554 



NA TURE 



[April 16, 190^ 



Very conspicuous throughout both volumes is the 

 scientific treatment that underlies the descriptions of 

 the substances dealt with. It is this that raises the 

 work above an ordinary handbook for merchants, and 

 places it amongst scientific treatises. It is, in fact, a 

 scientific treatise on the raw materials of the vegetable 

 kingdom. 



Whilst the information given is generally trustworthy, 

 it must be admitted that here and there defects occur. 

 Thus, for instance, the commercial varieties of benzoin 

 are scarcely in accordance with the conditions obtain- 

 ing on the London market at least ; African kino might 

 have received more consideration than it does, whilst 

 Butea kino is comparatively rare ; the botanical source 

 of patchouli leaves is open to question. But these are 

 small matters, and do not appreciably detract from 

 the value of the treatise. 



Prof. Wiesner and his colleagues have undoubtedly 

 supplied a want that has long been felt. They have 

 given to all who are interested in economic products a 

 ready means of obtaining scientific as well as technical 

 information concerning them. Such a work cannot 

 but prove indispensable to many busy men, and as such 

 it can be confidently recommended. 



Henry G. Greenish. 



DISEASES OF THE RESPIRATORY AND 

 CIRCULATORY ORGANS. 



A Manual of Medicine. Edited by W. H. Allchin, 

 M.D., F.R.C.P., Lond. Vol. iv. Diseases of the 

 Respiratory and Circulatory Systems. Pp. xi + 493; 

 illustrations, charts, coloured plates and tables. 

 (London: Macmillan and Co., Ltd., 1902.) Price 

 ys. 6d. net. 



Diseases of the Organs of Respiration. By Samuel 

 West, M.A., M.D., F.R.C.P. In two volumes. 

 Pp. xix + 913; with numerous diagrams and illustra- 

 tions. (London : C. Griffin and Co., Ltd., 1902.) 

 Price il. 10s. net. 



1""HE first book before us is the fourth volume of 

 Dr. Allchin 's " Manual of Medicine," and deals 

 with the diseases of the circulatory and respiratory 

 organs ; as in the other volumes of this manual different 

 sections are dealt with by different writers. It may be 

 said at once that volume iv. is quite up to the high 

 standard already attained by its predecessors, and 

 while being less cumbrous and involved than the 

 larger manuals or systems of medicine, contains all 

 that can, in ordinary circumstances, be required 

 by either the advanced student or the practitioner of 

 medicine ; as in the preceding volumes bibliographies 

 have been suppressed, and references to authors are few 

 and far between. The book suffers, perhaps, from 

 being too condensed, but it is difficult to see how this, 

 without restricting its sphere of usefulness, was to be 

 avoided. 



In the present review it would be impossible to give 



any detailed account of the essays which compose the 



volume. They are written by authors of reputation in 



the subject of which they write, and bear sometimes 



NO. 1746, VOL. 67] 



more, sometimes less marked evidence of individuality. 

 Two essays by Mr. Leonard Hill, one on the general 

 anatomy and physiology of the respiratory system and 

 one on that of the circulatory system, open the re- 

 spective sections of the book. These articles are very 

 condensed but very comprehensive, and occupy approxi- 

 mately one-tenth of the volume. The advisability of 

 including such articles in a book of this kind may be 

 open to question ; if they are included, however, it is 

 certainly well that they should be complete. 



Approximately 300 pages are devoted to the diseases 

 of the respiratory organs ; more than 200 of these are 

 written by Dr. Hector Mackenzie ; in this connection 

 we would draw especial attention to a section on 

 the general symptomatology of diseases of the lower 

 respiratory tract, which is lucidly written and well 

 classified. 



Practically the whole of the section devoted to dis- 

 eases of the circulation is written by Dr. Mitchell 

 Bruce. The author devotes considerable space to the 

 physical examination of the heart and vessels, and to 

 the general symptomatology of cardio-vascular disease. 

 The section devoted to the course and prognosis of 

 heart disease is one of the most valuable in the book, 

 the subject being treated in a very able manner. The 

 public are far too prone to regard morbus cordis from 

 the point of view of prognosis as an entity; the 

 section before us shows how utterly unjustifiable this 

 generalisation is, and how the whole key to the ques- 

 tion of prognosis in heart disease depends upon the 

 way in which the patient's cardio-vascular system 

 reacts to the cardiac lesion, and the life which he is 

 prepared to lead. The treatment of heart disease is 

 fully discussed upon accurate physiological lines, but 

 here we think the author might have entered more fully 

 into the physical methods of treatment, such as mas- 

 sage, exercises, &c, and the effect of these upon the 

 normal and pathological circulation. 



The volume closes with a very interesting essay 

 upon oedema, including under this term dropsy in its 

 general sense. Although much in this chapter is to 

 be found in text-books on general pathology, yet, never- 

 theless, the inclusion of it in the volume before us will 

 doubtless prove of convenience to the reader. 



In conclusion we may say that the volume is 

 thoroughly to be recommended, both to the student 

 and the practitioner, and we have little doubt it will 

 receive at the hands of the medical profession the 

 success it deserves. 



The second work we have before us is one of quite 

 a different character. It is a compendious treatise on 

 diseases of the respiratory organs. Its author, Dr. 

 West, has devoted much time and work to its com- 

 pilation, and the book bears very strongly an individual 

 stamp. Many diseases, and occasionally even different 

 varieties of the same disease, are illustrated by the 

 notes of clinical cases for the most part derived from 

 the practice of the author. It is difficult with the 

 space at our command to draw adequate attention 

 even to special chapters. 



It may be at once said that the book is not suitable 

 for the ordinary student, and will probably find its 



