OO DISEASES RELIEVED 



In asphyxia by drowning, it is a remedy which should be 

 resorted to. In a note appended to the communication of M. 

 Goudret, above referred to, Majendie states that he, Pauillet, and 

 Roulin had repeatedly succeeded in recovering, by means of 

 the pile, rabbits axphyxiated by submersion in water for more 

 than a quarter of an hour ; and adds the important remark, that 

 patience on the part of the operator is indispensable, inasmuch 

 as in cases finally successful, reanimation was not often achieved 

 for full thirty minutes. These results forcibly illustrate the value 

 of Galvanism in the treatment of persons recently drowned ; 

 and it would appear advisable, according to the recommendation 

 of Dr. Ure, that a Voltaic battery should be included amongst 

 the means of resuscitation provided by the Humane Society. 



In asphyxia from irrespirable gases, and poisoning by narcotic 

 drugs, there can be little doubt that the pile would prove equally 

 useful as a stimulant. Experiments performed upon the lower 

 animals justify this conclusion, though galvanism is not usually 

 mentioned by toxieologists amongst the means to be resorted to. 



In sanguineous apoplexy, Dr. Wilson Philip suggests that 

 galvanism might be used to enable the " lungs to perform their 

 functions for a longer time than without this aid," and that 

 thus the life of the patient might be prolonged. 



In Chronic Rheumatism, there are very many instances of 

 success attending the application of electricity. In the work 

 of Mr. Carpue, already cited, a great number of such cases are 

 recorded. The usual application is by sparks for ten or fifteen 

 minutes every day. In recent cases, a few days sometimes 

 suffice, but in those of long standing, very considerable perse- 

 verance is often required. The operation of electro-punctu- 

 ration has been often employed successfully in such cases. 

 While speaking of this operation, it may be well to observe 

 that, from the the reports of its application in the Hospital St. 

 Louis, by Cloquet, it would appear to be a most powerful 

 means of combating morbid action. The diseases in which it 

 has been found efficacious are, the different forms of rheumatism 

 and neuralgia (in the latter affection, the needles should be 



