Vol,. XXIII. No. S.] 



POPULA.E SniENCE T^EWS. 



127 



inflicted b_v a poisonous snake. On the contrary, 

 he has met with fatal cases in which the poisonous 

 bite left one, two, three, or four punctures, depend- 

 ing on the position of the reptile, as well as of the 

 part bitten. When the bite has been received in a 

 part capable of being ligatured, as the foot or hand, 

 a boot-lace or string should be at once tightened as 

 near the wound as possible, on the side toward the 

 heart, to prevent absorption of the poison into the 

 circulation. 



With strychnine solution as the antidote, the diffi- 

 culties in snake-bites are greatly lessened. Should 

 a careful analysis of the history of a case not enable 

 us to judge conclusively, whether the symptoms 

 emanate from fear or real poisoning, a small injec- 

 tion of liq. strychniiv will, in case of mere fear, be 

 quite sufficient to brace up the nervous system and 

 restore confidence of recovery, with which all alarm- 

 ing symptoms quickly disappear. Their continu- 

 ance would indicate the presence of snake-poisoning, 

 and call for larger injections of the antidote. But if 

 in one of these cases of false alarm, alcohol has 

 been administered in excess, as is usually done, we 

 find the patient in the condition of coma — alcoholic 

 coma, — and we must diagnose this from snake-bite 

 coma. In alcoholic coma, the pupil is as often con- 

 tracted as dilated, and becomes greatly dilated in 

 extreme cases only, but even then shows a sluggish 

 reaction to light; the conjunctiva is invariably 

 injected, the pulse slow and small, and the respira- 

 tion slow, intermittent, and often stertorous. In 

 snake-bite coma, the pupil is always greatly dilated 

 and insensible to light, the conjunctiva pale and not 

 injected, the pulse quick and small, and the respira- 

 tion quick and shallow. 



With regard to the use of alcohol in snake-bite. 

 Dr. Mueller affirms that it is perfectly useless.' No 

 matter how large a quantity of whiskey or brandy 

 is taken, its stimulating action does not become 

 manifest by as much as a flush of the cheeks, until 

 the snake-poison has been eflTectually counteracted 

 by strychnine. 



Strychnine in snake-bite acts with the unerring 

 certainty and precision of a chemical test. Purely 

 physiological in action, it neutralizes the effects of 

 the snake-poison, and, if pushed beyond thtf amount 

 needed to neutralize the snake-poison, would itself 

 act as a poison. Its poisonous eftects, on the other 

 hand, could be combatted by injections of snake 

 poison, could the latter be at hand in an emergency 

 of poisoning by strychnine. 



The amount of strychni;e solution injected varied 

 in the several cases cited, from seventeen minims to 

 twenty minims per dose, or from one-sixth to one- 

 fifth of a grain, repeated, from time to time, as the 

 snake-poison symptoms returned. In one case, only 

 one-fifteenth of a grain of strychnine, in all, divided 

 into four injections, was required to effect a cure, 

 but in this case a ligature had at once been applied, 

 and a small quantity of poison had been absorbed. 

 The amount of strychnine required can only be esti- 

 mated by the nature and virulence of the bite, and 

 whether ligature and excision have been well per- 

 formed. If the latter have been neglected, and the 

 snake is known to be particularly venomous, a com- 

 paratively large quantity of strychnine, in divided 

 injections, will be required, before safety will be 

 assured. 



A LETTER from Mr. Stanley, the African explorer, 

 was lately read at a meeting of the Royal Geograph- 

 ical Society {London Lancet), in reference to the 

 arrow poison employed by the natives of the Lower 

 Congo district. Mr. Stanley and part^ were much 

 exercised as to what might be the poison on the 

 heads of the arrows by which several men were 

 wounded, and from the efl^ects of which four died 



almost directly. The mystery was solved by finding 

 at Arisibba several packets of dried red ants. The 

 bodies of these dried ants were ground into powder, 

 cooked in palm oil, and smeared on the points of 

 the arrows. It is well known that formic acid exists 

 in the free state in red ants and in several species of 

 caterpillars. This acid, in the pure state, is exces- 

 sively corrosive, and would, as indicated, accoimt 

 for the terrible suffering of the wounded men. 



A SINGULAR case of dislocation of the eyeball is 

 related by Dr. Van Doovemaal, in the JJunders Fest 

 Bundel, {British Med. Jour.) A butcher's assist- 

 ant, in passing out of the shop, caught his upper 

 eyelid on one of the hooks. He begged his fellow- 

 shopman to extricate it, but his ettbrts were so 

 awkward that the hook was made to push the eye 

 forward, so that both upper and under eyelid dis- 

 appeared completely behind it; even the eyelashes 

 were invisible. The man was brought to Dr. Van 

 Doovemaal. The eye was pushed frightfully for- 

 ward, and the man shrieked incessantly about the 

 intensity of the light experienced in the dislocated 

 eye. The doctor enlarged the external angle of the 

 eyelids by means of blunt-pointed scissors, which 

 were introduced between the protruding eyeball and 

 the outer angle. After the cut had been made, a 

 strabismus hook was introduced along the under 

 edge of the upper lid. As soon as the iiook had 

 been pushed somewhat inward, under the upper 

 eyelid, a curette was inserted and then pressed out- 

 wardly, without exerting pressure on the eyeball, 

 so as to bring the upper lid out. This was accom- 

 plished without difficulty, and then the under lid 

 was gently drawn to its place. The wound was 

 stitched and dressed, and bandages were applied to 

 envelop the eye so as to exclude the light. The 

 wound healed quickly, and the eye soon recovered 

 from its extreme sensibility to light each time upon 

 removal of the bandage. 



The treatment of cancer by powerful interrupted 

 galvanic currents, is discussed in the British Med. 

 Journal, by Dr. Parsons, who gives four cases of 

 patients who refused surgical operation, or were 

 beyond operation, in which he obtained good results 

 by the use of a powerful interrupted voltaic current. 



Dr. Parsons' theory is that, in cancer, the normal 

 tissue-cells have escaped from the inhibitory control 

 of the nervous system, and have proliferated and 

 formed new tissues, which, being devoid of nerves, 

 but having vascular supply, and roused by some 

 local stimulus, degenerate into cancerous growths. 

 Healthy cells possess a power of recovery from 

 injury which cancer cells lack; hence, if an agent ol 

 great intensity could be for a very short time locally 

 applied, the cancer cells might be injured beyond 

 recovery, while the normal cells would gradually 

 regain their former condition of health, with the 

 result of arrest of growth of the cancer cells and 

 shrinkage of the tumor. 



Three of the patients suffered with cancer of the 

 breast, and one with cancer of the cervix uteri. 

 One of these is reported eight months, one six 

 months, and two three months after treatment. In 

 all, quiesence of the previously active cancerous 

 growth was secured. The technique of the opera- 

 tion is as follows : The patient is anicsthetized. 

 The current is then passed through the tumor and 

 all the tissues for some inches around it, by means 

 of fine, insulated needles, so as not to injure the 

 skin. A battery of seventy cells, with an electro- 

 motive force of 105 volts, is used. The intensity of 

 the current, to commence with, is 10 milliamperes, 

 gradually increased to 600 milliamperes, and flashed 

 through the growth in every direction, 50 to 100 



times, according to circumstances governed by 

 close watching of its effects upon the heat and 

 respiration, stopping if intermittency of the pulse 

 occurs. 



A novel method of detecting a perforation of the 

 membrana tympani {Boston Med. and Surg. Jour.) 

 is communicated to the Wiener Med. Press, by Dr. 

 E. Pins, of Vienna. "While looking into the audi- 

 tory canal in the ordinary manner, with speculum 

 and mirror, hold a piece of clear, cold glass close to 

 the speculum ; have the patient do the 'Valsalvian' 

 experiment, and, if perforation exists, the vapor of 

 the breath will be condensed upon the glass and 

 obscure the view." Dr. E. D. Spear, of Boston, 

 regards this as a scientific test. 



Dr. ScyjiBis, of Brooklyn, {Medical News), in a 

 recent address on sulphur fumigation in the preven- 

 tion of infectious disease, directed attention to the 

 important fact that, in the absence of moisture, the 

 penetrating power of sulphurous acid gas is only 

 slight, and for this reason there should be an 

 abundance of aqueous vapor in the apartment in 

 which the sulphur is burnt. Boards of Health 

 neglect to emphasize this fact, which is not known 

 to the laity. The Medical News recommends that 

 water be kept boiling in the room in which the gas 

 is being generated. Dr. Squibb also called attention 

 to the relative uselessness of chlorine gas as a disin- 

 fectant, in the absence of aqueous vapor. 



M. Didier {Ijyon Med.) finds that a faradic cur- 

 rent of moderate intensity is decidedly the most 

 efficient treatment ol hysteria hitherto employed. 

 It not only checks the paroxysms, but has a curative 

 effect on the neurosis. In every case of hysterical 

 convulsions in which he employed it, the seizure 

 promptly abated. At the beginning of the convul- 

 sions one electrode is applied to the epigastrium, 

 and the other to the nucha, the current taking the 

 track of the aura. If used later, during the tonic or 

 clonic stage, one electrode may be applied to the 

 nucha and the other held in the hand, or both may 

 be placed in the hands. As it is useless in epilepsy, 

 by it we can at once distinguish whether the attack 

 is hysterical or epileptic. 



Lv the treatment of diabetes, Dujardin Beaumetz 

 administers arseniated lithia, introduced into prac- 

 tice by Dr. Martineau. Eight grains of carbonate 

 of lithium in a glass of Vich^' water, to which two 

 drops of Fowler's solution is added, to be taken 

 before each meal. In diabetes of nervous origin, 

 characterized by extreme polyuria, he gives ten- 

 grain doses of antipyrine, sweetened by saccharin, 

 three or four times daily. Its eft'ect is to reduce the 

 amount of sugar in the urine, as well as the amount 

 of urine. Phenacetin and exalgine bring about the 

 same results. He considers potatoes, in the diet, 

 preferable to gluten bread, but restricts them to 

 seven ounces daily. Milk augments the sugar in 

 the urine, as do fruits, especially grapes. Caviar 

 and sauerkraut are allowed. Alcoholic drinks must 

 be used very sparingly. 



Dr. Sidlo. {London Lancet) mentions the great 

 benefit he obtained in a case of ozena of the most 

 repulsive kind, by treating it locally by means of 

 daily syringing with a two per cent, solution of 

 chlorate of potash with ten per cent, of glycerine. 

 Besides, cotton wool .soaked in a twenty-five per 

 cent, solution of glycerine in-water, was introduced 

 once or twice a day and allowed to remain for an 

 hour. Under this treatment, not only did the foul 

 odor rapidly disappear with the removal of the 



