282 



SCIENCE. 



[Vol. X. No. 253 



the civilized female is developed through the constricting influence of 

 dress around the abdomen. This is markedly shown in the greater 

 prominence of the costal movements in those girls who were either 

 one-half or three-fourths white, and who were hence dominated to 

 a greater or less extent by the influence of civilized blood. ... It 

 is also evident that the costal type of respiration in the civilized fe- 

 male is not due to the influence of gestation." 



Long-continued compression, by the corset, of the wall of the 

 abdomen in the epigastric and hypochondriac regions, gradually 

 brings about a thinning of its adipose layer. Below the ring of 

 constriction the fat accumulates. The woman who abhors ' a 

 stomach ' yet adopts the most effective means of cultivating one. 

 Flabby, old, or obese persons are especially prone to pile up panni- 

 culus adiposus below the navel. Many stout young men in good 

 condition have been examined, and not one has been found in whom 

 this tendency is evident. On the contrary, the fatty layer above the 

 umbilicus is usually thicker than that below it. These men wear sus- 

 penders. In eleven healthy women below thirty who have 'been in 

 the habit of wearing corsets (of varying degrees of tightness) the 

 fat below the navel has always been found to be more than twice 

 as thick as that above, while one to three is no uncommon ratio. 

 That this is not normal is proved by the fact that in two teachers 

 of gymnastics measured for me by Dr. Mosher the fatty layer was 

 thicker above. With a corset that is ' quite tight,' but not so tight 

 as the patient "could bear it, as in a new dress or at a ball," the 

 displacement of the uterus is a third of an inch. The distance 

 seems insignificant, and may only be considered of importance in 

 view of the following facts : ist. That this is almost the deepest 

 position to which the structures can be forced by straining down ; 

 2d, That the long-continued action of the depressing force is ex- 

 erted during the period of growth ; 3d, In view of the results likely 

 to ensue in case of weakened and enfeebled supports, in case of in- 

 creased size and weight of the uterus (normally present during 

 menstruation), and in case of incipient displacement ; it naturally 

 follows, 4th, That this forcing downward is sufficient to render the 

 uterine supports tense (be they ligament, ' column,' or pelvic sur- 

 roundings in totd), and that in their taut condition any extra or 

 added stress, like deep breathing, or exertion, or bending, might 

 well be enough to each time slightly overstrain these stretched sup- 

 ports. Slowly and steadily as this force acts, yielding must in 

 time occur. In fact, Engel states that in every one of thirty autop- 

 sies in which evidences of tight lacing were found, prolapsus of the 

 uterus was present in some degree, except where adhesions had 

 prevented it. Will not this account in part for the uterine troubles 

 of women supposed to be due to many of their sendentary occupa- 

 tions, such as sewing-machine work.' The man bending forward 

 relaxes his abdominal wall, and enormously lowers his intra-abdom- 

 inal pressure by so doing (Schatz), but the corseted female, who 

 writes or sews, produces the opposite effect. The earlier corsets 

 are worn, the more the liver would be affected, since it is propor- 

 tionately much larger in the child than in the adult. Previous to 

 puberty its weight may be as much as one-thirtieth, or even one- 

 twentieth, of that of the entire body : in the adult it averages one- 

 fortieth. "The practice of tight lacing," says IMurchison, "may 

 cause displacements and malformations of the liver, which may 

 simulate enlargement, and which are of considerable importance in 

 diagnosis. Tight lacing may act on the liver in three ways, — ac- 

 cording to the situation, the tightness, and the duration of the con- 

 stricting cause, {a) The liver may be displaced upward or down- 

 ward, according as the pressure is applied below or above. The 

 precise situation where the pressure is applied will vary with the 

 prevailing fashion of dress ; but most commonly in this country the 

 displacement is downward, and this may be to such an extent that 

 the lower margin reaches the ilium, and the liver appears to fill up the 

 whole of the right side and front of the abdomen. [Frerichs and 

 other writers speak of this amount of change in location], {b) In 

 consequence of lateral compression the liver may be elongated in 

 its vertical diameter so that a larger portion of it is brought into 

 apposition with the abdominal and thoracic walls. This is a very 

 common result of tight lacing, (c) When the pressure is exerted 

 by a tight cord, it may produce deep fissures in the substance of 

 the liver, as the result of which, portions of the organ may be more 

 or less detached, and may even be felt as movable tumors through 



the abdominal parietes. Apparent enlargements of the liver from 

 tight lacing are far more common than is generally believed." 



If, from the testimony of these five observers, — Braun, Corbin, 

 Engel, Frerichs, and Murchison, — the extreme mobility of the liver 

 has been proved, although we grant that these extremes result from 

 tight lacing, are we not justified in believing that even a loosely ad- 

 justed corset must definitely displace so mobile an organ ? The 

 difference between the loosest corset and the tightest is less than 

 might be imagined. Dr. Dickinson has not been able to double the 

 pressure on requesting a patient to lace her loose corset to the ut- 

 most she could bear. 



Engel found the stomach displaced in the following remarkable 

 manner. It was shoved to the left. Its long axis, from a horizon- 

 tal or oblique direction, was changed to a vertical, so that the lesser 

 curvature ran down directly to the left of the spinal column. The 

 pyloric end was depressed as far as the fourth lumbar vertebra. 

 Constriction not unlike the liver-furrow was occasionally met with, 

 but without pathological changes in the walls. The pancreas may 

 be dragged down to a perpendicular position on the face of the 

 vertebral column, reaching down to the promontory. These were 

 extreme cases, of course. 



A few of the most palpable changes brought about by corset- 

 pressure have thus been briefly described. There are many others 

 as much more important as they are more subtle and difficult of 

 proof, such as the disturbances of abdominal circulation, the effect 

 on digestion, the limitation of exercise, and the slowly increasing 

 action on the general health. 



The conclusions reached by the author of this interesting paper, 

 are: i. The maximum pressure at any one point was 1.625 pound 

 to the square inch. This was during inspiration. The maximum in 

 quiet breathing was over the sixth and seventh cartilages, and was 

 0.625 of a pound. 2. The estimated total pressure of the corset 

 varies between thirty and eighty pounds, — in a loose corset 

 about thirty-five pounds, in a tight corset sixty-five pounds. 3. 

 Within half a minute after hooking the corset, such an adjustment 

 occurs that a distinct fall in pressure results. 4. The circumference 

 of the waist is no criterion of tightness. The difference between 

 the waist-measure with and without corsets gives no direct clew 

 either to the number of pounds pressure or to the diminution in 

 vital capacity. Relaxation and habit seem to affect these factors 

 largely. 5. The capacity for expansion of the chest was found to 

 be restricted one-fifth when the corset was on. 6. The thoracic 

 character of the breathing in women is largely due to corset-wear- 

 ing. 7. The thoracic cavity is less affected by the corset than the 

 abdominal. 8. The abdominal wall is thinned and weakened by 

 the pressure of stays. 9. The liver suffers more direct pressure, 

 and is more frequently displaced, than any other organ. 10. The 

 pelvic floor is bulged downward by tight lacing one-third of an 

 inch (0.9 cm). 



BOOK-REVIEWS. 



The Study of History in Ainerican Colleges and Universities. By 

 Herbert B. Adams, Ph.D. Washington, Government. 8°. 



The Stiidy of History in Engla}id and Scotland. By Paul 

 Fredericq. Baltimore, Johns Hopkins University. 8°. 



By a pleasant coincidence these two volumes reach us together, 

 and they have a great and reciprocal interest. When Dr. Adams 

 comes to look over the present series of his Studies, we believe that 

 he will find it the most interesting, and perhaps the most valuable, 

 of all. It will be remembered, that, after half of the series had 

 been devoted to studies of local government, a pleasant essay on a 

 recondite subject in the political history of the United States was 

 introduced, and that this was followed by Dr. Adams's own contri- 

 bution on the literature of charities. The present paper, which is 

 translated from the French by Miss Henrietta Leonard, is the re- 

 port on the study of history in England and Scotland, which was 

 prepared by Professor Fredericq at the invitation of the Belgian 

 minister of public instruction. The report is very complete, and 

 the author seems to have spared no pains to gather all the informa- 

 tion available. Courses of study and examination-papers have been 

 drawn upon ad libitufn. 



