When it occurs, the earliest cancer-cells have probably existed and been insidiously developing for months. Indeed, metastatic infiltration may often be demonstrated at the time that the dimpling is first observed. The importance of this sign as one of the earliest practicable means of detecting the existence of this degeneration cannot be overestimated. THE PURE FOOD BILL, which has recently passed the Senate and is now before the House, is one the beneficence of which cannot be called in question. It simply requires that all foods and drugs offered for sale shall be what their labels or other methods of designating them state them to be. This is no disadvantage to an honest man or firm. Physicians are especially interested in that portion of the bill relating to the adulteration or false branding of drugs. Every physician should write three letters urging the passage of this measure: one to the Congressman representing his district; one to Col. Hatch, chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture, Washington, D. C., in whose hands the bill now rests; and one to Hon. Charles F. Crisp, Speaker of the House. If possible, put your letters in the form of a petition, and get as many as possible to sign them. THE New York Pasteur Institute, conducted by Dr. Paul Gibier, has treated 298 persons in two years, bitten by dogs supposed to be rabid, with three deaths. In 177 cases the animals were undoubtedly proven to be rabid. Taking this number as the basis of calculation the failures have been only about one and one-half per cent. When compared with the results of former methods of treatment Pasteur's triumph seems complete. THE MEDICAL WORLD is considered the greatest aid to the physician that can be had for $1.00. Every practitioner should have it. As a trial rate to new subscribers, we will offer it for the remainder of this year for 50 cents. Evolution of Medical Education. WE are pleased to notice that the method of teaching in medical colleges by classs-room recitations, clinical instruction and laboratory work, advocated by this journal among the very earliest several years ago, and persistently up to the present time, is now rapidly displacing the purely didactic lecture in the better schools in Europe and this country. The time is very near at hand when the medical student will not allow himself to be deluded and cheated by a course consisting principally of lectures. However, let us not rush to the other extreme. The lecture, by a thoroughly scientific, original investigator, will always have its useful place in all kinds of teaching. Perhaps one such lecture a week in each department will serve to convey the necessary instruction not included in the text-books. Under such a course, the daily program of the student will include attendance at one such lecture. Liability of Members of Unchartered Medical Societies. DR. W. F. WESTMORELAND, of Atlanta, Ga., in the Southern Medical Record, states that each individual member of such associa tions that are not chartered is financially responsible in any suit for damages brought against the association by any member who may feel that injustice is done him by a vote of censure or by expulsion. This is an im portant fact to all members of medical societies. Cider Vinegar for Acute Powder Burns. DR. GOETCHINS, of Saratoga Springs, N. Y., gives in The Medical Tribune, a successful treatment which he used during the war, and which he has employed since, with equally good results. He begins the treatment by applying lotions of cider vinegar diluted to one-half strength with water. After the acute inflammation has disappeared he applies stramonium ointment, covered with oiled silk, renewing until the injury has entirely healed. No scar results. THE TOLEDO Medical CompenD says of the "Phys ician as a Business Man:" "Notwithstanding the fact that physicians generally are the most indefatigable workers, the majority die poor, and in fact are barely above want in their declining years. There should certainly be a remedy for this. Dr. Taylor suggests a number of methods whereby the income may be mater ially increased. He directs attention to a number of causes of the trouble, and suggests measures for its removal." Price $1.00. Current Medical Thought. Treatment of Enlarged Prostate. In the Hahnemanian Monthly for April, Dr. Bessey, of Toronto, Canada, contributes a very interesting article upon the above subject. The therapeutic fact which the article teaches is that ergot and cimicifuga are specific agents in causing a reduction of the hypertrophied gland. The explanation is based upon their power to produce contraction of unstriped muscular fiber, of which the gland is principally composed. The treatment is as follows: "In complete retention of urine from enlargement of the prostate from acute congestion or inflammatory action, a hot bath, fomentation, or leeches, etc., with aconite or ferrum phos., to arrest the inflammation, should be promptly resorted to. The first cardinal indication is to relieve the patient's distress from the distended bladder, and this can be almost always done by using a soft rubber catheter of small size (No. 4), and injecting hot olive oil into the urethra before trying, either through the catheter to be inserted, or a larger one carried up to the point of obstruction. The surgical principle is, that the catheter should be passed per urethra, if possible; failing this, the next resource is puncture of the bladder; and this should always be by the rectum with a curved trocar, unless prevented by rectal disease, in which case the puncture is to be made above the pubes. Having succeeded in relieving the ladder, the next step in the treatment of enlarged prostate is to irrigate the prostatic portion of the urethra thoroughly with very hot water, to which sublimate (per chloride of mercury) 1 part to 10,000 has been added. I then order the patient to have injected into the rectum 10 drops of fid. ext. ergot, with 5 of tinct. cimicifuga rac., every two hours, or 30 to 15 every six hours, as circumstances may indicate. is persisted with, and the hot-water irrigations are repeated every twelve hours until the catheter can be readily introduced. This After that I begin the use of steel sounds (a la Pratt) heated in hot water and well oiled, introducing only such sizes, gradually increased, The as can be introduced without force. medicine is continued, at first, every two hours, until the swelling has ceased to prevent the use of the catheter; then, the frequency of the medicine is diminished and the doses increased. For the first few days I introduce the catheter every twelve hours, while necessary, to relieve the bladder, usually until the third day, sometimes much less, or until the On the Treatment of Sebaceous Cysts. Serpentaria for Rhus Poisoning. Dr. Frittz, of Mexico, Mo., states in the Medical Mirror, that he has good success in this condition by painting the affected area with fluid extract of serpentaria. An Easy Method of Plugging for Epistaxis. Dr. A. A. Philip, in the British Medical Journal, describes a ready method of plugging the posterior nares, which in his hands is both effectual and easily accomplished. A piece of old, soft, thin, cotton, oiled silk, or silk, about six inches square-a piece of an old handkerchief will answer-is taken, and by means of a probe, metal thermometer case, or penholder, is pushed umbrella" fashion into the nostril, the direction of pressure, when the patient is sitting erect, being backward and slightly downward. It is pushed on until it is felt that the point of the "umbrella" is well into the cavity of the naso-pharynx. The thermometer case is now pushed on in an upward direction and then toward the sides, so as to push more of the "umbrella" into the pharynx, and is then withdrawn. The closed end of the sac protrudes well into the pharynx, and its open end protrudes at the anterior nares. The inside of the sack may be brushed with some astringent, such as alum or turpentine. A considerable quantity of cotton wool is pushed well back to the bottom of the sac in the pharynx. Then, the thermometer case being held well against the packed wool, the mouth of the sac is pulled upon, and thus its bottom is drawn forward, and forms a firm, hard plug wedged into the posterior nares. The sac may now be packed full of cotton wool, dry or soaked in some astringent solution. The mouth of the sac is tied just outside the nostril, trimmed with scissors, and the ends of the thread secured outside. In removing the plug, open the mouth of the sac, with small dressing forceps, gently remove the cotton wool bit by bit. If there is bleeding, simply syringe the sac with weak carbolic lotion or Condy's fluid, and repack with clean cotton wool. If there is no bleeding when the wool is picked out, gently pull out the sac, or if it be adhering to the mucous membrane of the nostril, apply a little warm water, and it may then easily be removed. By this method no damage is done to the floor of the nose or back of soft palate by strings, etc., no disagreeable hawking, coughing or vomiting takes place during introduction, and no disagreeable strings are left hanging inside the mouth.-Brooklyn Med Jour. Treatment of Burns. The following from Sur. Aerta in Weekly Med. Rev., is said to be highly recommended by Romberg: Pierce the blisters, and draw sublimated silk threads through them. Then cover the whole burnt area with a ten per cent. iodoform vase M. Sig. Shake well before using. Apply w gentle friction. The beneficial effect is increased if a little the liniment is warmed before it is used, or the affected part is held near a stove or hot register while the application is being mate In using the liniment the part at first should te rubbed gently, and after a short time met vigorously, from the periphery toward the trunk of the body. After it has been thorough "rubbed in," several layers of the flanne should be applied. Employed in the manner described this lin ment has a wide range of usefulness. In acute inflammations and contusions often affords speedy and striking relief. these affections elevation and rest greatly sist its favorable action. It relieves pa limits and diminishes swelling, and preve inflammatory reaction. In chronic stiffness and soreness of joints is of great value in relieving the pain and pairment of motion, especially when used connection with systematic rubbing and for ible movements-both active and passivethe joints. In myalgia commonly called musc rheumatism--it sometimes relieves the pa and stiffness of the muscles with astonishing promptness and completeness. It always pres a valuable adjunct to appropriate constit tional treatment. Certain precautions must, however be bore in mind when prescribing the liniment. should not be used on abraded surfaces on mucous membranes. Where there is reas to fear blistering the proportion of ammo and origanum should be lessened--especia the former.-Dr. Gustavus Eliot, in The P scription. Some Favorite Prescriptions. BY EUGENE L. CRUTCHFIELD, M. D., F. S. S (LONDON), OF BALTIMORE, Md Member of the Clinical Society of Maryland Notwithstanding the constant hue and f against routine practice, it is safe to say th nearly every physician has certain form (either original or borrowed (which have be By of such service, that he has learned to rely upon them to meet special indications. this it is not meant that he uses these combiC nations on any and every occasion-that he employs a certain prescription to treat "a me instead of a condition;" but an intelligent practitioner will always be guided by the requirements of the case, and know when to write a prescription in its usual form, and when to alter it somewhat as the symptoms may indicate. It is to a few of these formulas, that have been of material aid to me, that I how wish to call attention. For infantile colic, the following I have found most serviceable. It contains no opium or other deleterous ingredient. It may, therefore, be administered almost ad libitum. Its action, however, is so prompt and satisfactory as generally to render more than two, or at the most, three doses unnecessary: Aq. menth pip. q s. u. f...... ounces i j M. Sig.-dram j'every half hour. For the relief of pain the following prescripon is invaluable. It was originally intended for the spasmodic couc of aduits, but I have known it to be of benefit in so many other affections (angina pectoris, asthmatic paroxysms, etc.,) that under no circumstances would I like to be deprived of the formula. Of course, it is most useful in troubles into which a convulsive element enters: Aq. menth. pip., q. s. u. f..... ounces iv M. Sig-Drams ij ter in die, after meals. For a long time I searched for a prescrption that would cure sick headache. Various combinations were tried, but nothing satisfied me until I came across the following in an English work on "Headaches; there Nature, Causes, Treatment," by Wm. Henry Day, M. D., M. R. C. P., Lond. To this I have added one ingredient, the bromide of ammonium. Some may object to the formula on the ground of polypharmacy, but where every drug is given for a definite purpose it is allowable to combine many ingredients into one prescription. especially when the resulting compound is as efficacious as the following: Tr. veratri viridis.... Tr. cinchonæ comp. Potass. acetatis Morphine acetatis Aquæ dest,, q. s. u. f. M. Sig. Dram j every two hours. .....m. xl ..ounces j .ounces SS .grain j ounces ij In neuralgic cephalalgia, and in the early stage of la grippe, when the patient complains of pains and aches from head to foot, the following has answered admirably. It also causes a reduction of temperature in la grippe: R Quinine sulph Antipyrine .... Ext. hyoscyami.. M: Ft. capsul. No. vj. ...grains ix .grains xviij ..grains iij Sig. One capsule every two or three hours. The last prescription to which I desire to call attention, is one recommended by Prof. W. A. Hardaway, of St. Louis, and used in his clinic. I found it in the St. Louis Courier of Medicine, for December, 1890. It is of service in the eczema of children. Having tried it I can testify to its value. R Ung. picis liquidæ Ung aquæ rosæ .... .... .dram ss .ounces iss .....dram j M. Sig. Spread on lint and apply. These formulas are here given because, having been of service to me, I am anxious that others may also have the beneft of them. The majority of them are original. They are all, in my humble opinion, efficacious.--Va. Med. Monthly, 1601 Eutaw Place. Diagnosis of Pregnancy by the Changes of the Urinary Phosphates. In all hyper-taxations of the cerebro-spinal system the elimination of the phosphates is increased. That this is true in pregnancy, Dr. William B. Gray (Va. Med. Monthly, March, 1887) has demonstrated by a careful analysis of the urine. In his original article referred to, he gave the results of the examin ation of fifty-four specimens of urine obtained from twenty-four patients. "Of these the smallest amount of phosphates found was onehalf grain to the drachm, though the increased secretion did not seem to be regularly progressive with the advance of gestation." What most concerns the busy practitioner is the microscopic appearance of these crystals, for by it can be made the diagnosis of preg. nancy weeks in advance of other signs of that condition. One should be thoroughly familiar with the details of the normal crystals before attempting to recognize any departure there. from. *** The normal triple phosphate is precipitated in those beautiful feathery crystals, sometimes a single leaflet, or in stellate forms; but, however seen, each feather is perfect. If only a fragment is served, the feathery appearance is preserved to its extreme tip, equally clear on each side of the central stem. As soon as conception occurs, the appearance of the triple phosphate changes. It begins to lose its feathery appearance, and disintegrates. The change commences at its tip, and progresses toward its base; or only one side of the leaflet may be affected, leaving the other intact. As the disintegration progresses, only the bare stem may be left, with perhaps a few scraggy points jutting from its sides, and even these stems broken into bits with scarcely any mark to identify them as triple phosphates. These changes commence in the phosphates within twenty days after conception, and continue for several months. After the middle of the seventh month, Dr. Gray observes that these changes become less pronounced and gradually approach a more normal type, up to the end of gestation. Another important and useful fact, he records, is that, should the death of the fetus occur during gestation, the phosphates at once become normal. The discovery of so simple and certain a method of diagnosing this condition deserves a better fate than to fall still-born on the professional ear. The evidence of the facts as recorded is unmistakable; and the diagnosis of pregnancy can be made without exciting the suspicion of the patient as to the object of the physician. Among the first specimens of urine examined by the writer was one brought by a physician as a test. The changed appearance of the phosphates was characteristic and the diagno related that the urine was from a woman over sis of pregnancy made. The physician then forty years old, the keeper of a bawdy-kouse that she had been a prostitute for twenty-five years, and had never been pregnant. On learning that her period was overdue some ten days, he asked her for a specimen of urine, which showed the pregnant phosphates. The diagnosis of her pregnancy was received with laughter and ridicule by the patient and her companions. The doctor, however, fixed the date of her confinement and left. His prediction was fulfilled within twenty-four hours of the time set for the labor. After an experience of nearly three years examining many specimens for other physi cians, "the diagnostic value of the phosphates in pregnancy" is confidently relied upon; and the profession owes Dr. Gray a debt of recog vestigation of this subject.-Dr. S. W. Budd. nition for his discovery and painstaking inin the Virginia Medical Monthly. How to Administer Quinine in. Intermittent Fever. M. Dupre (La Semaine Medicale, No. 6, 1892) advises the following formula. 时 B Sulphate of quinine I (grains xv) Tartaric acid. q. s. ...... .... Distilled water....gms. 60 (fl. ounces ij) To be taken in three doses, with half-hour intervals, so that the last dose is taken six hours before the attack comes on. With this method the attack will be suppressed from the first day, or at least considerably decreased in violence. If there pass by two days without fever, then suspend the remedy, to give it the same day the next week, in three doses. It may be administered, in all, five or six times, i. e., two or three times at the beginning and three times at the end, with an interval of eight days. With this system one will generally succeed in cur ing intermittent fever in the adult.-Lancet Clinic. WASHING OUT THE STOMACH IN VOMITING AFTER CHLOROFORM.--Lenewitsch, in six cases of violent vomiting after chloroform anesthesia, succeeded in quickly stopping the vomiting by mashing out the stomach with a 2-2 per cent. warm soda solution.-Centralblatt fur Chirur gia. |
