Vol. XXV. No. 3.] 
POPULAR SCIENCE NEWS. 
45 
Concussion of the Lungs as a Cause of 
! Pneumonia. — Dr. F. ^\'. Burton repofts two cases 
of pneumonia which seem to have a traumatic 
origin. A boy of eleven was forcibly struck on 
i the left side of the chest with a hatchet. Cough 
and dj'spnoea came on in four hours, and the 
( physical signs of pleuro-pneumonia at the base of 
. both lungs later. 'ITie second case was a man of 
, twenty-two who strained his right side by trying 
suddenly to prevent the fall of a sack of malt. 
He developed all the signs of pneumonia and died, 
■ both lungs being in a state of red hepatization. — 
' Brit. Med. Jour. 
Htdronaphthol as an Antiseptic. — In a 
paper read at the late meeting of the British Med- 
ical Association, Mr. Thomas H. Bryce details 
some investigations regarding the antiseptic qual- 
ities of hydronaphthol. He made use in his ex- 
periments of a standard solution of 1 to 100, con- 
sisting of hydronaphthol 1 part, alcohol 10 parts, 
and glycerine 90 parts, which he diluted with 
different quantities of water. The staphylococcus 
pyogenes aureus was the organism experimented 
•upon, on account of its ready recognition by its 
distinctive color and its frequent occurrence, and 
both the gemiicidal and inhibitory powers of the 
drug were tested. The author concludes that we 
have in hydronaphthol a powerful and reliable 
antiseptic agent, and recommends its use in solu- 
tions of 1 to 400 prepared according to the above 
tormula. — Brit. Med. Jour. 
Akistol in Surgery. — Dr. Alois Pollak has 
employed aristol as an antiseptic in twenty-two 
cases of unhealthy wounds, abscesses, minor sur- 
gical operations (such as removal of small tumors 
or enlarged glands), phlegmonous inflammations, 
and varicose ulcers, and is enthusiastic in its 
praise. He used the drug in form of a powder, 
or mixed with ether or vaseline. In all of the 
cases in which it was employed there was no re- 
action; and fever, if present, disappeared within 
twenty-four hours. No pain was experienced in 
or around the wound, and healthy granulations 
were rapidh' formed. The author regards aristol 
as an excellent substitute for iodoform, its advan- 
tages being that it has no disagreeable odor and is 
effective in much smaller quantities. It is sufH- 
cient to cover the wound with a thin layer of the 
powder, and thus all danger of poisoning may be 
avoided. — Therapeutische Monatshefte. 
An Efficient Method of Removing Foreign 
Bodies from the Nose. — Dr. S. Johnson Taylor 
(Lancet) describes tlie following method of remov- 
ing foreign bodies from the nose, which was suc- 
cessful in the case of a child of three years with a 
large bead in the nostril. The procedure is sim- 
ply Politzer's method of inflation through the un- 
obstructed nostril. The nozzle of the Politzer 
bag is introduced into the nostril which does not 
contain the foreign body, and if the patient is old 
enough he is requested to swallow a mouthful of 
water. During the act of swallowing, the bag is 
vigorously compressed, the escape of air from 
around the nozzle being prevented by grasping 
the nose with the thumb and forefinger. At the 
moment of compressing the bag the foreign body 
will probably be blown out. In the case of a 
young infant the compression should be made 
while the child is crying. 
<♦> 
[Edinburgh Medical Joamal.J 
HOW THE PATHOGENIC BACTERIA DO 
THEIR HARM. 
Brieger and Frankel have studied this ques- 
tion. Of course the first condition for successful 
inquiry was to employ pure cultivations of the 
organism experimented upon. Basic bodies, de- 
nominated "toxine," had already been found in 
several pathogenic micro-organisms, such as the 
bacillus of typhoid, tetanus, cholera, etc. Yet it 
was found that this toxine did not invariably call 
forth all the phenomena of the infectious diseases 
due to the bacilli, from pure cultivations of which 
it had been obtained ; the supposition, therefore, 
seemed fair that, besides the already found chem- 
ical bodies, there were other substances which 
played a momentous part. Brieger and Frankel 
considered that Loffler"s bacillus of diphtheria 
was well adapted for their purpose, because it is 
now beyond doubt that this organism is the gen- 
uine cause of diphtheria. LotHer had already 
called attention to the fact that this bacillus, 
when inoculated on animals, guinea-pigs and pig- 
eons, colonized only the immediate neighborhood 
of the infected spot, yet grave alterations of tex- 
ture and organs and speedy death of the animals 
experimented on follows. This connection of 
events could only be explained in this way — that 
the bacilli produced by their local multiplication a 
substance of exceedingly poisonous properties, 
which spread over the whole organism, and, inde- 
pendently of the bacteria, did its deadly work. 
Brieger and Frankel consider tliat they have 
proved that Lotfler's diphtheria bacillus engenders 
in its pure cultivation a poisonous, soluble sub- 
stance separable from the bacteria, and which, 
when injected into susceptible animals, calls forth 
the same pnenomena as the injection of the living 
micro-organism. The authors also have settled 
that this substance is destroyed by a heat of 140° 
F., and that it can stand a heat of 122° F., even in 
presence of excess of muriatic acid. 'ITiis last 
fact of itself speaks against the supposition that 
the poison of the diphtheria bacillus is a ferment 
or an euzym. Further examination of this sub- 
stance showed it was not a ptomaine or toxine; 
no crystallizable substance, save kreatinin and 
cholin, was obtained. Shortly summing up their 
investigations, the authors seem to have discov- 
ered in the diphtheria bacillus a substance belong- 
ing to the albumen series of bodies, which has 
poisonous properties, and causes the phenomena 
of diplitheria when injected. They propose to 
give it the name of "toxalbumine." In the living 
body they consider that the bacteria build up and 
separate their toxalbumine from the albumen of 
the tissues. Brieger and Frankel also examined 
typhoid, tetanus, and cholera bacteria, and staphy- 
lococcus aureus and watery extracts of the inter- 
nal organs of animals killed by anthrax, in the 
same way as they had examined the diphtheria 
bacillus, and found in all of them bodies which, 
according to their chemical behavior, were al- 
buminoids, were poisonous, and could therefore 
be aptly called toxalbumines. The road from 
normal constituents of the body to substances of 
the most dangerous kind seems a very short one, 
and our organism itself may be looked upon as 
the proximate cause of morbid conditions let 
loose by the life activity of bacteria. 
<♦> 
[Medical Age.] 
A LESSON IN LONGEVITY. 
The life of the venerable George Bancroft, just 
brought to a close at the advanced age of nearly 
ninety-two years, aside from the importance of its 
literary achievements, has another lesson to im- 
part — that of its longevity, and the means by 
which it was attained. Here was a man who had 
spent a long, active life in literary studies, and in 
endeavors to preserve that life. The illustrious 
historian, regularly every day for scores of years, 
.took long rides on horseback, even in extreme old 
age, and when unable any longer to indulge in 
this form of fresh-air exercise, resorted to long 
walks. With strong mental powers, and using 
every means for their development, he never car- 
ried these to excess, to the detriment of health. 
Here is the point, he had respect to the animal 
part of his being, which requires fresh air and 
exercise for its full and complete development 
and preservation. Thus living, as it were, a dual 
existence, he was enabled to prolong life through 
three generations, lacking but eight years of com- 
pleting a century. He exceeded the Biblical limit 
by twenty-two years, and if, as we are now 
taught, the phj'siological extent of full and com- 
plete life is one hundred years, he may be said to 
have nearly completed it. The secret of his long 
life was his moderation, and the outdoor existence 
that he led. Here will be found the secret of 
many, if not every life extended to such a length. 
There is no system of living that will insure 
longevity; but by moderation, and a due appre- 
ciation of the fact that however high we may have 
risen, we have an animal existence that must be 
cared for, we may prolong life to even one hun- 
dred years. It is our duty to endeavor to do so. 
We are told that a man should be young until 
fifty ; in the prime of life until seventy or seventy- 
five, with work completed at, say ninety; living 
on in old age until one hundred. Mr. Bancroft 
very nearly completed the latter period — that of 
old age, proving again that mental work is not 
necessarily detrimental to long life, but, under 
certain conditions, may be conducive to it. 
Continuing the reflections, and making deduc- 
tions from the lives of a number of people who 
have attained great age, the following advice is 
offered on how to reach a hundred years : 
1st. Live as much as possible out of doors, 
never letting a day pass without spending at least 
three or four hours in the open air. 
2d. Keep all the powers of mind and body 
occupied in congenial work. The muscles should 
be developed and the mind kept active. 
3d. Avoid excesses of all kinds, whether of 
food, drink, or of whatever nature they may be. 
Be moderate in all things. 
4th. Never despair. Be cheerful at all timesl 
Never give way to anger. Never let the trials of 
one day pass over to the next. 
The period from fifty to seventy-five years 
'hould not be passed in idleness, or abandonment 
of all work. Here is where a great many men 
fail — they resign all care or interest in worldly 
affairs, and rest of body and mind begins. They 
throw up their business and retire to private life, 
which in too many cases proves to be a suicidal 
policy. 
During the next period, — the period from sev- 
enty-flve years to one hundred years, — while the 
powers of life are at their lowest ebb, one cannot 
be too careful about "catching cold." Bron- 
chitis is a most prolific cause of death in the 
aged. During this last period rest should be in 
abundance. 
<♦♦ 
[Medical Record.] 
THE EXPERIMENT WITH THE DOG. 
The novel experiment of grafting a bone from a 
dog to that of a human being has naturally com- 
manded a great deal of attention in medical, as 
well as lay circles. In the latter, however, it haf 
received even more tlian its share of notice froi 
anti-vivisection enthusiasts, who have circulatf 
absurd sensational reports concerning it in ' 
daUy press. Whatever publicity has been gi . . 
