1803.] 
one years of age. The firft nucleus ap- 
peared in the foffa navicularis, the original 
eaule of which was a contraction of the 
prepuce, a kind of natural phimofis, 
which, at the period of the operation, 
hardly admitted the head of a pin, with 
which the patient removed, the calculi, 
which obftruéted the flow of urine, and 
produced confiderable pain. It was about 
this original nucleus that the reft were 
formed, and which, by their fize, had en- 
_ tirely disfigured the glans, fo as to give it 
the appearance of a fecond bladder. 
Three principal calculiarticulated together, 
nearly 0.60 in length, and 0.40 in diame- 
ter, formed the parietes of this kind of 
quarry, and in the cavity of which floated 
the others, polifhed and cut into furfaces 
of different fize and form. ‘To extragt 
thefe calculi, it-was only neceffary to open 
the gland, which was then a membrane. 
Citizen Dumeril, from a variety of obvious 
confiderations, extracted thefe calculi 
through an incifion on the back of the pe- 
nis ; the inner furface of the fack refembled 
a mulberry, and in the anfractuofities of 
which a variety of (mallftones were lodged. 
The fack contracted, and ina few days 
the gland put on its natural: appearance. 
The ftones are depofited in. the colleétion 
of the School of Medicine. 
Notice of a peculiar kind of leech, fwal- 
lowed and fiopped in different parts of 
the throat. By C. Lanregy, Ext. from 
Tranf. of Soc. Philom. 
The worms which are the fubject of 
this obfervation, live in pools of muddy 
water, in the ‘middle of thofe deferts 
which feparate Egypt from Syria, and of 
thofe on the confines of Lybia.. They 
have the form of a horfe’s hair, and fome 
lines only in length ; but, filled with 
blood, they become the fize of an ordinary 
leech, When the French army entered 
this country, the foidiers, preffed by 
thir, threw themfelves on their mouth 
and nofe, and drank greedily of this wa- 
ter; many of them felt immediately ftings 
or prickling psins in the pofterior fauces, 
“followed by frequent cough, glary fpittle 
lightly tinged with blood, a difoofition to 
vomit, a difficulty of fwallowing, labo- 
rious refpiration, and fharp pains in the 
cheft: the patient loft his appetite and reit, 
became then uneafy and agitated, and if 
the complaint was not relieved, he fell a 
victim. The firft perfon attacked thus, 
befide thefe fymptoms, had loft much 
blood. On coming into the hofpital, Ci- 
tizen Larrey, on prefling down the tongue 
with a fpoon, perceived the leech, which 
was of the fize of the {mall finger: he in- 
troduced a fimall forceps to lay hold of it ; 
Monrary Mac, No. 97, 
Proceedings of Learned Societies. 73 
but on the firft touch it contracted, and 
placed itfelf behind the wvelum pendulum 
patlati: as foon as it had refumed its for- 
mer pofition, he feized it with a polypus 
forceps; the confequerit hemorrhage 
foon ceafed, and the foldier was perfectly 
well ina few days. About twenty fol- 
diers were attacked in the fame, way on 
the march of the army from Syria to Bel- 
bec: gargles of vinegar and falt-water 
were fufficient to detach fuch of thefe ani- 
mals as placed themielves conftantly in the 
potterior fauces ; fumigations of tobacco 
and the polypus forceps, were neceffary in 
fome cafes. The Chief of Brigade, La- 
tour-Maubourg, commander of the 22d 
regiment of chafleurs, {wallowed two in 
the deferts of St. Makaine, a day’s journey 
from the Pyramids ; they reduced him to 
the laft ftate of emaciation and weaknefs ; 
and even after detaching thefe animals, 
the convalefcence was long‘ and difficult. 
Citizen Larrey gives many other cafes of 
the fame kind in the Memoir from which 
this extract is taken. He recommends 
travellers through thefe deferts, who fhould 
be obliged to drink this water, and in 
which the prefence of thefe animals is to 
be apprehended, to ftrain it through a 
thick and clofe cloth, and to add fome 
drops of any acid. 
A very ‘curious, and, if true, a moft im- 
portant ta&t, has been reported to the Gal- 
vanic Society, namely, that the fibrine of 
the blood is fenfible to Galvanic irritation, 
and its contraction becomes apparent on 
the application of this fluid. If this fa& 
fhould be afcertained by fubfequent expe- 
rience, notice thereof fhall be given; as 
well as of any other progrefs made in this 
branch of fcience. 
New Work.—An Effay on the Art of 
obferving and making Experiments, by 
Senebier, 3 vols. 8vo. Geneva. In 1774, 
C. Senebier, publifhed the firft edition of 
this work, After twenty. five years of la- 
bour in phyfical fcience, he offers the fe- 
cond, which he ftill entitlesan Effay.— 
The plan is not changed in this edition ; 
the author, having enumerated the quali- 
ties which an obferver fhould poile(s, exa- 
-mines what he fhould do while he obferves 
the phenomena which Nature prefents fo 
his view, and the manner in which he 
fhould interpret thefe phenomena, fo as to 
render an account of what he had obferv- 
‘ed. One part of this work is entirely 
new, namely, where the author treats of 
the mode of making experiments 3 a fub- 
ject of great and evident importance in the 
prefent ftate of phyfical {cience. He con- 
cludes his work by an application of his 
principles to the ftudy at letters and arts 
K : bral The 
