88 
Varieties. 
f  Am  Jour.  Piiarm. 
X      Feb.,  188-'. 
ble.  Morphine  exercised  no  control  over  the  emesis.  The  mind  of  the 
patients  was  at  no  time  clouded. — LouisviUc  Med.  Nf'w>^^  Nov.  19,  1881. 
Iodoform  Intoxication.— A.  Henry  ("  Centralblatt  fiir  Chirurgie," 
October,  1881),  mentions  two  cases  of  intoxication  with  iodoform,  both  of 
which  terminated  fatally,  with  coma,  aphonia,  paralysis  of  sphincters, 
retracted  abdomen  and  accelerated  pulse.  In  one  case  more  than  100 
grams  of  iodoform  had  been  administered.  The  threatening  symptoms 
appeared  on  the  second  day,  and  death  occurred  on  the  sixth.  In  the 
second  case  the  symptoms  appeared  on  the  ninth  day,  and  death  ensued 
on  the  sixteenth. — Chicago  Med.  Revieiv^  Nov.  20,  1881. 
Arnica  in  Furunculosis.— Dr.  Planat  ("Revue  de  Therapeutique 
Medico-Chirurgicale ")  claims  very  good  results  from  the  use  of  arnica 
paste  in  the  treatment  of  furuncles  of  a  purely  inflammatory  character. 
Arnica,  according  to  him,  aborts  furunclefe  with  great  promptitude,  proba- 
bly by  reason  of  its  action  on  the  vaso-constrictor  nerves  of  the  superficial 
vessels  of  the  skin.  The  inunctions  are  made  with  the  following  mixture : 
Extract  of  fresh  flowers  of  arijica,  two  drachms  and  a  half ;  honey,  five 
drachms.  If  this  mixture  prove  to  be  too  liquid,  a  small  (quantity  of  l^'^co- 
podium  should  be  added  to  it,  to  render  it  sufficiently  adhesive.  This  jDaste 
is  spread  in  moderate  thickness  on  waxed  linen  or  on  diachylon  plaster 
and  applied  to  the  furuncle.  The  dressing  should  be  renewed  every  twenty- 
four  hours.  Two  or  three  applications  generally  suffice  to  abort  furuncles. 
Occasionally,  when  due  to  diathetic  conditions,  internal  treatment  will  be 
rendered  somewhat  necessary. — Chicago  Med.  Beview,  Nov.  5,  1881. 
The  Disadvantages  of  Cod-Liver  Oil  for  Young  Children. — 
According  to  the  "Revue  Medicate,"  the  Council  of  Public  Health  has 
recently  submitted  for  the  sanction  of  the  Academy  of  Medicine  of  Paris  a 
report  on  the  disadvantages  of  cod-liver  oil  administered  to  infants  and 
young  children.  The  commission  on  the  hygiene  of  infancy  has  not  yet 
reported  its  opinion  on  this  subject ;  but  the  accusations  brought  against 
this  medicine  by  the  Council  of  H3^giene  are  worth  notice.  All  physicians 
are  aware  what  disastrous  influence  is  exercised  on  the  health  of  young- 
infants  by  defective  alimentation,  and  especially  animal  nourishment ; 
fatty  matters  are  as  little  suited  to  the  alimentation  of  newly-born  infants 
as  albuminoids,  excepting  always  casein,  which  exists  normally  in  milk, 
and  is  found  to  be  perfectly  assimilable.  In  fact,  in  the  first  period  of  life, 
the  juices  necessary  for  emulsifying  fatty  matters  are  almost  entirel3''  want- 
ing. The  liver,  in  spite  of  its  enormous  development  in  this  stage  of  exist- 
ence, secretes  only  a  small  quantity  of  bile  ;  and  the  researches  of  Langen- 
dorf  and  Zweifel  have  proved  that,  in  young  children,  pancreatic  juices 
possess  an  emulsive  power  which  is  almost  nil,  or,  at  least,  very  slightly 
marked.  These  physiological  considerations  sufficiently  indicate  that — 
far  from  being  profitable  to  the  infant — fatty  matters,  and  esi:)ecially  cod- 
liver  oil,  can  only  injure  its  health,  and  gravely  compromise  the  integrity 
of  its  digestive  functions. — British  Medical  Journal ;  Cine.  Lancet  and 
Clinic,  Nov.  26. 
