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INSTRUCTION IN MENTAL PHYSIOLOGY.
32 and former medical attendant of the deceased, by Mr. Boyd, his secretary, and by Mr. Bird, clerk of St. James’s Cemetery. It was fairly well preserved, the face particularly so. The post-mortem examination then took place, the abdominal and other viscera being placed in glass jars, sealed, and removed by Dr. Stevenson for analysis. The orders from the Home Secretary and the strictest secrecy upon all those to whom was entrusted the exhumation. How well this was observed may be judged from the circumstance that nothing was known until the 30th ult., ten days after, when sensational paragraphs appeared in the London and provincial papers containing statements as incorrect as sensational paragraphs generally are. It was hoped that nothing would have been divulged until after the completion of Dr., Stevenson’s analysis, which cannot be for some time yet. Till then it would be well to refrain from further
Treasury enjoined
comment. ___
CANITIES UNGUIUM. UNDER this title Professor Giovannini has recently communicated to the Reale Accademia di Medicina of Turin a singular case of altered colouring of the finger- and toe-nails. His patient, a young man of twenty-nine years of age, presented the unique spectacle of having all the nails of his body, throughout their whole extent, deprived of their natural tint, which was replaced by a "white opacity" (&M6KCO oscM). They began to lose their colour about the twelfth year, during convalescence from an ileo-typhoid illness, and the alteration was maintained with progressively increasing intensity till they had assumed the aspect they now present. Under the microscope they were found to contain, enclosed in their tissue, an abnormal proportion of air, and this Dr. Giovannini gives as the explanation of their" white opaque"" colouring. This cannot, he thinks, be a case of common leucopathia, as "the affection pervades the entire lamina of the nail, and, besides, is persistent." That the phenomenon should be restricted to the nail, without extension to the hair and skin, is certainly curious. INSTRUCTION IN MENTAL PHYSIOLOGY. A FEW years ago the University of London decided to substitute the subject of "Mental Physiology, especially in its relation to Mental Disorder," for that of Logic and Moral Philosophy hitherto required of candidates for the M.D. and M.S. degrees. But so far as we know there have been few attempts to organise instruction in this subject, and we are glad to note that by permission of the governors of Bethlem Royal Hospital Dr. Savage will give a course of demonstrations at that institution, and one lecture (to be given at Guy’s Hospital) a week during the months of October, November, and a part of December, for the express purpose of meeting the requirements of candidates for this examination.
in the ears, dimness of vision, vertigo, and, in extreme cases, loss of consciousness. The pulse becomes strong, regular, and of full volume, and may reach 120, 150, or more per minute. Sphygmographic tracings show a large wave with a sudden rapid line of ascent, and an equally sudden and abrupt descent which almosb reaches the base line before the occurrence of the secondary elevation, which is also well marked. The cardiac sounds are clear and accentuated. There is sometimes transitory redness of the face, neck, and upper part of the chest, accompanied with a sense of burning. These attacks may occur several times daily, or may be completely absent for awhile. Their duration varies from a few minutes to a quarter of an hour. There is marked bodily and mental restlessness, sometimes approaching hysterical violence. Kisch observed that in most of his cases there were evidences of plethora; the blood was found to contain a high percentage of haemoglobin. Shortness of breath was not noticed. Any manifestions of stasis were rare ; thus oedema of the extremities only occurred in exceptional No albumen could be detected in the urine. The cases. attacks were very alarming to the patient, but were at no time dangerous. They lasted over periods varying from a few weeks to over two years. No injurious sequelae followed. The treatment consisted of systematic and gentle purgation, together with careful regulation of the diet and general hygiene. Change of air, especially to a mountainous district, often produced great amelioration of the symptoms. If the patients became sleepless or extremely nervous, bromides in small doses were of service. Kisch ascribed the symptoms to changes in the ovaries at the climacteric period.
ache, ringing
even
-
THE BACTERIOLOGICAL SECTION OF THE INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF HYGIENE. WE have received the programme of
the 6ection of
Bacteriology forthcoming Seventh International of and Congress Hygiene Dermography. It is remarkably of and the names full, intending speakers are very numerous. The first meeting on Tuesday, Aug. llth, will open with an address by the President of the Section, Sir Joseph Lister, and the subjects set down for this day include the Etiology of Malaria, the Bacteriology of Asiatic Cholera, the Bacteriology of Vaccine Lymph, Bacterial Necrosis of the Liver, the Morphology of Actinomyces, and Hsemorrhagic Infection. On the 12th discussions will take place on Immunity, its Natural Occurrence and Artificial Production ; on the 13th, one on Tuberculosis in Man and Animals. These debates, which will be shared in by many eminent authorities, are likely to prove of the greatest interest. On the 14th papers will be read on Disinfection ; on the Bacteriological Examination of Air, Soil, and Water; on the Food and Air Passages in relation to Infection ; besides papers on Psorospermosis, Cancer as an Infective Disease, and Fermentation. The secretaries of the Section are Dr. W. Hunter, Dr. Armand Ruffer, and Dr. C. S. Sherrington. at the
TACHYCARDIA AT THE MENOPAUSE. AMONGST the many symptoms which are complained of by women at about the time of the menopause, those referred to the circulatory system have a prominent place. Kisch (Wiener Medicinische Presse) has made some observations on this subject, and has recorded twenty-eight cases of tachycardia. At the time of the menopause, but generally before menstruation has entirely ceased, women thus affected suffer from frequent attacks of palpitation, the cause of which is frequently not to be discovered. Other symptoms often accompany the excited action of the heart. Thus there may be a sense of anxiety and oppression, fulness of the head, flushing, arterial pulsation, head-
THE Italian Board of Health announces a peculiarly virulent outbreak of scarlatina maligna at Ferrara. It has assumed epidemic proportions, and the mortality-chiefly among the young, and due mainly to throat and lung complications-has caused the infant schools and other educational institutions to be closed.
WE regret to have to announce the sudden death, which took place on Tuesday last, of Charles Edward Sheppard, M.D. Lond., F.R.C.S. Eng., second chloroforrnist to Middlesex Hospital, anaesthetist to the National Orthopaedic Hospital, and to the Dental School at Guy’s Hospital.
Treasury enjoined
comment. ___
CANITIES UNGUIUM. UNDER this title Professor Giovannini has recently communicated to the Reale Accademia di Medicina of Turin a singular case of altered colouring of the finger- and toe-nails. His patient, a young man of twenty-nine years of age, presented the unique spectacle of having all the nails of his body, throughout their whole extent, deprived of their natural tint, which was replaced by a "white opacity" (&M6KCO oscM). They began to lose their colour about the twelfth year, during convalescence from an ileo-typhoid illness, and the alteration was maintained with progressively increasing intensity till they had assumed the aspect they now present. Under the microscope they were found to contain, enclosed in their tissue, an abnormal proportion of air, and this Dr. Giovannini gives as the explanation of their" white opaque"" colouring. This cannot, he thinks, be a case of common leucopathia, as "the affection pervades the entire lamina of the nail, and, besides, is persistent." That the phenomenon should be restricted to the nail, without extension to the hair and skin, is certainly curious. INSTRUCTION IN MENTAL PHYSIOLOGY. A FEW years ago the University of London decided to substitute the subject of "Mental Physiology, especially in its relation to Mental Disorder," for that of Logic and Moral Philosophy hitherto required of candidates for the M.D. and M.S. degrees. But so far as we know there have been few attempts to organise instruction in this subject, and we are glad to note that by permission of the governors of Bethlem Royal Hospital Dr. Savage will give a course of demonstrations at that institution, and one lecture (to be given at Guy’s Hospital) a week during the months of October, November, and a part of December, for the express purpose of meeting the requirements of candidates for this examination.
in the ears, dimness of vision, vertigo, and, in extreme cases, loss of consciousness. The pulse becomes strong, regular, and of full volume, and may reach 120, 150, or more per minute. Sphygmographic tracings show a large wave with a sudden rapid line of ascent, and an equally sudden and abrupt descent which almosb reaches the base line before the occurrence of the secondary elevation, which is also well marked. The cardiac sounds are clear and accentuated. There is sometimes transitory redness of the face, neck, and upper part of the chest, accompanied with a sense of burning. These attacks may occur several times daily, or may be completely absent for awhile. Their duration varies from a few minutes to a quarter of an hour. There is marked bodily and mental restlessness, sometimes approaching hysterical violence. Kisch observed that in most of his cases there were evidences of plethora; the blood was found to contain a high percentage of haemoglobin. Shortness of breath was not noticed. Any manifestions of stasis were rare ; thus oedema of the extremities only occurred in exceptional No albumen could be detected in the urine. The cases. attacks were very alarming to the patient, but were at no time dangerous. They lasted over periods varying from a few weeks to over two years. No injurious sequelae followed. The treatment consisted of systematic and gentle purgation, together with careful regulation of the diet and general hygiene. Change of air, especially to a mountainous district, often produced great amelioration of the symptoms. If the patients became sleepless or extremely nervous, bromides in small doses were of service. Kisch ascribed the symptoms to changes in the ovaries at the climacteric period.
ache, ringing
even
-
THE BACTERIOLOGICAL SECTION OF THE INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF HYGIENE. WE have received the programme of
the 6ection of
Bacteriology forthcoming Seventh International of and Congress Hygiene Dermography. It is remarkably of and the names full, intending speakers are very numerous. The first meeting on Tuesday, Aug. llth, will open with an address by the President of the Section, Sir Joseph Lister, and the subjects set down for this day include the Etiology of Malaria, the Bacteriology of Asiatic Cholera, the Bacteriology of Vaccine Lymph, Bacterial Necrosis of the Liver, the Morphology of Actinomyces, and Hsemorrhagic Infection. On the 12th discussions will take place on Immunity, its Natural Occurrence and Artificial Production ; on the 13th, one on Tuberculosis in Man and Animals. These debates, which will be shared in by many eminent authorities, are likely to prove of the greatest interest. On the 14th papers will be read on Disinfection ; on the Bacteriological Examination of Air, Soil, and Water; on the Food and Air Passages in relation to Infection ; besides papers on Psorospermosis, Cancer as an Infective Disease, and Fermentation. The secretaries of the Section are Dr. W. Hunter, Dr. Armand Ruffer, and Dr. C. S. Sherrington. at the
TACHYCARDIA AT THE MENOPAUSE. AMONGST the many symptoms which are complained of by women at about the time of the menopause, those referred to the circulatory system have a prominent place. Kisch (Wiener Medicinische Presse) has made some observations on this subject, and has recorded twenty-eight cases of tachycardia. At the time of the menopause, but generally before menstruation has entirely ceased, women thus affected suffer from frequent attacks of palpitation, the cause of which is frequently not to be discovered. Other symptoms often accompany the excited action of the heart. Thus there may be a sense of anxiety and oppression, fulness of the head, flushing, arterial pulsation, head-
THE Italian Board of Health announces a peculiarly virulent outbreak of scarlatina maligna at Ferrara. It has assumed epidemic proportions, and the mortality-chiefly among the young, and due mainly to throat and lung complications-has caused the infant schools and other educational institutions to be closed.
WE regret to have to announce the sudden death, which took place on Tuesday last, of Charles Edward Sheppard, M.D. Lond., F.R.C.S. Eng., second chloroforrnist to Middlesex Hospital, anaesthetist to the National Orthopaedic Hospital, and to the Dental School at Guy’s Hospital.