114 



SCIEMGE. 



[Vol. VIII, No. 183 



conversation. The pronunciation of sounds not 

 involving the lips, as a and s, was not interfered 

 with. The case was regarded as one of the pro- 

 fessional neuroses, arising from the too constant 

 use of very specialized and delicate muscles, of 

 which writer's cramp is the best-known type. In 

 addition to the usual features of such a cramp, 

 there were present subjective symptoms of a de- 

 pressive, melancholic nature. In the minds of 

 some of the members the case was strongly sug- 

 gestive of a facial hemiparesis. 



Dr. Wilder exhibited a frog from which the 

 cerebral lobes had been removed on the 9th of last 

 December, and which was in good healthy condi- 

 tion. In fact. Dr. Wilder could not see why such 

 a frog should not live on indefinitely ; he was 

 freed from all wear and tear on his nervous sys- 

 tem, was liberally fed, and was, in short, a liv- 

 ing automaton. The frog behaved quite like 

 those in the experiments of Professor Golz of 

 Strassburg : and was presented only to show how 

 long such an animal could be kept alive. Dr. 

 Wilder used the occasion to record a few observa- 

 tions which might be new, and to suggest some 

 further inquiries. Spontaneous movements were 

 noticed every few hours. At times the frog was 

 observed to wink with one eye only, A curious 

 observation was that of the simultaneous perform- 

 ance of opposite reflexes. When a minnow was 

 forced down the frog's mouth, it was swallowed 

 by the reflex irritation of tiie head of the oeso- 

 phagus, and at the same time the other end 

 of the minnow was still twitching in the 

 mouth and hanging out ; the frog would attempt 

 to remove the minnow with his leg, and swallow 

 at the same time. Dr. Wilder asked whether 

 such frogs sleep, whether they were capable of 

 sensory education, whether they could breed, and 

 so on. 



Dr. Wharton Sinkler of Philadelphia described 

 the treatment of a case of facial spasm in which, 

 after various attempts at relief, the nerve was 

 stretched, with the result of doing away with the 

 spasm but leaving a paralysis after the operation. 

 Similar cases were also referred to. 



Dr. Wilder exhibited the head of a murderer 

 cut in the median plane and showing the position 

 of the brain in the skull, as well as other points. 

 The preparation, which was unusually successful, 

 was exhibited in order to describe the method of 

 preparing it. After washing out the blood-vessels 

 with a five per cent solution of chlorohydrate, a 

 continuous injection of alcohol at first 65 per cent 

 strong and gradually rising to a 94 per cent solu- 

 tion was kept up for a Aveek. The injection was 

 done under a high pressure, and the alcohol cooled 

 to a temperature of about lO'' C. by passage 



through an ice chest. The head was then im- 

 bedded in plaster of Paris and firmly fixed so that 

 the saw would pass directly, through the median 

 plane. 



Dr. Lloyd read a paper on moral insanity, in 

 which he held the view that the name was a mis- 

 nomer, that the physician had only to deal with 

 disorders of the functions of the cerebral mass, 

 and that moral insanity was only a form of intel- 

 lectual insanity. The paper also criticised the 

 psychologists who neglect physiological considera- 

 tions, and cautioned physicians from falling into 

 the mistakes of metaphysicians by creating ab- 

 stract entities and treating them as real things. 

 The 23aper aroused considerable discussion. 



Among the papers presented were the follow- 

 ing : Dr. Sarah J. McNutt of New York read a 

 note on the case of an infant with multiple 

 tumors of the cerebrum. Dr. G. Betton Massey ex- 

 hibited diagrams designed to show by the graphic 

 method the significance of Ohm's law ; and also 

 read a paper on the ' Cause of electrotonus and 

 of the normal formula of polar reactions.' Dr. 

 Wilder pi-esented some notes on the brain, the 

 first of which related to a new fissural integer 

 which he would call the 'parocipital.' The next 

 was devoted to the demonstration of an ental 

 ridge corresponding with the occipital fissure ; 

 while the third referred to the appearance of a 

 horizontal section through the foetal brain in 

 man. Dr. C. L. Dana of New^ York considered 

 some cases of pseudo-tabes from arsenical poison- 

 ing. Dr. Fisher presented some remarks on 

 ei^ilepsy, in which he inclined to the view that 

 the disease was organic rather than functional. 

 Dr. Sachs described a case of right hemiphlegia 

 with aphasia in a child of two and a half years. 

 Dr. V. P. Gibney of New York recorded a case 

 of pseudo-hypertrophic paralysis, in which the 

 microscopic examination of the spinal cord re- 

 vealed changes in the anterior horns consisting in 

 a diminution and loss of processes of the cells, 

 especially in the dorsal and lumbar regions. The 

 importance of the observation consists in the fact 

 that such changes have been looked for in many 

 cases, but none could be found. The propositions 

 were demonstrated by Dr. Amidon. 



Papers by Dr. Gibney and Dr. Dercum were 

 announced but not read. A photograph of a 

 microcephalic girl was received from Dr. Forel of 

 Switzerland and ordered to be reproduced and 

 published. A letter from the late Dr. Gudden 

 was also read. 



It was decided to meet at Washington in June of 

 next year. Dr. Gray of Brooklyn was elected 

 president, and Dr. Hammond of New York secre- 

 tary, for the coming meeting. The meeting at 



