WEIL'S DISEASE.

THE NEW MASTER OF DOWNING COLLEGE.-WEIL’S DISEASE.

1258 form of

exemption under the Bill, will have a sort of privilege being subject to the central authority only in such matters as the making of default, whereas the District Councils outside the exempted boroughs will be, for similar purposep, subject to the new county authority. Whether the Bill will pass or not in that form remains an open question ; but it is evident that the smaller or non-exempted boroughs are, under the circumstances, not regarding with pleasure the transference of the powers in question from a Government department to a county body. The Hull Sanitary in

Association also press that medical officers of health should be the officers of the County Councils, and not of the District Councils; and unless the Local Government Board should decide to retain the small amount of control they now exercise over such cillcers and their appointments, pressure will doubtless be brought to bear upon the Government to modify the Bill in the sense indicated by the Hull Association. THE NEW MASTER OF DOWNING COLLEGE.

and patients take to the treatment very kindly, the application being alwaysgrateful to them. The capacity for heat possessed by clay being considerable, it answers the purpose of ice-bags or cold compresses, and is greatly preferred to them by patients. The method of application is simple enough. The breast is first washed with a sponge and a piece of soft gauze applied to it. Another piece of gauze is then cut to the proper size, an aperture being made for the nipple, and an even layer of well-mixed clay, free from lumps, spread over it. This is then applied to the breast over the first piece of gauze, and secured by a bandage passing over the shoulder of the opposite side. The dressing is renewed night and morning. This kind of treatment is also applicable in distressing fulness of the breasts, when for any reason the patient cannot suckle the child. The secretion is arrested and the fulness and tenderness often dieappear in the course of twenty-four hours.

WEIL’S DISEASE.

THE modern tendency to name diseases after the physician who first describes them is due to the difficulty of determining their true nosological position. Hence, however much the practice is to be regretted, there seems to be some difficulty in avoiding it. Amongst the latest additions to the category of "unnamed" disorders is a striking febrile affection, which was first described by Weil in 1886. Its symptoms are those of an acute fever, of comparatively short duration, but accompanied by jaundice, swelling of the liver and spleen, nephiitis, and severe nervous symptoms. In the current issue (No. 12) of the Fortschritte der Medicin, Dr. Unverricht collates the records of cases of this " disease" which have been described since the publication of Weil’s paper. Thus Dr. Goldschmidt gave one from the Nuremberg clinic. Dr. Aufrecht referred to two cases published in his Pathological Reports, which The one supervened seemed to fall under this head. in a phthisical patient, who was suddenly attacked with jaundice and albuminuiia. The other was in the case of a previously healthy man, who died from uraemia, after an attack of fever, with jaundice, enlarged liver, albuminuria, and finally suppression of urine. After death the chief lesion consisted in abundance of dark granules in the renal and hepatic cells, and Aufrecht termed the condition " acute parenchymatosis." Wagner related two cases of acute fever, short in duration, with jaundice and albuminuria, muscular pain, especially in the calves of the legs, and slight enlargement of spleen. Both commenced with labial herpes, and epistaxis occurred frequently. Wagner was inclined to MODELLING CLAY IN MASTITIS. class these as " bilious typhoid." Roth gives a parallel case, DR. E. L. MAÏZEL mentions in the Vrach (No. 21) that he which he attributed to "salad poisoning." Haas records ten has for some time employed modelling clay as an applica-cases, all marked by fever, jaundice, splenic swelling, gastric tion in mastitis, with excellent results. The idea was disturbances, headache, and myalgia (especially in the calves). obtained from Dr. S. Lukashevich, who employed white In his cases the liver was not often enlarged; albuminuria modelling clay in epididymitis. Dr. Maizel has made use of occurred occasionally, and some suffered from herpes. He it in twelve cases-seven of parenchymatous inflammation, was inclined to class these cases with abortive typhoid, for of which only three suppurated; and five of phlegmonous they occurred during epidemics of typhoid fever. The most inflammation, of which only one went on to form an abscess. exhaustive and latest contribution to the subject is a paper The pain was rapidly alleviated and the fever diminished by by Fiedler, who has collected thirteen cases. He points out this treatment, which, if commenced sufficiently early, that the disease begins suddenly, without prodromata, often appeared to cause the inflammatory process to terminate in with a rigor ; also high fever, headache, gastric disturbance, resolution without the formation of pus. When abscesses jaundice, and myalgia (in the calves). The pyrexia runs a had formed and broken, the wound rapidly healed, and the typical course, lasting eight or ten days; then subsides by indurated lobules returned to their normal condition with- crisis, occasionally having a short relapse. The pulse-rate out suppurating, the clay proving a much less troublesome is frequent at the first. Swelling of the spleen and liver is treatment than Kiwisch’s plan of starched bandages, and frequent, but not invariable; and nephritis often occurs. much less painful than the application of collodion, Occasionally there is herpes and erythema. The prognosis as recommended by Latour and Sprengel, being at is favourable. The patients are mostly males in the prime the same time quite as satisfactory in its results. of life; the disease occurs chiefly during the hot season. This method is especially suitable for country practice, as Fiedler believes it to be a specific infective or toxic disorder, white modelling clay is a very common and cheap substance, and contests the view that it is at all related to typhoid; its

the election on the 16th inst. of Dr. Alexander Hill as Master of Downing College, Cambridge. Born in 1856, Dr. Hill took his degree with distinction in Botany, Zoology, Comparative Anatomy, Human Anatomy, and Physiology, in the Natural Science Tripos of 1877. After a short residence in Cambridge be completed his professional education at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital, becoming a member of the Royal College of Surgeons of England in 1880. He was elected a Fellow of Downing shortly afterwards, became M.B. in 1882, and M.D. in 1885. On returning into residence he was appointed Demonstrator of Anatomy and Teacher of Physiology in the University. Twice in succession he held the post of Hunterian Professor of the Royal College of Surgeons, and has published The Plan of the Central Nervous System," as well as contributions to various medical journals. In 1883,1884, and 1885, and again in 1887 and 1888, he acted as examiner in the Natural Science Tripos. He was also examiner for the M.B. examinations, and has recently been appointed examiner to the Glasgow University. The appointment to the Mastership is in certain respects unique. A headship has not fallen to an anatomist since Harvey was Warden of Merton, and very rarely to a member of the medical profession. The new Master owes his position entirely to his success in the medical school at Cambridge, and the fact of his election is a proof of the increasing hold which science, and especially medicine, is acquiring in the universities.

WE note with

pleasure

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1259

THE LATE EMPEROR OF GERMANY,

appearance

sudden onset, the course of the pyrexia, the early performed this year. With regard to the medical school, it of jaundice, the absence of pulmonary catarrh, the herpetic cannot, strictly speaking, be called a university, as it is unable and erythematous rashes, and indeed almost all the 8ym- to grant the M.D. degree, which Madrid alone has the power ptoms, being opposed to that idea. Moreover, if Aufrecht’s of conferring. The lecture-rooms are small, dirty, and two cases were examples of Weil’s disease, they neither of badly arranged, the di8sectiDg-room confined and dark, the them showed typhoid lesions in the intestine. It is noted laboratories ill supplied with materials, and the library of that nine out of Fiedler’s thirteen patients were butchers, a but little use. In striking contrast to this is the new fact which may prove of etiological value. municipal laboratory under Dr. Ferr’an, as well as two private laboratories belonging to Drs. Barraquer and Pi, all of which are well arranged and replete with every necessary THE LATE EMPEROR OF GERMANY. for bacteriological research. Indeed, according to the IN another column will be found a short report on the author of the letter, the municipal laboratory is worthy to recent condition of H,I.M. the late Emperor of Germany, rank amongst the first in Europe. furnished by Sir Morell Mackenzie, together with his statement as to the nature of the case, made immediately before THE REPORT ON EXPERIMENTATION ON LIVING the post-mortem examination. Up to the present time no ANIMALS. complete account of the case has been published, and even states that the number of IN his Mr. Erichsen report the full details of the post-mortem examination have not cases in which pain has been unavoidably inflicted during been made public. We must therefore postpone any comments on the many important questions that it raises until experiments conducted under the operation of certificateswhich dispense with anaesthetics in cases in which they we have all the facts before us. We can now only say that the experiment, or with the the post-mortem examination showed what our readers would frustrate the result of animal the on recovery from anæsthesia-is seventykilling of must have known long ago-that the disease was cancer one, or 5.8 per cent. of the total number of experiments. in an aggravated form. these, two were physiological, twenty-one pathological, and forty-eight therapeutical. In one case only, that of a SMALL-POX IN THE NORTH. protected under CertiENERGETIC measures are being adopted to stay the therapeutical experiment, specially ficate E, was an animal subjected to pain. It is important progress of small-pox in Preston. Owing to the sudden to observe that comparatively few vivisections," proonset of the disease the authorities were unprepared to cope so-called-that is to say, experiments involving a perly with it, and the needed means of isolation were not availdistinct surgical operation on a living animal,-have been able. There is a hospital near the workhouse which, it is during the past year. In all cases in which stated, can take in some 300 patientq, and which has practised such experiments have been performed under Certificate B hitherto been of little use, but since it is vested in the (dispensing with the necessity of killing the animal before guardians of the poor it could only be legally used for the effect of the anaesthetic has passed away), it has been pauper persons ; unless, indeed, the building could tempo- made a condition that the wound should be treated antirarily be transferred to the corporation, who are the sani- septically and thus be rendered practically painless, and that tary authority. In the meantime further progress is being in the event of the antiseptics failing and the animal suffermade with a temporary erection in Moor-park; but, like it should be destroyed. Mr. Erichsen has every pain ing most temporary erections, its usefulness will, it is feared by reason to believe that this condition has been faithfully many, come too late. Much the same is being done at fulfilled by those on whom it was imposed. We have read Skipton, where a temporary hospital is being put up after this report with satisfaction, because of the care which the the need for it has to a large extent passed away. At Hull, takes to prevent any infringement of inspector evidently small-pox is said to show no indications of abatement. So the law. far the type is mild, but there are some forty patients under treatment in the borough hospital. HOSPITAL SATURDAY FUND. -

Of

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glad to notice a healthy dissatisfaction with past performances in the Council of the Fund, especially with reTHE MEDICAL FACULTY OF BARCELONA. gard to collections in the workshops. The street collection, THE first stone of a new medical faculty and clinical which is fixed for the 14th of July, is expected to show hospital for Barcelona was laid on May 28th. There was, of considerable advance. It has steadily increased from course, a great ceremony, the Minister of Education and all £258 in 1874 to nearly X5000 last year. We agree with the municipal and university authorities being present. Lord Brassey, President of the Fund, that £50,000 would The Government has assigned a million dollars for the not be too great a contribution from the working classes of buildings, and the local authorities have given the site. London to the institutions by which they so largely profit. WE

it would seem from the Barcelona El Siglo Médico, have not been begun a moment too soon, as the hospital, lecture-room, and laboratory accommodation in Barcelona is at present of the most meagre and unsatisfactory description. The hospital of Santa Cruz is pervaded, not only in the wards, but in the staircases, by a powerful smell. The beds are arranged in double rows along each side of badly lighted and badly ventilated walls, the foot of one bed touching the head of another, and the space at the sides of the beds scarcely allowing the attendants to move about. There are no ventilating arrangements, the air renewing itself as best it can. Notwithstanding all thifl, however, it is satisfactory to learn that, thanks to extreme care taken by Dr. Morales in attending to antiseptic measures, he has not lost a single one out of eighty cases of major operations

These works,

are

as

correspondence of

THE DANGERS OF A COLD SUMMER. REPORTS from Aberdeenghire testify to the prevalence of unusually severe weather in the upland districts of that county. For the first time during many years snow fell heavily in the earlier part of this month, covering the ground to a depth of from three to six inches. The damage done to trees at this time in full foliage by the breaking of branches under their snowy load was considerable, and cattle are said to have been in great straits from the impossibility of access to their grazing ground. In the south we have not suffered so much as our northern neighbours; but the current month and that of May will probably be remembered by medical practitioners here and elsewhere on account of the unusual coldness and uncertain variations

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