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SALMONELLÆ IN REPTILES
1147 face-that the introspective are the least stable members of the community. But the culminating stupidity of this series was in thee The Price of Progress " ; the idea:t title of the last talk, being that the stresses of modern life are the cause off mental breakdowns. But the valid stresses of life which1 dominated men’s minds from earliest times have gone, and gone recently. I remember the time when the threatt of losing his job made a man blanch, for it meant thatb his family and he would starve, when a penniless existence in the workhouse was dreaded by most ageing people, when the fear of being physically hurt guided the young¸ and religions kept their grip by threatening torture after death, eternal torture ; stresses and fears which were also’ stays. I am not saying that they are desirable, but that modern stresses are much less severe. If the social animall man has not got reasons for fear, he will invent them by making up conventions and codes. A man without fear degenerates, as is seen in those with power. To Comfort Always " is the motto of the mother who spoils her child, spoils him for the rough and tumble that "
,
,
,
,
"
is life ; inspire,
to to
threaten,
to
punish,
to
stimulate, to deride,
to
also have their place. Mine is a lone voice in the wilderness, crying out not for the first time that much of our modern psychiatry is damned bad natural history and worse common sense. C. G. LEAROYD.
ignore,
TOWARDS SAFER CLOTHING SIR,-Your leading article last week prompts
me
to
record a disquieting personal experience. Some short time ago my younger son
was in need of to my wife that they pyjamas. suggested should be made of flame-proofed material and she attempted to buy them locally. Few of the shops approached had ever heard of flame-proofed material and none stocked it. I consequently wrote to the advisory service of a national magazine devoted to household affairs. A reply bearing the names of three large stores in the London area was speedily received. Consecutive postal inquiries revealed that one store stocked nameproofed material and another had nightgowns ; none had pyjamas made of this material. Perhaps one of your readers can tell me where I can buv them ?
I
some new
H. J. WOODLIFF. FIBROSITIC PAIN
SIR,-Dr. Louis 1B1oss (May 25) emphasises the concept that " trigger-spots " can cause myalgic and fibrositie pain. Although this may be conceded, it must not be overlooked that 90% of these pains are of psychological origin. In states of mental conflict there is an increase someof electrical potential which must " explode where. Any part of the body can be involved and any slight injury creates a "fixation." This explains the multiplicity of remedies and their futility in so-called "rheumatic pains. "
"
M. W. BROWDY. SALMONELLÆ IN REPTILES
SiR,-Dr. Ruskin (May 11) suggests the abundance of lizards in the hot climate of Ibadan keeps down the fly
population. I hardly think this is the answer but rather the result of the hot sun killing the fly larvse. In the past I have kept dozens of Agama lizards (-1. planiceps) in captivity, and flies whether alive or dead were never a favourite article of diet with them. Some years ago when I was working in Ghana (Accra) flies were a menace, yet lizards were far more prolific than in Ibadan, but of course the climate of Accra is very humid. University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria.
STANLEY F. WOODWARD.
METALLIC CORROSION IN ORTHOPÆDIC SURGERY
SiR,-In considering the effects of metals in orthopaedic surgery, it is useful, in a practical world, to differentiate between corrosion that is surgically serious and corrosion When " micro " that, by present standards, is not. methods are used to detect it, corrosion can be discovered (both in the metal and in the tissues) with almost all metals, including the " safe " metals S Mo and " Vitallium,’ and any surgeon who insists on complete freedom from all trace of corrosion has at present no recourse but to forgo the use of metal altogether. Where Dr. Bowden and his colleagues, in their article last weeksay that the use of mixed metals is by far the most important cause of corrosion I would be more explicit and say that, apart from extraordinary metals such as aluminium, magnesium, &C.,2 all the serious corrosion ever seen can be accounted for by one group of steels, which corrode severely even without the stimulus of a dissimilar metal, and by one particular pair of stainless steels in combination. The group of steels are ordinary steel (1936), vanadium steel (1936), and chrome steel (? 1946), and the stainless combination is the E.M.s. (1954) x F.S.L. combination. (The dates given are when the steels finally ceased being sold.) Capener’s implied criticism 3 of F.S.L. cannot be justified on the grounds of corrosion because, so far as my experience and my search of the literature goes, no authenticated case of serious corrosion in unmixed F.S.L. has ever been described. The later paragraphs of the article by Dr. Bowden and his colleagues are misleading, I believe, in so far as they imply that corrosion caused purely by metallic can give rise to transfer (from screwdrivers, drills, &c.) serious trouble. Although they established4 that corrosion does occur from this cause, they never demonstrated it above the " micro " level and in correspondence with Wright and Axonthey acknowledged this fact. Subsequently, however, they attempted to explain6 the more serious clinical cases of corrosion quoted by Wright and Axon and the nine cases collected by Laing himself7 on the metallic-transfer theory. Of this, I contend, they have not established a satisfactory proof. The weakness of their argument lies in the link between the in-vitro and the clinical findings. Laing thought that the metal in his clinical cases was S Mo, in which case his conclusion that the corrosion seen must be due entirely to metallic transfer would be justified. But there is evidence to suggest that he fell into the trap of accepting the metal identification on The firm from whom the metal was probably trust. purchased did not, in fact, start selling S Mo screws and bolts until after most of Laing’s cases had been operated upon. It is possible therefore that in these the corrosion was due to the E.M.s. X F.s.L. cases combination as it had been in Wright and Axon’s
cases.
In order to establish a proper sense of proportion, would elaborate a statement I made previouslynamely, that at the Birmingham Accident Hospital we have made sure that we never use chrome steel (or any of the more antiquated steels) or the E.M.s. X F.S.L. combination and have not had any case of serious corrosion amongst the 2000 cases of internal fixation since this was done. We have not changed over from I
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
6.
7.
Bowden, F. P., Williamson, J. B. P., Laing, P. G. Lancet, May 25, 1957, p. 1081. Verbugge, J. J. Bone Jt Surg. 1956, 38A, 1384. Capener, N. Lancet, 1956, ii, 1107. Nature, Bowden, F. P., Williamson, J. B. P., Laing, P. G. Lond. 1954, 173, 520. J. F. H. J. ; J. Wright, P., Williamson. B. P. ; K., Axon, Bowden, Laing, P. G. Ibid, p. 1186. Bowden, F. P., Williamson, J. B. P.. Laing, P. G. Ibid, 1955. 176, 826. Bowden, F. P., Williamson, J. B. P., Laing, P. G. J. Bone Jt Surg. 1955, 37B, 676.
,
,
,
,
"
is life ; inspire,
to to
threaten,
to
punish,
to
stimulate, to deride,
to
also have their place. Mine is a lone voice in the wilderness, crying out not for the first time that much of our modern psychiatry is damned bad natural history and worse common sense. C. G. LEAROYD.
ignore,
TOWARDS SAFER CLOTHING SIR,-Your leading article last week prompts
me
to
record a disquieting personal experience. Some short time ago my younger son
was in need of to my wife that they pyjamas. suggested should be made of flame-proofed material and she attempted to buy them locally. Few of the shops approached had ever heard of flame-proofed material and none stocked it. I consequently wrote to the advisory service of a national magazine devoted to household affairs. A reply bearing the names of three large stores in the London area was speedily received. Consecutive postal inquiries revealed that one store stocked nameproofed material and another had nightgowns ; none had pyjamas made of this material. Perhaps one of your readers can tell me where I can buv them ?
I
some new
H. J. WOODLIFF. FIBROSITIC PAIN
SIR,-Dr. Louis 1B1oss (May 25) emphasises the concept that " trigger-spots " can cause myalgic and fibrositie pain. Although this may be conceded, it must not be overlooked that 90% of these pains are of psychological origin. In states of mental conflict there is an increase someof electrical potential which must " explode where. Any part of the body can be involved and any slight injury creates a "fixation." This explains the multiplicity of remedies and their futility in so-called "rheumatic pains. "
"
M. W. BROWDY. SALMONELLÆ IN REPTILES
SiR,-Dr. Ruskin (May 11) suggests the abundance of lizards in the hot climate of Ibadan keeps down the fly
population. I hardly think this is the answer but rather the result of the hot sun killing the fly larvse. In the past I have kept dozens of Agama lizards (-1. planiceps) in captivity, and flies whether alive or dead were never a favourite article of diet with them. Some years ago when I was working in Ghana (Accra) flies were a menace, yet lizards were far more prolific than in Ibadan, but of course the climate of Accra is very humid. University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria.
STANLEY F. WOODWARD.
METALLIC CORROSION IN ORTHOPÆDIC SURGERY
SiR,-In considering the effects of metals in orthopaedic surgery, it is useful, in a practical world, to differentiate between corrosion that is surgically serious and corrosion When " micro " that, by present standards, is not. methods are used to detect it, corrosion can be discovered (both in the metal and in the tissues) with almost all metals, including the " safe " metals S Mo and " Vitallium,’ and any surgeon who insists on complete freedom from all trace of corrosion has at present no recourse but to forgo the use of metal altogether. Where Dr. Bowden and his colleagues, in their article last weeksay that the use of mixed metals is by far the most important cause of corrosion I would be more explicit and say that, apart from extraordinary metals such as aluminium, magnesium, &C.,2 all the serious corrosion ever seen can be accounted for by one group of steels, which corrode severely even without the stimulus of a dissimilar metal, and by one particular pair of stainless steels in combination. The group of steels are ordinary steel (1936), vanadium steel (1936), and chrome steel (? 1946), and the stainless combination is the E.M.s. (1954) x F.S.L. combination. (The dates given are when the steels finally ceased being sold.) Capener’s implied criticism 3 of F.S.L. cannot be justified on the grounds of corrosion because, so far as my experience and my search of the literature goes, no authenticated case of serious corrosion in unmixed F.S.L. has ever been described. The later paragraphs of the article by Dr. Bowden and his colleagues are misleading, I believe, in so far as they imply that corrosion caused purely by metallic can give rise to transfer (from screwdrivers, drills, &c.) serious trouble. Although they established4 that corrosion does occur from this cause, they never demonstrated it above the " micro " level and in correspondence with Wright and Axonthey acknowledged this fact. Subsequently, however, they attempted to explain6 the more serious clinical cases of corrosion quoted by Wright and Axon and the nine cases collected by Laing himself7 on the metallic-transfer theory. Of this, I contend, they have not established a satisfactory proof. The weakness of their argument lies in the link between the in-vitro and the clinical findings. Laing thought that the metal in his clinical cases was S Mo, in which case his conclusion that the corrosion seen must be due entirely to metallic transfer would be justified. But there is evidence to suggest that he fell into the trap of accepting the metal identification on The firm from whom the metal was probably trust. purchased did not, in fact, start selling S Mo screws and bolts until after most of Laing’s cases had been operated upon. It is possible therefore that in these the corrosion was due to the E.M.s. X F.s.L. cases combination as it had been in Wright and Axon’s
cases.
In order to establish a proper sense of proportion, would elaborate a statement I made previouslynamely, that at the Birmingham Accident Hospital we have made sure that we never use chrome steel (or any of the more antiquated steels) or the E.M.s. X F.S.L. combination and have not had any case of serious corrosion amongst the 2000 cases of internal fixation since this was done. We have not changed over from I
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
6.
7.
Bowden, F. P., Williamson, J. B. P., Laing, P. G. Lancet, May 25, 1957, p. 1081. Verbugge, J. J. Bone Jt Surg. 1956, 38A, 1384. Capener, N. Lancet, 1956, ii, 1107. Nature, Bowden, F. P., Williamson, J. B. P., Laing, P. G. Lond. 1954, 173, 520. J. F. H. J. ; J. Wright, P., Williamson. B. P. ; K., Axon, Bowden, Laing, P. G. Ibid, p. 1186. Bowden, F. P., Williamson, J. B. P.. Laing, P. G. Ibid, 1955. 176, 826. Bowden, F. P., Williamson, J. B. P., Laing, P. G. J. Bone Jt Surg. 1955, 37B, 676.