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ULSTER MEDICAL SOCIETY.
ULSTER MEDICAL SOCIETY.—NOTICES OF BOOKS. Dr. HERRINGHAM considered aconite
a
real sedative,
re-
divided into sub-sections for various diseases.
1069 The third
lieving pain which resisted all other drugs. As a medicine portion looks to the previous personal history of the proit was largely used, and not with bad results.-Dr. Owi.BS poser ; the fourth describes the precautions necessary in corroborated the last speaker, having employed it extensively, the individual; and lastly, in an appendix we and never with evil effect.--Dr. ALDERSON had prescribed examining find grouped together the medical forms of some few foreign the tincture of aconite largely, and had found it most useful insurance and the He considered numerous cases. offices, selected for reasons which are not obvious, in uniformity purity of drugs a matter of the utmostimportance.-Dr. DODSWORTH some notes on the average duration of life, some tables of thought that the effects of such remedies should be care- mortality, and charts in which their value may be easily fully watched; small doses of aconite in his hands had traced. The introduction is somewhat chatty and disapparently done good.-Dr. WARNER related a similar case cursive, but defends sensibly enough the lengthy medical The patient was nearly poisoned by a to Dr. Pope’s. dose of aconite administered by a homœopathic prac- forms occasionally put before the examiner, amusing extitioner.-Dr. TIIUDICHUAI shortly replied. amples of temporary mental aberration being quoted. One story seems almost too good to be true : the proposal of a good life was marked " inadmissible " by a hospital phyULSTER MEDICAL SOCIETY. sician, who was confusing the proposer with a sick THE opening meeting of the session (1887-88) was held in person seeking admission to the wards. We are glad to the rooms of the Society, the Museum, College-square North, note that heredity is regarded in two directions, ascendon Wednesday evening, the 9th inst., at 8 o’clock, There ing and descending, the former of course dealing with the was a large attendance of members. parents, brothers, and sisters, the latter with the children. A vote of thanks having been moved and passed Descending heredity is very commonly overlooked, but unanimously to the out-going President (Dr. Whitla) for his occasions are by no means rare in which inquiries in this untiring zeal during the past year, the President (Dr. Esler) direction have been serviceable in dealing with a doubtful delivered his opening address, in which he dealt with the In this section, however, we meet with a surprise. origin and progress of medical matters in Belfast, and com- case. to the statements made here, and also later on in According of the and in with that medicine 1837 practice pared surgery m
1887. At the conclusion of
a
very able address
a
hearty the book, the custom of French offices appears to be this:
by Dr. J. W. Browne, seconded by Dr. A McConnell, and carried by acclamation. A large number of medical men were nominated for membership. The following is a list of the office-bearers for this session:—President : Dr. Esler. Vice- Presidents: Drs. Dempsey and O’Neill. Librarian : Dr. H. S. Smith. Pathological Secretary: Professor Sinclair, M.D. Treasurer: Dr. Coates. Secretary: Dr. John McCaw. Council: Professor Dill, Drs. Burden, Kevin, Culwell, O’Connell, and Bigger. vote of thanks to the President was moved
Notices of Books. Traité Complet de Z’Examen Médical dans les Assurances la Vie. Paris: J. B. Bailliere et Fils. Pp. 571.—An anonymous scientific work must possess strong intrinsic merit before it can command acceptance at the hands of sun
those who
are in the habit of gauging every written statement by the known personal equation of the author; it must deal solely with recognised facts or theories, and it must not endeavour to introduce any innovations whatever ; in fact, it can only be a resume or rearrangement of common property for the sake of presenting it in an unfamiliar aspect to those who have not leisure to think for themselves. The reader naturally desires to know the status of his instructor, and when this knowledge is denied him, he is tempted either to throw the book aside as unworthy of consideration, or to undertake its perusal in a cavilling spirit, anxious to find flaws which shall justify and explain the author’s wish to remain unknown. We are informed that the work above named has been compiled by the physician of one of the French insurance companies, with the assistance of an experienced actuary. Credit is claimed for anonymity on the score of the truthfulness and independence inseparable from a work against which no idea of business speculation may be urged. The scope is ambitious, aiming at filling a supposed gap in medical literature by supplying information of the expectancy of every case, measured by a consideration of the actual physical condition of the life proposed, together with the circumstances tending to curtail this expectancy from the influence of heredity or from the occurrence of previous illnesses. The book is divided accordingly into five sections. An introduction deale with the position of the medical examiner, and his duties to the office employing him, as well as to the individual examined. Then follows a very valuable section upon heredity
a
is accepted or declined, or acceptance may in certain instances be deferred, but no hint is given of meeting an increased risk by loading the premium; the whole system of extra premiums by which, in this country, certain offices gain largely on insuring unsound lives, seems to be ignored in France. Another point upon which a difference exists is the candour apparently expected from the proposer, for directions are given concerning hæmatemesis, melæna, and other symptoms, for which we have to trust implicitly to the admissions made in our presence. The remarks upon the personal examination of the proposer are, as a rule, sensible enough, but we venture to hope that few members of our profession need so much education when called upon to examine a life ; it might surely have been assumed that medical men entrusted with such duties should be able to recognise locomotor ataxy, or to examine the urine for sugar or albumen, without so many detailed instructions. The index and the table of contents appear to be full and useful. Pathology and Tueatment of Ringworm. By GEORGE THIN, M.D. London :J. & A. Churchill. 1887. -- The purpose of this work is to describe, so far as is known, the nature and peculiarities of the trichophyton tonsurans fungus, the changes in the human skin to which it gives rise, and the treatment which experience shows is most likely to be successful in destroying the parasite and curing the diseases which it causes. Dr. Thin gives a plain, unvarnished exposition of the subject, conceived in a scientific spirit, and he has successfully kept in view throughout the practical object of the work. There is nothing very new offered to the profession, if we except the results of his cultivation experiments, which lead him to hold that the trichophyton tonsurans is a fungus by itself, and totally distinct from the common fungi whose spores infest all the objects by which we. are surrounded, and that the home of this fungus is solely in certain parts of the horny layers of the epidermis of some-of the cnammalia. Dr. Thin’s indications for treatment are clearly given, but such is the diversity of practice that many will no doubt think he has finally adopted very mild and unsatisfactory methods. He gives an interesting and useful account of the plans in vogue in the hands of the II6pital St. Louis physicians. At the end of the book we find an illustration of the fungus found in some scales from a case of tinea imbricata sent him by Dr. Manson. We miss any discussion of the widespread phases of ringworm, such as case
a
real sedative,
re-
divided into sub-sections for various diseases.
1069 The third
lieving pain which resisted all other drugs. As a medicine portion looks to the previous personal history of the proit was largely used, and not with bad results.-Dr. Owi.BS poser ; the fourth describes the precautions necessary in corroborated the last speaker, having employed it extensively, the individual; and lastly, in an appendix we and never with evil effect.--Dr. ALDERSON had prescribed examining find grouped together the medical forms of some few foreign the tincture of aconite largely, and had found it most useful insurance and the He considered numerous cases. offices, selected for reasons which are not obvious, in uniformity purity of drugs a matter of the utmostimportance.-Dr. DODSWORTH some notes on the average duration of life, some tables of thought that the effects of such remedies should be care- mortality, and charts in which their value may be easily fully watched; small doses of aconite in his hands had traced. The introduction is somewhat chatty and disapparently done good.-Dr. WARNER related a similar case cursive, but defends sensibly enough the lengthy medical The patient was nearly poisoned by a to Dr. Pope’s. dose of aconite administered by a homœopathic prac- forms occasionally put before the examiner, amusing extitioner.-Dr. TIIUDICHUAI shortly replied. amples of temporary mental aberration being quoted. One story seems almost too good to be true : the proposal of a good life was marked " inadmissible " by a hospital phyULSTER MEDICAL SOCIETY. sician, who was confusing the proposer with a sick THE opening meeting of the session (1887-88) was held in person seeking admission to the wards. We are glad to the rooms of the Society, the Museum, College-square North, note that heredity is regarded in two directions, ascendon Wednesday evening, the 9th inst., at 8 o’clock, There ing and descending, the former of course dealing with the was a large attendance of members. parents, brothers, and sisters, the latter with the children. A vote of thanks having been moved and passed Descending heredity is very commonly overlooked, but unanimously to the out-going President (Dr. Whitla) for his occasions are by no means rare in which inquiries in this untiring zeal during the past year, the President (Dr. Esler) direction have been serviceable in dealing with a doubtful delivered his opening address, in which he dealt with the In this section, however, we meet with a surprise. origin and progress of medical matters in Belfast, and com- case. to the statements made here, and also later on in According of the and in with that medicine 1837 practice pared surgery m
1887. At the conclusion of
a
very able address
a
hearty the book, the custom of French offices appears to be this:
by Dr. J. W. Browne, seconded by Dr. A McConnell, and carried by acclamation. A large number of medical men were nominated for membership. The following is a list of the office-bearers for this session:—President : Dr. Esler. Vice- Presidents: Drs. Dempsey and O’Neill. Librarian : Dr. H. S. Smith. Pathological Secretary: Professor Sinclair, M.D. Treasurer: Dr. Coates. Secretary: Dr. John McCaw. Council: Professor Dill, Drs. Burden, Kevin, Culwell, O’Connell, and Bigger. vote of thanks to the President was moved
Notices of Books. Traité Complet de Z’Examen Médical dans les Assurances la Vie. Paris: J. B. Bailliere et Fils. Pp. 571.—An anonymous scientific work must possess strong intrinsic merit before it can command acceptance at the hands of sun
those who
are in the habit of gauging every written statement by the known personal equation of the author; it must deal solely with recognised facts or theories, and it must not endeavour to introduce any innovations whatever ; in fact, it can only be a resume or rearrangement of common property for the sake of presenting it in an unfamiliar aspect to those who have not leisure to think for themselves. The reader naturally desires to know the status of his instructor, and when this knowledge is denied him, he is tempted either to throw the book aside as unworthy of consideration, or to undertake its perusal in a cavilling spirit, anxious to find flaws which shall justify and explain the author’s wish to remain unknown. We are informed that the work above named has been compiled by the physician of one of the French insurance companies, with the assistance of an experienced actuary. Credit is claimed for anonymity on the score of the truthfulness and independence inseparable from a work against which no idea of business speculation may be urged. The scope is ambitious, aiming at filling a supposed gap in medical literature by supplying information of the expectancy of every case, measured by a consideration of the actual physical condition of the life proposed, together with the circumstances tending to curtail this expectancy from the influence of heredity or from the occurrence of previous illnesses. The book is divided accordingly into five sections. An introduction deale with the position of the medical examiner, and his duties to the office employing him, as well as to the individual examined. Then follows a very valuable section upon heredity
a
is accepted or declined, or acceptance may in certain instances be deferred, but no hint is given of meeting an increased risk by loading the premium; the whole system of extra premiums by which, in this country, certain offices gain largely on insuring unsound lives, seems to be ignored in France. Another point upon which a difference exists is the candour apparently expected from the proposer, for directions are given concerning hæmatemesis, melæna, and other symptoms, for which we have to trust implicitly to the admissions made in our presence. The remarks upon the personal examination of the proposer are, as a rule, sensible enough, but we venture to hope that few members of our profession need so much education when called upon to examine a life ; it might surely have been assumed that medical men entrusted with such duties should be able to recognise locomotor ataxy, or to examine the urine for sugar or albumen, without so many detailed instructions. The index and the table of contents appear to be full and useful. Pathology and Tueatment of Ringworm. By GEORGE THIN, M.D. London :J. & A. Churchill. 1887. -- The purpose of this work is to describe, so far as is known, the nature and peculiarities of the trichophyton tonsurans fungus, the changes in the human skin to which it gives rise, and the treatment which experience shows is most likely to be successful in destroying the parasite and curing the diseases which it causes. Dr. Thin gives a plain, unvarnished exposition of the subject, conceived in a scientific spirit, and he has successfully kept in view throughout the practical object of the work. There is nothing very new offered to the profession, if we except the results of his cultivation experiments, which lead him to hold that the trichophyton tonsurans is a fungus by itself, and totally distinct from the common fungi whose spores infest all the objects by which we. are surrounded, and that the home of this fungus is solely in certain parts of the horny layers of the epidermis of some-of the cnammalia. Dr. Thin’s indications for treatment are clearly given, but such is the diversity of practice that many will no doubt think he has finally adopted very mild and unsatisfactory methods. He gives an interesting and useful account of the plans in vogue in the hands of the II6pital St. Louis physicians. At the end of the book we find an illustration of the fungus found in some scales from a case of tinea imbricata sent him by Dr. Manson. We miss any discussion of the widespread phases of ringworm, such as case