joint. The patient moved about well and was tolerably free from pain, but was soon tired. It was possible from the first to make the diagnosis of neuropathic affection of the joint in this case. Drs. Remark and Mendel agreed in this diagnosis later. Dr. Wolff made the othorectomy of the knee-joint the beginning of July last year. He found 150 grams of a bloody serous fluid, numerous cartilaginous bodies, and, in the posterior inter-condyloid fossa, a piece of bone the size of a walnut, which was disconnected with the surface of the joint. The synovial membrane was sown with granulations and articular villi. The surface of the tibia was nowhere covered with cartilage. The operation was made with all due antiseptic precautions, and in five weeks the patient was discharged, well. The course of the disease was very favorable. The joint being somewhat weak, the patient was given a brace; he was able in fourteen days to dispense with this, however. The joint was quite strong until November, and the man could go long distances and again attend to his business. Owing to over-exertion the trouble again came on. At the end of November the wound was scraped out and greatly improved. The patient can straighten the leg and flex it to within fourteen degrees; there still remains a slight side movement. This case showed that this form of arthropathia is something entirely different from the arthritis traumatica or deformans. This case should be classed with those which occur in patients who do not suffer from tabes. Dr. Lieberman read, "Concerning the Therapeutic Compensative Remedy, Chrysarobin, from a Chemical Stand-point." TREATMENT OF CHOREA BY CEREBRAL REST.-In a thoughtful paper, read by Dr. J. Leonard Corning before the Medical Society of the County of New York, December 26, 1887 (Med. Rec., January 7, 1888), the claim is made that for a successful treatment of chorea the first indication which must be made is to allay the condition of cerebral erethism which is the constant accompaniment of this disease. Reviews and Bibliography. A Clinical Atlas of Venereal and Skin Diseases. By ROBERT W. TAYLOR, A. M., M. D., Surgeon to the Charity Hospital, New York, and to the Department of Skin Diseases of the New York Hospital; Joint Author of Bumstead & Taylor's Pathology and Treatment of Venereal Diseases. In eight very handsome imperial folio parts, with fifty-eight full-page chromo-lithographic plates, containing one hundred and ninety-one figures from original paintings, and selected from the works of Baerensprung, Cazenave, Clerc, Cullerier, Tilbury Fox, Fournier, Hebra, Hutchinson, Kaposi, Mayr, Neumann, Ricord, and Balmanno Squire, as well as numerous wood-cuts from original sources, and from the works of Alibert, Demarquay, Durkee, Gosselin, Guerin, Leloir, Marcacci, Montmeja, Parrot, Parry, Profeta, Tillaux, and Voillemier. Price, per part, $2.50. Sold only by subscription. Philadel phia: Lea Brothers & Co., publishers. 1888. We are in receipt of two specimen plates of this work. They are superb chromolithographs, and set forth the features of psoriasis, herpes progenitalis, herpes vulvæ, vegetations of the skin and condylomata lata, with absolute truth to nature. The following from the prospectus will give the reader an idea of the scope of the work, and of the ability of its eminent author to make good the fair promise of publishers: "Fifty-eight colored plates, containing one hundred and ninety-one figures, executed in a manner superior to any thing yet presented to the profession, either at home or abroad, aided by numerous wood-cuts through the text, render the work an efficient substitute for the most extended clinical training. To present subjects as nearly as possible of life-size, an imperial folio page has been adopted, enabling the artist to delineate disease with a degree of fidelity impossible in any smaller volume. "For the preparation of such a work no more competent authority could be desired. than Professor Taylor, whose positions have given him exceptional opportunities of acquiring familiarity with these classes of disease. Long a colleague of the late Pro are in most instances a reproduction of photographic views of the author and his assistants at work in the surgical clinic. They are admirably executed, and while serving to illustrate disease, wounds, the author's method of operating for their relief, and his armamentarium, many of them would make excellent studies for the realistic artist. As a specimen of the book-maker's art the volume is exquisitely beautiful. fessor Bumstead, to him was bequeathed the sole care of the great work every where known and honored as 'Bumstead & Taylor on the Pathology and Treatment of Venereal Diseases.' So great is the respect in which this work and its authors are every where held, that the leading authorities of Europe readily placed at Professor Taylor's disposal any portion of their material, both written and pictorial, which he could advantageously use in the Clinical Atlas. With such opportunities placed at his command, and unrestricted as to expense, the author has undertaken to produce a work of a character never hitherto attempted, and in presenting it the publishers feel confident that it will command the wide support necessary to justify the very mod- above mentioned. The manual is a digest erate figure at which it is issued. "The entire work will be completed in eight parts, each containing from seven to nine plates, accompanied by appropriate text. Parts I and II will shortly be ready, and the remainder will follow at brief intervals. Specimen plate will be sent, post-paid, on receipt of ten cents in stamps." Essentials of Chemistry and Toxicology, for the use of Students in Medicine. By R. A. WITTHAUS, A. M., M. D., Professor of Chemistry and Physics in the University of New York, etc. Second edition. 16mo, pp. 294; cloth. New York: William Wood & Co. 1888. This is another number of the series of Professor Witthaus' well-known work on chemistry, and contains, in the form of questions and answers, every item of chemical lore, theoretical and practical, that is likely to be useful to the medical student and the 'physician. The second edition is not merely a revision of the first edition, but a reconstruction of this, with the addition of much new matter. The work does much to sim The Rules of Aseptic and Antiseptic Surgery. plify the study of chemistry, and will go A Practical Treatise for the Use of Students and the General Practitioner. By ARPAD G. GERSTER, M. D., Professor of Surgery at the New York Polyclinic, etc. Illustrated with two hundred and forty-eight engravings and three chromo-lithographic plates. 8vo, pp. 332; cloth. New York: D. Appleton & Co. 1888. The aim of the author in this work is not to write a complete treatise on surgery but "to illustrate the incisive practical changes that the adoption of aseptic and antiseptic methods has wrought in surgical therapy. Hereby the changes in wound treatment are meant, as well as the notable extension of active surgery into fields formerly considered a noli me tangere." The book is an honest and vigorous exponent of the doctrines and practical details of antiseptic surgery, and, unlike too many modern works in medicine, is strikingly original in design and execution. The illustrations, of which there are two hundred and fifty-one, constitute a novel feature in book-making. They far toward popularizing with the student of medicine this beautiful but difficult study. Atlas of Venereal and Skin Diseases, comprising Original Contributions and Selections from the works of Kaposi, Hutchinson, Neumann, Fournier, Hardy, Ricord, Cullerier, Besnier, Vidal, Morrow, Keyes, Otis, Hyde, Piffard, and others. Edited by PRINCE A. MORROW, A. M., M. D., Clinical professor of Venereal Diseases, formerly Clinical Lecturer on Dermatology in the University of the City of New York. Fasiculi I, II, and III. New York: William Wood & Co. 1888. This magnificent contribution to the literature of Dermatology is published in fasiculi of ten plates each (folio size), with full descriptive text. The plates are chromo-lithographs, and "hold the mirror up to nature." The text is not only descriptive of the plates, but constitutes a well-written treatise upon the pathology, clinical history, diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of diseases of the skin. The work when complete will be simply royal, if the superb features of the three numbers now before us are maintained, and such is the promise of its famous publishers. Transactions of the American Surgical Association, Volume the Fifth. Edited by J. EWING MEARS, M. D. (Philadelphia), Recorder of the Association. Philadelphia: Printed for the Association and for sale by P. Blakiston, Son & Co. 1887. In point of size, appearance, and character of contents the fifth volume of the transactions is very like its illustrious predecessors. In short, it is a collection of first-class papers by first-class men, which bring into view the advances made by the great art during the past year, while the running commentary in the form of discussions from the floor upon the ideas of the readers makes clear the present status of surgical thought in America. Health Lessons. A primary book. By JEROME R. WALKER, M. D., Lecturer on Hygiene at the Long Island College Hospital, and on Physiology and Hygiene at the Brooklyn Central Grammar School. 12mo, pp. 194. New York: D. Appleton & Co. 1887. This work is designed to serve as a textbook in hygiene for school-children. In text and illustration it is set forth in a most attractive style. It is a successful attempt to blend instruction with entertainment, and must find many enthusiastic admirers among our young folks. An Index of Materia Medica, with Prescription Writing, including practical exercises. By CHARLES H. MAY, M. D., Instructor in Ophthalmology, New York Polyclinic, and CHARLES F. MASON, M. D., Assistant Surgeon United States Army. 16mo, pp. 267; cloth. New York: William Wood & Co. 1887. This is a fine specimen of the "pocket manuals" issued from time to time by William Wood & Co. Part First sets to the reader's hands all the drugs of the United States Pharmacopeia, the dose of each, its physical and chemical characters, solubility in different menstrua, and the percentage of the active ingredient in all officinal preparations. Numerous non-officinal drugs, distinguished by smaller type, are included in the list. Part Second deals with prescription writing, and is a very complete treatise upon this important subject. The Principles of Theoretical Chemistry, with special reference to the Constitution of Chemical Compounds. By IRA REMSEN, Professor of Chemistry in the Johns Hopkins University. Third edition, enlarged and thoroughly revised. 12mo, pp. 318; cloth. Philadelphia: Lea Brothers & Co. 1887. The third edition of this classic work brings to us the fruit of the author's recent studies and thought. Some of the chapters have been entirely rewritten, and many others show enlargement at his hands. No teacher of chemistry is unfamiliar with the work, and no student of medicine who cares to lay well the foundation for future study will remain long in ignorance of it. The Hygiene of the Skin, or the Art of Preventing Skin Diseases. By A. Ravoli, M. D. 8vo, pp. 399; price, $3. Cincinnati, Ohio Central Medical Publishing Company. 1888. The Modern Treatment of Headaches. By Allan McLane Hamilton, M. D. Physician's Leisure Library, 1887, No. 6. Subscription price, $2 per year; single copies 25 cents. Detroit, Mich: George S. Davis, publisher. Essentials of Chemistry and Toxicology, for the Use of Students in Medicine. By R. A. Witthaus, A. M., M. D., Professor of Chemistry and Physics in the University of New York, etc. Second edition. 16mo, pp. 294; cloth. New York: William Wood & Co. 1888. Modern Methods of Antiseptic WoundTreatment, compiled from notes and suggestions from the following eminent surgeons: D. Hayes Agnew, M. D., LL.D., A. C. Bernays, M. D., S. W. Gross, M. D., LL.D., Hunter McGuire, M. D., LL. D., N. Senn, M. D., and others. Published by Johnson & Johnson, New York. The book contains a short review of antiseptic progress, a table showing the value of various germicides tested bacteriologically by Dr. John E. Weeks, of New York, and a list of the most used and necessary articles needed in the method, with general directions for their application and formula for their preparation. It is stated in the preface that this matter is such as has been sanctioned by a majority of the contributors, and that the exceptions of the minority are noted. Messrs. Johnson & Johnson intend to distribute this pamphlet gratuitously to all physicians who apply for it. Questions and Answers on the Essentials of Physiology, prepared especially for Students of Medicine. By H. A. Hare, M. D., Instructor of Physiology in the Biological Department, University of Pennsylvania. With illustrations. 12mo, pp. 170; cloth. Philadelphia H. B. Saunders. 1888. The Prescription-Therapeutically, Pharmaceutically, and Grammatically Consid ered. By Otto Wall, M. D., Ph. G., Professor of Materia Medica and Botany in the St. Louis College of Pharmacy, etc. 12mo, pp. 184; price, $1.50. St. Louis: Aug. Gast Bank Note and Lithographing Company. 1888. Lectures on Diseases of the Heart, delivered at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York. By Alonzo Clark, M. D., LL. D., Emeritus Professor of the Principles and Practice of Medicine, etc. 12mo, pp. 251; cloth. New York: É. B. Treat. 1887. A Treatise on Salol, the new remedy for rheumatism and rheumatic affections, diarrhea. dysentery, typhoid fever, etc., and antiseptically as a surgical dressing. Manufactured by Dr. F. von Heyden's successor at Radebeul, Dresden. Sole agent for the United States of America and Canada for this factory, W. H. Schieffelin & Co., New York. Second edition. Published by this firm. 1888. This pamphlet gives a digest of the Salol question up to present date. Though an advertising document, the subject-matter has been gleaned from articles written by eminent German physicians for the best medical journals of that country. One of the articles is a translation (Berliner Klinische Wochenschrift) from the pen of Dr. F. E. Georgi. It is scientific, able, and exhaustive, and should be studied by every physician who cares to keep abreast with therapeutic progress. Abstracts and Selections. PYRIDINE AND COLLIDINE IN RESPIRATORY AFFECTIONS.-Dr. Dandieu, following G. See's recommendations, comes to the following conclusions regarding pyridine and its correlative, collidine. : (1) Pyridine is indicated in all cases of angina pectoris. Its action is prompt and it prevents new attacks. (2) In essential and symptomatic asthma it is preferable to morphine, both as to the duration of the effect and as to the absence of any danger. (3) It is indicated in attacks of asthma due to the inhalation of noxious gases. (4) In the dyspnea of broneffect. There are no contra-indications, and chiectasis and of phthisis it has a surprising a cumulative effect is not to be feared. In accordance to See's recommendations, the author used four to five grams (3j to 3j mxv) poured into a saucer, which was placed in the center of the room, and the patient was made to sit in one corner of the room. In urgent cases four or five drops may be dropped on to a handkerchief and this held up to the mouth and nose.-N. Y. Med. Jour. UNTOWARD EFFECTS OF ANTIPYRINE.-Dr. P. Guttmann (Fortschr. der Med.) publishes two cases in which antipyyrine caused dangerous symptoms. In the one case there were violent palpitations, intense cyanosis, and a feeling of the want of air; in the other there were great excitement (pulse 132), edema, and ephemeral amaurosis, together with pruritus and urticaria. These symptoms appeared on the administration of a few gram (fifteen-grain) doses. Recovery took place in both cases under the usual treatment with camphor, sinapisms, etc., but in the second case this did not occur until the third day.-Ibid. CONTRACTIONS OF THE UTERUS THROUGHOUT PREGNANCY, AND THEIR VALUE IN THE DIAGNOSIS OF PREGNANCY, BOTH NORMAL AND COMPLICATED. Braxton Hicks (London) contributed a paper on this subject to the Obstetric Section of the recent International Congress in Washington. In the fifteen years since he had first directed attention to this phenomenon, the diagnostic value of these contractions had been amply demonstrated. He pointed out that before the fourth month the contractions could not be detected without bimanual palpation, but after that time they could be appreciated by external palpation alone. The deductions from his paper were: 1. That the uterus contracted at intervals of from five to twenty minutes during the whole of pregnancy, remaining contracted for from three to five minutes. 2. The uterus is firm when contracted, and the fetus can not be distinctly felt, though when the uterus is soft the fetus is easily mapped out. 3. By noticing the contractions we are often enabled to diagnose normal pregnancy from other conditions. 4. The contractions have the physiological use of emptying the uterine veins of the carbonized blood. 5. The carbonized blood probably excites the contractions. Postural Treatment in Dystocia from Short or Coiled Funis. King (Washington) again calls attention to the postural treatment of dystocia due to short funis, whether the cord is absolutely shortened or simply coiled round the fetal neck, the conditions being the same in either case. He was led to suggest this method of treatment by noticing in three cases of this condition "a persistent desire on the part of the patient to assume a sitting posture." Of course with the patient on her side the fetus must in a certain degree be forced by the uterine contractions upward, the fundus lying on a lower plane than the pelvic outlet, and at the same time the parturient canal is to some extent lengthened with the patient in a latero-prone position. On the other hand, with the patient in a sitting, squatting, or kneeling posture, gravity forces the uterus and its contents deep into the pelvis and shortens to some extent the parturient canal, and thereby in many cases (without extreme shortening of the cord) a sufficient space is gained to enable the head to be born, or to come low enough to admit of the easy reaching and cutting of the cord if it can not be uncoiled. The suggested method is a reasonable one, and a reasonable one, and worthy of remembrance and trial. The value of the Genu-pectoral Position in Difficult Version. Cutts (Washington) recalls attention to the value of the knee-chest posture in certain cases of version, this position having been originally suggested by Deventer, recommended by Smellie, and among Americans by Bard, Shippen, and Maxson, the latter showing its advantages in cephalic version. Of course the object of the position is chiefly to take advantage of the force of gravity to assist in the disengagement of the presenting part. As stated by Cutts, quotAs stated by Cutts, quoting largely from other writers, the advantages of the posture are: 1. The downward pressure of the atmos phere upon the fundus uteri is, at least in part, equalized by the admission of air into the vagina. 2. We have the force of gravity to aid us. The weight of the child naturally drags the presenting part from the os uteri and pelvic cavity, by so much relieving the impaction. 3. The abdominal cavity is elongated, putting the vagina upon the stretch, thereby giving it a cylindrical character, thus aiding to throw the head into line with the superior strait. 4. The woman can not, in this position, to any extent exert her voluntary muscles in bearing down.... 7. The uterus with its contents recedes from the spine and by force of gravity tends to relax the abdominal muscles, and hence favors our manipulations. 8. It is more than probable that in this position the uterus will be found physiolog ically to contract less violently and relax more readily than when the patient is on the back or side. The great difficulty of this posture is in keeping the patient in position when she is etherized, and several assistants would always be necessary; for cephalic version, however, an anesthetic might generally be dispensed with. If for any reason this posture is inadvisable, many of its advantages may be attained by a considerable elevation of the hips. [As suggested by Cutts and others, this expedient is worthy of trial in those cases of occipito-posterior position with the head above the superior strait, where engagement fails to take place owing to disproportion between the biparietal diameter and the sacro-iliac arch. In such cases gravity, assisted perhaps by external manipulations, would often bring the fetus to an anterior position.] Normal Forceps. Lazarewitch (St. Petersburg) has devised a new forceps, having parallel blades and without pelvic curve. The cephalic curve is less than usual, and is swept on a 20-cm. radius; when applied, the forceps is locked by a sort of bolt passing through oval openings in the handles and fastened with a screw. The inventor claims, as the advantages of these modifications, greater ease of application and use, and a diminished risk of injury to the maternal soft parts and to the fetal head. The critic in the Centralblatt says that this instrument is only a modified reproduction of Chamberlen's original forceps, and therefore a step backward. Professor Lazarewitch exhibited his forceps at the Washington Congress last September, and described in detail the advan |