224 



NATURE 



[May 



1919 



injury to the neighbouring bones. He finds that 

 the limit of conservative operation is when there is 

 an injury of the patella and condyles at the same 

 time, and recommends resection and fixation for 

 p>ermanent ankylosis. The rest of the article dis- 

 cusses wounds of the ankle and wrist, elbow and 

 shoulder, and also the treatment of septic arthritis 

 that supervenes when the original excision of the 

 wound fails to attain primary union. Dr. Neuman 

 then contributes the results of laparotomies per- 

 formed from June, 1915, to March, 1918. ITe 

 begins with a short historical review of the treat- 

 ment of abdominal penetrating wounds, and then 

 shows the p>ersonal statistics, which clearly em- 

 phasise the importance of an advanced post for 

 laparotomies. The article then contains a detailed 

 classification of the different types of abdominal 

 wounds, with the appropriate treatment for each 

 type and the statistical results. The article by Dr. 

 Janssen contains a valuable review of the history 

 of cranio-plastic operations, and a detailed account 

 of his own method of cartilaginous or osteoperio- 

 stitic heteroplastic grafts and the after-results. 



Prof. Dustin contributes an article on the 

 fasciculation of the various nerves of the arm and 

 cervical plexus, and points out the importance of 

 the arrangement of the fibres in estimating the 

 prognosis of total section. Dr. Harde reports the 

 relative frequency of the tetanus bacillus and 

 other anaerobic organisms in a large series of 

 wounds, and shows that very few cases ever 

 develop clinical manifestations of the organisms, 

 although they can be bacteriologically identified 

 from the tissues. Further contributions on 

 microbic growth and the mechanism of elimina- 

 tion of organisms from the circulation bring us to 

 the last and longest article, by Prof. Levaditi. 



This is a critical investigation into the effects 

 of streptococcal invasion. The sections are 

 arranged as follows : (i) The method of invasion, 

 early and late ; (2) the morphological and cultural 

 characteristics of the different types discovered ; 

 (3) the reasons why clinical manifestations do not 

 necessarily follow invasion ; (4) hypersensibility 

 and acquired immunity arising during the period 

 of infection ; (5) the effects of vaccination. Many 

 charts of individual patients and details of their 

 treatment and complications illustrate this 

 important research. 



The whole production is excellently printed and 

 illustrated, and contains important contributions 

 to some of the most intricate of war problems. 



L. J. Austin. 



OUR BOOKSHELF. 



Faith in Fetters. By the Rev. T. R. R. Stebbing. 



Pp. 223. (London: T. Fisher Unwin, Ltd., 



1919.) Price 65. net. 

 The author, a veteran naturalist of distinction, a 

 great authority on Crustaceans, has here raised 

 a protest against the continuance of superstition 

 in modern theological doctrines and religious con- 

 ceptions. The conventionallv orthodox attitude to 

 NO. 2586, VOL. 103] 



the Bible is an anachronism. But he tilts too often 

 against windmills, and there is more than a hint 

 of wooden literalism in the examples he gives of 

 Biblical contradictions and of anthropomorphisms 

 which have become grotesque. The science of 

 literature and of folklore has surely changed the 

 educated man's attitude to the Bible much more 

 than Mr. Stebbing 's mode of treatment would 

 suggest. The Thirty-nine Articles do not fare 

 much better at his hands than do the Scriptures, 

 for they are redolent with impossible anthropo- 

 morphisms. To take these literally may be super- 

 stitious, but it is surely possible to read them 

 sympathetically as historical survivals. A theo- 

 logical or philosophical idea may be living and 

 useful, though its particular form has grown 

 musty. 



From internal evidence the author shows that 

 " the supposed inspiration and consequential in- 

 fallibility of the Old Testament Scriptures rests on 

 no solid foundation." But it seems to us that in 

 his prosaic, unscientific treatment of the literature 

 in question Mr. Stebbing leads his readers into a 

 way of looking at things not less erroneous than a 

 belief in "inspiration." If the author thinks that 

 Church councils should make clear that they offi- 

 cially accept the scientific view of the Scriptures 

 which the best modern scholars have expounded 

 and many humble, clear-headed preachers adopt 

 every Sunday, we are with him ; but it should 

 surely be possible to get rid of superstition without 

 jettisoning imagination, 



Le Tube Coolidge. Ses Applications Scientifiques,^ 



MSdicalcs et Industrielles. Par H. Pilon. 



Pp. iii + 83. (Paris: Masson et Cie, 1919.) 



Price 4 francs net. 

 M. Pilon has written an interesting and timely 

 brochure upon the Coolidge X-ray tube. He first 

 enters into a description of the three types of 

 these tubes which are available at the present 

 time, namely, the standard tube, the first model 

 of the inventor and the one ordinarily used; 

 Module A, in which attention is especially directed 

 towards the production of a very fine focus on the 

 anti-cathode; and, lastly, the radiator type of 

 tube, which was designed to meet the special 

 requirements of the American Army Medical 

 Service ; this tube is a beautiful example of the 

 inventive genius of Dr. Coolidge, the diameter ■ 

 of the tube being reduced to as little as 8 cm. ^ 



The second part deals with the radiation emitted 

 by the tubes, the data being selected from the 

 work of Coolidge and Moore, de Broglie, and 

 others ; a number of well-chosen illustrations ex- 

 hibit the conditions necessary for clearness in 

 radiographic images. 



The concluding section is, for the main part, 

 a reply to various criticisms which have been 

 passed upon the performance of the Coolidge type 

 of tube. A small section is devoted to the indus- 

 trial applications of X-rays, and a final word is 

 wisely said as to the necessity for the adequate pro- 

 tection of operators against the powerful and 

 penetrating radiation from the modern X-ray tube. 



