520 
Varieties. 
f  Am.  Jotm.  Pharm. 
I      Nov.  l;  1872. 
sented  no  contra-indications  to  the  use  of  the  remedy.  One  had  taken  the 
chloral  at  night  for  four  evenings  in  succession.  On  the  fifth  evening,  after 
taking  it,  the  respiration  and  circulation  at  once  ceased.  The  necropsy  showed 
anaemia  of  the  brain,  acute  oedema  of  the  lungs,  hyperemia  of  the  abdominal 
organs,  a  perfectly  healthy  heart  and  vessels,  and  dark  fluid  blood.  In  the 
other  case  chloral  had  been  given  twelve  days  in  succession,  with  the  effect  of 
producing  sleep  after  a  short  stage  of  excitement.  On  the  thirteenth  day  the 
patient  died,  after  some  stertorous  breathing,  a  quarter  of  an  hour  after  the 
dose.  There  was  here  found  moderate  oedema  of  the  lungs;  blood  was  fluid, 
but  normally  distributed  ;  the  heart  was  large  and  flabby,  and  its  muscular 
structure  was  pale,  but  not  friable.— Med.  Record — Naslw.  Journ.  Med.  and 
Surg.,  Sept.,  1872. 
Inhalations  of  Bromine  in  Diphtheria  and  Croup. — By  Dr.  Schutz. — The  fact 
that  diptheritic  membranes  are  more  readily  soluble  in  a  solution  of  bromide  of 
potassium  than  in  lime-water,  or  other  substances  usually  employed  in  the  treat- 
ment of  diphtheria,  induced  the  writer,  some  years  ago,  to  adopt  inhalations  of 
bromine  in  the  treatment  of  this  disease.  His  success  therewith  has  been  so 
good  that  he  again,  in  some  recent  numbers  of  the  "  Wiener  Med.  Wochen- 
schrift,"  urgently  commends  it  to  the  notice  of  the  profession.  He  advises 
the  use  of  a  solution  of  pure  bromine  aud  bromide  of  potassium,  each  three- 
tenths  of  a  gramme,  to  water  150  grammes.  A  sponge  is  soaked  in  this  solu- 
tion, placed  in  a  tunnel  of  stiff  paper,  and  held  over  the  nose  and  mouth  for 
inhalation,  just  as  is  done  with  ether  or  chloroform,  the  inhalation  being  con- 
tinued for  five  or  ten  minutes,  and  repeated  every  half-hour  or  hour.  The  odor 
of  bromine,  as  diluted,  is  very  well  borne  even  by  infants.  The  preparation 
being  highly  volatile  and  decomposed  by  light,  must  be  guarded  accordingly. 
— Kansas  City  Med.  Journ.,  Aug.,  1872,  from  Allg.  Med.  Central- Zeitung. 
The  Action  of  Pepsin  on  Blood  Fibrin. — Dr.  V.  Willich  contributes  a  long 
paper  to  Pfliiger's  "Archiv  "  ("  The  Lancet,"  May  25,  1872)  on  the  ferments 
effecting  the  digestion  of  fibrin.  The  digestive  fluid  he  employed  was  the  fresh 
glycerin  extract  of  the  minced  mucous  membrane  of  the  stomach  of  the  pig. 
The  fibrin  was  obtained  from  fresh  blood.  This  was  macerated  in  a  solution 
of  hydrochloric  acid,  containing  0  2  per  cent.  From  the  results  of  his  experi- 
ments it  appears  that  fibrin  absorbs  pepsin  very  energetically  ;  that  the  pro- 
cess of  digestion  commences  with  the  formation  of  a  feeble  chemical  combina- 
tion between  the  pepsin  and  the  acid,  and  that  this  compound  is  the  really 
active  substance.  In  regard  to  temperature,  digestion  proceeds  slowly,  even 
at  40°  Fahr.,  but  with  the  greatest  rapidity  and  energy  at  temperatures  be. 
tween  95°  and  112°  Fahr.  Higher  temperatures  than  this  retarded  or  alto- 
gether prevented  the  action.  For  the  digestion  of  a  certain  quantity  of  fibrin, 
definite  quantities  both  of  acid  and  of  pepsin  are  requisite.  Meissner's  para- 
peptones  and  metapeptones  are  initiatory  stages  of  the  action  of  pepsin  on 
fibrin,  and,  if  the  action  proceeds,  are  converted  into  peptone;  but  if  the 
amount  of  pepsin  be  insufficient,  they  may  remain  unaltered. — Phila.  Med. 
Times,  Aug.  1,  1872. 
