TRANSACTIONS OF SECTION D. — DEPT. ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY. 725 



attended the labours of conscientious observers. It may be worth while to put on 

 record a case which, although it terminated fatally, presents many points of physio- 

 logical interest. 



A. B. stated that for the last ten or twelve years he had suffered from bron- 

 chitis in the winter, but had never had hfemoptysis. The present illness, dated 

 from two years ago, when he noticed frequent micturition, with increased quantity, 

 and very ravenous appetite. These symptoms were accompanied by much loss of 

 flesh, thirst, and coldness of the extremities. He stated that the urinary secretion 

 averaged five or si.i pints daily, but had risen to nine pints. It tasted sweet at 

 times, and at others bitter ; in the latter case being very dark in colour. He 

 knew of no cause for the illness, and entirely denied any fright, mental shock, or 

 anxiety. 



He was an intelhgent man, by trade a surgical instrument maker, a fact which 

 was of service in the use of galvanism. The skin was dry and rough ; the eye- 

 sight dim, with occasional double vision. The pulse 68, rather weak. The 

 heart-soimds were normal. The chest showed the usual signs of emphysema, with 

 effacement of the cardiac dulness. The liver was, for the same reason, somewhat 

 pushed downwards, but not enlarged, tender, or altered in resistance. The tongue 

 was clean. The urine amounted to 73 oz., with a sp. gr. of 1-040. The tempera- 

 ture was throughout slightly subnormal, 97°-98°. 



He was in the habit of taking crude opium in 2-gr. doses, twice or thrice 

 daily, and at first expressed a strong cra\Tng for the drug. He was ordered codeia 

 gr. ij, ter die, which gave him considerable relief and enabled him, of his own 

 accord, to discontinue the opium. His chief complaint at this time was of failing 

 eyesight. 



The ophthalmoscope gave negative results, and there was no sign of cataract. 

 There was well-marked central scotoma to colours, and the case resembled tobacco 

 amblyopia, possibly accelerated by ill-health. During the first week the urine 

 averaged 84 oz. daily, and contained, on quantitative examination, about 5 oz. of 

 sugar. The treatment consisted solely of the codeia named above, which was 

 afterwards replaced by a lemonade made with acid phosph. dil. sweetened with 

 glycerine, and flavoured with lemons. 



The improvement noted at flrst was not maintamed, and the codeia was 

 resumed, but the quantity of urine rose to 102 oz., to 139 oz., and ultimately to 

 150 oz. vnth a specific gravity of 1-040. The falling off in condition was so ob- 

 vious that the lungs were again carefully examined, with a view to detect signs of 

 latent phthisis, which were not, however, found. 



He remained very ill during the month, and his weight sank to 8 st. 2^ lb. 

 The urine was 160 oz., and shortly after it rose to the highest quantity recorded, 

 viz. 170 oz., with an occasional sp. gr. of 1-045. 



Seeing the threatening nature of the symptoms and the total ineffectuality of 

 treatment, the use of the continued current to the head was suggested. It was 

 decided to employ an ascending current from the nape of the neck to the forehead ; 

 the negative pole being placed in the former region, the positive in the latter. 

 The current was of 1,500 micro-vebers in strength, and was at first continued for 

 seven minutes. It gave him no imeasiness, and he thought himself temporarily 

 better after it. It was from the first obvious that the action of electricity in a 

 case of depraved nutrition, probably due to disorder of the organic nervous centre, 

 should not be merely stimulant and occasional, but catalytic and constant. The 

 patient himself was therefore entrusted with a powerful bichromate battery of thirty 

 cells, and directed to use the strongest current he could bear with comfort, as 

 above described, twice or thrice a day. All kinds of mechanical contact-makers 

 and commutators were discarded, and the battery, instead of being screwed up in 

 a French-polished box, was ranged in three sets of ten cells on the ward table. 

 A simple binding-screw was attached to the required cell. It was thus easy to 

 see what was being done, and impossible to err as to the real direction of the 

 current. On electrical measurement, the strongest current lie could bear, from 

 nape to forehead, was found to be one of 10,000 micro-vebers. But a more 

 moderate current of 1,800 micro-vebers was begun with and increased to 2,000 



