1847] Pneumonia of the Apex-Union of Wounds. 559 ACCOUNT OF A PHYSICAL SIGN OF PNEUMONIA OF THE APEX OF THE LUNG. BY WM. BOLING, M.D. The experience of Dr. Boling is confirmatory of the opinion that, when pneumonia commences at the apex of the lung it is especially fatal; and his object in the present communication is to indicate a physical sign which may lead to its earlier diagnosis. "This is a fine mucous or crepitant rhonchus, seemingly seated in the larynx, loud enough to be heard distinctly at the distance of two or three feet from the patient, and so persistent, that it is not removeable, or but momentarily, by any effort to expectorate which the patient may make, while at the same time there are present none of the signs of bronchitis or laryngitis." Though seeming to the by-stander to arise from mucus in the larynx, the indifference manifested by the patient proves this is not the case; and on applying the stethoscope just above or below the clavicles it will be found to proceed from the apex of the inflamed lung. "It would seem that the sound there produced in the pulmonary vesicles must be conveyed by the larger bronchial ramifications, numerous and superficial at this point, to the larynx, where, in consequence of the thinness of the tube, or rather the thinness of its covering, and its proximity to the surface, the deceptive impression of its production in this organ, from the presence of a small quantity of viscid mucus, is created. It is the indifference of the patient to the presence of the sound, but still more especially, its persistence, which constitutes its peculiar and distinctive feature, and upon which its value as an evidence of pneumonia commencing in the apex of the lung depends."— American Journal Med. Sciences, July 1847. NEW MODES OF EFFECTING UNION OF WOUNDS. M. Amussat has of late procured the union of large wounds by the first intention by means of the following suture. He passes several very fine steel sewing needles through the cutaneous edges of the wound, and having twisted a waxen thread around them, breaks off their extremities by means of a forceps, and leaves them to fall out of themselves, which they do in a few days, just as ligatures of vessels are allowed to do.-Gazette des Hopitaux, No. 69. M. Baudens employs the following means for bringing together the edges of wounds. Speaking of that resulting from an amputation for example, he directs a circular bandage to be placed above the stump, and two strong pins fixed into this, one before and one behind, in such a manner as to leave their heads and points exposed. A double point of support is thus got, around which strong cotton threads are passed; these are crossed over each other towards the face of the stump in such a manner as to draw the integuments together with any desired force, after the manner of an uniting bandage, terminating with a figure of eight, just as in the operation for hare-lip.—Comptes Rendus, T. 24, p. 1018. CHRONIC CUTANEOUS ERUPTIONS. M. Cazenave recommends the following formula as of excellent service in chronic dartrous eruptions, as impetigo, eczema, lupus, and all diseases of the skin allied to the lymphatic and scrofulous constitutions. Crystallized Chloride of Lime. Distilled Water . . . 15 parts. A tablespoonful three times daily in some bitter infusion. ADDRESS TO THE READER. THE Readers of the MEDICO-CHIRUGICAL REVIEW will perceive, by the Prospectus which accompanies the present Number, that it has been determined to incorporate with it, in the future publication, THE BRITISH AND FOREIGN MEDICAL REVIEW, hitherto conducted by Dr. FORBES. By this arrangement the Proprietors have the gratification of being able to state, that the services of the most valued Contributors to both of these Reviews will be combined—and that there is every reason to believe that the result will be the production of a work second to none in Europe for the soundness, depth, and variety of its Medical and Chirurgical investigations. LONDON, September 30, 1847. 1847] Bibliographical Record. BIBLIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 561 2. The Half-yearly Abstract of the Medical Sciences; being a Practical and Analytical Digest of the Contents of the principal British and Continental Medical Works published in the preceding Six Months. Edited by W. H. Ranking, M.D. Vol. V. Jan.-June, 1847. 8vo, pp. 424. London. 3. The Medical Examiner and Record of Medical Science. Edited by Robert M. Huston, M.D. No. 29-30, May and June, 1847. Philadelphia. 4. An Experimental Inquiry into the Functions of the Great Sympathetic Nerve. By C. Radclyffe Hall, M.D. Part I. 8vo, pp. 126. Plates. London, 1847. 5. A Guide to the Use of the Buxton Waters. By William Henry Robertson, M.D. Fourth Edition, revised. Foolscap 8vo, pp. 32. London, 1847. 6. A Copy of Reports on Sir William Burnett's Disinfecting Fluid. Ordered by the House of Commons to be printed, 20th July, 1847. Pp. 14. 7. Cholera, Dysentery, and Fever, pathologically and practically considered; or the Nature, Causes, Connexion, and Treatment of these Diseases in all their forms. By Charles Searle, M.D. 8vo, pp. 140. London, 1847. 8. A Treatise on Diet and Regimen. By William H. Robertson, M.D. Fourth Edition, Part III., 8vo. London, 1847. 9. Twenty-seventh Annual Report of the Directors of the Dundee Royal Asylum for Lunatics, submitted, in Terms of their Charter, to a General Meeting of the Directors, 21st June, 1847. With the Report of the Medical Officers. 8vo, pp. 62. Dundee, 1847. 10. Seventeenth Annual Report of the Belfast District Asylum for the Insane Poor of the Counties of Antrim and Down, and of the Town of Carricfergus. For the Year ending 31st March, 1847. Drawn up by the Resident Physician. 8vo, pp. 43. Belfast. 11. A Letter to Benjamin Rotch, Esq., Chairman of the Committee of Visitors; on the Plan and Government of the Additional Lunatic Asylum for the County of Middlesex about to be erected at Colney Hatch. By John Conolly, M.D. 8vo, pp. 27. London, 1847. 12. The Consciousness of Right and Wrong a just Test of the Plea of partial Insanity in Criminal Cases. Illustrated by the Case of William Stalker, indicted at the Cumberland Lent Assizes, 1847, for the wilful Murder of his Wife. By C. Lockhart Robinson, M.D. 8vo, pp. 18. Edinburgh, 1847. 13. Proceedings of the National Medical Conventions, held in New York May 1846, and in Philadelphia May 1847. 8vo, pp. 175. Philadelphia, 1847. 14. The American Journal of the Medical Sciences. Edited by Isaac Hays, M.D. 8vo, pp. 284. July, 1847. Philadelphia. 15. The Human Brain; its Structure, Physiology, and Diseases, with a Description of the Typical Forms of Brain in the Animal Kingdom. By Samuel Solly. Second Edition. 8vo. pp. 684. London, 1847. 16. On the Causes and Treatment of Abortion and Sterility; being the Result of an extended Practical Inquiry into the Physiological and Morbid Conditions of the Uterus, with reference especially to Leucorrhoeal Affections, and the Diseases of Menstruation. By James Whitehead, F.R.C.S. 8vo, pp. 426. London, 1847. 17. The Microscopic Anatomy of the Human Body in Health and Disease. Illustrated with numerous Drawings in Colour. By Arthur Hill Hassall. Parts 10 and 11. London, 1847. 18. An Account of a Simple Means of Moderating the Effects of Fire upon the Human Body. By Mr. F. A. Bulley, F.R.C.S., Surgeon to the Royal Berkshire Hospital, Reading. [Reprinted from the Medical Times.] This paper gives an account of the benefit its author has derived from the employment of Treacle diluted with three parts of water, at a temp. of 98°, as an application to Burns of various degrees of intensity. Lint soaked in the mixture is to be kept constantly applied to the part, renewing morning and evening, and moistening at intervals. 19. On the Use of Nitrate of Silver in the Cure of Erysipelas. By John Higginbottom. F.R.C.S. E. Nottingham. (Read before the Provincial Medical and Surgical Association.) The Profession is much indebted to Mr. Higginbottom for having many years since culled its attention to the valuable properties of the Nitrate of Silver, and especially to its power in arresting the progress of Erysipelas. In the present communication he recommends the application at a far earlier period of the disease than he formerly deemed advisable; such mode of using it, with attention to the digestive organs, often rapidly cutting short its progress. ploys the following solution :-Arg. Nitr. four scruples, Nitric Acid six drops, Distilled Water four drachms, previously well washing the part first with soap and water, and then with pure water. So used, it is especially beneficial in erysipelas, threatening to spread over the scalp, to which it may be freely applied without inducing vesication. He em 20. The Preservation of Infants in Delivery. Being an Exposition of the Chief Cause of Mortality of Still-born Children. By Richard King, M.D., M.R,C.S. 8vo, pp. 60. London, 1847. 21. The Chemistry of Vegetable and Animal Physiology. By Dr. G. J. Mulder. Translated from the Dutch, by Dr. P. F. H. Fromberg. With an Introduction and Notes, by J. F. W. Johnstone, F.R.S.L. & E. Part III. 8vo, pp. 267. Eight coloured Lithographs. Edin. 1847. 22. Contributions to the Pathology and Treatment of the Scorbutus which is at present prevalent in various parts of Scotland. By Charles Ritchie, M.D. (From the Monthly Journal of Medical Science.) Dr. Ritchie has here drawn up a very excellent account of this formidable disease as it has prevailed in Scotland-in common with entire Europe-during the late Spring. For reasons stated in our Periscope we cannot however agree with him in referring its production exclusively to defective diet, exposure to severe weather and the like; and we are among those whom he speaks of as "turning away from what is known and tangible, to seek the causes of the epidemic in the unknown and impalpable obscurities of an aerial constitution." 23. Anecdota Sydenhamiana: Medical Notes and Observations. By Thomas Sydenham ; hitherto unpublished. Second edition, pp. 80. Oxford, 1847. We are glad to observe that these "Notes, &c." of a cotemporary and acquaintance of Sydenham himself have reached a second edition. Our readers are probably aware that the profession is indebted to Dr. Greenhill of Oxford for the possession of this little work. As a matter of course, all the members of the Sydenham Society should have a copy of it. 24. On the Duties of Physicians, resulting from the Physician. By the late Rev. Thomas Gisborne, M.A. Pp. 56. Oxford, 1847. A re-print of a portion of the author's well. known and useful work, "Enquiry into the Duties of Men in the higher and middle classes of Society in Great Britain, resulting from their respective Stations, Professions, and Employments," 6th Edit. 1811. We all stand in need of being reminded of our duties towards those who commit their health, and often their happiness too, to our keeping. To those beginning the practice of the medical profession, much of the advice in these pages may be truly useful. 25. A few Remarks on the Expectant Treatwent of Diseases. By AKE THE. Pp. 16. These remarks are intended as a defence of "legitimate medicine," and in answer to certain recent heresies in a cotemporary Journal on the subject of what has been called the "natural method" of treating diseases. We cannot con gratulate the author on the success of his attempt. Much of what he says is altogether beside his argument, and the tendency of some of his observations is altogether very objectionable. 26. Unhealthiness of London, and the Necessity of Remedial Measures. By Hector Gavin, M.D., F.R.C.S. E. Pp. 70. London, 1847. Contains much useful information respecting the state of health in the metropolis, the fearful amount of disease that might be prevented, and the simple and efficient means of attaining this most desirable object. The lecture is exceedingly well adapted for a popular audience 27. Consumption of the Lungs and Asthma, arrested and cured, in the Majority of Cases, by Inhalation and other Rational Means. By Daniel Carr, M.D. 12mo, pp. 200. London, 1847. A work that is altogether discreditable to the writer (whose address is Birmingham), if he be a regularly-educated member of the profession. What shall we say of an M.D., who appends “a series of questions on Consumption and Asthma, which will enable patients, who are desirous of consulting a physician, to state their symptoms clearly, either personally or by letter "Need we say more respecting the style and purport of the book? 28. Theorie des Neuro-viscerites ou Fievres Primitives. Par Ant. Hugon. 8vo, pp. 111. Paris, 1847. The author is a decided anti- Broussaist, and an energetic advocate of the essentiality of fevers. His views are generally sound and practical, and we have derived much pleasure from the perusal. 29. Gazette Medicale, July to September. In exchange. 30. L'Union Medicale. 31. Dublin Medical Review. In exchange. 32. Edinburgh Medical and Surgical Journal for July. In exchange. 33. British and Foreign Medical Review for July. In exchange. 34. Edinburgh Monthly Journal of Medical Science, for July, August, and September. In exchange. ERRATUM. Dr. E. Kennedy's paper, referred to in page 405, appeared in the number of the Dublin Medical Journal for February, not May, last. INDEX. .... 310 314 Blisters, effect of on the Blood...... 325 ........ ........ .. Bloodletting, indications and contra- 461 319 172 279 319 .... 320, 323 Albuminuria induced by blisters .... |