Continental works

Continental works

9° THE BRITISH JOURNAL OF TUBERCULOSIS NOTICES OF BOOKS. CONTINENTAL WORKS. THERE can be no doubt that t u b e r c u l o s i s in childhood is a...

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THE

BRITISH

JOURNAL

OF

TUBERCULOSIS

NOTICES OF BOOKS. CONTINENTAL WORKS. THERE can be no doubt that t u b e r c u l o s i s in childhood is a subject upon which much more research has been done a b r o a d t h a n in E n g l a n d . O n e m a y therefore welcome Dr. L e v e s q u e ' s studies on tuberculosis in the child, for it is a p a r t i c u l a r l y good concise e x a m p l e of up-to-date F r e n c h thought, t T h e subject is divided into two p a r t s - - t h e p r i m a r y infection and tuberculosis of re-infection; the l a t t e r half is better understood in this country as it resembles closely the a d u l t type of the disease. T h e a u t h o r lays main stress on the i m p o r t a n c e of the p r i m a r y focus, and rightly insists on the error of m a k i n g tuberculosis of the tracheo-bronchial glands the centre of interest of tuberculosis in childhood. H e confirms St. E n g e l ' s s t a t e m e n t t h a t in the anterior-posterior X ray, except along the right border of the trachea, the bronchial glands are m a s k e d by the heart and g r e a t vessels and cannot be seen : and he deprecates the c o m m o n habit of calling increased shadows at the hilum enlarged hilar glands. T h e p r i m a r y focus in 3o-37 per cent. of cases is projected into the hilum, and this forms the shadow. T h e c h a p t e r on prognoms is p a r t i c u l a r l y good : one has a l w a y s to discover w h e t h e r one is dealing with p r i m a r y infection or re-infection. T h i s book can be t h o r o u g h l y r e c o m m e n d e d to all who have to deal with tuberculosis in childhood, and will p r e s e n t a new outlook to the reader b r o u g h t up on traditional E n g l i s h methods. J O H N GIBBENS, M.B., M . R . C . P . Professor t~mile S e r g e n t has p r e p a r e d an excellent small Volume on the interpretation of the a u s c u l t a t o r y signs in direct disease, z H e describes such manifestations as bronchial, cavernous, and a m p h o r i c breathing, and in the latter half of the book this interpretation is confirmed by the e x p e r i m e n t a l reproduction of such t y p e s o f breath sounds. T h e a u t h o r follows L a e n n e c in distinguishing two main types of respiration o n l y - - v e s i c u l a r and bronchial b r e a t h i n g : all other pathological sounds, such as cavernous or a m p h o r i c breathing, are viewed as modifications of these basic types, due to the presence of air, fluid or solid lung. T h e two leading conclusions of the book are : (t) A pathological b r e a t h sound does not originate in the part of the lung over which it is h e a r d ; (2) every pathological b r e a t h sound is the result of the transmission of the n o r m a l l a r y n g o - t r a c h e a l breath sound. T h e d i a g r a m s are good, and the a u t h o r is to be c o n g r a t u l a t e d on having m a r s h a l l e d the facts of his subject clearly and in logical sequence. JOHNGIBBENS,M.B., M . R . C . P . Dr. L60n S c h e k t e r has w r i t t e n a little work on " T h e Conquest of P u l m o n a r y Tuberculosis. ''a I t is difficult to determine exactly w h a t 1 ,, t~tude Clinique de la Tuberculose Infantile." By Jean Levesque. Pp. 15o. Paris: Masson et Cie. I931. Price 22 fr. " Les Bases Fondamentales de l'Auscultation." By Professeur Emile Sergent. Pp. 6o, with 2 illustrations. Paris : Doin et Cie. 1931. Price 16 ft. " Pour Vaincre la Taberculose Pulmonaire." By Dr. L4on ScheMer, of Boulogne-sur-Mer. Pp. 15o. Paris: Doin et Cie, 8, Place de l'Od4on. I931. Price i8 fr.

NOTICES

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BOOKS

91

type of reader the a u t h o r had in mind when he wrote his book. Medical advisers w i l l find little new in it, while it is not concise or pithy enough for the general p u b l i c ; it contains, for instance, short elementary descriptions of the percussion and auscultation of the lungs, which can have little except medical interest. P e r h a p s the book is intended for nurses, h e a l t h visitors, and social workers, who would undoubtedly gain something from reading it. W e rather g a t h e r that Dr. Schekter thinks it will be of service to c o n s u m p t i v e patients in regulating their entourage. T h e actual s t a t e m e n t s and advice given are sound, although it is unusual to read of the dangers of strong coffee in p u l m o n a r y tuberculosis. JOHN GIBBENS, M.B., M . R . C . P . Dr. A r m a n d - D e l i l l e is one of the leading F r e n c h investigators on the physiological and t h e r a p e u t i c effects of natural and artificial light, particularly in the t r e a t m e n t o f tuberculosis. H i s latest work is one which should be studied by all interested in the application of light in the prevention and arrest of disease. 1 It will i n t e r e s t n o t a b l y the medical adviser and the hygienist, but especially those responsible for the rational upbringing of children. All engaged in the conduct of openair schools will appreciate Dr. A r m a n d - D e l i l l e ' s informing and serviceable work. I t is a reliable, up-to-date exposition r e g a r d i n g the use of sunlight, ultra-violet r a y s artificially produced, and irradiated materials in preventive and curative medicine. Considerable space is given to an explanation of heliotherapy in tuberculosis, and illustrations appear of cases undergoing t r e a t m e n t at Dr. Rollier's clinics at L e y s i n and elsewhere. P i c t u r e s are given of Dr. Rollier's fine work-clinic at Leysin, the school in the s u n : L e s Noisetiers-en-Cergnat at L e Seppey, n e a r Leysin, and establishments for adults and children at other eentres. A valuable c h a p t e r is devoted to the discussion of the sun cure and p h y s i c a l development and education. T h e first and m a j o r part of the volume is devoted to heliotherapy, while the second and shorter p a r t is reserved for the consideration of a c t i n o t h e r a p y and irradiated foods useful in the t r e a t m e n t of rickets and other morbid conditions. Dr. Armand-Delille has rendered a notable service by the issue of his attractively illustrated book, and we hope that an edition in English will be published at an early date. I n reviewing the first volume of the encyelopmdic work on T u b e r cuIosis last year issued by the firm of G. Thieme, we anticipated t h a t the high standard set would be m a i n t a i n e d in s u b s e q u e n t volumes. T h e second volume which has now a p p e a r e d confirms this opinion. ~ I n it Dr. Blurnenberg treats exhaustively of the so-called ultra-microscopic form of the tubercle bacillus and inter alia quotes the recent w o r k of Stanley Griffith and G l o y n e which has failed to confirm C a l m e t t e ' s opinions on this question. Other subjects dealt with are the t e n d e n c y for tuberculosis to a t t a c k the apex of the lung, e x t r a - f a m i l i a l t u b e r culous infection, residential institutions for tuberculosis, the selection of p u l m o n a r y cases for treatment, the clinical u n d e r s t a n d i n g of t u b e r 1 ,, Heliothdrapie, Actinoth4rapie, et Stdrols Irradi6s." By Dr. P. F. ArmandDelille, Pr6sident du Comit6 National des I~coles de Plein Air. Pp. I9r, with 84 figs. Paris : Masson et Cie, I2o, Boulevard Saint-Germain. i931. Price 32 fr. 2 ,, Ergebnisse der Gesamten Tuberkuloseforschung" [" Collected Results of Tuberculosis Investigation "]. Edited by H. Assmann, Leipsic ; H. Beitzke. Graz ; Ft. Braeuning, Hohenkrug-Stettin ; St. Engel, Dortmund. Vol. II. PP. 490, with lO6 illustrations. Leipsic : G. Thieme. I93I. ~v

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culosis in comparison with a F r e n c h inquiry, alterations in mineral and water metabolism in tuberculosis, artificial bilateral pneumothorax, prognosis in tuberculosis of children, a n a t o m y of the interlobar spaces, the X-ray appearances and their clinical significance. T h e matter is excellent, and our only criticism is that the editors might have planned a better a r r a n g e m e n t . As it is the articles are not grouped according to their subject, but each one is p r e s e n t e d as an individual essay. A. S, M. Dr. Mrowka in his new monograph states that renguera is a para• lyric disease occurring among domestic a n i m a l s in P e r u 1 T h e lesion affects the voluntary striped muscles and is also prone to involve the cardiac muscle. Histologically, the cells in r e n g u e r a resemble the giant cells of tuberculosis. O n this evidence the author builds u p an elaborate theory to the effect that tuberculosis m a y occur without the presence of tubercle bacilli a n d that it is due to a filtrable virus. A. S. M. " T h e eighth n u m b e r (December 193o ) of the Italian journal L o t t a contro la T,~berculosisi is of special interest. Professor Ugo Soli of P a l e r m o contributes an article m a i n t a i n i n g the thesis that Napoleon was attacked by p u l m o n a r y tuberculosis during the I t a l i a n C a m p a i g n of 1796-1797 . H e considers that N a p o l e o n ' s sojourn in I t a l y and the warm dry climate of E g y p t promoted quiescence and that p e r m a n e n t arrest was secured by the date of the E m p i r e . T h e records of the autopsy of Napoleon by A n t o n m a r c h i support the contention, although the ultimate cause of the E m p e r o r ' s death was cancer of the stomach. T h e article is illustrated by a n u m b e r of N a p o l e o n ' s portraits. I n the same n u m b e r Dr. T. E m a n u e l e describes a rare p h e n o m e n o n observed in a case of artificial left-sided pneumothorax. A jerking m o v e m e n t perceptible to palpation occurred, caused by the heart and collapsed lung in close adherence swaying and knocking violently a g a i n s t the thoracic wall when the body was suddenly b e n t backwards and forwards. T h e author terms the condition " cardio-pulmonary s h o c k " a n d discusses its possible causes. Other articles are concerned with injections of alcohol into the intercostal nerves in the t r e a t m e n t o f p u l m o n a r y tuberculosis, and the anti-tuberculosis dispensary organization in Italy. A.S.M.

TUBERCULOSIS

IN I N F A N C Y

AND

CHILDHOOD.

Dr. J. A. Myers has prepared an excellent work on tuberculosis in childhood~ giving valuable information regarding the earlier stages of the disease at its most interesting phase. '2 T h e work is expressed in a positive torm, and there are figures, radiograms, and good references. x ~, Die Filtrierbaren IirankHeitserreger und Neues zum Tuberkuloseproblem. Gedanken zur Vererbungswissenschaft auf Grund yon studien an der Lahmkrankheit (Renguera) der Haustiere in Peru" [" The Filtrable Causative Organisms of Disease and a new Light on the Tuberculosis Problem. Reflections on the Science of Heredity based on Studies of the Paralytic Disease (Renguera) of Domestic Animals in Peru "]. By Dr. Med. Vet. Fritz Mrowka. Pp. vii + 208, with lO8 illustrations in the text and 6 coloured plates. Leipsic: J. A. Barth. I93I. Price Rm. 15. • 2 ,. Tuberculosis in Children." By J. A. Myers, M.D., an Associated Professor of Preventive Medicine, Minnesota. With Introduction by Alan K. Krause, M.D., Editor, American Review of Tuberculosis. Pp. xiv+2o8, with 43 figs. London: Bailli~re, Tindall and Cox. 193o, Price I6S. net.