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IMPORTANCE OF UNIFORMITY IN PRESCRIPTIONS.
CORONER’S INQUEST WITHOUT MEDICAL EVIDENCE.—UNIFORMITY IN PRESCRIPTIONS.
605
yet when the inquest was held I was not called upon to give evidence, nor was I in several other cases, in one of which an inquest was held upon a man found dead in a field ; in anat Apothecaries’ Hall. Surely then, Sir, a higher grade ought other, a man died suddenly whilst at work with some Irishto be conferred on the possessor of its licence than that of a men ; in another, a man in a very delicate state died suddenly mere dispenser of drugs. from hemorrhage from the lungs. I am, Sir, your obedient servant, I am, Sir, your obedient servant,
preference given to the M.D. over the L.S.A., whereas the examination or test of a man’s acquirements in the one case will bear no comparison with the other-viz., with that
to the
case,
A SUBSCRIBER OF TWENTY-FIVE J. H. SHORTHOUSE. May, 1854. YEARS’ STANDING. May, 1854. * There is much truth conveyed in the above letter. SIR JAMES GRAHAM AND DRUGGISTS’ ASSISTANTS. Without doubt the examination at the Apothecaries’ Hall is, To the Editor of THE LANCET. with th.3 exception of that of the University of London, the SiR,-The following appears in the United Service Gazette most searching and practical of any of the licensing bodies of relative to the employment of " dispensers at .tl00 per year" :the kingdom. Wehave always opposed the proposition of " Two of our daily contemporaries have, we observe, conthose who would perpetuate a College of Apothecaries. Under tradicted, upon authority, a paragraph which appeared in the United Service Gazette a fortnight ago, relating to the want of a better system the surgeon in general practice, after passing medical officers, and to the means proposed for recruiting the a competent examination, would not be liable to the sneer of ranks. All we have to add is, that the appointment of the being called a mere apothecary. kind mentioned was, we understand, offered to a medical student by an official at Somerset House, in a position to offer it, and who must have been himself deceived if the Admiralty CORONER’S INQUEST WITHOUT MEDICAL have repudiated the plan." EVIDENCE. Druggists’ assistants are doing duty at Haslar Hospital, and To the Editor of THE LANCET. will, it is believed, be yet sent afloat; such is the scarcity of candidates for naval assistant-surgeoncies. SIR,-I can fully bear out the statements of two corre- ’ qualified The following parliamentary notice appears in The Times of of THE the of in late numbers as to LANCET, practice spondents the 26th May, 1854 :the coroner for Surrey, holding inquests without calling for " Mr. Seymour Fitzgerald to ask the First Lord of the medical evidence. For some time it was my privilege to reside in Mr. Carter’s Admiralty whether it is true that her Majesty’s steam guncoronatorial district, and although I was called upon to vis4t boat Cuckoo, Lieutenant Murray commanding, now fitting out for service in the Baltic, is proceeding to her destination withpersons who had been found dead, or had died suddenly, or out any medical officer on board; and whether he is aware under very suspicious circumstances, still my evidence was that, although application has been made to the Admiralty for always dispensed with at the inquest. In one most remark- the appointment of a surgeon, no reply has been. given to that able case, where a woman, who had not lived on the most application." with her found one terms was husband, happy early morning It would appear, since the announcement that dispensers with her throat cut, I was called up and attended immediately, and was, indeed, the only medical man, so far as I know, who were required for the navy, the Admiralty has received numesaw the corpse. I found three distinct incisions, two below the rous applications from dispensers. Information was needed as vocal chords, which completely severed the trachea, the left to the number that could be procured of dispensers and carotid vessels and pneumogastric nerve; one incision was made druggists’ assistants! It is rumoured that a medical school possibly be formed at Haslar Naval Hospital, and its through the skin and cellular tissue and into the thyroid car- may recruited from this class of for ultimate students tilage, but had not completely severed that structure. I service in the navy. The Admiralty dispensers cannot appeal to the examined the case thoroughly, and certainly expected to be called upon to answer certain subtle medico-legal questions as national medical colleges, and is resolved to be independent of to whether it was possible for the deceased herself to have in- the civil section of the profession. According to report, the flicted the wounds, and whether, supposing she had incised " Somerset House official" has done the dirty work needed. I am, Sir, your obedient servant, the trachea, carotid vessels, and pneumogastric nerve in eit7ter A NON-OFFICIAL. 1854. May, of the two places mentioned, she would have had power lefti (the trachea being divided and the air escaping from the lungs, no longer leaving the scapula a fixed point from which to raise IMPORTANCE OF UNIFORMITY IN PRESCRIPTIONS. the arm) to have inflicted the other wound, leaving out of To the Editor of THE LANCET. question altogether the thyroid cartilage which was above the vocal chords. I was relieved of all difficulty and responsibility SIR,—I take the liberty of addressing this letter to your by receiving the somewhat startling intelligence that an inquest Journal, which I trust you will be kind enough to insert, as it had been held, that without calling for any medical evidence is on a subject which the medical profession should be duly whatever, the jury, with the assistance of the worthy coroner, informed. It is with respect to the fluid pound, as ordered had arrived at a verdict finding that the deceased destroyed in prescriptions, being dispensed in two different ways, namely, 16 ozs., and, more properly, 12 ozs. As an instance of this, herself, being at the time suffering from temporary insanity ! In another case, in which I thought it necessary to call for there are two respectable establishments, situated east and west of London, dispensing, on an average, sixty to seventy an inquest, and in which I expressed my belief, and in this the the pound ; jury concurred, that a post-mortem examination was advisable, prescriptions (per diem) differing in dispensing the coroner for some time delayed giving his warrant, because, but, unfortunately, this system does not rest in the two as he said, the father of the deceased ought to be at the exestablishments, but, in fact, is universal, and the evils of such pense of the post-mortem, and the county ought not to be a want ofuniformity in dispensing are two-to increase or saddled with such expenses, or that such an expense should be diminish the dose of the medicine prescribed. not to be the slightest doubt on such a material saved to the county, or something to that effect. He at last, ought " as Weight." Whether it be dry or fluid, Apothecaries’ however, did give his warrant, and the post-mortem was made at the expense of the county. weight only should be recognised ; all Pharmaceutical preparaBut to show that this gentleman is not alwaysso considerate tions are prepared by Apothecaries’ -weight-why not prescripfor the rate-payers, he actually held an inquest on a man who tions ? Speaking from my experience, I will mention, that I had been a patient of mine for four months, suffering from an engaged east and west of London, and I have diswhere the lb. j. has been ordered, (say of abscess in the brain, who died somewhat suddenly one morning whilst eating his breakfast, one member of his family at MisturaFerri Comp.) in both ways, though opposed to my least being present with him at the time. The family had own knowledge of its correctness. It is needless to say, that nothing to complain of as to the manner in which he had been you are compelled to conform to customs of establishments-to treated, nor was any complaint of any kind whatever made by follow in their steps, whether right or wrong, and I, knowing any person whomsoever; and I confess I was a good deal sur- this to be the case, have, on accepting a fresh engagement, prised when I heard that an inquest was to be held. It is made it my duty to ask the question, whether they send out The existence of such ozs. or 16 ozs. for the fluid pound. hardly necessary for me to say that, as usual, I was not summoned as a witness, Mr. Carter almost invariably dispensing want of system as this must be viewed in a most serious light, to prevent these errors taking place, has been my motive with medical evidence. In the course of a few weeks three children were smothered for writing this letter—cautioningthe medical profession using the lb.j. (as it admits of two different weights). in bed in one small parish. I was called by the parents in each ,
There point
have been pensed prescriptions
12
and
against
606 I am perfectly satisfied the fault is not the dispenser’s, but arises from a wrong system in establishments, which requires to be removed, to prevent these errors being, as they are so often committed. I am, &c., AN EXPERIENCED DISPENSER. THE EDINBURGH LOCK HOSPITAL. To the L’clitor of THE LANCET. SIR,—In 1852 you did me the honour of publishing two letters from me relative to the non-admission of students into the Lock Hospital, Edinburgh. Since that time I have been one of the surgical clerks in the new wards. Cases of venereal disease have been admitted, but not in numbers sufficient to enable the students properly to study the various forms of those diseases. The regulations as to the non-admission of students into the Lock being still in force, I beg to suggest to the managers of the infirmary the propriety of devoting one ward (now that the wards are so numerous) to the reception and treatment of cases of venereal disease. The opening of such a ward would, I am sure, be viewed by the students as a boon. At present all the practical acquaintance the students have of this class of disease is derived from the few-the very fewpatients now and then admitted amongst the ordinary surgical cases. Having a portion of the Hospital set apart for this specialty, in which the student could at any time have access, to note the varied forms of the disease, and to study the ,varieties of changes of symptoms, would give him confidence in himself in after life. I could urge many reasons why this suggestion should receive the serious consideration of the managers, but having already trespassed too far on your indulgence, must conclude by requesting the insertion of this in your valuable journal. I am, Sir, your obedient servant,
of exercising pressure on the artery without at the The only place where such time affecting the vein. pressure can possibly be made on the femoral artery is for about an inch below Poupart’s ligament, where the vein lies to its inner side. As the artery gets lower down in the thigh, the vein becomes more and more posterior, and I cannot see how alternate constant pressure first at the upper and then at the lower part of Scarpa’s triangle cannot but induce cedema of the limb, with its disagreeable consequences, should such pressure be kept up constantly. By inserting this for answer by your correspondent, or doing so yourself, you will oblige
capable same
exceedingly, Sir, Edinburgh, May, 1854.
Your obedient
servant, A YOUNG SURGEON.
MIDWIFERY DIPLOMAS. To the Editor of THE LANCET. have read in a letter from ° ° A Provincial Fellow," SIR,—I published in your journal of the 20th of May, amongst other matters, that the Council of the College of Surgeons 3.id intend to degrade, and have degraded, the general practitioner by their regulations on the subject of the diploma in midwifery. I do not intend to deny, or even to doubt, that the Council do everything from the worst motives with respect to these gentlemen; but I do not perceive the way they have succeeded in doing it in this instance, for I do not see, I confess, how granting a diploma to gentlemen who after examination have been found worthy of it, can degrade anybody. On this point I should be obliged to your correspondent to enlighten me. I am, Sir, your obedient servant, JUNO LuCINA. May, 1854.
SHIP SURGEONS. To the Editor of THE LANCET. SIR—I have to thank you for the insertion of my letter on the above subject in THE LANCET for April 22nd, and the reo MEDICAL RELIEF TO THE POOR. marks you were so obliging as to make thereon. To the Editor of THE LANCET. I beg to assure you that qualified surgeons for merchant and SIR,—Whether the epistle from Mr. William Henry Sams, emigrant ships are now so scarce, that no medical man who solicitor, of Clare, which appears in THE LANCET of last week, wis7tes even to remain in Australia, should take a ship under really requires any comment on my part, is perhaps extremely X30 or £35. This, though not particularly munificent, is somedoubtful, but as that gentleman evidently plumes himself upon what different from going for nothing, as was the case this the position he informs us he has the " honour" to occupy, I time last year, and the injustice of which occasioned the howl take the liberty of venturing to record my testimony as to his from our correspondent, who smarted under it. If a surgeon engages by the month, he should not accept less being a most fit and worthy representative and coadjutor of that cliqzte, among the Risbridge board of guardians, which than £5. I beg to bear testimony to the truth of the statements seeking to deprive a late medical officer (who resigned his ap- contained in the valuable papers of Mr. Cooper, of Dublin, to pointment in disgust) of a part of his salary in opposition to your journal. the instructions of the Poor-law Board, refused him a copy of Our emigrant ships, notwithstanding the fair advertisements t7te agreerraent by which each party was bound. I am not at all set forth, are a disgrace to the country. astonished that the chairman and his confederates at the board Another point, which as a ship surgeon I wish to inform young of guardians should endeavour to shield themselves by the sub- medicos on, is this, that the duty of a surgeon on board ship, is terfuge that they "will not deign to reply to scurrilous and to attend on the sick, and to 2crite requests to the captain, groundless charges made under an anonymous signature." Not purser, or third officer, as the case may be, for such medical considering it by any means beneath my " dignity" to support stores as may be necessary; and by no means to submit to the an assertion by proof, however much at variance this course imposition of such duties as the serving out provisions and may be with the tenets and practice of Mr. Sams and his friends, water. This is in all ships the duty of the third officer, or I forward to you a printed forva issued by the conclave ap- purser, if the ship is large enough to carry one. I am, Sir, your obedient servant, pointing the vaccination stations, and should have had equal No GREENHORN. May, 1854. pleasure in enclosing an official certificate, but not being aware that a bill authorising the Risbridge board of guardians to confer diplomas in surgery upon the labouring population, has PROPOSED NEW MEDICAL CLASSES. at present passed, I am fearful the publication of such a document might be attended with unpleasant consequences to the To the Editor of THE LANCET. parties concerned, especially as it appears their exploits have SIR,—Permit me to propose the institution of Practical not escaped the animadversions of our facetious friend Punch. Classes for the exercise of Students, individually, in the followYours, &c., ing subjects :-Physiology, Comparative Anatomy, Toxicology, M. R. C. S. May 30,1854. Pharmaceutical Chemistry, and Botany. Practical instruction is already given in Anatomy, Morbid Anatomy, and Clinical Medicine, Surgery, and Midwifery. TREATMENT OF POPLITEAL ANEURISM BY Medical practitioners ought to be familiar with all the subjects COMPRESSION. and it will be allowed by most persons, that enumerated; To the Editor of THE LANCET. familiarity can only be gained by manipulations practised by SIR,—In looking over an article on the "Treatment of individuals themselves. The principles of each subject should Popliteal Aneurism by Compression,"which appeared in THE be taught by lectures, as in the present arrangement in LANCET of May 27th, I find that no mention whatever is made the medical schools; but the demonstration of the proofs of the effect which the constant pressure upon the artery (and, should be worked out by the students under the direction of which must necessarily follow, upon the vein also) had upon a professor. the venous circulation of the limb. I cannot exactly underIt appears to be of great importance that Physiology should stand how œdema of the leg can be obviated, in consequence of thus be learned, inasmuch as it, together with Anatomy,’ conthe almost total impracticability of contriving an apparatus stitutes the basis of medicine. ’
-
May,
1854.
M.D.
EDIN.,
-
1852.
605
yet when the inquest was held I was not called upon to give evidence, nor was I in several other cases, in one of which an inquest was held upon a man found dead in a field ; in anat Apothecaries’ Hall. Surely then, Sir, a higher grade ought other, a man died suddenly whilst at work with some Irishto be conferred on the possessor of its licence than that of a men ; in another, a man in a very delicate state died suddenly mere dispenser of drugs. from hemorrhage from the lungs. I am, Sir, your obedient servant, I am, Sir, your obedient servant,
preference given to the M.D. over the L.S.A., whereas the examination or test of a man’s acquirements in the one case will bear no comparison with the other-viz., with that
to the
case,
A SUBSCRIBER OF TWENTY-FIVE J. H. SHORTHOUSE. May, 1854. YEARS’ STANDING. May, 1854. * There is much truth conveyed in the above letter. SIR JAMES GRAHAM AND DRUGGISTS’ ASSISTANTS. Without doubt the examination at the Apothecaries’ Hall is, To the Editor of THE LANCET. with th.3 exception of that of the University of London, the SiR,-The following appears in the United Service Gazette most searching and practical of any of the licensing bodies of relative to the employment of " dispensers at .tl00 per year" :the kingdom. Wehave always opposed the proposition of " Two of our daily contemporaries have, we observe, conthose who would perpetuate a College of Apothecaries. Under tradicted, upon authority, a paragraph which appeared in the United Service Gazette a fortnight ago, relating to the want of a better system the surgeon in general practice, after passing medical officers, and to the means proposed for recruiting the a competent examination, would not be liable to the sneer of ranks. All we have to add is, that the appointment of the being called a mere apothecary. kind mentioned was, we understand, offered to a medical student by an official at Somerset House, in a position to offer it, and who must have been himself deceived if the Admiralty CORONER’S INQUEST WITHOUT MEDICAL have repudiated the plan." EVIDENCE. Druggists’ assistants are doing duty at Haslar Hospital, and To the Editor of THE LANCET. will, it is believed, be yet sent afloat; such is the scarcity of candidates for naval assistant-surgeoncies. SIR,-I can fully bear out the statements of two corre- ’ qualified The following parliamentary notice appears in The Times of of THE the of in late numbers as to LANCET, practice spondents the 26th May, 1854 :the coroner for Surrey, holding inquests without calling for " Mr. Seymour Fitzgerald to ask the First Lord of the medical evidence. For some time it was my privilege to reside in Mr. Carter’s Admiralty whether it is true that her Majesty’s steam guncoronatorial district, and although I was called upon to vis4t boat Cuckoo, Lieutenant Murray commanding, now fitting out for service in the Baltic, is proceeding to her destination withpersons who had been found dead, or had died suddenly, or out any medical officer on board; and whether he is aware under very suspicious circumstances, still my evidence was that, although application has been made to the Admiralty for always dispensed with at the inquest. In one most remark- the appointment of a surgeon, no reply has been. given to that able case, where a woman, who had not lived on the most application." with her found one terms was husband, happy early morning It would appear, since the announcement that dispensers with her throat cut, I was called up and attended immediately, and was, indeed, the only medical man, so far as I know, who were required for the navy, the Admiralty has received numesaw the corpse. I found three distinct incisions, two below the rous applications from dispensers. Information was needed as vocal chords, which completely severed the trachea, the left to the number that could be procured of dispensers and carotid vessels and pneumogastric nerve; one incision was made druggists’ assistants! It is rumoured that a medical school possibly be formed at Haslar Naval Hospital, and its through the skin and cellular tissue and into the thyroid car- may recruited from this class of for ultimate students tilage, but had not completely severed that structure. I service in the navy. The Admiralty dispensers cannot appeal to the examined the case thoroughly, and certainly expected to be called upon to answer certain subtle medico-legal questions as national medical colleges, and is resolved to be independent of to whether it was possible for the deceased herself to have in- the civil section of the profession. According to report, the flicted the wounds, and whether, supposing she had incised " Somerset House official" has done the dirty work needed. I am, Sir, your obedient servant, the trachea, carotid vessels, and pneumogastric nerve in eit7ter A NON-OFFICIAL. 1854. May, of the two places mentioned, she would have had power lefti (the trachea being divided and the air escaping from the lungs, no longer leaving the scapula a fixed point from which to raise IMPORTANCE OF UNIFORMITY IN PRESCRIPTIONS. the arm) to have inflicted the other wound, leaving out of To the Editor of THE LANCET. question altogether the thyroid cartilage which was above the vocal chords. I was relieved of all difficulty and responsibility SIR,—I take the liberty of addressing this letter to your by receiving the somewhat startling intelligence that an inquest Journal, which I trust you will be kind enough to insert, as it had been held, that without calling for any medical evidence is on a subject which the medical profession should be duly whatever, the jury, with the assistance of the worthy coroner, informed. It is with respect to the fluid pound, as ordered had arrived at a verdict finding that the deceased destroyed in prescriptions, being dispensed in two different ways, namely, 16 ozs., and, more properly, 12 ozs. As an instance of this, herself, being at the time suffering from temporary insanity ! In another case, in which I thought it necessary to call for there are two respectable establishments, situated east and west of London, dispensing, on an average, sixty to seventy an inquest, and in which I expressed my belief, and in this the the pound ; jury concurred, that a post-mortem examination was advisable, prescriptions (per diem) differing in dispensing the coroner for some time delayed giving his warrant, because, but, unfortunately, this system does not rest in the two as he said, the father of the deceased ought to be at the exestablishments, but, in fact, is universal, and the evils of such pense of the post-mortem, and the county ought not to be a want ofuniformity in dispensing are two-to increase or saddled with such expenses, or that such an expense should be diminish the dose of the medicine prescribed. not to be the slightest doubt on such a material saved to the county, or something to that effect. He at last, ought " as Weight." Whether it be dry or fluid, Apothecaries’ however, did give his warrant, and the post-mortem was made at the expense of the county. weight only should be recognised ; all Pharmaceutical preparaBut to show that this gentleman is not alwaysso considerate tions are prepared by Apothecaries’ -weight-why not prescripfor the rate-payers, he actually held an inquest on a man who tions ? Speaking from my experience, I will mention, that I had been a patient of mine for four months, suffering from an engaged east and west of London, and I have diswhere the lb. j. has been ordered, (say of abscess in the brain, who died somewhat suddenly one morning whilst eating his breakfast, one member of his family at MisturaFerri Comp.) in both ways, though opposed to my least being present with him at the time. The family had own knowledge of its correctness. It is needless to say, that nothing to complain of as to the manner in which he had been you are compelled to conform to customs of establishments-to treated, nor was any complaint of any kind whatever made by follow in their steps, whether right or wrong, and I, knowing any person whomsoever; and I confess I was a good deal sur- this to be the case, have, on accepting a fresh engagement, prised when I heard that an inquest was to be held. It is made it my duty to ask the question, whether they send out The existence of such ozs. or 16 ozs. for the fluid pound. hardly necessary for me to say that, as usual, I was not summoned as a witness, Mr. Carter almost invariably dispensing want of system as this must be viewed in a most serious light, to prevent these errors taking place, has been my motive with medical evidence. In the course of a few weeks three children were smothered for writing this letter—cautioningthe medical profession using the lb.j. (as it admits of two different weights). in bed in one small parish. I was called by the parents in each ,
There point
have been pensed prescriptions
12
and
against
606 I am perfectly satisfied the fault is not the dispenser’s, but arises from a wrong system in establishments, which requires to be removed, to prevent these errors being, as they are so often committed. I am, &c., AN EXPERIENCED DISPENSER. THE EDINBURGH LOCK HOSPITAL. To the L’clitor of THE LANCET. SIR,—In 1852 you did me the honour of publishing two letters from me relative to the non-admission of students into the Lock Hospital, Edinburgh. Since that time I have been one of the surgical clerks in the new wards. Cases of venereal disease have been admitted, but not in numbers sufficient to enable the students properly to study the various forms of those diseases. The regulations as to the non-admission of students into the Lock being still in force, I beg to suggest to the managers of the infirmary the propriety of devoting one ward (now that the wards are so numerous) to the reception and treatment of cases of venereal disease. The opening of such a ward would, I am sure, be viewed by the students as a boon. At present all the practical acquaintance the students have of this class of disease is derived from the few-the very fewpatients now and then admitted amongst the ordinary surgical cases. Having a portion of the Hospital set apart for this specialty, in which the student could at any time have access, to note the varied forms of the disease, and to study the ,varieties of changes of symptoms, would give him confidence in himself in after life. I could urge many reasons why this suggestion should receive the serious consideration of the managers, but having already trespassed too far on your indulgence, must conclude by requesting the insertion of this in your valuable journal. I am, Sir, your obedient servant,
of exercising pressure on the artery without at the The only place where such time affecting the vein. pressure can possibly be made on the femoral artery is for about an inch below Poupart’s ligament, where the vein lies to its inner side. As the artery gets lower down in the thigh, the vein becomes more and more posterior, and I cannot see how alternate constant pressure first at the upper and then at the lower part of Scarpa’s triangle cannot but induce cedema of the limb, with its disagreeable consequences, should such pressure be kept up constantly. By inserting this for answer by your correspondent, or doing so yourself, you will oblige
capable same
exceedingly, Sir, Edinburgh, May, 1854.
Your obedient
servant, A YOUNG SURGEON.
MIDWIFERY DIPLOMAS. To the Editor of THE LANCET. have read in a letter from ° ° A Provincial Fellow," SIR,—I published in your journal of the 20th of May, amongst other matters, that the Council of the College of Surgeons 3.id intend to degrade, and have degraded, the general practitioner by their regulations on the subject of the diploma in midwifery. I do not intend to deny, or even to doubt, that the Council do everything from the worst motives with respect to these gentlemen; but I do not perceive the way they have succeeded in doing it in this instance, for I do not see, I confess, how granting a diploma to gentlemen who after examination have been found worthy of it, can degrade anybody. On this point I should be obliged to your correspondent to enlighten me. I am, Sir, your obedient servant, JUNO LuCINA. May, 1854.
SHIP SURGEONS. To the Editor of THE LANCET. SIR—I have to thank you for the insertion of my letter on the above subject in THE LANCET for April 22nd, and the reo MEDICAL RELIEF TO THE POOR. marks you were so obliging as to make thereon. To the Editor of THE LANCET. I beg to assure you that qualified surgeons for merchant and SIR,—Whether the epistle from Mr. William Henry Sams, emigrant ships are now so scarce, that no medical man who solicitor, of Clare, which appears in THE LANCET of last week, wis7tes even to remain in Australia, should take a ship under really requires any comment on my part, is perhaps extremely X30 or £35. This, though not particularly munificent, is somedoubtful, but as that gentleman evidently plumes himself upon what different from going for nothing, as was the case this the position he informs us he has the " honour" to occupy, I time last year, and the injustice of which occasioned the howl take the liberty of venturing to record my testimony as to his from our correspondent, who smarted under it. If a surgeon engages by the month, he should not accept less being a most fit and worthy representative and coadjutor of that cliqzte, among the Risbridge board of guardians, which than £5. I beg to bear testimony to the truth of the statements seeking to deprive a late medical officer (who resigned his ap- contained in the valuable papers of Mr. Cooper, of Dublin, to pointment in disgust) of a part of his salary in opposition to your journal. the instructions of the Poor-law Board, refused him a copy of Our emigrant ships, notwithstanding the fair advertisements t7te agreerraent by which each party was bound. I am not at all set forth, are a disgrace to the country. astonished that the chairman and his confederates at the board Another point, which as a ship surgeon I wish to inform young of guardians should endeavour to shield themselves by the sub- medicos on, is this, that the duty of a surgeon on board ship, is terfuge that they "will not deign to reply to scurrilous and to attend on the sick, and to 2crite requests to the captain, groundless charges made under an anonymous signature." Not purser, or third officer, as the case may be, for such medical considering it by any means beneath my " dignity" to support stores as may be necessary; and by no means to submit to the an assertion by proof, however much at variance this course imposition of such duties as the serving out provisions and may be with the tenets and practice of Mr. Sams and his friends, water. This is in all ships the duty of the third officer, or I forward to you a printed forva issued by the conclave ap- purser, if the ship is large enough to carry one. I am, Sir, your obedient servant, pointing the vaccination stations, and should have had equal No GREENHORN. May, 1854. pleasure in enclosing an official certificate, but not being aware that a bill authorising the Risbridge board of guardians to confer diplomas in surgery upon the labouring population, has PROPOSED NEW MEDICAL CLASSES. at present passed, I am fearful the publication of such a document might be attended with unpleasant consequences to the To the Editor of THE LANCET. parties concerned, especially as it appears their exploits have SIR,—Permit me to propose the institution of Practical not escaped the animadversions of our facetious friend Punch. Classes for the exercise of Students, individually, in the followYours, &c., ing subjects :-Physiology, Comparative Anatomy, Toxicology, M. R. C. S. May 30,1854. Pharmaceutical Chemistry, and Botany. Practical instruction is already given in Anatomy, Morbid Anatomy, and Clinical Medicine, Surgery, and Midwifery. TREATMENT OF POPLITEAL ANEURISM BY Medical practitioners ought to be familiar with all the subjects COMPRESSION. and it will be allowed by most persons, that enumerated; To the Editor of THE LANCET. familiarity can only be gained by manipulations practised by SIR,—In looking over an article on the "Treatment of individuals themselves. The principles of each subject should Popliteal Aneurism by Compression,"which appeared in THE be taught by lectures, as in the present arrangement in LANCET of May 27th, I find that no mention whatever is made the medical schools; but the demonstration of the proofs of the effect which the constant pressure upon the artery (and, should be worked out by the students under the direction of which must necessarily follow, upon the vein also) had upon a professor. the venous circulation of the limb. I cannot exactly underIt appears to be of great importance that Physiology should stand how œdema of the leg can be obviated, in consequence of thus be learned, inasmuch as it, together with Anatomy,’ conthe almost total impracticability of contriving an apparatus stitutes the basis of medicine. ’
-
May,
1854.
M.D.
EDIN.,
-
1852.