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THE TREATMENT OF VENEREAL ADENITIS BY SOLAR RAYS.
31 the recommendation of Colonel S. P. James. The grant has been suitably bestowed for, despite considerable difficulties, marked improvements have been effected. Reference is made to the somewhat similar work carried out on behalf of the Navy by Surg.Commander D. H. C. Given, R.N., in the Gosport and Alverstoke district, where formerly the residents were unable to sit out in their gardens of an evening owing to the attacks of mosquitoes. The use of larvivorous shrimps, which was a feature of the naval operations, is not mentioned. The report concludes with a list of the known British mosquitoes and a description of the four species with which the Hayling Mosquito Control is specially concerned. An informative museum has been established at Seacourt, South Hayling, the residence of Mr. Marshall, and is open to the public, while lectures and lantern demonstrations are given at stated times. This report records with commendable brevity and modesty work which merits recognition.
on
____
to solar rays. His technique is to choose the morning hours for the exposure, especially in the months of July and August, when the temperature is less high than during the rest of the day, thus avoiding disturbances and profuse sweating caused by excessive heat, and also because in the morning hours the atmosphere is clearer and does not absorb so many ultra-violet rays. The diseased part is exposed directly to the sun while the patient lies on a bench, the rest of the body being suitably protected by coloured curtains. The only application used was sterilised gauze. In all the five cases improvement took place almost at once after four or five sittings, but the healing process increased about the ninth or tenth exposure with the disappearance of the oedema and of the bluish-red tint of the edges, and with the elimination of the necrotic patches, which are usually seen at the base of the ulcer, and their II’ replacement by healthy granulations and consequent transformation and diminution of sanious discharge. Cure was usually complete after 25 sittings. It is worth while drawing attention to these results, because such abscesses as sequelee of ulcers, due to Ducrey’s bacillus, by their resistance to ordinary methods of cure, are the cause of much physical suffering and expense to the patient. No special technique is needed, nor is any exclusive locality absolutely indispensable for the treatment; the patient can obtain the cure of his disease wherever there is possibility of exposing the affected parts of the body to the sun’s rays. Medical observation and control, it need hardly be said, are absolutely necessary if uneventful cure is to be assured.
DENTAL JURISPRUDENCE. IN a paper on the Dentist and the State, read by Mr. H. Cantor at the annual business meeting of the London Hospital Dental Society, interesting reference was made to the evidence of identity which may be obtained from the teeth of a deceased person. Cases will occur to all in which human remains have been found where the circumstances accompanying or following death have made impossible recognition by persons familiar with the appearance of the deceased when alive, or have rendered errors of identification easy. In cases of death by drowning, or where the body has lain for long exposed or long buried before discovery, the teeth may be the one distinctive and unchanged feature that survives. A murderer often makes an attempt to destroy deliberately all evidence of the identity of his victim, but even the use of fire for this purpose is apt to leave fragments which an expert can recognise who has had the mouth of the Mr. Cantor gave as deceased under his care. examples the identification of the mutilated remains of the Prince Imperial during the Zulu War through a gold filling, and of the remains of the Duchesse d’Alencon after the fire at the Bazar de la Charité in Paris, by a denture which fitted the plaster cast retained by her dentist. It is not necessary to labour the matter. The dentist clearly can supply evidence practically beyond contradiction as to the identity of human remains, if the jaws, or a reasonable portion of their dental equipment, have been preserved, if there is some clue as to the identity which needs authoritative confirmation or disproof, and if the dentist applied to has kept careful records. The limitations of this method of identification are obvious; a large class of persons do not have recourse to dentists, or at any rate do not have accurate records made of their dental conditions. THE TREATMENT OF VENEREAL ADENITIS BY SOLAR RAYS. THE
salutary
effects of the
sun
are
commonplace
knowledge in these days as they were in ancient times, when even the caves which served as dwelling places were chosen where they faced the south. Among the Romans exposure to sunlight was held to be not only a remedy but a valuable hygienic measure, and Hippocrates, Celsus, and Galen prescribed sun-baths in certain diseases. At the present day the practical application of this remedial agent has been vastly extended, and good results have been obtained in a large sphere of diseases, such as tuberculosis, leukaemia, Basedow’s disease, epithelioma and dermato-syphilis. Dr. Gino Murero, of the dermato-syphilitic clinic at Bologna, publishes1 five cases of suppurative inguinal adenitis from venereal ulcers, which tend to show that distinct beneficial effects
can
be obtained in intractable 1
La Riforma
cases
Medica, June 2nd,
by exposure
1924.
THE PREVENTION OF AEROPLANE CRASHES. THE aviation display at Hendon last Saturday passed off without mishap. The mechanical efficiency of modern planes will be given the chief credit for this gratifying circumstance; but according to the figures set out in a well-reasoned contribution to the U.S. Naval Medical Bulletin for March, praise should be offered rather to the qualities of quick judgment and resolute decision possessed by the British and French aviators who took part. Under the title of " Aviation Accidents and Methods of Prevention" Lieutenant J. F. Neuberger, Medical Corps, U.S. Navy, who has been serving in the flagship of the Aircraft Squadrons Scouting Fleet, discusses the lessons to be learnt from the statistics collected. The causes of investigated crashes in the experience of the U.S. Navy in 1922 were physical and mental defect, 60 per cent.; insufficient knowledge and experience, 10 per cent.; mechanical (plane or motor), 24 per cent.; weather, 4 per cent. ; unavoidable, 2 per cent. The chief cause of crashes is thus some mental defect, including error of judgment, in the aviator himself. It is pointed out that slowness of reaction time should be recognised during the medical examination of the candidate for the Air Force; the slow-reacting man might just as well be disqualified then, or when undergoing recruit training, as later. At this stage he will not have killed anyone or caused loss to the public by damaging expensive machinery. Most men learn to fly in eight hours ; why trouble to accept those who cannot learn under 10 ? Medical officers of aviation units should be officers who themselves fly, are keen on flying, and understand the aviators’ difficulties. A flight surgeon should be told off to go through the recruit’s course with each batch under instruction, that he may know the individuals intimately, and be able to estimate their flying ability with full understanding. Medical observation should not cease when they are graded pilots, but should be continuous until they fly. The U.S. Navy uses the Schneider test, which relies on blood pressure variation lying and standing, and on the effect of exertion on the pulse-rate. It is noteworthy that at a great flying school 66 per cent. of the accidents happened on Mondays or on days after holidays. Lieut. Neuberger urges that the medical officer should not be regarded by the aviator as an
on
____
to solar rays. His technique is to choose the morning hours for the exposure, especially in the months of July and August, when the temperature is less high than during the rest of the day, thus avoiding disturbances and profuse sweating caused by excessive heat, and also because in the morning hours the atmosphere is clearer and does not absorb so many ultra-violet rays. The diseased part is exposed directly to the sun while the patient lies on a bench, the rest of the body being suitably protected by coloured curtains. The only application used was sterilised gauze. In all the five cases improvement took place almost at once after four or five sittings, but the healing process increased about the ninth or tenth exposure with the disappearance of the oedema and of the bluish-red tint of the edges, and with the elimination of the necrotic patches, which are usually seen at the base of the ulcer, and their II’ replacement by healthy granulations and consequent transformation and diminution of sanious discharge. Cure was usually complete after 25 sittings. It is worth while drawing attention to these results, because such abscesses as sequelee of ulcers, due to Ducrey’s bacillus, by their resistance to ordinary methods of cure, are the cause of much physical suffering and expense to the patient. No special technique is needed, nor is any exclusive locality absolutely indispensable for the treatment; the patient can obtain the cure of his disease wherever there is possibility of exposing the affected parts of the body to the sun’s rays. Medical observation and control, it need hardly be said, are absolutely necessary if uneventful cure is to be assured.
DENTAL JURISPRUDENCE. IN a paper on the Dentist and the State, read by Mr. H. Cantor at the annual business meeting of the London Hospital Dental Society, interesting reference was made to the evidence of identity which may be obtained from the teeth of a deceased person. Cases will occur to all in which human remains have been found where the circumstances accompanying or following death have made impossible recognition by persons familiar with the appearance of the deceased when alive, or have rendered errors of identification easy. In cases of death by drowning, or where the body has lain for long exposed or long buried before discovery, the teeth may be the one distinctive and unchanged feature that survives. A murderer often makes an attempt to destroy deliberately all evidence of the identity of his victim, but even the use of fire for this purpose is apt to leave fragments which an expert can recognise who has had the mouth of the Mr. Cantor gave as deceased under his care. examples the identification of the mutilated remains of the Prince Imperial during the Zulu War through a gold filling, and of the remains of the Duchesse d’Alencon after the fire at the Bazar de la Charité in Paris, by a denture which fitted the plaster cast retained by her dentist. It is not necessary to labour the matter. The dentist clearly can supply evidence practically beyond contradiction as to the identity of human remains, if the jaws, or a reasonable portion of their dental equipment, have been preserved, if there is some clue as to the identity which needs authoritative confirmation or disproof, and if the dentist applied to has kept careful records. The limitations of this method of identification are obvious; a large class of persons do not have recourse to dentists, or at any rate do not have accurate records made of their dental conditions. THE TREATMENT OF VENEREAL ADENITIS BY SOLAR RAYS. THE
salutary
effects of the
sun
are
commonplace
knowledge in these days as they were in ancient times, when even the caves which served as dwelling places were chosen where they faced the south. Among the Romans exposure to sunlight was held to be not only a remedy but a valuable hygienic measure, and Hippocrates, Celsus, and Galen prescribed sun-baths in certain diseases. At the present day the practical application of this remedial agent has been vastly extended, and good results have been obtained in a large sphere of diseases, such as tuberculosis, leukaemia, Basedow’s disease, epithelioma and dermato-syphilis. Dr. Gino Murero, of the dermato-syphilitic clinic at Bologna, publishes1 five cases of suppurative inguinal adenitis from venereal ulcers, which tend to show that distinct beneficial effects
can
be obtained in intractable 1
La Riforma
cases
Medica, June 2nd,
by exposure
1924.
THE PREVENTION OF AEROPLANE CRASHES. THE aviation display at Hendon last Saturday passed off without mishap. The mechanical efficiency of modern planes will be given the chief credit for this gratifying circumstance; but according to the figures set out in a well-reasoned contribution to the U.S. Naval Medical Bulletin for March, praise should be offered rather to the qualities of quick judgment and resolute decision possessed by the British and French aviators who took part. Under the title of " Aviation Accidents and Methods of Prevention" Lieutenant J. F. Neuberger, Medical Corps, U.S. Navy, who has been serving in the flagship of the Aircraft Squadrons Scouting Fleet, discusses the lessons to be learnt from the statistics collected. The causes of investigated crashes in the experience of the U.S. Navy in 1922 were physical and mental defect, 60 per cent.; insufficient knowledge and experience, 10 per cent.; mechanical (plane or motor), 24 per cent.; weather, 4 per cent. ; unavoidable, 2 per cent. The chief cause of crashes is thus some mental defect, including error of judgment, in the aviator himself. It is pointed out that slowness of reaction time should be recognised during the medical examination of the candidate for the Air Force; the slow-reacting man might just as well be disqualified then, or when undergoing recruit training, as later. At this stage he will not have killed anyone or caused loss to the public by damaging expensive machinery. Most men learn to fly in eight hours ; why trouble to accept those who cannot learn under 10 ? Medical officers of aviation units should be officers who themselves fly, are keen on flying, and understand the aviators’ difficulties. A flight surgeon should be told off to go through the recruit’s course with each batch under instruction, that he may know the individuals intimately, and be able to estimate their flying ability with full understanding. Medical observation should not cease when they are graded pilots, but should be continuous until they fly. The U.S. Navy uses the Schneider test, which relies on blood pressure variation lying and standing, and on the effect of exertion on the pulse-rate. It is noteworthy that at a great flying school 66 per cent. of the accidents happened on Mondays or on days after holidays. Lieut. Neuberger urges that the medical officer should not be regarded by the aviator as an