THE MICROSCOrE. 31 



months, and that he was no better than when the treatment was be- 

 gun. The mode of treatment that he had been under was diUtation. 



By an examination of his urine under the microscope I ascer- 

 tained that he was laboring under a sUght chronic catarrh of the 

 bladder, and the urine contained bacteria, which was keeping up the 

 irritation. 



By Llie aid of the microscope we have ascertained that the so- 

 called "fur" on the tongue of patients is due in a great measure to 

 certain forms of "fungi." 



Dr. Hunter, a German savant, has devised a simple arrange- 

 ment which demonstrates the circulation of the blood by making it 

 visible. 



Dr. Hunter's method is as follows: The patient's head is fixed 

 in a frame, on which is a contrivance for supporting a microscope 

 and lamp, his lower lip is drawn out and fixed on the stage of the 

 microscope by means of strips; the inner surface must be upper- 

 most, and having a strong light thrown on it by a condenser. 



When these preparations are completed, all the observer has to 

 do is to bring the microscope to bear on the surface of the lip, using 

 a low power objective, and focussing a small superficial vessel. At 

 once he sees the endless procession of the blood corpuscles through 

 the minute capillaries, the colorless ones appearing like white specks 

 dotting the red stream. He asserts that from taking careful notes as 

 to variations in the blood-flow and changes in the corpuscles, he has 

 derived great advantage in the treatment of those diseases. 



The valuable assistance derived by the aid of the microscope in 

 diagnosis of the kidneys and bladder is very great. 1 consider it 

 indispensable in the successful treatment of those diseases. 



For instance, chronic Bright's disease of the kidneys can be dis- 

 tinguished from an acute case. If we find renal casts and blood in 

 the urine of a patient, it indicates a disease of a recent date, but if 

 we find transparent or waxy casts, it indicates fatty degeneration of 

 the kidneys. 



If blood is from the kidneys, the corpuscl js are equally diffused 

 through the urine, but if from the bladder or urethra, the color is 

 "pinkish or vermillion," and contains clots. If we detect uric acid 

 crystals in the urine before it gets cold, or within six hours after it 

 has been voided, the patient is in danger of having a calculus form 

 in the bladder. This can be ascertained by the aid of the micro-' 

 scope, and then we can give remedies that will avert it. By the' aid 

 of the microscope we can detect a malignant tumor from a benign 

 one, and pus from a strumous patient from that of a healthy subject, 

 — Extract from an article by W. S. Ross, INI. D., in IVcsicrii Medical 

 Reporter. 



