October 7, 1921] 



SCIENCE 



333 



on the suture of nerves by certain Americans, 

 especially Hober, Dean Lewis and Frazier. 



Military Surgery of the Vascular System 

 by Matas is a scholarly contribution. It is 

 a pity that much of it is in fine print. In 

 the treatment of gunshot wounds of the large 

 vessels Matas defends the opinion so long 

 held by him that when possible large blood 

 vessels should be sutured and not ligated. 



Surgery of the Head, previously con- 

 tributed by Gushing, has been written for 

 Volume VIII. by ISTeuhoff. It is a splendid 

 resume of the subject but no mention is made 

 of Frazier's method of osteoplastic repair of 

 cranial defects. 



The Relation of the Dental Surgeon to the 

 Treatment of Fractures of the Jaw is de- 

 scribed by Darcissae of Paris. 



Chevalier Jackson's contribution upon La- 

 ryngoscopy, Bronchoscopy and Esophagoseopy 

 is a monument to the technical achievements 

 and teaching ability of this great man. 



Surgery of the Thorax by Heuer of Balti- 

 more is a scolarly contribution occupying 80 

 pages and referring to 118 literary contribu- 

 tions. The enormous progress made in the 

 surgery of the thorax during the war could 

 scarcely be recorded in less space than this. 

 The compliment paid to one of the younger 

 surgeons of America by including him among 

 the list of authors is amply justified by his 

 contribution to the system. 



Orile's chapter on Surgery of the Abdomen 

 and Pelvis is a concise one-man contribu- 

 tion. 



There is a short chapter by Mayo and Bal- 

 four on Surgery of the Gall Bladder and the 

 Biliary Ducts, which deals principally with 

 injuries and repair of the hepatic ducts. 



Deaver and PfeifEer have taken the place 

 of the lamented Murphy in discussing ap- 

 pendicitis. The chapter is a short statement 

 of Deaver's personal opinions based upon the 

 experience that this surgeon has had with 

 the disease. It is a great comfort to learn 

 on page 44.3 that he is finally converted to the 

 belief that morphine may be useful " to in- 

 duce sleep if necessary, as well as to allay 

 anxiety." The case report on page 441 also 



indicates that he has seen some cases of ap- 

 pendictis with peritonitis in which it is wise 

 to delay operation. His remarks on the 

 abuse of purgatives on page 449 should be 

 widely read by general practitioners. 



The chapter on the Bladder and Ureters 

 by Bransford Lewis is well illustrated by 

 pictures of the many instruments devised by 

 the author and the text of the subject is 

 brought up to date. 



Surgery of the Prostate by Hugh Young 

 occupies Y6 pages and includes a description 

 of the operation recently devised for the cure 

 of recto-urethral fistula. 



Physiotherapy in Surgical Treatment has 

 made enormous advances as a result of the 

 war and has come to be thoroughly appreci- 

 ated. This chapter by McKenzie is an 

 admirable presentation of the subject in its 

 practical value to surgeons in civil life. 



Four chapters are devoted to the diagnostic 

 and therapeutic usefulness of various biologic 

 sera and vaccines and chemieo-tlierapy in 

 surgical diseases; the status of radium in 

 surgery; the diagnostic and therapeutic uses 

 of the X-ray; and electro-desiccation and 

 electro-coagulation methods in surgery. It is 

 a question if it would not be more satis- 

 factory to include the essentials of this knowl- 

 edge in their proper place in studying diseases 

 for which they are employed rather than in 

 separate chapters. 



The Surgery of the Infectious Diseases by 

 George E. Armstrong, is a very practical 

 chapter. The work by Keen many years ago 

 in calling attention to the great frequency of 

 surgical complications during typhoid fever 

 has been of inestimable service in saving lives 

 through the recognition and cure of surgical 

 complications of the disease. The recent 

 epidemic of influenza and the experiences in 

 the camps with epidemics of measles, mumps 

 and pneumonia have shown the great im- 

 portance of being constantly on the lookout 

 for surgical complications of affections hither- 

 to regarded as purely medical. 



The chapters dealing with ether and nitrous 

 oxide ansesthesia have been rewritten. Har- 

 ris's supplemental chapter on local anaesthesia 



