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VESALIUS, RONDELET, AND RABELAIS.
687 There is just as little ground for placing Rabelais With regard to local treatment of the muscle by red rays, at Leysin Dr. Augustus Rollier showed me among the students of Rondelet. The creator of the wonderful improvement in muscular development Pantagruel received the degree of Bachelor at Montthat took place under the sun’s rays, and he told me pellier on Nov. 1st, 1530, he then being 47 years old. lie thought this must be due to the action of the red Rondelet had been studying in Paris for some years, or infra-red rays. The infra-red rays are absorbed and but returned to his native town-Montpellier--in diffused by water, consequently the water in the tissues 1529 and forthwith received his licence. Armed prevents the heat rays from penetrating them deeply. with this he immediately started the practice of The red, on the other hand, are not interrupted by medicine in a small town of Provence. His attempt water, and it is easy to see how they penetrate the was, however, a failure and after turning to the teachtissues by merely holding the hand in the path of a sun- ing of grammar for a livelihood he again returned to beam entering a shady room when the red rays can be Paris to improve his knowledge of medicine. It was In order to secure then he became a pupil of Gunterius. Rondelet seen to penetrate the fingers easily. the intense radiation of. the paralysed limbs with has been very commonly identified-probably upon red rays, I passed the rays from the carbon-filament the similarity of name-with Rondibilis, but it is lamps through red screens, so screening off much of scarcely necessary to add that the identification is the heat without cutting down the red rays. I could Durelv coniectural.
I
thus use a red light of much greater intensity than is possible without the red screen. This treatment was used in addition to the ordinary
I
electricalI far in advance of anything (
treatment.
am,
Sir, yours faithfully,
Edinburgh, March 16th,
G. MATHESON CULLEN.
1925.
THE INFECTIVE FILTRABLE VIRUSES. The results obtained were I have seen in the course of a long experience in the To the Editor of THE LANCET. treatment of such cases. They show a recovery of SIR,—The annotation headed as above in THE faradic and voluntary response in muscles that were so much atrophied as to give no electrical response IjANCET of March 21st gives information on what at the beginning of the treatment, and in some cases at the present time is the most important of all Though the the initial attack had taken place many years before questions in biology and pathology. the treatment began. I am submitting a detailed most subtly-conceived and delicate experimentation a,nd the most careful observation must be applied communication.to the discovery of some details, a practical underG. MURRAY LEVICK. HarJe1-street, W., March 16th, 1925. standing of the kind of organisms that have filtrable stages is unlikely to be acquired if commonplace facts and obvious results of the simplest experiments STOVARSOL IN THE TREATMENT OF are generally ignored. The constant association of many specific filtrable SYPHILIS. viruses with specific cell-inclusions, as seen, for To the Editor of THE LA7-N-CL T. example, in mosaic disease of plants, molluscum is too often forgotten. SiR,—-In your issue of March 7th reference is made contagiosum, variola, &c., to acetyloxya.minophenylarsinic acid, known as In molluscum the cell-inclusions, called molluscum ’’ 190," or stovarsol, and to the protection it affords corpuscles, have been known for 70 years at least, against syphilis when taken by the mouth soon after and the presence of a filtrable virus in molluscum is exposure to infection. Experiments have amply well established. Placed in water in the simple demonstrated that stovarsol will prevent development way that I have described1 the corpuscles constantly of primary lesions if administered by the mouth show activities, which prove them to be prbtists sufficiently early ; it has also considerable value in related to synchytrians. Their nature thus revealed, the treatment of the disease when manifested. It their histological relations prove them to be the is an active remedy in yaws, and is being used with cause of the disease. The filtered virus has also been great success in the treatment of amcebiasis. The proved to be the cause of the disease ; therefore the product is supplied in tablets, and we shall be happy to molluscum corpuscle and the filtrable virus are but furnish full information to any member of the medical different phases of the same protist. Any conclusions that may be reached in ignorance profession.—We, are, Sir, yours faithfully, of the above-mentioned facts concerning molluscum MAY AND BAKER, LTD. should be very closely scrutinised. Battersea, London, S.W., March 20th, 1925. Iam. Sir. vours faithfully. J. JACKSON CLARKE. London, March 21st, 1925.
,
I
VESALIUS, RONDELET, AND RABELAIS. To the Editor of TnE 1,A--N-c-r,,T. SIR,—In THE LANCET of Feb. 28th, p. 447, there is a leading article upon a lecture by Prof. R. Cruchet.
THE GOULSTONIAN LECTURES. To the Editor of THE LANCET.
Therein it is stated that Vesalius studied for several SiR,-Through an error of mine in transcription years at Montpellier where he had as his master Reference 50 in the first of my Goulstonian Lectures Roudelet. There is no authority given for this state- in THE LANCET last week reads as follows :ment, which is at variance with generally accepted "Boldyreft, W.: Quart. Jour. Exp. Path., 1914, facts.
After
taking
an
Arts
course
in
Louvain, viii., 1."
It should, of
course,
have been
quart.
Vesalius went to Paris to study medicine. He was Jour. Exp. Phys., 1914, viii., 1." then 18 or 19 years old and he remained at Paris for In seeking to do justice to the more recent work three years (1533-36). It is known that he spent on human gastric function I am afraid it may also some months thereafter in Louvain, Brussels, and appear that I have paid too little attention to the Venice. He ultimately reached Padua, where his experiments of this distinguished physiologist. Prof. first appears in the
University records against Boldyreff was the first to show on animals that gastric In Italy he acidity is regulated by duodenal reflux and to point 1537. remained teaching till 1543, when his famous De that so-called hyperacidity must generally be Humani Corporis Fabrica was published. There is out due to defective neutralisation. Apparently he no indication that he ever visited Montpellier at any forces in the duodenum (and not regarded positive time. Rondelet he may have known since both were the behaviour of the pylorus, as my text might seem numbered amongst the students of Gunterius of to as the important factor controlling alkaline suggest) Andemach in 1535. Vesalius, however, nowhere rei’mrcritation. I am. 1 am, Sir. sir, vours yours ffaithfully egurgitation. name
the date Saturday, Dec. 1st,
mentions his name. In any event Vesalius could not have been his pupil since Rondelet did not become Professor in Montpellier till 1545.
Wimpole-street, W., March 21st, 1925. 1
Protists and
Disease, 1922.
J. A. RYLE.
I
thus use a red light of much greater intensity than is possible without the red screen. This treatment was used in addition to the ordinary
I
electricalI far in advance of anything (
treatment.
am,
Sir, yours faithfully,
Edinburgh, March 16th,
G. MATHESON CULLEN.
1925.
THE INFECTIVE FILTRABLE VIRUSES. The results obtained were I have seen in the course of a long experience in the To the Editor of THE LANCET. treatment of such cases. They show a recovery of SIR,—The annotation headed as above in THE faradic and voluntary response in muscles that were so much atrophied as to give no electrical response IjANCET of March 21st gives information on what at the beginning of the treatment, and in some cases at the present time is the most important of all Though the the initial attack had taken place many years before questions in biology and pathology. the treatment began. I am submitting a detailed most subtly-conceived and delicate experimentation a,nd the most careful observation must be applied communication.to the discovery of some details, a practical underG. MURRAY LEVICK. HarJe1-street, W., March 16th, 1925. standing of the kind of organisms that have filtrable stages is unlikely to be acquired if commonplace facts and obvious results of the simplest experiments STOVARSOL IN THE TREATMENT OF are generally ignored. The constant association of many specific filtrable SYPHILIS. viruses with specific cell-inclusions, as seen, for To the Editor of THE LA7-N-CL T. example, in mosaic disease of plants, molluscum is too often forgotten. SiR,—-In your issue of March 7th reference is made contagiosum, variola, &c., to acetyloxya.minophenylarsinic acid, known as In molluscum the cell-inclusions, called molluscum ’’ 190," or stovarsol, and to the protection it affords corpuscles, have been known for 70 years at least, against syphilis when taken by the mouth soon after and the presence of a filtrable virus in molluscum is exposure to infection. Experiments have amply well established. Placed in water in the simple demonstrated that stovarsol will prevent development way that I have described1 the corpuscles constantly of primary lesions if administered by the mouth show activities, which prove them to be prbtists sufficiently early ; it has also considerable value in related to synchytrians. Their nature thus revealed, the treatment of the disease when manifested. It their histological relations prove them to be the is an active remedy in yaws, and is being used with cause of the disease. The filtered virus has also been great success in the treatment of amcebiasis. The proved to be the cause of the disease ; therefore the product is supplied in tablets, and we shall be happy to molluscum corpuscle and the filtrable virus are but furnish full information to any member of the medical different phases of the same protist. Any conclusions that may be reached in ignorance profession.—We, are, Sir, yours faithfully, of the above-mentioned facts concerning molluscum MAY AND BAKER, LTD. should be very closely scrutinised. Battersea, London, S.W., March 20th, 1925. Iam. Sir. vours faithfully. J. JACKSON CLARKE. London, March 21st, 1925.
,
I
VESALIUS, RONDELET, AND RABELAIS. To the Editor of TnE 1,A--N-c-r,,T. SIR,—In THE LANCET of Feb. 28th, p. 447, there is a leading article upon a lecture by Prof. R. Cruchet.
THE GOULSTONIAN LECTURES. To the Editor of THE LANCET.
Therein it is stated that Vesalius studied for several SiR,-Through an error of mine in transcription years at Montpellier where he had as his master Reference 50 in the first of my Goulstonian Lectures Roudelet. There is no authority given for this state- in THE LANCET last week reads as follows :ment, which is at variance with generally accepted "Boldyreft, W.: Quart. Jour. Exp. Path., 1914, facts.
After
taking
an
Arts
course
in
Louvain, viii., 1."
It should, of
course,
have been
quart.
Vesalius went to Paris to study medicine. He was Jour. Exp. Phys., 1914, viii., 1." then 18 or 19 years old and he remained at Paris for In seeking to do justice to the more recent work three years (1533-36). It is known that he spent on human gastric function I am afraid it may also some months thereafter in Louvain, Brussels, and appear that I have paid too little attention to the Venice. He ultimately reached Padua, where his experiments of this distinguished physiologist. Prof. first appears in the
University records against Boldyreff was the first to show on animals that gastric In Italy he acidity is regulated by duodenal reflux and to point 1537. remained teaching till 1543, when his famous De that so-called hyperacidity must generally be Humani Corporis Fabrica was published. There is out due to defective neutralisation. Apparently he no indication that he ever visited Montpellier at any forces in the duodenum (and not regarded positive time. Rondelet he may have known since both were the behaviour of the pylorus, as my text might seem numbered amongst the students of Gunterius of to as the important factor controlling alkaline suggest) Andemach in 1535. Vesalius, however, nowhere rei’mrcritation. I am. 1 am, Sir. sir, vours yours ffaithfully egurgitation. name
the date Saturday, Dec. 1st,
mentions his name. In any event Vesalius could not have been his pupil since Rondelet did not become Professor in Montpellier till 1545.
Wimpole-street, W., March 21st, 1925. 1
Protists and
Disease, 1922.
J. A. RYLE.