326 



THE AMERICAI^ MONTHLY 



[Oct. 



ness of the process. He then opens tlie thorax, removes the 

 apex of the heart, fastens a cannuhi in the aorta, and 'washes 

 out all the blood in the animal by irrigation with normal 

 saline solution. This solution mu-t be of the temperature of the 

 animal's bod}'. He then replaces the saline solution which 

 has l)ef-a injected with a strong warm solution of picro-corro- 

 sive sublimate. This penetrates the smallest capillary, at the 

 same time killing and fixing every cell in every organ in a 

 normal condition. The dissected or..;ans may then be sectioned 

 with a microtome and mounts prepared with which to study 

 the structure of the desired tissue. 



BACTERIOLOGY. 



Bacteriological Examination of Two Hundred and Six- 

 teen Cases of Diphtheria. — Dr. F. Thymann (Hospitald Tid- 

 ende, Nos. 10 to 13, 189o) examined bacteriologically 21G pat- 

 ients admitted to the Copenhagen County-Hospital with a diag- 

 nosis of diphtheria, his results being as follow : 



Amongst other cases the author mentions that of a child, age I 

 9, in whom both tonsils and the uvula wore entirely covered by 

 a gray, fetid membane ; and, later, the tonsils were covered with 

 deep ulcerations, the uvula being totally destroyed by the ul- 

 ceration. Repeated examinations, h )wever, only revealed the 

 existence of streptococci. In all cases of tracheotomy the bac- 

 teriological examination of tlie secretion from the can lula gave 

 exactly the same results as the bacteriological examination of 

 the fauces, the total number being twenty-six Of the 216 



* In all these patients tracheotomy was performed at once and the secre- 

 tion from the cannula was examined bacteriologically. 



