic 
for  from  two  to  three  weeks,  and  yet  regained  its  function 
after  establishment  of  the  circulation.  In  hemorrhage,  upon 
the  other  hand,  the  arterial  anemia  would  be  more  or  less 
pronounced,  according  to  extent  of  hemorrhage,  while  the 
veins  would  be  hypersemic  from  pressure  upon  centra^ vein 
in  the  nerve,  the  loss  of  vision  being  due  to  degenerative 
changes  in  nerve  elements  and  not  to  blood  supply.  The 
third  point  relates  to  the  field  of  vision.  In  embolism  it 
must  be  totally  lost  from  the  periphery  to  the  center,  so  that 
if  there  is  perception  of  light  at  periphery  it  would  exclude 
embolism.  In  hemorrhage  central  vision  would  be  in  all 
probability  lost,  while  it  might  or  might  not  extend  to  peri- 
phery. In  forming  this  conclusion  Magnus  adopts  the  view 
claimed  by  some  anatomists,  but  denied  by  others,  that  the 
central  fibers  of  the  optic  nerve  supply  the  macula  lutea,  while 
the  external  fibers  pass  towards  the  ora  serrata,  therefore  a 
hemorrhage  from  central  artery  would  first  deorganizc  those 
fibers  extending  to  the  yellow  spot. 

Let  us  now  consider  these  arguments  advanced  by  MagnuB 
in  favor  of  hemorrhage,  and  see  if  they  can  not  be  explained 
upon  the  theory  of  embolism.  One  grave  objection  to  hem- 
orrhage lies  in  the  fact  that  no  post  mortem  examination  has 
yet  confirmed  the  diagnosis,  by  showing  any  extravasation  of 

•v  Graefe,  Arch,  of  Oph.  Bel.  vlii,  Abth.  1. 

tHeddasis,  Klin.  Monatsb.  of  AnKenlilk.    1865. 

l&otbmund,  Klin,  Monatsb.  of  Augeulitk.    1866. 


196  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

blood  into  the  nerve,  while  upon  the  other  hand  th\j  embolus 
has  been  found  in  seven  well  marked  cases  by  Schweigger,* 
Nettleship,f  (two  cases),  Priestly  Smith, J  Sichel,||  Schmidtg 
and  Gowers,*f  (It  is  true  that  in  Loring's**  case  no  stoppage 
was  found  in  artery,  though  the  examination  was  incomplete 
not  extending  through  the  whole  nerve  trunk,  and  thrombi 
were  found  in  choroidal  veins.  Others  have  also,  in  rare  in- 
stances, failed  to  find  the  obstruction.)  From  these  cases  we 
shall  especially  draw  our  conclusions  in  answering  the  argu- 
.  ments  of  Magnus.  First  he  contends  that  the  haziness  around 
the  nerve  and  yellow  spot  being  dependent  upon  degenera- 
tion of  the  nerve  elements  never  appear  early,  but  only  as  in 
v.  Graefe's  case  after  fourteen  days,  (which  in  his  opinion  is 
the  only  well  authenticated  case  on  record).  (This  is  the  case 
examined  by  Schweigger  and  the  embolus  found. )  The  first 
of  Nettleship's  cases  was  examined  by  Wordsworth  four 
days  after  the  sudden  loss  of  vision,  and  *'a^dema  of  the 
retina  and  embolism  of  the  arteria  centralis  retina"  diagnosed. 
In  the  second  of  N.'s  cases,  \V.  Spencer  Watson  diagnosti- 
cated two  days  after  the  attiick,  ''margin  of  optic  disc  blurred 
by  a  hazy  pink  discoloration."  Priestly  Smith  found  the  in- 
filtration around  the  nerve  and  macula  lutea  one  week  after 
the  patient  became  blind.  Sichel's  case,  although  he  inclines 
to  believe  it  embolism,  is  still  so  doubtful,  both  in  the  appear- 
ance before  and  after  death,  that  we  shall  not  consider  it. 
Schmidt  saw  his  patient  twenty  hours  after  he  became  sud- 
denly blind,  and  then  found  the  region  of  the  macula  lutea 
and  the  part  between  it  and  the  disc  of  a  light  gray  color  and 
opaque.      Gowers  found  this  haziness  of  the  retina  five  days 

•Schweigger,  Vorlesungen  uber  don  Gebrauch  d.  AugCDspiegels. 
S.  140.     18(54. 

tNettleship,  Royal  London  Ophth.  lies.  Reports,  first  case,  Oct., 
1874 ;  second  case,  Sept.,  1875. 

tPriestly  Smith,  NagePs  Jahrsbricht,  vol.  v,  (Brit.  Med.  Jour). 

llSichel,  Nagers  Jahrsbricht,  vol.  iii. 

gSchmidt,  Graefe's  Arch.,  20,  2,  s.  285. 

^Gowers,  "Lancet."  1875,  vol.  ii,  p.  794. 

**Loring,  Am.  Jour.  Med.  Science,  April,  1874. 


Ophthalmology  and  Otology,  197 

after  the  sudden  blindness.  In  all  these  the  embolism  was 
found,  and  yet  the  retina  showed  these  chang^es  by  ophthal- 
moscope in  from  one  to  seven  days  or  earlier.  We  also  do 
not  believe  that  this  opacity  is  due  entirely  to  necrotic  changes 
though  have  no  doubt  it  may  be  in  great  measure,  for  Cohn- 
heim*  has  demonstrated  that  embolic  occlusion  of  a  terminal 
artery,  gives,  viz:  first,  to  necrosis,  the  natural  consequence 
of  the  cessation  of  the  circulation  in  an  animal  organ,  and 
this  would  naturally  first  be  seen  in  the  macula  lutea  from  its 
being  devoid  of  blood  canals.  (Some  may  and  do  dispute 
that  the  retinal  artery  is  terminal.)  It  is  impossible  to  say 
just  what  these  changes  in  the  retina  are  due  to,  for  no  op- 
portunity of  making  a  microscopical  examination,  in  an 
early  stage,  has  yet  been  obtained,  the  earliest  being  four 
months  after  appearance  of  blindness,  when  oedema  of  the 
retina  was  present  together  with  changes  in  nerve  elements. 
The  second  point  refers  to  the  condition  of  the  vessels, 
which,  according  to  Magnus,  should  be  absolutely  anajmic, 
both  arteries  and  veins,  in  embolism  of  the  central  artery. 
Theroctically  this  is  excellent,  but  does  practice  confirm  the 
assertion?  Schmidt  observed  in  his  case  at  first  examination, 
twenty  hours,  that  the  arteries  were  bloodless  and  only  traced 
as  thin  threads,  while  the  veins  were  of  a  dark  color  and 
tolerably  full,  though  the  column  of  blood  was  interrupted 
here  and  there.  Watson  noted  in  Nettleship's  second  case, 
second  day:  "veins  large  and  tortuous;  arteries  small  and 
thready."  Priestly  Smith  saw  one  week  after  the  attack, 
arteries  very  fine,  while  the  veins  were  larger  and  increased 
from  papilla  towards  the  periphery.  Without  going  any 
further,  these  prove  that  a  complete  emptying  of  all  the  ves- 
sels does  not  ncccssarilv  follow  an  obstruction  in  central  reti- 
nal  artery.  The  question  now  arises,  how  may  this  condition 
be  explained  upon  the  theory  of  embolism?  If  we  consider 
the  art.  cent.  ret.  a  terminal  artery,  then  according  to  Cohn- 
heim,  "an  engorgement  is  noticed  owing  to  the  reversed  ac- 
tion of  the  current  in  the  neighboring  vein,  a  current  imped- 

♦Cohnheim,  Untersuchungen   uben  die   Emboliscben    Processe. 
1872. 


Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 


ed  in  the  retina  by  no  venous  valves."  Another  explaiti 
may  also  be  given:  Early  after  the  total  closure  of  the  artery, 
the  arterial  branches  would  be  bloodless;  though  the  veins 
might  retain  blood  on  account  of  the  intraocular  tension  be- 
ing sufficient  to  close  the  vein  at  its  point  of  exit  from  the 
eye  when  tbe  vis  atergo  is  removed.  (Liber.)*  A  little  later 
the  arteries  would  begin  to  fill  from  the  disc  to  the  periphery 
by  the  establishment  of  the  collateral  circulation.  The  time 
at  which  this  would  take  place  would  in  all  probability  vary 
to  a  great  extent,  though  would  occur  so  gradually  as 
not  to  reach  such  a  degree  that  vision  would  be  restored  be- 
fore necrotic  changes  had  taken  place  in  the  retina  to  render 
such  a  result  impossible.  If  the  arteries  are  partially  filled, 
immediately  after  the  obstruction,  the  probability  is  that  the 
closure  was  incomplete.  The  jerking  movement  of  blood  in 
(he  veins  would  be  due  to  the  force  from  behind  overcoming 
the  intraocular  tension.  Hemorrhage  into  the  retina  might 
occur  from  Ihe  degenerative  changes  in  the  walls  of  the  ves- 
sels. Pulsation  could  not  be  produced  in  the  veins  in  the 
early  stages  of  the  occlusion  if  the  vessel  was  complete. 

Regarding  the  degree  of  vision  in  embolism  we  would  say 
that  it  is  almost  always  lost  suddenly,  totally  and  permanent- 
ly if  the  closure  is  complete,  though  we  can  not  consider  that 
a  variable  perception  of  light  at  the  periphery  of  the  fundus 
for  a  certain  time  is  absolutely  incompatible  with  the  diagnosis 
of  embolia  arteria  centralis  retina,  especially  since  we  have 
shown  that  the  capillaries  near  the  ora  serrata  are  better  sup- 
plied than  elsewhere. 

It  will  be  seen  from  these  remarks  that  we  arc  inclined  to 
believe  that  the  large  majority  of  cases  of  sudden  blindness 
which  present  the  ophthalmoscopic  appearances  so  often 
dercribcd  under  embolism  of  the  central  artery  of  the  retina, 
are  truly  cases  of  this  aflection.  Although  aware  that  hem- 
orrhage within  the  optic  nerve  may  produce  this  same  train 
of  symptoms  and  having  no  doubt  but thatitsometimes does, 
yet  it  is  difficult  for  us  to  realize  how  a  rupture  of  a  vessel 
within  the  optic  nerve  can  take  place  from  no  apparent  cause 

•liber.    Archiv  fur  Opbth.    Bel.  xL    Ablh.  1,  p.  8. 


OphihaJmology  itnd  Otology. 


199 


ven  the  patient  is  at  rest  and  without  any  inchciitions  of 
hemorrhage  in  any  other  part.  The  condition  of  the  heart 
and  general  circulation  are  almost  invariably  such  as  to  favor 
embolism. 

Let  us  now  for  the  few  remaining  moments  left  to  us. 
glance  at  the  cases  reported  in  the  beginning  of  this  article, 
and  endeavor  to  solve  the  question  of  diagnosis.  Cases  one, 
two  and  three,  though  incomplete,  both  in  the  history  and 
description,  still  present  all  the  marked  features  of  an  em- 
bolus, together  with  the  condition  of  .the  heart,  which  may 
cause  it,  and  without  any  characteristic  appearances  of  hem- 
orrhages. The  diagnosis  of  "embolia  arteria  centralis  retinie" 
was  given  them  in  the  case  book  of  Drs.  L.  and  H. 

Case  four  was  one  of  particular  interest  to  us  as  it  differed 
in  several  points  from  any  we  have  ever  seen  or  read  of. 
First  the  opacity  in  the  retina  was  denser,  thicker  and 
darker  in  color  than  any  case  yet  described,  resembling  in 
many  ways  the  fatty  degeneration  observed  in  retinitis  albu- 
minurica.  varying  only  in  extent,  situation  and  appearance  of 
edges  which  at  no  place  terminated  abruptly,  but  sloped  off 
gradually  into  the  clear  retina.  The  refraction  showed  the 
swollen  condition  of  the  retina,  and  the  complexion  of  the  pa- 
tient probably  explained  its  color.  In  the  macula  lutea  the 
characteristic  cherry  red  spot  was  absent,  but  in  its  stead  was 
seen  a  black  spot.  This  peculiar  appearance  in  fovea  cen- 
tralis is  now  almost  universally  acknowledged  to  be  due  to 
the  contrast  between  the  choroid  and  opaque  retina  as  it  is 
unlike  in  many  respects  an  extravasation,  and  disappears 
with  the  haziness  of  the  retina.  The  choroidal  vesKcIs  are 
usually  somewhat  congested  and  proliferation  of  pigment  has 
been  observed  at  posterior  pole.  This  was  probably  the  con- 
dition in  our  case  to  cause  the  black  spot,  as  a  proliferation  of 
the  pigment  cells  might  easily  take  place  where  there  was 
nal  urally  such  an  ex.-ess  of  pigment  as  there  was  here.  As  some 
ten  or  twelve  days  had  elapsed  since  the  attack  the  collateral 
circulation  had  no  doubt  been  established  so  as  to  render  pul- 
sation on  pressure  visible.     This  case,  although  not  corre- 


200  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

spending  in  all  points  to  obstruction  of  this  artery,  we  wotild 
class  as  "embolism  of  the  central  artery  of  the  retina.'' 

Case  five,  though  not  seen  until  one  year  after  the  loss  of 
vision,  we  consider  an  instance  of  hemorrhage  into  the  op- 
tic nerve.  It  resulted  from  an  injury  and  the  loss  of  vision 
(no  perception  of  light)  was  sudden  and  permanent.  The 
opacities  in  the  vitreous  indicated  that  hemorrhage  has  taken 
place  there  at  the  same  time.  The  atrophical  condition  of 
the  nerve  and  vessels,  especially  the  arteries  also  pointed  to 
this  diagnosis. 

In  connection  with  this  case  we  would  refer  to  a  few  well 
marked  cases  of  hemorrhage  into  the  optic  nerve.  One  of 
the  first  may  be  found  simply  recorded  by  Von  Graefc,*  and 
was  the  result  of  an  injury.  Another,  described  more  in  de- 
tail, is  by  Schweigger,f  occurred  in  a  young  man  and  was 
the  result  of  a  shot  entering  the  left  orbit  producing  immedi- 
ate blindness.  One  half  hour  after  the  injury  the  opacity  in 
retina  and  red  spot  in  the  fovea  centralis  were  visible,  though 
the  vessels  showed  no  marked  changes,  and  pulsation  could 
be  obtained  in  the  main  artery.  In  a  few  days  the  infiltra- 
tion in  retina  disappeared  and  afterwards  went  on  to  atrophy 
of  the  nerve.  S.  docs  not  believe  the  shot  entered  the  nerve, 
but  either  injured  it  or  paralyzed  by  pressure.  It  is  a  case 
that  proves  that  the  above  retinal  changes  may  take  place 
without  anv  disturbance  in  the  circulation.  It  is  unnecess- 
ary  to  cite  other  instances  of  injury  to  optic  nerve  as  they  can 
be  found  in  the  '*Handbuch  der  Gasammten  Auganheilkunde." 

Case  six  was  of  especial  interest  to  us,  because  it  afforded 
us  an  opportunity  of  watching  the  disease  throughout  its 
whole  course.  Besides  which  there  was  enough  uncertainty 
in  the  diagnosis  to  demand  particular  attention.  According 
to  the  views  of  Magnus  it  was  clearly  hemorrhage  into  the 
nerve  as  the  condition  of  vessels,  opacity  of  retina,  and  dis- 
turbance of  vision,  all  correspond  to  this  affection.  But  we 
have  already  shown  that  these  appearances  do  not  contra-in- 
dicate  embolism.     Upon  the  other  hand  there  was  no  excit- 

•V.  Graefe.    V.  Graefe*8  Archly,  v.  1.  s.  142. 
tSehweigger  Klin.  Monatsbl.  xii.  s.  25. 


Opthalmology  and  Otology.  201 

ing  cause  for,  or  predisposition  to  hemorrhage  in  this  patient, 
so  that  taking  it  all  in  all  we  are  inclined  to  diagnosticate 
"Embolia  arteria  centralis  retina."  Very  likely  the  embo- 
lus did  not  at  first  completely  occlude  the  artery  as  the  art- 
eries, three  days  after  the  attack  were  by  no  means  blood- 
less and  there  still  remains  perception  of  light  We, 
however,  recognize  the  fact  that  there  is  a  doubt  regard- 
ing this  diagnosis,  and  that  hemorrhage  may  have  been 
the  cause  of  the  trouble,  though  we  do  not  feel  justi- 
fied in  making  such  a  diagnosis  without  some  more  de- 
cisive indications  of  hemorrhage  as  for  example  were  seen  in 
Pagenstecher's*  case,  in  which  a  man  fifty  years  of  age  sud- 
denly lost  his  vision  in  the  left  eye,  with  flashes  of  light,  etc. 
This  continued  only  one-half  hour,  but  returned  again  after  a 
short  time.  Two  days  later,  P.  found  haziness  of  retina,  art- 
eries small,  veins  large  and  tortuous  here  and  there,  field  of 
vision  and  degree  decreased,  though  after  two  weeks  became 
better  so  could  read.  Number  five.  Four  days  after  the  at- 
tack a  hemorrhage  was  observed  partly  in  the  retina  and 
partly  on  the  papilla. 

One  more  point  in  the  differential  diagnosis  between  hem- 
orrhage and  embolism,  which  serves  to  militate  against  the 
former  theory,  in  my  mind,  lies  in  those  cases  of  embolism 
of  branches  of  the  central  artery;  for  how  can  a  sudden 
blindness  of  the  upper  or  lower  half  of  the  field  of  vision 
without  any  ophthalmoscopic  changes,  saving  a  partial  or 
complete  anasmia  of  the  corresponding  arteries  be  explained 
on  the  theory  of  hemorrhage  into  the  optic  nerve?  It  has  not 
been  done  as  far  as  we  can  learn  by  any  author. 

In  conclusion  we  would  remark  that  although  sudden  loss 
of  vision  is  very  easily  explained  upon  the  theory  of  hemor- 
rhage, and  although  the  train  of  reasoning  seems  to  be  com- 
plete, yet  practice  and  post  mortem  examinations  have  not 
confirmed  this  theory,  and  until  this  has  been  done  and  ex- 
travasated  blood  has  been  found  in  the  optic  nerve  in  a  typi- 
cal case,  we  do  not  feel  inclined  to  give  up  the  old  diagno- 
sis, "Embolia  arteria  centralis  retinae.'' 

*Pagen8techer  und  Saeinisch  Klin.  Brobachtungen  aus  der  Augen- 
heilanstalt  zu  Wiesbaden,  1861. 


202  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 


Beoent  Advances  in  Ophtlialmology.  By  Dr.  Alfred  Wan- 
stall,  Bultimore,  Md.  Read  before  the  American 
Homccopathic  Ophthalmological  and  Otological  So- 
ciety. 

I  shall  endeavor  to  give  a  synopsis  of  some  of  the  more 
interesting  and  important  articles  pertaining  to  Ophthalmol- 
ogy, which  have  appeared  in  the  journals,  monographs,  pam- 
phlets, etc.,  during  the  past  year;  no  reference  will  be  made 
to  text  books. 

Nothing  of  special  importance  has  been  done  by  our  school 
to  advance  the  science,  unless  it  is  the  advent  of  Dr.  Hart's 
new  book,  which  might  be  considered  an  advance,  '4f  like  a 
crab  it  could  go  backward." 

I  am  happy  to  say  this  book  has  received  its  well  merited 
chastisement  from  the  pen  of  G.  S.  N. 

A  great  deal  has  been  written  during  the  past  year  on 
User  in  and  its  uses  in  OphthaliLology,  a  number  of  extracts 
are  here  given. 

On  the  use  of  £8erin.  L.  V.  Wecker,  (KlinischeMonatsbl.) 
The  author  remarks  that  the  Sulphate  of  Userinh  unirritating 
to  the  eye,  and  can  not  be  compared  to  the  earlier  used  solu- 
tion of  Calabar  btan;  besides  its  energetic  action  places  it 
in  the  list  with  Belladonna, 

Sulphate  of  JEserin  is  contained  in  yellowish  white  pointed 
crystals,  is  very  hydroscopic,  and  on  exposure  to  the  atmos- 
phere rapidly  falls  down  into  a  risin-like  mass. 

The  one  per  cent  solution  commonly  used,  represents  a 
slightly  yellowish  and  completely  clear  fluid.  In  cold 
weather  on  the  second  or  third  day  it  assumes  a  rosy  tinge, 
and  in  summer  the  solution  becomes  deep  red  in  twenty-four 
hours.  With  the  increase  in  color  the  solution  decreases  in 
strength. 

It  is  very  striking  that  old  solutions  contain  no  organic 
matter,  whilst  it  is  well  known  such  rapidly  develop  in  atro- 
pine solutions. 


Ophthalmology  and  Otology.  203 

Wecker  has  used  JEserin  in  three  kinds  of  cases  proceeding 
from  two  historical  points;  on  the  one  side  he  attributes  to  it 
an  antiseptic  action,  and  on  the  other  assumes  that  this  alka- 
loid has  an  irritative  action  on  the  smooth  muscular  fibers  of 
the  vessels,  and  can  exert  a  direct  influence  on  the  diapedesis. 

The  one  per  cent,  solution  of  JEserin  was  instilled  into  the 
eye  cwery  hour  or  half  hour,  first,  in  much  expanded  ulcerat- 
ing abscesses  of  the  cornea,  after  the  pus  had  been  removed 
from  the  abscess  and  anterior  chamber;  second,  in  ulcus  ser- 
pens after  keratomie,  avoid  any  more  opening  of  the  wound; 
third,  in  sloughing  of  the  cornea  after  cataract  extraction. 

Schmidt  Rim  pier  has  investigated  the  antiseptic  action  of 
the  usual  solutions  of  JEserin  and  Atropine.  (Klin.  Monat.) 
He  used  the  method  of  corneal  inoculation  on  rabbits,  with 
the  secretion  from  a  blenorrhoeal  lachrymal  sac.  The  inocu- 
lation excites  a  specific  inflammation,  which  however,  does 
not  appear  if  the  secretion  has  lain  from  twenty  to  fifty  min- 
utes in  Chlorine  water,  CarboUc  acid,  Salicylic  acid,  or  simi- 
lar solutions.  The  effect  of  the  inoculation  is  recognized  in 
twenty -four  hours. 

He  made  similar  experiments  with  the  Sulphates  of  JEserin 
and  Atropine,  the  strength  of  the  solutions  being  0.05:  lo.o, 
or  one-half  per  cent. 

The  secretion  used  for  inoculation  was  taken  from  an  indi- 
vidual with  an  affection  of  the  lachrymal  sac  of  fifteen  years 
duration,  and  who  was  under  treatment  at  the  time  for 
hypopyon  keratitis.     It  was  septic  in  a  high  degree. 

In  all  cases  the  inflammation  excited  by  the  inoculation 
with  the  secretion  which  had  been  contained  in  solutions  of 
Eserin  and  Atropine  from  twenty  to  fifty  minutes  was  de- 
cidedly specific  in  character,  but  much  less  severe  than  the 
inflammation  excited  by  the  pure  secretion. 

Eserin  and  Atropine  solutions  do  not  completely  abolish 
the  infecting  force,  and  can  not  be  classed  with  true  disinfect- 
ants. In  this  respect  no  difference  was  observed  between 
the  two  solutions. 

Calabar  and  its  Therapeutic  Uses.  By  Adolf  Weber,  A.  f. 
O. 


204  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

As  early  as  1S67  Weber  stated  that  the  anterior  chamber 
and  vitreous  space  stand  under  a  different  hydrostatic  pres- 
sure. The  dividing  wall  is  formed  b}'  the  lens,  its  suspensory* 
ligament,  and  the  iris.  Normally  the  tension  of  the  cornea  is 
less  than  that  of  the  sclera.  Instillation  of  Atropine  in  a 
sound  eye  decreases  the  tension  only  in  the  vitieous  body, 
wh.le  the  pressure  in  the  anterior  chamber  is  always  some- 
what increased. 

Instillation  of  Calabar  increases  the  pressure  in  the  vitre- 
ous space,  and  decreases  it  in  the  anterior  chamber  about  the 
same  degree. 

Ca?a6ar  constracts  the  pupil,  the  slight  anterior  curve  of  the 
iris  recedes  to  the  base  of  its  dome  supported  by  the  inertia 
of  the  zonula,  thus  diminishing  the  over  pressure  already  ex- 
erted from  the  vitreous  space  upon  the  contents  of  the  anter- 
ior chamber.  In  this  way  the  pressure  of  the  posterior 
chamber  is  increased. 

The  therapeutic  uses  of  Calabar  follow  from  the  above, 
first,  in  keratocelc,  second,  cornea  conica:  third,  old  corneal 
specks;  fourth,  extensive  corneal  ulceration;  fifth,  glaucoma; 
sixth,  peripheral  prolapse  of  the  iris  after  operations  for  cat- 
aract and  glaucoma. 

Calabar  bean  and  its  Therapeutic  Value  in  Ophthalmology. 
By  W.  Fabric  us. 

A  few  moments  after  the  introduction  of  a  strong  solution 
o{  Userin  the  far  point  approaches  the  eye.  Eight  minutes 
after  the  application  the  pupil  begins  to  contract  and  the 
pressure  in  the  vitreous  is  increased,  while  that  in  the  anter- 
ior chamber  is  decreased. 

Eserin  has  only  a  symptomatic  value  in  mydriasis,  and 
paralysis  of  the  accommodation.  It  accomplishes  more 
in  prolapse  of  the  iris  even  preventing  prolapse  in  flap  ex- 
traction; also  valuable  in  peripheral  synechias  It  furnishes 
an  organic  adjuvant  for  stenopaic  glasses. 

JCsen'n  meets  its  greatest  triumph  in  corneal  fistula,  kera- 
tocele,  purulent  corneal  ulceration  and  abscess  like  ulcers 
with  hypopyon. 


Ophthalmology  and  Otology,  205 

It  is  a  valuable  adjuvant  for  treating  glaucoma:  First,  in 
the  prodromal  stage  before  the  iridectomy  is  made;  second, 
when  the  iridectomy  has  been  made  without  result.  Gl. 
malignum  progressivum;  third,  when  iridectomy  is  not  indi- 
cated Gl.  absolutum. 

Dr.  Reuss,  in  Wien,  has  studied  the  action  ofEserin  on  the 
curvature  of  the  cornea.  He  first  measured  the  radius  of 
curvature  of  the  cornea  in  the  facial  line,  and  then  instilled 
into  the  eye  a  one-half  per  cent  solution  of  Sulphate  of 
eserifij  and  repeated  the  measurements  every  five  or  ten 
minutes. 

He  found  that  simultaneous  with  the  spasm  of  the  accom- 
modation there  occurred  an  increase  in  the  curvature  of  the 
cornea;  the  diminution  in  the  radius  of  curvature  being  from 
8-IOO  to  17-100  Millimeters. 

It  begins  quickly  after  the  instillation  and  rapidly  reaches 
its  greatest  height,  at  which  it  remains  only  a  short  time. 

The  radius  of  the  cornea  returned  to  its  normal  size  after 
seventy  to  eighty  minutes.  In  cases  with  which  the  Ersin 
caused  only  slight  increase  in  the  refraction,  the  corneal  radi- 
us did  not  change  perceptably.  The  greatest  decrease  oc- 
curred with  the  greatest  contraction  of  the  ciliary  muscles. 

JSserin  once  more.  Dr.  Mohr,  of  Darmstadt.  (A.  f,  O.) 
Calabar  bean  containes  two  differently  acting  alkaloids,  Oal- 
abarine  and  Physostigmine,  Merk's  preparation  seems  to  be 
similar  to  the  latter.  One  drop  of  a  two  per  cent  solution 
instilled  into  the  conjunctival  sac  causes  a  contraction  of  the 
pupil  in  ten  minutes,  which  reaches  its  maximum  in  twenty 
minutes,  and  begins  to  decrease  in  four  hours. 

An  approach  of  the  far  point  is  observed  in  the  first  five 
minutes,  reaches  its  acme  in  twenty  minutes,  remains  fifteen 
minutes  in  order  to  decrease  at  first  rapidly,  then  slowly. 
The  near  point  also  reaches  it  acme  in  twenty-five  to  thirty 
minutes;  the  accommodation  is  then  null. 

Eaerin  was  used  first,  with  corneal  ulcers,  to  decrease  the 
pressure  in  the  anterior  chamber  in  ulcus  serpens,  corneal  de- 
generation after  blenorrhoea  and  diphtheria;  the  iris  contracted 
and  maximum   easily  supporting  the  entire  pressure  of  the 
Aug.4 


206  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

vitreous  body.  Second,  For  stretching  and  tearing  posterior 
synechia,  for  peripheral  prolapse  of  the  iris,  for  paralysis  of 
the  accommodation  and  the  sphincter.  Third.  Fresh  wounds 
of  the  capsule  heal  better  with  the  use  of  Eserin,  Fourth. 
The  pressure  with  glaucoma  has  been  decreased,  and  the 
visual  power,  and  field  of  vision  improved  in  single  cases. 
Fifth.  Svnechiae  and  tissue  chana:cs  in  the  iris  form  contra- 
indications.  In  acute  glaucoma  the  increased  hyperaemia 
caused  by  Eserin  may  lead  to  large  hemorrhages.  It  is  com- 
pletely contra-indicated  in  hemon  hiigic  glaucoma.  It  is  rec- 
ommended as  a  prophylaxis  in  the  prodromal  stages  of  glau- 
coma. Sixth.  M.  saw  inflammatory  appearances  following 
cataract  extraction  which  had  progressed  to  the  formation  of 
pus  in  the  wound,  completely  disappear  under  the  Eserin 
treatment  combined  with  cold  applications  and  a  compress 
bandage. 

Atropine  and  Calabar,  Prof.  Horner  in  Zurich,  A.  I. 
Atropine  is  indicated,  first,  for  local  narcosis  against  pain  and 
reflex  spasm;  second,  for  mydri.'isis  a,  diagnosis  b,  therapeu- 
peutic;  third,  for  paralysis  of  the  accommodation  with  my- 
opia. II,  Contra-indicated,  a,  absolutely  in  glaucoma  and 
status  glaucomatosa,  b,  relatively  (with  idiosyncrasy')  maxi- 
mal conjunctival  injection  and  pannus,  cyclitis  with  occlusion 
of  the  pupil. 

B.  Calabar  {^Eserin)  is  indicated,  first,  for  myosis,  second, 
for  supplementing  the  accommodation  (with  paralysis),  third, 
for  decreasing  intra-ocular  pressure  after  iridectomy, 

A  new  operation  has  been  produced  by  L.  V.  Wecker  for 
draining  the  eye.     (Zehnders  Monats.) 

The  instruments  necessary  for  the  operation  are,  first,  a 
curved  hollow  needle  three  cm.  long;  second,  a  pure  gold 
wire  doubled  and  introduced  into  the  needle  until  the  loop 
is  at  its  point  without  being  visible,  the  long  ends  projecting 
from  the  needle  should  measure  about  three  cm.;  third,  a 
needle  holder,  which  must  grasp  the  needle  firmly;  fourth,  a 
small  pair  of  forceps;  fifth,  a  torsion  forceps  with  broad 
blades. 


ophthalmology  and  Otology.  207 

After  the  elevator  has  been  introduced  the  conjunctivial 
and  sub-conjunctival  tissue  near  the  corneal  border  is  grasped 
with  the  fixation  forceps  and  the  cornea  rotated  upwards,  the 
needle  is  then  passed  between  the  rectus  inferior  and  rectus 
externus,  in  the  region  of  the  equator  of  the  eye,  taking  about 
one  cm.  of  sclerotic  and  choroid  upon  the  needle. 

As  soon  as  the  point  of  the  needle  has  passed  through  the 
conjunctiva,  the  fixation  forceps  are  laid  aside,  as  the  eye  is 
now  firmly  fixed  by  the  needle;  the  point  of  the  needle  is 
grasped  with  the  fingers  or  needle  holder,  then  holding  the 
ends  of  the  gold  wire  on  the  eye  the  needle  is  lemoved.  In 
this  way  the  double  gold  wire  projects  at  e'qual  distances  out 
of  the  puncture  and  contrapuncture. 

The  ends  of  the  wire  are  now  crossed,  forming  a  sling 
close  to  the  scleral  bridge,  and  the  assistant  grasps  the  place 
of  crossing  with  the  small  forceps. 

The  four  ends  of  the  wire  are  brought  together,  included 
between  the  blades  of  the  torsion  forceps,  and  twisted  to  a 
single  string,  (the  torsion  forceps  are  laid  aside)  and  the 
string  cut  ofi'  from  three  to  four  mm.  from  the  bridge,  then 
carefully  bent  to  form  a  blunt  hook  which  is  pressed  down  to 
the  side  of  the  sling. 

In  introducing  a  drain  in  the  corneal  border  a  shorter, 
straighter  and  finer  needle,  as  well  as  a  shorter  and  Jiner 
gold  wire  is  used.  Not  more  than  one-half  cm.  of  cornea  is 
included  upon  the  needle. 

Dr.  Just,  in  Zittan  reports  a  case  of  destruction  of  the  eye 
following  the  employment  of  Wecker's  operation  for  drain- 
age. The  patient,  a  woman  thirty  years  of  age  with  a  fresh 
retinal  detachment  in  a  myopic  eye. 

The  gold  wire  stuck  to  the  needle,  the  assistant's  forceps 
slipped,  and  the  wire  was  drawn  out  with  the  needle,  the  op- 
eration thus  remaining  incomplete. 

The  eye  being  free  from  irritation  the  operation  was  re- 
peated after  two  days.  The  ends  of  the  gold  wire  were  laid 
as  close  as  possible;  during  the  first  hours  the  patient  was 
comfortable;  in  the  evening^  pain  appeared  with  chemosis, 
«nd  swelling  of  the  upper  lid. 


208  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

On  the  next  morning  after  a  sleepless  night,  violent  inflam- 
mation was  present,  presenting  the  picture  of  a  suppurative 
choroiditis.  The  gold  wire  was  removed  from  the  (Edema- 
tous conjunctiva  bulbi  with  difficulty,  after  which  the  pain 
decreased  a  little.  On  the  third  day  the  inflammation  had 
lost  none  of  its  threatening  character,  and  the  patient  was 
discharged  at  her  own  urgent  request. 

The  author  remarks  "the  repetition  of  the  operation  after 
two  days  can  scarcely  be  considered  as  the  cause  of  the  in- 
flammation, as  a  similar  accident  happened  to  Cohen,  who 
repeated  the  operation  after  the  same  time  without  abnormal 
reaction." 

Wecker  comments  upon  this  case  as  follows:  "I  do  not 
agree  with  the  views  of  my  colleague;  just  that  the  second 
passage  of  the  hollow  needle  through  the  eye  after  two  days 
was  without  influence  upon  the  entrance  of  the  uncommon 
inflammatory  appearances;  and  this  can  not  be  regarded  as 
speaking  against  the  operation." 

Glaucoma  and  Drainage  of  the  Eye.  L.  V.  Wecker,  A.  F. 
O.  Glaucoma  originates  more  frequently  from  hindered  ex- 
cretion of  the  fluids  of  the  eve,  than  from  increased  secretion. 
The  curative  action  of  iridectomy  with  glaucoma  he  ascribes 
to  the  continued  filtration  through  the  scar. 

The  drain  on  the  corneal  border  by  means  of  the  gold 
wire  decreases  the  ocular  tension  in  a  high  degree;  and  is 
therefore  indicated  when  iridectomy  is  difficult,  dangerous, 
and  insufficient;  in  absolute  glaucoma,  with  severe  pain;  in 
hemorrhagic  glaucoma,  and  in  cases  where  the  increased 
tension  continues  after  iridectomy. 

Glaucoma  and  Iridectomy.  J.  Schnabel.  Knapp's  Arch- 
ives. Donders  considers  increased  tension  as  the  nature  of 
glaucoma  and  regards  the  inflammation  as  a  simple  complica- 
tion. Speaking  against  this  is  the  entrance  of  glaucoma  in- 
flammatorium  on  eyes  previously  sound  and  free  from  in- 
creased tension.  Von  Gracfe  classes  an  iridochoroiditis  with 
increased  tension  as  well  with  glaucoma  simplex  as  with 
glaucoma  inflammatorium. 


Ophthalmology  and  Otology.  209 

According  to  him  the  distinction  between  the  two  forms  is 
only  quantitive. 

The  principal  symptoms  of  the  acute  glaucoma  are  the 
turbidities  of  the  transparent  media;  the  most  important  of 
which  is  the  superficial  tender  turbidity  of  the  cornea.  This 
also  appears  transitory  as  the  origin  of  the  transitory  obscur- 
ations in  the  prodromal  stage  of  glaucoma.  Other  periods 
of  obscurations  are  dependent  on  changes  (not  recognizable) 
in  the  perceptive  apparatus  and  are  also  observed  after  iri- 
dectomy. 

The  corneal  opacities  completely  disappear  after  the  iri- 
dectomy, and  are  regarded  by  S.  as  secretory  neuroses.  Trige- 
minal neuralgia  can  be  the  first  symptom  of  the  glauco- 
matous disease.  "The  pains  with  glaucoma  simplex  are  to  be 
regarded  as  neuralgias,  and  the  pain  with  inflammatory  glau- 
coma is  not  the  proof  of  an  inflammatory  proceiss,  but  the 
expression  of  an  independent  nervous  disease." 

In  megalopthalmus  with  excavation  of  the  papilla  the  in- 
creased tension  is  due  to  stretching  of  the  circle  of  origin  of 
the  iris.  The  regulating  of  the  relations  between  secretion 
and  absorption  belongs  to  the  reign  of  nerve  activity,  and  the 
ground  for  the  continued  increase  of  the  fluidity  of  the  vit- 
reous with  glaucoma,  as  for  the  contiued  decrease  of  the 
same  with  detachment  of  the  retina,  and  essential  phthisis 
buibi  must  be  sought  in  a  disturbance  of  the  latter. 

S.  does  not  regard  the  increased  tension  as  a  fundamental 
symptom  of  the  glaucomatous  disease.  The  transitory  relief 
from  pain,  and  the  clearing  of  the  cornea  after  iridectomy 
are  analogous  to  the  cessstion  of  pain  after  section  of  a  nerve. 

The  Origin  of  Glaucoma.     A,  Weber,  A.  f.  O. 

This  treatise  is  divided  into  an  experimental,  a  pathologico- 
anatomicul,  and  a  pure  physiological  part.  After  W.  had  in- 
vestigated with  negative  results,  the  action  of  the  different 
materials  causing  inflammation,  also  the  different  nerve  irri- 
tations  which  are  said  to  have  caused  glaucomatous  condi- 
tions, he  is  convinced  that  the  nearest  origin  of  glaucoma  is 
to  be  sought  in  a  pure  mechanical  force;  in  the  narrowing  of 
filtration  passages;  principally  in  the  closure  and  impenetra- 
bility of  Fontana's  space. 


210  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

He  demonstrated  this  idea  by  the  simple  experiment  of  in- 
jecting oil  into  the  anterior  chamber  of  a  rabbit's  eye,  after 
paracentesis  by  which  means  an  undoubted  glaucoma  was 
generated. 

Illustrating  the  same  fact  is  a  case  of  luxation  of  the  lens 
into  the  anterior  chamber,  observed  by  W.  cured  by  the  ex- 
traction of  the  lens  alone  without  the  specific   operation. 

The  essential  change  of  the  glaucomatous  eyes  he  examin- 
ed anatomically,  is  a  displacing,  and  pressing  of  the  iris  for- 
ward on  the  cornea;  its  origin  being  the  swelling  of  the  cil- 
iary processes,  which  varied  according  as  acute,  chronic, 
simple  or  secondary  glaucoma  preceded.  The  exact  picture 
of  the  pathologico  anatomical  relations  showed  that  in  all 
classes  of  glaucoma  the  filtration  passages  are  narrowed  and 
at  last  closed.  The  physical  character  is  thus  explained  and 
W.  aims  at  furnishing  an  undoubted  interpretation  of  the 
clinical  characteristics  on  the  ground  of  the  above  facts. 

The  paralysis  of  the  accomodation  is  explained  by  the  dis- 
placement; in  this  way  the  excursion  of  the  ciliary  muscle  is 
reduced,  and  the  attachment  of  the  iris  is  pressed  out  of  the 
normal  position  forward,  and  offers  a  greater  resistance  to 
the  sphincter. 

The  smallness  of  the  anterior  chamber  is  the  result  of  the 
swollen  ciliary  processes  dividing  the  iris  forward. 

Too  little  weight  has  been  laid  upon  the  serpentine  course, 
and  expansion  of  the  anterior  ciliary  arteries,  the  difficulty 
with  which  the  blood  is  driven  out  of  them  by  the  finger, 
and  the  rapidity  with  which  it  flows  back.  The  marble 
paleness  of  the  sclera  in  glaucoma  simplex,  and  the  deficient 
expansion  of  the  anterior  ciliary  veins,  form  a  striking  con- 
trast to  the  crooked  ciliary  arteries.  Sections  of  eyes,  affect- 
ed with  glaucoma  simplex  explain  this  satisfactorily  by  the  fact 
that  the  circulus  venosus  ciliaris  is  more  or  less  compressed. 
The  anaesthesia  of  the  cornea  is  due  to  the  increased  tension 
of  the  coverings,  etc.  The  finest  characteristics  of  typical 
glaucoma  can  be  explained  by  the  above. 

The  three  principal  forms  of  glaucoma  gradually  merge 
into  one  another.     The  acute  glaucoma  only  requires  the  re- 


Ophthalmology  and  Otology,  211 

moval  of  the  inflammatory  oedema  to  become  chronic.  That 
all  inflammatory  accompaniments  are  to  be  regarded  as  an 
oedema  is  to  be  inferred  from  the  fact  that  the  typical  in- 
flammatory characteristic  results,  the  hemorrhage  and  form- 
ation of  pus  fail.  The  prominence  of  the  bulbous  also  demon- 
strates that  similar  processes  occur  in  its  surroundings  as  in 
the  conjunctiva  and  lid. 

He  emphatically  states  that  the  choroid  shows  no  other 
changes  than  the  result  of  pressure  and  stretching,  and  must 
be  excluded;  and  that  all  striking  circulatory  disturbances 
occur  in  the  ciliary   body. 

Since  it  is  pointed  out  that  the  nearest  origin  of  glaucoma 
is  to  be  sought  in  the  swelling  of  the  piliary  processes,  so  is 
this  swelling  to  be  explained  by  pathological  general  condi- 
tions. To  these  belong  affections  of  the  heart  which  are  unit- 
ed with  long  continued  decrease  in  the  arterial  pressure, 
emphysema,  plethora,  menopause,  suppression  of  habitual 
hemorrhoidal  flow  and  occupation,  and  occurrences  which 
give  transitory  occasion  to  venous  congestions,  conditions 
which  have  lasted  for  years,  by  a  gradual  increase  are  at 
last  in  condition  to  liberate  the  dreaded  disease. 

W,  also  contributes  observations  that  trigeminal  neuralgia 
is  to  be  included  among  the  actiological  forces.  Glaucoma 
caused  by  tumors  W.  traces  back  to  a  swelling  of  the  ciliary 
processes,  likewise  hemorrhagic  glaucoma.  Secondary  glau- 
coma is  easily  referred  to  a  closure  of  Fontana's  space. 

W.  explains  the  curative  action  of  an  iridectomy  by  the  re- 
opening of  the  narrowed  or  closed  filtration  passages. 

Argyll  Robertson,  (R.  L.  O.  H.)  recommends  trepanation 
of  the  sclerotic  in  single  cases  of  glaucoma  with  broad  adhes- 
ions between  the  iris  and  capsule  of  the  lens,  where  iridec- 
tomy can  not  be  made  and  causes  degeneration.  He  re- 
moves a  small  button  of  sclera  at  the  posterior  end  of  the  cil- 
iary body  about  3'"  from  the  corneal  border,  some  vitreous 
is  evacuated,  and  a  permanent  decrease  of  tension  is  obtained 
by  the  continued  flltration  through  the  scar  tissue  which  is 
less  Arm. 


212  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

Irldotomy,  Dr.  Sichel,  Paris,  (Zehnders  Monatsblatter.) 
Dr.  S.  described  a  new  instrument  (Iritom.)  for  dividing  the 
iris  without  loss  of  aqueous.  This  is  accomplished,  first  by 
the  shank  of  the  instrument  posessing  the  necessary  thick- 
ness to  completely  fill  the  corneal  wound.  Second.  The  in- 
strument is  strong  enough  to  grasp  a  thick  and  resistant 
membrane  without  bending.  Third.  The  blade  is  very 
sharp,  short,  and  convex,  so  that  it  will  cut  without  traction. 
Fourth.  It  must  be  long  enough  to  execute  the  movements, 
and  be  placed  in  the  positions  necessary  without  loss  of 
aqueous. 

It  can  be  used  in  the  three  following  conditions:  First, 
when  the  old  pupil  is  free,  or  drawn  towards  the  periphery; 
second,  when  it  is  occupied  by  a  capsular  cataract  or 
membrane;  third,  when  the  iris  is  drawn  strongly  towards 
the  corneal  wound,  so  that  little  or  nothing  of  the  old  pupil 
is  to  be  seen. 

Specific  directions  are  given  for  making  the  incisions  in 
individual  cases. 

The  author  claims  for  this  instrument  an  improyement 
over  the  sickle  shaped  knife  used  in  the  old  operation  by  V. 
Graefe,  and  adds  farther  that  the  use  of  the  scissors  is  object- 
ionable on  account  of  the  squeezing  or  bruising  done  by 
them  while  cutting.  L.  V.  VVecker  reviews  Dr.  Sichel's 
article  to  the  following  efTect.  lie  does  not  believe  it  necess- 
ary to  demonstrate  that  the  smooth  section, (when  it  has  not 
to  do  with  union  per  primum)  possesses  any  advantage 
over  insruments  which  replace  the  knife,  as  Ecraseure  gal- 
vano-thermo  cautery,  etc.  While  it  is  easy  to  show  what  dis- 
advantages it  can  have  in  relation  to  hemorrhage. 

Weber  attributes  the  success  of  his  scissors  to  the  fact 
that  by  their  use  the  injury  can  be  localized  upon  the  iris 
itself,  and  on  the  structures  lying  directly  behind  it.  The  iris 
can  be  divided  with  the  scissors  without  disturbing  in  any 
way  the  sensitive  angle  of  the  iris,  and  here  lies  the  deciding 
point  of  the  question,  whether  we  shall  make  the  iridotomy 
with  the  knife  or  scissors. 


Ophthalmology  and  Otology.  213 

The  tearing  of  the  tissues  occupying  the  angle  of  the  iris 
will  be  greater  with  an  iridotomy  by  the  knife  as  the  iris 
or  underlying  tissues  offer  to  it  a  greater  resistance  and  then 
the  incision  resembles  a  more  torn  wound  than  a  simple  sec- 
tion.  There  are  cases  in  which  the  tearing  of  the  tissues  ly- 
ing in  the  angle  of  the  iris  can  be  a  minimum,  and  that  is 
when  the  knife  has  to  cut  through  very  thin,  easily  separable, 
and  well  tensed  structures. 

In  these  cases  Graefe's  operations  with  Sichel's  knife  can 
offer  many  advantages;  in  relation  to  greater  simplicity, 
less  danger  of  loss  of  vitreous,  diseased  tension,  etc.  The 
presence  of  a  deep  anterior  chamber  also  facilitates  the  use 
of  the  knife. 

The  relations  are  enterely  different  if  a  protracted  irido- 
choroiditis  after  cataract  extraction,  or  other  causes  has  led 
to  occlusion  of  the  pupil,  with  the  pupillary  opening  strong- 
ly drawn  towards  the  wound;  here  the  anterior  chamber  is 
more  or  less  wanting,  so  a  knife-like  instrument  can  not  be 
manipulated  in  it. 

In  these  cases  it  is  preferable  to  avoid  any  disturbance  of 
the  tissues  occupying  the  angle  of  the  iris,  in  order  not  to  re- 
arouse  the  inflammatory  condition. 

The  author  has  here  placed  opposite  to  one  another  the 
simplest,  and  most  difficult  case,  between  which  a  great 
number  of  transition  cases  occur. 

The  exact  exploration  of  the  eye  (the  antecedents  of  the 
operation,  the  inflammatory  appearances  present,  etc,.)  has 
to  decide  how  much  traction  the  angle  of  the  iris  will  bear 
for  the  use  of  the  knife;  and  what  the  danger  is  from  the 
loss  of  vitreous  by  using  the  scissors. 

The  practical  operator  will  individualize  every  case,  as  no 
single  instrument  can  be  made  universal  for  iridotomy. 

(to  be  continued.) 


214  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 


Hygioil©  of  the  Eyes,  With  Report  of  Examination  of  Re- 
.fraction  of  Public   School    Children.      By    F.    Park 
Lewis,  M.  D.,  Buffalo,  N.  Y.     Read  before  the  Amer- 
ican   Homoeopathic    Ophthalmological   and   Otologi- 
cal  Society,  at  Put-in  Bay,  June  19,  1878. 

Six  months  since  in  response  to  a  request  from  Dr.  Lie- 
bold,  general  through  the  American  Institute  of  Homoeopathy 
and  individual  through  a  written  communication,  I  begun  a 
careful  and  systemic  examination  of  the  refraction  of  the  eyes 
of  the  pupils  attending  the  Buffalo  public  schools.  Through 
the  courtesy  of  the  Superintendent  of  education  as  well  as 
the  various  principals,  every  facility  was  afforded  by  which 
my  examinations  might  be  thorough  and  complete;  and  to- 
day I  have  the  pleasure  of  offering  for  your  consideration  the 
result  of  my  work.  In  order  that  it  might  be  made  as  far  as 
possible  representative,  I  have  included  children  from  all 
grades  and  classes  of  society,  all  ages  between  the  years 
seven  and  twenty-two,  and  various  nationalities.  Depart- 
ures from  the  normal  length  to  the  extent  of  one-tenth  of  a 
line  (represented)  by  a  plus  or  minus  spherical  glass  of  one- 
sixtieth  have  been  noted.  Differences  of  the  refractive  condi- 
tion of  the  eyes  of  the  same  subject  have  rendered  it  necessa- 
ry to  consider  each  eye  individually  in  the  table  of  results 
rather  than  in  pairs. 

From  the  tabulated  statement  which  I  append,  I  glean  the 
following  pertinent  facts  in  relation  to  myopia.  In  one 
thousand  eyes  were  one  hundred  and  forty-two  thus  diseased, 
or  fourteen  and  two  tenths  per  cent  of  the  whole.  These 
were  apportioned  a^  follows: 

Between  the  years  seven  and  ten  were  seventeen  near- 
sighted, ten  to  twelve,  eleven;  twelve  to  fourteen,  fifteen; 
fourteen  to  sixteen,  thirty-three;  sixteen  to  eighteen,  fifty- 
one;  eighteen  to  twenty- two,  fifteen. 

Those  between  the  3  ears  ten  and  twelve  were  eight  per 
cent  of  the  whole  number  of  that  age  examined,  while  the 
amount  of  nearsightedness  had   increased  from  the  sixteenth 


Ophthalmology  and  Otology.  215 

to  the  eighteenth  year  to  twenty-three  and  three-tenths  per 
cent  of  the  class  of  that  age.  An  increase  so  marked  as  to 
urge  an  investigation  of  the  probable  cause  and  ppssible 
remedy. 

Myopia  is  unquestionably  a  disease  whose  ravages  are  be- 
gun during  the  period  of  early  youth,  and  having  become 
seated  it  is  almost  certain  in  a  greater  or  less  degree  to  in- 
crease. Donders  tells  us  he  has  never  seen  a  case  originate 
after  the  twentieth  year.  Prof.  Erismann  goes  still  further 
and  states  that  in  his  experience  it  rarely  if  ever,  began  after 
the  fifteenth  or  sixteenth  year,  while  Loring  adds  it  can  not 
be  doubted  that  these  statements  are  in  the  main  correct  and 
m  accordance  with  the  experience  of  every  observant  ocu- 
list." 

The  examinations  which  I  have  just  completed  have 
strengthened  my  former  impression  that  the  disease  is  un- 
doubtedly fur  more  prevalent  and  the  individual  cases  of 
much  higher  degree  than  is  due  either  to  heredity  or  consti- 
tutional diathesis.  It  is  I  am  convinced  in  almost  every  in- 
stance increased  and  in  not  a  few  previously  healthy  eyes 
developed  by  the  want  on  the  the  part  of  the  laity  of  a 
proper  understanding  of  the  hygiene  of  vision.  Imperfect 
illumination  with  faulty  position  during  study,  indistinct 
printing  on  paper  of  inferior  quality  with  excessive  use  of 
the  eyes  for  close  work  during  early  childhood  are  all  impor- 
tant etiological  factors.  While  the  scrofulous  or  syphilitic  di- 
atheses, malnutrition  and  all  conditions  prejudicial  to  the 
healthy  growth  ami  development  of  the  body  generally,  may 
be  pjtent  agents  in  increasing  the  disease,  I  am  assured  that 
care  on  the  part  of  the  child  in  the  time  and  manner  of  using 
the  eyes  will  show  in  coming  generations  a  marked  lessening 
of  myopia,  both  in  amount  and  degree,  and  with  the  excep- 
tion of  certain  cases  of  congenital  elongation  of  the  globe, 
there  will  be  no  more  necessity  of  our  children  growing  into 
manhood  and  womanhood  with  short-sighted  eyes  than  dis- 
ease of  the  heart,  the  brain  or  the  lungs. 

In  my  examinations  I  found,  as  did  Crismann,  Cohn,  Don- 
ders, Derby  and  most  other  investigators,  a  preponderance 


216  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

of  optically  perfect  eyes,  I  found  moreover  the  greater 
number  of  myopes  in  children  of  German  parentage.  Both 
of  these  facts  are  opposed  to  the  results  of  the  examinations 
conducted  under  Dr.  Liebolds'  direction  in  New  York,  and 
here  I  think  is  shown  the  necessity  of  having  this  work  car 
ricd  on  more  extensively,  and  the  general  results  determined 
before  we  will  have  sufficiently  reliable  data  to  serve  as  a  basis 
for  our  inferences.  As  to  the  excess  of  myopia  shown  by 
my  examinations  among  the  Germans,  I  have  a  suggestion 
to  oiFcr:  As  a  rule  they  are  a  thrifty  people,  I  find  that  in 
our  Buflfalo  schools  that  the  average  age  of  the  children  to 
be  lowest  in  the  German  localities.  The  children  are  sent 
to  school  earlier  and  leave  earlier  than  those  of  other  nation- 
alities, so  that  in  many  instances  they  are  kept  constantly  at 
school  from  their  fifth  to  their  fourteenth  or  fifteenth  year  when 
their  school  life  is  often  completed.  During  this  time  they 
are  kept  more  constantly  in  attendance  at  school  than  most 
of  the  other  children,  and  each  day  I  believe,  give  more 
hours  to  study.  Crismann  has  shown  that  in  the  same  ratio 
that  the  hours  for  study  increase,  myopia  prevails,  and  con- 
sidering the  mental  peculiarities  of  the  German — slow  per- 
haps, but  persevering,  here,  I  believe,  in  the  greater  use  of 
the  eyes,  is  an  element  hitherto  unrecognized  that  enters 
largely  into  the  causes  of  the  disease.  Children  should  not, 
I  am  assured,  be  allowed  to  use  their  eyes  for  study  until 
their  eighth  or  ninth  year.  In  our  schools  they  are  permit- 
ted to  enter  as  early  as  five  and  in  some  cases  even  younger 
ones  are  found  enrolled.  Parents  are  unwilling  to  postpone 
all  training  of  their  children  so  long,  and  herein  lies  the  excel- 
lencyof  the  object  method  of  instruction  as  used  in  the  Kinder 
Garten  Black-board  instructions  exemplified  with  the  various 
appliances  used  here  may  well  precede  for  two  or  three  years, 
the  book  studv,  when  the  child  will  be  better  able  to  bear  the 
strain  of  more  protracted  accommodations. 

The  necessity  of  more  perfect  arrangements  for  lighting 
our  schools  has  long  been  recognized  by  the  profession.  In 
our  Buflfalo  schools,  excellent  as  they  are  in  other  respects, 
this  want  is  but  poorly  supplied.     The  general  assembly  and 


Ophthalmology  and  Otology.  217 

study  rooms  are  for  the  most  part  about  forty  wide  by  fifty 
or  sixty  feet  long  and  are  lighted  from  either  side  by  four 
windows.  These  are  not  large  and  the  light  crossed  and 
weak  is  trying  to  even  the  strongest  eyes.  The  recitation 
rooms  are  generally  lighted  from  two  adjoining  sides  and  the 
effect  is  equally  bad.  In  some  of  our  newer  and  more  costly 
buildings  the  arrangement  is  even  worse.  A  wide  hall  ex- 
tends around  three  sides  of  the  building,  in  the  center  of 
which  are  the  combined  study  and  recitation  rooms.  These 
are  separated  from  the  halls  and  from  each  other  by  glass 
partitions  and  the  light  diminished  and  weak  enters  the 
apartment  from  every  side.  To  aggravate  the  difficulty  the 
children  in  the  front  room  are  faced  directly  towards  the 
brightest  windows.  The  teachers  complain  that  at  best  the 
illumination  is  poor  but  on  dark  days  study  is  nearly  im- 
possible. Indeed  so  severe  is  the  effort  needed  for  study 
that  some  of  the  children  have  been  obliged  to  leave  the 
school  with  eyes  that  have  been  irreparably  damaged  from 
this  cause  alone.  With  the  lighting  of  one  school  only  was 
I  pleased.  In  this,  which  is  one  of  the  newest  and  best  that 
we  have,  most  of  the  requirements  appear  to  have  been  ful- 
filled. The  rooms  are  all  large  and  the  light  appears  to  be 
sufficient.  The  arrangement  is  as  follows:  A  wide  hall 
traverses  the  building  in  either  side  from  front  to  rear,  while 
by  another  passing  through  the  center  of  the  building  these 
are  united.  From  this  latter  are  the  entrances  to  the  rooms  for 
recitation  and  study.  There  are  no  windows  on  the  inner 
side  of  the  former  halls,  and  in  almost  every  room  the  light 
comes  from  large  windows  back  of  the  children.  The  cor- 
ner rooms  alone  are  lighted  from  two  sides,  and  in  these  as 
in  all  the  others,  inner  blinds  allow  a  modification  of  the 
light.  The  walls,  however  are  so  brilliantly  white  that  the 
reflection  is  rather  fatiguing.  A  mild  tint  of  blue,  cream  or 
grey  would  be  far  more  desirable.  The  amount  of  light 
needed  for  a  large  schoolroom  is  seldom  obtained.  Says  Dr. 
Loring:  "It  has  been  reckoned  in  Germany  that  for  a  class 
room  containing  twenty  persons  there  should  be  from  four 
thousand  to  six  thousand  square  inches  of  glass;  which  would 


218  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

give  each  scholar  from  two  hundred  to  three  hundred  square 
inches  or  what  would  be  represented  by  a  pane  from  fourteen 
to  seventeen  inches  square." 

A  more  reliable  ratio  is  found  in  the  floor  measurement, 
about  one-fourth  of  which  ought  to  be  equal  to  the  square 
surface  of  the  glass  used  in  the  room.  This  is  a  large  propor- 
tion and  occupies  a  great  deal  of  space  when  placed  on  one 
side  only  as  it  ought  to  be.  In  conversation  with  a  leading 
architect  as  to  the  practibilty  of  so  great  an  illuminating  sur- 
face, he  tells  me  that  it  not  only  can  be  done,  but  that  the  re- 
sult would  add  increased  elegance  to  the  building. 

Attention  has  previously  been  called  to  the  uniformity  in 
seats  and  desks  in  departments  in  which  the  height  of  the 
children  varies  so  greatly.  This  necessitates  in  the  taller 
ones  that  pernicious  stooping  position  during  study.  It  was 
not  an  uncommon  occurrence  in  my  examinations  to  (ind 
the  child  bowed  so  low  over  the  desk,  that  the  eyes  were 
not  further  than  six  or  seven  inches  from  the  page.  In 
writing,  the  stooping  tendency  is  even  worse.  In  reading 
young  children  should  not  hold  the  page  closer  than  ten  and 
older  ones  from  twelve  to  fourteen  inches  from  the  eye.  Yet 
even  with  emmetropes  there  is  a  tendency  to  draw  the  book 
so  close  that  the  strain  on  the  accomodation  can  not  be  other 
than  injurious.  I  mention  these  facts  merely  to  suggest  the 
remed}':  The  desks  might  be  made  with  sliding  joints  in 
the  legs,  at  a  very  slightly  increased  expense.  The  height 
could  be  thus  accommodated  to  the  child  at  the  beginning  of 
each  term  with  comparatively  little  trouble.  The  result 
would,  I  am  sure  be  a  good  one.  The  covers  of  the  desks 
too  might  be  supplied  with  hinges  on  the  side  toward  the 
child  forming  in  this  way,  when  necessary  a  reading  stand, 
and  thereby  making  lounging  impossible.  But  children  are 
almost  always  careless  about  such  matters  and  they  ought  to 
be  closely  watched  by  teachers  and  parents  whose  authority 
must  be  maintained. 

Another  point  which  I  would  emphasize,  is  the  necessity  of 
having  our  schoolbooks  clearly  printed  on  good  paper. 
This  requirement  has  been  met  in  our  city  as  far  as  I  have 


Ophthalmology  and  Otology.  219 

been  able  to  learn,  with  a  single  noteworthy  exception.  The 
maps  in  our  atlases  can  not  be  too  severely  condemned.  The 
plan  (if  crowding  them  with  the  names  of  unimportant  places 
necessitates  at  times  the  use  of  the  finest  type.  This  in  the 
case  of  the  smaller  towns  and  rivers,  but  more  par- 
ticularly in  the  capes,  straits,  seaports  and  other  localities, 
the  names  of  which  project  into  the  dark  boundaries  repre- 
senting water,  requires  the  closest  scrutiny  to  distinguish,  and 
in  many  instances  a  magnifying  glass  is  needed  to  bring 
them  out  in  full  relief:  scores.  I  say.  of  these  examples  may 
be  found  in  every  map,  and  when  the  child  is  required  to 
pour  over  this  minute  lettering  day  after  day,  evil  results 
must  of  necessity  follow. 

As  a  remedy  I  would  advise  the  use  of  large  hanging  maps; 
and  if  atlases  are  used  let  them  contain  less  but  have  the 
printed  matter  larger  and  more  distinct  But  it  is  not  alone 
in  the  schools  that  the  mischief  is  accomplished.  In  the 
evening  at  home,  with  perhaps  a  poor  light  or  off  in  a  dark 
corner,  or  even  worse,  directly  facing  the  unshaded  lamp, 
the  child  puzzles  over  the  morrow's  lessons,  figures  on  a 
greasy  slate,  writes  with  pale  ink  or  a  hard  pencil,  and  his 
tasks  being  finished  turns  as  a  recreation  to  the  pages  of  a 
badly  printed  novel  or  more  dull  typed  magazine,  and  final- 
ly with  reddened,  tired  eyes  goes  to  a  sleep  that  but  half  re- 
stores them.  Can  such  a  course,  and  it  is  pursued  by  hun- 
dreds of  our  brightest  scholars,  Tail  to  injure  the  strongest 
eves? 

And  now,  gentlemen,  I  am  sure  that  the  facts  elicited 
not  alone  by  my  examinations,  but  by  all  who  have  investi- 
gated this  subject,  will  be  sufficient  apology  for  my  earnest- 
ness. My  endeavor  has  not  been  in  this  paper  to  advance 
new  truths  but  to  urge  on  the  profession,  the  necessity  of  ac- 
quainting the  laity  with  old  ones.  When  they  have  learn- 
ed the  susceptibility  of  the  youthful  eye  to  disease,  when  they 
arc  shown  that  a  myopia  once  acquired  can  never  be  cured, 
and  that  in  high  degrees  it  may  lead  to  total  blindness,  and 
when  they  know  that  prophylaxis  lies  chiefly  in  care,  then 
we  may  find  in  the  people  strong  auxilaries  in  lessening  the 


220 


Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 


myopia  of  the  future,  and  unless  this  knowledge  is  made 
general  with  our  increased  educational  advantages,  this  disease 
will  grow  more  and  more  common  until  eventually  myopia 
may  become  the  predominating  refractive  condition  of  the 
eye. 

In  the. folio  wing  tabulated  statement,  the  word  "others"  in 
relation  to  nationality  generally  means  English,  Scotch,  Ca- 
nadians, Swedes.  In  relation  to  the  condition  of  the  eye,  it 
includes  all  those  cases  not  improved  with  spherical  glasses, 
viz;  Lucomae  and  nebulse  of  the  cornea;  staphyloma  of  cor- 
nea and  iris;  opacity  of  lens;  atrophy  of  choroid;  amblyopia, 
and  a  few  cases  of  hypermetropic  astigmatism. 

TABULATED     STATEMENT    OF     REFRACTIVE     CONDITION     OF 

ONE    THOUSAND    EYES. 


YEABS. 

E. 

H. 

M. 

TOTAL. 

7  to  10 

67 

38 

17 

122 

10  to  12 

76 

37 

11 

124 

12  to  14 

99 

74 

15 

188 

14  to  16 

120 

77 

33 

230 

16  to  18 

124 

45 

51 

220 

18  to  22 

41 

34 

15 

90 

7  to  22 

527 

305 

142 

974 

Others  not  helped  with  spher.  Glasses,      26 

1.000 


YEABS. 

E. 

H. 

M. 

7  to  10 

53.17   per  cent. 

30.15  per  cent. 

13.59  per  cent. 

10  to  12 

59.38 

28.90 

8.59 

12  to  14 

51.56 

38.54          " 

7.81 

14  to  16 

51.72 

33.18          " 

14.22 

16  to  18 

54.38 

19.73 

22.36          " 

18  to  22 

43.61 

35.16 

15.95          •' 

E. 

H. 

M. 

OTHERS. 

TOTAL. 

Irish, 
German, 
American, 
Others, 

147 

117 

208 

55 

112 
88 
66 
39 

23 
57 
44 
18 

6 
10 

4 
6 

288 
272 
322 
118 

Total, 

527 

305 

142 

26 

1,000 

Mt3cellane(ms, 


221 


Irish, 
German, 
American, 
Others, 


B. 


61.04 
43.01 
64.59 
46.01 


per  cent. 
It 

It 


H. 


38.88  per  cent 
32.35         " 
20.49  " 

33.98         " 


M. 


7.89  per  cent. 
20.49 

13.66         " 
15.25 


MYOPIA. 

HYPEBM  ETROFIA. 

DEGREE. 

NO.  OF  EYES. 

DEGREE. 

NO.   OP  EYES. 

1-60 

43 

1-60 

30 

1-50 

^ 

1-50 

87 

1-40 

4 

1-40 

49 

1-36 

15 

1-36 

33 

1-30 

4 

1-30 

60 

1-24 

5 

1-24 

14 

1-20 

11 

1-20 

8 

1-18 

3 

1-18 

5 

1-16 

3 

1-16 

2 

1-14 

1 
3 

1-14 

8 

1-12 

Total,        305 

1-10 

2 

1-9 

1 

1-8 

3 

1-7 

6 

To  1 

»1,        142 

MiiulUmmi. 


11  Clatide  Bernard.    (See  Portrait.) 


M.  Clande  Bernard,  whose  portrait  embellishes  the  present 
number  of  the  Advance,  ranked  among  the  foremost  of  mod- 
ern physiologists.  He  was  born  at  St.  Julien,  July  I2th,  1813, 
completed  his  medical  studies  in  Paris,  and  was  graduated  in 
1S43.  ^*^  '^55  ^®  ^^^  elected  a  member  of  the  Academy  of 
Aug-5 


222  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

Sciences,  and  in  1856  appointed  Prof,  of  Experimental  Phys- 
ology,  succeeding  Magendie.  He  was  made  a  member  of 
the  Academy  of  Medicine  in  1861;  Grand  Officer  of  the 
Legion  of  Honor  in  1862,  and  Commander  in  1867.  Dis- 
tinguished as  were  the  positions  he  held,  and  the  honors  thus 
conferred  upon  him,  he  nevertheless  achieved  his  greatest 
honors  in  the  field  of  experimental  physiology.  His  re- 
searches in  relation  to  the  functions  of  the  pancreas;  the 
functions  of  the  great  sympathetics  or  pathological  changes 
in  the  fluids  of  the  body;  the  physiology  of  nutrition  and 
particularly  in  regard  to  the  glycogenic  function  gave  him  a 
world  wide  reputation.  He  has  shown  that  glycogen  is  pro- 
duced in  the  eggs  of  birds  during  incubation,  and  also  in  the 
placenta  of  mammals,  and  concludes  that  the  formation  of 
sugar  during  the  development  and  life  of  ail  creatures,  is  a 
physiological  necessity.  He  contends  that  '*a  fundamental 
conception  denominates  general  physiology — that  of  the  unity 
of  nutrition  in  all  living  beings."  In  thus  making  nutritive 
changes  the  basis  of  all  physiological  activity,  and  the  com- 
mon ground  in  which  all  vital  phenomena  take  root,  we  have 
a  key  to  unlock  many  of  the  mysteries  of  existence,  and  the 
only  possible  basis  for  a  kinship  of  all  living  forms,  and  war- 
rant for  a  sound  philosophy  of  existence. 

Imperfectly  as  such  a  knowledge  is  understood,  and  irra- 
tional as  are  many  of  its  applications,  it  is  nevertheless  steadi- 
ly gaining  ground.  We  have  here  nature's  plan  of  unfolding 
the  manifold  forms  and  qualities  of  life.  A  unity  of  plan 
and  a  similarity  of  process  with  endless  variations  of  detail 
are  everywhere  manifest,  though  as  to  the  precise  relation  of 
individual  forms  or  groupes  we  may  forever  remain  ignorant. 
Probably  no  man  for  the  past  half  century  has  contributed 
more  toward  the  elucidation  of  these  complex  problems  than 
Claude  Bernard. 

His  death  occurred  in  Paris,  February,  1878. 


Miscellaneous,  223 


Ziiboralisni.     By  Constantino  Lippe,  M.  D ,  New  York. 

Liberalism  is  defined  as  "liberal  principles  or  feelings."  A 
better  definition  might  be  "a  cant  word  coined  for  the  con- 
venience of  such  as  are  not  guided  by  principles."  Principles 
are  established  facts,  and  are  either  right  or  wrong  and 
consequently  there  can  not  be  any  liberality  of  senti* 
ment  as  far  as  they  are  concerned.  Natural  laws  are 
fixed  facts  and  in  their  operations  are  certain  accord- 
ing to  the  conditions  under  which  they  operate.  Science 
knows  no  liberalism.  The  principles,  facts  and  truths  are 
permanent  and  unalterable.  I  mean  science  such  as  is  un- 
derstood in  the  strict  acceptation  of  the  term,  not  the  char- 
latanism which  goes  by  that  name.  It  takes  many  years  and 
often  ages  to  establish  a  natural  law  and  ascertain  the  prin- 
ciples and  workings  of  a  law,  but  when  true  science  learns 
and  develops  this  law,  then  we  always  find  it  the  same,  pro- 
vided we  use  the  same  conditions  under  which  the  law  oper- 
ates. To  illustrate  we  call  attention  to  one  expression  which 
is  being  freely  quoted  as  an  example  of  liberalism: 

Hippocrates  taught  that  some  diseases  were  cured  by  rer.ie- 
dies  which  operated  under  the  law  of  the  similars,  and  other 
diseases  were  cured  by  what  were  called  contrary  remedies. 
Here  are  two  contrary  natural  laws  brought  into  direct  op- 
position.  How  can  we  reconcile  this  as  a  scientific 
deduction? 

The  fact  is  that  Hippocrates  recognized  the  working  of  a 
law  but  was  not  able  to  recognize  all  the  facts  of  the  law, 
and  it  was  not  until  the  time  of  Hah::emann  that  the  full  ex- 
tent of  the  law  of  nature  was  discovered  and  the  many  seem- 
ing incongruities  were  recognized  and  easily  brought  under  the 
operations  of  that  law.  As  the  geometrical  axiom,  that  be- 
tween two  points  there  can  be  drawn  but  one  straight  line, 
admits  of  no  liberality  of  interpretation,  so  likewise  natural 
laws  admit  of  but  one  construction,  either  being  applicable  to 
the  conditions  present  or  not.  The  chemist  knows  that  one 
part  of  hydrogen  united  to  eight  parts  of  oxygen,  by  weight, 


224  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

alwavs  makes  what  is  called  water,  and  the  law  consists  in 
the  proportion  in  the  gases,  and  in  this  proportion  and  under 
this  law,  will  always  make  the  substance  called  water,  and 
nothing  else,  but  one  atom  of  either  substance  added  or  sub- 
tracted, a  little  liberalism  used  in  the  experiment,  and  you  do 
not  obtain  water  but  something  entirely  diflerent.  The  sci- 
entific liberal  is  justified  in  ignoring  the  law  that  hydrogen 
and  oxygen  producing  by  their  union,  water,  if  the  conditions 
of  the  proportion  between  the  two  gases  i-;  not  maintained. 
The  law  is  that  one  atom  of  one  united  to  eight  of  the  other 
and  water  must  be  the  result  of  the  experiment. 

An  example  of  liberalism  may  be  pertinent. 

In  the  times  of  Galileo,  the  earth  was  supposed  to  be  the 
centre  of  the  visible  universe,  not  su])poscd  but  imagined, 
and  was  so  taught  by  all  the  scientific  men  of  that  time  and 
was  an  article  of  faith,  for  was  it  not  proved  by  Biblical  au- 
thority? Galileo  discovered  the  fact  the  earth  rotated  on  its 
axis  and  also  moved  in  its  own  peculiar  plane;  this  law  we 
find  by  observation,  we  know  it  is  a  scientific  fact.  A  liberal 
Galileoist  would  say  that  sometimes  it  moved  and  some- 
times it  did  not. 

Can  there  be  any  liberalism  in  the  interpretation  of  a  law 
of  cure,  if  there  be  one? 

If  there  be  such  a  law  it  must  be  certain  in  its  action,  that 
when  the  conditions  are  present  the  results  must  be  the  same 
in  every  case.  It  can  not  be  correct  at  one  time  and  false  at 
another,  for  then  the  term  law  can  not  be  applied,  for  the 
period  of  experimentation  has  not  yet  been  passed. 

Have  we  as  homoeopaths  found  a  law  of  cure?  I  do  not 
mean  a  theory,  but  a  law. 

Such  as  have  performed  the  experiment  according  to  the 
formulae  laid  down  have  found  that  there  is  a  law  of  cure 
which  can  be  demonstrated  with  mathematical  certainty 

The  axiom  of  the  law  is  "That  substances  administered  to 
persons  in  a  state  of  health  produce  certain  abnormal  aber- 
rations of  a  peculiar  kind,  and  in  a  state  called  disease  will 
remove  similar  conditions  wherever  and  whenever  found. 
This  is  the  law  and  the  only  law  whereby  substances  can  be 


Miscellaneous.  225 

administered  for  the  purpose  of  restoring  health  to  the  sick. 
The  experiment  alone  is  necessary  to  develop  the  fact  that 
this  is  a  natural  law.  But  the  experiment  must  be  performed 
in  exactly  the  same  manner  as  the  discoverer  pursued  when 
the  light  came  upon  him  that  for  the  first  time  the  workings 
of  that  long  unknown  law  had  been  understood.  The  mo- 
dus operandi  of  this  experiment  can  be  ascertained  by  read- 
ing attentively  a  book  called  "The  Organon  of  Homoeopathic 
Medicine,"  by  Samuel  Hahnemann,  M.  D.  If  we  do  not 
make  the  experiment  in  precisely  the  same  manner  as  the 
discoverer,  of  course  we  will  never  reach  the  same  results, 
exactly  as  in  chemical  experiments,  if  we  add  one  atom  to,  or 
subtract  one  atom  from  the  elements  of  the  substance  used 
we  do  not  reach  the  same  result,  as  we  would  if  we 
were  exact  in  the  experiment.  Fixed,  definite,  invariable 
results  are  obtained  when  the  investigator  uses  the  formula 
of  the  experiment,  no  deviation  from  the  strict  laws  will 
give  the  same  results. 

Natural  laws  are  arbitrary  in  their  action  and  must  be  so 
necessarily,  or  what  chart  would  arise  from  the  infusion  of 
liberalism.  Laws  of  nature  act  when  the  conditions  are  such 
as  is  necessary  for  the  operation  of  the  law.  For  the  cer- 
tainty of  the  application  of  the  homcBopathic  law  in  the  cure 
of  the  sick  there  is  only  required  the  application  of  the  well 
proved  law  by  the  adaptibility  of  the  substance  to  be  used  to 
the  conditions  of  the  individual,  in  other  words  to  cure  a 
sick  person  we  must  give  a  substance  which  will  produce  a 
similar  condition  in  a  person  in  health. 

Corollaries  derived  from  this  proposition  are  first  the  ne- 
cessity of  the  administration  of  but  one  single  substance  at  a 
time,  for  until  we  ascertain  the  powers  of  substances  mixed 
or  administered  in  alternation,  we  violate  one  of  the  condi- 
tions of  the  law,  since  the  provings  of  substances  have  as  yet 
been  only  made  singly,  and  secondly  only  enough  of  the  sub- 
stance should  be  given  to  the  sick  to  restore  health.  Exper- 
ience alone  of  each  individual  and  experiment  will  determine 
the  quantity.  A  strict  adherence  to  the  law  and  the  scientific 
application  of  it  will  not  nor  c:'.n  ever  fail  in  the  cure  of  any 


226  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

curable  case.  The  want  of  success  lies  not  in  any  failure  on 
the  part  of  the  law,  but  a  want  of  knowledge  on  our  part,  a 
deficiency  on  our  part  in  understanding  the  power  of  such 
substances  which  are  applicable  to  a  given  case.  Our  suc- 
cess is  always  certain  when  we  become  intimate  with  the 
sick  making  and  sick  curing  natures  of  substances.  When 
we  thoroughly  understand  that  we  have  a  law  of  Nature 
which  we  apply  to  sufiering  humanity,  we  will  strictly  ad- 
here to  that  law,  knowing  that  in  the  adherence  to  that  law 
lies  the  only  hope  of  safety.  First  having  proved  the  law, 
we  must  accept  the  truth  and  knowing  it,  we  can  not  but  fol- 
low it  to  the  best  of  our  ability,  never  swerving  from  the  line 
of  truth  or  worshipping  false  gods  which  the  liberal  in  medi- 
cine would  have  us  fall  down  and  worship.  In  a  matter  ot 
fact  we  must  be  determined  and  allow  no  deviation  from 
principles  which  we  know  are  true,  we  know  because  we 
have  made  the  experiment  and  the  results  were  the  same  as 
the  original  discoverer. 

If  others  here  have  not  arrived  at  the  same  results  it  is  be- 
cause the  experiment  has  not  been  properly  performed,  and 
if  such  as  are  honest,  and  seek  the  truth  for  truth's  sake  will 
follow  Hahnemann  in  his  experiment,  they  will  arrive  at  the 
same  results  and  conclusions  as  Hahnemann  did  for  the  sim- 
ple reason,  that  the  law  is  operative  when  the  conditions  are 
correct. 


The  Clinical  Use  of  the  Sphygmograph.    By  Alfred  L.  Car- 
roll, M.  D. 

The  importance  of  instrumental  aids  in  physical  diagnosis 
consists  in  their  giving  us  a  registrable  measurement  of  the 
degree  of  departure  from  a  known  standard  of  healthy  ac- 
tion.    Without  them  the  information  gained  by  the  best  ed- 


Miscellaneous,  227 

ucated  senses  is  to  a  great  extent  guess  work.  We  can  eas- 
ily by  touch  alone,  ascertain  that  a  patient  has  a  "high  fever," 
or  is  **a  little  feverish,"  but  the  thermometer  only  can  tell  us 
the  amount  and  portent  of  the  pyrexia.  So  with  regard  to  * 
signs  derived  from  the  circulatory  apparatus,  the  practised 
finger  can  detect  the  marked  peculiarities  of  a  pulse  that  is 
"hard,"  or  |*soft,"  or  "quick,"  or  "wiry,"  or  "irregular;"  but 
as  to  the  quantitative  estimation  of  these  and  other  deviations 
it  teaches  little.  Here  the  sphygmograph  comes  to  our  as- 
sistance, giving  its  visible  deleniation  of  the  phenomena  which 
we  partly  know,  and  showing  us  others  which  we  could  not 
discover  in  its  absence;  just  as  the  thermometer  indicates  mi- 
nor alterations  of  temperature  inappreciable  by  the  unaided 
senses. 

To  find  the  true  clinical  place  of  the  sphygmograph,  we 
must  guard  against  i\n  over-estimate  of  its  pretensions,  bear- 
ing in  mind  that,  like  other  instruments  of  medical  inquiry, 
it  is  but  an  aid,  not  an  all  sufficient  means  of  diagnosis;  that 
it  records  rather  the  extent  than  the  precise  nature  of  a  mor- 
bid process.  But  with  this  limitation,  its  tracings  taken  in 
connection  with  other  sources  of  information,  will  often  prove 
of  the  highest  value,  and  sometimes  afford  the  earliest  indica- 
tions of  disease  which  we  should  otherwise  have  overlooked. 

It  is,  of  course,  first  necessary  to  know  the  character  and 
significance  of  the  typical  pulse  tracing  of  health,  and  the 
modifications  of  this  under  physical  physiological  conditions. 
The  curves  of  the  tracing,  it  must  be  remembered,  represent 
simply  the  perpendicular  rise  and  fall  of  the  wall  of  the  art- 
ery to  which  the  instrument  is  applied,  as  it  is  distended  by 
the  waves  of  the  blood  current.  These  curves,  therefore, 
teach  us  directly  of  the  tension  and  elasticity  of  the  artery, 
and  indirectly  of  the  force  with  which  the  blood  is  propelled 
into  it.  A  disturbing  agency  may  be  central,  as  in  the  case 
of  cardiac  lesions;  or  distal,  as  when  the  arterioles  are  con- 
tracted; or  intermediate  as  an  aneurism. 

The  sphygmograph  may  be  applied  to  any  artery  which 
comes  near  enough  to  the  surface  for  its  pulsations  to  be  felt, 
and  in  some  instances,  where  it  is  desired  to  locate  a  thor- 
acic or  abdominal  aneurism,  wc  may  try  different  situations; 


Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 


but,  for  ordinary  purposes,  the  most  convenient  place  is  the 
famihar  fossa  between  the  styloid  process  of  the  radius  and 
the  tendon  of  the  flexor  carpi  radialis,  where  a  little  practice 
will  enable  us  to  procure  the  fullest  possible  development  of 
the  curves  in  any  given  case.  Since  Marey's  original  me- 
chanism, and  its  modiRcations  by  Sanderson  and  Anstie,  sev- 
eral diHercnt  forms  of  sphygmograph  have  been  devised, 
among  which  Mahomed's  in  England,  and  Holden's  in 
America,  are  well  known.  Besides  these,  there  have  been 
some  others  which  I  have  had  no  opportunity  of  testing,  all, 
howcver.with  the  exception,  I  believe,  of  one  inchoate  inven- 
tion a  few  years  ago,  depending  for  their  graphic  power  upon 
a  spring  pad  pressing  on  the  artery.  By  far  the  most  sensi- 
tive and  satisfactory  instrument  which  I  have  seen  is  one  con- 
structed by  Dr.  E.  A.  Pond,  of  Rutland,  Vt,  a  cut  of  which  is 
herewith  given,  in  which  the  arterial  waves  are  transmitted 
through  a  filni  of  india  rubber  to  a  column  of  water  bearing 
a  float,  the  rise  and  fall  of  which  move  a  lightly  balanced 
lever  terminating  in  a  flail  jointed  needle,  whose  point  resting 
on  a  smoked  slip  of  mica,  records  the  pulse  tracing.  By  this 
means  resistance  and  friction  are  reduced  to  a  minimum. 


Miscellaneous,  229 


A  Case  of  Eemia  Cerebri.     By   E.   A.  Guilbert,  M.  D.,  Du- 
buque, Iowa. 

In  the  annual  of  this  Association  for  1871,  in  my  report 
as  chairman  of  the  Bureau  of  Obstetrics,  etc.,  I  mt^ntioned  a 
case  of  Hernia  Cerebri  which  had  occurred  in  my  practice 
the  winter  previous,  and  promised  to  report  it  at  a  future 
time,  as  a  contribution  to  the  history  of  monstrosities.  Un- 
til recently  I  have  been  unable  to  procure  a  wood  cut  to  il- 
lustrate my  article,  and  so  have  deferred  the  report.  Mr.  C. 
E.  Marble,  the  foreman  of  the  Herald  printing  house,  in  this 
city  having  kindly  come  to  my  aid,  1  submit  a  report  of  the 
case,  accompanied  by  a  very  accurate  wood  cut,  the  which 
the  genius  aforesaid  has  made  from  a  drawing  of  my  own 
taken  just  before  the  autopsy. 

Cass.  Mrs.  A.,  at  ten  a.  m,  on  the  20th  of  January,  1871, 
gave  birth  to  this  parodical  neonatus,  after  a  labor  of 
twelve  hours'  duration  The  procession  of  phenomena  was 
orderly  in  every  respect,  but  the  appearances  during  the  oc- 
casional examination  inquiries  were  very  puzzling,  and  it 
was  not  until  the  last  that  a  monstrosity  was  suspected. 
When  born,  the  head  of  the  child  appeared  as  depicted  in 
the  cut.  The  child  otherwise  was  well  developed.  It  sur- 
vived until  March  17th,  on  which  day  the  autopsy  was 
made.  It  never  exhibited  any  signs  of  intelligence,  but  lived 
a  mere  feeble  organic  life.  It  slept  but  little,  and  while 
awake  moaned  almost  constantly.  All  the  functions  of  or- 
ganic life  were  performed.  Gradually  it  wasted  away,  and 
died  as  I  have  said,  March  17, 

Autopsy.  Six  hours  after  death.  The  anterior  fontanelle 
was  wanting  (from  birth);  the  sutures  closed,  and  the  cranial 
bones  all  very  much  thicker  than  normal.  The  posterior 
fontanelle  was  an  inch  in  diameter.  The  Hernia  was  cov- 
ered with  a  veritable  scalp,  which  sustained  quite  a  growth 
of  hair.  The  skull  was  well  shaped,  except  that  there  was 
no  forehead,  the  frontal  bone  running  directly  back  from 
the  superciliary  ridge.    In  the  skull  were  found  but  rudi- 


230  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

ments  of  brain  tissue  which  were  connected  with  a  few 
ounces  of  like  substance  in  the  sac.  The  medulla  oblongata, 
the  quadrigeminal  bodies,  and  the  medulla  spinalis  appeared 
to  be  perfect.  The  sac  contained  besides  the  few  ounces  of 
brain  tissue  eighteen  fluid  ounces  of  bloody  serum.  The  in- 
teguments of  the  sac  were  lined  with  dura  mater.  I  append 
the  cut: 


■♦♦- 


Elevating  Eomoeopathy. 

Editor  Medical  Advance: — I  am  informed  that  at  the 
College,  the  students  were  instructed    last  winter  to 


give  Enjot  in  teaspooful  doses  in  labor  and  for  constipation 
during  pregnancy,  Sulphur  and  Molasses  an  a  teaspoonfu!  at 
night.  Great  heavens!  What  kind  of  Ilomcropathy  is  this? 
and  how  long  must  we  be  degraded  by  such  empiricism  and 
have  it  taught  too  in  tiic  halls  of  a  so-called  first  class  hom- 
oeopathic college?  Such  teachings,  if  he  knew  it  would  make 
Hahnemann  shudder  in  his  grave.  The  professor  who  will 
give  such  instruction  should  go  West  and  take  up  his  abode 
among  the  untutored  Indians.  Let  him  preach  his  non-hom- 
GBopathic  doctrines  to  the  hoodlum  Chinese.  Let  him  not  be 
allowed  to  infuse  such  stufl'  into  the  minds  of  young  men 
and  call  it  Homoeopathy.     Would  it  not  be  better  for  thcstu- 


Miscellaneous,  231 

dent  to  be  taught  to  individualize  his  cases,  to  recognize  the 
characteristic  symptoms  of  drugs  and  select  his  appropriate 
similimum  in  each  case?  It  will  not  be  long  before  all  our  best 
colleges  will  have  chairs  for  the  teaching  of  characteristic 
symptoms.  In  this  way  our  students  will  learn  how  to  pres- 
cribe something  better  than  JSrgot,  Sulphur  and  Molasses,  etc., 
etc.  I  have  prescribed  on  pathological  conditions,  on  general 
principles,  and  almost  every  other  plan,  but  now  for  the  past 
ten  years  I  have  followed  the  characteristic  symptom  method 
closely  and  my  success  has  been  unparalleled.  Speaking 
from  experience  as  I  do  I  am  fully  assured  that  the  day  is 
not  far  distant  when  characteristic  symptoms  as  a  guide,  and 
high  potencies  as  a  means  will  banish  from  our  profession 
mongrclism  and  shot  gun  practice  and  give  us  a  higher  stand- 
ing in  the  scientific  and  medical  world.  Pardon  me  for  tres- 
passing on  your  space,  but  my  contempt  for  such  teachings 
as  I  have  mentioned  would  not  allow  me  to  say  less. — }.  B.  O, 


-•-■♦- 


The  Fain  of  a  New  Idea. 

It  is  singular  how  tenaciously  the  human  mind  adheres 
to  old  ideas  and  methods  of  thoughts,  and  how  it  suffers 
when,  forced  from  the  olden  formulas,  it  has  to  appropriate 
new  ideas.  "The  pain  of  a  new  idea"  is  a  real  thing,  and  a 
very  unpleasant  one  to  some  persons.  It  is  so  comfortable 
to  think  but  little,  and  that  little  according  to  the  traditions 
of  the  past.  It  is  so  comfortable  to  nurse  old  prejudices, 
and  if  in  years  gone  by  something  now  was  learned,  to  still 
regard  it  as  the  ultimate  of  human  knowledge. 

With  free  discussion  comes  the  knowledge  of  old  errors, 
and,  however  painful,  we  are  forced  to  discard  them.  With 
free  discussion  come  new  ideas,  and  though  they  may  be 


232  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

painful  to  a  man  who  wishes  rest,  and  hopes  for  a  present 
''millennium.*'  he  is  forced  to  absorb  them.  Cut  off  dis- 
cussion, and  we  must  stand  still,  believe  in  authority,  and 
consign  all  restless  persons  to  perdition. 

Give  us  free  discussion,  and  the  science  of  medicine  must 
advance;  and  if  we  are  ever  to  have  a  rational  practice,  it 
will  come  in  this  way.  With  free  discussion  errors  are  re- 
moved as  with  free  discussion  investigation  is  stimulated, 
new  ideas  suggested,  and  both  the  old  and  the  new  thorough- 
ly proven.  Though  free  discussion  may  be  a  thing  of  un- 
rest, it  is  the  hope  of  humanity 


Corrosive  Sublimate  Formed  in  a  Miztnre  of  Calomel  and  Sugar. 

When  Calomel  comes  in  contact  with  powdered  white  su- 
gar or  calcined  magnesia  a  certain  amount  of  corrosive  sub- 
limate is  formed  in  twenty  four-hours.  Dr.  Polk  has  ob- 
served all  the  phenomena  of  Corrosive  sublimate  poisoning 
produced  by  the  administration  of  a  mixture  of  Calomel  and 
Sugar  which  had  been  prepared  for  a  month.  The  examin- 
ation of  a  portion  of  this  mixture  proved  the  presence  of  a 
notable  quantity  of  Bichloride  of  mercury.  In  the  Journal  of 
Pharmacy  and  Chemistry  of  Turin,  November,  1875,  the 
same  fact  was  noticed  In  this  case  the  poisoning  was 
caused  by  pastils  containing  Calomel.  The  pastils  were  made 
with  sugar,  which  acted  as  an  organic  matter  on  the  calomel, 
and  transformed  it  into  Bichloride  of  mercury.  The  propor- 
tion of  the  sublimate  increases  with  the  period  passed  since 
the  preparation  of  the  pastils. — Louisville  Medical  Times. 


Mscellaneoiis.  233 


An  Allopathic  Idea  of  Eomoeopafliy. 

If  any  one  iS  disposed  to  smile  at  the  auguries  which  an- 
cient soothsayers  were  wont  to  derive  from  the  entrails  of 
birds;  if  h«  feels  any  contempt  for  the  alchymists  of  later 
times;  or  if  his  soul  rouses  within  him  at  the  remembrance 
of  the  belief  our  more  immediate  ancestors  held  in  witchcraft, 
and  their  cruel  punishment  for  its  practice;  if  in  short,  he 
thinks  the  human  mind  is  not  prey  to  silliness  just  as  abject 
as  in  any  age  before,  let  him  scan  the  pages  of  the  homoeo- 
paths.    We  know  it  is  a  wellworn  theme,  this  absurdity  of 
their  creed,  that  no  rational  man  of  medicine  needs  to  have  it 
pointed  out  to  him  to-day;  but  we  doubt  if  one  in  a  hundred 
has  any  conception  of  the  length  and  depth  and  breadth  (if 
such  terms  can  indeed  be  applied  to  such  a  subject)  of  these 
absurdities.     Either  natural  laws  are  all  nonsense,  or  they 
are    idiots   who   interpret   them,   if  Homoeopathy   bo  true. 
Either  those  who  profess  rational  medicine  are  imbeciles,  or 
they  who  follow  what  is  said  to  be  the  outcome  of  Hahne- 
mann's doctrines  are  lunatics,  or  worse.    "We  read  occasion- 
ally a  number  of  homoeopathic  journals,  and  scarcely  believe 
our  eyes  at  what  we  see.     If  this  literature  was  intended  for 
the  general  public,  we  could  understand  that  it  was  simply 
a  scheme  to  gain  patients;  but  written  as  it  is,  seemingly  in 
all  seriousness  for  the  benefit  of  the  profession  in  homoeo- 
pathy, its  meaning,  we  confess,  is  beyond  us.     It  is  a  Chi- 
nese riddle-book — every  thing  goes  backward  in  it.     There 
is  not  a  preconceived  notion  that  one  could  have  on  any 
subject  as  regards  medicine — whether  in  its  theory,  practicey 
or  the  conduct  of  its  followers— that   is   not  controverted, 
We  do  not  refer  to  infinitesimals  and  the  law  of  similars  par- 
ticularly.    They   have  been  sufficiently  discussed,  and  one 
could  easily  take  these  in  when  compared  to  other  marvels 
which  accompany  the  theory  and  practice  of  the  singular 
fraternity.     Why,  do  you  know  that  diphtheria  with  these 
fellows  is  nothing  worse  than  a  bad  cold,  scarlet  fever  the 
merest  bagatelle,   and  cancer   a  tolerably  good  sized  boil? 
— Louisville  Med,  News. 


^oo|  #o$ir($. 


The  Law  of  Populationi     Its  Consequences  and  its  bearing  upon  Hu- 
man Conduct  and  Morals.    By  Anna  Besant. 

From  the  twenty-fifth  thousand  English  edition.  Asa  K.  Butts, 
New  York,  pp.  47.  Price  fifty  cents.  This  book  is  dedicated  "to  the 
poor"  with  the  hope  that  it  may  help  them  to  escape  poverty,  and 
that  it  may  make  easier  the  life  of  British  mothers.  But  judging  from 
popular  reports  it  is  a  book  with  more  wickedness  to  the  square  inch 
than  is  possesed  by  the  worst  of  literary  productions.  Here  is  a  dis- 
crepency  worth  noticinj^.  Any  one,  however  interested  in  the  matter 
can  settle  it  by  purchasing  and  reading  the  book.  It  is  based  on  the 
doctrines  of  Malthus,  and  shows  both  the  evils  of  over  production  of 
population  and  the  best  methods  of  treating  it.  As  we  have  else- 
whei'e  remarked  this  is  a  question  the  medical  profession  must  sooner 
or  later  take  a  hand  in  settling.  Here  in  America  we  may  not  soon 
be  made  to  face  the  matter  as  is  the  case  in  European  and  Asiatic 
countries,  for  we  may  yet  extend  and  multiply  our  population  almost 
indefinitely,  but  the  fact  remains  that  we  will  in  time  reach  the  full 
limit  of  possibilities  in  the  increase  of  our  population.  There  must 
come  war  or  famine  or  pestilence  inevitably  as  any  fact  in  nature 
unless  we  interpose  some  legitimate  check  to  the  increase  of  human 
beings.  But  even  now  small  families  to  many  poor  people  becomes  a 
necessity,  or  else  there  may  be  starvation  and  beggary.  Let  us  read 
and  discuss  this  question  before  we  decide  it. 

Transactions  of    the    Hahnemann    Medical    Association,    of    Iowa, 
Ninth  Annual  .Session  at  Davenport,  Iowa,  May  2*Jd  and  23d, 

1878. 

\Vb  are  indebted  to  Dr.  E.  A.  Guilbert,  the  Secretary  for  this  most 
excellent  report  of  an  excellent  meeting.  We  have  here  fresh  proof 
of  the  downfall  of  Homouopathy.  Its  descent  is  like  the  dew  or  the 
gentle  rain,  and  the  more  it  comes  the  more  it  enlivens  and  refreshes 
us.  Thanks  to  the  liberality  and  enterprise  of  the  Iowa  doctors  and 
the  able  pen  of  the  Secretary  for  a  pamphlet  that  is  worthy  of  reading 
and  careful  preservation.  For  copies,  address  Dr.  E.  A.  Guilbert, 
Dubuque,  Iowa. 


€iilojj's  %M$ 


DiEi) — Rev.  Dr.  John  Dowling  of  New  York,  aet.  seventy-one, 
father  of  Prof.  Dowling  of  the  N.  Y.  Homceopathic  College. 

Married — The  Lancet  and  Observer  and  the  Clinic  both  old  school 
journals  of  this  city.  Result  a  spriglitly  weekly  which  by  virtue  of  en- 
ergy and  capital  deserves  success. 

Married — Dr.  M.  T.  Runnels  and  Miss  Emily  L.  Johnston,  of  In- 
dianapolis.   Our  congratulations  are  given  to  the  happy  pair. 

The  Homoeopathic  Medical  Society  of  the  State  of  New  York  will 
hold  its  next  semi-annual  meeting  at  Middletown  September  17th  and 
18th. 

Dr.  J.  B.  Hunt  has  removed  from  Delaware  to  Springfield,  and 
formed  a  partnership  with  Dr.  E.  V.  Van  Norman. 

Drs.  W.  J.  Calvert  and  Chas.  Gatchell  have  opened  a  sanitarian 
at  the  Mineral  Springs,  Ann  Arbor,  Mich.,  for  the  treatment  of  med- 
ical and  surgical  diseases.    They  eminently  deserve  patronage. 

The  New  York  Ophthalmic  Hospital  report  for  the  month  ending 
July,  1878  number  ol  prescriptions  3,291,  number  of  new  patients 
372,  number  of  patients  resident  in  the  hospital  45,  average  daily  at- 
tendance 132,  largest  daily  attendance  178.  J.  H.  Bupfum,  M.  D., 
Resident  Surgeon. 

Dr.  E.  H.  Way,  of  Jefferson,  0.,  is  off  for  Europe  to  look  up  medi- 
cal matters.    He  will  spend  a  year  in  the  London  hospitals. 

Dr.  H.  R.  Arndt  has  removed  to  Grand  Rapids,  Mich. 

Dr.  G.  W.  Sherbine  has  located  at  Waynesburg,  Pa. 

EssBNCRS  OF  Meats. — ^The  London  Manufacturing  Co.,  77  VarickSt., 
New  York,  are  making  the  finest  articles  of  concentrated  meat  we 
have  ever  seen.  In  fact  nothing  could  be  nicer.  Physicians  should 
remember  this,  for  these  preparations  are  as  palatable  and  nutritious 
as  can  be  desired.    (See  their  advertisement). 

Dr.  J.  G.  Gilchrist  has  resigned  his  position  in  Michigan  University. 
The  regents  unanimously  passed  the  following  : 

Besolvedf  That  in  accepting  the  withdrawal  of  Dr.  J.  G.  Gilchrist  from 
the  lectureship  of  homa'Opathic  surgery,  we  desire  lo  express  our  ap- 
preciation of  his  faithful  services  and  gentlemanly  conduct  and  that 
we  part  with  him  with  sincere  wishes  for  his  future  success.  Dr.  G. 
will  remove  to  Detroit,  and  office  at  260  Congress  street. 


236 


Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 


Prof.  E.  C.  Fbamkun,  M,  D.,the  distinguished  surgeon  at  St.  Louis, 
has  accepted  the  chair  of  homoeopathic  surgery  in  Michigan  Univer- 
sity, and  has  also  been  made  dean  of  the  homoeopathic  faculty. 

Boston  Uxiyebbity  School  of  Msdicinb,  on  pp.  three  and  four  an- 
nual announcement,  you  will  see  how  comprehensive  the  University 
is,  and  though  now  it  is  self  supporting  it  has  a  large  fund  soon  to  be 
available.  The  faculty  of  the  medical  school  is  thoroughly  organized 
though  large,  is  entirely  harmonious.  Out  of  twenty -eight  members 
fifteen  have  been  thoroughly  educated  abroad  as  well  as  at  home. 
On  pp.  seven  and  eight  you  will  see  how  faithfully  this  school  has 
carried  out  the  wishes  of  the  profession  as  expressed  by  the  American 
Institute  and  other  bodies,  as  well  as  by  our  journals.  Further  than 
this  we  have  gone,  and  have  made  our  full  eight  months  annual  at- 
tendance on  lectures  requisite  for  three  years,  and  nave  offered  a  four 
years  optional  course.    I.  T.  Talbot,  M.  D.,  Dean. 


EDITORIAL. 

Our  Foreign  CorreHpondence.  157 

MATERIA   MEDIGA. 

Materia  Medica 164 

Accidental  Poistming 167 

Epifagus  Americanus 168 

GENERAL  CLINICS. 
OBSTETRICAL  A  GYNECOLOGICAL. 

The  Use  of  the  Forcejw 175 

OPHTHALMOLOGY  AND  OTOLOGY. 

Embolism 186 

Recent  Advances  in  Ophthal- 
mology   202 

Hygiene  of  the  Eyes 214 


MISCELLANEOUS. 

M.  Claude  liernard 221 

Liberalism 223 

The  Clinical  Use  of  the  Sphyg- 

mograph 226 

A  Case  of  Hernia  Cerebri 229 

Elevating  Homoeopathy 230 

The  Pain  of  a  New  Idea 231 

Corrosive  Sublimate 2X2 

An  Allopathic  Idea  of  Ilom  - 

oeopathy 233 

BOOK   NOTICES,  234 

editor's   TABLE.  235 


J  AS.    p.   GEPPKRT,  PR. 


'.  IVILSON,  M.  D.,  GK^ 


Volume  VI. 

Cincinnati,  0.,  Brptembbr,  1878.        Number  B. 

d«>s.d.oDH.T,P.-« 

riLSOM.  130  Gmadwiiy,  Citicuinnli,  O.    Termi  B.nO  a  year. 

Fact  m.  Theory. — In  our  reading  to^iay,  we  chance  upon  the  follow- 
ing truthful  and  well  expreesed  stutement:  "A  theoretic  objection 
must  be  set  aside  by  the  favorable  result  of  experience."  (Dr.  PHnee, 
Qalvano  Thero^peiUUa.)  How  much  more  readily  people  would  arrive  at 
the  truth  if  they  were  constantly  guided  by  this  principle.  Against 
every  newly  discovered  truth,  there  are  always  to  be  had  well  found- 
ed theoretical  objectionH.  This  fact  has  kept  tbousaudH  of  intelligent 
perBons  from  acceptiu);  the  truth  of  UomtBopatliy — tho  more  bo  as 
they  have  been  schooled,  and  are  experienced  in  other  modes  of 
thought  and  prncticc.  They  have  of  courae  many  theoretic  object 
tions,  and  how  can  they  give  them  up?  And  the  same  stale  of  minil, 
is  keeping  multitudes  of  homa'opathie  practitioners  from  believing  in 
the  efficacy  oE  high  dilutions.  Both,  thoee  who  reject  Homteopathy^ 
and  those  who  scoff  at  high  dilutions,  would  entirely  and  immedi. 
ately  change  their  views,  if  they  did  not  unfortunately,  hold  to  the 
eapremacy  of  tlieoretic  objections,  over  simple  facta,  Tliere  are 
hundreds  of  thinking  minda,  who  would  gladly  accept  MomriKipathy, 
and  high  dilutions,  if  they  tliought  they  could.  They  are  daily  argu- 
ing the  question  with  themselves,  and  hoping  Jjy  logic  and  analogy, 
and  theoretic  reasoning,  to  place  themselves,  where  these  things  will 
come  to  them  naturally.  But  it  can  not  be  done.  Wo  appeal  to 
facta.  There  they  stand  and  accumulate,  while  we  ate  viewing 
Sep.  I  237 


them.  They  need  do  philosophy  to  mnke  their  existence  a 
You  mny  construct  &  philosophy  out  of  them  if  you  wi^h,  but  they 
will  not  down  at  tlie  bidding  of  any  man's  logic.  "The  result  of  ex- 
])erience"  in  jn  the  highest  degree  "favorable"  hence  no  theoretic  ob- 
jection to  them,  is  of  the  slightest  moment, 

What  a  PHVsro-MKDicALiar  Tins ks.— Cincinnati,  0.,  July  21th, 
1878.— T.  P.  W'lLHON,  M.  D.— Dear  Doctor;— It  always  "rievea  me  to 
see  Btrood  honest,  conscientious  man  entertaining  anil  actini;  upon 
an  error,  especially  when  that  faith  ami  practice  produce  such  evil 
consequences  as  they  do  in  medicine.  The  great  error  of  Hotuii;opathy 
(and  of  every  other  method  baaed  on  patliology)  con)>i)>ts  in  repinf- 
injf  vital  signs  of  disease,  fever,  inflammation  and  neuralgia,  or  in- 
sanity, as  the  disease  lo  he  cured,  and  iu  attributing  to  e^tental 
causes,  effects  produced  only  by  the  vital  force.  Thus  Hahnemann 
says,  "The  totality  of  the  Hymploms  eonatitutes  the  disease. "  Tliis 
leoda  to  the  error  in  pruclicn  of  using,  to  cure  disease,  any  thing  and 
every  thing  which  is  giippomi  lo  annihilate  or  mitigate  those  synip- 
tomti,  whether,  as  Prof.  Bahtholow  «uys,  !beir  action  is  or  is  not  | 
"explained  on  any  known  physiological  law."  This  is  "the  empirical 
method  of  Stille.  and  of  Hahhkmann,  and  the^&fpn'ntip/Sj  deprives 
them  aU  of  the  power  to  learn  whether  the  cure  of  the  disease,  or 
the  death  of  the  patient  is  "jmut  hoc  or  profiler  W."  It  also  deprives 
them  of  the  power  to  determine  the  din'erence  between  pathogenetic 
agents  and  tbo*j  that  are  ctiralive.  Hence  we  see  homccopathists 
recommending  for  the  same  svmptoiua  the  iiiosl  deadly  with  the  most 
curative  agents,  as  Siu  hikI  0^/t>.,  Mcc.  unil  Ham.  or  Myrrh.  Now  sup- 
pose a  cure  follows  the  uae  of  a  deaiily  poison  in  A.'s  case,  as  J\W.  or 
BeiL,  Ar».  or  Mrre.,  and  in  B.'a  cagc  it  follows  the  use  of  Ltii/lia, 
Simeml  or  Oiinip,  can  it  be  said  that  thti  cure  is  simihbus''  hv  similar 
BRcnta?  Must  you  not  attribute  the  genuine  cure  in  both  cases  to 
the  action  of  the  vital  force,  provoked  inlhclirsl  it  I  iru  I  \  enemies 
and  aided  in  the  second  by  friends  tothp]     f  f        \  norLs' 

(See  "The  Pathological  Effects  of  Drugs  H  roat  " 

July  Advancr,  page  136.)  How  until 
Biy.,  Baryla,  Cluaa.,  Eujik.,  Gelt,  Il-par  I 
Piiit.,Sanii.  can.  How  can  such  amass  of  h  li 
the  same  effects  upon  the  mucous  memhrine  [  Ihe 
the  same  in  all  its  parts)  and  are  they  either  nil  run 
genetic?  "Pathological?"  What  can  a  man  who 
or  pro])ertietj  of  ChaiaomiUa,  Caaiunim  Uamameia  t  alhnlogtcat,  know 
about  the  propertiea  of  ii«v  meiiicine  ?  By  what  sort  of  trials  did  he 
find  pathological  tendencies  in  all  the  articles  on  pages  HI  to  130? 
— Fraternally  yours,  A.  Cihtis,  M.  D. 

Note. — Prof.  Ctums,  by  his  great  age,  long  experience,  and  high 
standing,  in  his  school  of  medicine,  ia  entitled  to  a  respectful  hear- 
ing, and  we  would  candidly  consider  what  he  has  said,  if  lo  oar 
mind,  it  did  not  entirely  Uck  force.  He  measures  us,  by  himself ;  he 
tries  to  put  our  practice  into  his  theories,  iind  he  fails  to  connect. 
Hahxemann's  definition  of  disease,  is  as  good  nsanybody's.  Dr.  Cnit- 
Tia  can  not  give  ua  a  better  one.  All  definitions  of  it  are  open  to  criti- 
cism.    If  Dr.  CuBTia  does  not  recognize  that  his  imtients  are  sick  by 


.wtiKhiB 
ir  nil  patho' 


Editorial.  -  239 

the  symptoms  they  have,  he  must  have  some  odd  method  of  getting 
at  it.  To  say  that  those  symptoms  are  sanative,  rather  than  morbid  ^ 
is  a  matter  of  opinion,  and  doesn't  alter  the  fact,  that  those  patients 
get  well,  when  the  symptoms  cease.  Even  the  venerable  and  benevo- 
lent looking  face  of  Dr.  Curtis,  i**  wreathed  in  smiles,  when  upon 
his  return  visit,  he  finds  those  *'sanative"  symptoms,  are  all  gone 
from  his  patient.  Now  without  a  useless  splitting  of  definitions 
of  terms,  the  matter  of  medical  practice  comes  down  to  this.  How 
can  our  patients  be  best  restored  to  a  condition  of  health?  Dr.  Cur- 
tis and  his  confreres  assume  altoji  ether  too  much,  when  they  claim  to 
use  only  harmless  medicines,  and,  that  even  our  attenuated  prepara- 
tions of  the  so-called  poisons  are  still  but  toxicological  agents,  capable 
of  mischief  only.  Facts  and  our  common  sense,  do  not  bear  out  either 
of  these  assumptions.  The  Physio-Meds  are  not  the  harmless  crea- 
tures, they  set  themselves  up  to  be.  But  slop,  we  are  trying  to  de- 
fend our  own.  Why  does  he  call  the  above  list  of  drugs  **a  mass  of 
heterogeneous  articles"?  The  Doctor  is  not  discriminative — he  has 
not  analyzed  their  actions,  or  he  would  find  they  have  some  things, 
and  probably  many  things  in  common.  Would  he  as  a  scientist  in 
botany,  or  zoology,  reject  an  attempted  classification,  certain  animals 
or  ])lants,  because  to  all  outward  appearances  they  seemed  unlike  the 
leading  type  of  the  class,  to  which  they  were  assigned?  There  is  no 
classification  attempted  of  drugs,  at  all  comparable  to  those  classifica- 
cations  made  by  our  homoeopathic  materia  medicists.  No  other  ob- 
server could  properly  classify  them,  for  it  has  to  be  done  through  their 
pathogeneses.  We  are  not,  however,  trying  to  satisfy  Dr.  Curtis,  or 
men  of  his  class.  They  think  they  understand  Homoeopathy,  and 
hence  reject  it.  If  we  understood  it,  as  they  do,  we  would  also  reject 
it.    As  it  is,  we  know  its  worth,  and  adhere  to  its  teaching. 


YELLOW  FEVER,    The  Qreat  Epidemic  of  1878.    The 

Origin,  Character  and  Treatment  of  the  Disease.  By 
T.  P.  Wilson.  M.  D.,  Prof,  of  Theory  and  Practice, 
Pulte  Medical  College. 

As  we  sit  down  to   write,  this  disease,  in    its  devastating 
march,  is  sweeping  on  from  the  Indies  up  through  the  mouth 


240  CineiMMati  Medical  Adwuce. 

of  the  Mississippi  toward  its  coafiaence  with  the  Ohio. 
New  Orleans,  Grenada  and  Memphis  arc  smitten  with  death 
and  terror,  and  toward  all  parts  of  the  Xortii,  the  affrighted 
inhabitants  of  these  cities  are  fieeino^  for  their  lives.  And 
such  is  the  magnitude,  malignancy  and  threatening  power  of 
the  disease,  that  we  are  now  called  opon  to  give  it  the  most 
careful  studv.  In  our  more  northern  latitude  we  have  thought 
it  hardly  worth  while  to  acquaint  ourselves  with  its  character, 
especially  since  for  many  years  past  it  has  confined  itself  to  a 
few  places  in  the  far  South.  But  to-day  it  is  the  talk  of  the 
nation,  and  unless  its  feet  be  stayed,  it  will  soon  be  the  won- 
der of  the  world. 

Yellow  fever  is  classed  bv  modem  nosolosn^ts  amon«r 
acute  infectious  diseases.  The  name  comes  from  a  marked 
but  unimportant  symptom;  and,  as  Flint  remarks,  ^  has  the 
merit  of  not  involving  any  hypothesis  concerning  the  cause 
of  the  disease,'^  and  he  might  have  added  that  it  also  ignores 
the  pathology  as  welL  The  name  indicates  the  fact  that  there 
is  present  fever  and  a  yellow  skin.  But  these  are  not  path- 
ognomonic, and  without  further  investigation,  we  would  be 
left  to  conjecture  what  was  really  the  nature  of  the  affec- 
tion. 

The  object  of  this  paper  is  to  present  in  brief  the  salient 
features  of  this  disease.  Of  its  origin  we  know  nothing.  It 
has  from  time  immemorial  prevailed  in  the  West  Indies.  It 
seem  indicrenous  there,  and  onlv  on  rare  occasions,  like  the 
present,  has  it  burst  its  wonted  bounds  and  gone  abroad  to 
devastate  distant  lands.  Its  occurrence  is  dependent  upon 
meteorological  conditions,  such  as  long  C9ntinued  and  severe 
heat  with  moisture.  South  and  West  winds  promote  its 
spread  and  contrary  winds  check  it. 

Yellow  fcYCT  is  emphatically  a  disease  of  maritime  towns. 
Seamen's  quarters  are  its  hot-bed.  The  essential  germ  which 
causes  it  is  said  to  be  developed  only  on  ships  or  out  of  their 
refuse.  It  has  been  called  the  "  white  man's  curse  ''  because 
it  was  supposed  that  it  seldom  or  never  attacked  a  person  of 
pure  African  blood.  But  the  present  epidemic  has  rendered 
this  extremely  doubtful,  for  it  has  broken  out  with  great  vir- 


Yellow  Fever,  241 

ulence  among  the  blacks,  incited  thereto,  however, 
perhaps  by  the  admixture  of  white  blood  in  their 
veins.  Acclimation  and  an  attack  of  the  disease 
are  pretty  sure  preventives,  A  plausible  theory  of  the 
essential  cause  makes  it  to  be  an  unknown  or  undiscovered 
organism.  They  are  not,  however,  reproduced  in  the  organ- 
ism; they  do  not  multiply  in  it,  nor  migrate  from  it  to  other 
men.  Yellow  fever,  in  this  sense,  then,  is  !:ot  a  contagious  dis- 
ease, but  its  seeds  long  retain  their  poisonous  nature.  They 
are,  under  certain  circumstances,  quite  indestructible,  and 
when  placed  in  suitable  conditions  are  capable  of  kindling  an 
epidemic,  even  faraway  from  the  place  of  origin. 

There  is  no  relation  between  yellow  fever  and  malarial 
diseases.  Exposure  to  the  poison  by  susceptible  persons  is 
followed  by  a  j^eriod  of  incubation  from  two  to  six  days.. 
There  is  little  to  characterize  the  disease  for  two  or  three 
days.  When  it  occurs  sporadically  it  may  at  first  be  mistaken 
for  other  diseases. 

The  attack  at  first  is  generally  sudden.  A  severe  chill  fol- 
lowed by  heat,  with  head  ache,  bone  pains,  backache,  flushed 
face,  injested  eyes  and  great  restlessness  are  common  sym- 
toms.  The  tongue  is  coated  yellow  with  red  edges;  the  mu- 
cous membranes  of  mouth  and  throat  are  reddened  and  per- 
ceptibly puffed  up;  the  stomach  soon  becomes  markedly 
sensitive  and  painful, and  vomiting  becomes  persistent,  espec- 
ially after  taking  food  or  drink;  the  bowels  remain  consti- 
pated. A  generally  fatal  sign  is  hemorrhage  from  the 
stomach  (black  vomit)  or  from  the  nose.  Also  a  marked 
cadaveric  smell  renders  the  prognosis  unfavorable. 

A  point  of  great  interest  in  this  disease  is  the  range  of  tem- 
perature. The  thermometer  shows  a  rapid  and  extensive 
rise  for  three  or  four  days,  with  great  severity  of  all  the  symp- 
toms. From  one  hundred  and  four  to  one  hundred  and  ten 
deo-rees  and  even  higher  have  been  the  points  reached. 

We  reach  now  the  second  stage  of  the  disease.  On  the 
fourth  day  remission  of  all  the  symptoms  comes  suddenly  on. 
The  patient,  to  all  human  appearance,  seems  about  to  recover. 
But  the  appearance  is  deceptive.     In    a   few  hours  the  third 


242  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

and  last  stage  commences  with  a  rise  of  temperature  and  ex- 
acerbation of  all  the  symptoms.  It  is  then  made  manifest 
how  thoroughly  septic  the  blood  has  become.  Rapid  and 
dangerous  hemorrhage  with  delirium  and  coma  with  failure 
of  the  vital  powers,  and  finally  death  to  end  the  scene. 

Wc  have  failed  to  notice  as  an  important  symptom  the  sup- 
pression of  urine  and  that  with  its  complete  suppression 
comes  immediately  fatal  results. 

Post  mortem  appearances  are  by  no  means  uniform.  The 
stomach,  bowels,  liver  and  kidneys  undergo  the  most  marked 
changes.  But  none  of  these  has  peculiar  lesions.  One  im- 
portant and  interesting  fact  is  the  fatty  degeneration  which 
the  tissues  almost  everywhere  undergo, 

Wc  2)ass  now  to  the  consideration  of  the  treatment  of 
yellow  fever.  The  inadequacy  of  allopathic  medication  is 
emphatically  confessed  by  the  latest  and  best  writers  of  that 
boasting  school.  The  standard  remedies,  such  as  Quinine, 
Opium  and  Ca/omeZ,  are  by  Flint  counted  of  more  than  doubt- 
ful value;  they  have  proven  to  be  highly  injurious  and  fatal  in 
their  results.  The  former  practice  of  using  purgatives  and 
blood  letting  are  looked  upon  by  intelligent  allopathists  even 
with  horror.  Ilaenisch,  in  Ziemsscn's  Cyclopedia  of  Medi- 
cine, points  out  no  rational  or  specific  course  of  treatment. 
There  is  nothing  left  for  the  allopathic  school  but  expectant 
or  do-nothing  treatment. 

Ilomojopathy  otters  us  much  that  is  better,  both  theoretic- 
ally and  practically.  Similia  gives  us  many  potent  and  ade- 
quate remedies.  By  a  curious  transposition  of  ideas,  one  re- 
cent allopathic  writer  indulges  in  the  following:  *'  But  until 
we  have  found  this  specific  remedy  (for  vellow  fever)  we 
are  thrown  back  upon  a  symptomatic  treatment,"  This  may 
be  said  to  be  a  medical  conception  in  a  mirage.  It  simply  in- 
verts the  actual  lacts.  Why  instead  of  seeking  that  will-o'- 
the-wisp,  a  specific  medicine,  we  should  seek  for  the  cause. 
We  want  no  better  guide  than  symptomatic  indications.  The 
same  author  innocently  adds:  "This  must  not,  however,  be 
carried  out  on  any  fixed  plan  but  must  fully  recognize  the  in- 
dividual    peculiarities  of   each   case."     Now,    if  we    didn't 


Ydlow  Fever,  243 

know  this  writer  to  be  an  allopath,  we  would  think  him  an 
intelligent  disciple  of  Hahnemann.  He  talks  remarkable 
sense  for  one  of  his  school,  barring  the  fact  that  he  does  not 
seem  to  see  that  you  could  not  carry  your  symptomatic  treat- 
ment too  far  if  you  wish  to  maintain  your  recognition  of  the 
"individual  peculiarities  of  each  case." 

This  then  is  just  what  we  want  —  what  we  must  have  in 
order  to  treat  a  case  homoeopathically.  We  recognize  the 
peculiarities  of  each  case,  and  lind  for  each  the  wanted  spe- 
cific by  a  careful  comparison  of  the  symptoms  with  the 
pathogenesis  of  our  drugs.  The  number  of  remedial  agents 
likely  to  be  used  in  yellow  fever  is  not  large.  They  are  all 
of  them,  by  their  provings,  well  known  to  every  intelligent 
student  of  our  materia  medica. 

Li>T  OF  Remedies. — Aconite^  Argent,  nitr.^  Arsenicum^ 
Bell.,  Bry\,  Baptisia,  Camphora,  Canth.^  Cham.,  Carbo,  veg,, 
(.'epn,  Crofa/us,  C  rot  on  tig.,  Ctiprum,  Ipecac,  Merc,  Nux  vom., 
Bkti.^  tox., Sulphur,  Veratrum. 

From  this  list  no  drug  could  be  excluded  that  showed  in 
its  provings  marked  symptoms  similar  to  the  disease.  Two 
classes  of  men  will  look  contemptuously  on  this  list:  the  one 
is  lazv  and  the  other  is  i^jnorant. 

How  much  easier  to  find  and  use  a  specific  (if  it  were  pos- 
sible) for  yellow  fevei%  under  whatever  conditions  it  might 
come,  than  to  study  the  "  individual  peculiarities  of  each 
case"  and  prescribe  according  to  the  law  of  similia.  This, 
however,  we  must  do  if  we  would  achieve  th'e  highest  suc- 
cess. Of  the  remedies  named,  Arsenicum,  Camphor,  Lachesis, 
Xitrate  of  silver,  and  Bhus  tox.  deserve  special  notice.  We 
lack  space  to  give  their  pathogeneses.  But  this  is  not  neces- 
sary. The  preventive  measures  necessary  to  check  or  avoid 
an  epidemic  are  of  the  highest  importance  to  all.  The  best 
mode  of  nursing  patients  with  this  disease  is  of  the  highest 
consideration,  but  as  neither  of  these  departments  have  any- 
thing in  them  peculiar  to  yellow  fever,  and  as  we  have  ex- 
hausted our  allotted  sj^ace,  wc  omit  these  considerations. 


244  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 


A  National  Sanitary  Preoantion,     By  the  Editor  of   the  Sci- 
entific American. 

A  sanitary  measure  of  more  than  ordinary  importance,  not 
only  to  the  Southern  seaboard  States  but  to  the  country  at 
large,  has  recently  been  passed  in  the  form  of  a  bill  to  be 
known  as  the  "National  Quarantine  Act  of  1878,"  the  object 
of  which  shall  be,  by  means  of  an  efficient,  uniform,  nation- 
al system  of  quarantine,  to  prevent  the  introduction  of  con 
tagious  or  infectious  diseases  into  the  United  States.  It  is 
to  bo  understood,  however,  that  while  it  may  assist,  it  shall  in 
no  wise  interfere  with,  the  present  or  future  rules,  regula- 
tions, or  workings  of  any  State  or  muncipal  boards  of  health. 
The  diseases  against  which  the  provisions  of  this  bill 
are  more  particularly  designed  to  guard  the  prople  are 
those  two  scourges  to  humanity — Asiatic  cholera  and  yellow 
fever — the  ravages  of  which  have  frequently  been  so  ap- 
palling. The  hope  that  the  measures  proposed  in  this  act — 
vigorously  carried  out,  and  aided  by  the  cooperation  of  local 
State  officials — may  in  time  succeed  in  shutting  out  these 
two  diseases  from  the  country,  is  encouraged  by  the  fact 
that  science  has  conclusively  demonstrated  that  both  arc  of 
foreign  origin,  and  that  there  is  no  place  within  the  United 
States  where  they  have  been  naturalized. 

In  Asiatic  cholera  we  have  a  disease  caused  by  the  access 
to  the  alimentary  canal  of  a  specific  form  of  organic  poison, 
which  is  portable,  communicable,  and  capable  of  reproduc- 
ing itself  in  every  body  in  which  it  obtains  lodgment.  It 
always  has  its  origin  in  Hiudoostan;  and  whenever  it  ap- 
pears outside  of  the  limits  of  that  country  it  is  absolutely 
certain  that  it  is  an  exotic.  It  was  in  1756  that  the  fact  was 
first  recognized  that  the  disease  is  a  periodically  returning 
twelve-year  epidemic,  connected  with  the  twelve-yearly  Hin- 
doo festivals  at  the  great  temples.  The  prevailing  direction 
in  which  the  epidemic  always  advances  from  its  birthplace  is 
to  the  West  and  North,  always  proceeding  along  the  lines 
of  the  greatest  and  most  rapid  travel;  and,  at  each  i^eriodical 


A  National  Sanitary  Precaution.  245 

recurrence,  extending  its  limits  and  spreading  itself  over 
an  increase  of  territory.  It  made  its  first  visit  to  the  United 
States  in  1832,  starting  from  Quebec,  where  it  had  been  in- 
troduced by  ten  or  twelve  Irish  emigrant  ships.  From  this 
time  on,  its  periodical  returns  have  been  pretty  uniform; 
and  judging  from  the  past,  wo  should  expect  another  out- 
burst  either  during  the  present  or  next  year. 

In  our  next  contest  with  the  epidemic,  our  whole  safety 
lies  in  efficient  quarantine  and  thorough  disinfection. 

As  of  cholera,  so  we  may  say  of  yellow  fever,   it  comes  in 
every  case  from  without;  there  is  no  spot   it  the  United 
States  where  it  is  indigenous.     Its  birthplaces  are   the  West 
Indies,  the  South  American  coast,  and,  possibly,   Vera  Cruz 
in  Mexico.     From  these  neighboring  countries  it  invades, 
almost  every  summer,  our  sea-board  cities,  and  occasionally 
produces  a  desolation  such  as  words  fail  to  describe.     This 
disease  made  its  first  appearance  in  this  country  in  1668, 
and  from  that  time  down  to  1877  it  had  visited  us  seven  hun- 
dred and  forty -one  times,  spread  its  ravages  to  two  hundred 
and  twenty-eight  cities  and  towns,  and  extended  to  twent}'- 
eight  States  of  the  Union,  causing  sixty-five  thousand,  three 
hundred  and  eleven   deaths  counted — besides  the  innumer- 
able deaths  of  which  no  record  was  made.     Of  all  these    nu- 
merous appearances   of  the  disease  among  ns,  forty-five  per 
cent,  are  directly  traceable  to  foreign  origin. 

In  a  commercial  point  of  view,  likewise,  have  the  losses 
to  the  country  been  incalculable.  In  a  memorial  accom- 
panying this  bill,  from  a  convention  of  representatives  of 
the  Southern  seaport  towns,  held  at  Jacksonville,  it  is  assert- 
ed that  the  losses  produced  by  the  epidemic  which  raged  in 
the  city  of  Savannah  in  1876  amount  to  ^vq  million,  eight 
hundred  thousand  dollars,  or  nearly  one-half  the  present 
value  of  the  whole  taxable  real  estate  of  the  city.  Multiply, 
ing  this  particular  loss  by  the  many  similar  ones  occurring 
annually  in  our  other  cotton  ports,  the  result  will  be  found 
to  be  startling  indeed. 

Since,  then,  the  fact  is  so  well  established  that  these  two 
fearful    diseases  which  carry  such  destruction  to  life  and 
Sep-2 


246  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

property  in  their  trail  are  entirely  of  foreign  origin;  that 
they  must  cross  oceans  before  they  can  obtain  lodgment  on 
our  shores,  that  they  must  be  brought  in  ^hips,  hidden  in 
clothing,  bedding  or  personal  luggage,  or  actively  at  work 
on  the  systems  of  passengers,  and  they  thus  become  a  part, 
and  parcel  of  our  commercial  intercourse  with  other  nations, 
surely  Congress — which  has  authority  to  regulate  this  com- 
merce— can  and  probably  will,  with  the  earnest  cooperation 
of  local  authorities  aided  by  the  provisions  of  this  bill,  con- 
trol the  visits  of  these  terrible  concomitants  of  our  foreign 
trade. 


■»  »■ 


®l|(Di|  ^nh  ^mtiiu. 


Intermittent  Fever.     By  Geo.  M.  Ockford,  M.  D.,  Burlington, 
Vt. 

How  shall  we  cure  intennittents?  is  a  question  often  asked 
by  homo'opathic  physicians.  Those  living  in  non-malarious 
districts  answer  invariably  "with  homa3opathic  remedies" — 
to  which  we  respond  with  a  hearty  answer.  But  go  among 
physicians  practicing  in  sections  of  country  where  malaria 
is  rampant,  and  you  will  hear  a  different  story.  "Cure  chills 
and  fever  the  best  you  can,"  is  their  advice  generally.  Now 
it  is  doubtful  whether  a  cure  can  be  made  in  any  other  man- 
ner than  by  the  law  of  Similia  similihus  curantur,  al- 
though a  patient  may  get  well  under  treatment  in  which  it  is 
hard  to  see  even  the  shadow  of  that  law,  as -in  cures  made  by 
hydropathy,  electricity,  movement  cures  and  other  methods. 


Theory  and  Practice.  247 

I  had  the  fortune,  or  misfortune,  as  you  please,  to  reside  in 
a  highly  malarious  district  for  seven  years,  and  in  that  time, 
my  intermittent  fever  cases  were  numerous,  sometimes  as 
many  as  a  score  a  day  coming  under  treatment.  Upon  the 
start  I  was  filled  with  the  all  sufficiency  of  the  ^w  of  similia, 
and  was  going  to  cure  all  cases  with  high  attenuations,  selec- 
ted strictly  according  to  that  law.  And  I  made  a  great 
many  cures  in  that  way,  but  I  soon  found  there  were  a  large 
number  of  cases  in  which  it  was  beyond  my  ken  to  pick  out 
the  essential  indicatons  for  remedies,  or  to  find  a  remedy 
suitable  for  every  case.  In  vain  "Boenninghausen  on  Inter- 
mittents"  and  much  other  literature  was  pored  over.  My 
note  book  was  filled  with  "line  upon  line,"  relating  to  this 
complaint.  Indications  according  to  appearance  of  thirst, 
according  to  pains  and  concomitant  phenomena  were  sedu- 
lously consulted  but  still  my  patients  would  shake  and  as  a 
consequence  my  reputation  suffered.  1  his  did  not  shake 
my  faith  in  Homoeopathy,  and  it  is  still  my  belief  that  we 
have  a  remedy  for  every  case  of  intermittent  that  exists,  but 
at  the  same  time  our  imperfect  knowledge  of  our  materia 
medica  often  prevents  our  being  able  to  prescribe  the  exact 
similimum.  The  great  difficulty  is  to  sift  out  from  the  mass 
of  symptoms  common  to  every  case  those  which  are  essen- 
tial and  that  point  to  the  remedy.  Almost  every  remedy  in 
our  pharmacopeia  has  among  its  provings  chills,  fever  and 
sweat,  and  very  frequently  this  was  about  the  extent  of  our 
knowledge  concerning  many  cases  none  of  the  concomi- 
tants could  be  learned.  "Please  send  something  for  chills," 
was  the  popular  form  of  communication,  and  Aeon,  I^ux  vom, 
or  some  other  remedy  might  have  been  the  right  one,  and  if 
indicated  would  have  been  sufficient.  This  was  uncertain, 
however,  while  at  the  same  time  our  allopothic  competitors 
gave  qumine  and  stopped  the  chills.  We  made  a  good 
many  cures  with  attenuated  drugs,  but  I  am  free  to  admit 
that  in  a  majority  of  cases  our  success  was  not  flattering^ 
The  single  dose  was  tried,  but  it  was  not  as  successful  as  re- 
peated doses.  Some  patients  with  firm  reliance  on  Ilomceop- 
athy  had    attacks   of  several  weeks   duration  while   others 


248  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

cured  themselves  with  patent  nostrums.  Still  we  did  not  aban- 
don our  homoeopathic  practice  in  this  class  of  complaints,  but 
adopted  a  rule  that  in  all  cases  where  the  homoeopathic  rem- 
edy was  not  clearly  indicated  to  give  some  anti-periodic, 
such  asQuininey  Cinchona,  Saliciu,  Ferrocyanuret  of  iron,  etc. 
In  giving  quinine  our  first  indication  was  to  stop  the  chill,  or 
to  prevent  a  return  of  a  paroxysm.  This  was  accomplished  by 
the  administration  of  a  quantity  varying  from  one  to  fifteen 
grains  given  during  the  apyrexia.  Having  accomplished 
this,  we  omitted  all  medication,  unless  morbid  conditions 
arose,  for  nearly  two  weeks  or  until  the  thirteenth  day  after 
the  chill,  and  then  and  on  the  fourteenth  and  on  everv  sev- 
enth  day  thereafter  until  the  forty-first  and  forty-second  day, 
we  gave  as  a  preventive  of  a  return  a  dose  of  from  two  to 
five  grains  of  the  drug.  Without  this  after  treatment,  a  re- 
currence would  almost  invariably  follow,  and  this  frequently 
occurred  when  the  original  attack  had  been  cured  by  a  highly 
attenuated  drug.  The  patients  thus  treated  were  cured  of 
their  mtermittents,  five  and  six  yeais  having  elapsed  in 
many  cases  without  any  return.  Of  remedies  used,  Arsen. 
Xatrxim  muriat,  Nux  vom.,  Eupatorium,  Thus,  Cedron  and 
Cftnchalagua  were  most  frequently  indicated,  but  a  great 
many  cures  were  made  with  such  remedies  as  Petroleum,  lo- 
dine.  Aloe,  and  others  of  no  reputation  as  chill  and  fever 
remedies. 

It  is  not  claimed  that  this  treatment  is  strictly  homoeopathic, 
but  the  patients  recovered,  and  they  were  cured  to  all  intents 
and  purposes.  We  recognize  the  law  of  similia  as  being 
universal  in  the  treatment  of  disease,  and  the  time  may  come 
when  our  materia  medica  shall  be  so  systemized  that  all  cures 
may  be  made  in  accordance  therewith.  The  rationale  of  the 
treatment  by  anti-periodics  has  been  variously  explained. 
Some  have  advanced  the  theory  of  antidotal  treatment  to  the 
malarial  poison.  But  I  have  another  theory.  The  course  of 
an  ordinany  intermittent  is  from  four  to  six  weeks,  and  I  have 
seen  recoveries  in  that  time,  under  the  expectant  method. 
Now  if  we  can  carry  the  patient  over  this  period,  nature  will 
perform  a  cure,  and  by  giving  Quinine  as   I  have  indicated. 


Theory  and  Practice,  249 

we  do  not  give  enough  to  produce  a  china-cachexia,  and  at 
the  same  by  giving  tone  to  the  system  we  assist  nature,  and 
the  patient  recovers.  Of  course,  this  mode  of  treatment  was 
only  applied  to  acute  cases,  for  in  the  treatment  of  chronic 
cases,  strict  homoeopathic  medication  meets  every  require- 
ment. It  gave  full  satisfaction  to  the  patients,  and  was  satis- 
factory to  the  physician,  inasmuch  as  it  enabled  him  to  fulfill 
the  priminary  duty  we  owe  to  our  patients  viz:  to  cure  them. 
If  any  one  can  show  a  better  practical  way  to  treat  this  dis- 
ease, and  one  more  in  accordance  with  the  Hahnemannian 
doctrine,  I  am  iTTlling  to  be  taught.  But  let  genuine  cures 
only  be  reported.  Sometime  ago,  I  remember  a  practitioner 
who  reported  a  number  of  cures  made  with  high  attenua- 
tions, but  the  glory  of  his  practice  was  somewhat  dimmed 
when  it  became  known  that  iu  addition  to  the  indicated  reme- 
dy, he  habitually  gave  a  mixture  containing  large  quanti- 
ties of  quinine  as  a  tonic!  Let  us  conform  to  the  law  o{  Si- 
milia  similihus  curantiir  as  far  as  it  is  in  our  power,  but  never 
lose  sight  of  the  fact  that  we  are  primarily  physicians, 
whose  duty  it  is  to  cure  our  patients,  even  if  in  so  doing  we 
become  Ilomoeopathists.  Secondarily — our  law  is  grand 
and  good,  but  in  its  adaptation  to  the  treatment  of  disease 
we  are  aften  forced  to  exclaim: 

"  The  good,  His  true,  are  Heaven's  peculiar  care  ; 
But  who  but  Heaven  shall  show  us  who  they  are  ?  " 


Angina  Pectoris. — Ammia  Carb, — I  have  found  great 
and  immediate  relief  in  angina  pectoris,  with  one  drop 
doses  of  Ammonia  every  fifteen  minutes.  I  have  also  found 
it  useful  in  warding  off  attacks.  Will  your  readers  please 
give  this  a  trial  and  report  results  to  me,  as  I  am  preparing 
an  article  on  the  subject  and  would  like  clinical  experience 
— L,  B.  Couch,  Nyack,  N.  Y. 


250  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 


Malignant  Diphtheria.      By   H.  W.  Taylor,   M.  D.,  Craw- 
fordsville,  Ind. 

What  we  learn  in  actual  experience  can  never,  perhaps,  be 
so  perfectly  communicated  to  any  one  else,  as  to  impress  him 
as  we  have  been  impressed.  The  light  that  burst  upon  the 
midnight  blackness  of  my  path,  will  never  glow  so  brightly 
upon  my  neighbor's  road.  Its  rays  are  refracted  by  the 
poor  medium  of  words;  and  the  angle  of  incidence  is  a  thou- 
sand times  greater  than  the  the  angle  of  reflection. 

These  thoughts  because  Dr.  Pennoycr,  of  KenOvsha  Wis., 
told  me  that  he  had  lost  a  case  of  malignant  diphtheria  with 
the  treatment  by  Kali  Ckloricum,  as  described  by  myself  in 
the  "American  Observer." 

"Did  you  bring  out  the  eruption ?"  Not  that  he  remem- 
bered. Had  not  observed  an  eruption.  In  fact,  had  not 
looked  for  it. 

And  just  here  is  the  point.  If  malignant  diphtheria  and 
malignant  scarlatina  are  not  identical,  then  there  is  no  signi- 
ficance in  analogy,  and  no  virtue  in  the  opposing  forces  of 
similar  poisons.  For,  that  they  are  similar,  all  pathologists 
admit;  and  the  power  of  their  argument  is  spent  in  attempt- 
ing to  prove  their  non-identity. 

If  they  were  similar  and  not  identical  poisons,  do  not  we 
of  the  faith  of  Hahnemann  know  beyond  a  peradventurc  that 
no  fatal  epidemic  of  diphtheria  could  go  hand  in  hand  with  a 
fatal  epidemic  of  scarlatina?  Do  we  not  know  beyond  the 
shadow  of  a  doubt,  that  these  poisons  being  simihir 
would  destrov  the  other.?  And  do  we  not  know  that  the 
law  of  similars  must  be  riven  as  with  a  thunderbolt,  if  we 
admit  that  two  similar  non-identical  poisons  can  simultane- 
ously work  out  their  utmost  virulence  upon  one  organism,  as 
in  the  case  detailed  by  Flint?  Page  loio.  Flint's  Practice, 
Ed.  1S73. 

And  what  could  be  found  more  flimsy  than  Flint's  specious 
arguments  against  their  identity?  As  to  albuminuria,  I  am 
sure  that  it  is  as  often  an  accompaniment  and  sequel  of  mal- 


Theory  and  Practice.  251 

ignant  diphtheria  as  is  any  other  prominent  symptom.  I  saw 
albumen  in  the  urine  of  fourteen  such  patients.  In  one  more 
than  four  weeks  after  recovery — showing  that  it  was  not  a 
mere  transitory  accident,  such  as  might  have  occurred  after  a 
severe  pneumonia. 

The  point  of  identity  is  a  vital  one  and  brings  me  back  to 
the  6rst  proposition.  Malignant  diphtheria  becomes  merely 
a  severe  scarlatina  under  the  action  of  the  Potassic  chlorate. 
And  the  first  evidence  of  this  happy  change  is  the  slate-brown 
eruption  on  neck,  chest,  back  and  limbs,  sometimes  com- 
pletely covering  the  whole  body — sometimes  confined  to  a 
limited  area. 

And  here  is  the  fault  with  Dr.  Pennoyer's  case.  The  dose 
being  relative,  and  not  absolute,  my  formula  was  not  strong 
enough  ;  and  the  quantity  should  have  been  increased  to  the 
point  of  producing  the  eruption.  Give  the  saturated  solution 
sufliciently  often,  and  in  sufllicient  quantities  for  dose  to  bring 
out  this  eruption,  and  your  patient  is  saved.  The  case  is  con- 
verted from  a  malignant  diphtheria  to  an  ordinary  scarlatina, 

I 

with  the  great  tendency  to  recovery. 

The  fact  that  the  basic  lesion — the  one  constant  pathologi- 
cal fact  is  the  acute  desquamative  nephritis  in  both  diseases 
is  good  evidence  of  identity.  Corelated  to  this,  is  the  lately 
ascertained  fact  that  the  false  membrane  on  the  fauces  and 
larynx,  is  not  a  false  membrane  at  all.  In  fact,  it  is  a  true  des- 
quamation of  the  epithelial  covering  of  those  parts  and  identical 
•  with  the  desquamative  process  that  takes  place  in  the  urini- 
ferous  tubules,  and  which  constitutes  the  characteristic  lesion 
of  scarlatina. 

Four  cases  of  malignant  diphtheria  have  been  under  my 
observation  since  the  middle  of  April.  All  four  had  swelling 
of  lateral  servical  glands,  occlusion  of  nostrils;  complete  loss 
of  appetite;  temperature  above  102.5,  pulse  increased  forty  to 
sixty  beats;  in  one  there  was  slight  hoarseness,  in  another 
coughing  on  swallowing  water;  in  both  of  which  symptoms 
indicate  commencing  invasion  of  the  larynx.  Unceasing  rest- 
lessness was  prominent  in  all — showing  that  dangerous  sub- 
oxydation   threatened  to  overwhelm  them.      One   of  these 


252  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

cases  had  so  prominently  the  Lac  caniimm  symptoms  that  I 
insisted  on  giving  Swan's  much  abused  drug.  The  case, 
however,  was  under  the  immediate  control  of  my  brother, 
J.  W,  Taylor,  and  he  had  too  much  faith  in  the  Potassic  chlo- 
rate to  exchange  it  for  any  other  drug.  All  these  cases  re- 
covered perfectly. 

Is  the  slate-colored  eruption  that  darkened  the  skins  of  all 
these  little  people  a  pathogenetic  symptom  of  Kali  chlor.  ? 
I  thought  so  once,  but  am  now  in  doubt.  This  same  slate 
colored  eruption  is  the  one  that  appears  so  transitory  in  ma- 
lignant fatal  scarlatina.  It  appeared  in  all  my  cases  of  ma- 
lignant diphtheria — even  on  my  own  child. 

Eight  times  have  I  tried  to  produce  that  eruption  upon  the 
healthy  body.  Eight  times  I  have  failed;  although  three 
times  I  gave  much  more  of  the  Chlorate  than  in  any  of  my 
diphtheria  cases.  In  one  of  these  little  provers  of  Kali  chlor. 
the  drug  produced  such  profound  cardiac  depression  as  to 
frighten  me.  It  was  my  own  four-year-old  girl — little  Ruth, 
who  so  narrowly  escaped  with  her  life,  after  my  household 
was  decimated  in  those  wet,  dark,  winter  days.  Why  was 
it  that  a  comparatively  small  quantity  of  the  drug  was  able  to 
threaten  her  life  now,  when  ten  times  the  amount  had  cours- 
ed for  days  through  her  arteries  and  veins  only  to  do  a  good 
work?  Was  it  not  that  in  the  fierce  battle  between  the  drug 
and  the  murderous  diphtheritic  poison,  the  tissues  escaped 
the  direct  venom  of  both. 

Yesterday  I  prescribed  for  a  two  year  old  boy.  His  tem- 
perature was  103°,  pulse  150;  lateral  cervical  glands  enlarged; 
tonsil  and  submaxillary  glands  greatly  engorged,  much  oedema 
of  cellular  tissue  of  neck  and  throat;  had  two  hard  convul- 
sions two  hours  apart  within  twenty-four  hours  from  the  in- 
vasion; cough  hoarsely,  and  has  patches  of  membrance  scat- 
tered over  the  pharynx.  If  aught  is  to  be  done  here,  I  must 
work  rapidly,  heroically,  because  these  symptoms  point 
ominously  to  a  fatal  termination.  Kali  chlor.,  saturated  so- 
lution, one  teaspoonful  every  hour  from  five  p.  m.  until  ten 
a.  m.  to-day.  In  that  time  at  least  forty  grains  of  the  drug 
will  have  been  given  to  a  babe  of  two  years.      I  am  almost 


Theory  and  Practce.  253 

tempted  to  await  the  termination  of  this  case  before  forward- 
ing this  article.  But,  however  it  may  be,  I  shall  faithfully 
and  honestly  record  it  at  some  future  day,  even  though  it  go 
to  prove  that  my  drug  is  not  all  I  believe  it  to  be. 

Can  I  not  be  strictly,  rigidly  just  to  this  drug,  although  I 
clasp  it  to  my  parental  heart  as  the  angel  of  mercy  that  came 
to  me  while  all  those  dreary  days  the  leaden  clouds  wept 
ceaselessly,  hopelessly?  Is  the  physician  so  merged  in  th^ 
father  as  to  render  calm  discrimination  impossible?  We 
shall  see. 


%|ii|alttHJl«i9§  att&  ^loljjgg. 


Anomalous  Case  from  Practice.     By  w.  A.  Phillips,  M.  D., 

Cleveland,  Ohio.     Read  before  the  American  Homoeo- 
pathic Ophthalmological  and  Otological  Society. 

The  case  I  have  to  report  is  one  of  congenital  temporary 
amblyopia  induced  by  eating. 

The  possessor  of  this  rare,  if  not  unique  peculiarity,  which 
rises  to  the  dignity  of  an  ophthalmic  curiosity,  is  a  lady 
twenty -nine  years  of  age,  hypermetropic  astigmatic,  prev- 
iously the  subject  of  convergent  strabismus,  but  subsequent- 
ly cured  by  orthopaedic  gymnastics,  together  with  amblyopia 
exanopsia  of  the  right  eye.  Specifically  as  regards  error  of 
refraction  and  the  acuity  of  vision  I  find  as  follows: 

Left  eye,  without  glass,  v.=:^;  with  convex  30;  combined 
witn  convex  42  cylindrical  axis  horizontal,  v.=|^  or  normal; 
after  eating,  v.=J^,  improved  to  \^  with  the  above  combina- 
tion of  lenses. 


254  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

.  Right  eye,  without  glass,  v.=4-J^,  but  with  the  same  ad- 
justment of  lenses  as  given  for  the  left  eye,  v.=^;  after  eat- 
ing, v.=-jij^,  improved  to  \^  w^ith  the  glass. 

The  impairment  of  vision  never  fails  to  result  in  consequence 
of  eating,  and  is  sonietimes  produced  in  a  less  degree  by  drink- 
ing, and  even  by  brushing  the  teeth.  The  impairment  is  cor- 
respondingly great  for  near  and  for  distant  vision.  The 
blindness  occurs  suddenly  and  continues  from  twenty  minutes 
to  an  hour,  disappearing  gradually;  commonly  half  an  hour 
is  required  for  the  sight  to  return.  Anything  very  cold  taken 
into  the  mouth,  especially  ice  cream,  produces  more  marked 
and  long  continued  blindness  than  food  which  is  warm  or 
very  hot.  The  ophthalmoscope  does  not  reveal  any  appreci- 
able change  in  the  interior  of  the  eyes,  there  is  no  contrac- 
tion or  dilatation  of  the  pupil,  or  abnormal  appearance  of 
any  kind  whatsoever. 

The  difficulty  of  distinguishing  different  articles  on  the 
table,  especially  if  seated  with  comparative  strangers,  leads 
to  embarrassment  through  the  appearance  of  being  noticeably 
awkward,  and  hence  the  life  longannoyance  to  which  she  has 
been  subjected  is  not  easily  appreciated.  Curiously  enough 
she  has  never  enjoyed  the  advantage  of  properly  selected 
glasses,  having  used  convex  thirty-six,  which  render  her  vis- 
ion only  ^  J,  and  which  improved  the  vision  after  eating  so 
slightly  that  she  had  never  worn  glasses  at  all  after  eating; 
but  with  the  cylindrical  glasses  she  can  see  to  do  justice  to 
the  contents  of  the  festive  board  with  comparative  ease. 

Remarks. — Impairment  of  vision  without  any  appreciable 
change  in  the  fundus  of  the  eye  is  a  circumstance  that  some- 
times occurs  to  put  the  most  skillful  of  our  craft  to  their  wit's 
end  in  the  endeavor  to  discover  the  cause  and  to  institute  a 
line  of  treatment  that  shall  prove  adequate  to  secure  relief. 
Frequently  in  those  cases  due  to  toxic  influences,  exerted  by 
such  agents  as  Alcohol^  Tobacco  and  Lead,  sooner  or  later  de- 
generative changes  are  observed  which  fully  account  for 
the  gravity  of  the  trouble,  and  lead  to  the  warrantable  infer- 
ence that  the  visible  change  had  previously  been  wrought 
deeper  in  the  nerve  substance,   or  even  in  the   brain    itself. 


Ophthalmology  and  Otology,  255 

Still  with  all  the  careful  investigations  of  eminent  patholo- 
gists the  exact  manner  of  the  action  of  toxic  agents  is  not 
plain  as  to  how  the  change  is  affected  by  which  the  ambly- 
opia is  occasioned.  But  still  more  obscure  is  the  line  of  ac- 
tion and  certainly  more  unsatisfactory  any  explanation  which 
can  account  for  so  great  a  disturbance  of  visual  power  by  so . 
natural  and  highly  important  a  proceedure  as  the  consump- 
tion of  food. 

With  our  knowledge  of  the  anatomy  and  physiology  of 
the  human  economy  in  relation  to  the  manner  in  which  the 
activities  of  the  various  organs  are  carried  on,  we  may  safely 
conclude  that  there  are  at  least  three  immediate  and  distinct 
ways  by  which  the  function  of  the  optic  nerve  or  retina  may 
be  temporarily  or  even  permanently  impaired,  namely:  First, 
Disturbance  of  the  circulation  by  which  the  blood  vessels 
are  either  congested  or  anemic.  Second,  Blood  poisoning  by 
which  the  nutrition  of  the  nerve  tissue  is  lessened,  or  its  nor- 
mal action  otherwise  perverted  by  the  poison  in.  a  manner 
not  definitely  known.  Third,  Reflex  action  by  which  an  im- 
pression upon  one  or  more  nerves  is  communicated  to  the 
optic  nerve  or  retina  thus  making  the-  amblyopia  a  purely 
nervous  phenomenon.  In  gastric  disturbance  due  to  over  eat- 
ing, especially  in  persons  of  a  plethoric  habit,  it  is  not  un- 
usual that  the  acuity  of  vision  is  somewhat  impaired  in  con- 
sequence of  turgesence  of  the  blood  vessels  of  the  interior 
of  the  eve,  while  from  the  well  known  action  of  Alcohol  to 
congest  the  vessels  about  the  head  and  face,  it  is  likely  that  a 
similar  pressure  is  exerted  on  the  basilar  layer,  and  thus  di- 
minishes the  sensibility  of  the  retina  to  visual  impressions. 
As  the  case  in  question,  by  a  test  with  glasses  showed,  was 
not  produced  by  spasm  or  paresis  of  the  accommodation,  I 
felt  confident  that  a  careful  exploration  with  the  ophthalmos- 
cope would  reveal  a  congested  condition  of  the  ocular  tunics 
sufficient  to  account  for  the  loss  of  sight.  But  the  most  skill- 
ful examination  I  am  able  to  make  does  not  show  any  per- 
ceptible alteration  in  the  vascular  supply,  and  hence  the  spec- 
ulation seems  admissible  that  the  amblyopia  is  produced  by 
an  irritation  of  the  fifth  nerve — the  irritation  or   impression 


256  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

sustained  by  this  nerve  being  so  reflected  upon  the  optic 
nerve  or  retina  as  to  obtund  the  special  function  of  one  or 
both  of  these  structures.  Were  it  not  that  brushing  the  teeth 
will  sometimes  occasion  noticeable  impairment  of  sight,  I 
should  be  inclined  to  attribute  the  cause  of  this  curious  freak 
to  the  influence  of  the  pneumogastric  nerve,  as  the  greatest 
blindness  occurs  after  the  food  has  been  sw^allowed. 


» ♦ 


Eeoent  Advances  in  Ophtlialmology,    By  Alfred  Wanstail,  M. 

D.,  Baltimore,  Md.     Read  before  the  American  Horn- 

GQopathic   Ophthalmological  and    Otological    Society. 
Part  II. 

New  Searches  in  Keratoplasty.  By  Dr.  Durr  in  Hanover, 
(Kl.  Bl.) 

Dr.  Durr  has  succeeded  in  transplanting  the  cornea  of  one 
rabbit  to  the  eye  of  another.  He  forms  a  corneal  flap  of  the 
desired  size,  with  the  base  on  the  scleral  border.  In  cutting 
out  make  the  section  through  the  scleral  ring  as  in  Graefe's 
method  of  extraction,  so  that  a  section  of  the  sclera,  and  a 
conjunctival  flap  is  included  in  the  excised  piece. 

A  corneal  wound  is  made  on  the  eye  of  the  animal  under 
examination  one  Mm.  smaller  than  the  flap  to  be  transplant- 
ed; the  conjunctiva  is  removed  from  the  scleral  ring  and  un- 
dermined for  some  distance  back.  The  corneal  flap  is  trans- 
ferred and  its  conjunctional  flap  shoved  into  this  pocket  and 
fastened  with  sutures.  After  the  correct  arrangement  of 
the  flap  the  lids  are  closed  by  sutures.  At  the  end  of  six 
weeks  the  healing  and  assimilation  is  complete. 

The  first  one  practiced  on  the  human  was  practiced  on  a 
boy  ten  years  old  whose  eyes  were  leucomatous.  A  flap  was 
transplanted  from  a  rabbit,  which  at  the  end  of  two  months 


Ophthalmology  and  Otology.  257 

presented  itself  in  the  leucoma  as  an  island  of  uninjured  cor- 
neal substance.  The  patient  only  distinguished  light  from 
darkness  before  the  operation,  saw  large  objects  after  it,  and 
learned  to  locate. 

Durr  has  since  made  the  operation  on  the  human  eye  six 
times;  twice  for  leucoma,  twice  for  strong  corneal  turbidi- 
ties; once  for  ulcus  perforans,  and  once  for  peripheral  ulcer 
of  the  cornea  which  could  not  be  healed  by  other  means. 
The  transplantation  took  five  times;  in  the  last  case  it  did 
not  heal  on  account  of  the  restlessness  of  the  patient. 

Operative  Treatment  of  Total  Leucoma.  v.  Hippel,  Oph- 
thalmological  Society,  Heidelberg,  1877. 

The  author  mentions  the  three  methods  formerly  in  vogue 
namely  sclerotomy,  the  introduction  of  a  cornea  artificialis 
(Nussbaum),  and  keratoplasty.  After  reviewing  Nuss- 
baum's  artificial  cornea,  he  describes  his  own  ingenious  in- 
vention, which  consists  if  a  finely  polished  round  glass  two 
millimetres  in  diameter  and  from  one  to  two  metres  high;  it  is 
held  by  a  silver  or  gold  fastening  one-half  Mm.  thick  and  the 
same  height  as  the  glass.  On  its  posterior  edge  it  has  a  very 
thin,  smooth  polished  border  one  Mm.  wide,  which  serves 
to  grasp  the  posterior  surface  of  the  leucoma;  on  the  anterior 
edge  of  the  fastening  is  a  border  of  paper  thinness  and  scarcely 
one  Mm.  wide  which  hinders  the  glass  from  sinking  into  the 
eye.  It  is  so  arranged  that  when  the  setting  is  definitely 
healed  in  the  eye  the  glass  can  be  removed  (for  the  purpose 
of  cleansing)  without  disturbing  the  setting. 

The  operation  consists  in  removing  a  round  button  from 
the  leucomatous  cornea  with  a  corneal  trepan.  The  trepan 
is  to  cut  through  the  cornea  and  iris,  and  if  the  lens  is  pres- 
ent through  its  capsule,  and  the  lens  is  extracted  through  the 
opening. 

The  wound  is  enlarged  by  lateral  incisions  in  the  horizon- 
tal meridian,  and  fine  sutures  introduced  but  not  tied. 

The  artificial  cornea  is  then  placed  in  position,  and  held 
until  the  sutures  are  drawn  together,  the  ends  of  which  can 
be  cut  off  if  cat  gut  has  been  used. 


258  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

The  most  favorable  case  operated  on  counted  fingers  at 
one  foot  at  the  end  of  twenty-four  hours;  in  forty -eight 
hours  fingers  at  six  feet,  and  this  lasted  fourteen  days.  In 
undertaking  to  lift  a  heavy  mattress  intra-ocular  hemorrhage 
occurred  destroying  the  sight. 

The  artificial  cornea  vv^as  introduced  into  a  phthisical  eye 
by  way  of  experiment,  and  remained  in  four-fifths  of  a  year 
and  then  came  out  by  the  patient  falling  down  stairs. 

V.  Hip  pel  transplants  in  the  following  manner.  The  cen- 
ter of  the  leucoma  is  removed  by  a  trepan,  the  centre  of  the 
cornea  of  a  narcotized  dog  is  removed  with  a  similar  trepan 
and  transplanted  and  the  eye  is  closed  with  a  bandage. 

In  the  last  case  operated  on  in  this  way  the  flap  remained 
transparent  three  weeks.  The  patient  before  the  operation 
saw  light  badly,  after  it  he  recognized  the  eyes  and  nose  in 
the  face  of  the  operator,  stated  spontaneously  that  he  had  a 
beard,  counted  fingers  and  could  go  about  to  some  extent. 
In  three  weeks  the  corneal  epithelium  disappeared,  the  trans- 
parency of  the  flap  remaining.  Six  weeks  after  the  opera- 
tion a  capsular  turbidity  could  be  plainly  seen  through- the 
transparent  flap. 

On  the  Qiiestion  of  Transplantation  of  the  Cornea.  Hen- 
ry Power,  M.  D.,  London.     (Kl.  Bl.) 

Powers  believes  the  true  method  of  restoring  vision  to  the 
leucomatous  eye  is  the  physiological  one,  which  consists  in 
replacing  the  untransparent  cornea  by  a  living  cornea  whose 
transparency  remains  uninjured. 

He  recommends  that  the  transplanted  cornea  be  from  the 
human  and  not  from  animals. 

Human  corneas  are  to  be  easily  had  as  enucleations  are  un- 
dertaken almost  every  day,  on  account  of  severe  wounds  in 
which  the  cornea  takes  no  part  and  on  account  of  choroidal 
tumors,  detachment  of  the  retina,  etc.;  it  is  only  necessary  to 
keep  the  leucomatous  patient  in  sight. 

To  insure  success  he  thinks  the  entire  or  almost  the  entire 
cornea  should  be  transplanted;  is  not  positive  but  is  inclined 
to  think  it  of  advantage  to  include  the  sclero-corneal  border. 


Opthalmology  and  Otology,  259 

The  operation  to  be  conducted  under  chloroform.  Su- 
tures are  to  be  avoided,  except  when  there  is  fluidity  of  the 
media,  and  then  the  finest  silk  or  hair  should  be  used,  which 
has  been  previously  soaked  in  Carbolic  acid. 

With  the  last  case  he  operated  on  he  painted  the  entire  su- 
perficial surface  of  the  cornea  with  Carbolic  acid \  a  complete 
union  resulted  with  retention  of  the  transparency  of  the 
transplanted  cornea  for  seventy- two  hours. 

The  Healing  of  Corneal  Wounds.  Hans  Von  Weiss, 
(Virchow's  archiv.)  Sections  of  a  cornea  examined  immedi- 
ately after  the  reception  of  an  injury,  show  only  a  simple  ga- 
ping fissure. 

Nothing  is  to  be  seen  of  epithelial  cells  which  are  driven 
into  the  wound  by  the  penetrating  instrument. 

At  the  end  of  twenty-four  or  forty-eight  hours,  the  wound 
is  filled  with  epithelial  cells.  The  formation  of  this  epithelial 
growth,  proceeds  probably  from  the  borders  of  the  wound, 
sinks  from  here  into  the  depths,  again  drawing  upward  from 
the  ground,  fills  out  the  entire  fissure. 

The  starting  point  of  this  growth  is  formed  by  the  cylin- 
drical cells  of  the  lower  epithelial  layer.  If  the  epithelium  is 
removed  from  a  part  of  the  superficial  layers  of  the  cornea, 
and  a  wound  made  in  the  portion  free  from  epithelium,  it 
does  not  unite  until  epithelium  has  been  regenerated  to  its 
borders. 

With  penetrating  corneal  wounds  the  membrane  of  Desce- 
met  with  its  endothelium  is  but  outwards  on  the  borders  of  the 
wound,  causing  a  flat  funnel  shaped  fissure  at  the  posterior 
end  of  the  wound  which  gapes  more  than  the  remainder  of 
the  wound  canal.  The  opening  towards  the  anterior  cham- 
ber receives  no  epithelium  or  other  formed  elements;  but  is 
filled  out  by  fibrin  precipitated  from  the  regenerated  aqueous 
humor. 

If  the  cornea  is  wounded  in  the  confer  from  behind,  (ap- 
proaching from  the  periphery),  a  growth  of  the  endothelium 
of  Descemet  similar  to  what  occurs  on  the  anterior  surface  is 
not  seen.  If  the  wound  is  continued  forward,  then  the  ap- 
pearances do  not  differ  from  those  with  which  the  incision 
was  made  from  in  front. 


260  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

The  elements  which  cause  the  primary  union  of  the  wound, 
are  not  furnished  by  the  corneal  tissue  itself,  but  from  the 
epithelium  covering  it. 

Peripheral  partsof  the  cornea  behave  somewhat  diflerently, 
here  only  homogeneous  plastic  glistening  fine  stripes  are  re- 
cognized as  expressing  primary  union. 

In  surface  sections  of  corneal  tissue  examined,  twentv-four 
hours  after  the  reception  of  an  injury,  no  trace  of  participation 
of  the  corneal  tissue  is  found;  later  the  bordering  zone  of  cor- 
neal tissue  is  infiltrated  with  round  cells,  and  the  character- 
istic spear  shaped  figures;  inside  of  this  zone  nothing  more  is 
to  be  seen  of  the  normal  corneal  cells.  These  changes  are  re- 
garded as  complications  which  originate  with  the  unfrivor- 
able  relations  of  a  penetrating  wound. 

If  more  irritation  has  occurred  from  concussion  by  blunt 
instruments,  then  besides  the  normal  corneal  bodies,  innumer- 
able pus  corpuscles  are  found,  which  accumulate  directly  about 
the  fissure. 

The  healing,  process  until  after  the  third  or  fourth  day  is 
about  the  same  as  from  the  commencement;  the  mass  filling 
out  the  fissure  after  eight  days,  and  longer  consists  of  a  close 
collection  of  short  fibrils. 

Neuritis,  Migrans  and  its  Results.  Wilhelm  Niedrck,  ar- 
chiv.  for  Experimental  Pathologic  and  Pharmacologic   1877. 

Examinations  on  the  cause  of  inflammations  on  nerves  have 
been  undertaken  three  times.  First  Tisler  pointed  out  the 
course  of  neuritis  on  animals;  then  Feinberg  confirmed  the 
researches  of  Tisler  and  demonstrated  on  ten  animals  a  con- 
tinuation of  the  inflammation  from  the  nerve  to  the  spinal 
cord.  Klemm  was  the  last  to  study  the  advancing  inflamma- 
tion, and  he  found  that  the  inflammatory  process  advanced  in 
both  directions  from  the  original  place  of  lesion. 

The  author  repeated  the  searches  of  Klemm,  and  examined 
after  irritation  of  one  ischiadicus  the  peripheral  inflammatory 
irritation  upon  the  central  organ  and  on  the  opposite  ischia- 
dicus. 

He  undertook  six  investigations  on  rabbits  for  this  purpose: 
their  results  presented  themselves  in  the  paralytic  appearance 


Ophthalmology  and  Otology,  261 

of  the  bone  of  the  other  side,  or  as  a  paralysis  of  the  entire 
posterior  part  of  the  body.  The  pathologico  anatomical  ex- 
amination showed  that  the  inflammation  had  extended  mostly 
farther  upwards;  in  only  one  case  downwards. 

With  the  ascending  inflammation  the  first  change  was  no- 
ticed where  the  nerve  enters  the  bony  canal;  the  nerve  be- 
tween the  point  of  irritation  and  the  bony  canal   was  normal. 

Further  changes  were  found  at  the  place  of  exit  of  the  ner- 
vous plexus  from  the  spinal  cord. 

From  the  originally  affected  ischiadicus,  the  inflammation 
continued  itself  through  the  spinal  cord  upon  the  other  ischi- 
adicus.  On  the  place  of  exit  of  the  latter  there  was  always 
swelling,  and  on  the  place  of  entrance  through  the  bony  canal 
redness  and  swelling  was  always  recognized. 

Upon  the  ground  of  these  observations,  the  author  arrives 
at  the  conckision  that  the  much  discussed  sympathetic  in- 
flammation of  the  eye  is  to  be  explained  by  an  aAalogous  pro- 
ceedure  upon  the  ascending  and  descending  tracts  of  the  cili- 
ary nerves. 

The  Orthopajdic  Treatment  of  Paralysis  of  the  Muscles  of 
the  Eye.    J.  Michael.     (Kl.  Bl.) 

For  electric  treatment  the  author  uses  the  galvanic  current 
exclusively,  now  ascending,  now  descending  placing  one 
electrode  over  the  closed  eyelid  corresponding  to  the  inser- 
tion of  the  diseased  muscle;  the  other  in  the  nape  of  the  neck. 
This  treatment  furnishes  good  results,  though  in  most  cases  it 
occupies  months;  the  antagonistic  contraction  never  entirely 
disappearing. 

He  recommends  another  form  of  local  treatment,  based  on 
the  principle  of  passive  motion  and  characterized  by  its  sim- 
plicity. 

With  an  ordinary  fixation  forceps,  grasp  the  conjunctiva 
in  the  neighborhood  of  the  corneal  border,  corresponding  to 
the  ocular  attachment  of  the  paralysed  muscle,  draw  the  bul- 
bous in  the  direction  of  its  sphere  of  action,  and  as  far  as  pos- 
sible over  the  ordinary  limit  of  its  contraction,  then  back,  and 
continue  this  to  and  fro  movement  of  the  bulbus  about  two 
minutes. 

Sep-3 


262  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

The  field  of  sight  is  restored  gradually  and  successively; 
the  pain  with  the  operation  is  very  slight,  and  the  conjuncti- 
val irritation  following  it  is  rapidly  removed  by  cold  applica- 
tions. 

One  practice  daily  is  sufficient.  In  the  beginning  of  the 
treatment  a  strong  resistance  was  felt  on  the  part  of  the  an- 
tagonist, so  that  some  force  was  necessary  in  order  to  movre 
the  bulbus  in  the  direction  of  the  paralyzed  muscle. 

He  accomplishes  by  this  treatment  first,  elimination  of  the 
action  of  the  antagonist,  second,  shorter  duration  of  treatment. 

The  Extraction  of  (Gray)  Cataract  in  the  Closed  Capsule. 
Dr.  H.  Pagenstecher,  (Monograph.) 

For  extraction  in  the  capsule:  first.  All  cataracts  which  origi- 
nate as  the  result  of  iritis,  of  irido-clioroiditis  chr;  of  like  value 
whether  posterior  synechias  are  present  or  not;  because  these 
forms  are  united  with  dilatation  of  the  canal  of  Petit,  and 
looseness  of  the  lens  in  the  fossa  patellaris;  second,  All  cata- 
racts complicated  with  anterior  synechiae,  since  they  predis- 
pose to  glaucoma  by  dilatation  of  and  exudation  into  the  canal 
of  Petit:  third.  All  cataracts  in  secondary  glaucomatous  eyes; 
fourth,  cataracts  morgagini,  which  are  always  united  with  atro- 
phy of  the  zonula:  fifth,  Over  ripe  aud  shrunken  cataracts; 
sixth,  Luxated  cataracts;  seventh,  Certain  forms  which  begin 
as  posterior  polar,  and  are  complicated  with  retinal  or  choroi- 
dal disease;  since  the  turbidity  of  the  lens  originates  from 
an  exudation  (from  the  ciliary  body)  between  it  and  the  vit- 
reous; eighth.  All  not  completely  ripe  cataracts  of  myopic 
eyes,  (nuclear  and  posterior  polar)  which  are  apt  to  cause 
iritis  from  retention  of  cortical  substance  after  the  opening 
of  the  capsule;  ninth,  If  after  the  section  or  iridectomy 
prolapse  or  loss  of  vitreous  occurs. 

The  patient  is  operated  on  in  bed,  by  Graefe's  modified 
linear  operation,  without  narcosis.  After  the  iridectomy 
the  operator  again  assumes  the  fixation  of  the  bulbus.  With 
the  soft  platinum  spoon  exerts  by  a  gentle  lateral  motion 
slight  pressure  on  the  upper  scleral  wound;  by  this  means  the 
cataract  soon  presents  at  the  wound  (while  the  operator  rolls 
(he  bulbus  strongly  downwards,  at  the  same  time  exerting  a 


Ophthalmologic  and  Otology,  263 

slight   continuous    pressure    on   the   scleral  wound)  and  is 
liberated  in  the  uninjured  capsule. 

TJiese  efforts  must  not  be  continued  too  long,  but  the  flat 
spoon  is  to  be  used.  It  is  carefully  pissed  behind  the  equator 
of  the  lens  until  it  grasps  its  under  border;  with  a  slight  rota- 
tion which  brings  the  shaft  of  the  spoon  into  one  angle  of  the 
wound,  the  lens  is  drawn  upwards;  tlien  the  handle  of  the 
spoon  is  depressed  towards  the  floor  of  the  orbit,  in  this  way 
slifi^hly  pressing  the  lens  on  the  cornea;  a  gentle  pressure  on 
the  cornea  with  the  h.  r.  spoon  by  the  assistant  facilitates  the 
liberation. 

In  many  cases  the  extraction  occurs  without  loss  of  vitre- 
ous; in  other  cases  a  small  hernia  presents  but  returns  spon- 
taneously after  the  removal  of  the  elevator;  in  a  third  quota 
vitreous  escapes  from  several  drops  to  one  third. 

Rupture  of  the  capsule  during  delivery  is  rare;  then  corti- 
cal substance  remains  back,  and  a  secondary  operation  is  ne- 
cessary. 

Oedema  conjunctiva  commonly  develops  on  the  second  or 
third  day,  and  can  continue  eight  to  ten  days. 

The  wound  is  closed  in  eighty  per  cent  in  twenty-four 
hours.  If  the  wound  is  not  closed  in  twenty-four  hours, 
prolapsed  vitreous  is  found  in  it  more  frequently  than  by 
other  methods.  In  one  case  sloughing  of  the  borders  of  the 
wound,  resulted  on  the  twelfth  day  from  prolapsed  vitreous. 

Astigmatism  ^ — ^^y  is  relatively  more  frequent,  but  gradually 
decreases. 

With  extraction  in  the  capsule,  there  is  no  primary  iritis, 
but  an  irido-cyclitis;  this  has  no  inclination  to  closure  of  the 
pupil. 

If  either  rupture  or  hernia  of  the  vitreous  occurs,  it  re- 
mains clear  as  a  rule;  only  in  exceptional  cases  slight  filamen- 
tous opacities  are  found  fixed  on  the  borders  of  the  wound. 

Prolapse  of  the  vitreous  is  more  frequent  than  with  other 
methods;  slight  loss  from  several  drops  to  one-fourth  the 
volume  is  favorable;  great  loss  from  one-third  to  one-fourth, 
with  good  consistence  of  the  vitreous  is  to  be  considered  de- 


264  Cincinnati  3fedical  Advance. 

trimental;  with  fluid  vitreous  on  the  contrary  as  completely 
favorable. 

Loss  of  vitreous  after  extraction  in  the  capsule,  is  less 'un- 
favorable; a  genuine  hyalitis  does  not  occur. 

Later  retinal  detachment  is  n^ver  seen  after  P's  method, 
while  it  has  been  seen  three  times  after  v.  Graefe's. 

Statistics  of  eight  hundred  and  forty-six  nuclear  cataracts 
(1S66-1875)  three  hundred  and  fifty-three  were  reserved  for 
extraction  in  the  capsule. 

The  capsule  ruptured  in  sixty-three  cases,  21.7  per  cent. 
Of  the  two  hundred  and  ninety  remaining  cases,  the  lens  was 
removed  in  its  capsule  with  the  spoon  in  two  hundred  and 
seventy-nine;  by  simple  pressure  alone,  in  eleven  cases. 

No  loss  vitreous  in  one  hundred  and  six  cases;  slight  in 
one  hundred  and  sixteen;  great  in  fifty-six. 

Number  of  complete  losses  in  two  hundred  and  ninety 
cases:  16 — 5.5  percent;  half  results  in  seventeen  cases.  Com 
plete  acuteness  of  vision  in  thirty  cases,  one-half  in  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty-one. 

Recapitulation.  L  Of  eight  hundred  and  forty-six  nuclear 
cataract  extractions,  no  result  in  7  per  cent.  II.  Of  two  hun- 
dred and  ninety  extractions  in  capsule,  no  result  in  5.5  per 
cent.  III.  Of  sixty-three  cases  in  which  capsule  ruptured,  no 
result  in  14  per  cent.  IV.  Two  and  three  together,  give  a  loss 
of  7  per  cent.  V.  Two  hundred  and  thirty-nine  peripheral 
linear  extractions  (v.  Graefe's)  during  the  last  fiveyears  give 
a  loss  of  3.8  per  cen\ 

Capsulitis,  H.  Knapp,  Oph.  Soc.  Heidelberg,  1S77.  ^^"« 
Knapp  recognizes  three  kinds  of  capsulitis  following  catannct 
extraction.  Capsulitis  simplex,  s.  ambulans,  more  frequently 
observed  after  the  removal  of  a  four  cornered  piece  of  the  cap- 
sule with  a  sharp  cystotome.  One  of  the  upper  corners  of 
the  capsule  becomes  turbid  with  a  slight  appearance  of  irrita- 
tion; the  corner  is  milk  white,  and  slightly  thickened;  on  the 
next  day  the  thickening  becomes  more  pronounced,  reaching 
its  greatest  height  on  the  third  day,  and  then  begins  to  decline. 
During  the  process  of  resorption,  the  adjoining  upper  border 
of  the  capsule  becomes  turbid,  thickened,  and  passes  through 


Ophthalmology  and  Otology.  265 

the  same  process;  and  then  in  the  same  manner,  the  disease 
attacks  the  other  upper  corner,  and  extends  on  the  adjoining 
border;  in  this  way  in  from  eight  to  fourteen  days  this  whitish 
turbidity  and  thickening,  makes  the  circuit  of  the  entire  cap- 
sular coloboma. 

Iris  congested  but  free  from  synechiae;  the  pupil  re- 
mains clear.  Conjunctival  secretion  watery;  circum  cornea* 
injection  strong;  pain  inconsiderable.  Resorption  complete, 
and  vision  good. 

Second  form:  Capsulitis  plas.tica.  The  result  of  including 
a  piece  of  capsule  in  the  corneal  wound.  On  the  second  or 
third  day  the  thickened  and  turbid  capsule  is  seen  prgjecting 
into  the  anterior  chamber,  from  a  point  of  the  inner  border  of 
the  wound;  wound  is  closed,  and  anterior  chamber  restored; 
vision  is  good  if  the  pupil  is  not  occluded  by  remains  of  the 
cataract;  pain  at  night;  circum  corneal  injection;  slight 
chemosis,  and  a  watery  or  watery  mucous  discharge. 

The  grayish  white,  or  yellow  turbidity  of  the  piece  of 
capsule  becomes  more  intense  and  extensive;  the  entire 
pupillary  space  smoky,  and  the  pupil  contracted  and  irregu- 
lar, A  striped  yellowish  white  pseudo  membrane  in  more  or 
less  severe  cases  is  united  on  all  sides  to  the  pupillary  border 
of  the  iris. 

After  weeks  or  months,  the  appearances  of  irritation  dis- 
appear. 

In  favorable  cases  the  pupil  clears  spontaneously,  with  mo- 
derate visual  power;  or  in  severe  cases  it  is  closed  by  a  thick 
membrane,  which  in  the  contraction  is  drawn  with  the  iris 
towards  the  corneal  scar;  and  is  not  seldom  complicated  with 
cyclitis  and  its  results. 

The  third  form  capsulitis  purulenta  is  more  frequently 
observed  after  the  capsule  is  torn  wilh  a  cystotome  or  hook. 
'  In  cases  where  the  operation  was  smooth,  on  the  evening  of 
the  same  day,  or  the  following  day,  oblique  illumination 
showed  that  the  well  dilated  pupillary  space  was  free  from 
remains  of  the  lens;  on  the  third  day  or  later,  in  the  middle 
of  the  pupil  or  not  far  from  it  on  one  point  of  the  capsule, 
was   observed  a    yellowish    white    turbidity    and    swelling 


266  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

which  in  a  few  days  took  on  the  appearance  of  a  small  col- 
lection of  pus  (pustule). 

The  pupil  remained  dilated  under  the  influence  of  A  tro- 
pine  and  free,  or  almost,  free  from  synechiae.  The  peri- 
pheral parts  of  the  pupil  remained  transparent  though  hypo- 
pyon formed,  which  from  the  absence  of  keratitis  and  cyclitis 
could  have  no  other  origin  than  the  pustule.* 

In  several  cases  two  or  more  pustules  formed,with  second- 
ary plastic  iritis. 

Marked  irritation;  nightly  ocular  and  circum-ocular  pains; 
slimy  purulent  secretion;  chemosis  and  oedema  of  the  lids. 

Resorption  of  these  pustules  begins  in  from  four  to  six 
days;  the  disease  can  run  a  course  of  three  to  five  weeks. 

Prognosis  of  the  wandering  capsulitis  is  favorable;  it  does 
not  easily  complicate  with  iritis  or  cyclitis;  with  the  plastic 
uncertain  on  account  of  the  complications  which  almost  al- 
ways accompany  it;  the  purulent  is  again  favorable  as  the 
pupil  clears  spontaneously  with  the  absorption  of  the  pus  or 
can  be  cleared  by  a  secondary  operation. 

Treatment:  Simple  capsulitis  mildly  antiphlogistic.  Atro- 
pine, rest  in  the  dark  in  bed.    Capsulitis  plastica  and  purulenta  ' 
strongly  antiphlogistic. 


Alses. — Great  disinclination  to  mental  labor;  dull  pres- 
sive  pain  in  the  forehead,  with  nausea;  bloating  of  the 
bowels,  with  heat  and  burning;  a  feeling  of  weakness  in 
the  abdomen,  as  if  diarrhoea  would  come  on;  urging  to 
stool,  with  passage  of  urine;  feeling  as  if  stool  would  in- 
voluntarily pass;  must  go  to  stool  after  a  meal. 


ffir^MUal  Ullltk^^ 


Atmospheric  Pressure,  etc. — Dr.  Eaton's  views  in  re- 
gard to  atn-^ospheric  pressure  in  replacing  and  supporting  a 
dislocated  uterUvS,  correspond  with  those  I  have  held  for  years. 
He  does  not  tell  the  "modus  operandi"  of  applying  it,  how- 
ever. My  plan  for  a  long  time  has  been,  to  direct  patients 
affected  with  simple  displacement  to  lie  upon  the  chest  with 
knees  drawrt  up  and  as  wide  apart  as  possible  for  comfort, 
(I  imagine  the  position  is  not  one  of  comfort),  when  the  air 
will  rush  into  the  vagina  where  it  should  be  retained  for  five, 
ten  or  twenty  minutes,  according  to  the  strength  of  the  pa- 
tient. This  should  be  repeated  several  times  daily.  Where 
there  are  flexions,  enlargements,  tumors  or  other  abnormal 
conditions  it  is  of  no  avail.  This  knowledge  all  women 
should  have,  and  I  am  glad  doctors  are  beginning  to  teach 
the  people  physical  and  hygienic  laws,  as  well  as  curing 
them  when  sickr  This  principle  is  the  secret  of  Sims'  suc- 
cess with  the  speculum. — Mrs.  E.  G.  Cook,  M.  D. 

Tobacco  and  Cholera  Infantum. — I  read  recently  in 
a  public  journal  that  a  child  afflicted  w.ith  cholera  infantum 
in  spite  of  medication  and  hygienic  measures,  grew  worse 
until  the  nurse  for  some  reason  applied  its  father's  pipe  to  its 
lips,  which  it  sucked  with  eagerness,  and  for  a  time  grew  bet- 
ter, but  finally  this  failed  and  the  child  died.  The  father  was 
a  smoker,  and  of  course  the  child  inherited  its  father's  liking 
for  the  taste  of  tobacco.  I  have  lost  several  cases  of  this  dis- 
ease, the  father  of  whom  smoked  and  chewed  tobacco,  and 
find  that  neither  medicine  or  hygienic  measures  avail  me 
much  in  such  cases. — J.  B.  Wood,  M.  D. 

Ozone. — My  experience  with  Ozone  for  the  past  two  years 
has  been  such  as  to  warrant  me  in  asking  the  members  of  the 
profession  to  avail  themselves  of  the  benefits  of  this  most 
wonderful  agent  in  their  practice  and  to  recommend  it  to 
their  patrnos.     As  a  prophylactic  and  disinfectant  it  stands 


268  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

without  a  rival.  It  is  decidedly  the  best  deodorizer  I  have 
ever  used.  I  have  placed  it  in  many  water  closets  which 
were  almost  unendurable,  and  in  a  few  days,  perhaps  hours, 
the  air  was  as  pure  as  after  a  thunder  shower  in  summer,  not 
a  vestige  of  the  old  foul  odor  remaining.  Dr.  Noyes,  den- 
tist, 103  State  street,  has  seen  enough  of  its  workmgs  to  give 
his  testimony  in  its  favor.  Dr.  Geo.  A.  Hall,  professor  in 
the  Hahnemann  college,  says:  "I  have  used  Ozone  in  rooms 
of  several  patients  operated  on  for  malignant  cancer,  and 
never  before  saw  such  rapid  recoveries."  A  Mrs.  W.,  living 
on  Eldrict  Court,  afflicted  with  terrible  cancer,  had  all  ihc  foul 
odors  removed  in  a  few  hours  by  using  the  generator.  She 
says  she  can  not  live  without  it.  A  Mrs.  B.,  suffering  from 
spasmodic  croup,  was  relieved  by  a  few  inspirations  after  the 
air  had  been  charged  and  made  pure  by  Ozone;  her  trouble  left 
her  as  if  by  magic  not  to  return.  Several  families  among  my 
patrons  have  used  the  generator  between  two  and  three  years 
and  all  decide  in  its  favor,  and  wish  everybody  knew  of  this 
health  giving  and  health  preserving  agent. — Mrs.  E.  G.  Cook, 
M.  D.,  103  State  street,  Chicago. 

Epilepsy. — Amyl  nit. — Harvey  Trotter,  colored,  act  eigh- 
teen, has  for  the  past  two  years  had  epileptic  convulsions. 
The  attacks  recurred  every  two  weeks  regularly,  and  accord- 
ing to  the  notion  of  the  patient  at  the  new  and  full  of  the 
moon.  A  day  or  two  before  each  attack  he  had  what  he  de- 
scribed as  the  "jerks" — muscular  twitching  in  his  legs,  arms 
and  face.  The  attacks  were  characterized  by  the  usual  symp- 
toms of  the  disease.  The  patient  showed  no  evidence  of 
disease  except  perhaps  slight  indigestion  from  occasioned 
overindulgence  in  eating,  for  he  confessed  to  having  **an  awful 
good  appetite.'*  Six  or  eight  weeks  ago  I  gave  him  Amyl 
nit.  I  a;  in  a  half  ounce  vial  to  be  carried  in  his  pocket,  to  be 
inhaled  three  times  a  day  and  when  the  ''jerks"  came  on  to 
inhale  it  more  frequently  every  hour,  until  the  twitchings 
disappeared.  Thus  far  there  have  been  no  "jerks''  nor  con- 
vulsions, notwithstanding  the  moon  has  "rolled  on"  waxed 
and  waned  the  past  two  months. 


General  Clinics,  269 

Cough — Arsen.  6,  Ipec. — Alice  W.  aet.  three,  warkens  every 
night  at  about  midnight  with  a  dry  cough,  tickling,  spasmodic. 
Gave  Ars.  6,  in  water,  a  .teaspoonful  every  three  hours 
The  nightly  attacks  were  reHeved  at  once,  but  for  several 
days  she  had  a  loose  rattling  cough,  expectoration  swallowed. 
Ipec  3  cured. 

Chills — Pul3.  ^ — Mrs.  W.,  aet,  fifty-five.  General  health 
fair;  was  taken  with  chill  every  day  at  noon;  aching  of  the 
head,  back  and  extremities;  sore,  bruised  spots  over  the 
body;  fever  docs  not  set  in  until  midni<<ht;  no  thirst  during 
the  hot  stage.  Prescribed  Puls^  on  the  key  note,  no  thirst 
during  hot  stage.  Cured;  no  recurrence. — J.  W.  Vance, 
College  Hill. 

A  Proving  of  Amyl  Nitrite. — N.  F.  C,  aet.  forty- nine, 
nervo  sanguine  temperament,  an  inveterate  smoker,  an  habit- 
ual coffee  drinker,  and  in  excellent  health.  Took  two  strong 
inhalations  from  a  vial  containing  four  ounces  of  crude  Amyl 
nitrite.  Immediately  felt  a  sense  of  fullness  of  head  and 
flushing  of  face  which  increased  during  one  minute  to 
positive  agony,  without  pain;  a  violent  palpitation  of  the 
heart  now  began,  which  shook  the  whole  body;  conscious- 
ness was  still  perfect,  and  there  was  v]0  feeling  of  alarm.  I 
now  felt  myself  sinking  to  the  floor,  which  seemed  a  volun- 
tary act,  for  I  eased  my  descent  by  means  of  two  tables 
between  which  I  was  standing — lowering  myself  gently 
until  stretched  at  full  length;  my  last  conscious  act  was  the 
endeavor  to  hold  the  head  erect  lest  the  surcharged  cerebral 
vessels  should  become  yet  fuller.  My  first  act  of  returning 
consciousness  was  to  recognize  my  attendant,  who  was 
giving  me  Chloroform  by  inhalation,  in  accordance  with 
previous  instructions.  Not  five  minutes  elapsed  between  the 
first  inhalation  of  the  Nitrite  and  complete  restoration — 
complete,  save  for  anaesthesia  at  the  second  phalanges  of  the 
middle  and  ring  fingers  of  the  left  hand.  This  symptom 
continued  about  one  hour.  I  was  informed  that  my  "face 
and  eyes  were  a  deep,  livid  red  color"  and  that  I  "looked 
horribly."      This  proving  was  made  about  two  weeks  ago.' 


270  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

Although  I  had  been  experimenting  more  or  less  with  this 
interesting  drug  for  a  period  of  two  years  and  thought 
myself  pretty  well  acquainted  with  it,  I  was  astonished  at 
the  crescendo  scale  in  which  the  symptoms  developed  during 
fully  two  minutes  after  ceasing  the  inhalations.  The  close 
resemblance  of  these  symptoms  to  those  of  coup  de  soUel 
have  led  me  to  prescribe  Amyl  nitrite  in  a  few  cases  which 
have  come  under  my  observation  during  the  late  heated  term. 
The  results  have  been  highly  encouraging  but  not  conclusive, 
as  I  have  had  none  of  the  severest  forms  of  the  malady.  I 
employ  it  in  the  first,  second  and  third  decimal  dilutions, 
internally  or  by  olfaction — raising  from  the  crude  with  pure 
Alcohol,  In  syncope  it  has  no  equal  as  a  stimulating  restora- 
tive— while  it  antidotes,  and  it  would  appear  is  reciprocally 
antidoted  by  Chloroform.  But  these  and  other  (empirical) 
uses  of  the  drug  are  well  known.  My  object  in  this  paper 
is  to  state  the  crude  proving,  and  to  urge  its  prompt  trial  in 
insolation — especially  by  olfaction  in  very  severe  cases.  I 
will  gladly  forward  specimens  to  any  physicians  who  may 
wish  to  prove  or  test  the  Amyl  nitrite  on  the  sole  condition 
that  they  shall  report  results  to  Nicho.  Francis  Cooke, 
Chicago,  111. 

Note. — The  urgent  necessity  of  antidoting  the  dangerous 
effects  of  the  drug  prevented  several  minute  observations  as 
to  rate  and  character  of  pulse,  etc.,  which  would  have  been 
desirable.  But  these  may  be  found  accurately  recorded  in 
Allen's  Encyclopoidia  of  Materia  Medica.  It  is  not  probable 
that  any  human  power  has  cared  to  carry  his  proving  to  the 
extent  here  recorded,  especially  as  it  is  claimed  that  ''con- 
sciousness is  never  lost  unless  a  state  of  approaching  death 
is  induced,  from  which  the  animal  rarely  if  ever  recovers." 
— N.  F.  C. 


iu$lUmmi^. 


"Too  Many  Papers." 

The  above  is  the  title  of  an  article  appearing  in  the  edi- 
torial department  of  the  Advance  for  July.  With  your 
leave,  Mr.  Editor,  I  vyrould  like  to  examine  the  article  a 
moment.  It  says:  "We  are  overrun  with  manuscripts. 
Our  bureaus  are  full  of  ready  writers.  The  members  are 
all  there  with  their  pockets  full  of  written  material,  etc." 
Now,  v/hat  is  expected  of  those  members  appointed  to  pre- 
pare papers?  Does  not  their  appointment  place  upon  them 
the  responsibility  of  making  the  conventions  successful  and 
interesting?  Is  it  not  a  mark  of  great  prosperity  to  see  the 
appointed  members  of  each  bureau  present  "  with  their 
pockets  full  of  written  material,"  thereby  faithfully  dis- 
charging their  duties?  It  seems  from  the  article  that  these 
members  were  not  expected  to  be  so  prompt.  So  the  con- 
ventions were  taken  by  surprise  at  so  generous  an  effusion 
of  matter  brought  forward,  and  the  cry  is  "too  many  papers? " 

The  only  remedy,  Mr,  Editor,  is  not  to  appoint  so  many  of 
the  faithful  to  furnish  entertainment  for  the  conventions. 
It  will  not  do  to  snub  them,  as  is  suggested,  after  they  have 
been  to  the  trouble  to  prepare  articles  and  bring  them  to 
the  meetings. 

Who  has  the  right  to  use  the  time  of  the  convention,  if 
not  those  who  have  spent  days,  weeks,  and  even  months, 
in  preparing  for  such  an  occasion?  When  present  to  read 
their  productions  it  is  only  just  that  they  should  be  heard. 

We  doubt  some  are  tiresome  to  listen  to;  but  these  are  the 
exception.  What  if  they  are  tiresome?  You  can  do  nothing 
but  "grin  and  bear  it,"  for  no  convention  can  afford  to  be  so 
discourteous  as  to  refuse  a  member  the  privilege  of  reading 
his  production  after  having  been  appointed  by  this  same 
convention  to  make  the  preparation. 

The  "off-hand  discussions"  are  all  right,  and  appropriate 
after  justice  is  done;  but  to  throw  out  a  paper  or  to  call 


272  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

down  a  member  when  he  has  read  about  two-thirds  of  his 
manuscript,  to  give  time  to  some  long-winded  ready  talker, 
who  has  not  spent  a  moment  in  preparing  upon  the  subject 
under  discussion,  will  not,  as  a  general  rule,  add  much  to  the 
dignity  and  edification  of  the  convention.  The  discussions 
which  we  hear,  usually  have  the  eflect  of  showing  not  how 
muck  the  speaker  knows,  but  rather  koto  little.  Well  pre- 
pared articles  upon  the  subjects  selected  are  of  the  Jirst 
importance,  even  though  "extracts  from  text  books  "  (stan- 
dard ones)  are  incorporated  in  them  where  it  is  necessary  to 
establish  a  scientific  truth.  The  project  "to  read  abstracts 
in  place  of  full  papers,  or  have  a  committee  of  judicious 
gentlemen  to  select  a  few  of  the  best  papers,  to  be  read  and 
discussed,"  can  never  find  favor  in  a  well  ordered  convention. 
If  you  are  going  to  limit  the  papers  it  will  be  even  more 
necessary  to  limit  the  debaters.  A  committee  of  "judicious 
gentleman  "  will  have  to  be  appointed  to  select  the  debaters. 
Of  course  those  whom  these  "judicious  gentlemen  "  may 
think  can  entertain  the  convention  best  will  be  selected. 

Surely  there  will  be  a  diflference  of  opinion  on  this  point, 
hence  a  little  "  unpleasantness."  Conventions  should  always 
act  in  good  faith  with  appointees,  and  should  not  by  hny 
act  leave  a  doubt  as  to  w^hether  their  productions  will  be 
respectfully  treated.  When  members  of  bureaus  are  made 
to  feel  that  there  is  a  chance  of  being  ignored  or  set  aside, 
there  will  be  precious  few  productions  the  result  of  hard 
study,  for  the  great  incentive  to  the  careful  preparation  of 
an  article  is  that  it  will  be  presented  to  a  critical  audience, 
and  the  writer  will  improve  himself  and  benefit  others  most 
when  he  puts  forth  his  best  efi^ort. — M.  B.  Lukens.  Clove 
land,  Ohio. 

Note. — ^The  writer  of  the  above  seems  to  be  well  pleased 
with  things  as  they  are.  Thereon*  we  differ.  We  are  not 
knowingly  pessimistic,  but  conventions  are  a  bore  to  us  and 
to  many  others.  They  arc  a  needless  waste  of  time.  What's 
the  use  of  listening  to  long  prosy  papers  with  not  a  single 
new  idea  in  them.  Reduce  the  work  done  to  new  or  recent 
things  and  no  man  can  write  a  long  article  or  make  a  long 


Miscellaneous,  273 

speech.  Lincoln's  Gettysburg  Speech,  the  Lord's  Prayer, 
Hamlet's  Soliloquy,  Pope's  Universal  Prayer,  Mark  Antony's 
Oration,  have  all  been  beaten  out  of  sight  for  length  but 
they  are  immortal  still.  "Words,  words,  m}'  lord,  nothing 
but  words.  They  are  fustian."  Give  us  ideas  and  if  the 
ideas  are  long  let  us  have  them  in  sections.  The  fifteen- 
minute  rule  is  bad,  but  it  is  better  than  letting  a  few  papers 
crowd  out  all  the  rest  If  the  writer  knows  how  otherwise 
to  give  every  man  with  his  paper  a  ghost  of  a  chance,  will 
he  please  tell  us?  We  must  reform  or  we  must  perish, 
(Lyman  Beecher,  with  variations). — Editor. 


,  Obituary  of  two  Homoeopathic  Journals, 

What  is  the  cause?  It  is  hard  to  say  and  still  rftore  disa- 
greeable to  say.  At  that  same  ominous  page  of  the  Ad- 
vance and  at  the  same  article  the  worthy  editor  remarks: 
*'  Members  are  there,  each  with  a  pocket  full  of  written 
material — much  of  it,  we  regret  to  say,  copied  almost  ver- 
batim from  the  text  books,  and  old  ones  at  that"  Old  ones 
at  that;  here  lies  the  secret  in  a  nutshell.  Too  many  of  our 
healers  are  satisfied  to  trot  along  with  a  few  ancient  books; 
they  do  well  in  their  daily  vocation  and  feel  satisfied  with 
themselves  and  their  fees.  Medical  progress  is  a  thing  to  be 
abhorred,  and  journals  a  nuisance.  A  short  trip  to  several 
northern  states  convinced  me  that  some  of  our  M.  D.s.  do 
not  know  even  the  names  of  our  periodical  literature.  Here 
and  there  you  may  find  some  odd  numbers,  but  regular 
files  I  could  nowhere  find.  It  can  not  be  the  expense,  for 
there  is  not  a  physician  living  who  could  not  spare  ten 
dollars  a  year  for  two  or  three  journals,  if  he  wishes  to  do  so. 


274  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

Others  excuse  themselves  by  the  poverty  of  the  journals! 
Brother  Advance,  let  us  take  that  list,  whether  true  or  not, 
and  try  to  benefit  by  it.  Let  us  be  more  severe  in  our 
criticism  and  admit  no  article  to  our  pages  vsrhich  is  taken 
from  these  "  old  ones  at  that,"  and  let  us  father  no  clinical 
case  which  does  not  show  the  true  stamp.  If  we  are  at  fault, 
let  us  try  to  do  better;  let  us  try  to  raise  the  standard  of 
periodical  literature;  let  it  be  our  aim  that  every  number 
issued  under  our  name  contains  nothing  but  articles  which 
we  would  not  be  ashamed  to  acknowledge  as  our  own  handi- 
work; let  us  discard  the  item,  still  promulgated  in  many 
journals,  "we  do  not  hold  ourselves  responsible  for  the  opin- 
ions of  our  correspondents;"  let  us  be  severe  in  the  selection 
of  articles;  let  us  feed  the  waste  basket,  even  if  we  have  to 
feed  the  midnight  lamp;  let  "excelsior"  be  our  motto,  and 
let  us  try  thus  to  get  up  such  a  paying  subscription  list  that 
we  can  afford  to  enlist  the  best  talent  and  pay  them  for 
their  work, 

Rare's  incomparable  Becord  gone!     That  excellent  quar- 
terly, the  United  States  Medical  and  Surgical  Journal^  dead* 
long  ago!     East  and  West  another  journal  disappears!     Let 
us  agitate  the  question  of  this  double-headed  leaguer  in  our 
journals  and  bring  about  a  speedy  reform. — S.  L. 


•    9 


Specialism  in  lledicine. 

Notwithstanding  all  that  has  been  said  and  written  on 
both  sides  of  the  channel  in  disparagement  of  specialism  in 
medicine,  specialists,  in  France,  at  least,  arc,  whatever  be 
the  motives  of  the  parties  referred  to,  daily  on  the  increase; 
and,  as  mentioned  in  one  of  my  last  letters,  we  have  the 
approval  of  specialties  by  no  less  an  authority  than  M.  De- 


Miscellaneoics.  275 

paul,  Clinical  Professor  of  Obstetrical  Medicine  and  Sur- 
gery of  the  Faculty  of  Paris,  who,  in  the  introduction  to 
the  first  number  of  the  journal  recently  founded  by  him, 
sets  himself  up  as  an  apologist  for  specialists,  and  oeclares 
that  it  is  almost  impossible  for  any  man  to  be  an  "encyclo- 
pedist." 

This  is  eminently  true,  and  there  can  be  no  question  but 
that  he  who  devotes  himself  to  one  limited  territory  of  sci- 
ence can  explore  it  more  thoroughly  than  he  who  wanders 
over  the  whole  realm  of  medicine. 

The  opposition  to  specialism  arose  largely  from  the  notion 
that  it  meant  ignorance  of  other  branches,  as  great  in  pro- 
portion as  it  gave  knowledge  in  the  one.  This  is  a  mistake. 
The  real  specialist  appreciates  too  well  the  numberless  har- 
monies and  Secret  sympathies  of  the  economy  to  overlook 
or  underrate  the  value  of  a  broad  and  thorough  knowledge 
of  all  its  parts,  functions  and  lesions.  He  will  embrace  all 
this  in  his  ken,  but  bend  this  knowledge  to  one  point,  and 
upon  one  focus. 

That  a  school  will  ultimately  be  demanded,  where  gradu- 
ates from  our  colleges  can  have  the  opportunity  to  perfect 
themselves  in  one  or  the  other  branches,  is  obvious;  and  the 
more  pertinent  inquiry  is,  has  that  time  yet  arrived  ? 


•  • 


Water  in  the  Walls  of  New  Houses. 

I  need  not  call  to  your  mind  the  first  steps  in  a  building 
operation,  and  how  soon  a  connection  is  made  with  some 
abundant  source  of  water,  and  that  a  great  deal  of  water  is 
required  for  making  the  mortar,  etc.  Let  us  now  try  to 
come  to  an  estimate  of  this  quantity  of  water. 


276  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

Suppose  that  one  hundred  thousand  bricks  were  used  for  a 
building,  each  weighing  ten  pounds.  A  good  brick  can  suck 
up  more  than  ten  per  cent  of  its  weight  in  water,  but  we  will 
put  down  at  five  per  cent,  what  gets  into  it  by  the  manipula- 
tions of  the  brick  layer.  We  will  assume  that  the  same 
amount  of  water  is  contained  in  the  mortar,  a  quantity  certain- 
ly much  understated,  although  the  mortar  forms  only  about 
one-liflh  of  the  walls;  we  have  thus  one  hundred  thousand 
pounds  of  water,  equal  to  ten  thousand  gallons,  which  must 
have  lefl  the  walls  of  the  house  before  it  becomes  habitable. 

The  two  principal  ways  in  which  wet  or  damp  walls  are 
injurious  are :  First,  By  impeding  ventilation  and  diffusion 
of  gases,  through  their  pores  being  closed  up  or  narrowed 
by  water;  Second,  By  disturbing  the  heat-economy  of  our 
bodies.  Damp  walls  act  as  bodies  abstracting  heat  in  one 
direction  ;  they  absorb  heat  by  their  evaporation,  and  act  iiko 
rooms  which  have  not  been  warmed  thoroughly ;  they  are  bet- 
ter conductors  of  heat  than  dry  walls,  just  like  wet  garments, 
and  considerably  raise  our  heat  losses  by  a  one-sided  and 
increased  radiation.  Diseases  which  are  known  to  bo 
oflencaused  by  cold  are  particularly  frequent  in  damp  dwel- 
lings— rheumatism,  catarrh,  chronic  Bright's  disease,  etc. 

What  can  we  do  to  get  rid  of  that  immense  quantity,  of 
these  ten  thousand  gallons  of  water,  before  wo  remove  into 
the  new  house  ?  All  this  water — we  can  not  make  it  run  off, 
we  can  not  squeeze  it  out,  we  can  not  boil  it  away — it  must 
take  its  leave  in  one  way.  a  very  safe  but  rather  long 
one,  that  of  spontaneous  evaporation  into  and  by  the  air. 

The  capacity  of  air  for  receiving  water  depends  on  the  dif- 
ferent tension  of  the  vapor  at  different  temperatures,  on  the 
quantity  of  water  already  contained  in  the  air  flowing  over 
a  moist  body,  and  finally  on  the  velocity  of  the  air.  For 
the  first  two  moments  let  us  assume  the  average  tempera- 
ture of  the  year  to  be  about  fifty  degrees  Fahr,,  and  the 
average  hygrometric  condition  of  the  air  to  be  seventy-five 
percent  of  its  full  saturation.  Under  these  conditions, 
one  cubic  foot  of  air  can  take  up  four  grains  of  water,  in  the 
shape  of  vapor,  but  as  it  already  contains  seventy -five  per 


MiscellaneciUs,  277 

cent  of  these  four  grains,  which  amounts  to  three  grains,  it 
can  only  take  up  one  additional  grain.  As  often,  then,  as 
onegrain  is  contained  in  the  ten  thousand  gallonsof  water 
mentioned  above,  as  many  cubic  feet  of  air  must  come  in 
contact  with  the  new  walls,  and  become  saturated  with  the 
water  contained  in  them;  or  about  seven  hundred  million  cu- 
bic feet  of  air  arc  required  to  dry  the  building  in  question. 
— D.<.  Pettenkoper,  in  Popular  Science  Monthly. 


Orthodox    Homoeopathy.      By  H.    R.   Amdt,  M.  D.,  Grand 
Rapids,  Mich. 

The  question  of  orthodoxy  in  homoeopathy  has  grown 
into  importance.  To  oppose  the  tendency  to  mongrelism 
and  the  g^etting  away  from  all  law,  it  has  been  asserted  that 
Hahnemannianism  is  homoeopathy,  and  everything  outside  of 
it  **  false  pretense."  The  most  plausible  argument  made  is 
based  upon  the  fact  that  even  the  old  fathers  of  medicine 
had  some  idea  of  a  law  of  similars  and  taught  it;  that  al] 
through  the  long  past;  occasional  assertions  of  this  law  were 
made;  that  Hahnemann  in  stating  the  law  concisely  and 
intelligibly,  only  reiterated  assertions  already  made;  that 
Hahnemann,  however,  elaborated  this  law,  systematically 
defined  its  operations,  critically  investigated  its  practicability 
and  in  doing  so  he  not  only  went  far  beyond  the  limits  of 
the  work  done  by  others,  but  created  a  thing  essentially  his 
own,  laid  down  a  basis  so  perfect  that  we  must  accept  it  "  in 
toto"  or  forego  our  claims  to  be  homoeopathists. 

Far  be  it  from  us  to  attempt  to  tear  one  single  leaf  from 
the  wreath  which    humanity  has   placed  upon  the  brow  of 
him  we  honor  and  love.     But  is  the  argument  hinted  at  true 
or  is  it  merely  plausible? 
Sep-4 


278  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

We  can  not  deny  the  fact  that  close  observefs,  long  before 
the  time  of  Hahnemann,  had  occasional  glimpses  of  the  fact 
that  drugs  will  relieve  symptoms  in  the  sick  much  like  those 
which  arc  produced  by  them  in  the  hv^althy.  Dr.  Peterson 
has  had  similar  glimpses  of  late.  Is  he  a  homceopathist? 
If  not,  why  not?  Simply  because  he,  like  those  sages  of 
old,  has  accidently  stumbled  upon  the  fact  that  such  things 
do  occur;  has,  hke  his  predecessors,  a  very  imperfect  clinical 
knowledge  of  its  application,  and  will,  in  all  probability,  like 
his  professional  ancestors,  derive  very  little  lasting  benefit 
from  his  discovery  (?). 

Samuel  Hahnemann  differed  from  that  class  of  people; 
and  his  glory  lies  in  the  fact  that  he  was  not  satisfied  with  a 
mere  glimpse  and  an  empty  assertion.  He  endeavored,  first, 
to  give  the  world  a  clearly  defined  law  of  cure;  second,  to  place 
that  law  upon  a  firm  basis  by  connecting  it  with  absolute 
science,  and  by  putting  it  to  the  test  of  close  reasoning;  third, 
by  a  most  critical  and  impartial  investigation  of  all  the  points 
pro  and  con  by  a  most  painstaking  system  of  clinical  obser- 
vations. 

In  doing  this  he  accomplished  what  no  one  before  him 
had  done.  No  one  teacher  in  medicine  had  ever  dared  to 
proclaim  that  similars  cure  similars,  and  that  all  true  cures 
are  made  in  accordance  with  that  law.  He  braved  the 
arrogance,  the  bitterest  sarcasm  of  ihe  learned;  the  organized 
powers  of  a  government  in  a  country  where  its  influence 
extends  into  every  department  of  life,  and  did  not  falter  a 
moment.  To-day,  when  the  truthfulness  of  this  law  has  been 
proven  by  a  century's  triumphs  over  all  opposition,  will  his 
professedly  most  enthusiastic  and  most  devoted  followers 
attempt  to  lessen  the  claims  of  Hahnemann  as  the  discoverer 
of  the  law  of  similars,  because  by  so  doing  they  can  make 
good  their  own  case  and  justify  their  extreme  views  on 
other  questions? 

All  men  who  accept  in  good  faith  the  law  declared  by 
Hahnemann  are  homoeopathists. 

Like  a  man  of  genius  and  of  progress  Hahnemann  did  not 
content  himself  with  the  discovery  of  this  law.  He  made 
further   investigations.     Some   of    them    nearly    equaled    in 


MheelJaveous. 


praclic;il  value  the  discovery  of  the  law  of  the  similars. 
Among  ihcm  the  iliscovery  of  attenuating  medicines  is 
jiioinintnt.  Dilutions  ami  trit  unit  ions  are  probably  used  by 
all  piufcsseil  hoiiiceopathists.  Why?  Because  experience 
has  taught  them  to  be  superior  in  promptness  and  efficiency 
t(j  nil  tilhcr  forms  of  medicinal  preparations,  but  their  con- 
nection with  HomiEopulby  is  accidental;  we  might  net  use 
iittcnu:itions  and  btill  be  homffiopalhisls;  we  could  not  be 
Hahneniannians  without  them. 

Hahnemann  was  ppeculalive,  else  he  could  not  h;tve  ac- 
complished tbe  work  he  did.  But  this  speculative  tendency 
led  him  upon  dangerous  ground.  Always  original,  candid 
nnd  earnest,  he  grappled  with  many  questions  which  may 
not  be  fully  solved  for  years,  perhaps  centuries,  to  come. 
The  more  piominent  arc  bis  views  on  the  uction  of  medicine 
and  his  psoric  theory. 

Whenever  a  m.in  becomes  speculative,  we  have  a  right  to 
accept  or  reject  his  conclusions,  Hahnemann  is  no  cxccplidn. 
Few  men  carefully  accept  the  theory  of  the  dyn.imic  acliun 
uf  drugs,  but  many  of  us  love  it  as  a  5rst  attempt  to  strike 
at  the  root  of  an  important  question,  and  think  lavorablv 
of  it  without  being  quite  ready  to  subscribe  to  it  unquali- 
fiedly. The  theory  uf  psora  occupies  about  the  same  position. 
But  a  man  does  not  dishonor  himself  or  deny  the  greatness 
of  Hahnemann,  is  not  an  intruder  or  inconsistent  if  he, 
accepting  in  guoil  faith  the  law  of  cure,  rejects  any  or  all 
of  the  J^peculalions  of  Hahnemann. 

We  insist  in  keeping  apart  facts  on  the  one  hand  and 
theories  on  the  other.  Without  doing  so,  harmony  is  im- 
possible. Men  have  a  right  to  accept  Hahnemann's  views 
as  a  whole;  by  io  doing  ihcy  become  Hahnemannians,  but 
con  not  lose  cast  iitt  homccopathisls.  Men  may  reject  each 
and  every  proposition  of  Hahnemann's,  outside  of  the  law  of 
cure,  and  still  cl^im  consistency  and  demand  courteous  treat- 
ment at  the  hands  of  the  profession.  If  this  is  well  uoJer- 
Btood  there  will  be  no  need  of  pleading  for  freedom  of 
thought  and  expression,  or  for  the  observance  of  common 
decency  in  the  discussion  of  topics  so  peculiarly  important 
atprosenC.  ,  ' 


^ml  ■Moiitti. 


A  Text  Book  of  Electro -Therapeutics  and  Electro- Surgery.  By  John 
Butier,  M.  D.    Boericke  &  Tafel,  New  York. 

Arnoiig  the  many  works  extant  on  MetJical  Electricity  we  hnve 
seen  nothing  that  comea  bo  near  "Ullinglthe  bill"  aa  this.  Tlie 
book  ia  leas  than  three  hnndred  pages  octavo,  but  i'  Bulftripntly 
comprehensive  lor  tl)e  student  or  the  prnctitioneK  The  fact  that 
it  is  written  by  an  enthusiastic  and  very  intelHgent  houKcpathiat, 
gives  to  it  additional  valae.  It  places  electricity  on  the  same  basis 
Aa  other  druga,  and  points  out  by  apeciflc  symptotna  when  the  agent 
ia  indicated.  The  use  of  Electricity  is  therefore,  clearly  no  longer  aa 
exception  to  the  law  of  timUia,  but  acts  curatively,  only  when  used  in 
accordance  with  that  law.  We  are  not  !e£t  to  conjtctnre  and  doubt, 
but  can  clearly  aee  the  specific  indications  of  the  agent,  in  the  dis- 
ease we  have  under  observation.  The  author  ban  doae  the  profession 
an  invaluable  service  in  thua  making  plain  the  pathogenesis  of  this 
won<lerful  agent.  The  reader  will  find  no  trouble  in  Following  both 
the  patholi^yand  treatment  of  the  casea  described.  Electricity  i a 
not  held  up  aa  the  cure-all  of  disease,  but  is  shown  to  be  one  of  the 
most  important  and  valuable  of  remedial  agents,  when  used  in  anin- 
tellittent  manner.  We  have  seen  no  work,  which  we  can  bo  heartily 
recommend  aa  this.    Forsale  at  the  pharmacies. 

How  to  take  Care  of  our  Eyes,  With  advice  to  parents  and  teachers  in 
regard  to  the  management  of  Children.  .  By  Henry  C.  Angell, 
M.  D.    Roberta  Brothers,  Boston, 

IF  it  be  a  settled  fact  that  we  may  properly  simplify  the  science  of 
opthalmology,  and  bring  its  teachings  down  to  the  comprehension  of 
laymen,  then  is  this  book  a  good  thing,  and  if  it  sells  well,  so  that  a 
large  number  shall  have  the  benefit  of  it,  then  it  is  still  abetter  thing. 
But  our  first  assumption  admits  of  a  grave  doubL  A  little  learning  is 
a  dangerous  thing.  Smatterers  are  a  nuisance,  and  half  wise  people, 
the  most  troublesome  that  we  meet  with.  If  Dr.  Angell  had  stuck  to 
bis  text,  and  informed  his  readers  "How  to  take  care  of  their  eyes," 
he  would  have  done  a  good  thing,  but  he  goes  further,  and  attempts 
to  explain  in  simple  language,  some  of  the  most  puzzling  points  in 
optics.  No  writer  could  have  done  better,  but  it  is  evident  that  he 
wrote  under  the  conscions  critical  eye  of  hta  profeesional  brethren. 


Book  Koticet. 


281 


He  hftB  written  more  for  them  to  approve,  than  for  the  c 
reader  to  learn.  For  these  latter  persons,  one  halt  of  the  book 
is  HUperfluous,  if  not  positively  injurious.  We  do  not  hesitate  to 
say  that  this  is  the  beet  book  of  its  kind,  but  we  object  to  the  kind.  It 
is  all  well  enough,  even  desirable,  to  tell  people  how  to  care  for  their 
eyes,  but  astigmatism,  accomiuoilation,  spherical  aberration,  and  hy- 
permetropia,  are  f}uite  beyond  their  ken.  To  t«acbers  and  genera' 
practitioners  ot  medicine,  the  book  can  be  of  great  service. 

Deterioration  and  Race  Education.     By  Samuel  Royco.      Loe  &  Siiep- 
ard,  Boston.    1ST8. 

Here  ia  a  genuine  modern  Jeremiah,  a  man  with  an  endless  srroll, 
written  within  and  without,  with  sorrow,  and  iamentulioiis,  and  woe. 
U  he  is  not  himself  a  pestjimiat,  the  reading  of  his  book  must  surely 
lead  many  to  take  a  gloomy  view  of  human  life.  We  have  here  the 
key  note  of  the  entire  work.  "Statistics  prove  that  a  detorioralion  of 
the  physical,  mental,  and  moral  tone  of  mankind  induced  by  the 
Btate  of  civiliiation,  ia  undertnining  the  race."  Page  fourteen.  This 
statement  is  fairly  clinched  hy  an  array  of  statistics  truly  appalling. 
What  the  said  statistics  are  worth,  is  quite  another  matter.  The 
author  proves  his  point,  if  his  proof  have  a  valid  standing  in  cburt.  It 
would  be  a  very  difficult  matter,  if  one  were  so  disposed,  to  either  prove 
or  disprove  the  alleged  facts  presented.  The  only  clue  to  the  sources  of 
the  author's  information,  is  often  found  in  phrases  like  these :  "Fred- 
erick Hill  says,"  "Dr.  William  Guy  shows"  "The  late  Governor  ot 
Chatam  Convict  Prison  declared,"  "Br.  Campbell  found,"  "Miss  Dix 
traced,"  "According  to  Potter"  etc.,  etc.,  all  of  which  might  satisfy  the 
reader,  but  the  student  would  Gnd  it  impossible  to  verify  many  of 
the  statements  made.  But  allowing  them  all  to  be  incontrovertible, 
does  not  the  autl)or  know  that  upon  the  other  side  of  this  question, 
proof  could  be  piled  mountain  high,  ahowini;  the  steady,  if  not  re- 
markable improvement  of  the  human  race  ?  Does  he  suppose  opti- 
mists, prt^resaionists,  and  evolutionists  have  no  arguments  or 
statistics  to  help  on  their  views  of  human  life  ?  Why  can't  we  have 
B  book  made  up  of  proofs,  on  both  sides ;  a  sort  of  comparative  statis- 
tics, ia  double  lines — so  much  to  be  said  on  one  side,  and  so  much  to 
be  said  on  the  other  side,  and  then  let  the  reader,  aa  judge  or  juror, 
decide  for  himself.  But  in  imy  case,  (and  this  is  a  suggestion  to  our 
author),  let  us  have  page  and  book  of  every  import;mt  quotation. 
Mr.  Royce  makes  his  second  point,  in  showing  the  efTeet  of  Education 
as  a  remedy,  for  alt  the  evils  described. 

Education  is  his  all-sufficient  panacea.  He  docs  not  raise  an  issue 
with,  but  he  quietly  ignores  the  claims  ot  those,  who  profess  to  find 


Cincinnati  Tfedioal  Advance. 


in  religion,  the  great  cure-all  of  Imman  ilia.  But  hia  idea  of  ciluca- 
tioD,  is  very  wide  and  iaclugive.  He  sayti,  "But  this  educJitioa  must 
embrace  the  iDduBtrial,  economical,  Oomeatic,  and  social  relationa, 
and  increase  their  efficiency  aa  producers,  their  ititelligonce,  their 
moral  power,  their  healtli,  and  their  social  considerations,"  p^e  206. 
For  an  advanced  thinker  as  he  is,  the  author  holds  curiously  to  the 
view  that  above  all  things  else,  human  lite  is  most  sacred.  "There 
is  but  one  principle,  that  proclaimed  in  all  its  absolutenes,  can  save 
and  bless  the  race  :  regard  Cor  human  life  for  all  that  preserves  pro. 
loitgH,  and  saves  human  life,  and  an  absolute  condemnation  of  nil  that 
works  destructively  upon  human  life,  weakens,  shortens,  or  renders 
it  liurdeiiHome,"  paiie  249.  This  shows  the  writer  to  be  a  sentimen- 
talist, andnola  philosopher — he  io  not  even  a  tolerable  scientist,  or 
he  would  not  indulge  in  such  etalJimenls.  Only  five  parafiraphs  fur- 
ther on,  he  says,  "a  stragKlinS  P'P^r,  fiddler,  rhymer  or  dreamer,  are 
hut  poor  evidences  of  a  high  civilisation."  No  matter,  the  life  of  any 
one  of  them,  should  command  all  the  i>owor  we  posess,  if  threatened 
with  extinction,  or  even  danger.  Could  we  not  rather  name  a  multi- 
tude of  characters,  whose  existence  is  a  curse  to  the  world,  and 
whose  destruction  could  vastly  bless  mankind?  Upon  many  pointa 
raised  by  the  author,  we  beg  to  differ  from  him,  but  stil!  we  have 
read  the  book  with  pleasure,  and  cordially  assent  to  many  of  his  argu- 
ments. The  general  impression  left  upon  the  mind  of  the  reader,  is 
not  pleasant,  and  this  we  regret,  for  with  the  views  of  the  writer 
upon  most  puinlfi,  we  are  in  sympathy,  and  could  wish  the  subject 
made  more  attractive  to  the  public  We,  however,  commend  the 
work,  as  worth  the  attention  of  our  readers. 


I 
I 


Popular  Scie  ce  Monthly  and  Supplement, 

No  plij'aiciftQ  should  he  without  these  journnis  lyinp  upon  the  office 
table,     The  twenty-tour  numbers  they  bring  ill  a   year,  are  equiva- 
lent to  a  small  library.      The  value  of  their  contents  is  of  the  highest    I 
order,  and  treating  as  they  do,  of  collateral  sciences,  they  become  aa  I 
invalnahleadjunft  to  every  physician's  study.     Pbysicians  who  do  1 
not  study  will  hardly  cara  to  read  sucb  journals,  but  we  are  not  talk- 
ing to  them.     Address,  D.  Appleton  A  Co.,  New  York. 


muoii  %Mi, 


TUB  Inter- Collegiate  Conference,  held  in  Indianapolis 
Cowperthwaile,  of  the  Iowa  University,  wna  almost  the  only  one  who 
did  not  emphntieally  agree  to  carry  out  the  dedsione  of  thnt  bofly, 
ae  he  did  not  feel  authorized  bo  to  do  by  the  Board  of  Regents,  of  the 
University.  We  are  the  more  glad,  therefore,  to  see  that  this  institu- 
tion, ia  among  the  firat  lo  the  front.  The  "Announcement"  tor  1878-9 
states  that  the  "graded  course,  occupyingthreeyeaTB,will  take  effect  on 
all  n«w  matriculates  after  the  close  of  the  session  of  1878-9"  The  only 
way  to  "raise  the standaril  of  Medical  Eiiuuation,"  so  much  talked  of 
is  to  go  right  about  it  and  do  it,  and  we  are  glad  to  see  the  youngest 
homoeopathic  college  in  the  land,  ready  for  (he  work. 

A  Card. — In  consequence  of  the  publication  of  my  name,  in  tiro 
College  Announcements,  as  I'rofessor  of  Surgery,  the  current  year,  I 
lake  this  method  of  infonning  my  professional  friends  and  atndents 
who  are  contemplating  the  attendance  upon  my  lectures,  that  I 
will  deliver  my  course  of  surgical  lectures  the  approaching  winter, 
in  the  University  of  Michigan,  commencing  October  1st  prox. 
During  the  term,  I  propose  to  deliver  a  private  course  of  twenty 
lectures  on  the  "peeial  operaliont  of  lurgery  to  physicians  only,  com- 
prising the  more  important  and  frequent  operations.  Due  notice 
of  this  conrse,  tees,  etc.,  will  be  publislieil  in  our  medical  jour- 
nals. For  further  particulars,  address,  E.  C.  Franklin,  M.  D.,  Prof, 
of  Surgery,  University  of  Michigan,  Ann  Arbor, 

Fob  the  July  number  of  your  ever  welcome  Advance,  page  one 
hundrei!  and  six,  you  have  a  short  editorial,  "Too  Many  Papers," 
The  reined; ,  which  I  have  advocated  for  several  years,  without 
accomplishing  the  desired  relief,  lies  in  sectional  mectintfs.  Let  us 
have,  on  the  first  and  last  day,  a  general  meeting,  but  during  the 
other  days  let  us  divide  into  sections,  and  every  member  can  then 
attend  that  seperate  meeting  to  which  his  inclination  leads.  Klore 
off-hand  discussion  can  be  had  in  such  sectional  meeting,  and  when. 
ever  they  are  tried  the  members  feel  more  satisfied.  Let  us  agitate 
sectional  meetings  and  there  vrill  be  then  not  so  many  papers.— S.  L., 
New  York,  July  28th,  1878. 

Thbhk  lias  lately  been  a  rearrangement  of  the  working  corp  of  the 
Good  Samaritan  Hospital,  of  this  uity,  and  at  present  stands  aa 
follows:  Medical  Staff,  T.  G.  Comstock,  M.  D.,  D.  R,  Luyties,  M. 
D.,  Charles  Gundelftch,  M.  D.,  A.  S.  Evcreti,  M.  D.;  Consulting 
Physician,  G.  S.  Walker,  M.  D. ;  Consulting  Surgeon,  8.  B.  Parsons, 
M.  D. ;  Resident  Physicion,  W,  Collisson,  M.  D. 


284 


Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 


Partnesship  Wanted. — A  young  plyrsician  of  two  years'  experi- 
ence, and  speaking  the  German  language,  desires  a  partnership  in  an 
established  practice.    For  particulars,  address.  Medical  Advance. 

MuNsoN  &  Go's  Homcepathic  Pharmacy,  St.  Louis,  issue  a  splendid- 
ly illustrated  catalogue  and  price  current,  for  the  trade  1878. 

Wanted. — Allen's  Encyclopedia  of  Materia  Medica,  second  hand. 
Address,  Medical  Advance. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Spring  graduates,  of  Pulte  College,  May  26th, 
1878,  it  was  decided  to  form  an  Alumni  Association,  in  order  to  fur- 
ther the  interests  of  the  College;  also  to  invite  the  former  graduates 
to  join  the  Association.  A  Constitution  and  By-Laws  were  adopted, 
and  the  next  meeting  will  be  held  March  5th,  1879,  at  which  meeting 
Dr.  C.  E.  Walton,  of  Hamilton,  Ohio,  will  deliver  the  annual  address. 
All  graduates  intending  to  join  the  Association,  are  requested  to 
send  tlieir  names,  with  twenty-five  cents  initiation  fee,  to  C.  C  Hof- 
mann,  Secretary,  260  Penn  Ave.,  Pittsburg,  Pa. 

Married. — At  the  residence  of  the  bride's  father,  in  Canton,  July 
11th.  1878,  by  Rev.  Dr.  Locke,  W.  E.  Rukenbrc»d,  M.  D.,  to  Miss  Kate 
M.  Jackson,  youngest  daughter  of  Rev.  C.  H.  Jackson. 

Married. — August  10,  Annie,  daughter  of  Dr.  E.  M.  Hale,  of  Chi- 
cago, to  Dr.  Carlos  Gardner,  of  Madrid,  Spain. 

Dr.  Geo.  M.  Ockford  has  left  Indianapolis,  and  settled  in  Burling- 
ton, Vt. 

Dr.  II.  0.  Morrow,  one  of  the  Pulte  boys,  has  located  in  Shelby- 
ville,  lud. 

Dr.  C.  R.  Coffeen,  another  Pulte  boy,  has  located  in  Winchester 
Ind. 


editorial. 

Yellow  Fever 239 

A  National   Sanitary  Pre- 

caution~ 243 

theory  and  practice. 

Intermittent  Fever 246 

Malignant  Diphtheria. 250 

OPHTHALMOLOGY  AND  OTOLOGY. 

Anomalous  Case  from  Prac- 
tice     253 

Recent  Advances  in  Oph- 
thalmology.   Pan  II 256 


general  clinics.  207 
miscellaneous. 

"Too  Many  Papers" 271 

Obituan'  of  two  Honi(iK)pa- 

thic  Journals 273 

Specialism  in  Medicine 274 

Water  in  the  Walls  of  New 

Houses 275 

Orthodox  Iloma'opatliy 277 

ijook  notices.  281 

editor's  table.  283 


J  AS.   p.   GEPPERT,  PR. 


CiHciBKAT),  U,,  Owowui,  1878.         Shim*,, 

miciio,..,  «l.tiL«  u,  ti^  ttu^u.  Aw«(rt.  *-i»Tl 


,  Medccai,  TaEDnov.— TliU  i>  tin  dueUut*  uid  iinu^W  «(  ^ 
sick  by  aupernatnral  uphiui.  TkM»«  ■»  iiair  m^Jjadb  W  •« 
is  done,  and  they  nrc  u»«<J  »iug^f  «  oouiWaw),  u  Bau  k, 

best:   flinging,  prayinj!,  kyiiin  «e  «(  l,u^  „,,.; 

To  this  is  added  iiMiun;  naii  tU*  umv  i,<[, 
giving  point  sad  effluu^y  to  aU  Um  twt.    ji  i 
profitable  atody  to  look  itiUi  thv  Imw^  ,„', 
to  note  tho  employinejil  tA  liik  lurtimi  .^!  -,, 
varioQS  nations  of  tbe  jMCbuitt  iW,    fi.-i  ii 
Bupernatural  meiuii  l^jr  curing  Ui«4d  j^  ,, 
ligbtened  country,  wo  niv  Hia4*  jm'rtMti 
proclnmBtions  now  liriiifr  '^^j  j^  ^^ 
e  I'rcaident  of  thi!  IfiilW  «^^  ta^ 
ncl  pwylMOtt  fc,^  ^ 


2S6 


Cincinnati  Medical  Ailvani 


I 


and  prayer  have  checked  orcnred  epidemics?  Where  are  the 
tical  facts  bearing  upon  the  question  7  Waa  there  ever  »□  epidemic 
thnt  had  not  ita  obvious  cause  in  antecedent  hygienic  conditions? 
Is  it  not  demonstrable  that  these  wide-spread  and  fatal  diseasec  are 
directly  traceable  to  violations  of  the  laws  of  health?  Is  not  modem 
science  capable  of  grasping  with  (heir  causes,  their  preventions  and 
their  cure?  With  medical  thenrgiste  it  is  precisely  as  it  is  with  the 
untutored  savage,  who  sees  with  alarm  the  occurrence  of  an  eclipse 
and  imagines  sfter  he  has  vigorously  beaten  his  tom<tom  thai  he  has 
succeeded  in  driving  the  monger  away.  The  light  of  science  must 
di^^sipHle  the  ignorance  of  the  one  as  it  has  done  of  the  other.  ^Vhy 
should  knowledge  saccumb  to  superstition?  We  have  no  objection  to 
Easting  and  prayer  but  their  misuse  in  these  eases  is  loo  obvious  not  to 
waken  our  protest.  If  need  be  it  can  be  shown  that  bulh  tiie  Bible 
and  common  sense  condemn  the  practice  of  making  snch  public  ex- 
hibitions of  piety. 
HoHiEOPATUic  LnsBATCRB. — "  It  IS  refreshing  to  get  hold  of  a 

rm/  book  in  our  school  after  such  trash  as 's,  and "s,  and 

's,  el  al.     Will  onr  writers  ever  get  over  the  notion  that  their 

colleagues  in  medicine  are  going  to  swallow  allopatliic  rehash  as 
original  mstler?  'e  book  is  taken  bodily  from  Axstie  on  Neu- 
ralgia, an.i  's  boot  is  stolen  from  Sater,  mistakes  and  ail. 

'a  book  is  bodge  podge  and  has  neither  point  nor  honest  merit. 

He  prints  a  lot  of  stuff  which  his  scissors  has  provided  ;  and  its  the 

same  with 'e  new(?)  work.     And  will  yOB  allow  me  to  ask  when 

will  onr  jonrnals  be  kindly  bold  enough  to  protect  their  readers  against 
these  impostors?  Wliy  should  such  harpies  be  encouraged  and  our 
school  starved  or  discouraged  ?  What  honest  author  can  hope  for  a 
recognition  when  snch  pigmies  absorb  (he  attention  and  patronage  of 
the  profession."  A  valued  friend  of  ours  puts  at  us  the  above  series 
of  conundmmx,  and  we  take  this  occasion  lo  put  them  at  the  medi- 
cal profession.  Someone  ought  toanswer  these  questions.  We  have 
already  eipressed  our  views  on  convention  papers  and  we  have  done 
what  we  could  to  prevent  so  much  rehash  being  serveil  up.  Of 
course  it  is  much  worse  when  we  have  to  boy  it  instead  of  merely 
listening  to  it.  As  for  our  medical  journals  no  doubt  the  writer's 
criticism  is  to  the  potnL  But  in  this  matter  we,  tbe  editors,  can  not 
greatly  change  the  work  of  our  contributors.  Our  experience  is  tltat 
onr  writers  of  current  medical  literature  are  materially  improving 
their  productions.  We  have  laid  away  large  piles  of  rejected  rnanu- 
scripts,  but  Uiey  are  not  of  late  being  much  added  to.  Most  of  our 
published  articles  we  are  proud  of,  but  we  wont  to  reach  a  higher 
standard  yet,  and  that  can  only  be  done  by  work  that  bears  lite 


I 


J 


Theory  and  Pructice,  287 

stamp  of  originality.    Will  our  writers  and  authors  heed  these  sog. 
gestions  ? 

It's  all  noxsexse  trying  to  treat  certain  conditions  clearly  not 
within  the  scope  of  the  homceopathic  law,  with  homoeopathic  medi- 
cines. But  it  is  a  greater  nonsense,  an<l  a  crime  besides,  to  attempt 
to  treat  conditions  clearly  within  the  scope  of  that  law  by  means 
other  than  homt^opathic.  Those  .who  are  so  ready  to  fly  to  the  help 
of  non-homueopathic  agencies  seem  to  have  hard  work  in  finding 
any  circumstances  in  which  they  can  apply  Homceopathy  pure  and 
simple.  They  spend  the  most  of  their  time  in  manufacturing  ex- 
cuses for  not  following  the  law  of  similia.  And  when  by  chance  or 
even  by  design  they  select  and  give  a  remedy  truly  homoeopathic 
they  mar  the  entire  work  by  useless  or  injurious  adjuvant  treatment. 
And  the  worst  of  it  is  they  judge  everybody  to  be  as  unwise  or  as 
unfortunate  as  themselves.  Because  they  can  not  follow  the  homceo- 
pathic law  successfully  they  hesitate  not  to  say  others  can  not. 
AVell,  this  is  all  a  mi&take,  and  it  keeps  a  large  number  of  excellent 
persons  in  the  dark. 


?Elf0PU  att6  fvnditt. 


A  Case  of  Traumatic  Eemorrhage  of  the  Kidney  from  a 

Rupture  of  a  Branch  of  the  Renal  Arter\'.  By  J.  A. 
Compton.  M.  D.,  Indianapolis.  Read  before  the  Indi- 
ana Institute  of  Homceopathy. 

Xotwithstanding  its  protected  position  in  the  loins,  well 
padded  with  adipose  tissue,  injuries  of  the  kidney  are  not 
an  infrequent  occurrence. 

In  looking  through  the  literature  on  the  subject  both  civil 
and  militar\-,  at  my  command,  I  find  cases  of  rupture,  con* 
tusion,   and  even   dislocation,  from  accident,  uncomplicated 


288 


Cincinnati  Medical  Advam 


with  other  injuries  of  the  abdominal  viscera,  but  none  paral- 
lel to  this  one,  No  mention  is  made  of  rupture  of  the  artery 
within  the  body  of  a  healthy  kidney.  I  am  inclined  to  be- 
lieve there  must  have  been  a  weakness  of  tlie  vessel  at  the 
point  of  rupture,  although  Dr.  Jameson,  who  gave  a  careful 
examination  of  the  kidney,  assures  me  there  was  no  fatty  de- 
generation or  other  disease  of  thekidncv-  The  patient  him- 
self, who  was  a  very  intelligent  man  and  able  physician, 
claimed  never  to  have  had  any  disease  of  the  kidney  or  urin- 
ary organs. 

Jnne  13,  1S78,  at  nine  p.  m.,  was  called  to  see  Dr.  Edgar  B, 
Thomas,  act.  fifty-three,  of  sanguine  mental  temperament. 
Found  him  very  much  prostrated  and  complaining  of  sense  of 
great  weight,  heat  and  pain  in  the  region  of  the  left -kidney, 
and  a  sense  of  heat  down  the  course  of  the  ureter;  he  was  in 
a  clammy  perspiration  and  had  a  death-like  pallor  of  counte- 
nance; there  was  also  paroxysms  along  the  course  of  the 
ureter,  showing  conclusively  there  were  coagula  passing,  for 
the  Doctor  was  voiding  from  a  half  to  two-thirds  of  a  com- 
mon coffee  cupful  of  arterial  blood  every  five  minutes.  The 
smell  decided  its  being  blood,  and  the  bright  red  color  and  great 
abundance  left  no  doubt  as  to  its  being  arterial.  It  being  so 
thoroughly  mixed  with  urine  when  there  was  urine  to  be  found 
in  it  and  the  above  detailed  symptoms  decided  its  origin.  I 
was  sanguine  I  had  a  dangerous  case  of  traumatic  hemor- 
rhage of  the  kidney  todeal  with,  and  at  once  demanded  coun- 
cil, A  history  of  the  case  proved  my  suspicion  was  well 
founded.  While  passing  down  the  walk  in  his  slippers,  in 
the  early  part  of  the  day,  he  slipped  on  the  sleety  pavement 
and  in  trying  to  save  himself  from  the  fall,  had  thrown  his 
distended  hand  with  considerable  force  over  the  region  of  the 
left  kidney,  with  his  body  thrown  back.  It  gave  him  a  great 
deal  of  pain  for  a  while,  which  soon  passed  oft",  and  he  only 
felt  a  warmth  there  during  the  after  part  of  the  day.  About 
eight  o'clock  that  evening  he  started  for  Cleveland  for  a  ten 
days  trip.  Between  flic  Union  and  outer  depot  he  had  oc- 
casion to  use  the  urinal  and  there  discovered  he  was  passing 
blood.      He  left  the  train  at  the  outer  depot,  and  not  finding 


Theory  and  Practic 


a  conveyance  at  hand,  walked  and  carried  a  heavy  valise 
home,  the  distance  of  nearly  a  mile.  I  found  him  passing 
blood  as  above  described.  After  midnight  the  nurse  esti- 
mated the  voidings  to  be  from  eight  to  ten  minutes. 

June  15.  I  visited  him  the  next  morning  at  seven  a.  m.  and 
found  him  resting  quietly — in  fact  he  had  been  sleeping  some 
twenty-five  minutes;  he  had  passed  a  very  restless  night. 
Dr.  Corliss  and  I  visited  at  nine-thirty  and  found  him  resting. 
We  continued  Srigeron  which  we  had  put  him  on  the  night 
before.  Dr.  Thomas  kept  a  record  of  the  voidings  on  Tues- 
day himself,  and  the  time  ranged  from  fifteen  to  fifty  min- 
utes, with  one  of  twenty-two  minutes,  with  a  smell  of  urine 
in  every  cup'.  The  Doctor  smelled  of  every  voiding,  aud 
said  the  night  before  many  times  he  could  smell  no  urine. 

June  16.  Average  was  about  twenty-five  minutes,  some  less 
in  quantity  and  a  more  pronounced  smell  of  urine. 

June  17.  Quantity  much  less,  time  less;  burning  and  tenes- 
mus on  micturition;  it  was  of  much  darker  color  the  hemor- 
rhage having  become  passive;  the  tenesmus  was  nndoubtcdly 
caused  by  the  presence  of  blood  clots  in  the  bladder. 

June  iS.  More  urine,  less  blood  which  is  of  a  very  dark 
color;  quanlity  from  three  teaspoonsful  to  one-third  cup; 
average  lime  ten  minutes, 

June  19.  Voidings  about  the  same,  strong  Ammoniacal 
smell;  great  tenesmus;  slept  two  or  three  times  to-day  for  a 
half  hour  and  on  waking  would  pass  water  as  often  as  three 
times  in  ten  minutes.  At  night  the  tenesmus  became  so 
great  I  introduced  a  Bell  suppository  into  the  rectum  which 
so  relaxed  the  sphincter  vesicae  that  he  passed  a  large  clot 
that  nearly  filled  the  cup,  perfectly  easy,  and  was  free  from 
tenesmus  for  some  hours. 

June  20.  Voiding  less  in  quantity,  and  of  very  dark  color, 
and  strong  Ammomacal  smell;  tenesmus  very  great,  made  an 
efibrt  to  get  away  the  clot. 

June  21.  Amount  about  the  same,  very  foetid;  some  mucus 
slides  down  the  side  of  the  cup  at  the  end  of  micturition. 
About  eight  a.  m.  he  became  very  restless  and  had  an  almost 
constant  desire  to  pass  water;  after  trying  various  appliances 


290  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

to  get  away  the  clot  without  avail,  Dr.  Wm.  Thomas  applied 
his  mouth  to  the  catheter  and  succeeded  in  getting  away 
about  a  half  a  cup  full  of  broken  down  blood  clot  by  suction. 
At  four  p.  m.  and  at  midnight  the  same  condition  was  re- 
lieved in  the  same  way. 

June  22  and  23.  His  faithful  brother  gave  him  relief  when- 
ever these  restless  spells  came  on  which  were  about  three 
times  a  day,  and  usually  got  about  a  half  a  cup  full  of  broken 
down  blood  clot.  His  voidings  were  frequent  and  of  a  small 
amount,  and  there  was  great  tenesmus,  but  when  the  restless 
spells  came  on  the  tenesmus  was  continuous  until  relief  was 
given  as  above  described.  On  Wednesday  night  Dr.  Buck, 
of  Cincinnati,  saw  the  case  and  we  made  another  desperate 
attempt  to  get  away  the  clot,  but  failed  as  usual  and  had  to 
rely  on  Dr.  Wm. 

June  24.  We  used  the  aspirator  with  ill  success;  symptoms 
same. 

June  25.  Dr.  Buck  returned  and  another  effort  was  made 
with  the  aspirator  and  other  appliances,  without  success. 

June  26.  Dr.  Beckwith,  of  Cincinnati,  saw  the  case.  We 
Etherized  him  and  by  the  use  of  plenty  of  Water^  Vinegar, 
Soda,  the  sound  and  reversible  catheter  succeeded  in  breaking 
up  and  getting  away  the  most  of  the  clot.  The  operation 
lasted  some  two  hours  and  left  him  in  great  distress,  which 
was  relieved  by  opiates  and  hot  fomentations. 

June  27.  Very  weak  and  sick  at  stomach,  could  not  retain 
food;  sickness  at  stomach  probably  caused  by  the  use  of 
Ether  and  opiates;  no  urine  voided. 

June  28.  Eight  a.  m.,  rested  well  last  night  but  complains 
of  great  weakness;  stomach  wont  retain  food;  no  urine  since 
the  operation,  twelve  m.;  retains  food  since  ten  a.  m.;  seven 
p.  m.  retains  food.  Voided  first  since  operation  at  four  p.  m. 
Urine  very  foetid  and  contains  some  pus.  The  Doctor 
smelled  of  every  voiding  up  to  the  operation,  but  now  the 
scent  of  it  causes  singultus. 

June  29.  Very  weak;  respiration,  twenty-four;  pulse,  one 
hundred  and  twenty-five;  urine  foetid  and  contains  pus;  no 
tenesmus  since  the  removal  of  the  clot.     Drs.  Beckwith,  Buck, 


Theory  and  Pvactici 


291 


M.  T.  andO.  S.  Runnells  saw  him  to-night.     Singultuscomes 
now  with  ihe  voiciing  of  the  urine. 

June  30.  From  Wednesday  until  Monday,  February  4th, 
he  giadually  sank,  (ahhough  he  took  nourishment  good  and 
seemed  comparatively  free  from  pain  or  distress),  and  died 
February  4th  at  twenty  minutes  past  four  p.  m. 

Medical  treatment. — The  remedies  used  in  the  treatment 
were  JSrigeron,  CitnlharU,  Muriate  tine,  iron,  Homamtlin, 
Millefolium,  Bell.,  Arnica,  Terebintkinee,  Arsenicum,  Pimia, 
can.,  Acetate  pot.,  JfiCric  oc/rf,  Secale  cor..  Skua.,  Baptisia, 
Bell,  was  the  onlv  remedy  that  relieved  the  tenesmus  in  the 
least.  Both  cold  and  hot  applications  were  tried  over  the 
region  of  the  kidney,  without  avail.  I  am  not  sure  he  always 
got  the  most  appropriate  treatment,  although  we  always  did 
the  best  we  knew.  I  am  inclined  to  think,  with  Drs.  New- 
comer and  Jameson  and  many  others,  that  no  treatment  could 
have  been  of  any  avail  in  this  case.  Dr.  F.  S.  Newcomer, 
the  surgeon  of  the  accidental  company  in  which  the  Doctor 
was  insured,  chose  Dr.  Henry  Jameson  to  examine  the  body. 
Dr.  Wm.  Thomas  and  myself  were  present.  J  will  give  a 
copy  of  Dr.  Jameson's  report  of  the  result  of  the  post  mor- 
tem to  the  insurance  company. 

Indianapolis.  February  7,  1S78. 

On  the  evening  of  Fubniary  5,  1S7S,  Dr.  F.  S.  Newcomer 
and  myself  made  a  post  mortem  examination  upon  the  body 
of  Dr.  Thomas  of  this  city.  I  had  previously  made  a  micro- 
scopic examination  of  the  urine  for  Dr.  Newcomer  and 
found  that  it  contained  a  large  quantity  of  blood,  indeed  it 
was  so  abundant  that  the  urine  was  rendered  opaque  by  its 
presence.  We  found  in  the  post  mortem  that  all  the  viscera 
were  perfectly  healtliy  except  the  left  kidney,  which,  upon 
removal,  was  enormously  distended  and  weighed  a  fraction 
less  than  two  pounds;  its  color  externally  was  a  dark  purple, 
ns  if  it  might  be  enormously  distended  with  blood.  This 
proved  to  be  the  case.  When  it  was  opened  the  upper  por- 
tion or  half  was  completely  disorganized  by  the  presence  of 
an  enormous  blood  clot,  which  resulted  from  the  rupture  of 
one    of  the  branches  of  the   renal  artery,  just  between  the 


292  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

pyramids  in  the  columns  of  bertin.  Death  was  undoubtedly 
produced  by  the  combined  result  of  the  nervous  shock  and 
loss  of  blood.    Respectfully  submitted,     Henry  Jameson. 

I  requested  a  post  mortem  in  the  case  but  Mrs.  Thomas 
utterly  refused,  but  when  Dr.  Newcomer  demanded  it  for  the 
accidental  insurance  he  got  it,  and,  as  I  said  before,  chose 
Dr.  Henry  Jameson  as  an  expert  for  the  company. 


mp%\^ 


Oystitifi  from  Stricture.    Operation.    Chloride  of  Sodium.    By 
W.  E.  Green,  M.  D.,  Little  Rock,  Ark. 

A,  DeG.,  aet.  thirty-eight,  light  hair,  blue  eyes  and  fair 
complexion,  consulted  me  August  25th  for  a  urinary  difficulty, 
giving  the  following  history:  Six  months  previous  he  had 
been  operated  upon  for  hemorrhoids,  which  resulted  in  re- 
tention of  urine,  requiring  catheterization.  In  introducing 
an  instrument  the  physician  inflicted  great  pain  and  its  with- 
drawal was  followed  by  a  profuse  hemorrhage.  Ever  since 
he  has  suffered  from  great  irritation  of  the  bladder,  urinating 
twenty  or  thirty  times  every  twenty-four  hours,  being  almost 
entirely  deprived  of  sleep  and  subjected  to  great  mental 
worry  and  distress.  He  has  been  under  treatment  constantly 
but  without  any  good  effect;  at  the  time  he  consulted  me  he 
was  passing  blood  and  mucus  with  his  urine.  Diagnosis, 
cystitis,  produced  by  traumatic  stricture.  I  stated  my  views 
to  the  patient,  and  upon  making  an  examination  found  a 
stricture  existing  in  the  membranous  urethra,  through  which 
I  succeeded,  after  long  and  tedious  manipulation,  in  passing 


Surgery.  293 

a  filliform  bougie,  over  which  I  threaded  a  Thompson's  di- 
vulsor,  divided  the  stricture,  after  which  a  number  twenty- 
four  sound  was  passed.  I  prescribed  Aconite  and  Arnica 
internally  and  ordered  perfect  quiet.  But  slight  urethral 
fever  followed  and  the  patient  suffered  but  little  inconveni- 
ence from  the  operation.  On  the  seventh  day  the  sound 
was  again  passed,  and  so  on,  until  the  split  in  the  urethral 
membrane  was  entirely  filled  in,  and  all  hemorrhage  and 
irritation  following  the  use  of  the  instrument  had  subsided. 
This  occurred  about  the  expiration  of  the  sixth  week,  but 
contrary  to  expectations  and  in  defiance  to  all  internal  reme- 
dies the  catarrhal  trouble  in  the  bladder  was  not  removed. 
I  then,  by  the  aid  of  the  double  current  catheter,  begao  daily 
to  wash  out  the  bladder  by  injections  of  a  solution  of  Chloride 
of  sodium  5jv.  to  Water  oj.  The  vesical  irritation  rapidly 
subsided  under  this  treatment  and  at  the  expiration  of  a  fort- 
night he  was  discharged  cured,  and  directed  to  continue  the 
use  of  the  sound  every  two  or  three  weeks  to  prevent  re- 
contraction  of  the  urinary  passage.  I  have  found  Chloride 
of  sodium  very  soothing  to  the  vesical  mucous  membrane, 
and  prompt  curative  results  to  follow  its  use  after  Carbolic 
and  Salicylic  acidSy  Nitrate  of  silver^  Sulph,  zinc,  Hydrastis, 
Calendula  and  all  other  remedies  have  failed. 


» » 


Lithotomy.     By  S.  R.  Beckwith,  M.  D,  Cincinnati,  Ohio, 

It  is  not  my  purpose  in  presenting  this  paper  to  recite  the 
recognized  symptoms  that  indicate  calculi  of  the  bladder,  or 
to  particularly  describe  the  operation  of  lithotomy,  but  merely 
to  give  my  opinion  upon  the  cause  of  failure  and  success  of 
the  operation,  also  a  few  suggestions  upon  the  division  of  the 
prostate,  and  the  plan  to  be  followed  in  the  after  treatment. 
Oct.2 


294  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

On  examining  the  tables  of  statistics  of  those  surgeons 
who  have  operated  in  a  great  number  of  cases,  we  find  a 
wide  diflerence  in  the  results,  as  for  example  in  the  lateral 
operation:  Dr.  Dudley  lost  six  patients  out  of  two  hundred 
and  seven,  or  one  in  every  thirty-four  and  one- half;  Dr.  Met- 
taeur  lost  one  in  twenty-two  and  three-fourths;  Dr.  Mott  lost 
one  in  twenty- seven;  while  surgeons  of  equal  skill  celebrity, 
whose  operations  were  undoubtedly  well  performed,  have 
lost  a  much  larger  proportion  of  their  cases  as.  Dr.  Nathan 
Smith  lost  one  in  seven  and  two-thirds;  Dr.  William  Gibson 
lost  one  in  eight  and  one- third;  Dr.  S.  D.  Gross  lost  one  in 
thirteen  and  one-third. 

This  great  disparagement  in  cases  has  led  us  to  carefully 
examine  the  reports  of  the  operators  mentioned  with  many 
others. 

It  is  true  that  the  experience  of  a  surgeon  is  much  like 
that  of  a  physician,  who  are  often  so  successful  in  the  treat- 
ment of  a  disease  that  they  begin  to  think  they  have  found 
the  cure  all,  and  just  at  a  time  when  they  are  most  flattered 
by  their  success  almost  every  patient  dies. 

I  remember  reading  a  report  of  Dr  Lynn,  of  St.  Thomas' 
Hospital,  in  which  he  says:  *'  I  cut  for  stone  forty  times  with 
but  one  loss,  and  then  the  Almighty  punished  me  for  my 
arrogance  in  supposing  that  I  knew  how  to  operate  better 
than  my  fellows,  for  in  the  next  four  I  was  unsuccessful." 

I  have  not  forgotten  my  own  experience  in  this  respect; 
from  the  year  1S54  to  i860  1  rarely  met  with  a  loss  in  any 
surgical  operation,  until  I  was  willing  to  operate  upon  cases 
that  others  would  not  touch.  Then  for  a  year  or  two  the 
deaths  were  so  frequent  that  I  grew  cautious.  With  all 
allowance  for  the  incidents  of  a  surgeon's  practice  there  are 
still  some  reasons  for  the  varied  failures  of  surgeons  in  lithot- 
omy. 

Among  these  are  disease  of  the  kidney,  bladder,  prostate 
gland,  laceration  of  the  parts  during  extraction  of  the  stone, 
prolonged  operation,  wounding  of  rectum,  and  hemorrhage, 
are  dangers  that  can  be  avoided  by  the  surgeon.     Peritoneal 


Surgery. 


and  cellular  inflammatiun,  C3'stitjs,  etc.,  ate  conditions  tliat 
may  often  be  prevented  or  cured  by  our  treatment. 

Patients  sufl'eriiig  from  severe  disease  of  the  kidney,  not 
apparently  dependent  upon  the  calculi  of  the  blander,  rarely 
recover  from  the  effects  of  the  operation;  theii'  ratio  of  deaths 
Js  one  to  two  and  one-half. 

Chronic  cystitis,  with  an  indurated  condition  of  the  v^alU 
of  the  bladder,  with  excessive  irritability  of  the  organ,  are 
conditions  unfavorable  to  a  fortunate  result. 

Hypertrophy  of  the  prostate  often  renders  the  operation 
difficult  and  seriously  lessens  the  prospect  of  recovery. 

Sir  Brodie  said,  "success  in  lithotomy  most  undoubtedly 
depends  in  a  great  degree  on  the  skill  of  the  surgeon  and 
on  the  mode  the  operation  is  performed."  This,  in  a  general 
way.  seems  to  be  true,  but  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  age, 
condition,  debility,  and  disease,  all  play  an  important  part  in 
the  success  or  failure. 

A  prolonged  operation  exhausts  the  patient,  the  parts  suf- 
fer seriously  by  long  and  continuous  handling. 

Dr.  Dudley,  the  most  successful  lithotomist  of  this  country, 
often  performed  the  operation  in  from  three  to  ten  minutes. 
While  no  one  should  operate  against  time,  dexterity  is  an 
important  factor  in  recovery. 

The  division  of  the  prostate  gland  was  at  one  time  believed 
to  be  the  most  dangerous  part  of  lithotomy;  as  the  operation 
became  more  frequent  the  gland  was  divided  in  certain 
ways,  and  it  healed  without  inflammation,  then  this  was  no 
longer  considered  a  special  cause  of  danger. 

In  my  opinion  a  large  proportion  of  deaths  following 
lithotomy  is  dependent  upon  urinary  infiltration  into  the 
pelvic  fascia. 

In  lithotomy,  if  the  median  operation  is  performed,  and  the 
stone  is  large,  the  pelvic  cellular  tissue  will  likely  be  cut  or 

Now,  there  is  but  tittle  dilTercnce  in  the  ratio  of  cures, 
where  the  calculi  are  small,  between  the  median  or  lateral 
operation,  but  when  the  stone  is  large,  the  lateral  is  much 
the  most  successful,  and  this  depends  upon  the  fact  that  the 
stone  can  be  extracted  without  laceration  of  the  fascia. 


I 


296  CincinnaU  Medical  Advance. 

The  prostate  is  covered  with  a  capsule  which,  if  divided 
for  any  considerable  extent,  will  communicate  with  the  pelvic 
fascia  and  allow  urinary  infiltration;  hence,  if  the  gland  is 
only  notched,  so  as  to  allow  the  passage  of  the  fiiiger,  it  can 
be  dilated  or  stretched  sufficiently  to  allow  the  passage  of  the 
stone. 

When  it  is  divided  laterally  or  inferiorly,  so  as  to  cut  the 
fascia,  infiltration  of  urine  will  occur,  unless  a  catheter  of 
rubber  properly  inflated,  is  worn  several  days. 

When  the  stone  is  large,  necessitating  injury  to  the  gland, 
this  instrument  should  be  used. 

I  do  not  think  that  the  capsule  of  the  gland  is  divided  as 
frequently  with  the  knife  as  torn  by  extraction  of  the  stone. 

Much  force  with  the  forceps  will  also  tear  beyond  the 
lateral  lobe.  In  either  event  there  is  danger  of  infiltration 
and  sloughing;  when  the  knife  is  being  withdrawn  it  should 
be  made  to  follow  the  groove  of  the  staff,  for  the  purpose  of 
avoiding  too  free  division  of  the  prostate. 

Some  recommend  that  the  forceps  be  fenestrated  and 
covered  with  cloth,  claiming  that  the  parts  are  less  liable  to 
be  injured  than  with  the  ordinary  forceps. 

I  do  not  think  that  this  statement  is  correct,  as  an  open  bladed 
instrument  must  be  larger  than  the  solid  one,  to  possess  the 
requisite  strength.  The  danger  lies  in  the  force  used.  A 
patient  surgeon  will  extract  a  large  stone  by  steady  pressure 
against  the  walls  of  the  gland,  thus  producing  dilatation  of 
the  wound,  while  an  impatient  surgeon  will  tear  the  parts. 

It  is  far  better  to  enlarge  the  incision,  or  dilate  the  gland 
with  the  dilator,  than  to  extract  the  stone  by  force,  where 
it  measures  more  than  an  inch  and  a  quarter  to  an  inch  and 
a  half. 

Another  complication  is  wounding  the  rectum  while  per- 
forming the  lateral  operation.  This  accident  has  occurred 
with  the  most  experienced  surgeons,  and  can  be  recognized 
at  once  by  the  escape  of  air  from  the  bowel,  and  is  liable  to 
be  followed  by  a  fistula.  To  prevent  this  occurrence  it  is 
better  to  divide  the  gut  from  the  wound  to  the  sphincters, 
this  will  not  retard  the  cure,  as  the  intestine  will  unite,  before 
the  wound  of  the  bladder  and  gland  has  healed. 


Surgery,  297 

As  surgeons  of  the  homoeopathic  system  of  medicine,  we 
allow  our  patients  to  go  a  longer  time,  without  an  evacuation 
of  the  boyvels,  than  operators  of  other  schools. 

In  lithotomy  we  have  here  a  decided  advantage  as  we  are 
not  concerned  if  the  bowels  do  not  move  for  ten  or  twelve 
days,  thus  allowing  time  for  the  the  wound  to  heal  before 
being  disturbed  from  this  cause. 

Where  the  rectum  has  been  wounded,  or  the  parts  torn  or 
contused  by  the  extraction  of  a  large  stone,  small  Opium  m- 
jections  should  be  used  daily  for  the  purpose  of  keeping  them 
confined  until  union  occurs. 

In  lithotomy  as  in  all  surgical  operations,  hemorrhage  is 
one  of  the  principal  causes  of  danger.  Yet  in  most  cases 
there  are  no  vessels  divided  that  require  ligation. 

If  the  bleeding  is  free  after  the  first  incision  the  pernical 
artery  has  probably  been  cut  and  hemorrhage  can  easily  be 
arrested  by  ligature,  but  if  the  arteries  of  the  bulb,  the  infe- 
rior hemorrhoidal  or  transverse  perineal  is  severed  the  bleed- 
ing is  profuse  and  troublesome,  pressure  by  the  finger,  the  use 
of  Physic's  needle,  are  the  ordinary  measures  to  stop  the  flow 
of  blood. 

In  one  instance  when  I  operated  on  an  old  gentleman 
there  was  a  rush  of  blood,  as  the  knife  followed  the 
groove.  I  inserted  a  canula  in  the  bladder  and  packed 
around  it  lint  wet  with  the  Persulphate  of  iron;  in  a  short 
time  the  hemorrhage  was  controlled  and  I  extracted  two  cal- 
culi. I  allowed  the  packing  to  remain  for  three  days;  the 
patient  made  a  good  recovery. 

In  those  cases  where  the  wound  heals  slowly,  secondary 
hemorrhage  may  occur  at  times,  and  become  troublesome, 
pressure  and  astringents  are  the  only  local  treatment. 

Lithotomy  under  all  circumstances  is  a  dangerous  operation. 
The  operative  procedure  is  simple,  when  there  is  no  com- 
plications and  only  becomes  difficult,  when  there  is  hemor- 
rhage or  the  stone  is  too  large  to  be  extracted  by  a  perineal 
incision.  In  general  the  after  treatment  is  almost  as  impor- 
tant as  a  skillful  operation. 


298  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

The  prevention  of  inflammation,  pyaemia,  sloughing,  fistu- 
las and  prostration  are  the  important  duties  of  the  surgeon. 

The  plan  adopted  by  the  homoeopath  to  carefully  wash  out 
the  bladder  with  Calendula^  and  frequent  injections  into  the 
wound  of  the  same,  are  remarkably  beneficial  in  preventing 
inflammation  and  favoring  early  union. 

In  conclusion  allow  me  to  suggest  that  you  can  form  a  tol- 
erably safe  prognosis  before  the  operation  provided  the  pa- 
tient is  healthy,  not  too  old,  has  no  enlargement  of  the  pros- 
tate, and  there  is  but  small  amount  of  adipose,  so  that  you 
can  easily  find  the  staflf.  In  such  a  case  the  danger  is  not 
great,  but  if  an  opposite  condition  exists  the  danger  is  in- 
creased. 

The  comparative  result  of  lithotomy  by  surgeons  of  our 
school  has  never  been  made  except  by  our  celebrated  Rus- 
sian surgeon  who  presented  the  World's  Convention  of 
Homoeopathic  Physicians  with  about  seventy  specimens  of 
urinary  calculi  that  he  had  removed. 

His  ratio  of  loss  is  much  less  than  the  average  report  of 
any  other  surgeon.  His  large  proportion  of  cures  will  remain 
as  a  lasting  monument  to  the  superior  success  of  homoeo- 
pathic medication. 

I  here  present  you  with  a  rare  specimen  of  urinary  cal- 
culi that  I  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  Dr.  Walton,  of  Hamil- 
ton, remove  some  time  since,  eleven  in  number,  weigh- 
ing two  and  a  quarter  ounces  in  the  aggregate,  were 
wedged  into  the  neck  of  the  bladder,  so  as  to  appear  like  a 
large  stone,  of  triangular  shape  The  patient  made  a  quick 
recovery. 


Agaricus. — Feeling  of  intoxication;  head  falls  back- 
wards, as  if  with  a  weight  at  the  occiput;  twitching  of  the 
eye  lids,  eye  balls  and  facial  muscles;  passage  of  much 
inodorous  flatus;  viscid  glutinous  mucus  from  the  urethra; 
dry,  paroxysmal  cough;  difl!icult  breathing,  with  oppression 
of  the  chest;  pain  along  the  spinal  cord  when  stooping; 
aching  along  the  spine  and  limbs. 


iBs1«liicat  tiuh  iipatcological. 


PoSt-Partlllll  Hemorrhage,  Treated  by  Hypodermic  Injec- 
tion. By  W.  H.  Hunt,  M.  D.,  Professor  of  Obstetrics, 
Pulte  Medical  College. 

External  pressure  and  "turning  out  the  clots"  usually  stops  . 
"  post-partum  hemorrhage."  If  we  fail  with  this  simple  and 
always  first  tried  expedient,  cold  or  hot  applications  or 
intra-utcrinc  iujections  of  Iran  or  Iodine  are  resorted  to, 
each  and  all  with  varied  success.  In  several  cases  of  post- 
partum hemorrhage  I  have  succeeded  with  the  applications 
named,  one  or  more.  My  custom  has  been,  first,  to  resort 
to  the  universally  advised  conjoined  external  and  internal 
manipulations,  if  this  foils  injections  of  hot  water  (tempera- 
ture loo  to  113),  failing  in  this  I  prefer  as  an  intra-uterine 
remedy  Iodine,  either  Churchiira  preparation  or  a  watery 
solution  made  from  a  solid  extract.  On  the  third  of  May  of 
this  year  I  was  called  to  attend  a  lady  in  her  second  con- 
finement. I  found  the  patient  in  comparative  good  condition, 
vertex  presentation,  the  exact  position  I  could  not  make  out. 
After  the  birth  of  the  child  I  found  it  to  have  been  the  second 
or  occiput  to  the  right  acetabulum.  The  os  was  slightlv  dilat- 
ed, with  good  prospect  of  steady  increase,  Judging  from  the 
character  of  the  pains  and  the  condition  of  the  parts. 

After  waiting  patiently  four  hours  a  second  examination 
revealed  the  fact  that  very  little  if  any  advancement  had 
been  made,  and  as  the  patient  was  showing  symptoms  of 
exhaustion,  I  partially  etherized  her  (usually  In  these  cases  of 
flagging  of  pain  and  nerve  force,  1  exhibit  Chloral  with  happy 
efiect),  but  In  this  case,  having  no  Chloral  at  hand,  I  resorled 
to  the  ether.  Under  its  influence  tlie  os  dilated  rapidly  and 
the  child  was  expelled.  The  second  stage  being  completed 
with  a  "gush,"  previous  to  the  exhibition  of  the  anicsthctic 
for  four  hours  little  was  accomplished  in  dilation  or  progress, 
whereas  In  less  than  liftecn  minutes  after  anoistlicsia  complete 


300 


Civcinvttli  Meilicril   Advance. 


relaxation  and  expulsion  were  affected.  Enpreswon  or  Credn' 
method  was  used,  and  the  placenta  followed  in  a  few  minutes. 
(Never  before  have  1  seen  tlie  second  and  lliird  stages  of 
labor  terminate  so  rapidly).  Placing  my  hand  over  tile 
hypogastrium  I  could  notice  a  disposition  on  the  part  of  the 
uterus  to  relax,  the  rapid  termination  of  the  labor  and  the  use 
of  the  ahsesthetic  probably  acting  as  predisposing  causes.  (I 
have  never  noticed  this  tendency  to  exertion  of  the  womb 
■after  the  use  of  Chloral).  By  pressing  and  retention  of  the 
hand  over  the  globe  of  the  uterus  I  had  the  satisfaction  of 
obtaining  pretty  firm  contraction  but  at  the  same  time  I  felt 
that  the  tenacity  was  only  comparative  and  necessarily  un- 
certain. In  less  than  half  an  hour,  in  spite  of  every  precaution 
in  the  way  of  pressure,  the  uterus  gradually  and  perceptibly 
relaxed,  and  with  the  inertia  I  had  a  condition  objectively 
and  subjectively  that  the  veriest  tyro  would  have  regarded  as 
the  result  of  a  post-partum  hemorrhage,  hardly  any  pulse 
and  that  terrible  "let  me  alone"  "far  olT  look"  that  once 
seen  can  never  be  forgotten,  and  that  always  accompanies 
this  much  dreaded  accident. 

I  attempted  to  stay  the  progress  of  the  inertia  by  the  usnal 
method.  Failing  in  this  I  injected  with  a  common  self- 
injecting  syringe  hot  water,  and  for  the  first  time  this  failed 
me.  As  a  last  resort  I  injected,  under  the  skin  of  the  abdo- 
men above  the  pubis,  a  small  quantity  of  FluitJ  ext.  qf  ergot. 
The  result  was  an  immediate  contraction  of  the  uterus  and 
cessation  of  the  hemorrhage,  I  have  never  witnessed  so 
speedy  a  result  of  treatment  in  any  case.  The  exhibition  of 
Krgot  by  the  mouth  should  never  be  relied  on  in  these  cases 
as  its  action  is  loo  slow,  talcing  from  fifteen  to  twenty  min- 
utes to  develop  its  peculiar  efiect.  Hypodermically  used  its 
action  is  almost  instantaneous.  In  one  other  c.ise  I  used  this 
method  of  exhibiting  Ergot  and  with  equal  success.  In  two 
instances  1  have  used  the  preparation  of  iron  as  recom- 
mended by  Barnes  and  with  no  untoward  result,  but  it  is  an 
application  I  should  resort  to  only  after  a  failure  with  the 
loiiine  nud  £rgot.    With  me  it  will  ever  be  a  "  dernier  resort." 


Obstetrical  and  Gyncecological,  301 

Within  the  last  year  I  used  the  hypordemic  injection  of 
Ergot  in  an  interesting  case  of  uterine  hemorrhage  occurring 
at  the  climateric  period.  The  lady,  fifty  years  of  age,  had  not 
menstruated  for  three  years.  Suddeny,  without  a  perceptible 
cause,  hemorrhage  without  pain  made  its  appearance.  After 
treating  the  case  with  the  remedies  ordinarily  used,  especially 
the  Ustilgo  ?na(2^.,  and  having  failed,  the  hemorrhage  continu- 
ing almost  continuously  for  nearly  a  year.  I  introduced  be- 
neath the  skin,  over  the  pubis,  an  injection  of  Ergot.  The 
relief  was  magical  and  continued  for  about  four  months.  A 
slight  return  of  the  hemorrhage  induced  me  to  repeat  the 
treatment,  since  which  time  there  has  been  no  return  of  the 
flow  and  the  patient's  condition  is  good.  A  speculum  exam- 
ination and  the  introduction  of  the  sound  revealed  no  patho- 
logical state,  but  only  a  relaxed,  softened  condition  of  the 
body  and  cervix.  The  patient's  complexion  and  many  of 
her  objective  appearances,  together  with  her  antecedents, 
caused  me  to  fear  that  carcinoma  might  exist  or  be  imminent. 
I  would  not  recommend  Ergot  hypodermically  as  a  cure  all 
for  all  forms  of  uterine  hemorrhage,  but  my  limited  experi- 
ence and  the  happy  result  of  cases  treated  by  my  friends  in- 
spires me  with  a  decided  confidence  in  its  exhibition  in  post 
partum  hemorrhages,  in  uterine  hemorrhages  from  atony 
and  in  placenta  previa  whenever  Ergot  is  indicated. 


■»  ♦ 


Obstetric  and  Bef^enial  Treatment  of  After  Fains.    By  j.  c. 

Sanders,  M.   D.,   Professer   of  Obstetrics,   Cleveland 
Homoeopathic  Hospital  College. 

Treatment  of  after  pains  other  than  therapeutic  may  be 
considered  under  two  general  heads: 
(A)  Obstetric,  (B)  Regimenial. 


3Q2  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

(A)  Obstetric  Treatment. — The  range  of  obstetric  man- 
agement prophylactic  and  direct  of  after  pains  is  quite  exten- 
sive and  worthy  of  careful  consideration. 

First  It  is  so  to  conduct  the  gestative  process  as  to  keep 
it  within  the  definition  of  a  physioligical  state  for  its  entire 
duration,  guarding  at  all  times  against  the  lodgment  and  fixa- 
tion of  the  many  forms  of  violation  to  which  it  is  subject  and 
which  are  sure  to  compromise  its  healthfulness  and  safety. 

Second.  It  is  so  to  conduct  the  labor  process  as  to  protect 
against  the  conditions  which  are  the  almost  certain  entailment 
of  the  malady.  This  involves  certain  and  specific  rules  of 
duty  which  may  be  stated  as  follows: 

(a)  In  every  case,  other  than  primipera,  inquiry  should 
be  made  into  the  history  of  the  preceding  labor  or  labors  as 
to  this  special  affection.  This  inquiry  rationally  can  run  back 
to  the  preceding  generation,  for  there  is  no  question  that 
there  are  family  biases  to  this  form  of  suffering.  And  why 
not?  I  am  sure  I  have  been  able  to  trace  this  as  a  heredi- 
tary entailment. 

(b)  Without  any  preceding  experience  of  this  kind  on  the 
part  of  the  patient,  or  on  the  part  of  her  mother,  the  common 
obstetric  rules  to  break  the  membranes  at  the  completion  of 
the  first  stage  of  labor  cither  as  a  fact  of  attained  dilatation, 
or  of  attained  dilitability  which  always  is  its  equivalent  should 
be  scrupulously  observed. 

In  case,  however,  there  had  been  such  a  preceding  experi- 
ence with  after  pains  on  the  part  of  the  patient  or  on  the  part 
of  her  mother  before  her,  this  common  obstetric  rule  should 
be  observed  with  a  special  caution^  namely,  the  membranes 
should  be  broken  in  the  same  manner  as  in  placenta  previa, 
by  making  a  small  orifice  and  permitting  the  waters  thereby 
to  be  surely  but  gradually  evacuated. 

(c)  As  after  pains  are  predominantly  associated  with  ex- 
traordinary rapid  labors,  rapid  especially  in  the  second  stage, 
this  stage  whenever  threateningly  rapid  should  be  protracted 
all  that  is  consistent,  by  taking  ofT  the  voluntary  forces  to  the 
required  degree,  or  entirely  at  discretion,  committing  to  the 
uterine  forces  proportionately  the  entire  delivery  of  the  child. 


Obstetrical  and  Gyntecological. 


303 


:  patient  can  be  made  largely  to  subserve 


The  decubifis  of  the 
the  same  purpose. 

(d)  The  third  stage  so  far  as  concerns  the  detachment, 
and  expulsion  of  the  placenta  from  the  uterine  cavity  exclu- 
sively should  be  committed  to  the  uterine  forces  even  to  the 
limits  of  justifiable  delay,  unless  interference  is  demanded  by 
the  interposition  of  some  accidental  condition  as  convulsions 
or  hemorrhage.  From  an  extensive  and  careful  observation 
I  am  convinced  that  as  it  is  true  of  the  second  stage  so  it  is 
true  of  the  third  stage,  after  pains  are  very  generally  propor- 
tioned, in  severity  and  duration,  to  the  baste  of  its  process  and 
completion.  If  rapid,  whether  by  ihe  strength  of  the  natural 
forces  or  by  the  interference  of  art,  after  pains  more  surely  su- 
pch-ene  and  enduringly  and  distressfully  aftlicL  This  occur- 
rence is  largely  determined  by  ihe  factor  of  undue  haste  in  de- 
livery, both  in  the  second  and  in  the  third  stages,  hut  especially 
in  the  latter.  From  a  careful  observation  1  am  convinced 
that  the  longer  the  uterus  retains  the  placenta  the  more  pro- 
tected the  uterus  is  from  this  distressful  malady,  I  desire 
to  limit  the  proposition  to  the  exact  terms  of  the  statement. 
Detention  of  the  placental  mass  within  the  vagina  after  hav- 
ing escaped  from  the  uterus  is  no  part  of  the  statement  on 
which  the  proposition  is  founded.  Whenever  the  placenta 
has  progressed  so  far  in  delivery  as  to  lodge  and  rest  for  its 
greater  "bulk  within  the  grasp  of  ihe  vagina  it  can  no  longer 
subserve  any  purpose  protective  against  after  pains  and 
should  promptly  be  removed,  as  its  retention  within  the 
vagina  is  not  only  imperiling  of  hemorrhage  but  exhaustive 
of  vaginal  tenacity  and  unqualifiedly  harmful. 

(e)  Incident  to  the  extrication  of  the  placenta  from  the 
grasp  of  the  vagina,  great  care  should  be  exercised  not  only 
to  secure  the  entire  mcmbrjines  but  any  clot  or  clots  which 
may  have  accumulated  or  gathered  at  or  within  the  grasp  of 
the  OS  uteri  or  within  the  vagina.  A  wad  or  shred  of  mem- 
branes, or  even  a  small  clot  firmly  gathered  within  the  circle 
of  the  OS,  is  capable  of  provoking  or  sustaining  the  mahidy. 
They  singly  or  together  are  often  an  unsuspected  cause.  In 
case  there  is  evidence  of  reformation  of  clots,  they  will  re- 


304 


Ciu, 


'Mi  Medical  Advance. 


quire  removal  and  the  surveilancc  may  have  to  be  continued 
for  Bome  time.  Ordinarily  one  removal,  together  with  the  ■ 
use  of  the  indicated  remedy,  for  the  atonic  condition  of  the 
uterus  on  which  the  loss  depends  will  suffice. 

(f)  The  bandage,  except  where  there  has  been  great 
distension  of  the  uterus  by  multiple  fojti  or  hy  a  morbid 
amount  of  liquor  amiiii.  should  be  interdicted.  Its  applica- 
tion will  prove  only  annoying  and  burdensome. 

(B).  Regimenial  Treatment. — This  is  also  prophylactic  and 
direct  and  may  be  brieflv  stated  as  follows: 

First.  The  gestative  state  through  its  entire  period  should 
be  made  to  conform  to  healthful  restraints.  Especially,  all 
excesses  of  food  should  be  cautioned  .against.  The  morbid, 
greedy  appetites  which  wait  on  this  state,  and  which  are 
prone  to  be  exacting  and  to  entail  on  the  portal  and  renal 
centres  engorgement,  and  on  the  uterine  and  ovarian  centres 
morbid  excitability,  will  require  and  Ehould  receive  the 
most  prudent  guidance.  The  end  to  be  aimed  at  and  at- 
tained is  to  keep  the  patient  free  from  undue  vascular 
engorgement  and  irritation,  out  of  which,  ■when  established 
and  conlirmed,  after  pains  may  reflexly  spring. 

Second.  The  parturient  state  equally  should  be  guarded 
against  everything  liable  to  impose  burden  or  excilation  on 
the  great  sentient  centres,  e-pecially  the  digestive, 

ThiM.  Soon  as  labor  is  completed  there  is  need  of  special 
care;  that,  except  the  case  is  hemorrhagic,  no  cold  drinks 
be  permitted,  as  they  are  liabl  to  aggravate  suffering.  Even 
medicine  used  in  solution  should  be  administered  in  quite 
warm  water.  So  responsive  sometimes  is  the  womb  to  any- 
thing cold  taken  by  the  stomach  that  a  teaspoonful  of  cold 
water,  however  medicated,  will  sustain  the  suffering.  It  i& 
better  in  such  cases  that  medicine  be  administered  if  not  in 
warm,  water,  dry  on  the  tongue;  that  the  room  and  surround- 
ings of  the  patient  l)e  made  and  kept  quiet.  Scarcely  any- 
thing, except  the  cry  of  the  child,  is  more  intolerable  to  a 
sufferer  from  after  pains  than  confusion  and  the  noise  of 
much  talking  or  the  talking  of  many  voices;  that  the  babe  be 
not  dressed  in  the  same  room,  nor  after  its  toilet,  be  applied 


Obstetrical  and  GyncBcologicaL  305 

to  the  brearst,  nor  when  crying  be  permitted  to  remain  in  the 
room.  To  disregard  these  latter  cautions  is  downright 
cruelty  if  the  after  pains  are  severe. 

Fourth.  In  case  the  after  pains  are  neurotic  and  dissoci- 
ated with  hemorrhage  and  clot  formation,  hot  fomentations 
will  prove  a  most  serviceable  adjuvant.  Light,  soft  napkins, 
wrung  so  as  not  to  drip  out  of  water,  medicated  or  not,  hot 
as  the  skin  can  bear,  and  properly  covered  in  by  a  superim- 
posed layer  of  warm,  dry  flannel,  and  this  renewed  often  is 
a  proper  mode  of  their  use.  Akin  to  hot  fomentations  is  the 
application  of  the  Mustard  poultice,  which  is  often  used  with 
great  satisfaction,  though  empirically.  As  popularly  used 
it  is  applied  directly  over  the  cramping  uterus  and  its  posi- 
tion changed  from  side  to  side  and  up  and  down,  so  as  not 
to  make  the  sensation  of  heat  and  glowing  disagreeably 
intense  at  any  one  point.  Somewhat  similar  to  Mustard 
poultice  in  its  primary  impression,  but  more  eflicient  and 
specific  in  its  action,  is  the  local  use  of  Chloroform.  One  of 
the  most  terrible  cases  I  ever  knew,  the  pangs  of  which  the 
patient  dreaded  more  than  those  of  the  preceding  labor 
yielded  promptly  to  its  use.  A  soft  napkin,  folded  to  four 
thicknesses  and  well  charged  on  one  side  for  an  area  equal 
to  the  outline  of  the  uterus  and  applied  directly  over  and 
upon  it,  and  this  quickly  and  well  covered  in  by  another  nap- 
kin, is  the  mode  of  its  application.  The  second  application ^ 
using  each  time  about  a  drachm,  sufliced  to  subdue  the  suf- 
fering after  it  had  risen  to  a  pitch  of  desperation,  and  other 
resources,  including  the  best  selected  remedy,  had  failed  to 
relieve.  Not  often  have  I  availed  myself  of  this  resource,  but 
in  every  case  I  have,  it  has  proved  surprisingly  relieving  and 
at  the  same  time  innocent  of  any  appreciable  near  or  remote 
adverse  symptom.  It  must  be  regarded  a  valuable  though 
an  empirical  adjuvant. 


Wttmml  €Ht(k$* 


Elevating  Homosopathy — Renal  Calculus. — In  the 
August  number  of  the  Advance,  "J.  B.  O.'*  calls  the  atten- 
tion of  the  profession  to  the  method  practiced  in college 

of  "elevating  Homoeopathy,"  and  his  criticism  is  eminently 
just,  and  not  made  o;ic  day  too  soon.  But  the  college  to 
which  he  refers  is  not  the  only  one  guilty  of  such  teaching. 
The  following  from  the  note  book  of  a  student  who  gradu- 
ated at  the  last  session  of  one  of  our  state  universities,  in 
which  HomcEopathy  has  but  recently  gained  a  foot  hold,  may 
be  given  as  a  fair  illustration  of  the  kind  of  Homoeopathy 
taught  from  the  chair  of  practice.  The  professor,  giving  the 
treatment  of  renal  calculus,  says:  "  Relax  the  surrounding 
parts  and  give  Aconite  and  Gelsemium  in  drop  doses  of  tinc- 
ture, on  general  principles.  Morphia  in  one-eighth  grain 
doses,  repeated  every  half  hour  if  necessary;  or  perhaps  the 
better  way  would  be  to  use  it  hypodermically."  Even  in  this 
extreme  case  the  grace  of  consistency  coi^ies  to  the  rescue; 
as  the  professor,  armed  with  the  periphernalia,  (hypodermic 
syringe),  is  prepared  to  "practice  what  he  preaches."  His 
theory  of  Homoeopathy  may  be  unquestioned,  but  shades  of 
Hahnemann!  what  of  the  practice  when  he  enunciates  such 
doctrines  from  the  college  rostrum?  Is  it  not  time  that  some- 
thing more  than  a  gentle  criticism  be  entered  against  such 
teaching  in  our  homoeopathic  colleges?  If  it  must  be  taught 
call  it  by  its  right  name,  and  send  homoeopathic  students 
where  they  will  receive  homccopathic  instruction.  Those 
who  graduated  in  allopathic  colleges  and  have  been  compel- 
led to  carry  such  dead  weights — millstones  around  their  pro- 
fessional necks — in  their  eftbrts  to  obtain  a  knowledge  of 
homoeopathic  practice,  can  sympathize  with  students  who  re- 
ceive such  teaching  now  in  our  homoeopathic  colleges. 
"  When  knowledge  ceases  chaos  enters  in,"  The  names  of 
such  colleges  should  be  published  so  that  we  may  know 
where  to  send  our  students. — CRiric. 

P.  S,  The  following  case  shows  what  Homoeopathy  can  do 
when  intelligently  applied. 


General  Clinia. 


307 


Renal  Calculus — ^Tiie  True  Method  of  Relief. — 
Dt-'c.  14,  1S77,  at  eleven  a.  m.,  was  called  to  Mr.  M.  who  was 
suffering  intensely  from  the  passage  of  a  renal  calculus.  He 
held  no  idea  what  was  the  matter  and  was  sure  he  was  going 
to  die.  He  had  wakened  with  the  pain  nbout  half  an  hour 
before,  and  the  agony  was  so  great  that  he  wept  like  a  child, 
and  the  perspiration  poured  from  hiin  as  he  writhed  and 
twisted  in  every  direction  over  the  bed.  The  pain  was  felt 
above  the  right  hip,  inward  toward  the  back.  He  was  a 
very  strong,  heallhy  man,  about  thirty  years  of  age,  and  had 
never  been  sick,  Cnntharis  mm,  a  few  pellets  was  dissolved 
Id  half  tumbler  of  water,  and  two  teaspoonsful  given  him, 
with  direclion  to  repeal  with  one  teaspoonful  every  fifteen 
minutes  till  easier.  After  the  second  dose  he  fell  asleep  and 
slept  two  hours;  woke  without  pain  but  weak;  took  no  more 
medicine;  went  down  to  dinner  that  day  and  to  business  the 
next.  Dec,  zo,  passed  a  small  stone  from  the  bladder,  which 
I  now  have;  has  had  no  retiirrf  of  the  pain  to  date. 

This  case  is  presented  to  draw  attention  to  one  published 
in  the  Homoeopathic  Times,  Vol.  vi,  No.  ^  Julyi  1S48,  in 
which  Dr.  Roby  informs  us  he  gave  ^ux,  Coloeynth  and 
other  remedies  during  the  night,  and  the  following  day  the 
.assistance  of  anieslhetics  and  narcotics,  a  Tobaoco  poultice 
and  even  a  grain  of  Morphia,  and  then  the  operation  of  at- 
taching a  rubber  tube  to  a  Wordsworth  aspirating  syringe, 
nnd  into  the  remote  end  of  the  tube  inserted  the  open  end  of 
a  female  catheter;  this  was  inserted  in  the  bladder,  pushing  it 
well  back  into  the  region  of  the  orifice  of  the  nreter,  and  then 
by  pumping  produced  a  pi  essure  of  from  three  to  five  pounds, 
and  the  suction  brought  the  stone  into  the  bladder.  Can  :iny 
one  say  what  removed  the  calculus?  When  so  many  expedi- 
ents are  resorted  to  who  can  decide?  In  the  foot  note  we  sec 
that  Dr.  R,  reports  another  successful  operation.  It  would 
be  gratifying  to  know  if  the  operation  alone  was  used.  One 
thing  is  very  certain:  if  the  proper  remedy  had  been  admin- 
istered at  first,  and  io  a  proper  potency,  the  result  would 
have  been  as  in  the  case  I  reported,  and  the  patieni 
hours  of  agonv.     1  buve  verilied  it  in  two  similar  cai 


J 


30S  Cincinnati   Medical  Advance. 

there  arc  many  otber  physicians  who  have  never  been  coffi- 
pelled  lo  resort  in  such  cases  to  eclectic  measures.  The  re- 
medy appropriate  to  the  case  must  be  administered  at  lirst, 
lor  if  there  is  a  mistake  in  the  first  remedy,  it  w' 
exhaust  itself  or  be  aiiddoted  before  a  second  remedy  can  dis- 
play its  full  effect,  wasting  thereby  valuable  time,  and  causing 
the  patient  prolonged  suffering;  therefore,  the  necessity  of 
administering  the  proper  remody  at  first  is  of  prime  impor- 
tance, and  there  is  but  one  way  of  arriving  at  this  result,  and 
that  is  by  the  strict  adherence  of  the  plan  laid  down  by  Hah- 
nemann for  the  examination  of  the  sick  person,  and  then 
finding  the  corresponding  remedy  to  that  condition — by  in- 
dividualizing each  case  and  then  prescribing  for  it.  There  is 
certainty  only  under  the  law. — Saml.  Swan,  M.  D,,  N.  Y. 

Arum  Teiphyllum—  Biting  the  Finger  Nails — C. 
W.,  a  child,  aet.  three  years,  with  light  hair  and  eyes;  though 
nut  decidedly  scrofulous,  has*sufrered  about  a  year  and  a  half 
from  tile  habit — which  has  been  constantly  increasing — of 
biting  the  finger  nails;  he  would  bite  them  until  the  fingers 
would  bleed,  and  it  had  become  very  annoying  and  trouble- 
some. The  parents  had  tried  various  mechanical  means 
without  any  benefit,  and  although  firm  believers  in  Homoao- 
piithy,  thought  it  useless,  or  worse  than  useless,  to  think  of 
correcting  what  they  were  pleased  to  term,  "a  mere  habit," 
by  internal  medication.  Like  many  of  our  professional 
brethren  they  clung  with  a  tenacity  worthy  a  better  cause  to 
their  faith  in  the  material  nature  of  disease.  Guided  by  the 
similarity  of  symptom,  "picks  the  lips  till  they  bleed,"  he  was 
given  Arum  Tri/ph.  3,  and  an  immediate  improvement  follow- 
ed, !n  two  weeks  be  was  well  and  has  had  no  return  of  the 
"habit."  Giving  one  remedy  at  a  time  we  know  what  did 
it.  I  consider  this  an  important  verification  of  the  remedy, 
and  one  of  which  a  note  may  be  made  by  the  busy  practi- 
tioner with  profit. — H.  C.  Allkx,  M.  D  ,  Detroit. 

Nitric  Acid  Verification — Allen's  Cyc,  vol.  vii,  Xitri- 
Bvin  ftcidum  symptom  628;  "  Stomach  and  abdomen  tense  and 


General  Clinics.  309 

clothes  seem  too  tight  immediately  after  a  very  moderate  din- 
ner."— A  young  lady  under  treatment  for  yellow  blotches  on 
her  face  and  abdomen  and  spasmodic  dysmenorrhoea  on  the 
first  day  of  flow,  with  concomitant  indications  calling  for 
2iriL  acid.  Had  been  taking  the  30?  potency  three  times  a  day 
alternate  weeks,  for  six  weeks,  and  improved  very  much; 
mentioned  this  sensation  of  the  abdomen  feeling  so  full  and 
tight  shortly  after  eating;  her  appetite  and  digestion  was 
excellent  and  no  flatulence;  had  noticed  the  symptom  for 
four  or  five  days  and  getting  worse.  Discontinued  the  ^itr, 
acid  as  it  was  evident  the  remedy  had  made  an  impression 
on  the  system  strong  enough;  the  sensation  disapeared  grad- 
ually in  two  or  three  days.  I  have  starred  symptom  628  in 
my  copy  of  Allen. — J.  F.  E, 

Iodine  vs.  Quinine — Intermittent  Fevers. — Our  allo- 
pathic friends  have  discovered  in  Iodine  a  perfect  substitute 
for  Quinine^  Dr,  Grinnell,  at  Wichita  agency  reports  one 
hundred  and  forty-seven  cases  treated  of  the  quotidian  and 
tertian  types  principally,  and  all  of  them  cured.  Ten  drops 
of  the  tincture  in  a  glass  half  full  of  sweetened  water  three 
times  daily  to  adults.  Of  course,  as  usual,  these  discoverers 
are  at  a  loss  to  account  for  the  result,  and  they  timidly  sug- 
gest that  its  action  (how,  not  stated)  is  perhaps  upon  the 
lymphatic  glandular  centers,  the  hiding  places  perhaps  of  the 
malarial  poison.  The  pathogenesis  of  Iodine,  under  the  head 
of  Fever,  is  quite  marked  and  worthy  of  study  and  we  have 
no  doubt  it  might  be  found  a  valuable  remedy  in  attenuation 
in  some  forms  of  intermittent  fever.  But  of  this  our  allo- 
pathic friends  may  be  assured  that  Iodine  can  not  be  used  in 
such  doses  continuously  or  repeatedly  without  resulting  in 
profound  and  injurious  efl*ects  upon  the  system. 

Iodine — Verified  Symptoms. — Sallow,  distressed  coun- 
tenance; increased  saliva;  ravenous  hunger;  left  hypochon- 
driac region  hard  and  acutely  painful  to  pressure;  emaciation; 
great  debility  with  restlessness;  profuse  perspiration  at  night. 
Note — Fever  symptoms  numerous  but  not  marked  as  verified 
in  Allen's  Ency. 
Oct.3 


MUuUtmmi. 


Liberalism  in  Hedicine.     By  Geo,  M.  OckTord.  M.  D.,  Bur- 


mglo 


,  Vt. 


The  discnsBions  between  members  of  our  sehool  pro  and 
con  regarding  the  use  of  highly  attenuated  drugs  has  been 
marked  by  acrimoDy  and  a  spirit  of  illibcrality  entirely  out 
of  place  in  tbia  itge  of  scientific  investigation.  While  thd 
strict  hom<BOpathists,  whose  vision  does  not  extend  beyond 
the  strict  interpretation  of  ximilia  »imilibus  aurantur  have 
sought  to  exeommuuicale  their  more  ''liberal"  contempora- 
ries,  wbo  dare  to  nso  mustard  plaster,  aiiodynes  and  other 
adjuncts  to  ameliorate  tbe  condition  of  dufTering  humanity, 
this  same  liberal  element,  ao  called;  has  sought  to  cast  reflec- 
tions upon  their  opponents  by  ridiculing  their  practice, 
calling  them  fanatics  and  humbugs.  But  the  most  bigoted 
opposition  has  been  made  against  those  who  have  dared  to 
state  the  efficacy  of  highly  attenuated  drugs  in  the  treatment 
of  disease.  No  etfort  has  been  made  to  tmpeucii  the  charac- 
ter of  the  men  wbo  make  these  statements.  All  adroit  that 
oar  "higli  potency"  men  are  physicians  oi  culture  and  good 
liberal  medie&l  education  j  etill  those  who  differ  from  them, 
do  not  hesitate  to  denounce  thoir  teachings,  accusing 
them  of  being  possessed  of  a  luxuriant  imagination  that, 
like  "the  poet's  pen,"  can  give  ''to  airy  nothing  a  local 
habitatiou  and  a  name,"  Why  is  this  opposition?  Tbey 
do  not  deny  the  law  of  cure,  but  cures  by  such  minute 
doses  is  impossible  and  the  statements  are  so  specious  that 
ridicule  is  the  only  weapon  fitted  for  such  a  contest. 
Now  this  is  just  the  same  spirit  that  opposed  Homceo- 
pathy  at  the  start.  The  medical  profession  had  never 
been  remarkable  lor  repudiating  generalities  without  suffici- 
ent data.  See  the  theories  humoraiism,  vitalism,  eolidism, 
and  the  speculations  of  Brown,  Cullen  and  others.  These 
were  adopted  by  a  very  large  portion  of  the  medical  world. 
At  the  time  Homceopathy  was  promulgated  by  the  illustrious 


311 


Uaniiemann,  a  celebrated  English  physician  was  pi-oclaim- 
ing  to  the  world  that  "the  lancet  ia  the  right  hand  of  medi- 
cine and  Calomel  ia  ita  left,"  and  this  latter  aontimcnt  was 
applauded  to  the  echo.  But  the  syatem  of  Homoeopathy 
drew  down  upon  itaelf  the  rcpudiaiiori  of  men  of  liberal  me- 
dical education,  and  if  not  of  deep  thought,  at  least  a  good 
practical  common  aenae.  They  professed  to  be  in  search  of 
the  best  methods  of  curing  disai>ae,  aud  yet  they  denounced 
the  iollowers  of  Hahnemann  aa  fools  or  knaves.  It  was  not 
on  the  ground  of  generalization  surely  that  Horaraopalhj"  was 
rejected,  although  a  universal  law  of  cure  may  have  been  a 
aturabling  block  to  many.  The  popular  notion  of  the  time 
WES  that  antagonism,  counter- irritation  and  narcotism,  were 
the  only  true  methods  of  treating  disease.  Disease  jtselfwae 
looked  upon  aa  a  hydra-headed  monster  which  had  to  bo 
bled,  physiced  and  purged  until  there  was  nothing  left 
for  nature  to  take  care  of  but  the  poor  hoots  of  the 
ugly  abnormal  development.  Homceopathy  was  the  ex- 
pression of  a  (act  totally  irreconcilable  with  these  no- 
tions. How  absurd  that  like  should  cure  like  I  they  ex- 
claimed. It  was  impossible  that  modicinea  acting  in  the 
same  direction  as  the  diseaae  should  arrest  the  disease,  and 
then  to  crown  the  whole  the  doctrine  of  infiniteaimals  was 
utterly  at  variance  with  their  experience.  No  exaggeration 
seemed  possible  for  auch  an  absurdity,  and  every  statement 
was  considered  fair  that  put  this  absurdity  in  ita  strongest 
,  light.  The  whole  trouble  was  that  the  doctrine  was  not  in 
a:-cord  with  the  prevailing  notions  ot  that  time.  The  bleed- 
ing and  Calomel  doctrine  was  received  with  open  arms 
and  we  find  the  leading  men  ot  the  day  advising  the 
laacet  as  the  sine  qua  won  in  the  medical  practice.  People 
are  yet  alive  that  remember  the  excessive  bleeding  of  filly 
and  sixty  years  ago.  Less  than  sistyyoars  ago  King  George 
IV  of  England  was  bled  to  the  amount  of  eighty  ounces  by 
one  emincnl  practitioner  and  upon  the  recommendation  of 
another  a  further  depletion  of  lilly  ounces  took  place,  which 
second  bleeding,  Greville  gravely  says,  "certainly  saved 
his  life,  for  he  must  have  died  if  be  had  not  been  blooded." 
And  in  the  further  treatment  of  the  caae,  a  day  or  two  after, 


312 


i  JferJiciil  A  ih-m 


twenty  ouneea  more  blood  was  taken  from  the  royaJ  patient, 
tor  what  purpose  ia  noi  stated,  but  probably  to  liiiston  cou- 
vulescence.  The  mon  who  practiced  in  thia  heroic  inannop 
were  not  obBcure  physicians,  hut  ihoy  corisidercd  lliemselvea 
the  infallibiiists  of  their  time,  Their  BucceBSorB  still  exist 
in  thoao  who  would  deny  free  thought  and  practice  among 
their  contemporaries,  A  great  progress  has  been  made  and 
such  treatment  would  be  considered  malpractice  at  the  pres- 
ent day,  and  bow  can  we  tell  that  the  next  generation  will 
not  look  npon  the  nsa  of  hypodermic  injections,  large  doses 
of  Ohloraf,  and  similar  treatment  as  being  unfair  to  the  hu- 
man organism?  The  former  generations  could  not  bear  the 
doctrine  of  infinitosimala  on  account  of  its  limited  informa 
tion,  but  in  the  generations  yet  to  come  it  is  likely  to  be  the 
only  doctrine  compatible  with  the  then  existing  state  of 
knowledge.  Thia  is  an  age  of  minute  scientific  research,  the 
old  acbool  literature  is  becoming  permeated  with  our  prin- 
ciples, and  their  materia  modica  enriched  with  our  remodios, 
and  the  time  will  surely  come  when  tho  successors  of  those 
who  so  ruthlessly  drove  the  great  Hahnemann  from  Loipsic 
shall  delight  to  proclaim  panegyrics  upon  the  great  benefac- 
tor of  the  medical  practice.  Let  us  learn  from  those  facts 
that  other  facts  which  may  appear  as  improbable  tis  the  doc- 
trine ot  infinitesimals  to  the  former  generation,  may  be  true, 
and  before  denouncing  them  let  us  carefully  test,  and  « 
inethem  with  candor,  remembering  that 

"Our  doubte  arc  traitors 
And  make  us  lose  the  good  we  oft  might  win, 

By  [earing  to  attempt." 

Argentum  nit. — Vertigo  and  buzzing  in  the  ears,  with 
great  dehiiity  of  the  limbs  and  tremhling;  headache  relieved 
by  binding  the  head;  great  redness  and  swelling  of  ihe 
carnacles;  tenacious  mucus  in  the  throat,  with  constant 
hawking;  sensation  of  a  splinter  lodged  in  the  throat; 
swelling  and  tenderness  of  the  stomach,  nausea,  heaviness, 
fullness;  colic,  with  diarrh<Ea,  green  foetid  muscus;  rigid- 
ity of  the  calves,  with  great  weakness;  heart  affections 
better  in  the  open  air. 


Miscellaneoits.  313 


To  a  Tonng  Doctor  from  Ms  Father. 

My  Dear  Son: — Your  letter  of  inquiry  as  to  a  "policy" 
which  shall  serve  you  as  a  guide  in  your  professional  life, 
has  been  received.  I  rejoice  at  your  beginning  so  early  in 
life  to  use  the  term  "  policy."  Never  lose  sight  of  it,  and  it 
wrill  guide  you  to  social  and  professional  eminence,  as  it  has 
your  father  before  you. 

Your  entering  upon  professional  life  at  a  time  when  our 
school  is  so  greatly  agitated  and  seems  in  danger  of  rupture, 
requires,  as  you  indeed  intimated,  an  unusual  amount  of  cau- 
tion. Could  I  foresee  which  side  wonld  win  in  the  end,  my 
advice  would  be  short  and  to  the  point.  But  I  myself  am 
sorejy  perplexed  and  find  it  trying,  at  my  time  of  life,  to  ac- 
commodate myself  to  the  needs  of  the  hour.  I  have  even 
thought  of  retiring  from  active  work,  but  my  position  is  too 
prominent.      I  have  only    lately  been  elected  an  honorary 

member  of  the State  Society,  am  president  of  the   

Central  Society,  chairman  of  the  Bureau  on  Dose  of  the 

Medical  Institute  and  my  name  may  possibly  be  used  (with- 
out my  sanction,  of  course)  as  a  candidate  for  a  chair   in    the 

State  University.       (By  the  bye  Dr.  B —  has  promised 

to  help  me  in  this  latter  matter  and  his  influence  is  very  pow- 
erful). All  this  tempts  me  to  stick,  hoping,  that  no  matter 
who  wins  I  shall  manage  to  be  on  the  right  side. 

As  to  yourself,  I  trust  that  you  will  ever  remember  that  to 
insure  success  you  must  be  prepared  to  throw  overboard  all  no- 
tions of  so-called  consistency.  A  young  manof  talent  can  not 
afl'ord  to  sacrifice  position  to  a  mere  whim.  It  will  seldom 
pay  you  to  fight  the  majority.  Act  and  fraternize  with  them. 
But  while  doing  so,  conciliate  by  a  show  of  sympathy  to  a  mi- 
nority, if  composed  of  men  of  ability,  who  are  apt  to  be  in  the 
right,  but  have  not  the  tact  to  accommodate  themselves  to  oth- 
ers, and  thus  usually  succeed  in  only  bringing  upon  themselves 
disfavor  and  contempt.  I  might  name  such  men;  but  your 
acquaintance  with  the  current  literature  of  our  school  makes 
illustrating  unnecessary.     On  questions  of  importance  and  of 


314  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

interest  never  commit  yourselt  if  you  can  avoid  it.  An  easy 
way  of  doing  this,  is  always  to  agree  with  present  company. 
To  give  an  example:  No  one  but  a  fool  would  talk  anything  but 
high-dilutionism  to  Dr.  L — ;  in  conversation  with  a  man 
like  Dr  H —  of  E —  it  would  be  thoughtless  to  omit  a  shrug  of 
the  shoulders  or  a  confidential  smile  while  mentioning:  them. 
"Individualize"  with  one  man;  but  "generalize"  with  his 
neighbor. 

To  do  this  successfully  be  shrewd  and  bold.  I  know  a 
man  who  read  a  paper  on  "  Pure  HomcEopathy"  at  a  meeting 
of  medical  men,  deploring  mongrelism  and  especially  the  use 
of  crude  drugs.  He  had  his  case  with  him,  (thoughtlessness, 
mind  you).  A  mischief  loving  listener  opened  it  while  its 
owner  was  reading  his  high  toned  paper,  and  upon  finding 
in  it  Calomel^  Quinine,  Dover's  Powders^  Ipecac^  etc.,  all  of 
them  in  the  crude,  exhibited  them  good  naturedly  and  thus 
absolutely  ruined  the  effects  of  a  carefully  prepared  paper. 
There  you  had  a  man  who  was  sensible  on  the  point  of  me- 
dication— but  he  should  have  left  his  case  at  home.  I  felt  sorry 
to  see  a  man  of  his  ability  overwhelmed  with  ridicule,  owing 
to  a  little  carelessness.  Take  due  warning,  my  son.  Nothing 
would  so  mortify  me  as  the  thought  that  you  might  be  guilty 
of  similar  imprudence. 

I  need  not  speak  to  you  of  high  dilutions  in  your  practice, 
for  you  are  nearly  twenty-five  years  old.      I  have  taught  you 
the  use  of  medicines  in  such  doses  as   would  produce  desir- 
able and  appreciable  effects.     You  have  been  shown  how  to 
discriminate    between    true    science    and    blind     enthusiasm.' 
Remember  these  lessons!     Hahnemann  was  a  man  of  oiigin- 
ality  and  respectability,  but  you  are  too  well  read  to  follow 
him  blindly.     Men  of  his  eccentricity  are  not  often  safe  lead- 
ers.    While  it  then  seems  necessary  to  avow  a  great  deal  of 
reverence  for  the  "  master"  as  an  eminent  man  of  the  day  has 
it;   while  it  will  do  well  enough  at  times  to  out-Hahnemann 
Hahnemann  himself  in  lofty  enthusiasm  for  the  "cause"  and 
all  that,   remember   that   the  fluid  extract  of  a  drug  is  much 
safer  lo  depend  upon  than  the  two  thousandth  dilution.     As 
you  come  across  reports  of  cures  with  Swan's  high  poten- 


Miscellaneous,  315 

• 

cies,  think  of  ^^  skimmed  milky  But  it  would  not  be  a  bad 
move,  could  you  occasionally  publish  a  cure  with  the 
millionth  potency,  while  showing  a  general  disposition  to 
favor  low  potencies.  Yjou  will,  by  doing  so,  get  the  reputa- 
tion of  a  careful,  earnest,  thoughtful  and  candid  laborer  in 
the  field  and  may  become  a  man  of  note,  as  others  have  by 
the  use  of  the  same  means. 

Time  however  hurries.  Farewell  for  to-day.  Remember, 
that  I  will  advise  you  at  all  times  to  your  advantage.  Do  not 
fail  to  make  good  the  hopes  of  my  heart,  centered  in  you 
Abov6  all,  my  son,  take  no  sides  at  present  Blows  are  fall- 
ing rapidly  and  are  dealt  carelessly.  Take  heed  not  to  put 
yourself  in  their  way. 

Your  co-laborer  in  the  cause  of  Homoeopathy  and  affec  • 
tionate  father,  H.  R.  A. 


Women  Doctors,      An  address  by  Prof.  J.  Martine  Kershaw, 
M.  D.,  Missouri  School  of  Midwifery. 

The  majority  of  men  who  graduate  in  medicine  fail  to 
make  either  a  good  name  or  a  decent  Hving.  The  majority  of 
women  who  take  up  medicine  are  foolishly  infatuated  with 
a  profession  which  they  can  not  comprehend,  or  they  resort 
to  it  as  a  means  of  hvelihood,  having  failed  in  other  things. 
One  can  not  become  a  good  physician  without  a  certain  natu- 
ral fitness  for  the  calling,  a  fair  education,  and  a  good  stock 
of  common  sense.  Now  permit  me  to  say  that  the  majority 
of  men  and  women  who  study  medicine  are  utterly  unfit  to 
practice  it.  Many  of  these  people  theorize  and  dream  beauti- 
fully, but  at  the  bedside  of  the  sick  they  are  helpless.  The 
few  only  succeed,  and  these  do  it  because  of  their  fitness  for 
the  profcbsion,  by  the  exercise  of  good  hard  common  sense, 


316  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

and  as  a  result  of  constant,  thoughtful,  and  earnest  study.  Now 
the  education  of  women  for  the  practice  of  medicine  is  an  ex- 
periment. Few  men  have  any  faith  in  women  as  physicians,  and 
few  women  will  trust  one  of  their  own  sex  in  any  case  at  all 
serious.  Schools  of  medicine  have  op>ened  their  doors  to 
women,  because,  in  these  broad  and  liberal  times,  it  is  held  to 
be  the  right  of  everyone  to  follow  that  legitimate  profession 
or  calling,  which  suits  him  best.  It  is  right  too.  Women 
should  be  allowed  with  men,  to  gain  an  honest  living,  and 
whether  it  be  law,  medicine,  millinery^  or  dress-making — that 
is  her  business.  Now,  I  am  sure  that  many  a  good  mother 
has  been  spoiled  by  trying  to  make  a  doctor  of  her;  and  many 
a  woman  would  have  made  a  better  wife  had  she  not  insisted 
on  dabbling  in  pills.  And  on  the  other  hand  I  have  fre- 
quently known  two  respectable  callings  to  be  sadly  injured 
by  a  blacksmith  leaving  his  trade  to  practice  medicine.  How- 
ever, I  have  always  believed  that  women  should  doctor  wo- 
men. I  have  always  believed  that  in  certain  diseases  of 
females,  a  woman  should  be  the  attendant,  and  not  a  man. 
Custom,  with  intelligence  and  scientific  acquirements,  gives 
the  man  the  right  to  attend  woman.  She  suffers  for  months 
and  years  even,  and  finally  shrinking,  cowed  and  mortified, 
she  submits  to  the  attentions  of  a  man — doctor.  Now  it  does 
a  woman  no  good  to  suffer  in  this  way,  and  it  would  be  un- 
necessary if  the  women-doctors  came  to  the  front  equipped 
with  intelligence,  common  sense,  and  its  requisite  amount  of 
medical  knowledge.  Custom  and  habit  make  the  women 
look  up  to  men,  and  down  on  their  own  sex;  it  remains  how- 
ever, in  the  hands  of  women  physicians  to  make  their  cause, 
or  let  it  fall  through.  It  will  succeed  if  they  can  prove  them- 
selves as  good  doctors  as  the  men;  and  it  will  fail  if  they  can 
not  do  this.  The  times  demand  skilled  attention.  The 
people  want  a  first  class  article,  whether  it  be  medicine  or 
merchandise,  and  whoever  can  furnish  this  will  receive  a  pro- 
per return  for  it,  whether  the  individual  be  a  man  or  a  woman. 
The  relations  of  the  people  to  the  profession. — 
This  is  another  matter  to  which  I  wish  to  call  your  atten- 
tion, and  it  is  one  that  will  prove  of  great  importance  to  you 


Miscellaneous,  317 

in  the  practice  of  your  profession.  You  may  think  that  having 
learned  how  to  cure  dibcase,  you  can  with  opportunity,  do 
this.  I  am  certain  you  will  find  yourselves  mistaken,  a 
very  great  many  times.  It  may  not  be  your  fault  that  your 
patient  does  not  mend  as  rapidly  as  she  should,  but,  as  physi- 
cians make  pretty  good  scape  goats,  you  will  find  that  you 
will  be  obliged  to  bear  whatever  blame  may  be  attached  to 
the  case.  You  may  know  exactly  where  the  trouble  lies,  but 
will  often  find  yourselves  powerless  to  overcome  it.  If  you 
can  manage  to  prevent  benevolent  old  ladies  from  administer- 
ing their  teas,  and  applying  their  liniments  and  blisters  to 
your  patients  during  your  absence,  you  will  do  more  than 
have  some  other  members  of  the  profession.  There  are  gen- 
erally from  three  to  six  of  these  natural  old  ladies  to  every 
single  doctor,  and  they  give  him  about  as  much  as  he  can  at- 
tend to  at  any  one  time.  Now  if  the  patient  dies  or  is  seri- 
ously injured  for  life,  no  one  ever  thinks  of  blaming  these  kind, 
good  hearted  motherly  old  ladies.  No  indeed!  But  they  do 
blame  the  poor  doctor.  They  neither  forgive  nor  forget  him, 
but  talk  and  gossip  about  him  at  every  tea  or  quilting  party 
for  the  next  ten  years  to  come.  It  may  be  neither  fair  nor 
just  that  you  are  blamed  for  Mrs.  — 's  death,  but  you  will 
have  to  stand  it,  because  you  can  not  explain  to  the  world  that 
the  old  ladies  were  really  the  attending  physicians,  and  that 
they  should  have  signed  the  certificate  of  death.  If  3'ou  are 
called  to  see  Johnny  — ,  and  after  a  careful  examination,  pre- 
scribe a  bath  of  Whisky  and  hot  Water,  wet  bandage  to  the 
neck,  and  medicine  to  be  taken  every  two  hours,  can  you  feel 
assured,  on  leaving  the  house,  that  all  these  things  will  be 
done?  I  think  you  can  count  on  one  or  two  of  them  being 
omitted,  as  a  rule.  It  is  common  for  the  parents  to  improve 
on  the  prescription  of  the  physician  by  substituting  Camphor 
for  the  Whisky,  When  Johnny  dies,  the  people  look  at  the 
doctor  as  though  he  were  a  criminal,  the  parents  are  inconsol- 
able, and  the  minister  says  it  was  God's  will.  The  death  of 
the  patient  may  be  ascribed  to  your  ignorance,  and  your  repu- 
tation sufler,  but  you  can  not  explain  to  the  world  that  every 
single  direction  given  had  a  special  purpose  to  accomplish. 


318  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

and  that  it  was  the  gross  neglect  of  these  plain  directions  that 
killed  Johnny. 

If  a  patient  calls  on  you  suffering  from  some  chronic  ailment, 
and  on  examination,  you  tell  her  that  it  will  take  three  months  to 
cure  her,  that  it  will  be  necessary  to  see  her  three  times  a  week, 
to  all  of  which  she  agrees,  and  she  comes  but  three  times  and 
no  more,  you  may  feel  indignant;  the  world  may  think  you 
are  a  poor  physician,  but  you  will  have  to  stand  it.  She  may 
tell  her  friends  that  you  have  treated  her,  but  that  she  is  no 
better;  she  may  have  failed  to  tell  them  that  you  required 
three  months  to  do  her  any  permanent  good;  she  may  have 
failed  to  tell  them  that  she  only  called  on  you  three  times. 
It  is  extremely  likely  that  she  made  the  first  statement  and 
forgot  the  last  two.  This  is  generally  the  case.  Now  these 
things  are  unfair  and  unjust.  They  cruelly  wrong  every  in- 
telligent, faithful  and  conscientious  physician  who  tries  to  do 
his  whole  duty  to  the  suflering  patient  placed  under  his 
charge.  Having  devoted  his  life  to  the  study  of  medicine  he 
certainly  should  know  more  of  such  matters  than  those  who 
have  spent  the  major  part  of  their  time  making  pies,  cleaning 
house  and  attending  tea  parties.  There  can  be  no  doubt  about 
these  things.  Physicians  would  be  much  more  successful  in 
treating  disease,  if  the  plain  directions  given  were  strictly 
carried  out  in  every  instance.  True,  there  are  people  who 
faithfully  follow  the  instructions  of  their  physician;  but  there 
are  numberless  people  who  always  do  things  in  an  irregular 
way.  They  never  mean  any  harm  by  it,  but  they  invariably 
omit  one  or  two  explicit  directions  of  the  physician,  or  add 
some  medicine  or  application  of  which  they  have  read  in  the 
almanac,  or  cut  from  the  newspaper.  Sometimes  they  kill 
the  baby,  but  then  no  one  ever  knows  of  it.  The  parents 
think  it  was  the  ciiild's  teeth,  the  summer  complaint,  or  the 
hot  weather;  while  the  certificate  reads,  cholera  infantum, 
hydrocephalus  or  marasmus.  As  healers  of  the  sick,  you  will 
constantly  meet  with  obstacles  to  the  cure  of  disease  in  the 
forms  I  have  mentioned.  They  are  more  difficult  to  deal 
with,  in  many  instances,  than  the  disease  itself;  and  you  will 
often  suffer  in  name  and  reputation  in  a  neighbordood,  not 


Miscellaneous,  319 

from  your  inability  to  treat  the  affection,  but  because  you 
cannot  overcome  the  oflicious  interference  of  friends  and 
neighbors. 

In  some  people  the  milk  of  human  kindness  fairly  boils 
over  whenever  some  neighbors  get  the  cramps  or  the  baby 
the  colic.  Now,  if  these  good  people  could  only  be  persu- 
aded to  scent  an  approaching  .paroxysm  of  this  kind  by  dust- 
ing their  neighbor's  parlors,  sweeping  the  sidewalks,  or 
washing  the  dishes,  these  overflows  would  be  duly  appreciated 
by  every  right  minded  individual;  but  somehow  or  other  they 
invariably  exhibit  their  good  feeling  by  trying  to  persuade  their 
rich  friends  to  swallow  a  bottle,  or  two  of  their  favorite 
medicine,  or  apply  some  formidable  looking  plaster  to  the 
sore  spot.  They  seem  to  overlook  the  fact  that,  perhaps  the 
attending  physician  does  not  really  need  their  assistance,  and 
that  if  he  found  the  case  of  a  grave  character,  he  would  cer- 
tainly call  and  consult  them  at  once.  They  never  wait  for 
him;  but  in  their  humble  way  they  go  about  doing  good, 
asking  no  material  remunerations  on  this  earth,  content  to 
omit  the  reward  which  comes  when  suffering  and  sorrow 
shall  be  no  more. 


■♦  ♦■ 


On  Cells.     By  Mr.  W.  Dcane  Butcher.  Reading  England. 

The  doctrines  of  cell  action  and  cell  pathology  teach  us 
that  the  cell  is  the  centre  and  origin  of  all  vital  action,  and  of 
the  varied  phenomena  of  life,  health,  and  disease.  But  even 
the  cell  is  not  homogeneous.  The  microscope  even  here 
reveals  to  us  protoplasm  and  formed  material — nucleus  and 
nucleolus — cell  wall  and  cell  contents.  Each  cell  is  capable 
of  a  partially  distinct  existence,  and  exhibits  phenomena  ol 
nutrition  and  reproduction— of  growth,  development  and 
decay. 


320  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

Marvellously  linked  together  too  are  these  cells — by 
sympathies  we  may  not  understand — perchance  by  social 
instincts  we  do  not  dream  of. 

Each  one  is  a  microcosm,  or  little  world,  in  which  are 
reproduced  in  miniature  all  the  phenomena  of  life.  The 
mind  can  however  analyse  the  cell  still  further,  and  break  up 
cell  wall  and  cell  contents  each  into  its  constituent  molecules 
and  atoms. 

I  have  often  thought  that  a  tree  afforded  the  best  illustra- 
tion of  a  living  cell.  When  we  view  a  cell  from  without  and 
at  a  distance,  it  resembles  some  giant  oak,  seen  on  the  far  off 
horizon.  All  invisible  are  mighty  limbs  and  wide-spreading 
branches,  "sprouting  a  shady  boon  for  simple  sheep."  We 
can  discern  only  a  dark,  solid  mass  of  many  tinted  green, 
standing  solid  and  silent  against  the  azure  sky. 

But  suppose  we  approach  more  closely,  and  take  our 
station  within  its  circle.  No  longer  an  homogeneous  mass — 
we  see  it  is  composed  of  an  infinitude  of  parts.  No  longer 
still  and  silent,  it  is  full  of  life  and  motion.  Birds  flit  aloft 
among  its  branches,  the  hum  of  insects  enlivens  the  gloom 
beneath.  The  wind,  too,  sways  its  giant  arms,  and  soft  airs 
sigh  amid  the  branches.  Its  leaves  flutter  to  and  fro  with 
melodious  murmur — sunlight  and  shadow  alternately  chequer 
the  grass  beneath — and  what  at  a  distance  appeared  an 
innate  inanimate  mass  is  seen  to  be  instinct  with  life  and 
many  colored  motion. 

Such  is  our  cell.  Simple  and  homogeneous  it  may  appear 
to  the  highest  powers  of  our  glasses;  but  the  more  powerful 
optics  of  the  mind  perceive  in  it  a  marvellous  complexity. 
Could  we  but  transport  ourselves  into  its  interior,  and  take 
our  station  inside  the  magic  circle  of  its  "cell  territory,"  the 
oak  tree  would  be  silent  and  simple  in  comparison. 

What  should  we  see?  Clashing  atoms  and  clustering 
molecules,  more  numerous  than  leaves  and  branches — wide 
desert  wastes,  traversed  by  soft  caloric  breezes,  or  convulsed 
with  electric  storms.  Communities  held  together  by  twig- 
like bonds  of  adhesion,  swayed  by  chemic  forces  of  attraction 
and  repulsion,  molecular  alliances  and  discords,  atomic  loves 


Miscellaneous.  321 

and  hates.  A  more  mobile  atmosphere,  the  imponderable 
ether,  bathes  the  atom  leaves.  Pulses  of  sound,  vibrations  of 
light,  tremors  of  heat,  currents  of  electricity,  ethereal  waves, 
atomic  storms,  rush  through  the  interspaces.  There  is  no 
silence  or  repose  in  Nature.  Atom  leaves  flutter  unceasingly 
to  the  sway  of  atomic  breezes,  dancing  to  and  fro  in  mazy 
whorls  to  the  music  of  molecular  forces;  trembling,  vibra- 
ting, swaying  ever  to  the  swell  of  ethereal  waves. 

This  then  is  the  cell,  the  arena  in  which  the  forces  of  life  and 
death  contend  for  mastery — the  theater  in  which  is  played 
the  drama  of  life — a  Universe  in  miniature,  where,  like  the 
stars  in  their  courses,  atom  worlds  revolve,  each  in  its  appro- 
priate orbit,  in  obedience  to  laws  as  fixed  and  immutable  as 
those  which  govern  the  motions  of  the  celestial  spheres.  It 
is  among  this  constant  flux  and  reflux,  this  marveleous  com- 
plexity and  minuteness,  that  we  have  to  study  the  harmonious 
vibrations  of  health,  to  detect  the  discordant  tremors  of  dis- 
ease— to  restore  the  one  and  arrest  the  other — and  this  with- 
out disturbing  the  delicate  adjustments  of  this  most  marvel- 
lous machinery. — Ann'Uls  British  Horn.  Society. 


Vermont  Homoeopatliio  Society. 

The  Society  held  a  two  days'  meeting.  The  following 
officers  were  elected  for  the  year  ensuing:  President,  M.  W. 
Hamilton,  M.  D.,  of  Brandon;  Vice-president,  James  M. 
Van  Dusen,  M.  D.,  of  Waitsfield;  Secretary  and  Treasurer, 
A.  A.  Arthur,  M.  D.,  of  Vergennes;  Censors,  Doctors  H.  C. 
Brigham,  of  Montpelier,  Samuel  Worcester,  of  Burlington, 
M.  \V.  Ilill,  of  Waterbury;  Committee  on  Legislation,  Doc- 
tors S.  W.  Worcestor,  of  Burlington,  Woodhouse,  of  Rutland, 
H.  C.  Brigham,  of  Montpelier,  A.  A.  Arthur,  of  Vergennes, 


322  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

C.  H.  Chamberlain,  of  Barre.  A  large  number  of  interesting 
papers  were  read.  The  association  resolved  in  strong  terms 
against  the  use  of  Alcohol^  soothing  syrups  and  all  narcotics 
as  being  dangerous  to  life  and  entirely  unnecessary  in  medi- 
cinal treatment,  and  to  be  entirely  discarded.  A  case  of  necro- 
sie  of  the  upper  jaw  of  two  years'  standing,  cured  by  the  use  of 
silicia,  two  hundredth  potency,  was  reported  by  Dr.  H.  C. 
Brigham,  of  Montpelier.  A  specimen  of  trichina  spiralis  was 
found  in  pork  in  Waitsfield,  alive,  while  the  pork  was  being 
cured  for  eating.  The  National  Homoeopathic  Society,  in 
convention  at  Put-in  Bay,  Ohio,  sent  a  telegraphic  greeting  to 
the  Vermont  Association.  It  was  the  most  instructive  and 
interesting  meeting  this  year.  The  society  instructed  the 
censors  to  recall  all  certificates  issued  to  undergraduates  or 
persons  not  having  diplomas  from  medical  colleges.  If  found 
qualified  upon  re- examination  certificates  may  be  granted 
limited  to  January,  1879.  The  object  is  to  raise  a  standard  of 
education  in  the  society.  Adjourned  to  meet  at  Brandon, 
January  next,  for  a  semi-annual  meeting. 


♦ » 


Medical  Experts.    By  W.  H.  Philips,  M.  D. 

The  magnitude  of  the  matters  at  stake  shows  the  necessity 
of  having  highly  intelligent  and  skilled  experts  to  investigate 
these  questions  properly.  In  so  far  as  the  protection  of  the 
citizen  in  his  rights  is  a  matter  of  State  concern,  provisions 
for  securing  competent  experts  in  these  cases  arc  also  of  State 
concern.  Not  one  of  our  States  has  recognized  this  fact.  On 
the  contrary,  they  have  utterly  neglected  to  adopt  a  code  of 
laws  which  would  secure  a  rational  application  of  medical 
science  to  judicial  inquiries.  Supply  follows  demand.  It  is 
the  duty  of  the   State  to   furnish  a  demand   for  competent 


.Miscellaneous,  323 

experts.  This  has  not  been  done,  and  hence  the  reason  why 
medical  jurisprudence  has  been  so  much  neglected  in  our 
medical  schools. 

It  is  no  easy  matter  to  determine  who  are  experts  in  a 
given  case,  and  who  are  not.  Perhaps  the  best  rule  yet  laid 
down  for  making  this  determination  is  that  of  Wharton: 
"The  non -expert  testifies  as  to  conclusions  which  may  be 
verified  by  the  adjudicating  tribunal;  the  expert  to  conclu- 
sions which  can  not  be  verified.  The  non-expert  gives  the 
result  of  a  process  of  reasoning  familiar  to  every  day  life; 
the  expert  gives  the  results  of  a  process  of  reasoning  which 
can  be  mastered  only  by  special  scientists."  But  who,  under 
our  law,  is  to  decide  whether  the  process  of  reasoning,  re- 
quired in  a  given  case,  is  "  familiar  to  every  day  life,"  or  can 
be  "mastered  only  by  special  scientists?"  The  coroner  or 
judge  must  decide.  They  may  be  men  of  intelligence  and 
education,  but  not  in  one  case  out  of  a  hundred  have  they 
that  special  knowledge  of  medical,  surgical  and  psychological 
science  which  is  needed  in  order  to  a  proper  performance  of 
this  duty.  Notwithstanding,  the  law  entrusts  to  them  the 
examination  of  the  expert's  competency  and  the  formation  of 
a  judgment  thereon.  But  how  in  the  nature  of  things  can 
this  be  done  ?  All  judgments  are  based  on  relations.  The 
judgment  as  to  the  expert's  competency  must  be  founded  on 
the  relation  between  the  special  knowledge  of  the  expert 
and  the  special  knowledge  of  the  coroner  or  judge.  If  the 
coroner  or  judge  has  no  such  knowledge,  he  can  form  no 
correct  judgment  as  to  the  expert's  competency.  Hence  the 
custom  which  has  grown  up  of  admitting  any  one  to  testify 
as  an  expert  who  will  certify  as  to  his  own  special  know- 
ledge, without  any  attempt  being  made  to  discover  in  what 
that  special  knowledge  consists. 

A  quack  and  a  physician  may  be  called  to  testify  as  experts. 
The  quack,  equipped  with  brazen  impudence  and  ever  ready 
to  advertise  his  acquaintance,  not  only  with  the  special  sub- 
ject whose  principles  it  is  desired  to  apply,  but  with  all  other 
subjects,  lays  down,  ex-cathedra^  as  it  were,  certain  fictitious 
principles  as  true;   and  as  neither  coroner  nor  judge  knows 


324  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

anything  to  the  contrary,  he  receives  all  the  credit  due  to  the 
competent  medical  expert.  The  physician,  on  the  other 
hand,  painfully  aware  of  the  absurd  confusion  of  the  office 
of  expert  with  the  office  of  physician,  knowing  the  immense 
scope  of  medical  science,  and  the  utter  impracticability  of  one 
man  acquiring  special  skill  in  all  its  branches,  assured  that 
his  training  as  a  physician  has  not  fitted  him  to  do  justice,  as 
a  competent  expert,  in  medical  jurisprudence,  either  to  him- 
self or  to  the  parties  concerned  in  the  case,  perhaps  hesi- 
tates, is  uncertain,  or  frankly  confesses  his  ignorance.  As 
neither  coroner,  judge  nor  jury  are  able  to  determine  the 
cause  thereof,  they  are  apt,  generally,  to  judge  him  incom- 
petent, and  to  give  his  testimony  little  or  no  weight.  Thus, 
under  present  legal  rules,  is  quackery  exalted,  justice  trifled 
with  and  the  reputation  of  the  highest  physician  injured. 
One  result  of  leaving  the  choice  of  competent  experts  with 
those  who  are  incompetent  to  distinguish  between  experts 
and  non-experts,  has  been  the  establishment  of  the  legal  and 
popular  presumption  that  every  physician  is,  by  virtue. of  his 
profession,  a  medico-legist,  and  therefore  competent  to  testify 
as  an  expert  in  regard  to  all  the  special  branches  of  medical 
jurisprudence.  The  same  presumption  attaches  to  all  kinds 
of  experts. 

Thus  in  New  Jersey,  a  physician,  not  an  oculist,  has  been 
admitted  to  testify  as  to  diseases  of  the  eye;  in  North  Caro- 
lina, physicians,  not  veterinary  surgeons,  as  to  diseases  of 
mules;  in  New  York  and  Alabama,  other  persons,  not  veterin- 
ary surgeons,  as  to  diseases  of  animals;  in  New  York,  physi- 
cian, not  a  chemist,  as  to  whether  certain  stains  are  appar- 
ently blood;  in  California  and  Iowa,  a  witness,  not  a  chemist, 
as  to  the  eflfects  of  a  powder  in  removing  ink  spots;  in  Louis- 
iana, a  person,  not  a  surgeon,  to  prove  that  a  death  was 
caused  by  wounds;  in  Alabama,  a  witness,  who  had  fre- 
quently drank  fermented  liquors,  and  is  able  to  distinguish 
them  by  their  taste,  although  not  having  any  special  know- 
ledge of  chemistry,  as  to  whether  a  certain  liquor  which  he 
has  tasted  is  or  is  not  fermented. 


Miscellaneous.  325 

Properly  speaking,  medico-legists  only  are  medical  experts. 
A  man  may  be  the  leading  physician  of  his  State,  and  yet 
not  be  competent  for  such  an  office*  It  requires  a  special 
training,  which  the  State,  as  the  guardian  of  the  people  and 
the  dispenser  of  justice,  should  provide.  This  duty  she 
neglects  to  fulfill,  employing  in  its  stead  the  presumption  re- 
ferred to.  Hence  it  is  that  reproaches  have  often  been  un- 
justly heaped  upon  the  medical  profession;  because  they  did 
not  do  as  no  reasonable  man  could  expect  them  to  do.  Hence 
it  is  that  the  testimony  of  experts  has  fallen  into  disrepute, 
because  the  law  provides  no  means  of  winnowing  the  chafiT 
from  the  grain. — Ohio  State  Medical  Society, 


— ^ 


Action  of  the  HpniGDopathic  Medical  Society  of  Allegheny 
County,  in  regard  to  the  death  of  Marcellin  Cote, 
M.  D..  of  Pittsburgh. 

At  a  special  meeting  of  this  Society  held  May  29th  1878, 
the  death  of  Dr.  Marcellin  Cote  having  been  announced  in 
fitting  terms,  the  following  minute  was  unanimously  adopted, 
ordered  spread  upon  the  Records  and  that  a  copy  be  for- 
warded to  the  bereaved  family. 

DiKD— Pittsburgh,  May  29th  1878,  Marcellin  Cote,  M.  D., 
in  the  sixty-third  year  of  his  age. 

Wo  thus  record  the  death  of  an  honored  colleague;  distin- 
guished in  his  profession,  a  good  citizen  and  uncommonly 
beloved  by  his  patients.  Earnest  and  aggressive  in  his  ef- 
forts to  promote  medical  science  and  education,  he  was  one 
of  the  founders  and  active  members  of  this  Society,  of  the 
State  Society  and  of  the  Anatomical  Society  of  this  county, 
having  served  as  president  of  each  of  these  organizations. 
He  was  also  a  member  of  the  American  Institute  of  Hoinoe- 


326  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

pathy  and  one  of  tho  founders  of  the  Homoeopathic  Hospit- 
al of  this  city. 

At  the  time  of  his  death  Dr  Cote  was  the  oldest  homoeo- 
pathic practitioner  in  this  county  and  was  regarded  in  the 
community  as  a  physician  of  character  and  eminence. 

In  view  therefore,  of  the  irreparable  loss  sustained  by  the 
profession  which  our  lamented  colleague  so  highly  adorned, 
we  here  record  our  appreciation  of  the  physician  and  the 
man,  our  sorrow  that  we  shall  be  deprived  of  his  compan- 
ionship and  counsel,  and  our  hearty  sympathy  for  his  deep- 
ly bereaved  family.     (Signed)    J.  H.  McClelland, 

H.  HOFMANN, 

J.  F.  Cooper, 
J.  C.  Burgher, 
L.  M.  Rousseau. 

Committee. 


%m\  ^Mtn. 


Annals  of  the  British   Homoeopathic  Society  and  London  Hospitals. 
No.  XLVII. 

This  work  is  issued  semi-annually  and  contains  many  of  the  best 
papers  produced  by  our  trans-Atlantic  brethren.  That  they  are  doing 
some  substantial  work  for  the  cause  can  not  be  denied,  but  it  is  all 
overshadowed  by  an  atmosphere  of  despair  that  is  rather  painful  to 
one's  feelings.  Vice-president  Dr.  Hale,  epitomizes  it  when  in  his 
address  he  says  of  the  future  :  "  I  venture  to  predict  that  there  will 
be  no  great  accessions  to  our  ranks  as  avowed  homoeopaths,*'  etc. 
The  reasons  he  assigns  are  by  no  means  the  true  ones.  Our  readers 
know  all  about  what  Vice-president  Wyld  did  last  j^ear.  There  is 
unfortunately  too  many  like  him  in  the  British  Homceopathic  Society. 


Book  Notices,  327 

They  all  stand  deferentially  before  the  dominant  school  and  humbly 
apologize  for  ever  having  set  up  housekeeping  on  their  own  hook. 
If  American  Homoeopathy  had  no  more  backbone  than  that  it  would 
instead  of  being  the  giant  that  it  is,  be  as  are  our  English  friends, 
without  pride  for  the  past  or  hope  for  the  future.  Why  can't  they 
learn  something  from  us? 

Third  Annual  Report  of  the  Chief  of  Staff  of  the  Homoeopathic 
Hospital,  Ward's  Island,  New  York.    1877. 

We  have  not  forgotten  the  high  expectations  raised  when  the 
Ward's  Island  Hospital  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  homoeopathic  school. 
It  set  the  medical  world  and  the  public  mind  on  the  qui  vive  for  the 
result.  And  the  result  is  coming  in  rapidly  as  the  years  come  round. 
Nothing  could  be  more  satisfactory  than  the  present  report.  Dr. 
A.  W.  Holden,  chief  of  staff,  has  evidently  proven  himself  pre-emi- 
nently fitted  for  the  duties  of  his  responsible  position.  We  have 
reason  to  be  proud  of  the  success  that  crowns  the  institution,  and  we 
have  no  fears  of  its  future.  It  does  seem  to  us  that  elsewhere  as 
well  as  in  New  York  the  interests  of  Homoeopathy  demand  that  our 
school  should  be  represented  in  our  public  institutions.  The  domin 
ation  of  the  old  school  can  be  and  must  be  curtailed.  With  such  a 
splendid  example  as  this  before  us  who  can  doubt  the  result  ?  The 
gods  help  those  who  help  themselves. 

Bibliotheca  Medlca.    Robert  Clarke  &  Co.,  Cincinnati.    1878. 

This  is  a  compact  volume  of  two  hundred  and  forty-two  pages  and 
contains  just  what  every  studious  medical  man  wants,  viz;  A  com- 
plete catalogue  of  American  and  English  works  on  medicine,  sur- 
gery and  kindred  subjects,  all  neatly  classified,  first  by  subjects  and 
then  by  authors.  On  any  topic  it  is  easy  to  find  what  has  been 
written  and  by  whom,  and  at  what  price  it  can  be  obtained.  Noth- 
ing could  be  nicer  or  more  desirable  in  this  line.  Price  twenty-five 
cents. 

The  Science  of  Therapeutics  in  Outline.  A  Systematic  Arrangement  of 
Principles  Concerned  in  the  Care  of  Human  Health,  Showing 
their  Several  Departments.  By  J.  P.  Dake,  A.  M.,  M.  D.,  etc., 
Nashville,  Tenn. 

Like  a  skillful  general  making  a  reconnoisance  before  giving  battle 
in  ord6r  to  draw  the  fire  of  the  enemy  or  learn  the  whereabouts  of 
his  friends  so  our  author  puts  out  this  feeler  and  awaits  its  effects 


328  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

before  he  ventures  to  hurl  upon  us  the  main  body  of  his  work.  Well, 
for  our  part  we  can  not  criticise  an  outline  except  as  such.  Most  men 
can  plan  better  than  they  can  perform.  And  it  doesn't  follow  that 
the  work  will  be  good  or  ill  just  as  the  outline  may  be  correct  or 
faulty.  Professor  Dake  holds  a  high  position  as  a  writer  in  our  school 
and  we  may,  in  any  event,  look  for  something  worthy  his  able  pen. 
But  if,  as  Carroll  Dunham  says,  Homoeopathy  is  the  science  of  ther- 
apeutics, then  Dr.  Dake  has  not  chosen  a  proper  title  for  his  work. 
Scientific  therapeutics  would  exclude  nine-tenths  of  all  he  proposes 
to  include  in  his  book.  And  we  have  grave  fears  that  if  the  plan  of 
the  author  is  carried  out  he  will  leave  the  student  following  him  in 
a  state  of  absolute  perplexity.  The  fact  is,  side  issues  are  to  be  let  in 
to  such  an  extent  that  as  the  Goths  and  Huns  overran  Rome  and 
swept  away  the  Empire,  so  will  be  lost  if  not  destroyed  the  precious 
germ  sought  after.  Might  we  suggest  that  the  book  will  rather  be  on 
the  Principles  of  Medicine  and  all  the  therapeutic  science  in  it  will 
be  in  the  fourth  section  of  the  third  chapter.  We  find  a  large  share 
of  the  work  devoted  to  Hygiene,  Chemistry,  Mechanics  and  Parasites. 
These  are  valuable  topics  and  Dr.  Dake  will  treat  of  them  in  an  ac- 
ceptable manner  no  doubt,  but  they  don't  seem  to  belong  to  thera- 
peutics as  we  should  use  the  word.  And  what  does  the  author  propose 
to  do  with  the  antipathic,  allopathic  and  isopathic  methods?  Will  he 
explain  them  and  boldly  discard  them,  or  will  he  give  them  a  quasi 
recognition?  It  looks  "in  outline"  as  though  they  were  to  be  rec- 
ognized as  the  orthodox  things  only  less  in  value  to  the  homoeopathic 
method.  Well,  here  we  are  again  on  the  same  old  issue :  Homroi)athy 
or  nothing  on  the  one  side  and  Homiuopathy  plus  everything  that 
seems  good  on  the  other.  To  this  latter  class  belong  the  author  and 
his  book.  But  we  are  judging  of  the  outline  only.  Send  us  on  the 
book,  we  know  it  will  be  good. 

How  to  be  Plump.    By  T.  C.  Duncan,  M.  D.,  Chicago. 

Exercij^ing  a  judicial  prerogative  in  this  case  we  have  reserved  our 
opinion  of  this  book  until  we  had  time  to  put  its  recommendations  to 
test.  Its  a  failure — we  mean  the  test  not  the  book.  But  the  failure 
was  wholly  owing  to  the  badness  of  the  subject.  The  fact  is  we 
belong  hereditarily  to  the  lean  kine((l),  such  as  Pharaoh  saw  in  his 
dream.  Thereupon  we  handed  the  book  to  a  respected  friend.  lie 
glanced  at  the  title  and  scornfully  returned  it — he  had  alreadv  too 
much  adipose.  "Why,"  said  he,  "  what  do  I  want  of  that?  I'm 
taking  the  anti-fat  medicine  by  the  wholesale.  Show  me  a  book  how 
to  get  lean."  This  was  an  unfortunate  rebuflf  and  due  to  thought- 
lessness on  our  part.    Still  the  book  ought  to  sell.     Colonel  Sellers 


Book  Notices,  329 

figured  out  a  big  sale  for  his  eye  medicine  in  Asia  alone.  "Two 
hundred  millions  of  people :  four  hundred  millons  of  eyes.  There's 
millions  in  it."  So  we  reckon  for  the  income  of  this  book  on  the 
United  States  alone — say  forty  millions  of  people  not  one  of  whom 
is  satisfied  with  his  or  her  present  condition.  One-half  fatter  than 
they  like  to  be  the  other  half  too  lean  for  comfort.  Twenty  million 
people  wishing  to  be  plump.  Fifty  cents  from  each  one.  There's 
millions  in  it.  But  the  author  is  not  wise.  Ten  years  ago  he  had 
emphatically  "a  lean  and  hungry  look."  To-day  he's  as  plump  as 
an  October  quail.  Let  him  show  himself  to  the  public  "  as  I  was ;  as 
I  am."  Let  his  smiling  face  beam  at  the  front  door  of  every  hamlet 
and  mansion.  "Is  the  lady  of  the  house  in,"  etc.,  etc.  No  doubt 
he  would  be  rudely  ejected  from  one-half  the  door  steps  but  he 
would  be  sure  to  sell  at  the  other  half.  Better  still  let  him  supply 
himself  with  "anti-fat"  medicine  and  he  would  be  welcome  at  every 
fireside.  Think  of  a  man  with  such  an  opportunity  before  him  wast- 
ing his  time  editing  a  medical  journal !  "Early  to  bed  and  early  to 
rise"  is  nothing  in  comparison  with  this  plan  for  making  a  man 
"wealthy."  Might  we  suggest  the  next  edition  should  be  supplied 
with  the  likeness  of  the  distinguished  author  ?  Might  we  also  sug- 
gest the  title  of  the  book  to  be  slightly  altered  ?  How  to  he  plump  is 
to  get  plump.  How  to  get  plump  is  therefore  the  proper  thing  to 
call  it. 


€6ilojj'$  %Mu 


Dr.  S.  B.  Parsons  takes  the  Chair  of  Surgery  made  vacant  by  the 
resignation  of  Professor  Frankljn  in  the  Missouri  Homoeopathic 
College.  A  most  excellent  appointment.  The  Doctor  is  every  way 
qualified  for  the  responsible  position. 

Does  it  pay  to  get  out  such  a  work  as  Pettet's  North  American 

Directory?    We  hope  so,  for  the  careful,  conscientious  editor  has 
exhibited  an  amount  of  industry  seldom  seen  in  works  of  this  kind. 


330  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

It  is  a  great  help  to  those  who  want  a  correct  list  of  homcBopathic 
physicians. 

Dr.  G.  W.  Walker,  of  St.  Louis,  takes  the  Chair  of  Obstetrics  in 
the  Homoeopathic  College,  vice  Professor  Richardson,  now  in  the 
Chair  of  Gynaecology. 

Dr.  W.  H.  Winslow,  of  Pittsburgh,  now  in  Europe,  is  writing  a 
series  of  interesting  letters  to  the  Telegraph. 

Put-in  Bay  House. — The  memrbers  of  the  Institute  who  lately 
enjoyed  the  hospitalities  of  this  splendid  resort  will  regret  to  learn 
that  it  was  recently  consumed  by  fire.  It  cost  $100,000  and  was 
partly  insured. 

Our  sanctum  has  just  been  lightened  by  the  genial  faces  of  Pro- 
fessor Richardson,  of  St.  Louis,  and  Professor  Grosvenor,  of  Chicago. 
They  report  the  West  alive  and  homoeopathically  prosperous. 

TwA  Bonnie  Bairns. — Dr.  J.  F.  Edgar  has  a  boy,  and  Dr.  G.  M. 
Ockford  has  a  girl ;  and  thus  the  equilibrium  is  maintained. 

Dr.  G.  M.  Macomber  has  located  at  Norwood,  St.  Lawrence  Co.» 
New  York. 

Dr.  David  Thayer  has  removed  to  Hotel  LaFayette,  Boston. 

A  New  Enterprise. — Wm.  Wood  &  Co.,  the  well  known  publishers 
of  New  York,  propose  to  publish  a  library  of  standard  medical 
authors,  especially  foreign,  in  good  style  and  at  prices  greatly  less 
than  before  attempted.  The  idea  that  medical  books  must  always  be 
high  priced  is  one  that  must  become  obsolete.  Cheap  and  valuable 
works  must  be  furnished  the  profession.  Wm.  Wood  &  Co.  take  the 
initiative.  They  will  commence  in  January  next  the  monthly  issue  of 
a  series  of  books  of  two  to  three  hundred  pages  each,  at  the  rate  of 
one  dollar  each.  Subscriptions  twelve  dollars  a  year  in  advance* 
Address,  Wm.  Wood  &  Co.,  No.  27  Great  Jones  street.  New  York. 

We  have  just  received  the  following:  "Cinnatti  Publishing  Co. 

Jentz  Please  send  me  the  Price  of  Dr  's  Work  on 

chronic  diseases  of  women  &c.  materia  medica  obstetrics  &c.  I 
want  a  work  Giving  a  full  discription  of  all  veneral  diseases  and  all 
chronic  diseases  of  men  women  and  children  with  treatment  allso 
materia  medica  and  therapeutics.  Principals  of  medison  &c.  I  want 
elic-tic  work  I  would  Uke  for  some  responsible  drugest  to  send  me  his 
price  list  of  medisins  sperits  &c.  Instruments  &c.  I  have  tried 
the  wheeling  druggest  to  get  the  Pulse tella.  Cactus  and  Staphyagria 
<&c.  and  cant  get  them — yours  &c.    address  to M.  D. 

Note — how  may  of  those  branches  are  contained  in  the  one  Book — 
have  you  any  short  plane  work  on  Anatima  with  surgery  combined, 
there  is   so  mutch  Family  Work  &c.  containing  every  thing  and 


Editor's  Table. 


331 


noihing  at  last,  that  it  ia  hard  to  get  the  therrow8t\idenl8  work,  with 
out  first  geting  a  card  from  the  co.  esplaining  tlie  varioua  works  Ac. 
PleHse  write  Soon  Yours  ReBjiecti fully. 

Fob  about  one  hundred  dollars  a  physician  in  good  pructlot  will 
vacate  one  of  the  prettiest  little  towua  iu  Ohio.  No  other  homo^o. 
pathic  physician  in  the  place.     Don't  all  speaJi  at  once. 

The  New  Orleans  Homcepnthio  Relief  Association,  132  Canal  street, 
make  an  urgent  call  for  help  to  aid  those  who  desire  homtcopathiv 
treatment.  We  hope  a  generous  response  will  be  sent  to  the  Presi- 
dent, Hon.  Albert  Vorhees, 

LotriaviLLE  Ho«orEOPATH[c  FuND.— The  following  additional  contri- 
butions wt-re  made  yesterday  to  the  "Homceopathic  Relief  Aseoeia- 
tion:"  Geo  L.  Douglass,  $20;  cash,  $20.50.  The  following  dispaleh 
explains  itself :  "  To  Judoe  Vohbbbs,  President  Homoeopathic  Relief 
Association,  New  Orleans,  La. :— Draw  on  First  National  Bank  for 
(150,  eontribnted  by  the  friends  of  Homceopathy,  through  Drs.  Brey- 
logle  and  Pearre.—R  M,  CiiNSiNonAM,  Cashier." 

PcLTE  Medical  Colleqe  has  juat  sent  an  order  to  draw  on  her 
treasury  for  fifty  dollars. 

TuE  latest  on  yellow  fever  is  froim  a  Bt.  Louia  doctor,  who  defines 
it  to  be  "simply  an  aggregation  of  abnormal  electrical  phenomena  in 
volving  a.  predominancy  of  the  electo- positive  power  over  the  nega. 
live."  In  other  words,  it'aacase  of  calling  the  yeas  and  nays,  and  the 
nays  seem  to  have  it  by  a  large  majority.  Prof.  Valentine  being  on 
Tlieory  and  Practice  ought  to  know. 

Ehoot  IK  TaicHiNi  Disease.— Dr.  Rohde  relates  cases  of  the  disease 
cured  by  fluid  exl.  iirjof,  and  thinks  we  have  a  valuable  remedy  in 
tliis  drug  in  the  treatment  of  this  formidable  complaint.  Strange  to 
say,  be  does  not  oSer  a  theory  in  explanation,  and  we  must  take  it  as 
an  ipte  •iixii. 

CoaBEcTiON. — Page  268,  (Sept.  number),  for  "Alscs"  read  Alea. 

PPLTE  Mkdrai  Colleub  comwences  its  eighth  session  October  3. 
The  class  promises  to  be  large. 

"L'AiMKE."— Miss  Henry  Stanley  has  made  arrangements  with  the 
celebrated  Madam  Dunind,  {Henry  Greville)  to  translate  her  novels 
into  English.  The  first  one,  L'Almee,  is  in  the  hands  of  the  well 
known  publishers,  T.  B.  Peterson  and  Bros.,  Philadelphia,  and  will 
be  immediately  published  by  them.    Look  out  for  a  story  of  rare  merit. 

Have  you  subscribed  for  "  The  Index  or  symptom  Register"  of 
Allen's  Encyclopedia?  If  not,  consnlt  your  best  interests  by  sending 
yout  name  as  "one  of  'em,"  to  Boericke  &  Tnfel. 


332 


Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 


RECEIVED. 

Eight  months  in  Europe  and  Egypt.  By  J.  N.  Freeman,  M.  D., 
Brooklyn. 

Harvey  and  The  Circulation.    A.  J.  Howe,  M.  D. 

A  Plain  Contract.    Homoeopathic  Life  Insurance  Co.,  New  York. 

Transactions  of  the  Ohio  Medical  Society.    (Old  School).    1878. 

The  Testimony  of  Medical  Experts.  By  W.  H.  Phillips,  M.  D., 
Kenton,  O. 

Berber-dacea),  The  Botnaical  Description,  Commercial  History, 
Medical  Properties,  and  Pharmaceutical  Preparations.  By  C.  G. 
&  J.  M.  Lloyd,  Cincinnati. 

The  Medical,  Surgical  and  Hygienic  Treatment  of  Women,  Espec- 
ially Those  Causing  Sterelity.  By  Edwin  M.  Hale,  M.  D..  Boericke 
&  Tafel,  New  York. 

Teratology,  or  The  Science  of  Monsters.  By  M.  M.  Walker,  M.  D., 
Germantown,  Penn. 

Involuntary  Action  of  the  Nervous  System.  By  John  J.  Caldwell, 
M.  D.,  Baltimore,  Md. 

Fermented  Liquors.    By  A.  J.  Howe,  M.  D. 

Treatment  of  the  Genito-Urinary  Organs.  By  John  J.  Caldwell* 
M.  D. 

Homoeopathic  Therapeutics.  By  S.  Litienthal,  M.  D.  Boericke  & 
Tafel,  New  York. 

Allen's  Cyclopedia  of  Materia  Medica.  Volume  VIII.  Pluinbum — 
Serjyentari. 


EDITORIAL. 
THEORY    AND   PRACTICE. 

A  Case  of  Traumatic  Hemor- 
rhage   287 

SURGERY. 

Cystitis  from  Stricture 292 

Lithotomy 293 

Agaricus 298 

OBSTETRICAL  AND  GYNAECOLOGICAL. 

Post-Partum  Hemorrhage...  299 
Obstetric    and    Regi menial 
Treatment  of  After  Pains..  301 

GENERAL  CLINIC'S.  306 


MISCELLANEOUS. 

Liberalism  in  Medicine 310 

To  a  Young  Doctor  from  his 

Father. 313 

Women  Doctors 315 

On  Cells 319 

Vermont  Homcuopathic  So- 
ciety   321 

Medical  Experts 322 

Action  of  the  Iloin.  Med.  So- 
ciety of  Allegheny  Co.,  Pa.  325 

BOOK    NOTICES. 


EDITOR  S  TABLE. 


326 
329 


JAS.   P.    GEPPERT,   PR. 


iXLiNSATi,  0.,  November,  1878. 

.lio.«,  rthilHic  in  Ihe  Medical  Ai.va; 
SUM,  130  Broaiiway,  Cincinnati,  O.    Ten 

Xl-MB 

n=,  (1.01.  a 

er7. 

Tin:i(i!  is  A  LAiiai-:  numijf.r  uf  iutulliKent  and  respeutublc  tjentlcmen 
ill  tlie  lLO]ii<i.'«p.itIiic  twhool  who  do  not  believe  in  "ilynaiiiixatiiiu," 
t)n-[-:ilk'il,  o(  [lru^.  Tlicy  do  not  believe,  iu  abort,  that  by  attciiuiit- 
ing  u  n-nieily,  it  iiciiuin'3  any  new  power,  or  that  in  that  Htute  it  h 
uaiiiible  c)f  prniucing  any  new  itnd  improved  effect  in  the  treatment 
of  ilixciis'i^  In  lioldiiig  to  tliat  nc!n>tive  opinion  they  arc  in  full 
(Uncord  with  Iho  iiiiijority  of  the  aliopatiiic  school.  We  say  "inajor- 
ily,"  f<)r  thfi'i'  is  a  very  respectable  minority  even  in  that  school 
which  docs  lIt.'ljcv^.■  that  many  drugs  finely  divided  and  mlxeil  with 
Hottic  iir)ii-iiic[|ii'iniil  Hnbstitnce  acquire  greatly  incrciified  power  a.s 
thcraiieulii'  a^ionls.  They  believe  tliat  many  agents  in  tliut  w;iy 
iu<Tc:isL'  in  a  rcmiirkniile  d(-grecl>oth  their  toxic  and  their  phy i>io- 
loiiicrtl  proportii's.  With  a  reasonable  rapidity  t ho  whole  ullopatliic 
[irofi'ssiim  are  emhraciiif;  the  bchcf  that  not  only  small  doses  l)Ut 
attenuated  doses  act  moru  promptly  and  successfully  as  curative 
a;:ents.  The  Iwlict  in  dynamuntion  is  insieporably  connected  willi 
the  wbiilti  history  of  Homiropathy  from  its  inception  to  the  pri'sen 
day.  II  i-s  !ilt<i;«'thor  loo  lute  to  utteni|)t  to  throw  it  overboard  and 
yet  pretend  tu  maintain  the  doctrines  of  Homoeopathy.  These  ob- 
]C<^trirs  taki'  slii'lter  in  the  flimsy  plea  that  dynamization  in  not  cx- 
pres^i'il  in  thu  lortnula  aimilia  tinUilnu  euronlur.  But  this  pretext  has 
no  valid  standing  in  the  uiind' of  a  thoughtEal  student  of  medical 
N(,v-i  333 


Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 


Bcientre.  Similiit  ie  a  term  as  expressive  of  csuses  aa  ot  resuUs ;  aod 
ol  tlie  ''dynamic"  uauses  of  disease  there  can  be  no  question. 
Given  sucli  a  cause  and  ita  result,  namely  a  disease,  wo  apply  to  its 
cure  a  similtmum  in  the  drug  which  is  like  the  disease,  both  in  its 
nature  and  its  effects.  But  these  objectors  are  evidently  blinded  io 
the  fact  thst  the  universal  drift  ot  modern  science  ia  toward  the 
study  ot  belief  in  and  use  ot  matter  in  its  infinitessimal  forms.  It  is 
this  tendency  which  more  than  all  else  marks  the  wonderful  progress 
the  manifold  inventions  and  the  wonderful  achievements  of  these 
times.     Dyuamization  is  the  microphone  of  medical  science. 

Yellow  Fever  has  been  and  atiU  is  a  fruitful  theme.  To  the 
medical  profession  it  is  a  siihject  of  overwhelming  interest.  That  an 
acute,  infectious  disease  of  this  sort,  could  so  devaBtntc  tiie  country 
in  spite  of  the  wisdom  and  skill  of  medical  and  sanitary  science,  is 
certainly  suinething  to  be  thought  of.  Bo  far,  very  tittle  lias  been 
accomplished,  either  in  its  treatment  or  jireventlon  ;  at  least  nothing 
of  importance  has  yet  been  developed.  Aa  usual,  the  dominant 
allopathic  school  has  assumed  the  chief  responsibiiity.  It  alone  has 
had  control  of  all  official  positions.  And  we  cheerfully  give  all 
honor  to  its  individual  members,  for  their  heroism  and  self  sacriflc- 
ing  spirit.  We  hope  that  upon  an  enduring  tablet  will  be  placed 
the  names  of  the  heroic  phyHiciana  who  so  cheerfully  gave  thoir 
lives  for  their  fellow  men.  But  they  have  fallen  as  did  the  eik 
hundred  who  charged  at  Bsloklavn  for  nothing.  So  far  as  medical 
treatment  was  concerned  the  sacrifice  of  so  many  lives  was  useless 
or  worse.  A  Cincinnati  physician,  himself  a  volunteer  and  a  victim 
to  the  diseaae^fortnnately  not  fatal — said,  on  his  return  to  this  city, 
"Those  who  had  no  medicine  (allopathic)  did  best."  He  declared 
nursing  to  be  the  only  palliation  of  the  scourge-  And  this  is  the 
almost  universal  testimony  ot  those  who  have  watched  the  mode 
of  treatment  pursued  by  thephysiciansofthatschool.  That  they  are 
conscientiously  and  eameatly  at  work,  trying  to  discover  "  a  remedy," 
we  have  no  doubt.  But  as  they  have  never  yet  found  one  for  any 
disease,  what  hope  can  there  be  for  them  here  1  False  in  their  funda- 
mental idea  of  the  nature  of  disease,  they  must  of  necessity  prove 
false  in  their  therapeutics.  That  men  of  intelligence  can  hug  a  de- 
lusion BO  long,  is  certainly  a  remarkable  tact.  But  the  issue  has  been 
deliberately  made  up  by  the  allopathic  school.  Bejecting  the  law 
of  BimUia,  and  all  that  it  implies,  what  have  they  left  but  frnitless 
eiperimeut,  led  on  by  blind  con jet^ture  7  We  have,  however, 
thing  to  hope  from  sanitary  science.  The  future  prevention  of  yellow 
fever  and  kindred  epidemics  should  absorb  all  our  attention  when 
the  present  epidemic  has  stjient  its  force.      And  there  it 


Editorial. 


■why  one  medical  ectiool  should  be  alone  represented  on  any  possible 
commisBion  to  be  ejipointed  for  thia  pur|>08e  hy  the  government. 
The  bomit'Opnthic  tvhool  shouM  not  miss  ite  golden  opportunity.  It 
deservea  no  honor  that  it  doea  not  labor  to  secure.  What  it  has  done 
in  the  field  ot  practice  we  will  srwn  show,  Meiintime  let  us  see  to  it 
that  we  are  repreaent^d  in  tlie  sanitary  field  as  well. 

pBOFBaaioNAL  Onanism.— This  may  be  a  term  somewliat  new  to 
medical  nomenclature,  but  it  exiictly  exprestiea  a  condition  of  things 
prevalent  and  popular  among  n  certain  claxa  of  medical  teacliers  and 
writers.  These  nien  pride  themselves  upon  their  ahility  to  abuse  the 
school  of  medicine  to  which  they  belong.  Assuming-  thetnselveH  to 
be  leaders,  they  lose  no  opportunity  of  ciisliug  slurs  upon  the  real 
leaders,  whose  lives  have'  been  devotedto  the  work  which  those 
men  seek  to  overthrow.  There  are  men  ia  the  hnmoxipathic  school, 
who  are  never  so  happy  as  when  they  are  casting  imputations  of  fool- 
ishness and  ignorance  upon  men  to  whom  the  school  is  indebted  for 
its  standing  to-day  in  this  country.  What  other  men  have,  by  long 
labor  builded,  these  men  seek  to  tear  down.  It  seema  quite  the  natu- 
ral thing,  to  find  the  cherished  principles  of  Homtcopathy  ridiculed 
and  treated  with  contempt  in  the  journals  and  colleges  of  other 
schools:  but  what  a  pitiful  sight  it  is,  to  see  men  of  our  own  school 
vieing  with,  nay,  eicelling,  our  opponents  in  abusing  everything  that 
may  be  considered  truly  homeopathic.  It's  a  dirty  bird  that  fouls 
itaown  neat.  A  yonng  man  ot  our  acquaintance  attended  his  first 
coarse  of  lectures  in  an  allopathic  college.  He  waa  not  greatly  sur- 
prised to  find  the  teachers  there  often  traducing  Hom<Bopathy.  But 
what  was  hie  surprise  the  following  winter,  to  find  in  a  so-called 
homceopathic  college,  still  worse  things  said  against  the  men  and 
principles  he  had  been  by  his  preceptor  tanght  to  respect  and  believe 
in.  As  a  rule,  these  professional  onanists  begin  upon  Llppe,  Gubrn- 
e&vaud  HeiuNa,  and  end  up  by  proving  to  their  own  satisfaction, 
that  these  men,  together  with  the  master  HAmtEM ahn',  are  all  frauds 
and  fools,  and  that,  but  for  them,  Homcropathy  would  have  bad  a 
standing  in  the  world.  Heaven  save  the  mark!  What  have  these 
revilere  ever  done  lor  Homueopatliy  except  tu  give  it  a  black  eye  7  It 
is  one  thing  to  dissent  from  a  man's  teachings  and  to  refuse  to  follow 
Ills  advice,  and  quite  another  thing  to  seek  to  blacken  his  character 
hecaose  we  happen  to  differ  with  him  in  opinion.  Honest  dilTerenceB 
can  be  stated  in  terms  honorable  to  all  parties.  But  it  should  be  our 
chief  endeavor,  at  all  times,  to  guard  sacreilly  the  characters  of  m 
whose  lives  are  inwrought  in  the  fabric  of  our  school ;  for,  in  so  do- 
ing, we  best  protect  our  own  honor.  Eiiffer  with  and  oppose  them  ? 
Yes,  if  you  wish  \o.    Trmluce  them  ?    Never ! 


®|$0j;|  ij,u.&  f^mtikt. 


Contagion,     By  M,  B.  Lukens,  M.  D.,  Cleveland,  Ohio. 

The  term  contagion  is  here  used  to  indicate  the  poison 
transmitted  from  person  to  person,  not  only  hy  actual  contact 
but  by  intervening  media  as  air  and  water.  Concerning  the 
nature  and  character  of  contagion,  there  is  considerable  dif- 
ference of  opinion  among  scientists.  All  agree,  however, 
that  it  is  a  fermentable  or  putrescible  principle;  and  that  all 
contagious  diseases  are  analogous  to  fermentation  or  putre- 
faction, and  that  living  organisms  appear  to  grow,  multiply 
and  invariably  accompany  the  process  of  putrefaction. 
Hence  the  name  Zymotic  as  applied  to  disease.  But  upon 
the  process  of  putrefaction  there  is  a  war  of  opinion.  One 
theory,  maintained  by  Dr.  Bastian,  Ponchet  and  others,  is, 
that  the  first  change  in  the  putrefactive  mass  is  chemical; 
and  this  chemical  change  places  the  organic  matter  in  such 
condition  as  to  favor  its  transformation  into  living  organisms; 
these  low  forms  of  life  originating  spontaneously  from  the 
dead  matter.  According  to  their  views  the  particles  afloat 
in  the  atmosphere,  derived  from  a  diseased  body,  are  com- 
posed of  dead  organic  matter;  and  when  taken  into  the 
system  by  the  lungs,  skin  or  stomach  have  the  power  of 
spreading  their  destroying  influence  throughout  the  body  as 
a  fermenting  mass.  '*A  little  leaven,  leavens  the  whole 
lump,"  and  why  may  not  a  bit  of  putrescible  matter  affect 
the  whole  human  frame.^ 

x\nother  theory  maintained  by  Pasteur,  Dr.  Beale,  Prof, 
Tvndall  and  others  is,  that  putrefaction  is  a  transformation  of 
organic  matter  by  living  organisms  denvcd  from  pre-existing 
living  beings,  contained  in  the  air,  premeating  all  substances 
which  the  air  premeates,  wafted  from  place  to  place,  finding 
in  the  putrescible  fluid  a  suitable  soil  or  pabulum  in  which 
in  various  forms  to  live,  grow  and  multiply.  The  chemical 
changes  are  the  result  of  this  reproduction  and  movement  of 


Theory  and  Practice.  337 

livings  particles.  The  universally  present  living  organisms 
are  essential  to  the  process  of  putrefaction;  and  when  they 
are  not  present,  putrefaction  can  not  exist.  They  believe  the 
particles  of  organic  matter  emanating  from  a  diseased  body 
and  entering  the  system  through  the  lungs,  skin,  stomach  or 
any  other  way,  is  a  germ,  a  seed,  something  capable  of 
growing  and  reproducing.  They  hold  that  the  matter 
which  produces  epidemic  diseases  emanates  from  a  parent 
stock,  that  it  behaves  as  germinal  matter,  and  they  do  not 
hesitate  to  pronounce  it  such. 

They  no  more  believe  in  the  spontaneous  generation  of 
disease  germs,  than  they  do  in  the  spontaneous  generation  of 
animals.  While  both  theories  have  able  advocates,  the  last, 
or  what  is  called  the  germ  theory,  seems  to  be  more  ten- 
able; and  by  accepting  it  a  difficulty  is  overcome,  which 
chemists  have  not  been  able  to  settle,  viz.:  the  causes  of  the 
living  organisms  found  in  fermenting  masses.  The  pro- 
found microscopical  investigation  of  vital  organic  matter  is 
doing  wonders  towards  settling  theories.  In  no  other  way 
can  organic  matter  be  understood,  and  it  is  now  a  commonly 
accepted  fact  that  the  human  body  and  all  other  organisms 
are  aggregations  of  germs  or  bioplasm,  as  they  are  termed 
by  scientists.  The  physiology  of  the  bioplasts  should  receive 
a  moment's  notice  before  passing  to  the  pathology.  It 
teaches  a  progressive  development  of  germs,  whose  func- 
tions are  to  build  up  a  perfect  organism  by  their  constant 
reproduction.  The  parent  germ  is  deposited  in  a  suitable 
place  for  taking  in  pabulum.  The  process  of  reproduction 
then  begins.  The  original  germ  gives  birth  to  a  brood  of 
new  germs,  each  of  which  immediately  begins  to  take  in 
nourishment,  grows  and  is  soon  delivered  of  other  germs,  as 
was  the  parent  before  it,  and  thus  the  multiplying  continues 
until  a  perfect  being  is  the  result.  It  must  be  remembered 
that  from  the  original  are  evolved  germs  of  distinct  species. 
The  parent  germ  no  doubt  possesses  compound  power,  hav- 
ing within  it  the  elements  for  forming  separate  groups  or 
masses,  so  that  when  it  gives  birth  to  myriads  of  young 
cells,  they  arc  attracted  into  respective  groups  by  power  of 


338 


Cim 


ate  Medical  Advavoi 


elective  affinity,  each  group  forming  a  nucleus  of  distinct 
organs,  tissues,  etc.  Thus  one  group  of  bioplasm  is  devoted 
to  the  formation  of  bone,  another  to  mnscle,  another  to 
nerve,  others  to  glands,  blood,  etc.,  all  of  which  have  de. 
scended  from  a  common  parent  bioplasm,  and  been  nourished 
by  a  common  pabulum,  according  to  a  regular,  deRnite  and 
prearranged  order,  so  that  if  from  any  circumstance  the  bio- 
plasm which  is  to  form  an  organ  or  member  is  Aoi  produced 
and  does  not  occupy  its  proper  place  at  the  right  period  of 
developments,  Ihat  organ  or  member  will  be  forever 
wanting  in  that  particular  organism.  If  the  particles  of 
bioplasts  which  were  to  take  part  in  the  development  of  tbe 
brain,  do  not  receive  at  the  proper  period  a  supply  of  the 
right  kind  as  nourishment,  a  well  developed,  healthy  brain 
can  not  in  that  case  be  formed. 

Why  the  same  kind  of  food  produces  the  different  kinds 
of  tissues  we  do  not  attempt  to  explain  any  more  than  we 
would  attempt  to  explain  why  different  species  of  animals 
are  nourished  and  reproduced  by  the  same  food,  or  why  dif- 
ferent plants,  growing  in  the  same  field,  di'awing  noui'ish- 
ment  from  one  common  source  should  maintain  their  dis- 
tinct species  unchanged. 

:an  not  produce  bone,  nor  bone  bio- 
e  than  can  a  sh^ep  produce  a  cow  or 


The  gland  bioplas 
ny  n 


plaf 

a  maple  an  oak. 

The  only  intelligent  e 
pound,  the  different  tissu 
to  elect  such  and  only  s 


explanation  is  that  the  food  being  com- 
nimals  and  trees  have  the  power 
of  its  properties  as  are  appro- 
i-iate  for  its  growth  and  reproduction.  Healthy  develop- 
ment must  be  that  of  gradual  promotion.  The  bioplasmic 
cell  must  multiply  slowly  and  regulary,  so  as  to  promote  last- 
ing structure;  and  as  the  texture  advances  toward  maturity, 
the  walls  of  the  cells  which  contain  the  bioplasm  become 
thicker  and  farther  apart.  As  long  as  there  is  this  slow  and 
regular  increase  of  the  bioplasts,  so  long  will  the  body  re- 
main in  a  perfectly  healthy  condition.  They  receive  their 
nourishment  from  the  food  taken  into  the  system.  The  blood 
is  the  vehicle  by  which  the  food  is  conveyed  to  each  parlicu- 


Theory  and  Practice. 


lar  part.  This  fluid  is  not  tiie  life  of  the  body,  as  generally 
supposed,  neither  does  it  contain  life  or  live  matter,  except 
blood  germs  (white  blood  corpuscles)  but  is  a  vehicle  bear- 
ing dead  freight,  which  is  converted  into  life,  as  soon  as  it 
comes  into  contact  with  living  matter,  the  germ. 

Any  force  that  increases  the  vitality  of  the  body  causes 
disease.  Whenever  vitality  is  increased  the  retrograde  devel- 
opment of  the  germs  begins.  They  become  abnormally 
active.  The  pathological  condition  of  the  bioplast,  then,  is 
of  iJie  greatest  moment  to  us.  We  marshal  onr  forces  to 
govern  this  insignificant  body,  but  it  will,  in  spite  of  us,  be- 
come disorderly  and  piodiice  all  derangements.  There  are 
two  ways  at  least  by  which  the  system  may  become  disor- 
dered. First,  The  normal  bioplasm  may  become  abnormal 
on  account  of  some  change  taking  place  in  the  system,  which 
increases  the  amount  of  pabulum  for  the  germs,  causing 
them  to  grow  and  multiply  too  rapidly. 

This  increase  of  pabulnm  is  not  the  increase  of  true  food. 
True  food  is  that  which  exactly  nourishes  the  bioplasm  with- 
out producing  this  undue  increase  in  development;  but  the 
pabulum  whicli  causes  this  abnormal  multiplying  is  the  food 
that  should  have  passed  out  of  the  system  as  excrementitious 
matter. 

We  know  that  taking  loo  much  food  often  does  little  or 
no  harm,  because  of  the  power  of  the  system  to  eliminate 
the  unnecessary  quantity;  but  if  a  change  lakes  place  in  the 
functions  of  the  emimctories  so  as  to  prevent  this  elimination 
and  the  pabulum  is  brought  into  contact  with  the  bioplasm 
in  incrensed  quantities,  increased  action  \&  produced;  and  the 
bioplasm  multiplying  rapidly,  the  temperature  of  the  body  is 
raised  and  we  have  fever.  Thus  a  good  definition  of  fever 
is,  "an  abnormally  increased  development  of  bioplasm." 

This  same  deRnition  holds  good  in  inflammations,  whether 
local  or  general.  In  fevers  the  capillaries  become  engorged, 
and  the  blood  is  prevented  from  penetrating  them,  thus  pro- 
ducing the  rise  in  temperature.  In  case  of  local  intlamma- 
tion  the  ciipillaiics  of  the  part  become  congested,  v 
simply  the  damming  up  of  these  small  vessels  with  bi 


hich  is         ^^J 

J 


340  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

which,  being  very  active,  reproduce  much  more  rapidly  than 
in  heahh. 

When  the  cells  multiply  normally  they  have  firm  walls; 
but  when  they  multiply  too  rapidly  there  is  not  time  given 
for  the  walls  to  harden  before  they  burst,  giving  birth  to 
new  germs,  and  these  in  turn  bring  forth  others  in  like 
manner. 

This  may  continue  at  such  a  rate  that  there  may  be  germs 
with  only  outlines  of  walls,  as  in  the  formation  of  pus;  and 
when  it  comes  to  this  state,  unless  something  is  done  to  di- 
minish this  rapid  growth,  there  will  be  extensive  suppuration 
and  perhaps  sloughing. 

Second,  The  body  may  become  .deranged  by  the  intrusion 
of  an  outside  germ  that  is  diseased;  but  should  the  intruder 
find  everything  in  good  working  order,  all  the  machinery 
in  perfect  harmony,  it  will  find  no  sympathy,  consequently 
nothing  upon  which  it  depends  for  life  and  growth.  It  will 
then  surely  die  and  be  thrust  out  of  the  system.  Unfortun- 
ately, however,  it  does  not  always  meet  with  a  cold  reception 
but  not  only  gains  entrance  but  plenty 'of  nourishment,  so 
takes  up  its  abode  and  soon  has  entire  possession,  and  beside 
the  symptoms  above  mentioned  in  the  idiopathic  diseases, 
there  will  be  additional  ones  more  or  less  malignant,  depend- 
ing upon  the  species  of  disease  germs  sown.  In  case  of  a 
slow,  continued  fever,  not  only  is  the  surplus  food  consumed 
by  developing  disease  germs  but  contribution  is  laid  upon 
healthy  nutiiment.  The  nutrition  taken  into  the  system,  in- 
stead of  nourishing  the  healthy  germ,  is  immediately  ab- 
sorbed by  the  diseased  ones,  ^o  nature  comes  to  the  rescue 
and  takes  away  desire  for  food.  No  germ  nourishment  is 
allowed  to  enter  the  system.  Soon  the  development  of 
irerms  begins  to  diminish  from  lack  of  food.  The  old  trcrms. 
die  and  are  thrown  out  of  the  system  by  the  skin,  lungs  and 
bowels.  Occasionally  a  living  one  escapes,  and  if  it  finds 
congenial  soil  in  another  organism  it  will  reproduce  itself  by 
infecting  it.  But  this  is  not  often  the  case.  As  soon  as  the 
disease  germ  becomes  the  weaker  powder  the  system  begins 
to  assert  itself,  and  calls  for  nourishment,  and  eventually   re- 


Theory  and  Practice,  341 

gains  its  former  vigor.  By  accepting  the  germ  theory,  we 
can  account  for  emaciation  in  sickness. 

The  question  may  arise,  Will  the  same  kind  of  pabulum 
nourish  the  different  kinds  of  disease  germs  perfectly?  The 
pathological  or  letrograde  development  is  governed  by  the 
same  laws  as  the  physiological  or  progressive  development. 
We  noticed  that  tissues  of  distinct  species  were  formed  from 
germs  receiving  nourishment  from  the  same  pabulum,  and  it 
was  accounted  for  by  attributing  power  to  the  tissues  to  elect 
suitable  food.  So  it  is  with  disease  germs  of  different  species. 
They  may  grow  and  prosper  upon  the  same  pabulum.  Thus 
the  scarlet  fever  germs  may  enter  the  blood,  and  if  it  can 
not,  from  the  pabulum  present,  find  what  i«  appropriate  it 
dies,  and  the  system  is  exempt  for  the  time,  from  scarlet 
fever;  but  diphtheria,  small  pox  or  other  contagious  germ 
might  find  suitable  food  on  which  to  grow  and  multiply, 
and  in  consequence  the  disease  which  would  naturally  be  the 
product  of  the  germ  planted  would  be  developed. 

Each  disease  has  a  specific  character  and  will  retain  its 
distinctness  under  all  circumstances.  So  when  a  seed  of  any 
disease  is  planted,  if  it  grows  at  all  it  will  be  sure  to  repro- 
duce itself,  just  as  surely  as  a  grain  of  corn  will  always  pro- 
duce corn,  but  the  quality  of  the  product  may  vary,  accord- 
ing to  the  quality  of  the  soil.  It  might  be  asked  what  part 
does  the  bioplast  play  in  those  diseases  which  occur  but 
once?  The  bioplast  acts  the  same  part  as  in  other  diseases. 
It  grows  and  multipjies  so  long  as  it  has  sufficient  pabulum. 
The  reason  of  exemption  from  subsequent  attacks  is  due  to 
the  presence  of  bioplasts  descended  from  those  first  intro- 
duced into  the  system,  remaining  in  the  blood  in  sufficient 
quantities  to  consume  the  subsequent  accumulating  pabulum. 
So  that  when  new  recruits  of  like  bioplasm  enter  they  find 
no  food  and  they  must  consequently  die  and  relieve  the  sys- 
tem from  another  attack.  The  susceptibility  to  a  disease  is 
nothing  more  or  less  than  the  food  adapted  to  the  particular 
disease  germ  entering  the  blood.  The  effect  of  vaccination 
upon  the  small  pox  susceptibility  is  to  take  away  a  part  or 
the  whole  of  it. 


342 


Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 


The    vaccine    germ  enters  the   circulation  and  heg^ins  toM 
grow  if  il  finds  food  at  the  point  of  contact.     This  food  is   ' 
the  latent  sinull    pox   pabulum,  which   the  presence  of  the 
vaccine  excites  and  attracts. 

This  serves  as  food  until  it  is  consumed,  then  the  vaccine 
germs  die,  except  a  sufficient  amount  which  remain  in  the 
system  to  consume  the  pabulnm  which  may  accumulate. 

Now  the  vaccine  is  only  germinal  matter,  harmless  in  its  I 
effects;  and  when  introduced  into  the  blood  is  capable  of  I 
living  upon  and  using  up  the  material  which  icrves  as  food  \ 
for  a  virulent  poison — the  small  pox  germ  thus  robbed  of  its  | 
power  to  grow  and  develop. 

The  vaccine  virus  can  not  always  use  up  all  the  small  pox  I 
pabulum.  Only  small  pox  itself  can  do  this;  but  it  consumes 
a  portion  of  it.  Now  it  happens  from  the  nature  of  things 
that  vaccine  and  small  pox  germs  depend  upon  the  same 
food  for  sustenance  and  if  (here  is  only  enough  for  the  nour-  | 
ishmcnt  of  small  pox,  to  begin  with,  and  if  the  vaccine  takes 
its  supply  first  and  consumes  half  or  threefourths  or  even 
the  whole  of  the  food,  then  small  pox  has  but  a  very  poor 
chance  for  life. 

The  food    reinaining  in  the  blood  after  vaccine   has  been 
supplied   no  longer  nourishes  vaccine,  nor  does  it  properly  I 
nourish   small  pox   germ,  but   the  germ  will  grow  to  sc 
extent  and   produce  an  inferior  quality  of  small  pox  called 
varioloid. 

The  real  cause  of  nearly  all  diseases  is  due  to  the  stoppage 
of  the  blood  purifying  channels. 

It  matters  not  whether  the  septic  matter  is  generated  ' 
within  the  system,  or  is  received  from  without,  there  accu- 
mulates excrementitious  matter  occasioned  by  this  stoppage, 
which  alwavs  precedes  sickness.  We  have  the  strongest 
reasons  for  believing  that  this  condition  is  induced  by  the 
mode  of  living,  for  when  we  find  a  people  who  abstain  from 
certain  articles  of  diet  entirely  exempt  from  diseases  which 
afflict  those  who  use  the  diet,  we  have  clear  evidence  of  the 
causes.     The  report  of  the  Jewish  Board  of  Guardians,  Lon- 


Theory  and  Practice.  343 

don,  gives  but  one- case  of  small  pox  during  a  terrible  epi- 
demic in  that  city. 

Exemption  from  epidemic  diseases  is  noticeable  among  the 
Jews  in  all  times  and  countries.  May  it  not  be  attributable 
to  their  dietary  laws,  binding  upon  them  for  generations? 
Other  nations  subject  to  no  dietary  laws  are  subject  to  vari- 
ous epidemics  and  loathsome  diseases.  To  what  extent  then 
may  the  susceptibility  to  certain  diseases  be  attributed  to  lack 
of  laws  governing  sustenance? 

In  treating  disease  we  must  consider  that  we  contend  with 
living  organisms.  We  must  use  means  to  destroy  or  make 
ineflective  the  poison  g^rms,  whether  lodged  in  the  system 
or  afloat  in  the  atmosphere. 

Contagion  enters  the  system  in  the  air  we  breathe,  the 
food  we  eat,  the  water  we  drink  and  may  make' its  way 
through  the  integument.  Its  effect  upon  the  system  when 
it  jfinds  suitable  soil,  has  been  already  described.  He  who 
best  understands  the  normal  functions,  can  best  understand 
the  abnormal  ones,  as  they  may  occur,  and  most  intelligently 
apply  the  remedy. 

Pathology,  the  stone  which  the  builders  of  Homoeopathy 
rejected,  should  now  be  made  the  head  of  corner.  The  old 
line  homoeopath  says,  "Let  me  understand  the  symptoms  and 
I  care  not  for  the  pathology."  First  the  symptom  then  the 
remedy,  how  do  they  correspond?  The  times,  the  advance- 
ment of  science,  demand  a  step  forward.  We  must  not  un- 
derstand symptoms  and  appropriate  remedies  the  less,  but 
we  must  seek  after  and  acquire  a  more  thorough  knowledge 
of  the  body,  both  in  health  and  disease,  if  we  expect  to  gain 
power  over  malignant,  contagious  disease,  and  those  diseases 
hitherto  considered  incurable. 


344  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 


Pacts  W.  Theories.     Dr.  Curtis  Replies. 

Editor  Medical  Advance: — I  agree  witft  Dr.  Prince 
and  you,  that  a  "theoretic  objection  must  be  set  aside  by  the 
favorable  results  of  experience."  The  only  question  between 
us  is,  what  are  facts  and  what  is  experience? 

The  celebrated  Prof.  John  Cullen  said,  "There  are  in  medi- 
cine more  facts  than  false  theories,"  and  Abercrombie  and 
Bennett,  in  Scotland;  Elliottson  and  Forbes,  in  London; 
Bigelow  and  Holmes,  in  Boston;  Tully,  in  New  Haven; 
Reve  and  Paine,  in  New  York;  Chapman  and  Jackson, 
in  Philadelphia;  Harrison  and  Bartholow,  in  Cincinnati, 
with  hundreds  of  minor  lights  in  all  these  places  and  the 
world  over,  have  positively  asserted  or  virtually  admitted  the 
same. 

Hippocrates,  one  of  the  first  and  most  reliable  observers 
and  experimenters,  said,  Fallax  experientia.  The  gentlemen 
named  above  and  almost  all  extensive  practitioners  repeat 
this  also.     See  my  Criticisms,  pp.  17,  18. 

A  theory  is  a  proposed  principle  which  may  be  true  or 
false.  A  fact  is  a  thing:  done  and  can  not  be  false.  The 
only  thing  false  about  it  is  man's  understanding  and  explana- 
tion of  it. 

Example. — Cullen  said  truly  "0/^mm  is,  in  all  quantities  and 
in  all  possible  applications,  a  direct  sedative."  Paris  condemns 
this  true  "theory"  and  propounds  the  false  one  that  in  small 
doses  Opium  is  a  stimulant,  and  in  large  ones,  sedative.  The 
general  profession  have  rejected  CuUen's  true  theory,  and 
adopted  Paris'  false  theory  and  falsely  understood  *'fact." 
Cullen  did  not  deny  that  the  symptoms  (repelling)  which 
follow  the  use  of  the  small  dose  arc  exciting  (stimulant),  but 
pronounced  them  successful  repellantsof  the  sedative  invader, 
while  the  dose  superior  to  the  reaction  (defensive)  power, 
proved  its  sedative  nature.  And  all  scientific  and  careful  ob- 
servation and  experiments  prove  that  no  natural  properties 
of  any  substance  or  power  can  be  changed  by  the  increase  or 
the  diminution  of  its  quantity. 


Theory  and  Practice.  345 

Paris  saw  the  facts  that  a  small  dose  was  followed  by  in- 
creased action,  and  he  falsely  attributed  that  increase  to  the 
sedative  article  instead  of  the  vital  force  making  increased 
efforts  to  exptl  it.  Hence  he  educed  the  false  theory,  still 
believed  by  all  pathological  schemers,  that  in  small  doses  it  is 
a  stimulant.  He  saw  that  the  large  dose  was  sure  to  kill,  and 
hence  w\^s  sedative.  And  this  false  theory  and  these  falsely 
understood  facts  still  govern  the  practice  of  all  true  allopath - 
ists,  homoeopathists  and  eclectics,  and  every  shade  of  patho- 
genetic doctors,  I  fully  agree  with  Brother  Wilson,  that  the 
higher  dilutions  (I  can  not  call  them  potencies)  the  better  for 
the  patients,  and  cordially  thank  Hahnemann  and  all  his  true 
followers  for  the  immense  good  they  have  done  in  reducing 
the  quantity  of  death-dealing  agents  to  the  sons  and  daugh- 
ters of  affliction.     See  my  Criticisms,  pp.  151 -3. 

Case. — A  short  time  ago  a  lady  who  had  taken  for  some 
time  large  quantities  of  Morphine,  and  become  "exceedingly 

nervous,"  was  brought  to  my  friend  Mrs.  ,  who  treated 

her  well,  but  did  not  quiet  her  nerves  so  soon  as  she  (the  pa- 
tient) expected.  Hence  the  latter  insisted  on  having  more 
Morphine,  and  I  was  called  for  consultation.  I  refused  con- 
sent to  the  Morphine,  but  she  was  much  worse  that  night,  I 
mean  more  excited  and  vigilant,  and  when  I  called  the  next 
day  manifested  displeasure  at  my  refusal  of  the  narcotic.  I 
told  iier  she  was  her  own  mistress  and  could  take  Morphine 
if  she  choose,  but  not  with  my  approbation.  On  consulta- 
tion we  devised  a  plan  to  induce  her  to  believe  she  took  the 
Morphine  when  she  did  not.  She  swallowed  a  teaspoonful 
from  a  vial  of  water  so  highly  **potentized''  that  it  did  not  con- 
tain a  molecule  of  Morphine  or  any  other  narcotic,  and  was 
told  that  would  no  doubt  put  her  into  as  deep  a  sleep  as  she 
could  desire.  Sure  enough  the  "disease"  yielded  almost  in- 
stantly to  that  potent  dose.  She  sank  into  a  sweet  slumber 
which  lasted  almost  all  the  night;  awoke  in  the  morning 
finely  refreshed,  and  recovered  in  a  few  days  from  a  very 
dangerous  condition. 

.  You  sec  I  am  not  one  of  the  "hundred   who  are  so  bound 
to  false  theories  that  they  will  not  exchange  them  for  oppos- 


34G  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

ing  facts."  I  am  one  of  the  "ihinking  minds  who  gladly  ac- 
cept the  high  dilutions,"  the  higher  the  better  (if  of  poisons) 
till  they  contain  nothing  hut  the  solvent;  and  I  agree  with 
you  that  there  is  no  such  thing  as  reconciling  true  theories 
with  "false  facts" — facts  misunderstood.  The  only  true 
philosophy  is  a  just  description  of  facts  correctly  understood, 
just  as  a  correct  rule  in  mathematics  is  a  clear  description  of 
the  operations  under  it. 

You  say  that  Hahnemann's   definition  of  disease    (that  it 
consists  of  "the  totality  of  the  symptoms,"  which  are  irrita- 
tion, fever  and  inflammation)  is  as  good  as  any  body's."    Dr.  I 
Curtis  says  these  are  all  vital  processes^ — not  disease  at  all- 
only  nature's  signs  that  some  organ  or  tissue  is  diseased,  that  I 
is,  disabled  for  performing  its  healthy  effects,  and  her  efforts 
to  expel  the  obstacle  to  equal  action."      He  recognized  these 
as  nature's  kind  notices  that  her  machinery   is  out  of  order, 
unfit  for  propel'  use.     Dr.  Wilson  says,  "The  patients  get  well  1 
when  these  symptoms  cease."     Dr.  Curtis  says,  "Those  symp- 
toms cease  when  the  patient  gets  well,"  that  is,  when  all  ob-  j 
stacles  to  healthy  action  are  removed. 

It  is  not  Dr,  Curtis,  but   Dr.   Wilson   who  ' 
much."     The  latter  assumes  that  every  cure,  whether  excited   I 
by  friendly  sanative  agents,  or    provoked    by    those    whose  ] 
"nature"  as  Graham  says    of  Mtrcury,  (Crit,  No. 
imical  to  the  human  constitution."     The  former  Hn 
sumption"  (as  eruption)  of  all  cures  to  the  vital  force  excited 
properlj'  by  only  agents  whose   nature  is  friendly  to  the  hu- 
man constitution,  as  good  food,  water,  cayenue  pepper,  gin^ 
ger,  caloric,  electricity,  light.     These  may  be  made  to  do  harm   ] 
by  quantity  or  improper  application,  but  that  does  not  change 
them  into  poisons.     Your  inlinitessimal  molecules  of  Strych- 
nine, Belladonna,  Mercury  and  ,4r»e/!*c  are  just  as  poisonous 
to  the  molecules  of  living  fiber  as  the  allopathic  doses  are  to 
the  same  proportions  of  the  whole  human  system.     We  not 
only  limit  our  materia  medica  to  agents  in  their  nature  inno- 
cent, but  we  limit  these  to  the  proper  quantities,  mode  of  ap- 
plication, and  circumstances  and  conditions  of  our  patients. 
We  are  very  careful  to  use  proper  "terms  and  definitions"  in 


Theory  and  Practice,  347 

theory,  and  to  observe  them  closely  in  practice,  as  "the  best 
means  to  restore  our  patients  io  health."  We  do  not  see  how 
this  can  be  done  by  the  use  of  the  "heterogeneous"  articles 
whose  names  I  quoted.  I  am  "discriminative."  I  have  an- 
alyzed the  actions  of  the  articles  I  use,  and  can  rely  on  the 
character  and  certainity  of  that  action,  I  do  not  choose  to  ex- 
periment with  the  whole  catalogue  of  agents  which  eminent 
men  of  all  kinds  of  theories  have  proved  to  be  in  their  nature 
deadly  enemies  to  life.  Brother  Wilson  says  drugs  can  be 
properly  classified  only  through  their  pathogenesis.  Dr. 
Curtis  classifies  them  according  to  their  effects  on  the  healthy 
tissue  as  Hahnemann  did.  Dr.  Bartholow  thinks  this  is  the 
method  by  which  "the  greatest  certainty  in  therapeutics  must 
be  obtained."  Still,  like  Dr.  Wilson,  "he  does  not  reject  well 
established  facts  because  he  can  not  explain  their  philosophy," 
such  as  that  bloodletting. will  subdue  inflammation,  Morphine 
neuralgia;  Mercury  will  destroy  adhesive  inflammation  and 
yet  dispose  indolent  artery  to  heal;  Arsenic  will  cure  chills, 
yet  produce  dropsy,  etc. — some  of  the  "well  authenticated 
facts  whose  philosophy  they  can  not  explain." — A.  Curtis, 
M.  D. 


"Malignant"  Theory  and  Practice. 

Dr.  H.  W.  Taylor,  in  your  last  September  number,  has 
given  us  a  short  chapter  on  "Malignant  Diphtheria,"  its 
pathology  and  treatment.  It  is  well  known  to  everybody 
that  diphtheria  becomes  malignant  when  it  becomes  espec- 
ially dangerous  and  destructive.  If,  now,  it  can  be  shown 
that  Dr.  Taylor's  teachings  are  destructive  of  all  sound  rea- 
soning in  medical  practice,  then  it  will  not  be  amiss  to  char- 
acterize them  as  malignant.     On  the  very  face  of  things  it 


348  Cincinnati  Medical   Advance, 

can  be  seen  that  Dr.  Taylor  is  a  novice  in  Homoeopathy  and 
an  enthusiast  in  medicine.     Both  facts  render  him  incapable 
of  possessing  the  higher  quahfications  of  a  teacher  or  judge. 
His  pecuHar  abihties  as  a  writer,  however,  render  his  produc- 
tions very  attractive.     No  man  cbuld  make  "the  worser  thing 
seem  the  better"  more  easily  than  he.     And  there  is  a  verv 
special  danger  that  he  will  mislead  many  others  as  he  is  him- 
self misled,  by  specious  ideas  of  pathology  and  thcnipcutics. 
Who  of  us  has   not  often  laughed  at  the  doctor  whose  first 
work  with  his  patients  was  to  throw  them  into  fits,  because 
he  was  death  on  that  peculiar  form  of  disease?     Now  comes 
Dr.  Taylor  and   gravely   informs   us   that  the  way   to   cure 
malignant  diphtheria  is  to  throw  the  patient  into  scarlet  fever. 
How  to  cure  the  scarlet  fever  he  doesn't  deign   to  inform  us. 
Given  a  case  of  malignant  diphtheria  and  all  you  have  to  do 
is  to  administer  sufficient  Chlorate  of  -  potash,  until  you  pro- 
duce an   eruption   on   the   skin,   and    your  patient  then    no 
longer    has    that    disease,    but   another,    viz.:    scarlet    fever. 
(Shades  of  Sydenham!     Is  that  the  way  scarlet  fever  is  pro- 
duced?    Well  may  we  exclaim,  The  more  we  learn  the  older 
we  grow).     If  Dr.  Taylor  thinks    that,  in    this   idea,  he   has 
struck  a  flowing  well,  he  is  doomed  to   sore  disappointment 
sooner  or  later.     The  underlying  principle  of  his  proposition 
is  as  old    as  medicine   itself.     The  careful   student  of  medical 
history  will  recognize  its  features  as  belonging  to  an  ancient 
tramp,  whose   pretentions   have  been    foisted    unsuccessfullv 
upon    every  age  and   epoch   of  our  science.     The   idea    has 
never  yet  been    productive  of  good.     And    because  of  this 
Hahnenrann  and    his  followers  have  distinctly  abandoned   it 
and  turned  their  attention  in  another  direction.     Whv,  then, 
should    we,   as  homocopathists,   be  obliged   to  put  this  faKc 
principle    to  this  special    test?     It   can  not   be  true   ami   yet 
Homa^opathy  be  true.     Dr.  Taylor  doubtless  thinks  the  two 
things  are  not  only  not  incompatable,  but    (juite   in  harmonv 
with   one   another.      Therein    he   shows   his   lack   of   sound 
homoeopathic  knowledge.     He  talks  of  diphtheria  and  scar- 
let   fever   as   though   they   v/ere    pathological  entities.      Or, 
rather,   perhaps,  he  wishes   us  to  believe    they  are  identical. 


Theory  and  Practice.  349 

But  while  diphtlieria  is  dangerous,  he  leaves  hs  to  believe 
that  scarlet  fever  is  quite  harmless;  and  having  discovered 
the  wonSerful  process  by  which  diphtheria  can,  in  a  few 
hours,  be  turned  into  scarlet  fever,  has  he  not  found  the 
royal  road  to  success?  Well,  possibly  he  has;  but  if  so, 
Homceopathy  has  no  part  or  lot  in  the  matter.  It  is  just  like 
a  thousand  other  specifics  in  medical  practice,  based  on  sonic 
plausible  pathological  theory,  bdcked  up  by  experimental 
results,  but  wholly  devoid  of  any  relation  to  a  geneial  prin- 
ciple in  medicine.  By  the  way,  what  becomes  of  the  malig- 
nancy of  the  diphtheria  in  the  process  of  transformation? 
And  may  we  hope  to  yet  find  a  drug  that  will  thus  transpose 
yellow  fever  into  simple  intermittent  fever;  carcinoma  into 
simple  ulcer;  phthisis  into  bronchitis  and  insanity  into  dreams? 
Dr.  Taylor  is  a  genius,  but  he  hasn't  found  his  proper  gait; 
and  when  he  docs  he  will  join  us  in  laughing  over  such 
erudities  and  go  on  to  soii.ething  belter  and  wiser.  — Fingal 
Hapgood,  M.  D. 


VorlniB  Oozirlus  cured  by  JTali  earb.  Translated  from  Die 
Alle.  Hom.  Zeitung.  By  A.  McNeil,  M.  D.,  New 
Albany,  Ind. 

The  symptoms  contained  in  Hahnemann's  and  Allen's 
Pure  Materia  Medica,  led  me  to  administer  this  remedy  in 
the  most  desperate  cases  of  this  disease,  and  the  success  I 
obtained  will,  I  hope,  cause  my  colleagues  to  seek  a  refuge  in 
this  drug  against  the  fearful  effects  of  this  atfcction. 

Cask  I.  M.  H.,  aet.  twenty,  lymphatic,  has  been  confined 

to  his  bed  for  six  weeks;  he   complains   of  sharp,   drawing 

pains  in  the  right  knee  and  thigh;  the  affected  leg  was  about 

three  finger's  breadth  longer  than  the  sound  one,  the  nates 

Nov-a 


350 


C'incimiati  Medical  Advance. 


flattened,  movement  of  the  Joint  painful,  although  pressure  1 
caused  no  discomfort;  pulse  feverish,  loss  of  appetite,  longuel 
coated  white;  aggravation  at  night  of  the  pnins,  but  little 
sleep.      Leeches,  purgatives   and  inunctions  of  every  kind 
had  been  employed  in  vain.      The  allopathic  ph3'sicia.ns  had 
proposed  the  immovable  bandage,  and  given  a  discouraging 
prognosis.      I  prescribed  Kail  carb.  30,  ten  globules  in  one 
hundred  and  fifty  grammes  distilled  water,  every  three  hours 
a  tablespoonful.      Rapid  Improvement;    in  less    than    three  | 
weeks  he  was  cured  without  a  repetition  of  the  remedy  be-  , 


ing  necessary. 

Case  II.    Mis! 
of  well  marked  n 


s  L.,  aet.  twelve,  of  good  constitution,  andv 
ervo-sanguine  tempeinment.      She  sulTered'1 
from  excitable  emotions  and  constant  palpitation  of  the  heart  I 
and  occasionally   from  congestion  of  the  lungs,  with  dry,  j 
troublesome  cough  and  difficult  breathing,  sometimes  parox- 
ysms of  migrane;  she  suffered  at  the  same  tinie  from  coxar- 
throcace,  and  had  been  treated  for  about  six  months  without 
success,  by  one  of  our  most  distinguished  surgeons.       I  was  J 
called  to  treat  her  cough.      I  informed  her  parents  that  per-  I 
haps  she  might  be  cured  by  homojopathic  treatment. 

Tlie  right  lower  extremity  was  two  fingers  breadth  longer  J 
than  the  left;  the  gin teo-fem oral  crease  was  lower  and  lesaj 
clearly  marked  than  normal;  she  complained  momentarily  ofl 
drawing,  tearing  pain  in  the  ihigh  and  knee;  this  occurred'! 
particularly  after  walking.  I  gave  BeUadonna  6,  two  dropa  I 
in  water,  for  two  days  and  thereby  removed  the  palpitation'! 
and  cougU;  but  it  had  no  effect  on  the  hip.  Kali  carb.  30,  I 
ten  globules  in  twelve  tablespoonsful  of  water  for  two  days. 
This  was  four  weeks  after  the  Dell,  was  given.  Rapid  im- 
provement set  in.  1  must  mention  that  after  discontinu 
the  latter  remedy  the  patient  had  drawing,  pressing  pains 
the  entire  head  (or  thirty-six  hours  which  compelled  hei 
keep  her  bed.  These  pains  were  entirely  different  from  her  J 
migrane;  I  ascribed  them  to  the  drug.  In  five  weeks  she] 
was  cured  without  a  repetition  of  ihe  medicine. 

Case    III.      M,    V,,    aet.    fourteen,    sanguine-lymphatic,  1 
weakened  by  loss  of  semen.       He  Iiad   peiceivcd   for  some    . 


'rhe< 


Did  Praclif-e. 


351 


time  pnins  and  Iienviiiess  in  the  left  thigh,  increased  by  wnlk- 
ing  and  particularly  by  forced  marches,  Thisafleclion  was 
mistaken  for  rheuiiiatisin  autl  trt-ated  by  inunction.  On  c\- 
aminatlun  of  the  lower  extremities  I  learned  thai  the  left  leg; 
was  a  finger's  length  louger  than  the  right  one,  and  the  head 
of  the  femur  was  partly  forced  out  of  the  acetabulum  and 
threatened  a  spontaneous  luxation.  Considering  the  severity 
of  the  case  I  ordered  absolute  rest  in  bed,  and  prescribed 
Kali  oarb.  as  above.     Cured  in  fourteen  days. 

Case  IV.  The  child  of  Herr  B.,  aet.  three  years,  would 
not  walk  for  the  "past  ten  days.  Considerable  lengthening  of 
the  right  lower  extremity;  the  folds  of  the  nates  almost  com- 
pletely obliterated;  the  touch  not  painful;  general  health  good. 
An  allopathic  colleague  had  given  an  unfavorable  prognosis 
in  the  presence  of  the  parents.  Kali  carb.  30,  six  globules  in 
one  hundred  and  eighty  grains  of  water  cured  her  in  eight 

Case  V.  M.  B,,  aet  five  years,  lymphatic,  badly  nourislied, 
has  been  limping  for  two  months.  They  aBcribe  this  to  the 
lancinating  pains  in  llie  left  thigh  and  knee,  of  which  he 
complained;  aggravation  on  walking;  inunctions  had  pro- 
duced no  result.  On  comparison  of  the  lower  extremities  I 
found  a  good  finger's  breadth  lengthening  of  the  left  leg. 
Rest  in  bed  and  Kali  carb.  ^o,  ton  globules,  in  two  days  in- 
troduced improvement.  After  three  weeks  I  must  again  ad- 
minister the  same  remedy,  as  a  lengthening  of  the  leg  with 
more  severe  pains  than  at  the  beginning  of  the  treatment  had 
occurreii.  I  gave  the  twenty-fourth  dilution  in  the  same 
way  as  I  had  the  thirtieth,  Notwithstanding  his  bad  nutri- 
tion a  cure  was  made  in  eight  weeks  treatment. 

Case  VI,  The  child  of  R.  T.,  aer.  twenty  months,  lym- 
phatic blonde,  very  delicate,  has  had  bronchitis  and  conjunc- 
tivitis, and  has  been  suffering  for  four  months  from  pains  in 
the  right  lower  extremity.  On  examination  I  learned  that  it 
was  a  good  finger's  breadth  longer  than  the  left,  and  the  cor- 
responding fold  of  the  nates  almost  obliterated;  the  very  weak 
little  child  could  not  stand  alone;  she  bad  to  be  carried  about 
in  the  arms;  the  spine  had  a  curvature  which  gave  me  reason 


352  Cincinnati  3fedieal  Advance. 

to  fear  Pott's  disease;  appetite  moderate.     On  the  foiirleenttl^ 
of  Miiy.  I  ordered  A'o/i  carb.  30,  six  globules  in    two  day^f 
Under  tlie  iiiBuence  of  this  remedy  I  perceived  an  improved 
ment  of  the  general  health,  as  well  as  of  ihe  back  and  hipiJ 
On  the  fourth  of  June  I  learned  that  she  had  not  been  doioj 
so  well  for  ibret-  days;  ihe  pains  had  again  relumed    mort 
severely  and  the  affected  leg  had    again  assumed  its  formei 
abnprmnl  length,  and  every  change  of  position  caused  a  pitiJ 
able  cry.      I  gave  iTali  carb.  200.      Rapid    improvement  Bea 
in,  which  was  not  disturbed  by  difficult  dentition  and  constiJ 
pation,  against  which  I  gave  Chatnomillu. 

Case  VII.  M.  A.  R.,  from  Zealand,  aet.  eleven  years,  sufV^ 
fered  from  a  coxaVthrocace  which  the  physicians  of  his  o 
country  had  combatted  in  vain.  His  parents  brought  hin 
Grand  on  October  aStb,  1876,  in  the  hope  to  find  surgical  aid 
for  their  child.  They  took  her  to  the  clinic  of  the  hospilal  of  J 
Bylijke,  but  the  physician  in  chief  declared  all  further  treat-* 
ment  would  be  useless  and  the  use  of  the  leg  was  irretriev-J 
ably  lost.  They  were  about  to  retuin  disconsolate  to  ihel 
Netherlands,  when  one  of  mypatients  witnessing  theirgrief, 
spoke  to  them  of  the  beneficial  elTecls  of  HomcBopathy,  ji 
advised  ihcm  to  consult  an  Hahnemannlnn  physician.  The  ■ 
boy  was  [ympathic.  pale,  slight  figure;  the  left  lower  extremi- 
ty enloiigaled  about  I  wo  finger's  breadth;  gtuteo- femoral  crease 
obliterated;  the  knee  slightly  flexed  as  if  anchylosed,  per- 
mitting neither  flexion  nor  extension  of  the  leg;  violent  pain»  | 
in  the  thigh  and  knee;  has  suffered  thus  for  three  months,  I  , 
gave  Kali  carb.  30,  ten  globules  to  be  taken  in  ten  days. 
Slow,  progressive  improvement;  no  repetition  of  the  remedy. 
Complete  cure  about  the  end  of  the  following  January.  It 
remains  to  be  observed  that  after  fifteen  days  action  of  the 
drug  a  very  violent  itching,  lichen-like  eruption  on  the  throat 
and  neck  appeared;  this  lasted  ten  days.  The  parents  said 
he  had  never  had  such  an  eruption  before. 

Case  VIII.  Matilda  Y.,  aet.  three  and  a  half  years,  has 
been  afflicted  for  eight  months  from  a  disease  of  the  right 
hip  joint;  the  leg  on  this  side  is  about  two  fingers  breadth 
enlongated;  the  gluteo- femoral  fold  almost  disappeared.     Al- 


I 

i 


ophthalmology  and  Otology.  353 

f  though  she  could  formeily  walk  very  well,  yet  she  has  not 
L  Step   for  eight   months;  pains  in   the  leg  and  knee. 
Mntilda  took  Kali  curb.  30,  ten  globules  in  solution,     Under 
he  influence  of  this  medicine  rapid  improvement  and  a  rure 
n  less  than  six  weeks.     It  was  not  necessary  to  repeat  the 
nedicine. 
If  wc  compare  the  allopathic  treatment  and  its  usual  Inck 
j    of  success  in  the  hip  disease  with  the  so  often  successful  is- 
f  sue  of  Homceopathy,  it  is  scarcely  to  be  comprehended  how 
any  one  whose  head  is  not  filled  with  prejudice  can  help  pro- 
claiming the  superiority  of  Homoeopathy, 


%^l|aItitoIa9^  aufe  f  ^fllap. 


The  Eelation  of  the  Ciliary  and  Bocti  ISuscles  from  a  Thera- 
peutic Standpuint.  Hy  W.  II.  W'oodyatt,  M.  D.. 
Chicagi).  Read  before  the  American  Homeopathic 
Ophthalmological  and  Otological  Society. 

The  following  cases  are  submitted  for  what  they  teach  con- 
cerning the  action    of  remedies  upon  the  ciliary  and    recti 
I   muscles  of  the  eye  when  they  are  found  to  be  affected  sim- 
I   ultaneously  and  operating  in  the  production  of  conditions  com- 
\  monly  considered  as  amenable  only  to  mechanical    treatment. 
An  exhaustive  study  of  these  clinical  gleanings  demands  a  full 
I  presentation  of  what  is  taught  on  the  connections  between 
I   accomodation  and  convergence  of  the  visual  axes;  on  relative 
accomodation  and  relative  convergence;  on  the  possibility  of 
1    the  ciliary  muscle  acting  in  segments,  and  all  these  while  the 
eyes  are  in  a  healthy  slate.       It  would  also  embrace  what  is 


354  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

known  and  taught  concerning  the  counter  actions  of  these 
different  sets  of  muscles  when  one  or  more  had  become  im- 
paired, either  slowly  or  rapidly,  by  a  local  affection  of  the 
eyes,  or  some  constitutional  disease. 

The  subject  is  manifestly  too  exhaustive  for  a  paper  of  this 
chal*acter,  and  will  be  considered  as  it  deserves  to  be  on  some 
future  occasion.  In  the  meantime  it  is  believed  that  careful 
attention  to  the  following  records  will  enlarge  our  concep- 
tion of  the  possibilities  of  internal  remedies;  somewhat  clearly 
define  the  sphere  of  action  of  one  or  two,  and  compel  us  to 
hold  in  abeyance  some  conclusions  on  the  subjects  involved 
which  have  descended  to  us  with  all  the  weight  that  the  stamp 
of  orthodoxy  can  give. 

The  cases  being  offered  for  the  'consideration  of  special 
practitioners  particularly,  mention  is  not  made  of  the  several 
question  as  they  occur,  because  they  will  be  likely  to  sug- 
gest themselves  as  the  peculiarities  of  the  record  are  observed. 

Case  I.  N'airum  muriaticum. — S.  H.  W.,  male,  aet.  forty- 
six.  Complains  of  pain,  burning  and  smarting  of  the  eyes 
in  attempting  to  use  them.  Examination  showed  V.  ^g^?;  M. 
1-40;  V.  f^.  Insufficiency  of  the  internal  recti  five  degrees. 
Prescribed  ^at.  mur.  30  four  times  a  day.  In  two  days  some 
letters  of  No.  20  were  made  out,  and  a  concave  eighty  glass 
enabled  him  to  make  them  all.  The  insufficiency  remained 
as  before.  Under  thirty  days  use  of  the  remedy  the  muscu- 
lar power  was  restored,  the  myopia  had  disappeared  and  the 
eyes  gave  him  no  trouble. 

Case  II.  ^at.  mur. — Miss  C.  complains  that  use  of  the 
eyes  brings  on  heaviness  and  drooping  of  the  lids;  causes 
letters  or  sketches  to  blur,  and  if  continued  produces  aching 
in  the  balls;  lamplight  particularly  troublesome;  retinal  im- 
ages are  retained;  right  lower  lid  twitches  a  great  deal.  Care- 
ful test  developed  the  following: 

R.  E.,  V.  fii,  M.  1-30,  V.  11.      A  -.  to  21 
L.  E.,  V.  IJ,  M.  1-30,  V.  ff     ^— +  *''=''•. 

Insufficiency  of  the  internal  recti  two  degrees.       Prescribed 

Nat,  mur,  30,  four  times  daily,  which  was  taken  irregularly 

and  spasmodically  until  reporting  a   month  later.       At    this 


Ophthalmology  and  Otology.  355 

time  R.  E.,  V.  fO^,— 60°,  axis  70°, .V.  |^?.  L.  E.,  V.  fj?.  Two 
days  steady  use  of  the  remedy  was  followed  by  the  record  of 
V,  1^?  in  R.  E.,  but  requiring  +48  to  make  it  |^;  V.  ff  in 
L.  E.  Insufficiency  of  two  degrees  of  each  internal  rectus. 
Remedy  continued  ten  days.  All  troublesome  symptoms  had 
disappeared  and  patient  did  not  report  in  person  for  six  weeks, 
when  there  was  found  to  be  f^  in  each  eye  with  no  insuffi- 
ciency. The  patient  did  a  good  deal  of  fine  painting  and  her 
eyes  were  inclined  to  give  out  after  a  certain  amount  of  tax- 
ation, especially  if  she  was.  fatigued  from  over  exertion  in 
other  ways.  The  JSTat,  mur,  30  always  helped  her  eyes 
promptly. 

Case  III.  Argentum  nit. — Mrs.  T.,  aet.  forty-four.  As- 
thenopic  symptoms  complained  of.  Test,  V.  fj;  no  ametropia 
— p.  =  1 1*.  Insufficiency  of  each  internal  rectus  two  degrees. 
Prescribed  Argent  hit.  6x,  four  times  a  day.  In  five  days  p. 
=yj^";  insufficiency  the  same.  Five  days  later,  p. =6^";  some 
insufficiency  of  the  right  none  of  the  left  internal  rectus.  Ten 
days  later,  p,=6";  no  insufficiency.  Eyes  no  longer  trouble- 
some. 

Case  IV.  Natrum  mur.  and  Argent,  nit. — Mrs.  B.,  aet. 
forty-eight.  Has  not  been  able  to  use  her  eyes  for  years  be- 
cause of  pain  produced  by  the  attempt.  Has  feared  blind- 
ness and  is  rather  unwilling  to  read  for  the  tests.  First  re- 
cord V.  1^,  but  this  was  not  satisfactory  because  of  her  un- 
willingness to  try  and  see;  said  her  head  would  ache  all  day 
if  she  tried;  would  not  attempt  fine  print.  Insufficiency  of 
each  internal  rectus  five  degrees.  Prescribed  ^at.  mur.yD. 
In  nineteen  days  V.  |^  and  no  insufficiency.  Could  not  read 
No.  I  without  glasses,  but  with  4-36  read  at  a  near  point  of 
i^".  Prescribed  Argen.  nit.  6x.  In  ten  days  read  at  9''.  Eyes 
now  used  steadily  without  discomfort. 

Case  V.  J^at.  mur. — Mr.  H.,  aet.  twenty-five,  student.  Has 
had  more  or  less  trouble  with  his  eyes  since  an  attack  of  measles 
when  twenty-one,  four  years  ago.  Complains  that  short  use 
causes  lids  to  smart  and  feel  heavy,  with  desire  to  rub  them; 
sharp  shooting  pains  in  the  globe;  blurred  vision;  at  first  in- 
terview dull  aching  pain  in  globes  was  constant;  photophobia 


35li 


Oinoinnati  MeiUcal  Adoanct 


especially  to  gas  light.  Test:  V.  fj^,  M.  1-72,  V.  |f.  Insnf- 
ficiency  of  iiilernal  rectus  twQ  degrees.  Prescribed  Kat.mur. 
30,  four  times  a  day.  In  four  days,  V.  |^easily;  insufficiency 
unchanged;  pain  relieved.  Remedy  continued  four  days;  in- 
sufficiency barely  perceptible.  A  week  later  reported  no  pain 
or  inconvenience  and  test  showed  normal  vision  without 
any  muscular  defect.  Patient  had  been  studying  steadily 
from  the  first. 

Case  VI,  PhytottigTua,  Geltemiv.m. — L.  P.,  act.  forty-four, 
student.  L.  E.,  V.  U?,  M.  1-40,  V.  fj,  A.=  io' to  19'.  R.  E., 
V.  fingers  9',  M.  1-7,  V.  }^,  A.=5*  to  10'.  With  the  glasses 
before  each  eye  there  is  diplopia  and  a  seven  degree  prism, 
base  outivard  before  L,  E.,  is  necessary  to  remedy  it.  Patient 
complains  of  discomfort  in  trying  to  use  his  eyes.  Took 
Phytottii/ma  3a:  four  times  a  day.  In  eleven  days  the  follow- 
ing record  was  taken:  L.  E.,  V.  fj?,  A. =6  to  16;  no  glass 
helps.  R.  E.,  V.  fingers  13',  M.  1-7,  V.  |J??,  A.  4^'  to  iz'; 
five  degree  prism  blends  the  double  images.  In  thirteen 
days  more  the  three  degree  prism  was  sufficient  to  blend  the 
double  images.  After  ten  days  use  of  the  Phyios.  (thirty- 
three  in  all)  vision  and  condition  of  left  external  rectus  re- 
mained as  at  last  record.  Prescribed  Gclii.  6x.  In  twelve 
days  the  following  record  was  made:  L.  E.,  V.  ff  R.  E., 
V.  fingers  at  ao',  M.  i-8,  V.  Jj — the  best  that  could  be  done; 
two  degree  prisim  removed  diplopia.  In  twenty-eight  days, 
during  which  medicine  was  taken  irregularly,  in  the  L.  E., 
V.  ffff.     R.  E,,  fingers  at  12'.  M.  i-io,  V.  |f  and  no  diplopia. 

Cash  VII.  Argentum  nit.,  Gelsemium,  Strychnia. — Mr.  F., 
aet,  forty-five;  literary  man.  author,  etc.,  said  his  eyes  had 
given  out,  and  his  glasses  (  -i-24.)  did  not  seem  to  relieve  him. 
Test:  V.  j^,  Hm.  1-30,  V.  |J,  p.  15';  deciphers  No.  i  slowly 
at  this  point  without  glasses;  insufficiency  external  rectus 
two  degrees.  Prescribed  Argent,  nit. 6xioKr  times  a  day.  In 
one  week  no  insufficiency  could  be  made  out,  and  near  point 
was  12'.  In  two  weeks,  the  medicine  being  taken  only  part 
of  that  time,  record  reads,  p. =  11';  potential  weakness  of  the 
right  external  rectus,  two  degrees  of  insufficiency  in  the  left. 
Prescribed  GeU.  Sx  four  times  daily.       In  one  week,  insuffi- 


Ophthalmology  and  Otology. 


357 


ciency  the  same  p.^9'.  In  two  ■weeks,  having  been  out  of 
medicine  a  week,  insufficiency  had  increased  to  three  degrees 
in  each  eye,  but  the  near  point  hud  advanced  an  inch,  ^as 
now  S*.  In  another  week  p.  =  5"!;  three  degrees  of  insuffi- 
ciency in  the  L,  E,  same  in  the  R.  E,  Did  nut  report  again 
for  one  month  when  I  found  a  near  point  of  ^i"!!;  insuffi- 
ciency of  each  external  rectus  two  degrees.  Prescribed 
Strych.  yc. 

Case  VIII.  Natrum  tnur.,  Phy»o$tigma. — Miss  C,  aet. 
twenty-three,  student,  complains  of  asthenopic  symptoms. 
Test:R.E.,V.5S?.withpinholef3,A.3ito22.j,   ,  „    v  ** " 

Insufficiency  of  each  internal  rectus  four  degrees.  Prescrib- 
ed JV'a(,  mur.yi.  In  nine  days,  R,  E.,  V.  fj?;  L.  E.,  V.  Hi 
insufficiency  three  degrees;  globes  have  ached  a  good  deal, 
whether  the  eyes  \vere  used  or  not.  In  seven  days  more, 
R.  E.,  V.  fg:  L.  E.,  V.  ^}\  no  insufficiency,  yet  the  pain  in 
the  eyes  has  been  quite  bad.  Prescribed  Phyao*.  ye.  In 
twenty-seven  days  the  pain  was  entirely  gone;  eyes  could  be 
used  freely  and  only  suffered  from  exposure  to  strong  light. 
In  this  case  the  insufficiency  in  the  left  internal  rectus  and  a 
slight  degree  of  myopia  were  detected  at  one  or  two  of  the 
intervening  visits. 

Case  IX.  Pkysottigvia. — Miss  B,,  aet.  sixteen,  student. 
No  symptoms  uf  any  kind,  but  wants  to  know  if  she  can  be 
helped  to  abandon  the  minus  ten  glasses  which  she  has  been 
wearing  for  four  months  for  acquired  myopia.  Test:  V.  fin- 
gers at  9',  M.  i-io,  V.  }f,  A.  3"  to  13";  insufficiency  of  each 
external  rectus  two  degrees.  Prescribed  Physos.  33;  four  times 
a  day.  Record  taken  in  five  days  reads,  fingers  counted  at 
3o',  M.  1-14,  V.  {g,  A.  3"  to  15".  In  L.  E,  no  insufficiency; 
in  R.  E.  between  two  and  three  degrees.  Five  days  later, 
V.  -^.  M,  1-16,  V.  jj.  Seven  days  later,  V.  ^.  M.  1-16,  V. 
|g.  But  at  the  examination  the  prism  test  showed  two  de- 
grees of  insufficiency  of  the  right  external,  and  one  degree 
of  the  left  internal  rectus.  Gave  no  medicine  for  one  week, 
and  on  her  return  llie  muscles  were  harmonious  anil  not  in- 
sufficient; vision  the  same.       Resumed   the  Phyton.   for  two 


358  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

weeks,  when  V.  fj,  M.  i-iS,  V.  f^^,  A.  3"  to  17".  Prescribed 
the  — I -18  and  tested  in  two  months  again  with  the  above 
result. 

Case  X.  Liliumtig, — Mr.  B.,  aet.  forty-five,  teacher.  Has 
been  wearing  +36  for  his  old  sight,  selected  at  an  opticians; 
latterly  has  been  using  the  microscope  a  good  deal,  and  has 
been  annoyed  some  by  fatigue  of  the  eyes.  Test:  V,  f^, 
Am. — 24c.,  axis  horizontal,  V,  f^,  A,  9"  to  24^'.  Prescribed 
Lilium  tig.  30  four  times  a  day.  In  seven  days,  V.  ff  clearly. 
A  week  later,  A,  7"  to  29".  One  week  later,  A.  5^"  to  31". 
Examined  a  month  later  after  the  medicine  had  been  stopped 
and  found  the  condition  unchanged,  Had  abandoned  his 
glasses  entirely. 


The  Belation  of  the  Fovea  Centralis  to  the  Work  of  Aooommo- 

dation.  By  T.  P.  Wilson,  M.  D.,  Cincinnati.  Read 
before  the  American  Homoiopathic  Ophthalmological 
and  Otological  Society, 

One  of  the  unsolved  mysteries  of  physiology  concerns  the 
functions  of  the  fovea  centralis.  Our  inability  to  settle  the 
question,  shows  how  far  removed  after  all,  arc  theoretical 
and  mechanical  optics  from  the  facts  and  principles  of  oph- 
thalmology. This  paper  is  an  attempt  to  suggest,  rather  than 
to  make,  a  solution  of  this  question.  First  then,  for  the  bene- 
fit of  all  our  readers,  let  us  premise  this:  In  the  production 
of  an  image  we  have  to  consider,  (a)  the  object,  the  image 
of  which  we  desire  to  produce;  (b)  the  lens  by  which  the 
rays  are  to  focalized,  and  (c)  the  screen  upon  which  the 
image  is  to  be  produced.  A  law  of  prime  necessity  is  that 
the  planes  of  the  object,  the  lens  and  the  screen,  shall  be 
parallel.     Let  the  following  illustrate: 


Ophthalmology  and  Otology, 


359 


Object.  Lens.  Screen. 

If  now  you  change  the  condition  of  parallelism  of  either 
of  these,  in  whole  or  in  part,  you  blur  the  image. 

Suppose  now  we  should  bend  the  screen  into  this  shape: 


Such  a  screen  in  a  camera  obscura  would  be  utterly  worth- 
less. Suppose  aj^ain  we  modify  its  shape  still  further  as 
follows: 


This  would  render  it  still  more  worthless  for  the  reception 
of  images. 

Yet  it  is  a  well  known  fact,  that  this  last  form  of  the 
screen  is  one  corresponding  to  the  shape  of  the  retina,  and 
that  in  that  portion  of  the  eye  which  is  most  sensitive,  and 
upon  which  the  image  in  direct  vision  falls,  is  marked  by 
the  small  depression  shown  in  the  figure — this  depression 
being  known  as  the  fovea  centralis  or  central  pit. 

By  modern  writers  the  eye  is  often  termed  a  camera  ob- 
scura; but  it  must  be  confessed  that,  in  this  important  par- 
ticular, the  eye  fails  in  the  resemblance;  and  it  must  also  be 
confessed  that,  in  judging  of  the  function  of  vision,  we 
must  abandon  the  idea  of  the  image  being  produced  as  in 
the  camera  obscura. 

The  photographer  who  uses  the  camera,  aims  to  produce 
upon  the  screen  an  image  equally  and  perfectly  focused 
throughout.     This  could  not  be  done  upon  the  retina  even  if 


360 


C'inctTinaU  Medical  Advance. 


it  were  desirable — which  it  is  not.  To  tlie  mind,  nothing 
would  be  so  utterly  confusing  as  an  image,  distinct  in  all  its 
parts,  thrown  upon  the  sensitive  layer  of  the  retina;  that  is, 
if  the  mind  attempted  to  perceive  it  at  all  points  simultan- 
eously. 

We  come  now  to  a  fact  not  generally  known,  and  not  to 
our  knowledge  ever  clearly  stated  by  our  ophthalmologists, 
viz.:  direct  virion  is  a  geometrical  point. 

No  mattter  what  the  size  or  shape  of  the  image  there  is 
always  a  focal  point  in  it,  upon  which  perception  rests, 
which  is  without  length,  breadth  or  thickness.  Over  the 
shortest  line  and  the  smallest  dot  that  you  can  make,  this 
geometrical  point  of  vision  can  be  carried;  and  the  move- 
ment is  perceptible  to  the  most  ordinary  observation. 

When  the  normal  eye  is  adjusted  to  the  beat  of  its  capac- 
ity for  seeing  an  object,  there  is  thrown  upon  the  macula 
lutea  an  image.  This  image  is  composed  of  an  infinite 
scries  of  points,  of  which,  only  one  is  clearly  and  definitely 
focused  upon  the  retina,  It  is  probable  that  this  point  must 
rest  somewhere  within  the  boundary  line  of  the  macula.  It 
would  seem  to  be  most  effective  when  resting  in  the  bottom 
of  the  fovea. 

The  image  as  a  whole  lies  across  the  fovea  and  upon  the 
general  plane  of  the  macula,  which  plane  is  a  curved  surface. 
Hence,  all  parts  of  the  image  must  be  somewhat  out  of  the 
true  focus  save  the  one  point  we  are  considering. 

There  can  not  be  two  or  more  points  in  focus  at  the  same 
time,  because  no  two  points  of  the  macula  and  fovea  hold 
the  same  relation  to  the  image. 

We  come  now  to  consider  the  work  of  accommodation  as 
related  to  the  foregoing  facts.  We  recognize  in  this  act,  an 
effort  put  forth  by  the  joint  action  of  tlie  rectus  internus  and 
ciliary  muscles  (o  first  bring  the  image  upon  the  macula  and 
secondly  to  fix  the  point  of  direct  vision  upon  some  portion 
of  the  retinal  elements  included  within  the  boundary  of  the 
macula. 

Suppose  now  the  sensitive  surface  was  perfectly  flat  and 
parallel  with   the   lens;  it  would  then  occur,  that   the  accom- 


Ophthalmology  and  Otology, 


361 


modation  would  have  the  point  of  vision  precisely  upon  that 
plain  under  all  possible  circumstances,  in  order  to  have  vision 
perfect. 


This  figure  represents  this  fact  clearly. 

It  is  equally  clear  that,  if  we  placed  the  sensitive  plate  at 
an  angle  and  could  use  any  one  of  the  innumerable  points  of 
which  it  is  composed,  then  we  would  almost  immeasurably 
assist  the  accommodation;  for,  instead  of  one  plane,  we  would 
have  an  infinite  number  of  them.     For  instance: 


Assuming  the  plane  to  be  oblique  as  represented,  let  u» 
construct  a  base  and  perpendicular: 


It  is  easy  to  see  that,  whatever  may  be  the  length  of  the 
base,  that  will  be  the  measure  of  assistance  given  to  the 
muscles  of  accommodation. 

We  need  now  only  to  recall  the  fact  that  the  retina  in  the 
macula  is  a  curved  surface  and  offers  all  that  an  oblique  sur- 
face  could,  as  stated.  Now  that  we  have  the  fovea  centralis 
making  a  still  greater  incurvation  and  general  obliquity  to 
the  retina,  it  is  not  difiicult  to  see,  that  we  have  here  a  con* 
dition  of  affairs  that  greatly  assists  the  act  o(  accommodation. 

This  will  be  made  still  more  clear  and  enable  us  to  readily 
understand,  how  the  point  of  vision  may  be  in  turn  fixed  in 
all  parts  of  this  curved  surface,  when  wc  come  to  learn  that 
recent  investigation  makes  it  at  least  highly  probable,  that 
there  is  a  meridianal  action  to  the  ciliary  muscle,  so  that  the 


362  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

• 

lens  is  tipped  in  various  directions.  By  this  means  the  focal 
point  may  be  adjusted  to  any  part  of  the  sensitive  surface; 
and  is  undoubtedly  shifted  from  place  to  place,  so  as  to  pre- 
vent exhaustion  of  the  nervous  filaments  that  supply  the 
rods  and  cones. 

Just  so  much,  then,  as  is  the  distance  from  the  bottom  of 
the  fovea  forward  to  the  outermost  parts  of  the  retina  upon 
which  direct  vision  may  be  fixed,  is  there  added  to  the  power 
of  accommodation;  or,  in  other  words,  to  summarize,  the 
obliquity  of  the  retina,  presenting  innumerable  planes,  upon 
any  one  of  which  the  focal  point  may  rest,  does,  by  this 
means,  relieve  the  ciliary  muscle  of  the  duty  of  always  fix- 
ing direct  vision  upon  one  and  the  same  plane. 

The  curved  macula  answers  the  same  purpose;  and  the 
fovea,  adding  to  the  curvature  of  the  retina  at  that  point, 
greatly  enhances  the  effect.  It  is  a  curious  fact  to  be  ob- 
served that  the  fovea  is  by  no  means  a  constant  condition  to 
be  found  even  in  all  eyes  apparently  well  developed. 
Among  mammalia  we  find  the  fovea  in  apes  only.  Of  course 
it  is  always  found  in  the  normal  human  eye.  In  certain 
birds  we  find  two  fovea  in  each  macula.     The  chameleon 

■ 

has  a  remarkable  development  of  this  part,  while  it  is  found 
only  slightly  developed  in  most  other  lizards.  Amphibias 
and  fishes  have  neither  macula  nor  fovea.  .  Acuteness  of 
vision  seems  to  depend  upon  the  presence  of  the  fovea  and 
to  this  stands  inseparably  related  also  the  work  of  accom- 
modation. 


■■#  ♦ 


Witmml  Minln* 


Lac  caninum  in  Acute  Gastritis. — September  i6.  Miss 
W^  aet.  eighteen,  dark  complexion,  complains  of  burning 
pain  in  the  epigastric  region;  feeling  of  weight  and  pressure  of 


f.-enerul  Vlinii-s.  368 

slone  in  stomach;  very  thirsty;  abdomen  swoUcn  and  burn- 
ing with  bearing  clown  pains  therein,  loosenese  of  bowels; 
mucous  yellow  liquid  stools;  pulse  one  hundred;  pain  and 
throbbing  in  temples;  flushes  on  left  cheek;  red,  circular 
spot  on  right  side  of  face  below  malar  bone  the  size  of  a 
two  bit  piece,  hot  and  burning  to  tlic  touch;  no  appetite 
whatever,  can  not  bear  food;  "cracking  in  jaw  when  eat- 
ing. I  prescribed  Lao  Caninvm  lowi,  a  powder  every  three 
hours  dissolved  in  water.  Sep.  17.  Returns  to  my  oflice 
generally  improved;  has  appetite;  all  symptoms  removed  ex- 
cept burning  in  Fitomachand  abdomen;  pulse  eighty;  repeated 
medicine.  Sep.  25.  Reports  herself  quite  well  has  been  since 
the  zoth,  the  date  when  my  last  prescription  was  finished. — 
Dr.  D.  a,  HiLLEU,  San  Francisco. 


Clinical  Cases — Case  I — Disury — Canthakis  tixct. 
— A  young  11 M married  man  had  several  weeks  previous  been 
sufTcring  with  intermittent  fever  and  been  treated  by  an  old 
school  physician.  He  came  to  me  after  the  paroxysms  were 
broken  and  said  he  had  a  dull,  heavy  pain  in  the  front  part 
of  his  head  and  running  back  to  his  neck;  he  was  of  a  jaun- 
dicial  appearance  and  constipated;  was  also  suffering  with 
retention  of  urine,  attended  by  a,  sharp  p.iin  in  the  perinicum 
and  testes,  and  the  urine  came  away  in  drops  with  great  pain. 
I  thought  on  the  whole  that  Xux  fom.  was  the  remedy,  and 
gave  him  the  tliird  dec.  dilution.  The  next  day  the  pain  in 
his  head  was  relieved  and  the  action  of  the  bowels  was 
almost  natural,  but  llie  urinary  organs  were  in  no  better  con- 
dition and  1  had  to  relieve  him  with  the  catheter.  The  next 
day  his  bowels  were  regular  and  the  jaundiced  look  was  not 
so  prominent;  still,  however,  the  urine  was  voided  drop  by 
drop  with  much  distress.  I  then  gave  him  drop  doses  of 
CautharU  o  every  two  hours  with  complete  relief  after  the 
third  dose. 

Cask  11 — Retention — Cantuahis  tinct. — A  man  ap- 
phed  to  me  saying  that  he  had  a  valuable  horse  that  could 
not  make  water  although  he  tried  continually  and  it  came 
slowly  in  drops,     I  gave  him  Canthafis  o  and  directed  him 


364  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

to  give  one  drop  in  a  pint  of  water.  He  seemed  incredulous 
of  the  power  of  so  small  a  dose,  but  gave  it  with  complete 
relief. 

Cask  III — Whooping  Cough — A  little  girl,  aet,  three  years 
suflering  with  whooping  cough.  I  gave  her  drop  doses  of 
Drosera,  first,  and  Corallium  rubrum  alternately  every  four 
hours,  beginning  the  second  week,  not  having  seen  her 
sooner,  and  continued  this  one  week.  The  third  week  after 
the  attack  she  was  taken  with  a  convulsion  and  great  rigidity 
of  the  body,  and  cold  sweat  with  great  drowsiness  after  the 
paroxysm.  I  gave  Veratrum  alb. 6  one  week,  every  two 
hours,  and  the  fourth  week  1  returned  to  Droaera  alone,  one 
dose  a  day  and  by  the  end  of  the  fifth  week  she  was  well. 
The  old  school  physician  of  this  place  meantime  said  that 
pertussis  could  not  be  controlled,  but  would  run  its  course  in 
from  ten  to  fifteen  weeks. 

Cask  IV — WhOoping  Cough — Iod.  pot. — A  young  lady, 
aet.  nineteen;  took  Iodide  of  potassium  in  the  catarrhal  stage 
of  whooping  cough  and  was  entirely  well  in  three  weeks, 
not  taking  any  other  remedy  and  taking  it  only  during  the 
first  week— J.  C.  Kilgour,  M.  D. 

PosT-MoRTEM. — Mrs.  E.J.  S.,  aet.  sixty  years.  Gall  stones 
were  found  in  hepatic  duct  and  gall  bladder;  in  ]^the  latter 
over  one  hundred  were  found  about  the  size  of  large  squirrel 
shot;  liver  weighed  one  and  a  half  pounds;  left  lobe  very 
small;  spleen  diminished  in  size  to  about  one- half  its  normal 
size.  Remedies  used  for  about  two  years:  Ars.^  China^ 
MercuriuSy  Podophyllum  and  Sulphur,  The  trouble  was  of  a 
malarial  origin;  the  stool  was  carefully  examined  but  none 
ever  found.  Of  the  remedies  used  Ars,  appeared  to  do  the 
most  good. — T.  Ryall,  M.  D.,  Savannah,  Ga. 


f  "5s!ddcal  n.n&  Ei|tia«coIngicaI. 


A  Cass  of  Hour  (Jlafls  Contraction  With  Uterine  Fibroma, 

By  George  C.  JclVcry.  M.  D.,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

I  was  cnlled  on  September  sad,  to  attend  Mrs.  L — ,iii  Inbor, 
am!  as  the  results  of  lite  case  present  some  points  of  interest, 
I  contribute  a  report  of  it,  for  the  consideration  of  your 
rea<lei"s. 

The  messenger  arrived  about  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning^ 
nnd  informed  me  that  my  presence  was  desired  without  delay. 
Upon  arriving  1  found  my  patient  was  having  pains,  at 
stated  periods,  in  the  front  part  of  the  abdomen,  indicating 
the  dilatory  process  of  the  circular  fibers  of  the  uterus.  I 
made  an  examination  nnd  found  the  os  dilated  to  about  the 
.■size  of  a  fifty  cent  piece.  After  determining  that  I  had  a 
veitcx  presentation  and  with  the  belief  that  a  couple  of  hours 
would  elapse  before  my  services  would  be  actively  required^ 
I  left  my  patient  promising  to  return  within  an  hour.  The 
specified  time  elapsed  and  I  was  at  iity  patient's  door.  The 
moment  that  I  entered,  the  husband  and  several  others  inter, 
estcd  in  the  patient's  welfare  greeted  me  with  such  pressing 
demands  that   I   hurried  to  my  patient's  room  without  delay. 

I  found  her  in  tlie  last  expulsive  pain.  I  Iind  just  time  to 
get  my  coal  off,  wheti  the  additional  daughter  of  the  house- 
hold laid  her  head  gently  in  my  hand  as  it  was  protruding 
through  the  external  labii.  So  much  done  in  haste.  I  sat  down 
and  with  leisure  awaited  the  appearance  of  the  placenta. 
After  waiting  for  an  hour  without  the  afterbirth  being  ex 
pcllt-d  I  concluded  to  take  it  away. 

I  introduced  my  hand  and  without  trouble  or  delay  deliv- 
ered it.  I  naturally  concluded  that  my  duties  were  now  over, 
and  to  doubly  assure  myself  placed  my  hands  upon  the  abdo- 
men to  delect  whether  the  uterus  had  properly  contracted 
or  not.  When  to  my  surprise  my  hand  came  in  contact  with 
something  enclosed  within  the  womb  that  gave  the  imprcs, 
Nov-3 


366  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

sion  of  a  child's  head.  To  satisfy  myself  at  this  surprising 
revelation,  I  again  introduced  my  hand  within  the  uterus 
and  when  partially  advanced  to  the  fundus,  was  impeded 
by  an  hour  glass  contraction  that  barely  admitted  the  passage 
of  my  two  fingers  through  its  orifice.  By  gradual  pressure 
outwards  it  was  overcome  only  to  return  with  each  succeed- 
ing after  pain  and  so  powerful  indeed  were  its  contraction  at 
the  orifice,  that  it  was  only  with  the  most  determined  fortitude 
that  I  could  bear  my  fingers  to  remain  within  it.  Finally  my 
hand  passed  it,  when  to  my  surprise  I  found  a  growth  within 
the  fundus  that  in  si^e  would  compare  with  a  man's  fist.  After 
careful  consideration  and  from  the  fact  of  its  tenacity,  I  reason- 
ably concluded  that  I  had  a  fibroid  tumor. 

The  case  was  a  new  one  to  me,  and  I  immediately  sent  for 
a  professional  friend  who  confirmed  my  diagnosis.  When  I 
first  saw  my  patient  in  the  morning,  I  prescribed  a  few  drops 
oi  Pulsatilla  tincture  in  a  glass  half  full  of  water,  of  which 
she  had  but  one  dose.  I  doubt  not  that  it  was  the  eflTect  of 
this  remedy  upon  the  longitudinal  fibres  of  the  uterus  that 
produced  the  rapid  expulsive  pains  of  which  she  had  but 
three;  and  from  the  rapidity  of  these  pains  the  hour  glass 
contraction  resulted.  The  patient  is  getting  along  satisfac- 
torily and  should  an}'  abnormal  phenomena  arise  from  the 
presence  of  the  tumor  I  will  advise  you  in  the  future. 


Fost-Fartxim  Eemorrhage. 

When  the  October  Advance  arrived,  I  read  the  editorials, 
then  Prof.  Sanders'  article  on  obstetric  and  regimenial  treat- 
ment of  after  pains,  then  Prof.  Hunt's  article  on  Post-Par- 
tum  Hemorrhage  and  was  reminded  of  my  experience  with 
a  case  of  labor  a  few  months  ago. 


Obstelricnl  and   Gynaicolngical. 


367 


I  attended  two  full  courses  of  Prof.  Hunt's  lectures,  and 
occasionally  a  Icclure,  or  part  of  one,  afterwards,  and  at  ex- 
amination, when  the  question  was  asked  me,  "What  would 
you  do  in  a  case  of  post-partum  hemorrhage?"  I  answered 
promptly,  "Externnl  pressure  and  turn  out  the  clots;"  and 
was  about  to  add  my  ideas  of  internal  medication  (theory?) 
hut  was  interrupted. 

With  the  case  noted  above  it  was  the  woman's  second 
labor.  Her  first  gestation  was  dropsical,  with  very  troiihle- 
some  dyspniea,  and  bursting  of  ihe  cutaneous  veins  nearly 
nil  over  the  body — the  hips,  thighs  and  abdomen  being  the 
worst.  A  spontaneous  bursting  of  the  waters  occurred 
ahout  the  eighth  month,  with  great  relief;  labor  came  on  at 
term,  lasting  about  fifteen  hours,  having  been  tedious,  and 
after  pains  were  intense.  The  child  died  in  a  few  weeks  of 
hydrocephalus,  and  the  mother,  at  the  end  of  six  weeks  was 
able  to  walk  and  he  out  of  bed,  She  then  came  under  my 
care,  and  in  four  or  five  months  she  again  became  pregnant. 

Grativogcl's  article  on  treatment  of  hydrocephalus  and  its 
preventive,  had  interested  me,  but  although  I  am  naturally 
iaiy  I  hate  specifics,  or  the  idea  of  it  rather.  He  recom- 
mends  Calc.  phosp.  6x  one  day  and  Sulph.  &x  the  other  day. 

I  concluded  to  treat  my  ca.ie  homccopathically,  or  as  near 
it  as  I  could.  Caic.  pho*.  was  indicated,  and  when  so,  she 
received  it  in  2x.  Sulphur  was  seldom  called  for,  Some  few 
others  were  given  also  when  seemingly  indicated. 

Gestation  was  no  inconvenience  to  her,  the  cosmetic  ap- 
pearances was  all  that  interfered  with  it  as  a  true  maternal 
pleasure.  The  rupture  of  the  cutaneous  veins  have  gradu- 
ally healed  and  disappeared,  contrary  to  expectations.  La- 
bor came  on  at  prolonged  term,  and  first  stage  was  about 
four  hours  long,  while  in  the  second,  three  pains  ended  it, 
and  the  third  stage  must  have  followed  simultaneously,  for 
the  placenta  was  noticed  in  the  vagina  just  after  tying  the 
cord  and  handing  the  child  to  the  nurse.  In  a  few  minutes  a 
tumor  was  felt  rising  above  the  pubis,  and  up  above  the 
umbilicus  in  the  mother— and  with,  as  Prof.  Hunt  so  char- 
acteristically expresses  it,   that  "far  ofl'"  and  "let  mc  alone" 


368  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

look.  I  remembered  "external  pressure  and  turn  out  the 
clots."  I  used  external  manipulation  and  succeeded  in  com- 
pressing the  uteurs  into  about  its  proper  place,  but  it  wouldn't 
stay  there;  this  I  did  more  or  less  for  several  hours  and  at 
last  put  on  a  very  tight  bandage,  and  after  pains  were  ex- 
cessive, especially  when  the  child  would  nurse.  After  about 
ten  hours  I  concluded  that  I  must  exhibit  Ergot  to  hold  the 
uterus  down,  and  I  did  so,  using  six  pellets  medicated  with 
the  thirtieth  dilution  of  Secale  cornutumy  placed  dry  on  the 
tongue;  another  dose  in  two  hours;  result  excellent;  she  has 
always  been  a  very  hearty  eater;  Jno  riiore  bother  with  the 
uterus;  scarcely  perceptible  hemorrhage;  after  pains  less  and 
less,  and  next  day  no  complaint  from  them  and  no  more 
medicine.  The  mother  sat  up  in  bed  of  her  own  accord  on 
the  second  day  and  could  hardly  be  kept  in  bed  till  the 
fourth  day,  and  walked  down  stairs  to  dinner  on  the  thir- 
teenth day.  About  fourteenth  day  some  bright  blood  ap- 
peared in  the  lochia,  and  one  dose  of  Secale ^o  was 
again  administered.  Child  hearty  and  strong  limbed. 
Mother  still  takes  an  occasional  dose  of  Calc.  phosp,  2x  when 
indicated,  for  I  think  her  system  is  wanting  in  those  elenjents 
and  the  child  takes  all  that  comes  to  her  through  her  food. 

Yes,  I  am  in  favor  of  Ergot,  and  I  am  in  favor  of  homoeo- 
pathic colleges  teaching  all  the  mechanical  means  necessary 
in  cases  of  emergency,  but  unless  they  require  each  member 
of  the  faculty  to  also  teach  scientific  therapeutics,  they  do 
not  deserve  to  be  recognized  as  homoeopathic  colleges.  And 
as  "supply  should  equal  the  demand,"  the  demand  is  coming 
when  more  scientific  teaching  will  be  required  than  iVwar. 
tincture  as  the  specific  in  dysmenorrhoea;  Aconite  tinct., 
Hepar  and  Spongia,  ix  each  dissolved  in  separate  glasses  of 
water  and  given  alternately  every  half  hour,  as  specific  for 
croup;  Quinine  in  intermittent  fever,  etc.,  etc. — J.  F.  E. 


Miscellaneous.  369 


Fost-Faitum  Hemorrhages. 

My  .experience  coincides  exactly  with  that  of  Dr.  Guern- 
sey in  the  management  of  post-partum  and  all  other  hemor- 
rhages of  like  nature  produced  by  diseased  condition  of  the 
system.  With  over  thirty  years  of  practice,  very  largely  of 
an  obstetrical  character,  I  rely  exclusively  upon  the  applica- 
tion of  homoeopathic  law  in  the  cure  of  all  such  cases,  and  I 
know  of  many  others  who  are  just  as  firm  in  their  faith. 
Trusting  to  the  homoeopathic  remedy  and  using  no  other  mean  s 
no  case  of  hemorrhage  has  yet  slipped  through  my  hands 
"before  the  remedy  has  had  time  to  act."  If  the  indications 
for  the  remedy  have  been  verified  and  if  the  reliability  of 
the  preparation  to  be  administered  has  been  previously  tested 
I  should  not  hesitate  to  trust  even  the  highest  attenuations  in 
such  cases.  I  have  more  confidence  in  the  promptness  of 
action  of  the  homoeopathic  remedy  operating  through  the 
law  of  nature,  similia  similibus  curantur,  than  I  could  have 
in  a  hap-hazard  application  suggested  by  the  judgment  or 
ingenuity  of  those  who  ignore  that  law. — ^Tiio.  Moore, 
M.  D.,  (in  Sept.  Horn.  Times). 


-• 


ht$lUmmi. 


Saul  Among  the  Prophets. 

Dear  Mr.  Editor: — I  live  way  up  here  among  the  woods 
and  am  not  always  sure  the  world  is  turning  on  its  axis.  In 
fact,  if  the  sun  and  moon  were  to  stand  still  or  even  go  back- 


370  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

ward  I  am  not  sure  I  would  be  any  wiser  for  it  for  we  haven't 
got  any  daily  papers  here.  But  Uncle  Sam  has  established 
a  post  office  at  the  cross  roads,  about  a  mile  from  our  place 
and  I  get  now  and  then  a  letter  or  a  circular  from  t^e  out- 
side world.  I  got  a  circular  the  other  day,  which,  when  I 
had  read  it,  took  away  my  breath  and  paralyzed  my  vocal 
cords  so  that  I  haven't  spoken  above  a  whisper  since.  The 
circular  I  refer  to  was  No.  3(1  won't  say  the  last,  for  there 
may  have  been  several  issued  since  this  one)  of  the  Cleve- 
land Homoeopathic  Hospital  College  for  the  year  1878.  My 
first  impression  upon  reading  it  was  that  I  had  gone  insane. 
I  had  a  vision  of  the  Cincinnati  Sanitarium  flitting  through 
my  broken  and  demoralized  mind,  I  asked  the  post  master, 
who  is  a  member  of  the  church,  to  read  it  and  he  did  so,  but 
he  also  was  insane.  I  took  it  home  to  my  wife,  who  is  a 
pious  woman,  and  she  was  equally  off  as  to  her  mental 
equilibrium.  I  then  got  my  youngest  child,  a  dear  little 
prattler  whose  sanity  had  never  been  impeached,  to  read  the 
circular.  He  spelled  it  out,  letter  by  letter,  and  to  my  utter 
dismay,  he  too  had  gone  daft.  Hear  him  and  judge  for 
yourself:  "P-r-o-f."  ''Professor,"  I  suggested.  "Professor  it 
is,"  he  snid,  with  a  wicked  blink  of  his  eye.  "S.  R,  B-e-c-k- 
w-i-t-h,  L-ec-t-u-r-e-r  on  S-u-r-g-i  c-a-1  D-e-f-o-r-m-i-t-ie-s." 
Poor  little  fellow  he  could  only  say  the  letter.  He  could  not 
pronounce  the  words  much  less  understand  their  meaning. 
Thank  Heaven!  I  did  not  break  their  awful  meaning  to  his 
young  heart.  So  far  the  terrible  secret  is  all  my  own.  Not 
a  man,  woman  or  child  in  all  this  section,  save  myself,  knows 
that  the  Cleveland  Homoeopathic  Hospital  College  admit, 
women  students.  They  would  be  heart  broken  indeed  if  they 
knew  what  this  champion  opponent  of  '''-mixed  classes^^  was 
sacrificing-  in  order  to  hold  a  position  in  this  mixed  school. 
He,  the  one  great  leader  against  women  doctors  in  "men's 
schools,"  now  glad  to  take  the  humble  position  of  "lecturer" 
in  a  college  where  women  are  admitted  "on  the  same  terms 
as  men."  Toward  what  Damasct^*  has  our  worthy  friend 
been  traveling  that  he  has  tiius  suddenly  been  converted.^ 
Henceforth  his  name  shall  be  no  more  Seth  but  Saul,  for  he 


Mtscellaneotis.  371 

is  at  last  found  on  the  Lord's  side  and  among  his  prophets. 
My  wife  says  I'm  badly  mixed  on  my  Bible  quotations  and 
have  confounded  the  king  with  the  apostle.  Very  likely; 
and  I  submit  to  you,  Mr.  Editor,  that  in  these  degenerate 
days  it  is  the  regular  thing  to  get  "mixed."  But  pray  don't 
let  them  send  me  any  more  circulars.  If  any  more  of  my 
professional  friends  are  going  to  go  back  on  their  record 
that  way  don't  for  heaven's  sake  publish  it  to  the  world. 
We'll  all  be  crazy  if  you  do.  Yours,  Quidmuck,  Bungle- 
town,  September  20,  1878. 


■♦  ♦■ 


News  from  the  Colleges. 

University  of  Michigan. — The  opening  exercises  of 
this  college  were  inaugurated  by  an  "anti-lecture"  address  de- 
livered by  Prof.  E.  C.  Franklin,  Dean,  on  the  first  of  October, 
before  a  large  and  appreciative  class,  fully  equal  in  number 
to  the  preceding  year.  The  professor  dwelt  upon  the  im- 
portance of  a  thorough  knowledge  of  surgery  which  can 
only  be  acquired  by  close  attention  to  the  minor  details,  a 
close  study  of  their  processes  gradually  leading  to  the  more 
complex  or  important  operations  which  constitute  the  work- 
ing field  of  the  practical  surgeon.  Prof.  *S.  A.Jones  follow- 
ed with  an  able  address  in  the  department  of  materia  medica, 
and  held  his  audience  spell  bound  by  a  logical  and  masterly 
address  on  the  direction  of  his  specialty.  On  the  second. 
Prof  C.  B.  Gatchell,  who  holds  the  Chair  of  Theory  and  Prac- 
tice, inaugurated  his  course  by  a  beautifully  written  lecture 
on  the  past  history  of  medicine  to  the  Hahnemannian  epoch 
and  dwelt  largely  upon  the  scientific  therapeutics  of  similia. 
The  school  is  in  a  prosperous  condition  and  students  are 
coming  in  daily.     The  senior  class  now  here  number  nearly 


372  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

forty.  With  an  earnest  and  harmonious  faculty  and  with 
yearly  increasing  matriculants,  this  school  is  developing  a 
position  and  strength  second  to  none  in  the  country: 

Hahnemann  Medical  College  and  Hospital  of 
Chicago. — Hahnemann  opened  October  first  with  a  class  of 
one  hundred  students,  and  forty  more  have  come  in  since. 
The  order  of  exercises  at  the  opening  consisted  of  an  address 
by  the  president.  Dr.  Small,  an  opening  address  by  Prof. 
Hawkcs,  and  music  by  the  St.  Ceceila  Quartette  (four  ladies). 
The  lecture  room  was  crowded  with  an  audience  of  over 
two  hundred  and  fifty  persons.  On  October  second  a  ban- 
quet was  tendered  the  students  at  the  opening  of  the  hospi- 
tal course.  Each  student  was  introduced  to  every  professor 
and  then  followed  short  speeches,  music,  etc.  About  fifty  or 
sixty  more  students  are  expected,  and  the  indications  are  that 
the  class  will  be  much  larger  than  last  year. 

Hahnemann  Medical  College  of  Philadelphia. — 
We  opened  yesterday  the  thirty-first  annual  session,  with  one 
hundred  and  fifty  names  on  our  register,  with  prospects  that 
the  number  will  reach  two  hundred.  Fully  one-third  of  our 
class  take  the  graded  three  years'  course.  No  female  stu- 
dents. Have  added  new  or  third  lecture  room,  for  better  car- 
rying out  the  graded  bourse.  Our  students  attend  six  college 
clinics  and  four  hospital  clinics  per  week.  Have  practical 
courses  in  anatomy,  surgery,  obstetrics,  chemistry  and  micro- 
scopy. Our  alumni  are  one  thousand,  four  hundred  and 
forty-nine  in  number. 

Pulte  Medical  College. — We  opened  on  the  evening 
of  the  third  by  an  address  by  Prof.  D.  W.  Hartshorn  on  the 
history  of  medicine.  Next  morning  a  class  of  forty  gentle- 
men reported,  and  since  that,  over  fifty  have  entered  on  the 
matriculation  register.  This  is  far  better  than  we  had  hoped 
for,  owing  to  the  many  serious  obstacles  which  had  been 
thrown  in  our  way.  These  obstacles  at  last  surmounted,  we 
have  the  most  cheering  prospects  before  us.     Our  improved 


MiscellaneotM.  373 

clinical  and  hospital  facilities  make  our  present  course  highly 
attractive  and  useful  to  students.  In  money  received  and 
students  in  attendance,  we  are  in  advance  so  far  of  any  pre- 
vious term. 

The  Homceopathic  Medical  Department  of  Iowa. — 
We  opened  on  the  ninth  inst.,  with  a  class  of  twenty-six 
students,  a  larger  class  than  our  friends  had  anticipated. 
Prof.  Cowperthwaite  delivered  the  op)ening  address  to  a 
large  audience,  composed  partly  of  the  students  in'the  allo- 
pathic department.  The  harmony  which  has  heretofore 
existed  between  the  two  schools  of  medicine  in  the  Iowa 
University  has  proved  of  great  benefit  to  each,  and  it  is  to 
be  hoped  that  it  may  continue.  The  homoeopathic  depart- 
ment has  a  new  building  erected  by  the  State  for  its  exclu- 
sive use,  and  has  started  off,  as  we  trust,  on  a  permanent  and 
prosperous  career. 


A  Few  Earnest  Words  About  Yellow  Pever.    By  W,  H.  Hol- 

combe,  M.  I).,  New  Orleans. 

I  have  a  few  earnest  words  to  say  to  the  friends,  nurses 
and  physicians  of  yellow  fever  patients.  There  are  three 
great  causes  of  the  large  mortality  in  this  disease. 

1.  Special  intensity  of  the  poison  acting  upon  the  indi- 
vidual case.  This  can  not  bo  foreseen  or  prevented.  This 
cause  is  irremediable.  Fortunately  these  malignant  cases 
are  rare. 

2.  Injudicious  or  inefficient  medical  treatment.  This  sub- 
ject, belonging  especially  to  the  medical  profession,  can  not 
be  discussed  in  a  newspaper. 


374 


Cincinnati  Mediaal  Advance. 


3.  Bad  general  manageraent,  and  here,  nurses  especially,  ' 
the  public;  generally,  and  even  soma  professional  men,  need 
a  word  of  cau  tion  and  advice. 

The  yellow  fever  patient  should  be  put  to  bed  after  taking 
a  warni'  foot  bath,  not  i\  ecalding  muetard  bath,  and  covered 
with  one  ebeet,  and  one  blanket  or  quilt.  The  room  should 
bo  well  ventilated,  without  letting  a  direct  current  of  air  fall 
upon  the  patient,  and  ho  should  be  allowed  to  drink  fre- 
quently, but  moderately,  of  cool  or  cold  water. 

Now,  instead  of  tins  simple  and  sensible  method,  baaed 
upon  sound  physiological  and  hygienic  principles,  what  do 
wo  often  see?  The  attendants  are  all  in  a  perfect  panic  of 
haste  to  get  the  patient  into  a  profaso  sweat  as  soon  as  pos- 
sible. Ho  irt  scalded  in  his  bath,  covered  almost  to  suffoca- 
tion with  blankets  and  quilts,  crammed  with  hot  drinks,  and  ' 
denied  a  drop  of  cold  water,  whilst  the  corridors  and  doors 
arc  shut,  and  the  atmosphere  of  the  room  made  unbearable 
and  unhealthy. 

I  was  called  to  a  man  lately  who  bad  been  wrapped  or 
rolled  over  in  blankets  until  ho  looked  like  a  roll  of  carpet- 
ing. The  room  was  ns  hot  as  a  close  kitchen  in  summer. 
He  had  been  dosed  with  hot  teas,  denied  water  and  air,  suf- 
focated, held  down  by  the  force  of  four  women,  for  twelve  | 
or  fourteen  hours.  He  was  furiously  delirious,  and  died  in 
two  hours  afterwards  with  congestion  of  the  brain. 

This  horrible  case  of  bad  management,  with  the  kindest 
intentions  on  the  part  of  IViends,  is  only  an  exaggerated 
picture  of  what  occurs  in  every  sick  room,  where  the  siok 
man  is  denied  God's  greatest  blessings — air,  light  and  water. 
The  fact  is,  yellow  fever  can  stand  more  fresh  air  and  cold 
water  than  any  other  disease.  A  great  deal  of  the  mortality 
has  been  caused  by  over  heating  and  over  sweating  in  the 
first  stage.  It  must  have  been  especially  fatal  to  young 
children. 

Another  point  of  bad  management  is  the  effort  to  keep  up 
a  perspiration  during  the  second  stiige  of  the  disease,  which 
is  a  stage  of  great  debility  and  sometimes  of  utter  proatPft- 
tion.     If  any  bad  eiymptoraa  occur,  nurses,  doelurs  and  all 


Mi»cella> 


3T5 


aeem  to  tliink  that  if  tbo  patient  can  only  bo  made  to  per- 
spire, all  will  bo  right.  Soniotimea  the  same  violent  meas- 
ures used  at  first  are  resorted  to  again  and  with  almost  in- 
variably fatal  result,  so  that  a  fine  perspiration  one  day  and 
black  vomit  and  death  the  next  day,  are  almost  related  like 
cause  and  effect.  It  reminds  one  of  the  newsboy  ovy  of 
'■Confederate  victory,"  which  nearly  always  meant  Coaf^- 
erate  defeat. 

Yellow  fever  patients,  in  myopinioo,  are  very  often  under- 
fed. They  are  denied  absoiutolj-  everything  for  two  or 
three  daya,  and  by  that  time,  with  purging,  sweating  and 
starvation,  they  sink  into  a  statb  of  frightful  ucrvonsnesa 
and  debility.  The  distressing  symptoms  which  then  arise 
arc  considered  still  further  indications  for  extreme  absti- 
nence, and  the  blood  making  apparatus  is  lofl  perfectly  idle 
at  a  time  the  blood  most  needs  its  recuperative  supplies,  I 
have  allowed  a  good  cnp  of  tea  with  plenty  of  milk  in  it, 
throe  times  a  day,  to  my  patients,  with  a  cracker  or  piece  of 
toast  added,  if  they  desired  it,  during  tlie  febrile  stage.  As 
the  (aver  subsides  and  the  second  stage  approaches,  give 
chicken  and  beef  tea  regularly  every  two  hours  all  day — one 
or  two  tahtespoonaful  at  a  dose.  At  night  give  milk  punch, 
made  with  brandy,  in  the  same  doses,  Iced  champagne  a 
toaspoonful  or  two  every  hour,  is  very  acceptable  and  useful 
to  some  cases.     More  food,  gentlemen,  and  less  medicine. 

Many  yellow  fever  patients  are  overnurted.  This  may 
seem  strange  but  it  is  true.  Incessant  and  intelligent  vigi- 
linicp  is  required  of  the  yellow  fever  nurse,  but  if  the  nurse 
corifiidera  it  his  or  her  principal  duty  to  keep  the  patient 
under  enter  at  all  hazards — the  pour  patient  in  the  second 
wtagc  continually  watched,  and  "tucked  in."  and  scolded  and 
hectored,  is  miide  more  and  more  nervous  and  wakeful,  and 
i(  starved  and  ph>sieked  at  the  aame  time,  is  sure  to  die, 
A  sick  raan  may  be  as  much  worried  by  the  overdone  atten- 
tions of  nurses  and  friends  as  Jetforson  Davis  was  by  the 
sentinel  eternally  gliding  at  him  from  the  window. 

The  yellow  tever  sick  room  is  haunted  by  many  old  and 
absurd  traditions  and  supcrBtilJons.     It  is  the  business  of  the 


376 


Cirtciiifiail  Merlical  Adeanci 


roiidical  profession  to  dissipate  tbis  darkness  and  let  in  the 
light  of  seienco.  Lot  us  always  consult  nature,  and  bo  sure 
that  tlio  seiiaations  and  instincts  of  our  patients  are  fre- 
quently better  guides  than  onr  own  tlieoriea  of  the  disease. 
We  sometimeB yield  too  complacently  to  prejudice  and  un- 
founded opinions.  Seformera  must  be  ready  to  confront 
error,  misreprosentation  and  abuse.  Let  ua  feel  sure  wo  are 
right,  and  then,  like  G-eneral  Jackson,  assume  the  reapoii- 
Bibility. 


Th9  Tellow  Fever  Commission' 


Dv.  Woodwortb,  of  the  Marine  Hoepital  Service,  has  or- 
ganized a  Commission  to  inquire  into  the  Ktiology,  patho- 
logy and  prevention  of  yellow  (ever,  said  Commission  to 
report  to  the  approaching  meeting  of  tho  American  Public 
Health  Association  at  Bichmoud. 

Work  of  this  kind,  performed  by  surgeons  of  the  army 
and  navy,  is  notoriously  ex-parte  and  unfair,  as  may  be  seen 
by  reference  to  the  portly  volume  issnod,  at  the  expense  of 
the  Government,  by  this  same  Dr.  Woodworth,  upon  the 
visitation  of  Asiatic  cholera  in  1873. 

Having  been  within  the  limits  of  that  scourge  and  having 
seen  much  of  its  ravages,  1  was  supplied,  as  other  physicians 
were,  with  blanks,  upon  which  to  report  cuaca  treated,  with 
spaces  in  which  to  place  the  name  of  each  person,  tho  char- 
acteristics ot  the  case,  the  remedies  employed  and  thu  result. 
I  used  all  the  blanks  sent  mo  and  applied  for  more,  making 
a  faithful  return  of  sixty-two  cases,  treated  homCBOpathically, 
with  but  one  death. 

I  do  not  know  what  kind  of  returns  other  practitioners 
made;  but  I  venture  that  not  an  allopath  in  the  State  made 
out  BO  full  a  report  and  so  favorable  a  result. 


Mitcellaneoi 


8T7 


Surgeon  McGlellan,  wlio  gathered  np  the  reports  from  tUe 
flulj,  had  the  name  of  every  one  of  my  patJCDte  and  could 
Imvc  disproved  my  groat  euccesB  if  my  roturDS  were  in  any 
wise  untrue ;  and  yot,  while  he  dwell  upon  the  prescriptions, 
made  by  other  physicians  in  Tennessee,  whose  success  was 
not  to  bo  compared  with  mine,  he  never  made  one  word  of 
mention  of  the  remedies  which  I  employed  nor  of  the  pro- 
phylactic measures  whieh  1  had  found  cfBcJent. 

So  wanting  was  the  whole  report  in  any  reference  to 
what  had  been  done  by  the  practitioners  of  Homeopathy 
in  the  southern  field,  the  editor  of  the  JVorlh  American  Jour- 
nal nf  Ili>m(Boiialhy,  while  noticing  the  book,  expressed  his 
astonishment  and  regret  that  none  of  our  phffticlans  i»  the 
South  had  taken  pains  to  keep  records  or  report  caaea,  ao  at  to 
appear  in  the  portly  volume. 

[And  here  I  will  do  the  tardy  justice  to  myself  to  say  that 
I  took  pains  to  inform  Brother  Lilienthai  of  the  true  sta,t« 
of  the  case,  and  that  my  communication  was  allowed  to  go 
into  the  waste  basket  in  place  of  bis  columns]. 

What  I  wish  now  to  enforce  is  the  idea  that  we  must  have 
a  Commission  of  our  own,  which  shall  gather  up  data  for  a 
faithful  report  of  what  Homoeopathy  has  done  in  this  terri- 
ble scourge,  which  is  staying  its  hundreds  in  my  State,  even 
while  I  am  writing  these  lines. 

We  must  have  our  report  ready  so  that  when  Surgeon 
Woodworth  comes  again  to  ask  Congress  for  money  to  pub- 
lish a  portly  volume  of  statistics,  observations  und  theories, 
gathered  alone  from  men  of  his  own  ilk,  our  friends  upon 
the  floor  can  move  an  amendment  like  this  :  provided,  the 
tlaCistica  gathered  by  the  l/om<Bopathie  Commiaaion  are  prop- 
erly embraced  in  aaid  publication. 

There  has  been  enough  public  money  spent  to  gratify 
bigoted  and  intolerant  army  and  navy  surgeons ;  enough  of 
hunting  in  a  circle  lo  discover  nothing ;  enough  of  red  tupo 
and  nonsense. 

What  is  to  be  expected  of  the  meeting  of  the  American 
Public  Health  Association  at  Richmond  7 

That  ia  the  same  body  which,  though  originally  composed 
of  philanthropic  men  and  women,  as  well  as  medical  doctors, 


-  J 


378  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

at  its  meeting,  four  years  ago,  in  New  York  threw  out  the 
names  of  Dr.  T.  S.  Yerdi  and  Dr.  D.  W.  Bliss,  of  Washing- 
ton, who  were  applicants  for  membership. 

Why  were  those  men  kept  out? 

Were  they  not  educated  medical  men,  devoted  to  sanitary 
science  and  public  hygiene?    No  one  questioned  it. 

Both  were  active  members  of  the  Board  of  Health  of  the 
District  of  Columbia. 

Why,  then,  were  they  rejected  ? 

Simply  because  Dr.  Yerdi  was  a  homoeopath  and  Dr.  Bliss 
would  not  refuse  to  act  with  him  on  the  Board  of  Health  !  I 

Dr,  Bliss  had  been  expelled  from  the  Allopathic  Medical 
Society  of  the  District,  for  acting  on  that  Board  with  Dr. 
Yerdi — the  army  and  navy  surgeons  were  the  governing 
spirits  in  that  society — and,  of  course,  the  great  American 
P.  H.  Association  run  largely  by  those  same  surgeons,  could 
not  tolerate  the  ''irregulars !" 

Steps  are  being  taken  by  the  President  of  our  National 
Society  to  organize  a  Commission  to  inquire  into  the  present 
epidemic  and  its  homoeopathic  treatment,  and  we  hope  every 
practitioner,  under  the  law  similia,  will  be  prepared  to  fur- 
nish a  full  account  of  all  cases  seen  and  treated  by  him. 

Homoeopathy  owes  its  rapid  extension  in  this  country, 
especially  in  the  South  and  West,  to  its  great  success  in  the 
fearful  epidemics  of  yellow  fever  and  Asiatic  cholera. — J.  P. 
Dake,  Nashville,  Tenn. 


^mm\  %Mt 


We  acknowledge,  with  great  pleasure,  the  receipt  of  a  small  manu- 
script of  Hahnemann's  own  writing.  It  is  the  gift  of  Mad.  Boenning- 
hausen  Hahnemann,  to  whom  we  return  grateful  acknowledgements. 
We  will  keep  the  treasure  while  we  live,  and  then  will  it  to  our  heirs 
and  their  successors  forever.    Our  friends  can  see  it  by  calling  on  us 


Editor's  Table. 


^^V  Dr.  J.  P.  Bake  wrHea  from  Nnsliville:    "The  yellow  fever  is  all 

^^1  about  us  am!  we  bto  having  cases  licre  from  all  quarters.  This  land 
^^1  is  full  of  dealb  and  woe — we  see  it  and  hear  of  it  every  hour.  Our 
^^H  westber  is  hot  The  prayed  for  frost  delays  and  Goi.1  only  knows 
^^H         what  is  before  aa." 

^^H  DtPBTUEiu*  of  a  malignant  and  fatal  type  is  prevailing  in  Cleveland. 

^^H  It  threatens  lo  break  all  the  schools  up  and  all  the  doctors  down 
^H  unless  tliey  cojie  more  HUccessfully  with  il.  We  would  like  to  hear  re- 
^^1         porta  from  our  friends  there. 

^^1  The  Homoeopathic  Relief  Asaociati on  report  having  one  thousand 

^^H  and  fifty  CHses  of  yellow  fever  since  pommendng  tlieir  work,  Septem- 
^^H  ber  1st,  three  hundred  and  twenty-five  o(  wliU'h  are  slill  under  treat- 

^^^  ment.     Aside  from  furnishing  physicians,  nurses,  and  medicines  for 

^^H  such  sick,  suLsistence  for  their  families,  amounting  in  the  nggre- 
^^H  gate  to  five  thousand  persons,  has  also  been  supplied  by  tbe  Asso- 
^^H  ciation.  Tney  claim  an  average  death  rate  of  less  than  five  per  cent., 
^^1  with  all  present  patienta  doing  well.  They  have  accomplished  a  large 
^^1  amount  of  good  work  by  i^endin),'  physicians,  nursen  and  medicines 
^^1  into  the  interior  of  the  infected  .districts,  all  of  which  have  met  with 
^^H        success. 

^^H  The  HocheRter  Union  says   there  are  at  the  Auburn   Stale   Prison 

^^1        twenty-seven  clergymen,  forty-two  lawyers  and  thirt«en  doctors;  to 
^^H        which  we  odd  :  The  balance  of  the  convicts  may  be  credited  to  the 
^^1        clientage  of  the  clergymen  and  lawyers,  lor  not  to  our  knowledge 
^^1        have  the  doctors  aided  in  filling  the  penitentiary. 
^^1  Prof.  J.  U.  McClelland,  M.  D.,  of  Pittsburgh,  so  we  learn  from  pri- 

^^B  vate  sources,  has  accepted  an  invitation  to  delivcra  course  of  lectures 
^^*  on  Hillary  at  the  Boston  tlniversity  School  of  Medicine.     Thus  the 

balance  of  trade  seems  to  be  in  favor  of  the  West. 

"The  Nubse"  addressed  to  "Mothers,  the  Natural  Nurses,"  is  a  new 
work  now  in  press  by  C.  T.  Harris,  A.  M.,  M.  D.,  of  Ypsilanti,  Michi. 
gan.  We  have  had  the  pleasure  of  reading  the  MS8.  It  is  written  in 
language  devoid  of  unnecessary  technicalities,  and  well  adapted  to  the 
classof  readers  to  whom  it  is  addressed.    Tbe  lostchapter  is  devoted  lo 

IHomieopnthic  Cookery.  Those  having  charge  of  the  sick  room  will 
find  itstimely  bints  invaluable;  and  tbe  busy  practitioner  can  safely 
recommend  every  family  to  secure  a  copy.  It  gives  no  uncertain 
sound  on  tlie  Uomceopathy  of  Uabnemann. 
"R.  B."  (BoBKBTS  Baktwolow?)  has  been  to  "Yrrnp"  and  he  writes 
something  about  itio  an  allopathic  journal  in  this  city.  On  shipboard 
he  met  the  distinguished  hotmropnthist.  Dr.  E.  E.  Marcy  non  an  ac. 
togenarian,  whom  be  found  so  popular  one)  honored  among  tbe  pas- 


380 


C/m 


matt  Medical  Adva. 


Bengers,  that  be,  "R.  B.,"  dying  of  envy,  devotes  hiB  entire  letter  to 
abusing  tlie  genifll  old  gentlemen  and  covertly  sceuaea  liira  of  immoi^ 
ality  It  would  appear  that  a  coterie  of  tellowa  with  "R.  B."  at  their 
head  spent  moBt  of  their  time  mating  up  faces  ftt  Dr.  Marcy,  and 
playing  upon  him  practical  jokea.  Had  they  occopied  their  lime  set. 
ting  at  the  feet  of  this  grand  old  apostle  of  HomLBopathy,  they  might 
flrat  of  all  have  learned  good  manners  and  after  that,  somettitng  about 
medical  acience, 

Bhooklvs,  E.  D.,  Homn'opaltiic  Dispensary  reports  for  August,  '78, 
ten  hundred  and  thirty  patients.  This  is  a  fine  showing.  Our  rising 
young  friend.  Dr.  George  C.  JefTery,  is  physician  in  charge. 

"I  AM  ooiKO  hereafter  to  make  every  effort  to  liave  my  patientsi 
when  the  case  demands  special  treatment,  to  consult  honxcopathic 
specialists."  This  from  a  correspondent  recently  is  worthy  of  imita- 
tion, for  it  is  only  when  this  is  Inithfully  done  that  our  s]iecialists  can 
advance  our  school  to  its  proper  position  in  the  front  rank  of  success, 
fut  medical  practice. 

How  TO  BE  (get)  Plump.  Proverbs  XXVIII-25.  "He  that  puiteth 
his  tniBt  in  the  Lord  shall  be  made  fat." 

I  wotLU  dispose  of  my  house  and  lot  at  a  fair  price  to  any  good 
Horn,  physician,  with  practice  and  good  will  thrown  in.  Situated  in 
a  beautiful  college  town  of  four  thousand  people.  To  any  physician 
having  n  family  to  educate,  and  desiring  at  thesame  time  a  jkknI  pytefi««, 
this  is  a  rure  chance.  No  other  Horn,  physician  witliin  nine  miles. 
Satisfactory  reaeona  for  leaving.  For  particulars  address,  H.,  this 
office. 


KPITOUAL. 

Contagion 336 

Facts  n.  TlieorieA 344 

"Malignant"  Theory  and  Prac- 
tice  - 347 

Morbus  Coxariua 349 

The  Relation  of  the  Ciliary 
and  Recti  Muscles  from  a 
Therapeutic   Standpoint-...  353 

The  Relation  of  the  Fovea 
Centralis  to  the  Work  of 

Accommodation- 358 

jAa,  p.  G 


(JESEn*i.  ci.iNicB.         362 

OaSTETRKAl.    AND  (lYN^OOLOGICAL. 

A  Case  of  Hour  Glass  Con- 
tractions   305 

rost.Partuui  Ilemorrhtfgea.-  366 
Post-Partnm   Hemorrhages...  369 

HISCBU-ANEOt'S. 

Saul  Among  the  Prophets^-..  360 

News  from  the  Colleges 371 

A  Few  Earnest  Words  About 

Yellow  Fever - -  373 

The  Yellow  Fever  Commis. 


rNt^ 


T. 

P.  WILSON, 

U. 

D.  G.N.K*,. 

ED.TOK. 

Voi.tTME  VL 

Cincinnati, 

,0. 

,  Decbmbbr, 

,  1878. 

Number  8. 

All  business  commu 

"fr^^'l'^Br^ 

'z 

i;.ctn« 

,  0.    T« 

I™' 

:k,  should  be  .d- 
i.  «.«<  tt  year. 

A  QRAND  (Vp  itthU  is  what  the  young  doctor  eighs  for  when  he 
first  sets  himself  down  in  acomraunity  to  practice  medicine.  A  run- 
awBy  with  broken  bones  and  scalped  heads,  a  ronflagratioii,  with, 
somebody  half  consumed  by  fire,  some  one  mutilated  by  foolinf;  with. 
a  pistol,  a  child  nearly  drowned  or  chewed  up  by  a  favorite  dog,  what 
a  God-send  these  would  be  to  him  if  he  were  only  called  in  to  case 
for  them  t  But  while  he  is  waiting  for  these  things,  the  Bummer 
months  go'by  and  he  finds  the  winter  coming  on  with  hoary  frosts  to- 
nip  his  great  expectations  in  the  bud,  In  the  absence  of  such  catas> 
trophes,  what  can  a  young  doctor  do  to  distinguish  himself  7  In  many 
places  he  can  do  this:  be  can  with  profit  to  all,  look  up  the  sanitary 
condition  of  the  town.  The  attention  given  to  this  subject  is  gener- 
ally in  the  exact  ratio  to  the  sice  of  the  place.  A  large  city  has  gen- 
erally a  well  tirganised  sanitary  system.  Smaller  towns  pay  leesatten- 
tion,  and  many  a  country  village  pays  not  the  slightest  atteution  to 
matters  of  general  health.  And  this  is  the  reason  we  find  these  fear- 
ful outbreaks  of  diphtheria,  scarlet  fever  and  typhoid  fever  in  these 
small  places.  Incorporated  towns  have  special  means  afforded  them 
for  self- protection.  But  there  are  many  places  not  incorporated 
and  there  is  nothing  to  rely  upon  but  the  intelligence  and  good 
will  of  the  citizens,  In  many  instances  these  are  unfortunately  lack- 
ing. And  here  is  just  where  the  newly  arrived  doctor  can  make  him 
Dec-i  381 


382 


Ciiicinnaii  Medical  Adva. 


self  felt  for  good.     By  virtae  of  bis  learning  ho  poBsessea  a  peculiarl 
moral  power,  nnd  when  he  finds  exiating  an  abtiBe  of  hygienio  lavs,  J 
either  by  the  community  or  any  of  its  Hcparate  families,  tie  can  step  J 
in  and  correct  that  abuse.     If  he  has  atudied  sanitary  science,  he  J 
will  not  need  to  hove  these  things  pointed  out  to  him.    Hewillreadi-  ■. 
ly  determine,  for  himself  if  cellnra,  welln,  street  gulters,  ponds  of  wa-  I 
ter,  running  streams,  slaughter  houses,  privicB,  et«.,  etc.,  are  in  such  T 
conditions  as  do  not  imperil  the  lives  or  health  of  tbe  citixena. 
Let  bim  look  to  the  sanitary  conditions  of  the  churches,  public  halls, 
school  houses,  and  it  may  be  to  the  sleeping  apartments  of  the  peo 
pie.    Let  him  lecture,  at  least  talk,  or  it  may  be,  procure  some  one  . 
from  abroad  to  lecture  upon  sanitary  laws.     In  this  yio-y  he  will  In- 
come a  successful  and  popular  physician,  and  above  all  he  wiil  be  a  J 
benefactor  of  his  race. 

Pboasus  Hitched  to  a  Plow  is  nothing  compared  t( 
man  trying  to  practice  Uomieopathy  without possesaingaknowledg?  | 
of  tbe  principles  upon  which  that  practice  is  based.  A  recent  exchange  .1 
of  the  allopathic  school,  insist  that  there  is  nothing  in  the  written  o 
unwritten  code  of  their  school  to  prevent  one  of  their  number  from 
practicing  Homceopatby.      Well,  why  should  there  be?     There  is 
nothing  in  their  code  to  prevent  their  curing  all  their  patients  or  col- 
lecting all  their  hills.     The  impossibility  of  doing  these  things  is  ap- 
parent prima  jade.      An  allopath  can  not  practice  Homceopatby  tini- 
ply  because  he  dosen't  know  bow.    When  he  comes  to  know  bow  he  i 
is  no  longer  an  allopath.    And  that  is  exactly  what  troubles  the  camp  ■ 
of  the  "regulars."     Realising  the  danger  of  contact  they  wall  them- 
selves in  with  exclusiveness.    Knowing  the  contagious  character  of 
iiomceopathic  ideas,  the  old  school  keep  themselYes  in  perpetual 
quarantine.    They  make  frequent  exhibitions  of  their  billg  of  health  J 
in  order  to  be  assured  of  safety.    Now  and  then  they  cost  over  some  I 
unlucky  JoKAH,  in  order  to  have  their  ship  ride  with  more  safety,  J 
All  this  is  a  needless  anxiety,  for,  since  the  world  began,  oil  and  wa-  I 
ter  will  not  mix,      A  "regular  physician"  is  inherently  incapable  of 
using  remedies  homoeopath ically.     Using  an  attenuated  preparatioD 
of  a  drug  on  allopathic  principles  would  only  bring  failijre.    Using  it 
on  homoiopiithic  principles  makes  tliat  physician  a  homieopath.  Hie  I 
success  that  follows  leads  to  the  adoption  of  tbe  law  Simiiia.    At  this  ] 
point  the  code  of  ethics  erects  the  guillotine,  and  an  execution  fol- 1 
lows.      Well,  there's  some  satisfaction  in  knowing  that  the  bead  t>e- 
longs  to  the  one  tJiat  is  executed ;  the  headless  trunk  belongs  to  the 
Byslem  that  ordered  the  decapitation.    And  to  this  day  the  allopathic 
school  is  on  acephalous  system  of  therapeutice.      It  has  no  guiding 
juinciple  that  it  dare  follow  beyond  the  first  or  second  step,  other. 


'1 I 

.f  ■ 

uiuing  J 

other,  ^^m 


Editorial.  3 

wise  that  principle  would  constitute  a  "dogmft,"  and  that  ie  the  one 
thing  a  "regular"  hates  as  the  devil  hates  holy  water,  Curious,  isn't 
it,  how  fearful  the  old  school  doctora  are  that  they  will  yet  find  a  law 
of  cure  i  and  how  fatal  it  would  be  to  all  they  hold  dear,  if  they 
should  find  such  a  uniformity  of  relation  existing  between  drugs  and 
diaeoBe,  that  one  could  he  applied  to  the  other  with  intelligence  and 
cerUinity  ?  Let  us  hear  no  more  of  Homceopalhy  being  absorbed 
or  swallowed  up  by  its  ancient  enemy.  They  do  not  seem  to  bear 
even  small  doses  well,  and  so  large  a  quantity  as  the  entire  hoinceo- 
pathic  school  would  be  sure  to  kill  tbem  outright. 


— its  Pathology  and  Treatmont.  By  e.  r.  Eggiesion, 

M,  D,,  Mt.  Venion,  O. 


At  the  last  meeting  of  this  society  I  was  honored  in  Ihe 
acceptance  of  a  paper  entitled,  "The  Molecular  Constitution 
of  Nerve  Tissue,  Considered  in  its  Relations  with  Nervous 
ManifcstatJunii,"  in  which  an  eflbrt  was  made  toward  the 
deteimination  of  the  diameter  of  mind,  and  defining  its  rela- 
tions with  the  body.  The  considerations  urged  therein,  and 
the  conclusions  arrived  at  will  form  the  basis  of  the  present 
discussion,  and  that  the  points  may  be  somewhat  fresher  in 
your  minds,  your  indulgence  is  asked  to  this  brief  rccapitu 
lation: 

I.  In  the  molecular  organization  of  nerve  tissue,  and  in  its 
single  uninterrupted  channels,  lies  tlie  explanation  of  all  its 
manifestations,  physiological,  psychological  and  pathological. 

IL  In  the  arrangements,  rearrangements  and  vibrations  of 
the  constituent  molecules,  lies  the  explanation  of  the  infinitely 
various  impressions  and  counter  impulses  of  which  this  tissue 
is  capable. 

III.  In  the  proper  developments  and  stability  of  molecular 
sensibility — otherwise  stated  as  functional  perfection  and  in- 
tegrity— lies  the  explanation  of  the  operations  of  the  mind. 


384  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

IV.  That  perfected  function,  as  applied  to  the  brain,  is 
mind. 

Excluding  all  the  claims  for  pre-natal  education,  the  sum 
of  which  is  expressed  in  the  true  instinct,  which  is  common 
to  all  animal  life,  the  infant  capacity  is  placed  at  zero,  and 
from  that  point,  step  by  step,  is  traced  the  development  of 
the  later  manifestations  of  nerve  function,  their  capacities  and 
methods  of  growth  which  result  in  mind.  The  conclusion 
reached  was  that  mind  is. absolutely  and  entirely  material,  in 
the  sense  that  it  is  the  function  of  a  material  organ,  as  much  a 
part  of  man  and  an  outgrowth  of  his  opportunities,  as  he  is  a 
part  of  nature  and  gains  his  characteristics  from  his  environ- 
ment. 

On  the  pathological  side  of  the  question  the  following  pro- 
positions were  considered: 

I.  Certain  diseases,  certain  poisonous  substances,  traumatic 
influences  and  psychial  operations,  exagerate,  diminish,  per- 
vert, or  totally  destroy  the  functional  power  of  a  nerve, 
system  of  nerves,  or  nerve  center. 

II.  Molecular  relations,  whether  of  arrangement  or  im- 
pressibility, may  remain  the  same,  while  function  or  expres- 
sion may  be  intensified  or  depressed. 

III.  The  relations  of  molecules  may  be  so  changed  that  a 
new  adaptability  obtains,  which,  modified  by  the  character- 
istic impressibility  of  their  previous  relations,  originates  a 
new  function,  so  to  speak,  which  is  of  a  nature  to  be  ex- 
pected from  a  new  impression  upon  an  already  habituated 
impressional  medium. 

IV.  Double  function  may  result  from  continued  exercise; 
but  in  no  case  can  the  added  duty  be  maintained  without  a 
sacrifice  of  efficiency  on  the  part  of  the  orginal  function. 

V.  The  function  of  a  nerve  or  nerve  center  being  lost,  its 
office  is  filled,  or  sought  to  be  filled,  by  other  nerves  or 
centers;  or  a  complementary  action  is  set  up  which  com- 
pensates for  the  loss  by  added  force  in  other  directions. 

Assuming  these  propositions  to  be  true,  the  further  present 
consideration  of  the  subject  has  the  following  basis: 


Insanity — Its  Pathology  and  Treatment  385 

I.  The  normal  average  mind  having  reached  its  maturity, 
will,  under  the  continuation  of  like  conditions  and  influences, 
perform  its  functions  undeviatingly,  until,  in  accordance 
v^ith  natural  laws,  it  falls  into  physical  degeneracy. 

II.  Among  the  many  component  parts  of  the  mind  a  per- 
fect equilibrium  is  maintained,  a  balance  among  the  nerve 
forces;  which,  so  long  a&  the  physiological  process  of  regen- 
eration is  not  interfered  with  in  the  direction  of  waste  and 
supply,  and  no  external  influence  intervenes,  will  remain 
undisturbed, 

III.  When  disturbances  do  occur,  whether  they  are  trau- 
matic, psychial,  or  of  disease,  mal-distribution  of  force  is  the 
inevitable  consequence,  and  mal-functionation  of  the  faculties 
involved  as  inevitably  results. 

IV.  Whatever  may  be  causative,  energy,  active  and  po- 
tential, must  furnish  the  key  to  the  manifestations  of  mind  in 
disease,  as  it  most  assuredly  does  in  health. 

The  following  definition  best  meets  my  views:  Insanity  is 
a  disease  of  the  brain  in  which  the  normal  balance  between 
the  faculties  -of  the  mind  is  disturbed;  the  disorder  being, 
predominantly,  in  the  direction  of  excess  of  action  in  one  or 
more  of  the  faculties — yet  is  often  manifested  in  deficiency  of 
action — with  the  following  leading  characteristics:  loss  of 
mental  equilibrium;  maintained  consciousness;  perversion, 
weakening  or  destruction  of  will-power;  and  absence  of 
logical  motive  for  acts  committed. 

In  this  latter  day  it  is  fully  conceded  that  insanity  is  an 
actual  morbid  condition  of  a  material  organ,  and  not  an  in- 
explicable visitation  too  often  held  as  a  disgrace  rather  than 
a  misfortune.  It  is  probably  within  the  recollection  of  many 
here  present,  how  awesome  the  announcement  of  a  neigh- 
bor's craziness  has  fallen  upon  a  community,  not  being 
considered  as  an  attack  of  disease,  but  rather  a  mysterious 
something,  occult,  unfathomable.  Even  physicians  gave  aid 
to  popular  superstition,  in  tacitly  admitting  its  immateriality, 
classifying  it  as  a  "functional  disturbance  without  disease,'' 
Such  mere  form  of  words  or  technical  phrase  is  no  longer 
satisfactory,  being,  in  the  face  of  such  manifestations,  wholly 


Oincinnati  Medical  Advance. 


meaningless.  True,  nial-constitution  of  tissue  la  not  a  neces-  ! 
sarj' concomitant  of  mal-functionation,  bnt  it  is  true  only  of  1 
temporary  deflections;  it  being  equally  so  that  in  cases  of  ] 
market!  continuance  actual  metamorphoses  of  tissue  ) 
pe'vene,  and  these  are  such  as  are  technically  termed  insai 

What  is  function?      The  operation  of  an  organ  in  health.    J 
Any  deviation  from  this  state  must  either  be  functional  dis- 
turbance, which  is  temporary;  or  functional  or  organic  dis- 
ease, which  is  permanent.      All  functionation  is  either  nor- 
mal or  abnormal;  if  the  former  it  is  of  health — if  the  latter  it   | 
is  of  disease,  or  becomes  so  eventually.     Modern  physiology 
teaches  that  every  act  of  an  organ  involves  organic  change; 
every  act  of  growth,  maintenance  or  decline,  involves  waste 
and  supply,  both  of  which  are  organic  changes.     As  long  as 
perfect  equilibrium    prevails  between    these  factors,  just  so 
long  is   functionation    perfect;    when  either  is   in  excess  or 
deficiency,  disordered  function  or  disease  is  at  once  manifest.    ' 
The  waste  of  a  cell  in  the  act  of  thought  must  have  the  same    ' 
import  as  regards  the  brain,  as  the  drain  upon   the  blood  in 
the  regeneration  of  tissue  has  upon    it,  and  the   integrity  of 
both  must  depend  on  a  balancing  supply.      The  conviction. 
therefore,  is  forced  upon  ua  that  insanity  is  in  every  proper  . 
sense  a  physical  disease,  and  should  be  amenable  to  rational  j 
treatment. 

This  is  fully  borne  out  in  the  results  of  elaborate  researches.  1 
Balfour  analyzes  seven  hundred  cases.       In   ninety-one  per 
cent,  of  these  po3t-mortem  examinations  discovered  alterationa 
of  tissue,  mostly  in  the  membranes  and  cortical  substance,  I 
and  nil  of  them,  immediately  or  remotely,  are  the  results  of  J 
congestion  and  inflammation — thickening,  opacify,  adhesion, 
eflusion  and  cortical  softening.      In  the  remaining  nine  per    1 
cent,  tlie  brain  was  apparently  normal.     From  the  reports  of 
superintendents  of  asylums  in  our  own  state,  I  glean  the  fol- 
lowing:     Of  eleven  thousand,  four  hundred  and  nineteen 
cases,  in  which  the  cause  of  insanity  is  stated,  sixty  per  cent, 
were  from  physical  causes;  while  forty  per  cent,  are  classed 
among  moral  causes;  of  which  we  may  feel  very  sure  that  a 
large  majority  were  cases  in  which  an  actual  disease  was 


Insaiiity — fts  Pathologg  and  Treatment. 


3«7 


present,  from  the  fact  that  in  all  moral  or  emotional  perturba- 
tions the  circulation  of  blood  iti  the  brain  'substance  and 
meninges  is  interfereil  with,  resulting,  inevitably,  in  disord- 
ered function;  and  if  continiietl,  in  disease.  Therefore,  it 
may  perhaps  be  fairly  stated  that  in  only  about  ten  per  cent. 
of  all  cases  is  there  an  apparent  absence  of  lesion.  The 
phrase  "apparent  absence  of  lesion,"  too,  undoubtedly  covers 
a  large  number  of  cases  which  are  due  to  physical  causes,  but 
are  undemonstrable  because  our  means  of  diagnosis  are  in- 
adequate. If  this  be  true,  physical  causes  are  almost  univer- 
sal, and  should  be  demonstrable  by  either  ante  or posl-mwt em 
examinations. 

As  stated  in  the  paper  referred  to,  the  most  perfect  exam- 
ple of  the  points  taken  from  the  pathological  side  of  the 
question,  either  of  its  parts,  or  of  the  whole,  is  insanity. 
Here  are  forms  of  disease,  exaggeration  orrlimiuution  of  force 
or  function,  changed  molecular  relations,  origination  of  new 
functions,  and  actions  complementary.  Let  us  see  Upon 
the  bare  statement  it  will  be  admitted  that  hyperexcitation  of 
one  faculty  of  the  mind,  or  a  less  than  normal  degree  of  ex- 
citation in  another  faculty,  must  result  in  a  disturbed  equili- 
brium among  the  many  faculties,  if  the  faulty  degree  of  force 
is  so  persistent  as  to  approach  premanency.  Again,  mole- 
cular relations  suffer  here,  as  well  as  more  independently,  in 
the  fact  that  the  physiological  changes  which  take  place  in 
the  process  of  waste  and  supply  are  interfered  with.  And 
again,  each  group  of  molecules  or  nerve  cells  has  its  own 
mode  of  responding  to  impressions,  its  own  functional  ex- 
pression, so  that  in  the  event  of  having  thrust  upon  it  the 
duty  of  a  faculty  In  abeyance  by  reason  of  disease  or  other 
cause,  we  find  this  expression  intensified,  the  while  main- 
taining its  characteristics;  or  the  cumulation  is  so  badly  borne 
that  no  sign  of  either  of  the  original  faculties  remains  distin- 
guishable, but  instead,  a  new  expression. 

In  a  typical  case  we  find  these  conditions  in  existence, 
generally.  From  extraneous  or  inherent  inflnences  the  mind 
falls  under  the  sway  of  a  single,  or  a  few  impressions,  and 
these  become  intensified  more  or  less,  according  as  one  or 


388  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

more  of  the  faculties  are  involved,  while  all  others  pass  into 
a  state  of  degeneracy,  to  be  rescued  only  when  the  currents 
of  force  again  flow  to  them  in  their  accustomed  volume. 
This  view  seems  fairly  beyond  dispute,  even  on  the  ground 
of  natural  law.  The  sum  of  the  action  and  latent  forces  of 
the  nervous  system  must  be  represented  by  a  certain  figure, 
beyond  which  it  can  not  go.  But  the  force  required  in  one 
part  may  be  diverted  to  the  uses  of  another  part,  in  which 
the  unaccustomed  superabundance  must  appear  as  excess  of 
action;  while  in  that  which  sulTers  the  deprivation,  deficiency 
of  action,  or  actual  atrophy  must  result. 

It  can  not  be  claimed  that  in  a  normal  condition  the  cur- 
rents of  force  are  so  stable  and  unvarying  as  to  bar  temporary 
inequalities  of  distribution,  for,  by  a  wise  provision,  a  wide 
sweep  of  elasticity  is  characteristic  of  these  forces,  and,  other 
things  being  equal,  the  diversion  from  the  many  channels  to 
the  few  may  be  excessive,  and  yet  the  strain  be  borne, 
although  the  period  of  relief  must  come  before  the  tax  be- 
comes too  great,  else  destruction  will  ensue.  Nor  can  it  be 
claimed  that  even  a  naturally  inordinate  predominance  of  a 
few  faculties  is  an  evidence  of  mal-distribution  of  force,  be- 
cause the  chords  of  various  minds  are  so  variously  altered; 
as  are  the  strings  of  an  instrument,  one  of  which  gives  the 
fundamental  tone,  while  others  are  ranged  above  and  below, 
yet  all  are  in  harmony.  But  in  every  case' there  is  a  boundary 
line,  nearer  in  the  one,  farther  removed  in  the  other,  which 
overstepped  brings  it  within  the  category  of  misapplied 
force. 

Now  what  are  the  characteristic  features  of  insanity? 

I.  Disorder.  This  is  so  unmistakable  as  regards  externals, 
that  the  simple  statement  of  the  fact  is  sufficient.  In  view  of 
what  is  assumed  as  true  in  the  foregoing  propositions,  the 
disorderly  effect  upon  ideation  is  equally  obvious.  In  any 
event  it  will  not  be  disputed  that  the  currents  of  nerve  force 
are  misdirected,  and  that  what  was  once  evenly  distributed, 
has  been  heaped  into  torrents  in  our  locality,  with  a  conse- 
quent dearth  in  another,  which  is  equivalent. 


Insanity — Its  Pathology  and  Treatment  389 

II.  Illusion^  Hallucination  and  Delusion.  In  the  first  the 
impressions  are  real,  but  the  perceptive  faculties  so  distort 
them,  that  the  intelligence  is  misled  as  to  their  real  character. 
In  the  second  the  perceptional  centers  are  in  such  a  state  of 
activity  that  impressions  are  actually  originated  without  the 
intervention  of  the  organs  of  special  sense — that  is,  the  per- 
ceptions have  not  a  material  basis.  In  the  last  the  intelli- 
gence has  become  involved — not  necessarily  to  the  extent  of 
actual  disease,  but  false  impressions  have  become  so  habitu- 
ated that  they  are  accepted  as  true— that  is,  belief  based  on 
false  premises. 

III.  Loss  of  Volition.  Authors  generally  argue  that  the 
will-power  is  almost  universally  impaired;  which  shows  how 
early  and  how  constantly  it  is  involved,  and  how  close  its  re- 
lation is  between  it  and  the  other  elea.ents.  It  will  be  ob- 
served that  it  is  the  final  one  of  the  series  of  mental  opera- 
tions in  general,  hence  its  general  impairment.  The  sequence 
is  as  follows:  We  take  cognizance  of  objects  or  events 
through  perception;  reason  upon  them  through  the  intelli- 
gence; feel  upon  them  through  the  emotion;  act  upon  them 
through  the  will; — each  being  the  result  of  the  functionation 
of  the  one  which  immediately  precedes.  If  either  or.  all 
which  precede  act  faultily,  we  see  at  once  tlyit  the  ultimate 
operation  must  likewise  be  faulty. 

IV.  Lack  of  correspondence  between  the  motive  for  an 
act,  and  the  act  itself  From  a  legal  point  of  view  the  ques- 
tion involved  here  is  a  very  serious  one,  for  in  a  given  case 
it  may  prove  the  pivotal  point  upon  which  the  scale  may 
turn  in  a  decision  for  or  against.  The  motive  may  be  true 
and  logical,  either  with  or  without  material  basis,  but  dis- 
proportioned  to  the  act  which  follows;  it  may  be  wholly 
foreign  to  the  act;  it  may  be  entirely  absent.  Not  long  since 
I  found  myself  in  the  unwelcome  position  of  "medical  wit- 
ness" in  a  trial  for  murder  in  which  the  plea  of  insanity  was 
set  up  in  defense.  Strictly  upon  the  evidence,  for  both  state 
and  defense,  the  question  became  so  narrowed  down  that 
this  very  point  became  the  chief  one  upon  which  to  base  a 
decision.     My  testimony  was  unhesitatingly  given  in  favor  of 


390  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

unsoundness  of  mind.  In  cases  of  this  kind  the  probable  ac- 
tion of  the  average  mind  necessarily  becomes  the  point  from 
which  departures  are  reckoned. 

V.  Mutability.  In  the  chronically  insane  the  changes  of 
locality  of  the  disease  are  frequent  in  many  cases,  while  in 
the  few  the  same  dreary  ideas  are  reiterated  year  after  year, 
with  only  such  variability  as  attends  added  intensity  as  time 
passes. 

VI.  Progression,  As  in  other  morbid  conditions,  the 
natural  tendency  is  from  bad  to  worse.  True,  its  manifesta- 
tions may  not  be  in  a  perceptible  degree  intensified,  but 
structural  modifications  must,  in  the  very  nature  of  things, 
push  farther  and  farther  into  the  background  all  possibility 
of  amelioration  or  cure. 

« 

The  list  need  not  be  extended.  In  the  light  of  the  fore- 
going every  phase  of  the  malad}'  is  reasonably  accounted  for. 
It  would  be  too  great  a  trespass  upon  your  time  to  consider 
the  various  forms  of  insanity,  but  the  same  principle  applies 
to  all.  If  this  discussion  has  placed  one  form  upon  an  un- 
derstandable basis,  it  has  equally  so  placed  all  forms,  from 
simple  eccentricity  to  the  most  profound  confusion. 

Prognosis. — Answers  to  the  following  questions  involve 
the  whole  matter: 

When,  or  how  long  insane? 

Why,  or  by  what  means  insane? 

Whose,  or  what  organ  is  deranged? 

Is  the  aberration  a  manifestation  of  excessive  or  deficient 
action? 

Was  it  originally  due  to,  or  is  it  now  prolonged  by  physi- 
cal disease? 

W  hat  structural  modifications  are  demonstrable  or  sus- 
pected? 

The  question  of  tinie  bears  most  heavily  on  the  matter  of 
actual  deterioration  of  tissue — the  prognosis  becoming  more 
dubious  the  more  certainly  this  is  determined. 

The  cause  of  the  alienation  is  more  or  less  grave  according 
as  it  is  physical  or  psychial;  the  presumption  of  greater 
gravity  being  in  favor  of  the  latter. 


Insanify—Tts  Pathology  and  Treatment. 


391 


The  location  of  ihe  disorder  is  manifestly  of  the  first  im- 
■vtrtancc.  The  avenues  by  which  the  intelligence  is  reached, 
those  perceptional,  may  be  disordered,  by  which  means  all 
the  succeeding  operations  are  disordered;  thuR,  the  intellect 
being  misinformed,  ideation  is  false;  the  false  idea  stimulates 
the  emotions  beyond  a  propei  correspondence;  the  over 
wrought  feelings  inspire  to  acts  out  of  all  proportion  to 
the  real  impression.  In  this  case  those  faculties  which  suc- 
ceed perception  would  resume  their  normal  states  if  the  in- 
tegrity of  the  initial  steps  could  he  regained.  All  that  which 
is  perceptional  and  impressional  flows  into  the  intellectual 
sphere;  all  that  which  is  emotional  and  volitional  flows  out  of 
it.  If  the  fault  is  here,  degeneration  of  the  tissue  of  these  cen- 
ters— molecular  alterations — may  be  regarded  as  certain.  If 
the  emotive  sphere  is  the  focus  of  the  disease,  its  initials  may 
be  found  in  these  centers,  or  in  the  intellect,  or  in  the  percep- 
tions; in  cither  singly,  or  in  both  together.  Volition  sufTers 
in  the  same  way  primarily  or  secondarily. 

As  to  excessive  or  deticienl  action,  one  point  is  especially 
important:  an  overflow  of  force  to  one  pait  presupposes  an 
overdrain  upon  another;  if  this  be  true  of  a  given  case,  re- 
storation of  the  equilibrium  between  the  parts  which  suffer, 
restores  the  integrity  of  both,  and  is  possible,  but  if  there  is 
deficient  action  without  a  balancing  excess  in  other  quarters, 
the  lesion  is  so  profound  as  to  be  often  beyond  discovery,  and 
certainly  beyond  help. 

In  the  matters  of  disease  and  structural  changes,  the  prog. 
nosis  depends  primarily  upon  the  curability  of  the  causative 
conditions;  and  secondarily,  upon  the  manner  in  which  the 
mind  has  been  afiected  by  them,  when  what  but  now  has 
been  said  becomes  applicable. 

Treatment. — I,  Prophylactic:  This  aims  chiefly  at  the 
management  of  the  early  years  of  those  in  whom  the  taint 
is  suspected,  from  either  hereditary  or  observed  tendency. 
It  is  unquestionable  that  nn  hereditary  taint  can  be  extinguish- 
ed, as  in  other  transmissible  dyscrasiaa,  scrofulosis,  tubercu- 
losis and  syphilis,  and  it  becomes  more  probable  in  giving  due 
weight  to  the  possibilities  of  pre-natal  education,  as  well  as 


392  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

to  the  later  intelligently  used  preventive  means.  The  "bent 
of  mind"  of  such  children — of  all  children  in  fact — should  be 
most  carefully  watched,  accumulations  of  force  in  a  few 
channels  to  the  exclusion  of  others,  seduously  guarded 
against.  It  is  certainly  true  of  most  minds  that  there  are  the 
few  grand  channels  to  which  the  many  are  tributary,  but  the 
circulation  of  force  is  action  in  all,  and  consequently  health- 
ful. The  point  is  that  however  limited  may  be  the  capacity 
of  a  faculty,  its  vigor  must  be  preserved,  on  account  of  the 
advantages  which  accrue  from  its  stimulus  and  balancing 
support  to  facilities  which  predominate. 

II.  Hegimenial:  In  general  terms,  whatever  is  conducive 
to  sound  health  is  indicated.  How  far  variations  in  alimen- 
tation may  influence  the  predisposition,  or  the  attack  itself, 
can  only  be  demonstrated  by  experience.  It  seems  not  unfair 
to  infer,  however,  that  as  the  abnormal  impression  is  upon  the 
nervous  system,  especially  in  cases  within  an  hereditary 
range,  the  diet  may  be  be  made  to  play  an  important  part. 
That  which  supplies  in  the  largest  proportion  what  is  de- 
manded for  nerve  sustenance,  should  enter  largely  into  the 
dietary, 

III.  Moral :  Of  the  controlling  influence  of  a  strong  mind 
over  a  weak  one  all  are  fully  persuaded-  The  keepers  of  the 
insane  make  most  potent  use  of  it,  but  generally  only  for 
purposes  of  restraint,  leaving  too  much  out  of  view  the  ab- 
solute gain  to  be  had  in  the  progress  of  a  case  should  this 
mastery  be  used  to  turn  the  disordered  thoughts  into  new 
and  unused  directions.  For  it  is  fully  substantiated  by  ex- 
perience that  however  absurd  may  be  his  delusions,  the  luna- 
tic may  be  made  to  see  its  absurdity  and  to  adopt  another  in 
its  stead,  or  to  modify  it,  upon  often  repeated  assurances  of 
his  mistaken  idea,  or  by  denials  of  the  existence  of  the  beings 
with  which  his  fervid  fancy  is  peopled.  The  practical  veri- 
fication of  this  means  should  place  it  in  the  fore-front  of 
available  curative  resources.  Nearly  allied  to  this,  and  what> 
indeed,  seems  to  result  from  its  application,  is  the  institution 
of  what  may  be  termed  a  retrograde  metamorphosis  of  the 
disease — an  inductive  treatment.      To  prove  advantageous  it 


Insanity — Its  Pathology  and  Treatment.  393 

is  absolutely  necessary  that  the  consecutive  steps  in  the  prg- 
gress  of  the  case  should  be  traced  with  the  most  marked  pre- 
cision, along  the  exact  course  o'f  which  the  mind  must  be 
turned,  backward,  as  it  were,  and  every  step  retraced  to  the 
point  of  departure.  The  admitted  fact  that  one  insane  idea 
may  be  substantiated  for  another,  is  in  proof  of  the  assumed 
fact  that  a  sane  idea  may  become  the  substitute  of  an  insane 
one.  In  the  case  of  a  shattered  mind,  so  called,  there  is  no 
proof  that  all  of  the  old  molecular  arrangements  are  broken  up, 
that  the  chaos  is  universal,  but  it  is  more  readily  believed,  and 
especially  in  view  of  the  foregoing  premises,  that  members 
of  the  faculties  are  only  dormant,  because  the  spur  to  their 
activity  is  withdrawn,  to  be  monopolized  by  the  superlatively 
excited  ones.  The  proposition  is,  then,  to  turn  to  account 
the  latent  reason  force,  the  encouragement  to  the  activity  of 
which  must  tend  to  equilibration,  the  normal  state.  The 
paramount  indication,  then,  is  to  accustom  the  mind  again  to 
familiar  impressions,  thoughts  and  associations.  Because  it 
is  very  evident  that  a  certain  group  of  cells  will  perceive  the 
more  readily,  the  more  it  has  previously  been  habituated  to  the 
same  stimulus;  so  by  persistently  rousing  the  faculties  in  abey- 
ance to  impressions  characteristic  of  them,  their  power  is  in 
the  same  proportion  enhanced;  while  those  which  have  be- 
come disproportionately  active  are  subdued  in  the  same  ratio. 
IV.  Therapeutical :  As  in  other  diseases,  both  acute  and 
chronic,  so  here,  there  are  cases  curable,  those  capable  of 
amelioration,  and  the  incurable.  As  in  others,  so  here,  the 
cause,  and  whether  its  operation  is  perpetual;  the  effect,  and 
whether  its  removal  is  possible,  are  the  chief  considerations. 
In  our  literature  authentic  records  of  cases  are  certainly  not 
common,  but  there  are  enough  to  establish  a  basis  for  the  as- 
sertion of  the  curability  of  the  disease  by  homoeopathic  med- 
ication, and  that  in  answer  to  the  demands  of  a  sound  pa- 
thology, and  in  accordance  with  symptomatic  indications. 


lalfBia  IHj&ita. 


I 


Some  Piwings  of  Lac  Caniniun.    By  h.  w.  Taylor,  M.  d. 

Among  all  the  wilil  vagaries  that  in  times  pust  and  present 
have  done  duty  as  theories  uf  the  causes  of  diseases,  1  am 
sure  that  there  is  none  more  apparently  absurd,  none  more 
seemingly  fanciful,  none  that  hits  been  or  will  be  more  loftily 
scorned  by  the  average  orthodox  etiologist,  than  the  one  that 
is  deep  routed  in  my  brain  at  this  nine  o'clock  of  October 
i6th,  1S7S. 

Outside  my  window  a  loud-mouthed  wind  is  howling  and 
roaring  like  a  legion  of  tiends.  It  is  a  wind  south,  by  south- 
wesi,  and  blows  at  twenty  miles  the  hour.  This  is  about  the 
seventieth  hour,  and  this  same  gale  has  swept  over  New 
Orleans,  Vicksburg  and  Memphis.  Ah!  my  prolific  Lionel 
of  the  vegetable  germ  theory,  how  is  it  that  the  whole  popu- 
lation of  the  Mississippi  Valley  is  not  now  prostrated  by  this 
epidemic  nephritis,  yclepcd  typhus  iclerodes?  Have  you 
proven  the  unlimited  vitality  of  microscopic  vegetation  but 
to  preclude  it  as  a  disease  producer?  Have  you  shown  that 
it  is  wafted  about  over  the  face  of  the  earth  at  the  will  of  the 
fickle  wind  that  bloweth  where  it  iisteth,  only  to  prove  that 
epidemics  follow  not  upon  such  paths — that  vegetable  germs 
must  be  declared  innocent  of  the  charge  of  imperiling  human 
life? 

It  would  seem,  Lionel,  good  Lionel,  that  thou  hast  proven 
too  much. 

In  niv  office  I  have  a  pawpaw  club.  It  is  the  lightest 
and  softest  club  ever  wielded  by  hand,  save  only  the  feather 
stuffed  bludgeon  with  which  Harlequin  is  wont  to  thwack 
Clown.  I  shall  carry  that  club  to  all  medical  conventions  and 
associations  within  the  length  of  my  cable  tow,  and  in  the 
square  and  angle  of  my  work.  I  shall  feel  for  calcifying  spots 
on  the  soft  crania  of  the  professional  sanitarian.      Especially 


shall  I  take  vengeance 


Materia  Medica.  .   395 

pours  Carbolic  acid  in  the  gutters  and  yells  "clean  up,  clean 
up,"  as  if  he  were  a  collier  crying  his  coals. 

If  enough  Calc.  carh.  had  passed  through  his  intestinal  villi 
to  harden  his  skull,  would  not  this  Cuban  epidemic  prove  to 
him  that  his  house  is  built  upon  sand^-quick  sand,  at  that? 

How  it  rushed  upon  the  clean  cities,  towns  and  villages  of 
the  clean  South.  The  clean  unquarantined  cities  of  the  great 
valley!  Unquarantined!  Ha!  there  it  is!  That  is  the  word. 
Unquarantined!  Not  uncleaned!  Not  uncarbolized!  Not 
uncopper  sulpbated!  Not  uncalcic  chlorided?  Only  unquar* 
antined  and  nothing  more. 

Wash  out  your  gutters,  pile  up  your  Calcic  chloride^  your 
Copper  sulphate^  your  Carbolic  acid,  pile  up  your  disinfect- 
ants and  remove  your  quarantine,  and  let  the  demon  drink 
the  blood  of  innocence  till  his  iron  jaws  are  clogged  with 
clotted  gore! 

I  would  to  Jove  that  we  might  be  allowed  to  hang  a  few 
dozen  Sanitarians  by  way  of  reprisal.  My  heart  misgives  me 
that  only  thus  can  the  chanel  house  of  sanitary  science  be 
fairly  "disinfected." 

But  the  theory,  the  theory.  Ah!  let  me  whisper  it  in  your 
car,  lest  the  sanitary  etiologist  hear  and  smile.  Hearken,  O, 
student  of  Time,  for  these  be  words  that  doubtless  were 
voiced  ages  ago,  and  will  be  again  in  the  ages  hereafter. 
Diseases  are  produced  only  by  the  contact  and  mingling  of 
the  dead  tissues  of  one  animal  with  the  living  tissues  of  an- 
other. Hence  tlie  folly  of  disinfection.  Hence  the  saving 
grace  of  rigid,  argus-eyed  quarantine. 

We  will  argue  this  point,  my  sanitary  friend,  some  other 
lime.  Just  now  I  shall  tell  you  how  I  saw  the  dead  tissues 
of  the  Canis  Americanis  take  hold  upon  the  lymphatics  of 
another  animal. 

Sometime  in  August  last  I  received  from  Dr.  Samuel 
Swan,  of  New  York,  a  little  wooden  box  filled  with  small 
lozenges  of  milk  sugar  and  starch  medicated  with  Lac  cani- 
num  200. 

If  there  is  one  thing  more  than  another  that  I  don't  believe 
in,  it  is  the  possibility  of  "provings"  with  high  potencies. 


396  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

Nevertheless  I  gave  the  Lac  caninum  to-E.  P,  T.,  a  strong, 
healthy,  dark  lady  of  forty,  now  nursing  a  pretty,  white, 
plump  boy  of  nine  months. 

First  day  six  lozenges  and  no  symptoms. 

Second  day  same  as  first  day.  She  hadn't  followed  direc- 
tions, which  were  "one  lozenge  every  hour  till  a  symptom 
turned  up— then  m7,  and  watch." 

I  made  some  remarks  about  the  incapacity  of  womankind 
for  real  scientific  investigation,  and  smole  the  serene  smile  of 
the  self-conscious  tactician  as  I  watched  her  go  for  that 
lozenge  box. 

•  That  night  there  was  a  symptom.  Not  more  than  thirty 
lozenges  had  been  taken  when  I  found  that  my  gentle  (?) 
companioa  whose  slumbers  are  like  those  of  the  seven 
sleepers,  was  now  broad  awake.  Thusly  she  put  it  down» 
and  I  am  here  to  swear  to  it,  for  not  forty  winks  of  sleep 
did  I  get  you  may  be  sure.  "Rolled  and  tossed  about  all 
night;  could  not  sleep  at  all  on  account  of  uncontrollable 
feeling  of  restlessness — necessity  to  turn  and  shift  about  con- 
stantly." Ah!  did  not  thus  my  darling  babes  all  those  long 
winter  days?  "Palms  of  hands  abnormally  hot  as  are  the 
soles  of  the  feet;  sighing  frequently;  and  utter  inability  to  lie 
half  a  minute  in  one  position."  (Suboxidation.).  "Throat 
feels  dry,  husky,  as  if  scalded  by  hot  fluid," 

I  looked  into  that  throat  and  saw  dark  red  angry  streaks  of 
capillaries  flashing  upward  along  the  faces  of  the  anterior 
pillars  of  the  fauces.  Just  such  bundles  of  inflammed  capil- 
laries I  had  seen  often  before  in  that  nightmare  of  diphtheria. 
Never  anywhere  else.  The  whole  pharynx  and  fauces  grew 
dark  red  and  tumid;  and  where  the  disease  first  set  foot,  a 
round  gray  spot,  two  lines  in  diameter,  was  formed  and 
showed  plainly  as  a  desquamation  of  epithelial  structure. 

When  I  saw  this  I  said  to  myself,  "This  so-called  false 
membrane  is  a  true  membrane;  and  there  is,  in  very  truth, 
no  such  thing  as  fibrinous  exudation  upon  a  mucous  mem- 
brane in  diphtheria,  but  a  wholesale  destruction  of  epithelium, 
instead  of  the  physiological  death,  scale  by  scale,"  And  I 
looked  over  my  scant  hoard  of  pathological  research,   and 


Materia   Medic 


397 


found  in  Flint  that  I  was  preceded  in  my  discovery — but  if 
preceded,  also  confirmed, 

Next  day  a  new  symptom  was  added  and  thus  expressed: 
"Very  sharp,  constant,  distressing  pain  in  bladder,  with 
frequent  urging  and  tenesmus.  Emptying  bladder  does  not 
help,  although  it  seems  as  if  it  would."  This  pain  lasteil  fif- 
teen hours,  and  gradually  diminishing  it  passed  away  and  has 
not  been  felt  since — as  it  had  never  been  felt  before  this  crude 
experiment.  Next  night  great  restlessness  again.  All  sides 
of  the  bed  belonged  to  the  subject,  and  even  my  threat  to 
abandon  her  bed  and  board,  was  only  of  temporary  effect. 
The  kicking  and  pawing,  and  sighing,  and  "jawing,"  went 
on  all  night  to  my  infinite  discomfort.  I  know  I  never  slept 
a  wink,  although  my  Betsy  declares  that  I  snored  placidly  all 
night  long. 

A  thought  strikes  me  here;  a  practical,  every  day  thought. 
I  know  some  fellows  who  forget  to  pay  their  doctor  bills. 
I  shall  give  their  wives  Lac  caninvm  to  beautify  the  com- 
plexion. You  will  hear  of  those  fellows  dying  red-eyed  and 
sleepless,  mind  if  you  don't. 

The  palms  grew  hotter,  and  finally  itched  so  frightfully 
that  the  subject  could  do  nothing  but  sit  and  grind  her  palms 
together.  This  ^as  a  most  distressing  symptom  and  awak- 
ened some  scientific  qualms  in  my  manly  bosom.  Under 
the  thick  cuticle  of  the  palms  were  numerous  dark  red 
splotches,  as  if  an  exanthem  were  about  developing,  and 
were  only  held  in  check  by  the  horny  layers  of  mailed 
epithelium. 

About  this  time  the  following  entry  is  made  in  the  day- 
book:  "Great  dryness  of  throat,  with  secretion  of  thick 
viscid  saliva,  (in  the  throat,)  so  tough  and  tenacious  that  it 
must  be  wiped  away  with  a  handkerchief,  since  it  cin  not  be 
expectorated." 

These  then  were  the  conditions:  Pharyngeal  imfinmma- 
lion,  with  wholesale  destruction  of  epithelium  i  viscidity  of 
saliva;  bent  of  palms;  absolute  necessity  for  constant  change 
of  position — three  prominent  symptoms  of  suboxidntion. 
All  characteristic  symptoms  of  diphtheria  of  malignant  type 
Dcc-3 


Cincinntiti  Medical  Advance. 


All  these  symptoms  subsiJed  wilhin  four  duys,  and  none  of  \ 
them  have  returned,  nor  have  any  new  ones  been  developed. 
Save  while  undergoing  na  attack  of  malignant  diphtheria, 
the  subject  had  never  experienced  any  of  these  symptoms. 
The  itching  of  the  palms  and  the  pain  in  the  hypogastrium 
were  not  then  experienced  by  her.  But  they  were  by  my 
angel  child  many  hours  before  she  died.  Lac  oaniniim  would 
have  cured  her.     So  would  the  Potasstc  chlorate. 

Grace  Taylor,  act.  seven,  slender,  tall,  bony,  with  enlarged 
cervical  lymphatics  and  tonsils,  after  attack  of  membranous 
(diphtheritic),  croup  six  years  ago.  Had  diphtheria  Instwin- 
ter,  cured  with  the  Potassic  chlorate.  Took  Lac  caninum 
2ooth,  twenty  lozenges  in  two  days.  Had  restlessness, 
groaning  in  sleep;  hot  hands;  pharyngeal  inflammation,  with 
rapid  development  of  large  yellowish  patch  upon  back  of 
left  tonsil,  precisely  as  she  had  it  during  her  attack  last  win- 
ter. With  this  inflammation  of  the  pharynx  there  was 
quickening  of  pulse  and  slight  rise  of  temperature,  showing 
absorption  of  poison.  As  there  were  cases  of  diphtheria 
still  in  the  town  1  almost  yielded  to  the  temptation  to  give 
her  Kali  chlor.  However,  I  let  her  go  without  drugs  and 
watched  her  narrowly.  In  three  days  all  the  symptoms  had 
disappeared,  although  the  disappearance  was  gradual.  She 
also  complained  of  hypogastric  pain. 

Two  things  are  proven,  to  me,  in  these  orovings.  That 
Lac  caninum  will  uniformly  produce  the  most  marked  of  the 
symptoms  of  diphtheria,  including  the  objective. 

Secondly,  that  to  the  dog  we  must  look  for  ihe  origin  of 
diphtheria  and  scarlatina.  Whoever  will  make  an  autopsy 
upon  the  body  of  a  rabid  dog  will  And  in  his  pharynx  and 
larynx  the  diphtheritic  membrane.  This  is  a  prophecy;  and 
if  any  of  the  readers  of  the  Advance  who  may  be  so  for- 
tunate as  to  come  in  possession  of  a  rabid  dog  will  express 
the  same  to  me,  (C.  O.  D.  or  otherwise),  I  will  be  delighted 
to  verify  this  prognostication.  Be  sure  to  kill  him  before 
you  send  him. 

But  should  not  the  Lac  oaninum  be  injected  directly  into   ' 
the  circulation?      The  morbid  tissues  go  in  by  way  of  the 


Materia  Medica,  399 

lymphatics.  Should  not  the  morbid  tissues  that  are  designed 
to  neutralize  these,  be  sent  by  way  of  the  circulation  direct? 
There  is  between  the  blood  current  and  the  lymph  current, 
the  blood  glands  and  the  lymph  glands,  an  unexplored  com- 
plementary (perhaps  antagonistic)  reciprocity.  This  may 
sound  like  a  transcendentalism.  It  is  not  meant  to  befog. 
The  vaccine  virus  will  not  prevent  variola. 


-•-♦- 


Aur.  Met.  in  Mental  Derangement.     By  H.  C.  Allen,  M.  D. 

In  the  autumn  of  1870  I  was  consulted  by  a  gentleman  of 
Montreal,  in  regard  to  the  case  of  his  brother-in-law,  who 
resided  in  Scotland,  and  asked  if  medicine  could  be  sent 
across  the  Atlantic  with  any  prospect  of  success.  He  had 
just  received  a  letter  from  his  sister,  and  from  it  gave  me  the 
following  symptoms: 

Mr.  M.,  aet.  fifty -two,  of  a  healthy  family,  and  had  always 
enjoyed  good  health.  Had  been  actively  engaged  for  twenty 
years  as  a  manufacturer  of  edge  tools,  and  was  in  financial 
matters  independent.  He  first  became  despondent,  then 
melancholy,  thought  his  business  affairs  were  in  bad  shape, 
and  that  he  was  coming  to  poverty.  From  this  stage  he 
thought  he  had  committed  some  great  wrong  and  could  not 
obtain  forgiveness.  Next  he  was  in  mortal  fear  of  being  de- 
serted by  his  wife,  (who  never  left  him  for  a  day  during  his 
illness),  and  frequently  wept  on  account  of  it.  A  terrible 
insomnia  troubled  him  from  the  beginning,  and  every  ano- 
dyne prescribed  for  his  sleeplessness  only  made  him  worse. 

He  had  the  best  advice,  (of  the  kind),  to  be  procured.     Of 

course   it  was  all  allopathic,  but   the  medicine  appeared  to 

make  him  worse  instead  of  better,  and  he  soon  declined  very 

positively  to  take  any  more.   Then  change  of  air  was  advised 

and  he  was  taken  to  the  seaside,  and  from  one  watering  place 


400  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

to  another,  but  after  a  time  he  no  sooner  reached  a  place  than 
he  wanted  to  leave  again,  at  some  even  declining  to  remain 
over  night.  He  was  first  attacked  in  March,  1870,  and  it 
was  now  September — six  months — and  he  was  steadily 
growing  worse,  so  that  an  insane  asylum  was  now  advised 
as  a  dernier  resort.  Fifteen  powders  of  Aurwn  met  12th  trit. 
was  sent  and  one  every  morning  was  given  in  his  food.  His 
wife  wrote  that,  "From  the  first  time  the  powder  was  given 
she  noticed  a  change.  He  slept  better  from  the  first  day  the 
remedy  was  exhibited,  so  that  when  nine  powders  were 
taken  he  was  almost  as  well  as  ever,  and  the  medicine  was 
discontinued."  He  remained  well  for  three  years,  when  a 
slight  return  was  again  promptly  relieved  by  Aur,,  and  he 
has  continued  in  good  health  ever  since.  Came  out  to  this 
country  in  1S76  and  spent  three  months — was  in  splendid 
condition.  I  have  no  doubt  but  a  higher  dilution  would  have 
acted  quite  as  promptly,  and  would  not  have  been  followed 
by  relapse. 


■♦  ♦ 


How  to  Stndy  the  Materia  Medica.     By  A.  McNeil,  M.  D. 

New  Albany,  Ind. 

The  difficulties  to  be  overcome  are  well  nigh  insurmount- 
able. The  late  lamented  Carroll  Dunham  said,  after  speak- 
ing of  a  method  of  studying  the  materia  medica,  "To  com- 
plete such  a  systematic  study,  even  in  comparative  leisure, 
might  require  seven  years  of  unremitting  labor."  Gauvogle 
says  he  spent  five  years  after  he  had  become  a  physician,  in 
studying  nine  remedies.  And  Dr.  A.  Imbert-Goubere  has 
spent  twenty-five  years  in  the  study  of  Arsenicum.  While  we 
may  not  be  able  to  reach  the  great  heights  acquired  by  these 
eminent  men,  yet  we  should  remember  that  it  was  because  of 


Materia  Medic 


■tOl  I 


the  many  years  of  constant  study  that  they  became  so  illus-  I 
trious.  These  difliculties  should  not  dismay  hut  rather  nerve  J 
us  to  go  in  and  possess  the  land  even  if  it  is  inhabited  by  I 
giants,  for  the  example  of  the  master  is  before  us. 

Mistakes  in  the  mode  of  study  have  rendered  the  taskmore'l 
diflicult  than  the  nature  of  it  necessitates.      The  analytical" 
method  of  arranging  the  symptoms    according  to  the  differ- 
ent parts  of  the  body,  however  useful  for  reference  and  more 
extensive  study,  is  confusing  and  bewildering  to  the  beginner. 
If  a  novice  were  shown  only  the  wheels,  screws,  spring  and  J 
pinions  of  a  watch,  one  at  a  time,    how  much  of  an  ideal 
would  he  have  acquired  of  such  a  timepiece?      Not  till  after  I 
he  had  learned  after  innumerable  failures  to  put  all  of  thcse-fl 
parts  together  would  he  have  a  conception  of  the  appearance! 
and  character  of  a  watch.      This  ■would  waste  a  great  deal  of  ■ 
time.     The  rational  way  is  to  show  him  the  watch,  poir 
and  explain  its  different  parts,  and   the  connection  of  each  | 
with  the  others;  then  show  him  piece  by  piece  and  he  \ 
soon  acquire  a  knowledge  of  the  whole.    This  is  the  way  in  I 
which  I  would  study  the  materia  mcdica.      This  is  the  syn-.! 
thetical  plan  which  is  so    well  adapted  to  the  mind  of  thef 
learner.     It  is  not  with  the  usual  method  till  he  has,  after  in- 
numerable  effort>i  and  failures,  learned  to  synthetize  for  him- 
self the  individual  symptoms  does  he  get  a  conception  of  the  [ 
character  of  a  drug.      These  failures  waste  his  time  and  dis-^ 
courage    him.        Many    become    hopeless   of   reaching  thati 
point,  although  they  may  be  graduated  physicians.      After! 
studying  a  remedy,  in  this  way.  the  student  imagins  it  will  ^ 
cure  all  the  ills  to  which  llesh  is  heir,  for  it  has  pains  of  every 
kind  in  every  part  of  the  body,  and  it  has  derangements  of    ' 
the  functions  of  every  organ.     But  when  he  proceeds  to  th« 
nest  drug  he  sees  a /ac  simile  of  the  former,  and  soon,  ad  \ 
infinitum.      Some,  overwhelmed  and  discouraged,  learn  two  J 
or  three  of  the  leading  symptoms  of  a  few   drugs,  and  givej 
Aoonite  for  fever.   Belladonna  for  headache,  Quinine  if  inter-j^ 
raitCent,  Ipecac  for  vomiting,  and   if  the  poor,    unfortunaU 
patient  has  all  of  these  symptoms,  he  gets  all  of  these  drugi 
mixed  together,  or  what  is  the  same  thing,  in  alternation. 


492 


Cincinnati  Medical  Aitcance. 


he  has  constitution  to  survive  without  fully  recovering',  the 
doctor  thinks  he  has  uot  given  them  strong  enough,  and  he 
increases  the  size  of  the  dose  till  the  disease,  if  acute,  runs  its 
course,  or  the  patient  dies;  if  chronic  it  gets  no  better.  If 
the  patient  does  die,  the  doctor  is  surprised  that  the  medicine 
failed  to  cure,  as  he  is  sure  that  among  so  many  remediqs  he 
must  have  given  the  right  one,  and  he  is  also  certain  he  gave 
the  doses  strongenough;  if  the  patient  lives  the  case  is  prob- 
ably reported  in  the  journals  as  a  cure,  and  cited  as  a  proof  of 
what  rational  medicine  can  do.  Do  not  accuse  me  of  exag- 
geration, for  I  know  several  practitioners  whose  practice  I 
have  photographed  to  the  life. 

May  the  difficulties  in  the  way  of  a  better  knowledge  of 
materia  medica  be  lessened?  I  think  they  can,  but  it  can  not 
be  made  so  easy  that  sluggards  and  idiots  may  become  good 
physicians. 

The  synthetic  combined  with  the  key  note  and  compara- 
tive methods,  will  make  the  task  less  difficult,  and  to  any  one 
who  has  capacity  for  a  physician,  an  agreeable,  but  not  a 
short  one.  Unfortunately  we  have  no  work  on  the  synthetic 
plan.  There  are  scattered  through  our  literature  in  diffierent 
languages,  studies  of  individual  drugs  arranged  in  this  way, 
Dr.  Carroll  Dunham  wrote  studies  of  Acoti.,  Brij.,  Platina, 
Jihus  tox„  Silicea,  Calc,  Eup.  per.  and  Opium.  These 
are  Scattered  through  different  periodicals,  part  of  which 
are  out  of  print.  H.  Goullon,  Jr.,  has  written  a  prize 
essay  on  Thuja  which  is  a  masterly  production;  it  has  been 
translated  and  published  in  the  North  American  Journal  of 
Homceopathy.  Hartman  studies  oC  Aeon.,  Bry.,  Merc,  Nvai 
vom.,  Cham,  and  Sell.  Eidherr  of  VeraL  alb.,  Wurmbe  of 
Ara.  Von  Meyer  of  Aeon.,  Platina  and  Sepia.  Most 
of  these  are  buried  in  German  journals.  Many  fragmentary 
studies  of  different  drugs  are  in  Wurmbe  an4  Caspar's  Clin- 
ischc  Studien,  some  of  which  I  translated  for  the  U.  S.  In- 
vestigator, II.  GouUon's  work  on  scrofula  also  contains  frag- 
mentary studies  of  antipsoric  remedies.  Many  others  of  great 
merit  are  scattered  through  our  periodical  literature  in  dif- 
ferent languages.  The  man  who  will  collect  these  into  one 
work  will  in  my  opinion,  be  a  public  benefactor. 


Materia  Medico. 


403 


The  beginner  in  materia  mecRca  should  read  first  of  all  a 
good  syntheticnl  study  of  Aoovite  for  instance-  This  should 
be  clone  very  carefully  so  that  he  can  answer  readily  any 
question  concerning  what  he  has  read.  He  should  then 
memorize  the  key  notes  of  that  remedy.  Then  Lippe's  ma- 
teria medica  is  still  better.  Hering's  condensed  should  he 
very  carefully  studied.  Allen's  might  then  be  read  with 
profit.  Another  drug  resembling  the  former  should  then  be 
taken  up  in  the  same  way,  only  that,  after  Lippe  or  Hering  he 
should  read  in  Gross'  Comparative  Materia  Medica  the  com- 
parison with  Aaonite.  Every  remedy  should  be  very  care- 
fully compared  with  all  that  has  been  previously  studied 
that  in  any  degiee  resemble  it.  The  reading  of  cases 
with  closely  cut  indications,  or  what  is  still  better,  watch- 
ing the  effects  of  the  remedies  at  the  bed  side,  would 
serve  to  rivet  their  action  on  the  memory  and  enable  him 
to  apply  his  knowledge  advantageously,  This  study  should 
be  continued  afier  graduation,  and  in  fact  during  hia 
entire  professional  life.  Of  course  the  more  extensive  works 
^ill  then  be  of  more  benefit,  such  as  Hahnemann's  Materia 
Medica  Pura  and  Chronic  Diseases,  and  Allen's  Encyclopedia. 
A  useful  exercise  for  the  student  is  to  arrange  some  of  the 
remedies  after  the  methods  proposed  by  Dunham  in  the 
American  Horn.  Review,  and  by  Hirschcl  in  his  Compendium 
der  Homoeopathic, 

In  order  that  our  students  should  be  properly  qualified  to 
discharge  their  duties  at  the  bedside,  by  a  sufficient  knowl- 
edge of  materia  medica,  at  least  a  year  should  be  devoted  to 
this  study  after  they  are  able  to  graduate  at  the  best  colleges 
of  the  antiquated  school.  Our  colleges  have  a  sacred  duty  to 
perform,  viz.,  to  permit  no  student  to  be  graduated,  whatever 
the  knowledge  he  may  possess  of  the  other  branches  of  med- 
icine, unless  he  be  well  versed  iu  this.  We  should  sec  that 
they  do  this  or  read  them  out  of  the  number  of  reputable 
schools.  Even  after  he  has  thus  graduated,  and  begun  prac- 
tice, when  he  has  plenty  of  leisure  he  should  study  carefully 
the  pathogenesis  of  every  drug  after  prescribing  it,  uiUess 
he  be  able  to  report  the  indications  which  determined  his 
choice. 


4 


404  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

Nearly  all  the  disputes  anll>ng  us  arise  from  an  insufficient 
acquaintance  with  this  subject;  for  instance,  alternation  of 
remedies  is  a  confession  of  ignorance  on  the  part  of  the  pre- 
scriber  of  those  agents  he  has  administered,  for  if  he  knew 
which  of  them  was  indicated  he  would  be  under  no  necessity 
of  giving  more  than  one.  For  if  no  one  drug  covers  all  the 
recent  symptoms  of  the  case  it  is  clear  that  neither  is  indi- 
cated, and  he  should  look  for  another  one  which  does.  The 
giving  of  crude  drugs  also  arises  from  this,  as  the  most  fre 
quent  reason  assigned  for  not  using  the  minimum  dose  is 
that  it  demands  such  a  rigid  examination  of  the  patient  and 
a  careful  selection  of  the  remedies.  Almost  the  only  defence 
made  for  the  administration  of  Quinine  in  intermittents  is, 
it  is  too  difficult  to  choose  a  remedy  that,  given  in  the  potent- 
ized  dose,  will  cure.  But  others  succeed  with  it,  and  so  can 
all  of  us  if  we  make  an  earnest  effort  to  do  so. 

Let  us  begin  the  study  of  the  Materia  Medica  anew  if  we 
have  ever  given  it  up.  The  prize  is  grand,  and  we  can  win 
it  by  making  a  determined  effort.  On  those  who  are  profes- 
sors or  preceptors  rest  great  responsibility  to  instruct  prop- 
erly the  rising  generation  of  physicians,  and  if  they  do  their 
duty  their  students  will  in  after  years  "rise  up  and  call  them 
blessed." 


■♦  ♦■ 


'§i$mul  €Iiitk$. 


Sudden  Blindness — What  is  it? — What  will  Cure? 
— I  have  a  queer  case  ahd  wish  your  advice.  Mr.  S.,  a 
jeweler,  aet.  thirty-five,  unmarried,  sandy  hair,  wiry  build, 
went  to  bed  Saturday  night,  apparently  in  perfect  health,  and 


General  Clinics,  40 

Sunday  morning  awoke  wilh  left  eye  blind;  he  could  only 
see  when  objects  were  held  almost  over  his  head.  The  oph- 
thalmoscope showed  the  most  striking  picture  1  ever  saw; 
the  whole  back  of  the  eye  was  perfectly  white,  and  only  the 
larger  blood  vessels  to  be  seen.  Almost  midway  between  the 
disc  and  the  edge  of  the  retina  it  assnined  a  pinkish  look, 
which  gradually  passed  into  the  usual  look,  with  the  choroid 
plainly  visible,  I  examined  his  urine  and  found  acid  reaction 
S,  G,  1.031,  with  a  pinkish  sediment,  which  dissolved  on 
testing  wilh  potash  and  copper;  usual  precipitate  for  sugar 
but  no  albumen,  with  albumen  tests.  He  has  been  one  of  the 
"boys,"  and  is  to-day;  smokes  considerable,  anil  like  the  rest 
of  them  indulges  in  an  occasional  drink.  Had  the  clap  ten 
years  ago,  but  never  had  the  syphilis,  Now  the  question 
comes  up,  what  is  the  trouble,  and  how  shall  I  treat  it?-r- 
H.  A.  W. 

Menorrhagia — Mrs,  I.,  net.,  thirty-nine,  slight  build,  light 
complexion,  was  on  a  visit  to  California  to  see  her  daughter 
and  with  a  view  to  improve  her  feeble  health,  Before  leav- 
ing her  home  she  was  cautioned  by  her  physician  to  be  sure 
to  consult  a  physician  as  soon  as  feasible  on  her  arrival  and 
slate  to  him  her  case,  so  that  in  an  emergency  when  called 
upon,  he  should  be  fully  prepared  to  act  judiciously;  failing 
which  she  would  run  great  risk.  The  patient,  however,  did 
not  follow  the  advice  of  her  physician,  for  fear  of  alarming 
her  daughter,  whose  family  physician  I  happened  to  be.  In 
due  course  I  was  introduced  to  her,  and  was  requested  to 
prescribe  for  the  weariness  and  fatigue  she  experienced  con- 
sequent upon  her  railway  travel,  which  I  did  by  giving  her 
Bell.  3,  Val.carb.  6,  which  relieved  her  considerably.  Sight- 
seeing now  commenced  which  was  followed  by  cough  and 
cold,  for  which  I  gave  her  Spongia  with  success.  Next 
morning  I  was  hastily  summoned  to  her,  and  was  then  in- 
formed of  the  real  nature  of  her  trouble,  which  was  profuse 
menstruation.  As  her  friends  informed  me  of  the  severity 
of  her  former  treatment,  such  as  lod.  6,  Argent,  nit.  injections, 
plugging,  etc,  I  resolved  to  put  her  on  high  atteuuatioi 


ins,  H 

J 


40G 


'.aii  Medical   Advance. 


left  her  a  reliable  Lachesis  2,000  anil  Vaualicum,  telling'  her 
daughter  that  on  the  event  of  an  aggravation  from  the  meil- 
icine,  she  could  give  her  Kali  nit.  1,500,  which  I  left.  To- 
wards the  evening  patient  noticed  aggravation  and  took 
the  Kali  nit.,  a  teaspoonfnl  every  half  hour,  which  relieved 
admirably,  so  when  I  called  next  morning  patient  was  com- 
fortable and  smiling.  I  filled  up  the  glass  containing  the 
Lachesis  and  water,  directing  the  patient  to  take  a  tcaspoon- 
ful  every  hour.  She  immediately  improved  and  remained  so 
for  two  years.  Subsequently,  and  to  the  present  date,  her 
daughter,  who  corresponds  with  her,  informs  me  of  her  per- 
fect immunity  from  her  original  trouble,  and  moreover,  that 
her  present  health  is  much  better  than  it  has  been  for  the  last 
ten  years,  the  period  which  her  trouble  first  commenced — D. 
A.  Hii-LKR,  M.  D.,  San  Francisco,  Cal. 


Ague  Without  Quinine. — While  riding  into  the  country 
with  Dr.  B„  to  see  a  case  in  consultation,  he  remarked  that 
he  had  a  great  many  cases  of  "malarial  fever"  to  treat,  and 
"would  like  to  be  able  to  cure  his  patients  with  the  single 
remedy  and  without  Quinine."  I  told  him  that  I  treated  all 
my  patients  with  a  single  remedy  and  rarely  found  Quinine 
indicated.  "Then  please  prescribe  for  a  few  of  my  hard 
cases,"  of  which  the  following  are  examples: 

Case  I. — Ipecac. — Mrs. ,  a  lady  about  thirty-five  years 

of  age,  had  been  sick  with  "chills  and  fever"  for  nearly  two 
weeks.  No  regularity  of  chill,  which  is  light  and  of  short 
duration,  fever  long  but  not  veiy  violent;  no  thirst  during 
chilly  stage,  but  much  thirst  all  through  the  hot;  tongue 
thickly  furred  with  a  white  pappy  coating;  loss  of  appetite 
complete,  and  great  weakness  and  prostration  during  apy* 
rexia;  constant  nausea,  and  occasional  vomiting,  were 
marked  symptoms  from  the  outset.  For  the  last  few  days 
was  compelled  to  keep  her  bed.  She  had  taken  two  grains 
of  Quinine  three  times  a  day,  and  was  taking  Gelaemium  and 
Anenieum  in  alternation  every  two  hours  then.  I  suggested 
that  her  symptoms  called  for  Jpecac,  which  she  received  with 
prompt  and  permanent  relief,  and  the  doctor  wondered  wily 
he  had  not  thought  of  it  before.     This  remedy  cured. 


General  Clinics. 


407 


Case  II. — Eupatorium per, — A  married  lady  had  been  sick 
len  days  with  cliitls,  ■whicli  she  described  as  the  "regular 
ague."  Had  taken  thirty  grains  Quinine  up  to  date,  and  was 
now  taking  2i'ux  v.  and  Ara.  during  apyrexia,  and  Oels.  when 
fever  paroxysm  was  on.  Chill  came  on  between  seven  and 
eight  every  morning,  attended  by  violent  bone  pains  in  the 
extremities,  and  pain  in  the  back,  and  preceded  for  an  hour 
by  thirst,  which  continued  during  the  chill,  but  absent  during 
fever.  The  thirst  preceding  chill  was  so  chanicleriitic  that 
she  always  knew  it  was  the  forerunner  of  a  paroxysm;  fever 
and  prespiiation  not  violent,  so  that  she  was  prepared  for 
her  ordinary  household  duties  as  soon  as  fever  passed  away. 
Sup.  per.  was  the  remedy,  which  afforded  prompt  relief. 

Is  i[  not  strange  that  so  much  Qwi'nine  should  be  thrown  away 
on  cases  in  which  it  can  do  no  good?  In  my  practice,  when 
indicated,  I  give  it  in  the  thirtieth  trit.,  and  it  answers  every 
purpose,  in  fact  I  have  better  success  than  when  1  gave  the 
crude  drug.  But  our  want  of  success  in  the  treatment  of 
intermittent  fever  is  to  a  great  extent  due  to  the  unfortunate 
habit  of  generalization;  treating  the  diagnosis  or  the  disease 
inslend  of  the  patient.  A  messenger  is  sent  ten  miles  from 
the  country  for  some  medicine  for  "ague,"  and  that  is  all  the 
information  we  have.  If  we  do  not  prescribe  some  one  else 
will,  and  rather  than  lose  a  patient  we  make  a  chance  shot 
with  the  probabilities  strongly  in  favor  of  missing;  thus 
risking  our  reputation  for  a  mess  of  pottage.  This  is  an  in- 
heritance left  us  by  Allopathy,  and  perpetuated  in  our  school 
by  a  diligent  search  in  allopathic  literature  for  the  pathology 
of  the  disease  (?).  It  look  Hahnemann  many  years  to  over- 
come this  habit;  and  his  Organon  teaches  a  better  and  a  surer 
way.  The  nearer  we  follow  his  guidance  the  more  successful 
will  be  our  practice. — H.  C.  Allen. 

Intermittents. — A  Better  Way. — In  the  September 
number  of  tlie  Advancb,  la  an  article  on  intermittent  fever, 
by  Geo.  M.  Ockford,  M.  D.,  of  Burlington,  Vt.,  that  seems  to 
indicate  that  he  has  not  been  very  successful  in  treating  the 
So-called  "shakes."      I  was  in  a  box  similar  to  George's  not 


408  Cincinnati  Mdical  Advance, 

long  since.  I  pored  over  Boenninghausen,  on  interoiittents, 
until  I  was  disgusted,  then  I  halted  between  two  opinions. 
First.  Should  I  do  as  he  has  done,  write  an  article  and  con- 
demn that  good  for  nothing  little  pamphlet,  or  should  I  go  to 
work  and  see  if  I  were  not  slightly  to  blame  because  some  of 
my  patients  continued  to  shake.  I  soon  decided  upon  the 
latter  plan,  and  procuring  Johnson's  Therapeutic  Key  and 
Boenninghausen,  by  JCorndorfer,  I  studied  them  pretty 
thoroughly  for  a  few  weeks,  and  now  the  treatment  of  inter- 
mittents  is  not  only  easy,  but  simply  fun,  and  I  am  obtaining 
my  best  success  with  the  two  hundred  potencies.  Because  I 
find  where  they  shake  for  a  week  on  large  doses  of  Quinine 
and  Fowler^s  solution  from  the  allopaths,  they  will  shake 
only  two  or  three  times  on  the  third,  once  or  twice  on  the 
sixth,  and  very  seldom  the  second  time  on  the  two  hundredth 
of  the  indicated  remedy.  And  now  George  I  would  say  if 
you  intend  to  cure  "chills,"  you  had  better  spend  more  time 
in  studying  your  materia  medic^,  and  less  in  "quill  driving," 
attempting  to  make  the  many  readers  of  the  Advance  be- 
lieve that  high  dilutions  will  not  cure  chills,  or  that  a  similar 
can  not  be  found  for  them,  and,  although  perhaps  not  at  pres. 
ent,  you  certainly  will  in  the  near  future  reap  a  satisfactory 
reward. — Asa  Allen,  M.  D.,  Perrysburg,  Ohio. 


iu%lUum%. 


AnOXUalotlS  CaSOSi  By  C.  H.  Vilas,  M.  D.,  Prof,  of  Diseases 
of  the  Eye  and  Ear,  Hahnemann  Medical  College,  of 
Chicago. 

I.     In  the  winter  of  1873,  A B ,   aet.  about  two 

years,  was  noticed  by  her  mother  to  be  cross  eyed,  but  only 


Miteellaneo-us.  409 

on  alternate  days.      She  was  brought  to  the  clinic  for  treat- 
ment, and  fell  to  my  hands. 

The  examination  was  mainly  negative  in  result.  Child 
was  healthy  and  had  always  been;  complained  none,  and  was 
thriving.  The  only  fact  of  seeming  importance  elicited  was 
that  the  child  lived  :n  a  malarious  district,  where  intermittent 
fever  largely  prevailed. 

To  prove  the  statements  of  the  mother,  she  was  directed 
to  bring  the  child  doily  to  the  office.  This  was  done  for 
several  days  and  then  omitted.  Carefully  computing  the 
day  in  which  the  eyes  should  be  crossed,  she  was  again  di- 
rected to  bring  the  child  on  that  day,  They  were  found  to 
be  crossed;  the  day  following  they  were  not.  Then  her 
story  was  found  true;  the  strabismus  intermitted  regularly  on  | 
each  alternate  day. 

At  that  time  I  was  an  assistant  in  an  allopathic  clinic,  I 
gave  full  doses  of  Quinine.  The  strabismus  disappeared  in  a 
few  days  without  other  trouble  or  symptoms  intervening. 

n.  In  the  spring  of  1878,  Mr.  W.,  a  student  of  Hahne- 
mann Medical  College,  Chicago,  consulted  me  about  a  pecu- 
liar affection  of  his  left  eye. 

Epitomized,  he  was  in  excellent  health  in  every  respect, 
but  ever  since  his  remembrance,  he  could  seldom  open  his 
mouth  but  that  it  was  accompanied  by  a  spasmodic  affection 
of  the  lids,  resembling  a  coquettish  winking.      He  desired 
relief  on  account  of  the  great  annoyance  which  Mas  evident    ' 
from  such  an  affliction,  for  he  could  not  even  take  a  meal  at 
a  railway  station  without  rendering  himself  open  to  the  sus- 
picion of  coquetting  with  any  lady  opposite,  and  frequently   1 
unintentionally  and  undeservedly  provoking  ridiculous  situa- 
tions.     Aside  from   this,  he  had  nothing  whatever  to  com-  , 
plain  of,  sight  being  perfect. 

Every  form  of  deception  thought  of  was  used  to  test  the  ] 
assertion;  it  was  siriclly  true.  A  thorough  examination  re-  | 
vcnled  nothing  whatever  abnormal,  and  I  was  unable  to  offer  | 
any  relief,  but  advised  remedies, 

III,     Mrs, ,  a   large,  fine   appearing,  well    rurmcd  I 

blond,  act.   lliirty  two,  applied    to  mc  in   the  winter  of  1S77  1 


Cincinnati  Medical    Advance. 


for  relief  from  ii  peculiar  sharp  tickiag  noise  which  annoyet 
her  ill  the  left  ear. 

She  was  in  perfect  health  in  every  way  she  said,  and  she 
certainly  looked  so.  On  rolling  her  head,  however,  ir 
culiar  way,  (much  such  a  motion  as  one  makes  when  rolling 
round  a  bowl  nearly  full  of  fluid  to  get  the  sediment  in  mo- 
tion), and  then  stopping,  there  began  in  her  left  ear  a  sound 
like  the  ticking  of  a  metronome,  which  would  last  from  three 
to  ten  minutes,  according  to  the  length  of  the  previous  mo- 
tion, gradually  running  down  until  it  ceased,  like  a  clock 
running  down  from  lack  of  winding.  This  noise  sounded 
very  loud  to  her,  and  was  perfectly  audible  to  me  on  placing 
my  ear  near  hers.  She  could  produce  it  at  any  time,  but  it 
lasted  longer  and  was  louder  when  she  was  fatigued, 

A  careful  and  persistent  examination  revealed  nothing  ab- 
normal, in  hearing  or  objective  disease.  I  could  only  advise 
her  not  to  roll  her  head,  and  wished  to  give  her  remedies, 
but  never  saw  her  again. 

IV.  Mr.  W.,  a  lawyer,  in  fair  health,  about  forty-five 
years  of  age,  came  to  consult  me  in  the  winter  of  i8y6  regard- 
ing his  left  eye. 

He  could  see  to  read  with  it  only  in  certain  conditions, 
though  he  saw  well  at  a  distance.  Tested  V.  was  perfect  at 
a  distance  with  both  eyes,  and  through  the  range  of  accomo- 
dation, (which  was  nearly  normal — slight  presbyopia),  in  the 
right  eye.  But  on  placing  an  object  within  about  two  feet 
of  the  left  eye,  it  failed  to  see  the  same  clearly,  and  thus  he 
could  not  read  with  it.  He  now,  however,  resorted  to  this 
expedient.  Looking  at  his  book,  he  pressed  with  the  index 
finger  in  the  center  of  the  superior  nasal  quarter  of  the 
globe,  until  he  was  able  to  see  clearly,  after  which  he  could 
read  without  difficulty.  He  said  he  had  pressed  thus  several 
years  without  injury  to  the  sight  or  globe. 

Nothing  was  apparent  on  examination  objectively,  and  all 
tests  showed  his  statement  to  be  true  as  far  as  could  be  dis- 
cerned. There  was  no  reason  for  feigning.  Through  long 
practice  he  had  acquired  great  precision  and  dexterity  in 
regulating  the  pressure,  instantly  producing  the  desired  ac- 
commodation for  any  point,     I  only  saw  him  once  afterward. 


a.: — Since  writing  you  last,  Bungletown 
sensation.      The  other  day  the  mail,  or 


A  Qaestion  as  to  Mortality.      Bungletown  Letter  No.  Tw 

Dear  Mr.  Enr 
has  had  a  genuir 

rather  I  should  say  the  mail  bag,  arrived  at  our  post-office, 
and  the  postmaster  having  gone  to  mill  with  a  grist,  the 
postmaster's  wife,  who  had  been  duly  sworn  to  do  her 
whole  duty  in  the  absence  of  her  lord,  received  and  opened 
the  bag,  and  pronounced  it  empty.  A  colored  boy  and 
your  humble  servant  who  were  in  waiting,  hearing  this  an- 
nouncement, turned  their  disgusted,  (my  wife  here  says  the 
.  proper  word  is  disgusting),  countenances  toward  home. 
What  become  of  the  colored  boy  I  can't  say;  but  as  for  me, 
1  went  to  bed,  it  being  late  when  I  returned.  About  ten 
o'clock,  my  entire  family  was  awakened  by  the  clattering  of 
horses  hoofs.  It  was  the  postmaster  on  horseback,  who  had 
come  to  make  one  thousand  apologies  for  his  wife,  and  to  beg 
me  not  to  report  him  to  the  authorities  at  Washington.  The 
fact  was,  as  he  explained,  when  he  came  home,  he  reexamined 
the  mail  bag,  knowing  very  well  that  it  would  not  have  been 
sent  had  it  contained  nothing.  Eureka!  he  found  a  postal 
card  concealed  in  one  of  the  folds  of  the  sack.  It  was  ad- 
dressed to  "Dr.  Quidmuck,"  and  is  as  follows: 

"  Piiii.ABBi.pai A,  Oct.  18,  1878. 
"Dear  Colleaock :— Estimating  from  your  own  experience,  and 
Irom  tbe  experience  of  I'our  most  intimate  associates,  in  the  practice 
of  Homttopathy,  pure  and  simple,  what  should  be  regarded  as  the 
avcTflge  mortality  among  women  djing  in  parturition,  and  the  four 
weeks  immediately  succeeding?  By  returning  an  answer  to  the 
above  wittiin  a  weekorleu  days,  you  will  largely  Hubservo  the  interest 
of  HomoBopathy,  besides  conferring  a  great  favor  upon, 
"  Fraternally  Yours, 

"  H.  N.  GcBRssKr,  M.  D., 
"1423  Chestnut  8t." 
1  asked  the  post  master  if  his  wife  had  read  this  card,  and 
he  informed  me  that  she  had;  and  that  it  had  been  read  by 
everybody  at  the  corners;  and  that  he  had  shown  it  to  several 


412 


Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 


families  on  the  road.  He  was  thunder  struck  when  I  told 
him,  with  as  tragic  an  air  as  I  could  assume,  that  by  that  act, 
he  had  sealed  the  fate  of  the  community.  Upon  recovering 
he  said  lie  was  glad  to  hear  of  it,  for  his  wife  had  often  ob- 
served that,  if  things  were  well  sealed,  they  generally  kept 
in  good  condition  nigh  the  whole  winter  through.  I  then 
explained  to  him  that  this  card  was  not  a  question  of  life  and 
death,  but  of  death  only.  Thereupon  he  begged  me  with 
many  tears  to  let  him  resign  his  office,  and  to  solicit  my  ap. 
pointment  to  the  place.  I  sternly  refused  and  the  man  went 
home  broken  hearted.  Since  that,  1  have  spent  the  greater 
part  of  my  time  in  figuring  out  Dr.  Guernsey's  conundrum. 
With  the  aid  of  our  schoohnaster,  (though  he  knows  nothing  • 
about  medicine),  I  have  arrived  at  some  astonishing  conchi- 
eions.  It  would  seem  that  the  mortality  among  those  dying 
of  any  disease  was  generally  pretty  high.  I  did  not  myself 
notice  this  fact,  until  the  schoolmaster  put  it  to  me  in  this 
wise:  What  should  be  regarded  as  the  average  mortality 
among  soldiers  killed  in  battle  or  dying  within  four  weeks 
after  the  fight?  I  thought  at  first  we  would  have  to  subtract 
the  number  of  those  recovered  from  the  whole  number  dying, 
but  the  schoolmaster  said  that  would  evidently  be  very  un- 
fair, for  we  would  have  nothing  left  for  a  remainder.  For  com- 
parison sake,  I  looked  up  the  statistics  as  to  ague,  hysterics, 
tooth  ache,  corns  and  sea  sickness,  and  to  my  great  suprise,  I 
found  the  mortality,  after  being  multiplied  and  divided  in 
various  ways  by  the  necessary  logarithms,  amounted  to  zero. 
I  then  looked  up  typhoid  fever,  cholera  and  diphtheria,  and 
after  considerable  work,  putting  in  each  instance  soldiers  for 
patients,  I  found  that  in  every  case  the  mortality  among 
those  dying,  amounted  to  exactly  the  per  cent,  as  expressed 
in  the  number  of  the  dead.  The  schoolmaster  then  insisted 
that  this  rule  must  hold  good  with  Parturition.  But  evi- 
dently he  knows  nothing  about  medicine.  I  told  him  I  was 
sure  he  was  mistaken,  for  Dr.  Guernsey  would  not  deliber- 
ately perpetrate  such  a  joke  as  that  on  the  profession.  At 
last  the  subtle  truth  dawned  upon  my  mind.  I  dismissed  the 
Bchoolmasler  and  wrote  llic  following  reply: 


Miscellaneous,  413 

"BuNGLETOWN,  November  18,  1878. 
"H.  N.  Guernsey,  M.  D, — ^Dear  Sir  : — ^The  average  mortality  among 
women  dying  in  parturition  and  the  four  weeks  immediately  succeed- 
ing is  just  one  hundred  per  cent.  In  case  the  child  dies  the  mortal- 
ity will  be  two  hundred  per  cent,  unless  the  child  is  a  girl,  which 
fact  will  deduct  at  least  twenty-five  per  cent.  In  case  of  twins  the 
mortality  might  reach  three  hundred  per  cent.  If  the  mortality  ever 
goes  above  that  it  will  be  because  it  is  a  case  of  triplets,  or  because 
the  doctor  is  not  practicing  'Homoeopathy  pure  and  simple,' 

"Yours, 

*^Db^  Quidmuck." 

P.  S.  Dr.  Guernsey  does  not  correctly  estimate  the  weight 
of  his  question.  No  man  can  answer  it  "within  a  week  or 
ten  days."  It  has  taken  me  a  whole  month  and  I  consider 
myself  a  high  "average"  in  figures. 


■♦  ♦ 


Eali  Ohloricnm  and  Diphtheria.    By  H.  w.  Taylor. 

What  are  the  symptoms  of  diphtheria?  Prominently  a 
desquamative  inflammation — pharynx — sometimes  also  of 
the  larynx.  Does  not  Xalichlo.  above  all  other  remedies  pro- 
duce this?  Let  us  see.  Allen's  Ency.,  Vol,  V.,  page  three 
hundred  and  eighteen,  Kali  c,  in  bold  faced  type,  preceded  by 
a  star:  "Most  acute  ulcerative  and  follicular  stomatitis.  The 
mucous  surface  was  red  and  tumid,  and  in  the  cheeks,  whole 
(bwccal  cavity),  lips,  etc.,  were  numerous  gray  based  ulcers." 
What  other  drug  has  such  an  array  of  prominent  objective 
symptoms  of  diphtheria?  "Excessive  secretion  of  tough, 
stringy  saliva,  as  of  rabies  caninum"  is  another  prominent  ob- 
jective symptom  in  malignant  diphtheria.  Same  article,  page 
and  section,  we  have  in  italics  with  star:  "Profuse  secretion 
of  acid  saliva.  Increased  secretion  of  saliva.  Increased  se- 
cretion of  mucus  in  the  mouth  Intensity  of  salivary  excita- 
Dec-3 


4U 


'Cincinnati  Medical  Advc 


tion  proportioned  to  dose."  Four  provers  give  this  proof  ' 
of  intense  power  over  glandular  action — a  power  that  is 
unique,  paralel'ed  only  by  Mercury — and  even  not  by  that 
according  to  my  provings.  Epistaxis  is  one  ot  the  fatal  signs 
of  m.iligiinnt  diphtheria.  Same  article,  vol.,  page,  we  have 
"Bleeding  from  its  noslril.  Nose  bleed  twice.  Nose  bleed, 
Nose  bleed  at  night."  What  is  the  palhological  signifi- 
cancu  of  nose  bleed?  Fatty  degeneralion  of  muscular 
coats  of  arterioles.  DiphtUeri; 
irexia   follo' 


first,    with   total  ; 
and    nineteen,   vol.    v.,  we  have, 
hunger,  afterwards  followed  by  !i 
of  appetite.      Appetite    much  din 
lite."     In  the  throat  we  have,  alon 
this   startling   symptoi 


)g.      Page    tjjree  hundred 
"Paroxysms    of    ravenous 

«of  appetite.  Deficiency 
nished,  Losi-of  appe- 
with  dryness  and  pain, 
1,  drgtouU  xioaUoioingH  What  does 
obstruction  to  the  bulk  of  a  bolust 
Not  mere  narrowing  of  the  faucial  cavily  by  impinging  ton- 
sils! No;  for  this  condition  was  brought  about  by  one  to  five 
grains  of  a  drug  that  I  have  given  in  ten  grain  doses  every 
botir  of  the  twenty-four.  It  means  beginning  paralysis  of 
the  glosBO-pharyngeal  nerve.  It  means  absolute  tissue  de- 
stuclion  going  on  in  the  upper  part  of  the  muduUa  oblongata 
and  extending  to  the  floor  of  the  fourth  ventricle!  In  the 
renal  organs  it  produces  that  thinning  of  the  aiierial  coats, 
(by  loss  of  epithelium),  that  renders  possible  a  rapid  trans- 
udation of  the  watery  parts  of  the  blood,  (urine),  and  even 
passage  of  blood  discs  as  there  is  "hematuria"  happening  to 
prover  26,  after  a  "large  spoonful."  Excessive  urine  and 
hematuria  are  among  the  forerunners  of  albumen.  And 
beyond  a  reasonable  doubt  the  Kali  chlor.  can  produce  ft 
desquamative  nephritis;  as  to  my  knowledge  it  has  cured  it. 
By  looking  at  page  three  hundred  and  twenty-two,  vol.  v., 
you  will  see  ihat  Kali  chlor.  has  produced  all  the  phenomena 
of  violent  pyrexia — the  last  element  af  the  group  of  symp- 
toms of  malignant  diphtheria.  Going  a  little  further  into  the 
"Kali  hypochlorate"  we  find  "hoarse  voice."  "Incessant  . 
cough  with  difficult  respiration,"  and  as  a  horrible  climax,  1 
(poH  mortem).,  "chest  pressed  together,  (in  tonic  spasm),  and 


Mtscellaneoiu,  415 

watery  froth  exuding  from  the  mouth,  page  three  hundreds 
and  twenty-three,  vol.  v.  How  this  recalls  to  my  mind  the 
bloody  froth  that  crawled  over  the  waxen  lips  of  my  beautiful 
boy.  And  how  "forehead  covered  with  sweat,"  calls  up  be- 
fore me  the  long,  yellow,  damp,  dripping  locks  of  my  darling 
Agnes,  as  she  struggled  so  hopelessly,  so  patiently,  with  the 
gaunt  fiend  of  the  throat.  How  my  heart  aches  when  I 
think  of  those  dark,  wet,  winter  days  when  my  children  lay 
slowly  dying,  while  of  all  the  world's  drugs,  the  cheapest  and 
most  plentiful,  was  the  one  that  might  have  cured — that 
would  have  cured. 


The  Progress  of  Medicine.     By  H.  N.  Guernsey,  M.  D. 

If  we  take  a  retrospective  view  of  the  medical  world  for 
the  past  half  century,  we  shall  see  that  a  wonderful  change 
has  everywhere  taken  place  in  the  practice  of  medicine.  As 
an  illustration,  in  Philadelphia,  at  that  time,  the  signs  of 
cuppers,  leechers  and  bleeders  were  seen  conspicuously  posted 
very  generally  in  every  street.  So  heroic  was  the  medical 
treatment  of  those  days,  that  it  was  said  of  the  above  city, 
"her  streets  ran  with  human  blood,  and  blue  pills  are  taken 
by  the  ton."  But  even  then,  in  the  near  horizon,  the  welcome 
light  of  the  day  of  better  things  began  lo  shine.  Dr.  C. 
Hering,  with  a  few  other  real  healers,  came  to  the  relief  of 
the  tortured  multitudcsu  More  and  more  have  been  added  td 
that  little  band,  enrolled  under  the  banner  of  similia  stmilibus 
curantur,  and  so  well  have  they  fought  the  good  fight  that 
now  where  do  we  find  the  above  signs?  Echo  answers, 
"Where?"  A  corresponding  change  has  taken  place  in  every 
other  form  of  heroism  and  terrorism  in  the  fair  land  of  this 
Commonwealth.      Yea,  throughout  the  world — thanks  be  to 


416 


CiTici 


\aU  Medica.  Advance. 


our  Heavenly  Father  who  sent  his  servant,  Samuel  Hani 
mann  and  his  faithful  and  trusty  followers.  Now  the  better 
educatecl-and  more  progressive  members  of  the  allopathic 
school  are  investigating  therapeutics  upon  the  same  plan 
as  dill  Hahnemann;  and  they  will  never  be  found  v/allowing 
in  the  mire  of  eclecticism.  1  think  it  evident  in  regiird  to  all 
the  sciences  everywhere,  that  there  is  a  corresponding 
improvement — quality,  not  quantity,  being  the  demand;  so  _ 
also  of  all  the  arts;  in  husbandry  and  in  daily  labors  even. 

Tbe  homceopalhic  profession  in  our  State  has  abundant 
reasons  to  be  congratulated  in  this  respect.  The  general  ten- 
dency is  not  only  to  revere  Hahnemann,  but  also  to  emvlate 
him:  not  as  a  man,  but  because  of  his  principles,  which  ure 
found  to  be  more  and  more  reliable  in  pioporlion  as  we  study 
and  apply  them;  and  by  which  we  are  learning  every  day 
that  it  is  quality,  not  quantity,  that  does  the  work  of  healing 
Ihe  sick,  restoring  the  blind  to  sight,  making  the  lame  to 
walk,  causing  the  deaf  to  hear,  and  doing  all  other  works  of 
redeeming  the  mental  and  physical  man  from  his  fallen  con- 
dition of  health.  Yes,  it  is  by  reading  and  applying  his  di- 
rections that  we  are  able  to  do  this  more  and  more  success- 
fully, with  more  and  more  certainty  as  we  understand  and 
obey  his  teachings.  By  studying  the  Organon  its  principles 
gain  and  grow  upon  us,  and  our  faculties  develop,  increase 
and  expand  into  a  clear  comprehension  of  it.  "The  observa- 
tion of  this  fact,  by  experience,  led  our  Bceninghausen  to  in- 
culcate upon  the  profession  his  advice  to  iterate  and  reiterate 
tbe  diligent  perusal  and  assiduous  study  of  this  work  as  the 
fountain  head  of  our  knowledge  of  Homceopatliy,"  In  read- 
ing and  pondering  over  the  writings  of  our  great  preceptor 
with  a  view  of  applying  them  to  practice,  some  of  us  can  un- 
derstand and  apply  them  more  easily  than  others,  and  can 
carry  forward  the  work  quite  satisfactorily;  others  stumble 
more  or  less  from  the  want  of  a  clear  perception  how  to  pro- 
ceed, and  feel  verj-  timid  and  doubtful  of  the  efficiency  of  the 
small  doses  and  the  single  remedy;  others  again  make  very 
bungling  work  of  it,  and  call  their  practice  homceopalhic, 
when  it  scarcely  bears  a  resemblance  to  that  mighty  and  all- 


Miscellaneous. 


41 T 


powerful  system  of  healing  ihe  sitk.  We  ull  need  to  sludy 
llalinemann's  writings  moic  and  more  close! v,  and  the 
stronger  should  instruct  and  lead  the  weatcer.  Now,  as  our 
conventions  are,  and  pre-eminently  should  be,  educational  in 
character,  it  seems  to  me  that  some  educational  standard 
should  be  recognized,  something  that  we  can  ''square  by," 
and  that  il  should  be  one  of  the  first  dnties  of  our  Convention 
individually  and  collectively,  to  strive  to  elevate  ourselves  to 
that  standard.  If  we  think  there  is  a  principle  in  Hahne- 
mann's writings  that  will  stand  tfiu  test  of  the  closest  possible 
investigation  scientifically  and  practically,  why  should  not 
the  matter  come  squarely  before  us,  and, be  dispassionately 
discussed  and  practically  elucidated?  Let  it  come  pointedly 
and  clearly  that  we  may  see  if  there  is  the  perfection  that  | 
some  of  us  claim. 

What  we  want  in  ourschool  is  precision  and  certainty,  and 
we  desire  lo  approach  this  elevated,  this  grand  and  noble 
standard  all  the  days  of  our  lives  for  the  sake  of  our  wives. 
our  children,  and  coming  posterity.  We  desire  to  preserve 
their  health,  to  mitigate  their  sufferings,  to  see  them  well  and 
enjoying  the  full  fruition  that  sane  minds  and  sound  bodies 
vouchsafe  to  them.  Then  we  may  be  happy.  Are  the  prin- 
ciples of  Samuel  Hahnemann  calculated  to  lead  us  onward 
and  upward  to  this  high  goal?  Let  this  be  fully  determined 
at  our  approaching  Stale  Convention.  If  there  he  a  negative 
response,  then  arc  there  any  principles  in  existence  that  will 
conduce  to  such  an  end?  If  so,  let  them  he  presented,  dis- 
cussed, and  if  found  worthy,  adopted.  Let  us  have  the  best 
wo  can  find,  and  when  found,  appropriated.  Let  us  not  be 
afraid  to  examine  into  their  fullest  significance  and  practica- 
bility, and  measure  all  our  proceedings  thereby,  individually 
and  collectively.  I  already  hear  the  deci-sion  loudly  pro- 
claimed by  the  united  voices  of  the  Convention.  "Similia 
timilibua  ourantur  is  our  motto,  and  the  principles  as  unfolded 
and  explained  in  Hahnemann's  Organon  and  in  his  Chronic 
Diseases,  are  our  guide  in  the  practice  of  our  profession.  We  j 
are  satisfied  that  men's  medical  opinionsarc  valueless  without 
the  basis  of  true  principle."     This  being  the  case,  we  must 


418  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

define  our  motto.  What  does  ^^Simiiia  similihus  curantur^^ 
mean,  what  does  it  imply,  and  do  we  fulfil  its  requirements 
in  our  practice?  Are  we  really  in  the  endeavor  to  form 
those  habits  of  nice  observation,  without  which  no  progress 
in  science  is  ever  made? 

Having  thoroughly  and  deKberately  settled  these  questions, 
there  are  others  growing  out  of  the  principles  of  our  science 
upon  which  we  all  want  more  light,  that  we  may  become 
stronger  and  truer  to  ourselves  as  medical  practitioners,  truer 
to  our  patients  as  more  successful  healers,  truer  to  our  Com- 
monwealth in  the  abatement  and  prevention  of  disease.  Ht)W 
often  do  we  hear*  the  statement  made,  "Away  with  your 
science,  it  is  my  duty  to  cure  my  patient  in  the  best  manner  I 
know  how."  What  is  science  but  knowledge — knowledge 
so  perfected  as  to  become  science?  And  did  this  kind  of 
knowledge  ever  stand  in  the  way  of  making  the  best  of  cures 
in  the  most  sure,  speedy  and  perfect  manner?  He  who  ques- 
tions this  fact,  can  not  long  stand  in  the  way  of  blazing  light 
and  advancement.  He  who  casts  loose  from  homoeopathic 
principles  in  prescribing  for  the  sick,  and  bangs  away  at  his 
patient  at  random,  and  teaches  others  to  do  so,  will  soon 
enough  come  to  grief  and  to  judgment. 


Ponrteen  Years  Without  Pood(?) 

Dr.  George  C.  Jeffrey  writes  us  that  the  following  account 
of  a  young  lady  in  Brooklyn  is  as  truthful  as  it  is  strange  and 
unaccountable. 

While  getting  off  a  Fulton  street  car  one  day  in  1864,  on 
her  return  from  school,  the  young  lady  slipped  and  fell  back- 
ward. Her  skirt  caught  on  the  step,  unseen  by  the  conduc- 
tor, who  started   the  car  on  its  way  again.      The  poor  girl 


Jfiscellaneout. 


419 


waa  dragged  some  ten  or  fifteen  yards  before  her  cries  were 
heard  mid  the  brake  applied.  When  picked  up  she  was  in- 
sensible, and  was  carried,  suffering  intense  agony  from  an 
injured  spine,  to  her  home  near  liy,  Forly-eight  hours  after- 
ward she  was  seized  with  a  violent  spasm  which  lasted  for 
over  two  days.  Then  came  a  trance,  when  the  sufferer  grew 
cold  and  rigid,  with  no  evidence  of  life  beyond  a  warm  spot 
under  the  left  breast,  where  feeble  pulsations  of  her  heart 
were  detected  by  Dr.  Spier.  Only  this  gentleman  believed 
she  was  alive,  .ind  it  was  due  to  constant  assertion  of  the 
girl's  ultimate  recovery  that  Miss  Fansher  was  not  buried, 
Despite  Che  best  medical  help  and  the  application  of  restora- 
tives no  change  was  brought  in  the  patient's  condition  until 
the  tenth  week,  when  the  strange  suspension  of  life  ceased 
and  breath  was  once  moreinhaled  and  breathed  forth  from  her  ' 
lungs. 

To   their  dismay  the   doctors  then  found   that  Mollie  had 
lost  her  sight  and  the  power  of  deglutition,  the  latter  affliction 
rendering  it  impossible  for  her  to  swallow  food  or  even  arti- 
culate by  the  use  of  tongue  or  lip.     Previous  to  her  trance  a   | 
moderate  quantity  of  food  had  been  given  her  each  day,  but  I 
since  then  she  has  not  taken   a  mouthful  of  life-sustain: 
food,       SpasiT.s  and   trances   alternated  with    alarming    fre- 
quency since    Miss  Fansher    was  first  attacked.       First  her 
limbs  only  became  rigid  and  disturbed  at  the  caprice  of  her 
Btiange  malady,  but  as  time  passed  her  whole  frame  would    ' 
writhe  as  if  in  great  pain,  requiring  to  be  held  by  main  force   | 
in  order  to  remain  in  the  bed,     She  could  swallow  nolhi 
and  lay  utterly  helpless  until  moved. 

Although  one  of  the  most  important  of  the  senses,  that  of  | 
seeing,  was  thus  cut  off,  it  was  soon  discovered  that  by  so 
phenomenal  means  Miss  Fansher  made  up  the  deficiency  by 
what  may  be  called  "second  sight."     Though  unable  to  ! 
yet  she  can  work,  night  well  as  day,  upon  her  wax  flowers  ] 
and  embroidery,  requiring  great  nicety  and  taste  in  the  selec- 
tion of  colors.     When  questioned  in  legard  to  the  matter  she  I 
will  say,  in  writing,  '■!  can   see,  but  not  with  r.iy  poor  old  | 
eyes."  Sometimes,  indeed,  her  mouth  will  lose  its  rigidity  ii 


420 


VincinnaU  Medical  Adc(i 


she  will  mumble  out  some  half  forgotten  sentence;  but  evea  '\ 
on  these  occasions  she  will  not  taste  food,  so  accustomed  1 
she  to  do  without  it. 

Dr.  Ormiston  says:     "It  seems  incredible,  but  from  every- 
thing I  can  iearn  Mollie  Fansher  never  eats.    During  a  dozen 
visits  [o  tht  sick  chamber  I  have  never  delected  evidence  of   , 
the  pnlient  having  eaten  a  morsel." 

Dr.  Spier  says;  "I  do  not  believe  any  food — that  is,  solids 
— ever  passed  the  woman's  lips  since  her  attack  of  paralysis 
consequent  upon  her  mishap.  As  for  an  occasional  tea- 
spoonful  of  water  or  milk,  I  sometimes  forced  her  to  take-it, 
bv  using  an  instrument  to  pi-y  open  her  mouth,  but  that  is 
painful  to  her.  As  early  as  1865  I  endeavored  to  sustain  life 
in  this  way,  for  1  feared  that,  in  obedience  to  the  universal 
law  of  nature,  she  would  die  of  gradual  inanition  or  exhaus- 
tion, which  I  thought  would  sooner  or  later  ensue;  but  I  was 
mistaken.  The  case  knocks  the  bottom  out  of  all  existing 
medical  theories,  and  is,  in  a  word,  miraculous. 

"Several  times  I  have  given  her  emetics  on  purpose  to  dis- 
cover the  irulh;  but  the  result  always  confirmed  the  stale- 
ment  that  she  had  taken  no  food.  It  sounds  strangely,  but  it 
is  so.  I  have  taken  every  precaution  against  deception, 
sometimes  going  into  the  house  at  eleven  or  twelve  o'clock  at 
night  without  being  announced,  but  have  always  found  hev 
the  same  and  lying  in  the  same  position  occupied  by  her  for 
the  entire  period  of  her  invalidity.  The  springs  of  her  bed- 
stead are  actually  worn  out  with  the  constant  pressure.  My 
brethren  in  the  medical  profession  at  first  were  inclined  to 
laugh  at -me  and  call  me  a  fool  and  spirituahst  when  I  told 
Ihem  of  the  long  abstinence  and  keen  menial  powers  of  iny 
interesting  patient." 

Dr.  Jeffery  says;  1  enclose  the  report  of  a  very  remarka- 
ble case,  thai  belongs  to  "our  parts."  The  'history  of  the 
young  lady  referred  to  is  substantially  true,  1  knowing  it  to  be 
so  by  being  most  intimate  with  a  lady  who  has  known  her 
and  her  family  for  many  years — and  has  recited  to  me  many 
times  the  wonderful  phenomena  of  the  case.  The  enclosed 
cut  I   take  from  the  New  York  Herald   of  yesterday,  and 


Miscellaneous,  421 

thinking  that  you  might  see  fit  to  publish  it  in  the  Advance, 
I  have  concluded  to  send  it.  She  eats  sometimes  one  or  two 
grapes  in  a  day.  Every  few  weeks  she  passes  into  a  trance, 
from  which  she  recovers  onlv  to  find  some  new  contortion  of 
her  body,  sometimes  an  arm  is  bent  upon  itself,  or  the  lower 
extremities  are  drawn  up,  with  the  knees  upon  the  abdomen. 
These  conditions  of  rigdity  remain  until  another  "spell" 
comes  on,  when  she  gets  relief  from  the  previous  unnatural 
position,  only  to  pass  into  another.  She,  for  some  reason, 
can  bear  no  light  or  heat.  Therefore,  she  remains  in  dark- 
ness, also  without  a  fire  in  the  coldest  weather. 

The  physicians  referred  to  are  representative  men  of  the 
old  school  of  this  city,  both  being  busy  practitioners.  They 
call  upon  her  every  day,  and  take  notes  of  any  new  symp- 
toms that  may  appear.  The  case  is  authentic  in  every  re- 
spect, and  certainly  causes  a  new  question  on  the  point  of 
waste  and  repair. 


->  ♦■ 


^n\  Mmm. 


Homceopathic  Therapeutics;    By  Samuel  Lillenthal,  M.  D.    Boericke  & 
Tafel,  New  York. 

Here  we  have 'another  evidence  of  the  downfall  of  Homoeopathy. 
The  ''critical  period"  is  indeed  upon  us.  A  few  more  such  books 
and  we  will  have  no  standing  in  the  court  of  public  opinion.  If  this 
is  not  a  valid  proof  of  the  decadence  of  our  cause,  where  will  we  find 
it  ?  No  where  my  good  friend.  Such  proof  doesn't  exist,  except  in 
the  morbid  imagination  of  a  few  professional  foundlings,  who  are 
wandering  about  and  crying,  and  needing  only  to  be  taken  up  and 
spanked,  and  adopted  intb  the  ''regular"  profession.  Just  look  at 
this  book  a  moment  and  ask  yourself,  if  any  sound  man,  who  pos- 


422 


(('  3taiJit:al  Adeai 


aesaeii  it,  would  throw  it  away  for  anything  uiidef  the  light  of  thft  I 
San  that  Allopathy  could  give  ?  Why  here  is  a  system  of  therapeuticH  1 
based  upon  a  law.    Thore  is  not  the  aiigiiteat  Intimation  in  it,  of  any  ] 
other  method  than  Similia  amUUnu  eurantur.      Now  as  a  ays 
very  complete,  or  else  it  is  shamefully  deceptive,  because  incompleta  I 
and  one-Elded.     Looking  at  it  with  care,  it  does  not  seem  to  lack  at  J 
any  point.     The  author  does  not  say  of  any  disease,  "This  can  not  1 
ba  treated  homo^opathically.  We  have  no  remedy  lor  this  nondition.' 
On  the  contrary,  fae  brings  to  the  attack  of  each  case,  a  quiver  loaded 
wltli  Parthian  arrows ;  and  places  in  our  hand  a  strong  bow,  bent  and   I 
armed  with  the  uuerring  implement  of  success.     What  do  we  want 
more  ?    Absolutely  nothiug,  except  it  be  to  add  somewhat  more  of 
the  same  quality  of  instruments  to  his  armamentaria.  The  wonderful 
fullness  and  growth  of  our  materia  medica  could  not  be  better  exem- 
plified than  in  tlie  produetion  of  such  a  book  as  this.    Only  a  coward 
or  an  ignoramus  could  falter  in  his  determination  to  treat  diseaae 
strictly  according  to  tlie  law  of  Simiiia,  when  be  had  such  an  aid  aa 
this  to  help  him.     The  work  is  not  original,  nor  does  it  comprise 
every tbing  that  might  be  included  in  it;  but  it  ia  a  work  that  only  ft  J 
life  long  earnest  student  of  the  materia  medica  could  produce.     It  ia  .] 
a  lasting  ornament  to  our  literature,  and  will  prove  a  priceless  bleaa-  I 
ing  to  the  profession ;  and  more  than  that,  it  will  atop  the  mouths  of    ' 
those  senseless  croakers,  who  complain  of  the  insufficiency  of  our 
therapeutic  agents,  and  who  tell  us  that,  our  abibty  to  treat  diseasee 
strictly  according  to  the  homieopathic  law  ia  greatly  limited ;  and 
that  iC  we  would  succeed,  we  must  often  resort  to  non-homu^opatbic 
agents.     They  have  but  to  look  at  this  book,  and  shame  will  cover 
their  faces,  and  silence  seal  their  lips. 

Cyclopedia  of  the  Practice  of  Medicine.  Vol.  XIV.  Diseaaes  of  the  j 
Nervous  System  and  Disturbance  of  Speech.  Wm.  Wood  &  ] 
Co.,  New  York. 


In  this  portly  volume,  Eulenburg  treats  of  Hemicrania,  An^na 
Pectoris,  Unilateral  Progressive  Atrophy  of  the  Face,  Basedov 
Disease,  Progressive  Muscular  Atrophy,  Pseudo  Hypertrophy  of  the 
Muscles  and  True  Muscular  Hypertrophy.  Prof.  Nothnagle  .treats 
of  Epilepsy  and  Eclampsia.  Prof.  Bauer  discusses  Tetanus.  Eulen- 
burg again  treats  of  Catalepsy,  Tremens  and  Paralysis  Agitans. 
Von  Ziemssen  writes  on  Chorea,  Jolly  on  Hysteria,  and  Euasmaul 
closes  the  volume  with  Disturbances  of  Speech,  pving  us  nearly  three 
hundred  pages,  making  the  most  complete  treatise  on  the  sabject  e 
tant.    We  have  not  in  the  entire  series  oE  volumes  o: 


4 

to  which  tbia   ^^J 


Jiook  Xotices.  423 

one  holds  a  second  rank.  But  it  is  a.  book  that  will  not  be  sought 
after  by  the  greitt  body  of  medical  practitioners,  and  yet  it  ia  the 
mastery  of  these  very  subjects  that  is  likely  to  give  the  highest  repu- 
tation to  a  medical  man.  It  is  no  small  satisfaction  to  know  that  we 
have  this  part  of  our  medical  literature  brought  up  so  fully  to  date 
aid  made  bo  accessible  to  the  profession.  Price  $4.50.  For  sale  by 
Robert  Clarke  &  Co. 

1.  Lindsay  &  Blakiston.    2.   Boericke  & 


Both  of  these  are  standard  books,  and  their  well  known  use  and 
value  preclude  the  need  of  a  lengthy  comment.  Many  a  physician 
fails  to  make  important  entries  for  want  of  these  valuable  olds. 
Lindsay  &  Blukiston's  work  is  prepared  specifically  for  1870,  and 
contains  a.  valuable  table  of  antidotes.  Boericke  &  Tafel  suits  all 
dates  and  sp.a)jonB  alike,  and  contains  an  elegant  repertory  for  the  use 
of  the  bomoiopathic  physician.    Don't  fidl  to  send  for  a  list  book. 

Twelfth  Anrual  Report  of  the  Homceopathio  Medical  and  Suigical 
Dispensary  of  Pittsburgh, 

We  may  reckon  on  this  as  one  of  the  most  substantial  and  impor- 
tant institutions  of  the  kind  in  this  country.  For  twelve  years  past 
it  has  been  making  a  record  of  which  the  homu>opatbic  school  may 
well  be  proud.  It  has  during  the  past  year  bad  a  current  expendi- 
ture of  eleven  thousand,  eight  hundred  and  thirty-four  dollars  and 
sixty-four  cents.  It  has  treated  three  hundred  and  fifty-three  pa- 
tients in  the  hospital  proper.  In  the  dispensary  department  there 
has  been  issued  eighteen  thousand,  one  hundred  and  eighty-three 
prescriptions  and  one  thousand,  two  hundred  and  Iventy-one  visits. 
May  its  shadow  never  grow  less. 

The  Human  Eye.  Its  Optical  Construction  Popularly  Explained.  By 
Dr.  K.  E.  Dudgeon,  London,  England,  pp.  92.  Ilardedieke  <k 
Bogue,  London. 

The  pages  in  this  book  are  tew,  but  they  boar  tho  imprint  of  conse- 
cutive thought,  honest  scientific  work,  orginal  investigation,  clear^ 
logical  reasoning  and  careful  conalruction. 

The  eubjecta  under  discussion  are  treated  with  great  clcarnesa 
witliout  the  use  of  a  superfluous  sentence.  By  reading  every  word 
and  understanding  each  sentence,  the  reader  will  comprehend  all 


424 


Cincin 


ati  Medical  Advance. 


there  is  before  him  and  be  rewarded.     The  work  which  the 
representa  lias  evidently  not  been  done  Bpasmodically,  and  the  au_ 
thor's  conclusiona  appear  to  hare  been  Buhjected  to  mature  conBidem, 

The  book  contains  inach  th&t  is  interesting  concerning  euhaqueous 
vision — the  construclion  and  use  of  his  lenses — methods  of  detar- 
mining  the  movemente  nmde  by  the  crystalline  lens  of  the  eye  dur- 
ing the  accommodative  act — the  theory  of  accommodation. 

Before  introducing  the  peculiarities  of  suhnqueoua  vision,  and  the 
means  of  correcting  them,  the  character  and  qualties  ol  difiTerent 
lenses,  and  the  behavior  of  light  in  passing  from  a  rare  to  a  dense 
medium,  or  the  reverse,  are  clearly  set  forth.  A  very  interesting 
account  is  given  of  the  experiments  made  under  water,  of  the  way  in 
which  the  water  acts  upon  the  media  of  the  eye,  of  the  way  the  new 
condition  produced  is  met  by  eitiier  strong  convex  glass  lenses  or 
concave  nir  lenses;  of  the  way  in  which  the  respective  power  of  each 
part  of  the  dioptric  media  was  determined.  If  any  have  failed  to  un- 
derstand how  the  cornea  and  aqueous  humor  could  be  the  principal 
lens  of  the  eye,  they  will  find  enlightenment  here. 

Id  trying  to  determine  the  movements  oE  the  Lens  during  the  act  o' 
accommodation,  Dr.  Dudgeon  seems  to  have  succeeded  better  than 
any  previous  investigator.  Watching  under  the  microscope  the 
movements  of  a  lighted  candle,  held  to  one  side  at  the  eye,  na  they 
appeared  reflected  from  the  cornea,  and  anterior  and  posterior 
capsules  of  the  crystalline  lens,  he  discovered  thiit  the  relative  posi- 
tion of  these  images  depended  upon  whether  the  lighted  candle  was 
held  to  the  nasal  or  temporal  side  of  the  coraea, 

When  held  to  the  temporal  side  the  three  images  assumed  a  cer- 
tain position,  and  during  accommadHtion  moved  as  had  been  prev- 
iously pointed  ont,  but  when  the  light  was  placed  on  the  nasal  dde 
a  similar  movement  did  not  occur. 

From  his  experiments,  and  recognizing  the  oblate  spheroidal 
character  of  the  crystalline  lens,  he  concludes  that  during  nccommo. 
dation  the  lens  is  rotated  upon  its  vertical  axis.  The  view  is  decid. 
edly  novel,  but  commands  attention  and  respect.  Few  of  ua  but 
have  felt  that  sooner  or  later  the  Helmholtz  theory  of  accommodation 
must  yield  to  something  better.  Any  new  theory  baaed  upon  experi- 
mental research  of  the  character  of  this  of  Dr.  Dudgeon  is  worthy  of 
consideration. 

Without  pretending  at  the  present  writing  to  accept  or  reject  the 
theory,  it  may  be  said  that  the  notion  finds  confirmation  in  the  shap 
of  the  ciliary  muscle,  la  the  proloagation  backwards  into  the  choroid 
on  the  nasal  and  temporal  udeof  the  longitudinal  fibres  of  tbeciliary 


( 


J 


Book  J!fotieeii.  425 

mnscle,  and  also  in  the  much  more  freiiuent  occurrence  of  atrophy 
of  Ihe  choroid  on  tlie  cuternal  side  of  optic  nerve,  in  pro^ressivu 
myopia. 

In  A  small  compaas  this  hook  emi)odie3  the  results  of  a  great  deal  of 
hard  work  and  study.  It  has  been  cBreCully  written,  and  supplies 
vbut  can  not  be  gotten  elsewhere.  It  was  needed,  and  certainly 
should  be  obtained  by  all  i[ho  desire  thia  cIhm  of  information.  It  is 
a  credit  and  ornament  to  our  literature. — W.  H.  W, 

Diseases  or  the  Brain  and  Its  Membranes,    Vol  XIT.    Cyclopedia  of 
the  Practice  of  Medicine.    Wm.  Wood  &  Co.,  New  York. 

We  have  here  unquegtionnbly  a  book  that  stands  without  a  peer  in 
this  department  of  medicine.  It  is  iu  [nany  respects  the  least  attrac- 
tive ol  the  series,  but  at  the  same  time  it  is  among  the  most  impoi^ 
tant  of  them  all.  A  glance  at  the  topics  discussed  shows  the  scope 
of  the  work,  and  when  we  observe  that  they  are  expanded  over 
BOnie  nine  hundred  pages,  we  uiny  well  consider  the  discussion  quite 
elaborate,  if  not  exhaustive.  Professor  Nothnngel  treate  of  Antemia, 
Hyperffimin,  Ilemorrhuge,  ThrorobosiB  and  Embolism  of  the  Krain ; 
Obernier  treats  Tumors  of  the  brain  and  its  membranes  ;  Heubner  of 
Syphilis  of  Ihe  brain  and  nervous  eyBtem  j  Huguenin  of  Acute  and 
Chronic  InHammaiion  of  the  brain,  and  Hitxix  of  Hypertrophy  and 
Atrophy  of  the  brain.  It  in  hardly  necessary  for  us  to  commend 
this  work  to  the  attention  of  the  student.  Here  is  u  department  too 
little  understood  by  any  and  almost  unknown  to  the  bulk  of  the 
prolession.  It  will  be  studied  wilh  tlie  hveliest  interest  by  those 
desiring  a  knowledge  of  biain  diseases.  The  pathological  inveetiga- 
lioDB  are  admirable  and  without  exception  the  authors  and  their 
translators  have  made  the  discussion  in  every  sense  readable  and 
comprehenaible.    For  sale  by  Bobert  Clarke  &  Go. 

On  Therapautie  Forces.    By  Tho.  .T.  Mays,  M.  D.    Lindsay  A  Blakis- 


This  is  an  efibrt  to  consider  the  action  of  medicines  in  the  light  of 
the  modern  doctrine  of  the  conservation  of  force.  Why  the  distin- 
guished autliordid  not  also  consider  their  action  in  the  light  of  the 
mmiern  doctrine  of  correlation  of  force  we  can  not  clearly  see.  He  is 
one  of  thu  few  men  in  his  school  (allopathic)  who  has  "firmly 
espoused  the  belief  that  the  action  of  medicine  in  the  animal  body 
is  like  everythinij  else  amenable  to  unchanging  laws ;  ami  that  it  is 
our  duty  to  unravul  and  elucidate  those  laws."  Very  well,  when 
that  law  of  aflion  is  discovi-red  and  formu1ate<l  will  it  not  constitute 


426  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

a  "  dogma,''  and  would  not  its  proraulgiition  bring  down  on  tbe  headj 
of  its  discoverer  the  severest,  condemnation  of  tlie  dominant  medica 
school  ?  The  author  of  this  hook  has,  he  thinks,  discovered  severs 
ftsed  laws,  under  whicli  medidnes  act  with  more  or  less  certainty- 
He  does  not,  however,  condense  them  into  such  a  brief  formulary 
that  one  may  easily  restate  them,  and  leaving  them  in  tJiis  nebulous 
condition,  extended  into  a  discussion  reaching  over  nearly  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  pages,  it  will  be  safe  to  assume  that  tbey  will  excite 
little  attention  and  not  the  alighteat  opposition,  But  here  page  one 
hundred  and  foriy-two  ia  a  striking  thought  and  might  well  have  i 
been  chosen  OS  ft  motto;  "  Juat  as  Boon  as  themedical  profession  rightly 
appreciates  that  the  art  of  curing  disease  ia  controlled  by  invariable 
]aw,  ao  soon  will  it '  be  wrencbed  from  the  uncertainty  of  empiricism 
and  of  charlatanism  and  rise  lo  the  dignity  of  a  science."  Brave 
words,  indeed !  And  we  only  wonder  that,  with  all  the  light  this  * 
author  poBseBses,  he  does  not  after  nil,  see  the  true  light,  for  he  might  I 
find  in  »mUia  a  certain  guide  in  the  ndminiatrution  of  medicinea  and 
he  would  also  lind  that  the  ration:i,le  of  their  action  under  this  law  is 
quite  in  keeping  with  what  we  know  of  the  conservation  and  correla- 
tion of  force. 

The  American  Naturalist. 

This  splendid  montldy  should  be  read  by  all  our  pbyaicians,  for  it 
gives  juat  such  information  on  all  acientiflc  matters  as  should  be 
possessed  by  every  such  person.  Terms,  S4.0O.  Published  by 
McOolla  &  tJtavely,  Philadeipbia. 

Man, 

Our  indefatigable  friend,  A.  E.  Butts,  19  Dey  St.,  New  York,  has 
recently  added  to  the  list  of  hia  publicittionB,  a  weekly  journal  with 
the  above  caption.  To  ibis  he  adds  a  scientlfio  supplement  and 
promises  to  furniah  for  one  dollar  a  year,  a  wonderful  amount  of 
valuable  reading.    Send  for  a  specimen. 

The  American  Homteopathic  Publishing  Society  have  in  press  a 
new  volume  by  Dr.  Constantino  Bering,  "The  Guiding  Symptoms  of 
our  Materia  lledica."  Proof  sheet  which  we  have  examined  con- 
vince us  that  it  will  furnish  the  proiession  with  a  moat  desirable  hand 
book,  and  will  be  made  welcome  by  every  student  of  our  mateiia    | 


Editor's  Table,  427 

BECEIVED. 

Ovarian  Tumors.    By  Henry  N.  Guernsey,  M.  D.,  Philadelphia. 

Annual  Address  to  the  Homoeopathic  Medical  Society  of  Pennsyl- 
vania.   By  the  President,  Henry  N.  Guernsey,  M.  D. 
A  Friend.    By  Henry  Greville.    Peterson  &  Bro.,  Philadelphia. 

Cyclopedia  of  the  Practice  of  Medicine.     Vol.  viii.     Diseases  of 
Chylopoetic  System.     Wm.  Wood  &  Co.,  New  York.    $5.00. 


€mn'%  ^Mt. 


Dr.  H.  p.  Gatchell.— It  has  given  us  great  pleasure  to  recently 
welcome  this  distinguish  gentleman  to  our  sanctum.  We  recognize 
in  him  a  valued  friend  of  many  years,  and  one  who,  while' he  was  our 
medical  teacher,  celebrated  for  his  learning  and  eloquence,  was  also 
the  pioneer  representative  teacher:  of  our  school  in  the  west.  Here 
in  Cincinnati  and  in  Cleveland  and  Chicago  it  has  been  the  good 
fortune  of  many  students  to  sit  under  his  instructions.  The  Doctor 
is  going  South  to  live.  He  is  hale  and  active  and  hopeful  of  many 
years  of  usefulness. 

Home  Again. — Drs.  Winslo.w,  Vilas  and  Campbell,  the  well  known 
specialists  in  the  eye  and  ear  department  of  our  school,  have  recent-  * 
ly  returned  from  their  summer  tour  through  Europe,  and  report  en- 
thusiastically of  all  they  saw  and  heard.  On  dit,  Dr.  Campbell  has 
joined  the  staff  of  the  Good  Samaritan  Hospital,  and  is  lecturing  in 
the  Missouri  Homoeopathic  College — on  his  specialty,  of  course. 

Dr.  F.  W.  Hunt  died  recently  in  New  York  at  the  age  of  sixty- 
nine.  He  will  be  remembered  as  the  joint  author  with  Dr.  Marcy 
of  a  large  work  on  homoeopathic  therapeutics.  He  was  also  for  some 
time  editor  of  the  North  American  Journal  of  Homoeopathy,  and 
professor  in  the  New  York  Homoeopathic  College. 

Dr.  W.  John  Harris,  Secretary  of  the  Alumni  Association  of  the 
Homoeopathic  Medical  College  of  Missoori,  desires  to  give. notice  that 


Cincinnati  Medical  Advance.  428 

there  will  be  a  meeting  of  the  Association  in  March,  1879,  at  the  time 
of  the  Commencement  of  the  College.  The  graduates  are  requested 
to  communicate  with  him  at  1803  Wash  street,  St.  Louis. 

Dr.  Lewis  Sherman,  of.  Milwaukee,  issues  a  very  neat  bulletin  of 
new  remedies  with  valuable  information  of  recent  date.  It  will  be 
sent  on  request  from  the  Doctor's  Pharmacy.    Send  for  it. 

Married. — In  St.  Louis,  September  26th,  Dr.  W.  John  Harris  and 
Miss  I.  F.  Gibbs,  both  of  St.  Louis.  Our  blessings  go  with  the  happy 
pair. 

M.  M.  Eaton,  M.  D.,  of  Cincinnati,  and  Miss  M.  E.  Southerland,  of 
Peoria,  111.,  September  29th.  Our  best  wishes  attend  the  doctor  and 
his  fair  bride. 

Dr.  Tho.  Wildes  removed  to  24  W.  26th  street.  New  York. 

Look  at  the  symptoms  of  Osmium,  under  eye,  Allen,  vol.  vii,  and 
note  how  clearly  they  resemble  glaucoma. — Edgar. 


EDITORIAL. 

Insanity — ItR    Pathology    and 

Treatment 383 

MATERIA  MEDICA. 


general  clinics.         404 
mlscellaneous. 

Anomalous  Cases 408 

A  Question  as  to  Mortality 411 


Some  Provings  of  Lac  Caninum,  394  Kali  Chloricum  and  Diphtheria  413 


Aur.   Met.  in  Mental  Derange 

menta 399 

How  to  Study  the  Materia  Med- 

ica 400 


The  Progress  of  Medicine 415 

Fourteen  Years  Without  Food(?)  418 

BOOK   NOTICES.  421 

editor's  TABLE.  4*27 


JAS.   p.   GEPPERT,   PR. 


T.  P.  WILSON.  M.  D.  Gbnbsai.  Editoh. 

VoLCKE  VI.          CiNOKNATi,  Oi,  Jandary,  1879. 

NitmbsrS. 

d,^d"t^D^""^w^"^";;!m1"zly,ctn.*L^^^^^^^ 

E,  should  bcad- 

A  Happv  New  Year  to  All. — We  shall  never  tire  of  repeating 
tliese  bkssed  words  eo  long  an  breath  lo  utter  them  is  vouchsnfed  a§. 
They  inako  one  of  the  aweeteet  prayers  ever  breathed  from  human 
lijis,  for  Ihey  are  the  soul's  aini.'ere  ileaire  toward  all  the  human  race. 
Well,  since  we  wish  it,  let  us  try  and  secure  its  fulfillment.  And  if 
each  one  shall  do  his  part  well  in  the  great  drama  of  life,  with  malice 
toward  none,  with  charity  toward  alt,  then  will  the  yeiir  1879.  both 
in  its  inception  and  at  its  close,  na  well  also  throughout  its  entire 
course,  he  a  happy  new  year  to  all, 

Couparativb:  Mortautv. — In  inveatigating  the  different  modes  of 
medical  practice,  we  are  often  asked  to  aettte  the  queetion  as  to  their 
relative  value,  by  comparison  of  their  respective  mortnlities.  Each 
party  presents  a  certun  number  or  cases  treated  in  its  own  peculiar 
manner,  and  the  ratio  of  the  dead  to  the  whole  number  treated, 
shows  of  course  in  their  eHttination  which  mode  is  beet,  i^-inui  faeU, 
the  test  seems  to  be  one  quite  reaadnable.  The  object  of  uiedical 
practice  is  to  save  li/c.  Therefore  that  system  which  snves  the 
largest  number,  or,  if  you  please,  »howB  the  least  lost,  is  the  one  we 
should  adopt.  Theoretically  the  idea  is  a  good  one.  But  the  fact  ia, 
practically  it  will  not  work.  This  we  propose  to  show.  Cases  for 
such  comparison  must  he  drawn  from  two  sources.  1.  Private  prac- 
Jan-i  42!t 


tati  Medical  Advance. 


tice.  2.  Hoapitals.  Now  as  regards  the  h 
into  one  and  the  same  hospitul,  diverse  modes  of  practice  have  sel- 
dom or  never  been  tntrodufied.  The  conBervatiBra  and  jenlousy  of 
the  management  of  the  hoi^pital  always  prevent  this,  Where  hae 
Allopathy  opened  any  one  of  its  numerous  inatitntionB  to  any  of  its 
competitors  and  courted  a  comparison  of  endeavors  and  results? 
When  will  it  do  bo  ?  Never ;  it  dare  not.  Regarding  the  first, 
namely,  private  practice,  it  would  seem  that  we  had  here  abundftnt 
material  to  work  with.  And  so  we  have  if  we  could  get  at  the  actual 
facts.  But  there  is  first  this  grave  objection :  Do  these  private  prac- 
titioaera  keep  a  reliable  record  of  their  cases  ?  And  secondly,  do  Ibejr 
as  a  rale  correctly  diagnoae  them  7  And  thirdly,  will  they  give  a  true 
account  as  to  the  treatment  of  their  cases?  And  lastly,  can  you  rely 
upon  their  statements  as  to  the  mortality  ?  The  government  never 
employs  a  man  or  takes  his  testimony  without  first  putting  him  un<1er 
oath.  The  courts  would  not  allow  a  man  to  administer  on  an  estate 
composed  of  a  few  paltry  dollars,  without  swearing  him  and  placing 
him  under  bonda.  Ttiese  facts  are  not  looked  upon  as  a  serious  reflection 
on  tlie  virtues  of  mankind,  but  tbey  do  really  show  that  men,  as  the 
world  goes,  are  not  to  be  imptiRitly  trusted.  The  followers  of  what 
medicaischoolor  mode  of  practice,  would  willingly  see  themselves  dis- 
counteil  in  matters  of  statistics  ?  It  follows  therefore  that  an  element  of 
uncertainty  enters  very  largely  into  reports  which  are  presented  as 
crucial  testa  of  relative  value.  We  do  not  say  that  doctorx  under  each 
circumstances  will  deliberately  lie.  Heaven  forbid  !  We  say  this: 
The  man  who  tells  the  last  story  has  the  best  chance.  Now  for  a 
case  in  point.  Dr.  Guernsey,  of  Philadelphia,  believes  that  the  mor- 
tality incident  to  the  lying  in  state,  is  greatly  reduced  by  the  treat- 
ment of  all  such  cases  strictly  according  to  the  law  of  similia.  Ue 
proposes  to  prove  it.  How  7  By  statistics  from  the  private  practice 
of  men  who  follow  the  above  law,  or  in  other  words,  practice 
"Homtpopathy  pure  and  simple."  At  a  late  meeting  of  the  Uom<eo- 
pathic  Medical  Society  of  New  York  City,  he  presents  his  stallStica 
embodied  in  an  able  and  interesting  paper.  We  quote  from  the  daily 
THbant. 

Dr.  Gdebnsev  said :  "About  the  year  1850  it  fell  to  my  lot  to  work 
through  an  epidemic  of  childbed  fever  which  raged  with  great  sever- 
ity in  the  twenty-third  ward,  of  Philadelphia.  My  obstetric  practice 
was  very  large,  certainly  as  lai^  as  that  of  any  of^  the  twelve  phyu- 
cians  in  the  ward.  I  whs  the  only  bomipopathic  physician  practising 
in  the  wani  at  the  time.  We  worked  side  by  side  in  the  same  streetB 
and  in  the  anme  blocks.  The  allopathic  physicians  lost  a  large  num- 
ber of  their  paliente,  whilst  I  did  not  lose  one  during  the  entire  epi' 
demic.  In  u  practice  extending  over  thirty-five  years,  during  wbicb 
I  have  attended  fully  (our  thousand  child-bed  c,-  -  -  -   ■  ■         >    -      > 


4 


I 
I 


ears,  ouring  wmcQ        ^h 
cs,  1  have  lost  only  ^^^| 


one  case.  The  allopathic  mode  of  treatment  of  poet-partum  hem- 
orrhage, with  all  its  appUancea — the  cold  douche,  ice  pluge,  etc. — 
loBe8  one-sixth  of  all  cases.  The  homtfiopalhic  phygiciaiiB,  when  they 
select  their  medicinee  according  to  thsBtricteet  pnncipieaof  their  ovn 
school,  lose  only  one-twentieth  of  one  per  cent" 

Dr.  Gi'KRsaEV  summed  up  the  difference  between  the  results  of 
the  treatment  of  the  two  schools  oa  follows :  "In  allopathic  treat- 
ment of  pueperal  fever,  phelebitis,  phelgmaaia  alba  dolens.  etc.,  llie 
Ibss  within  the  paerperol  montli  ia  thirty  per  cent.;  in  homceopoUiic 
treatment,  pure  and  simple,  in  the  same  disordera,  two  per  cent.  In 
])uerperal  convnlsions,  allopathic  treatment  has  a  morlalltv  of  twenty- 
five  per  cent.;  in  homceopathic  treatment,  pure  and  simple,  we  have 
a  loss  of  only  one  and  one-half  per  cent.  In  puerperal  hemorrhage, 
the  allopathic  fraternity  snetains  a  loss  of  sixteen  and  two-thirds  per 
cent.;  under  homffiopathic  treatment  the  loss  is  only  one-twentieth  of 
one  per  cent.  The  average  mortality  from  all  causes  within  the 
puerperal  month  from  allopathic  treatment  one  per  cent.;  from  the 
effects  of  drugging  and  inemciency  o(  aiding  the  recuperative  giowers 
of  nature,  at  least  one  per  cent,  more  premature  deaths  sooner  or 
later.  When  such  striking  differences  of  mortality  are  so  clearly 
manifested  between  the  two  schoola,  which  at  the  same  time  are  so 
easv  of  dcmonat ration,  what  hope  or  incentive  have  we  in  borrowing 
tools  from  the  allopathic  school  ?  " 

To  this  Prof.  DowiiiNO,  of  the  New  York  Homeopathic  College,  re- 
plied that  he  in  auch  cases  sometimes  made  use  of  means  not  homceo- 
patbic,  and  he  never  lost  a  case.  Dr.  McMubbv  confessed  to  follow- 
ing "good  ideas"  even  when  found  in  the  old  school,  and  he  had 
never  lost  a  case  of  the  kind.  Mrs.  Dr.  Lozibb  aaid  she  had  treated 
two  thousand,  five  hundred  such  cases,  and  her  treatment  was  not 
strictly  homtEonathtc,  and  she  hod  never  lost  a  patient  Then  several 
otherdoctorstoldhow,withslmjlarmetliods,  they  never  lost  a  patient 
At  last  a  doctor  named  Fiersons  said  that  prat^bly  he  was  the  only 
physician  who  had  lost  a  patient— he  had  lost  one. 

Dr.  DowLiNQ  said  if  he  had  himself  given  such  a  patient  a  dose  of 
^^of^  ^ud  she  had  died,  he  would  leave  New  York  and  never  return. 
Then  several  doctors  arose  in  order  and  each  said  he  hod  lost  just 
one  patient  and  told  how  it  happened.  '    ' 

The  upshot  of  the  matter  was  Dr.  Guebnssv  was  forced  to  believe 
himself  heateu  at  his  own  game,  or  else  that  his  brethren  were 
pretty  generally  in  a  parturient  condition,  or,  in  other  words,  in  the 
lyin^in  state.    So  much  for  statistics  in  regard  to  mortality. 


4 

4 


432  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 


Fatal  SrrorSi     By  Dr.  Ad.  Lippe.  Philadelphia. 

It  is  a  fatal  error  to  suppose  that  dynamization  is  not  ex- 
pressed in  the  formula  Similia  similibus  curantur,  or  in  other 

words  it  is  a  fatal  error  to  believe  that  there  can  exist  a  Horn- 

• 

(Bopathy  deprived  of  dynamized  remedies  for  the  cure  of  the 
sick.  This  error  can  only  be  indulged  in  by  persons  who 
doubt  or  reject  the  dynamic  causes  of  diseases;  who  again 
seek  to  find  material  causes  for  diseases,  either  seeking  to 
show  that  the  finally  perceptible  chemical  changes  in  the 
organism,  or  the  changed  and  altered  tissues  are  the  disease 
itself,  while  reallv  thev  are  onlv  the  results  of  disease,  or 
adopting  the  germ  theory  as  showing  the  material  cause  of 
disease;  a  theory  by  no  means  accepted  by  the  best  thinkers, 
even  among  the  allopathists.  Were  these  gentlemen  to  study 
carefully  the  writings  of  the  father  of  our  school,  they  would 
soon  find  out  their  errors;  they  would  find  that  in  reality 
they  must  reject  all  of  the  teachings  of  the  master,  or  accept 
the  logical  necessity  of  the  dynamized  remedy. 

A  very  short  quotation  from  Hahnemann's  greatest  paper 
he  ever  wrote;  and  wrote  it  as  early  as  1S13,  on  **Thc  Genius 
of  the  Homoeopathic  Healing  Art''  may  be  of  service  to 
them.  Hahnemann  says:  "In  proportion  as  the  human  or- 
ganism is  more  easily  affected  by  medicines  when  in  a  state 
of  health  than  by  disease,  as  I  have  demonstrated  above,  so 
is  that  organism  when  diseased,  without  comparison,  much 
more  easih*  affected  by  homcBopathic  medicines  than  by  anv 
other,  (for  instance,  allopathic  or  antiopathic) — and  is  acted 
upon  easily  and  in  a  very  high  degree,  as  it  is  already  in- 
clined to  certain  symptoms  by  the  disease,  hence  it  becomes 
more  susceptible  to  similar  symptoms  by  the  homoeopathic 
medicine,  just  as  our  own  similar  mentnl  suffering  causes  the 
mind  to  become  much  more  sensitive  to  similar  stories  or 
woe.  Therefore,  it  becomes  obvious  that  onlv  the  smallest 
doses  become  useful  and  necessary  for  a  cure;  that  is  to  sav, 
for  the  changing  of  the  sickened  organism  into  a  similar 
medicinal  disease;  and  for  that  reason  it  is  necessary  to  give 


Fatal  Errors.  433 

it  in  a  larger  dose,  because  in  this  case  the  object  is  obtained 
not  through  the  quantity  but  through  potentiaHty  and  quality, 
(dynamic  conformity,  Homoeopathy).  There  is  no  utility  in 
a  larger  dose,  but  there  is  harm  done;  the  larger  dose  on  the 
one  side  does  not  cause  the  dynamic  change  of  the  diseased 
affection  with  more  certainty  than  the  most  suitable  smallest 
dose;  but  it  causes  and  supplants,  on  the  other  side,  a  multi- 
plied medicinal  disease,  which  is  always  an  evil,  although  it 
passes  by  after  a  certain  lapse  of  time."  So  says  the  master, 
and  those  who  call  themselves  homoeopaths  and  accept  his 
teachings  endorse  every  word  of  it  and  their  endorsement  is 
based  on  the  results  of  the  clinical  experiment — the  only  true 
test  of  it. 

It  is  a  fatal  error  to  say,  *"Pathology,  the  stone  which  the 
builders  of  Homoeopathy  rejected,  should  now  be  made  the 
head  or  corner.  The  old  line  Homoeopathy  says,  *Let  me 
understand  the  symptoms  and  I  care  not  for  the  pathology.' 
First  the  symptoms  then  the  remedy,  how  do  they  correspond? 
The  times,  the  advancement  of  science,  demand  a  step  for- 
ward. We  must  not  understand  symptoms  and  appropriate 
remedies  the  less,  but  we  must  seek  after  and  acquire  a 
more  thorough  knowledge  of  the  body,  both  in  health  and 
disease,  if  we  expect  to  gain  power  over  malignant,  conta- 
gious disease,  and  those  diseases  hitherto  considered  incurable." 

In  the  first  place  we  call  for  evidence  to  prove  that  the 
builders  of  Homoeopathy  rejected  pathology.  There  were  no 
builders,  there  was  one  single  inspired  man  who  was  the 
founder  of  the  healing  art,  by  him  called  Homoeopathy.  This 
one  man  never  rejected  any  of  the  collateral  branches  of  the 
medical  science;  if  he  did,  it  has  never  come  to  our  eyes  as 
yet.  Hahnemann  time  and  again  strenuously  objected  to  a 
therapeutics  which  was  based  on  two  fallacies.  First,  the 
fallacy  to  be  able  to  explain  the'  nature  of  any  disease,  or  the 
workings  of  the  internal  organism  which  could  not  be  ex- 
plained, because  the  living  organism  was  governed  by  very 
different  laws  from  those  governing  inorganic  bodies,  or  in 
other  words,  the  natural  laws  governing  inorganic  substances 

♦The  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance,  November.  1878,  page  343. 


434 


Cincinnati  Medical  Advani 


which  it  ' 
therapeutic 
for  the 
withoul 


could  not  be  applied  while  endeavoring  to  explain  the  laws  ] 
governing    organic  bodies.     Pathology,  which  is    based  on  ] 
the  supposition  that  the  laws  governing  inorganic  substances 
is    capable  of  explaining   disease,    and    the    changes    by    it  | 
produced  in  organs  and  tissues,  %vill  remain  a  hypothes 

;  before  Hahnemann's  days — forever.     To  base    i 
on  such  a  fallacious  hypothesis,  and  thus  apply 
e  of  this  hypothesis  means  in  the  shape  of  drugs 
Lowing  to  any  certainty  their  effects  on  the  human 
organism,  much  less  their  hypothetical  effect  on  a  hypotheti- 
cal disease,  is  a   fata)  error.      Hahnemann  and  his  true  fol- 
lowers never  rejected  such   knowledge  as  palhologj-  might   I 
impart    to  the  true  heuler.     They  and  the  master  made    this    | 
knowledge,  as  well  as  alt  other  knowledge  ohtained  from  a 
diligent  study  of  all  collateral  medical  science — subservient —  1 
to  the  new  and  true  healing  art      The    homocopathists  are 
here  erroneously  charged  with  having   rejected  pathology, 
and  are  now  invited  to  take  up  pathology  and  again  base  our 
therapeutics  on  it.      That  is  a  demand   strictly   in  keeping 
witli  a  modern  demand  to  set  aside  our  only  taw  of  cure  and 
admit  it  only  as  a  tolerably  good  rule,  admitting  alsp  that 
there  may  arise  occasions  when  other  laws,  other  principles 
discovered,  or  discoverable,    may    be    more    advantageously 
applied,  and  all  this  is  done  under  two  other  erroneous  pro. 
positions.     First.  The  freedom  of  medical  opinion  and  action 
fallacy.  Second.  The  fallacious  statement  madeat  Philadelphia    ' 
on  the  z6th  of  June,  1S78,  "That  pathology,  which  hardly  ex- 
isted as  a  positive  science  in  Hahnemann's  day,  has  been  dili- 
gently elaborated  by  ingenious  and  exact  experimentations, 
until   tO'day    it    holds   no    mean    rank    among   the  positive  I 

The  fallacy  of  what  is  now  called  liberalism  in  medicine, 
has  been  so  abundantly  exposed  that  we  can  not  add  any- 
thing any  more  to  make  it  more  ridiculous  than  it  has  been  J 
made.  The  erroneous  statement  about  pathology  has  been 
refuted  time  and  again,  it  has  been  shown  by  historical  state- 
ments— never  yet  shown  to  be  erroneous — that  Scho^enlc-in  \ 
systematized  pathologj'  long  before  Hahnemann    published  ] 


Fatal   Erro: 


43ft 


last  ettition  of  his  Orgnnon.  The  old  line  homoaopaths — 
says  our  learned  friend — does  he  mean  the  befogged  men 
who,  by  some  genius  of  an  author,  are  called  "Fossils?" 
Meaning  men  who  hold  on  to  the  principles  and  natural 
laws,  establishing  them  as  they  were  revealed  to  sutTering 
humanity  by  "The  Master?"  The  old  line  hoitliEopath 
say,  so  our  learned  writer  says,  "Let  me  understand  the 
symptoms  and  I  care  not  for  the  pathology."  Exactly  so, 
but  not  as  the  writer  interprets  it.  Can  a  homoeopath  or  any 
other  physician  understand  or  obtain  the  symptoms  without 
a  knowledge  of  the  collateral  branches  of  medical  science,  of 
course,  pathology  included?  ^  Did  any  old  line,  (orthodox), 
homteopath  ever  claim  that  he  could,  and  where?  and 
when?  After  the  homceopalh  has  ascertained  the  symptoms 
and  after  he  has  learned  to  understand  them,  what  does  he 
do  then?  What  must  he  do?  Wliy,  find  a  corresponding 
remedy  according  to  tlie  formula  by  him  accepted.  The 
"liberal,"  the  "scientific"  physician,  who  pretends  to  have 
accepted  the  formula  understands  that  the  symptoms  must 
be  pressed  into  the  pathological  livery,  that  a  form  of  disease 
must  be  diagnosticated,  and  thai  n  remedy  must  be  admin- 
istered in  palpable  doses,  which  is  supposed  to  produce  the 
same  disease.  The  old  line  homceopath  treats  "individuals," 
30  did  the  master!  The  liberal  treats  disease;  so  do  the 
allopaths.  And  when  the  learned  writer  continues  and  says, 
"The  times,  the  advancement  of  science,  demand  a  step  for- 
ward," he  falls  into  a  deceptive  and  grave  error.  Hahne- 
mann says,  "What  life  is  can  only  be  empirically  discerned 
by  its  manifestations  and  appearances,  but  it  can  never  be 
explained  a  priori,  through  metaphysical  speculations.  What 
life  is,  in  itself  and  in  its  internal  essence,  can  never  be  com- 
prehended by  mortals,  and  can  not  be  explained  by  conjec- 
tures." Has  the  advancement  of  science  explained  what 
life  is?  Is  not  this  very  corner  stone  ou  which  our  immortal 
roaster  built  his  never  to  be  destroyed  physiological  argu- 
ments, just  as  true,  just  as  solid,  as  when  he  uttered  these 
sentences?  Can  any  advancement  of,  and  in  science 
the  question?     Can  that  which  is  never  to  be  comprehended 


•'    I 

1 


436  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

by  mortals  ever  be  explained  by  mortals?  Let  these  liberals, 
these  forever  fault  finding  scientific  opponents  to  the  old 
line  homcEopathists,  explain  themselves,  and  cease  to  deal  in 
generalities,  in  assertions;  let  them  as  philosophers,  and  ^s 
men  of  science,  come  out  and  show  where  and  when  Hahne- 
mann's arguments  were  erroneous,  and  then  correct  them — 
finally  and  lastly  show  the  fruits — better  results,  if  they  can. 


-♦-♦- 


The  True  and  the  False.*     By  j.  B.  Hunt,  M.  D.,  Spring- 
field, Ohio. 

With  the  passing  years  we  have  been  permitted  to  witness 
the  rapid  progress  of  our  system  of  therapeutics,  which  is 
destined,  we  believe,  to  revolutionize  the  medical  world,  and 
bring  into  harmonious  action,  in  accordance  with  a  common 
law  of  cure,  all  the  discordant  elements  thereof.  In  order 
that  we,  as  a  society,  may  share  in  the  honors  of  this  glorious 
achievement,  it  is  necessary  that  we,  as  individual  members, 
continue  active  and  vigilant  in  the  work  we  have  undertaken. 

This  organization,  in  character  and  influence,  is  just  what 
its  individual  members  make  it  It  is  like  a  reservoir,  and 
we  the  channels  through  which  flow  its  supply. 

If  we  would  have  a  reservoir  of  truth,  we  must  see  to  it 
that  the  channels  are  pure,  and  that  no  error  flows  through 
them.  What  we  need,  as  a  society — aye,  and  it  is  the  want 
of  the  profession  at  large — is  more  careful  observation  in 
things  pertaining  to  our  department  of  science. 

The  fictitious  charms  given  to  existence  by  the  unguided 
imagination  of  mankind  in  a  former  day,  have  been  dispelled 

*Presidental  Address,  HomcBopathic  Medical  Society  of  Ohio. 


The  True  and  the  False. 


437 


^y  the  advancing  steps  of  science.  The  illuminating  rays  of 
philosophical  criticism  are  continually  applied  lo  all  new 
ideas,  and  men  are  led,  more  and  more,  to  view  tilings  as 
they  arc — to  look  nt  the  world  as  it  is. 

We  no  longer  find  satisfaction  in  dogmas  or  creeds,  which 
have  been  handed  down  to  ns  fiom  the  post,  but  seek 
through  avenues  of  thought,  which  are  our  own,  to  become 
acquainted  with  the  absolute  reality  of  things.  We  have 
reason  to  exercise  very  great  and  constant  care  in  our  obser- 
vations, lest  in  the  rebound  from  the  illusions  and  errors  of 
the  past,  we  should  rnsh  to  another  extreme,  and  be  enticed 
through  plausible  exaggeration  into  misconceptions  and  errors, 
no  less  absurd  than  the  former. 

We  live  in  an  age  of  unparalleled  activity.  Never  in  the 
history  of  our  race  has  there  been  so  much  brain  work  as 
now.  New  theories  are  multiplied  in  great  abundance.  The 
thinking  world  is  constantly  active  in  trying  to  solve  the 
problems  of  nature,  and  men  run  to  and  fro  in  search  of  new 
truths. 

It  is  our  misfortune  that  the  thinkers  do  not  always  guide 
their  ilioughts  in  channels  of  truth,  and  as  a  consequence, 
theories  are  not  always  founded  on  fact.  The  tendency  tn 
these  days  is  to  indulge  too  much  in  mere  speculation  ui 
scientific  matters,  to  allow  the  unbridled  imagination  to  roam 
through  all  the  realm  of  nature,  and  then  record  as  scientific, 
all  its  visionary  conclusions. 

There  is  a  demand,  not  so  much  for  new  theories,  as  a 
careful  sifting  of  those  we  have,  n  minute  examination  of  the 
foundations  upon  whfch  they  rest.  We  may  not  think  more, 
but  should  seek  to  be  more  discriminating  and  exact  in  our 
conclusions. 

We  are  too  prone  to  accept  as  truth,  that  which  only  bears 
a  resemblance  tn  truth.  In  science  it  will  not  always  do  to 
be  governed  by  the  law  of  similars.  Error  often  presents 
itself  in  forms  which  appear  similar  to,  or  like  truth,  but  the 
careful  observer  will  closely  scrutinize  and  detect  the  differ- 
ence. 

Very  much  is  said  in  these  days  of  science;  and  scientists — 
so-called — arc  very  numerous,  but  how  little,  comparatively 


438  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

of  real  science,  and  how  few  comparatively  real,  honest, 
careful  investigators  we  have. 

What  is  science?  It  is  truth.  The  simple  definition  of 
the  word  is — I  know — but  how  often  it  happens  that  instead 
of  really  knowing,  we  only  think  ^e  know.  Evidence  of 
a  certain  kind,  in  regard  to  some  event,  is  brought  to  our 
notice,  and  through  a  strange  perversion  of  our  senses,  or  some 
bias  in  our  judgment,  we  accept  it,  and  believe  a  lie,  when  a 
little  careful  investigation  would  have  revealed  to  us  the  fact 
that  what  we  took  for  evidence  in  the  case,  was  no  evidence 
at  all. 

Men  have  witnessed  something  in  connection  with  the 
occurrence  of  certain  events,  and  at  once,  without  proper  in- 
vestigation, have  decided  that  the  something  was  the  cause 
of  the  event,  when  in  fact  it  had  no  more  to  do  with  it  than 
the  man  pulling  the  bell  rope,  had  with  stwrting  the  engine. 
Especially  has  this   been  so   in  the  department  of  medical 

The  imperfection  of  human  knowledge,  or  a  careless  use 
of  knowledge,  is  the  cause  of  all  our  discordant  theories  and 
disagreement.  Where  knowledge  is  perfect,  in  regard 
to  any  matter,  there  is  complete  harmony.  There  will 
never  he  any  dispute  in  regard  to  a  simple  mathematical 
problem.  That  two  and  two  make  four,  is  admitted  by  all 
who  have  mind  enough  to  entertain  such  a  proposition.  In 
this  our  knowledge  may  be  said  to  be  perfect,  and  mathemat- 
ics, by  reason  of  this  fact,  is  called  "one  of  the  exact 
sciences,"  This,  it  seems  to  me,  is  a  distinction  uncalled  for, 
and  untrue.  All  science  is  exact,  and  'one  department  of  it 
no  more  so  than  another.  The  want  of  exactness  is  in  us, 
and  is  the  result  of  our  inability  to  understand  It  in  all  its 
fullness.  Science  is  the  golden  chain  which  binds  the  uni. 
verse  together.  Its  shining  links  are  interwoven  through  all 
forms  of  matter;  it  stretches  through  all  .-ipace,  and  is  the 
substance  of  all  law.  To  understand  the  hidden  mysteries  of 
nature,  we  must  unravel  this  chain.  This  is  no  e.isy  task, 
and  it  is  no  wonder  that  men  sometimes  allow  their  imagina- 
tion to  supply  the  missing  links  of  this  wonderful  chain. 


and  the  False. 


It  is  said  that  the  mode  of 


easoning  is,  from  cause 
may  be  [rue  in  some  instances,  but  I  think  if 
ifuUy  the  process  of  thought  in  our  investiga- 
te sh.ill  Rnd  that  this  is  tlie  exception,  and 
from   effect  baclc   to  cause.      In 


to  efl'ect.     Thii 

we  analyze  cai 

tions  of  natun 

not  the  rule,  r 

other  words,  that  which  constitutes  the  great  distinguishing 

characteristic  of  man,  is  his  innate  desivc  to  find  out  the  cause 

of  things.      He  intuitively  recognizes  n  supreme  first  cause, 

and  seeks  through  nature  to  find  out  nature's  God.      It  was 

not  reasoning  from   cause  to  effect  that  led  the  illustrious 

Galileo  to  his  sublime  conclusions. 

The  process  of  reasoning  in  the  grand  researches  of  New- 
ton and  Franklin  was  not  in  a  line  from  cause  to  effect,  but 
the  opposite;  and  so  we  might  say  of  all  the  great  philoso- 
phers and  scientists  of  the  past  or  present  time. 

In  the  medical  world  this  truth  is  most  clearly  illustrated 
by  the  founder  of  our  system  of  therapeutics.  He  saw  an 
effect,  and  immediately  applied  himself  to  ascertain  its  cause; 
and  most  grandly  did  he  succeed.  He  found  the  cause,  and 
with  it  a  law,  or  principle  of  universal  application,  in  the 
administration  of  drugs  for  the  relief  of  the  sick.  In  the 
domain  of  medicine  we  are  much  more  liable  to  be  led  into 
error  than  in  other  departments  of  scientific  research,  from 
the  fact  that  we  find  it  impossible  in  many  cases  to  apply  the 
tests,  which,  under  other  circumstances,  reduce  to  certainty 
every  experiment- 
When  we  administer  remedies  for  the  relief  of  the  sick  we 
remember  that  another  force  is  working  in  the  same  direc- 
tion, viz.,  the  vital  principle,  or  "vis  medioalrix  nalura,"  and 
a  cure  is  not  always  proof  positive  that  the  remedy  we  em- 
ployed, acted  as  a  cause  in  bringing  about  the  result. 

It  is  only  by  the  most  careful  observation  that  we  are  en- 
abled to  arrive  at  clinical  conclusions,  that  arc  really  scien- 
tific. Ignorance  and  superstition,  in  the  past  have  given  their 
aid  in  the  treatment  of  the  sick,  and  the  aid  thus  afforded, 
has,  to  all  appeanince,  been  largely  successful.  The  afflicted 
have  recovered  under  the  most  absurd  and  ridiculons  treat- 
ment.     Now  while  we  admit  the  fact  that  patients  have  re- 


440 


Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 


covered  iindei"  the  manipuiations  of  ignorance,  the  most  ( 
graded,  or  supcrstilion  the  most  unreasonable,  or  with  no 
treatment  whatever,  we  must  remember  that  science  brings 
to  the  aid  of  the  skillful  physician,  that  which  enables  him  to 
increase  largely  the  number  of  those  who  recover,  to  shorten 
the  period  of  illness,  to  greatly  relieve  the  sufferings  of  the 
afflicted,  and  prevent  entirely,  in  many  cases,  the  ravages  of 
disease.  In  the  treatment  of  disease  we  should  leain  to  dis- 
criminate more  carefully  between  the  operation  of  nature's 
forces,  and  the  operation  of  any  remedial  agent  which  may 
be  used.  It  is  the  careless  way  of  viewing  events,  that  leads 
into  so  many  useless  practices.  The  little  metallic  charm  of 
the  charm  doctor  becomes  an  agent  of  wonderful  power  in 
the  estimation  of  credulous  and  unthinking  observers.  A 
child  falls  in  epileptic  convidsion,  a  charm  doctor  is  at  hand 
and  draws  from  her  bosom  the  charm,  places  it  over  the 
child's  heart,  and  in  a  few  minutefl,  lo  the  great  joy  of  the 
stricken  mother,  the  spasm  subsides,  and  the  child  is  well 
again.  Now  here  was  proof  positive  lo  the  mind  of  that 
mother.  She  saw  her  child  dying,  as  she  supposed,  saw  the 
means  for  it  restoration,  and  the  result,  surely,  she  must  be- 
lieve her  own  senses. 

Now  if  I  were  to  assert  that  a  very  large  proportion  of  the 
practice  of  medicine  is  founded  upon  evidence  no  more  relia- 
ble or  scientific  than  this,  it  would  be  considered,  no  doubt, 
an  extravagant  assertion,  and  yet,  I  fear  there  would  be  too 
much  truth  in  it. 

A  person  is  sick — something  is  done  for  him — he  recovers 
and  the  credit  of  the  cure  is  all  given  to  the  something  done, 
and  this  forms  a  precedent  for  practice  in  the  future.  The 
charm  cure  above  mentioned,  would  be  successful,  apparent- 
ly, ninety-nine  times  in  a  hundred,  and  the  folly  of  its  use  is 
only  seen,  when  through  some  mishap  it  is  not  used,  and  the  i 
patient  recovers  Just  as  well  without  it. 

Time  was  when  doctors  and  laymen  firmly  believed  that 
n  case  of  inflammatory  fever  could  not  be  cured  without  a 
resort  to  venesection.  That  without  the  shedding  of  blood 
[here  was  absolutely  no  remission  of  fever.      But  when  the 


The  True  and  the  False. 


441 


good  doctor,  who  lost  his  lancet,  and  found  himself  face  to 
face  with  a  violent  case  of  pneumonia,  concluded  to  run  the 
risk  of  treating  it  without  bleeding,  the  first  step  was  taken 
in  thiit  reform  which  put  an  end  to  that  barbarous  practice. 

Thus  has  passed  away  hundreds  of  measures  once  thought 
to  be  essential  in  the  cure  of  the  sick.  You  doubtless  re- 
member, when  only  a  few  years  ago,  the  medical  journals  all 
over  the  land  were  filled  with  the  praises  of  what  was  called 
the  metallic  cure,  which  consisted  in  the  application  of  vari- 
ous kinds  of  metals,  in  the  form  of  discs,  to  the  forehead  of 
the  patient.  Hundreds  of  sets  of  these  discs  were  sold 
throughout  this  country,  and  were  used  by  the  most  promi- 
nent medical  men.  with  gratifying  success  in  a  large  number 
of  cases.  The  cures  were  genuine,  and  are  undisputed,  but 
Dr.  Hammond,  of  New  York,  has  recently  made  the  discov- 
ery, by  experiment,  that  the  metal  discs  have  nothing  at  all  to 
do  with  it.  The  cure  is  from  mental,  and  not  metal  impres- 
sions. The  true  physician,  t'.  e.,  the  scientific  physician  will 
not  be  satisfied  with  merely  doing  something  for  the  sick, 
because  our  fathers  in  medicine  have  done  it,  but  will  seek 
by  all  the  means  in  his  power,  to  know  for  himself,  that 
what  he  does  shall  bear  the  relation  of  cause  to  effect  in  the 
desired  result  He  will  ever  strive  to  dig  down  through  the 
rubbish  and  debris  of  preconceived  error,  guesses  and  super- 
stition, to  the  solid  rock  bed  of  truth.  In  all  the  range  of 
scientific  effort,  there  is  no  subject  fraught  with  so  m'.ich  in- 
terest to  humanity  as  the  science  of  medicine. 

It  stands  pre-eminent  above  every  other  department  of 
science,  and  embraces  within  its  legitimate  sphere,  all  that 
pertains  to  the  health  of  man,  in  a  physical,  mental  or  moral 
aspect. 

"It  is  not  all  of  life  to  live."  Neither  is  it  all  of  medical 
science  to  contend  against  disease  and  death.  It  goes  back 
to  the  very  beginning — aye,  back  of  the  beginning — and 
seeks  to  start  the  embryo  life  free  from  hcreditiry  disease  of 
every  kind.  It  has  to  do  with  the  mother  during  gestation, 
recognizing  the  fact  that  her  condition,  physically,  mentally 
and  morally,  has  a  decided  influence  over  the  future  life  and 
health  of  the  child. 


442  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

It  includes  within  the  range  of  its  investigations  the  various 
substances  used  to  nourish  and  sustain  life,  and  how  to  pre- 
pare them.  It  embraces  all  sanitary  science,  the  water  we 
drink,  the  air  we  breathe,  sewerage,  etc. 

It  gives  its  aid  in  the  discovery  of  prophylactics,  and  sug- 
gests to  us  the  possibility  of  preventing  entirely  the  spread  of 
all  forms  of  infectious  and  contagious  diseases. 

Into  this  vast  field,  my  fellow  laborers,  we  have  entered. 
Let  us  so  labor  that  we  may  add  something  to  the  grandeur 
and  glory  of  our  science,  either  by  the  discovery  of  some 
new  truths,  or  the  confirmation  and  establishment  of  those 
already  known. 


^Bsf^ljjkal  att&  Itpa^coIogkaL 


ConflnexneiltS.     How  to  Avoid  Danger  Attending  Thereon. 
By  G.  W.  Bowen,  M.  D.,  Fort  Wayne,  Ind. 

When  the  loving  and  happy  bride  of  a  few  days  visits  the 
office  of  her  friendly  doctor  for  something  to  remove  a  slight 
headache,  or  to  aid  the  digestion  of  too  much  cake,  and  as  he 
watches  her  as  she  dances  gaily  and  joj'ously  round,  and  in 
the  exuberance  of  her  spirits  taps  the  toe  of  her  little  foot 
on  the  floor,  as  if  to  say  "I  am  happy  now,"  he  would  be 
unworthy  of  her  confidence,  and  almost  deserve  to  have 
Hobsccuck's  curse  rest  on  him,  should  he  mar  or  shadow  the 
sunshine  of  happiness,  by  even  a  slight  allusion  to  what 
might  take  place. 

But  let  some  three  or  four  months  elapse,  and  again  she 
comes  and  seats  herself  quietly,  heaving  a  sigh  that  almost 


Obiteirical  and  Gyncecological. 
ad,"  while  a  tea 


443 


seems  to  say,  "I  wish  I  was  dead,"  while  a  tear  almost  glim- 
mers on  her  eye  lids.  We  almost  instinclively  know  her 
story.  And  when  with  trembling  lips  she  tells  of  her  mis- 
sing her  menstruation,  how  con  we  help  modulating  our  voice 
and  tendering  her  our 'sympathy,  and  break  to  her,  (after  a 
few  inquiries),  what  we  know  to  be  loo  true,  alas,  that  she 
has  started  on  the  road  to  maternity.  She  must  be  reconciled 
to  her  lot,  and  a  pleasing  appearance  given  her  of  an  alto- 
gether apparently  safe  journey,  which  to  her  seems  to  be  so 
sad,  \^e  promise  to  make  it  pass  as  pleasantly  as  possible, 
and  remove  all  unpleasant  symptoms  which  might  arise  on 
the  way.  Should  she  object  and  foolishly  insist  on  the  re- 
establishment  of  the  suppressed  function,  we  must  patiently 
explain  the  danger  ihat  might  arise,  and  reason  her  out  of  the 
absurdity.  Should  you  have  her  confidence,  and  you  will 
have,  if  you  have  treated  her  from  childhood,  it  will  be  an 
easy  matter  to  dn,  and  then  all  goes  well.  Then  instruction 
on  the,  (to  her  new),  subject  begins.  She  must  be  told  how 
to  give  her  system  perfect  health,  and  be  the  author  of  a 
healthy  child,  both  in  body  and  mind.  As  months  wear  on 
she  is  taught  how  to  guard  against  Any  and  all  dangers,  and 
urged,  if  possible,  to  do  light  housework,  to  avoid  lifting, 
shun  the  sewing  machine,  and  use  discipline  at  the  table, 
especially  avoiding  any  excesses  thereat.  If  she  is  highly 
cultivated,  or  even  capable  thereof,  she  can  be  instructed  how 
to  give  her  child  more  brain  power,  and  give  itan  intellectual 
cast.  All  this  requires  patience,  and  the  attributes  of  a  gen- 
tleman in  her  medical  director.  As  she  nears  the  terminus 
of  her  journey,  then  more  care  must  be  exercised  to  guard 
against  any  accident  that  might  befall  the  patient  martyr, 
and  prevent  any  mal-deposit  or  mal-nutriiion  of  the  product. 
Araenivuja,  {udiciously  given,  will  preserve  her  child  from 
the  development  of  a  scrofulous  or  cancerous  tendency,  being 
contributed  to  it,  should  it  even  lay  latent  in  either  side  of  the 
house  or  family.  Mercvriwi  will  prevent  it  from  taking  from 
the  father  any  old  syphilitic  taint,  if  it  should  be  known 
that  he  has  had  an  imprudent  life  in  after  years.  Calcarea 
earb.  will  alwavs  save  it  from  any  maldeposit  which  Wi 


icarea     m 

would    ^H 


m 


Cincinnati  Medical  Advai 


result  in  some  uncouth  abnormality  in  the  form  of  deformity, ' 
so   easy    to   guard    against.       In    the  Tew    last    weeks    prior 
to    the    expected    Irial,   if  the,    (to    be),    mother    is    given 
an    occasioniil   close    of  Belladonna,    it  will    very    materially  • 
aid   to  the  establishment    or    equalization  of  ihe  circulation  | 
of   -the     blood,     more     especially    in    driving    away     any  J 
excess    from    ihc    uterine    region,    and    at    the    same   time  I 
contribute  much  towards  allaying  any  nervous  excitement,.! 
and    guarding  against  ils    subsequent    development.     Bella'  \ 
donna  so  given,   will  have  the  os-uleri   in  the  most  favor-< 
able    condition    for    easy   and    prompt    relaxation  when  the   I 
time  arrives  for  the  accomplishment  of  that  work.     One  dose 
a  day  of  -JTwa!  vomica   for  a  few  weeks  prior  to  conlini.*mei)t, 
will  not  only  regulate  the  digestion  of  food  in  the  stomach, 
but  also  establish  a  healthy  secretion  and  excretion  from  the  j 
mucous  tract  below.     The  2>'ux  vomica  will  do  much  towards  I 
leaving  the  supporting  muscles  of  therec'aland  uterine  region 
in  a  good  condition  for  prompt  and  ready  contractility  after 
accouchement,    thereby    avoiding  prolapsus    at  cither  place. 
One  or  two  doses  of  Arnicu  given  one  or  two   days  before 
will  prevent  too  great  a   loss  of  blood,  and  especially  post- 
partum hemorrhnge.    Whether  it  does  it  by  a  partial  paraly- 
sis of  the  capillary  system  of  the  uterine  w.ills,  or  by  a  rever- 
sal of  ihc  materno-f<Etal  circulation  I  know  not,  but  do  know 
that  the  protection  is  afTorded.      When  the  day  of  delivery 
arrives,  almost  everything  depends  on  keeping  the  excess  of 
blood  below  the  waist,  and  in  the  parts  involved  in  the  pro- 
cess of  parturition,  and  until  nearly  completed,  and  this  can 
be  easily  obtained  by  keeping  the  room  and  the  patient's  feet 
warm,    jet    not   too   uncomfortably  so.      If    the    expectant 
mother  fully  appreciates  the  fact  that  you  are  almost  as  much 
interested  in  her  success  as  she  is  herself,  you  will   have  an 
easy  task,  and  she  will  comply  with  your  slightest  wish.    On 
this  one  point,  hangs  your  surety  of  unvarying  success.     The 
patient  must  fully   comprehend    that  you  will  see  her  safe 
through,  and  have  come  there  from  no  other  motive.      But 
of  course  a  judicious  selection  of  medicaments  may  be  neces- 
sary. And  first  comes  BeUiidorma,  to  aid  the  relaxation  of  those 


Obstetrical  and  Gyncecological,  445 

constrictor  muscles;  next  Pulsatilla^  to  give  a  normal  pre- 
sentation, and  produce  muscular  contraction  of  the  uterus. 
Occasionall}'  other  remedies  may  be  needed,  but  the  condi- 
tion for  their  application  must  be  markedly  apparent  then, 
and  can  not  be  noted  here,  but  can  be  found  in  that  little 
book  filled  with  apples' of  gold,  by  Croserio. 

One  very  important  fact  should  be  stated  here,  as  it  can 
not  elsewhere  be  found,  that  no  patient  need  have  eclampsia 
if  the  foregoing  course  of  treatment.has  been  pursued;  and 
it  can  be  prevented  in  any  patient,  if  at  the  proper  moment 
she  is  given  a  sharp  slap  in  the  face,  enough  to  make  her 
ears  ring.  It  will  stop  all  tendency  thereto  at  once,  by 
changing  the  circulation  of  the  blood,  and  arousing  all  the 
falling  nervous  energy.  But  of  course  it  is  a  very  unsafe 
remedy  to  be  given  promiscuously.  The  doctor  must  know 
the  patient  will  take  it,  and  that  none  of  the  friends  will  ob- 
ject, or  the  reactive  influence  might  be  detrimental  to  the 
administrator.  Such  treatment,  however,  comes  under  the 
head  of  psychological  medicine,  and  yet  the  conditions  are  of 
the  greatest  import,  and  should  be  fully  comprehended  be- 
fore procedure.  I  have  administered  this  nerve  tonic  in  the 
above  form  in  near  a  dozen  cases,  with  the  happiest  effect  to 
the  patient,  and  no  after  ill  result  to  any.  Of  course,  in  due 
time  an  apology  and  explanation  will  be  in  order.  But  I 
always  tell  them  before  hand,  or  at  the  commencement,  that 
for  the  time  the  patient  must  mind  me,  and  implicitly,  and  I 
shall  be  allowed  to  make  them  mind  as  much  as  if  they  were 
my  children,  and  thereby  become  master  of  the.  situation. 

The  pains  can  be  induced  and  regulated  by  clitorial  irrita- 
tion many  times  advantageously.  At  the  proper  time,  the 
neck  of  the  womb  must  be  thrown  back  over  the  child's 
head  to  save  the  strain  on  its  longitudinal  muscles.  • 

Perineal  rupture  can  always  be  avoided,  by  placing  the  hand 
vso  as  to  counteract  the  severe  lateral  strain  on  the  muscles. 
Immediately  after  delivery  if  it  has  been  difficult,  and  especi- 
ally if  instruments  have  been  used,  a  few  kind  and  encourag- 
ing words  to  the  mother  are  of  the  utmost  importance,  to  re- 
establish the  nervous,  and  circulating  action.  Never  leave 
Jan-2 


446  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

until  the  placenta  has  been  removed,  and  the  uterus  has 
properly  contracted,  unless  it  is  under  protest,  and  absolutely 
necessary.  After  a  few  hours  rest  perspiration  must  be  es- 
tablished, and  to  a  limited  extent  kept  up  for  three  or  four 
days,  mainly  by  Aconite,  and  if  so  done,  puerperal  or  metritic 
fever  can  not  ensue.  The  loss  or  waste  must  be  regulated 
mainly  owing  to  the  season;  heaviest  in  hot  weather.  The 
repair  for  loss  can  be  made  the  second  week.  Forbid  at  all 
seasons  feathers,  oil  or  rubber  cloth  under  the  patient,  as  they 
are  extremely  dangerous,  and  on  no  conditions  allow  the 
bowels  to  be  moved,  for  from  four  to  six  days  after  delivery, 
(I  always  stipulate  for  that  before),  and  if  complied  with,  no 
prolapsus  or  mal-position  of  the  womb  will  ever  ensue. 
Forbid  all  food  that  will  generate  heat,  make  blood,  or  be 
difficult  of  digestion,  for  live  or  six  days,  and  thereby  avoid 
the  danger  of  absesses  of  the  breast,  and  and  an  excess  of 
nurse.  Bryonia  will  generally  control  the  mammary  action, 
with  the  aid  of  cotton  batting  to^increase  perspiration  at  that 
place  if  needed. 

Deficiency  of  nurse  will  almost  invariably  be  remedied  by 
a  few  doses  of  Calcarea  carb.  6,  but  if  that  should  fail,  Asa- 
fcetida  i,  will  develop  an  ample  supply. 

Thus  have,  and  do,  I  simplify  the  treatment  of  confine- 
ments, and  would  say  that  in  my  attendance  of  several  hun- 
dred cases,  it  worked  not  only  to  my  satisfaction  but  to  my  pa- 
tients, as  no  death  has  occurred  in  my  care,  and  no  deformity 
has  been  produced. 


•  > 


Management  of  Pregnant  Women. 

Under  the  above  head  Dr.  Pullen,  of  St.  Louis,  recently 
discourses  as  follows: 


Obstetrical  aud  Gyna-.cologioal. 


447 


"The  rapid  progress  of  civilization,  as  evidenced  by  the  ac- 
cumulation of  wealth,  the  forcing  system  of  education,  and 
the  tendency  to  equalize  women's  duties  with  those  of  men, 
have  within  the  last  quarter  of  a  century  markedly  deterio- 
rated the  child-bearing  capacities  of  large  numbers  of  women. 
These  facts  are  especially  applicable  to  residents  of  crowded 
cities.  While  the  standard  of  female  beauty  is  increasing, 
and  signal  intellectual  growth  manifested  in  all  departmenls 
of  art  and  science,  the  remote  dangers,  as  well  as  the  imme- 
diate accidents  of  parturition,  have  increased  as  rapidly.  The 
busy  hours  of  training  in  public  and  private  schools,  the  viti- 
ated atmosphere  breathed,  the  ill-utilized  light  for  study,  and 
the  lateu  cramming  in  normal  and  finishing  institutions,  urge 


oiir  girls  to  a  degree  of  emasculated  An 
fitting  them  superbly  to  live  in  women's  hotels 
;s,  but  ruining  tbem   for   wifely 
laternity.     The  pregnant  woman 
infected 


perfection, 
communities 
impanionship 
ho  comes  of 


by  thcmselvi 
and  sturdy  r 

a  slock  not  infected  with  the  almost  irresistible  behests 
modern  society,  stands  a  much  better  chance  to  terminate  her 
gestation  in  health  than  does  her  more  wealthy  but  unfortu- 
nate sister  of  ultra  refinement  and  excessive  cullure. 

"The  girl  who  marries  at  the  nubile  period,  about  twenty- 
two  years  of  age,  when  ossification  of  the  pelvis  is  fairly  done, 
when  the  turbulence  of  puberty  has  subsided,  when  she  has 
had  time  to  rest  her  overtaxed  educational  training,  as  well  as 
her  strained  society  rounds,  then  will  she  approach  the  mar- 
riage couch  with  a  better  prospect  of  fruition,  healthy  to  her- 
self and  olTspring,  than  does  she  who  marries  earlier  under 
the  stress  of  fashion,  amid  the  storm  waves  of  exalted  nerve 
tensions,  pubertic  irregularities,  and  ill-formulated  morale. 

"The  pregnancy  of  late  marriage  is  likewise  to  be  appre- 
hended, from  the  fact  that  the  sudden  developmental  impetus 
of  embryonic  life  may  wear  out  a  soil  that  was  formerly  ca- , 
pable  to  produce  successfully,  but  wlilch  has  been  debilitated 
by  repeated  disappointments.  The  reproductive  elements  are 
present,  but  the  elasticity  and  resiliency  of  youth,  the  regulat- 
ing factors  in  all  growths,  are  defective,  and  the  newly  stim- 
ulated energies  of  a  life  somewhat  wasted  are  revived  in  a 


448  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

physical  organism  unfitted  to  do  battle.  Physical  causes  are 
aroused,  which,  under  other  circumstances,  would  not  be 
serious,  in  the  changed  status  actually  become  pathological. 
How  often  do  we  not  see  the  plump,  rosy  cheeked  maiden  of 
twenty  shrivel  into  the  parchment-skinned  spinster  of  forty? 
The  ovaries  and  uterus  have  properly  done  their  respective 
duties,  and  an  opportune  impregnation  prior  to  the  age  of 
thirty  would  have  preserved  this  woman,  if  not  rosy  and 
plump,  at  least  elastic  and  buoyant,  and  her  maternity  would 
be  exempt  from  pelvic  indolence,  as  indicated  by  the  flattened 
chest,  the  wrinkled  face,  and  the  cultivation  of  some  specific 
hobby.  A  woman  married  under  these  circumstances  is  like 
a  transplanted  tree:  the  fruition  thereof  is  apt  to  be  feeble,  if 
not  self-destructive. 

"Nothing  is  more  productive  of  physical  exhaustion  than 
the  efforts  to  keep  up  the  strain  of  the  constant  entertaining 
which  many  of  our  matrons  undergo.  Time  and  again,  the 
ebb  of  depression  (following  faster  and  faster  as  the  gestation 
progresses  upon  the  flood  of  excitement)  becomes  manifest  in 
the  frequent  demands  for  stimulation  during  waking  hours, 
and  a  call  for  hypnotics  when  tired  nature  should  be  soothed 
by  healthy  and  peaceful  sleep. 

"In  the  West  or  South  1  I;  ve  never  seen  a  case  of  rachitis 
or  moUities  ossium  in  the  w^ite  woman  born  of  American 
parentage,  nor  is  the  adult  negress  often  aflfected.  The  sturdy 
pioneers  who  settled  the  valleys  of  the  Mississippi  and  the 
Ohio,  engrafted  upon  their  offspring  so  much  of  vitality  that 
even  now  their  daughters'  granddaughters  are  rarely  sub- 
jected to  these  depressing  influences  of  gestation  witnessed  in 
the  crowded  marts  of  accumulated  wealth  in  the  East." 


iu$lUmm%. 


EeminisCenOGS  from  Practice.  By  Dr.  Carl  Koeck.  Trans- 
lated from  Die  Internationale  Presse  by  A.  McNeil, 
M.  D.,  New  Albany,  Ind. 

The  communication  of  the  following  case  should  cause  us 
to  lay  a  well  earned  garland  of  laurels  on  the  grave  of  our 
great  master  Hahnemann,  the  immortal  discoverer  of  the  law 
of  the  similars. 

A  childless  married  lady,  forty  years  old,  who  formerly 
lived  in  Prague,  but  who  recently  has  settled  in  Vienna,  was 
during  her  former  residence  in  Prague,  subject  to  many 
nervous  attacks,  to  which  she  had  been  subject  for  years, 
which  I  had  treated  successfully.  During  the  period  of  sev- 
eral years  which  she  had  lived  in  Vienna,  she  had  been  at- 
tacked by  several  fits  of  sickness,  which,  particularly  the 
nervous  attacks,  had  frequently  changed  their  seat.  She 
also  had  inflammatory  troubles  which  mostly  attacked  the 
sexual  organs.  By  these  she  was  placed  frequently  in  an  ex- 
tremely suffering  condition,  even  requiring  her  to  keep  her 
bed.  At  the  same  time  there  frequently  appeared  nervo- 
rheumatic  affections  of  the  extremities  which  could  be 
ameliorated,  but  not  entirely  removed.  She  had  been  treated 
by  a  skillful  homoeopathic  physician.  Dr.  Pokorny,  very  at- 
tentively, and  to  the  complete  satisfaction  of  the  patient. 
All  of  these  attacks  had  run  a  favorable  course,  and  only  now 
and  then  had  given  her  admonitions  of  their  existence.  Sud- 
denly appeared  an  entire  change.  The  former  always  natu- 
ral menstruation  began  to  manifest  a  striking  abnormality,  for 
always  after  a  brief  pause  of  a  few  days,  during  which  she 
had  a  more  or  less  profuse  leucorrhcea,  of  a  transparent,  al- 
buminous character,  the  menses  recurred  sometimes  with 
considerable  hemorrhage,  to  which,  as  already  mentioned, 
after  several  days  continuance  was  followed  by  the  whites. 
Her  physician  had  already  carefully  examined  her,  and  not- 


460  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

withstanding  the  most  careful  investigation  no  organic  change 
was  discovered.  He  had  not  succeeded  in  obtaining  for  her 
the  heahh  she  so  much  desired.  As  the  patient  was  com- 
pelled by  her  offices  to  make  a  journey  to  Prague,  she  again 
placed  herself  under  my  treatment.  What  was  communicat- 
ed to  me  by  the  patient  on  my  first  visit  excited  in  me  a  live- 
ly interest,  particularly  as  the  totality  of  the  symptoms  which 
she  gave  immediately  reminded  me  of  a  remedy  in  whose  ef- 
fects I  saw  a  true  image  of  the  morbid  phenomena  which  I 
had  discovered,  and  I  therefore  believed  I  had  found  the  true 
remedy,  and  I  was  not  deceived.  There  is  no  doubt  that  my 
reader  has  already  discovered  from  what  I  have  written,  but 
more  particularly  out  of  what  I  will  yet  communicate,  that 
which  because  of  feminine  modesty  had  been  concealed  from 
the  former  much  younger  physician,  the  name  of  the  suitable 
remedy,  and  I  will  endeavor  to  give  accurately  the  most  es- 
sential and  characteristic  phenomena  of  the  drsease,  and  part 
of  it  give  even  verbatim.  This  lady  whom  I  had  not  seen 
for  five  years  I  found  but  little  changed  in  appearance.  Her 
checks  were  pale  as  they  had  been  formerly,  her  eyes  sur- 
rounded by  blue  rings  and  she  was  somewhat  emaciated. 
The  most  striking  thing  about  her  was  the  sudden  changes 
to  whicli  her  nerves  were  subject,  which  were  clearly  per- 
ceptible, not  only  in  the  sensory  but  in  the  motor  nerves. 
There  were  occasionally  hours  and  even  days  when  without 
any  apparent  cause  she  manifested  an  uncommon  irritability 
fretfulness  and  sometimes  even  excessive  violence,  and  there 
were  other  hours  and  days  when  she  had  strength  enough 
showing  agility  and  ease  of  muscular  movement  that  was 
remarkable.  There  were  still  other  times  when  a  higher 
grade  of  melancholy  and  lachrymosity  united  with  entire  in- 
difVerence  possessed  her,  at  which  times  there  was  such  mus- 
cular weakness  that  the  patient  must  lie  down  or  recline  in 
an  easy  chair,  and  could  be  made  to  speak  with  difficulty, 
when  she  always  expressed  great  anguish  and  fear  of  im- 
pending death.  There  were  sometimes  very  cheerful  days, 
when  the  patient  was  lively  and  happy,  when  the  so  often 
tormentinjr  neural»jias  wereeasilv  overcome.     The  extremelv 


Miscellaneous,  451 

irregular  menses  always  returning  after  a  few  days,  often 
with  quite  severe  hemorrhage,  ad  the  leucorrhoea  during 
the  intervals.  I  have  already  mentioned,  and  it  is  only  nec- 
essary to  say.  that  coagulated  lumps  occurred  with  the  flow, 
the  passage  of  which  was  usually  announced  by  abdominal 
pains  and  bearing  down.  Another  thing  which  she  confid- 
ed to  me  with  visible  reluctance  was  the  following.  Accom- 
panying a  well  marked  aversion  to  sexual  intercourse  with 
her  husband,  she  was  many  nights  annoyed  by  extremely 
voluptuous  dreams  in  which  finally  she  was  in  a  high  degree 
of  ecstacy,  which  only  ended  with  the  discharge  of  a  pro- 
fuse viscid  fluid.  The  external  examination  of  the  abdomen, 
which  was  soft  and  doughy,  revealed  no  abnormal  condition 
of  any  of  the  organs.  She  would  not  submit  to  any  internal 
examination,  saying  that  she  had  already  been  closely  exam- 
ined by  a  specialist  who  had  discovered  nothing  abnormal. 
Her  appetite  during  her  cheerful  intervals  was  always  excel- 
lent, however  as  soon  as  the  melancholy  or  angry  attacks  ap- 
peared it  was  strikingly  decreased.  Her  stools  showed  a 
striking  irregularity,  as  they  were  often  then  but  more  fre- 
quently hard  and  diflficult  to  discharge. 

This  image  of  the  diseased  state  in  its  totality  strikingly 
reminded  me  of  the  complex  of  the  symptoms  of  the  pre- 
scribed remedy,  Platina,  of  which  the  fifteenth  potency  was 
used  in  moistening  several  powders  of  sugar  of  milk  which 
were  given  to  the  patient  with  directions  to  take  one  every 
second  day,  and  as  improvement  appeared  the  intervals  to  be 
lengthened  to  every  third  and  finally  to  every  fifth  day.  Two 
days  after  the  first  dose  she  reported  in  undoubtedly  better 
condition.  She  was  cheerful  and  happy,  had  a  desire  to 
promenade;  and  the  abundant  flow  appeared  to  be  strikingly 
decreased.  During  a  period  of  six  weeks  with  constantly 
increasing  improvement,  she  took  altogether  eight  powders 
of  Platina^  and  the  result  was  so  remarkably  favorable  that 
with  the  exception  of  some  remainders  of  the  neuralgic 
pains,  all  the  other  morbid  phenomena,  the  abnormal  flow  of 
blood,  the  leucorrhoea,  the  remarkable  alternations  of  dispo- 
sition,  as   well   as   the   tormenting   irritation   of  the   sexual 


( 


452  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

sphere,  had  disappeared,  and  it  was  now  hoped  that  the  now 
begun  dally  cold  rubbings  and  the  necessary  sea  baths  will 
accomplish  the  desired  strengthening  and  invigorating  of  the 
nerves  in  order  to  avert  a  possible  relapse. 


■♦  ♦ 


Pingal.* 

The  giant  Fingal  has  come  out  of  his  cave  to  make  his  daily 
repast  on  the  tender  bones  of  a  young  homoeopathic  novitiate. 
Well,  I  supppose  it  might  as  well  be  me  as  another.  But  I 
don't  just  see  why  I  am  a  novitiate.  If  there  is  any  one  thing 
settled  in  my  mind  by  personal  acquaintance  with  the  writ- 
ings and  practice  of  homoeopaths,  it  is  that  no  one  of  them 
believes  what  another  believes.  One  party  swears  that  there 
is  no  Homoeopathy  about  anything  less  than  the  ^^cm,^"* 
Another  that  there  is  nougrht  but  senile  gangreneness  above 
the  *'3x."  Another  that  it  is  only  found  about  the  "30thc," 
and  the  single  dose.  Another  party  oflers  the  "potentizcd" 
diseased  tissue.  The  kid  glover's  swear  these  fellows  are 
nasty  wretches.  Another  party  goes  its  last  eye  on  "symp- 
tomatology," while  another  never  takes  its  hands  off  the 
^'pathological  condition." 

Here  are  enough  parties,  and  I  might  still  enun  erate  a 
few  more  subdivisions.  These,  as  a  whole,  agree  in  but  two 
things  —  damning  allopathy,  and  christening  the  young 
fellows  of  other  parties  than  theirs,  **novitiates."  Don't  you 
see,  Fingal,  that  the  3  x  man  if  he  be  Chas.  Hempel,  even,  is 
a  noviti:Ue  in  "Homoeopathy"  to  my  good  friends  Finckc  and 
Swan?  Now,  by  the  barren  basalt  of  thy  cold  cave,  Fingal, 
I  will  build  me  a  little  party  platform  of  my  own,  and  every 
homoeopath  who  does  not  see  through  my  glasses  shall  be  a 
♦Vide  Medical  Advance,  page  347. 


Mi8cellaneo\i8,  453 

mere  jjhadow  of  a  "novitiate  in  true  Homoeopathy"  till  the  end 
of  time. 

But  in  all  good  faith,  I  would  discuss  fairly,  and  dispassion- 
ately this  question  of  the  identity  of  diphtheria  and  scarlatina. 
And,  right  on  the  horizon  of  such  fair  discussion,  my  mayhap 
good  Fingal,  you  need  one  of  Ihe  qualities  of  the  "enthusiast 
in  medicine." 

Sitting  in  the  black  depths  of  thy  cavern,  O  Fingal,  thy 
mental  iris  hath  withdrawn  so  far  that  the  bright  light  of 
day  doth  paralyze  thy  mind's  retina.  Else  would'st  thou  see 
that  the  name  of  a  disease  is  not  the  disease. 

There  is  one  work  for  a  medical  enthusiast  to  do.  The  do- 
main of  nosology  must  be  invaded  with  fire  and  sword.  Ha! 
can  we  not  build  some  better  structures  than  these,  by  the 
electric  light  of  modern. science?  On  my  gallants!  my  en- 
thusiasts! Down  with  the  *'smoke  fever"  and  the  "smoky 
fever,"  and  the  'redness,"  and  the  "spottedness,"  and  the 
'*skiminess,"  and  the  "flowiness!"  Smite  the  "dog 
choak"  and  the  "cock  crow."  Cheese  the  "I  seize  'cm,"  and  the 
"I  drew  near  'em,"  and  the  "I  waste  away  'em,"  and  the  "I 
drop  'em."     Down  with  the  shams  "one  and  all!" 

Ah,  if  the  laity  knew  that  these  were  "typhus,"  "typhoid," 
"rubeola,"  "variola,"  "diphtheria,"  "cholera,"  "cynanche"  and 
"croup,"  and  "epilepsy,"  "erysipelas,"  "phthisic"  and  "gout," 
how  would  their  reverence  turn  to  contempt. 

Fingal!  my  troglodyte!  turn  from  the  crunching  of  neo- 
phytic  bones  and  join  me  in  this  invasion  of  the  enemies' 
country.  Let  us  slay  these  ill-shapen  dragons  that  stand  in 
the  path  of  the  neophyte,  to  frighten  him  out  of  the  deep 
woods  of  pathology.  Let  us  smite  them  hip  and  thigh,  and 
confiscate  their  domain  to  the  trim,  fair  children  of  modern 
science — the  nosology  born  in  lawful  wedlock  of  physiology 
and  morbid  anotomy. 

And  if  Potassic  chlorate  is  able  to  make  a  mild  scarlatina 
out  of  malignant  diphtheria,  has  Homoeopathy  no  part  in  it? 
Beshrew  me,  Fingal,  but  thou  wouldst  snap  at  this  same  drug 
as  the  similimum  were  it  the  ''^cm.^*  instead  of  the  poor  mean 
crude  crystals  that  be  gifted  with  this  angelic  power. — H.W,  T. 


454  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 


Yellow  Fever  Commission.    Circular  Letter. 

Dear  Mr.  Editor: — We  are  informed  that  the  President 
of  the  American  Institute  of  Homoeopathy  has  appointed  a 
Commission  of  medical  gentlemen,  to  visit  the  South,  and 
"to  investigate  the  results  of  Homoeopathic  treatment  in  the 
late  epidemic  of  Yellow  Fever,  with  a  view  of  laying  the  re- 
port before  Congress,  and  getting  that  body  to  publish  the 
same,  as  a  supplement  to  the  report  of  the  Yellow  Fever 
Commission,  now  at  work  upon  its  causes  and  means  of  pre- 
vention." 

At  the  head  of  that  Commission  stands  the  nafne  of  W.  H. 
Holcombe,  M.  D.,  of  New  Orleans.  This  gentleman  is  not 
unknown  to  the  public,  for  he  has  years  ago  written  out  of 
his  own  experience,  a  very  creditable  work,  on  "Yellow 
Fever."  The  other  gentlemen,  with  the  exception  of  Drs. 
Verdi  and  Dake,  have  not  to  our  knowledge,  had  any  per- 
sonal experience  with  the  disease.  But  there  are  enough 
names  on  the  list,  to  give  the  commission  a  reasonable  amount 
of  weight  with  the  public. 

These  gentlemen  have  issued  a  circular,  copies  of  which 
have  no  doubt,  been  widely  distributed,  and  they  will  be  read 
with  interest  by  the  public.  For  my  part,  I  have  read  it 
with  feelings  of  astonishment.  As  the  commission  have  not 
yet  met  in  a  body,  it  is  more  than  likely  some  one  member 
has  taken  the  responsibility  of  issuing  this,  for  I  do  not  be- 
lieve the  commission  as  a  whole,  would  consent  to  the  publi- 
cation of  such  a  nonsensical  fanfaronade.  1  beg  to  make 
a  few  quotations. 

"The  physicians  of  our  school  have  done  gloriously  in  the 
late  epidemic,  having,  we  firmly  believe,  reduced  the  mortal- 
ity of  yellow  fever  to  less  than  one  half  of  the  acknowledged 
allopathic  loss,"  Now  this  is  either  counting  chickens  before 
they  are  hatched,  or  being  hatched,  it  is  a  proposition  to  sit 
a  while  longer  on  an  empty  nest.  Why  investigate  for  re- 
sults that  are  already  in  hand?  Where  is  "the  acknowledged 
allopathic  loss?"     It  has  escaped   my  notice.     Perhaps  their 


Miscellaneous.  455 

yellow  fever  commission,  like  ours,  have  already  declared  re- 
sults before  investigating.  I  would  like  to  see  the  declar- 
ation. Our  physicians  "have  done  gloriously."  Is*nt  this 
just  a  little  bombastic  and  premature?  It  sounds  like  a  stump 
speech  or  a  martial  proclamation.  But  here  is  more  of  the 
same  highflying  talk.  "We  have  much  to  say  about  the 
treatment  of  yellow  fever,  which  it  behooves  not  only  the 
medical  profession,  but  the  people  of  the  United  States  to 
listen  to  and  believe."  1  hope  the  United  States  will  be  duly 
attentive.  I  hope  also,  no  one  will  attempt  to  hold  his 
breath  all  the  while  the  commission  is  on  duty. 

"Our  reports  are  denied  publications  in  the  allopathic  jour- 
nals." That  is  too  bad,  but  what  has  this  commission  to  do 
with  that  fact?  I  thought  they  were  going  to  report  to 
Congress.  "The  great  majority  of  the  medical  profession 
itself,  is  ignorant  of  the  vast  advances  we  have  made  in  be- 
half of  science,  truth  and  humanity.  We  have  endeavored 
often,  and  in  vain,  to  awaken  the  conscience  and  enlighten 
the  mind  of  the  Old  School  on  this  subject."  Well,  now 
suppose  you  have,  what  has  that  to  do  with  your  investigat- 
ing yellow  fever?  Is  this  an  "experience  meeting,"  that  these 
gentlemen  need  to  tell  the  United  States  what  they  have  been 
doing  so  many  years  for  the  "Old  School"?  "We  intend  to 
gather  our  statistics  in  the  most  careful  and  scientific  manner, 
and  to  lay  them  before  Congress  as  matters  of  vital  import- 
ance to  the  health,  welfare  and  prosperity  of  the  Nation." 
Who  that  had  any  faith  in  the  commission,  thought  otherwise? 
It  is  superfluous  and  childish  to  make  such  a  declaration.  At 
this  point,  the  circular  gets  down  to  business.  It  invites  co- 
operation etc.,  etc.,  and  at  the  end  of  the  first  item  of  instruc- 
tion, it  declares  the  commission  propose  to  "challenge  the 
scrutiny  of  the  incredulous,  and  a  comparison  with  the  best 
allopathic  results."  There's  a  deal  of  genuine  bravery  in 
this,  particularly  as  the  said  allopaths  don't  propose  to  report 
their  results  of  treatment.  This  commission  is  a  big  thing  no 
doubt;  but  it  seems  to  have  remarkably  inflated  ideas  of  its 
duties.  Why  does'nt  it  go  modestly  about  its  works,  and  let 
Allopathy  alone?     If  the  President  of  the  American  Institute 


456     "^  Cincinnati  Mdical  Advance, 

of  Homoeopathy,  has  authorized  it  to  give  the  coup  de  grace 
to  the  Old  School,  I  have  failed  to  see  it. 

"We  are  not  seeking  to  glorify  Homoeopathy  or  ourselves, 
but  to  discover  the  truth  for  the  common  benefit."  I  do 
notl'wonder  at  this  disclaimer  being  inserted  here.  It  will 
take  all  this  and  more  to  rid  us  of  the  suspicion,  that  glorifi- 
cation of  some  sort,  has  much  to  do  with  the  labor  these  gen- 
tlemen have  undertaken.  When  they  loudly  proclaim  that 
"the  physicians  of  our  school  have  done  glorioitsly"  and  want 
the  attention  of  the  United  States  to  the  proof,  it  is  hard  to 
believe  that  love  of  glory  does  not  mightily  move  them  to 
good  works.  But  here  is  a  statement  that  is  somewhat  of 
the  nature  of  "a  regular  stunner."  "If  Homoeopathy  has 
made  a  better  record  than  Allopathy,  we  want  the  profession 
and  the  world  to  know  it.  If  the  reverse  is  true,  we  wish  to 
undeceive  ourselves  and  turn  allopaths." 

It  must  have  taken  a  man  of  extraordinary  sense  to  write 
such  a  sentence  as  that. 

Only  think,  what  a  responsibility  rests  in  the  hands  of  this 
commission!  For  over  three  quarters  of  a  century  we  have 
been  carefully  building  up  the  school  of  Homoeopathy.' 
"Facts  on  facts  have  been  piled  as  Ossa  on  Pclion,  and  the 
law  of  similia  a  thousand  times  ten  thousand  proven  to  be 
true,  and  now  comes  this  august  body,  empowered  to  see 
which  school  came  out  ahead  in  the  yellow  fever  fight;  and 
if  Allopathy  scores  just  one  ahead — 

"Nay,  if  the  scales  do  turn  but  in  the  estimation  of  a  hair," 
then  is  it  all  over  with  us  as  a  school.  Gentlemen  the 
risk  is  too  great.  The  bare  possibility  of  our  having  all 
to  turn  allopaths  on  the  streno;th  of  your  report — O  it's 
too  much  for  human  nature!  Please  don't.  Gamblers 
are  said  to  take  great  risks  when  they  hold  the  winning 
cards,  but  who  among  them  would  risk  all  he  is  worth, 
on  a  single  game  and  before  the  cards  could  have  been 
dealt.^  No  gentlemen,  go,  and  God's  blessing  be  with  you, 
but  don't  carry  "the  glorious  cause"  in  your  pockets,  lest  they 
might  be  picked.  Leave  with  us  the  sacred  treasure,  and 
whatever  may  be  the  character  of  your  statistics  as  gathered 
in,  they  may  help  or  hurt  us,  but  bless  you,  they  can't  destroy 


Miscellaneous,  457 

us,  and  as  for  our  turning  allopaths  in  any  event,  do  you 
think  we  are  dogs,  that  we  should  return  to  our  vomit? — 
Yours,  FiNGAL  Hapgood,  M.  D. 

Note. — Our  friend  Hapgood  is  in  error  upon  one  point.  Most  of 
the  gentlemen  of  the  commission  have  had  personal  experience  with 
yellow  fever  and  are  well  qualified  for  the  work.< — [Ed. 


Eow  Can  the  Study  cf  Materia  Medica  be  made  more  Avail- 
able ? 

Dunglison  defines  materia  medica  as  that  branch  of  the 
science  of  medicine,  which  treats  of  the  knowledge  of  medi- 
cines, their  action  on  the  human  economy,  and  their  mode  of 
administration. 

Although  he  might  not  be  willing  to  admit  that  the  Hom- 
aiopathic  giving  of  remedies  was  their  administration,  yet 
the  point  we  wish  to  make  now  is  not  so  much  how  to  pre- 
scribe at  the  bedside,  as  it  is  to  note  down  and  arrange  those 
symptoms  produced  on  the  healthy  organism  when  proving 
the  remedies  that  we  may  be  able  to  apply  our  great  law  of 
cure  *^similia  similihus  curantur,^^ 

That  the  noting  down  of  all  the  symptoms  and  as  they 
were  developed  by  each  of  twenty  provers,  would  give  us  a 
proving,  we  do  not  deny.  That  there  should  be  a  di (Terence 
in  each  of  them  would  not  be  strange;  nay,  that  there  would 
be  opposite  effects  in  diflferent  provers,  we  do  not  question 
for  one  moment,  nor  do  we  hold  'that  their  order  of  develop- 
ment should  be  uniform  in  each. 

This  very  difference  in  effect  is  one  of  the  things  we- are 
after,  but  it  should  be  secondary  to  this;  when  and  how  and 
upon  what  organ  or  organs,  are  the  efTects  most  uniformly 
and  clearly  shown. 

Those  symptoms  that  were  common  to  all,  or  three- 
fourths,  or  over  one-half,  would   be  the  base  on  which  to 


458 


Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 


rear  the  superstructure  and  of  which  these  differences  form 
such  an  important  part. 

Leading  symptoins  of  the  remedy  might  be  common  to  the 
twenty  provers  and  be  our  bnse;  important  symptoms  would 
be  common  to  nineteen  and  would  be  fitly  placed  above  the 
others;  wiiile  groups  common  to  eighteen,  seventeen,  etc., 
would  easily  follow  until  the  last  shade  of  difference  would 
be  the  one  that  crowns  the  top,  and  we  should  see  that  we 
had  developed  the  effect  of  the  medicine  on  each  tissue, 
organ  or  organs  and  their  function  of  the  htnnan  system. 


Such  a  monument  would  be  oni 

;,  of  which  the  immortal 

Hahnemann    might    well   be    proi 

Lid.      Another    important 

factor  is  whether  the  given  sympto 

ins  were  developed  by  the 

one  hundred  thousandth  of  Fincke, 

or  the  full  dose  as  given  In 

the  Pharmacopia  or  Dispensatory. 

If  given  in  material  or  drug  doses  we  develop  drug  symp- 
toms and  the  organs  effected. 

We  wish  to  know  if  these  are  drug  effects,  whether  ihey  fol- 
low primarily  or  secondarily;  then  under  our  law,  when  we 
have  such  a  symptom  in  disease  we  can  give  just  enough  of 
the  remedy,  whether  it  be  tincture  or  the  one  hundred  thons- 
snth  as  will  assist  nature  in  her  effort  to  restore  the  ei{uili- 
brium,  which  is  health.  The  distinction  between  primary  and 
secondary,  which  are  both  drug  symptoms,  if  not  of  as  much 
importance  as  to  know  drug  symptoms  from  those  obtained 
by  high  potencies. 

If  the  similar  symptom  for  which  I  am  to  prescribe,  was  I 
the  development  of  a  high  potency  and  I  were  to  prescribe 
low,  the  result  might  be  curable,  and  no  doubt,  often  is,  but 
first  there  would  be  a  medicinal  aggravation,  which,  if  prov- 
ings  were  given  as  they  should  be  we,  as  homoiopathic  practi- 
tioners should  avoid. 

We  ought  to  leave  the  glory  of  such  a  practice  to  the  reg- 
ulars for  they  have  earned  it,  in  answering  the  oft  repeated 
question  of  the  nurse  after  giving  the  medicine,  "Doctor  is 
he  worse?"  "Yes,  but  I  hope  he  will  be  better  after  the  effect 
of  the  medicine  passes  off,"  Often  a  disappointed  hope  be- 
cause nature  is  not  strong  enough  to  withstand  the  onset  of 
disease  and  drugging  too.     So  much  for  the  provinETS. 


Miscellaneous,  459 

Now  having  the  symptoms  developed  bj  the  provers,  there 
may  be  different  ways  of  making  a  materia  medica. 

If  all  the  provers  noted  every  symptom  they  experienced 
while  proving  a  remedy,  from  the  tincture  upwards,  and  the 
printer  would"  set  them  up  one  after  the  other  in  book  form, 
and  label  it  materia  medica,  it  would  be  true,  full,  etc.,  but  it 
would  be  very  unserviceable  in  practice.  Again,  if  these  symp- 
toms were  arranged  under  the  various  organs  and  regions  of 
the  body  effected,  no  symptom  need  be  left  out,  it  would  be 
as  full,  true  and  vastly  superior  to  the  one  just  named.  It 
would  be  an  improvement  and  much  like  some  we  have. 

Can  it  be  made  more  available?  I  like  the  plan  of  Dr. 
Allen,  very  much  in  many  respects.  Beginning  with  the 
name,  it  gives  the  signification,  common  names  and  its  pre- 
parations. 

His  sources  and  designation  of  symptoms  embraces  all  I 
have  asked,  and  I  can  not  see  how  it  can  well  be  improved. 

With  but  little  more  space,  you  can  easily  tell  by  whom  the 
proving  was  made,  and  what  preparation  was  used  when 
the  symptom  sought  was  developed. 

If  in  starring  symptoms,  clinically  verified,  the  editor  was 
seconded  by  a  score  or  more  of  our  ablest  practitioners  in 
various  sections  of  the  country,  and  small  figures  placed  before 
the  stars,  indicating  the  number  of  them  who  had  verified 
the  symptom,  it  would  be  a  great  help  to  all,  and  especially 
to  the  new  beginner. 

Small  figures  in  Allen's  work,  after  the  symptom,  give  the 
prover  or  provers,  and  it  is  curious  to  notice  that  but  few 
have  two  who  noted  the  same  symptom. 

Leading  symptoms  of  any  drug  should  be  developed  by  a 
majority,  or,  at  least,  several  of  the  provers. 

If  the  prominent  symptoms  are  to  be  different  in  each 
prover,  then  when  we  have  a  given  symptom  in  disease,  we 
are  not  sure  in  our  prescription  by  similars,  unless  the  patient 
has  been  the  subject  of  a  proving,  for  this  new  subject  would 
develop  different  symptoms  from  all  we  have,  and  those  we 
have  would  not  be  exact  similars. 


460  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

.  But  our  law  is  applied  and  does  cure,  therefore,  we  con- 
clude that  leading  symptoms  of  many  provers  afe  the  same, 
and  much  of  the  difference  is  only  owing  to  their  expressing 
the  same  thing  in  different  language.  Or,  iij  other  words, 
effects  are  the  same  but  modes  of  expression  are  different. 

The  remedies  are  taken  to  see  their  different  effects  and 
not  their  different  expressions  of  the  same  effect. 

Some  men  are  symptom  hunters,  and  get  to  riding  hobbies 
in  that  direction;  it  gives  them  glory,  and  is  their  life,  and 
we  must  excuse  them  for  making  it  so  prominent. 

What  is  wanted  is  knowledge  that  will  be  a  guide  to  the 
profession  in  the  choice  of  remedies  to  heal  the  maladies  that 
flesh  is  heir  to.  . 

Let  us  not  be  understood  as  decrying  the  materia  medica. 
We  are  only  more  anxious  to  make  it  more  reliable,  than  to 
increase  its  size. 

Such  reliability  we  shall  hav^e  when  remedies  are  proved 
by  several  persons,  and  symptoms  are  developed  which  are 
common  to  the  different  provers,  in  the  ratio  we  have  men- 
tioned. 

If  symptoms  vary  because  of  circumstances,  let  us  have  the 
circumstances,  or  the  symptoms  are  of  little  use. 

To  sum  up  the  suggestions  we  have  made,  our  most  avail- 
able materia  medica  would  be  made  up  as  follows: 

The  remedy,  its  signification  and  various  common  names,  etc. 

List  of  provers  numbered,  and  the  preparations  used  by 
each. 

A  general  summary  of  the  action  of  the  remedy  on  the 
different  provers,  in  the  various  organs  and  functions  of  the 
body,  and  in  the  order  of  their  importance. 

Then  the  order  of  Dr.  Allen,  with  his  system  of  notation, 
excepting  that  under  each  division  he  has  made,  those  leading 
symptoms  we  have  designated  should  be  placed  first. 

Then  following,  under  the  same  appropriate  divisions, 
those  shades  of  difference  that  are  brought  out  by  the  differ- 
ent provers,  omitting  only  those  which  express  the  same 
effect,  but  in  different  language. 


Miscellaneous.  461 

I  might  possibly  cut  off  some  choice  or  pet  symptoms  of 
some  one.  Granted  that  I  do,  {he  gain  in  availability  to  the 
busy  practioner  would  be  a  thousand  fold. 

The  how  to  study  such  a  materia  medica  would  be  simple, 
natural  and  plain.  The  student  should  learn  or  familiarize 
all,  except  the  later,  quite  large  division  in  many  cases.  He 
should  pass  his  examination  on  the  remedy,  its  general  effects 
on  the  system  and  the  leading  symptoms  we  have  suggested. 

The  many  shades  of  difference  etc.,  are  left  for  reference 
and  study  in  specialties,  and  as  time  and  demand  may  re- 
quire. 

In  this  way  would  the  study  of  materia  medica,  now  such 
a  vexed  question,  be  made  more  easy  of  access. 

The  availability  would  be  increased,  because  the  opposites 
following  in  our  materia  medica,  and  which  our  old  school 
brethren  use  to  flay  us  with,  saying  it  either  proves  too  much 
or  nothing,  would  be  removed  or  at  least  separated. 

The  confusion  attending  the  useving  of  opposite  symptoms 
in  almost  the  same  sentence,  is  a  great  barrier  in  the  way  of 
learning  the  symptoms  in  the  study  of  materia  medica. 

What  we  learn  in  the  first  sentence,  or  would  learn  if  the 
opposite  did  not  follow  it,  is  knocked  out  of  mind  by  the 
second,  and  when  through  reading  he  feels  as  though  he  had 
retained  nothing,  and  what  is  worse,  feels  as  if  he  was  no- 
where. The  leading  symptoms  first  and  the  others  follow 
most  naturally.  If  the  student  must  learn  these  first,  let 
authors  separate  them  and  place  them  before  him. 

What  student,  what  young  practitioner,  what  busy  one  can 
do  this?  Nay,  the  professor  of  materia  medica  must  needs 
have  the  book  before  him,  and  with  pencil  in  hand  go  through 
page  Tvfter  pnge,  noting  here  and  there  a  symptom  tliiit  he 
may  be  able  to  bring  something  tangible  as  well  as  compre- 
hensible, before  his  class. 

I  confess  I  am  unable  to  give  the  how  to  study  the  present 
materia  medica,  and  will  leave  it  to  older  and  wiser  heads. 

However  crude  and  unsatisfactory  these  suggestions  may 
be,  if  I  shall  succeed  in  bringing  out  such  a  discussion  from 


462  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

this  body  of  able  practitioners,  as  shall  make  the  materia  med- 
ica  more  attractive  and  available  to  the  student  and  practi- 
tioner of  medicine,  my  object  will  have  been  more  than 
gained. 

Note. — ^This  paper  was  presented  to  the  "Joint  Convention"  in 
May  last  and  the  author  is  unknown  to  us. — [Ed. 


•  • 


QuidxxiTlOk  on  the  "Albany  Resolutions."     Letter  No.  3. 

Dear  Mr.  Editor: — My  wife  and  child  have  gone  to  bed, 
and,  in, fact,  I  may  say  that  Bungletown  is  mostly  decubitus 
dorsum,  while  silence  every  where  reigns,  except  when 
broken  now  and  then,  by  a  hooting  owl,  who  sits  aloft  in  some 
neighboring  tree  top  in  the  edge  of  the  woods.  Now  did 
you  ever  imagine,  Mr.  Editor,  why  owls  should  make  such 
an  unearthly  noise  at  night?  And  why  is  it  that,  with  such 
unvarying  persistency,  they  keep  on  repeating  the  same 
thing?  Over  and  over  again,  each  time  as  though  it  was 
something  both  new  and  important,  they  reiterate  their  dis- 
mal, "to  who?"  "to  who?"  "to  who?"  Now  everybody 
knows  that  this  interrogatory  has  been  answered  more  than 
ten  thousand  times.  All  the  boys  and  girls  in  the  country 
have  shouted  back  their  replies,  giving  sir  owl  both  names 
and  dates.  Now  would  you  believe  it,  here  is  one  not  forty 
rods  from  my  door,  still  askin^^,  "to  who?"  "to  who?"  "to 
who?"  I  have  no  idea  that  a  full  and  complete  answer  to 
his  interrogatory  would  satisfy  him.  I've  half  a  njtion, 
however,  to  go  out  and  give  him  a  piece  of  my  mind,  and,  if 
possible,  shame  him  into  silence.  Alas!  I  fear  the  condition 
of  the  bird  is  hopeless,  and  that  his  understanding  is  more 
limited  than  his  language. 

At  this  point  I  pick  up  a  daily  paper,  which  came,  by 
mistake,  to  our  post-office  last  week.  The  postmaster  has 
lost  his  specks,  and  so  he  gave  the  paper  to  me.     I  have  had 


Miscellaneous,  463 

it  three  days,  but  being  unaccustomed  to  such  luxuries,.  I  had 
forgotten  all  about  it.  Now  I  turn  to  it  and  find  an  article 
written  from  New  York  City,  in  which  the  writer  gives  the 
result  of  his  interview  with  some  distinguished  medical 
authorities  of  that  great  city.  They  seem  quite  clearly  to  be 
'of  the  allopathic  school,  and  well  posted  as  to  medical  mat- 
ters throughout  the  country.  The  following  will  readily 
show  itself: 

"What  is  the  condition  of  homoeapathic  medicine  and  prac- 
tice in  New  York?" 

"Well,  at  their  convention  in  Albany  last  year  the  homoeo- 
pathic doctors  abandoned  the  principle  of  similia  similihus 
curantur.  Since  that  time  there  is  a  tendency  to  recognize 
them  and  go  into  consultation  with  them.  I  think  in  ten  or 
fifteen  years,  if  they  persevere  in  well  doing,  the  regular 
doctors  will  consult  with  them  generally." 

"What  sort  of  reputation  does  Hahneman  hold  in  the  reg- 
ular practice?" 

"A  very  great  original  thinker.     He  was  a  big  man." 

I  rushed  to  the  side  of  my  sleeping  spouse,  and  wakening 
her  I  exclaimed,  "What  do  you  think  of  that?  See!  we  are 
accused  of  having,  at  last,  abandoned  our  law  of  cure." 
"Well,  why  don't  you  deny  it?"  she  replied  with  a  yawn. 
"So  we  have.  We  have  denied  it  more  than  a  thousand 
times.  But  it  does  no  good."  Just  then  my  little  one 
awakened  and  asked,  "Papa  what  is  the  owl  saying?" 
"My  dear,  it  is  saying,  'to  who?'  *to  who?'  *to  who?'  " 
"Well,  can't  you  answer  it,  and  send  it  to  bed?"  "Hush,"  I 
replied,  "don't  you.  know  owls  never  go  to  bed  until  day- 
light drives  them  to  it?"  "Well,  now,"  said  my  wife,  "here's 
a  conundrum,"  and  then  she  yawned  again  and  continued, 
"What  is  the  difference  between  an  owl  and  an  allopath?" 
"I  don't  see  any,"  I  said.  "Well,  there  is  none  in  this  respect, 
that  they  keep  saying  the  same  thing  over  and  over,  and 
never  profit  by  the  replies  they  receive," 

This  point  settled  I  fell  to  thinking  what  a  wonderful 
thing  that  Albany  convention  trti^t  have  been.  Its  power  to 
give  away  the  homoeopathic  profession,  and  it's  willingness 


464  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

to  stand  pledged  for  the  future  good  behaviour  of  that  pro- 
fession, borders  on  the  marvelous.  I  can  not  feel  too  thank- 
ful for  stumbling  upon  this  daily  paper.  As  it  is  I  have 
wasted  nearly  a  year,  not  having  heard  of  this  thing  before. 
You  see,  Mr.  Editor,  I  knew  nothing  of  the  action  of  the 
Albany  convention,  and  so  kept  right  on  practicing  according 
to  the  law  of  similia  similibus  curantur.  And,  unless  some 
steps  are  taken  to  give  the  matter  publicity,  there  will  be 
remote  places  where  homoeopathic  doctors,  (I  can  not  call 
them  physicians  any  more),  will,  for  months  to  come,  con- 
tinue their  former  mode  of  practice.  Only  think  of  it",  after 
ten  or  fifteen  years  probation  we  will  all  be  taken  into  the 
fold  of  Allopathy.  And  now  we  know  that  Hahnemann 
was  a  "big  man."  .  We  have  all  along  had  a  suspicion  that 
he  was  an  "original  thinker."  Now  our  suspicions  are  con- 
firmed. And  won't  Hahnemann  be  happy  though  when  he 
hears  how  his  children  have  progressed?  Once  similia 
seemed  a  long  way  in  advance.  When  Hahnemann  held  it 
aloft  he  led  the  world.  Now  he  is  dead  and  buried,  and  so 
is  his  favorite  law  of  cure.  Glorious  old  man!  How  Hke  an 
Indian  warrior  he  was  laid  to  sleep,  with  his  broken  bow  and 
slaughtered  dog  by  his  side!  Would  any  vandal  dare  to 
desecrate  that  grave  and  rob  it  of  it's  brightest  jewel.'*  We 
have  no  more  use  of  similia  since  the  Albany  convention. 
Hahnemann  was  a  great  and  successful  leader.  We  are 
glad  that  wc  followed  him  so  long,  but  the  time  has  come  for 
us  to  turn  away  from  his  teachings — "to  who.?  to  who?  to 
who?'*  •called  his  owlish  demonship,  from  a  dead  tree  top 
not  live  rods  away.  It  was  a  startling  question.  I  could 
not  answer  it.  To  whom  arc  we  to  go  after  leaving  Hahne- 
mann? I  do  not  know.  If  the  Albany  convention  did  not 
inform  us,  I  presume  its  next  to  kin,  the  New  York  society, 
can  tell  us.  Meantime.  Mr.  Editor,  will  your  readers  wait 
until  I  can  write  and  find  out? — Yours,  Quidmuck,  Bungle- 
town.  Dcc^  ID,  1S7S. 


Miscellaneous,  465 


Wabash  Valley  Homaopatliio  Uedical  Society, 

Charleston,  III.,  Nov.,  i8,  1878. 

The  second  semi-annual  meeting  of  the  Wabash  Valley 
Homoeopathic  Medical  Society,  convened  in  Terre  Haute, 
Ind.,  in  the  room  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  Nov.  i,  1878. 

"The  meeting  was  called  to  order  by  President  Sarchet  at 
ten  a.  m.,  and  the  minutes  read  .by  that  genial  gentleman 
scholar.  Dr.  Branstrup,  of  Vincennes,  Ind,  after  which  a  short 
address  was  presented  by  the  president. 

Able  and  original  papers  were  presented  by  Drs.  Elder, 
Pollock,  Waters,  Branstrup,  Moore,  Higbee,  Sarchet  and 
others,  and  a  case  of  em  pyemia  thoracis  presented  by  Dr. 
Spooner,  of  Areola,  in  which  there  was  a  free  discharge  of 
pus,  just  below  and  upon  the  inner  border  of  the  scapula, 
and  the  heart  pushed  to  the  right  of  the  median  line  of 
sternum.  From  the  history  of  the  case.  Dr.  Spooner  is  cer- 
tainly doing  a  good  job  for  the  boy. 

The  papers  elicited  free  and  liberal  discussions,  and  the 
society  adjourned  to  meet  in  Charleston,  111.,  in  May  next. 

The  Wabash  Valley  gives  great  promise  of  becoming  a 
power,  and  wielding  an  influence  in  the  cause  of  Homoeo- 
pathy 

In  the  evening  a  bus  was  ordered  to  take  the  members  to 
the  residence  of  Dr.  Moore,  where  a  most  pleasant  and  agree- 
able evening  was  spent,  not  in  discussing  medicine  and  pa- 
pers, but  in  digesting  delicious  turkey,  oysters,-  chicken 
salad,  fragrant  coflee,  rich  cake  and  other  delicacies  too 
numerous  to  mention,  but  all  good  enough  to  be  long  remem- 
bered, if  indeed  ever  forgotten. 

This  little  party  was  made  very  much  more  agreeable 
by  the  presence  of  a  number  of  ladies,  among  which  were 
Dr.  Moore's  wife  and  daughter,  Mrs.  Scott,  Mrs,  Campbell, 
Mrs.  Dr.  Waters  and  the  beautiful  and  accomplished  blonde, 
Miss  Chambers,  with  whom  Von  Branstrup  and  I  had  the 
extreme  gratification  of  supping. 

Dr.  Obitz  may  cure  five  hundred  cases  of  intermittent 
fever,  but  for  Branstrup  and  myself,  give  us  a  side  table  along 


466  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

with  the  beautiful  blonde.  But  as  everything  must  needs  have 
an  end,  so  vrith  the  banquet  given  the  Wabash  Valley,  it  came 
to  an  end,  but  will  constitute  an  oasis  long  to  be  remembered 
in  the  lives  of  the  participants.  Thanks  to  the  representatives 
of  Homoeopathy  in  Terre  Haute,  for  generosity  and  kind- 
ness.— X. 

We  have  printed  the  above  to  show  the  kind  of  a  report 
we  do  not  want.  What  there  is  in  it  of  interest  or  profit  we 
do  not  know.  If  our  correspondent  had  paid  less  attention 
to  matters  of  complexion,  and  the  quality  of  oysters  and  cof- 
fee, and  told  us  even  one  practical  idea  brought  forward  in  the 
meeting,  he  would  have  laid  us  all  under  obligation.  If  our 
correspondent,  and  all  others  who  propose  to  report  proceed- 
ings of  societies,  will  consult  an  editorial  of  ours  on  *'Cider 
Mills,"  they  will  learn  what  it  is  we  wish  to  lay  before  our 
readers.  When  we  see  whole  pages  of  a  journal  taken  up 
with  the  names  of  members  of  bureau,  and  like  useless  rub- 
bish, we  wonder  if  the  profession  is  satisfied  to  have  it  so. 
Why  don't  they  resent  it  and  demand  that  every  page  and 
line  shall  be  of  value? 


Consultation  CaSO.     Dybmenorrha3a.      By  Prof.  Wm.  Owens. 

Mrs.  J.,  aet.  thirty-five,  landlady,  been  married  six  years, 
enjoyed  good  health  before  marriage;  fine  physical  appear- 
ance, fair  complexion,  "the  picture  of  health;"  has  good  ap- 
petite and  is  well  nourished;  would  enjoy  good  health  were 
it  not  for  her  "bete  noir,  utciinc  disease;"  has  no  children; 
menstruation  regular  but  abnormal;  has  dysmenorrhoea  with 
thick,  dark  clots,  sometimes  a  stringy  or  ropy  discharge; 
during  the  period  prohibited  from  changing  clothes  of  the 
person  or  bed  as  will  positively  contract  a  severe  cold;  has 
latero-flexion  of  the  womb  on  left  side;  suffers  intensly  with 


MiscellaneotLS,  467 

nocturnal  strangury;  micturates  on  an  average  five  times 
each  night,  the  intermission  gives  perfect  quiet  and  rest. 
Been  on  Canth.  2x  three  weeks  but  no  relief.  Sulph.  30a;  had 
its  trial  with  some  results,  Macrotine  2x  gives  the  best  satis- 
faction of  anything  given  yet. 

Answer: — Membranous  dysmenorrhoea  of  probably  ca- 
tarrhal or  rheumatic  origin.  Prognosis  as  to  a  permanent 
cure  unfavorable;  as  to  life  favorable;  as  to  relief  favorable, 
Treatment:  Sitz  baths,  temperature  ninety-six,  eight  to  ten 
minutes,  twice  daily,  last  just  before  retiring  at  night,  JSTux 
vom.  30,  every  night  for  one  month.  Other  drugs,  Bromine^ 
Bryonia^  Sanguinaria,  Macrotine,  according  to  indications  of 
pain,  color  and  appearance  of  menstrual  discharge  or  cir- 
cumstances under  which  it  occurs.  If  after  three  months 
not  satisfactory  relief,  re-examine  the  case  and  will  advise 
farther. 


■♦  #- 


"  (Hve  Honor  to  Whom  Honor  is  Dne." 

The  above  is  a  precept  I  have  always  been  taught  to  ob- 
serve, but,  Mr.  Editor,  will  you  be  kind  enough  to  inform  me 
if  sfrcat  men  are  allowed  to  do  otherwise.^  Has  a  certain 
gentleman  who  signs  himself  "Ambrose  S.  Everett,  A.  M., 
M.  D.,  Prof,  of  Anatomy  in  HomcEopathic  Medical  College 
of  Missouri,  and  Member  of  the  Academy  of  Science,"  a 
lawful  right  to  give  us,  as  I  claim  he  has,  a  rehash  of  a  treat- 
ise on  "Landmarks,  Medical  and  Surgical,  by  Luther  Holden, 
F.  R.  C.  S.,"  under  the  head  of  "Medical  and  Surgical  Sur- 
face Marks,"  as  appears  in  the  November  number  of  the 
"aS^  Louis  Clinical  IteviewT''  Moreover,  the  article  is  "to  be 
continued" — notwithstanding  any  one  who  has  a  late  edition 
of  Gray's  Anatomy,  containing  Holden's  "Landmarks,"  can 
read  the  rest  of  it  without  waiting  for  the  coming  numbers  of 
the  St.  Louis  lieview, — R.  F,  Buchanan,  Sidney,  O. 


4G8  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 


Drag  Taking  Uania. 

Dr.  Holmes  has  said  that  it  would  be  well  for  the  world  it 
most  medicines  were  thrown  into  the  sea;  that  it  might  be 
bad  for  the  fishes,  but  it  would  be  better  for  mankind.  For 
this  unasked  and  impertinent  suggestion  he  has  received  a 
good  deal  of  orthodox  censure,  which  I  am  here  now  to  share 
with  him,  for  I  am  of  the  same  opinion  as  Br.  Holmes,  and 
this  opinion  has  long  been  a  part  of  my  Christian  faith. 
That  the  major  part  of  the  world  does  not  agreo  with  us  is 
plain.  Indeed  most  people  seem  to  think  that  the  chief  end 
of  man  is  to  take  medicine.  Babies  take  it  in  their  mother's 
milk  ;  children  cry  for  it ;  men  and  women  unceasingly  ask 
for  it  and  no  one  dies  without  it.  Shrewd  men  have  taken 
advantage  of  this  instinct,  and  in  most  civilized  nations  it  is 
to-day  one  of  the  chief  articles  of  manufacture,  and  of  com- 
merce. It  is  one  of  those  things  which  is  never  permitted  to 
be  out  of  sight — but  is  thrust  upon  you  in  the  nursery,  in 
the  streets,  upon  the  lamp  posts  and  upon  the  curbstones, 
along  the  highways,  from  the  rocks  which  border  the  riv- 
ers ;  the  medicine  chest  follows  you  at  sea,  as  if  the  sea  it 
self,  a  vast  gallipot  of  nauseants,  were  not  enough.  In  this 
model  city,  a  drug  store  sends  its  blue  and  green  lights  from 
every  business  corner  not  occupied  as  a  liquor  store,  giving 
a  ghastly  and  ominous  complexion  to  the  faces  of  all  who 
pass  or  enter.  Jeanie  Deans,  stopping  at  "the  great  city"  of 
York,  on  her  sad  journey  lo  London,  to  implore  the  clemency 
of  Queen  Caroline  in  behalf  of  her  poor  sister,  wrote  back  to 
Butler,  as  the  first  token  of  comfort  she  had  derived  from 
her  long  foot-toil,"  "They  hae  mair  medicines  in  this  town 
of  York  than  wad  cure  a'  Scotland,  and  surely  some  of  them 
wad  be  gude  for  your  complaints."  With  what  an  increase  of 
comfort  and  acceleration  of  hopes,  had  this  great  city  been  in 
her  woy,  might  she  have  looked  upon  the  prodigious  stores  of 
medicines  displayed  from  the  shelves  of  its  drug  stores. 
Enough,  one  would  say,  to  cure  not  only  all  Scotland,  but  all 
the  world   besides.     One  might  naturally  suppose  that  the 


Miscellaneous.  469 

supply  would  at  length  exceed  the  demand ;  but  it  does  not. 
Everywhere  the  people  are  stretching  out  their  arms,  and 
begging  for  medicine,  blessing  him  who  gives  and  cursing 
him  who  withholds.  They  believe  in  their  simplicity,  that 
if  medicines  do  no  good,  they  can  at  least  do  no  harm.  They 
imagine  also,  that  there  is  a  medicine  which  may  be  regarded 
as  a  specific  for  every  human  malady,  and  that  these  are 
known  to  science,  and  that  therefore  we  have  the  means  of 
curing  all  diseases ;  but  the  people  imagine  a  vain  thing. 
Whatever  medicine  is  capable  when  properly  administered, 
of  doing  good,  the  same  medicine  is  equally  capable,  when 
improperly  administered,  of  doing  harm;  and  drugs  often 
substitute  a  malady  more  soripus  than  that  which  they  were 
intended  to  cure.  The  Irishman  said'  his  physician  stuffed 
him  so  with  medicine  that  he  was  sick  a  long  timie  after  he 
got  well. — Dr.  Frank  Hamilton. 


•  ♦ 


Correspondence. 

Waterloo,  Iowa,  Oct.  30, 1878. — Dear  Mr.  Editor  :— The 
Cedar  Valley  Homoeopathic  Medical  Society  was  in  session 
in  this  city  yesterday.  There  was  a  good  attendance,  includ- 
ing a  number  of  physicians  from  neighboring  towns. 

In  the  evening  Dr.  E.  A.  Guilbert,  of  Dubuque,  delivered 
a  popular  lecture  before  the  association  at  the  Presbyterian 
Church.  The  extreme  darkness  and  dampness  of  the  night 
prevented  as  full  an  attendance  as  would  otherwise  have 
greeted  this  eminent  physician,  but  those  that  were  present 
express  themselves  as  amply  repaid  for  any  discomforts  they 
may  have  suffered. 

Dr.  Guilbert  chose  as  his  subject  "The  New  Dispensation  in 
Medicine,"  referring,  of  course,  to  Homoeopathy,  and  for  one 


470 


Cincinnati  Medici  ~Ado(ince. 


hour  he  concentrated  all   his  weU  known  eloquence  upon  | 
this  theme — a    Buliject   on  which    he    has  devoted  as  much 
thought  and  labor,  and  for  which  he  has  made  more  sacrifices 
than  any  man  in  Iowa. 


Dethoit,  Mion,  Nov.  1,1878. — DearMr.  Editou  : — A  spec- 
ial meeting  of  the  Detroit  Homceopathie  Institute  was  held 
at  the  rooms  of  the  Free  Dispensary  last  evening  to  consider 
and  act  upon  thoreportof  acommittco  appointed  at  a  previoua 
meeting  to  inaugurate  me  a  surea  to  establish  an  incorporated 
society. 

This  committee,  through  its  chairman,  Dr.  J.  G,  Gilchrist, 
presented  o  constitution  and  Ijy-lawa  for  the  proposed  so- 
ciety. These  were  taken  up,  considered  by  sections  and 
adopted. 

The  name  of  the  association  is  the  College  of  Physicians 
and  Surgeons  of  Michigan.  The  object  is  the  systematic 
study  of  medicine  and  all  collateral  sciences,  the  accumula- 
tion of  a  library  for  tbe  use  of  its  fellows,  the  establishment 
of  pathological,  histological,  and  scientific  museum,  tbo  or- 
ganization of  a  laboratory  for  the  experimental  study  of 
chemistry,  physiology,  pathology  and  microscopy,  and  to  ad- 
vance the  cause  of  scientific  medicine  in  every  way  that  may 
be  feasible.  Three  classes  of  members  are  provided  for — 
active  members,  consisting  of  physicians  resident  in  Detroit,  -■ 
Wayne  county,  or  eontiguoos  thereto  ;  corresponding  mem- 
bers, who  shall  be  residentsin  Michigan  ;  honorary  members, 
who  shall  bo  distinguished  members  of  the  profession.  The 
dues  are  one  dollar  quarterly,  exacted  of  active  and  corrcB-' 
ponding  members.  Meetings  are  to  be  held  weekly  for  th'- 
bearing  of  papers  and  tbe  discussion  of  scientific  questions. 
Library,  museum  and  laboratory  are  provided  for,  with  fees 
for  their  use,  aud  provision  for  material  for  supplying  them. 

The  constitution  and  by-laws  having  been  adopted,  the  or- 
ganization was  perfected  by  tbe  election  of  the  fnllowing 
officers  :  President^J.  G.  Gilchrist;  Vice  President— T.  F. 
Pomeroy;  Recorder — R.  C.  Olin  ;  Corresponding  Secretary — 
D.  J.  McGuiro  ;  Treasurer — F.  X.  Spranger ;  Curator — Wta.   1 


Miscellaneous,  471 

M.  Bailey ;  Executive  committee — ^J.  D,  Craig,  P.  Woodruff, 
J.  D.  Kergan. 

On  motion  Dr,  Gilchrist  was  appointed  to  give  the  first 
monthly  lectures,  Dr.  McGuiro  the  second  and  Dr.  C.  C. 
Miller  the  third.  The  lecturer  for  each  month  gives  lectures 
on  each  Monday  evening  of  the  month. 

The  meetings  will  be  held  for  the  remainder  of  the  year 
at  the  rooms  of  the  Homoeopathic  Dispensary  on  Shelby 
street. 

Dr.  Gilchrist  announced  the  subject  of  his  lectures  for 
November,  and  the  college  then  adjourned  for  two  weeks. 

Contributions  to  the  museum  or  library  bj  all  who  take 
an  interest  in  the  advancement  of  medical  science,  may  be 
sent  to  the  corresponding  secretary,  D.  J.  McGuire. 


■♦-•- 


$$\  MMtH* 


Materia  Medica.    By  C.  J.  Hempel,  M«  D.    New  Edition. 

It  gives  us  sincere  pleasure  to  announce  that  Dr.  Hempel  has  in 
active  preparation  a  new  edition  of  his  Materia  Medica.  It  was  an 
era  in  our  literature  when  this  work  was  given  to  the  profession.  It 
was  truly  a  God-send  to  students  and  teachers.  But  since  its  first 
appearance  we  have  progressed  with  wonderful  speed.  So  much  has 
been  added  to  the  department  of  materia  medica,  that  a  new  edition 
of  Dr.  Hempers  work  was  loudly  called  for.  In  its  peculiar  method 
of  teaching  this  subject  it  has  no  competitor,  and  with  all  the  changes 
and  improvements  now  being  incorporated  into  it,  it  will  not  soon  have 
a  rival.  The  whole  book  is  being,  by  competent  hands,  rewritten  and 
brought  up  to  date.  The  doctor's  able  assistant  gives  us  encouaaging 
words  of  the  early  appearance  of  the  work. 


472  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

Rest  and  Pain.    By  John  Hilton,  F.  B.  S.,  etc.,  etc.    Wm.  Wood  & 
Co.,  New  York. 

We  have  here  the  first  installment  of  the  series  of  books  promised 
us,  (and  noticed  in  last  month),  by  the  well  known  publishers,  Wm. 
Wood  &  Co.,  of  New  York.  Only  think  of  it,  as  neat  a  volume  as 
one  could  wish,  closely  printed,  profusely  illustrated,  and  containing 
two  hundred  and  ninety-nine  pages,  for  one  dollar.  The  book  is  both 
interesting  and  valuable.  There  will  be  eleven  more  just  like  it,  or 
equally  as  good.  The  entire  set  can  be  had  for  twelve  dollars.  This 
is  cheapness  with  a  vengeance.  Send  for  a  circular,  or  what  is  better, 
send  on  your  subscription. 

Gilchrist's  Surgical  Diseases. 

The  third  edition  of  this  work  is  now  in  press,  and  will  soon  be 
issued  by  Duncan  Bros.,  Chicago. 

It  will  not,  like  the  first  edition,  consist  of  magazine  articles,  hastily 
written  during  the  few  moments  that  could  be  snatched  from  a  large 
general  practice,  and  re-arranged  for  p  ublication ;  but  has  been  care- 
fully and  completely  re-written  in  full,  none  of  the  old  text  remaining. 

The  "destructive"  surgery,  from  which  our  school  in  common  with 
all  others,  has  derived  so  much  eclat  by  the  brilliancy  of  its  opera- 
tions, is  being — like  the  heroic  treatment  of  Allopathy — relegated  '*to 
the  things  of  the  past,"  and  rapidly  supersceded  by  the  more  effica- 
cious "conservative"  surgery  of  homoeopathic  therapeutics.  Diseases 
which  a  few  years  ago  were,  by  general  consent,  assigned  to  the 
knife,  are  now  more  successfully  treated  after  Hahnemann's  method. 
No  surgeon  in  our  ranks  has  contributed  more  to  this  most  desirable 
result  than  the  author,  whose  enlarged  experience  derived  from  the 
occupancy  for  three  years  of  lecturer  on  surgical  therapeutics  in  the 
University  of  Michigan,  unquestionably  places  him  without  a  superior 
in  our  school,  and  entitles  him  to  speak  with  authority,  It  has  been  the 
writers  privilege  to  have  access  to  the  MSS.,  and  either  of  the  chap- 
ters on  "Tumors,"  and  their  homoeopathic  treatment,  or  the  "Dis- 
eases of  the  Genito-Urinary  Organs,"  and  their  homoeopathic  treat- 
ment, will  be  worth,  to  the  busy  practitioner,  the  entire  cost  of  the 
work.  In  fact  no  homoeopathic  library  will  be  complete  without  it, 
and  no  homoeopathic  physician  can  afford  to  forego  the  advantages  to 
be  derived  from  its  perusal.  The  reputation  of  the  publishers  will 
ensure  for  it  a  good  appearance,  and  I  predict  it  will  have  a  much 
larger  sale  than  either  of  its  predecessors. — H.  C.  Allen,  M.  D. 


Book  Notices,  473 


Hahnemann ian  Monthly. 


This  excellent  journal  recently,  took  us  all  by  surprise,  by  going 
into  a  state  of  suspension.  Now  we  are  glad  to  know  it  is  to  be  forth- 
with revived,  and  placed  editorially  in  the  hands  of  that  accomplished 
gentleman  and  scholar,  Dr.  W.  H.  Winslow.  This  is  good  news 
indeed.  We  bespeak  for  the  journal,  and  its  able  editor,  long  life, 
happiness  and  many  subscribers. 

The  Cell  Docrtine,  Its  History  and  Present  State.  For  the  use  of 
Students  in  Medicine  and  Dentistry.  Also  a  Copious  Biblio- 
graphy of  the  Subject.  By  James  Tyson,  M.  D.  Second  Edi- 
tion. Revised,  Corrected  and  Enlarged.  Illustrated.  Lindsay 
&  Blakiston,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

We  have  here  a  most  valuable  condensation  of  an  extensive  and 
important  subject,  into  the  short  space  of  one  hundred  and  fifty-two 
pages.  We  have  seen  nothing  that  so  clearly,  briefly  and  which  also 
satisfactorily  explains  both  the  history  and  present  standing  of  the  cell 
doctrine.  It  is  just  the  thing  for  the  man  or  woman  who  wants  to 
grasp  the  subject  with  little  labor.  And  the  extensive  bibliography 
attached  will  enable  the  student  to  ascertain  what  an  extended  litera- 
ture, he  may  refer  to  for  further  and  more  specific  information.  For 
sale  by  Alfred  Warren. 

Medicaid  Surgical  and  Hygienic  Treatment  of  Diseases  of  Women. 
Especially  tliose  Causing  Sterility,  Disorders  and  Accidents  of 
Pregnancy,  and  Painful  and  Difficult  Labor.  By  Edwin  M. 
Hale,  M.  D.    Boericke  &  Tafel,  New  York,  1878. 

The  author  of  this  book  is  no  novice  at  book  making.  Upon  the 
back  of  this,  his  latest  production,  we  find  "Sterility',  Haul*'  This 
is  undoubtedly  the  chief  subject  discussed  by  the  writer.  But  this  is 
no  new  subject  to  him.  For  nearly  twenty  years  he  has  from  time  to 
time  given  birth  to  pamphlets  and  books  with  the  same  topic  and 
title.  The  persistency  with  which  he  sticks  to  this  text  is  worthy  of 
all  admiration.  But  after  all,  this  is  a  curious  world.  Mrs.  Anna 
Besant  writes  on  *The  Law  of  Population,"  and  insists  that  too  many 
babies  are  born,  and  Dr.  Hale  follows,  insisting  that  the  great  want  of 
the  age  is  more  babies.  The  only  reasonable  explanation  is  perhaps 
this :  Mrs.  Besant  is  working  in  the  interest  of  the  poor,  and  Dr.  Hale 
in  the  interest  of  the  rich.  Both  may  be  in  the  right  Certainly  the 
latter  is,  if  his  book  will  aid  us  to  cure  the  ills  of  women ;  and  in  most 


lali  Medical  Advance. 


oaeesit  is  of  little  importance  after  that,  whether  they  c 
Br.  Hale's  book  ia,  iu  fact,  a  trentise  on  gynecology,  and  but  for  the 
aathor's  penchaiit  for  "sterility,"  it  would  so  have  been  named.  But 
while  we  concede  to  the  distiBgaiabed  suthor  great  knowledge  and 
skill  in  thia  department,  we  are  sorry  to  Bee  him  playing  with  the 
edged  tools  of  theology.  On  page  one  hundred  and  eighty-three  we 
are  considerably  aatoniahud  at  reading,  "Many  women  who  have  ap- 
plied to  nie  for  the  cure  of  their  sterility,  have  tearfully  conteeeed 
that  a  miBcarriage,  caused  by  their  own  handa,  during  the  first  year 
of  their  nmrried  life,  resulted  in  an  entire  inability  to  coifceive.  Thia 
reeults  wiien  no  esaniination,  which  we  are  at  present  capable  of 
making,  diselosee  any  morbid  condition  of  the  womb.  In  these  cases 
it  is  no  stretch  of  the  imagination  to  believe  that  the  sterile  condition 
vsu  a  direct  rfiiw  panMmcnt  /or  Ihe  mormUy  of  the  nin  convmillrd."  If  this 
is  so,  wbet  must  be  the  procreative  condition  of  a  piiysician  who  has 
also  committed  an  abortion?  Would  a  microscopical  examination 
for  8pcrmato2B,  in  a  suspected  case,  be  a  sufficient  proof  of  the  guilt 
or  innocence  ot  auch  a  party  ?  Dr.  Hale  may  be  a  good  gymecologiat, 
but  as  a  theologian  he  ia  a  failure.  Of  course  this  work  of  bis  on 
sterility  will  be  in  demand,  for  the  author  is  always  widely  and  eag- 
erly read  by  the  profession.  It  has  many  excellent  points,  and  it 
has  many  objectional  features.  We  have  no  space  for  details,  and 
we  commend  the  book  to  our  readers,  witli  tbo  caution  not  to  follow 
too  implicitly  Dr.  Hale's  dii::ection  as  to  mechanical  treatment  and 
local  appliances. 


4 


:  the  prospectus  of  seven 
e  thousand,  four  hundred 


Henry  E,  Lea,  ot  Philadelphia,  sends  u 
new  works  soon  1o  be  published ; 
One,  The  National  Dispensary,  (Btille),o 


Two.  Clinical  Manual  for  thu  Study  of  ('linical  Cases,  (Finlayson), 
five  hundred  pa^'es,  eighly-five  illustrations. 

Three.  Principles  of  Surgery,  (Aahurst).  one  thousand  pages,  five 
hundred  and  fifty  ii lustrations. 

Four.  Principles  and  Practice  of  Gymecology,  (Emmet),  eight  hun- 
dred pages,  illustrated. 

Five.  Practice  of  Surgery,  (Bryant),  one  thousand  pages,  sis  hun- 
dred engravings. 

Six.  A  System  of  Human  Anatomy,  (Allen),  large  handsome  quarto 

.  Manual  ot    Pathological    Histology,    (Cornll  dc  Bauvier). 
fol.    Sis  hundred  pages,  three  hundred  illustrations, 
m  as  the  works  appear  they  will  be  noticed  ot  leugtb. 


€6il0u'$  %M$ 


Married.— M.  H.  Chamberlin,  M.  D.,  (one  of  the  "Pulte  Boys"), 
and  Ella  J.  Clark,  in  Weatiand,  Iowa,  October  24,  1878. 

Dr.  C.  D.  Tufford  has  removed  from  London,  Ont,  to  Champaign, 
Illinois. 

Dr.  T.  S.  Verdi,  of  "Washington,  delivered  a  very  successful  course 
of  popular  lectures  on  Sanitary  Science  and  Public  Hygiene,  before 
the  Pulte  Medical  College  a  few  weeks  ago.  At  the  close  the  doctor 
was  made  the  recipient  of  several  elegant  presents  from  the  class  and 
faculty. 

The  Oroanon. — Will  our  readers  notice  the  new  advertisement  of 
this  journal?  "We  will  forward  all  subscriptions  for  it  sent  through 
this  office. 

A  SMALL  involuntary  discharge  occurred  in  the  pages  of  the  Jan- 
uary Observer.     "T.  S.  B.'*  should  wear  a  ring  as  a  preventive. 

**How  LONG,  0  Lord  I  how  long  shall  we  be  obliged  to  pay  for  these 
irrational  effusions,  upon  the  potency  question,  with  which  our  jour- 
nals are  filled?  "Who  of  our  editors  will  have  the  moral  courage  \o 
sling  every  dashed  copy  upon  the  subject  into  the  waste  basket? 
And  who  of  you  editors  will  treat,  with  the  same  contempt,  every 
article  tinctured  or  diluted  with  personalities  ?  (J)."  We  suspect  our 
friend  J.  is  thus  deeply  moved  in  this  matter  because  in  the  potency 
question  he  sees  nothing,  and  in  the  personality  question  he  sees  toe 
much  ;  and  yet  he  recommends  for  them  the  same  treatment.  "Wr 
submit  that  this  is  hardly  homoeopathic  to  do  so. 

Lady  Physicians. — Ellen  M.  Kirk,  M.  D.,  has  recently  located  dt 
271  "West  Seventh  street.  May  Howells,  M.  D.,  has  located  at  411 
"West  Eighth  street.  These  ladies  come  highly  recommended  from 
New  York,  and  we  trust  they  will  be  made  welcome  as  they  deserve. 
Under  the  unsullied  bannef  of  similia  they  present  their  services  to 
the  public  and  we  wish  them  the  best  of  success. 

Cleveland,  Nov.  17,  1878. 
Dear  Mr.  Edftor  : — ^The  roofing  of  the  new  homoeopathic  hospital, 
on  Huron  street,  is  nearly  finished,  and  the  building  will  be  enclosed 
in  a  few^  days.  When  finished,  this  will  be  one  of  the  handsomest 
and  most  imposing  buildings  in  the  city.  The  site  is  especially  fine. 
Standing  as  it  does  near  the  junction  of  Huron,  Prospect  and  Erie, 


476  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

three  broad  streets,  it  will  present  a  commanding  appearance.  The 
work  on  the  interior  will  be  hurried  forward  as  rapidly  as  possible 
and  Cleveland  can  look  forward  to  the  possession  of  one  of  the  finest 
hospitals  in  the  country  in  a  very  short  time. — D,  H. 

The  Popular  Science  Monthly  for  1879,  is  to  be  enlarged,  so  as  to 
include  what  has  heretofore  gone  into  the  Supplement.  This  will 
make  of  the  monthly  the  finest  journal  of  its  kind  published  in  the 
world.  It  has  given  us  pleasure  at  all  times,  to  commend  it  to  our 
readers.  We  believe  it  to  be  the  best  popular  educator  extant,  and 
in  its  new  and  enlarged  form,  it  will  stand  unrivaled.  The  price  will, 
however,  remain  as  heretofore,  $5.00.    D.  Appleton  &  Co.,  New  York. 

HoMcEOPATHic  Yellow  Feveb  Commission.  By  the  courtesy  of  the 
commission  we  have  been  favored  with  daily  papers  from  New  Or- 
leans, giving  full  accounts  of  the  progress  of  their  work.  We  have 
read  them  with  increasing  interest.  We  are  prepared  to  say  the 
commission  is  meeting  with  unexpected  succcess.  It  has  greatly 
widened  the  scope  of  its  work,  and  has  entered  upon  the  questions 
of  cause  and  prevention  of  the  disease,  as  well  as  the  results  of  its 
treatment.  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Thompson,  of  New  York,  has  generously 
provided  for  the  expenses  of  the  enterprise,  and  we  believe  it  will 
be  a  great  success.  The  final  report  will  make  a  splendid  volume, 
and  one  eagerly  sought  after.  We  will  await  its  appearance  with 
some  impatience. 


EDITORIAL. 

Fatal  Errors 432 

The  True  and  tlie  False 43(5 

OB.STETRICAL   AND   GYNAECOLOGICAL. 

Confinements 442 

Management  of  Pregnant  Wo- 
men   446 

miscellaneous. 

Reminscences  From  Practice 449 

Fingal 452 

Yellow  Fever  Commission 455 

How  Can  the  Study  of  the  Ma- 
teria Medica  he  Made  More 
Available 457 


Quid  muck  on  the  *' Albany  Reno- 

lutions," r 4G2 

Wabash    Valley    Homoeopathic 

Medical  Society 4G5 

Consultation  Case 406 

"Give  Honor  to  Whom  Honor  is 

Due," 467 

Drug  Taking  Mania 468 

Correspondence 469 

book  notices.  471 

editor's  table.  475 


J  AS.   p.   GEPPERT,   PR. 


T.  p.  WILSON 

M.   D.  ClNERA 

EorToi.. 

VOLLK 

bVI. 

ClSCISNATl, 

0.,  Fbbeuaby 

1879. 

NUMBBR  10. 

dntavd  to 

rr 

p.  Wilson,  130  Br 

linR  to  the  Med 
o.dw.y,Cinclnn 

tto-n^: 

cB,  thould  be  id- 
.,n.W.y«r. 

A  Test  of  tub  Efficacy  of  High  Dilotiosb. — Under  tbJB  BtartlinK 
title  we  Iiave  a  pamphlet  from  the  pen  of  Dr.  Lewim  gnERHAH,  of 
Milwaukee.  Ita  conteniB  formed  a  paper  read  before  tbe  Milwaukee 
Academy  of  Medicine  ;  and  the  anggestioiiB  it  contaiDed  were  consid- 
ered by  that  society  to  be  bo  important,  that  a  committee  was  formed 
with  power  to  carry  out  said  BUjigeBtionB.  It  is  not  our  present  pur- 
pose to  review  the  entire  pamphlet.  The  animus  of  it  is  what  we  are 
now  interested  in  ;  and  upon  that  we  have  something  to  say.  The 
Doctor  has  evidently  become  convinced  that  "experience  is  fallacious." 
In  medical  practice,  experience  lias  led  us  into  no  end  of  abaurdiliee. 
By  this  standard,  (experience),  we  can  easily  prove  anything  to  be 
true.  The  larger  pnrt  of  the  pamphlet  is  devoted  to  the  task  of  sliow- 
ing  what  poor,  credulous  creatures  tbe  members  of  the  faculty  have 
been  in  ages  past ;  and,  of  course,  it  is  equally  clear,  that  they  are  not 
to-day  free  from  "vain  imaginations."  And  to  rid  them  of,  at  least, 
one  of  these  idle  fancies,  is  the  real  object  the  writer  has  in  present- 
ing bis  paper.  We  quote  from  page  6;  "There  are  men  in  the  pro- 
fessiun  who  claim  that  pathogenetic,  as  well  as  therapeutic  effects,  are 
produced  by  the  thirtieth  dilutionx,  and  that  provings  made  with 
tlieAC  preparations,  represent  the  disease  producing  properties  of  the 
druf;  ojitr  vhieh  they  are  named."  We  have  taken  the  liberty  to  italicise 
tbe  most  interesting  portion  of  this  sentence.  The  writer  is  a  pbar- 
Feb-i  477 


478 


Cinciiinnti  Medical   Adeance 


mnceutist,  and  atlvertjies  to  sell  these  preparaUons,  wliich,  lijcuBtnm, 
or  courtesy,  are  allowed  to  have  Ihe  title  of  drugs,  after  vhieh  they  are 
namrd.    Here  is  an  assumption  of  illcfiitimacy  worthy  of  notice.     Pro- 
ceedings in  bastardy  could  hardly  go  further  thitn  that.    And  if  this  ■ 
can  be  said  of  the  tliirtiethe,  wbitt  musC  be  tlie  standing  of  the  two  i 
Lunitrt^dthe  and  one  thousandths,  to  say  Dotbing  of  hi^fher  prepura^  1 
tioDB  ?    Wfi  quote  again : 

In  view  of  the  a  priori  Improbability  of  the  truth  of  this  flaim,  and 
of  its  importance,  if  true,  I  proposeascientiflc  test  of  the  pathogenetic 
and  therapeutiu  action  of  the  thirtieth  Htihnemannian  dilation.  The 
object  of  this  test,  is  to  determine  whether  or  not  thia  preparation  can 
produce  any  medicinal  action  on  the  human  organism  m  health  or  | 
diseu^e. 

Dr.  Shekmak  then  proposes  lo  have  prepared,  ten  vials  of  pellets,  1 
all  alike,  and  numbered,  and  one  of  them  only  shall  be  moistened  1 
with  a  thirtieth  dilution  of  Aamiit.      Which  this  one  is,  sliall  be  uu-  | 
known  to  the  prover ;  but  he  shall  select  it  if  he  ciin  by  trial  tesln. 
hunilred  physicians  shall  enter  upon  the  trial,  and  each  be  provided 
with  ten  viais. 

If  all,  or  nearly  all,  single  out  the  Aeoailt  pellets,  the  inference  will 
be  that  the  thirtieth  dilution  represents  the  medicinal  propertieB  Of    | 
Aeoniit.     If  only  about  ten  of  the  hundred  succeed  in  the  trial,  tb« 
inference  will  lie,  that  the  thirtieth  dilution  of  Anmilt  possesses  no    I 
medicinal  properties;  tor,  according  to  the  law  of  probabilities,  about  1 


I 


peri  men  ters  u 


I  would  guess  ri^ht  without  making  au^-  trial.    The  6X- 
rs  must  be  physicians  of  acknowledged  ability,  who  possew 
agood  knowledge  o[  the  therapeutic  indication  of  the  remedies  tried^  J 
and  who  profesa  faith  in  the  emcacy  of  the  thirtieth  dilution. 

This  is  the  whole  matter  in  a  nut  shell ;  and  wo  feel  confident  tbvn 
is  something  in  it,  or  the  Milwaukee  Academy  of  Medicine  would^ 
not  have  entered  □i)on  the  scheme  with  such  remarkable  alacrity  and  1 
unanimity.    We  confess  to  have  felt  no  small  ilegree  of  anxiety  while 
reading  this  pamphlet,  for,  at  the  first  blush,  it  seemed  that  here  was 
an  irresistible  and  fatal  blow  aimed  at  the  cherished  belief  and  prM>   I 
tioe  of  many  practitioners  of  Homoeopathy.     With  a  large  and  grow-    i 
ing  class  of  persons,  botti  professional  and  laymen,  there  i: 
jngly    ineradicable   confidence    enlertained    in    highly    atteouated  J 
■oedicioes.    It  may  be  a  foolish  faith,  but  nevertheless  it  exists.    NowJ 
io  have  all  this  overthrown,  nay  more,  utterly  destroyed,  was  a  thinfli 
painful  lo  contemplate.     Compared  with  other  beliefs  and  modes  o 
(practice  in  vogue  among  medical  practitioners,  tite  use  of  high  dllo^ 
itious  would  seem  at  the  least  to  be  faarinleiia.     The  author  doee  s 
tell  UB  why  he  selected  especially  the  thinietli  dilution  tor  his  g 
"acienUlic"  test.      We  can  easily  imagine  him,   however,  to  ba  « 
enemy  in  disguise.    He  would  strike  Homwopiithy  midship,  Ijik 
Jull  well  tliat  with  onr  centre  carried  away,  or  fatally  |>enelrated,  the  ^ 


Editorial,  479 

balance  would  certainly  sink  and  disappear.  For  it  is  well  known 
that,  commencing  with  the  thirtieth,  our  school  is  divided  into  two 
classes  which  for  therapeutic  results,  travel  in  directly  opposite  direc- 
tions. One  class  goes  higher,  and  the  other  lower,  according  as  they 
desire  results  more  or  less  active.  The  thirtieth,  therefore,  is  the  piv- 
otal point  around  which  our  entire  system  of  therapeutics  revolves. 
Prove  that  there  is  after  all  nothing  in  the  thirtieths,  and  you  have 
proven  a  fortiori  that  there  is  nothing  in  Homoeopathy.  More  than 
that,  you  have  possibly  proven  that  there  is  nothing  in  medical  prac- 
tice, but  delusion.  We  are  struck  with  the  coolness  with  which  Dr 
Sherman  speaks  of  the  ^'a  priori  improbability"  which  lies  against  the 
alleged  curative  or  pathogenetic  virtues  of  the  thirtieths.  We  have 
never  seen  or  felt  the  force  of  such  an  improbability,  except  as  it 
lies  against  medicines  of  all  sorts  and  kinds.  No  drug  has  a  priori  any 
curative  relation  to  disease.  In  this  respect,  the  thirtieths  have  as 
good  a  standing  in  the  court  of  reason  as  any  other  remedial  agents. 
The  doctor  trips  in  his  logic  therefore,  but  he  unconsciously  uncovers 
his  animus.  He  does  not  believe  in  the  thirtieths,  and  he  will  soon 
convince  those  who  do,  that  they  are  deceived.  But  our  fears  grow 
less,  as  we  take  in  the  situation  more  fully,  and  come  to  understand 
what  estimate  the  author  puts  upon  the  results  of  his  plan  when  fully 
worked  outi    Let  us  quote  again  : 

*'If  all,  or  nearly  all,  single  out  the  Aconiie  pellets,  the  inference  will 
be  that  the  thirtieth  dilution  represents  the  medical  properties  of 
Aconite.  If  only  about  ten  of  the  hundred  succeed  in  the  trial,  the 
inference  will  be  that  the  thirtieth  dilution  of  Aconite  possesses  no 
medicinal  properties." 

For  the  conclusion  of  a  ^'scientific  test"  this  is  not  remarkably 
strong.  The  Doctor  will  find  his  plan  beset  with  many,  almost  insur- 
mountable, difiiculties.  Under  the  most  favorable  auspices  and  ex- 
ercising the  best  of  intentions  the  parties  to  this  trial  will  encounter 
obstacles,  of  which  they  seem  at  present,  to  dream  but  little.  But 
suppose  all  these  are  overcome,  (save  the  long  time  which  must  of 
necessity  be  employed),  and  the  multitudinous  tests  are  all  entered 
up,  and  the  decision  finally  rendered,  which  decision  is  by  them  con- 
sidered conclusive — what  then?  What  have  we  arrived  at  alter  so 
much  labor  ?  In  the  words  of  Dr.  Shbrhan,  we  will  by  this  means 
have  reached  "the  inference  that  the  thirtieth  dilution"  does,  or  (Joes  not 
"possess  medicinal  properties.'*  Well  may  we  exclaim,  "0  impotent 
conclusion !  "  For  a  "scientific"  conclusion,  it  seems  almost  imbecil. 
Science  discovers, reveals,  demonstrates,  proves.  Science  commences 
with  the  "inference,"  and  considers  nothing  done  until  it  pushes  for- 
ward to  the  possession  of  the  fact.  But  the  great  Sherman  plan, 
after  all,  determines  nothing.    It  simply  raises  an  inference.    But  it 


480  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

is  well  known  to  the  Milwaukee  Academy  of  Medicine,  that  we  are 
already  in  possession  of  such  an  inference.  AflSrmatively  upon  this 
question  we  stand  ready  to  answer  by  a  good  deal  more  than  a  slender 
inference*  Therefore,  if  we  accept  this  plan,  we  have  not  only  not 
gained  anything,  but  in  either  event  we  have  exchanged  a  certainty 
for  a  bare  inference,  A  consciousness  of  the  fact,  that  this  absurdity 
would  be  easily  seen,  and  the  plan  rejected,  must  have  lead  Dr. 
Sherman  to  add,  *'If  those  who  advocate  the  use  of  these  preparations, 
refuse  to  participate  in  the  experiment,  the  profession  will  have 
reason  to  suspect  that  they  are  insincere.  '*  It  is  diflScult  to  charac- 
terize such  a  statement  as  it  deserves.  Modesty,  at  least,  is  not  its 
chief  virtue.  Dr.  Shebman^s  pharmacy  is  well  stocked  with  many 
sorts  of  drugs,  and  he  has  many  preparations  representing  drugs 
*'ajier  which  they  are  namedy  And  they  are  by  no  means  confined  to  the 
thirtieths.  His  brother  pharmaceutists  of  the  allopathic  and  eclectic 
schools,  in  view  of  \hQ*'a  priori  improbability"  of  there  being  any 
curative  or  pathogenetic  virtues  in  these  preparations,  propose  to 
make  a  "scientific  test"  of  them.  To  begin  with,  they  will  take  his 
sixth  dilutions ;  or  they  will  take  lower  preparations  of  Calcarea  carb, 
and  Carbo  veg.j  and  SUicia,  and  Graphites^  and  many  others,  and  they 
shall  all  be  subjected  to  rigid  scrutiny,  by  being  used  **on  the 
blind,"  cr,  as  the  boys  say,  "unsight,  unseen,"  in  the  way  already 
indicated,  and  by  that  result  Dr,  Suebma^ -shall  keep  open  or  forever  shut  up 
his  place  of  business.  We  propose  the  sixth  dilution  of  Natrum  muriaiicum 
and  the  third  trituration  of  Calcarea  carb.  Will  Dr.  Siieuman  do  it  ? 
If  he  refuses,  then  will  *'the  profession  have  reason  to  suspect  that 
[he  is]  insincere."  Those  who  are  familiar  with  the  history  of  our 
homoeopathic  materia  medica,  need  not  be  told  how  we  came  into 
possession  of  the  drugs  we  employ,  and  of  their  various  ways  of 
preparation,  and  of  their  modes  of  use.  We  have  in  every  inatance 
the  crude  drug,  and  an  almost  infinite  number  of  different  attenua- 
tions of  each.  Our  pharmaceutists  profess  to  keep  all  these  prei)ara- 
tions,  or  as  many  of  them  as  may  be  in  demand.  Pliysicians  buy 
and  use  such  of  them  as  they  desire.  The  use  of  these  preparations 
has  grown  out  of  a  long  experience  ;  and  they  have  no  claim  upon 
our  attention  or  confidence,  other  than  such  as  grows  out  of  their 
provinga,  confirmed  by  clinical  observation.  We  want  no  better 
we  can  have  no  better  proof  of  their  reliability.  And,  considering 
what  has  already  been  accomplished  by  the  thirtieth  attenuation, 
an<l  knowing  that  there  is  no  exceptional  relations  existing  between 
the  thirtieth  dilutions  and  medical  science,  we  can  look  upon  the 
plan  proposed  as  not  only  uncalled  for,  but  bordering  on  the  ludicrous 


®|$ojj^  mi  §tM%it$. 


Experiments  in  Animal  Poisons.    Crotalus  Horridus,  (Rattle 

Snake).  By  J.  R.  Haynes,  M.  D.  Read  before  the 
Marion  County  Homoeopathic  Medical  Society,  In- 
dianapolis, Ind.,  Dec.  ii,  1878. 

I  commenced  a  series  of  experiments  early  last  summer 
with  the  crotalus  horridus,  for  the  purpose  of  fully  verifying 
the  antidote,  observing  the  effects  of  the  poison  upon  dif- 
ferent animals  (or  such  as  I  could  procure),  and  studying 
the  habits  and  "modus  operandi"  or  general  habits  of  the 
crotalus. 

I  employed  over  two  hundred  animals  such  as  rats,  mice, 
frogs,  pigeons,  chickens,  cats,  rabbits  and  a  great  variety  of 
birds  of  different  kinds.  I  propose  to  give  you  the  result  of 
a  few  of  my  experiments,  each  one  having  been  carefully 
noted  at  the  time  of  being  made. 

Care  was  taken  to  carefully  remove  or  clip  the  fangs  of  all 
large  sized  rats,  for  fear  that  they  might  put  a  sudden  stop  to 
the  experiments;  for  if  annoyed  they  become  furious  and  at 
the  first  swoop  would  have  destroyed  their  much  dreaded  and 
hated  adversary  by  piercing  his  head  with  their  fangs. 

The  chief  actor  in  these  experiments  was  fourteen  years 
old,  had  eleven  double  rattles,  was  three  and  a  half  feet  long; 
his  skin  beautifully  mottled,  of  a  dark  brown  and  bright 
golden  yellow,  which  was  laid  off  in  regular  diamond  checks. 
Its  movements  were  extremely  rapid  and  especially  when 
striking  at  an  enemy.  The  first  experiment  I  shall  describe 
was  with  a  very  large  sized  and  powerful  rat.  The  rat  lived 
five  hours  after  being  bitten  in  the  right  flank.  For  the  first 
thirty  minutes  he  seemed  to  be  very  stupid,  would  curl  up  in 
a  little  ball,  and  if  disturbed  would  immediately  assume  the 
same  position.  After  that  time  he  became  furious,  would 
jump  at  his  antagonist  and  try  to  bite  and  claw  the  snake,  so 
much  so  that  I  was  fearful  that  he  would  kill  him,  so  I  re- 


482  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

moved  him  from  the  cage  and  placed  him  by  himself  where 
I  could  carefully  watch  his  movements.  He  would  lie  quiet 
for  a  few  minutes  and  would  then  tear  about  his  cage  as  if 
insane;  would  start  or  jump  at  the  least  noise;  seemed  to  have 
severe  paroxysms  of  pain,  these  paroxysms  continued  for 
about  three  hours,  when  he  began  to  be  paralyzed  in  the 
hind  extremities,  eyes  staring,  watery  and  very  prominent, 
looked  as  if  they  would  be  forced  out  of  his  head;  labored, 
deep  and  abdominal  breathing;  after  a  few  minutes  would 
cease  to  breath  for  near  a  minute,  and  then  gasp  for  breath 
as  if  the  lungs  were  paralyzed;  in  inhaling  would  not  expand 
the  chest  perceptibly;  if  forced  to  move  would  drag  his 
hind  parts  after  him  with  the  hind  feet  sticking  out  behind, 
could  not  move  them.  These  symptoms  continued  to  in- 
crease in  severity  until  he  died 

Autopsy  five  hours  after  death:  Both  lungs  engorged  with 
dark  fluid  blood;  the  right  upper  and  the  left  lower  lobes  of 
the  lungs  were  the  most  engorged.  The  heart,  aorta,  liver, 
spleen  and  kidneys  were  also  engorged  with  very  dark  fluid 
blood;  gall  bladder  filled  with  bile;  stomach  and  intestines 
filled  with  gas;  bladder  normal.  Brain  normal  as  far  as  could 
be  detected  with  a  one  inch  glass;  empty  of  blood;  balance 
of  the  circulatory  system  entirely  empty.  The  wound  was 
sof  small  that  it  could  not  be  fcHind  from  the  outside,  but  the 
inside  for  three-fourths  of  an  inch  surrounding  the  wound 
was  filled  with  black,  jelly-like  blood.  In  no  instance  did 
the  wound  pass  entirely  through  the  skin,  and  looked  as  if 
made  with  the  point  of  a  number  seven  common  sewing 
needle. 

Most  of  the  red  corpuscles  of  the  blood  were  changed  in 
their  shape  and  character,  and  the  scrum  crystalized  in  a  very 
peculiar  form;  the  white  corpuscles  normal. 

The  next  was  a  large  and  powerful  rat.  After  his  fangs 
were  carefully  removed,  he  was  placed  in  the  cage  with  his 
lordship,  who  viewed  and  warned  his  enemy  for  about  one 
minute,  when  he  bit  him  on  the  left  side  of  the  neck;  the 
rat  lived  eleven  minutes.  In  four  and  one-half  minutes  he 
began  to  be  paralyzed  in  the  hind    extremities  and  to  drag 


Theory  and  Practice,  483 

his  hind  parts  after  him  when  attempting,  or  being  made,  to 
move,  which  passed  forward.  There  was  the  spasmodic 
gasping  for  breath,  with  the  abdominal  breathing;  with  ex- 
treme sensitiveness  to  noise;  staring,  watery  eyes,  standing 
out  very  prominent;  the  sensitiveness  continued  until  per- 
fectly dead. 

Autopsy:  Both  lungs  completely  collapsed  and  empty  as  if 
paralyzed;  heart,  aorta,  liver,  spleen,  kidneys,  hepatic  artery 
and  vein  completely  engorged  with  dark  or  blackish  fluid 
blood;  gall  bladder  full;  stomach  and  intestines  filled  with 
gas,  otherwise  normal;  brain  normal  so  far  as  could  be  dis- 
covered with  a  one  inch  glass,  entirely  empty  of  blood.  Au- 
topsy made  immediately  after  death. 

The  third  was  a  large  sized  rat  that  lived  eighteen  minutes 
after  being  bitten  on  the  right  side  just  back  of  the  right 
shoulder.  He  became  paralyzed  in  the  hind  extremities  in 
eight  minutes.  In  ten  minutes  spasmodic  breathing  which 
soon  became  abdominal;  eyes  watery  and  ready  to  pop  out 
of  his  head;  extreme  sensitiveness  to  sharp  noise;  all  the 
symptoms  increased  in  severity  until  he  died. 

Autopsy  immediately  after  death:  Lungs  completely 
empty  of  both  blood  and  air,  perfectly  collapsed;  heart,  liver 
spleen,  kidneys,  aorta,  hepatic  artery  and  vein  engorged  with 
dark,  fluid  blood;  gall  bladder  full  of  bile;  stomach  and  in- 
testines filled  with  gas,  otherwise  normal;  balance  ot  circu- 
latory system  entirely  empty  of  blood;  brain  normal  so  far 
as  could  be  discovered  with  glass,  but  empty  of  blood.  In 
this  case  there  was  alternate  stupidity  and  restlessness,  more 
so  as  the  breathing  became  spasmodic;  seemed  to  suffer  great 
agony  which  would  come  in  paroxysms.  These  symptoms 
were  present  in  all  of  the  animals.  Those  that  were  killed 
in  a  few  minutes  the  lungs  were  colapsed  and  empty  of  air 
and  blood;  if  they  lived  over  five  hours  the  lungs  were  en- 
gorged in  every  instance.  The  blood  was  not  coagulated  in 
any,  though  some  were  kept  for  two  days,  and  had  that  same 
blackish  appearance,  gall  bladder  full,  stomach  and  intes- 
tines filled  with  gas,  otherwise  normal,  as  far  as  could  be  dis- 
covered by  the  means  at  hand. 


484  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

In  no  instance  could  the  wound  be  found  until  after  the  re- 
moval of  the  skin,  and  not  a  particle  of  blood  escaped  from 
it  that  I  could  find,  and  in  every  case  a  black,  jelly-like  spot, 
about  three-fourths  of  an  inch  in  diameter  would  surround 
the  inner  surface  of  the  wound,  which  in  none  of  the  quad- 
rupeds completely  penetrated  the  skin.  I  have  preserved  a 
large  number  of  specimens  of  blood  and  other  parts  of  many 
of  the  animals  thus  poisoned  for  future  study,  and  have 
mounted  a  variety  on  slides,  many  of  which  I  have  given 
away,  but  have  some  hundred  left. 

Another  series  of  experiments  were  made  with  a  view  of 
fully  studying  and  verifying  the  antidote  of  the  venom.      It 
has  been  often  asserted  that  the  poison  could  be  taken    into 
the  stomach  with  impunity,  which  I  think  is  a  mistake. 

In  making  one  of  my  experiments  on  a  rat  that  died  in 
eleven  minutes,  I  had  taken  out  the  heart,  liver,  spleen  and 
kidneys,  and  laid  them  in  a  pile  on  my  dissecting  board, 
turned  round  to  get  a  bottle  to  put  them  in,  when  a  favorite 
mouse  colored  maltese  kitten  about  four  months  old,  jumped 
up  and  grabbed  the  liver  and  one  kidney  and  swallowed 
them  before  I  could  get  to  it.  It  soon  began  to  show  symp- 
toms of  poisoning.  It  curled  upon  its  feet,  would  draw 
itself  up  into  a  ball  and  at  times  seemed  to  suffer  great  pain, 
and  especially  if  made  to  move;  after  two  hours  would  nei- 
ther eat  or  drink  anything.  Breathed  hard  and  laborious,  but 
pulse  normal,  ninety-four.  I  put  it  in  the  stable  at  night  ex- 
pecting to  find  it  dead  the  next  morning.  In  the  morning  at 
seven  o'clock,  I  found  it  in  a  heavychill,  shaking;  took  it  in 
the  house,  wrapped  it  up,  and  put  it  under  the  kitchen  stove, 
but  it  shook  for  two  hours,  which  was  followed  by  a  violent 
fever,  pulse  two  hundred  and  four;  showed  symptoms  of 
severe  portal  congestion,  which  lasted  for  six  hours;  could 
not  be  made  to  stir,  but  would  hump  up  in  a  heap;  would 
neither  eat  or  drink. 

After  the  fever  began  to  subside,  heart  would  beat  a  few 
rapid  beats,  and  then  cease  for  nearly  one  minute,  which 
kept  up  for  about  four  hours,  gradually  diminishing,  when  it 
laid  down  and  went  to  sleep.    I  wrapped  him  up  and  put  him 


Theory  and  Practice,  485 

in  the  stable  at  night,  and  the  next  morning  at  seven  o'clock 
I  found  it  in  another  severe  shaking  chill  which  lasted  for 
two  hours;  did  not  put  it  near  the  fire;  the  chill  was  follow- 
ed by  a  violent  fever  which  lasted  for  six  hours,  with  the 
same  symptoms  as  the  day  before;  after  the  fever,  continued 
curled  up  and  stupid,  pulse  intermitting,  gasping  for  breath, 
with  labored  abdominal  breathing;  would  start  at  any  sudden 
noise  like  snapping  of  the  fingers,  but  immediately  relapse 
into  the  old  stupor;  eyes  staring  and  watery.  If  made  to 
move  would  drag  his  hind  parts  with  hind  feet  sticking  out 
behind;  seemed  to  have  no  feeling  in  them,  would  not  flinch 
by  pinching  them.  All  animals  have  died  in  a  fe\y  minutes 
after  the  hind  extremities  have  become  paralyzed,  with  ab- 
dominal breathing.  Not  wishing  to  have  him  die,  I  prepar- 
ed and  gave  him  a  hypodermic  injection  of  five  drops  of  the 
strong  mother  tincture  of  Iodine,  He  had  not  eaten  or 
drank  anything  since  eating  the  liver  and  kidney  of  the  rat, 
which  was  fifty-two  hours. 

In  about  one  hour  he  began  to  improve,  and  the  next 
morning  was  nearly  as  well  as  ever,  with  a  fair  appetite. 
That  was  the  only  dose  and  all  the  medicine  that  was  given? 
and  he  has  been  well  ever  since. 

The  second  case  was  that  of  myself.  While  watching  the 
actions  of  a  large  rat  that  had  been  bitten,  and  which  died 
in  ten  minutes  after,  I  picked  up  an  old  tin  can  that  was  in 
my  way  and  threw  it  over  into  the  alley,  and  in  doing  so  I 
cut  a  place  in  the  left  middle  finger  near  the  end  about  one- 
half  inch  long,  which  bled  quite  freely.  It  had  nearly  stop- 
ed  bleeding  by  the  time  the  rat  was  dead.  I  immediately 
commenced  to  dissect  the  rat  and  to  preserve  such  specimens 
as  I  wanted.  In  doing  so  my  fingers  were  covered  with  the 
blood  of  the  rat.  Being  very  intent  on  the  object  in  view, 
I  did  not  once  think  of  my  cut  finger,  nor  could  I  tell 
whether  it  was  painful  or  not;  this  proceeding  lasted  about 
three-quarters  of  an  hour;  when  through  and  attempt  made 
to  wash  my  hands,  I  was  very  speedily  informed  of  what  I 
had  done.  My  finger  was  swollen  to  nearly  twice  its  natu- 
ral size,  dark  and  mottled,  very  painful;  the  wrist,  fore  arm, 


486  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

and  arm  swollen  and  painful;  a  dark  red  line  running  from 
the  finger  to  the  shoulder.  The  pain  soon  passed  over  to  the 
right  shoulder  and  up  the  neck  to  the  head;  then  sharp  pains 
which  seemed  to  pierce  the  heart;  pulse  intermitting;  the 
brain  felt  in  a  whirl,  head  felt  large  with  a  staggering  motion 
upon  attempting  to  walk.  These  symptoms  continued  to  in- 
crease for  two  hour^  when  the  limbs  would  not  obey  the  will 
without  several  efforts  were  made;  oppressed  breathing  and 
a  feeling  as  if  I  should  soon  completely  lose  control  of  my- 
self, when  after  several  efforts  I  prepared  six  drops  of  the 
strong  mother  tincture  of  Iodine  in  one-third  of  a  glass  of 
water,  drank  it  all  and  laid  down  and  in  two  hours  was  as 
well  as  ever  with  the  exception  of  the  sore  from  the  cut  on 
the  finger,  which  gradually  healed  in  about  two  days.  The 
only  effects  felt  from  the  Iodine  was  frequent  and  free  mic- 
turition of  a  pale,  watery  color. 

Case  third  was  a  large  sized  rat,  which  was  muzzled  and 
placed  in  the  cage,  and  after  being  bitten  on  the  left  shoulder 
was  removed.  In  six  minutes  showed  strong  symptoms  of 
being  paralyzed,  and  in  eight  minutes  the  spasmodic  gasping 
for  breath,  when  I  gave  an  hypodermic  injection  of  five 
drops  of  the  strong,  mother  tincture  of  Iodine  near  the  place 
of  the  wound.  He  began  in  a  few  minutes  to  recover  and  in 
two  hours  seemed  as  well  as  ever,  I  kept  him  for  twenty- 
eight  hours,  when  after  cutting  a  notch  in  one  car  so  as  to 
identify  him  again  should  we  happen  to  meet,  I  gave  him  his 
liberty.     Wc  have  not  met  yet. 

Case  fourth  was  a  strong,  healthy  kitten,  two  months  old, 
which  was  put  into  the  cage  with  his  royal  highness,  and 
after  being  bitten  on  the  right  side  of  the  neck  was  removed 
and  in  thirty-eight  minutes  was  so  paralyzed  that  it  would 
drag  its  hind  parts  if  made  to  move;  it  would  hump  up  in  a 
heap  if  left  to  itself;  seemed  to  have  no  sense  of  feeling  in 
hind  extremities,  and  in  thirty-five  minutes  the  spasmodic  ab- 
dominal breathing,  when  I  gave  it,  hypodermically,  five  drops 
of  the  mother  tincture  of  Iodine  as  near  the  wound  as  I  could 
guess.  In  two  hours  and  a  half  it  seemed  as  well  and  lively 
as  ever. 


Theory  and  Practice,  487 

There  were  numerous  other  experiments  made,  but  the 
general  tenor  of  all  were  very  nearly  alike.  (The  Iodine  in- 
jections were  mixed  with  three  times  their  amount  of  water.) 
Shortly  after  my  experiments  were  suddenly  brought  to  a 
close  by  my  very  careless  act  of  placing  his  snakeship  in  the 
hot  sun  and  leaving  it  to  its  full  rays  without  protection  for 
five  full  hours,  (an  act  I  can  not  forgive  myself  for),  in  con- 
sequence of  which  he  died. 


Cure  of  Disease  by  Drugs.    By  S.  R.  Geiser,  M.  D.    Read 

before  the  Cincinnati  Homoeopathic  Medical  Society. 

Undoubtedly  the  aim  and  desire  of  every  physician,  of 
whatever  school  of  medicine  he  may  be,  is  to  cure  disease  and 
alleviate  human  suffering.  Each  system  of  medicine  claims 
superiority  over  all  others  and  has  modes  of  treatment  pe- 
culiar to  itself. 

In  viewing  the  different  systems  of  medicine  impartially, 
one  of  two  things  strikes  the  thinking  mind  very  forcibly, 
viz:  that  diseases  may  be  and  are  cured  by  all  systems  of 
medicine  or  nature  does  all  the  curing. 

Not  only  do  physicians  of  different  systems  disagree,  but 
those  of  the  same  system  differ  widely  in  their  views  pertain- 
ing to  the  cure  of  disease  by  drugs.  One  physician  has  met 
with  success  with  certain  drugs  that  have  utterly  failed  in  the 
hands  of  another  for  diseases  apparently  similar. 

Sir  John  Forbes  is  responsible  for  the  following:  "In  a  con- 
siderable proportion  of  diseases  it  would  fare  as  well,  or  bet* 
ter,  with  patients,  in  the  actual  condition  of  the  medical  art, 
as  more  generally  practiced,  if  all  remedies,  at  least  all  active 


488  Cincinnati   Medical  Advance, 

remedies,  especially  drugs,  were  abandoned."      "Things  (in 
medicine)  must  mend  or  end." 

Similar  views  have  been  frequently  expressed  by  eminent 
physicians  of  this  country. 

Hahnemann,  after  practicing  with  such  success  and  accept- 
ance as  to  acquire  the  reputation,  which  Hufeland  records  of 
being  "one  of  the  most  distinguished  physicians  in  Germany," 
tells  the  profession  in  several  essays  on  medical  subjects,  that 
he  has  become  so  deeply  convinced  of  the  uncertainty  of 
medical  practice,  and  of  the  positive  injurious  effects  of  many 
methods  in  general  use  among  physicians  at  that  time,  that 
he  really  "doubts  whether  his  patients  would  not,  in  many 
cases,  have  thriven  as  well,  or  better  without  his  aid  as 
with  it." 

The  conviction  of  the  uncertainty  of  medicine  and  the  in- 
jury which  it  sometimes  inflicts  on  patients  are  not  peculiar 
to  Hahnemann.  Girtanuer  and  others  before  his  day  ex- 
pressed the  same  views. 

To  a  space  of  fifteen  years,  Hahnemann  devoted  to  constant, 
exhausting  labors  of  the  nature  of  proving  drugs  and  verifying 
his  theory  by  actual  experiment;  during  which  time  he 
proved  on  his  own  person  more  than  sixty  drugs,  "for,"  said 
he,  "when  we  have  to  do  with  an  art  whose  end  is  the  saving 
of  life,  any  neglect  to  make  ourselves  masters  if  it  becomes  a 
crime." 

The  discovery  of  the  law  similia  has  and  is  still  tending  to- 
ward great  reform  in  the  practice  of  medicine.  A  great  deal 
has  been  and  will  be  accomplished  by  a  proper  application 
of  that  law;  nevertheless  we  should  not  be  over  sanguine 
in  our  expectations,  and  not  attribute  all  good  results  to  the 
action  of  drugs  solely. 

It  is  our  duty,  as  homoeopathic  physicians,  to  make  our- 
selves thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  action  of  drugs  accord- 
ing to  our  law  and  apply  ourselves  diligently  for  the  purpose 
of  ascertaining  to  what  extent  we  may  positively  rely  upon 
curing  disease  by  drugs^  We  have  men  in  the  profession 
who  believe  that  physicians  who  entertain  any  skepticism 
whatever,  in  the  cure  of  disease  by  drugs,  are  not  skilled  in 


Theory  and  Practice.  489 

their  materia  medica.  Such  men  may  have  a  thorough 
knowledge  of  the  materia  medica,  but  certainly  not  many  pa- 
tients to  experiment  upon,  or  they  speak  only  of  their  good 
results  and  not  of  their  failures.  In  looking  over  the  medical 
literature  of  our  day,  we  would  be  rather  inchned  to  think  that 
we  had  "specifics"  and  "cure  alls"  for  almost  every  known  dis- 
ease. From  all  parts  of  the  country  come  reports  of  marvel- 
ous cures  by  drugs  for  certain  diseases,  many,  probably, 
more  for  the  purpose  of  gaining  notoriety  than  for  confirming 
the  efficacy  of  drugs  to  cure  disease.  That  drugs  properly  se- 
lected according  to  the  law  similia  tend  to  restore  the  morbid 
organism  to  a  healthy  condition  is  beyond  a  doubt;  but  to 
hastily  attribute  all  our  cures  to  the  action  of  drugs  that  we 
may  have  administered,  would  be  irrational;  as  we  well  know 
that  some  diseases  are  self-Hmiting  and  will  disappear  spon- 
taneously; besides  we  employ  at  the  same  time  hygienic  and 
other  accessory  means  which  are  as  profitable  and  tend  prob- 
ably to  the  restoration  to  health  as  much  as  the  drug  we  may 
be  administering. 

To  an  inquiry  given  by  one  of  bur  medical  journals  con- 
cerning the  best  antidote  of  Bhus  poisoning  about  twenty 
drugs  were  suggested  by  different  physicians  as  postive  an- 
tidotes to  that  drug,  without  special  indication;  certainly  a 
number  sufficiently  large  to  confuse  a  novice. 

Not  every  improvement  or  recovery  following  the  adminis- 
tration of  a  drug  can  be  considered  a  "cure,"  but  very  fre- 
quently nothing  more  than  coincidence  and  often  confidence 
and  imagination.  Not  all  cases  that  come  before  us  through 
our  medical  journals  as  so  called  "curPb"  are  really  cures 
but  many  of  them  recoveries. 

When  we  think  for  a  moment  how  powerfully  nature  often 
struggles  toward  throwing  off  disease,  this  statement  becomes 
obvious.  I  do  not  wish  to  convey  the  idea  that  I  have  no 
faith  in  the  cure  of  disease  by  drugs,  as  the  power  of  diugs 
to  remove  morbid  action  has  often  been  clearly  shown  to  me- 
neither  are  all  our  failures  due  to  a  want  of  power  of  drugs 
to  cure  disease,  but  often  to  an  improper  selection,  and  be- 
sides frequently  many  adjuvants  are  employed  in  conjunc- 


490  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

tion  with  them  of  which  we  know  nothing,  which  interfere 
very  much  with  the  action  of  drugs.  It  is  simply  the  loose 
and  superficial  manner  of  attributing  cures  to  the  action  of 
drugs  against  which  1  wish  to  enter  protest.  It  often  induces 
physicians,  especially  younger  ones,  to  rely  upon  certain 
drugs  for  certain  diseases  without  special  indications,  besides 
it  adds  nothing  to  positive  knowledge  of  drug  action.  What 
can  be  done  to  enrich  our  knowledge  as  to  the  cure  of  dis- 
ease by  drugs,  that  we  may  positively  know  when  and  under 
what  conditions  the  prescribed  drug  was  of  actual  benefit  to 
our  patient? 

First,  and  above  all,  a  thorough  knowledge  of  physiology 
and  our  materia  medica  will  aid  us  very  much  in  accomplish- 
ing this  end. 

Again,  it  is  necessary  to  individualize  very  carefully,  and  if 
one  drug  fails,  if  circumstances  will  allow,  no  other  should 
be  prescribed  until  the  period  of  action  may  have  ceased, 
unless  the  disease  for  which  we  are  prescribing  is  of  such  a 
nature  that  an  immediate  change  is  necessary.  The  prescrib- 
ing of  drugs  is  to  a  considerable  extent  experimental.  If 
drugs  are  prescribed  rapidly,  in  succession,  in  a  bungling  and 
careless  manner,  the  improvement  that  may  follow  is  not  al- 
ways due  to  the  one  last  prescribed.  Some  drug  previously 
given  may  have  caused  the  change  in  the  organism,  but  the 
improvement  may  not, have  made  itself  manifest  until  later; 
nevertheless  cures  are  generally  attributed  to  the  drug  last 
employed. 

It  is  not  at  all  desirable  to  abandon  the  use  of  hygienic  and 
accessory  means  in  conjunction  with  the  use  of  drugs,  but 
the  good  results  following  these  agents  used  jointly  should 
not  be  attributed  to  drugs  alone.  Again,  it  is  necessary  to 
know  the  entire  history  of  diseases  when  left  to  themselves 
uninfluenced  by  medical  treatment. 

By  expectants  we  can  learn  the  course  of  disease  when  left 
to  nature. 

Of  the  prevalence  of  critical  days  we  have  some  knowledge, 
and  that  certain  diseases  recover  only  on  certain  days.  Bv 
applying  this  to  cases  under  treatment,  will  assist  us  some- 


Theory  and  Practice.  491 

what  in  ascertaining  what  our  drugs  will  do.  Our  whole  aim 
in  contributing  and  giving  to  the  profession  our  experiments 
and  clinical  experience  should  be  for  the  promotion  of  medi- 
cal science.  The  following  clinical  cases  I  have  good  reasons 
to  believe  were  relieved  by  drugs,  I  offer  them,  not  claim- 
ing for  them  originality  or  something  new  but  as  an  ad- 
ditional confirmation  of  the  efficacy,  of  drugs  to  cure  disease* 
when  properly  selected. 

Case    I.      Mr.     ,     aet     twenty-eight;     has     very 

violent  neuralgic  pain  in  the  left  inferior  maxillary  bone; 
character  of  pain  intense  boring,  extending  to  the  temple  and 
ear,  worse  at  night,  and  relieved  by  firm  pressure.  This  pa  . 
tient  has  been  suffering  intensely  for  three  days.  Two  doses 
of  Mezereum  2,',  dilution,  relieved  entirely  in  less  than  two 
hours.     No  other  remedy  had  been  taken  previous  to  this. 

Case  II.  Menorrhagia,  Mrs. ,  aet.  forty-nine,  clim- 
acteric, has  profuse  menstruation,  lasting  three  weeks,  one 
period  reaching  nearly  to  the  commencement  of  another; 
blood  dark  color,  with  clots;  much  pain  on  the  top  of  head; 
patient  looks  anaemic;  no  appetite;  vertigo  and  palpitation  of 
the  heart  due  to  loss  of  blood.  This  woman  has  been  suffer- 
ing in  this  manner  for  one  year,  finally  succumbed  and  was 
obliged  to  remain  in  bed.  From  her  general  appearance 
uterine  polypus  or  cancer  was  suspected.  Ustilago  3,  tritura- 
tion, was  given,  with  immediate  benefit.  After  taking  this 
drug  for  three  days,  the  flow  became  gradually  less,  and  in  a 
week  she  was  up  attending  to  general  housework,  free  from 
pain  and  hemorrhage. 

Case  III.     Chronic  Gastric  Catarrh.     Mrs. ,  aet,  fifty; 

married;  mother  of  five  children;  dark  complexion,  nervo- 
bilious  temperament.  Physically  this  patient  presents  a  sal- 
low, cachectic  appearance;  tongue  as  white  as  the  flesh  of 
fish.  Has  been  suffering  with  the  following  symptoms,  in  a 
violent  form  for  more  than  a  year,  and  gradually  growing 
worse.  Excessive  accumulation  of  flatus  after  eating  food 
of  any  kind,  with  great  pain  :;nd  distress  and  inability  to 
keep  anything  on  the  stomach.  **The  least  morsel  causes  a 
sense  of  fullness  up  to  the  throat."     Swelling  and  pain  in  pit 


492  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

of  stomach;  constipation,  action  upon  bowels  once  in  four  to 
Rye  days;  her  condition  was  always  aggravated  in  the  after- 
noon and  at  night,  when  she  would  suffer  so  intensely  that 
she  said  if  she  could  not  get  relief  she  wanted  to  die. 
Lycopod.y  Ars,  and  Puis,  were  thought  of.  Lycopod,  had  three 
characteristics  which  neither  of  the  others  had,  viz:  constipa- 
.  tion,  brick  dust  sediment  in  urine  and  the  feeling  as  if  she 
were  full  up  to  the  throat.  Prescribed  Lycopodium  30,  dilu- 
tion, with  immediate  improvement.  Gave  no  rules  in  regard 
to  diet  until  I  saw  the  effects  of  the  medicine.  In  about  two 
weeks  could  digest  any  kind  of  food. 

Case  IV,     Eczemapedum.     Mrs.  ,  aet.  forty-five,  has 

had  eczema  of  the  feet  for  six  months.  Symptoms:  feet  very 
painful;  dry  squamous  and  fissured;  at  times  slight  moisture 
exudes,  especially  after  scratching;  violent  itching,  aggravated 
by  scratching,  and  from  the  warmth  of  the  bed,  when  she 
would  almost  go  wild;  amelioration  by  air  and  cold  applica- 
tions.    Alumina  30  relieved  at  once. 


■♦  ♦ 


Some  Brain  Lesions  and  Their  Manifestations.    By  J.  Martine 

Kershaw,  M.  D.  A  Paper  Presented  to  the  St. 
Louis  Society  of  Homoeopathic  Physicians  and 
Surgeons, 

Gentlemen: — I  shall  not  undertake  in  this  paper  to  men- 
tion all  the  lesions  of  the  brain,  but  call  your  attention  to  a 
few  only,  in  which  the  symptoms  commonly  observed,  point 
with  a  certain  degree  of  accuracy  to  a  particular  part  of  the 
brain  as  the  seat  of  disease.  When  a  clot  of  blood  or  other 
matter  is  thrown  off  in  some  part  of  the  arterial  circulating 
apparatus,  and,  in  the  course  of  time,  reaches  the  middle 
cerebral  artery  of  the  left  side,  and,  passing  outward,  finds  at 


/ 


Theorg  and  Practice,  493 

about  midway  between  the  origin  and  termination  of  the 
vessel — about  the  Island  of  Reil — that  it  can  proceed  no 
further,  it  stops,  and  produces  shock  and  irritation  at  this 
point,  which  may  result  in  paralysis  of  the  opposite  side  of 
the  body,  and  loss  of  speech — aphasia.  Sometimes  there  is 
no  hemiplegia.  There  may  be  amnesia  aphasia,  which  con- 
sists in  an  inability  to  recollect  language.  The  patient  knows 
what  he  desires  to  say,  but  can  not  remember  the  words 
necessary  to  express  himself.  He  may  be  able  to  say  **boot" 
or  "cat,"  but  the  word  is  used  indiscriminately,  irrespective 
of  what  he  desires  to  say.  He  mav  know  that  he  does  not 
mean  "boot"  or  "cat,"  but  the  word  slips  out  at  all  times  and 
with  every  effort  at  expressing  himself. 

There  may  be  present  the  variety  of  disease  known  as 
ataxic  aphasia.  In  this  case  the  patient  can  not  co-ordinate 
the  lips  and  tongue  properly,  although  he  may  know  perfectly 
well  what  he  desires  to  say.  There  may  be  the  condition 
present  known  as  agraphia.  In  this  case  the  patient  can 
not  write.  He  may  think  quite  well,  but  on  sitting  down  to 
write,  he  finds  he  has  forgotten  all  about  the  formation  of 
letters.  There  are  several  combinations  and  subdivisions  of 
aphasia,  but  I  shall  not  stop  to  consider  them  here. 

Corpus  Striatum. — Pressure  on  this  part  is  followed  with 
great  uniformity,  by  paralysis  of  the  opposite  side  of  the 
body,  with  facial  paralysis  on  side  of  lesion.  There  is  great 
loss  of  motor  power,  but  not  so  much  of  sensibility.  There 
is  reason  to  believe  that  the  involuntary  muscular  movements 
of  chorea  are  due,  in  numerous  instances,  to  iriitation  of  the 
motor  tracts  of  the  corpus  striatum,  and  that  this  irritation  Is 
the  result  of  agglomerations  of  minute  emboli,  composed, 
principally  of  white  corpuscles  in  the  smaller  vessels  in  the 
region  of  the  brain  just  mentioned. 

Thalamus  Opticus, — Lesion  of  this  part  is  followed  by 
weakness  of  the  body,  (paresis),  together  with  more  or  less 
diminished  sensation  of  same  side.  The  loss  of  motion  is 
not  so  great  as  in  lesion  of  the  corpus  striatum,  nor  is  the 
facial  paralysis  so  marked.  Tonic  and  clonic  spasms  of  the 
paralyzed  muscles  are  common.  The  temperature  is  higher 
Feb-2 


494  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

and  more  permanent  in  lesions  of  this  part,  than  when  the 
disease  affects  the  corpus  striatum. 

Lateral  Ventricles. — A  sudden  hemorrhage  into  a  lateral 
ventricle,  with  perhaps  a  rupture  of  the  septum  lucidum, 
produces  marked  convulsion,  rapidly  following  and  deep 
coma,  general  paralysis,  dilated  pupils;  alternate  tonic  and 
clonic  spiisms  of  the  other,'  and  conjugated  deviation  of  the 
eyes,  pointing  to  the  side  of  brain  lesion.  The  occurrence  of 
a  severe  convulsion  in  an  already  paralyzed  individual,  fol- 
lowed by  great  weakness  and  coma,  is  indicative  of  rupture 
into  the  ventricle,  and  is  an  especially  grave  symptom. 

Crus  Cerebri. — Paralysis  of  the  opposite  side  of  body,  if 
lower  part  is  affected,  with  loss  of  sensation  also,  if  upper 
part  be  implicated.  If  there  is  palsy  of  the  third  nerve,  there 
may  be  ptosis,  or  drooping  of  the  eye  lid  of  same  side;  diverg- 
ent strabismus;  protrusion  of  the  eye  ball,  and  dilated  pupil  of 
the  side  of  lesion.  Symptoms  of  this  kind  would  point  to 
lesion  of  lower  and  inner  side  of  crus  cerebri. 

Pons  Varolii, — Disease  of  one  side  will  produce  paralysis 
of  opposite  side;  if  both  sides  are  affected,  complete  paralysis 
of  both  sides  of  body  and  deep  coma.  The  comatose  condi- 
tion strongly  resembles  Opium  poisoning.  Disease  of  right 
side,  (lower  part),  will  paralyze  face  of  right  side,  and  body 
of  left  side.  Lesion  of  upper  part  may  involve  fibres  of  the 
left  facial,  which  cross  over  to  the  right  side,  and  thus  pro- 
duce paralysis  of  the  left  side  of  the  body,  A  lesion  of  the 
middle  of  the  pons  may  involve  the  right  facial  nerve, 
and  the  decussating  fibres  of  the  left,  thus  producing 
paralysis  of  both  sides  of  the  face,  and  loss  of  motion  on  the 
left  side  of  the  body.  The  sensory  fibres  of  the  fifth  nerve 
may  be  implicated,  and  then  we  shall  have  a  paralysis  of  the 
right  side  of  the  face,  together  with  loss  of  sensation  on  the 
same  side.  There  is  one  particular  symptom  observed  in 
cases  of  facial  paralysis,  due  to  peripheral  irritation,  which 
distinguishes  this  affection  from  paralysis  of  the  portia  dura, 
following  a  central  lesion  of  this  nerve.  I  refer  to  the  condi- 
tion of  the  eye-lid  of  the  affected  side  in  cases  of  peripheral 
irritation.     When  facial  palsy  is  due  to  cold,  rheumatism  or 


Theory  and  Practice.  495 

injury — peripheral  irritation — the  eye  of  the  affected  side  re- 
mains wide  open  and  staring,  and  this  too,  whether  the  pa- 
tient is  awake  or  asleep.  If  the  disease  is  central,  the  eye 
can  be  closed. 

With  the  paralysis  of  the  portia  dura  there  may  be  paralysis 
of  the  sixth  nerve  also,  and,  as  a  consequence,  turning  in  of 
the  eye  ball  of  that  side,  (convergent  strabismus).  There 
may  be  facial  paralysis  and  convergent  strabismus  of  the 
side  of  pons  diseased  with  no  loss  of  sensation;  the  facial 
motor  fibres  of  the  fifth,  and  the  sixth  being  involved,  while 
sensation  is  lost  on  the  opposite  side.  This  can  only  be  ac- 
counted for  on  the  supposition  that  sensory  fibres  of  the 
fifth,  of  the  opposite  side,  cross  over  to  the  seat  of  the  lesion^ 
The  pons  is  supposed  to  be  the  seat,  to  a  degree,  at  least,  of 
automatic  movement.  Apart  from  manifestations  of  diseases 
of  the  fifth,  already  mentioned,  there  may  be  hyperaesthesia 
of  parts  to  which  the  sensory  fibres  arc  distributed;  loss  of 
taste  on  one  side  of  tongue,  from  impairment  of  gustatory 
branch  of  the  fifth;  and  paresis  of  temporial  and  masseter  mus- 
cles, the  motor  fibres  being  affected.  A  sudden  hemorrhage 
on  the  central  parts  of  the  pons  will  be  followed  by  an 
apoplectic  seizure;  profound  coma;  greatly  contracted  pupils; 
general  paralysis;  difliculty  of  swallowing,  and  indistinct 
articulation.  There  is  reason  to  believe  that  great  emotional 
weakness,  a  tendency  to  laugh  or  cry  without  cause,  is  due 
to  irritation  of  the  pons. 

Cerebellum. — Conjugate  deviation  of  the  eye — one  eye 
turned  upwards  and  outwards,  and  the  other  downwards  and 
inwards — this  indicates  sudden  lesion  of  the  crus  cerebelli. 
The  eye  turned  upwards  and  outward,  looks  in  a  direc- 
tion from  the  seat  of  lesion,  while  the  other  eye,  turned 
downwards  and  inwards,  is  looking  toward  the  scat  of  dis- 
ease. Hemiplegia,  with  absence  of  facial  and  lingual  palsy, 
would  indicate  disease  of  the  cerebellum.  Vomiting  is  more 
frequent  when  the  cerebellum  is  affected,  than  when  disease 
is  in  other  parts.  Lesion  of  lateral  lobe  may  result  in  paraly- 
sis of  same  side  of  body  as  that  of  lesion.  In  cerebellar 
paralysis,  the  leg  is  usually  more  markedly  paralyzed  than 


496  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

the  arm.  No  difficulty  of  speech,  movement  of  tongue,  or 
swallowing,  is  ordinarily  observed  in  affections  of  the  cere- 
bellum. Irritation  of  the  middle  lobe  causes  excitement  of 
the  sexual  apparatus  in  both  male  and  female,  and  in  the 
male  there  may  be  seminal  emissions.  This  applies  to  the 
middle  lobe  almost  exclusively,  this  result  not  following  dis- 
ease of  the  lateral  lobe.  Atrophy  of  the  sexual  apparatus 
has  been  observed  in  some  instances.  The  sight  may  be 
affected  on  account  of  the  relations  of  this  part  to  the  superior 
cerebellar  peduncles,  and  to  the  corpora  quadrigemini. 
Tumors  may  lead  to  dropsy  of  the  ventricles,  and  softening, 
by  interfering  with  the  return  of  the  blood  through  the 
venae  galenae  to  the  straight  sinus.  Marked  inco-ordination 
of  movement  follows  as  a  result  of  lesion  of  the  cerebellum. 
There  is  a  species  of  vertigo,  clearly  due  to  cerebellar  dis- 
ease, in  which  the  gait  of  the  patient  closely  resembles  that 
of  an  intoxicated  individual.  The  walk  is  unsteady  and  un- 
certain, he  staggers  from  side  to  side,  and  has,  in  fact,  what 
is  known  as  the  titubating  gait.  He  walks  better  in  the 
dark  than  in  the  daylight.  The  walk  of  an  ataxic  patient  is 
also  staggering,  and  due  to  inco-ordination  of  the  muscles  of 
the  lower  extremities,  (usually),  but  beside  the  inco-ordina- 
tion, there  is  a  loss  of  tactile  sensibility  of  the  feet,  which 
adds  greatly  to  the  difficulty. 

Disease  of  the  Labyrinth  or  Central  Auditory  Apparatus. — 
There  is  a  peculiar  kind  of  vertigo  which  results  from  dis- 
ease of  the  labyrinth,  and  is  known  as  *AIeniere's  disease, 
labyrinthine  vertigo,  or  auditory  nerve  vertigo.  The  dizzi- 
ness comes  on  suddenly,  is  accompanied  by  nausea  and 
buzzing  of  the  ears,  and  there  is  a  tendency  to  whiil  about 
in  a  direction  from  the  affected  ear.  Turning  the  patient 
around  quickly  toward  the  affected  ear  seems  to  lessen  the 
duration  of  the  attack. 

Medulla  Oblongata  and  upper  part  of  Spinal  Cord. — I 
wish  to  call  attention  to  a  disease  which  is  due  to  difficulty 

^*I  have  just  read  an  excellent  article  on  this  subject,  from  the 
pen  of  Dr.  Dyee  Brown.  He  cites  a  case  which  ultimately  recovered 
under  the  use  of  Salicylate  of  soda  Zx, 


Theory  and  Practioe.  497 

at  the  roots  of  the  facial,  spinal  accessory,  pneumogastric 
and  hypoglossal  nerves.  I  refer  to  the  affection  known  as 
glosso-labio- laryngeal  paralysis.  The  nerve  cells  at  the 
origin  of  the  deep  fibres  of  the  nerve  just  mentioned,  atrophy 
and  disappear,  with  the  result  of  failure  of  nutrition  and  loss 
of  motion  in  the  muscles  which  they  supply.  The  first  diffi- 
culty noticed,  is,  as  a  rule,  an  inability  to  keep  the  lips  ap- 
proximated. Then  follows  difficulty  of  articulation,  from 
immobility  of  the  tongue  and  lips.  A  constant  flow  of  saliva 
from  the  partly  open  mouth,  both  day  and  night,  next  be- 
comes a  troublesome  difficulty.  Dysphagia,  or  difficult 
swallowing,  becomes  marked  as  the  disease  progresses,  to- 
gether with  more  and  more  difficulty  in  moving  the  tongue. 
After  a  little  while  the  larynx  becomes  affected,  speech  is 
lost,  and,  as  th^  disease  passes  downward  the  muscles  of 
respiration  become  involved.  Widely'  separated  lips,  con- 
stant flowing  of  saliva,  complete  paralysis  of  the  tongue,  loss 
of  speech,  difficult  respiration,  and  great  prostration,  arc  the 
characteristic  symptoms  of  the  complaint. 

Tubercula  Quadrigemina, — Disease  of  the  anterior  tubercles 
affect  the  sense  of  sight.  Affections  of  the  central  fibres  of 
one  optic  tract  will  effect  the  sight  of  the  eye  of  the  opposite 
side,  and  vice  versa.  Pressure  at  the  central  portion  of  the 
optic  commisure  will  produce  loss  of  sight  in  both  eyes. 

The  sides  of  the  Brain. — ^For  some  reason,  lesions  of  the 
right  hemisphere  are  more  serious  than  lesions  of  the  left 
hemisphere.  This  may  not  be  altogether  true,  yet  there  are 
enough  recorded  cases  of  right  and  left  sided  lesions,  to  give 
a  show  of  plausibility  to  the  above  statement.  With  per- 
haps some  exceptions,  failure  of  nutrition  is  greater  in  para- 
lyzed muscles,  when  the  right  hemisphere  is  the  seat  of  dis- 
ease. Tonic  convulsions  are  more  frequent  when  the  right 
hemisphere  is  the  affected  part.  Conjugated  deviation  of  the 
eyes  more  common  when  the  right  side  of  the  brain  is  impli- 
cated. Hysterical  paralysis  is  more  frequently  due  to  right- 
sided  lesions,  than  from  disease  of  the  opposite  side. 

Acute  Bed  sore — Charcot  mentions  a  bed  sore  of  a  particu 
lar  kind,  which  is  specially  symptomatic  of  cerebral  hemor- 


498  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

rhage  of  a  grave  character.  The  sore  makes  its  appearance 
within  three  or  four  clays  after  the  .apoplectic  attack,  and  is 
found  on  the  paralyzed  side,  in  the  central  portion  of  the 
gluteal  region.  It  is  not  the  result  of  pressure,  nor  of  con- 
trol of  urine  or  fasces,  as  frequently  patients  have  been 
placed  on  the  non-paralyzed  side,  constant  care  taken  to 
prevent  contact  of  the  excretions,  and  still  the  sore  would 
appear.  It  is  rare  for  a  case  of  this  kind  to  terminate  favor- 
ably. 


Cases  Cured  by  Canstictim.     From  Der  Allg.  Hom.  Zeitung- 
Translated  by  A.  McNeil,  M.  D.,  New  Albany,  Ind. 

Case  I. — M.  had  the  itch  in  1826,  which  was  suppressed  by 
ointments.  He  began  to  suffer  from  paralysis  in  1830,  which 
became  complete  by  degrees  so  that  he  could  only  walk  with 
great  difficulty  with  a  cane  and  with  the  body  flexed  to  the 
right.  After  using  mineral  water  for  forty  days,  his  fingers 
were  so  contracted  that  his  hands  were  entirely  closed,  and 
therefore  useless. 

I  took  charge  of  him  on  the  23d  of  August,  1833.  I  found 
the  following  symptoms:  He  walked  only  with  great  diffi- 
culty on  crutches;  his  body  bent  very  much  toward  the  right 
as  if  the  hip  was  dislocated,  so  that  the  leg  appeared  short- 
ened; on  walking  he  dragged  the  foot  which  was  turned 
outwards,  the  toes  scraping  the  ground  and  resting  on  the  in- 
side of  the  foot,  which  thus  formed  an  elliptical  arch;  vertigo 
and  impaired  vision;  the  hands  had  so  little  feeling  in  them 
that  when  he  took  anything  in  his  hands  they  and  the  object 
fell  without  his  feeling  it;  partial  paralysis  of  the  bladder 
and  the  bowels,  so  that  he  could  only  void  stool  and  urine  by 
great  straining;  he  could  not  sit  erect  but  must  bend  towards 


Theory  and  Practice.  499 

the  right;  he  suffered  violent  cramps  in  the  right  foot;  face 
cadaverous,  body  externally  emaciated.  Gave  Causticum  30, 
which  I  repeated  on  August  25th.  September  i  considera- 
bly improved;  ^ands  more  movable,  can  hold  an  object  with- 
out trembling,  his  feeling  is  also  better;  can  urinate  volun- 
tarily without  straining;  walks  more  actively;  stool  every 
twenty-four  hours.  Three  doses  of  Causticum  during  the  con- 
tinued improvement.  He  can  now  walk  four  Italian  miles. 
He  can  lift  the  paralyzed  leg  tolerably  well.  September  30, 
Nux  vom.  was  given  for  dizziness.  He  has  perfect  feeling  in 
the  paralyzed  leg,  he  can  lift  it  and  walks.  Again  gave  him 
Causticum  and  he  continued  well. 

Case  H. — A  girl,  aet.  twelve  3'ears,  has  always  been 
healthy  and  without  any  indications  of  scrofula,  was  attacked 
in  February  with  scarlet  fever;  exposed  herself  on  the  ninth 
day  to  the  open  air,  but  desquamation  proceeded  slowly. 
Had  another  cold  on  the  5th  of  March,  oedema  was  the  re- 
sult. Received  Sulph,  and  Ars,  without  benefit.  Increasing 
oppression  on  the  chest,  mucous  rales,  short  cough.  Physi- 
cal examination  shows  hydrothorax.  Gave  Senega  12  in  wa- 
ter with  a  strikingly  favorable  result.  But  on  awakening  on 
the  30th  of  March  had  paraplegia  of  the  entire  right  side  in- 
cluding the  tongue;  had  not  the  slightest  motion  of  the  hand 
and  foot,  but  had  some  feeling  therein;  could,  not  put  the 
tongue  further  out  than  the  teeth;  speech  entirely  lost;  could 
swallow  a  little;  could  only  understand  a  question  after  re- 
peating several  times;  there  did  not  appear  to  be  any  pain. 
Gave  Causticum  12,  in  solution,  a  teaspoonful  twice  a  day. 
On  the  following  day  there  is  again  oedema  of  the  paralyzed 
arm.  On  the  4th  of  April  the  mobility  of  the  tongue  is  so 
much  increased  that  she  can  protrude  it  and  lisp  a  little,  oedema 
disappeared,  no  other  change.  On  account  of  the  standstill  I 
gave  Cupi*um  acet.  in  massive  doses,  and  afterward  the  i8th 
with  on^y  transitory  benefit.  Then  again  Causticum  y>  and 
afterwards  the  4C)Oth.  At  the  end  of  August  she  was  again 
in  full  possession  of  her  memory,  speech  and  mobility  of  her 
lower  limb;  the  paralysis  of  the  arm  remained.  Bhus,,  Dul- 
cam.j  Stannum,  Sulph.  without  benefit.      It  improved,  how- 


500  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

ever,  so  that  only  paralysis  of  the  extensors  of  the  fingers 
and  lack  of  feeling  in  the  hand  remained. 

Causticum  is  particularly  indicated  in  paralysis  with  im- 
plication of  the  urinary  organs,  when  the  extremities  tremble 
on  walking  and  standing,  but  not  when  sitting. 

Case  III. — An  unmarried  woman,  aet.  thirty-nine,  very 
much  emaciated,  pale  and  sickly  looking.  Has  complained 
for  six  years  from  the  following:  Anguish,  depression  of 
spirits,  sleeplessness  and  nightmare  every  night;  habitual 
headache  on  both  sides,  over  the  eyes  and  at  the  root  of  the 
nose,  with  heat  and  soreness  of  the  scalp;  black  spots  before 
the  eyes;  want  of  appetite,  disgust  for  all  food;  pyrosis,  car- 
dialgia,  sensitiveness  in  the  pit  of  the  stomach  and  stitches  in 
the  left  hypochondrium;  aggravation  of  all  these  complaints 
during  the  menses;  stiffness  of  the  arms  at  night,  cold  hands, 
cramps  in  the  hands  and  feet.  CausticumS,  one  drop  every 
day,  cured  in  three  weeks. 

Prostatitis — M,,  aet.  sixty-one,  of  good  constitution  and 
otherwise  healthy,  has  suffered  for  several  years  from  diffi- 
cult urination,  which  has  become  worse  gradually,  but  par- 
ticularly for  the  last  fourteen  days,  when  he  must  retain  his 
urine  for  several  hours,  urging  day  and  night  very  frequent. 
On  urinating  it  does  not  come  immediately  and  only  in  small 
quantities,  at  times  only  in  drops.  As  soon  as  the  \\nne  has 
passed  the  neck  of  the  bladder,  it  passes  without  difhculty. 
His  father  and  grandfather  were  afflicted  the  same  way. 
Mild  rheumatic  pains  and  lumbago;  on  the  front  of  the  neck 
a  wart- like  eruption.  Capsicum  12,  Bell.  12,  lihus.,  Sulph., 
Ammon.  carb.  improved  but  little.  C aus t icum  ^oth  and  12th 
cured  almost  entirely  in  six  weeks. 


Phytolacca. — Tongue  rough,  blistered,  red  at  tip;  great 
pain  at  the  root  on  swallowing;  throat  sore,  dry,  dark  red; 
tonsils  slightly  swollen;  sensation  of  throat  being  full,  hawk- 
ing to  clear  posterior  nares;  shooting  pains  on  swallowing, 
extending  up  the  eustachian  tubes  to  the  ears;  pressing 
pain  in  the  right  side  of  throat. 


^$mml  %linit%. 


Clinical  Notes  by  H.  C.  Allen,  M.  D. — Case  I. — Mr. 
S*.,  aet.  thirty-three,  a  slate  roofer  by  occupation,  weight  one 
hundred  and  eighty,  florid  complexion,  strong  and  robust. 
Three  years  ago  removed  to  Detroit  from  Worcester,  Mass. 
Has  had  a  dry,  harsh,  laryngeal  cough  nearly  all  the  time 
since  he  came  here,  and  has  been  treated  by  one  of  the 
closest  prescribers  and  best  homoeopathic  physicians  in  this 
city  or  state.  After  carefully  writing  out  his  symptoms  and 
giving  him  a  thorough    examination,  I  frankly  told  him,  "If 

Dr, has  not  been  able  to  relieve  you,  I  doubt  if  I  can.'' 

His  reply  was,  "Dr. never  wrote  down  my  symptoms,  I 

want  you  to  try." 

Recorded  Symptoms:  Dry  •  cough,  constant  irritation  in 
larynx  inducing  short,  harsh,  hacking  cough;  roughness  in 
the  throat  in  the  evening;  oppression  of  the  chest  and  short 
breathing  on  going  up  a  ladder;  cough  worse  in  morning 
while  dressing  and  before  breakfast  so  that  he  sometimes  had 
some  difficulty  in  finishing  it;  na  cough  at  any  other  meal; 
cough  aggravated  in  open  air  and  when  walking  fast 

From  the  aggravation  of  motion  I  gave  him — under  mental 
protest,  as  he  was  going  out  of  the  city  for  a  week,  and  I  had 
not  time  to  look  it  up — Bry.  200,  a  powder  night  and  morn- 
ing. No  better;  it  was  not  the  remedy.  Senega  i,  dilution, 
six  pellets  three  times  a  day,  to  be  taken  only  once  a  day  if 
better,  has  completely  relieved  him.  ' 

Among  the  many  imperishable  directions  left  us  by  the 
Master  as  a  guide  in  applying  the  law  of  similia,  there  is  none 
more  useful,  more  necessary  or  more  generally  ignored  than 
the  one  to  record  the  patient's  symptoms  before  we  prescribe. 
If  we  did  this  in  difficult  chronic  cases,  alternation,  mixtures 
and  mongrelisms  would  give  place  to  the  single  remedy,  and 
the  brilliant  cases  of  the  earlier  disciples,  such  cures  as 
Guernsey,   Lippe,   Hering  and  others   make    to-day.      We 


502  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

would  then  know  what  did  it,  and  our  clinical  experience  and 
knowledge  of  materia  medica  would  increase  with  each  day's 
practice,  so  that  in  a  short  time  we  would  prescribe  with  an 
ease  and  an  accuracy  we  can  never  acquire  by  alternation. 
The  beauties  of  Hahnemann's  law  and  Hahnemann's  method 
will  then  dawn  on  us  as  never  before,  and  it  never  will  until 
we  follow  his  directions.  As  routinists  we  may  do  a  large 
business  and  reap  a  monetary  reward,  but  it  will  always  be 
an  unsatisfactory  and  semi-allopathic  practice.  As  homoDO- 
pathists  we  can  follow  Hahnemann's  method,  do  a  larger 
business,  reap  a  greater  monetary  reward  and  do  it  much 
easier,  because  scientifically.  This  question  is  paramount  to 
potency  high  or  low.  I  speak  from  experience;  I  have  been 
there.  It  takes  a  little  more  time  at  first,  but  will  abundantly 
reward  the  necessary  care  and  study. 

Case  H. — Mrs.  J.,  a  lady  aet.  about  thirty-seven,  dark 
complexion  and  of  fine  physique,  took  a  severe  cold  while 
attending  the  musical  festivalin  Cincinnati  in  May  last,  which 
induced  a  most  violent  and  persistent  cough  both  day  and 
night.  Thi;  cough  was  worse  at  night  and  so  violently  ag- 
gravated on  assuming  the  recumbent  position,  that  she  had 
to  sit  upright  for  many  nights  in  succession  to  obtain  even 
partial  relief.  It  was  dry,  spasmodic  and  with  little  if  any 
expectoration.  She  was  treated  by  Dr.  Bradford  until  able 
to  travel,  and  her  own  physician  at  home  until  August  2d, 
when  I  was  consulted.  The  cough  v/as  still  violent,  worse 
morning  and  evening,  with  very  little  if  any  expectoration. 
The  stethoscope  revealed  no  rale,  and  resonance  on  percus- 
sion was  normal.  Exposing  the  chest  for  stethoscopic  ex- 
amination produced  a  violent  paroxysm  of  cough,  and  al- 
though the  weather  was  excessively  hot  and  other  ladies 
vigorously  plying  the  fan,  she  had  on  a  thick  dress  and  wore 
a  shawl.  She  was  compelled  to  wear  so  much  clothing  to 
prevent  cough,  that  she  suffered  continually  from  the  heat. 
The  least  exposure  of  any  part  of  the  body  brought  a  pa- 
roxysm at  once;  so  much  so  that  she  dreaded  to  dress  or  un- 
dress. This  was  the  "key  note"  to  the  remedy.  "Paroxysm 
of  cough  as  soon  as  only  the  slightest   portion    of  the   body 


General  Clinics.  503 

becomes  cold;"  "can  not  bear  to  be  uncovered;  coughs  when 
any  part  of  the  body  is  uncovered;"  "must  be  covered  up  to 
the  face."  Ilepar  sulph,  200,  ten  powders,  one  every  morn- 
ing, to  be  discontinued  on  improvement,  (she  took  all  of 
them),  effected  prompt  and  complete  relief. 

Case  III. — A  gentleman  residing  in  Indiana,  a  banker  by 
occupation,  and  a  bitter  opponent  of  Homoeopathy,  said  he 
would  believe  if  it  could  cure  him.  An  enthusiastic  and  in- 
telligent layman  promised  him  a  cure  and  gave  me  his  symp- 
toms. In  walking  or  riding  in  a  carriage  could  not  turn  his 
head  to  the  left  without  producing  vertigo  so  that  he  would 
fall  if  he  did  not  lay  hold  of  something.  Could  turn  it  in 
every  other  direction  with  impunity.  In  other  respects 
health  was  perfect.  This  had.  troubled  him  for  years  and 
was  increasing  in  severity;  Allopathy  treated  it  in  vain. 

Colocynth  has  vertigo  on  suddenly  turning  the  head;  it 
seems  as  if  he  would  fall;  vertigo  when  walking  rapidly  and 
Colocynth  has  a  special  affinity  for  the  left  side  of  the  head. 
He  was  sent  a  drachm  vial  of  Col.  200,  which  promptly  re- 
lieved him.  What  was  the  pathology?  and  how  would  a 
knowledge  of  it  have  aided  the  cure? 

Case  IV. — Mr.  C,  a  gentleman  aet.  forty,  had  been  afflict- 
ed for  a  number  of  years  with  acne  rosacea,  which  despite 
allopathic  treatment  and  topical  applications  continued  to  in- 
crease in  extent  and  severity  at  each  exacerbation.  It  was 
particularly  annoying  in  his  case,  as  he  was  a  class  leader  in 
Methodist  church,  strictly  temperate  in  eating  and  drinking, 
and  a  most  exemplary  man  in  all  the  relations  of  life.  This 
was  most  emphatically  denied  by  the  appearance ,  of  the 
eruption,  which  resembled  in  almost  every  particular  the 
"grog  blossoms"  of  the  inebriate.  Had  he  not  been  like 
Caesar's  wife  the  consequences  might  have  been  serious. 
Ars.^  Sulph.,  Ant  crud.,  Carbo  v.  and  Carbo  an,  and  a  num- 
ber of  remedies  apparently  indicated  were  given  without  ef- 
fect, when  Ledum  3,  a  dose  night  and  morning,  relieved  him 
in  short  time.     The  cure  was  permanent. 

Case  I. — Intermittent — Arsenic  a, — D,  W,,  a  middle 
aged,  married  man,  felt  well  till  twelve  o'clock,   then    head 


504  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

ache  and  pain  in  lower  part  of  back;  chill  at  one-thirty  p.m. 
beginning  in  hands  and  arms  and  becoming  general  with 
general  shivering;  coldness  and  sensation  of  coldness;  then 
heat  in  half  an  hour,  followed  in  half  an  hour  by  sweat  with 
thirst  and  feeling  of  weakness;  had  sore  lips  lately.  Ars,  9c, 
Fincke.  No  return  of  chill,  followed  by  long  lasting  im- 
provement in  health. 

Case  II. — Ars.  a. — I.  T.,  an  elderly  gentleman.  Aching 
and  feeling  bad  all  over  especially  in  back;  bitter  taste  in 
mouth  about  nine  a.m.;  moderate,  still  dull  pain  in  forehead 
before  chill,  which  began  in  bands  between  nine  and  ten  a.m.; 
slight  shivering,  mostly  in  shoulders;  thirst,  and  sweat  on 
hands  and  face  with  chill;  fever  soon  follows,  mostly  in  head, 
face,  hand  and  back,  less  in  feet,  with  thirst  and  perspiration; 
headache  from  first  but  sweat  diminished  with  heat;  no  appe- 
tite for  dinner,  but  is  thirsty  since  heat;  pulse  ninety  after 
heat  is  gone;  tongue  feels  sore.  Ars.  a.  9c.,  Fincke.  No  re- 
turn of  chill. 

Case  III. — Ifat  mur. — Nov.  9,  K.  S.  B.,  a  young  lady,  aet. 
sixteen,  had  third  chill  to-day,  little  after  four  p.m.;  before 
chill  pain  in  forehead,  then  arms  began  to  ache  and  feel  cold, 
then  got  cold  all  over;  no  shivering;  with  chill,  thirst  and 
pain  in  small  of  back;  with  heat,  nausea  and  pain  from  hips 
to  ankles;  pain  in  head  and  thirst  increased;  sweat  mostl}'  on 
shoulders  and  hands  with  thirst;  head  better,  legs  ached 
more;  now  feels  dull  in  evening  with  sweat  on  palms  of 
hands  and  fingers.  I^at  mur.  9c,  Fincke,  in  water,  once  in 
two  hours,  beginning  on  the  loth.  Nov.  12,  no  return  of 
chill,  and  it  has  not  returned  since. 

Case  IV. — Mrs,  T.  Pain  before  rising  in  forehead,  shoot- 
ing to  occiput;  cracking  in  head  and  ears  at  ten  to  eleven 
a.m.,  when  headache  disappears;  worse  from  coughing; 
thirst,  aching  of  bones  and  coldness  before  shivering;  chill  at 
ten  a.m.,  first  in  hands  then  feet,  then  general,  with  thirst; 
shivering  begins  in  stomach  and  then  goes  through  to  back; 
heat  most  in  stomach  and  bowels,  with  thirst;  cheeks  hot  and 
red;  sweat  only  on  face  and  forehead,  with  thirst;  quotidian; 
had  the  ague  in  North  Carolina  some  years  ago,  took  Quinine  ; 


General  Clinics.  505 

for  three  weeks  has  had  cough,  frequent,  hard,  hollow  and 
hacking,  worse  in  forenoon  and  early  part  of  night,  on 
lying  down  and  after  eating,  when  it  ends  in  vomiting  with- 
out nausea;  cough  proceeds  from  irritation  in  upper  part  ot 
chest,  with  sense  of  dragging  soreness  in  chest;  dull,  aching 
pain  in  upper  chest  after  coughing;  expectoration  sweetish, 
yellowish  and  thick;  worse  in  the  morning  and  on  going  to 
bed;  throat  dry;  has  missed  menses  twice,  with  backache  at 
time  of  period;  tongue  yellowish-brown;  cramps  in  stomach 
since  she  has  had  chills;  lemon  yellow  discharge  from  nose. 
I  received  this  account  from  the  lady  at  my  first  visit  in  the 
morning,  after  having  sent  her  a  powder  of  Ipecac  gc  the 
evening  before  by  her  husband,  who  came  to  me  for  some 
medicine  for  her  and  could  only  vaguely  describe  her  case. 
The  day  after  taking  Ipecac  the  chill  was  limited  to  feet,  but 
followed  with  fever  and  headache.  Then  gave  Ars.  a.  9c., 
two  powders,  one  night  and  morning.  Next  day  no  more 
chill  nor  fever;  headache  gone;  vomiting  entirely  ceased; 
cough  remains  as  hard  as  ever.  Sulph.gCy  night  and  morning. 
Cough  much  better,  still  hacking  and  frequent.  JSidph,  9c 
night  and  morning  for  two  or  three  days  and  the  cough  was 
gone.  There  remained  a  pain  in  lower  part  of  back  for 
which  a  few  powders  of  lihus  tox,  were  given  with  full  re- 
lief.    Cessation  of  menses  was  due  to  pregnancy. — Edward 

RUSHMORE,  M.  D. 


♦  »■ 


iu$lUmm$. 


Eahnemann. 

There  exists  a  vague  idea  in  the  m6re  intelligent  part  of 
the  medical  world,  that  Hahnemann  was  a  great  man,  intel- 
lectually and  scientifically.      Even  the  allopathic  portion   of 


606  Cincinnati  Mdical  Advance, 

the  profession  is  entertaining  a  suspicion  that  Samuel  Hahne- 
mann has  heen  too  long  under-rated.  But,  as  yet,  the  men  of 
that  school  know  little  or  nothing  about  the  man,  except 
from  hearsay.  There  is  some  shadow  of  excuse  for  this,  for 
the  writings  of  Hahnemann  are  almost  wholly  unknown  to 
them.  Neither  their  text  books  nor  their  journals  contain 
anything  but  flippant  and  derogatory  allusions  to  the  great 
founder  of  HomoBopathy.  But  we  have  reason  to  believe 
that  comparatively,  few  of  the  professed  followers  of  Hahne- 
mann are  familiar  with  his  works.  The  reason  of  this  we 
will  not  now  attempt  to  state.  But  we  propose,  under  the 
heading  of  this  article,  to  give  to  the  readers  of  the  Advance, 
through  successive  numbers,  choice  selections  from  his 
writings,  and  we  have  the  utmost  confidence  that  this  de- 
partment will  prove  to  be  the  most  interesting  and  valuable 
part  of  the  journal.     We  commence  our  series  with 


On  the  Power  of  Small  Doses  of  Medicine  in  General,  and 

of  Belladonna  in  Particular,*    By  Dr.  Samuel  Hahne- 
mann. 

You  ask  me  urgently,  what  effect  can  i-ioo,oc)Oth  part  of 
a  grain  of  Belladonna  have?  The  word  can  is  repugnant  to 
me,  and  apt  to  lead  to  misconceptions.  Our  compendiums 
have  already  decided  what  medicines  and  certain  doses  of 
them  can  do,  and  have  told  us  exactly  what  we  are  to  use; 
they  have  determined  these  matters  so  decidedly  that  we 
might  consider  tlieni  to  be  symbolic  books,  if  medical  dog- 
mas were  to  be  believed  as  articles  of  faith.  But,  thank 
God,  they  are  not  yet;  it  is  well  known  that  our  materia 
mcdicas  owe  their  origin  to  anything  but  pure  experience, 
that  they  are  often  the  inanities  of  our  great-grandfathers, 
uninquiringly  repeated  by  their  great-grandsons.  Let  us 
not,  then,  interrogate  the  compendiums,  let  us  ask  nature; 
what  effect  has  i-ioo,oooth  of  a  grain  of  Belladonna?  But 
even  in  this  shape  the  question  is  too  wide,  and  it  can  only 

*From  Hufeland's  Journal.    Vol.  vi.  Pt.  2.    1801. 


Miscellaneous,  507 

become  more  definite   and  answerable   by  stating  the  uhi, 
quomodOy  quando,  quibus  auxiliis. 

A  very  hard  dry  pill  of  extract  of  Belladonna  produces  in 
a  robust,  perfectly  healthy  countryman  or  laborer  usually  no 
effect.  But  from  this  it  by  no  means  follows  that  a  grain 
of  this  extract  would  be  a  proper,  or  too  weak  a  dose  for  this 
or  a  similar  stout  man  if  he  was  ill,  or  if  the  grain  were  given 
in  solution, — certainly  not!  On  this  point  let  the  pseudo- 
empiricism  of  the  compendiums  hold  its  tongue;  let  us  hear 
what  experience  says.  The  most  healthy  robust  thresher  will 
be  affected  with  the  most  violent  and  dangerous  symptoms 
from  onQ  grain  of  extract  of  Belladonna,  if  this  grain  be  dis- 
solved thoroughly  in  much  (e.  g.  two  pounds  of)  water  by 
rubbing,  the  mixture,  (a  little  Alcohol  .being  added,  for  all 
vegetable  solutions  are  rapidly  decomposed*),  made  very 
intimate  by  shaking  the  fluid  in  a  bottle  for  five  minutes,  and 
if  he  be  made  to  take  it  by  spoonfuls  within  six  or  eight 
hours.  These  two  pounds  will  contain  about  ten  thousand 
drops.  Now  if  one  of  these  drops  be  mixed  with  other  two 
thousand  drops,  (six  oz.,)  of  water,  (mixed  with  a  little 
Alcohol) J  by  being  vigorously  shaken,  one  tea-spoonful, 
(about  twenty  drops),  of  this  mixture  given  every  two  hours, 
will  produce  not  much  less  violent  symptoms  in  a  strong  man, 
if  he  is  ill.  Such  a  dose  contains  about  the  millionth  part  of  a 
grain.  A  few  tea-spoonsful  of  this  mixture,  will,  I  assert, 
bring  him  to  the  brink  of  the  grave,  if  he  was  previously 
regularly  ill,  and  if  his  disease  was  of  such  a  description  as 
Belladonna  is  suitable  for. 

*  Plain  water  even  is  liable  to  constant  fermentation,  especially 
when  vegetable  substances  are  mingled  with  it,  and  these  lose  their 
medicinal  power  in  a  few  hours.  Without  the  addition  of  a  little 
spirit  wc  can  not  preserve  them  half  a  day  in  their  integrity.  £x 
posed  vegetable  juices  go  on  to  fermentation  a  minute  after  their 
exposure.  We  might  drink  a  large  quantity  of  hemlock  juice  with- 
out injury  if  it  has  stood  for  twenty-four  hours  in  a  moderate  tempera- 
ture ;  it  then  is  changed  into  a  kind  of  vinegar.  To  some  vegetable 
juices  I  have  had  to  add  one-third,  to  others  as  much  as  equal  parts  of 
spirits  of  wine,  in  order  to  prevent  their  fermentation. 


JId'" 


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,  of  «';■ 


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'j::„t»««„,  B><rr-*-  -"' '--''°" 


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tent' 


.  6S?V' 


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eVS" 


„.*?■ 


-C\ie 


L^on  ' 


,(0?"' 


."'"■"ttoe'--" 


""»!!;.  vv»?":rv*e'»>"' 


,«"»" 


:,  o!  *" 


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oi  s»»;V»vw>*'- 


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cst4 


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M<°  ""      do,  »"   .' cd  *"' 
*e'»"'/del=""'"°    loW" 
W"        tat  *"        nd  »• 

eveo  ^^ 


508  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

The  hard  grain-pill  finds  few  points  of  contact  in  the 
healthy  body,  it  slides  almost  completely  undissolved  over 
the  surface  of  the  intestinal  canal  invested  with  a  laver  of 
mucus,  until  it,  (in  this  manner  itself  covered  with  mucus), 
completely  buried  in  excrement,  is  speedily  expelled  in  the 
natural  manner. 

Very  different  is  it  with  a  solution,  and  particularly  with  a 
thorough  solution.  Let  this  be  as  weak  as  it  may,  in  its  pass- 
age through  the  stomach  it  comes  in  contact  with  many  more 
points  of  the  living  fibre,  and  as  the  medicine  does  not  act 
atomically  but  only  dynamically,  it  excites  much  more  severe 
symptoms  than  the  compact  pill,  containing  a  miljion  times 
more  medicine,  (that  rests  inactive),  is  capable  of  doing. 

But  how  is  it,  I  ajii  asked,  that  excepting  yourself  no  other 
physician  has  ever  observed  that  remarkable  action  from 
Belladonna^  (and  other  medicines),  in  so  small  a  dose?  The 
answer  is  not  difficult.  In  the  first  place,  because  many  may 
only  have  experimented  with  watery  solutions,  whose 
medicinal  power,  as  above  stated,  is  gone  in  a  few  hours, 
destroyed  by  the  internal  fermentation  of  the  water;  secondly, 
because  many  physicians,  ignorant  of  the  purely  dynamical 
action  of  medicines,  are  prevented  from  instituting  any  ex- 
periments of  this  nature  by  their  invincible  prejudiced  in- 
credulity; thirdly,  because  no  physician  deigns  to  observe 
and  to  study  the  positive  and  absolute  efl'ects  of  medicines 
most  of  them  being  content  to  learn  by  rote  the  traditions  in 
the  works  on  materia  medica,  in  other  words,  the  general 
often  imaginary,  use  of  the  medicines — ''Belladonna  is  of  use 
(and  is  of  no  use),  in  hydrophobia" — "is  of  use,  (and  is  of  no 
use),  in  cancer  of  the  face,"  etc.  "'^We  don't  need  to  know 
any  thing  more."  What  organs  it  deranges  functionally, 
what  it  modifies  in  other  ways,  what  nerves  it  principally 
benumbs  or  excites,  what  alterations  it  effects  in  the  circula- 
tion and  digestive  operations,  how  it  effects  the  mind,  how 
the  disposition,  what  inlluence  it  exerts  over  some  secretions, 
what  modification  the  muscular  fibre  receives  from  it,  how 
long  its  action  lasts,  and  by  what  means  it.  is  rendered  pow- 
erless; all  this  the  ordinary  physician  wishes   not  to   know. 


MisceUaneotu.  509 

and  therefore-  -he  does  not  know  it  Such  being  his  igno- 
rance, he  often  regards  the  peculiar  effects  of  small  doses  of 
Belladonna  as  natural  morbid  changes,  and  thus  he  will 
never  know  what  small  doses,  not  to  speak  of  the  very 
smallest  doses,  of  Belladonna  do,  since  he  does  know  what 
effects  Belladonna  produces,  nor  does  he  desire  to  know 
them. 

To  the  ordinary  practitioner  it  is  incredible  that  a  given 
person,  when  sick,  needs  only  to  take  a  millionth  part  of  the 
same  drug  that  he  swallowed  when  well  without  it  having 
any  particular  effect,  in  order  to  be  violently  acted  on;  and 
yet  this  is  undeniably  the  case.  It  is  a  fact,  that  in  disease 
the  preservative  power,  together  with  all  the  subordinate, 
nameless  forces,  (some  of  them  almost  resemble  the  instinct 
of  animals),  is  much  more  excitable  than  in  health,  when  the 
reason  and  the  power  of  the  animal  machine  being  in  their 
complete  integrity  stand  in  no  need  of  such  anxious  guard- 
ians. How  well  the  patient  distinguishes  betwixt  drinks 
that  will  do  him  good,  and  such  as  would  be  prejudicial  to 
him!  An  individual  affected  with  an  acute  fever,  smells  from 
afar  the  approach  of  an  animal  soup,  to  which  his  now 
wakeful,  still  unknown  life  preserving  faculty  evinces  the 
greatest  repugnance.  He  would  vomit  violently  were  we  to 
brinsr  it  too  near  him. 

If  lemon -juice  is  good  for  him — see!  at  the  very  mention 
of  it,  his  countenance  expresses  pleasure  and  desire,  and  yet 
when  he  was  well  how  indifferent  were  they  both  to  him. 

In  a  word,  all  the  powers,  whose  very  names  we  are  igno- 
rant of,  which  have  reference  to  the  preservation  of  life  and 
the  avoidance  of  destruction,  are  infinitely  more  excited  in 
disease.  What  an  enormous  quantity  of  freshly  made  soup 
it  would  take  to  excite  a  healthy  stomach  to  violent  vomiting! 
But  look,  the  patient  ill  of  an  acute  fever  does  not  require  a 
drop  for  the  purpose;  the  mere  smell  of  it,  perhaps  the  mil- 
lionth part  of  a  drop,  coming  in  contact  with  the  mucous 
membrane  of  the  nose,  suffices  to  produce  this  result. 

Will  medical   men  ever  learn,  how  small,  how  infinitely 
small,  the  doses  of  medicines  may  be  in  order  to  effect  the 
Feb.3 


510  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

system  powerfully  when  it  is  in  a  morbid  state?  Yes,  they 
affect  it  powerfully  when  they  are  chosen  improperly;  new 
violent  symptoms  are  added,  and  it  is  usual  to  say,  (whether 
correctly  or  not,  this  is  not  the  place  to  decide),  the  disease 
has  undergone  an  aggravation.  They  affect  it  equally  pow- 
erfully when  they  are  suitably  selected;  the  most  serious 
disease  often  yields  in  a  few  hours.  The  nearer  the  disease 
approaches  the  acute  character,  the  smaller  are  the  doses  of 
medicines,  (I  mean  of  the  best  selected  one),  it  requires  in 
order  to  disappear.  Chronic  diseases  also  combined  with 
debility  and  general  derangement  of  the  health,  do  not  re- 
quire larger  ones.  It  is  only  in  cases  where  along  with  a 
local  affection,  the  general  health  seems  to  be  good  that  we 
must  proceed  from  the  at  first  small  doses  to  larger  ones,  to 
the  very  largest  however  in  those  cases  where  the  medicine 
only  can  act  in  a  palliative  manner. 

Those  who  are  satisfied  with  these  general  hints,  will  be- 
lieve me  when  I  assert,  that  I  have  removed  various  paralytic 
affections  by  employing  for  some  weeks  a  quantity  of  diluted 
solution  of  Belladonna,  where  for  the  whole  treatment  not 
quite  a  hundred-thousandth  part  of  a  grain  of  the  extract  of 
Belladonna  was  required,  and  that  I  have  cured  some  periodi- 
cal nervous  diseases,  tendency  to  boils,  etc.,  by  not  quite  a 
millionth  of  a  grain,  for  the  whole  treatment. 

If  the  appropriate  medicine  in  solution  is  efficacious  in  such 
a  small  dose,  as  it  assuredly  ii: — how  highly  important  on  the 
other  hand  is  it,  that  in  the  event  of  the  remedy  being  im- 
properly selected,  such  a  small  dose  can  seldom  excite  such 
serious  symptoms,  (ordinarily  termed  aggravations  of  the 
disease),  as  that  they  shall  not  soon  disappear  spontaneously, 
or  be  readily  removed  by  some  trifling  antidote. 


Miscellaneous.  511 


A  BevieWi     The  United  States  HomcBopathic  Pharmacopoeia. 
Chicago:  Duncan  Bros.,  publishers.     1878. 

The  most  noticeable  feature  of  the  title  page  of  this  book 
is,  that  it  presents  the  strange  anomaly  of  a  scientific  work 
without  an  author. 

The  preface  announces  the  manual  has  been  prepared  to 
supply  the  "pressing  need"  of  a  distinctively  "American 
HomoBopathic  Pharmacopoea."  The  publishers  "regret  to 
notice  a  few  errors  and  omissions,  but  in  the  main  believe 
this  book  will  be  found  reliable  and  to  contain  valuable  in- 
formation not  found  in  any  other  work."  These  errors  and 
ommissions  might  have  been  corrected  and  supplied  in  a 
little  addendum  and  pasted  into  the  book,  but  the  "pressing 
need"  would  not  admit  of  the  trifling  delay. 

The  publishers  found  it  "necessary  to  suppose  that  the 
practitioner  had  at  least  an  elementary  knowledge  of  chem* 
istry  and  botany;  the  various  mineral  and  vegetable  products 
being  described  minutely  enough  for  one  thus  informed." 

As  illustrations  of  the  kind  and  amount  of  information 
given  in  this  work  in  regard  to  the  identification  of  the 
plants  and  minerals  used  in  the  preparation  of  homoeopathic 
medicines,  we  quote  the  following: 

"Cerus  bonplandi.  A  species  of  grandiflorus."  Whatever 
information  this  may  convey  to  the  mind  of  one  "thus  in- 
formed," it  conveys  none  whatever  to  the  practical  botanist. 
The  writer  might  just  as  well  have  said,  a  species  of  cana- 
densis. 

"Chamomilla.  About  two  feet  high;  has  a  branching 
stem  and  bears  a  profusion  of  flowers  composed  of  white 
petals  and  a  yellow  disc."  This  lets  in  English  chamomilla, 
mayweed,  ox  eye  daisy,  and  hundreds  of  other  plants  which 
would  not  take  the  place  of  the  chamomilla  from  which  our 
provings  were  made, 

"Clematis.  A  climbing  perennial,  three  or  four  feet  high, 
bearing  white,  sweet  scented  flowers." 


512  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

"Equisetum  hyemale.  A  cryptogamous  plant,  found  in 
great  abundance  in  the  northern  states  of  this  country,  where 
it  is  seen  in  wet,  shady  grounds  and  along  the  course  of 
small  streams." 

"Iris  versicolor.  The  root  is  horizontal,  fibrous  and  fleshy ; 
the  leaves  are  sword  shaped  and  sheathed  at  the  base.  The 
flowers  are  blue  or  purple  and  vary  in  number  from  two  to 
six." 

"Melilotus  oflScinalis.  Bears  some  resemblance  to  the 
Tonka  bean." 

"Tonka  bean.  Afl'orded  by  a  lofty  tree,  native  of  Cayenne 
and  South  America,  having  hard  white  bark  and  a  white 
wood.  The  bean  is  from  an  inch  to  an  inch  and  a  half  long, 
and  less  than  half  an  inch  thick,  flattened,  having  a  dark 
brown,  wrinkled,  brittled  skin,  and  an  oily,  light  brown 
kernel  of  strong  aromatic  odor." 

The  above  are  fair  samples  of  the  means  given  for  identi- 
fying plants.  No  allusion  is  made  to  the  natural  orders  of 
botanists,  or  to  stamens  and  pistils,  the  essential  floral  organs 
and  only  rarely  is  an  attempt  made  to  give  the  form  and  other 
characteristics  of  the  leaves. 

Chemicals,  such  as  Creosote,  Hydrocyanic  acid,  etc.,  which 
arc  made  only  in  large  manufactories  fitted  up  with  special 
apparatus,  are  described  at  some  length.  In  the  case  of  pre- 
parations made  in  the  pharmacies,  and  especially  those  pe- 
culiar to  the  homoeopathic  pharmacy,  the  descriptions  are 
very  meagre  and  in  the  main  imperfect. 

Iodide  of  Arsenic,  under  the  absurd  Latin  misnomer, 
^''Arsenicum  iodidiim,^^  is  directed  to  be  prepared  by  melting 
together  Iodine  and  Arsenious  acid.  (It  can  not  be  done  this 
way.)  No  proportions  are  given.  The  ingredients  from 
which  it  is  prepared  are  Iodine  and  Metallic  arsenic,  in  the 
proportion  of  127  to  25. 

The  preparation  of  Causticum  Ilahnemanni  \s  thus  describ- 
ed: Boil  potash  solution  with  quick  heat  in  untinned  iron  or 
silver  vessel  until  the  fluid  is  viscid  or  syrupy,  and  cools  solid 
on  a  glass  rod,  or  until  boiling  ceases  and  potash  melts.  It 
is  called  ^^Kali  acris  sine,'^  potash  without  acid,  a  name  obso- 


Miscellaneous,  513 

lete  now.  Form  of  preparation:  Solution  of  pure  caustic 
Potassa  in  five  parts  of  dilute  Alcohol^  dilutions  in  Alcohol  or 
water." 

The  Causticum  of  Hahnemann  and  of  the  homoeopatLic 
pharmacies  is  not  prepared  in  this  manner.  It  was  not  call- 
ed "JTaW  acris  sine,^'*  ^^Kali  acris  sine'^  does  not  mean 
^^Fotash  without  acid."  The  formula  would  produce  the 
Causticum  commune  acerrium  of  old  writers,  but  does  not 
produce  the  Causticum  with  which  our  provings  were  made. 

Hahnemann's  directions  for  preparing  Causticum  were  as 
follows:  Take  a  piece  of  recently  burnt  lime,  weighing  about 
two  pounds,  immerse  it  for  a  minute  in  a  vessel  full  of  dis- 
tilled water,  and  then  lay  it  in  a  dry  cup,  where  it  soon  re- 
solves into  a  powder,  giving  out  much  heat  and  a  peculiar 
odor  called  the  vapor  of  lime.  Of  this  fine  powder  take  two 
ounces  and  place  it  in  a  warm  mortar,  and  add  to  it  a  solution 
of  two  ounces  of  Bi-suJphate  of  potash  in  two  ounces  of 
boiling  hot  water.  The  Bi-sulphate  of  potash  should  have 
been  previously  fused  by  a  high  heat,  cooled  and  pulverized. 
Stir  the  Lime  and  the  Potash  into  a  thick  paste  and  introduce 
it  into  an  alembic.  Seal  the  receiver  to  the  alembic  and  dip 
it  in  water  to  half  its  bight.  Distil  over  the  liquid  by  a  char- 
coal fire  which  is  gradually  brought  nearer  and  nearer,  until 
the  mass  in  the  alembic  is  perfectly  dry.  The  liquid  in  the 
receiver,  measuring  about  an  ounce  and  a  half,  is  as  clear  as 
water  and  contains  the  Causticum  in  a  concentrated  form. 
It  has  an  astringent  taste,  and  produces  a  burning  sensation  on 
the  back  part  of  the  tongue  and  in  the  throat.  It  freezes 
like  water  at  a  very  low  temperature;  it  promotes  the  putre- 
faction of  animal  substances  placed  in  it;  it  gives  no  traces 
of  Sulphuric  acid  with  the  salts  of  Baryta^  nor  of  Lime  with 
the  Oxalate  of  ammonia. 

Equal  parts  of  this  preparation  and  pure  Alcohol  consti- 
tute the  tincture  of  Causticum  oixhe  homoeopathic  pharmacies. 

Hahnemann's  Tincturi  acris  sine  kali  was  prepared  in  a 
different  manner,  but  was  supposed  to  represent  the  caustici- 
ty of  Potash  without  its  substance.  While  the  preparation 
above  described,  represented  the  causticity  of  Limt  without 
i^  substance. 


514  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

Hahnemann's  soluble  Mercury  is  said  by  "the  publishers" 
of  the  U.  S.  Horn.  Pharmacopceia  to  be  a  "velvety  black 
powder  prepared  without  the  tedious  operations  of  an  early 
day."  Hahnemann's  formula  gives  a  blackish  gray  powder 
of  diflerent  chemical  composition  from  the  velvety  black 
powder  of  the  improved(?)  formula. 

For  the  preparations  of  the  vegetable  tinctures  the  rules 
are  lax  in  the  extreme.  The  following  extract  is  from  the 
introduction:  "Where  two  parts  of  Alcohol  to  one  of  plant 
is  directed,  the  pharmacist  should  see  that  sufficient  men- 
struum is  added  to  replace  that  which  is  lost  by  evaporation  or 
retained  by  absorption,  to  obtain  the  two  parts  of  tincture 
by  maceration.  The  direction  is  necessary  from  the  fact  that 
the  *fresh  plant,'  in  case  of  foreign  growth,  does  not  mean 
the  *green  plant,'  and  hence  too  much  menstruum  would  be 
absorbed  in  the  process." 

The  proposition  to  replace  by  Alcohol  and  water  the  por- 
tion of  tincture  which  is  retained  in  the  tissue  of  the  plant, 
so  that  two  parts  of  tincture  may  "be  obtained"  after  mac- 
eration," brands  the  writer  as  one  totally  ignorant  of  the  first 
principles  of  pharmacy.  Some  portion  of  the  tincture  is 
always  left  in  the  tissues  of  the  plant  after  maceration,  hence 
the  addition  of  Alcohol  and  water  will  always  reduce  the 
strength  of  the  tincture  below  the  intended  strength.  The 
quantity  of  tincture  left  in  the  plant  depends  upon  the  me- 
chanical texture  of  the  dregs  and  amount  of  pressure  applied, 
hence,  the  strength  of  the  tinctures  will  be  uncertain  in  all 
cases  depending  to  a  great  extent  upon  the  ignorance  and 
stupidity  of  the  manufacturer. 

The  looseness  which  prevails  throughout  the  work  in  re- 
gard to  the  use  of  dried  plant  where  only  fresh,  green  plants 
should  be  used  is  utterly  at  variance  with  the  principles  of 
homoeopathic  pharmacy. 

Hahnemann's  formula  for  the  preparation  of  tinctures  of 
Thuja,  and  all  of  the  class  to  which  it  belongs,  ("Class  11"), 
namely,  such  as  arc  not  juicy  enough  to  prepare  in  the  man- 
ner directed  for  Belladonna  and  other  very  juicy  plants,  is 
thus  travested  by  the  writer  of  the  U.  S.  Horn.  Pharmacopoea: 


Miscellaneotts,  515 

"Tincture  dark  green  color,  made  by  expressing  the  juice, 
then  adding  two-thirds  of  its  weight  of  Alcohol.  Also  by 
macerating  in  five  parts  of  Alcohol  two  weeks;  filter."  The 
original  is  as  follows:  Bruise  the  green  leaves  into  a  fine 
mass;  then  mix  this  with  two  thirds  its  weight  of  Alcohol 
and  express  the  juice." 

Wedgewood  mortars  and  pestles  are  recommended  for 
triturations  instead  of  porcelain.  This  is  an  unwarranted 
corruption  of  homceopathic  pharmacy.  Any  one  who  will 
take  the  trouble  to  rub  a  wedgewood  mortar  with  its  pestle 
briskly  for  three  minutes  may  convince  himself  of  this. 

The  nomenclature  is  simply  execrable.  No  less  than  fifty 
of  the  names  of  medicines  in  the  majn  headings  are  incor- 
rectly written.  The  following  are  examples  of  the  Latin: 
"Calcarea  hypophosphita"  for  Calcarea  hypophosphorosa ; 
"Camphora  monobronriica"  for  C amphora  bromata  ;  "Mer- 
curius  bromidum"  for  Mercurius  bromatxts  ;  "Squillae  mari- 
tima"  for  Scilla  maritima. 

The  book  contains  useful  information  in  regard  to  drugs, 
taken  from  the  United  States  Dispensatory  of  Wood  and 
Bach,  the  British  Homoeopathic  Pharmacopoeia  and  other  ex- 
cellent works  of  the  kind,  but  its  reliability  as  a  work  of 
reference  would  have  been  greater  if  the  quotations  had 
been  more  full  and  exact. — P. 


♦  ♦ 


Dentistry  and  Medicine.     By  C.  Stoddard  Smith,  in  Missouri 
Dental  Journal. 

The  common,  in  fact  almost  universal  and  generally  ac- 
cepted idea  is,  that  dentistry  is  a  specialty  of  medicine.  That 
such  is  the  case  has  been  assumed  by  colleges,  which  embody 
this  idea  in  their  announcements  and  curriculums;  by  societies 


516  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

which  so  state  in  their  constitutions;  and  by  writers,  journal- 
ists, and  practitioners  generally. 

In  4:his  paper  we  shall  take  issue  with  this  view  of  the  mat- 
ter and  shall  present  such  reasons  as  occur  to  us  in  support 
of  the  proposition  that  dentistry  is  not,  or  at  least  ought  not 
to  be,  a  specialty  of  medicine. 

If  dentistry  was  a  specialty  of  medicine,  it  would  follow 
that  the  medical  text  books  and  curriculums  should  embrace 
a  more  or  less  complete  exposition  of  dental  science;  that  a 
medically-educated  man  would  by  virtue  of  his  medical  edu- 
cation and  knowledge,  be  at  least  measurably  fitted  to  practi- 
cal dentistry.  Are  these  propositions  true?  Is  either  of  them 
true.^     Let  us  see. 

First,  do  the  medical  text  books  contain,  and  do  the  medi- 
cal professors  teach,  anything  which  by  any  means  could  be 
considered  an  approach  to  correct  dental  teachings?  It  is 
notorious  that  they  do  not,  as  could  be  abundantly  shown  by 
extracts  from  standard  medical  works,  which  want  of  space 
will  not  permit  us  to  make. 

Incomplete,  as  applied  to  these  teachings  is  not  the  word; 
inaccurate  is  better,  but  does  not  express  the  fact;  ridiculous 
nonsense  is  nearer  to  it  in  many  cases.  These  books  show 
that  the  writers,  eminent  men  in  their  profession,  had  not 
the  slightest  idea  of  the  true  cause  of  dental  troubles,  or  their 
appropriate  remedies.  This  is  not  to  be  wondered  at.  It  is 
but  a  short  time  since  they  were,  on  strictly  medical  subjects, 
floundering  in  the  depths  of  ignorance;  treating  diseases  as 
"humors,"  blistering,  purging  and  dosing  in  a  wholly  empiri- 
cal manner;  and — more's  the  pity — they  have  not  wholly 
gotten  over  it  yet.  But  this  docs  not  indicate  that  they  are 
competent  to  teach  dentists  what  they  need  to  know  in  order 
to  practice  dentistry  successfully?  Do  the  teachings  or  the 
books  in  any  degree  fit  the  student  for  such  a  practice? 

Then,  Second.  Is  a  medically- educated  man  able,  by  virtue 
of  his  medical  education,  to  practice  dentistry  properly?  A 
moment's  reflection  will,  I  think,  convince  a  thoughtful  and 
observant  mind  that  such  is  not  the  case.  Every  one  of  you 
know  it  is  not.      You  know,  and  I  know,  that  if  the  preser- 


MisveUnneous. 


M7 


vation  of  our  own  teeth,  or  those  of  our  ffimilies,  depended 
upon  the  treatment  they  could  receive,  _not  from  the  young 
inetlical  graduates  merely,  with  the  odor  of  the  hospital  and 
dissecting  room  still  clinging  to  him,  but  from  the  educated 
and  talented  physician  or  surgeon  of  large  experience  and 
great  success,  posted  in  all  the  literature  of  the  profession, 
eminent  in  diagnosis;  we  should  stand  but  iin  exceedingly 
slim  chance  of  retaining  any  of  them  longer  than  Diime 
Nature  and  the  destructive  influences  of  the  mouth  would 
allow  them  to  remain.  Imagine  yoMrself  for  a  moment,  with 
a  carious  cavity  in  close  proximity  to  the  pulp,  and  dependent 
for  treatment  upon  the  village  doctor,  or  even  on  the  most 
skiilfu!  medicus  you  can  call  to  mind.  Do  you  think  you 
would  sit  calmly  and  allow  him  to  scrape  and  punch  that 
tooth  because  he  was  a  fine  anatomist,  or  because  be  had 
eminent  skill  in  the  treatment  of  typhoid  or  scarlet  fever? 
In  all  candor,  would  you  not  rather  trust  the  village  jeweler, 
(supposing  him  to  be  an  intelligent  man),  to  whom  in  a 
half-hour's  talk  and  demonstration  you  could  explain  the 
location  of  the  pulp,  and  the  opcratioD  necessary?  We  had 
almost  said  would  you  not  rather  trust  the  village  blacksmith, 
or  the  machinist  from  the  shop?  For  our  own  part,  we 
would  not  only  sooner  trust  the  jeweler,  but  if  we  wanted  to 
make  a  successful  and  skillful  dentist,  we  wuuld  select  the 
intelligent  jeweler,  or  even  machinist,  in  preference  to  the 
doctor,  and  there  would  be  reason  in  the  choice.  The  train- 
ing in  the  one  case  would  have  been  in  the  tine  of  the  daily 
requirements  of  the  dentist,  in  the  other  it  would  have  been 
in  quite  another  direction.  Medical  education,  be  it  ever  so 
thorough,  does  not  in  any  degree  qualify,  it  does  not  even 
prepare  its  possessor  for  dental  practice;  at  least  not  nearly 
as  much  so  as  does  the  work  of  the  jeweler,  or  mathematical 
instrument  maker,  who  are  accustomed  to  handling  delicate 
instruments  and  to  making  fine  adjustments.  Even  as  re- 
gards the  comparatively  simple  and  mcasvirably  surgical  ope- 
ration of  extraciiug  teeth,  do  you  know  any,  or  at  least  many 
general  ptaclitioners  who  perform  it  with  any  degree  of  skill? 
Do  you  not  have  any  number  of  broken  tuelh  coming  from 


518  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

them  as  an  evidence  of  their  bungling,  when  they  attempt  to 
perform  what  ordinarily  is  but  a  simple  operation  of  what  is 
claimed  to  be  only  a  "specialty  of  medicine?"  If  we  are  to 
judge  what  they  know  of  their  profession  by  what  they  know 
or  what  they  can  do  in  what  is  claimed  a  specialty  of  that  pro- 
fession, they  are  but  a  sorry  set  of  men  to  be  intrusted  with 
the  life  and  health  of  their  fellow  creatures.  I  have  a  better 
opinion  of  them  than  that.  I  believe  their  knowledge  and 
ability  on  this  subject,  is  not  an  index  of  their  skill  and  suc- 
cess in  their  own  department.  They  do  know  medicine, 
but  they  don't  know  dentistry;  and  the  best  of  them  know 
they  do  not.  The  more  intelligent  and  enlightened  they  be- 
come as  regards  dentistry,  the  less  they  want  to  meddle  with 
it  or  its  operations,  unless  indeed  they  become  dentists. 

So  much  for  the  skill;  now  for  the  knowledge.  I  need  but 
to  refer  to  the  oft-told  tales  of  doctors  who  treat  alveolar  ab- 
scess for  months  supposing  it  to  be  erysipelas,  who  treat 
neuralgia  as  a  constitutional  disease,  because  the  "teeth  are 
all  sound,"  or  have  fine  "solid"  fillings  in  them;  who  d*o  not 
know  that  a  wisdom  tooth  may  cause  almost  any  trouble 
about  the  face;  of  the  surgeons  who  gravely  pronounce  an 
old  root  coveted  with  salivary  calculus,  to  be  an  "osteo-sar- 
coma;"  of  the  almost  universal  practice  of  the  M.  D.'s  who 
prescribe  acid  medicaments  in  blissful  ignorance  or  willful 
disregard  of  their  effect  upon  the  dental  structures;  of  the 
doctor  who  assures  the  parent  that  the  six  year  molar  is  a 
milk  tooth,  and  should  be  extracted.  Every  one  of  us  has 
seen  more  or  less  of  this  sort  of  thing;  every  one  of  us  know 
that  these  accounts  are  usually  accompanied  by  the  statement 
that  the  thing  was  "done  by  one  of  our  best  physicians." 
These  things  show,  not  only  that  medical  men,  as  such,  have 
no  skill  in  dentistry,  but  that  they  are  willfully  deficient  in 
knowledge  as  well;  in  fact,  they  are  but  little  above  the  in- 
telligent non-professional  in  either  respect. 

And  further,  do  medical  men  necessarily  or  even  usually 
make  the  most  successful  or  skillful  dentists?  \^  e  will  not 
say  what  has  been  said,  that  M.  D.  stands  for  miserable  den- 
tist, but  we  will  say  that  in  our  opinion,  as  a  rule  the  M.  D, 
members  of  the  profession   are  not  at  least  any  better     \  la 


Miscellaneous.  519 

the  rest;  and  we  do  not  believe  they  will  average  in  ability 
as  well  as  an  equal  number  of  equally  intelligent  non-medical 
men.  Call  to  mind  those  of  your  acquaintance  and  see  how 
they  stand.  Gq  abroad  and  see  how  the  long,  scholastic  and 
medical  Europeon  training  makes  line  operators,  or  rather 
see  how  it  does  not  do  it. 

The  main  reason,  as  we  understand  it,  for  claiming  that 
dentistry  is  a  specialty  of  medicine,  is  that  the  teeth  are  a 
part  of  the  human  frame;  that  they  and  the  adjacent  parts 
are  subject  to  disease;  and  that  he  who  treats  those  diseases 
properly  must  understand  the  human  frame,  and  the  treat- 
ment of  disease;  ergo  he  is  a  physician.  Indeed  it  has  been 
broadly  stated  that  if  we  are  not  medical  specialists  we  are  a 
set  of  carpenters.  But  let  us  see  if  this  statement  is  really 
true — if  this  conclusion  necessarily  follows.  Granted  that 
the  teeth  are  a  part  of  the  human  organism  and  subject 
to  disease,  which  none  will  deny.  Granted  that  a  knowl- 
edge of  anatomy,  of  physiology,  of  therapeutics,  is  neces- 
sary to  the  proper  treatment  of  dental  lesions.  Does  it 
follow  because  the  medical  man  must  also  study  these — be- 
cause both  he  and  the  dentist  are  obliged  to  get  a  part  of 
their  preliminary  information  from  the  same  text  books — be- 
cause certain  knowledge  underlies  both  professions,  that  the 
one  is  a  branch  or  specialty  of  the  other?  All  knowledge  is 
founded  upon  certain  substructures  which  are  common  to  all 
branches  alike.  What  sort  of  an  argument  would  it  be  to 
say  that  architecture  was  a  branch  or  specialty  of  astronomy, 
because  both  the  architect  and  the  astronomer  must  under- 
stand mathematics,  and  must  occasionally  use  the  rule  of 
three  in  working  out  their  problems;  because  both  make 
drawings  upon  paper  to  record  the  work  of  their  brains? 
Shall  we  say  that  pharmacy  is  a  specialty  of  medicine  because 
both  require  a  knowledge  of  drugs  and  chemicals?  Shall 
wc  say  that  the  maker  of  artificial  legs  is  a  medical  specialist, 
because  he  would  need  to  understand  the  anatomy  of  the  leg 
in  order  to  construct  his  substitute,  and  because  he  has  to 
deal  with  living  tissue  when  applying  it?  The  temple  of 
science  is  not  a  collection  of  columns,  each  standing  upon  its 
own  pedestal,  and  each  crowned  with  its  appropriate  bust  or 


520  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

sculpture.  It  is  rather  a  magnificent  edifice,  whose  founda- 
tion stones  are  planted  upon  the  solid  rock  of  truth,  and  are 
interlaced  and  interlocked;  its  lower  stories  are  all  communi- 
cating, and  all  subservient  to  the  uses  of  the  upper  parts, 
from  which  rise  the  several  spires,  cupolas,  turrets,  minarets 
and  towers  devoted  to  the  various  branches  of  science  and 
art,  differing,  it  may  be,  in  architecture,  in  height,  in  magnifi- 
cence, but  all  alike  parts  of  one  harmonious  and  imposing^ 
whole. 


Causticum. — Desponding,  peevish;  dryness,  burning  in 
the  eye;  falling  of  upper  eye  lid;  difficulty  of  moving  the 
jaw;  frequent  and  involuntary  micturition;  dryness  of  larynx 
with  hoarseness,  soreness  of  trachea;  stiffness  and  pain  in 
the  neck  and  knee  joint;  weakness  and  trembling  of  limbs; 
great  weariness,  sleepless  and  restless  at  night. 


A  STRIKING  CHARACTERISTIC  of  modern  scientific  thought 
is  the  estimate  it  puts  upon  occult  forces.  The  ancient  man 
saw  the  lightning's  flash  and  heard  with  terror  the  thunder, 
but  the  modern  man  detects  and  measures  the  invisible  cur- 
rents that  flow  along  molecular  forms  and  that  change  the 
polarity  of  atoms.     Nothing  is  too  small  to  be  considered. 


inj|  M$iiu%. 


Diseases  of  Infants  and  Children,  With  Their  Homoeopathic  Trea'ment, 
Vol.  I.  Edited  by  T,  C.  Duncan,  M.  D.  Assisted  by  Several 
Physicians  and  Surgeons.    Daacan  Brothers,  Publishers. 

We  have  received  this  work  in  installments  of  three  parts,  which 
completes  the  first  volume.      In  view  of  the  fact  that  our  homoeo- 


Book  Notices,  521 

pathic  literature  has  never  been  supplied  with  a  work  of  this  sort,  it 
is  of  especial  interest  that  we  are  here  presented  with  as  full  and 
complete  a  treatise  on  diseases  of  children  as  it  is  possible  to  produce. 
We  have  looked  over  these  clean  and  weU  filled  pages  in  vain  for  a 
flaw,  to  hang  our  critic  cap  upon.  The  author  has  done  exceedingly 
well,  and  deserves  the  hearty  and  substantial  aid  of  the  profession. 
We  understand  the  second  volume  is  well  under  way  and  will  soon 
appear.  We  hope  it  will  not  appear  in  sections.  Give  us  the  volume 
entire,  Bro.  Duncan,  and  then  we  will  know  where  to  find  it.  By  the 
way,  can't  your  binder  put  on  some  substantial  covers?  It  will  pay, 
for  all  the  doctors  will  buy  it,  and  they  want  their  books  as  good  on 
the  outside  as  in  the  inside.  Give  us  a  "plump**  cover,  and  without 
signs  of  "marasmus."    Verb.  sat. 

RECEIVED. 

A  Therapeutical  Inquiry  into  Rational  Medicine.  By  S.  W.  Wet- 
more,  M.  D.,  Buffalo,  1878. 

Smithsonian  Report,  1877. 

The  United  States  Pharmacopoeia.  First  Edition.  Duncan  Bros., 
Chicago. 

The  Year's  Progress.  Address  Delivered  Before  the  American 
Institute  of  Homoeopalhy.  By  the  President,  J.  C.  Burgher,  M.  D., 
Pittsburgh,  Pa. 

Prognosis  in  Insanity.  By  Sheldon  H.  Talcott,  M.  D.,  Middleton, 
N.  Y. 

Essentials  of  Chemistry,  By  R.  A.  Witthans,  A.  M.,  M.  D.  Wm, 
Wood  <&  Co.,  New  York. 

Localization  of  Diseases  of  the  Brain.  By  J.  M.  Chareot.  Wm. 
Wood  &  Co.,  New  York. 

Bright's  Disease  of  the  Kidney,  By  J.  M.  Chareot.  Wm.  Wood  & 
Co.,  New  York. 

Manual  of  Physical  Diagnosis  By  Francis  Delafield,  M.  D.,  and 
Chas.  F.  Stillman,  M.  D.    Wm.  Wood  &  Co.,  New  York. 

Regristrationof  Acute  Prevailing  Diseases.  By  H.  M.  Paine,  M.  D., 
Albany,  N.  Y. 

Lindsay  <&  Blakiston,  of  Philadelphia,  have  issued  a  classified  list 
of  new  publications  on  medicine  and  surgery.  To  be  had  on  applica- 
tian  to  the  publishers.  Don't  fail  to  look  the  list  over  before  pur- 
chasing. 

T.  B.  Peterson  k  Bros.,  of  Philadelphia,  publish  r  splendid  story 
called  "A  Woman's  Mistake,"  by  Madame  Angele  Dussard.  It  is  one 
of  the  best  of  their  fine  series  of  fifty  cent  novels. 


^hiUi%  %Mt. 


We  have  the  pleasure  of  acknowledgii}g  the  receipt  by  the  hand  of 
Dr.  J.  A.  Campbell,  of  St.  Louis,  of  a  beautiful  cameo  likeness  of  Hah- 
nemann.   It  is  the  gift  of  Mad.  Boeninghausen  Hahnemann  to  whom 
we  beg  to  return  heartfelt  thanks- 

New  York,  Dec.  10.  Dr.  Wilson:  You  were  chairman  of  the  com- 
mittee of  the  American  Institute  of  Homoeopathy,  that  recommended 
the  paying  of  one  thousand  dollars,  salary  to  Dr.  McClatchey,  the 
Secretary.  This  gentleman  has  now  received  in  all  two  thousand  dol- 
lars, but  what  he  has  done  to  earn  that  amount  it  is  impossible  to 
find  out.  No  information  of  any  kind  can  be  obtained  from  him.  He 
docs  not  answer  letters  sent  him  on  matters  of  business  pertaining  to 
the  Institute,  nor  does  he  give  any  public  reason  why  the  transactions 
of  the  present  year  or  the  Centennial  Convention  are  so  shamefully 
delayed.  My  recollection  is  you  made  at  the  time  you  reported,  as 
above  stated,  certain  very  important  pledges  in  behalf  of  the  secre- 
tary. Now  then  the  question  is,  are  you  or  is  the  secretary  to  be 
held  responsible  for  the  mismanagement  of  the  business  of  the 
Institute  ?— W. 

Answer. — We  plead  guilty  to  all  that  is  charged  against  us  in  the 
above.  We  are  of  the  opinion  that  Dr.  McClatchey  is  also  guilty  as 
specified.  It  remains  for  the  Institute  to  take  such  action  in  the  mat- 
ter as  will  best  protect  its  interest. 

Dec.  27,  1878.  Publinher  of  ''Cincinnati  Medical  Advance.*' — 
Dear  Sir: — Will  you  furnish  to  our  society  regularly,  one  coi)y  of  the 
"Cincinnati  Medical  Advance,"  gratis  ?  Other  journals  are  agree- 
ing to  do  so.  You  will  help  the  cause  by  so  doing.  We  desire  to 
make  a  complete  showing  of  hoinceopathic  periodical  literature. 
Yours  respectfully, ,  M.  D.,  Sec.  of Co.  Ilom.  Med.  Soc. 

Dear  Dr: — Will  you  please  ask  each  member  of  your  society  to 
subscribe  for  the  Medical  Advance.  Other  physicians  are  generally 
doing  so.  You  will  help  the  cause  by  so  doing.  And  say  to  them 
if  they  don't  subscribe  there  will  soon  be  a  poor  showing  of  homoeo- 
pathic periodical  literature.  Yours  respectfully,  Publishers  Medical, 
Advance. 

The  Alumni  Association  of  Pulte  Medical  College,  will  hold  its 
next  anniversary  on  the  evening  of  February  25th.  Prof.  C.  E.  Wal- 
ton will  deliver  the  annual  address. 


Editor's  Table.  523 

The  Homoeopathic  News,  (St.  Louis),  with  C.  H.  Goodman,  M.  D., 
as  its  editor,  is  out  in  * 'regular  style/'  If  will  now  take  its  place 
among  our  monthlies  and  be  made  welcome  as  it  deserves. 

William  Wood  &  Co.  publish  a  list  of  announcements  for  1879, 
comprising  many  new  medical  books,  some  of  which  are  already  at 
hand,  and  the  balance  will  appear  during  the  year.  There  are  among 
them  some  new  works,  and  some  new  editions  of  standard  works. 

Married. — Dr.  F.  O.  Clemhee,  of  Kenton,  O.,  and  Miss  Katie  N. 
O'Neal.    December  30,  1878.   Thus,  one  by  one,  the(Pulte)  roses  fall. 

The  Transactions  of  the  American  Homoeopathic  Ophthalmological 
and  Otological  Society,  forming  the  first  volume  of  this  new  and 
promising  association,  are  now  ready  for  delivery.  We  hope  the 
profession  generally  will  take  pleasure  giving  support  and  encourage- 
m  nt  to  this  enterprise.  Send  fifty  cents  to  Dr.  F.  Park  Lewis,  of 
Buffalo,  or  to  any  of  the  medical  journals,  and  you  will  receive  a 
copy. 

The  annual  meeting  of  the  Homoeopathic  Medical  Society  of  the 
State  of  New  York  will  be  held  in  Albany,  February  11th  and  12th, 
1879.— Alfred  K.  Hills,  M.  D.,  R.  S. 

Dr.  R.  0.  Chambers,  of  Bentonville,  Ark.,  reports  an  interesting 
case  of  a  tumor  in  the  occipital  region  of  a  child,  which  was  opened 
by  the  parents  with  a  pin,  and  the  child  bled  to  death  before  surgical 
help  could  be  obtained. 

The  Scietific  American  sends  us  some  beautiful  specimens  of 

UraninCf  a  recently  discovered  aniline  coloring  substance  remarkable 

for  its  flourescence.    A  single  grain  will  give  color  to  five  hundred 

gallons  of  water.    Subscribers  to  the  Scientific  American  receive  the 

Uranine  free  of  charge. 

PoLTE  Medical  Collbob  Commencement  exercises  for  1879  will 
be  held  on  the  evening  of  Fedruary  26th.  We  hope  to  see  the  faces 
of  our  friends  on  that  occasion.    There  will  be  a  "good  time''  as  usual. 

Surgical  Operation. — Drs.  C.  and  F.  D.  Ormes,  of  Jamestown,  N. 
Y.,  recently  removed  with  success  an  osteo-cystic  tumor  of  the  ovary 
and  fallopian  tube  of  a  female  patient.  We  are  not  yet  apprised  of 
the  final  result,  but  the  operation  was  one  worthy  of  our  veteran 
friend  Dr.  Cornelius  Ormes. 

Once  more  we  beg  to  give  notice  that  Allen's  Materia  Medica  sec- 
ond-hand, is  wanted  at  this  office. 

HoMCEOPATiiic  Medical  Society  op  Ohio. — The  next  annual  meeting 
will  be  held  in  Cleveland,  May  13th  and  14th.  We  expectafull  turn 
out  of  the  members  and  friends,  and  interesting  rei)orts  from  all  the 
committees. — H.  M.  LooeEi  Sec'y,  Oxford,  0. 


524  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

Valedictorian — Dr.  Geo.  E.  Blackburn  has  been  chosen  as  Vale- 
dictorian for  the  class  of  Pulte  Medical  College  at  their  commence- 
ment, February  26. 

Dr.  E.  B.  Graham  from  Albany  to  Cheyenne,  Wy , 

Married. — R.  W.  Covert,  M.  D.,  and  Miss  Lillie  Sessions,  Novem- 
ber 20,  1878.  Thus  another  "Pult-e  Boy"  claims  and  receives  our 
congratulations.    Many  happy  sessions. 

Prof.  C.  H.  Vilas,  of  Chicago,  has  recently  given  the  results  of 
his  observations  in  Europe,  in  a  public  lecture,  which  is  highly 
spoken  of  by  the  papers  of  that  city. 

Having  had  occasion  to  prescribe  many  times  the  meat  essences 
prepared  by  the  London  Manufacturing  Company,  of  this  city,  I  take 
pleasure  in  certifying  to  their  great  value  as  putritive  agents,  and  in 
recommending  them  to  the  medical  profession  and  the  public. — Henry 
D.  Paine,  M.  D.,  26  West  30th  St.,  New  York. 

Partner  and  Successor  Wanted. — An  old  established  physician 
with  a  lucrative  practice,  in  a  city  of  sixteen  thousand  inhabitants, 
wishes  to  associate  with  him  in  the  practice  of  medicine,  a  young  and 
energetic  homoeopathic  physician,  with  a  view  of  having  him  become 
a  successor  in  business.  He  must  be  a  graduate,  of  good  address,  and 
good  habits.  Addresss,  "Medicus,**  Care  of  Medical  Advance,  Cin- 
cinnati, Ohio. 


■♦  ♦ 


editorial. 

theory  and  practice, 

Experiments  in  Animal  Poisons.  481 

Cure  of  Disease  by  Drugs 487 


On  the  Power  of  Small  Doses  of 
Medicine  in  General  and  of 
Belladonna  in  Particular...  506 

A  Review 511 


Some  Brain   Lesions  and  their         JDentistry  and  Medicine 515 

ManiieHtations 492 


Cases  cured  by  Causticum 500 

MISCELLANEOUS. 

Hahnemann 505 


book  notices.  520 

editor's  table.  522 


JAS.    p.    GF.PPERT,   PR. 


CiNcisNATi,  0.,  Mahch,  1879.  Number  II. 

nions  for  puhlication  shiiuid  be  iddresMd  to  Dr.  T.  P.  Wilson,  cdj- 
,.    AD  tubiCriptionB  And  busmcsa  commuiikations  shuiild  be  aililn>9ed 


Cbbmatio.-*. — "When  I  die  I  want  my  body  burned. — Prof.  S,  D 
Qroa,  Jtf.  D."  Which  loads  U8  to  observe  that  he  must  be  a  wise 
man  who  bnowx  what  he  will  want  wlien  he  is  dead.  Had  Dr.  Gross 
said,  "I  want  my  body  burned  when  I  die,  '  he  would  have  been 
nearer  the  truth.  And  yet  this  is  not  half  so  strange  aa  it  seems,  for 
tlie  Doctor  has  been  burning  to  death  all  his  life,  and,  in  any  event, 
whether  he  wishes  it  or  not,  he  will  certainly  be  burned — we  mean 
his  body,  of  course — when  he  is  dead.  As  for  the  matter  of  crema 
tion  it  is  only  a  somewhat  increased  activity  of  a  natural  and  universal 
process,  by  which  all  human  bodies  are  reduced  to  ashes.  But  it  will 
be  remembered  that  a  few  years  ^o  Dr.  Gross  lifted  up  his  powerful 
voice  and  shocked  the  nation,  while  he  cried  for  the  restoration  of 
the  bloody  reign  of  the  lancet. 


itiJi  t 


to  all  tor  flie 


A  BuBiKn  HATcnBT.— Dr.  H.  N.  Gukkksby  ia  reported  as  saying,  at 
the  late  meeting  of  the  New  York  Homoeopathic  Medical  Society, 
'  As  to  potency,  high  and  low,  the  hatchet  between  Pennsylvania  and 
New  York  is  buried  forever."  It  strikes  us  that  if  this  were  actually 
true,  the  juriadiction  of  the  states  in  question  does  not  reach  mnch 
beyond  their  respective  limits.  Dr.  Gubbnbby  may  pos^bly  promise 
Mar- 1  525 


526  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

for  himself,  and  make  his  promise  good,  but  what  will  he  do  with  the 
rest  of  us,  whose  blood  is  boiling  hot  on  this  question  ?  Dr.  G.  has 
done  as  much  or  more  aggressive  work  as  a  high  dilutionist  than  any 
other  one  man.  It  is  just  possible  that  if  he  changes  his  tactics,  many 
others  may  follow  his  example,  and  for  a  time  we  may  enjoy  a  rest  on 
the  long  and  bitter  controversy  which  has  afflicted  us.  What  a  God- 
send such  a  time  of  peace  would  be  to  our  suffering  profession.  Mean- 
ime,  as  we  look  at  it,  no  one  could  be  debarred  from  using  any  prepar- 
ation or  attenuation  he  might  choose.  The  test  would  then  lie  in  the 
result  and  not  in  the  means  used.  There  would  be  harmony  in  place 
of  angry  contention,  provided  each  man  was  left  free  to  make  his  own 
choice  of  agents.  We  earnestly  commend  the  thought  to  our  readers 
with  a  slender  hope,  that  the  suggestion  may  have  a  good  effect  in 
lessening  the  strife,  which  has  so  long  marred  our  history  as  a  medical 
school. 


-♦-♦- 


i5|$au|  %%h  ^tuilu 


A  Contributioil   to  the  Pathology  of  Syphilis.       By  H.  W. 
Taylor,  M.  D.,  Cravvfordsvillc,  Ind. 

I  am  not  aw^are  that  any  writer  on  syphilis  entertains,  or 
at  least,  promulgates  an  opinion  at  variance  with  the  general 
one  as  to  the  origin  of  those  pains  which  constitute  the  most 
prominent,  formidable  and  unbearable  feature  of  the  second- 
ary period.  Hammond  says  that  some  of  the  so-called  neu- 
ralgias must  be  specimens  of  purely  muscular  pain — the  myal- 
gia of  man.  Aside  from  this  statement,  it  is  the  prevailing 
written  opinion,  that  the  so-called  *'bone  pains"  of  this  dis- 
ease are  attributable  to  progressing  disease  of  the  periosteum, 
eventuating  in  necrosis.  Hammond  himself  attributes  the 
cephalalgia  of  syphilis  to  beginning  disease  of  the  dura  mater. 


Theory  and  Practice,  527 

Until  six  months  ago  I  had  not  doubted  the  perfect  accuracy 
of  the  etiology  of  this  terrible  phenomenon,  which,  more 
than  all  else,  makes  syphilis  the  dreaded  among  diseases.  A 
peculiar  case  that  came  under  my  care  in  June,  of  this  year, 
changed  completely  my  views  upon  the  subject;  and  certainly 
presents  strong  evidence,  pointing  to  a  totally  different  ex- 
planation. 

Mrs.  S.  L- J  aet  thirty-six,  has  had  a  genuine  cystitis 

seventeen  years,  during  all  of  which  time  she  has  obtained 
no  relief  from  the  constant  annoyance  and  distress  occasioned 
by  the  disease.  Is  compelled  to  pass  the  urine  at  least  twice 
or  three  times  every  hour  of  the  twenty  four.  Frequently 
large  quantities  of  blood  pass  with  the  urine.  This  comes 
from  the  bladder,  I  am  sure,  as  very  gentle  exploration  with 
a  silver  catheter  produced  great  pain  at  the  fundus  of  the 
bladder,  and  was  followed  by  an  ounce  of  blood.  Remedies 
merely  stopped  the  blood  without  helping  the  irritability.  I 
was  consulted  chiefly  on  account  of  most  excrutiating  pains, 
that  ran  from  the  groin  to  the  left  labium.  This  pain  had 
been  prominent  about  six  years,  and  caused  the  most  intense 
suffering.  Was  usually  much  worse  at  night,  and  frequently 
prevented  sleep  entirely  for  many  nights  in  succession.  On 
examination  I  found  the  superficial  lymphatics  of  both  in- 
guinae  swollen  and  indurated.  My  experience  has  taught  me 
that  this  is  an  invariable  "sign"  of  syphilis.  And  on  close 
inquiry  I  was  enabled  to  make  out  a  complete  history  of 
syphilis,  which  was  evidently  acquired  from  the  husband, 
who  died  with  symptoms  of  meningitis  four  years  ago,  hav- 
ing had  syphilis  about  two  years  before. 

The  patient  referred  the  great  pain  to  a  small  tumor  just 
within  the  ostium  vagnise,  and  demanded  its  excision.  On 
examination  I  found  the  gland  of  BartoHne  greatly  enlarged 
and  "indurated" — seemingly  as  hard  and  firm  as  marble. 
Making  an  incision  I  endeavored  to  extract  the  gland,  but 
was  compelled  to  desist,  by  the  fainting  of  the  patient,  and 
the  consequent  alarm  of  the  attendants.  However  I  took 
care  to  cut  through  the  surface  of  the  gland,  with  the  view 
that  suppuration  might  remove  the  tumor.      Next  day  on 


528  '  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

examining,  I  found  that  the  wound  was  healing  rapidly,  and 
that  the  gland  had  shrunken  to  one-tenth  of  its  former  dimen- 
sions. Along  with  this  shrinkage  the  pain  had  disappeared 
entirely.  Was  not  this  pain  due  to  complete  disttnsion  of 
the  fibrous  envelope  of  the  gland,  as  ovarialgia  is  produced 
by  stretching  of  the  capsule  of  the  ovary?  And  are  not  all 
the  pains  of  syphilis  produced  by  this  same  distension  of  the 
capsules  of  the  lymphatic  glands  of  the  body?  With  the 
view  of  solving  this  problem  I  performed  the  following  ex- 
periments: 

On  the  same  patient  I  extracted  a  gland  of  the  superficial 
chain  of  inguinal  lymphatics.  It  presented  to  the  feel  all  the 
characteristics  of  induration,  being  hard  and  unyielding. 
Sharp  pains  had  been  referred  to  that  locality.  The  gland 
was  snrjooth,  round  and  hard.  On  incising  it,  blood  flowed 
with  serous  fluid,  and  the  capsule  shriveled,  showing  instant 
diminution  in  size  of  gland.  On  Mrs.  E.  D.,  sufTering  with 
terrible  pain,  referred  to  one  spot  on  the  tibia.  Found  a 
round,  hard,  swollen  lump,  apparently  on  the  bone;  cut 
down  to  it  and  laid  open  a  much  enlarged  lymphatic  gland; 
pain  ceased  immediately,  and  has  not  returned  in  that  locality. 

These  experiments  are  not  sufficient  to  strike  the  reader. 
Nor  do  I  expect  with  these  few  examples  to  change  the 
settled  views  of  old  sypilographers.  Nevertheless,  they  are 
completel}^  convincing  to  me.  And,  ^is  opportunity  offers,  I 
shall  prosecute  this  research  further.  And  here  let  me  give 
it  as  my  opinion  that  the  power  of  Iodine  o\cr  the  pains,  and 
other  phenomena  of  syphilis,  is  solely  due  to  its  action  in 
controlling  engorgements  of  the  lymphatic  glands  of  the 
whole  body.  The  capsules  of  the  numberless  lymphatics  are 
fibrous;  and  in  this  same  fibrous  structure  Iodine  does  its 
prettiest  work. 

And  may  not  this  view  of  the  pathology  and  therapeutics 
of  the  pains  of  syphilis,  lead  to  a  more  perfect  knowledge  of 
all  the  processes  of  this  most  inveterate  disease?  The  anaemia 
and  leucocythaemia  of  syphilis  are  due  to  impaired  blood 
making  power.  How?  The  engorgement  of  the  intestinal 
lymphatics,  and  the  mesenteric  glands  must  greatly  interfere 


Theory  and  Practice,  529 

with  the  absorption  of  chyle,  and  especially  with  the  delicate 
oil  globules  and  their  mechanical  capsule  of  albumen. 

For  is  not  Virchow  manifestly  illogical  in  putting  the  lym- 
phatics as  the  manufactories  of  the  blood  corpuscles?  Is  not 
the  new  born  corpuscle — the  leucocyte,  really  not  born  at  all? 
Really  not  the  result  of  a  vital  process;  but  purely  of  a 
mechanical  process?  Is  not  the  leucocyte  of  the  blood  cur- 
rent, the  aforetime  albumen  coated  oil  globule  of  therecepta- 
culum  chyli,  of  the  mesenteries,  of  the  intestinal  villi,  of  the 
fluid  contents  of  the  duodenum? 

And  if  this  be  true,  should  not  Iodine  take  its  proper  place 
at  tke  very  onset  of  the  syphilitic  fever,  and  keep  that  place 
first,  last  and  always?  In  my  hands  this  has  worked  splen- 
didly in  the  one  case  in  which  I  have  tried  it.  I  shall  try  it 
gain. 

This  also  explains  those  sharp  stinging  chest  pains,  with 
which  people  suffer  who  are  having  so-called  "tubercles" 
forming  in  the  lungs.  Those  pains  are  never  prominent  after 
suppuration  begins.  Why?  Because  the  over  distended 
fibrous  capsule  of  the  lymphatics  of  the  lungs,  are  perforated 
by  destructive  suppuration,  and  are  then  no  longer  distended 
or  distensible. 


♦  ♦ 


Thermometrical  Observations  in  Acute  Mania.     By  S.  R. 

Beckwith,  M.  D.,  Cincinnati,  Ohio. 

In  a  large  proportion  of  diseases  the  temperature  of  the 
body  varies  to  an  extent,  which,  if  carefully  observed  by  the 
physician,  will  materially  assist  him  in  his  diagnosis  and 
prognosis.  Thcrmometrical  observations  become  more  use- 
ful as  the  temperature  of  each  disease  is  learned,  as  every 
ailment  has  a  temperature  of  its  own.      If  the  thermometer 


530  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

should  rise  to  103*'  in  scarlet  fever,  it  would  indicate  an  un- 
favorable result.      While  in  other  fevers  of  children,  as  gas- 
tritis or  pneumonitis,  it  rises  to  that  degree  in  the  early  stage,* 
before  dangerous  symptoms  usually  occur.  Again  the  increase 
of  temperature  in  the  evening,  with  near  a  normal  tempera- 
ture in  the  morning,  is  observed  in  diphtheria,  scarlatina  arid 
some  other  diseases.      Yet  in  typhoid  fever  the  temperature 
varies  but  little  during  day  and   night,  the  increase  of  tem- 
perature in  evening  over  that  of  morning  is  rarely  more  than 
one  degree.      In  syphilis  fever  rises  to  103°  or  104**  in  the 
evening,  and  often  falls  to  99°  in  the  morning.     In  puerperal 
fever,  accompanied  with  violence,  loss  of  sleep  and  appetite, 
continuous  talking,  the  temperature  often  reaches  107°,  and 
before  death,  from  maniacal  exhaustion,  it  has  been  known  to 
reach  1 10°.      The  thermometer  is  valuable  to  aid  the  physi- 
cian, just  in  proportion  as  he  becomes  acquainted  with  the 
peculiarities  of  each  individual  disease.      The  same  can  be 
said  of  any  evidence  from  which  we  form  a  medical  opinion. 
If  the  diagnostician  has  no  knowledge  of  the  difference  in 
color,  shape  and  dryness  of  the  tongue  in  different  disease, 
it  would  be  of  no  use  for  him   to  look  at  it,  except  to  learn 
that  it  does  not  look  like  a  healthy  tongue,  and  he  could  onl}' 
conclude  that  the  party  was  not  well.    The  observer  of  bodily 
temperature  finds  that  if  the  thermometer  rises  above  99^°, 
or  falls  below  97°,  it  indicates  the  presence  of  disease,  and  he 
is  led  to  make  a   careful   examination  of  the   patient,   and  if 
other  symptoms  of  disease  are  wanting,  from  which  he  can 
form  a  correct  opinion,  he  is  cautious  in  his  diagnosis.      The 
thermometer  recognizes  a  disturbance  of  the  organism  before 
it  can  be  detected  by  our  sensqs.      Here  observations  of  the 
temperature  are  of  great  value.       A  continuous  rise  of  teni- 
peraturc  in  fevers  indicates  a  constant   progress  of  the   dis- 
ease.    If  a  high  temperature  is  maintained,  with  little  altera- 
tion, it  is  evidence  that  there  is  no  abatement  in   the  inflam- 
mation.    A  sudden  and  great  rise  of  temperature  in  a  fever 
that  has  existed  for  some  time,  clearly  points  to  danger.     An 
instance  of  this  kind  occurred  in  my  practice  a   short  time 
ago,   where  a  patient  in   the  third  week  of  typhoid   fever, 


Theory  and  Practice,  531 

whose  symptoms  were  in  no  way  alarming,  with  a  tempera- 
ture for  several  days  of  104°.  It  was  a  case  that  appeared 
as  if  it  would  recover.  I  had  daily  given  an  encouraging 
prognosis.  At  my  last  visit  the  husband  met  me  at  the  door 
with  a  cheerful  face,  stating  his  wife  was  better.  The  nurses 
assured  me  that  she  had  slept  more  than  usual  during  the 
night,  had  eaten  a  better  breakfast,  and  my  examination  led 
me  to  think  that  her  prospects  of  recovery  were  at  no  time 
brighter  than  then.  To  my  surprise,  the  temperature  was 
107°,  and  on  this  evidence  gave  an  unfavorable  prognosis, 
which  unfortunately  proved  to  be  correct  within  twelve 
hours. 

Thermometrical  changes  in  almost  every  physical  disease 
are  accompanied  with  well  known  pathological  symptoms, 
by  which  we  can  form  a  correct  idea  of  the  disease. 

But  in  mental  disease  it  is  very  different;  here  the  pulse  is 
little  or  no  guide.  A  voracious  appetite,  or  utter  refusal  to 
take  food,  may  be  but  the  effect  of  some  insane  impulse. 

The  dry,  red  and  cracked  tongue,  caused  by  loud  talking 
or  noisy  gibbering. 

The  apparent  strength  which  appears  in  excess  of  that  in 
health,  is  but  the  result  of  some  fear  or  fancy,  and  when  these 
are  gone  the  sufferer  is  helpless. 

The  loss  of  sleep,  the  cries  of  anguish,  the  excruciating 
pain,  are  but  expressions  of  a  perverted  reason,  and  often 
imperfect  evidence  of  the  real  disease.  In  acute  mania  the 
physician  finds  no  well  marked  symptoms  to  aid  him  in  his 
opinion.  The  crazy  man's  pulse,  secretions,  excretions  and 
respiration  diflfcrs  as  widely  from  those  of  a  sick  sane  person, 
as  does  lunacy  from  sanity. 

In  physical  disease  we  can,  from  the  indications,  form  an 
opinion  of  its  duration,  severity  and  termination.  In  mania 
the  only  answer  we  have  for  the  anxious  questioner  is,  wait 
for  time  to  determine  results. 

When  Prof.  Ludlam,  of  Chicago,  read  his  valuable  paper, 
"On  the  Use  of  the  Thermometer,"  to  the  members  of  the 
American  Institute,  and  recited  the  changes  of  temperature 
in  a  case  of  puerperal  fever,  I  was  at  once  impressed  with 


Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 


the  singular  fact,   that  the  mental  symptoms  corresponded 

with  the  ups  and  downs  of  the  temperature. 

Having  an  opportunity,  I  concluded  to  make  careful  ob- 
servations in  cases  of  acute  mania,  to  determine  the  value  of 
noting  the  temperature  as  a  means  of  forming  a  correct 
prognosis. 


.nty-fouV  limirs.  Tlit  Kielicsl  pnillt  rcpreSL-nts  Ihc  luinpcrjlurc  Kitli  Iht 
e  pi.isc  liniHtdialcly  c.vur  U.s  E  (L-.rniiiKl  for  Ihc  Usl  ohsiTvallon  ..f  Ihc 
IT  hnurs,  .iboul  scvED  |.,  ni.     The  point  of  commencinir  asctiil   raprestnts 


K  t«t  t 


inf  tl 


While  I  have  not  observed  long  enough  to  attain  a  well 
established  fact,  each  case  of  mania  in  our  hospital  has  an 
aggravation  of  maniacal  symptoms  just  in  proportion  to  the 
rise  of  lempcrafurc,  and  as  it  falls  the  mental  symptoms  are 
less. 

The  thcniiometcr  does  more,  it,  like  a  barometer,  indicates 
an  approaching  storm  or  foretells  fair  whether. 

A  patient  with  acute  mania  walks  aliout  the  room  quietly, 
giving  no  disturbance  to  any  one;  his  temperature  is  found 
rising,  and  unless  he  is  conlrollcd  by  treatment,  a  period  of 
violence  is  certain  to  ensue,  and  will  continue  as  long  as  tjic 
temperature  remiiius  high. 


Theory  and  Practice,  ,  533 

The  following  report  of  a  single  case  gives  a  more  clear 
idea  of  the  change  of  temperature,  than  can  be  given  in  any 
other  way. 

The  patient,  a  young  man,  showed  symptoms  of  acute 
mania  on  the  7th  of  September,  1878. 

He  remained  quiet  in  his  room,  at  times  rational,  until  the 
evening  of  the  9th  inst.,  when  he  became  extremely  violent, 
requiring  two  attendants  to  keep  him  fiom  escaping.  His 
temperature  had  risen  during  the  day  two  degrees.  From  that 
time  until  the  28th  inst.  his  symptoms  varied  with  the  change 
of  his  temperature. 

The  evenings  that  the  thermometer  was  the  highest  he 
was  confined  during  the  night  in  a  crib,  but  when  it  did  not 
exceed  iooj^°  no  restraint  was  necessary. 

At  the  28th  inst.  he  continuously  improved,  with  little 
variation  in  temperature  or  symptoms,  until  the  last  of 
October,  when  he  was  discharged  cured. 

The  temperature  and  pulse  were  taken  by  an  experienced 
nurse,  and  is  accurate*  It  will  be  observed  that  the  pulse  is 
no  indication  of  his  condition,  and  in  mental  disease  it  is,  at 
best,  but  a  poor  guide. 


Chelidonium. — Great  and  dry  heat,  especially  in  the 
face;  rigors,  particularly  toward  evening;  moderate  thirst*, 
nose,  throat  and  tongue  dry;  violent  pain  in  forehead  above 
the  eyes;  vertigo;  lachrymation;  photophobia;  drawing  in 
the  nape  and  occiput;  violent  pain  in  the  back;  shaking  dry 
cough;  tightness  of  the  chest  and  short  breath;  stitches  in  the 
left  side;  eructation,  pains  in  all  the  limbs,  with  a  bruised 
sensation;  great  langour  and  faintness;  loss  of  appetite; 
nausea;  nightly  delirium  with  amelioriation  in  the  morning; 
much  anxiety  and  restlessness  until  midnight. 


^m$ul  %li%in* 


Clinical  Cases  By  Geo.  B.  Cornell,  M,  D. — Case  I. 
— Frost  Bite. — Ars.  alb,  30. — Charles  S.,  aet.  thirty,  con- 
sulted me  January  25,  1875,  Saving  the  following  history: 
Seventeen  years  previous  he  had  frozen  his  right  instep, 
which  was  followed  by  inflammation  and  suppuration;  con- 
tinuing troublesome  until  the  approach  of  spring,  when  the 
part  healed;  followed  by  desquamation  of  the  cuticle.  In 
the  early  part  of  the  next  winter,  the  instep  re-opened,  and 
continued  again  in  an  inflammatory  condition,  till  the  intro- 
duction of  the  milder  weather  of  approaching  summer,  when 
it  again  healed.  The  symptoms  from  which  the  patient 
suffered  during  the  continuance  of  cold  weather  were  as  fol- 
lows: When  lying  down  the  pains  were  aggravated,  amel- 
iorated by  the  application  of  warmth;  pains  worse  at  night, 
increased  by  the  slightest  movement,  with  stinging  pains  and 
burning  in  the  instep,  accompanied  with  swelling,  redness 
and  stitching  sensations,  with  inflammation  and  suppuration; 
the  inflammation  of  a  livid  hue,  with  itching  and  beating  in 
the  part  aflccted.  Thus  had  the  condition  of  the  foot 
fluctuated  for  seventeen  years  previous  to  the  application  of 
Homoeopathy.  Doctors  of  all  schools,  excepting  those  of 
the  Hahncmannian,had  been  consulted;  external  applications 
had  been  made  "ad  infinitum;"  expensive  shoes,  lined  with 
the  finest  furs,  had  been  worn,  both  as  a  means  for  prevent- 
ing the  return  of  his  old  enemy,  and  also  to  drive  him  out 
when  he  had  returned,  but  all  to  no  purpose;  a  winter's 
quarters  he  was  compelled  to  give  to  the  most  unwelcome  of 
guests.  The  last  attempt  was  now  to  be  made  to  rid  himself 
of  old  Jack  Frost.  If  successful,  a  promise  to  sound  the 
praises  loud  and  long  for  the  conqueror.  If  a  failure,  de- 
spair. January  25,  1875,  I  prescribed  Ars.  alb.  30th  dilution, 
one  globule,  number  fifty,  every  two  hours;  the  part  to  be 
purified  of  its  filthy  salve;   covering  the  lesion  with  a   linen 


General  Clinics,  535 

fabric,  thinly  spread  with  simple  cerate,  for  protection' ssake. 
January  31,  I  found  the  condition  of  the  foot  fifty  per  cent, 
improved;  supplied  the  same  remedy,  attenuation  and  dose  as 
before.  February  7.  I  found  the  patient  nearly  well;  the  flesh 
had  healed;  the  inflammation  almost  entirely  reduced,  with 
but  little  tenderness;  the  old  cuticle  exfoliating  rapidly;  re- 
peated the  same  remedy,  at  intervals  of  three  hours.  The 
following  day  the  patient  left  town  on  a  tour  of  three  weeks. 
On  his  return  I  received  his  grateful  thanks,  a  liberal  cheque, 
and  the  promised  encomiums  for  our  school,  and  amazed  at 
the  wonderful  magic  effects  of  the  "sugar  pills"  upon  Jack 
Frost.  The  prescribed  remedy  was  the  only  medicine  taken 
during  the  treatment.  His  fur  lined  shoes  are  now  thrown 
to  the  moths,  and  his  cane  stands  useless  in  the  rack.  Four 
years  have  since  passed,  and  each  "New  Year's  Day"  since, 
he  has  formally  paid  his  compliments  to  me,  as  a  celebration 
of  the  school  of  medicine,  which  permanently  accomplished 
for  him  what  all  other  treatments  had  failed  to  perform. 

Case  II. — Bruise. — Arnica  30. — George  C,  aet.  twenty- 
seven,  complexion  fair,  hair  light,  eyes  blue.  February  20, 
1874,  consulted  me  for  an  internal  bruise  of  the  heel  of  the 
left  foot,  received  in  consequence  of  collision  against  a  tree, 
while  coasting.  The  pain  was  severe  at  the  time  of  the  acci- 
dent, the  patient  finding  himself  unable  to  walk.  No  injury 
to  the  surface  was  visible.  One  week  was  spent  in  the  ex- 
ternal application  treatment,  but  no  amelioration  from  suffer- 
ing could  be  gained.  I  prescribed  one  pellet,  number  fifty,  of 
Arnica  30  hourly.  Immediately  after  commencing  treatment 
the  patient  experienced  rapid  relief  from  pain  and  tenderness, 
and  in  less  than  forty-eight  hours  no  sensitiveness  could  be 
felt  in  the  part,  which  so  recently  was  so  painful. 

Case  III. — Gastritis. — Ars.  30. — Albert  D.,  aet.  three 
months;  complexion  dark.  I  was  called  March  17,  1872,  and 
found  the  patient  vomiting,  purging,  with  great  emaciation 
and  prostration;  the  tongue  indicated  inflammation  of  the 
stomach.  The  brief  history  of  the  case  was  as  follows: 
Since  birth  the  child  had  suffered  from  weakness  of  the 
organs  of  digestion.     The  condition  gradually  became  worse 


536  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

under  the  "regular"  treatment,  until  neither  mother's  milk, 
nor  remedies  could  be  retained,  and  the  helpless  physician 
despaired  of  the  child;  but  steming  a  strong  tide  of  cold 
water,  in  the  way  of  old  school  opposition,  and  want  of  faith 
in  the  new  school,  I  started  on  to  row  my  canoe  as  best  I 
could,  for  now  was  the  moment  to  achieve  a  triumph  for 
Hahnemann,  especially  as  the  fond  father  of  this  first  born 
son  was  an  Englishman,  as  well  as  a  prominent  editor  of  one 
of  the  dailies  of  the  community.  I  prescribed  Ars.  30  dilution, 
one  teaspoonful,  of  a  water  mixture,  every  hour.  The  follow- 
ing day  I  found  improvement,  which  was  incredible  to  the 
large  circle  of  relatives  and  friends,  who  were  unwilling  to 
believe  their  own  eyesight.  Daily  calls  were  made  to  the 
twenty-second,  with  continual  gains,  all  the  nutrition  having 
been  retained  for  several  days;  and  the  diarrhoeal  passages 
having  been  reduced  to  a  normal  number  and  consistency, 
while  an  increase  in  flesh  was  perceptible.  The  boy  is  now 
hale  and  hardy,  having  had  the  pleasure  of  living  to  welcome 
three  other  brothers  and  sisters,  neither  of  whom,  as  yet, 
have  ever  taken  a  dose  of  allopathic  medicine. 

Case  IV. — ^Tri-Facial  Neuralgia. — Ars.  30. — Albert 
McG.,  act.  twenty-two,  complexion  dark,  consulted  me 
April  24,  1878,  for  neuralgia  of  the  fifth  nerve.  Had  suf- 
fered for  several  years,  with  intervals  of  a  few  weeks,  the 
attack  lasting  from  one  to  seven  days.  1  gave  him  number 
ten  globules,  six  in  number,  o^  Ars.  30.  In  less  than  an  hour 
the  pain  ceased,  and  has  not  since  returned.  Nine  months 
have  passed. 

Case  V. — Hysteric  Convulsions.— i-Z^na^j'a  30. — Miss 
Mary  S.,  aet.  twenty-five,  complexion  dark.  To  this  lady  I 
was  called  at  midnight,  July  5,  1876.  On  entering  the  parlor 
found  her  lying  on  the  floor,  where  foiir  attendants  were  in 
the  act  of  holding  her,  to  prevent  the  infliction  of  personal 
injury  to  herself.  The  sudden  approach  of  the  attack,  and 
the  frequency  of  the  paroxysms,  had  prevented  her  removal 
to  her  sleeping  apartment.  I  was  also  informed  that  twelve 
convulsions  had  followed  in  quick  succession,  for  the  preced- 
ing three  hours,  consciousness  not  having  returned  between 


General  Clinics,  537 

the  spasms.  Between  the  clenched  teeth  I  forced  a  dose  of 
a  water  mixture  of  Ignatia  30,  when  relaxation  immediately 
followed,  and  a  moment  later,  a  request  to  be  permitted  to 
rise  from  the  floor,  and  soon  after  was  assisted  to  her  own 
room.  But  a  few  more  doses  of  the  remedy  were  subse- 
quently administered,  the  patient  sleeping  the  greater  part  of 
the  night,  having  no  recurrence  of  the  convulsions. 

Prosopalgia  Frontales.  By  W.  Heyerberger,  M.  D. 
Translated  from  HerscheFs  Clinick  by  A.  McNeil,  M.  D., 
New  Albany,  Ind. — Anna  Buden,  about  fifty  years  old,  a 
day  laborer's  widow,  a  little  above  medium  height,  rigid 
muscles  as  usual  in  the  hard  working  classes,  hair  black,  com- 
plexion dark  brown,  eyes  brown,  sunken.  She  says  that  af- 
ter taking  col<l  she  was  attacked  by  a  violent,  tearing,  light- 
ning-like pain  in  the  right  eye  brow  and  extended  to  the 
point  of  the  nose  and  into  the  orbit  so  that  it  felt  as  if  the 
eye  ball  would  be  pressed  out,  then  over  the  right  side  of  the 
forehead  and  radiating  over  the  vertex  to  the  occiput.  The 
paroxysms  appeared  irregularly,  sometimes  at  night,  some- 
tmies  during  the  day,  and  left  a  feeling  of  numbness  in  the 
affected  parts,  and  it  also  appears  that  her  ability  to  see  at  a 
distance  was  very  much  impaired.  These  pains  which  often 
occur  several  times  a  day,  so  that  she  can  not  continue  her 
work,  and  is  unable  to  earn  her  living.  While  in  this  con- 
dition she  was  advised  by  Dr.  T.  and  her  relatives,  hs  ahc  was 
destitute,  to  ask  for  admission  into  the  hospital  of  the  Eliza- 
beth nuns,  in  Prague,  and  she  came  to  me  for  a  certificate  to 
carry  this  Into  effect.  My  offer  to  treat  her  gratuitously  was 
refused,  not  impolitely  but  decidedly,  as  she  said  she  was 
without  assistance  from  her  friends.  She  was  accepted  by 
the  sisters  and  treated  for  six  weeks  without  any  improve- 
ment of  her  sufllerings.  The  increased  number  of  typhoid 
patients  at  the  hospital  caused  her  transferal  to  the  General 
Imperial  Hospital  where  she  remained  two  or  three  weeks. 
After  a  consultation  she  was  informed  that  she  would  have 
to  return  to  her  home  as  the  country  air  was  better  for  her 
disease  than  that  of  the  city.      After  her  return    she  went 


538  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

about  a  long  time  ashamed  to  ask  me  for  that  aid  which  she 
had  formerly  rejected,  but  as  the  attacks  increased  in  violence 
she  was  compelled  to  consult  me.  Her  face  was  pale,  the  af- 
fected parts  were  not  reddened,  although  somewhat  warmer 
than  normal,  but  no  other  alteration  was  perceptible.  The 
symptoms  I  have  described  were  unfortunately  all  present, 
but  the  pains  while  in  Prague  owing  to  better  nursing,  were 
milder.  She  was  now  as  bad  as  ever,  in  a  damp,  cold  room, 
and  with  bad  food.  Yet  Homoeopathy  may  help  under  such 
unfavorable  circumstances.  I  discovered  that  Argentum 
nitricum  corresponded  to  the  entire  case,  even  unto  the  color 
of  her  face,  so  I  gave  her  Argen.  nit.  4,  four  drops  in  twelve 
powders,  to  be  taken  night  and  morning.  After  they  were 
used,  there  was  no  trace  remaining  of  the  pain.  After  two 
months  a  slight  relapse  occurred,  and  she  returned  full  of 
fear.  A  repetition  of  Argen,  nit,  was  sufficient  to  complete 
the  cure.  Years  have  passed  since  that  time  and  she  labors 
as  formerly,  but  has  not  had  any  return  of  the  disease  to 
complain  of. 


♦  ♦■ 


htdhmm^. 


Nailed  to  the  Counter. 

A  lie  well  stuck  to  is  as  good  as  the  truth  for  some  people 
and  for  some  ends.  But  a  counterfeit  coin  nailed  to  the 
counter  is  not  a  good  circulating  medium.  All  truth  is  said 
to  be  relative,  and  what  a  thing  seems  to  be  depends  upon 
the  constitutional  makeup  or  present  bodily  condition  of  the 
individual.      Every  community  has  its  croakers;  one  or  more 


Miscellaneous,  539 

old  men  or  women  continually  prophesying  rain  or  frost  or 
flood.  Hypochondriasis  is  a  disease  thataflfects  church,  state 
and  professions  as  well  as  persons.  But  hypochondriacs 
have  no  legal  authority  for  lying  or  misrepresenting  the  plain 
truth  in  order  to  keep  down  their  own  spirits  and  the  spirit 
of  the  community.  There  are  men  professedly  in  the  hom- 
oeopathic ranks  who  are  possessed  of  the  devil — not  the  regu- 
lar thing  exactly,  but  a  sort  of  half  brother  to  his  satanic 
majesty  called  the  **blue  devil."  A  man  is  to  be  pitied  who 
is  under  the  dominion  of  this  demoniacal  spirit.  He  can't 
help  groaning  and  crying  and  filling  the  air  with  his  lamen- 
tations. But  he  can  be  prevented  uttering  his  jeremiads  in 
the  medical  journals  if  there  is  any  discretion  left  in  the  cranium 
of  the  editors.  But  if,  as  happens  in  the  case  before  us, 
both  the  croaker  and  the  editor  sing  the  same  dismal  song, 
there  is  no  help  for  a  suflering  profession  that  must  take  its 
monthly  instaUment  of  wormwood  and  gall. 

Among  homceopathic  hypochondriacs,  Drs.  E.  M.  Hale  and 
H.  M.  Paine  stand  pre-eminent.  Neither  of  them  in  their 
role  of  croakers  has  a  remarkable  amount  of  influence  in  the 
homoeopathic  school.  They  have  neither  of  them  yet  suc- 
ceeded in  convincing  a  homoeopath  that  Homoeopathy  was 
a  failure,  or  was  likely  ever  to  be.  What  they  have  seen  fit 
to  say  concerning  the  downfall  of  Homoeopathy  is  of  little 
consequence  save  as  it  affects  by  misleading  those  who  know 
little  of  the  true  status  of  Homoeopathy.  Dr.  Wyld,  of  Lon- 
don, first  entered  the  list  last  year  and  made  himself  famous, 
quite  unexpectedly,  no  doubt,  by  offering,  in  behalf  of  Hom- 
oeopathy, to  capitulate.  Perhaps  he  is  satisfied  with  the  re- 
sult. He  was  spurned  from  the  door  before  which  he  stood 
begging  for  entrance.  He  was  soundly  cuffed  by  the  better 
men  of  his  own  school,  and  if  shame  did  not  vie  with  glory 
in  giving  renown,  Wyld  would  long  ago  have  been  forgotten. 
He  will  stand  as  the  Benedict  Arnold  of  Homoeopathy. 

Dr.  E.  M.  Hale,  of  Chicago,  then  entered  on  this  list  for 
the  championship  of  croakers.  He  has  written  two  articles 
on  "The  Critical  Period  of  Homoeopathy,"  and  through  lack 
of  editorial  management  these  articles  have  crept  into  two  re- 


540  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

spectable  homoeopathic  jou;'nals.  These  articles  have  been 
answered  and  a  quietus  put  upon  them  and  their  author.  Dr. 
Hale's  reputation  was  neither  so  great  nor  so  secure  that  he 
could  afford  to  damage  it  in  such  a  thankless  cause  as  that  of 
proving  himself  a  fraud  in  trying  to  maintain  a  school  that 
by  his  own  showing  was  virtually  dead  or  fast  dying. 

Dr.  H.  M.  Paine,  of  Albany,  professedly  a  homoeopath, 
though  scorning  the  name  as  too  exclusive  for  "a  physician," 
appears  in  a  late  number  of  the  Homoeopathic  Times,  and 
with  all  due  solemnity  pronounces  a  funeral  oration  over  the 
supposed  corpse  of  Homoeopathy.  The  appearance  of  such 
an  article  in  a  journal  calling  itself  homoeopathic  would 
greatly  have  surprised  us  if  we  had  not  read  the  accompany- 
ing editorial.  All  we  could  say  was,  "Birds  of  a  feather 
flock  together,"  and  it  was  emphatically  **a  feather."  Only 
one  between  them  and  that  they  had  plucked  from  the  broad 
wing  of  Homoeopathy,  and  were  now  seeking  to  stick  it  on 
the  somewhat  nude  corpus  of  the  old  school. 

Dr.  Paine's  article  is  a  God-send  to  the  enemies  of  Hom- 
oeopathy the  world  over.  It  is  now  being  extensively  quoted 
by  allopUhic  writers  and  teachers.  If  he  should  live  a  hun- 
dred years  he  can  not  repair  the  injury  he  has  done  the  hom- 
oeopathic cause.  But  let  it  be  understood  that  the  force  of 
the  blow  does  not  reside  in  Dr.  Paine.  It  is  in  the  apparent 
truthfulness  of  his  statements,  and  the  unmistakable  endorse- 
ment given  them  by  the  journal  in  which  they  appeared,  and 
more  than  that,  in  the  use  made  of  them  by  our  enemies, 
that  they  have  any  force  at  all.  Dr.  Paine  has  not  for  years 
been  recognized  as  a  representative  homoeopath.  His  utter- 
ances are  just  what  might  be  expected  from  a  man  sore  in  the 
head  and  sick  in  the  heart.  We  have  not  undertaken  to  an- 
swer his  statements;  because  they  of  themselves  are  of  the 
slightest  consequence,  but  with  the  hope  that  this  denial,  both 
general  and  special,  may  be  recognized  as  the  sentiments  of 
all  true  lovers  of  and  believers  in  Homoeopathy. 

First,  then,  we  give  a  general  and  emphatic  denial  to  the 
position  assumed  by  Dr.  Paine,  that  Homccopathy  has  lost, 
or  is,  losing  ground.      That  in  numbers  and  influence  it  has 


Miscellaneous,  541 

gained  steadily  year  by  year  since  it  was  first  introduced  into 
America  by  Dr.  Gramm  is  capable  of  abundant  proof. 

We  now  proceed  to  examine  in  detail  the  points  brought 
forward  by  Dr.  Paine  to  bolster  up  his  absurd  assumptions. 
In  order  to  prove  that  there  is  being  accomplished  "the  de- 
struction of  the  homa}opathic  school  as  a  separate  and  influ- 
ential body  of  men,"  he  assumes  that  there  is  a  great  falling 
off  in  the  accessions  to  our  ranks.      He  says  of  graduates  in 
Homoeopathy,  "there  were,  the  present  year,  only  three  hun- 
dred and  nineteen,  a  number  so  small  as  to  be  scarcely  suffi- 
cient to  fill  the  places  of  those   made  vacant   by  death  and 
other  causes."     This  is  absurd  on  its  face.     Dr.  Paine  knows 
no  more  than  we  do  what  the  number  of  yearl}'  vacancies  in 
our  ranks  may  be.     It  is  very  convenient  for  his  argument  to 
assume  that  they  are  equal  to,  or  more  than  three   hundred 
and  nineteen.     But  does  he  prove  it?     He  knows  that  he  can 
not  even  if  he  should  try,     Our  acquaintance  with  Homoeo- 
pathy and  homoeopathic  practitioners  throughout  the  United 
States  is  much  larger  than  Dr.  Paine's,  and  our  experience  is 
that  the  actual  amount  of  falHng  ofl"  from  all  causes  is  very 
small,  and  the  graduates  from  homoeopathic  colleges  a  good 
deal  more  than  compensates  for  that  loss.     But  he  goes  on  to 
say  that  once  our  ranks  were  largely  supplied  with  converts 
of  old  school  practitioners,  and  that  "twenty  or  fifteen  years 
ago  desertions  were  so  numerous  as  to  impair  the  strength  of 
allopathic  legal  organizations,  and  m  some  localities  seriously 
threatened  their  existence."      As  the  statement  of  a  general 
fact  this  assertion  is  more   absurd  than  the   first  one.     It  is 
neither   reasonable  nor  true.      Dr.  Paine  may  have  seen  or 
heard  of  something  approaching  this  at  some  one,  possibly 
more,  points,  but  they  were  wholly  exceptional  and  peculiar. 
He  says,  "At  the  present  day  the  exodus  has  nearly  ceased." 
The  contrary  is  the  real  truth.      There  are  more  men  going 
out  of  allopathic  colleges  to-day  to  practice  openly  as  hom- 
oeopaths than  ever  before.     Dr.  Paine  is  not   well  informed. 
Once  if  an  allopath  came  over  to  the  homoeopathic  side  it 
made  a  great  stir  and  was  much  talked  of.      Now  very  little 
is  said  of  such  an  event.      We  and  the  public  have  become 
Mar-2 


542  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

used  to  it.  Somewhat  further  on  the  Doctor  continues,  "it  is 
plainly  evident  that  the  homoeopathic  school,  as  regards  the 
number  of  its  avowed  representatives,  has  attained  its 
majority  and  has  began  to  decline  both  in  this  country  and  in 
England." 

This  is   a  very  extraordinary  statement  for  Dr.  Paine    to 
make,  and   it  will  seem  all  the   more  so  when  we   come  to 
look  into  the  character  of  his  evidence  in  proof.      Now  re- 
garding England  he  quotes  from  the  Homoeopathic  Review, 
(London),  and  the  British  Journal  of  Homoeopathy,  in  which 
journals  certain  writers  claim  that  in  England   '*the  number 
of  those  who  are  ready  to  assert  their  confidence  in  Homoeo- 
pathy may  not  have  increased  of  late  years,  it  may  possibly 
have  diminished,  hut  that  of  those  who  have  a  confidence  in 
Homoeopathy  which  they  lack  the  courage  to  assert,  has  in- 
creased to  an  extent  loe  have  no  means  of  calculating.^^      Well 
what  is    there    damaging  about    that  statement.      It  is   not 
known  if  the  numbers  of  avowed  homoeopaths  has  increased 
or  decreased.      But  it  is  asserted  that  the   number  of  those 
actually  practicing  Homoeopathy  "has  increased  to  an  extent 
we  have  no  means  of  calculating."     The  fact  is  English  laws 
affecting  medical  men  are  very  peculiar.      They  are  always 
and  foremost  in   favor  of  Allopathy.      Many  men  practicing 
Homoeopathy  there   register  as  physicians  simply  because  it 
is  to  their  personal  advantage  to  do  so.     But  the  organization 
made  up  of  outspoken  homoeopaths  was   never  so   strong  in 
England  as  it  is  to-day.     There  are  three  able  journals  in  that 
school,  and  there  has  been   quite   recently  established   a  hos- 
pital and  a  School  of  Homoeopathy  in  London.     More  might 
be  said,  but  let  this  suffice  for  England. 

As  for  America  the  idea  that  Homoeopathy  is  losing 
ground  any  wliere  or  any  how,  is  a  baseless  fancy,  born  in 
the  brains  of  Hale,  Paine  &  Co.  What  is  Dr.  Paine's  proof? 
Certain  statements  which  he  makes  about  the  directories  of 
Dr.  Hoyne  and  Dr.  Bruce,  wherein  it  appears  that  Illinois 
has  more  than  doubled  its  population,  and  the  number  of 
homoeopathic  physicians  in  the  state  ^^has  scarcely  increased^ 
PERHAPS  actually  diminished.^''      Well,  that  must  be  a   nice 


Miscellaneous,  543 

directory  that  would  put  a  "perhaps"  on  to  such  a  statement  as 
that.  Now  Dr.  Paine  either  does  not  know,  or  he  conceals 
this  important  fact  that  the  new  board  of  health  of  Illinois 
last  year  drove  out  of  that  state  several  hundred  practitioners 
of  all  schools.  If  HomcEopathy  lost  so  did-  the  pther  schools. 
But  it  was  no  loss.  It  was  and  will  continue  to  be  a  great 
gain.  He  says  .Dr.  Bruce  "furnishes  the  names  of  nine  hun- 
dred and  fifty  homoeopathic  physicians  residing  in  the  state 
of  New  York.  Making  allowances  for  numerous  inaccura- 
cies it  is  probablt  the  actual  is  not  far  from  eight  hundred,  a 
very  moderate  increase^  if  any,  perhaps  an  actual  decrease 
during  the  past  decade,  while  during  the  ten  years  ending 
July,  1875,  ^^^  population  of  the  state  increased  twenty-three 
per  cent."  We  have  taken  the  liberty  to  italicize  certain 
points.  The  reader  will  observe  the  ease  with  which  Dr. 
Paine  knocks  off  one  hundred  and  fifty  names.  He  goes  on 
to  say  that  in  fifteen  of  the  Northern  and  Eastern  counties 
of  the  state  of  New  York  the  increase  of  population  has 
been  sixteen  per  cent.,  and  the  number  of  homoeopathic  phy- 
sicians residing  in  that  state  has  not  proportionally  increased, 
probably  has  not  increased  at  all. 

And  all  this  without  any  proof,  except  a  doubt  followed 
by  a  probability  against  Homoeopathy.  Out  on  such  special 
pleading  as  that.  If  Dr.  Paine  was  hired  to  traduce  Homoeo- 
pathy he  could  not  do  it  more  heartily  or  wickedly.  He  says 
Hoyne  and  Bruce  find  only  ^\q  thousand  homoeopathic  phy- 
sicians in  the  United  States  to-day,  and  that  "this  is  no  larger 
than  the  estimated  number  of  homoeopathic  physicians  twelve 
or  fifteen  years  ago."  Well,  that  might  hurt  the  estimate  but 
it  don't  injure  the  fact  that  we  have  fivQ  thousand  physicians 
of  our  school  in  this  countrv.  Before  we  had  directories  the 
estimate  put  our  numbers  at  eight  thousand,  and  as  high  as 
ten  thousand.  Now,  as  we  have  really  only  five  thousand, 
what  a  fearful  retrograde  Homoeopathy  has  suflfered!  We 
quote  again: 

"After  a  careful  examination  of  the  most  recent  sources  of 
information,  we  are  forced  to  the  conclusion  that  there  is  in 
all  probability  a  gradual  decrease  in  the  number  of  homoeo- 


544  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

pathic  practitioners,  and,  if  not  an  actual  decrease,  that  the 
ratio  of  increase  is  far  below  that  of  the  population  of  the* 
country." 

Dr.  Paine  as  an  investigator  of  "sources  of  information"  is 
not  reliable.  ^  His  fancy  or  prejudice  leads  him  to  a  distortion 
and  perversion  of  the  plainest  facts.     A  man  vs^ith  a  mind  so 
biased  as  his,  makes  a  poor  committee  of  one  to  report  so  grave 
a    question    as   the    present   status   and    future   outcome    of 
Homoeopathy.      All  that  he  says  in  his  article  of  the  change 
that  has  taken,  and  is  still  taking  place,  in   the   feeling  and 
attitude  of  the  old  school  toward   Homoeopathy,  we  may  ad- 
mit,   though    the   statement  is  much    overdrawn.      It    only 
shows  what  progress  we   have   made.      It  is  just  what  we 
have  sought  to  obtain,  and   now,  forsooth,  success   must  be 
our  ruin!     Once  we  were  despised  everywhere.      V/e  have 
conquered  the  respect  of  the  world,  and  we  are  justly  proud 
of  the.  victory.      Now,  according   to  Paine,  the  old  school 
stands  ready  to  receive  us  with  open  arms.      All  the  better 
for  Allopathy;  wherein  it  should  injure  us  is  not  conceivable. 
If  "the  homoeopathic  school,  as  a  separate   and   influential 
body  of  men,  has  no  need  of  further  existence,"  then  it  follows 
that    homoeopathic     societies,     homoeopathic    journals     and 
homoeopathic  colleges  should  also  cease  to  exist.      And   this 
is  just  what  these  fatuous  minded   individuals  have  in  view. 
Now,  "reliable  sources  of  information,"  show  that  these    so- 
cieties, journals  and  colleges  were   never  in  so  flourishing  a 
condition   as   they   are   to-day.       What  but  an   insane  mind 
would  suggest  a  halt  in  our  march  of  progress! 

Assuming  his  views  to  be  correct  and  that  they  would  be 
accepted  by  the  profession,  Dr.  Paine  goes  on  to  suggest 
what  should  be  done  in  the  future.  First,  the  doors  of  our 
associations  should  be  open  to  all  comers,  A  belief  in  the 
law  of  cure  should  not  be  made  a  test  of  membership.  On 
the  ground  that  we  abandoned  our  law  of  Similia  we  would 
stand  approved  in  the  eyes  of  the  allopathic  school.  Next 
he  would  have  us  discard  the  so-called  transcendentalism 
of  Hahnemann;  the  "theoretical  errors  of  the  minimum  dose 
and  dynamization  of  medicinal  and  non-medicinal  substances," 


Miscellaneous.  545 

In  short,  if  we  will  only  throw  away  oiir  belief  in  and  prac- 
tice of  all  that  is  distinctly  homoeopathic — what  then? 
Homoeopathy  wotild  indeed  be  dead,  but,  individually,  we 
would  all  be  right,  and  with  the  best  of  the  old  school  could 
we  exclaim,  "How  we  apples  swim!" 

In  order  now  to  show  that  Dr.  Paine  does  not  carry  with 
him  the  judgment  of  men  thoroughly  informed  upon  this 
subject,  we  herewith  give  a  few  extracts  from  a  mass  of  let- 
ters received  by  us  pertaining  to  this  question. 

P.  G.  Valentine,  A.  M.  M.  D.,  Prof.  Theory  and  Practice 
Hom.  Med,  College  of  Missouri,  writes: 

Dr.  Paine  is  an  agitator  and  not  a  Buccessful  truth  seeker.  The 
fact  is  homoDopathic  physicians  are  on  the  increase  decidedly.  We 
have  nearly  doubled  in  number  in  Missouri  the  past  two  or  three 
years. 

E.  M.  Ktllogg,  M.  D.,  President  Homoeopathic  Mutual 
Life  Insurance  Company,  New  York,  writes: 

I  have  seen  Paine's  article  to  which  your  postal  refers,  and  it  is 
self-evident  that  the  "wish  is  father  to  the  thought,"  and  that  by 
showing  the  decadence  of  our  school,  hp  thinks  he  can  the  more 
easily  accomplish  his  pet  purpose  of  cat^'^ing  us  into  the  arms  of  the 
"regulars,"  who  would  absorb  us  with  great  gusto. 

We  have  here  on  our  medical  lists,  which  are  by  far  the  most  com- 
plete and  reliable  in  the  country,  the  names  of  five  thousand,  eight 
hundred  homoeopathic  practitioners ;  and  this,  after  a  careful  elimina- 
tion of  all  the  defunct,  and  by  actual  count. 

Dr.  Paine  makes  no  allowances  for  the  guess  work  of  previous 
years,  when  by  a  natural  desire  to  magnify  ourselves,  we  estimated 
our  strength  at  five  thousand,  which  was  doubtless  largely  in  excess 
of  the  truth.  And  when  he  reckons  the  accessions  to  our  ranks  by 
the  number  of  graduates  of  homcropathic  colleges,  he  omits  the 
numerous  students  whom  many  of  our  practitioners  send,  for  various 
reasons,  to  study  and  graduate  at  allopathic  colleges.  From  my  own 
observations  I  judge  that  the  number  of  these  latter,  can  justly  be 
reckoned  as  equal  to  our  homoeopathic  graduates. 

T.  S.  Hoyne,  M.  D.,  Prof.  Materia  Medica,  Hahnemann 
Medical  College,   Chicago,  says: 

I  would  state  that  the  number  of  homoDopathic  physicians  in  the 
United  States  is  increasing  steadily.  The  report  that  Dr.  Paine 
quotes  from  was  in  reference  to  the  State  of  Illinois  alone.    Here  the 


546  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

number  is  slowly  increasing,  but  not  at  all  in  proportion  to  the  popu- 
lation ;  in  that  respect  only  are  we  losing  ground.  In  the  South  there 
is  no  perceptible  increase  ;  in  the  West  and  Nocth-west  the  system 
grows  very  rapidly,  in  the  East  very  slight  increase.  The  more  in- 
telligent the  community  the  faster  the  system  spreads.  In  cities  con- 
taining homoeopathic  colleges  it  grows  faster  than  in  cities  which 
have  no  college,  probably  owing  to  the  free  dispensaries  connected 
with  them. 

I.  T.  Talbot,  M.  D.,  Prof,  of  Surgery,   Boston   University 
School  of  Medicine,  writes: 

The  absurdity  of  the  statement,  whether  by  friend  or  foe,  that 
Homceopathy  is  on  the  decline  in  this  country  must  be  apparent  to 
every  one  who  knows  anything  of  facts.  Why  within  the  last  ten 
years  the  membership  of  the  American  Institute  has  more  than 
doubled;  the  number  of  physicians  avowedly  homoeopathic  has 
largely  increased,  and  in  some  places,  New  England  for  example,  it 
has  nearly  doubled.  The  number  of  students  in  our  colleges  have 
trebled,  while  the  number  of  colleges  has  greatly  increased.  The 
same  may  be  said  of  our  pharmacies,  our  journals  and  our  new  pub- 
lications. That  any  one  knowing  these  facts,  should  talk  in  this  way 
would  indicate  fitness  for  Middletown.  Not  only  are  these  state- 
merits  of  increase  of  numbers  true,  but  much  stronger  ones  may  be 
made.  Compare  the  trariJS^ions  of  the  Institute  in  1866  with  those 
of  last  year — the  first  a  scrimpy  pamphlet,  whose  matter  consisted  of 
the  "Reports"  of  a  few  institutions,  and  the  annual  address;  the 
latter,  a  portly  volume  of  nearly  eight  hundred  pages  and  tilled 
with  valuable  matter.  Then  as  regards  numbers.  Ten  years  ago 
there  were  hundreds,  I  may  safety  say  thousands,  of  ignorant  persons, 
to  say  the  least  professionally  ignorant,  ministers  with  and  without 
parishes,  lawyers  without  clients,  pedagogues,  who  made  but  a  short 
step  from  the  school  room  to  the  doctor's  office,  nurses,  who  had 
picked  up  a  little  useful  knowledge  in  the  sick  room — these,  all  armed 
with  "box  and  book,"  called  themselves  "homceopathic  physicians.'* 
How  many  of  those  have  retired  and  given  place  to  well  educated 
physicians?  Theu  our  colleges,  what  a  grand  advance  they  have 
made  in  their  curricula  and  requirements !  To-day  the  students  are 
often  much  better  educated  than  the  professors  of  former  times. 
Tiiat  the  past  decade  has  given  more  solid  and  permanent  advances 
to  Homceoi>atliy  than  ever  before,  I  believe  to  be  true,  and  so  deeply 
are  its  principles  intervening  and  displacing  the  notions  of  its  present 
bitter  opponents,  that  in  another  decade  there  will  be  thousands  of 
these  who  will  say,  Oh,  I  have  believed  in  and  practiced  Homa'o- 
pathy  more  than  twenty  years.    No  we  need  have  no  fear  of  failure. 


Miscellaneous,  547 

We  only  need  with  truth  on  our  side  to  "march  with  vigor  on,"  and 
our  principles  will  in  time  be  universally  adopted. 

H.    C.    Allen,   M.   D.,    formerly    General    Agent   of  the 
HomoBOjjathic  Mutual  Life  Insurance  Company,  says: 

You  ask  me — as  I  have  a  somewhat  extensive  personal  acquaint- 
ance with  the  homoeopathic  profession  in  the  United  States — if  I 
consider  the  remarkable  statement  of  Dr.  H.  M.  Paine,  in  October 
number  of  "Homoeopathic  Times,"  correct.  I  answer  emphatically, 
no !  The  premises  upon  which  Dr.  Paine  bases  his  conclusions  are 
not  reliable. 

Fifteen  or  twenty  years  ago  we  had  no  directories,  and  generally 
"lumped"  our  practitioners.  The  consequence  was — like  census 
taking  of  some  cities — it  fell  short  when  actual  count  was  made.  Our 
figures  then  were  "estimates"  not  based  upon  actual  facts.  When 
the  "Atlantic  Mutual"  was  organized,  with  Dr.  Paine  as  "medical 
director,"  he  was  as  anxious  to  over-estimate  as  he  now  is  to  under- 
estimate our  numerical  strength. 

In  June  last  the  "Critical  Period"  was  launched  upon  the  profes- 
sion from  Chicago,  but  it  proved  a  "boomerang"  to  its  author,  upon 
whom  its  force  recoiled  with  crushing  effect.  And  now  "Critical 
Period"  number  two,  is  evidently  endeavoring  to  create  dissension  in 
homoeopathic  ranks,  and,  at  the  same  time,  throw  a  sop  to  Allopathy, 
by  praising  their  "liberalism  ;  "  by  which  ho  no  doubt  refers  to  Dr. 
Van  Aerman  and  other  "liberal"  allopaths  during  the  war,  and  to 
the  American  Medical  Association  at  its  late  session  at  Buffalo,  in 
reference  to  the  teachers  and  students  of  Michigan  University,  etc. 

Dr.  Paine  says  "The  converts  from  Allopathy  to  Homa'opathy,  who 
are  willing  openly  to  admit  their  belief  in  Homoeopathy,  may  be 
numbered  by  tens,  while  formerly  there  were  hundreds."  And  this 
he  attributes  to  the  "liberal"  (?)  policy,  (above  mentioned),  adopted 
by  the  allopaths  towards  their  own  members."  And  so  Dr.  Paine, 
not  to  be  outdone  in  liberality  to  his  fellow  members,  introduces 
resolutions  prohibiting  reports' of  clinical  cases  treated  by  high  dilu- 
tions from  being  printed  in  the  transactions  of  New  York  State 
Society. 

The  liberal  allopath  does  not  believe  in  drop  doses  of  the  tinct. 
or  even  the  first,  second  or  third  dilution.  Dr.  Paine  does  not  believe 
in  potentized  drugs  in  the  treatment  of  disease ;  ergo  they  must  not 
be  used  by  those  who  have  tried  them  and  found  them  to  exceed 
their  expectations.  This  would  indicate,  (if  it  indicates  anything 
but  a  cacouthes  scribendi),  that  the  author  of  '^Critical  Period  No.  2," 
is  imbued  with  allopathic  liberality,  and  the  height  of  his  ambition 
appears  to  be  to  receive  a  nod  of  recognition  from  the  allopathic 


548  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

doctors.  It  might  be  urged  in  extenuation  of  the  allopaths  to  whom 
Dr.  Paine  refers  as  practicising  Homoeopathy  in  disguise,  that  they 
are  unable  to  detect  the  difference  between  Dr.  Paine's  Homoeopathy 
and  their  present  system,  so  far  as  the  use  of  drugs  and  their  admin- 
istration is  concerned. 


Frederick  Foster  Quin,  M.  D. 

Frederick  Foster  Quin  was  born  in  the  year  1799,  and 
pursued  his  medical  education  at  the  University  of  Edin- 
burgh, where  in  1820,  he  took  his  degree  of  M,  D.,  on  the 
same  day  as  did  Dr.  Chapman,  who  died  some  ten  years  ago. 
He  was  by  this  time  well  known  to  tjie  leaders  of  London 
political  and  social  life,  and  marked  out  as  a  man  w^ho  prom- 
ised to  take  a  prominent  position  in  his  profession,  hence, 
as  soon  as  he  had  graduated,  he  was  chosen  by  Lord  Liver- 
pool to  occupy  the  distinguished  Grovornmont  position  of  phj^- 
sician  to  the  exiled  Emperor  Napoleon  at  St.  Helen;i.  But  on 
the  eve  of  starting  from  this  country,  the  news  of  the  Em- 
peror's death  arrived,  and  he  was  at  once  chosen  by  the 
Duchess  of  Devonshire  to  travel  with  her  us  her  physician  in 
Italy,  and  saw  much  scientific  an  literary  society.  Dr.  Quin, 
whose  knowledge  of  continental  languages  was  perfect,  had 
great  opportunities  for  seeing  and  enjoying  the  intercourse 
of  the  most  cultivated,  as  well  as  the  most  distinguished. 
His  wonderful  gifts  of  conversation  and  wit  soon  made  them- 
selves apparent  to  all  with  whom  he  came  in  contact,  and 
Lady  Acton  told  the  story  of  how  in  Naples  at  this  time,  the 
young  men  used  to  exchiim,  '-Dicu,  qu'il  est  amusant  ce 
petit  Qiiin."  He  remained  with  the  Duchess  of  Devonshire 
till  her  death  in  1824,  when  he  was  appointed  physician  to 
Prince  Leopold  of  Saxe-Coburg,  afterwards  King  of  the  Bel- 
gians, by  whom  he  was  regarded,  not  simply  as  a  physician 


Miscellaneous,  549 

but  as  a  friend.  So  high  was  the  Prince's  opinion,  not 
merely  of  Dr.  Quints  professional  skill,  but  of  his  judgment  and 
tact,  that  Baron  Stockmar  stated,  that  had  Prince  Leopold 
accepted  the  throne  of  Greece,  it  was  his  intention  to  appoint 
Dr.  Quin  his  Minister  at  the  Court  of  St.  James.  No  better 
proof  could  be  given  of  the  social  position  Dr.  Quin  was  fit- 
ted to  occupy,  and  of  his  discretion  judgment  and  political 
capacity,  than  the  expression  of  such  an  intention.  While 
attendant  on  Prince  Leopold,  his  attention  was  drawn  to 
Homoeopathy  by  the  illness  of  one  of  the  household.  The 
case  had  been  given  up  by  himself  and  other  physicians, 
when,  to  the  surprise  of  all,  the  patient  recovered  under  the 
treatment  of  a  homceopathic  practitioner.  This  made  such 
an  impression  on  Dr.  Ouin,  that  he  resolved  to  look  into  and 
fully  study  this  new  and  much-abused  system  of  therapeu- 
tics. If  it  requires  a  considerable  amount  of  moral  courage 
at  the  present  day  to  investigate  this  subject  openly  and 
thoroughly,  much  more  did  it  do  so  at  this  time. 

When  in  London  with  the  Prince,  shortly  after  the  occur- 
rence of  this  incident.  Dr.  Quin  mentioned  the  subject  of 
Homoeopathy  to  Dr.  Johnson,  who  was  at  that  time  editor  of 
the  3[edicO'Chirurgical  Review  Dr.  Johnson  urged  him  to 
continue  his  enquiries  into  the  new  doctrine,  and  requested 
him  to  write  an  article  upon  it  for  his  lieview.  Dr.  Qiiin  did 
continue  his  enquiries,  but  when  he  returned  to  England 
with  the  Prince  in  1827,  convinced  that  Homoeopathy  was 
true,  and  when  he  was  treating  patients  in  London  homoeo- 
path ically.  Dr.  Johnson's  request  for  an  article  was  not  re- 
newed !  It  was  in  the  year  1827  that  Dr.  Quin  first  practised 
Homoeopathy  in  England.  He  did  so,  however,  only  when 
his  appointment  to  Prince  Leopold  involved  his  living  in 
London,  viz.,  during  what  is  commonly  called  "the  season." 
Determined,  however,  to  give  his  undivided  attention  to  the 
study  of  the  new  system,  he  resigned  his  position  as  physi- 
cian to  the  Prince,  and  spent  the  greater  portion  of  two 
years  in  studying  Homoeopathy  under  the  tutorship  of  Hah- 
nemann, and  with  that  enthusiasm,  which  was  another  trait 
of  his  character,   when   once  thoroughly  convinced  of  the 


550  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

truth  of  the  new  system,  he  became  a  devoted  and  admirmg 
follower  of  the  great  reformer  in  medicine.  In  1831  the 
epidemic  of  cholera  was  raging  in  Moravia,  whither  Quin 
went  to  put  into  practice  his  now  faith,  and  did  so  with  signal 
success.  He  was  attacked  himself  by  the  disease,  and  this 
with  the  hard  work  he  had  gone  through,  so  affected  his 
health,  that  he  returned  to  this  country  in  1832,  and  now  de- 
voted himself  to  the  practice  of  Homoeopathy,  as  the  first  and 
only  representative  of  it  in  England.  The  open  adoptiop  of 
Homoeopathy,  and  public  advocacy  of  its  treatment  by  Quin 
at  this  early  period,  when  the  system  was  violently  abused, 
and  the  grossest  ignorance  of  its  merits  prevailed,  when  he 
had  no  one  in  the  profession  in  this  country  to  back  him  up, 
and  when  in  so  doing,  he  threw  away,  one  might  say,  the  mag- 
nificent prospects  of  advancement  to  the  top  of  his  profes- 
sion, which  lay  before  him,  show  in  the  strongest  light  that 
force  of  character,  that  honesty,  that  truthfulness,  that 
energy,  that  fearlessness  in  the  cause  of  truth,  which  charac 
terized  Quin  throughout  his  life,  and  which,  as  much  as  his 
genialty,  won  for  him  the  position  he  ever  after  occupied. 
There  can  be  no  doubt,  that  had  it  not  been  for  his  open  con- 
fession of  Homoeopathy,  with  his  position,  his  wide  aristo- 
cratic connections,  his  cultivated  manners,  and  social  gifts, 
he  would  in  a  short  time  have  found  himself  the  leading  man 
in  the  medical  profession,  and  occupying  those  posts  of  hon- 
or to  fill  which  is  the  ambition  of  all  young  physicians. 
But  all  this  weighed  lightly  in  the  balance,  when  truth  and 
honesty  were  in  the  opposite  scale. 

Well  it  was  for  Homoeopathy  that  it  had  such  an  one  to  be 
its  sponsor.  Had  a  man  of  no  note  or  position  adopted  it, 
it  would  have  won  its  way  by  degrees,  and  slowly  perhaps. 
But  with  Ouin  to  introduce  it  to  England,  it  got  a  firm  hold 
of  the  highest  grades  of  society  first  of  all,  and  then  perme- 
ated downwards  to  the  middle  chisses.  Qiiin's  character 
and  prospects  were  sufficient  to  dispel  from  the  mind  of 
every  one  who  knew  him  the  idea  that  he  adopted  Homoeo- 
pathy from  any  other  motive  than  that  which  was  inspired 
by  a  conviction  of  its  truth.     From  the  first  he  resolved  to 


Miscellaneotis.  551 

maintain  the  higheBt  professional  tone  towards  his  oppo 
nents,  and  glad  as  they  would  have  been  to  have  picked  any 
hole,  however  small,  in  his  conduct,  not  one  fault  was  ever 
found  with  him  even  by  those  who  were  most  bitter  against 
him,  while  by  many,  whose  good  opinion  was  best  worth 
having,  he  was  regarded  with  sincere  respect,  and  even 
friendship. 

He  was  on  terms  of  intimate  friendship  with  such  men  as 
Mr.  Listen,  Sir  W.  Fergusson,  and  Sir  Charles  Lococke,  up 
till  the  time  of  their  death.  An  amusing  story  is  told  of  the 
latter.  Meeting  Quin  one  day  in  the  street,  "I  have  been 
treating  a  patient  of  yours,"  said  Sir  Charles.  "Indeed?" 
replied  Quin.  *Yes,  and  cured  him  on  your  own  method, 
too."  "Indeed,"  rejoined  Quin,  quite  interested,  "what  medi- 
cine did  you  give  ?"  "Nothing,"  was  Sir  Charles*  chuckling 
reply.  "Well,  it  is  curious,"  adds  Quin,  "that  I  have  been 
treating  a  patient  of  yours  too,  and  I  used  your  method." 
*\Vell,"  said  Sir  Charles,  "and  what  was  the  result?" 
"Dead,"  answered  Quin,  in  glee  at  having  given  his  friend 
as  good  as  he  had  got. 

Men  of  lesser  mind,  on  the  other  hand,  treated  Quin  very 
differently.  A  story,  too  good  not  to  be  related,  as  it  is  fact, 
was  told  by  himself  of  his  relations  with  Dr.  Paris,  then  and 
for  many  years  afterwards  President  of  the  Royal  College  of 
Physicians.  Quin  was  going  to  be  put  up  for  the  Athe- 
naeum Club,  when  Paris,  one  day  at  the  club,  in  the  presence 
of  some  of  Quin*s  personal  friends,  used  very  strong  and 
insulting  language  in  reference  to  him,  threatening  to  bring 
all  his  medical  friends  up  to  blackball  him.  On  being  at  once 
called  upon  to  apologise,  he  repeated  his  words,  and  refused. 
In  those  days,  duelling  was  of  common   occurrence.    Next 

day.  Lord  C ,  a  personal  friend  of  Quin*s,  called  on  Dr. 

Paris,  who  instead  of  finding  a  patient,  was  shown  in  writ- 
ing the  words  which  he  had  used  the  previous  day.     Lord 

C requested  Paris  to  apologise,  and  on  his  refusing  to 

do  so,  he  was  quietly  asked  to  name  a  friend.  This  Dr.  Paris 
found  himself  obliged  to  do.  His  friend,  after  an  interview, 
insisted  on  Dr.  Paris  withdrawing  all  his  previous  words, 
and  made  him  apologise. 


552 


Cincinnnli   Medical  Advr. 


Dr.  Quiti'a  firat  residence  in  London  waa  at  15,  King 
Street,  St,  James',  from  whence  lie  removed  to  Strattord 
Place,  and  thence  to  Arlington  Street.  In  18H7,  he  conceived 
the  idea  of  forming  the  British  HomcBopathic  Society,  but  it 
waa  not  till  184i  that  all  the  laws  and  other  arrangements 
were  completed.  In  that  year,  on  Hahnemann's  birthday, 
three  other  homreopatha,  Mr.  Cameron,  Dr.  Partridge,  and 
Dr,  Mayue,  met  at  Dr.  Quin's  house  in  Arlington  Street 
(since  used  as  the  Turf  Club),  and  founded  Iho  British 
Homceopathic  Society  ;  Dr,  Qiiin  boing,  of  conrso,  the  presi- 
dent. Daring  the  first  few  years  of  its  esistence.  the  Society 
met  at  Quin's  house,  every  year  adding  to  its  nnnibors,  till 
the  London  Hotnceopathic  Hospital  w&f  founded,  aftur  which 
the  Society  mot,  and  still  meets,  within  the  walls  of  the  hos- 
pital. The  office  of  president,  though  filled  up  annually, 
was  held  by  Dr.  Quin  till  his  death,  notwithstanding  that 
for  years,  owing  to  failing  health,  he  has  been  unable  to  be 
present.  Those  who  were  members  while  Dr.  Quinn  at- 
tended regularly  at  the  Society's  meetings,  speak  in  glowing 
terms  of  the  capabilities  he  constantly  displayed  for  the 
presidential  office,  o(  his  powers  of  summing  up  argument, 
of  his  tact  and  acuteness,  in  seeing  the  weak  points  in  itny 
speech,  and  of  the  gentle,  and  even  flattering  terms  iu  which 
be  used  to  onconrage  the  utterances  of  the  younger  mem- 
bers. 

His  next  pet  project  was  the  formation  of  a  hospital.  A 
large  association  of  laymen,  numbering  thirteen  hundred, 
some  ot  them  of  the  highest  rank,  was  formed,  for  the  purpose 
of  spreading  the  doctrines  ol  Homceopatby,  and  enlisting  the 
interest  of  the  public.  The  efforts  of  this  association,  with  Dr. 
Qiiin  as  the  soul  and  life  of  it,  reaulted,  in  1S50,  in  tho  founda- 
tion of  the  London  Homtnopathic  Hospital.  Dr.  Quin  himself 
collected  an  enormous  sum  of  money  from  hia  influential 
friends  for  its  endowment,  and  from  his  having  initiated  the 
idea  of  a  hospital,  and  having  done  so  much  to  carry  out  liia 
project,  he  must  always  be  regarded  aa  its  founder.  It  was 
first  situated  in  Golden  Square,  but  during  the  cholera  epi- 
demic, was  converted  into  a  cholera  hoapital,  and  it  was  there 


Miscellaneous,  553 

• 

that  those  remarkable  results  were  obtained,  which  although 
refused  publication  in  the  Blue  Book  on  the  subject,  with  the 
statistics  of  other  hospitals,  were  afterwards,  at  the  instance 
of  Parliament,  incorporated  in  a  separate  Blue  Book.      The 
results  of  Dr.  Macloughlin*s  inspection  of  the  hospital  at  this 
time,  led  him  to  state  in  writing  that,  were  he  himself  at- 
tacked with  cholera,  he  would  be  treated  homoeopathically. 
We  have  as  yet  said  nothing  of  Dr.  Quin's  private  practice. 
From  the  first  it  was  most  extensive,  while  his  patients  were 
almost  exclusively  drawn  from  the  very  highest  class  of  so- 
ciety.    From  Arlington  Street  he  moved  to  Mount  Street, 
where  his  health  began  to  fail,  and  compelled  him  to  retire 
to   a   considerable  extent;  so    that    from    the    time  he    left 
Mount  Street  he  never  laid  himself  out  for  practice,  albeit  he 
continued  up  till  quite  lately  to  see  those  patients  who  would 
consult  no  one  but  himself,  seeing  such  an  one  so  lately  as  a 
few  days  before  his  last  illness.      On  leaving  Mount  Street, 
Lord  Granville,  who  entertained  the  warmest  frindship  and 
admiration  for  Dr.  Quin,  invited  him  to  live  at  his  lordship's 
house  in  Bruton  Street;  after  residing  there  a  shprt  time,  and 
during  a  very  severe  illness,  he  removed  to  Belgrave   Man- 
sions; here  he  remained  till  his  lease  expired.     While  looking 
for   other   quarters,   the  Duke  of  Edinburgh,  then   abroad, 
wrote  to  him,  begging  him  to  occupy  apartments  at  Clar- 
ence House.     The  Duke  of  Southerland  made  a  similar  offer 
of  Stafford  House  for  his  use;  he  accepfted  the  gracious  ofler 
of  the  Duke  of  Edinburgh,  and   resided  at  Clarence  House 
till  the  Duke  and  Duchess  returned  to  town,  when,  although 
pressed  to  remain,  he  took  a  suite  of  rooms  in  Queen  Anne's 
Mansions,  where  he  died  at  the  advanced  age  of  seventy- 
nine.     During  his  long  career  of  practice.  Dr.  Qnin  was  not 
merely  the  fashionable  physician.     His  perfect  manners,  his 
thorough  knowledge  of  wit  and  humour,  made  him  the  pet 
of  society,  and  no  dinner  party,  from  that  of  the  Prince  of 
Wales  downwards,  was  considered   complete  without   the 
presence  of  Dr.  Quin.     But  those  who  only  saw  him  in  the 
midst  of  rollicking  fun,  jokes  and  laughter,  knew  but  one  side 
of  his  character.      He  was  not  merely  an  outsider,  who  was 


554  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

invited  out  for  the  sake  of  his  wit  and  conversation,  but  hav- 
ing mingled  from  his  youth  on  the  most  intimate  terms  in  the 
social  circles  of  the  highest  in  the  land,  he  became  their  per- 
sonal friend,  was  looked  up  to  and  referred  to  for  his  advice 
on  the  most  delicate  matters,  and  his  opinion  was  always 
trusted  for  tact,  sagacity  and  truthfulness.  Of  those  who 
formed  the  society  in  which  he  lived,  he  was  the  familiar, 
the  confidential  friend,  which  he  never  could  have  been,  had 
not  the  serious  side  of  his  character  come  as  prominently  to 
those  who  knew  him,  as  did  its  lighter  traits.  In  all  his  sal- 
lies of  wit  he  was  never  known  to  say  anything  of,  or  to  any 
one,  which  bore  a  sting,  neither  did  his  intimacy  with  the 
highest  personages  in  the  country,  as  in  the  case  of  men  of 
smaller  minds,  ever  lead  him  to  give  up  his  professional 
and  other  friends.  He  was  alw.iys  as  ready  to  dine  with  an 
old  friend  as  with  royalty,  and  his  ear  was  ever  open  to  any 
requests  for  advice  or  help  in  difficulty,  from  what  quarter 
soever  it  might  come. 

Ever  since  an  operation  which  he  had  undergone  while  at 
Lord  Granvill's  house,  he  had  been  subject  to. severe  attacks 
of  asthma,  which  so  affected  his  health  as  to  reduce  a  frame  at 
first  plump,  or  even,  we  believe,  burly,  to  one  of  great  ema- 
ciation. He  was  as  well  as  usual,  and  able  to  dine  out  on  the 
I2th  and  14th  of  November,  but  on  the  15th  he  was  attacked 
by  severe  bronchitis.  His  friend  of  long  standing,  Mr. 
Cameron,  who  had.  daily  visited  him  for  months  before, 
called  in  Dr.  Hamilton  in  consultation.  They  agreed  in 
thinking  that  the  end  was  at  last  approaching;  he  became  de- 
lirious, and  finally  insensible  on  the  24th,  when  he  breathed 
his  last.  It  may  be  mentioned  that  the  Prince  of  Wales 
visited  him  during  his  illness,  and  after  his  death,  sent  the 
following  telegram  to  Mr.  Cameron:  "The  Princess  and 
myself  are  deeply  grieved  and  distressed  to  hear  that  our 
kind  friend  has  passed  away.  Many  friends  will  mourn  his 
loss,  and  he  can  not  have  left  a  single  enemy."  Such  a 
tribute  of  esteem  speaks  volumes  for  the  character  of  Dr. 
Quin,  and  we  believe  we  are  right  in  stating  that  his  loss  as 
a  friend  is  grieved  over  by  many  of  the  highest  in  society,  as 
well  as  by  numerous  friends  in  less  exalted  spheres  of  life. 


Miscellaneous,  555 

Dr.  Quin,  in  the  midst  of  his  many  engagements,  was  not 
idle  on  furthering  the  cause  of  Homoeopathy,  by  literary 
work  as  well  as  in  other  ways.  In  1834  he  edited  the 
Homceojoathic  J^harmacopceia ;lRtQr  on  he  edited  Hahnemann's 
Fragmenta  de  Viribus,  published  a  treatise  in  French,  on 
cholera,  and  in  1836,  he,  with  the  assistance  of  Dr,  Hamilton, 
translated  the  whole  of  the  Materia  Medica  Pura.  This 
tran%|ation  was  printed,  but,  strange  to  say,  never  published. 
We  understand  that  of  the  five  hundred  copies  thrown  off, 
only  one  remains  extant,  and  is  in  Dr.  Quin's  own  library. 
The  premises  of  the  printer  were  destroyed  by  fire,  and  it  is 
believed  that  the  rest  of  the  copies  were  burnt. 

An  accomplished  physician,  a  brilliant  wit,  a  genial  and 
nevei;  failing  friend,  one  whose  society  has  been  sought  after, 
whose  friendship  has  been  prized  by  the  most  distinguished 
bf  men  and  women  during  half  a  century  of  years,  has  passed 
away  in  Dr.  Qiiin.  But  while  the  memory  of  him  will  be 
long  retained  by  a  large  number  of  personal  friends,  the 
history  of  Homoeopathy  with  which,  in  this  country  at  any 
rate,  his  name  is  so  intimately  associated,  the  hospital  which 
during  life  he  so  earnestly  succored,  and  which  by  his  will 
he  has  so  munificently  endowed,  and  the  society  of  which  he 
was  the  founder,  in  its  earliest  years  its  assiduous  director, 
and  ever  its  honored  president,  will  prove  to  him  a  monu- 
ment far  more  enduring. — HomcBopathic  Review, 


Lilienthars  Therapeutios. 

Editor  Medical  Advance: — I  have  a  small  bone  to  pick 
with  you.  Your  unqualified  praise  of  LilienthaFs  Thera- 
peutics I  beg  to  protest  against.  Just  see  how  rediculous 
this  is  ''Picric  acid.    Paralysis  from  softening  of  the  cord." 


556  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

Said  I,  "How  can  you  tell  if  it  is  softening  of  the  cord?" 
Said  he,  "By  the  symptoms."  "Then  why  did  you  not  give 
the  symptoms."  "But,"  said  he,  "Hughes  found  the  cord 
softened  in  a  dog  preserved  by  Picric  acid^  I  said,  "Well 
then  put  in  a  foot  note  saying,  'post  mortem  after  poisoning 
by  this  drug  showed  so  and  so."  "Oa;aZ^c  acid.  Sclerosis  of 
the  posterior  column."  Many  a  tyro  will  wonder  how  a 
knowledge  of  this  condition  can  be  reached,  except  by 
guess  work.  L.  is  at  work  on  a  second  edition,  and,  if  my 
advice  is  worth  anything,  he  will  not  only  show  the  post 
mortem  discoveries,  but  those  symptoms  that  indicate  a  par- 
ticular lesion,  so  that  one  can  make  a  diagnosis  and  yet  keep 
the  pathological  changes  subservient  to  the  pathology.  I 
also  object  to  the  introduction  of  Hale's  remedies,  unsup- 
ported by  provings  or  clinical  experience,  for  it  is  known 
that  Hale's  remedies,  or  their  supposed  pathogenesy,  have 
their  origin  in  the  eclectic  authorities,  which  he  quotes,  and 
in  his  own  brain  teeming  with  theories  and  guess  work. — S. 
New  York,  January  20,  1879. 


Comparative  Mortality. 

By  comparison  of  the  respective  mortality  under  specified 
treatments,  consistant  with  established  laws  of  cure,  the  rela- 
tive value  of  the  dilTcrcnt  modes  of  medical  practice,  may  be 
settled. 

Following  Hahnemann's  teachings  and  trying  to  develop 
the  applications  of  the  homo^opalhic  law  of  cure,  I  tnke  the 
liberty  to  lay  before  my  professional  brethren  a  copy  of  the 
official  report  to  the  board  of  health  in  187S. 

The  last  death  reported  in  1877  was  on  the  5th  of  June,  a 
case  of  consumption. 


Miscellaneous,  557 

■ 

In  1878  our  report  and  return  of  death  in  the  city  of  Phila- 
delphia, shows, 

March  18.  A  man  eighty -four  years  old,  of  cancer  of  the 
tongue. 

March  31.  A  colored  wom'in  eighty  years  old,  of  cancer 
of  the  breast. 

August  II.  A  man  seventy-one  years  old,  of  tubercles  of 
the  lungs,  (consumption).    .       ^ 

October  2.  A  woman  seventy-four  years  old,  of  cancer  of 
the  stomach. 

December  9.     A  woman  sixty-six  years  old,  of  paralysis. 

I  am  instigated  to  make  this  report  by  an  editorial  published 
in  the  January  number  of  the  Advance.  The  medical 
practitioners  in  this  city  are  obliged,  under  our  State  and 
Municipal  Laws,  which  are  strictly  enforced,  to  report  every 
case  of  death.  The  report  shows  that  under  the  strict 
homoeopathic  treatment  not  a  single  case  of  the  many  acute 
diseases,  which  were  treated  during  that  year,  terminated 
fatally.  Among  these  acute  diseases  we  had  a  large  number 
of  cases  of  typhus  and  typhoid  fever,  scarlet  fever,  summer 
complaint  of  children,  pneumonia,  diphtheria,  erysipelas,  etc. 

Can  these  statements  from  private  practice,  as  to  mortality, 
be  relied  on?  So  asks  the  editor.  The  statements  can  be 
relied  on  when  made  from  the  obligatory  and  strictly  enforced 
reports  to  the  board  of  health.  It  would  be  a  good  refutation 
of  the  claims  set  up  by  members  of  the  profession,  that  the 
law  of  the  similars  and  Hahnemann's  method,  (by  us  fol- 
lowed), and  that  the  exclusive  use  of  the  high  potencies,  (by 
us  used),  are  not  all  sufficient,  and  that  a  more  scientific,  (as 
they  call  it),  practice  with  more  liberal  allowances  for  free- 
dom of  medical  opinion  and  action,  as  well  as  the  application 
of  supplementary  and  auxiliary  principles,  if  some  of  them 
would  publish  their  records  of  mortality,  they  might  show 
us  the  superiority  of  their  "better  way,"  Ad.  Lippe. 

Philadelphia,  Feb.  i,  1879. 
Mar-3 


558  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 


Abuse  of  Instruments  in  fljTiaeCOlogy.      By  J.  Martine  Ker- 
shaw, M.  D.,  St.  Louis.    Missouri  School  of  Midwifery. 

I  propose  to  consider  **The  Abuse  of  Instruments  in  the 
Treatment  of  Diseases  of  Women."  •  I  have  chosen  this 
subject  because,  as  practitioners  of  this  special  branch  of 
medicine,  I  think  it  well  that  your  attention  be  called  to  a 
matter  of  such  serious  import  to  you  and  to  your  patients. 
In  the  last  few  years  wonderful  strides  have  been  made  in 
the  development  of  gynaecological  medicine  and  surgery. 
Many  ingenious  and  excellent  instruments  have  been  invent- 
ed and  various  palliative  measures  discovered.  The  gentle 
sex  have  much  to  be  thankful  for  in  consequence  of  these 
inventions  and  discoveries;  for  there  are  few  of  the  hitherto 
incurable  diseases  of  females  that  can  not  be  greatly  relieved, 
if  not  entirely  cured,  by  the  use  of  these  agents.  Yet,  with 
the  discovery  of  these  has  come  the  evil  of  resorting  to  in- 
struments and  explorations  in  every  case  of  female  difficulty. 
So  common  has  this  become  that  every  woman  must  ordi- 
narily make  up  her  mind  to  submit  to  a  manual  examination 
on  calling  a  physician  in  a  case  of  disease  peculiar  to  her 
sex.  There  can  not  be  a  particle  of  doubt  that  in  many  in- 
stances these  are  absolutely  necessary,  there  can  not  be  a 
doubt,  either,  that  in  many  instances  they  are  quite  as  unnec- 
essary. Diseases  of  the  lungs,  heart  and  other  organs  are 
treated  according  to  the  symptoms  presenting  and  by  ex- 
ternal physical  examination,  and  many  of  them  are  cured. 
Now  there  can  be  no  manner  of  doubt  that  physicians  would 
dive  into  the  innermost  cavities  of  these  latter  organs  if  they 
could  by  any  means  find  a  way  to  get  at  them.  Luckily  for 
the  organs,  they  fail  to  manage  this,  and  perhaps  it  is  just  as 
well  for  the  sick  people  that  it  is  so.  1  am  well  satisfied  that 
a  diagnosis  can  be  arrived  at  by  simple  questioning  in  very- 
many  cases  of  female  weakness.  I  am  well  satisfied,  too, 
that — especially  in  the  early  stages — many  of  these  can  be 
cured,  and  without  the  use  of  instruments.  Is  it  not  better, 
too,  in  cases  presenting   no   very   serious   symptoms,  to  first 


Miscellaneous,  559 

give  medicine  a  fair  trial?  I  tell  you,  ladies  and  gentlemen, 
there  can  not  be  a  shadow  of  doubt  with  regard  to  this  mat- 
ter. First,  bring  to  bear  your  physiology,  your  hygienic 
measures;  rest  and  medicines;  then^  if  these  fail,  resort  to  in- 
struments and  operations.  There  are  medicines  that  act  es- 
pecially on  the  female  organs,  and  just  as  certainly  as  do  others 
on  the  heart,  lungs  and  brain,  and  they  will  do  the  work 
just  as  well  if  properly  selected  and  applied.  The  physiolo- 
gy and  hygienic  measures  I  have  just  mentioned,  but  the  great 
need  of  women  suffering  with  disease  peculiar  to  their  sex 
is  rest.  In  a  public  lecture  such  as  this,  I  can  not  tell  you  all 
I  mean  by  rest;  suffice  it  to  say  that  I  mean  rest  in  its 
broadest  sense.  Now,  although  rest  is  better  for  women 
than  all  the  instruments  and  all  the  medicines  together,  yet 
it  is  that  of  which  they  avail  themselves  the  least.  It  does 
not  take  a  woman  long  to  find  out  that  a  healthy  husband  is 
not  especially  fond  of  a  sick  wife;  and  so,  when  seriously  ill, 
many  women  pretend  to  be  well.  A  smile  often  hides  the 
tortures  of  back  ache — a  cruel  ache  which  never  leaves  sleep- 
ing or  waking. 

The  back  aches  on,  and  the  woman  works  on,  because  it 
does  not  pay  to  be  sick;  because  kindness  and  attention  at- 
tend the  well  woman,  while  coldness  and  reproach  are  apt  to 
be  the  lot  of  the  one  unfortunate  enough  to  be  sick.    Because 
it  does  not  pay  to  be  sick,  or  appears  to  be  so,   is  one  reason 
why  so  many  instruments  have  been  invented,  and  a  strong 
reason  why  women  submit  to  examinations,  operations  and 
the  use  of  instruments,  so  that  if  not  well,  they  can  appear  to 
be  so  by  keeping  on  their  feet.     Another  thing  is  quite  cer- 
tain, too:     When  a  woman  begins  the  use  of  instruments  in 
certain  affections,  she  is  seldom  ever  able  to  do  without  them 
again.      Physicians   are   greatly  to   blame   for    this  state  of 
things;   for  many  of  them  are  only  too  ready  to  relieve  or 
palliate  disease  by  the  use  of  instruments  and  by  operations 
rather  than  attempt  a  cure  by  other  means.     Many  of  these, 
however,  use  instruments  under  protest,  their  patients  either 
being  unwilling    or  unable   to    rest — generally    the    former. 
Now  let  me  say  just  here,  that  rest  is  the  great  need  of  wo- 


\ 


560  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

man  in  many  of  her  diseases.  It  is  better  than  all  the  instru- 
ments and  proceedures  ever  invented,  and  pretty  certain,  too, 
if  properly  and  conscientiously  taken,  to  bring  about  gratify- 
ing results.  I  have  said  considerable  against  the  use  of  in- 
struments in  female  difficulties,  I  do  not  mean  to  say  that 
they  are  not  useful  at  times;  for  you  will  not  unfrequently 
find  them  absolutely  necessary;  but  I  assure  you  there  are  a 
multitude  of  suffering  women  in  whose  cases  instruments 
should  never  have  been  used — women  whp  suffer  more  now 
than  when  they  began  treatment. 

Instruments  should  never  be  used,  nor  examinations  made, 
unless  it  is  a  matter  of  grave  importance.  No  one  has  the 
right-r-to  my  mind — to  cause  the  submission  of  a  woman  to 
an  examination  unnecessarily.  And  when  the  subject  is  a 
young  girl,  it  becomes  a  stupendous  wrong,  unless  all  other 
measures  have  failed  to  bring  relief.  It  may  be  said  that  no 
one  can  say  that  an  examination  is  unnecessary  until  such 
examination  reveals  the  nature  of  the  disease.  I  am  aware 
that  this  is  more  or  less  true;  but  there  is  a  safe  side  to  be  on 
in  this  matter,  and  that  is,  to  refrain  from  such  a  proceeding 
until  other  means  have  beeri  fairly  tried,  and  the  gravity  of 
the  symptoms  maivc  it  a  necessity.  As  just  remarked,  it  is 
wrong  to  any. woman  to  be  made  to  suffer  shame  and  morti- 
fication unless  the  serious  nature  of  the  disease  demands  it, 
and  unless,  too,  there  is  a  reasonable  hope  of  bettering  her 
condition  by  the  means  resorted  to,  I  do  not  draw  on  mv 
imagination  in  speaking  of  this  matter.  The  severest  physi- 
cal pain  is  simply  nothing  compared  to  the  cruel  mental 
agony  that  some  women  experience  while  undergoing  opera- 
tions. 

There  are  women  all  over  our  land  who  suffer  constantly, 
yet  silently,  because  they  prefer  to  bear  the  present  physical 
pain  rather  than  the  mental  torture  sure  to  follow  an  exposure 
of  their  condition.  Do  not  for  a  moment  understand  me  as 
deprecating  the  use  of  instruments  and  general  surgical 
measures  in  the  treatment  of  diseases  of  women,  but  I  do 
mean  that  they  should  be  employed  in  those  cases  only 
where  they  are   absolutely   demanded   by  the  nature  of  the 


Miscellaneous,  561 

case.  In  a  multitude  of  instances  wh«re  instruments  and 
explorations  have  no  place  whatever,  the  disease  should  be 
treated  just  like  other  diseases. 

To  recapitulate:  Instruments  have  their  place — use  them 
properly  and  in  their  place.  Examinations  are  necessary  at 
times — make  them,  but  only  at  such  times.  Numbers  of 
suflering  women  could  regain  their  health  without  surgical 
interference  by  means  of  sound  physiology,  careful  hygienic 
measures,  straight  common  sense,  medicines  properly  ap- 
plied, an  attentive,  thoughtful  husband,  and  strict  obedience 
on  the  part  of  the  afflicted  woman. 


CorrOSpondonCO  from  Bois  Brule,  Mo.,  Jan.  29th,  1879. 

Dear  Advance: — You  remember — or,  more  likely,  you 
don't  remember,  that  I  promised  you  a  letter  from  this  terra 
incoynita  of  the  Mississippi  Valley  in  which  I  stay.  Forgot- 
ten all  about  me,  doubtless.  Well,  I  have  long  known  the 
penalty  of  being  an  ugly  woman.  And,  whether  you  can 
believe  it  or  not,  I  have  almost  come  to  acquiesce  in  the 
justness  of  that  penalty. 

One  little  bit  of  comfort  I  must  take  to  heart.  Women 
who  have  brains  are  not  pretty,  as  a  rule.  I  don't  set  up  the 
corollary  of  this  proposition  mind  you,  that  all  ugly  women 
are  "brainy."  But  did  you — candidly  now — did  you  ever 
hear  of  two  ugly  women  quarrelling  over  the  choice  of  two 
dressing  rooms  exactly  alike,  as  did  two  beautiful  primae 
donnae  in  Chicago  last  week? 

But  if  I  have  laid  down  the  rule  of  unvarying  ugliness  for 
brainy  women,  I  am  not  prepared  to  do  the  same  thing  for 
the  sterner  sex.  On  the  contrary,  the  Put-in  Bay  Meeting 
of    last  June   almost   convinced  me    that  the    characteristic 


562  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

symptom  of  intellectual  masculinity  is  beauty.  The  brain 
men  are  really  the  handsome  men.  Not  that  the  ugly  fel- 
lows were  absolutely  devoid  of  grey  matter,  but  it  isn't  their 
characteristic,  don't  you  see? 

It  was  my  first  trip  to  the  national   gathering  of  homceo- 
pathic  doctors,  and  everything  had  the  glitter  and  dazzle  of 
novelty  to  me.     Many  times  in  these  gloomy  winter  days  of 
Bois  Brules,  there  rises  spontaneously    before  me  the  bright 
and  everchanging  picture  of  my  journey,  .The  broad,  green 
prairies  of  Illinois,  checkered  with  the  paler  green  of  young 
corn,  the  weird,  strange  groves  of  tamerac,  and  the  low  pine 
crowned  hills  of  Michigan;  the  broad  blue  river  of  Detroit, 
with  its  quaint,  clean  light-houses  painted   snow   white  and 
the  lanterns  painted  dull  red;  the  fleets  of  dark  coal-schoon- 
ers gliding  silent  and  somber  through  the  clear  water,  in  my 
poetic  fancy  needing  only  the  black  flag  at  the  mast  head  to 
make   them    veritable  and  terrible    pirate  squadrons  home- 
ward bound,  and   ladened   with  the  spoils  of  a   successful 
cruise.     Then    the  broad,  blue  lake,    spotted    with    tufts   of 
green  islets,  and  reaching   out  and    up  against   the    eastern 
horizon,  away  into  measureless    space  of  blending  azure  of 
water  and  sky. 

What  wonder  that  I  sigh  deep  down  in  my  heart  of  dis- 
content, when  I  turn  from  this  fahy  picture  of  brilliant  ligiits 
and  soft  suggestive  shadows,  to  the  dull,  gray-brown  of  the 
dense,  naked  forest  of  Bois  Brule.  You  will  smile  when  I 
tell  you  that  I  feel  here  in  these  tall,  lone  woods,  a  distress- 
ing impediment  to  breathing  whenever  I  look  up  at  the  nar- 
row, pale  blue  or  gray  ribbon  of  winter  sky  that  lies  stretch- 
ed along  the  top  of  the  high,  straight,  black  walls  of  giant  trees 
that  stand  immovable,  relentless,  as  fate  on  cither  side  of  the 
lonely  roads  I  travel.  I  feel  that  1  atn  cramped  and  borne 
down  and  oppressed  by  the  superincumbent  aw  fulness  of 
thy  great,  dark  shadow,  O,  Bois  Brule!  Day  by  day  I  plot 
and  plan  deft  measures  of  future  escape  from  thy  frowning 
walls  of  circumvallation.  Day  by  day  do  my  plots  fail  and 
my  plans  miscarry,  till  of  late  there  come  creeping  upon  me  the 
vague  terrors  of  deepening  conviction  that  for  me  there  is  no 


Miscellaneous.  563 

escape.  That  the  gray-brown  shadow  of  this  voiceless  wood 
lying  dark  and  silent  across  my  life  will  fall  at  some  day — 
how  near  or  far  I  may  not  know — as  silently,  as  relentlessly 
across  my  grave.. 

Now  dare  to  whisper  "hysterics,"  gentle  reader,  and — 
well,  hysterics  has  been  the  pathological  reproach  and  thera- 
peutic shame  of  my  sex  time  out  of  mind.  A  man  may  get 
bluer  than  condensed  indigo,  and  straightway  there  are  dis- 
covered indubitable  evidence  of  tissue  changes  and  destruc- 
tive cell- transformations  that  more  than  account  for  his  loud 
complainings.  But  only  let  a  woman  whine,  just  a  little,  and 
she  has  got  nothing  but  a  self-imposed  "hysterics"  beyond  a 
doubt. 

But  what  I  started  to  write  about  w.is  the  American  Insti- 
tute of  Homoeopathy,  and  how  its  angularities  impinged 
upon  the  cerebral  receptivity  of  a  backwoods  woman  of 
Missouri. 

Do  you  know  that  I  "saved  up"  out  of  my  scanty  earnings 
to  attend  this  association  with  the  definite,  selfish  object  of 
learning  something?  Fact,  I  assure  you.  Served  me  right, 
perhaps,  for  deliberately  conspiring  to  get  something  for 
nothing,  and  the  ride  thrown  in.  But  wasn't  1  dissappoint- 
ed?  I  don't  remember  anything  like  that  dissappointment 
since  it  rained  so  hard  and  persistently  all  day  of  the  first 
May  pic  nic  I  ever  "dressed  up"  for, 

1  laugh  yet  to  think  how  timidly  I  walked  into  the  lecture 
room  of  the  Put-in  Bay  house.  How  I  held  itiy  breath  to 
catch  every  word  that  was  being  said.  How  eagerly  I 
scanned  the  faces  and  took  mental  measures  of  the  heads  be- 
fore and  around  me. 

"Ah,"  I  said  to  myself,  "the  French  Academy  of  Sciences 
has  been  the  goal  of  my  dreams.  And  now,  here  I  stand  in 
the  awful  presence  of  its  American  prototype.  Sit  still,  me 
heart,  sit  still." 

A  nice  looking  gentleman  was  reading  something  relating 
to  materia  medica.  I  listened  attentively  and  grew  into  the 
conviction  that  I  had  heard  or  read  something  very  like  it  be- 
fore.     But  being  only  a  humble  denizen  of  Bois  Brule,  (the 


564  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

natives,  oblivious  of  the  tautology,  call  it  "Bob  Ruly's 
Woods,")  I  did  not  fully  trust  myself  to  decide  upon  the  line  of 
demarcation  between  the  original  thought  and  the  rehash. 

Just  when  the  reader  had  gotten  fairly  into  his  subject,  the 
handsome  president,  who  had  been  toying  nervously  with  his 
mallet  for  some  minutes,  suddenly  brandished  this  weapon 
and  brought  it  down  upon  his  desk  with  a  crash  that  startled 
me.  It  startled  the  reader  too,  and  with  some  confusion  he 
hastily  folded  his  manuscript  and  slunk  away  to  his  seat.  He 
looked  crestfallen,  and  I  felt  disappointed  that  a  mere  matter 
of  a  few  moments  should  be  allowed  to  deprive  us  of  the 
original  research  and  philosophical  deductions  which  must 
have  been  developed  in  the  latter  half  of  the  paper. 

Further  along  in  the  session  that  inevitable  mallet  came 
down  while  a  young  eye  doctor  was  elaborating  a  subject 
peculiar  to  his  specialty.  He  was  a  very  young  man,  I  think, 
and  from  some  one  of  the  lake  villages.  He  rebelled  against 
the  gavel  and  begged  a  minute's  time  in  which  to  state  an 
important  point.  Time  was  granted  and  he  went  on  to  say 
that  Drs.  Liebold  and  Angell,  two  noted  specialists  of  the 
"East,"  had  pronounced  the  case  utterly  hopeless.  The  pa- 
tient had  the  good  fortune  to  stumble  upon  this  phenomenal 
young  surgeon,  and  lo!  the  prediction  of  the  two  wise  men 
of  the  East  came  to  naught,  and  the  patient  was  healed. 
This  young  man  will  be  older  by  the  next  meeting.  He 
would  have  been  much  older  immediately  could  he  have 
seen  the  broad  grins  that  illumined  the  countenances  of  the 
experienced  gentlemen  who  occupied  the  rostrum  in  his  rear. 

I  did  not  fail  to  note  that  the  discussions  turned  upon  some 
old  and  well  known  points — points  worn  clean  off,  in  fact. 
Potenqy,  and  dose,  and  repetition,  and  alternation,  and  single 
remedy,  and  dynamization,  were  handled  and  mouthed  in 
about  the  style  that  they  are  wont  to  be  at  county  and  state 
conventions,  medical. 

"This  is  the  free  for  all  fight,"  I  thought,  "and  when  each 
man  shall  have  had  his  tilt  with  his  opposite,  we  shall  get 
down  to  business  in  earnest.'' 


Miscellaneous.  565 

But  \ve  n^ver  did  get  down  to  business.  Fragments  of 
numerous  papers  were  read  on  numerous  subjects.  Numer- 
ous speeches  were  made,  good,  bad  and  indifferent,  as  to 
manner  and  matter.  The  papers  all  had  the  basic  lesion  of 
reading,  much  like  familiar  text  books  newly  conned,  save 
one  lone  paper  that  had  a  genuine  vertebral  column  of  origin- 
ality in  its  longitudinal  axis.  It  was  read  by  a  young  gentle- 
man from  Chicago,  and  was  not  preceded  by  the  usual  flour- 
ish of  trumpets.  Which  proves  that  a  good  thing  may  come 
even  out  of  Chicago.  The  writer  referred  the  morbid  condi- 
tion known  as  **Addison's  Disease,"  to  the  hydra-headed 
tubercular  process  as  its  immediate  cause.  The  same  thought 
had  flashed  along  my  auditory  nerve,  some  months  before, 
while  repeatedly  holding  my  ear  hard  against  the  inter- 
scapular region  of  a  boy  far  toward  the  closing  scene  of  a 
marked,  case  of  "bronze  skin."  I  did  not  write  up  the 
thought.  And  to  this  young  medical  teacher  from  Chicago 
is  justly  due  the  credit  for  a  discovery  in  pathology. 

Dynamization  received  two  smart  blows,  simultaneously 
from  the  East  and  West.  It  reminded  me  of  the  rude  game 
I  used  to  see  little  school  boys  play,  called,  "knockout  all 
between  us."  Two  knockers  would  flank  a  boy,  or  bevy  of 
boys,  and  proceed  vigorously  to  knock  them  out.  C.  Wessel- 
hoeft,  of  Boston,  hit  from  East  with  his  little  microscope. 
He  had  seen  particles  of  Oarbo  veg.  no  smaller  in  the  third 
than  in  the  first  trituration.  The  succeeding  progressive 
subdivision  of  drug  particles  by  the  successive  triturations 
was  a  myth.  Carbo  veg.  could  be  triturated  "finer"  in  a 
glass  mortar,  with  a  glass  rod,  without  the  intervention  of 
the  secondary  Sack,  lac.  Not  only  this,  my  countrymen,  but 
in  the  case  of  Aurum  met.y  Cupr.  met.  and  Plumb,  met.^  the 
originally  small  particles  of  metal  became  actually  larger, 
through  a  welding  together  of  those  particles  of  metal  "in 
the  process  of  trituration." 

Thus  rudely  batted  from  Boston,  Dynamization  was  short 
stopped  by  Sherman,  of  Milwaukee,  with  the  statement, 
based  on  experiment,  that  two  of  these  metals  were  no 
longer  what  they  feigned  to  be,  after  a  short  period  of  repose 


566  Cincinnati  Medical  A  dvance. 

even  in  well  stopped  bottles.  They  become  oxides.  He  also 
confirmed  the  Bostonian's  diagnosis  of  the  dynamization  and 
progressive  subdivision  theory.  Infinite  divisibility  of  mat- 
ter was  thus  shown  to  be  a  delusion  and  a  snare,  and  had  no 
voice  for  its  defense. 

Seeing  it  thus  lone  and  forsaken,  my  womanly  instinct 
prompted  me  to  break  one  lance  for  the  lost  cause. 

I  mildly  suggested  that  it  was  only  reasonable  to  presume, 
from  the  known  hardness  and  raggedness  of  the  small  blocks 
of  triturated  Sack,  lac,  and  the  equally  known  softness  of 
these  metals,  that  infinitesimally  small  particles  of  those 
metals  would  be  rubbed  into  the  interstices  and  depressions 
upon  the  surfaces  of  each  and  every  block  of  the  said  Sach. 
lac,  with  which  a  particle  of  metal  came  in  forcible  contact. 
Emanating  from  an  ugly  woman,  this  argument  was  relegated 
to  the  waste  basket,  as  a  piece  of  perversity  to  be  ignored. 
I  shall  get  me  some  microscopes  and  look  for  myself.  Mind 
if  I  don't. 

R.  Ludlam,  M.  D.,  the  Apollo  Belvedere  of  the  Institute, 
had  some  maps,  illustrating  some  of  the  eccentricities  of  the 
clinical  thermometer.  The  explanation  included  a  brief 
summary  of  the  practical  uses  of  the  thermometer.  Ludlain 
could  have  done  much  better  for  the  society  by  a  lecture 
upon  practical  ovariotomy;  in  which  branch  of  surgery  he 
has  done  some  creditable  work.  An  uncouth  hoosier  made 
Reuben  to  feel  the  rod  by  remarking  that  even  down  in 
Posey  county,  Ind.,  the  doctors  had  been  familiar  with  the 
clinical  thermometer  these  ten  years  past. 

Am  I  mistaken  as  to  the  object  of  this  yearly  assemblage? 
Do  many  go  for  "fun;"  and  some  for  self  glorification;  and 
nobody  for  real  work.^*  In  native  intellect,  commanding 
presence  and  mental  acquirements,  this  assembly  will  com- 
pare favorably  with  any  similar  body  in  the  world — perhaps. 
I  know,  from  closely  conned  pen  pictures,  that  even  the 
noted  Academy  of  Science  of  la  belle  Paris,  would  be  at  dis- 
advantage in  a  fair  comparison  of  material.  What  then 
makes  the  great  difference — the  incomparable  difference  of 
results.''      Answer  me,  O,  Bois   Brule,    from    the  whispering 


Miscellaneous,  567 

depths  of  thy  thousand  chorded  glottis!  Is  it  not  the  spirit, 
the  essence  of  this  great  continent,  that  makes  the  male 
aboriginal,  joy  only  in  the  fierce,  wild  excitement  of  the 
chase  and  combat,  while  he  despises  the  laborious,  plodding 
routine  of  work?  Doth  not  this  same  spirit  paralyze  the 
mortores  animorum  of  his  pale  browed  supplanters?  Doth 
the  red  v/oman  of  the  prairies  teach  her  daily  lesson  of  patient 
toil  in  vain?  Shall  not  the  woman-doctor  of  the  future,  be- 
come the  practical  scientist  of  American  medicine;  the  per- 
sistent delver  for  the  hidden  ores  of  all  medical  wisdom? — 
Dr.  Abagale  C.  Green. 


u\  Mt^iiut. 


A  Manual  of  Therapeutics  According  to  the  Method  of  Hahnemann.    By 
Richard  Hughes,  L.  R.  C.  P.,  Edin.    LondoD,  Seath  &  Ross. 

The  distinguished  author  has  honored  us  with  a  copy  of  the  new 
edition  of  his  work,  and  we  find,  upon  looking  it  over  carefully,  that 
it  is  greatly  improved.  It  is  gracefully  dedicated  to  his  American 
colleagues,  the  cause  of  which  is  clearly  traceable  to  the  results  of 
his  visit  to  this  country  in  1876.  It  was  our  pleasure  to  see  the 
author  at  that  time,  and  tD  find  him  a  man  yet  in  the  prime  of  life, 
and  susceptible,  as  his  work  clearly  proves,  of  mo<lifying  his  views  by 
the  acceptance  of  new  facts  and  improved  theories.  That  his  visit 
to  our  Centennial,  and  bis  consequent  intercourse  with  the  leading 
men  of  the  homoeopathic  school  of  this  country,  enlarged  his  views 
upon  pomo  important  points  is  plainly  to  be  seen.  But  we  have 
looked  over  the  book  with  some  surprise.  Why  should  a  man  of 
ability  like  Dr.  Uughes  write  so  elementary  a  work  on  medical  prac- 
tice ?  Is  it  a  real  advancement  in  our  literature  to  have  the  book 
added  to  one's  library?     A  renowned  mathematician  who  would 


568  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

condescend  to  write  an  arithmetic  for  young  children,  or  a  celebrated 
lexicographer  or  philologist  who  would  spend  his  talents  in  making 
something  akin  to  Webster'g  spelling  book,  would  not  nr^aterially 
enhance  his  fame.  Dr.  Hughes'  work  is  nothing  if  not  elementary 
and  fragmentary.  Our  theory  and  practice  is  our  materia  medica 
applied.  But  judging  of  the  materia  medica  by  what  one  might 
learn  of  it  in  this  book,  it  would  seem  to  be  a  very  vague  sort  of 
thing  out  of  which  to  get  precise  practical  results.  We  might  easily 
take  issue  on  many  points  presented  by  the  Doctor,  but  what  con- 
cerns us  now  ia  not  so  much  what  is  in  the  book,  but  rather  what  is 
not  in  it,  and  what  might  have  been  in  it,  to  the  exclusion  of  a  deal 
of  stuff  of  doubtful  value.  Dr.  Hughes  is  an  author  on  materia 
medica,  and  one  of  the  teachers  cf  it  in  the  London  School  of  Homoeo- 
pathy, but  it  does  not  appear  to  us  that  he  really  understands  the 
homoeopathic  materia  medica.  Perhaps  we  might  better  say  of  him, 
that  he  is  a  diligent  student  of  "surface  indications."  His  grasp  of 
most  remedies  is  objective.  The  finer  and  more  subtle  subjective 
elements  belonging  to  our  drugs  he  generally  ignores,  or  else  he  is  not 
aware  of  th.em.  The  author  will  doubtless  smile  at  this  estimate  of 
him  and  his  productions,  but  let  us  assure  him  that  while  we  think 
none  the  worse  of  him  and  his  book,  we  would  be  glad  to  think  much 
better  than  at  present  we  can.    Boericke  &  Tafel,  agents.    Price  $5.00. 

The  Temperaments,  or,  The  Varities  of  Physical  Constitution  in  Man, 
considered  in  their  Rehitions  to  Mental  Character  and  the 
Practical  Affairs  of  Life,  etc.  By  D.  II.  Jacques,  M.  D.,  with  an 
Introduction  by  II.  S.  Drayton,  A.^I.,  Editor  of  the  Phrenolog- 
ical Journal.  12mo,  I^oO  pages,  150  Illustrations,  extra  cloth. 
Price  S1.50.  New  York:  S.  R.  Wells  &  Co.,  Publishers,  737 
Broadway. 

A  work  treating  of  a  subject  that  should  be  of  universal  interest,  as 
it  is  of  very  great  importance.  The  temperaments  are  defined  ac- 
cording to  both  the  ancient  and  the  modern  theories  and  cla.ssifica- 
tions.  The  pathological  views  of  the  old  medical  schools  are  fully 
described,  as  well  as  those  of  the  more  recent  anatomical  and  j)hysi- 
ological  systems.  The  writer  discusses  all  the  temperamental  modifi- 
cations and  combinations  usually  met  with,  showing  the  configuration 
which  is  associated  with  the  different  types.  The  relations  of  tem- 
perament to  occu])ation,  marriage,  education,  training  of  children, 
choice  of  occupation,  health  and  disease,  are  entered  into.  An  im- 
portant and  valuable  feature  is  that  of  the  practical  hygienic  rules  for 
correcting  the  unhealthful  predispositions  of  certain  temperamental 


Book  Notices,  569 

conditions ;  and  not  the  least  interesting  part  of  the  book  is  that  which 
is  devoted  to  the  temperaments  as  they  appear  in  races  and  nations, 
and  is  illustrated  with  many  portraits.  Then  there  are  studies  in 
temperament,  and  a  chapter  on  the  temperaments  in  the  lower 
animal,  showing  the  effect  of  domestication  and  other  conditions. 

The  work  appears  to  be  very  complete,  and  is  the  only  work  on  its 
particular  subject  now  published.    For  sale  by  Robert  Clarke  &  Co. 

Lectures  on  Materia  Medica.  Vols.  1  and  2.     By  Carroll  Dunham,  M.  D 
For  Sale  at  the  Pharmacies. 

We  have  now  added  to  our  literature  three  most  valuable  books 
from  the  pen  of  this  gifted  author.  The  first  volume,  Homoeopathy 
the  Science  of  Therapeutics,  issued  last  year,  has  already  taken  its 
place  among  the  most  important  of  our  text  books.  The  two  hand, 
some  volumes  just  now  laid  upon  our  table  are  each  the  peer  of  its 
predecessor.  But  while  they  are  works  that  will  ever  be  sought  after 
by  the  earnest  students  of  Homoiopathy,  they  will  always  rank  much 
higher  than  mere  text  books.  Not  for  many  genemtions  will  medical 
science  outgrow  what  they  contain.  They  are  brim  full  of  philosophy 
and  fact,  which  must  have  endurance  by  virtue  of  the  unassailable 
truth  they  contain.  V^olume  I  is  adorned  with  a  most  perfect  like- 
ness of  Dr.  Dunham,  upon  which  stranger  and  friend  will  gaze  with 
pleasure.  To  one  skilled  in  the  science  of  physiognomy  there  will  be 
seen  the  unmistakable  impress  of  the  great  soul  that  looked  so  long 
and  steadfastly  out  of  its  fair  window.  And  to  those  who  knew  the 
original  there  will  come  a.  iresh  meaning  to  the  saying,  "He  being  dead 
yet  speaketh."  But  our  readers  will  bo  chiefly  concerned  with  the 
contents  of  these  books.  They  are  even  better  than  their  em- 
bellishments. They  are  chiefly  such  lectures  on  materia  medical 
as  Dr.  Dunham  alone  knew  how  to  write.  They  are  preceded  quite 
naturally  by  introductory  lectures,  which  ho  was  accustomed  to  de- 
liver to  his  classes  on  general  therapeutics,  on  rules  which  should 
guide  us  in  studying  drugs,  and  on  the  therapeutic  law.  At  the  close 
of  Volume  H  we  have  several  miscellaneous  papers  of  great  interest, 
but  the  most  important  fact  of  all  is  that  we  have  here  over  fifty  of 
our  leading  remedies  presented  in  a  method  which  belonged  pecu- 
liarly to  the  author,  as  one  of  the  most  successful  teachers  our  school 
has  yet  produced.  Dr.  Dunham  never  intentionally  wrote  a  book. 
He  had  always  too  much  else  to  do.  Book  making — if  he  ever  de- 
signed it — he  left  for  after  life.  Alas,  that  after  life  in  this  world 
never  came !  But  thanks  to  loving  and  competent  hands,  the  treas- 
ures of  his  life's  work  are  now  being  gathered  pp  and  given  to  us  in 


570  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

such  form  that  they  can  not  fail  be  a  wide  and  lasting  blessing  to 
mankind.  Blessed  will  be  the  library  they  adorn,  and  wise  the  man 
or  woman  into  whose  mind  their  light  shall  shine. 

Hoynes'  Clinical  Therapeutics.    Vol.  11.    Part  VI.    Chicago,  1879. 

The  previous  five  parts  have  been  gathered  into  a  handsome  vol. 
ume.  When  we  have  this  volume  completed  we  will  have  a  couple 
of  books  worth  a  foremost  place  in  any  physician's  library.  They 
are  just  lacking  enough  in  system  to  make  them  popular  with  the 
busy  practitioner^  True,  one  will  not  always  find  what  he  wants 
here,  but  he  will  more  often  find  what  he  needs,  and  may  be  not 
looking  for. 

Notes  on  the  Treatment  of  Skin  Diseases.     By  Rob't  Leveing,  M.  D. 
Wm.  Wood  &  Co.,  New  York. 

This  little  work  is  of  very  considerable  use  to  the  practitioner, 
save  only  in  the  matter  for  which  it  was  especially  written — the 
irecUment  of  skin  diseases.  The  author  feebly  protest  against  Hebra's 
statement,  that  "no  other  assistance  is  required  than  a  knowledge  of 
the  objective  symptoms,  which  are  visible  on  the  surface,  in  each 
particular  case.  We  do  not  attach  any  value  whatever  to  either  the 
history,  or  to  the  subjective  phenomena  in  investigating  a  cutaneous 
affection."  Ilebra  is  well  known,  and  very  high  authority  in  a 
school  that  boasts  of  pathology  a.s  a  specialty.  To  this  absurd  and 
monstrously  false  teaching  Dr.  Leveing  offers  a  solitary  exception, 
namely,  scabies.  Now  then  as  the  treatment  offered  in  this  work  is, 
almost  without  exception,  unscientific,  and  the  pathology  worthy 
only  of  the  dark  ages,  we  find  it  hard  work  to  extract  sweetness  of 
any  sort  from  it.  But  as  the  objective  phenomena  of  the  various 
forms  of  skin  diseases  are  well  described,  and  the  classification  ex- 
cellent, we  think  it  likely  information  of  some  sort  may  be  obtained 
from  it.  It  is  small  and  convenient.  Price  one  dollar.  Kob't.  Clarke 
&  Co.,  Cincinnati. 

A  Tabular  Hand  Book  of  Auscultation  and  Percussion,  By  Herbert  C. 
Clapp,  A.  M.,  M.  D.,  of  the  Boston  University  School  of  Medi- 
cine.   Houghton,  Osgood  &  Co.,  Boston,  1879. 

If  we  must  have  new  books  upon  old  subjects,  it  is  some  satisfaction 
to  find  that  they  are  good  ones.   In  physical  diagnosis  there  is  little  to 


Book  Notices,  571 

be  said  that  has  not  been  said  many  times.  But  Dr.  Ciapp  has  done 
a  real  service  to  the  profession  in  tabulating  all  that  pertains  to  this 
department,  so  that,  with  the  utmost  care  possible,  one  can  ascertain 
what  is  desirable  to  know,  and  for  the  use  of  students  nothing  could 
be  neater  than  this.  We  commend  the  book  most  cheerfully.  Prito 
$1.50. 

Diseases  of  the  Bladder  and  Urethra  In  Women.     By  Alexander  J.  C. 
Skene,  M.  D.     Wm.  Wood  &  Co. 

This  worlt  covers  a  new  and  most  important  field  in  medicine,  and 
the  author  has  done  the  profession  good  service  in  elaborating  and 
defining  the  diseases  belonging  to  this  department.  The  work  is  well 
illustrated,  so  as  to  make  both  the  anatomy  and  the  pathlogical  con- 
dition plain  to  the  simplest  mind.  It  would  seem  quite  indispensable 
to  those  of  the  profession  who  make  a  specialty  of  gynsecology.  And 
what  strikes  us  upon  perusing  this  book  is,  that  so  many  conditions, 
due  to  the  bladder  and  urethra  might  easily  be,  and  doubtless  have 
been,  mistaken  for  uterine  troubles.  One  of  the  best  evidences  w^e 
have  of  medical  progress,  may  be  seen  in  this  increasing  ability  to 
diflferentiate  between  various  diseases  of  the  pelvic  viscera.  For  sale 
by  Rob't  Clarke  &  Co.    Price  $3.00. 

James'  Clinical  Blanks.  An  admirable  arrangement,  always 
ready  for  the  busiest  practitioners,  on  which  to  note  their  cases, 
symptoms  andi  treatment.    For  sale  by  Boericke  &  Tafel. 


€&il0p's  %Mu 


New  York,  January  20,  1879.  The  position  of  resident  physician 
to  the  Hahnemann  Hospital,  in  New  York  City,  is  now  >;|icant.  A 
competitive  examination  will  be  held  early  in  March  next.  The 
doctor  to  have  his  board,  lodging  and  washing.  Applicants  may  ad- 
dress John  W.  Thomi)8on,  M,  D.,  secretary  medical  board,  3G  East 
30th  St.,  New  York. 

Dr.  Z.  B.  Nichols,  of  Faribault,  Minn.,  called  on  us  recently,  and 
reports  having  made  an  extensive  and  pleasant  trip  through  western 


572  Cincinnati  3fedical  Advance, 

cities.  The  doctor  has  been  surgeon  for  sixteen  years  to  Minnesota 
Institute  for  the  Deaf  and  Dumb  and  the  Blind,  and  without  the  loss 
of  a  single  patient.  The  directors  are  all  patrons  of  HomcxK)pathy, 
and  know  what  those  under  their  care  require.  We  applaud  their 
wisdom  and  Dr.  Nichols'  success. 

WnoA  Emma  !  Our  good  friend,  P.,  of  St.  Louis,  writes  that  he 
"wants  to  stop  the  Advance."  Well  we  are  really  sorry  that  any  of 
our  friends  can  not  have  what  they  want.  But  we  assure  the  doctor 
that  the  present  momentum  of  the  Advance  precludes  the  idea  of 
its  being  stopped  by  any  body.  If  he  thinks  he  can  do  it,  let  him 
come  here  and  try.  But  let  him  remember  that  for  this  state  of 
affairs  he  is  himself  responsible,  for  he  has  been  for  a  long  time  a 
prompt  paying  subscriber.  For  this  we  are  sorry  to  lose  him  from 
our  list,  but  we  would  as  quick  think  of  checking  the  rotation  of  the 
earth,  as  to  prevent  the  onward  movement  of  the  Medical  Advancb 
in  the  path  of  progress. 

New  York  Ophthalmic  Hospital  report  for  the  month  ending 
January  31,  1879:  Number  of  prescriptions,  three  thousand,  four 
hundred  and  fifty ;  number  of  new  patients,  four  hundred  and  forty- 
three  ;  number  of  patients  resident  in  the  hospital,  forty-five  ;  average 
daily  attendance,  one  hundred  and  thirty-three;  largest  daily  at- 
tendance, two  hundred  and  six. — ^J.  H.  Buffum,  M.  D.,  Resident 
Surgeon. 

Milwaukee,  January  20,  1879.  The  remedies  mentioned  in  Dr. 
Sherman's  paper,  A  Test  of  the  Efficacy  of  High  Dilution,  prepared 
in  the  presence  of  the  members  of  the  Milwaukee  Academy  of 
Medicine,  on  January  7  and  9,  1879,  are  now  ready  for  distribution. 
The  free  list  referred  in  the  last  paragraph  of  the  report  of  the 
committee,  includes  only  believers  in  the  efficacy  of  the  thirtieth 
potency  to  produce  pathogenetic  effects  in  the  healthy;  others  will 
be  expected  to  remit,  in  advance,  the  sum  of  thirty  cents  to  defray 
expenses. — A.  ScHLOEMiLcir,  M.  D. 


EDITORIAL. 
THHDRY   AND   PRACTICE. 

A  Contribution  to  the  Pathology 

of  Sypliilis 520 

Thcrmometrical  Observations  in 

Acute  Mania 529 

GENERA  I,   CLINICS  534 

MISCELLANEOUS, 

Nailed  to  the  Counter 537 


Frederick  Foster  Quin,  M.  D....  548 

Lilienthal's  Therapeutias 554 

Comparative  Mortality 550 

Abuse  of  Instruments  in  Gynae- 
cology    558 

Correspondence 561 

book  notices  567 

editor's  table  571 


JAS.    p.    GKPPERT,   PR. 


T. 

,  P.  WILSON,  H. 

D.  G«™, 

"■-  ="' 

TO.. 

Vc 

■LL-, 

IE  VI. 

Cincinnati,  0 

.,  Apkh, 

,  1879. 

NtlUBBR  12. 

to  Mi 

5 

oidwlj,.    Al 

Tot  publication  iboi 
Co.,8U\V.»lhSl., 

Cindnnil 

i,o.  su 

't^n, 

.should be  «Jd«™d 
iplioatJ.W  per  year. 

Sdrobon  Gbnebal  Woodworth  is  dead.  He  is  reported  to  have 
died  of  pneumonia,  but  it  was  HooKeopathy  that  killed  him.  He  was 
the  moving  spirit  of  the  old  school  yellow  fever  commisBion,  and  had 
a  boundless  ambition  to  become  the  great  mogul  of  the  new  board  of 
health  when  Congress  should  appoint  such  a  body.  But  yellow  fever 
wae  his  hobby.  On  that  he  evidently  expected  to  ride  into  power 
and  to  achieve  fame.  This  allopathic  commission  gathered  op  a  vast 
mass  of  statistics,  and  Woodwobth  had  laid  it  proudly  at  the  feet  of 
the  great  legislative  body  of  the  country.  But,  alas,  the  gourd  of 
Jonah  again  withered  in  a  day.  The  sun  of  Homteopatby  shined 
upon  that  report  in  the  ehape  of  &  document  presented  to  congress 
from  the  handa  of  a  homceopathic  commission,  and  poor  Woodwobth, 
overwhelmed  with  despair,  had  to  die.  IJad  he  been  generous  toward 
his  rivals  he  might,  perhaps,  have  been  alive  this  day.  A  boy's  defi- 
nition of  salt,  as  being  that  which  makes  potatoes  teste  so  badly  when 
there's  none  of  it  on  them,  applies,  in  some  sense,  to  Homccopatby, 
for  sometimes  it  is  the  death  of  those  who  fail  to  take  it.  Dr.  Wood- 
wofrrit  is  a  striking  example  of  this  fact. 

We  are  all  fools  but  me.    What  a  pity,  since  wisdom  is  ao  cheap 

and  easy  to  be  obtained.     These  high  dilution  fellows  have  made 

asaesof  themselves  on  all  possible  occasions.   The  low  dilution  fellows 

Apr-i  673 


574 


lati  Medical  Advai 


have  done  even  worse.  They  have  made  of  themeelveB  doBkla> 
Those  who  huve  defended  IIaukbiiIann,  and  those  who  hiive  attacked 
him,  are  ahke  idiots.  And  it's  tbe  same  with  the:  law  of  Samlia.  Some 
are  against  it,  und  some  are  far  it,  but  both  parties  me  wrong,  and 
({reatiy  to  be  pitied.  As  for  Iloiua-opatJiy,  the  foUy  of  Gtanding  up 
for  it  is  only  equaled  by  the  tolly  of  being  down  on  it.  When  will 
men  learn  to  be  wise  ?  The  fooliehnesa  of  having  an  opinion  about 
anything,  is  apparent  on  1  he  (ace  of  it.  But  if  you  will  have 
opinion  adopt  mine.  U  you  would  know  what  my  opinion  is  lieteaj 
Your  all  right  and  your  all  wrong.  Could  anything  be  i 
partial  ?  This  fully  GatiEiics  your  mind  ua  well  as  the  mind  of  yom 
enemiea.  AH  partiea  are  pleased  and  no  bones  broken.  Now  then, 
kind  reuder,  if  there  be  not  many  men  in  the  profession  who  say 
this,  there  are  not  a  few  of  them  who  think  It.  It  is  a  kind  of  pation- 
lEtng  philosophy  that  works  on  the  good  Lord,  good  Devil  plan,  and 
there  is  a  deal  of  it  in  the  medical  profession.  But  with  all  ita  pre. 
tentions  to  high  mindedness  and  generosity,  it  ia  despicable  in  the 
eyes  of  every  man  who  has  conscientiousness  in  his  mental  make  up. 
A  man  without  convictions  is  a  man  without  inlellectual  ideas. 

A  Kew  Element  up  Medical  raoiiHEss. — A  few  evenings  sincei 
while  sitting  in  the  office  of  one  of  our  distinguished  physicians,  a 
telephone  signal  suddenly  startled  us.  Tbe  Doctor  picked  up  « 
seeming  toy  that  lay  near  his  hand,  and  placing  it  alternately  to  his 
ear  and  mouth,  carried  on  a  spirited  conversation  with  one  of  hlfl 
patients.  "Wliat  is  the  distance  Doctor  7"  we  asked.  "EightmileB,' 
he  replied.  And  he  further  informed  us  that  he  now  was  connected 
with  the  central  office — the  Telephone  Exchange — and  through  that 
with  a  large  number  of  families,  both  in  the  city  and  in  the  distant 
suburbs.  This  gave  him,  us  one  can  readily  see,  instant  communica' 
tion  with  Ihose  patients  night  and  day,  for  like  the  galea  of  goep«l 
grace,  the  exchange  is  always  open.  "Why,"  said  the  Doctor,  "you 
will  hardly  believe  it,  hut  the  other  evening,  being  myself  unwell  and 
unable  to  go  out,  I  prescribed  for  eight  patients  by  telephone — th» 
families  in  question  having  medicine,  had  only  to  give  me  the  8ymp> 
toms,  and  1  directed  tbe  remedies  to  be  used."  Another  impai 
advantage  is  this,  that  white  out  upon  hia  round  of  visits,  in  variotu 
parts  of  the  city,  be  has  but  to  call  at  certian  houses  and  couimuni- 
cate  instantly  with  his  assistant  in  his  office,  and  learn  as  to  calla 
and  other  wants  that  may  be  there.  And  by  tnis  method  he  ia  often 
saved  hours  of  hard  driving.  Few  things  are  more  provoking  to 
physician  than  to  be  obliged  lo  traverse  bis  steps  and  go  back  a  ml 
or  two  over  tbe  road  he  has  just  passed.  We  may  reckon  upon 
telephone  as  a  most  important  and  substantial  addition  to  medll 


4 


Editorial.  575 

practice  in  cities.  A  physician  thus  connected  with  his  principal 
families,  will  find  his  business  greatly  increased,  and  the  labor  of  it 
correspondingly  decreased.  Who  will  dare  to  say  the  world  does  not 
move  and  that  medical  ar^  is  not  progressing?  That- which  a  few 
years  ago  could  not  have  found  a  place  in  the  imagination  of  the 
wildest  dreamer  is  to-day  a  practical  reality.  Now  if  instead  of  tak- 
ing poisonous  drugs  in  large  and  often  fatal  quantities,  all  the  Doc- 
tors would  give  the  smaller  and  more  efficient  doses,  and  if  instead 
of  following  a  senseless  and  blind  empiricism,  they  would  follow  the 
divine  law  of  cure  enunciated  by  Samuel  Hahnemann,  then  the  in. 
telligence  and  wisdom  of  the  physician  would  be  seen  keeping  pace 
with  the  improvement  of  his  instruments,  and  medical  science  would 
hold  a  proper  relation  to  medical  art. 

Postscript. — A  large  number  of  the  leading  physicians  of  Cincinnati 
are  now  connected  with  the  exchange,  and,  therefore,  in  immediate 
communication  with  each  others'  offices.     Vive  la  fratemitie. 


•  * 


The  Test  of  the  Thirtieth  Dilution.    Reply  to  Editorial  Criti- 
cism in  February,  1879,  number  of  the  Advance. 

Mr.  Editor: — Permit  me  a  few  words  in  reply  to  your  re- 
marks on  the  test  of  the  thirtieth  dilutions,  the  Milwaukee 
Academy  of  Medicine  and  myself. 

In  the  first  place  you  object  to  the  "animus"  of  the  physi- 
cians who  propose  the  test.  [We  referred  to  Dr.  Sherman's 
animus,  not  theirs. — Ed.]  With  the  keen  eye  of  suspicion 
you  see  an  intended  blow  at  Homoeopathy.  We  can  assure 
you  upon  our  sacred  honor  that  we  do  not  intend  to  strike  a 
blow  at  Homoeopathy.  We,  ourselves,  believe  in  and  prac- 
tice according  to  the  law  of  similars.  Further,  we  are  not 
inimical  to  the  high  dilutions.  Of  the  physicians  who  pro- 
pose this  test,  some  are  believers  in  the  efficacy  of  the  high 
dilutions  and  some  are  not;  but  all  desire  to  know  the  truth. 
This  is  our  "animus." 


578  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

You  find  fault  with  the  clause  italicized  in  the  following 
quotation.  "There  are  men  in  the  profession  who  claim  that 
pathogenetic,  as  well  as  therapeutic  effects,  are  produced  by 
the  thirtieth  dilutions,  and  that  provings  made  with  these 
preparations  represent  the  disease-producing  properties  of 
the  drugs  after  which  they  are  named, ^^ 

It  seems  superfluous  to  explain  that,  rf  I  had  used  the  words 
"which  they  contain,"  there  would  have  been  a  begging  of 
a  part  of  the  question  at  issue,  namely:  whether  there  is  or  is 
not  in  the  thirtieth  dilution,  any  of  the  material  substance  of 
original  drug.  On  the  one  hand,  the  best  physicists  of  the 
day  hold  that  matter  is  not  divisible  to  the  extent  required  to 
make  the  thirtieth  dilution  contain  a  molecule  to  the  drop; 
on  the  other  hand  a  small,  but  select,  minority  of  the  healers 
of  the  day  hold  that  the  thirtieth  dilution  does  contain  a  por- 
tion of  the  substance  of  the  drug  in  every  drop  and  fraction 
of  a  drop.  In  deference  to  the  opinion  of  this  minority,  the 
proposed  test  is  made. 

You  ask  if  I  will  take  part  in  an  experiment  whose  object 
shall  be  to  test  the  pathogenetic  and  curative  powers  of  the 
sixth  and  third  Hahnemannian  dilutions,  with  the  under- 
standing that  if  they  are  proven  to  have  no  pathogenetic  or 
curative  powers,  I  shall  forever  "shut  up  my  place  of  busi- 
ness," You  propose  the  sixth  dilution  of  Natrum  muriati- 
cv/in  and  the  third  trituration  of  Calcarea  carhonica.  You 
seem  to  be  laboring  under  the  mistaken  impression  that  the 
conscientious  pharmaceutist  is  bound  to  warrant  the  curative 
powers  of  every  preparation  he  sells  to  the  medical  profes- 
sion. This  would  be  just  as  absurd  as  to  ask  a  druggist  lo 
warrant  every  physician's  prescription  he  compounds  to  cure 
the  patient  for  whom  it  was  prescribed.  In  our  view,  it  is 
the  duty  of  the  pharmaceutist  to  prepare  strictly  according 
to  the  rules  of  his  art,  all  the  simples  and  compounds  which 
physicians  may  require  at  his  hands.  In  the  nature  of  the 
case  the  physician  is  responsible  for  the  appropriateness  of 
the  prescription,  and  the  pharmaceutist  for  the  correctness 
and  accuracy  of  its  preparation. 


The  Tt8t  of  the  Thirtieth  Dilution.  579 

Dismissing  this  most  irrelevant  of  subjects,  let  us  suppose 
that  you  had  asked  the  question,  which  a  reasonable  high- 
potency  man  might  be  expected  to  ask,  namely,  will  I  take 
part  in  an  experiment,  similar  to  the  one  the  Milwaukee 
Academy  of  Medicine  has  proposed,  whose  object  shall  be 
to  test  the  pathogenetic  and  therapeutic  powers  of  the  reme- 
dies I  use  in  the  treatment  of  the  sick?  The  answer  is,  most 
assuredly  I  will.  If  I  am  using  inert  or  inefficient  remedies 
I  can  not  find  it  out  too  soon.  This,  I  believe,  would  be  the 
answer  of  every  honest  and  honorable  physician  in  the  world. 

You  object  to  the  phrase,  "a  priori  improbability,"  as  used 
in  the  quotation  above  copied,  on  the  ground  that  there  is  no 
a  priori  probability  of  the  curative  powers  of  any  drug  in  any 
dose.  You  trip  in  your  logic  and  unconsciously  uncover 
your  "animus."  The  improbability  referred  to,  applies  prim- 
arily to  the  disease-producing  powers  of  the  thirtieth  dilu- 
tions, which  powers  are  doubted  by  all  thinking  men  who 
have  not  made  trial  of  them,  and  by  some  who  have  made 
trial  of  them.  The  majority  of  men  of  my  acquaintance  who 
believe  in  the  curative  powers  of  the  high  dilution,  disbelieve 
in,  or  doubt,  their  pathogenetic  power.  This  a  priori  im- 
probability is  founded  on  the  well  known  principle  that 
other  things  being  equal,  the  disease-producing  effects  of  a 
poisonous  drug  are  in  direct  proportion  to  the  mass  of  that 
drug  taken  into  the  system.  This  principle  is  exemplified 
in  the  common  observation  that  a  grain  of  Morphine  has  a 
greater  soporific  effect  than  half  a  grain.  The  fact  that  one 
hundred  grains  of  the  first  decimal  trituration  of  Mercury 
will  produce  more  poisonous  effects  than  ten  grains  of  the 
crude  metal,  does  not  argue  against  this  principle,  for  it  is 
equally  true  that  twenty  grains  of  this  same  trituration  will 
produce  more  poisonous  effects  than  ten  grains;  and  it  is  not 
true  that  ten  grains  of  the  second  decimal  trituration  will  pro- 
duce as  much  disturbance  of  health  as  ten  grains  of  the  first, 
and  it  is  not  true  that  ten  grains  of  the  third  will  produce  as 
much  disturbance  as  ten  grains  of  the  second.  These  facts 
are  known  and  acknowledged  by  all  medical  men,  and  they 
certainly  bear  on  the  probability  of  there  being  any  disease- 


580  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

producing  power  in  the  high  dilutions.  Again,  the  improb- 
ability on  physical  grounds  of  there  being  any  material  sub- 
stance of  the  drug  in  these  dilutions,  makes  it  improbable 
that  they  are  capable  of  curing  disease.  Again,  the  fact  that 
the  human  body  is  constantly  subjected  to  the  action  of 
poisons  more  massive  than  these,  without  perceptible  effect, 
and  that  in  some,  if  not  in  all,  cases  the  very  same  substance 
which  is  administered  for  specific  effects  is  inhaled  in  the* 
breath,  and  ingested  with  every  morsel  of  food  and  draft  of 
air,  is  more  massive  than  those  given  in  the  thirtieth  dilution, 
bears  on  the  improbability  in  question.  This  improbability 
is  openly  or  impliedly  admitted  by  the  writers  who  argue  in 
favor  of  the  efficacy  of  the  dilutions.  In  regard  to  the 
a  priori  probability  of  any  drug  curing  a  disease  there  may 
be  doubt,  but  it  is  reasonable  to  infer  that  there  is  less  proba- 
bility of  a  cure  being  effected  by  a  drug,  if  the  drug  is  not 
administered,  than  if  it  is  administered  to  the  patient. 

In  all  this  let  it  be  understood  that  nothing  further  has 
been  claimed  against  the  high  dilutions,  than  this  *'improba- 
bility."  As  to  the  actual  fact  in  regard  to  the  efficiency  or 
inefficiency  of  these  preparations,  the  question  is  still  open. 
This  question  the  Milwaukee  Academy  of  Medicine  hopes 
to  settle  by  pure  experiment. 

The  facts  on  which  believers  in  the  efficacy  of  these  dilu- 
tions rely,  are  taken  from  these  results  of  observations  or  im- 
pure experiments,  and  do  not  therefore  afford  satisfactory 
proof  to  minds  trained  to  the  investigation  of  natural  science. 
To  the  untrained  mind  of  an  ignorant  swain,  every  recovery 
after  drugging  is  a  cure.  The  quality  of  the  literature  which 
constitutes  the  most  attractive  feature  of  our  medical  journals 
indicates  that  the  average  doctor  has  not  yet  arrived  to  such 
a  state  of  intelligence  that  we  can  trust  him  to  distinguish 
between  a  recovery  and  a  cure,  when  he  makes  the  prescrip- 
tion. The  prejudice,  the  superstition,  the  love  of  gain,  the 
hope  of  glory  and  a  score  of  other  conspiring  or  conflicting 
influences  combine  to  bias  the  honest  judgment  of  the  intel 
ligent  physician  whose  patient  has  recovered  under  his  care. 
In  the  experiment  we  propose  no  influence  of  this  sort  can 


The  Test  of  the  Thirtieth  Dilution,  581 

affect  the  result.  Therefore,  if  the  intelligent  believer  in  high 
potencies  can  select  the  medicated  pellets  in  this  test,  he  may 
give  to  the  world  the  evidence  of  pure  experiment,  the 
strongest  known  in  natural  science — that  there  is  power  in 
his  "potencies."  If  he  is 'afraid  to  try  he  will  say,  "Oh 
pshaw,  the  efficacy  of  these  potencies  has  been  proven  a 
thousand  times;  I  have  no  time  for  superfluous  work;  away 
with  your  test;  you  are  not  a  true  homoeopath." 

In  regard  to  the  proper  use  of  the  word  inference,  I  quote 
from  Webster,  1877.  "That  which  is  inferred;  a  truth  or 
proposition  drawn  from  another  which  if  admitted  or  sup- 
posed to  be  true;  a  conclusion."  Webster  quotes  from 
Taylor^ 8  Element  of  Thought^  "An  inference  is  a  proposition 
which  is  perceived  to  be  true,  because  of  its  connection  with 
some  known  fact."  When  something  is  affirmed  to  be  true, 
it  is  called  a  proposition;  after  it  has  been  found  to  be  true 
by  several  reasons  or  arguments  it  is  called  a  conclusion." 

In  this  experiment,  as  in  all  inductive  philosophy,  we  deal 
with  facts  and  inferences;  in  pure  mathematics  and  deduc- 
tive philosophy,  we  should  deal  with  propositions  and  con- 
clusions. In  what  condition  of  mental  befogment  you  may 
have  been  when  you  penned  the  following  lines,  I  dare  not 
venture  to  guess:  "Science  discovers,  leveals,  demonstrates, 
proves.  Science  commences  with  the  'inference'  and  con- 
siders nothing  done  until  it  pushes  forward  to  the  possession 
of  the  fact." — Lewis  Sherman,  Milwaukee,  Wis. 

Our  Answer. — Dr.  Sherman  has  not  strengthened  his 
abortive  plan  by  his  elaborate  answer  to  our  criticism.  It 
will  be  seen  at  a  glance  that  he  is  unfortunately  laboring  un- 
der an  intellectual  confusion.  He  thinks  himself  a  friend  and 
follower  of  HomoBopathy.  So  might  Voltaire  have  claimed 
to  be  a  friend  of  Christianity.  The  Doctor  is  unconscious  of 
his  own  inconsistencies — is  probably  incapable  of  seeing 
them  and  we  must  be  content  to  leave  it  so.  He  attempts  to 
restate  his  position  and  with  child-like  simplicity,  he  raises 
entirely  new  issues.  His  original  plan  was  to  prove  or  dis- 
prove the  efficacy  of  the  thirtieth,  as  to  their  pathogenetic 


582  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

and   curative   powers.      Now  he   speaks  of   the    "question 
at  issue"  as  being  this,  "whether  there  is  or  is  not  in  the  thir- 
tieth dilution  any  of  the  material  substance  of  the  original 
drug."     The  Doctor  will  excuse  us  for  saying  that  in  reading 
over  again  with  care  his  pamphlelt,  we  find  no  such  issue  as 
this  even  remotely  hinted  at»    He  says  distinctly  on  page  six* 
"the  object  of  this  test  is  to  determine  whether  or  not  this 
preparation  (the  thirtieth)  can  produce  any  medicinal  action 
on  the  human  organism  in  health  or  disease."     Evidently  the 
Doctor  does  not  know  what  he  does  want,  and  in  a  trial  by 
law  such  a  discrepancy  would  throw  his  case  at  once  out  of 
court.     But  if  this  is  to  be  taken  as  an  amended  petition  we 
would  be  glad  to  know  it.      Until  he  is  able  to  state  his  case 
clearly,  it  would  be  folly  in  us  to  attempt  to  aid  or  oppose 
him.     But  Dr.  Sherman  must  have  a  queer  idea  of  science  if 
he  seriously  supposes  that  his  giving  such  medical  prepara- 
tions would  amount  to  a  chemical  demonstration  of  the  pres- 
ence or  absence  of  the  drug  substance.     The  thing  is  utterly 
absurd.     It  is  infinitely  worse  than  his  first  plan.    His  intelli- 
gent indorsers   in    the    Milwaukee    Academy   of  Medicine 
might  not  be  willing  to  change  so  readily  the  ground  of  their 
endorsement.     A  man  who  writes  his  name  across  the  back 
of  a  note  or  check,  would  not  enjoy  having  the  face  of  it  al- 
tered at  the  will  of  the  principal. 

As  a  question  in  physics  or  chemistry,  it  may  be  worth 
our  while  to  know  if  there  can  be  an}'  ascertainable  amount 
of  drug  substance  in  the  thirtieth  dilution.  As  a  question  in 
therapeutics  it  has  no  force  whatever.  We  say  this  deliber- 
ately and  understandingly.  You  can  not  settle  such  an  issue 
so  as  to  affect  in  the  least  the  medicinal  action  of  this  pre- 
paration. We  take  up  the  thirtieth  dilution  of  a  drug  and  pro- 
pose to  employ  it  in  the  treatment  of  disease.  The  only  ques- 
tion that  can  be  raised  is  this:  Is  the  drug  force  there?  But  this 
question  was  satisfactorily  settled  long  before  Dr.  Sherman 
was  born.  The  issue  is  a  dead  one  and  no  amount  of  pre- 
tended love  for  truth  will  warrant  the  effort  Dr.  Sherman  is 
putting  forth  to  resurrect  it. 


The  Test  of  the  Thirtieth  Dilution.  583 

The  doctor  evades  the  issue  we  forced  upon  him  to  prove 
his  third  dilutions  according  to  his  plan  or  failing  in  it,  to  shut 
up  his  shop.  He  dare  not,  therefore,  he  will  not  do  it,  for 
his  occupation  would  soon  be  gone. 

As  to  the  matter  of  a  priori  improbability  Dr.  Sherman 
again  shifts  his  ground.  His  circular  plainly  states  the  ques- 
tion as  applied  to  both  "the  therapeutic  and  pathogenetic  ac- 
tion of  the  thirtieth  Hahnemannian  dilution."  Now  he 
meekly  pleads  that  "the  improbability  referred  to  applies 
principally  to  the  disease  producing  power  of  the  thirtieth 
dilutions."  If  the  doctor  will  rewrite  his  circular  we  can, 
perhaps,  come  to  an  understanding  of  his  views. 

Oliver  Wendel  Holmes  and  Sir  Jas.  Y.  Simpson,  and  all 
their  satellites,  have  anticipated  Dr.  Sherman  in  his  arguments 
against  attenuated  doses,  and  if  he  were  a  careful  student  of 
homcepathic  literature,  he  would  long  ago  have  found  his  an- 
swer to  his  objections.  Simply  he  does  not  himself  believe 
in  them,  and  vainly  fancies  that  he  can  destroy  the  belief 
others  have  in  them. 

The  Doctor  asserts  that  "the  facts  on  which  believers  in 
the  efficacy  of  these  dilutions  rely,  are  taken  from  observation 
or  impure  experiment  and  do  not,  therefore,  aflford  satisfactory 
proof,"  etc.  He  then  compliments  "the  average  doctor"  by 
declaring  that  he,  the  average  doctor,  "has  not  yet  arrived  to 
such  a  state  of  intelligence  that  we  can  trust  him  to  distinguish 
between  a  recovery  and  a  cure  when  he  makes  the  prescrip- 
tion." Yet  he  proposes  to  go  over  the  ground  again  and  to 
rely  upon  the  same  parties,  (or  will  they  be  above  "the  aver- 
age doctor?")  making  the  same  observation.  Here's  a  di- 
lemma worth  looking  at.  The  Doctor  is  "hoist  by  his  own 
petard."  The  old  rule  applies,  "False  in  one,  false  in  all." 
This  question  of  being  cured  or  getting  well  has  no  special 
relations  to  the  thirtieth  His  tinctures  and  crude  powders 
are  open  to  the  same  query. 

Dr.  Sherman  kindly  reads  us  a  lecture  on  definitions,  as 
though  we  had  blundered  in  our  criticism  of  his  use  of  the 
word  "inference,"  "Taylor's  Element  of  Thought"  is  a  good 
thing,  at  least  so  much  of  it  as  the  Doctor  found  in  "Webster's 


584  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

Unabridged,  and  from  which  he  made  a  partial  quotation  to 
suit  his  views.  This  same  Taylor  says  that  "a  conclusion  is 
stronger  than  an  inference.''  He  says,  moreover,  that  '*in  a 
chain  of  reasoning  we  have  many  inferences  which  leaa  to 
the  ultimate  conclusion."  The  Doctor  himself  quotes  that  an 
inference  or  proposition  ^^after  it  has  been  found  to  be  true 
by  several  reasons  or  arguments  it  is  called  a  conclusion." 
We  are  much  obliged  to  the  Doctor  for  his  quotation,  for  it 
proves  all  we  have  heretofore  asserted.  He  proposes  a  grand 
"test,"  he  employs  a  hundred  men  and  women,  they  labor  a 
whole  year,  and  in  the  end  reach  a  mere  "inference."  For 
heaven's  sake,  if  we  must  have  a  new  test  let  it  be  one  that 
will  enable  us  to  reach  a  conclusion. 

It  would  be  an  idle  task  to  follow  Dr.  Sherman's  answer 
in  detail.  We  desire,  however,  to  have  it  understood  that  we 
have  no  objection  to  a  proving  or  reproving  of  any  or  all  the 
dilutions.  We  make  no  protest  against  the  proper  testing  for 
pathogenetic  powers  of  the  thirtieths.  For  this  purpose  the 
Sherman  plan  can  hold  no  comparison  to  the  well  known 
methods  that  have  been  in  vogue  with  provers  since  Hahne- 
mann's time.  As  a  rule,  provers  have  never  known  what 
they  were  taking,  and  the  administration  of  Placebos  is  noth- 
ing new. 

The  application  of  this  test  in  the  way  proposed  to  the  cure 
of  the  sick  is  quite  another  thing.  The  morality  of  testing 
drugs  on  patients  by  groping  among  ten  bottles  where  nine 
are  known  to  be  blank  is  not  questionable.  It  is  plainly  and 
unquestionably  bad.  Suppose  one  of  these  Sherman  provers 
called  to  child  stricken  with  fever  and  Aconite  is  the  remedy 
indicated.  It  may  be,  and  often  is  a  matter  of  life  and  death 
that  the  right  remedy  be  selected  and  promptly  administered. 
The  doctor  understands  what  is  needed  and  he  has  the  means 
of  relief  in  his  possession.  On  this  account  he  is  sent  for  and 
the  case  confided  to  his  care.  An  anxious  mother  is  looking 
on  while  the  doctor  draws  forth  ten  vials.  "Madame  your 
child  is  very  sick.  Aconite  may  save  it  suffering  and  per- 
haps death.'"  "Then  doctor  you  will  give  it  Aconite,  will  you 
not."     "Well,  madame,  the  fact  is,  I  belong  to  the  Sherman 


The  Test  of  the  Thirtieth  Dilution.  585 

P rovers'  Association.  One  of  these  vials  contains  Aconite; 
wrhich  is  the  one  I  do  not  know.  I  am  going  to  find  out  by 
experimenting  on  your  child."  It  will  not  strain  the  reader's 
imagination  to  reach  the  conclusion  of  this  colloquy. 

Such  trifling  with  the  important  responsibilities  connected 
with  the  sick  by  any  physician,  would  cause  the  entire  loss  of 
his  practice.  Let  it  be  known  that  a  large  number  of  homcB- 
pathic  physicians  in  this  country  are  engaged  in  this  plan, 
and  it  would  create  a  wide  and  fatal  distrust  toward  all  who 
practiced  the  homc&opathic  system.  If  the  provers  could  be 
publicly  known,  they  would  have  no  patronage.  For  who 
would  place  in  their  hands  the  interests  of  one  sick,  knowing 
to  what  chances  those  interests  would  be  subject. 

It  has  ever  been  the  glory  of  Homoeopathy,  that  its  practi- 
tioners did  not  experiment  upon  the  sick.  We  have  thrown 
this  charge  thousands  of  times  in  the  face  of  Allopathy. 
Must  we  now  become  a  second  Hazael  who  said,  Is  thy  ser- 
vant a  dog  that  he  should  do  this  thing?  and  then  commit 
the  wrong  we  have  so  long  and  loudly  condemned?  Dr. 
Sherman  may  be  at  heart  a  friend  of  the  cause  he  professes 
to  follow,  but  Homoeopathy  may  well  pray  to  be  defended 
from  such  friendship.  His  plan  may  be  instigated  by  a  sin- 
cere love  for  truth,  but  it  is  a  scheme  which,  if  carried  out, 
would  bring  dishonor  upon  our  school.  The  man  or  woman 
who  follows  it  in  daily  practice  must  violate  the  plainest  prin- 
ciples of  virtue.  They  must  break  the  most  sacred  pledge  of 
their  profession,  and  put  in  peril  the  lives  of  those  committed 
to  their  care.  If  these  considerations  do  not  deter  the  at- 
tempted execution  of  this  mad-cap  scheme,  we  hope  the  con- 
sequences may  be  made  to  rest  where  they  belong. 


i5|$(»|t|  a»(t&  ^mtiitt. 


The  Relations  of  Pathology  and  Therapentios.*     By  T.  F. 

Pomeroy,  A.  M.,  M.  D. 

As  physiology  is  the  science  of  the  healthy  living  organism, 
so  is  pathology  the  science  of  the  diseased  living  organism. 
And,  as  the  study  of  physiological  science  can  only  be  prose- 
cuted through  the  normal  functions  of  the  living  organism,  so 
must  the  study  of  pathological  science  be  prosecuted  through 
the  abnormal  functions  of  the  living  organism.  The  greater 
the  amount  of  knowledge  possessed  of  the  phenomena  of  nor- 
mal functional  action,  the  more  profound  is  the  knowledge  of 
physiological  science.  So  also  the  more  accurate  and  com- 
prehensive the  knowledge  of  abnormal  functional  action,  the 
more  complete  is  that  of  pathological  science.  Thpse  proposi- 
tions need  no  demonstration,  they  are  self-evident.  .It  is 
significantly  apparent  that  in  the  study,  both  of  physiological 
science  and  of  pathological  science,  our  observations  are 
strictly  confined  to  living  organisms,  as  neither  physiological 
nor  pathological  conditions  can  relate  to  dead  ones,  but 
exhibit  the  phenomena  of  life  only,  through  which,  if  at  all, 
we  must  acquaint  ourselves  with  these  respective  sciences. 

Disease,  no  more  than  perfect  health,  is  an  entity,  but  a 
condition  of  life;  it  has  been  truly  called  "morbid  physiolog}*." 
Its  study  may  be  prosecuted  only  through  its  phenomena, 
and  these  are  both  objective  and  subjective.  So  much  for 
pathology  in  its  general  aspect,  and  in  the  abstract.  What- 
ever is  true  of  it  in  the  general  must  also  be  true  of  it  in  the 
particular. 

Individual  pathological  states  then  must  be  regarded,  and 
a  knowledge  of  them  acquired  only  through  the  objective 
and  subjective  phenomena  that  they  present  for  our  observa- 
tion; there  is  no  other  possible  way   of  investigating   func- 

*Read  before  the  College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons  of  Michigan* 
February  24,  1879. 


1  

Theory  and  Practice.  587 

tional  life,  whether  normal  or  abnormal,  than  through  those 
phenomena  that  belong  to  a  living  organism. 

We  may  indeed  study  the  ultimate  results  of  morbid  func- 
tional action  from  the  changes  and  the  destruction  that  has 
been  produced,  as  we  may,  after  death,  study  the  mechanism 
through  which  normal  functional  action  is  had.  This  is  the 
study  of  anatomy,  while  the  other  is  that  of  pathological 
anatomy,  both  respectively  aid  substantially,  in  our  study 
both  of  physiology  and  of  pathology. 

When  we  come  to  the  study  of  the  relations  of  therapeutics 
to  pathological  conditions,  which  indeed  is  the  end,  and  the 
objective  point  of  our  studies  of  both  physiology  and  path- 
ology, as  also  of  all  .other  branches  of  medical  science,  we, 
as  homcBopathists,  enter  upon  a  widely  different  field  of  ob- 
servation and  research  from  that  of  any  and  all  other  schools 
of  medicine,  as  also  we  have  means  and  methods  of  prosecut- 
ing these  researches  that  are  not  open  to  them.  Indeed  we 
have  discovered  what,  antecedent  to  the  enunciation  of  the 
homoBopathic  law  of  cure,  was  hidden  from  the  entire  pro- 
fession— a  science  of  therapeutics.  While  they  are  still  able 
to  treat  disease  only  empirically,  we  are  competent  to  treat 
it  scientifically,  and  in  harmony  with,  and  in  obedience  to, 
natural  laws.  • 

This  results  from  our  ability  to  observe  and  to  study  path- 
ological phenomena  from  a  wholly  different  point  of  view 
than  has  ever,  systematically,  characterized  their  efforts  in  that 
direction,  the  phenomena  resulting  from  induced,  or,  so  to 
speak,  artificial  disease,  through  the  pathogenetic  action  of 
drugs  and  other  agents;  thus  are  induced  phenomena  that 
may  be  truly  termed  "morbid  physiology,"  and  that  in  a  sense 
not  as  pertinently  applicable  to  ordinary  or  spontaneous 
disease. 

These  induced  phenomena  constitute  our  full  knowledge 
of  the  capabilities  of  the  materia  medica  of  nature  for  the 
disturbance  of  physiological  functions,  and  thus  is  supplied 
the  long  wanting  link  to  make  of  medicine  a  true  science,  and 
of  therapeutics  a  proximately  exact  one. 

While  all  other  schools  of  medicine  are  able  to  treat  disease 
only  through  the  means  of  a  hypothetical  deduction,  termed 


588  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

its  diagnosis,  which  may  or  may  not  be  correct,  and  from 
wholly  empirical  observations  of  drug  action,  we  are  able  to 
treat  it  through  an  absolute  verification  of  the  correspond iiigr 
phenomena  of  spontaneous,  and  of  procured  disease,  tracing" 
these  phenomena  in  both  instances  to  the  seat  of  their  ulti- 
mate action,  to  the  very  source  of  that  action,  the  cell  wall  it- 
self. This  is  true  pathological  science,  a  perfect  knowledge  of 
which  is  impossible  but  through  the  relations  that  the  materia 
medica  of  nature  sustains  to  physiological  conditions,  resulting 
in  their  disturbance  in  ways  and  in  directions  that  are  pre- 
cisely similar  to  those  of  ordinary  or  spontaneous  disease. 

If  pathological  science  means  anything  different  from  this, 
it  means  something  that  falls  vastly  short  of  its  capabilities, 
something  incomplete  and  wholly  unsatisfactory  to  the  scien- 
tific mind.  If  it  is  to  be  restricted  in  its  relations  to  thera- 
peutics to  a  bare  nosological  recognition  as  the  sole  basis 
for  therapeutic  treatment,  then  indeed  has  the  pathogenetic 
action  of  the  materia  medica  of  nature  been  studied  and  ob- 
served in  vain,  and  we,  as  homoBopathists,  find  ourselves  just 
Where  Allopathy  and  Eclecticism  left  us,  and,  like  themselves 
we  arc  left  to  the  comparatively  barren  and  unscientific 
methods  and  resources  of  a  nosological  classification,  and  to 
the  uncertainties  of  a  largely  h};pothetical  diagnosis. 

Such  an  unmistakable  perversion  of  opportunities  will  not 
be  the  lot  of  any  but  of  those  who  prefer  ignorance  to 
knowledge,  and  darkness  to  light;  nor,  shall  we  ever  be 
forced  to  accept  a  mere  nosological  name  as  one  only  means 
of  acquiring  therapeutic  success  and  skill,  but  at  our  own 
option. 

When  it  so  happens  that  the  pathogenetic,  or  the  toxico- 
logical  effects  of  drugs  on  the  vital  organism  cease  to  be 
catholic  or  universal;  when  it  transpires  that  these  effects 
are  produced  and  manifested  purely  in  conformity  with  the 
requirements  of  nosological  science,  and  only  to  the  produc- 
tion of  specific  diseases,  or  of  definite  pathological  states  that 
can  be  accurately  and  unfailingly  diagnosed,  then,  and  not 
until  then,  may  we  dream  of  specific  medication,  or  of 
a  purely  pathological  therapeutics.. 


Theory  and  Practice,  689 


Concerning  the  Test  cf  the  Efficacy  of  the  Thirtieths. 

143  West  Fort  St.,  Detroit,  Feb.  13,  1879. 

Albert    Schloemilch,    M.    D.,   Secretary    Milwaukee 
Academy  of  Medicine. 

Dear  Doctor: — I  received  your  letter  and   the  tract  enti- 
tled *'A  Test  of  the  Efficacy  of  the  High  Dilution,"  forwarded 
by  the  "Milwaukee  Academy  of  Medicine,"  with  the  report  of 
the  committee.    The  real  animus  of  this  entire  procedure  is  ex- 
hibited in  Dr.  Sherman's  accompanying  paper  which  by  adop- 
tion has  become  that  of  your  Academy,  and  which  animus  is 
concentrated  in  the  last  paragraph  quoted  from  that  remark- 
able paper,  which  is  as  follows,  viz:    "If  the  result  [of  your 
proposed  test]  should  be  to  prove  that  the  thirtieth  dilution  has 
no  such  power  as  it  is  claimed  to  have,  then  the  medical  pro- 
fession has  a  right  to  demand   that  the   symptoms  supposed 
to  have  been  produced  by  the   thirtieth  and   higher  dilutions 
be  expunged  from  the  materia  medica,  and  that  the  advocates 
of  the  potentization  theory  should  henceforth  cease  to  prate 
their  cures  in  medical  journals  and  before  medical  societies 
which  are  avowedly  devoted  to  science."      So  also  all  the 
way  through  your  letter,  and  tract  is  this  animus  apparent  in 
its  almost,  if  not  wholly,  offensive  tone.      I  shall  not  attempt 
a  refutation  of  your  one  sided  argument,  if  argument  it  be, 
because  it  refutes  itself.     You  say,  "the  majority  of  scientific 
men  in  and  out  of  the  medical  profession  do  not  believe  that 
these  preparations  (the  thirtieth  dilutions)  have  any  curative 
power."      I  say,  that  the  majority  of  the  medical  profession, 
and  of  scientific   men,  do  not  believe  in  the  law  of  similars, 
that  it  is  a  law  of  cure  at  all,  or,  as  you   do,  I  suppose,  "a 
general  guide"  even;  thus  your  argument  is  one  of  the  boom- 
erang style  that  recoils  with  crushing  force  upon  yourselves. 
Neither  would  these  men,  any  more  than  yourselves,  be  any 
better  convinced  than  now,  after  such  a  test  as  you  have 
inaugurated,    and    gravely    attempt    to    impose    upon    us. 
I  doubt  not  that  "the  majority  of  scientific  men,"  are  abun- 
dantly able  to  satisfy  themselves,  as  to  all  scientific  matters, 
this  one  included,  without  such  disinterested  and  imoartial 


590  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

aid  as  you  propose.  The  advocates  of  the  thirtieth  dilution, 
and  upward,  surely  do  not  need  any  such  enlightenment  as 
your  "test"  could  furnish;  their  experience  in  their  successful 
use  is  far  superior  both  in  results  as  also  in  an  honesty  of 
purpose  to  arrive  at  the  real  truth.  Nor,  is  it  material  to 
them  whether  Dr.  Sherman  (or  your  Academy)  endorses 
their  convictions  and  the  results  of  their  experience  or  not. 
Their  value  is  no  more  dependent  on  3;our  sanction  and  ap- 
proval, than  is  yours  (?)  and  my  belief  in  the  homceopathic 
law  of  cure  dependent  on  allopathic  and  eclectic  approbation 
and  endorsement. 

The  believers  in  "the  thirtieth  and  higher  dilutions"  do  not 
need  the  very  feeble  rays  of  light  that  illuminate  the  pathway 
of  "the  majority  of  "the  medical  profession"  in  their  investi- 
gations and  experiments  in  therapeutic  science;  much  less 
those  that  such  a  test  as  you  propose  to  them  would  supply. 
We  can  not  turn  aside  from  our  ordinary  course  to  aid  in 
opening  the  eyes  of  those  who  evidently  do  not  desire  to  see, 
nor  for  the  use  of  such  a  test  as  is  manifestly  fore-shadowed 
in  your  letter  and  the  accompanying  paper,  a  test  that  is 
conceived  in  opposition,  *  and  begotten  of  prejudice  and  in- 
tolerance. 

You  ask  in  your  letter,  "Will  you  not,  therefore,  accept 
this  opportunity  to  justify  your  practice  and  benefit  human- 
ity by  proving  the  potential  efficacy  of  the  thirtieth  dilu- 
tions?" I  answer.  No,  sir,  I  will  not.  Let  those  who  doubt 
the  efficacy  of  these  dilutions  do  their  own  proving,  if  they  are 
not  already  satisfied  with  the  results  of  nearly  sixty  years  of 
verification  of  their  efficacy.  With  hundreds,  yea  thousands, 
of  those  who  are  living  witnesses  of  their  efficacy,  and  with 
scores  of  those  who  are  numbered  with  our  honored  dead, 
I  do  not  need  at  this  late  day  to  be  convinced  "of  the  truth 
or  falsity  of  the  theory  of  *potentization.'  " 

The  advocates  of  "the  potential  efficacy  of  the  thirtieth 
dilutions"  can  not  be  caught  in  any  such  trap  as  is  thus 
spread  for  their  feet,  nor  can  they  be  beguiled  or  misled  by 
any  such  an  artful  dodge  as  is  proposed  through  the  instru- 
mentality of  the  "Milwaukee  Academy  of  Medicine." — T.  F. 

POMEROY,  M.  D. 


Theory  and  Practice.  591 


Extract  from  tho  TranSftCtionS  of  the  Homoeopathic  Society 
of  the  Rhine  and  Westphalia.  Translated  by  A. 
McNeil,  M.  D^  New  Albany,  Ind. 

Dr.  Hendricks,  Sr.,  spoke  about  ozsena,  an  ulcerous  pro- 
cess in  the  nose,  with  greenish-yellow  discharge  mixed  with 
blood.  Aurum  has  been  much  recommended,  but  is  useless 
unless  the  nasal  bones  are  affected. 

He  cured  a  gentleman  who  had  been  treated  allopathical- 
ly  a  long  time.  The  nasal  bones  were  swollen,  the  root  of 
the  nose  was  sunken,  the  discharge  was  not  profuse  but  was 
so  offensive,  that  as  the  patient  came  into  the  ante-room,  in 
a  few  minutes  all  the  people  rah  out.  Possibly  syphilis  was 
at  the  bottom  of  it.  The  inunction  method  and  Sarsaparilla 
had  been  employed  in  vain.  He  was  cured  in  three  days 
with  Aurum  met.  4,  three  times  a  day. 

Tumor  ovarii.  Dr.  Hendricks  Was  called  to  see  a  woma<i 
given  up  by  the  physicians.  She  was  sixty  years  old  and 
was  resigned  to  her  fate. 

The  abdomen  was  greatly  distended  and  painful  to  touch; 
in  the  right  side  of  the  hypogastrium  there  was  a  smooth, 
painful  swelling,  the  size  of  a  baby's  head,  which  was  only 
slightly  movable.  The  patient  was  sleepless,  had  lost  all 
appetite,  and  felt  that  she  was  in  a  desperate  condition.  The 
Doctor  diagnosed  it  as  an  ovarian  tumor,  but  of  what  variety 
he  could  not  tell.  She  received  Apis  2,  three  times  a  day. 
In  four  weeks  there  was  no  trace  of  the  swelling.  The  pains 
were  gone  and  the  general  condition  is  perfectly  normal. 

Polypus  of  the  vocal  cords.  An  old  lady  whose  husband 
was  in  the  army,  lost  her  formerly  clear  voice.  She  had 
been  treated  a  long  time  by  homoeopaths  and  allopaths,  but 
in  vain.  She  had  also  gone  through  the  hands  of  the  spe- 
cialists. They  had  discovered  polypus  of  the  vocal  cords  and 
had  proposed  an  operation  to  her,  as  it  waslifp;  or  death.  The 
Doctor  suspecting  syphilis,  felt  moved  to*  give  Thuja  30,  in 
solution,  four  times  daily.      After  three  doses  the  voice  was 

clear  and  the  polypus  gone. 
Apr. 2 


592  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

Dr.  Heyne  remarked,  concerning  the  ovarian  tumor,  that 
he  used  Apis  lo  with  good  results.  In  ovaritis  acuta  puerper- 
alis  and  paralysis  of  the  vocal  cords  (after  typhoid)  he  had 
cured  with  Causticum.  Dr.  Kayser  had  cured  it  when  result- 
ing from  croup.     He  also  reported  two  cases  of  nasal  polypi. 

Case  I.  A  woman  sixty-four  years  old  had  a  mucous  poly- 
pus of  the  nose.  It  had  been  removed  several  times  by  tor- 
sion, the  last  time  three  months  ago,  then  it  grew  large.  The 
Doctor  gave  Calcarea  carb.  12th,  trituration,  and  after  a  month 
the  sixtieth,  after  which  improvement  began.  In  the  thii^i 
month  Cah  carb.  30,  globules,  with  continued  decrease  of  the 
swelling. 

Case  II.  An  old  man,  recommended  by  the  first  patient. 
Also  a  mucous  polypus  of  the  nose.  Cal.  carb.  also  did  con- 
siderable. The  Doctor  gave  the  fifth  and  afterwards  the  thir- 
tieth. When  this  dilution  ceased  to  act  he  went  back  to  the 
fifth  from  which  the  improvement  again  made  progress,  and 
afterwards  with  the  third  potency. 

Dr.  Neber  had,  at  the  beginning  of  the  year,  cured  a  young 
woman,  otherwise  perfectly  healthy  and  in  good  circumstan- 
ces, of  a  purulent  scald  head  with  Staph,  ix,  three  drops 
three  times  a  day.  The  eruption  was  on  the  back  of  the 
head,  and  had  continued  fourteen  days;  it  had  a  sour,  stink- 
ing smell  and  served  as  the  breeding  place  of  innumerable 
lice,  none  of  which  formerly  existed.  In  fourteen  days  from 
the  use  of  the  Staph,  the  scalp  was  dry,  the  stink  consider- 
ably better  and  the  lice  disappeared.  The  itching  which  had 
prevented  sleep  ceased  at  the  same  time.  No  external  treat- 
ment had  been  used  except  the  comb,  which  hitherto  could 
not  be  used. 


^B$l(l(kal  ^uh  ^%UMtd^imt 


Causes  of  Tedious  Labors.    By  M.  M.  Eaton,  M.  D.,  Cincin- 

nati,  O,  • 

By  request  I  offer  through  the  pages  of  the  Advance  a 
few  facts  which  experience  has  suggested  to  me  on  the  above 
subject.  Having  had  no  case  of  labor  occupy  my  time  for 
twenty-four  hours  for  the  past  fifteen  years  (with  one  excep- 
tion) it  is  naturally  asked,  why  this*is  so,  and  when  I  state 
that  the  average  time  occupied  with  such  cases  has  not  been 
over  four  hours  during  these  years,  and  enjoying  a  good 
amount  of  business  in  this  line,  as  most  of  your  readers 
know,  I  have  myself  thought  it  strange  why  I  was  favored 
with  short  labors  while  so  many  physicians  seem  to  be 
troubled  with  long  ones.  I  will  endeavor  to  explain  why 
this  is  so,  as  far  as  I  am  able  to  learn.  I  presume  that  many 
other  physicians  have  had  as  favorable  experience  as  myself; 
but  as  many  seem  to  have  a  different  experience  I  would 
gladly  offer  if  possible,  some  hints  that  may  enable  them  to 
get  through  more  rapidly  in  future,  and  also  save  much 
suffering  to  those  in  labor  as  well  as  being,  I  believe,  safer 
to  both  mother  and  child. 

First,  many  labors  are  tedious  because  of  their  being  pre- 
mature. I  am  often  called  to  visit  the  pregnant  women  some 
weeks  previous  to  the  completion  of  full  term  and  find  her 
having  quite  hard  and  regular  pains.  If  I  allowed  the  labor 
to  go  on  in  such  a  case  it  would  be  protracted,  as  the  length 
of  the  neck  is  at  these  periods  considerable  and  great  time  is 
consumed  in  its  dilatation.  When  called  to  any  case,  either 
true  or  simulating  labor,  I  make  a  vaginal  examination  before 
offering  any  suggestions  as  to  the  treatment  of  the  case. 

If  I  find  any  neck  to  the  uterus  I  at  once  arrest  the  pains 
and  go  home.  This  can  usually  be  done  with  SecaleG,  two 
or  three  Uoses.-    If  it  does  not  arrest  the  pains  in  a  half  hour 


594  Cincinnati  Medical  AdvUnce. 

« 

I  give  one-eighth  gr.  Morphia  2ind  repeat  in  a  half  hour  if 
necessary.  Usually  I  hear  no  more  of  the  case  till  completion 
of  gestation.  Sometimes  am  recalled  in  from  six  to  ten 
hours  finding  pains  have  returned  and  that  the  complete  re- 
laxation of  the  system  the  Morphia  has  given  enables  me  to 
get  a  rapid  delivery.  I  sometimes  when  engaged  to  attend  a 
confinement  give  the  6x  o^  Secale  and  direct  that  it  be  taken 
if  pains  should  come  on  before  full  term.  By  so  doing  I  am 
saved  being  called  and  the  patient  is  enabled  to  arrest  the 
pains  before  they  have  continued  so  long  as  to  produce  a 
partial  separation  of  the  placenta  and  consequently  hasten 
delivery  before  time. 

Now  as  to  rapid  delive1*y  at  full  term.  The  physician  who 
visits  a  case  of  labor  makes  vaginal  examination  carelessly, 
directs  that  the  patient  walk  about  the  room  all  she  chooses 
(especially  in  cool  weather)  and  goes  to  bed;  will  doubtless 
have  many  cases  of  protracted  labor. 

I  do  not  consider  that  a  physician  is  discharging  his  duty 
to  his  lying-in  patient  who  simply  goes  and  sleeps  in  her 
house  and  finally  after  the  child  is  born  through  the  long  suf- 
fering of  mother  and  child  (for  I  think  the  child  suffers  in  te- 
dious labors)  he  condescends  to  cut  the  cord,  wait  a  few 
hours  for  the  delivery  of  the  placenta,  takes  a  few  meals  with 
the  family,  pockets  his  fee  and  goes  home. 

Pardon  me  if  I  have  too  clearly  mentioned  the  course  some 
phvsicians,  who  have  many  cases  of  tedious  labor,  are  in  the 
habit  of  following.  Such  a  course  seems  to  me  heartless  and 
unkind. 

Our  patient  has  a  right  to  our  best  attention  and  skill  if  we 
have  no  sympathy,  and  methinks  a  little  show  of  sympathy, 
as  manifested  by  doing  all  we  can  for  her  comfort  and  speedy 
delivery  is  not  amiss.  First,  then,  let  us  ascertain  that  the 
bowels  and  bladder  have  been  recently  freely  evacuated. — 
let  us  note  the  dilatation  of  the  os  and  the  dilatability  of  the 
vagina;  should  the  latter  be  contracted  and  dry  let  us  at  once 
apply  some  Sweet  oil  or  La7'd  and  if  it  does  not  speedily  relax 
apply  some  dilute  Bell,  ointment.  This  should  be  carefully 
wiped  away  and    Olive  oil  substituted  previous  to  delivery 


Obstetrical  and  GynoRcological,  595 

When  the  waters  have  prematurely  evacuated,  two  fingers  in 
the  OS  for  a  half  hour  will  greatly  facilitate  dilatation;  if  pains 
are  good  with  rigid  os  I  would  give  Chloroform  to  nearly 
complete  anaBsthesia  for  five  or  ten  minutes,  then  discon- 
tinue its  use  for  a  while  giving  it  again  during  the  two 
or  three  last  pains,  while  the  head  presses  strongly  on  the 
perineum. 

When  OS  is  dilated  and  pains  weak,  give  Secale  in 
warm  water  every  twenty  minutes  till  they  are  established  or 
at  least  three  doses  given;  if  not  successful  then  give  China; 
to  arrest  irregular  pains  I  give  Puls.^x. 

Regulate  the  position  of  the  patient  so  as  to  favor  the  en- 
trance of  the  head  into  the  pelvis,  after  the  head  has  entered 
the  superior  strait;  I  prefer  the  "semi-recumbent  position  with 
thighs  flexed  on  abdomen,  an  assistant  supporting  one  knee 
while  I  support  the  other  and  attend  to  the  progress  of 
the  labor  an  assistant  on  either  side  near  foot  of  bed  hold- 
ing patient's  hands  during  the  pain  that  the  patient  may  bet- 
ter use  her  voluntary  muscles  to  aid  expulsion.  Should  ex- 
pulsion be  delayed  after  I  have  a  full  dilatation  of  os  and  dila- 
table condition  of  vagina  I  use  forceps  and  deliver  at  once. 
Having  never  injured  a  woman  or  a  child  with  the  forceps  I 
feel  very  free  to  use  them  without  asking  consultation  or  giv- 
ing an  anaesthetic  or  waiting  till  either  child  or  mother  are  al- 
most dead.  Should  I  discover  on  first  examination  or  subse- 
quentlv  that  I  have  a  case  requiring  turning,  of  course  I  try 
to  preserve  the  bag  of  waters  intact  till  the  os  is  dilated  and 
turn  and  deliver.  In  some  cases  of  inefi[icient  pains,  with  an 
OS  one-third  or  one-half  dilated,  I  would  break  the  membrane 
and  t>y  allowing  the  waters  to  drain  off",  cause  more  efi[icient 
pains,  in  that  the  body  and  limbs  of  the  child  irritate  the  uter- 
ine surface  and  cause  stronger  contractions.  This  should 
not  be  done  however,  unless  we  are  sure  we  have  a  vertex 
presentation. 

By  attention  to  all  this,  v<re  will  have  little  time  for  slumber, 
if  we  also  properly  support  the  perineum  which  must  never 
be  neglected. 

A  word  as  to  the  placenta.  I  never  wait  longer  than  to 
notice  one  or  two  after  pains  before  proceeding  to  deliver  it. 


596  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

If  pains  do  not  come  on  I  use  gentle  friction  over  the  abdo- 
men with  hand  previously  dipped  in  cold  water. 

This  is  all  I  have  to  say  on  protracted  labor,  but  in  this  con- 
nection I  may  say  that  I  would  always  make  vaginal  examin- 
ation to  ascertain  that  we  haye  no  inversion  of  uterus,  and 
externally  to  see  that  the  organ  was  firmly  contracted,  then 
apply  gently  but  firmly  the  abdominal  bandage,  remove  all 
soiled  clothes,  apply  extra  cover  on  patient,  examine  child  to 
see  if  it  was  perfect,  see  that  the  cord  was  properly  dressed, 
before  starting  for  home  for  the  sleep  that  I  had  failed  to  get 
while  \vith  my  patient.  This  plan  has  only  taken  the  aver- 
age time  at  first  mentioned. 

The  exceptional  case  I  mentioned  was  quite  unnecessary, 
but  I  waited  many  hours  by  request  of  patient  till  her  brother 
(a  physician)  came,  before  using  forceps  which  I  had  fifteen 
hours  before  declared  necessary.  The  brother  agreed  with 
me  and  also  that  the  child  was  dead,  which  I  found  to  be  cor- 
rect on  its  delivery  with  forceps.  I  believe  it  might  have 
been  saved  by  earlier  delivery.     I  wait  no  more  for  brothers. 


♦  ♦ 


C&S9  of  Obstetrics.  Short  Cords — Instrumental  Delivery — 
Viburnum  for  False  Pains  and  After  Pains.  Bj-  E.  M. 
Hale,  M.  D, 

A  few  weeks  before  her  expected  confinement,  Mrs.  D , 


applied  to  me  for  relief  of  distressing  false  pains,  which  she 
described  as  spasmodic,  tearing  and  crampy,  affecting  the 
lower  abdomen  and  thighs.  Viburnum  opulus  was  pre- 
scribed in  ten  drop  doses  of  the  mother  tincture,  every  four 
hours.  After  a  few  days  these  pains  disappeared,  and  the 
medicine  was  suspended.  In  a  week  the  pains  again  recurred, 
and  were  dissipated  by  the  same  remedy.      Fearing  their  re- 


Obstetrical  and  Gyncecological,  597 

turn  she  continued  the  medicine  up  to  the  day  of  her  con* 
finement  This  woman  was  the  mother  of  five  children. 
All  her  labors  had  been  long,  severe  and  painful.  This  time 
the  first  true  pains  commenced  at  ten  a.  m.,  and  were  from 
first  comparatively  painless— different  from  any  she  had  be- 
fore experienced.  By  twelve  m,,  they  became  so  frequent 
and  expulsive  that  I  was  summoned.  I  found  the  os  fully 
dilated,  the  head  resting  on  the  perineum,  and  the  labor 
rapidly  progressing.  She  remarked  that  she  had  never  ex- 
perienced so  little  real  suffering  in  any  of  her  previous  labors. 
But  just  as  the  vertex  was  rising  from  under  the  pubes,  the 
progress  of  the  head  Was  arrested,  and  for  nearly  an  hour 
made  no  progress.  Not  thinking  it  best  to  allow  her  to  re- 
main longer  in  that  condition  I  applied  my  short  pocket 
forceps  and  delivered  the  head.  Considerable  traction  was 
required,  and  I  found  also  that  it  required  unusual  traction  to 
deliver  the  body.  The  cause  of  this  arrest  and  diflliculty  of 
delivery  was  found  to  be  a  short  cord — from  the  umbilicus  of 
the  child  to  its  insertion  in  the  placenta  it  measured  only  six 
inches.  (Cazeaux  is  the  only  obstetric  writer  who  gives  a 
complete  account  of  this  abnormality.)  The  placenta  came 
away  readily,  and  there  was  only  a  normal  amount  of  blood 
lost.  She  had  suffered  so  severely  after  all  her  confinements 
with  violent  and  long  lasting  after  pains,  that  she  implored 
me  to  give  her  something  to  relieve  them.  Viburnum  was 
ordered — five  drops  every  hour — and  to  her  astonishment 
and  mine,  she  did  not  have  a  single  after  pain.  The  womb 
remained  firmly  contracted  and  no  clots  were  expelled.  * 

I  deem  this  case  worthy  of  record  because  of  the  three  in- 
teresting points,  namely,  the  arrest  of  labor  from  the  short 
cord,  the  power  of  Viburnum  in  relieving  false  pains,  and  of 
its  incontestible  power  of  preventing  painful  labor  and  severe 
aftei  pains.  This  therapeutic  use  and  value  of  Viburnum  I 
have  verified  in  many  cases,  and  have  come  to  look  upon  it 
as  one  of  our  most  valuable  remedies  in  obstetric  practice. 


§ii$mml  Miniu* 


Clinics. — By  May  Howells,  M.  D.,  Cincinnati, — Case  I. — 
Dyspepsia,  etc.  AsafcRdita. — April  6th,  Mrs.  E,  W..  aet, 
thirty-seven,  American,  complains  of  almost  constant  passage 
of  flatus  upwards,  without  relief;  spasm  of  glottis,  and  sensa- 
tion of  a  bone  lying  crosswise  in  the  throat;  gone  feeling  in 
the  epigastrium  at  eleven  a.  m.;  loss  of  sensation  in  hands; 
both  hands  and  feet  very  cold;  a  confinued  dread  of  death; 
will  not  go  upon  the  streets  alone;  is  often  filled  with  the  de- 
sire to  the  something  dreadful;  even  thinks  of  murdering  her 
children.  Has  no  family  troubles,  and  is  not  obliged  to  work 
ver}'  hard.  Has  good  food,  but  always  feels  worse  after  eat- 
ing. Is  nursing  a  baby  of  ten  months,  and  is  in  the  habit  of 
drinking  eight  to  ten  cups  of  tea,  daily.  I  limited  the  amount 
of  tea  to  three  cups  each  day;  ordered  light  lunch  between 
meals,  and  selected  Asafosdita  200th,  as  my  drug. 

A  few  doses  o^  Asa.  in  alternation  with  SaclaCy  each  week 
was  continued  for  a  period  of  two  months,  with  excellent 
results;  all  noted  symptoms  disappearing  except  the  contin- 
ual dread  of  death.  This  was  removed  later  bv  a  few  doses 
of  Aconite  200th.  At  end  of  three  months,  patient  was  dis- 
charged cured. 

Case  II. — Menorrhagia.  Calcarea  car6. 30. — Mrs.  C,  aet. 
thirty-six,  German,  applied  for  treatment  May  4th.  Had  been 
suffering  for  six  years,  from  profuse,  and  long  lasting  mens- 
struation;  menses  continuing  two  weeks,  with  an  interval 
of  but  two  weeks,  and  during  this  interval  profuse  albumin- 
ous leucorrhoea.  Patient  very  anaemic;  great  heaviness  of 
of  the  legs,  and  vertigo  on  going  up  stairs;  eyes  very  weak, 
can  do  no  work  by  gaslight;  in  day  time  reads  number  five 
type  with  difficulty.  Prescribed  Calcarea  carh.  7p\h  twice 
per  day,  for  two  weeks.  Menses  appeared  on  May  15th  but 
lasted  only  four  days.  Continued  use  of  Cal.  card,  and  Sac  lac 
on  alternate  weeks.  Menses  returned  at  the  end  of  three 
weeks  lasting  three  days. 


General  Clinics.  699 

July  6th. — The  menses  returned  at  the  end  of  twenty-eight 
days,  and  normal  in  quantity;  the  leucorrhoea  diminished  but 
complains  of  violent  pains  through  abdomen  and  a  sudden 
gush  of  "muddy  water"  soon  after  cessation  of  each  men- 
strual period.  This  symptom  entirely  removed  by  two  doses 
o{  JS'itric  acidy  taken  immediately  upon  cessation  of  menses. 

Reported  Aug.  ist. — Menses  perfectly  normal;  leucorrhoea 
rapidly  decreasing;  is  able  to  read  the  newspaper  with  per- 
fect ease  and  feels  stronger  than  she  has  before,  for  years. 

Case  III. — Prolapsus  Uteri.  LiliumTp* — April  6th,  1878. 
Mrs.  W.,  aet.  thirty-four,  American.  Patient  complains  of  a 
funnel-shaped  pressure,  beginning  in  thorax  and  converging 
upon  the  uterus;  sick  headaches  recurring  every  few  days, 
with  much  aggravation  at  menstrual  period;  blur  before  the 
eyes.  Examination  shows  prolapsus  of  second  degree,  with 
general  laxity  of  the  ligaments.     Prescribed  Lilium  30th. 

April  15th. — Reports  some  improvement.     Continued  Li- 

Hum, 

May  loth. — Headaches  gone,  also  disappearance  of  pain- 
ful pressure.     Examination  shows  uterus  in  normal  position. 


"»♦- 


itttlhumt* 


Eahnemaim. 

We  present  this  month  the  first  part  of  Hahnemann's  cele- 
brated essay  on  Venereal.  We  hope  it  will  engage  the  at- 
tention of  those  who,  though  professedly  homoeopaths  find 
no  better  way  of  treating  these-diseases  than  by  the  most  ap- 
proved allopathic  methods. 


600  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 


On  the  Venereal  Disease  and  Its  Ordinary  Improper  Treatment. 

As  long  as  the  defects  of  the  constitutions  of  countries  put 
difficulties  in  the  way  of  matrimony,  as  long  as  celibacy  shall 
be  considered  fashionable  and  marriage  as  a  political  3'oke,  in 
place  of  being  regarded  as  the  most  honorable  connection  of 
the  two  sexes  for  their  mutual  moral  and  physical  perfection, 
but  especially  for  the  development  of  the  really  human  and 
of  the  divine  and  immortal  in  them;  as  long  as  the  notable 
difference  of  both  sexes  shall  be  viewed  merely  as  an  object 
of  sensuality,  and  nothing  more  dignified  is  seen  in  a  union 
with  the  opposite  sex  than  a  mere  animal  copulation,  and  not 
a  mutual  communication  and  fusion  of  the  excellencies  of  both 
to  constitute  a  more  noble  whole,  so  long  will  the  all-pow^er- 
ful  and  sexual  passion  thus  unnaturally  separated  from  moral 
duty  seek  its  gratification  in  the  arms  of  common  prostitution, 
and  as  a  necessary  consequence  not  fail  to  contract  the  de- 
structive lues,  and  so  long  is  the  extinction  of  such  a  commu- 
nicable virus  not  to  be  thought  of. 

It  is  the  duty  of  the  physician  to  cure  patients  ill  of  this 
disease  who  trust  themselves  to  his  care,  as  the  object  of  me- 
dicine (like  that  of  legislation)  is  not  so  much  the  prevention 
of  the  evils  incident  to  humanity  as  the  correction  of  those 
which  exist.  Medicine  should  therefore  prove  itself  to  be 
really  the  helpful  art  it  professes  to  be  in  this  disgraceful  and 
destructive  malady,  if  it  would  act  up  to  its  pretensions.  Its 
services  should  be  rendered  with  all  the  more  facility  and 
certainty  in  this  case,  as  the  venereal  disease  is  one  of  those 
happy  fev/  that  remain  always  the  same  with  respect  both  to 
their  origin  and  nature  (and  consequently  can  not  be  mistaken 
at  its  commencement),  and  the  specific  remedy  for  which 
(^Mercury)  was  discovered  by  a  lucky  hit  in  domestic  prac- 
tice shortly  after  the  invasion  of  the  disease,  now  three  hun- 
dred and  twenty -three  years  ago.  We  might  therefore  have 
expected  that  physicians  would  at  all  events  in  this  disease 
have  acted  judiciously,  and  in  this  long  period  of  time  have 
learned  the  way  to  cure  this  disease  radically,  easily  and  per- 


Miscellaneous,  601 

manently,  although  their  treatment  of  all  other  diseases  might 
have  remained,  as  indeed  it  has,  mere  subjective  and  objec- 
tive delusion;  which  might  to  a  certain  extent  be  excused, 
since  almost  all  other  diseases  differ  so  vyridely  from  each 
other  and  among  themselves,  and  the  appropriate  remedy  for 
each  several  case  remained  an  eternal  problem  until  HomcEo- 
pathy  solved  it. 

But  no!  physicians  have  mistaken  even  this  so  easily  cog- 
nizable venereal  disease,  and  a  fallacious  and  pernicious  treat-' 
ment  of  it  is  the  consequence  of  this  mistake.  Up  to  this 
hour  almost  all  the  physicians  of  the  habitable  globe,  in  Pekin 
as  in  Paris  and  Philadelphia,  in  London  as  in  Vienna,  in  Pe- 
tersburg as  in  Berlin,  have  bungled  the  venereal  disease  from 
its  commencement,  and  have  regarded  the  local  removal  of  the 
chancre  as  the  main  point  of  the  treatment  of  syphilis,  and  the 
simultaneous  employment  of  Mercury  as  a  mere  accessory;  and 
it  is  publicly  taught  that  if  the  chancre  have  existed  but  for  a 
few  days,  its  mere  local  destruction  is  all  the  treatment  re- 
quired.* And  yet  there  can  be  nothing  more  inappropriate, 
nothing  more  pernicious  than  this  procedure. 

1  shall  in  the  first  place  show  its  inappropriateness.  The 
analogy  with  other  miasmatic  exanthematous  diseases  would 
lead  us  to  infer  that  the  venereal  disease  arises  only  by  infec- 
tion by  means  of  corporeal  contact.  Now  all  infectious  dis- 
eases have  this  character  in  common,  that  on  the  part  of  the 
body  where  the  virus  was  first  applied,  at  first  no  alteration 
is  perceptible,  although  the  inoculation  may  have  taken  place. 
If  we  scrape  off  the  epidermis  on  a  child's  arm  till  we  come 

*  The  boldest  propoundcrs  of  this  erroneous  doctrine  were  Girtanner 
and  A.  F.  Hecker.  The  former  says  {IVeatige  <m  the  venereal  diaeam^  Oot- 
tingen,  1803,  p.  215).  ^*  Recent  chancres  must  be  onlj  locally  cured, 
burnt  or  driven  off.  The  poison  must  be  destroyed  at  the  commencement 
on  its  seat,  for  then  it  has  not  jet  had  time  to  be  ab8orbed''(?) — and  Hecker 
roundly  asserts  (On  the  venereal  diseaae,  2d  edition  p.  67),  ''In  the  chancre 
the  poison  lies  as  it  were  out  of  the  system, "  '*  therefore  it  yields  (p.  180) 
to  a  mere  external  treatment  (by  deasicatiye  and  corrosive  remedies) 
witfunU  any  HI  effects^*  (?),  and  if  it  date  from  not  more  than  twelve  days 
(p.  182),  it  must  "only  be  treated  with  external,  local  means.''  Almost 
all  other  authors  incline  to  the  same  opinion,  though  they  do  not  express 
themselves  so  distinctly — Hunter,  Bell,  Schwediaur,  etc. 


Cincinnati  Medicnl   Advance, 


to  the  sensitive  cutis  vera,  and  rub  thereon  cither  the  matter 
of  sin;il!-pox  or  the  lymph  of  cow-pox,  for  the  first  five  days 
there  will  be  no  change  at  all  perceptible  on  this  spot;  it 
only  after  the  fourth  day  in  the  case  of  cow-pox  inocul»tioi 
and  much  later  in  thnt  of  small-pox  inoculatio^^thata  cban: 
begins  to  appear  on  the  inoculated  spot,  and  it  is  only  on  th*l 
seventh  day  that  the  perfect  cow-pox  vesicle  is  formed  on 
this  ?pot,  amid  febrile  symptoms,  and  the  small-pox  pustule 
on  the  twelfth  or  fourteenth  day,  Neither  of  them  appears 
before  the  internal  infection  and  development  of  this  disease  is 
completed  in  the  $ystem.  So  it  is  with  the  measles  and  other 
acute  exanthematous  diseases:  nameig,  the  part  whereon  the 
infecting  virus  was  first  brought  does  not  produce  the  erupUmii 
peculiar  (o  each  disease,  before  Che  whole  organism  has  under' 
gone  a  change  and  is  completely  infected.  And  on  the  othi 
hand,  the  perfect  production  of  the  specific  eruption 
fallible  proof  qf  the  completed  internal  infection  and  develo} 
ment  of  (he  miasmatic  disease  in  every  case.  The  cow-po3 
prevails  throughout  the  body  as  soon  as  the  cow-pox  vesicl 
is  produced  in  its  perfect  form  with  its  red,  hard  areola,  at 
the  part  where  it  was  first  introduced,  and  so  it  is  with  Other 
inoculable  diseases.  But  from  the  moment  when  the  miasm 
hiis  taken,  and  the  whole  living  organism  has  become  aware 
of  (has  perceived)  the  presence  of  its  action,  the  poison  is 
no  longer  local  at  the  point  of  inoculation;  a  complete  infec- 
tion would  still  occur,  even  though  the  seat  of  inoculation 
should  be  cut  out.  At  the  very  moment  when  the  inocu- 
lation has  taken,  the  first  general  attack  on  the  system  has 
occurred,  and  the  full  development  of  the  disease  is  in  all 
probability  not  to  be  avoided  by  the  destruction  of  the  inocu- 
lated part. 

In  the  case  of  the  bite  of  the  mad  dog,  where  the  sj stei 
was  predisposed  to  be  alTtcted  by  the  miasm,*  we  possi 

"For  in  many  of  those  bitten  by  llie  rnbid  dng  [he  poison  does  not 
feet;  ol  twenty  perBona  bitten,  usuiilly  (mm  eighleen  Xti  nineteen  esci 
without  i>i)U''yi  even  though  they  do  not  use  any  antidote  wbrntevt 
Hence  the  iinde»erved  recommendation  of  so  maoy  pretended  preventitii 
remedies ;  Ihey  mny  all  eusilyprotvcC,  if  the  poison  has  not  lakea  in  tin 
bitten,  OS  ii  often  the  caee. 


.JF3 

M 

on  II 


Miscellaneous,  603 

undeniable  observations  to  show  that  even  cutting  out*  and 
removing  the  bitten  part  does  not  afford  any  protection  from 
the  occurrence  of  hydrophobia. 

Small-pox  w^ould  still  be  developed,  even  though  at  the 
moment  the  inoculation  was  effected  the  inoculated  part 
were  cut  out. 

So  far  is  the  miasm  from  remaining  local  when  once  it  has 

been  inoculated  in  the  body.     When  that  has  taken  place, 

.  the  complete  infection  of  the  whole  system  and  the  gradual 

development  of  the  miasmatic  disease  in  the  interior  can  not 

be  prevented  by  any  local  treatment. 

But  the  disease  can  only  be  considered  as  completely  de- 
veloped in  the  whole  organism  when  the  perfect  pock  has 
appeared  on  the  seat  of  inoculation. 

Thus  the  miasmatic  exanthematous  diseases  indicate  their 
completion  in  the  interior  by  the  occurrence  of  one  or  more 
shut  boils  of  smaller  or  greater  size. 

Thus  the  pustula  maligna  appears  on  the  part  that  has  been 
touched  (some  four  days  previously)  by  the  blood  of  a  cow 
which  has  died  of  malignant  anthrax,  and  in  like  manner  the 
cow-pock  or  small- pock  appears  generally  and  primarily  on 
the  part  inoculated  or  its  vicinity,  and  the  same  is  the  case 
with  the  itch  of  wool  manufacturers. 

The  last  named  disease  belongs  to  the  chronic  exanthema- 
tous diseases  (like  the  venereal  disease),  and  in  it  nature  also 
produces  the  itch  vesicles,  at  first  in  the  neighborhood  of  the 
part  that  was  originally  touched  by  the  itch  virus,  e.  ^.,, be- 
twixt the  fingers  and  on  the  wrist,  if  the  hands  (palms)  were 
first  infected.  As  soon  as  the  itch  vesicles  have  made  the»r 
appearance  this  is  a  sign  that  the  internal  itch  disease  is  al- 
ready fully  developed.  For  at  first  there  is  actually  no  morbid 
change  observable  on  the  infected  part,  no  itching,  no  itch 
vesicles.     Usually  from  nine  to  twelve  or  fourteen  days  after 

*  A  girl  of  eight  years  old,  in  Scotland,  was  bit  by  a  mad  dog  on  the 
2l8t  of  March  1792;  a  surgeon  immediately  cut  the  piece  clean  out  (kept 
it  suppurating  and  gave  Mercury  till  slight  salivation  was  produced),  and 
notwithstanding,  hydrophobia  broke  out,  and  death  followed  the  fortieth 
day  after  the  bite. — The  New  London  Medical  Journal^  Vol.  ii. 


604  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

the  application  of  the  itch  virus  there  occurs,  along  with  a 
slight  fever,  which  is  not  noticed  by  many  persons,  the  erup- 
tion of  the  first  itch  vesicle — nature  requires  this  time,  in   or- 
der to  complete  the  full  infection,  that  is  to  say,  the  develop- 
ment of  the  itch  disease  in  the  interior  throughout  the  or- 
ganism.    The  itch  vesicles  that  now  appear  are  hence    no 
mere  local  malady,  l)ut  a  proof  of  the  completion  of  the  inter- 
nal disease.     The  itch  miasm,  as  soon  as  it  has  contaminated 
the  hand,  remains  no  longer  local  the  instant  it  has  caused 
inoculation,  but  proceeds  to  alter  the  interior  of  the  organism 
and  to  develop  itself  into  this  peculiar  disease  until  the  entire 
infection  is  accomplished,  and  then  only  (after  several  days) 
does  the  eruption  produced  by  the  internal  malady  appear  on 
the  skin,  and  that  at  first  in  the  vicinity  of  the  original  point 
of  infection.     These  itch  vesicles  are  an  abnormal  organ  pro- 
duced by  the  inner  organism  upon  the  skin,  designed  by  na- 
ture to  be  the  external  substitute  of  the  internal  disease,  to 
take  the  latter  upon  itself,  to  absorb  it  as  it  were,  and  so  to 
keep  it  subdued,  slumbering  and   latent.     That   this  is   the 
case  is  evident  from  this,  that  so  long  as  the  vesicles  remain 
on  the  skin  and  continue  to  itch  and  discharge,  the  internal 
disease  can  not  make  its  appearance,  and  from  this  also,  that 
whenever  it  is  partially  destroyed  on   the  skin,  without  any 
previous  cure  being  eftected  of  the  internal  itch  disease  (es- 
pecially  if  it  be  of   somewhat   long  standing  and  have   at- 
tained to  any  extent)   by  means  of  the  internal  employment 
of  its   specific   remedy,  Sulphur,    this    internal    disease   then 
bursts  forth  rapidly,  often  in  a  frightful  manner,  in  the  form 
of  phtisis,  asthma,  insanity,  dropsy,  apoplexy,  amaurosis,  par- 
alysis, and  it  not  unfrequently  occasions  sudden  death. 

A  very  similar  process  is  observed  in  the  case  of  the  vene- 
real disease.  On  the  spot  where  the  venereal  virus  was  first 
rubbed  in  (e.g.  during  an  impure  coitus),  for  the  first  days,  in 
like  manner,  nothing  morbid  is  observable.  The  virus  has 
indeed  first  come  in  contact  with  the  living  fibres  at  that 
part,  but  at  the  moment  that  the  inoculation  has  taken  place 
that  is,  when  the  living  body  has  felt  (perceived)  the  pres- 
ence and  action  of  the  poison,  that  same  moment  it  is  no  Ion- 


Miscellaneous.  605 

ger  only  local,  it  is  already  the  property  of  the  whole  Drgan- 
ism.  From  that  instant  the'  specific  (venereal)  alteration  in 
the  interior  advances  onwards  until  the  venereal  disease  has 
completely  developed  itself  in  the  interior,  and  it  is  only  then, 
that  nature,  oppressed  by  the  internal  malady,  produces  the 
abnormal  organ,  the  chancre,  which  it  has  formed  for  the 
purpose  of  keeping  in  subjection  the  internal  disease,  in  the 
neighborhood  of  the  part  primarily  infected.*  In  the  neigh- 
borhood, I  say,  for  it  does  not  always  arise  on  the  seat  of  the 
primary  application  of  the  virus,  it  sometimes  appears  on  the 
scrotum,  etc.,  sometimes,  though  more  rarely,  only  in  the 
groin,  in  the  form  of  inguinal  bubo,  which  is  also  a  kind  of 
chancre. 

In  order  to  subdue  and  form  a  substitute  for  the  internal 
venereal  constitutional  disease,  nature  produces  the  chancre; 
for  as  I  have  seen,  chancres  remaining  untouched  for  as  long 
as  two  or  three  years  (certainly  enlarging  gradually  in  that 
time),  do  not  permit  the  more  general  venereal  disease  to 
break  out.  As  long  as  the  chancre  remains  uninterfered 
with,  no  venereal  affection,  no  symptoms  of  syphilis  are  to  be 
met  with  on  any  other  part  of  body. 

It  is  very  probable  that  the  infection  during  impure  coitus 
takes  place  in  the  first  seconds,  and  then  no  washing  or 
cleansing  of  the  genitals  is  of  any  avail,  nature  from  that 
time  proceeds  uninterruptedly  in  her  course,  altering  the 
whole  internal  organism  in  the  manner  peculiar  to  this  dis- 
ease. But  from  the  moment  of  the  primary  local  infection, 
nature  requires  in  our  days,  several,  usually  seven,  ten  or 
fourteen  days,  not  unfrequently  three  weeks,  there  are  even 
some  instances  of  its  requiring  five,  six,  seven  or  eight  weeks 
before  it  has  completed  the  development  of  the  venereal  mal- 
ady in  the  interior,  and  it  is  only  then,  as  a  sign  of  the  com- 
pleted internal  general  venereal  disease,  that  the  chancre  ap- 
pears on  the  skin,  and  this  chancre,  the  evidence  of  the  now 
internal  affection,  is  designed  by  nature  to  assume,  as  it  were, 
the  palliative  ofi[ice  of  substitution,  relieving  and  keeping  in 
subjection  the  latter. 

*  At  first  as  a  vesicle,  which  increases  in  a  few  hours  and  grows  into  an 
ulcer  with  a  hard  base. 


606  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 


News  From  the  Colleges. 

Boston  University  School  of  Medicine  held  its  Com- 
mencement, March  5,  in  Tremont  Temple.  The  platform 
was  gorgeously  decorated  with  flowers.  Dean  Talbot  made 
an  interesting  address .  He  reported  the  school  prosperous 
and  progressing.  Miss  Clara  Elizabeth  Aldrich  then  made 
a  fine  salutatory  address,  after  which  President  Warren 
graduated  the  following:  Clara  Elizabeth  Aldrich,  South 
Framingham;  Francis  Lester  Babcock,  East  Dedham;  Judson 
Lee  Beck,  Boston;  Ada  Bingham,  Monroe,  Wis.;  James 
Edward  Blaisdell,  Chelsea;  Edward  Alison  Butler,  Haverhill; 
Adaline  Barnard  Church,  Winchester;  Laura  Worthington 
Copp,  Chelsea;  Jane  Kendrick  Culver,  Boston;  Maria  Louisa 
Cummings,  Boston;  Edward  Harvey  Ellis,  Rockville; 
Clement  Howard  Hallo  well,  Bangor,  Me.;  Webster  Oliver 
Hardy,  Nelson,  N.  H.;  Francis  Way  land  .Hart  well,  New 
Marlboro;  Henry  Jefferson  Hascall,  West  Med  ford; 
Manuel  Scott  Holmes,  West  Waterville,  Me.;  Freeland 
David  Leslie,  East  Boston;  Anna  Mary  Marshall,  Philadel- 
phia, Pa.;  Nelson  Cobleigh  Parker,  Newton ville;  Luinan 
Hoyden  Parkhurst,  Hopkinton;  John  Howard  Payne,  Bath, 
Me.;  George  Emery  Percy,  Bath,  Me.;  Robert  Ernest  Pierce, 
Melrose;  Charles  Sumner  Pratt,  Shrewsbury;  Frank  Chase 
Richardson,  Boston;  Oscar  Waldo  Roberts,  St.  Albans,  Vt,; 
Charles  Rufus  Rogers,  East  Wareham;  Clara  Hannah 
Rogers,  Fort  Atkinson,  la.;  Orren  Burnham  Sanders,  Bos- 
ton; Charles  Samuel  Sargent,  Boston;  Herbert  Elwyn 
Small,  Boston;  Edmund  Bernard  Square,  Boston;  John  Pres- 
ton Sutherland,  Boston;  Carrie  Helen  West,  Winchester; 
Sarah  Elizabeth  Wilder,  Andover.  Each  student  as  his 
name  was  called  ascended  the  platform  and  received  the 
diploma  and  a  boquet.  The  lady  graduates  were  well  nigh 
crushed  beneath  the  floral  gifts  of , their  friends.  The  class 
valedictory  was  then  given  by  Dr.  John  P.  Sutherland  and 
the  faculty  valedictory  by  Prof  Mary  J.  SalTord  Blake.  It 
is  needless  to  say  that  music  leant  its  witching  charms  to  the 
to  the  happy  and  ever  memorable  hours. 


Miscellaneous,  607 

The  Homceopathic  Medical  Department  of  the 
University  of  Iowa,  held  its  closing  exercises  Thursday, 
February  27.  The  class  numbered  thirty- two,  with  three 
graduates,  as  follows:  Sheldon  F.  Davis,  Iowa;  R.  C. 
Newell,  Illinois;  Jas.  H.  Thompson,  Iowa.  The  valedictory 
on  the  part  of  the  class  was  delivered  by  R.  C.  Newell. 
Prof.  A.  C.  Cowperthwaite,  delivered  the  annual  address, 
subject,  "The  Doctrines  of  Hahnemann,"  spending  most  of 
the  time  elucidating  three  cardinal  features  of  Homoeopathy, 
viz:  Drug  proving,  the  single  remedy  and  potentization. 
In  the  evening  the  students  were  tendered  a  banquet  by  the 
faculty,  which  proved  a  most  enjoyable  occasion. 

Hahnemann  Medical  College  of  Chicago  held  its 
annual  Commencement  Thursday  evening,  February  27, 
1S79,  in  Hershey  Music  Hall.  Dean  Ludlam  made  the  an- 
nual college  report;  President  Small  delivered  the  diplomas, 
with  an  appropriate  address.  Prof.  Hoyne  delivered  the 
faculty  valedictory,  and  Dr.  Geo.  L.  Bailey  gave  the  valedic- 
tory for  the  class.  All  this  was  interspersed  with  much 
music  and  rejoicing. 

Homoeopathic  College  of  Missouri  held  its  annual 
Commencement  in  the  College  Hall,  Thursday,  February  27. 
Dr.  Lawrence  E.  Whitney  spoke  the  valedictory  for  the 
class.  Prof,  I.  D,  Fonlon  presented  a  number  of  prizes  to 
the  students.  President  Spaulding  conferred  the  degrees, 
and  Prof.  Kershaw  delivered  a  valedictory  in  behalf  of  the 
faculty.  Waltzes,  Serenades,  Polkas  and  Marches  were 
richly  scattered  through  the  proceedings.  At  the  last  they 
had  *'Suppe"  which  was  something  to  eat,  or  something  to 
hear,  according  as  they  meant  the  word  should  be  spelled — 
with  or  without  a  final  r.  Our  devil  says  it  was  meant  for 
"Soup."  That  would  be  thin  for  St.  Louis.  Later. — We 
learn  that  the  alumni  of  the  college  adjourned  to  "Windsor 
Flats"  and  had  a  re-union  marked  by  many  "Sharps." 

Pulte  Medical  College  held  its  annual  Commence- 
ment in   College   Hall,  Wednesday  evening,  February  26« 


608  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

After  prayer  by  Rev.  A.  N.  Gilbert,  Dean  Hartshorn  re- 
ported on  the  condition  of  the  college.  He  said  it  was 
financially  and  intellectually  sound  to  the  core.  Rev,  W.  H. 
Felix  then  gave  a  public  address  which  was  very  interesting 
and  spirited.  Hon.  Job  E.  Stevenson  then  delivered  the  trus- 
tee's prize  for  highest  attainment  in  scholarship  to  Dr.  C.  H, 
Gilbert.  The  Honorable  gentleman  then  made  a  few  remarks 
which  evidently  had  some  points  to  them.  Prof.  Wm. 
Owens  then,  in  behalf  of  the  faculty,  presented  the  following 
prizes:  To  Dr.  F,  E.  Downey,  first  clinical  prize,  twenty- 
five  dollars;  to  Dr,  Chas.  Hoyt,  second  clinical  prize  fifteen 
dollars;  to  Dr.  J.  E.  Studebaker,  third  clinical  prize,  ten  dollars* 
These  were  given  in  books  and  instruments  selected  by  the 
recipients.  The  diplomas  of  the  Hahnemann  ajid  Philadel- 
phos  societies  were  presented  by  their  respective  Presidents, 
Profs.  Buck  and  Wilson.  Dr.  G.  E.  Blackburn  then  deliv- 
ered a  fine  valedictory  in  behalf  of  the  class,  after  which 
President  Bell  conferred  the  degree  of  M.  D,  upon  the  fol 
lowing  graduates:  Chapman  Ayer,  Ohio;  Geo,  W.  Bernard 
Ohio;  G.  E.  Blackburn,  Ark.;  J.  F.  Beckncr,  Ind.;  Lev 
Burris,  Ind.;  E.  F.  Chase,  Mich.;  J.  M.  Crawford,  Ohio;  R 
D.  Connell,  Ohio;  F.  J.  Dickey,  III.;  F.  E.  Downey,  111.;  W 
C.  Emrey,  Ohio;  J.  C.  Flynn,  Ohio;  E.  L.  Fristoe,  Ohio;  C 
H.  Gilbert,  Ohio;  O.  A.  Hubbs,  Ohio;  J.  R.  Huss,  Ohio;  W 
M.  Hafi'ner,  Ohio;  Chas.  Hoyt,  Ohio;  S.  H.  Jackson,  Mass. 
P.  H,  Lindley,  Mich.;  C.  M.  Lukens,  Ohio;  Elmer  E.  Loy,  A 
M.,  Ohio;  Geo.  A.  Ross,  Ohio;  A.  G.  Smith,  Ind.;  J.  T 
Strode,  Ohio;  J.  E.  Studebaker,  Ohio;  A.  C.  Smith,  Iowa;  A 
S.  Shorb,  Cal.;  Eben  Thompson,  Mass.;L.  M.  Whistler,  Md.; 
W.  P,  Williamson,  Ohio;  A.  C.  Williamson,  Ohio. 

Hhe  faculty,  students  and  their  friends  then  adjourned  to 
the  Gibson  House,  where  they  disposed  of  a  sumptuous  ban- 
quet in  a  lively  manner.  The  following  toasts  and  responses 
fill  up  the  balance  of  the  happy  hours,  and  all  went  home 
well  pleased. 

TOASTS. 

I.  Hahnemann,  A  man  renowned  in  philosophy  and 
versed  in  science,  and,  more  than  that,  a  wise  physician,  and 
by  none  excelled  as  a  humanitarian.     Drank  in  silence. 


Miscellaneous,  *     609 

2.  Similia  Simtlihus  Curantur,  It  always  was  true,  it  still 
is  true  and  ever  will  be  true.  Response  by  Dr.  Silas  Cook, 
of  Indiana. 

3.  Our  Grraduates,  "and  their  sisters,  and  their  cousins,  and 
their  aunts."     Response  by  Dr.  E.  E.  Loy. 

4.  Our  Under  Graduates  and  their  sweethearts.  Merely  a 
matter  of  time,  you  know.     Response  by  Dr.  Overman. 

5.  PuUe  Medical  College.  A  gallant  bark  that  upon  a  tem- 
pestuous sea  still  floats  and  floats.  Response  by  Prof.  D.  W. 
Hartshorn. 

6.  The  Paris  of  America.  She  is  the  pride  of  the  state,  and 
the  state  is  the  jewel*  of  the  union.  Response  by  Hon.  Job 
E.  Stevenson. 

8.  LaWy  Medicine  and  Theology.  A  noble  trinity  of  means, 
with  a  holy  unity  of  ends.    Response  by  Rev.  C.  W.  Wendte. 

9.  Our  National  Board  of  Health.  It  will  be  a  healthy 
board  only  when  it  has  a  homceopathic  element  infused  into 
it.     Response  by  Prof.  J.  D.  Buck. 

10.  The  Press.  It  never  goes  back  on  us.  Never?  Well, 
hardly  ever. 

11.  The  Ladies,  God  bless  them.  Their  Aesthetic  natures 
incline  them  to  appreciate  an  aesthetic  medical  practice.  Re- 
sponse by  Dr.  Claud  A.  Quirell. 


life  is  Magnetism. 

I  noticed  in  the  Medical  Advance  for  January,  1879, 
page  four  hundred  and  thirty -two,  an  article  "Fatal  Errors," 
by  Dr.  Ad.  Lippe,  of  Philadelphia,  and  I  desire  to  answer  a 
single  question  raised  by  that  distinguished  writer.  He  asks, 
"Has  the  advancement  of  science  explained  what  life  is?  Is 
not  this  very  corner  stone  on  which  our  immortal  Master 


610 


Cincinnati  Medical  Aduunce. 


built  his  never  to  be  destroyed  physiological  arguments  just  a 
true;justassolid  as  when  he  uttered  these  sentences?  Can  any  I 
ndvancennent  of  nnd  in  science  solve  the  question?    Can  tliat  I 
which  is  never  to  be  comprehended  by  mortals  be  explained  1 
by  mortals?"    For  the  benefit  of  Homojopathy  and  science  in   ; 
general,  I  undertake  to  answer  these  questions  so  far  as 
own  experience  has  proved  them.      We  are  already  on 
road  to  discover  these  secrets,  and  must  succeed  unless 
are   inlernipted  by  ignorance  and  bigotry.      Twenty  years  I 
ago  in  controversy  with  an  eminent  allopathic   physician  I   \ 
said,  so  long  as  the  physician  does  not  understand  how  the  | 
organs  of  life  are  made  or  controlled,  so  long  will  he  walk  in 
darkness.      Chemistry  is  built  on  hollow  ground   and  will 
break  down  in  time.      Its  principles  are  based  on  affinity, 
which  is  nothing  but  magnetism.      The  universe  is  bnill  by 
magnetism,  no  matter  whether  it  is  visible  or  invisible.       By 
long  continued  acting  the  different  niiiterials,  which  chemis-  j 
try  calls  elements,  were  created,      Magnetism  is  an  element  I 
which  consists  of  two  powers,  positive   and  negative;  botli  \ 
are  attractive  and  repulsive.      That  the  magnet  is  composed  i 
of  two  forces  is  well  known,  but  ihat  one  pole  can  create  the  I 
two  powers  is  not  explained  yet.  For  example,  if  with  a  horse- 
shoe magnet  we  charge  one  end  of  the  rod,  the  other  end  of  j 
the  rod  will  be  the  opposite  pole.      To  my  mind  this  is  life 
without  sense.      Chemistry  regards  electridty  as  a  separate  | 
element,  but  electricity  is  created  by  magnetism,  and  accord-   ( 
ing  to  the  strength  (quantum)  of  magnetic  power,    by  con- 
tact of  both  poles,  is  the  electricity  strong  or  weak.      1  am 
not  a  regular  student  in    philosophy;  I  received    my  knowl- 
edge in  experimenting  in  my  own  way,  and  I  wish  to  show  J 
your  readers  where  they  can  go   to  find  an  explanation  of  | 
life.      Mr.  Norman  Lockyer's  recent  esperimenls  may  help  J 

us  in  solving  this  question, — E.  Z r. 

Note — E.  Z r  is  a  German  of  long  experience  in  prac- 
tical science.  His  ideas  may  not  be  as  clear  as  he  thinks  I 
they  are,  but  they  will  hold  their  own  with  Dr.  Martin  I 
Dechere's  article  in  the  last  North  American  Journal  of  j 
HomcEOpathy.  S.  L.  must  not  think  all  the  wise  men  are  in  ( 
the  East. 


Miscellan  eous,  61 1 


Br.  Lilienthal's  Answer. 

Editor  Advance: — Dr.  S.  objects  to  the  use  of  pathologi- 
cal names  in  my  last  attempt  to  give  to  my  professional 
brethren,  and  especially  my  younger  colleagues,  a  book  con- 
taining hints  to  the  selection  of  the  similia,  and  I  plead  guilty 
to  the  charge,  and  also  to  the  wrong  opinion  I  entertained 
that  physicians  used  a  collective  name  which  in  one  word 
gives  a  collection  of  symptoms.  Thus  I  used  Picric  acid  as 
a  remedy  for  paralysis  of  the  cord.  I  hope  that  everybody 
is  well  acquainted  with  the  pathological  state  of  this  disease 
and  knows  that  the  palsy  is  a  secondary  process,  following 
diverse  forces  of  myelitis.  As  I  give  only  hints  I  could  not 
go  back  and  give  all  the  symptoms  of  myelitis,  especially  as 
they  can  be  found  under  myelitis,  nor  can  we  expect  that  a 
prover  will  carry  on  his  provings  to  such  a  degree  that  par- 
alysis and  death  results,  hence  the  necessity  to  rely  on  experi- 
ments with  animals  in  order  to  firtd  out  the  state  which  caus- 
ed paralysis.  That  Picric  acid  gives  us  symptoms  enough 
leading  to  myelitis,  just  look  in  Allen's  Cyclopaedia,  art.  Pic- 
ric acid,  symptom  289 — 298,  in  fact  nearly  all  the  symptoms 
from  neck  to  generalitur,  everywhere  heaviness  and  weak- 
ness, weariness  and  exhaustion,  proving  to  him  who  reads 
between  the  leaves  that  the  secrobatic  process  is  doing  the 
mischeivous  work. 

The  same  holds  good  with  Oxalic  acid,  which  does  not  pro- 
duce softening,  but  a  sclerosis,  and  thus  secondarily  a  destruc- 
tion of  the  nerve  fibers.  Every  tyro  knows  nowadays  what 
locomotor  ataxy  is,  and  by  looking  over  the  symptoms  of 
Oxalic  acid  he  can  easily  find  out  that  it  covers  well  the  sec- 
ond stage  of  the  disease,  and  may  be,  therefore,  indicated  by 
this  correspondence. 

Thanking  Dr.  S.  for  the  kindness  to  have  shown  publicly 
the  errors  in  these  "Homoeopathic  Therapeutics,"  I  remain, 
fraternally  yours,  S.  Lilienthal,  New  York,  March  15, 1879. 


612  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 


At  a  Meeting  of  the  Northern  Michigan  Homceopathic 
Association,  held  at  Piersoe,  Mich.,  Dec.  4,  1878,  the  follow- 
ing was  unanimously  adopted,  with  instructions  to  the  secre- 
tary to  forward  copies  to  the  medical  journals  of  our  school: 

Mesolved,  That,  in  the  opinion  of  this  society,  the  interests 
of  the  profession  in  this  state,  are  best  served  by  a  full  and 
hearty  support  of  the  homoeopathic  college  at  Ann  Arbor; 
and  that  any  attempt  to  establish  a  homoeopathic  college  at 
Grand  Rapids,  or  any  other  point  in  this  state,  would  be  in- 
jurious to  the  common  cause,  and  tend  to  lower  our  school  in 
the  estimation  of  the  public,  and  of  the  profession  generally, — 
Dr.  James  Totten,  Secretary. 


■♦  ♦■ 


^u%  M0%it$$* 


The  HomcBopathic  Therapeutics  of  Uterine  and  Vaginal  Discharges.    By 
W.  I^ert,  M.  D.    Boericke  &  Tafel,  New  York. 

We  have  here  a  handsome  volume  of  five  hundred  and  forty-three 
pages,  devoted  to  one  of  the  most  important  and  practical  depart- 
ments of  medicine.  Unfortunately  the  title  is  a  first  class  blunder. 
And  this  is  a  curious  fact,  when  we  consider  the  well  known  scientific 
attainments  of  the  author,  and  the  equally  well  known  business 
judgment  of  the  publishers.  When  dentistry  becomes  toothache, 
and  consumption  is  reduced  to  coughing,  then,  and  not  till  then,  will 
^naecology  be  synonymous  with  leuchorrhoea.  But  pray  why  "uterine 
and  vaginal  discharges?"  A  uterine  discharge,  if  it  amounts  to  a 
symptom,  becomes  eventually  vaginal.  And  the  author  does  not 
give  us  the  slightest  clue  to  a  difierentiation  between  the  two  kinds 
of  discharge.  Why,  then,  maintain  a  distinction  in  the  title  which  is 
wholly  ignored  in  the  work?     One's  first  impression  regarding  the 


Book  X'otices. 


\io(ik  is  that  the  symploms  of  leucorrhuia  would  hold  a  foremost  con- 
Bliienttion.  Alas,  there  are  but  tu'enty-faur  pages  upon  that  subject 
hkhlen  awny  under  the  practiciilly  obsok'te  title,  "Fluor  ABna."  Our 
more  recent  graduates  in  medicine  will  he  puzzled  at  the  meaning  of 
a  term  they,  perhaps,  never  heard  used  by  their  teiichers.  But  it 
appGiiFS  our  author  comprehends  normal,  as  well  aa  abnormal,  dis- 
charges for  he  treats  of  Menstruation,  as  well  as  Afenorrhngia  and 
Menorrhoea.  More  than  that,  he  treats  of  Amenorrhoea,  by  whicii 
we  understand,  a  condition  without  any  discharge.'  Considerably 
less  than  half  of  the  book  is  devoted  to  discharges.  The  larger  part 
is  taken  up  by  what  the  author  terms  General  ConcoinitantB.  Here 
we  find  a  chapter  which  might  do  for  a  monotcraph  on  Insanity, 
following  this,  an  excellent  arrangement  for  Headaches,  and  then 
we  have  a  chapter  on  Eyes,  that  looks  like  a  slip  out  of  Berridge's 
repertory.  After  this  we  are  treated  to  an  arrangement  of  Ear  symp- 
toms, some  of  which  are  good,  and  one  of  which  is  inexpressibly 
tunny.  "Pain-drawing— in  the  mtiitas  utufitoriu*  inlcmus,"  Ci/clamen  is 
the  remedy,  and  it  one  doesn't  ^ve  it  until  the  symptora  comes  on, 
it  will  be  many  rytite  of  ametm  before  the  (^lamen  bottle  will  be 
opened.  In  short,  under  General  CoDcomilantfi,  we  have  all  parts  of 
the  body  treated  down  to  the  ends  of  the  toes.  And  Ihis  leads  us 
back  to  our  first  assertion,  that  the  title  ol  the  book  is  a  misnomer> 
of  the  Brst  magnitude.  It  is  an  arrangement  almost  encycl(<pedic  in 
character,  of  the  homa.'OpBlbic  materia  medicn,  built  around  the 
female  liexuat  organs,  and  the  dischargefl  therefrom  being  a  matter  of 
minor  consideration.  The  value  of  the  book  is  unquestionable.  For 
a  homccopathic  gynaecologist  it  is  indispensable,  ami  with  all  its  short 
comings  we  commend  it  as  unrivaled  by  any  work  on  the  subject 
eitanL    Pny  it,  tfudy  it,  and  follow  it. 

Handbook  of  ths  Practice  of  Medicine,    By  M.  Chiirteris.  M.  D.     Plula- 
(ielphia,  Lindsay  &  Blakiatun. 

This  is  a  very  compact  and  neatly  illustrated  work  on  old  school 
pract-ico.  Those  in  senrt^h  of  ready  information  in  this  department 
tun  And  nothing  better  suited  to  their  use.  There  are,  no  donhti 
many  who  can  not  anViril  lo  Invest  in  the  ponderous  eyclopipd ins,  but 
whd  can,  for  a  very  small  amonnl,  purrhase  such  a  book  as  this,  and 
still  be  happy.  The  treatment  is  thoroughly  orthodox  with  a  strong 
leaning  toward  the  heroic  plans  of  that  school.  Diphtheria  hiis 
four  pagL's,  and  one  rem^y  confidently  recoui mended.  Cronp  and 
ITuoping  Cough  have  each  throe  pagpSiand  short  shifts  for  treatment 
And  so  of  all  the  rest,  but  there  isnopnltt^ringnbuutllu?  therapeutics' 


614  Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 

It  is  a  word  and  a  blow,  and  we  judge  some  of  the  blows  are  hard 
enough,  but  since  they  are  all  secundum  artem  there  is  no  ground  of 
complaint.  The  work  is  well  written  and  neatlj  printed.  Bobert 
Clarke  &  Co. 

A  Manual  of  Physical  Diagnosis.     By  Francis  Delafield,  M.  D.,  and 
Chas.  F.  Stillman,  M  D.    Wm.  Wood  &  Co.,  New  York. 

The  best  thing  we  can  say  of  this  work  is,  that  in  our  present  win- 
ter's course  of  lectures  we  have  found  it  a  most  valuable  aid.  The 
dissected  map  it  contains  is  worth  the  price  of  the  book,  and  to  both 
teacher  and  student  it  offers  what  can  not  be  found  elsewhere.  Price 
$4.00.    Kobert  Clarke  &  Co. 

Transactions  of  the  Homoeopathic  Medical  Society  of  New  York,  1878. 
Vol.  XIV. 

This  is  a  fine  volume  of  four  hundred  and  seventy  })ageSy  lacking 
nothing  in  point  of  attractiveness  and  value.  The  articles  presented 
embrace  almost  every  variety  of  medical  subjects,  and  are,  without 
exception,  thoroughly  readable  and  instructive.  Copies  of  this  vol- 
ume may,  no  doubt,  be  had  for  a  moderate  price  by  application  to 
the  treasurer,  Dr.  E.  S.  Coburn,  Troy,  N.  Y. 


■♦-»■ 


C6iljJii'$  mM$ 


Our  next  number  will  be  dated  July  and  will  appear  early  in 
June.  We  hope  our  friends  will  not  be  made  anxious  as  to  our 
safety  by  this  delay.  Hereafter  the  Advance  will  have  two  volumes 
a  year,  commencing,  respectively,  in  January  and  July.  Price  one 
dollar  a  volume,  or  two  dollars  a  year.  Now  is  your  time  to  subscribe 
for  the  Medical  Advance,  a  journal  acknowledged  by  all  to  be  <iie 
leading  homoeopcUhic  monthly  of  the  world. 


Editor's  Tabic. 


Advertising  Iiah  its  diaad  vantages  as  nellas  itsbenefita.  "Mediciis," 
whoeccard  appeared  in  our  February  oumhar,  writes  that  lie  is  over' 
whelmed  with  applicants.  He  says  he  can  not  answer  them.  He 
also  saya  he  thinks  thn  Auvakcb  roust  have  a  large  circulation.  But 
lie  adds  rather  significiently,  "there  must  be  a  good  many  young  men 
in  want  of  better  situations."    Moral:    Advertise  in  the  Advance. 

"The  Medical  Counsellor."  This  brings  to  us  a  new  honKeopathic 
journal.  Our  good  brother  Sam,  of  New  York,  kindly  wrote  ns,  not 
long  since,  the  obituaries  of  two  journals  of  our  school  and  mourned 
over  Ihem  as  only  a  sincere  (riend  conld  mourn.  Now  will  he  cry, 
LeroiaimoTtI  VittHrml  The  C'onnsellor  hails  from  Chicago,  and 
steps  into  the  empty  western  shoes  of  the  Ilomteopath.  Dr.  Mills 
is  the  editor,  ami  the  firm  of  W.  A.  Chatterton  &  Co.  are  publishers, 
ami  both  these  parties  do  their  work  welt.  Tlie  initial  number  is  an 
Escellciit  one,  and  besiUps  it  has  Ihe  true  homoeopathic  ring  in  it. 
It  is  sound  to  Ihe  core,  nnd  will  do  good  work  for  our  cause.  It  will 
help  us  to  stem  the  tide  of  eclecticiBm,  which  ia  sweeping  wilb  parnl- 
yiing  and  deadly  effect  through  our  ranks.     Room  fortlie  Caunsellor 

The  TRIRD  annual  meeting  of  the  Wabash  Vnltey  Homceopothic 
Medical  Society,  convenes  in  Obarleston,  III.,  May  Bth,  one  day  in 
advance  of  the  Western  Academy,  St.  Louis.  So  arrangeil  that 
pbysiciana  going  to  6t.  Louis,  by  storting  a  day  in  advance,  may  slop 
and  encourage  ns,  by  taking  a  part  in  the  convention.  Please  inform 
me  by  [MKttal  if  you  can  be  present,  so  I  can  provide  a  home  Tor  you. 
An  interesting  public  lecture  iu  the  evening,  by  Prof.  T,  P.  Wilsoo, 
formsa  part  of  the  programme. — G.  B.  Sauckct,  President, 

The  Michigan  Homii?opathic  Stale  Medical  Society  meets  in  the 
cily  of  Detroit,  May  20  nnd  21.  A  lar^  number  of  papers  are  prom,- 
iaed,  and  an  interesting  seHSion  Is  eipecled. — R.  B.  House,  Secretary. 

Du.  T.  F.  PoMBMOY,  of  Detroit,  wad  recently  elected  Preddenl  of 
(he  College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons,  and  is  reported  to  liavo  de- 
livered a  Hue  inaugural  address,  which  will  soon  be  published  in  the 
transnctions  of  that  society. 

Died.— Dr.  Jns.T.  Alley.  o(  SI.  Paul,  Minn.,  September  17,  1878. 
News  of  his  dentli  has  juat  reached  us,  and  we  hasten  to  cjcpre*?  our 
surprise  ond  sorrow  nt  this  event.  One  of  our  best  men  has  thus 
fallen  at  his  post,  nnd  his  memory  will  be  long  and  tenderiy  cherished 
by  nil  who  knew  him. 

News  From  Pulte  Dovs^— Dr.  Chas.  Hoyt  enters  into  partnership 
with  his  brother.  Dr.  Wm.  Hoyt,  at  Hillsboro,  Ohio. 

Dr.  C.  Q.  Nelson  locates  in  Leesbtirg,  0. 

Dr.  G.  E.  Blackburn  settles  in  Shreeveport,  La. 


616  Oincinnati  Medical  Advance. 

Dr.  Wm.  Owens,  Jr.,  has  been  elected  Demonstrator  of  Anatomy, 
in  the  P.  C.    Quite  right,  say  his  many  friends. 

Dr.  R.  D.  Connell  removes  to  Columbus,  O.    . 

Dr.  D.  Clapper  removed  to  Hagerstown,  Ind. 

Dr.  R.  W.  Connell  will  retain  his  brother's  practice  at  Richwooti,  O. 

Dr.  Jno.  T.  Strode  has  formed  a  partnership  with  Dr.  Wm.  H. 
McGranaghan,  of  Maysville,  Ky. 

Dr.  Kben  Thompson  has  removed  to  Newtonville,  Mass. 

Pr.  C.  N.  Shellenberger,  one  of  the  "Pulte  boys,"  is  attending 
physician  at  the  dispensary  of  the  New  York  Homoeopathic  College, 
office  223  East  Slst  street 

Dr.  S,  Worcester  has  removed  to  Salem,  Mass. 

Dr.  D.  G.  McGuire's  report  on,  The  Abuse  of  Atropa  in  Ophthalmo- 
scopy, which  he  read  at  the  Put-in-Bay  meeting  was  unfortunately 
lost,  and,  therefore,  not  included  in  the  Ophthalm ©logical  and  Otologi- 
cal  report.  This  fact  should  have  been  mentioned  in  the  report,  but 
was  overlooked. 

The  Indiana  Institute  of  Homoeopathy  meets  in  Indianapolis, 
April  30th  and  Mrfy  1st.  The  Inter-Collegiate  Conference  of  Homoeo- 
pathic Colleges  meet«  at  the  same  place  April  30th.  The  respective 
secretaries,  Drs.  Runnels  and  Vilas,  solicit  a  general  attendance  of 
the  profession . 

Ohio  noMCEOPATHic  Medical  Society.  Cleveland,  May  13th  and 
14th.    Don't  forget  it.    AVe  expect  a  big  time  always  at  Cleveland. 

Died.— Dr.  D.  R.  Luyties,  of  St.  Louis,  January  10,  aet.  fifty-two. 
Dr.  L.  was  the  founder  of  the  first  homoeopathic  pharmacy  in  St, 
Louis,  and  for  many  years  was  professor  of  diseases  of  children.  The 
Doctor  took  high  rank  in  his  profession. 

"Only  an  Emigrant,*  a  gem  of  a  song,  by  Charles  Baker,  and 
published  by  F.  W.  Helmick  &  Co.,  Cin. 

Mrs.  J.  A.  D.  Adams,  M.  D.,  has  removed  to  Cottonwood  Hot 
Springs,  Mahonville,  Colorado.  Having  purchased  the  Springs,  which 
are  far  famed  for  their  medicinal  virtues.  She  will  give  special  atten- 
tion to  patients  afflicted  witli  chronic  diseases.  We  commend  her 
ent*;rprise  to  the  profession. 

Prof.  A,  S.  Everett,  M.  D.,  of  St.  Louis,  who  was  charged  by 
one  of  our  correspondents  with  plagiarizing  from  Dr.  Holden,  rises 
in  the  St.  Louis  Clinical  Review  to  explain.  The  Prof,  is  entitled 
to  a  demurer,  and  those  interested  better  get  the  journal  in  ques- 
tion and  read  what  he  says.      Let  us  have  peace. 

The  St.  Louis  Children's  Hospital  is  an  enterprise  of  importance 
and  promise.      The  lady  managers  who  have  it  in  hand  need  help 


Editor's  Table.  617 

they  deserve  it,  and  will  no  doubt  secure  it.     Dr.  C.  H.  Goodman 
can  tell  you  all  about  it. 

The  present  number  closes  the  sixth  volume  of  the  Advance.  We 
have  just  cause  for  self-congratulation,  at  the  success  that  thus  far 
has  attended  our  work.  From  its  first  appearance  to  the  present 
moment  our  journal  has  steadily  grown  in  strength  and  influence. 
For  the  many  kind  and  approving  words  received  from  our  friends 
we  beg  to  return  our  warmest  thanks.  Next  to  a  remittance  stands 
in  value  a  word  of  encouragement.  The  Editor  is  personally  indebted 
also  to  a  large  number  of  able  contributors,  who  have  generously 
supplied  him  with  manuscripts.  Without  their  support  the  Advance 
could  not  have  been  sustained.  And  upon  them  depends  our  future 
success. 

Yellow  Fever  Commission — Amende  Honorable. — Editor  Medical 
Advance: — I  have  the  honor  to  receive  through  you  a  report  of  the 
Homoeopathic  Yellow  Fever  Commission  from  the  hand  of  the  presi- 
dent of  the  body,  together  with  a  request  from  that  gentleman  that 
I  *'make  the  amende  honorable  for  my  unjustifiable  attack  in  the 
Advance."  I  therefore  hasten  to  do  so  with  all  my  heart.  The 
gentlemen  in  question,  especially  the  president,  have  done  remarka- 
bly well.  In  fact,  the  work  is  something  to  be  proud  of.  They  have 
laid  the  homcoopathic  profession,  and  I  may  say  the  world,  under 
lasting  obligation.  But,  Mr.  Editor,  this  is  the  first  time  I  ever  saw 
so  much  valuable  result  follow  so  much  bluster.  It  can  be  accounted 
for  only  on  the  supposition  that  one  part  of  the  Commission  did  the 
blowing  and  the  other  part  did  the  work.  The  latter  we  commend, 
while  of  the  former  we  have  not  changed  our  opinion. — Yours,  Fingal 
Hapgood,  M.  D. 

The  bureau  of  Materia  Medica,  Pharmacy  and  Provings  of  the 
American  Institute  of  Homoeopathy,  through  its  chairman.  Dr.  J.  P. 
Dake,  reports  the  following  subjects  for  papers  and  discussions  at  the 
next  meeting: 

Drug  Attenuation  in  Homceopathic  Therapeutic*  and  the  following  subdi- 
vision of  the  same : 

1.  History  of  drug  attenuation  in  homoeopathic  practice,  up  to 
the  death  of  Hahnemann;  with  a  statement  of  its  objects  and 
methods. 

2.  History  of  drug  attenuation  in  homoeopathic  practice,  since  the 
time  of  Hahnemann  ;  with  a  statement  of  its  objects  and  methods, 
with  especial  reference  to  variations  from  those  approved  by  Hahne- 
mann. 

3.  The  means  employed  in  drug  attenuation— what  they  should  be 
and  the  dangers  of  impurity. 


618 


Cincinnati  Medical  Advance, 


4.  The  limits  of  drug  attenuation ;  or  proofs  of  drug  presence  in 
attenuations  above  the  third  decimal — from  the  stand  point  of  the 
scientist. 

5.  The  limits  of  drug  attenuation;  or  proofs  of  the  presence  of 
medicinal  power  in  attenuations  above  the  sixth  decimal — from  the 
stand  point  of  the  therapeutist. 

Items  of  information,  bearing  upon  any  part  of  the  subject  selected 
by  the  bureau,  sent  by  members  of  the  profession  will  be  thankfully 
received  and  properly  considered. 

Western  Academy  op  Homceopathy  meets  in  St.  Louis  jointly  with 
the  Missouri  Homoeopathic  Institute,  May  7,  8  and  9th.  It  will  be  the 
biggest  thing  of  the  kind  ever  seen  West  of  the  Mississippi  River. 
Private  advices  awaken  most  pleasing  anticipations. 

A  Lady  Physician  wishirg  to  learn  of  a  good  location  for  practice, 
can  obtain  such  information  by  ac'dressing  Dr.  0.  D.  Guilds,  Akron,  O. 

Hahnemann  Medical  Association  of  Iowa,  meets  at  Cedar  Rapids, 
Iowa,  May  14th  and  15th.  Visitors  will  be  welcomed  and  accomo- 
dated.   E.  A.  Guilbert,  Sec*y.,  Dubuque,  Iowa. 


-♦  ♦- 


editorial. 
The  Test  of  the  Thirtieth  Dilu- 
tion   676 

Our  Answer 582 

theory  and  practice. 

The  Relations  of  Pathology  and 
Therapeutics 686 

Concerning  the  Test  of  the  Effi- 
cacy of  the  Thirtieths 589 

Extract  from  the  Transactions  of 
the  Horn.  Society  of  the 
Rhine  and  Westphalia. 591 


obstetrical  and  gynaecological 

Causes  of  Tedious  Labors 593 

Case  of  Obstetrics .=)90 

GENERAL  CLINICS.  598 

M ISCELL  AN  EOUS. 

Hahnemann 599 

On  the  Veneral  Disease  and  Its 
Ordinary  Improper  Treat- 
ment   600 

News  From  the  Colleges e:06 

Life  is  Magnetism 609 

Dr.  Lilienthal's  Answer 611 

BOOK   NOTICES.  613 

editor's  TABLE.  615 


JAS.    p.    GEPPKRT,   PR. 


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