Vol. XXIII. No. 9.] 



POPULAR SCIENCE NEWS. 



143 



whole space, except a narrow path around the sides. 

 The water is from one foot to eighteen inches deep, 

 and the sides are lined and covered with marble 

 slabs, from which the bathers step into the water, 

 and on which they sit and wash themselves. The 

 furnace is placed on the outside of one of the ends, 

 and the flues are carried through below the centre 

 of the bath. The establishment, in the afternoon 

 and evening, is crowded with visitors, and, on enter- 

 ing the bath-room, the first impression is almost in- 

 supportable. The hot steam or vapor meets you at 

 the door, filling the eves and ears, and causing perspi- 

 ration to run from every po!;eof the body; it almost 

 darkens the place, and the Chinamen seen in this 

 imperfect light, with their brown skins and long 

 tails, sporting in the water, render the scene a most 

 ludicrous one to a foreigner. Those visitors who 

 use the common room pay only six copper cash ; 

 the other class pay eighteen, — but they, in addition, 

 have a cup of tea and a pipe of tobacco from the 

 proprietors. I must mention that one hundred cop- 

 per cash amount to about nine cents of our money, 

 so that the first class enjoy a hot water bath for 

 about one-half a cent, and the other a bath, a private 

 room, a cup of tea, and a pipe of tobacco for some- 

 thing less than two cents. From this it will be 

 seen that the Chinese, although far behind us in 

 many respects, could give our poorer classes a lesson 

 in cleanliness. F. M. 



I. Specially Compiled for The Popular Science Xewt.] 



MONTHLY SUMMARY OF MEDICAL 

 PROGRESS. 



BY W. S. WELLS, M. D. 



Dr. Roggi, of Bologna, rerported (International 

 Jour. Surg.) to the Sixth Congress of Italian Sur- 

 geons a case of resection of the liver. The patient 

 (a woman) was admitted into a hospital, with a 

 tumor in the right hypogastric region. A diagnosis 

 of double echinococcus cyst was made, and, at the 

 operation, two enormous echinococcus cysts were 

 lound : one anterior and superficial, and the other 

 deeply situated. 



Dr. Roggi euncleated the tumors, which weighed 

 1 ,300 grammes. As it was impossible to suture the 

 margins of the large wound cavity, he resected a 

 piece of the liver, eight centimetres in length, and 

 arrested bleeding by means of catgut suture. The 

 e'Iges of the wound cavity in the liver were then 

 united to the abdominal wound. During the first 

 days following the operation, the dressings had to 

 be frequently changed, owing to escape of bile from 

 the wound. Gradually the secretion diminished, 

 and the patient was discharged cured. 



In the discussion, Dr. Ceochevelli stated that he 

 had found that one-third of the liver, in an animal, 

 may be resected without causing its death. 



A RARE case was recently exhibited (London 

 Lancet) by Dr. Sokolovski, at the Warsaw Medical 

 Society, of a woman in whom the anterior portion 

 of the thyroid and both halves of the cricoid had 

 been fractured. The immediate symptoms were 

 severe pains in the throat, cough,, and the expecto- 

 ration of a considerable quantity of blood, and 

 marked dyspnoea. Tracheotomy (inferior) was per- 

 formed the second day. During the fourth week, 

 portions of the necrosed cartilage came away. 

 After two months, both halves of the thyroid were 

 removed with forceps, and it was found that no trace 

 of the cricoid remained, the posterior wall of the 

 glottis being formed by the anterior mucous coat 

 of the oesophagus. The patient m.T,de a good re- 

 covery. It is noteworthy that the condition of the 

 larynx was accurately ascertained on the second 

 day after the accident, by means of the laryngoscope. 



and also that cases of fracture of the cricoid are 

 almost invariably fatal. 



Mr. Mayo Robson, (London Lancet), at a meet- 

 ing of the Clinical Society of London, gave the 

 history of a case of successful tendon-grafting, — the 

 patient's forearm and hand having suffered severe 

 injury of the ulnar border. The dorsum of the 

 hand was entirely divested of muscular and tendi- 

 nous structures, and the palm was extensively 

 lacerated. Desiring to preserve the arm, if possible, 

 he took a piece of hanging tendon from the front of 

 the hand, four and a half inches in length, and 

 stitched it to the extensor muscles, and to the 

 remaining fragments of the extensor tendon. The 

 wound was kept aseptic, and no sloughing took 

 place. The case succeeded well, and the man now 

 has good movement, the hand being capable of 

 pronation and supination, and he could move the 

 thumb and index finger, and was able to resume 

 his work as a weaver. 



Mr. Robson believed this was the first successful 

 case of tendon-grafting, and attributed the good 

 result to taking a sufficient length of tendon, to 

 using a single suture only at each end, to the imme- 

 diate transference of the tendon, to the use of antis- 

 eptics, and to the non-use of drainage tubes. 



Dr. H. M. Sherman reports a case of reproduc- 

 tion of the entire unguinal phalanx of the thumb, 

 by a single bone-graft, (Pacific Med. .Tour.) A boy, 

 thirteen years old, working in a tin shop, had a 

 punch driven through the thumb, carrying with it, 

 and through a large lacerated wound of exit, the 

 entire phalanx. The nail was torn away, and there 

 was much contusion of the soft parts. A wedge, 

 containing bone and cartilage, and the line of ossi- 

 fication, was taken from the scapula of a healthy 

 Newfoundland puppy, cut to the shape and size 

 of the lost phalanx, and implanted in the cavity. 

 The result was good. Extension of the phalanx 

 was complete, there was some flexion and lat- 

 eral motion, and the thumb could bear consider- 

 able pressure on the tip. There was also an attempt 

 at reproduction of the nail. 



At the fortieth meeting of the American Medical 

 Association, held at Newport, R. I., Dr. R. T. Mor- 

 ris read a paper on " What dressing should lie next 

 to the wound.'" Dr. Morris said that if we applied 

 any textile fabric, as bichloride gauze, etc., the con- 

 nective tissue cells would shoot into the fabric and 

 delay healing, and, if such dressing had to be 

 removed, we destroyed a large part of the tissue 

 nature had put across the wound for purposes of 

 repair. 



To obviate such a result, he recommended the use 

 of Lister's protective oiled silk. In the suppurating 

 wound, to get clot replacement was almost impossi- 

 ble by any other means. In skin-grafting, the little 

 cells shooting out would penetrate any textile fabric, 

 and the graft might die. If, however. Lister's pro- 

 tective oiled silk, properly prepared, were placed 

 next to the graft, the result would be striking; the 

 thin blue film of the epithelium remaining undis- 

 turbed, was an evidence that we had covered our 

 grafts with the best dressing. In wounds contain- 

 ing pus we must first use peroxide of hydrogen to 

 make the granulating wound chemically clean, and 

 over that Lister's oiled silk, and then no more pus 

 would form. Over the Lister oiled silk we could 

 apply any absorbent dressing, such as bichloride 

 gauze, salicylated gauze, or other, which dried it so 

 that micro-organisms could not grow in it readily. 

 This is the treatment for granulating wounds. 



In operative wounds. Dr. H. O. Macy, Boston, 

 prefers complete coaptation — which must be uniform 



— and aseptic dressing. The edges of the skin, 

 being in close apposition, need no other protection 

 than just drying them by blowing on iodoform, and 

 covering with layers of cotton. 



Ix the Ephemeris for July, Dr. E. R. Squibb, 

 Brooklyn, publishes a most important article, read 

 before the King's County Medical Association dur- 

 ing a discussion on diphtheria, regarding the 

 medicinal uses of hydrogen peroxide, which he 

 regards as the most powerful, as well as the safest, 

 of all disinfectants and antiseptics, acting both 

 chemically and mechanically upon all excretions 

 and secretions, so as to thoroughly change their 

 character and reactions instantly. 



The strength of the peroxide of hydrogen is indi- 

 cated by volumes. The best manufacturers gener- 

 ally send out a fifteen-volume solution. This 

 solution, labelled "Peroxide of Hydrogen," is put up 

 in pint bottles, which contain about 15 f § , or 15 

 avoirdupois ounces. It is as colorless and odorless 

 as water — or nearly odorless. The taste is a pecu- 

 liar acidulous one, leaving a slight impression. 

 The solution should be kept in a cool place. The 

 original fifteen-volume solution is never used undi- 

 luted. Even as an external application to indolent 

 ulcers or specific sores, it is much and variously 

 diluted. Although devoid of danger in application, 

 and hardly irritant at all, it is useless to apply solu- 

 tions of a strength greater than needed. A one- 

 volume solution, made with one fluid ounce of the 

 fifteen-volume solution in a pint of water, is strong 

 enough for many purposes; but a two fluid ounce in 

 the pint, or a two-volume solution, for children, 

 and a three fluid ounce in the pint, or a three- 

 volume solution, for adults, are perhaps more com- 

 monly required. In the administration and man- 

 agement of all solutions of the peroxide, the contact 

 of metals must be avoided, because most metals are 

 rapidly oxidized and taken into solution, yielding 

 poisonous contaminations. All kinds of spray and 

 injection apparatus can now be easily obtained, 

 with fittings of hard rubber or glass, and such only 

 should be used. 



A child's nostrils and mouth may be flooded every 

 two or three hours, or oftener, from a proper spray 

 apparatus, with a two-volume solution, without 

 force and with very little discomfort; and any solu- 

 tion which finds its way into the larynx or stomach, 

 is beneficial rather than harmful, and thus the effect 

 of corrosive sublimate is obtained without its risks 

 or dangers. Adults and children old enough to 

 gargle the pharynx and rinse the mouth, will get a 

 better effect in this way from a three-volume solu- 

 tion, and this applies not only to diphtheria, but 

 also to scarlatina and other conditions of the mouth 

 and throat which require cleansing and disinfecting. 



As vaginal injections in case of uterine cancer, 

 etc., the strength must be increased until the disin- 

 fectant effect is obtained. A copious flushing out 

 with a one-volume solution will often be sufficient. 

 When wetted cloths are laid over external sores, an 

 over-covering of oiled silk should be used. 



Dr. Burboughs (London Lancet) uses nitro- 

 glycerine as a substitute for alcohol, in ca.ses of 

 emergency. The preparation used is a one per cent, 

 solution, the dose being one drop. It may be given 

 in water, when it is almost tasteless, or, in emer- 

 gency, a drop may be placed upon the tongue. Dr. 

 Burroughs has found it relieved pain and dyspnoea 

 in neuralgia of the heart (angina pectoris.) A drop 

 on the tongue roused a man who fainted during 

 dressing of his wounds. An.-cmic headache was 

 quickly relieved by it. One drop instantly relieved 

 spasmodic asthma, enabling the patient to resume 

 work at once. A patient with typhoid fever became 



