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New Inventions IN AID OF THE PRACTICE OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY.
Reviews
and
Notices of Books.
Guide to the Treatment of DiBea&bgr;es of the Skin, for the Use of the Student and General Practitioner. Illustrated by Cases. By THOMAS HUNT, F.R.C.S., &c. Second Edition. pp. 212. London. 1857. IT would appear that one of the most difficult of all things is "to leave well alone," and that not to do so is-as might be expected-often a serious matter. Here, for instance, is a writer, who, instead of modestly and professionally informing us of his experience in the use of a particular remedy (arsenic) in most diseases affecting the skin, (for so he seems to employ it,) writes a half-crown " Guide," commencing with a prefatorial introduction, containing such absurd and self-laudatory bathos as the following :"Nearly ten years have elapsed since the author, having long devoted a large share of attention to the study of diseases of the skin, was induced to offer to the profession a volume of observations on a successful mode of dealing with those troublesome cases which up to that time had been pronounced by ’!, In the every writer on the Skin, intractable or incuruble. preface to the first edition of this work are these words-’The day has dawned which will see this opprobrium medicorum consigned to the pages of history. This prediction has been literally fulfilled.’ ...... ’It does not become the author to pronounce how far this important improvement is due to his own labours’ "though it is believed the reader will be left in little doubt of what Mr. Hunt’s modest and private opinion of the matter is. The author commits other trespasses common to the school of literatureto which such " Guides" generally belong. Witness the following flourish at the end of a " case":— "Jan. llth.-I am now so convinced of the complete power of arsenic over prurigo, that gratitude, as well as a strong desire to alleviate human suffering, would impel me to urge any persons similarly affected to place themselves confidently under your care. You have my full permission to state that my name and address will be given to any medical gentleman who may wish to refer to me, and I shall be happy at any time to contribute my humble testimony to the soundness of both your t7teoi-y and pmctice."p. 37. Now, how very philanthropic is "A. B., aged fifty-nine," and disinterestedly candid is Mr. Hunt, Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons ! If the latter is strong in therapeutics, he is occasionally misty in his pathology; at least, we cannot see our way through the following observation : " There are two forms of this disease [pityriasis lutea] which haveno sort of pathological relation to each other; yet there is so great a similarity in their appearance that they may be easily confounded together." p. 75. Mr. Hunt affirms that the surgical and other means usually in the local treatment of nsevus are useless, and that adopted " the nsevus will very probably return in some locality or other, unless attention be paid to the constitutional origin of the disease."" And need the reader ask what the latter consists in ? Why, ’’ the disposition to morbid action (that potent, secret, unknown, but prolific sourse of local disease) being destroyed by the salutary action of arsenic." p. 180. Alas ! Too much of water hast thou, poor Ophelia," is brought to our recollection. In Mr. Hunt’s opinion, " the study of disease in its relation to physiology, the favourite study of all physicians from Hippocrates to Sydenham, has now nearly become obsolete" (p. 195); but in ours, Mr. Hunt knows nothing at all about the matter. We regret to have this to say, because, had the author been content to have addressed the profession in a more modest and legitimate way, he might have had his due, though of course limited, share of attention. "
SiBso,F.R.C. P. 1lTeclical Anatorzy. By FRANCIS London: Churchill.
Fasciculus V. THE fifth fasciculus of Dr. Sibson’s work has at length appeared. The plates are marked by all the accuracy and truth
122
which have distinguished the series. Ths Analysis of Aneurismal Tumours which is appended bears proof of consider. able labour, and is a statistical record of great interest. But this number needs to be of unusual merit, to compensate for the excessive delay which has attended its publication. This tardiness is much to be deprecated. The interest of the most valuable book diminishes in the course of two or three years of piecemeal publication. The engagement which an author makes to his readers, of publication at stated intervals, is not In their interest we protest to be negligently infringed. against the delays which have marked the appearance of the fasciculi of this work.
of Human Anatomy and Physiology. By WILLIAJB! TURNER, M. R. C. S. Edinburgh : Johnston. London:
An Atlas
Stanford. THIS publication occurs most opportunely at a moment when the schoolmaster, who has long been "abroad" in the matter of physiology, is becoming alive to the importance of its study as a necessary branch of general education, and endeavouring to make himself more at home in the details of biologic science. These plates are intended for the use of teachers in colleges and the higher forms of public schools. They are admirably adapted for this purpose. Clear, exact, and well selected, they have all the merit which anatomical and physiological diagrams can have. For the rest, the high reputation of Professor Goodsir is a sufficient guarantee for the accuracy of the plates, which he has supervised. ___
_____
On Dislocations and Fractures. By JosEPx MACZISE, Fasciculus I. London : Churchill.
F.R.C.S.
THIS work of Mr. Maclise’s will justly add to his well-earned reputation. The illustrations and the letter-press descriptions are admirably demonstrative of a class of injuries constantly falling under the care of the surgeon. To students and practitioners this publication will be a great boon.
New Inventions IN AID OF THE
PRACTICE OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY. MR. HOOPER, of Pall-mall East, has taken out a patent for his Water-Beds and Cushions, whereby the patient is lifted most easily from the bed, for a vessel to be passed underneath, the sore or fracture dressed, and the bed arranged by an ordinary nurse. No wheels, cords, or complicated connexions are used, but simply a reversed lift, which can be attached to any bed. We recommend medical men to inspect it.
THE BAYSW ATER HOSPITAL.-It
was
reported that this
projected " Hospital for the Treatment of Women affected with Surgical Diseases" had been abandoned, in deference to the strongly-expressed disapprobation of the profession. We see, with regret, that the proposition has only been made to assume another form, and that, in lieu of an hospital, it is proposed to name the building as a " Home." The surgical and medical staffremains unaltered, and the name of Mr. Brown appears as surgeon, with Mr. Harper as his assistant-surgeon. A meeting has been held, called a public meeting, and the advertisements state that the promoters are ready to engage a house so soon as the public shall have provided the necessary funds. Meantime the supporters of the Home for Ladies, in Harley-street, Cavendish-square, whose medical staff includes the names of Bence Jones, Bowman, Weber, and Arthur Farre, have written to the public journals, denying that any necessity exists for another "
theirs is not used at present to the full They complain also that the statements of Mr. Brown’s friends are of a character calculated to injure this most useful institution. These letters have issued from the pens of the Rev. Mr. Garnier, chaplain, and the honorary secre-
such
Home,
extent of its
tary.
since
even
resources.
and
Notices of Books.
Guide to the Treatment of DiBea&bgr;es of the Skin, for the Use of the Student and General Practitioner. Illustrated by Cases. By THOMAS HUNT, F.R.C.S., &c. Second Edition. pp. 212. London. 1857. IT would appear that one of the most difficult of all things is "to leave well alone," and that not to do so is-as might be expected-often a serious matter. Here, for instance, is a writer, who, instead of modestly and professionally informing us of his experience in the use of a particular remedy (arsenic) in most diseases affecting the skin, (for so he seems to employ it,) writes a half-crown " Guide," commencing with a prefatorial introduction, containing such absurd and self-laudatory bathos as the following :"Nearly ten years have elapsed since the author, having long devoted a large share of attention to the study of diseases of the skin, was induced to offer to the profession a volume of observations on a successful mode of dealing with those troublesome cases which up to that time had been pronounced by ’!, In the every writer on the Skin, intractable or incuruble. preface to the first edition of this work are these words-’The day has dawned which will see this opprobrium medicorum consigned to the pages of history. This prediction has been literally fulfilled.’ ...... ’It does not become the author to pronounce how far this important improvement is due to his own labours’ "though it is believed the reader will be left in little doubt of what Mr. Hunt’s modest and private opinion of the matter is. The author commits other trespasses common to the school of literatureto which such " Guides" generally belong. Witness the following flourish at the end of a " case":— "Jan. llth.-I am now so convinced of the complete power of arsenic over prurigo, that gratitude, as well as a strong desire to alleviate human suffering, would impel me to urge any persons similarly affected to place themselves confidently under your care. You have my full permission to state that my name and address will be given to any medical gentleman who may wish to refer to me, and I shall be happy at any time to contribute my humble testimony to the soundness of both your t7teoi-y and pmctice."p. 37. Now, how very philanthropic is "A. B., aged fifty-nine," and disinterestedly candid is Mr. Hunt, Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons ! If the latter is strong in therapeutics, he is occasionally misty in his pathology; at least, we cannot see our way through the following observation : " There are two forms of this disease [pityriasis lutea] which haveno sort of pathological relation to each other; yet there is so great a similarity in their appearance that they may be easily confounded together." p. 75. Mr. Hunt affirms that the surgical and other means usually in the local treatment of nsevus are useless, and that adopted " the nsevus will very probably return in some locality or other, unless attention be paid to the constitutional origin of the disease."" And need the reader ask what the latter consists in ? Why, ’’ the disposition to morbid action (that potent, secret, unknown, but prolific sourse of local disease) being destroyed by the salutary action of arsenic." p. 180. Alas ! Too much of water hast thou, poor Ophelia," is brought to our recollection. In Mr. Hunt’s opinion, " the study of disease in its relation to physiology, the favourite study of all physicians from Hippocrates to Sydenham, has now nearly become obsolete" (p. 195); but in ours, Mr. Hunt knows nothing at all about the matter. We regret to have this to say, because, had the author been content to have addressed the profession in a more modest and legitimate way, he might have had his due, though of course limited, share of attention. "
SiBso,F.R.C. P. 1lTeclical Anatorzy. By FRANCIS London: Churchill.
Fasciculus V. THE fifth fasciculus of Dr. Sibson’s work has at length appeared. The plates are marked by all the accuracy and truth
122
which have distinguished the series. Ths Analysis of Aneurismal Tumours which is appended bears proof of consider. able labour, and is a statistical record of great interest. But this number needs to be of unusual merit, to compensate for the excessive delay which has attended its publication. This tardiness is much to be deprecated. The interest of the most valuable book diminishes in the course of two or three years of piecemeal publication. The engagement which an author makes to his readers, of publication at stated intervals, is not In their interest we protest to be negligently infringed. against the delays which have marked the appearance of the fasciculi of this work.
of Human Anatomy and Physiology. By WILLIAJB! TURNER, M. R. C. S. Edinburgh : Johnston. London:
An Atlas
Stanford. THIS publication occurs most opportunely at a moment when the schoolmaster, who has long been "abroad" in the matter of physiology, is becoming alive to the importance of its study as a necessary branch of general education, and endeavouring to make himself more at home in the details of biologic science. These plates are intended for the use of teachers in colleges and the higher forms of public schools. They are admirably adapted for this purpose. Clear, exact, and well selected, they have all the merit which anatomical and physiological diagrams can have. For the rest, the high reputation of Professor Goodsir is a sufficient guarantee for the accuracy of the plates, which he has supervised. ___
_____
On Dislocations and Fractures. By JosEPx MACZISE, Fasciculus I. London : Churchill.
F.R.C.S.
THIS work of Mr. Maclise’s will justly add to his well-earned reputation. The illustrations and the letter-press descriptions are admirably demonstrative of a class of injuries constantly falling under the care of the surgeon. To students and practitioners this publication will be a great boon.
New Inventions IN AID OF THE
PRACTICE OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY. MR. HOOPER, of Pall-mall East, has taken out a patent for his Water-Beds and Cushions, whereby the patient is lifted most easily from the bed, for a vessel to be passed underneath, the sore or fracture dressed, and the bed arranged by an ordinary nurse. No wheels, cords, or complicated connexions are used, but simply a reversed lift, which can be attached to any bed. We recommend medical men to inspect it.
THE BAYSW ATER HOSPITAL.-It
was
reported that this
projected " Hospital for the Treatment of Women affected with Surgical Diseases" had been abandoned, in deference to the strongly-expressed disapprobation of the profession. We see, with regret, that the proposition has only been made to assume another form, and that, in lieu of an hospital, it is proposed to name the building as a " Home." The surgical and medical staffremains unaltered, and the name of Mr. Brown appears as surgeon, with Mr. Harper as his assistant-surgeon. A meeting has been held, called a public meeting, and the advertisements state that the promoters are ready to engage a house so soon as the public shall have provided the necessary funds. Meantime the supporters of the Home for Ladies, in Harley-street, Cavendish-square, whose medical staff includes the names of Bence Jones, Bowman, Weber, and Arthur Farre, have written to the public journals, denying that any necessity exists for another "
theirs is not used at present to the full They complain also that the statements of Mr. Brown’s friends are of a character calculated to injure this most useful institution. These letters have issued from the pens of the Rev. Mr. Garnier, chaplain, and the honorary secre-
such
Home,
extent of its
tary.
since
even
resources.