ee ee ee ey ee ee el, 
. ? 
gee Le 
Medical Pneumatic Inftitution. 305 
of this phenomenon, however, is eafy when we recolleét that 
the lungs have no expanfive force. In confequence of this 
new theory, M. Herholdt has fucceeded in curing very dan- 
gerous wounds made in the breatts of dogs. 
The above experiments, which were communicated to the 
Philomatic Society at Paris, by M. Manthey, were repeated 
with fuccefs, by the commiffioners of that Society, on frogs 
and falamanders, Ifa gag be put into the mouth of one of thefe 
animals, fo as to prevent it from fhutting its mouth, it dies at 
the end of half an hour. The refpiration is performed as fol- 
lows :—The mouth being abfolutely fhut, the frog dilates its 
throat, and the air rufhes in by the noftrils; it afterwards 
contraéts its throat, and the air penetrates to the lungs, be- 
caufe, no doubt, there is a fmall valve in the noftrils which 
prevents it from efcaping by the fame way that it entered ; 
for the membrane, which the Danifh authors affert they ob- 
ferved in the mouth, could not be feen by the commiffioners. 
Lizards and {erpents, which have ribs, breathe like other ani- 
gnals; and a forced opening of the mouth does not kill them, 
MEDICAL PNEUMATIC INSTITUTION. - 
All who wifh well to the interefts of humanity will rejoice 
to learn that this inftitution, as ufeful as novel, is at laft fo 
far eftablifhed that there is every reafonable ground to believe 
the objects of it will now receive that ample and fair invefti- 
gation their importance demands. The learned, ingenious, 
and meritorioufly perfevering founder of it, has already pub- 
lithed a Notice of Obfervations made at the Inftitution, which 
contains fome highly interefting remarks on the effects of a 
gas not before applied to medicine, but which promifes, in 
fkilful hands, to be one of the fafeft and moft powerful agents 
hitherto difcovered. 
Mr. Davy, fuperintendant of the inftitution, than whom it 
would hardly be Repel to find one better auativied for the 
Aituation, having made fome experiments on dephlogiflicated 
nitrous gas, fo named by its difcoyerer Dr. Pricftley, which 
proved that its compofition, properties, and mode of aétion, 
had been mifiaken by the lateft experimenters, was induced 
7 to 
