94 



POPULAR SCIENCE NEWS. 



[June, 1888. 



are veiy strong, the clavicles are enormous. 

 In birds which have great power of flight the 

 clavicles are anchylosed or solidlj' attached. 

 The doctor regarded It as very curious to meet 

 with a case of an adult person without clavicles. 

 It is one of the first bones to ossify in a human 

 skeleton. 



Dr. Orecchia (Gazzetta degli Ospitali) has 

 recently called attention to the frequent com- 

 bination of inflammation with cancer in the 

 same part, the cancer being sometimes so 

 obscured in this way as to be overlooked for a 

 considerable time. He reports cases in which 

 this occurred. In one of these there was 

 cancer of the larynx, which was supposed to 

 be nothing more than simple inflammation of 

 the membrane investing the organ of the voice ; 

 in two cases of supposed inflammation, simple, 

 of the jaw-bone, it turned out that thej' were 

 cancerous ; in another, inflammation of the 

 tissues surrounding the rectum masked a rectal 

 cancer ; in a case commencing as simple 

 mumps, and treated as such, it developed con- 

 cealed cancer of the parotid gland ; and in 

 still another, simple inflammation of the lip for 

 some time served to mask the presence of a 

 cancer. 



The possibility of malignant disease under- 

 lying what appears to be a simple inflamma- 

 torj' process should rJbver be forgotten when 

 the age and appearance of the patient, and the 

 part afl'ected, are such as to make the exist- 

 ence of cancer probable. Dr. Orecchia be- 

 lieves that in these cases the cancer is the 

 primary' disease, which, owing to slightness 

 of the symptoms, remains unnoticed till the 

 supervention of iuHammation calls attention 

 to the part. 



A CORRESPONDENT wrltcs from Paris that a 

 new symptom, characteristic of cancer of the 

 uterus, has been announced by Petit, Troisier, 

 and Kaymond, each of whom found the exist- 

 ence of an enlarged lymphatic gland above 

 the left clavicle in cases of cancer of the neck 

 of the womb. 



M. PiNARD treats cracked nipples with great 

 success as follows : As soon as there are any 

 appearances of cracks, or even tenderness, of 

 the nippies, a compress folded in four, and 

 steeped in boracic acid solution, three or four 

 per cent, is applied. Oil silk is placed over 

 the compress to prevent evaporation, over this 

 a layer of cotton wadding, and the whole se- 

 cured by a bandage. 



M. MoNiERE relieves painful menstruation 

 in its most violent forms by giving an enema 

 oontaining thirty grains each of bromide of 

 potassium and chloral. One-half of this 

 amount to young girls. 



In wound of the abdominal wall. Dr. M. B. 

 Carson, in Journal of American Medical Asso- 

 ciation, says he would, on the first indication 

 of peritonitis, open the abdomen, and keep it 

 thoroughly drained. In cases of hemorrhage 

 after bruise, if the patient survives the shock 



of the injury, he would open the abdomen, 

 and treat the bleeding directly. In cases of 

 supposed rupture of the bowel, he would 

 operate immediately, " for exploratory hiparot- 

 omy is far less fatal than the expectant plan 

 of treatment." 



Professor Pp:tresen, in Progres Med., 

 recommends brionia diocia wine as far supe- 

 rior to ergotinc in the treatment of liemorrhage 

 from the womb. Three hundred grains of the 

 root are macerated for eight days in a (juart 

 of white wine. Dose, a tablespoonful every 

 iiour until the bleeding stops. 



Professor Cjiouppe is credited with stating 

 that antipyrin, when given with ergot, pro- 

 duces painless uterine contractions, and there- 

 fore is a most useful combination after cliild- 

 birth and also in cases of painful menstruation. 



Beugmann, the celebrated German surgeon, 

 recommends {Deutsche Med. Woch.) a new 

 treatment of fracture of the patella, by chisel- 

 ling off" an oblique portion of the head of the 

 tibia, along with the insertion of the ligamen- 

 tum patelhe, so as to let the lower fragment 

 of the patella be easily moved up. Suturing 

 of the fragment is then accomplished. This 

 operation is recommended for cases of non- 

 union after transverse fracture. In recent 

 cases Boi'gmann empties the knee-joint of 

 blood and serum b^- aspiration, and then se- 

 cures rest and apposition of the fiagments by 

 splints and elastic bandaging. Early massage 

 of the extensor muscles is advised. 



In applying plastcr-of-Paris bandages, the 

 secret is, to have all the sizing taken out of the 

 material used ; so that, when a piece of mus- 

 lin to be saturated is thrown in the mixture 

 of water and plaster, it will readily absorb the 

 same. The plaster will "set" more quickly 

 if a little salt is added. A roller made of lint 

 is regarded as better than cotton next to the 

 part to be plastered. 



A REPORT of some successful experiments in 

 purifying water from organic germs is given 

 in the Annals of Hygiene. 



Specimens of water that were found by the 

 use of a powerful microscope to be full of 

 animal life, disease-germs, etc., were charged 

 with fairly strong currents of dynamic elec- 

 tricity, and then carefully covered, to prevent 

 any contamination from the air. 



After fourteen days it was examined again, 

 and not a sign of living animalcuhe or dis- 

 ease germs could be found ; while samples of 

 water kept in the same way, without being 

 charged with electricity, showed as full of or- 

 ganisms as when first examined. These ex- 

 periments, which were carried on at Pittsburgh, 

 if confirmed, indicate another among the im- 

 portant and valuable applications of electricity 

 for medical and sanitar}- purposes. 



A Piiii.ADELi'HiA physician, says the Bulle- 

 tin, concludes that many headaches are often 

 due to absorption of the lead used in finishing 



hat-bands. We analyzed a black japanned 

 band worn by a patient suffering from head- 

 ache, and fpund it contained three grains of 

 lead salts. 



Dryness of the mouth, occurring as an affec- 

 tion, more especiall}' in old people, is bene- 

 fited by jaborandi, according to Dr. Iladden 

 of London. 



Spongy gums, congested or receded, are 

 treated successfully {Kansas City Medical In- 

 dex) by applying gl3'cerole of tannin. 



Brief inhalations of carbonic-acid gas are 

 said by Dr. E. Weil to relieve cough and dilli- 

 cult breathing. 



[Original in Popiiktr Science A^eUJS.] 



SOME FACTS CONCERNING BEIGIIT'S 

 DISEASE. 



BY JOHN CROWBLL, 

 I. 



M.D. 



The prevalence of Hright's disease in these busy, 

 rushing days of ours has turned the attention of 

 the medical profession to the more minute exami- 

 nation of the nature and cause of tlie affection ; and 

 many interesting facts and conditions have been 

 revealed by the aid of the chemist's tests, the mi- 

 croscope, and pathological studies and comparisons. 

 Ever since the discoveries of Ur. Briglit in 1827, 

 there lias been more or less helpful literature pre- 

 sented, and recent investigations are suggestive in 

 the diagnosis and treatment of the disease. One 

 important office of the kidneys is to eliminate some 

 of the morbid products of the blood, the result of 

 the disintegration which is constantly taking place 

 in the physical organism. Thekidneys, then, in con- 

 nection with the liver, lungs, the glands of the 

 alimentary canal, and the skin, may be called 

 the scavengers of the body. The lungs eliminate the 

 carbonic acid, the liver the carbo-hydrogen, and 

 the kidneys the nitrogenous products. But there is 

 still another office for the kidneys: they serve as a 

 safety-valve in regulating the quantity of water 

 in the blood. They, with the lungs and the skin, 

 are the only means through which the system has 

 power to remove the water from the vital fluid. 

 Under ordinary conditions each excretory organ is 

 limited to its own special function, yet there are 

 certain complementary relations between them 

 which enable them to render assistance to each 

 other. For example, when respiration is active, 

 the lungs eliminate more carbonic acid, and the 

 liver secretes less bile, which consists largely of 

 carbon Similar relations exist between the skin 

 and the kidneys. 



Fresh healthy urine is a clear araber-yellow 

 liquid, of a peculiar, disagreeable odor, an<l a well- 

 marked acid reaction. If permitted to stand a while, 

 a slight cloudiness appears, consisting of mucus, 

 which forms a sediment. Still later it becomes 

 alkaline, owing to the decomposition of urea into 

 carbonate of ammonia and a precipitate of earthy 

 phosphates. Healthy urine may become turbid soon 

 after being voided, because, in cooling, the urates 

 of soda and ammonia are precipitated, which are 

 insoluble in cold water. The amount of urine 

 pa.ssed by a healthy adult in twenty- four hours is 

 about thirty ounces in summer, and forty ounces in 

 winter. The specific gravity varies with the amount 

 of solid food taken, the average for the year being 

 about 10-0, rising to 1025 in summer, and falling 

 in winter to 1015. Of course, these figures vary 

 according to various conditions of diet and habits; 

 and it is interesting to observe that the amount of 



