504 . 
RESULTS OF LIGATURE OF THE (ESOPHAGUS. 
privilege of placing their faith in homoeopathy, hydropathy, 
Coffinism, or any e new light* that may from time to time 
illumine the simple-minded. It was on behalf of these 
amateur modes of practice that the following proviso was 
introduced into the section relating to the erasure of the 
names of members from the register : 6 Provided always, 
that the name of no person shall be erased from the 
register on the ground of his having adopted any theory of 
medicine or surgery/ ” — Pharmaceutical Journal, 
WHAT ARE THE RESULTS OP LIGATURE OE THE 
(ESOPHAGUS P 
The French Academy of Medicine is waging great dis- 
cussion respecting ligature of the oesophagus : is it a mild or 
a deadly operation ? Orfila, our elder readers will remember, 
was wont to make animals swallow various matters that he 
might judge of their effects, and having got these matters 
fairly into their stomachs, he would tie the oesophagus of the 
animals, and then observe results philosophically. He con- 
cluded from such observations, amongst other things, that 
nitrate of bismuth, and some other tolerably innocuous salts, 
were poisons, because he found the animals died after the 
introduction of them into their stomachs. Hereupon rose up 
other philosophers, who averred that in this affair Orfila had 
not altogether taken care to separate the post hoc from the 
propter hoc ; the sequence and the antecedent from the cause 
and its effects; in fact, they said that the animals, in such 
cases, died not from the effects of the so-called poison, but 
from the effects of the operation — the ligature of the oeso- 
phagus. But, answered Orfila, this is not correct, for when 
the animals are dead, I find no organic lesions. 
More recent observers, however, with keener eyes, do find 
organic lesions ; but still M. Trousseau declares that the 
operation is not necessarily one of extreme gravity. The dis- 
pute, like so many others, does not after all appear to be very 
necessary ; for both parties are, in appearance, of one mind, 
aufond, “M. Bouley,” says M. Trousseau, “differs from the 
report only, as to the degree of danger of ligature of the 
oesophagus. He says, it is an operation of extreme gravity ; 
we sajq it is an operation which may become one of serious 
character/ ; This is certainly rather a hair-splitting dis- 
cussion, both parties meaning much the same thing. It 
appears that a good deal depends upon the degree of 
