REVIEWS 537 



" endo-psychic censor " in these lectures should be compelled to feel ashamed of 

 itself; unfortunately, however, it is a purely fictitious "ego," and cannot express 

 contrition nor suggest reformation ! The second lecture deals with the technique 

 of psycho-analysis and the last with its application. 



It is claimed by the disciples of Freud that they are able to disclose the 

 workings of the unconscious mind by the examination and comparison of spon- 

 taneously uttered thoughts — i.e. by free association ; and that once the clue of 

 sexual meaning is elicited, therein lies the bed-rock and the root-cause of all forms 

 of mental perversion. To be always seeking for these is to reflect the mind of 

 the explorer, and it is an insult to an innocent sufferer to be placed under the care 

 of such an investigator. Dr. Stoddart is, however, an able clinician and an 

 interesting and clear writer, but in these lectures he is the too ardent disciple of 

 an ethically objectionable foreign tutor. 



Robert Armstrong-Jones, M.D. 



Localisation by X-Rays and Stereoscopy. By Sir James McKenzie David- 

 son, M.B., CM. [Pp. xi + 72, with 35 stereoscopic illustrations on special 

 plates and other figures in the text.] (London : H. K. Lewis & Co., 1916. 

 Price 7s. 6d. net.] 

 That the size of a book is not always an indication of its value is amply sub- 

 stantiated by the publication of this work by Sir James McKenzie Davidson. 

 Into about seventy pages of text is concentrated the life work of McKenzie David- 

 son in the field of X-ray research and practice. 



Rontgen published his discovery of the effects of X-rays on photographic 

 plates in 1895. McKenzie Davidson visited Rontgen in 1896, saw his work, and 

 quickly grasped the significance of the discovery. As a practising ophthalmologist 

 he foresaw the great value of the new rays in the localisation of foreign bodies in 

 the orbit, then, as now, one of the most difficult matters for the surgeon to decide. 

 Steady application to the problem led to the publication of a paper in 1898 

 by McKenzie Davidson, " Remarks on the Value of Stereoscopic Photography and 

 Skiagraphy." On the author's work are based practically all the modern methods 

 of localisations by means of X-rays. Many modifications have been introduced, 

 most of them efficient substitutes when rapid work is required, but none of them 

 likely to displace the original method when accuracy of result is the main object. 



The author calls attention to the value of a combination of precise localisation 

 by the use of three co-ordinates, with stereoscopic radiography. In this combina- 

 tion his method excels all others, in that the one may be used as a check observation 

 on the others, and it possesses the inestimable advantage that, to use McKenzie 

 Davidson's own words, "the stereoscopic relief will enable the surgeon to visualise 

 the relative position of the cross wires and the bones of the patient to the foreign 

 body." In these words lie the gist of the whole method of localisation. To ensure 

 accurate results the surgeon must visualise the position of the foreign body and its 

 relation to well-known anatomical landmarks. An estimation of the depth of the 

 foreign body from the skin surface enables him to approach it with confidence, and 

 when these anatomical landmarks are borne in mind, he can quickly cut down and 

 remove it. 



This work sets out in simple language the methods of McKenzie Davidson, no 

 elaborate apparatus is described, all of it might readily be constructed by the 

 " handy carpenter," and when completed the operator is fully equipped to carry 

 out with the utmost accuracy the localisation of a foreign body in any portion of 

 the human anatomy. 



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