VOL. XXIII. No. 4.] 



POPULAR SCIETTCE NEWS. 



and allows the salt to remain in situ until the prick- 

 marks show out as black spots. The caustic is then 

 wiped'off, and the result is the formation of a black 

 stain of tannate of silver. Inflammation is set up, 

 and. in the course of a fortnight, scabs form, on the 

 disappearance of which no trace is left of the origi- 

 nal design, the onlv souvenir being a reddish scar, 

 which, in time, becomes less visible. The tannin in 

 this operation acts as a mordant, and in no case did 

 he have to deal with troublesome suppuration, 

 although if the area be large, it is well to do a piece 

 at a time. 



Mr. Fleming, M. R. C. S., says in British Med. 

 Jour. : We want a surgical dressing that is non- 

 irritating, antiseptic, will not become adherent, will 

 allow free drainage, will not allow the discharges to 

 get hard and caked, will he trulv miscible with dis- 

 charges, and not evaporate at any temperature of 

 the bodv, nor occupy the place intended for the dis- 

 charges. 



He thinks we have the desideratum in the gly- 

 cerite of starch, with some antiseptic dissolved in it, 

 e. g., corrosive sublimate, i in 1,000 parts. This 

 application is not irritating, is antiseptic, is re- 

 moved easily from any wounded surface, and fulfils, 

 more nearly than any other, all the requirements 

 above named. It is most commonly applied thickly 

 spread on one or more layers of gamgee tissue, or 

 some other absorbent tissue. Mr. F. has had good 

 results with it, as far as he has given trial. 



At a meeting of the Societe de Therapeutic de 

 Paris, Dr. Constantin Paul read a paper upon the 

 experiments made by Dr. Trousseau to decide the 

 utility of saccharin as an antiseptic in ophthal- 

 mology. After having convinced himself of the 

 absolute harmlessness of this preparation in its 

 action upon the cornea of rabbits and dogs, he tried 

 the same in solutions of i :500 and i :25o upon thirty 

 patients. From the results obtained, he concludes 

 that daily applications of, and washings with, 

 saccharin solutions, can be undertaken without any 

 harmful reaction. Enucleations, three iridectomies, 

 eight extractions for cataract, and different opera- 

 tions upon the eyelids, healed without any reaction 

 setting in. It was found of especial use in catarrhal 

 conjunctivitis. 



Dr. Lkvrat {iMndon Lancet) has devised a new 

 method of treating torticollis. Instead of operating 

 subcutaneously, he cuts down upon the sternal ten- 

 don of the sterno-mastoid muscle, by a longitudinal 

 incision, two centimetres long, and, clearing the 

 tendon with the forceps, passes a grooved director 

 under it, and divides it. lie then divider any tissue 

 that may bind down the muscle at that spot, 

 sutures the wound, and dresses it antiseptically 

 with iodoform and gauze. Over the dressing he 

 places the following : The head being enveloped in 

 cotton wool, a silicated bandage is wound horizon- 

 tally around it at the level of the forehead, and a 

 similar bandage vertically over the crown and under 

 the jaw. Where these bandages meet at the level 

 of the mastoid process on the sound side, a small 

 hook, with the concavity looking upward, is in- 

 serted. Another silicated bandage is wound around 

 the body below the axilhe, and through the thick- 

 ness of the bandage a hook is inserted, in the mid- 

 dle line in front, having its concavitv looking down- 

 ward. When the bandages have dried, the two 

 hooks are connected with a band of india-rubber, 

 which assists the sterno-mastoid of the sound side to 

 keep up a continuous traction, and so correct the 

 deformity. This apparatus and the dressings are 

 left in situ for fifteen days, when the success of the 

 operation is said to be assured. 



articles employed, states that "the one disinfectant 

 above all, is moist heat when it attains the tempera- 

 ture of no'-' to 115° centigrade; but, as this degree 

 of heat is not applicable to all circumstances where 

 disinfection is demanded, we must also employ the 

 liquid and gaseous disinfectants. At the head of 

 the first we must place corrosive sublimate, which is 

 without an equal ; then, sulphate of copper. Among 

 the gaseous disinfectants, the preference must be 

 given to sulphurous acid and chlorine." 



The Paris correspondent of the Am. Pract. and 

 News writes that the question of employing chloro- 

 form aniesthesia in tracheotomy in children affected 

 with laryngeal diphtheria, was recently- discussed at 

 the Societe Medicate ties llopitaux, and Dr. IJeaupere, 

 basing his opinions on an experience of twenty-six 

 cases, arrived at the following conclusions : 



First — Chloroform, in children aftected with croup, 

 is indicated for tracheotomy. Second — It should be 

 administered in feeble doses and rapidly, without 

 provoking the stage oi excitement. Third — It docs 

 not augment the asphyxia. Fourth — It cau.ses the 

 laryngeal spasm to cease. Fifth — The operation is 

 rendered more easy by the immobilit3' of the child 

 and absence of congestion of veins of the neck. 

 Sixth — It diminishes tendency to syncope. Seventh 

 — It does not influence the ulterior evolution of 

 diphtheria. Eighth — It permits the surgeon to dis- 

 pense with several assistants. Ninth — There is only 

 one contra-indication to its employment; that is, 

 advanced asphyxia, or the existence of clearly estab- 

 lished pulmonary lesion. 



At a recent meeting of the American Gas Light 

 Association, of Toronto, the following rules were 

 given for the treatment of cases of asphyxiation 

 from the inhaling of illuminating gas : 



1st. Take the patient at once into fresh air. 



2d. Keep patient 01} his back, and do not turn 

 him on his side. 



3d. Loosen clothing at neck and waist. 



4th. Give a little brandy and water, or ammonia 

 mixture (one part aromatic ammonia to sixteen 

 parts water), a teaspoonful every few minutes. 



5th. Slap the face and chest with the wet end of 

 a towel. 



6th. Apply warmth and friction, if the body and 

 limbs are cold. 



7th. If breathing is feeble or irregular, keep up 

 artificial respiration — even for several hours. 



8th. Administer oxygen. 



Dr. Perro (^Centralhl. fur Chirurg.) recommends 

 the following simple procedure for reducing stran- 

 gulated inguinal hernia. The pelvis is raised by a 

 cushion, and the leg flexed and abducted. The 

 scrotimi and hernial tumor are grasped by the left 

 hand, and the tumor slightly bent toward the ab- 

 dominal wall and compressed. At the same time, 

 the index finger of the right hand is introduced into 

 the inguinal canal, and, by a boring movement, 

 pressed in the direction of the horizontal ramus of 

 the pubes. In a short time, the strangulated por- 

 tion of the intestine slips into the abdominal cavitv, 

 and is followed by a disappearance of the tumor. 

 The author has succeeded in this manner in reduc- 

 ing six cases of strangulated hernia, when all pre- 

 vious attempts had failed. 



In the treatment of f<etid wounds. Dr. B. W. 

 Richardson {Asclepiad) recommends benzoated 

 chloroform as an antiseptic of decided value. It is 

 made by dissolving three drachms of pure benzoic 

 acid in twelve ounces of chloroform, and filtering. 



In a case of fo-tid ulcer of the lower extremities, 

 after the bandage has been applied, he prescribes a 

 fluid drachm of the solution, poured over or near the 

 ulcer, the deodorizing effect being most satisfactory. 



He also recommends this solution as the most 

 effective for removing the foetor in troublesome 

 cases of fcetid exhalations from the feet. Used like 

 eau de cologne, he finds it advantageous to rub over 

 the hands at a post-mortem examination, and for 

 similar purposes where a disinfectant is required. 



A DISINFECTANT o{ air is claimed byM. Keldyche 

 to have been found in the use of eucalyptol. He has 

 published (.Vedical Press) the results of a series of 

 experiiuents on the air drawn from his hospital 

 wards. 



Air which has been saturated with eucalyptol will 

 no longer give rise to colonies of bacilli in gelatine. 

 The spores of fungi are able to pass unharmed, but, 

 as their action on the higher animals is probably 

 limited, it is not of much importance. If confirmed 

 by independent observations, this valuable quality 

 will render the drug worthy of wide-spread employ- 

 ment, for no other disinfectant is known which can 

 be relied upon to efl'ect its purpose without render- 

 ing the air irrespirable, besides acting injuriously on 

 furniture, clothing, etc. 



I.\ a lecture on disinfectants (T/iernp. Gaz.), Prof, 

 Dujardin-Beaumetz, after a long enumeration of the 



For the disinfection of suppurating wounds of all 

 kinds. Prof Phelps uses a saturated solution of 

 hydrogen peroxide. A piece of absorbent cotton is 

 dipped in the solution, and then laid on the slough- 

 ing surface. This is repeated three times a day, 

 until the pus disappears. The peroxide has the 

 advantage, besides being an excellent antiseptic, of 

 being entirely innocuous. 



Three cases of heart failure, where hypodermic 

 injection of two drops, of one per cent, solution of 

 glonoin (nitro-glycerine) was used, respectively, are 

 reported by Dr. M. H. Firnell, (Phila.) The doc- 

 tor says : "One who has seen cases of heart failure 

 treated in the usual way, can have no conception of 

 the brilliant results which may be obtained from 

 this agent." 



In cases of mastitis, in the Columbia Hospital for 

 Women (Obs. Gaz.), a liniment composed of half 

 an ounce of camphor, dissolved in three ounces of 

 turpentine, has been found most effective in check- 

 ing the secretion of milk. It alleviates pain, lessens 

 induration, and is more effective in reducing inflam- 

 mation than any other remedy that has been tried. 



In cases of incontinence of urine in children. Dr. 

 Chas. W. Earle {Arch. I'ed.) recommends — other 

 means having failed — to try the use of the sound. 

 He says: "This single instrument has performed 

 more cures in my practice than all the drugs which 

 I have prescribed, and as many as have been cured 

 by operation for phymosis." 



MoNTEFUSCO, physician to the Contungo Small- 

 pox Hospital, {Buffalo Med. Jour.) recommends 

 phenic acid, locally and internally, as the best treat- 

 ment of variola. 



THE PHONOGRAPir IN PHYSICAL DIAG- 

 NOSIS. 



From what observations I have practically made, 

 I am satisfied that the phonograph has a great fu- 

 ture, and has opened up an entire new field of in- 

 vestigation in that line. 



The method which I adopted in making these 

 experimental physical examinations by the phono- 

 graph was carried out in the following manner: 



The phonograph was placed on a suitable table 

 before me; a tube in the shape of the deaf conver- 



