32 



POPULAR SCIENCE NEWS. 



[February, 1888. 



this he leaves the cavity of the wound full of blood, 

 the edges being accurately sutured, and without 

 fear that primary union will not result. 



His experience is, that, in wounds perfectly dis- 

 infected and free from foreign substances, effusion 

 of blood is not a source of danger, but the reverse, 

 as the effused blood fills the wound-cavity per- , 

 fectly, preventing the formation of empty spaces, 

 and making compression and drainage superfluous, 

 and the organization of the clot favors union. He 

 is opposed to the drainage-tube, thinking that it 

 increases risks of sepsis, and may remove from the 

 wound fluids which, when aseptic, may be useful 

 by re-absorption. 



Dr. a. C. W. Beecher reported recently to the 

 Philadelphia County Medical Society a case of 

 simple fracture of the distal phalanx of the index- 

 finger which he treated by applying a narrow ban- 

 dage from the end of the finger to the second joint, 

 making two layers. This he coated thickly with 

 collodion, which, drying and hardening quickly, 

 made a neat, smooth, and stiff water-proof casing, 

 which was worn with but one change until the 

 fracture was cured. 



It is stated, in the Arch. Med. Beiges, that fluid 

 extract of Quebracho applied to a wound, a burn, 

 an ulcer, or a frost-bite, is more healing even than 

 iodoform. Spread over such a surface, it dries in 

 the course of half an hour, forming a tough and 

 very adhesive brownish crust, which can be removed, 

 as desired, by soaking in warm water. In the in- 

 terim cicatrization progresses rapidly. 



In the Arch, de Med. y Cir. de los Ninos Dr. G. 

 Alvarez reports a case of convulsions in a child 

 eleven months old, in which a diagnosis had been 

 made of meningitis, but, as no other symptoms of 

 this disease were present, the doctor was inclined 

 to regard the spasms as reflex in nature. The 

 child was stripped, and it was seen that he was 

 suffering from strangulated inguinal hernia. 

 After .considerable difficulty the hernia was reduced 

 by taxis, and a truss was applied. 



The convulsions ceased at once, and there was 

 no return. 



Dr. Geneoil writes to the Bulletin General de 

 Therapeutique, that, after having tried various 

 means to arrest epistaxis in children, he tried 

 lemon-juice, and for twelve years has had, from 

 its use, the best results, with no failures. His 

 method is, first to wash out the nostrils with an 

 ordinary urethral syringe, and then, having re- 

 moved all clots, he injects with the syringe the 

 juice of the freshly squeezed lemon. He found 

 that almost always one injection is suflicient to 

 stop the bleeding in two minutes. He did not get 

 such results from using citric acid. 



Dr. VV. T. Dodge, Marlette, Mich., reports to 

 the New York Medical Record a case of persistent 

 vomiting, after labor, arrested by tincture of 

 iodine, after all the usual remedies had failed, such 

 as lactopeptine, carbolic acid, nitrate bismuth, 

 lime-water, etc. 



The labor required the use of forceps, and the 

 patient was much exhausted ; but the uterus con- 

 tracted well. Antiseptic precautions were at once 

 adopted. The labor was followed by atony of the 

 bladder, and the doctor confesses he improperly 

 yielded to the solicitations of the patient for chloro- 

 form ansesthesia during catheterization. Irritabil- 

 ity of the stomach followed, and on the third day 

 her stomach rejected every thing. 



Then, medicines failing, all attempts at nourish- 

 ment by the stomach were discontinued, and 



nutritive enemata were given every two hours, 

 combined with hypodermic injections of brandy. 

 Notwithstanding, the vomiting and nausea con- 

 tinued until the evening of the fifth day, when her 

 condition was critical, — the pulse 130, temperature 

 101° F., with symptomsof impending collapse. The 

 uterus was firmly contracted, abdomen free from 

 tenderness, and the lochia normal. So the doctor 

 could not diagnose septicasmia. At this juncture 

 he recollected having seen an article by Dr. Eliot, 

 reported in the Record, recommending tincture of 

 iodine. He at once gave five drops of the tincture of 

 iodine in a tablespoonful of sweetened water. Two 

 hours later, the retching and vomiting were under 

 control, and she desired food. Milk in lime-water 

 was given and retained. Twice slight nausea re- 

 turned, but was quelled by the iodine. She made 

 a rapid recovery. 



— * — 



MEDICAL MEMORANDA. 



Dr. Longstrkth recommends a large-handled 

 knife for post-mortem operations, as less tiresome 

 to use than one with a small handle. 



Soft, thin, waxed paper is found to answer the 

 purpose of oiled silk or muslin in the majority of 

 dressings, and is very much cheaper. 



Ax Elephant's Stomach. — Professor Seguin 

 and Dr. Godfrey dissected the carcass of the ele- 

 phant Alice, burned in the fire at the Barnum & 

 Bailey winter quarters in November. In the 

 stomach was found over three hundred pennies, 

 part of 1% pocket-knife, four cane ferules, a piece 

 of lead pipe, and some pebbles. 



Lotion for the Skin. — A correspondent of 

 the Medical World writes : — 



" While a student at Old Jefferson, I learned to 

 use a lotion which has the curious property of pre- 

 serving the skin from the effects of cold, prevent- 

 ing chaps, and rendering the hands soft, white, and 

 smooth. One need not wear gloves in winter if 

 this be used constantly : — 



" R. Ol. rosse gtt. xv. 



Glycerinie 3 j. 



Sp. myicijE fl3 iij. 



OI. cajupiiti gtt. XX. 



" M. S. — To be used on the hands every night 

 before going to bed; and in cold weather to be 

 applied before going out into the open air, the 

 hands being first washed and dried." 



The Crown Prince of Prussia. — Dr. Som- 

 merbrod of the Breslau University, an eminent 

 laryngologist, lectured on the case of the Crown 

 Prince in Berlin Dec. 6. He is inclined to the 

 conclusion that it is a case of simple perichondritis 

 with abscess formation, and not of a cancerous 

 nature, though some difficulty is likely to be pre- 

 sented in the extrusion of several pieces of dead 

 cartilage. He said the prospects of the Prince's 

 recovery were hopeful. 



Dysentery. — Dr. Rennie reports that cases of 

 dysentery which have been unsuccessfully treated 

 with opium and ipecac have been cured by tincture 

 of cannabis indica, which he has given, however, 

 in conjunction with carbonate of bismuth and aro- 

 matics. 



Internal Use of Glycerine. — Dr. Tisne 

 asserts that glycerine taken internally exerts a 

 beneficial effect upon nutrition, increasing the 

 weight, and palliating many of the distressing 

 symptoms of phthisis, such as lo.ss of appetite, 

 diarrhcea, night sweats, and insomnia. Its action 

 on the liver is manifested by an increase in the 

 size of the organ, and a more abundant flow of 

 bile. It has a diuretic effect, and increases the 

 excretion of urea, the chlorides, and phosphates. 

 The alkalinity of the urine is diminished, and if 

 any pus be present in this, it is greatly lessened in 

 amount. 



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Publici!)er£i' Column. 



Mkssks. Mariani & Co., 127 Fifth Avenue, New 

 York, will send free, to any pliysician mentioning this 

 paper, a treatise on coca erytliroxylon and its uses in 

 the treatment of disease, with notes and comments 

 by prominent physicians. 



— ♦ — 



Imperial Granum has now been before the public 

 for many years, and is generally admitted to be a stand- 

 ard preparation. There can be no doubt that this is 

 due to its uniformly superior quality, and the success, 

 ful results obtained wifh it in all cases wliere an arti- 

 ficial food is required. 



— ♦— 



Hydrolkine is not only a perfect emulsion of cod- 

 liver oil and water, but is so treated that the digestive 

 process is already partially effected, thus allowing it to 

 be assimilated by the weakest stomachs. It lias often 

 been used with the best results in ea.ses where the 

 pure oil proved unsatisfactory. 



Dr. Eustace Smith of London, physician to the 

 Children's Ho.spital, and author of Wastiny Diseases 

 of Infants and Children, says; "Mei.lin's Food is liy 

 far the best of any with which I am acquainted. It 

 seems to agree equally well with children whether 

 they are health y"or diseased." 



St. Loui.s, Mo., Oct. 18, 1887. 

 Mr. David Bovlk, Chicago, III. 



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We are thoroughly satisfied with the operation of 

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Yours truly, 



N. K. Fairbank & Co. 



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