208 SELECTED NOTES FROM 



drawn out and fixed upon the stage of the microscope by means 

 of clips, the inner surface being uppermost, and having a strong 

 light thrown upon it by a condenser. When these arrangements 

 are completed, all the observer has to do is to bring the micro- 

 scope to bear on the surface of the lip, using a low power o.g. and 

 focussing a small superficial vessel. At once he sees the endless 

 procession of the blood corpuscles through the minute capillaries, 

 the colourless ones appearing like white specks dotting the red 

 stream. Dr. Hiiter asserts that by taking careful note of varia- 

 tions in the blood-flow and changes in the corpuscles, he has 

 derived great advantage in the treatment of medical cases. This 

 is the first instance of the flow of the vital fluid in one person 

 being watched by another. T. F. Uttley. 



Bacilli from Phthisis. — For an admirable paper on this, see our 

 yoi/rna/ (or ]u\y a.nd October, 1883, which is the best resume of 

 the subject I have seen. I searched the secretions in three cases 

 of marked phthisis in vain — no bacilli to be seen ; and then find- 

 ing some in other cases, it occurred to me that the former were 

 using antiseptic inhalations — the latter not. This does not at all 

 imply that the antiseptic had removed all the algal life from the 



sputum. C. P. COOMBE. 



1 have examined the sputa in very many cases, and, so far, 

 think that there is no doubt of the value of this discovery, both 

 as a means of diagnosis and also of prognosis. In my experience 

 the greater the abundance of the bacilli, the sooner will a fatal 

 termination of the case occur. If they are few in number, and 

 keep so, the patient will not become rapidly worse. J. Deans. 



Bone, Human.— Griffith's text-book, p. 114, says: — "In exa- 

 mining a transverse section of bone, one or several large cavities 

 will be seen with the naked eye in the centre of the section ; these 

 contain the marrow or medulla. In the long bones the medullary 

 cavity is single, and runs longitudinally down the bone ; whilst in 

 the flat bones the cavities are numerous, forming cancelli. Under 

 the microscope, thin transverse sections of bone exhibit oval or 

 rounded holes, or foramina, which are sections of canals convey- 

 ing blood-vessels through the bone ; these are the Haversia?i canals. 

 Around the sections of these canals are seen numerous concentric 



