68 The Microscope. 



gether so that all trace of the filaments is lost, as in mother of 

 vinegar, or embracing within their substance red and white cor- 

 puscles, crystals either entire or fractured, one or all. At times 

 they are very large comparatively, and are probably formed by 

 mechanical accumulation on the periphery of other fibrin fila- 

 ments or form elements encountered in the blood stream, as a 

 snow ball grows by rolling in the snow. The presence of such 

 bodies in the blood stream sufficientl}^ explains the formation of 

 fibrinous concretions on the valves of the heart or amono^st its 

 columnge carneae. Sometimes they are very large. For ex- 

 ample, in the heart of the late Dr. Benjamin Cutter, the father 

 of the writer, two fibrinous concretions were found, each measur- 

 ing eight inches in length. One originated among the columnse 

 carnese of the left ventricle and extended into the aorta; the 

 other arose among the columnae carnese of the right ventricle 

 and extended into the pulmonary artery! It is easy to under- 

 stand local swellings about joints and other parts of the body 

 when such thrombi or clots become emboli or plugs in the adja- 

 cent blood vessels. When such are found in the blood of a 

 patient there is need of immediate treatment, for sudden and 

 otherwise mysterious deaths have been traced back to embolism. 

 So if any proof of the value of the microscope in physical ex- 

 ploration was needed, this instance would serve and show that 

 it is not a mere to3^ This is not a paper on treatment, but it 

 may be in order to here intimate that ammonia baths, and one 

 pint of hot water flavored with the aromatic spirits of ammonia 

 drank one hour before each meal and on retiring to bed, with 

 medicines addressed to putting the liver, skin, kidneys and 

 other emunctories in good condition, and regulation of diet will 

 soon remove such thrombi, and no cure is thorough unless the 

 microscope shows that the blood is restored to its normal 

 morphology. Such is the positive value of the microscope in 

 the treatment of rheumatism ! (D). Crystalline bodies. These 

 are generally, 1, cystine; 2, oxalate of lime; 3, phosphates; 4, 

 uric acid ; 5, hippuric acid, etc. These bodies are found in the 

 human body normally in the urine and faeces, but usually in the 

 blood when imperfect feeding or some other cause has deranged 

 the functions of digestion, assimilation, organization and excre- 

 tion. If the salts are found in too great quantity to be kept in 



