270 



SCIENCE GOSSIP. 



false joint, or other imper- 

 fect result, the exact state 

 of affairs can, with one or 

 two exceptions, be readily 

 found out by a radiograph. 

 A similar remark applies 

 to a stiff joint after disloca- 

 tion or other injury. In all 

 these cases important indica- 

 tions may be gained as to 

 the best form of treatment, 

 whether by resection, wiring, 

 refracture, &c. 



Dr. Walsh, in the above 

 referred-lo book, sums up 

 very well the advantages de- 

 rived from the radiographical 

 method of examining bone 

 injuries. He says: "In 

 dealing with bone injuries 

 successful radiography, com- 

 pared with previous methods, 

 offers the following advan- 

 tages : it substitutes speed, 

 accuracy, and finality for 

 delay and doubt ; it affords 

 exact evidence that may 

 confirm or modify the dia- 

 gnosis of the surgeon ; it may 

 furnish both grounds for 

 prognosis and hints for treat- 

 ment ; it may save the 

 patient the pain of useless 

 and perhaps dangerous ma- 

 nipulations, as well as the 

 shock of anresthetics ; it pro- 

 vides a permanent record of 

 the precise nature of an in- 

 jury; it may prove a safe- 

 guard for the patient and for 

 his medical attendant, both 

 in the present and in the 

 future ; and, lastly, it --can 

 hardly fail to be of value for 

 teaching purposes." 



Additional illustrations of 

 fractures will be given next 

 month, showing further in- 

 stances of the value of these 

 radiograms. (1.) 



(I.) Messrs. Isenthal, Potz- 

 ler, & Co., of Mortimer 

 Street, London, W., have 

 kindly lent the picture of fig. 

 23, and we are indebted to 

 the kindness of Mr. A. C. 

 Cossor, of Farringdon Road, 

 E.C., for the loan of the 

 print from which the illus- 

 tration of fig. 24 has been 

 taken. 



Fig. 24. The Fractured Leg of Holocauste, the Dekuy Horse of 18 



