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LEFT-HANDEDNESS
347 LEFT-HANDEDNESS Tc the Editor of THE LANCET
article of Jan. 10th on Leftdeals with the aggressiveness Stammer and handedness and sense of fairness often associated with the former peculiarity. There is another biblical story still more gruesome than that of Elnul, in which lefthanders took a part. They, like Ehud, were Benjamites (Judges, Ch. 20). It is not specifically mentioned that Benjamin himself was left-handed, but the characteristic was clearly appreciated by his descendants. I can never read Jacob’s thumb-nail character sketch of him-" Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf ; in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil " (Genesis, 49. 27)without admiring the word-sparing description of the typical left-hander. Curiously enough, it was the Ephraimites, descendants of Benjamin’s only full brother Joseph, who lost their lives because they could not say Shibboleth " (Judges 12, 6), which at first
SIR,—Your leading
"
seems like a speech defect, comparable to a lisp, itself related to a stammer. Probably other factors will be invoked to explain the difficulty in pronunciation, but it seems worthy to note that these rare references in the Bible to left-handedness and speech imperfection should be connected with the son and grandson respectively of Jacob and Rachel. It will be remembered that hands played an important part in Jacob’s life, both as son and parent. He was one of twins, and twins seem to include a high proportion of left-handers. Even in the act of birth he could not keep his hand off his brother Esau, whose heel he grasped. (Genesis 25, 26). Hosea, a thousand years later, thinks the fact significant (Hosea, 12, 3). Later on, with the connivance of his mother Rebekah, Jacob cheated Esau out of their fither’s blessing by deceiving the blind old man’s hands (Genesis 27). When his own time came to " hand on the blessing to his son’s sons, he deliberately reversed the position of his hands in spite of Joseph’s protests, and insisted upon placing the right upon the younger grandson’s head (Genesis 48), thereby breaking the law of primogeniture, a law that must always seem unfair to the younger members of the family. I am, Sir, yours faithfully, W. S. INMAN. Feb. 2nd.
sight
gradually lessened
until normal breathing was established. The air blown through the tube had obviously served as a powerful cardiac stimulant. I am, Sir, yours faithfully, KENNETH R. SMITH, M.D., B.S.Lond. Sutton, Jan. 2!)th. To the Editor
I
oj
interesting procedure that saving lives ? The birth of may prove helpful girl twins in our general practice was complicated by the second twin showing no overt evidence of breathing. She was limp and cyanotic ; ordinary slapping, manipulation of the body, artificial respiration, cleaning of the throat, and hot and cold water SIR,—May
report
an
in
immersions exerted
no
effect whatever, and after
ten minutes of work the prospects were not hopeful. But having read upon one occasion a short article
by Victor McLaglen, the star-film and jujitsu expert, describing how upon two occasions he had brought back two men to cardio-respiratory rhythm, after they had been apparently completely knocked out, I decided to try it at this emergency. The method was described by Mr. McLaglen as sitting his patient up, pressing both thumbs deeply behind the clavicles, and at the same time giving a short sharp blow or kick with his knee forwards to the middle of the dorsal spine ; apparently the objective was to stimulate the vagus and sympathetic nerves at their entrance to the thorax from the neck. Such a procedure not being easy to perform in an infant without hurting it, we carried out a modification of it. Turning the child on its face, and seizing the upper part of its neck with the thumbs pressing forwards against the region of the posterior spine of the axis, we pressed deep towards the medulla and upper cervical spinal cord, then rotated the neck right and left, and again rolled the muscles of the child’s neck to and fro with the thumbs. Immediately the child started to breathe, and in a minute had come round. There must have been some vitality in the child, otherwise such medullary-spinal manipulation would not have brought any benefit. I am, Sir, yours faithfully, A. TURNBULL. Charing Cross, Glasgow, Feb. 4th. WHOLE-TIME CONSULTING
To the Editor TREATMENT OF APPARENT STILLBIRTH To the Editor of THE LANCET
SIR,—A daily paper recently recorded the successful treatment of apparent stillbirth by inserting a needle through the skin direct into the cavity of the heart and injecting a cardiac stimulant. A simple plan of treatment, recommended to me many years ago as worth trying in apparent death from asphyxia, was used in the following case of apparent stillbirth. There were no external signs of life, but through the stethoscope an occasional feeble heart beat could be heard. A piece of glass tubing was placed between the lips, which were then held in close apposition ; the nostrils were closed by compression and air was blown through the tube. There was no indication that any of the air reached the lungs, but obvious signs that some of it entered the stomach. On again applying the stethoscope it was noticed that the heart beat had become practically normal. Gradually the pallid surface of the body became cyanosed ; and after a long interval, during which the cyanosis became extreme, the first respiratory effort appeared as a feeble sigh. The intervals between the sighs
’1’mE LANCET
APPOINTMENTS LANCET THE of
SIR,—An extensive advertisement appeared last week in your columns that contained some astounding features. Applications were invited from " medical men or women of high qualifications and professional attainments " for the posts of physicians, surgeons, and obstetric surgeons at various hospitals under the jurisdiction of one of the county councils. The main points in the advertisement were as follows : 1. These were whole-time appointments. 2. The holders must be prepared to act as consultants to general medical practitioners outside the hospital, if called upon to do so. 3. Any fees received by the officers appointed must be paid over to the County Council. 4. Appointments would be held during the pleasure of the Council and be subject to three months’ notice on either side. The wording of the advertisement does not suggest that the services of these specialists outside the hospital to which they are attached are intended only for poor persons who have to seek medical aid through the relieving officer, and who would thereby
article of Jan. 10th on Leftdeals with the aggressiveness Stammer and handedness and sense of fairness often associated with the former peculiarity. There is another biblical story still more gruesome than that of Elnul, in which lefthanders took a part. They, like Ehud, were Benjamites (Judges, Ch. 20). It is not specifically mentioned that Benjamin himself was left-handed, but the characteristic was clearly appreciated by his descendants. I can never read Jacob’s thumb-nail character sketch of him-" Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf ; in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil " (Genesis, 49. 27)without admiring the word-sparing description of the typical left-hander. Curiously enough, it was the Ephraimites, descendants of Benjamin’s only full brother Joseph, who lost their lives because they could not say Shibboleth " (Judges 12, 6), which at first
SIR,—Your leading
"
seems like a speech defect, comparable to a lisp, itself related to a stammer. Probably other factors will be invoked to explain the difficulty in pronunciation, but it seems worthy to note that these rare references in the Bible to left-handedness and speech imperfection should be connected with the son and grandson respectively of Jacob and Rachel. It will be remembered that hands played an important part in Jacob’s life, both as son and parent. He was one of twins, and twins seem to include a high proportion of left-handers. Even in the act of birth he could not keep his hand off his brother Esau, whose heel he grasped. (Genesis 25, 26). Hosea, a thousand years later, thinks the fact significant (Hosea, 12, 3). Later on, with the connivance of his mother Rebekah, Jacob cheated Esau out of their fither’s blessing by deceiving the blind old man’s hands (Genesis 27). When his own time came to " hand on the blessing to his son’s sons, he deliberately reversed the position of his hands in spite of Joseph’s protests, and insisted upon placing the right upon the younger grandson’s head (Genesis 48), thereby breaking the law of primogeniture, a law that must always seem unfair to the younger members of the family. I am, Sir, yours faithfully, W. S. INMAN. Feb. 2nd.
sight
gradually lessened
until normal breathing was established. The air blown through the tube had obviously served as a powerful cardiac stimulant. I am, Sir, yours faithfully, KENNETH R. SMITH, M.D., B.S.Lond. Sutton, Jan. 2!)th. To the Editor
I
oj
interesting procedure that saving lives ? The birth of may prove helpful girl twins in our general practice was complicated by the second twin showing no overt evidence of breathing. She was limp and cyanotic ; ordinary slapping, manipulation of the body, artificial respiration, cleaning of the throat, and hot and cold water SIR,—May
report
an
in
immersions exerted
no
effect whatever, and after
ten minutes of work the prospects were not hopeful. But having read upon one occasion a short article
by Victor McLaglen, the star-film and jujitsu expert, describing how upon two occasions he had brought back two men to cardio-respiratory rhythm, after they had been apparently completely knocked out, I decided to try it at this emergency. The method was described by Mr. McLaglen as sitting his patient up, pressing both thumbs deeply behind the clavicles, and at the same time giving a short sharp blow or kick with his knee forwards to the middle of the dorsal spine ; apparently the objective was to stimulate the vagus and sympathetic nerves at their entrance to the thorax from the neck. Such a procedure not being easy to perform in an infant without hurting it, we carried out a modification of it. Turning the child on its face, and seizing the upper part of its neck with the thumbs pressing forwards against the region of the posterior spine of the axis, we pressed deep towards the medulla and upper cervical spinal cord, then rotated the neck right and left, and again rolled the muscles of the child’s neck to and fro with the thumbs. Immediately the child started to breathe, and in a minute had come round. There must have been some vitality in the child, otherwise such medullary-spinal manipulation would not have brought any benefit. I am, Sir, yours faithfully, A. TURNBULL. Charing Cross, Glasgow, Feb. 4th. WHOLE-TIME CONSULTING
To the Editor TREATMENT OF APPARENT STILLBIRTH To the Editor of THE LANCET
SIR,—A daily paper recently recorded the successful treatment of apparent stillbirth by inserting a needle through the skin direct into the cavity of the heart and injecting a cardiac stimulant. A simple plan of treatment, recommended to me many years ago as worth trying in apparent death from asphyxia, was used in the following case of apparent stillbirth. There were no external signs of life, but through the stethoscope an occasional feeble heart beat could be heard. A piece of glass tubing was placed between the lips, which were then held in close apposition ; the nostrils were closed by compression and air was blown through the tube. There was no indication that any of the air reached the lungs, but obvious signs that some of it entered the stomach. On again applying the stethoscope it was noticed that the heart beat had become practically normal. Gradually the pallid surface of the body became cyanosed ; and after a long interval, during which the cyanosis became extreme, the first respiratory effort appeared as a feeble sigh. The intervals between the sighs
’1’mE LANCET
APPOINTMENTS LANCET THE of
SIR,—An extensive advertisement appeared last week in your columns that contained some astounding features. Applications were invited from " medical men or women of high qualifications and professional attainments " for the posts of physicians, surgeons, and obstetric surgeons at various hospitals under the jurisdiction of one of the county councils. The main points in the advertisement were as follows : 1. These were whole-time appointments. 2. The holders must be prepared to act as consultants to general medical practitioners outside the hospital, if called upon to do so. 3. Any fees received by the officers appointed must be paid over to the County Council. 4. Appointments would be held during the pleasure of the Council and be subject to three months’ notice on either side. The wording of the advertisement does not suggest that the services of these specialists outside the hospital to which they are attached are intended only for poor persons who have to seek medical aid through the relieving officer, and who would thereby