surgeons' KEPOKTS — NEW YORK — EIGHTH DISTRICT. 247 



The most frequeutly-urged reasons for exeiuptiou in enrolled men, and tLe most common dis- 

 qualifications met with in men desirous of enlisting, were, 1st, defective nsjoM, cbielly nearsighted- 

 ness (myopia) in the former, and, 2d, hernia and varicosity of veins in tlie latter. Among the enrolled 

 men, however, whatever was their station in life, these same disqualilicatious, in a greater or less 

 degree, were numerous. Next in the order of frequency of occiuTeuce may be enumerated, loss 

 of teeth; lameness in either extremity; deafness, with or without discharge from the ear; deformity 

 of person; physical disability, with or without hypertrophy of the heart; asthma; epilepsy ; chronic 

 rheumatism ; and secondary syphilis. 



To assign the reason why any one of these particular diseases or disabilities disqualifies from 

 military service would seem to any one acquainted witli their nature wholly superlluous ; but, if it 

 be intended to ask the causes of the diseases themselves, as occurring in a greater ratio than 

 others, a response may be given, from which, however, little novelty can be expected. 



Defective vision results, in many instances, from accident; we frequently met with cases of 

 corneal aflection arising from scrofulous inflammation, and, in some instances, from syphilitic taint. 

 Miiopia, which constitutes so frequent, and, formerly, so readily-admitted a claim for exemption, is 

 often cougenital, as shown by its frequency in young people, or it is found to depend on organic 

 changes in the transparent media, the retina, or choroid, or the sclerotic coat of the eye. Such 

 were the results of all the examinations of myopic persons whom I submitted to inspection by the 

 ophthalmoscope ; and, on the faith of the affidavits of distinguished oculist.", and in accordance 

 with paragraph 85, section 13, General Uegulations, I exempted, at first, many who could easily, 

 and would willingly, have furnished substitutes. Afterward, receiving the Kevised liegnlations 

 of 1801, and finding there explicity stated that ^hiear-sif/htedncss did not exempt,'" I refused (much to 

 the chagrin of the applicants and that of my oculistio brethren, who were reaping (piite a little 

 harvest from their examinations) to exempt any nearsighted persons whose eyes presented no 

 external appearance of injury. Many substitutes were thus obtained, and I have often wished that 

 the duty of the surgeon of the board could have been more frequently defined with equal positive- 

 ness. Exhibiting the regulation suspended all argument, and obtained a ready acquiescence ; 

 right or wrong, the surgeon at least was not responsible for the order. That myopia, if not wholly 

 dependent upon, is considerably influenced by, profession, is clearly shown by the frequency of 

 its occurrence among professional and literary men, and, as such, among the upper classes of 

 society and among persons who make much and steady use of their eyes by gas or day light ; 

 whereas, among- our volunteers, it was rarely met with, save in some few foreigners of education ; 

 but among the humbler classes almost never. 



Hernia, a very common cause of exemption and rejection, has its origin in congenital laxity of 

 the abdominal walls at tLe point of egress of the spermatic cords of one or both sides. In such 

 cases, an openness at the external rings will often be felt, and a fullness in the inguinal canals noticed, 

 without, perhaps, actual protrusion. Under these circumstances, even a slight muscular effort, 

 which iuvolves the descent of the diaphragm and the contraction of the abdominal muscles, will 

 protrude the intestine. While not exemptiug an enrolled man for this supposed hernial tendency, I 

 was chary of it in the volunteer, and rejected for it in the substitute when very marked. 



Tbat the teeth suffer decay in 'the progress of age, and that such evidences of senility are 

 opposed to military eflicieucy as impeding mastication and due nutrition, are well-known facts. 

 Why there should occur such frequent and extensive deterioration of the teeth among young people 

 of both sexes, as is so commonly met with in this country, more than in those of any other whom 

 I have examined, 1 am unable to determine. The fact is a striking one, and I may add, as a 

 general rule, that the teeth of the colored races, foreign and domestic, are singularly good, and less 

 liable to, or affected by, decay. 



Lameness in either extremity is always either cougenital, or the result of disease or accident, 

 and needs no comment. 



Deafness has frequently its origin in the development of a congenital (probably hereditary) 

 scrofulous diathesis iu youth, consequent upon the action on the .system of impaired nutrition, the 

 action of various morbid poisons, such as small-pox, measles, scarlatina, &c. These cases are 

 generally attended with chronic otorrhea, which is often incurable. Deafness is again often the 

 result of certain occupations, such as boiler-making, where the auditory nerves are subjected to 



