1896.] ^'^ 



" Our results have been in no way peculiar except that we were fortunate 

 in making a successful application to surgery almost at the start. I have 

 nothing to describe in the way of new methods. In fact there seems at 

 this moment to be nothing known or tried that was not suggested in 

 Rontgen's original paper. 



"I am forwarding as likely to be of most interest a proof of the nega- 

 tive showing the revolver bullet between the tibia and fibula of a man's 

 leg. This was obtained on February 7, four days after my first photo- 

 graph. The print shows a copper wire fastened around the leg above as a 

 fiducial mark ;" (here Dr. Pepper interpolated as follows to the closing of 

 this parenthesis : " then on the Rontgen sciograph should be seen between 

 the tibia and fibula both in the positive and negative the small darker 

 shaded area indicating the position of the bullet") "and the flattened 

 bullet between the bones. The latter was extracted next day ; and 

 the patient is now nearly well enough to leave the hospital. The bullet 

 was two inches deep in the flesh and had been flattened into a ragged-edged 

 disc with a groove where it was lying against the bone. It had been in 

 the leg since Christmas night. Its position was guessed at ; but the photo- 

 graph converted a surmise into a certainty. On the same night, February 

 7, we obtained the hand of which I send a copy. It was interesting not 

 only for its good definition (for a fourth attempt), but because it shows 

 the rare sesamoid bones on the thumb and little finger. It belongs to a 

 champion canoeist. 



"The main ideas I have found time to try — increasing the sensitiveness 

 of the plate by (1) placing a fluorescing screen inside the holder in con- 

 tact with it : (2) soaking the plate in the fluorescing substances — I now 

 see have been successfully carried out by Geissler, of Bonn ; so that I 

 have nothing new to interest your Society. 



" Believe me, 



"Very truly yours, 



"John Cox." 



"The idea was to excite sympathetic fluorescence and gain intensity by 

 resonance." 



Dr. Pepper, continuing with original remarks : — As to Mr. Carbutt's 

 remark as to obtaining flexible discs for curved surfaces and this (from 

 Prof. Cox) interesting contribution as regards the diagnosing of internal 

 conditions, I would say tlie excitement has spread the world over : 

 every day I am receiving numerous letters, telegrams, visits from 

 people at a distance, coming to ask whether it has yet reached a 

 point to become an aid to internal diagnosis. I will not at this late hour 

 occupy the attention of the Society by calling their thoughts to the 

 obvious, the very great difliculties of this method. The tissues which are 

 inaccessible to the hand in palpation are guarded so often by bony sur- 

 faces that the danger of shadows existing — whicli will be almost more con- 

 fusing than the difliculties which surround our present means of diagnosis 



