Vol. XXIII. No. 12.] 



POPULAE SCTETTCE KEWS. 



189 



below, which, however, occasions no inconvenience. 

 The ophthahnoscope showed dotted opacities in the 

 lens. 



Case No. II.— In the case just noted, the cornea 

 was but slightly involved, and the prognosis was 

 very favorable. In this one, the cornea was com- 

 completely involved, and the prognosis was most 

 unfavorable. At about 10.30 A. M., August 28th, 

 Nora Harney, aged 6 years, had a handful of build- 

 er's lime thrown into her right eye by a playmate. 

 A large portion of the lime was washed out by the 

 mother with water, which probably caused the loss 

 of the eye. When I saw the patient, at 2 o'clock the 

 same afternoon, there was total opacity of the cornea, 

 with injection of the conjunctiva and lids. The 

 treatment consisted in the removal of the lime, the 

 free use of olive oil, and methods for the relief of 

 pain and acute symptoms. The sight of the eye 

 was irreparably lost. 



Case No. III. — Early this summer, an Italian 

 laborer, aged 58, was struck in both eyes by some 

 lime and mortar, which fell from a height of several 

 feet. He went immediately to the hospital, where 

 the eyes were pretty thoroughly cleansed by the 

 general surgeon, who sent him to the eye department 

 of the clinic. When I saw him, these conditions 

 were presented ; There was swelling of the lids of 

 both eyes. In the left eye, the cornea was clear, 

 the vision was about normal, but there was exten- 

 sive conjunctivitis. In the right eye there were 

 opacities and abrasions of the cornea, episcleritis, 

 conjunctivitis, with marked chemosis, and a vision 

 of about 2-200. All foreign bodies were removed 

 from the eyes, atropine and cocaine were employed, 

 and a solution of bichloride of mercury (1-6,000) 

 prescribed as a wash. In a short time the congestion 

 of the left eye subsided, and the conjunctivitis was 

 easily controlled. F"or a long time, however, there 

 was but little improvement in the right eye. Con- 

 gestion increased, there was sloughing of the con- 

 junctiva, and slight exfoliation of the cornea. The 

 opacities of the cornea continued, considerable pain 

 was experienced, and acute iritis set in. Hot appli- 

 cations and leeches were now employed, to control 

 the iritis and relieve the pain, while powdered 

 calomel was dusted into the eye as an anti-zymotic 

 and stimulant. At the present time the general 

 appearance of the eye is quite healthy, and the vision 

 greatly improved, though the cornea is still hazy. 

 The course of such cases is always tedious, and 

 demands careful, yet active, treatment. 



J. H. E. 

 Eye Department, Vanderbilt Clinic, New 



York. 



night later, softer and much shrunken, he now- 

 passed the needle into the growth at a point from 

 which its vessel-supply started. Six weeks later, it 

 was one-eighth its original size. It was injected 

 again at this time, and a fourth time two months 

 later, but the na-vus had become so small that the 

 operation was difficult. Three years later, when 

 this communication was made, the nuevus had be- 

 come so reduced, and the skin over it had so far 

 regained its normal condition, that no difference 

 between the ala; was perceptible, except upon close 

 inspection. The doctor lays stress upon encircling 

 the growth with a ring, to confine the alcohol to the 

 growth, and to prevent coagula entering the circu- 

 lation. 



Von Swiecicki {Ceniralb. f. C/iir.) reports a case 

 of coccygodynia following the use of forceps in a 

 patient with flat rickety pelvis. Various methods 

 of treatment, including faradisation, proved of no 

 avail, and Swiecicki divided the coccygeal attach 

 ments of the gluteus maximus, coccygeus, ischeo- 

 coccvgeus, sphincter and levator ani. For six 

 months there was no pain, but then the unbearable 

 agony returned. Von Swiecicki then proceeded to 

 excise the entire coccyx. There was but little hem- 

 orrhage, and the cure was complete. The coccyx 

 was entirely necrosed. 



A case of tuberculous infection through the 

 medium of ear-rings, is reported in the H'i>«ej- 

 Medizinische Presse. The patient was a young girl, 

 fourteen years of age, who wore ear-rings left to her 

 by a friend who died of pulmonary tuberculosis. 

 Soon ulcers appeared on the lobes of both ears. 

 The cervical lymph-nodules became swollen, and 

 percussion revealed dullness at the apex of the left 

 lung. Tubercle bacilli were found in the ulcers and 

 in the sputa, and the inference was that the ear- 

 rings were the agents of infection. 



she showed signs of a desire to vomit, was turned 

 over on her side, and the stomach relieved of partly 

 digested food. Soon after this, becoming semi- 

 conscious, and reaction being established, I ordered : 

 R. : JEther Sulph., §ss.; Elix. Ammon. Valer., 

 |iss., and directed that during my absence, a tea- 

 spoonful, diluted with water, be administered every 

 second hour. I returned in about three hours, 

 when, to my surprise, she walked into the room. 

 She complained only of a slight headache, and, as 

 there had been constipation for several days, a pur- 

 gative completed the cure. 



"I have po explanation to give of the action of 

 nitro-glycerine, beyond its stimulating qualities, 

 which I regard as the most powerful known, and 

 have found it invaluable in cases of great depression 

 of the vital powers." 



I Specially Compiled for The Popular Science JN'ewa.J 



MONTHLY SUMMARY OF MEDICAL 



PROGRESS. 



BY W. S. WELLS, M. D. 



The case is recently mentioned, editorially, in the 

 N. y. Medical Record of na;vus treated by Dr. Hol- 

 gate, and cured by injections of alcohol. The 

 nsevus was situated outside the right ala nasi of a 

 boy four years of age. It was half the size of a 

 filbert, soft and compressible, but swelling out 

 quickly when pressure was relaxed. At birth it was 

 a port-wine mark, level with the skin. It had sev- 

 eral times bled profusely and persistently, and Dr. 

 Holgate determined to try the injection of ninety- 

 five per cent, alcohol. Applying a common eyelid- 

 clamp around the base of the growth, to arrest the 

 circulation, he passed a hypodermic needle through 

 its centre, longitudinally, near its base, and injected 

 from five to seven minims of rectified spirit of wine, 

 gradually withdrawing the needle as he injected. 

 The tumor became quite solid. Finding it, a fort_ 



The treatment of pneumonia by chloioform in- 

 halations is reported upon by Dr. Tlieo. Clemen,s, 

 in AUeg. Med. Central Zeiiunrj. During forty-two 

 years' practice he has treated all cases of pneumonia, 

 severe or mild, with chloroform inhalations, and has 

 not had a single fatal case. To the chloroform he 

 adds alcohol, saturates some cotton twisted into a 

 ball, covers it with some loose, dry cotton, and 

 holds this to within an inch of the patient's mouth 

 and nose. He thinks that the chloroform spirits are 

 taken up by the blood, completely changing it in 

 the lungs, and, by defibrinating, prevents its hepa- 

 tization. 



Dr. Lincecum writes to Medical Brief : "I have 

 treated more than one hundred cases, in Texas, of 

 bites of venomous reptiles, and have found that 

 potass, permangauas, in one or two grain doses, 

 bypodermically, and chloroform locally and by 

 inhalation, are certiiin remedies. Have never seen 

 a case treated with these two remedies result 

 fatally." 



Dr. Sosovski, according to the London Lancet, 

 has found large enemata of dilute creolin very use- 

 ful in dysentery, a one-half per cent, solution being 

 injected into the bowel several times daily, in as 

 large amount as the bowel can contain without 

 causing pain. In the majority of cases, the bloody 

 discharges ceased on the third day. All recovered. 



Another Russian physician, Dr. Kolokoloft, has 

 used one per cent, solution in a number of cases, 

 successfully. 



Dr. W.m. C- Kloman, of Baltimore, reports to 

 the N. y. Medical .Journal the history of a case of 

 poisoning by illuminating gas — the so-called "water 

 gas." "The poisonous qualities of this gas, as 

 compared to gas made from coal, is shown by the 

 tables of mortality of our Board of Health, which 

 state that prior to January i, i88i, (the gas then 

 being made from coal) there was but one death 

 from poisoning by this gas during the previous fifty 

 years, while since that period, to October i, iSSg, 

 there have been recorded fiftj'-one deaths from 

 poisoning by illuminating gas." He writes, sub- 

 stantially, as follows : 



"On September 4th, 1S89, I was called to see a 

 colored girl, aged 17 years, recently from Virginia, 

 and not familiar with the use of gas. She was found 

 insensible in bed about 5 A. M. The room door 

 and window were closed, the gas stop-cock partially 

 turned on, and the atmosphere of the room filled 

 with escaping gas. Before my arrival she had been 

 removed to an adjoining room, and the windows 

 opened. I found her lying on the floor, — limbs cold 

 and relaxed, no pulse at the wrist, and no sign of 

 life except shallow, stertorous breathing. The eyes 

 were partly open, staring and fixed, intensely con- 

 gested, insensible to touch, and the pupils moder- 

 ately dilated and insensible to light. She was in a 

 profound coma. 



"I at once dissolved a tablet of nitro-glycerine 

 (one-fiftieth of a grain), and injected the solution 

 into the upper arm, and directed her body to be Dr. P. G. Udell, of Spencerport, N. Y., {Medical 

 covered with blankets. In about two minutes the Record), in order to obviate, as far as practicable, 

 pulse could be felt at the wrist, and in five minutes the danger of an abscess following the use of the 

 it was full and strong. Pari passu, the respiratory hypodermic method, carries in his syringe-case two 

 movement deepened, and her limbs began to get small test tubes, nested. The inner one is converted 

 warm. In about fifteen minutes (still unconscious) into a vial by closing the open end with a cork, and 



At the last meeting of the Bristol Medical Asso- 

 ciation, at Leeds, England, Dr. Charles J. Culling- 

 worth delivered an address on " Some Further 

 Applications of Antiseptic Principles in Midwifery 

 Practice," and advocated frequent change, after 

 delivery, to the upright position, in order to prevent 

 the lochia stagnating, the stools and urinary secre- 

 tion being too long retained, and as promoting the 

 contraction of the uterus and abdominal muscles. 

 He regards this plan as an application to midwifery 

 practice of the great antiseptic principle of drainage. 



Dr. I. Cassati reports three cases of traumatic 

 tetanus {Medical Brief) in which he successfully 

 used hypodermics of pilocarpine in heroic doses. 

 The symptoms of tetanus disappeared in a (e\v hours, 

 under the influence of the drug, and there was 

 prompt and complete recovery. 



