S Entered according to Act of Corless, in the year 187.N, RY PHILETUS J. STEPHENS, In the office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington. Thi arn lty aund Trattvs OF.THE ew et ok Xf o rLeov o iptid XediIl -olleg'e THIS WORK IS RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED, BY PHILETUS J. STEPHENS. PREFACE. DURING the last session of the New York Homeeopathic Medical College the undersigned was often struck with the brilliancy of the Surgical Clinics, and then determined, if he were spared another term, he would publish these Clinics, not only for the advancement of the college in which they were delivered, but for the good of the Homceopathic cause generally. The method of conducting the lecture is as follows: the patients are sent from the Dispensary to the Amphitheatre and are introduced one by one to the class. There is not any selection of cases, or opportunity afforded for the lecturer to examine the patient, make up his diagnosis, select his remedy and prepare what apparatus is best; aud for these reasons the author has endeavored to give the record in full, that the Clinics may appear, not dressed up with rhetoric and illustration, but as they really took place. The author also desires, at the request of Prof. Helmuth, to state that he (Prof. Helmuth) was unaware that these Clinics were being reported verbatim as they fell froin his lips, until the session was almost over, and then he was for the first time made aware of the fact by the printed proof sheets being presented for his inspection. The author conceived that by keeping the matter entirely private during the term that he could more certainly offer to the students, the faculty of the college and the public the method in which Clinical Surgery is taught in the New York Homoeopathic College, which, he conceives, has no superior in this country. PHILETUS J. STEPHENS. SURGICAL CLINICS OF 1874-'7.5 OF THE THE Session of the New York Homceopathic Medical College for 1874 and'75 commenced October 10th, 1874, in the large and elegant Amphitheatre, under most favorable auspices. At the first Clinic there were present more than one hundred students, and more patients applied than could be attended to; indeed, throughout the entire session, this has been the case. These Clinics are'always lively, pleasant and attractive to students as well as physicians, and give entire satisfaction; they sparkle with humor, and reflect great credit upon Professor Wm. Tod Helmuth, who, we think, proves himself a perfect master of the art of surgery. The chief peculiarity of the Clinics are the promiscuous and rapidly given " quizzes." Qrgi 1a i 01hli of lrtober il. A boy being brought in with his arm in a splint, Professor Wm. Tod Helmuth looked at it for a moment, and commenced to question the class as follows: What do we understand by the term fracture? Answer.-A solution of continuity of the Osseous System; or, in other words, a separation or breakage of the bones, by various causes, both direct and indirect. A fracture may be known by pain, loss of power, and crepitus, or peculiar sensation from rubbing the ends of the broken bones together. What various divisions of fractures are recognized by surgeons? Simple, Compound, Comminuted, Impacted, Complete, and Incomplete Fracture. What is a simple fracture? Is when the bone is broken at one point, without any wound of the flesh. 8 FRACTURE QUIZZES. What is a compound fracture? Is one where there is a breakage of the bone, with a wound of the soft parts. What is a comminuted fracture? Is one wlhere the bone has been broken in more than one place, or cragked in many places. What is a compound comnminuted fracture? One where the bone is splintered, or the breakage of bones into several fragments with accompanying wounds of the soft parts. What is an impacted fracture? One in which one extremity or portion of the bone is wedged or driven into the other. What is a complete fracture? One in which there is anll entire separation of the bone. What is an incomplete fracture? One in which there is but a partial division of the osseous material. What terms are used to designate the directions in which the separation may occur.? Transverse, longitudinal, oblique or serrated fracture. What is a transverse fracture'? One which is directly across the bone. What is a longitudinal fracture'? One which runs lengthwise of the bone. What is an oblique fracture? One in which the line of fracture runs from side to side in an oblique direction, or obliquely to the base of the bone. ~Wvhat is reduction? Setting a fracture: that is, bringing the ends of the broken bones together and adjusting them to each other in their natural position, embracing extension, counter extension, and coaptation. What is extension? The taking hold of the limb below the fracture and making traction from the body. -7ihat is counter extension? Traction above the fracture towards the body, or steadying the body. Must this opposite traction be done at the same time? Yes; to overcome the force of the muscles, which contract and draw the ends of the broken bonie over each other and so shorten the limb. Sometimes extension and counter extension are not required. -What is coaptationl? Adjusting the ends of the bones to each other. What would you do with a fractured limb? Would set the bones: that is, restore the fragments as nearly as possible to CASE OF FRACTURE OF THE HUMERUS, ETC. 9 their natural position, keeping the ends of the broken bone in contact by mechanical contrivances, such as bandages, pads, splints and rollers, so as to maintain them in such position that nature may have a fair chance to unite the broken bone together. What next would you do? Prevent or allay constitutional or local disturbances. Vr$^4vi ro ae 0"i X3% 0 sm$cre$ JOHN A. POWERS, Aged Five Years. The first case to-(day is one of fracture. By fracture, I mean a breakage of the bone, or ossific matter-a solution of continuity in any or the bony structures o(f the human body. It is always of great importance when looking at a fracture and making your dialgnosis to find out, if you can, the position of the patient at the time that the injury was received. In a patient so young as this we will be unable to discover how he fell, whether on his arm or not. The next thing to be dole when a. patient is brought to you with a fracture is to look for the three signs thereof, which are almost always present. These tlhree symptoms are crepitus, preternatural mobility and deformity. There are other symptoms, but these are the three generally found, and these demand attention. It is always important in a case of friacture to try to ascertain, if we can, if crepitus be present-and by the term crepitus we understand the sound which is produced and emitted when the fractured extremities of a bone are rubbed together, or the grating together of the two ends of a fractured bone, and the peculiar sensation that is felt by a surgeon during a careful examination. True crepitus, in itself, is always diagnostic of a fracture. When I say crepitus, I mean true crepitus. You must be careful not to mistake true for false crepitus, which you often find in that peculiar rubbing noise that may be distinctly heard in the irritated sheaths of tendons and joints, or fiom accumulation of air in the tissues. True crepitus is not only felt, but often heard. It resembles, as closely as possible, to the ear the sound produced by the rubbing together of two pieces of loaf sugar. If you have a patient brought 10 FRACTURE, PRETERNATURAL MOBILITY, ETC. to you with supposed fracture, and you can find true crepitus, you do not wlant anything else. You must also bear in mind an importnllt fact, that a fracture may exist without crepitus. Thus, in the so-called impacted fractures, or iil those where str)cng muscular coatractio'n draw asun(ler the frcagrments, there may not be a trace of the sound, and I would have this point strongly imnpressed upon the nintld. PRETERNATURAL MOBILITY. —l'his symptom is generally present in fractures, altllouglh, in the bones of the leg and, fo: erm, wlhen oine bone only is the seat of injury, the ilncreased motion mayi be very slight, as may also be noticed in the irnmpacted variety; but by gras.t,itg the fractured bone above the contusion and holding it firlml y and moving tile lower portion of tile bone in a lateral direction, all unnatural motion may be generally observed. This pretern(atural mobility may also be difficult to recognizeespecially when the bony lesion takes place in the vicinity of a joint alnd there is muclh contusion of the soft parts which may be torn or lacerated. Preternatural mobility is more frequently found in the shafts of bones than in fractures in the vicinity of the joints, because when you have a fracture in the vicinity of the joint there is generally so much swelling that there is less mobility than usual. But if you have a fracture in the shaft of the humerus, or if you have both bones of the forearm broken, then, of course, there will be mobility, when, under ordinary circumstances, there would be none. We have not time now to enter into a discussion of fractures and the different methods of treatment. It is very interesting, but would occupy too much time. It is always well when you have to treat a fracture to act with the utmost delicacy, otherwise you are very apt to bruise tihe tissues. IIere is a fracture which is somewhere in the vicinity Of the elbow joint-and fractures in the vicinity of the elbow joint are sometimes the most difficult that you have to deal with. I thilik that Gross says in his work that he never approaches a surgical case with as much fear and misgiving as lie does fractures in the vicinity of the elbow, no matter how slight, because ill eight cases out of ten they are liable to be followed with a certain amount of deformity. More or less stiffniess in the joint is a result which, even under the most careful treatment, cannot be prevented. 14 CASE OF N./EVUS-TREATMENT, ETC. vessels; noevi are flat, slightly elevated, and of a red or purplish hue; they are usually small, and occur most frequently on the head, face, neck and arms. The contained blood may be arterial or venous, or a mixture of the two. As a general rule their growth does not attain a size much larger than an egg. The appearance is sometimes called " mother's mark." A true aneurism is different from a nmevus. A nmevus is an enlargement of the capillaries of the arteries and veins, whereas a true aneurism by anastomosis is nothing more nor less than an enlargement of the arterial capillaries rather than of the veins. Nrevi are sometimes very difficult to treat. They are generally found at birth. In fact I have never yet heard of one which was not present at birth. They vary in size, from that of the head of a large pin to several inches in diameter. They are caused by an enlargement of the smaller blood vessels of the part, and by an increased action of the heart and vessels tending to throw the blood to'that part. The capillaries are enlarged, and, not having the power of passing the blood through them, the parts become enlarged and reddened. These Lnevi are always worse when the child cries, because then an additional amount of blood is thrown into the tissues. There are a variety of methods employed for the relief of these nevi. A simple nMvus may be removetl, when it consists of a red spot, by vaccination, or by application of collodion with pressure. When situated over a bone the tumor may be treated by compression with pads of ivory or other hard substances. Or you take a needle and thread it with an ordinary piece of silk, dip the silk in dilute nitric acid, run the needle beneath the nmvus and let the ends of the ligature hang. Injections of persulphate or perchloride of iron, sulphate of zinc, acetate of iron, matico, tannin and ether astringents may prove useful. Dr. Gross speaks highly of the topical application of Vienna paste. Dr. Valentine Mott advised puncture with red hot needles, or acupressure pins. Perhaps the best method of treating mevi is by electrolysis or galvano puncture. Many successful cures are on record. Some surgeons prefer nitrate of silver or the actual cautery. Or you may apply collodion over the surface. This has a tendency, from its contractile powers, to force out the blood, and it is a very excellent dressing after an operation for TREATMENT OF NcEVUS, ETC. 15 n3evus has been performed. Allother method is the introduction of pins deep clown under the tumor, and strangling the growth by ligature underneath the pins. There is another method —by passing a double thrqad under the base of the tumor, leaving the strands lbanCging out in opposite directions, then passing the needle through at right angles, cutting the strands, and tying those above and those below. Another practice is to ligate the main vessel giving the supply of blood. I have myself employed this treatment for a nevus occupying half the side of a chil(i's head. The growth had attained the size of half all ordinary sized melon, for which I ligated the common carotid below the omo-hyoid after failure by other means. At first the tumor diminishe(l one half, then remained stationary for a tim(e, and has since disappeared. But one of the best methods known you will see employed to-day. This child has been operated on twice with a red hot iron, the marks of which you can see. This nimvus is a larg, one, and is in a very peculiar position — on the nose. It is not in a position where the parts are all smooth, and you have a plain surface to work upon, but it is so situated as to require a great deal of care in the operation, and the process itself is by no means devoid of danger. The operation which Dr. Thompson proposes to perform is this: He has prepared a round needle-and the reason that a round one is used is because these broad, cutting needles often give rise to a great deal of hemorrhage; the needle is very sharp, and it is threaded with a long piece of silk thread (made of new braided silk, wlhich will not kink or break), about six feet in length, one half of which is black and the other white. Thread the needle upon the middle of this cord. I will give you the history (of the operation, and then you will see it done. You enter the needle at about one quarter of an inch from the end of the tumor, and pass the needle several times beneath the nevus. The loops should be three quarters of an inch apart and the last one be brought out through the healthy tissue, beyond the tumor. Thus we have double loops-one white and one black-on each side. Cut the white loops on one side and the black on the other, or at the top you keep all the thread of one color and at the bottom you keep all the thread of the other color. Then tie firmly the white threads on one side and the black on the other side, and the nsvus is effectually strangulated. 16 CASE OF NIEVUS, ANESTHESIA, ETC. The prognosis in the case cannot be said to be remarkably favorable, but nevertheless we will 1have to (lo the best we can. But it is certain that unless an operation is pterformed there can be no help for the child. A profuse hemorrhage would soon result. This is the only means left to save the life of this child. It is a perfectly well understood matter between the parents and the operator that they assume all the responsibility in this case. The father has been told all about it. IHe knows that it is a dangerous operation, but he wishes it performed because he ktnows that it is the only thing. thl:.t can be done, and he is willing to assume all the responsibility; he is anxious to have the child live; there is no doubt of th:t. It is in just such cases that surgery steps in. The question arises-Is there anything in medicine that will do this child good? Will tll the medicine of all the schools be able to cure this nsevus? 1 do not think there is a chance for it in medicine. Wlhen the physicians get iiito trouble they often come to the surgeon, and when the surgeon fails there is no power on earth to save. This nevus has been extending daily. In this operation wv: shall use an ansesthetic. You all know, gentlemen, that aniesthesia is the next step to death. It simulates death. It takes but a very little more of the anmsthetic agent to step from a previous life into death. Therefore, it behooves us when we would administer such an agent to select that one which is the best. When I say the " best," I mean that agent which is safest, and not that which is the quickest, unless the quickest is the safest. Of course, you know that the discovery of ether belongs to America. The discover/ of chloroform, or, more properly speaking, the iiitroduction of chloroform, belongs to England. Wells and Morton claim priority of discovery in this country, while Simpson lays claim to it in England. The American Medical Association, at its meeting held at Washington in 1870, passed the following resolution: "Dr. IHorace Wells, of Hartford, Conn., was the discoverer of arnesthesia." Very distinguished gentlemen, while giving the discovery of nitrous oxide ansesthesia to Dr. Wells, accord priority of the sulphuric ether ansesthesia to Dr. Wm. T. G. Morton, of Boston. Not many years since one of the greatest surgeons, Velpeau, of Paris, told his medical pupils that although enthusiasts at different times had vainly imagined that some means might be adopted to ANESTHESIA. 17 allay the pain of surgical operations, yet that such an idea was entirely chimerical, and must ever remain so. The thing, he said, was impossible, and all hope of it but a vain delusion. In five years from that hour Velpeau, of Paris, amputated limbs and performed other grave operations whilst his willing patients were sleeping from anesthesia. An American dentist, Dr. Horace Wells, of Hartford, Conn., conceived the idea of preventing the pain of surgical operations, and took the ether himself to have a tooth extracted. He devoted years to this discovery, with an enthusiasm not excelled among ancient or modern inventors, but was ridiculed and abused. He was so disheartened by ingratitude that he died by his own hands in 1848. Dr. Morton finally died, discouraged, disheartened and penniless. His remains rest in Mount Auburn Cemetery, near Boston, " without a stone to mark the spot." What a homily could be read on this history! \What a lesson does it teach us! There can be no doubt when we compare the symptoms occasioned by the use of the two anmsthetics, that chloroform is decidedly the more pleasant. Patients succumb to its influence a great deal quicker. There is none of the excitability which attends tile use of ether, and it probably takes less than one fourth the time to chloroform a patient that it does to bring him under the influence of ether. In the one case the danger to life is comparatively great, while in the other it is reduced to a minimum. The temptation to the surgeon to administer chloroform is very strong, when he knows —as is generally the case-that a patient will go through tthe various stages of intoxication if ether be given. Chloroform will very often bring a patient under anmesthetic influence with extreme rapidity, but you scarcely know when your patients are in a dangeroas condition if it be administered; and the deaths are numerous that can be attributed to its use. Although I have given chloroform a thousand times or more without accident, on two occasions I was on the verge of losing the lives of patients-once in Buffalo and once in St. Louis-and I have abjured the use of this agent from that time to the present as a general rule. I only use it occasionally. Ether produces all that we want, and if it is properly applied, can be made almost as serviceable as chloroform. If, before taking the ether, the patient is allowed to fast, and a stimulant given twenty minutes before the inhalation commences, the ether takes effect with much 2 18 ANAESTHESIA. greater rapidity. If you do not desire to give stimulants in the shape of brandy or wxhiskey, you can give ten grains of the bromide of potash, which accelerates the influence of ether with most remarkable facility, and then there is no danger. I say that it is better to have the trouble, if any, with the patients alive on the table, and let them squeal, and vomit and kick if they like, and talk all kinds of nonsense, and occupy a great deal of your time-it is better to have your trouble th~ n, than have it in a court of law afterwards, when the operator may be subjected to the most distressing self-reproaches if he has happened to lose a patient. I do not believe that any feeling ever passes through the mind of the conscientious surgeon which is more painful to himself, or renders him more miserable, than that of seeing a patient die on the table, while taking an anMesthetic-particularly when he knows, or thinks, or believes that if he had used another agent the result might have been different. There are, however, some surgeons who prefer to use the nitrous oxide to any other anoesthetic. It is an excellent method so long as it lasts, but it is too evanescent in its effect. It passes off in a very short space of time, and if you were to use it in general practice you would require a dray to go behind your carriage to carry the bags. For short operations it is very nice, but for tedious ones, it is not desirable, unless in a hospital where you can manufacture it, and then it is necessary to have it always made pure. This child has been twice tried with chloroform, but the effects were bad; it lost its breath immediately; therefore it is better to use etlher, and take a longer time, if necessary. The parents state that this nevus was as large as a three cent piece when the child was born, and that when it was three or four weeks old the noevus was twice treated with a hot iron. This treatment is not desirable, as it is not so successful as the other methods I have referred to. (Dr. Thompson then continued the operation.) You wvill notice in this operation that the black threads come together, and the white ones also. We draw and tie the threads very tightly. This operation is a very serious one, and we do not know exactly what will be the result. We hope, however, it is for the best. PATRICK MURPHY, Aged Eqhty-five. Here is a patient brought to us from Bridgeport, Conn., for treatment for Epithelioma, or Epithelial Cancer, which is one of the mildest forms of cancer, and affects often the lower lip, as in the present case. Some authors have styled this disease semi-malicgnant, or cancroid. In fact, it occupies a somewhat anomalous position, closely resembling innocent growths in cell structure, while in all other respects it is essentially malignant. Gross is inclined to think that it is "merely a formn of. scirrhus, modified in its character by the nature of' the structure in which it occurs." It was formerly classed with lupus, but the later pathologists regard the latter as belonging to ulcers rather than tumors. In regard to the causes of this disease but little is known. According to Paget, only one twentieth of the cases are referable to hereditary taint. External injury, long continued pressure and local irritation, may serve as exciting causes; for example, epithelioma of the lips may be induced by the pressure of the pipe, and the "chimney sweeper's cancer" is supposed to be caused by the irritation of soot lodged in the folds of the scrotum. Epithelioma attacks men more frequently than women, and seldom occurs before the age of thirty-five or forty. It generally affects mucous and cutaneous tissues, especially the lips, tongue and f.ic-; but it may also invade deeply seated structures, and be found in the bones, muscles, lymphatics, liver, lungs scrotum, anus and penis. It generally begins as a s;nall wart, crack or tubercle on the skin, hard, movable, and tender on pressure. As it advances in growth it may assume several different shtapes, sometimes con.sistingr of small rounded masses, half imbedded in the skin; sometimes projecting in warty, cauliflower-like excrescences of a florid color, and extreme vascularity. Again, the tumor may assume 20 EPITHELIOMA. a conical shape, and be covered by a thick laminated scab, like syphilitic rupia; and, lastly, these morbid growths may be peniulous, and attached to the integument by narrow bases. On dissection epithelial cancer is found to consist of a firm, grayish or white substance, possessing considerable vascularity; unlike the varieties previously described, it has no stroma. According to Druitt, "Microscopical examinations show: 1. The epidermic layer to be composed of epithelium, arranged in concentric layers around and between the papillae. 2. The papillve and dermis are composed of white, intermingled with yellow fibrous tissue, everywhere abundantly infiltrated with epithelial cells, and with their nuclei and fibroplastic matter. In the papillae, the epithelium is seen to be arranged symmetrically in concentric layers amongst the scanty fibrous elements, and this arrangement may penetrate to some depth within the cutis, from which elongated and imbricated rolls of epithelium somewhat resembling the heads of young asparagus, can be extricated. 3. Within the cutis and subjacent tissue the epithelium is found sometimes in concentric pellets like comedones or grubs, or inspissated contents of sebaceous follicles, sometimes in rings formed within obstructed ducts or follicles, but usually in large, irregular quantities infiltrated amongst the fibres of the cutis and of the subcutaneous areolar tissue." The cancer cells which Druitt describes as epithelial, differ greatly from those of scirrhus and encephaloid; in fact, they closely resemble the cells of pavement epithelium, they may be "round, oval, annular, fusiform or elongated," and they generally contain one or two nuclei, sometimes they are arranged in layers, and again they may be enclosed in cysts. Upon pressure, the cut surface of the cancer yields a clear serous fluid containing cells, nuclei, oil globules, and crystals of cholestearine. In its growth, epithelioma gradually attacks and infiltrates all surrounding structures. At length ulceration sets in, the surface cracks at several points, and there exudes a purulent, sanious fluid, which dries in a scab, this is soon thrown off as a slough, and we see a deep, excavated ulcer, with hard base, and rough, 22 CASE OF EPITHELIOMA. methods of treatment for the cure of the disease, or the eradication of it from the system. The old fashioned doctrine that cancer is hereditary or constitutional, begins to shake at its foundation. The microscope has begun to uproot marny of these older notions; and it is thought that in very many cases it can be proven that malignant diseases, and especially the different forms of cancer, are local, and that it is only after a time that the constitution begins to suffer; in other words, that the toxemia is the secondary, and the local manifestation is the primary cause, whereas we have been taught that there was a constitutional predisposition to cancerous disease, which had a tendency to render any little bruise result in some form of cancer. This is, however, uncertain as yet. El)ithelioma may assume a most sudden and rapid growth, and may so undermine the constitution that life may be in danger, and death result from what is termed vegetating epithelioma or cauliflower excrescence. IThis case of epithelioma undoubtedly arises from smoking a clay pipe. Tt:e pipe becomes very hot, dries away the tissues, and so a tendency to the disease is produced. It generally begins as a hard pimple under the skin-a hard nodule under the skinwhlich gradually comes nearer the surface, and is accompanied by peculiar stinging or burning pains, but not so much burning as we find in the true varieties of cancer. Finally, it ulcerates, and the ulceration is peculiar, consisting of elevated papillae. I think that, with the exception of the head of the penis, there is no more setsitive structure of the human body, than is the lip. I am now going to cut out tile side of this lip, and the question is, what structures do I expect to go through. The lips are formed of mucus membrane, and chiefly of the muscle called the orbicularis oris, to which muscle is attached a great many other muscles. For instance we have the anguli oris, the levator menti, the zygomatic major and zygomatic minor, the buccinator or trumpeter's muscle. These are all more or less blended with the orbicularis oris, and all assist in the free play of the lips, moving them in many ways. By the lips we mould speech; we use wind instruments, we talk, we sing. They perform various functions. If it were not for the lips we would never be able to give sweet kisses -and that is a very important function-necessary sometimes to be performed, but always better in private than in public; be, sure, hoewever, that you have a proper subject to operate upon. OPERATION FOR EPITHELIOMA. 23 We have also in the lips the coronary arteries, which are branches of the facial. The facial artery comes up in this direction, crosses diagonally an(d divides into two-the superior and inferior coronary; and it is this inferior coronary artery which will be cut across in this operation. In removing epithelioma, it is very necessary that you cut out enough of the structure; and it is really quite remarkable how much can be removed. and how good an operation can be made by taking out a large quantity of' the lip. Those who were here at the last year's clinics will recollect that nearly the whole of the chin was taken off at one operation. I expect a patient here today from whom I removed the whole integument of the chin in extirpating a large mark which the girl had since her birth. Her mother was frightened by seeing a mouse, and when she was born she had on her chin an oblong, black spot, full of hairs, which resembled exactly the back of a mouse. It was taken out, leaving the vermillion border of the lip intact. It extended around the chin and covered so much of the surface that when the lips of the wound were drawvn together the centre of the lips almost touched the nose; but nature has belhaved so well to the surrounding structures that the lip has come down in such a manner that you can now scarcely see any deformity. Here is a specimen showing the position of the muscles we shall have to cut through. HIere you see the orbicularis oris, the zygomatic major and minor, the labii inferiororis and the anali oris muscles; and here you see the arteries —the facial coming up on this side, winding around the jaw and dividing into the superior and inferior coronary. The first incision that I shall make in this case is the one nearest the medial line. There is a good deal of hemorrhage about this operation. You see how the artery spurts. I will now make an incision directly down in this waiy. These arteries do not generally require ligation. If you do not twist them the blee(lin ceases when the cut surfaces are approximated. You can make very nice, clean work of this. It is important that these sutures should be taken down very deep. I shall take the stitch nearly a quarter of an inch back, and bring it out like thzat. Then draw up the lip as nearly as you can. We will now apply one part of calendula to four of water. Keep it on for about two days, and remove the lint the CASE OF CICATRICES. 25 hand, there is an antagonism between these muscles-if one set of them seems to have a tendency to draw the column to one side, then we have as the result, a lateral curvature of the spine. If the disease attacks the bodies of the vertebrre, and extends itself to the intervertebral substance, then there is a tendency in the front part of the vertebra to drop down, and the spinous processes push directly backward. This deformity is called Potts' disease of the spine, or, angular curvature of the spine. It arises chiefly from a carious condition of the bodies of the vertebrae, wherever you find it, and is accompanied in a great many instances by disorder of digestion. We find it chiefly in children having light hair and blue eyes, and a tendency to an enlargement of the glands-in other words, in scrofulous children generally. On looking at the back of this child, as you now see it, you would scarcely detect anything out of the way, but if you take a profile view of it you can plainly detect the curvature. The mother states that when the child was seven or eight months old she fell down some steps, and ever since that time has had a tendency to carry her head sideways. There is one peculiarity about angular curvature of the spine which I wish to mention; it is, that in the majority of instances you can trace it to some injury received in years gone by, but that if the child grows, and the general health is sustained, the disease is likely to be cured, leaving, however, some deformity. The object of the splint which I now apply is to lift the weight from the superincumbent part-from the sore, inflamed, irritable vertebrae. There are two pads attached to it, which make a pressure on each side of the column. This splint must be worn night and day. The next case is SussN CHRINE, Aged Seven. (The mother states that nearly seven years ago the child was burned on the cheek by the side of the eye). This is a very peculiar case. This sore has for some time been suppurating and discharging, occasionally healing over and then gathering again. There are certain varieties of inflammatory action which seem to undermine the tissues from place to 26 TREATMENT OF CICATRICES. place-in fact, to have a disposition to spread by reason of contiguity of surface. Here was an unhealthy action which began with a burn. Inflammatory action went on in one direction and the process of repair went on with it in another. Inflammation covers not only the process of repair, but it covers the process of disintegration, and even the death of the part. At the same time that the pus is forming, there may be a reparative process going on in the same structure. We find this same thing in that variety of ulcers which are called serpiginous ulcers. They seem to extend in a circle, and as fast ns one part heals another is destroyed. Now, the question is, what is the best remedy to apply? (The mother states that the child has taken no medicine). There is no medicine that acts on cicatrices so well as silicea. Wherever and whenever, under any circumstances, you can apply the appropriate homceopathic medicines for surgical disease and cure your patient according to the homceopathic law, it is better than operative interference; true, it does not make such a brilliant appearance but it is better surgery, and it redounds more to the credit of the school than using the knife. Give this remedy of the 30th dilution three times per day. 28 CASE OF ULCER, INFLAMMATION, CONGESTION. hot and cold water. On the 12th day of November he sent for Dr. H., who is a physician, seventy-two years of age, and has been practicing homeeopathy for twenty-five years and allopathy for the same time. He immediately told him that he thought it was a constitutional sore, and to adopt constitutional treatment, and to apply arnica and water. For ten days, up to the 22d of November, the sore became worse, the black and blue spot began to suppurate and to bleed. Around and about the bottom of the ulcer three, or four, or five vesicles made their appearance. Then the doctor made a solution of nitrate of silver (he had practiced a good deal in the country., and he always carried a stick in his pocket); applied it around the sore and upon its sutrface; it pained a great deal when the solution was applied. The ulceration then appeared to be stationary, the slough was apparently separating from the centre, anmd a yellowish pus was being discharged. But the patient became dissatisfied, and, through some outside influence, called in another surgeon. About the 1st day of January this other surgeon called, and what he did I don't know; I know the ulcer was discharging around the edges, and carbolic acid was applied, and the secretion was immediately arrested; the sore grew worse, and went on enlarging from the 1st of September to the 7th day of April, when the leg was amputated above the knee. The patient then sues Dr. H. for ten thousand dollars damages; stating that it was the application of the nitrate of silver that brought about the condition which resulted in amputation of the leg. All manner of questions were put to me on my crossexamination, many of them foolish in the extreme, and having no bearing whatever upon the case, which, however, terminated favorably for our side. Q. What is inflammation? A. Inflammation, when fully established, consists in an engorgement of the capillary vessels, dependent on their diminished action, and the relaxed condition of their coats, together with more or less accelerated motion of the heart and arteries. From such an abnormal condition arise the well known characteristic symptoms-pain, heat, swelling and redness.'(Dolor, calor, tumor, rubor.) Q. What is congestion? A. Congestion is the preternatural increase of blood in tle capillary vessels, or excessive local fulness of the small blood vesselsan unnatural accumulation of blood in any part of the body, or any subordinate system. CASE OF TRAUMATIC PARALYSIS-TREATMENT. 29 Q. What is suppuration? A. Suppuration is a pure process of luxuriation, by means of which superfluous parts are produced, which do not acquire that degree of consolidation, or 1permanent connection with one another, and with the neighboring parts which is necessary for the existence of the body. Pus is not the dissolving, but the dissolved, i. e., transformed tissue. A part becomes soft and liquifies while suppurating, but it is not the pus which occasions this softening, on the contrary, it is the pus which is produced as the result of the proliferation of the tissues. Q. Suppose a part to be suppurating, and something is applied to that part which suddenly checks the formation of pus, is that a good or bad sign? Bad; it drives the pus into the blood. Any sudden check of suppuration, set it down as a rule, is bad. PETER CARTER, Aged Twenty-four. This man fell and injured the musculo-spiral nerve, so he has no use of his armn Q. Have you applied electricity? A. Yes. Q. How many times have you taken electricity? A. Three times a week. Q. For how long a time? A. From ten minutes to a quarter of an hour. Q. Did you hlave any feeling as the current passed down the arm? A. Yes, sir. Q. Do you feel it any more now than you did when it was first applied? A. Yes. Q. Do you have any numbness in your hands? Yes, sir. Q. Does that sensation of numbness increase or diminish? A. It is about the same. Q. Are you sensitive to the cold-can you feel cold and heat? A. Yes, sir. The sensory nerves appear all right; he has a good appetite. He has been taking Rhus Toxicodendron three times a day This man has also a large red spot on his left leg. There appears to be fluctuation in the tissue, but whether there is pus in it, or whether it is serum, it is pretty hard to detect. I have 30 CASE OF SCIRRHTUS. a notion it is serum. I believe that should the parts be opened Kwith an incision, probably it woul~d be a long time before the wound would heal. Ile should be allowed to keep himself quiet, arnd elevate the foot and keep it bandaged. The idea is to prevent local congestion. The part may be either strapped or it may be bandaged. I think I will strap it; I will show you how to strap a sore. In applying plaster it is always necessary that it should be put on as smoothly as possible, an(l that each strap of plaster should be drawn uniformly tight; if you put on one strap tolerably tight-, and the next one a little tighter, the one below loses its efficacy —it rufls up. Now, this strapping is very excellent treatment in certain classes of indolent ulcer where the limb needs a great deal of support; it equalizes the circulation. In the first place, let me tell you about straps. In order to put straps on properly you must have the part shaved. You saw me try to put some straps upon a man who lhad his beard on, and the result was that there was no support to the part, and the wound separated. Where there is bristly hair, such as you have on the recently shaved chin, the straps stick like the mischief, and give a great deal of pain when removed. In the first place, to cover that sore it must be perfectly dry. I will take the strap this way and let it go all the way over. I then reverse the manner of -application and begin on the other side, allowing one strap to cross the other at the centre of the sore. The idea is to put them on alternately and nake them come in a line. BRIDGET MCNALLY. Thic woman carne to us with a cancer in her breast, and I cut it out. She had it removed with the expectation of getting married. To the patient: Q. Did you go and do it? A. No, sir. Q. You have been a great deal better, haven't you, Jane A. Yes, sir. That wound looks very well; there is no indication of a return of the disease. From appearances I should suppose that there is a ten(lency to abscess, and I think that Hepar would be a very excellent medicine. I ill give it to her in the 30th dilution. CASE OF NECROSIS OF FRONTAL BONE. 31 She looked in a most miserable condition when she came here, now she seems to be getting better. Slhe has an axil]ary abscess and a severe cold. Q. Can you put your hand to your head'? A. Yes, sir. Q. Good app)etite? A. Yes, sir. Q. You were very fond of a little drink once in a while, were you not? A. Oh, very fond, indeed. JOHN A. POWERS. JOhN A. POWERS, see page 9, arm. It has been two weeks to-dtly since he was here. Now let me see the other hand, one is about as dirty as the other. I will move his hand; now put it out straight again; touch your hlead with it; now turn it over this way, now back. There is nothing so grateful to a patient with a broken arm as good bathing after taking the bandages off. rThe arm is doing well. ROBERT DAILY, Aged Tweenryfive. Q. Whlat is your name? A. Robert Daily. Q. How ol(l are you? A. Twventy-five years old. This is:nll affection of the forehead, which has been troublesome since April, and was caused by being kicked by a horse. A Dr. Moore opened it. Q. Did any spiculve of bone come out? A. No, sir. Q. Have you been anywhere else for treatment? A. No, sir. There is a peculiar appearance about a wound from which a piece of bone comes out, or where there is a sequestrum; the parts are puckered; seems to protrude. The appearance is like an unhealthy granulation, and there is puckering around it. This bone is exposed, I can feel it distinctly; but it is not loose, there appears to be a small piece of bone that wants to come out. (To the patient.) I will pull that out for you. Necrosis bears the same relation to the osseous system that mor 32 TREATMENT FOR NECROSIS, EPITHELIOMA. tification does to the soft parts. Caries is an ulceration; Necrosis is the death of the bone. What is the difference between ulceration andl mortification? The difference between ulceration and mortification is this-that in the ulcerative process there is no regular death en masse, but in mortification there is. It is astonishing how small a piece of diseased bone will give rise to extensive suppuration; a small piece of bone underneath the skin may give rise to a great deal of inflammatory action. I shall take hold of that bone once more; I think it is not large, but it is fast. I find that is firmly attached. It would be a wrong process to take a larger pair of forceps and remove it. You must go home and have the part poulticed. I will give him silicea 30th, which he will take three times a day, and I think that by next Saturday the bone will be loose, and can be removed. Until the bone comes away there will be no us- in attempting to cure the wound. I pull it with all my might, but it does not move. He is to use simply a bread and milk poultice. PATRICK MURPHY, Aged Eighty-five. (Continued from page 19.) You all saw on Monday afternoon this patient was in a most excellent condition, and the reason that I removed the pins on this day, which is rather sooner than it is usually done, wvas because there was beginning suppuration about the pins, and the threads were beginning to cut through. Whenever that happens, it is always a rule to extract the pins. We put on a strap, but that did not hold, because he had not been shaved. Then Dr. Boynton and others in charge of it applied silver sutures. Here is a man eighty-five years of age, and he comes here and has his cancer cut out because he wants to live. Life is sweet to all of us. Q. Do you feel better? A. Yes, sir. Q. I-low old are you now? A. 85 years. Q. Where were you born? A. In Ireland. A. H. B., Aged Nineteen. Q. What is your name? A. H. B. Q. How old are you? A. Nineteen. This young gentleman has had, since he was eight years old, Tonsillitis, or Cynanche Tonsillaris. This term denotes an inflammatory affection of the fauces, chiefly resident in and around the tonsils. It is ordinarily the result of atmospheric exposure, and is characterized by swelling and redness of the back part of the throat, accompanied with difficulty of swallowing, impeded respiration, difficult articulation, marked alteration of the voice, fever and other ordinary constitutional accompaniments, according to the intensity of the inflammatory:action. In the acute form suppuration often results, and we have Quinsy. In other instances, as the present, the disease is chronic, and the tonsils remain enlarged. Q. Have you done much for this affection? A. Yes, sir. Q. Taken a good deal of medicine? A. Yes, sir. Q. Do you know what medicines you have taken, or who has prescribed for you? A. My father. Q. He is a physician? A. Yes, sir. You have taken, perhaps, all the homlcepathic remedies, and it is a question now, what shall we do in the case? Here is a gentleman who has been under the treatment of a skilful physician, and still he is no better. The tonsils (tonsille, amygdalae) are two prominent bodies, which occupy the recesses formed, one on each side of the fauces, between the anterior and posterior palatine arches. They are usually about eight lines in length, and four in width and thickness, but they vary much in size in different individuals. The outer side of the tonsil is connected with the inner surface of the superior constrictor of the pharynx, and approaches very near to the internal carotid artery. Its inner surface, projecting into the fauces between the palatine arches, presents from twelve tofifteen orifices, which give it a perforated appearance. These orifices lead into recesses in the substance of the tonsil, from which other and smaller orifices conduct still deeper into numerous compound crypts or follicles, the whole being lined with continuations 3 CASE OF INDOLENT ULCER TREATMENT. 35 lime is kept on hand. When an application is to be made to the tonsils, a little of the powder is put into a small porcelatin cup, a few drops of absolute alcohol, which is kept near at hand, are ad(ded, the two are carefully mixed with a glass rod, when the paste is ready for use. The patient must be placed in a good light, a tongue depressor used, and the paste applied and allowed to remain for several seconds, until an eschar be produced. Then the paste is washed off and the parts allowed to slough, when the paste must again be applied. Care must be taken that the paste is applied only to affected parts. It is likely, if too much is placed upon the rod, that some of it will drop off, which causes great excoriation. Dr. Morrell Mackenzie, of London, reports 200 cases in his own practice which he has absolutely cured. I think we will apply this preparation to this patient about once every three days. Note.-The treatment was carried on for some time; and during the vacation at Christmas the outside of each tonsil was shaved off-a perfect recovery followed. JANE R. S., Aged 38. There have been many classifications of ulcers attempted from time to time, and I think these may be simplified by dividing them into the simple, the indolent and the irritable ulcer. In the latter we generally have the symptoms which indicate a vitiated state of the constitution and disorders of digestion. We find the irritable sore in the upper ranks of society, among high livers, club men, men who dine out as a business, drink a great deal of wine and eat highly seasoned food. The edges of this sore are jagged, undermined and serrated. The face of the ulcer is uneven and wormeaten, the discharge is unhealthy, thin and sanious, the granulations are flabby and bleed easily, the blood being of a dark grumous color. The medicines that have proved most effectual in removing this form of ulcer are arsen., asaf., carbo-veg., lye., hepar, merc.-sol., nit.-acid, silic., mez., con., sulph., thuja, staphys. Gentlemen, look at this sore. You perceive the edges are elevated and smooth, not serrated, as in the form I have just shown The first case to-day is that of Patrick Murphy, who was operated on two weeks ago for epitheloma of the lip. You will recollect that on the Monday following my last clinic the pins weze withdrawn. It was rather an early day, but the union seemed so complete that I thought it advisable to withdraw the pins, and ordered adhesive straps applied. He was taken at night with a severe fit of coughing, which tore open the parts, and it was necessary to replace the pins. Last Saturday he was here, and other sutures used, but they came out. He came back on Tuesday, Dr. Thompson pared the edges afresh and applied new sutures, which are now to be removed. You will recollect how perfect the union seemed when those pins were removed on the third day. Of course, after the sutures have torn out, we have to be extremely careful. In plastic operations like this, and in the operation for hare lip, the silk is oftentimes left after removing the pins, thereby affording considerable support. I have now removed the three pins, and the silk suture in the vermilion border of the lip. I should have taken the precaution to have had this man shaved, but now it is too late as the traction of the skin by shaving might break away the uniting points, I shall therefore leave his beard as it is, as it is now four or five days since lie was shaved. I will now paint collodion upon the plaster. Very often after operations of this kind, and after that for hare lip, even after the parts have become almost perfectly united, I have known them torn apart by sneezing or coughing. Therefore, I usually take care, in operations of this kind in children, to paint the whole surface over with collodion. There are compressors which draw the parts together and take off the traction. In some instances incisions on the side are made to prevent the strain. JOHN R. JONES, Aged 40. This patient comes from Poultney, Vermont. 40 CASE OF SUBCLAVIAN ANEURISM. When you examine a patient you must always do so carefully and thoroughly. The greatest error that I ever made in my life in a surgical diagnosis was because I made it' in a hurry. When I enter upon fractures and dislocations I will tell you of the mistake that I made-since which time, I assure you, I have been more careful, and have taken more time for my examinations. There is an epidemic in suicides sometimes, and there are epidemics often in labor cases. Sometimes there seem to be epidemics in deaths. I have not had an aneurism to treat for a considerable time, and now I have four on hand. We will get this man's history, and that as accurately as possible; and, if I do not mistake, this will prove a very interesting case. If you listen, with your ear at the root of the neck on the right side, you will not only hear pulsation, but you will hear a puffing sound, which is called the bruit. That is the peculiar puffing sound that you have in an aneurism. An aneurism is an enlargement of an artery in some part of its course, the cavity of which communicates with the long diameter of the vessel. In other words, an aneurism is an enlargement of an artery-either spherical or longitudinal-and presents peculiar and unmistakable signs, such as the pulsation, which pulsation is simultaneous with the beats of the heart and also bruit. We have a variety of aneurism, in which only one side of the tube is enlarged; and we have a fusiform aneurism, in which the whole circumference of the artery seems to be involved. As a general rule, however, it is only one side of the vessel which is dilated, and we detect in it the symptoms of pulsation simultaneous with the beats of the heart, and the bruit, or puffing sound which you have heard. Aneurisms, as a general rule, begin suddenly, and often result from some sudden shock or strain. A person may be predisposed to them by certain diseases incident to the arterial coats, as atheroma, which is a softening or deterioration of the internal coats of the artery. The patient states that his attention was first called to the swelling last August; that he has not had any difficulty in breathing, although he has noticed an occasional accumulation of phlegm in the throat, and that his voice has become more husky than formerly; he had been working with a derrick, but does not recol 42 CASE OF POTTS' DISEASE. much developed. In the other case the disease was lower down the spine; here we have it in the dorsal vertebra. It is not necessary for me to add anything by way of description of Potts' disease of the spine. I simply need to say that there are certain medicines which act internally, according to the homoeopathic principle, which have a tendency to arrest the disease of the bone which is going on. Mechanical treatment, in this variety of disease-whethler it is Potts' disease of the spine, or curvature of the spine laterally, or disease of the hip-is always of great avail-of as much service as a splint, in a case of firacture; but there, also, are certain internal medicines which, if properly administered and persevered in for a length of time, will be of decided benefit. I have known Potts' disease of the spine arrested in its incipiency without the use of a brace, in cases where you could keep the patient prone in the horizontal position. But the trouble is, that a majority of the patients who suffer from Potts' disease are scrofulous children. This is an exception, I think. It is this very vitiated condition of the constitution which is so admirably relieved and cured by the proper internal administration of medicine. Therefore, while you should as surgeons look into and understand all the recent improvements which belong to the mechanical appliances in surgery, it is just as important, and even more so, that you should understand the application of those medicines which, properly administered, will eradicate the predisposition upon which this disorder depends. The splint on this patient is a much better one than that which I showed you on the last case of Potts' disease. The object is to support the upper part of the trunk and keep the weight from resting on the diseased vertebra. The internal administration of medicine is of great importance. In the investigation we have to be guided as much by constitutional peculiarities, by the looks of the child, by the previous history of the parents, and other objective symptoms, as by the result of any minute inquiries with reference to the increase or diminution of the symptoms, which the patients because of youth, may be unable to answer. There are some medicines, such as petroleum, phosphate of lime, phosphorus,, iodine, calcarea-carb., sulphur, mezerium, which may be used to advantage, but I have seen more good results from the use of phosphate of lime, and 44 MISTAKE IN SURGERY —MISTAKE IN MEDICINE. when you find an irritating fever, or symptoms indicating a certain amount of fever in the system, be careful how you make your diagnosis. A mistake in surgery is unfortunate. A mistake in medicine is frequently never known. The difference is this: the doctor attends a patient, makes a mistake, and the patient dies; he has been attended for the wrong disease, but he dies and nobody is the wiser. A surgeon makes a mistake-makes a crooked arm, perhaps, which is held up before a jury for his damnation, and the result is that thousands of dollars are claimed for the mistake. Death covers a doctor's errors, but a surgeon's are held up before an illiterate jury. These suits for malpractice are beautiful! I do not know of anything that makes a man sleep sounder at night than a suit for malpractice. NEWMAN MEYER, 11 Years Old. The father states: " About a year ago I noticed that this boy did not play as usual. A little later he would wake up at night and come down stairs, saying that he could not sleep. Then we took him to Morrisville and had him examined by a physician. The doctor said that he had the "sciatica," and blistered him on his back, near the hips. A little later we employed two physicians. They still called it sciatica, and cupped his back, and gave him medicines of various kinds. Then they changed their opinion, and called it " spinal irritation." The boy got worse, and then we had a doctor by the name of Kelly, who introduced himself to me, and said that he was sent to me by my brother-in-law. He said that there were no symptoms of spinal irritation, but that it was a perfect case of sciatica. We then went to doctoring him again for sciatica, but without any good results. Then that doctor left him, and I didn't know what to do next. I noticed that when the doctors would stay away from me, and I attended him, that he would seem to be easier. About four weeks ago a doctor by the name of Waterbury, formerly from New York, asked permission to come over and mend up my boy. Said he, "I know more than all these doctors; I have had a good chance; I have been in the city, and I know all about it." Finally I consented CASE OF LATERAL SPINAL CURVATURE, ETC. 45 to have him come. He examined the boy. That was the first time the boy had been stripped (and examined. He had been examined only through his clothes before. The boy had, then, not walked for about ten weeks, but this doctor got him on his feet, and urged him to walk a little. After he examined him he said, "If old Dr. Sled was here he would call it'worm palsy.'" Dr. Helmuth said, "I think the worms have not much to do with it, although they breed very fast in these cases." The patient continued: "He recommended an'electrizing machine,' at first, and then he said that the boy would have to take opium continually and regularly. I did not like that, for I had about come to the conclusion not to give him any more preparations of opium, but he said that it would have to be done. Then he fixed up about a dozen pills, and put a little calomel in, so that they'would not act upon the bowels.' I gave the fills to him. that night, but the boy was worse. The following night I gave him the pills again, and still he seemed to be worse, and the same way with the next night. Then I went to see the doctor about it, and he told me to give him an ounce of opium-the clear stuff —the gum opium. By the time I got home my wife had given the boy three of those pills, and he was still groaning with the pain. The pain is more severe at night than in the day time, and he cries a great deal at night. I then gave him a chunk of opium about as big as a a pea, in addition to the pills he had already taken. I usually went to bed as soon as I got home at night, and would sleep till about midnight, while my wife took care of the boy, and then I would get up and take care of him until morning. While I was in bed my wife gave him three more morphine powders, and he was still crying when I got up. I took him, then, and he continued crying until daylight. My wife stated that she had also given him a double spoonful of paregoric to relieve his pain. He went to sleep about daylight, and slept all of that day and half of the next night. Then I said that that was the last opium he should take if he died for it." Dr. Helmuth said: This is certainly an obscure case. You can see from that boy's expression of countenance how he has suffered; and you saw a moment ago, when I asked him to try to walk, what suffering the effort caused him. You must have respect for suffering whenever you see it; and when you see a human being writhing the way that poor child did, and at the same time en 46 TREATMENT OF LATERAL SPINAL CURVATURE. deavoring to conceal it, for your benefit, you ought to be thankful to him, as I am. One of the peculiar characteristics of bone disease is the increase of pain at night. From the examination I have made of this case I take it for granted that there must be some pressure upon the spinal cord. This is a very aggravated case of curvature of the spine, differing from the other cases that have been before us in the greater number of vertebra affected. If I mistake not this condition will go on until an abscess forms somewhere. The peculiarities of the pain that he has now, the loss of the power of motion, the pain of walking, the sufferings increasing at night-all seem to indicate a disease going on in the bony structure, andl I believe in the spinal column, causing pressure upon the spinal cord, producing a certain amount of paralysis, and necessarily causing the patient great suffering and emaciation. The question is, what can be done in such a case as this? I think that this boy can be benefited. In the first place he must have a proper apparatus, which shall take the weight off the hips as much as possible, and relieve the spinal column. I believe that if we could get the appropriate homoeopathic medicine it would relieve him. I will give him mezerium and let you know the result I will give it in the 200th potency. Put one powder in a tumbler two thirds full of water, and give him a tablespoonful every two hours until this evening, and then, if the pain augments, give him a teaspoonful every fifteen or twenty minutes. In the meantime, I will try to have some appliance made which will have a tendency to take the pressure from the spinal cord, and prevent further deformity. With a proper appliance to take the pressure off the spine, we can, with the appropriate honoeopathic medicine, greatly relieve the pain. There is no class of diseases in which medicines of the higher potency seem to act as well as in those of the nervous system. ELIZA THOMAS, 4 Years Old. (The mother states that the child has been suffering from prolapsus ani, and that the bowels have been protruding for three or CASE OF PROLAPSUS ANI-TREATMENT. 47 four weeks.) The patient was exposed on the table, and a mass of bluish black intestine, four inches long, was found between the nates. It is wonderful that this bowel has not sloughed off before this. I do not know that I shall now be able to put it back as it should be done, but it must be returned pretty soon. The longer it is left out the worse the child will get. In reducing a prolapsed bowel you must do it gradually. With the fingers in this position, holding them as a cone, and lubricating them well, you push it up. (The bowel wras then carefully returned.) When I get it in place I insert a sponge to hold it in position. It would be well to first soak the sponge in a strong solution of alum water, as that would have a tendency to make the bowels contract. I shall prescribe, as a medicine,?2ux vomica. I have had very excellent success attending its use in reducing prolapsed bowels. Administer nux vomica every two hours, and give only such articles of diet as will have a tendency to constipate the bowels. Give her chiefly boiled rice as food for the present. flu~lroa OXinkOi of OJmber 7th, 1874. (Continued.) Dr. Helmuth said: The patient we had here last Saturday is doing remarkably well. He returned on the following Monday, and upon a careful examination I find that he has a subclavian aneurisin on the right side, I think in the second portion of the artery as it passes behind the scalenus anticus muscle. You all know the danger that is attendant upon aneurism of this artery, and you all understand the difficulties (or you will very soon, for I shall tell you) of its ligation. The subclavian artery has never been ligated successfully in the first part of its course on the right side, and on the left it is almost impracticable. The operation, I believe, has been performed only once, and then by J. Kearny Rogers, of the United States, some years ago. His patient did not survive. Takino into conisideration the anatomical situation and the disastrous results that arise from cutting off so large a supply of blood, you will see what a hazardous, difficult and dangerous operation it is to tie the subclavian artery on either side in the first part of its course. In the second part of its course, on the right side, as it passes behind the scalenus anticus, it may be ligated, but it is difficult on account of the division of the muscle upon which lies the phrenic nerve, and also the close proximity of the internal jugular vein, a hemorrhage from which would almost certainly prove fatal. In the third part of its course the vessel may be tied, and the operations have been comparatively successful; I mean, perhaps 43 out of 100 have recovered. When I get further along in the treatment of aneurism I will give you the exact statistics. These operations should never be undertaken, knowing how hazardous they are, until you have given the patient the benefit of every other known remedy. When a man takes an anesthetic, and lies down on the table and surrenders himself to the sur 50 OPERATION FOR SUBCLAVIAN i ANEURISM. say, if, after having employed all the means in our power, the tumor increases, I will tie the subelavian; but that will not be resorted, to until we are positive that every other means is exhausted. This patient was removed to the hospital, and, after trying all means for relief without avail, Professor Helmuth tied the subclavian outside the scaleni. The endeavor was made to reach the innominata; but a second aneurism, at the root of the carotid, pressed laterally on the trachea and forward on the sternum, to such a degree, that access to the great trunk was impossible. The patient died of rupture of the sac, on its posterior surface, on the eighth day. He was rapidly improving in health. The excruciating pain had left his shoulder and arm, his pulse was fair, and temperature about 99. The accompanying cut will show the double aneurism which existed in this case and the surrounding structures. A-Innominata, F-Larynx, B-Subclavian, G-Hyoid Bone, C-Common Carotid, H-External Carotid, D —Vertebral, — Subclavian Aneurism, E-Trachea, J-Carotid Aneulism. A. X., Aged Twenty-three Years. The first patient that I shall introduce to your notice this morning is a case of phymosis, and a very bad case, too. Phymosis is congenital or acquired. Congenital phymosis is that variety in which at birth the prepuce is elongated. When it is acquired it comes from preternatural causes. This man stated to me that he had never been able to draw his prepuce backward any further than one-eighth of an inch (illustrating), and that lately he has had a very severe inflammation of the glans penis, and that then there was some discharge of foetid matter, and that since he has been unable to draw back the fore-skin at all. Now, in order to prevent fresh inflammatory action and adhesion of the under surface of the prepuce and the upper surface of the glans, I propose to circumcise him this morning. I can simply slit the prepuce with the scissors; it is a very easy operation, but it does not make as nice a cure. A man does not enjoy the appearance of a slit prepuce. In this instance I shall cut off the projecting part of his fore-skin; you will find, then, that there will be an exposure of the mucous membrane. I shall snip it at four corners and turn it over and stitch it. This is a pretty thick prepuce and we will have a little more hemorrhage than usual. Now, you see, I hold the prepuce forward in that manner, and the glans away from it; then I take a knife and shave it off at the top. There is the mucous membrane; the skin is off; the mucous membrane is not touched yet. Now we divide this and turn it up on end; I shall then trim it down on one side, and take the other end off by paring it upward. Then I make nicks in it in four places around, as I shall show you when I get through, and loosen it, thus making a kind of flap or curtain; we just put a stitch in each one of these and the operation is finished. There are many different kinds of operations proposed for the. relief of phymosis, but this will make the nicest cure, because we have the mucous membrane turned over. It is very important in these operations that you remove enough of the mucous membrane, because, if you do not, you will have contraction; unless CASE OF SYNOVITIS-TREATMENT. 53 Sometimes, in operating for phymosis,we remove the stitches a little too soon, from some irritation in the system or from some other cause, an inflammatory action is set up in the lips of the wound, between the mucous membrane and the skin, and unhealthy granulations and fungoid growths appear, which give a great deal of trouble. Therefore, it is well not to remove these stitches for at least a week. JOSEPHINE LYON, Aged Five Years. History of Case. —Here is a lame leg; a sore appeared upon the ankle, and the mother put something upon it to draw it; then pus oozed from it; it has been discharging pus and serum; the probe goes into the joint; her physician had given her silicea, but there has been no change in her condition; the patient walks on the affected foot; the attending physician had not seen her father before her appearance in,the lecture room, a little boy having come with her every time. Prof. Helhnuth said: This is a case of synovitis-inflammation of the synovial membrane, which lines the cavity of the joint, and this membrane is liable to inflammatory action. We generally find that synovitis comes from an accident, or a bruise, or an injury of some kind. This child, her father says, turned her foot, which is a very common cause of synovitis in children. There is no disease that seems to be more curable by proper internal administration of medicine than this one. The trouble is, that the child walks too much. Every time she places her foot down the weight of her body falls on the diseased membrane, and when she moves it friction results. Therefore, I say that perfect rest, combined with the internal administration of proper medicines, should be used immediately and c*ontinued. Dr. Thompson has had her in charge two or three mlonths, and the treatment has been most judicious, but she will not get better unless she is kept still. She will continue with the, medicine she has been taking, and come here again in three weeks. Synovitis is generally curable, provided a certain amount of rest is obtained-but if, on the other hand, the inflammation is allowed to extend to the cartilages, we have a very serious disease, 54 CASE OF' AND OPERATION FOR EPULIS. viz., an ulceration, which it is a very difficult matter to cure. The cartilages are supplied with blood from tufts of vessels lying upon them, and friction after bruising is liable to produce inflammation, therefore it is, that rest is necessary, if you wish to restore the part to its original integrity. The pressure and friction which belong to motion have a tendency to keep up the irritation of these articular cartilages. JOHN BOWDEN, Aged Eighty-four Years. _Iistory of case.-Health pretty good; swelling in the mouth, growing apparently from the gum. After an examination, Prof. Helmuth said: Here we have a fibroid tumor or fibroid growth, properly so called; it is generally pedunculated and not sessile. A sessile growth is flat and broad. This is a fibroid tumor of the gum, which is called epulis; it bears a strong resemblance in its forms to myeloid growths, or that variety of tumor known as a myeloid tumor, and which, also, generally springs from the surface of the bone. As you see, these tumors can generally be handled with very little pain to the patient, and they can easily be removed by scraping to the bone. I shall take a pair of scissors and cut this off, and if the bone is diseased I shall scrape it. It will not take long to excise it. Or, we may put a ligature about it and let it slough off. I think it is better to cut it off and then apply nitric acid. This variety of growth solnetimes attains great magnitude; sometimes they not only involve the gum itself, but they extend into the face and cause the eye to protrude, and sometimes take away a portion of the bone. It is pretty difficult, in the earlier stages of these epuli, to distinguish between them and a myeloid formation, which is more cancerous in its nature. This has been growing about a year. Epulis is very likely to grow from the socket of tooth, and it often appears on the alveolar process. It is a disease generally of middle life, although we some times find it in the aged. In this case there is a broken tooth, from which there arises a certain amount of irritation, and from that irritation the fibrous growth rapidly increases. (The tumor was cut off and the bone scraped.) MIss VAN HoUrGHTON, Aged Twenty Years. Prof. Helmuth said: Through the kindness of Dr. Houghton I have a very important case to show you, which I shall take notice of quite at length. We have every reason, gentlemen, to feel proud of our clinics, and to feel thankful to those of the profession who interest them-:selves in our behalf. The fdur cases that will constitute this clinic are all interesting; some of them, indeed, not often encountered. Aneurism of the subclavian, phymosis, epulis, and cleft palate furnish sufficient material for a course of lectures. I must, therefore, be brief and practical in my remarks. Perhaps there is no subject which has interested the attention of surgeons much more than this, of cleft palate. It may seem a very simple thing, whereas it is a subject of a very great deal of impor-tanlce. The difficulties that surround it are numerous. We have not only the miserable condition of the patient, but we have also -the uncertainty of the means of relief; as well as the fact that, after these operations, the condition of the patient is not always improved. We will look at this lady, as I will have her go round and show you the cleft palate, and then I will call attention to the anatomny of the parts and to the different practices recommended for its cure. The patient was here introduced. You will recollect that the hard palate is used not only in deglutition but in enunciation. Both the hard and the soft palate not only serve as a fulcrum for deglutition, but mould the sounds that come from the larynx and give them sweetness of tone and reverberation. The first sound of G, as in "go," is always hard to articulate with a cleft palate, simply because there is no fulcrum upon which the tongue can rest, as you will see in this case, although this is an imperfect cleft. If we examine a fcetus at the sixth week the whole cavity of the mouth, the cavity of the nose, and the cavity of the pharynx is one vacuum. At the end of a few weeks more, there seems to grow from the margin of this cavity a membranous partition, which divides the nares above from the mouth below. Then fiom this lembranous formation a CLEFT PALATE. 57 I have drawn on the blackboard a couple of diagrams in order to let you see as nearly as I can the relation of the parts; I have endeavored to show here a view of the bones looking from behind, as if the head were sawn off directly at the posterior nares. (Explains diagram.) Arising from the under surface of the eustachian tube and from the apex of the basilar surface of the petrous portion of the temporal, we have a mass of muscular fibres that come -down and pass above the superior constrictor, thus forming that portion of the soft palate. The apex of the petrous portion of the temporal bone being a fixed point, you will see, when deglutition takes place, the action of this muscle is to draw up the palate, therefore it has its name, the levator or elevator of the palate. On the other side, I have endeavored to give you the two muscles-one the tensor pcalati, and the other the levator palati just mentioned. The tensor palati is a small muscle which lies outside the preceding and is attached to the base of the internal pterygoid plate, and winds around underneath the hamular process, and has a tendency to draw the muscle tight. (Explains the diagram.) Now,' you see, these all being fixed points, whenever the act of deglutition takes place, as you swallow, the palate is drawn up. There are two other muscles which I will show you directly. Look now at the patient; when she makes an effort to swallow, you see the two sides of the cleft come together. I would like to ask you how it comes, that, with the tensor palati to lift them up, and the circumflex palati to pull them apart, that,. when she swallows, instead of separating, the clefts come together especially when we have the palato pharyngeus and theD)alato glossus muscles having a tendency also to draw the parts. downward and outward. These dots represent the fixed points to which these muscles act when they contact in unison. I will tell you why-and the observation that I am about to make had eluded the most accurate observation of most distinguished surgeons of the times, until Sir William Fergusson discovered the reason. It was strange that Roux, Warren, and Velpeau, and those men who carefully examined into this subject, liever seemed to arrive at the cause of this peculiarity. The reason is this: you have all seen a horse put down his head to drink at a trough, and you have seen, as he drinks, his oesophagus contracting from above until the water gets down. Now,there are three muscles, circular muscles, that enter into the construction 58 CLEFT PALATE. of the pharynx, and the superior one of these is termed the superior constrictor. (Illustrating.) Let that represent the basilar process of the occipital bone, and let this represent the larynx, which is cut open from behind; and that represent the posterior nares, and this represent the palatine muscles; here we have the levator palati, the tensor palati, the palato pharyngeus which come down on the pharynx. These muscles are all associated above with this muscle which is cut open, and which is the superior con-,strictor of the pharynx. These muscles all being connected with the last named, when swallowing begins to take place the edges of the cleft come together from the action of the superior,constrictor. I have entered a little minutely into this description of the anatomy of cleft palate, because, after the cleft is closed, these muscles, the tensor palati, the levator palati, the palato glossns, ana the palato pharyngeus then act in unison, as they ought to have done, and the tendency is to stretch the palate apart. Therefore, it is necesaary to divide the levator to avoid traction upon the sutures. There are five varieties of cleft palate. The first, when there is a cleft on each side of the nostril, through the hard and soft palate, associated with hare-lip. This is the most severe variety.'There are two clefts, one, generally in each nostril; you never, or very rarely, see a cleft in the centre.'If the intermlaxillary bones are only partially formed, you will often find there is a protrusion in the centre of the cleft. The second variety, is where there is a single cleft through the alveolar process, extending backward through the palate process of the superior maxillary and palate bones, and also through the soft palate. Then we have the third variety, in which the front of the mouth is all right and the parts intact, but there is a cleft extending through from the posterior portion of the alveolar process back through the entire palate, hard and soft. The next variety is that which we now have under consideration, when but half of the bony palate is involved, and the entire soft palate. The last variety is that in which the soft palate alone is involved. Fortlhe relief of these deformities a great deal can be done. Five STAPHYLORAPHY. 59 or six years ago it was considered almost impossible to close a cleft palate in a young subject, and many times I have suggested that patients be taken away and postpone the operation until they attain their growth. But late observations have convinced many surgeons that early operations are rather preferable than those that are deferred; because, if you have to deal with an entire cleft palate, where the bony surface of the palate is involved, in early age, the bones are not ossified, and there is not so much deposit of calcareous matter; they yield readily, and, since chloroform can be given, such operations are preferable. It formerly was supposed that you could give no chloroform or ether in this operation, on account of blood dropping down into the throat, but it has been proved that anaesthetics may be administered and restoration of the palates of young children may be effected. The operations for cleft palate are performed with knives with long handles, and the patient must be able to tolerate a foreign substance in the mouth for a considerable time, and it is well to educate them in that regard. Then the first step is to pare the edges of the cleft. You take hold of one side with long forceps and with a knife, generally bent at right angles, you shave off the margin; then you seize one of the margins and draw it out, and you pass your knife through, inward and upward, and divide the body of the levator palati muscle. You can feel the process in the back of your own mouths if you try, and if you enter the knife a little anterior to the second molar tooth, in the upper jaw, and pass it upward and inward until its point appears in the cleft by moving the handle upward and downward, you will make a very little incision in the mucous membrane and you will divide the levator palati almost completely. Then it is necessary, in a majority of instances, with a pair of blunt scissors to divide the posterior and anterior arches of the pharynx. You will see how this will relax the edges of the cleft and how they will drop down. Then stitches should be applied. In an extensive cleft of the palate, you must never try to close the hard and soft palates with one operation. In the first place, it is exceedingly tedious; second, the patient is wearied; and in tile third place, the parts have not become accustomed to the traction, and thereby may readily tear out. When you close the hard palate and you find that you cannot bring the edges of the parts in apposition, then you must take a long knife with a HIP-JOINT DISEASE. —TREATMENT. 61 most likely to be afflicted with the disease; and, when you trace the case, you will find that there has been at some time a bruise, or an accident has occurred. [In this case the father said the child fell from a ladder, a distance of one story, when he was seven years of age, but did not mind the fall. When he came to grow in years his hip began to swell; it enlarged a few months after the fall; he experienced a good deal of pain during the night, and the leg and hip then showed marks of extensive suppuration with several openings.] In all cases of developed hip disease, one of the characteristic peculiarities is that the gluteal fold of the affected side is lower than the other. In this case, there is not anchylosis, which makes a great deal of difference. You know if inflammation extends within the joint, after a tinle suppuration results, and abscesses open in different parts of the thigh, sometimes above and sometimes below. Then Nature attempts the cure by anchylosis, by which I mean a stiffening of the joint. It may be spurious, formed by the ligaments and tendons, or it may be osseous. If the muscles around the vicinity of the joint can be made prominent by an attempt at motion, even if there is apparently no motion of the joint itself, then you may be sure you have false anchylosis. If, on the other hand, the muscles cannot be drawn into any degree of tension, and the tensors do not seem to rise up, then you have true anchylosis. One method of detecting the true from the spurious is the absence of pain after manipulating in the synostosis, and the contrary in spurious. There is a good deal of chance for this boy, but there is no hope of his ultimately recovering with a good leg. Hlie will be a cripple, but I think, perhaps, he will get well of this condition and be able to move with moderate facility. But there must be care that he does not move too much. Let him be brought here this day three weeks. Give him silicea of the 30th, a powder every night. It is a question upon which I have not made up my mind, how much extension of the parts will do for him. Generally, traction relieves the pain. You see, as I pull the leg down, he does not suffer. It shows that the pressure is taken off from the head of the bone, and that the caput femoris, although it may be diseased, is painful when pushed into the 62 HIP-JOINT DISEASE. acetabulum. As I thrust the leg up, you see it causes him pain. Give this boy good, wholesome food, and give him the powders regularly. In the mean time, before the three weeks have passed, I will take pleasure in lecturing to you on this subject. There is nothing like impressing upon your mind, through all your senses, the different cases that are lectured upon. Therefore, I shall be able to go on with these cases with much more facility to myself and better understanding upon your part. In the mean time, I will see that appropriate mechanical treatment is provided. Mrs. HALL.-Felon on the F'inger. hfistory of Case.-[This disease appeared without any apparent cause. Does her own work, and has her hands much in hot soap-suds. At first it had the appearance of a "run around," and the skin broke, and there was severe itching and burning, and the swelling seems now to be extending into the hrm.] PROF. HELMUTH.-A felon, as we properly understand it, is an acute inflammation which affects the deeper tissues of the fingers and toes. Felons have been classified according to the depth of the structures which they attack. This woman states that she had an inflammation around-the matrix of the nail, which is classified as the first variety of the affection. The disease commences under the cuticle near the root or side of the nail, the pus not being deep-seated is soon evacuated; sometimes, however, the abscess takes place under the nail, in which case the pain is severe, and not unfrequently shoots up as far as the external condyle of the humerus. The nail is sometimes punctured with a needle and the pus allowed to escape. In this case the pain is not very intense. In other varieties of felon, where the deeper tissues become affectedas the periosteum-it becomes very painful. In fact, I know of no more severe suffering than is found in the deep variety of felon. When they are in the palm of the hand the excruciating pain which the patient suffers is sometimes almost unbearable. In the earlier stages of felon it can sometimes be made to abort, that is, the inflammatory action may be subdued before suppuration is established. This may be accomplished by several means-one of these is the application of nitric acid; I have cured many in that way. Another by immersing the part in lye; another by keeping the finger in hot water; and still another to wrap around the finger the skin of a hard-boiled egg, which is between the white of the egg and the inside of the shell. At first the patient will experience aggravation of the symptoms, but, if the application be allowed to remain, or perhaps applied at intervals, the affection will often be arrested. NECROSIS OF THE TIBIA. 65 These means may be used provided it has not reached the third stage, or suppuration has not commenced. If suppuration has begun, then all of these applications are worse than useless. Again, if the inflammatory action has commenced under the periosteumn, the pain is more intense. In such a case the incision must be made early; but if it is above the periosteum, and especially if it is in the palm of the hand, it is better to wait until the pus forms. In other cases the formation of pus is so slow, and the pain is so severe, that it is better to open down to the periosteum, and relieve the tension by allowing the exit of blood. This person has had, first, a simple " fester" on the end of her finger, and the inflammation from improper treatment extended up the arm, as you see in the red lines extending up the forearm. This is not exactly metastasis. We can have an extension of the inflammatory process by contiguity or by continuity. We know that there are certain organs in the body which, although at a remote distance, sympathize with each other. In such we have extension of disease by remote sympathy. We have also extension of inflammation by a continuous layer of tissue. There has been an inflammatory action in this finger, which has been, by the application of hot water, driven to the arm; the inflammation has taken a backward action by continuity of the tissues, and now you see it located in the long flexor of the thumb. I would advise the patient to localize the inflammatory action by means of a poultice. If the inflammation is confined to the finger it is all right, but if it extends up the arm it is all wrong. Give her arsenicum internally, the 30th, every four hours. Change the poultice once every three hours. Apply the poultice as hot as it can be borne and make it of ground flaxseed. Let the arm be supported, and I think that a cure will soon be effected. Operation by Esmarch's Method. EMMA SLACK, Aged Ten Years. I have here an interesting case to show you; and, before she is placed under the influence of the anesthetic, I desire to say a few words to you about her. We have got through the inflammatory 5 68 NECROSIS OF THE TIBIA. up as far as the joint (and very frequently the joint itself), is involved, and there is a contraction of the tendons, and a partial necrosis of' the bones in the vicinity. What shall Nwe do in this case? When I first saw her this morning I was disposed to recommend an immediate amputation of the leg above the knee, because I know that these prolonged operations on the bone are sometimes extremely serious; often they do not effect a cure, and, sometimes, after the best directed efforts, amputation has finally to be resorted to. Upon conversing Fwith the mother she expressed a most decided objection to the removal of this leg. To one who does not look upon these things as we do, and to a mother in particular, who regards the child with all the affection which we naturally expect, there is something so repellant in the idea of amputation that opposition is natural. To say to a mother that such and such a part of' her child must be removed-no matter how great has been the extent of the infllmm:ttion which has been going on-is a communication so awful to her, that it staggers her. When I suggested to this mother that an amputation might be necessary, she at once rebelled against it. Remembering what can be done by the method of Esmarch, and how much better we can operate by his mode than we formerly could, when the blood would pour out over all the parts, I have concluded to perform Esmarch's operation for the removal of necrosed bone, and remove as much of the disease as I can-all of it, if possible. If I find that I cannot remove all of it, and that amputation is necessary, I will remove as much as I can, close up the wound, and wait until the father of the girl can be consulted. I do not want to take upon myself the responsibility, nor give the college the reputation, nor homceopathy the discredit of operating helter skelter, without the consent of the parties interested in the case. And, besides, it would not be a proper or a right thing to do. I would not thank anybody, in my absence, to take off the leg of my child without previously consulting me, no matter how bad it was. Therefore, I give the same right to the father of this girl which I reserve to myself. He lives in Mystic, Conn. I hope it may not be necessary to remove the leg; but I am sure that extensive disease of the bone will be found, and I am also sure that the operation will be a prolonged and difficult one, because when you commence you must do it thoroughly. I propose, after the bandage is applied, to make a long NECROSIS OF THE TIBIA. 69 incision over the tibia, and see the extent of the disease, and how much can be removed. If it is caries, the b )ne may be scraped. If there is necrosis (and I think there is), I will remove as much of the dead bone as I can find. In the removal of dise used b:ne a great rnaiy instruments are required, particularly if the involucru n semrns to close around the sequestrum; because then it is not only necessary to use the trephine, but the hammer, chisel, saws and forceps as well. Here, for instance, are a pair of lion forceps of Fergusson. The fault with ordinary bone pliers is, that they do not have leverage enough when you want to divide a hard portioa of bone. Here are chisels and retractors to hold back the skin, and " holding " forceps, to secure a piece of bone, while the saw is being used. I hope to be able to remove a portion of this bone with a single incision. We will apply Esmarch's bandage over another bandage, to prevent it being soiled by the discharge. Then we will make a longitudinal incision, and see the extent of the disease, and afterwards pack the wound with tenax, or prepared tow. This prepared oakum or tenax is now specially prepared for surgical dressing. Oakum, proper, is made from old tarred ropes. This substance is made from hemp, and the tar is afterwards put in especially for surgical dressing. It is much finer than oakum, and you get rid of the sticks and of the chunks of tar. Besides being a good disinfectant it is a good dressing for the leg. There is another article, made of fine hemp, which keeps much more moist, and has a softer feel. It is also much more impregnated with creosote, and is, therefore, a better disinfectant. In the absence of this prepared tow you may pack the wound with lint, or you may employ cotton. But cotton is not so good as lint, because it is too shreddy, and sometimes sticks, and is difficult to get out. I heard recently quite an argument as to the propriety of using cotton as a surgical dressing. Cotton has been very highly recommended by several eminent surgeons; but there are other material that are a great deal better. If, however, you could not obtain other material, it w\ould be proper to use cotton. In certain forms of suppurating diseases cotton seems to lhave a certain power over abrasions of the surface. By applyilng it to a burn you relieve the pain very much indeed, not only because of the exclusion of the air from the raw surftlce, but because there seems to be some property in the cotton applicable to the injury. 70 OPERATION FOR NECROSIS. [The patient was brought in, etherized, on a stretcher.] We put on this cotton bandage to prevent soiling the elastic one. Speaking in a general way, there are no operations more unsatisfactory than those on the bones; but Esmarch has done a good deal towards simplifying tlhem. One of the disadvantages claimed for Esmarch's operation is this, that in wounds where there is a great deal of suppuration, and where there has been a profuse discharge of pus, there is danger of forcing the pus into the circulation. Another of the dangers which is charged against it is the oozing from the flaps, which is said to follow. The blood is awithheld from the capillaries so long, that when the bandage is removed they do not contract, and injury to the flaps results. Now that the bandage has been applied you see that the kga resembles that of a dead person. I make the first incision-putting the knife in at the tubercle of the tibia and bringing it down to a.n inch above the ankle. You see that no blood flows. There would be very inconvenient bleeding were it not for this bandage, because the tissues aIre all congiested, and the cavities are full of blood. As it is, there is no special hurry; I cut through the tissues and down to the bone. I remove some of this slough with a sponge, and I see quite a large sequestrum. Now I will take a.pair of forceps and see what I can do with it. (Removes bone, scrapes it.) Thtis is the piece of bone that has caused the most of the trouble. The sequestrum is surrounded by an involucrum. Now I shall scrape the bone. The discharge is very fcetid and offensive. There (demonstrating) is the new bone which has been forming around the ol(3. I can feel it very distinctly. I will take a probe and put it down through the cloacae. In this other opening I find that the bone has entirely degenerated and softened, and I shall therefore scrape off as much of it as possible. The little blood( that you see oozing comes from the medullary cavity. As soon as the bandage is loosened you will see the blood rush into the leg like a sponge, and then we shall have a smart hemorrhage for awhile. If this were my patient, and I had the consent of the father and mother, I should remove this leg' at odce. I find that the probe goes directly into the cavity of the knee joint; but having given my word not to perform amputation to-day, I will do the next best thing I can. Here is another piece of loose bone, which I OPERATION FOR NECROSIS. 71 will cut out by using the chisel. There is not much chance that this operation will be successful; but I will nevertheless try to save the girl's leg. This disease began in the membrane which lines the medullary canal and extended outward. The bone is not so much necrosed as you would expect to find, but it is softened, degenerated and ulcerated. You know that an ulceration is a degenerated condition of the bone-a softening and breaking down of the structure. I will now pack the wound with tenax, bring the lips together as best I can, and await the result. I am very glad to show you the operation of Esmarch. It has been a perfect success so far as the operation goes. I think it is especially fitted for the removal of the necrosed bone. In such an operation as this, even with a tourniquet applied, we would have had hemorrhage which would have discommoded us greatly. The next point is to wash thie wound thoroughly by introducing the nozzle of a syringe into the opening. This patient has been under treatment about five months, and I suppose has taken all the ordinary homceopathic remedies. I shall put her on silicea immediately. That is my great remedy, and it has done more for me in cases of this kind than any other medicine I have ever used. In packing any cavity it is well to recollect one thing-that it is better to have the substance you wish to pack with in one continuous piece, or else know just how many pieces are used; because sometimes it is very difficult to remove them, and if you leave one, disastrous results will follow. I was once called to operate for a case of necrosis at the lower end of the femur, and I found a piece of sponge that had been there for five years. It was about as big as the end of my finger. The wound had healed, but this sponge, acting as a foreign substance, had caused further irritation, which gave rise to disease after the necrosed portion of the bone had been removed. I want you to observe the condition of the parts after the blood is let into them. As the circulation is established again, and the veins fill up, it begins to bleed. We expect that there will be a considerable quantity of oozing from this wound. The question of amputation is one of the most serious that a surgeon has to entertain. Whether you shall or shall not remove a portion of the body is a question demanding a great deal of 72 CICATRIX. serious consideration and a great deal of actual experience. When this question relates to the saving of a limb, we are to inquire whether the leg, if saved, will be a serviceable one or not. It is better to get rid of a leg sometimes than save it, if the leg is to be of no service, in the way, and a deformity. If, however, you think that you can preserve a limb and make a useful member of itenabling the patient to use it in a measure-then, of course, it is better so to do. But I am of opinion that, in a great many instances, conservative surgery saves legs, arms, and fingers that are deformities, and are only in the way. In the present advanced state of mechanical surgery it is better to remove the member than leave a deformity. You can have a patent arm so perfectly constructed that a man can drive horses or eat with it. I have seen patent legs so well adapted to their place that, if it were not for the manner in which the boot fitted, you could scarcely detect they were artificial. It is better to have an artificial leg, with which you can move about with comfort to yourself and everybody else, than have an unsightly limb which is always in the way. SUSAN CHRINE, Aged Seven Years. (Continuedfrom page 25.) This girl was here four weeks ago. The sore has suppurated and discharged since then. This was one of the tendencies to subcutaneous ulceration for which we ordered silicea. She is now a great deal better in every way. Let her return in three weeks and I think she will be cured. MARY MCMULLEN, Aged Sixty Years. (The patient says she has a soreness and swelling below the knee; don't know that she has strained the leg.) Prof. Helm-uth. —Burse sometimes enlarge and inflame and occasion great suffering. We frequently see them about the wrist joint and on the dorsal tendons of the hand. When an adventitious bursa is formed along the course of a tendon the term ganglion is generally employed —and I do not know of any more difficult disorder to treat than the diffuse variety of bursee. So long as we have the synovial fluid contained in the sac, and there is but slight inflammation, there is merely an unpleasant feeling when the tendons or muscles play over the cyst; but in other instances the contents of the sac increase in quantity and the fluid burrows down into the sheaths of tendons, and causes a great deal of inflammation and suppuration, sometimes resulting in gangrene and death. A bad case of ganglion is a most difficult thing to manage; but the ordinary bursie are not so troublesome. There are a great many ways of managing them. Recollect the distinction: First, you have the simple bursa, in its natural position; then you have an enlargement of the bursa, which rises on one side of a tendon or the other; and third, wve have the diffuse bursa, in which the fluid extends along the tendons, and gives rise not only to excruciating agony, but sometimes to the death of the part. A bursa in this place is frequent with women who do housework. Resting on the knees for a considerable time appears to irritate the parts, and the cyst begins to inflame. A very simple treatment is to pass a seton through the sac and let it remain until a certain amount of irritation has set in. Dr. Thompson suggests stica pulmo. I have never used it, but will try it in the n'ext case we have. (The seton was then passed.) HENRY NICHOL, Aged Sixty-two Years. Prof Ielmuth.-This patient states that, up to this morning, he had not been able to get a drop of water down his throat for forty-eight hours. He has been afflicted since the first week in July last. He is a journeyman tailor by occupation. Up to the present he has always enjoyed good health. He used to carry his lunch to the shop, and about the first of July experienced difficulty in swallowing it. He could swallow liquids better than solids. He has fed on soups and broths, and has eaten no solid food since July. The food does not immediately regurgitate, but after he has eaten a little, the throat seems to contract, and whatever he happens to have in his mouth at the time he cannot swallow, and he has to eject it. For the last forty-eight hours the throat has been closed. Those of you who have entered into the anatomy of the cesophagus know that outside the mucous coat of the tube we have a certain variety of muscle. When I was speaking to you at a former clinic, with reference to the action of the muscles which enter into the formation of the pharynx, I told you that the tendency of these muscular fibres was to contract towards the centre, and that this motion occasions that peculiarity of cleft palate which enables a person so afflicted, in swallowing, to bring the edges of the cleft together, when we would expect that the gap would be widened. The same condition of the muscular fibres extends down the oesophagus. We have here a case of stricture of the oesophagus. You can divide this into two varieties. First, the spasmodic stricture; and, secondly, the permanent organic stricture-the latter embracing the chronic induration and the malignant variety. In spasmodic stricture the circular muscular fibres are the seat of the affection; the disease occurs at intervals, the patient suddenly finding himself incapable of swallowing, at the same time experiencing a sensation of choking; added to this, there is not much emaciation, although there is generally great nervous irritabilitv of the whole system. The disease is more prevalent among females than males, and is amenable to internal medicines. One of the most interesting cases of this kind has been published 76 CONGENITAL HERNIA. The first direction I give this patient is never to take anything cold-not even cold drinks. He should take liquid nourishment, and take it warm. And I would recommend that, before he begins to take food of any kind, he should envelop his throat in a hot bandage. Tie around his throat, before he attempts to eat, a piece of towel, or muslin, or canton flannel, which has been dipped in very hot water, and over that apply a dry bandage. These spasmodic strictures will sometimes relax under the influence of heat. I will give him the 30th of cocculus-a dose every three hours. In these cases of stricture of the oesophagus the patient sometinies dies from lack of nutrition. ABRAHAM JONES, About Fjfiy Years. History of Case. —(Has had hernia ever since he was a boy. Don't know what caused it. Has tried a number of trusses, but derived no benefit from any of them. Has employed several doctors, but none of them did him any good. 1Has no pain from it.) Prof. [Helmuth. —There are several varieties of hernia-the reducible; the irreducible, in which coats of the sac are adherent to the surrounding tissues by fibrous deposits: then, again, we have incarcerated hernia, and we have strangulated hernia. We have also a division into the congenital and the acquired variety. Again, we have different varietis of hernia, according to the locality and the nature of the parts protruded, all of which are important to be known. rhis man has congenital hernia. The method of reducing hernia by the hand is called taxis. There are a great many methods of perfbrming it. This is an oblique hernia. By that I mean a hernia which passes through both rings. The gut passes down in front of the sheath of the conjoined tendon of the transversalis and internal oblique muscle and descends into the scrotum. One portion of it feels " doughy " and the other feels as an intestine should, making it an entero-epiplocele. In replacing the hernia you can always tell when it passes back, for it slips away from the fingers with a gurgle. There should 78 ARTERITIS. Whether this belongs to that class or not it is impossible for me to say on such an examination as I am now able to make; but there seems to be a diseased action going on in the whole arterial system. When I apply my ear to his breast I hear that there is much regurgitation of blood. There is a blowing sound, showing that there is valvular irsufficiency. He has a thickening of the pericardium and an atfection of the arterial system. Altogether it is a case of very rare interest. I should suppose that some of the preparations of ergotin would be advisable in this case; but as he has already been before two of the other professors, I have nothing to say as to the treatment, but will consult with them in the case. Never be too certain in your diagnosis, when another physician has been before you, in an obscure case. If you desire to keep yourselves out of trouble in such cases, particularly when they have been p)rescribed for by other medical men, be sure that you call a consultation before you give a definite opinion. You do not know what damage you may do to yourselves, or to your profession, by expressing an opinion which may be directly at variance with that which has been already given by another. As doctors differ so materially in their opinions of' most cases, it is always well, if you are called upon by a patient who has been visited by another physician and asked, " What do you think of my case?" to say, " I will see your medical man about it." Never express your opinion, after a consultation, to the patient, but always to the doctor in attendance. Never, under any circumstance, give an opinion of a case that is in the hands of a brother physician, but always let him perform that duty. When you are called in consultation you must take your leave of the patient before the consultation is held, and not return. The family physician is to receive and express. your opinion, and prescribe for the patient. That is the rule, and the correct one. This running up stairs again to see the patient, and saying to him, "If I had been here day before yesterday you would have been all right," is very reprehensible, although the practice is prevalent among some of the profession; but they always come out at the small end of the horn. You cannot be too careful in your ethics. JOHN HART, Aged Twen ty-nine Years. Hzstory of Case.-(The patient says when he was about two years old he took a large dose of arsenic by accident. At the age of five had hip disease, and suffered a great deal of pain. Then two abscesses formed, discharged and healed. At the age of fourteen the abscesses broke out in his leg again. HIe received an injury, when thirteen, while splitting wood. The sore leg is now six inches shorter than the other; he then got the foot fast between two sticks, and on turning around felt something snap in his hip, after which there was a large swelling inside of the thigh; then two abscesses formed-one above and one below the swelling.'Ihen several places opened and healed-one sore after another-from that time to this. Has had no splints on the leg. Has taken only constitutional remedies, salch as iodine and iron. Was in Bellevue Hospital for three months, under Dr. Hamilton, who used sponge tents, which gave relief for a time, so that he was able to go back to his work-that of compositor. Worked at the case until last July. No spiculke of bone have been discharged.) Prof Helmnuth. —That fact makes me think that there is more caries than necrosis, or if the latter, the sequestrum is not detached. You notice that the patient dresses the sores with paper. Paper has been largely introduced into certain hospitals as a dressing. It is not only very serviceable but it is cheap, and so easily applied that it has superseded many other dressings. You see there are fourteen or fifteen openings on the buttock and thigh, and he has had as many as twenty-six. You see, also, that there are cicatrices all along the side of the hip. The diseased leg is now about six inches shorter than the other. This case is one of great interest. In the first place it shows what the human frame can suffer. When you look at that leg and see its attenuation, and remember the amount of pus that discharges from that poor fellow's thigh every day, you cannot but wonder at his power of endurance. He enjoys comparatively good health, his appetite is good, and his pulse regular. He has symptoms now coming up which resemble dropsy. This is the second or third case of hip disease we have had under treatment, and you 80 HIP JOINT DISEASE. will recollect what I told you of the different varieties of the complaint. In such a case as this we have, I suppose, not only an ulceration of the head of the thigh bone but caries, with perforation of the ac-tabulum. You see here two openings on the anterior portion of the abdomen. When, in advanced hip disease, we halve these openinks for the exit of matter on the anterior portion of the abdomen, the indications are, that there is some more extensive disease than that of the thigh bone itself. This affection has lasted for such a length of time that there can be no doubt about the head of the bone being very seriously affected, together with the ilium. [The doctor refuses the request of the patient to stay in the room and hear all that is said about his case.] It is not to be wondered at that this man wants to hear everything that is to be said about his case. He wants to know whether there is the slightest hope for him. He desires to know whether he will live or die. Hie wants to know whether an operation can be performed for his relief. Under the circumstances I do not think that there can be. I fear that there is very little chance for his life in this world, but w may be able to somewhat benefit him. An exploratory operation in such a case as this might be advisable under certain circumstances; but not when the patient has run down so low that there is effusion taking place in the abdominal cavity, because in such the operation would not be successful, and would but add to his suffering. It seems to me, if anything can be done for him, it must be treatment which will build him up. If necessary, he may be relieved of the dropsy, and then, if the water does not reaccumulate, you may cut down to the head of the femur and perhaps exsect it. In his present condition, however, any such operation is out of the question. CHEILOPLASTY. 83 while treating varicose ulcers, and allowed the patient to go about his business. After allowing the eschlarotic to remain a few moments wash the parts with vinegar, put on an elastic stocking and let the patient go. Repeat this every three or four days. Don't let the paste stay oil long enough to burn through the vein. I once applied it to a patient at a clinic and forgot it while lecturing, and hemorrhage was the result. There are some medicines, which, if internally administered, will have a specific action on the coats of the vein, and the best that I know of is the Witch Hazel. Miss T-, Aged about Twenty-three. This young woman was before the class two years ago. I have performed four or five operations for her. She came to us first with a perfect immobility of the lower jaw. During the five or seven years that her jaws had been closed she was not able to swallow anything but soup, which she took through a straw or a glass tube. Several of her teeth ulcerated and she swallowed them; she could not spit them out. Then it was that she came to us with this cicatrix-perfect anchylosis of the inferior maxillary, an eversion of the lower lip, and a dreadful cicatrix from previous ulceration, which probably arose from the injudicious use of mercury. Fig. 1 shows somewhat the condition of the parts. The first operation,which was prolonged, tedious and bloody, was to open the jaws. Introducing a round pointed straight bistoury at the inner angle of the mouth, I divided, after a tedious Fig. 1. dissection, all the cicatrices; then, with a modification of the instrument of Scultetus, called Westmoreland's, I gradually broke up the adhesions within the joint, and restored partially its movements. She was then placed in bed, and a glltta percha plate introduced into the mouth, between the raw surface of the cheek and the jaw, and HIP JOINT DISEASE. 85 markable. The instrument used in this case to hold the jaws apart was Wcstmoreland's. Plastic operations are those by which raw surfaces are brought together. The simplest formn are operations for hare lip. In all procedures of this kind the object is to so unite the flap as to allow the circulation to proceed undisturbed. This girl has been very courageous; she has suffered many operations; and I hope that this will be the last one. I have had photographs of her taken at different stages of the cure.* I will bring them to the clinic and let you see the changes. I am very anxious to make it a success. A surgeon must have eyes in the ends of his fingers. No other profession requires so much dexterity with the ends of the digits. A surgeon needs to educate not only the eye but the hand as well. A very good method of educating the fingers, and to improve the sense of touch, is to wind your watch every night in the darkfinding the key hole with your finger. AUGUST SISSMAN, Aged Twelve Years. (Continued from page 60.) You will recollect that in speaking of this case, three weeks ago, I told you that in a majority of cases of hip disease you could trace the disease back to some injury. Formerly hip joint disease was characterized as a scrofulous affection of the joint; but more recent investigations have convinced us that in very many cases it can be attributed to injury; and we often find that healthy persons are afflicted with hip disease. You recollect the appearance of this boy when he first came here, and can see that he is in every way improved. I then prescribed silicea, 30th, and said that it was better that he should have an extension apparatus made, and that such apparatus would be required before he could be perfectly cured. The extension ap)paratus is mnade an(l he is to hiave it to day. The whole aspect of the patient has improved in tlhree weeks. You will notice that the tendency of his foot is now to invert. In its earliest stages this disease is often very difficult * The wood cuts are accurate representations of the photographs. It will be seen that in the cuts the deformity is on the left side in Fig. 1, and shown on the right side in Figs. 2 and 3. The reason will be apparent when the fact is known that the photograph of Fig. 1 was taken from a photograph, while those of Figs. 2 and 3 were taken from the patient herself. COLD ABSCESS. 87 He feels better and stronger in every way. This boy goes to-day to the instrument maker to thave the splint applied, which will allow of a certain atnount of extension. There has been a great deal of improvement in both of these cases, and I hope to be able to bring them before you from time to time during the winter; if it is advisable we will make an exploratory operation upon the elder. He wants to see what can be done, and that is just what we all want. He has had a great deal of suffering. When you find abscesses in hip disease opening through the abdominal walls, it is not a favorable symptom as a general thing, because it shows that the floor of the acetabulum has been perforated, and the head of the bone must be thoroughly diseased. In such case excision of the hip cannot be performed with the same facility or success as if he bone still remained in the cavity. 14HARRIET ROSSLE, Aged Twelve Years. HXIAIET CROSSLEY, Aged Twelve Years. (Enlargement on the side of neck; has been sick over a year; the first symptoms were a swelling of the neck, which extended to the breast.) Prof HIelmuth.-There is a gland which is called the parotid, beginning at the angle of the jaw and extending upward to the ear. This gland frequently becomes enlarged, and indurated, and then gives rise to a great deal of trouble. In other instances, where the cervical glands become enlarged they suppurate, and form cold abscesses. I mean by that, the suppuration which takes place is extremely slow, is unaccompanied by constitutional symptoms, and generally discharges some distance from the point where the inflammation commences. You will see that this is quite an interesting case. The inflammatory process began at the root of the neck, and you can see how the matter has burrowed and opened l(ower down. On her back she has another abscess forming, which contains fluid. I think that we can cure this girl, but it will take a good deal of time. Give her Hepar-the third —about two grains to be put in half a glass of water, and a sp )on ful taken four times every day for three or four weeks. There is no medicine that I know of that possesses such influence over the suppurating processes as Hepar, pirticularly when the glands are in 88 TREATMENT OF COLD ABSCESS. volved, and there is a tendency to suppuration in different parts of the body. By giving this medicine regularly, and following it up Awith silicea and sulphur, the disease may be radically cured. In cases like this I want you to bear in mind the importance of constitutional medication; I do not mean constitutional general treatment, as implied by ordering iron, quinine, lime and stimulants. I mean that specific constitutional medication that applies itself to the specific condition of the disease. Study out the symptoms and give the appropriate constitutional medicine, and you will cure your patient. The tendency in these diseases which we see with our eyes, and which are appreciable to our senses, is to rely too much upon local treatment. Local treatment is all very well; but I tell you, from actual personal experience, that these affections can be and are radically cured with very little local treatment, if you can select the right constitutional medicine-which is indicated by the symptoms of each particular case. The more you particularize, the more you scrutinize each particular case, and study the symptons of that case, and apply the medicines specifically, the more speedily you will cure your patient. To be sure this is not an easy matter. It is a great deal easier to say that you will " build the patient up," by giving him tonics; but that is not the best way. You must study the symptoms of each particular case. It will weary you, and discourage you very many times; there will be many drawbacks; but the man who carefully studies the symptoms of each particular case, and applies the medicine according to the proper lasw of cure, he is the man who cures his patient; andl he is the man who can best instruct others in the law of cure which we profess, and believe, and know to be true. There is no denying this law of cure, because it has been tried. It has been put into the furnace and has come out pure gold. I believe that by the proper application of medicines according to our law, especially in bone diseases and this form of suppuration, can be effected in a majority of cases without the use of the knife. This may be bad for the surgeons, but we must be men enough to acknowledge the law and the facts as we find them. Don't be (afraid to ackqowledge a fict when you see it. It is all very well to sit down and say, " This is not so;" but the straightforward cnscientious man will never be afraid to acknowledge the truth wherever he sees it, and no matter by whom pronounced. That is the principle upon which I want you all to act. Acknowl HYPOCHONDRIASIS. 89 edge the truth wherever you find it, no matter whether it be in this or in that college; no matter what profession, school or church, uphold it. Whenever you are convinced of a truth, and have the facts to back it up, then let the world storm as it likes; you have the truth on your side, and-"-' Magna est Veritas." MICHAEL M., Aged FfRQy Years. Has a "tickling noise in his head," and his "chest feels bad;" has no cough; no pain any where in particular, except sometimes in his head; sleeps well at night. [The patient insisted on entirely undressing before answering any questions, saying that he wanted to have a " regular examination."] Piof. Helmuth.-The diagnosis in this case is quite clear. He says that his appetite is good; that he sleeps well. His pulse is at 96. He is scarred all over with the marks of syphilitic eruption. Ile says that his chief trouble is in his chest. There is only one medicine that I know of that will help him, and that is saccharum lactis. He will have to take it pretty frequently, and diet strictly. Let him take a powder three times a day, and I think he will get over this tickling in his chest. After the patient had retired the Doctor continued: l'lhere is nothing much the matter with that man, but he fancies there is. You will find that patients who have suffered severely from certain forms of syphilis, and have had these sores cured by mercury, do occasionally have a peculiar form of monominania. You could see when that man came in, and began to take his shoes and stockings off, preparatory to stripping himself stark naked before you, that he had something on his mind. His pulse beats a. little too rapidly, and he says that he has a pain in his head; but' I think there is nothing in particular the matter. You may set it down as a rule that when a man says that he can sleep well:at night, that there is verv little acute suffering. People with acute pains very rarely sleep or eat well. This man is a hypochondriac. Such men may tell you that they are suffering great agony, and their statements might lead you astray if you relied upon them HENRY HEAD, Aged 7Two Years. Prof. Ielmuth. —You remember this case, gentlemen; eight weeks ago Dr. Thompson put on a plaster bandage at the hospital. It is that of dislocation of the femur backward and upward, which occurred when the child was four months old; he was twenty months old when the plaster was applied. Four weeks ago Dr). Thompson took off the first plaster, which had been on for eight weeks, and used another. You will see that one leg is as long as the other, and he can walk, which he could not before. I cannot find that he was injured at anlly time, but the thigh moved in all directionsbackward, and forward, and downward; it was very easily reduced by this motion of the limb. (Illustrating.) We reduced the dislocation, and this leg was then made as long as the other one. As soon as there was a slight contraction we immediately advised the plaster bandage for its relief, and it has been successful. As the child grows it will be necessary to take off this splint and put on a larger one. You see he walks now very well. When we come to classify dislocations, gentlemen, you will find we have those occasioned by accident and those which are spontaneous. Spontaneous dislocations may arise from several causes. They are caused by musclar contraction, shallowness of the cavity in which the head of the bone rests, and again from some disease between the head of the bone and its articular surface. The result of the treatment has been very satisfactory indeed. There is no disease about the bone; it seems to be merely a dislocation backward and upward, and if you had seen it, you would have seen-what? A shortened leg, the knee of the affected side turned over towards the opposite knee. It was not only a perfect illustration of this dislocation, but it afforded, also, an illustration of the manipulation treatment of reduction. It could be reduced directly by this simple manipulation which is now being introduced so considerably into surgical practice, viz: Flexion adduction, circumduction, and extension. Since the introduction of anaesthetics there is no need, in the POTT'S DISEASE OF THE SPINE. 93 majority of cases, of applying the same force that was formerly necessary to reduce the hip, and it is found sometimes that gentle manipulation may succeed, even in a strong and powerful man, where the pulleys have not had any effect. It used to be the fashion to bleed or to administer tobacco infusion until the muscles were relaxed. This is all done away with; there is little counteracting tendency in the muscles and tendons in reducing dislocations. This case not only is a beautiful illustration of spontaneous dislocation, but it shows how easy is the reduction. You flex the leg upon the thigh and the thigh on the abdomen; then grasp with your right hand the leg above the ankle, with the other hand take hold of the knee-you adduct it, make rotation, and then extension. These manipulations canl be employed in all dislocations, especially those of the hip. After this bone was reduced a plaster of Paris splint was applied, which in eight weeks it was necessary to remove. It is a very successful case, indeed, and a fine representation of what may be done with the immovable apparatus. Without this the patient would perhaps have become an invalid, or else would have been obliged to lie in bed with a weight at his foot. The plaster splint has, effected a radical cure. You may recollect that in children the immovable apparatus is one of the very best that can be employed. v't*$u$ ro (Of4. it.. s- pz*- # o ELIZABETH GERHARDT, Aged Four Years. (Continuedfrom page 24.) It is ten weeks. to-day since she came here. She comes from Staten Island. This disease is certainly growing better all the time. She has now been taking calcarea for a considerable time, and I will continue it at least three weeks more. In these cases, of course, the improvement is extremely slow, and it takes years before a cure can be accomplished, but I have 94 POTT'S DISEASE OF THE SPINE. every reason to hope that you will see a diminution, in the projection of the spinous processes, and that the majority of the symptoms will be relieved. The object of the apparatus that you see bound to the back is to take off pressure, and that is accomplished by these crutches, which support the arms and are attached at the waist. Now, in some instances, this variety of splint is unbearable, and we have to content ourselves with medicine. Then, again, there is another form of splint, which those in better circumstances can procure; it is called "Darrach's Wheel Chair Crutch." It resembles a woman's petticoat or hoops, held upright, and padded under the arms. You take a child and place it in the centre of the apparatus, and the padded parts come directly under the arms; it takes the entire weight of the body off the spinal column. I know of three cases which have been cured by this apparatus. It was invented by Mr. Darrach for the cure of his own child. Dr. Burdick has now a case of Pott's Disease which has been under his care for two years. He will give you the history of the case. rWM. WooD, Aged x u Year(s. Prof. S. P. Burdick.-Three years ago this little boy was first shown to me by his mother, and he was then suffering from the first indications of Pott's Disease. I advised a course of treatment, but, as this lady says, I "did not talk quite enough," always when you have any thing to say to the ladies be sure and do talking enough. The case was then submitted to Dr. Taylor, who is a very skilful physician, and he applied a splint, which the child wore for nearly a year, when the case was again presented to me without any perceptible improvement. I then advised the mother, as the brace had been properly adjusted, to continue its use, and placed the child under treatment. Hie has been under treatment for two years constantly; there has been no intermission, I believe. He has not failed, I think, a single day, to take the remedies which were prescribed in his case, and, during the past year, the mother STRICTURE OF THE CESOPHAGUS. 95 tells me, slie has heard no complaint from the boy whatever, although he still wears the splint, and seems perfectly well. The remedies which he has taken, from the first to the last, have been calcarea carb., 200; one dose at night, six globules, and calcarea phosphorata in the morning, ten globules. This has been his treatment from the beginning to the end. At the time he first came under my care he was having from ten to twenty passages from his bowels a-day, which Dr. Taylor informed the mother would have to wait until the spinal trouble got well, and then the disease wouldd isappear. Under the treatment of calcarea. he gained a visible improvement at the end of six weeks. The trouble has decidedly improved, and his general health and strength was, from that time to the present, greatly improving, without any intermission whatever. Now, you see, the character of this brace is very much better adapted to the case than that of the patient you last saw, but this is a very much more expensive article. He was five years old last August, and he continues to grow tall. HENRY NICHOL, Aged S?'xty-two Years. ( Continued from page 74.) The next case is that bad case of spasmodic stricture of the cesophagus. ProJ: Helmuth.-It is two weeks to-day since he was here. (To the patient)Q. Can you swallow this morning? A. Yes, sir. If you recollect, I tried to explain to you the nature of these spasmodic strictures, and I prescribed then cocculus the 30th, and ordered hot applications about his neck, and that hot drinks be taken. He says his throat feels better. He has been taking cocculus the 30th for about two weeks. There is an evident improvement in his condition, and, as I said before, cocculus has a specific influence on the muscles of the cesophagus and pharynx, and he states now, that from the relaxation of the upper part of his throat he begins to feel more comfortable. The law in medicine is, 96 STRICTURE OF THE (ESOPHAGUS. to let well enough alone, although the temptation is, when you have a case that is doing well, to change the medicine or to resort to other means. Particularly with young practitioners is this a strong temptation; they prescribe for a patient and think that the medicine must act in a short space of time, and if very deeply interested in the case, they think their reputation is at stake. I was so. When a young practitioner is called to a case, he is very anxious for its success, and he studies it up very thoroughly, and finds the medicine he thinks is proper; he gives it to the patient, and expects to see immediate relief. If the expected improvement is not immediate, he takes down the books, supposes he has given the wrong medicine, and goes back the next morning and changes it. But I began to find out, as I grew older, that it was a good thing in medicine to let well enough alone, and to give the medicine opportunity to act. One reason why doctors can never treat their own families successfully in severe cases, is, that they know too much. Very often physicians think they overflow with wisdom, but when they come. to prescribe for their own families their egotism falters. They give a dose of medicine to their child, they take out the books and find another remedy which they think better than the first, and so they desire to change the prescription. There is another thing to be remembered; when a patient is getting better by nature, if you have common sense, let nature continue, you can have the honor all the same. DIon't interfere with it. The law is, and write it down, that when a patient is improving, continue the same medicine until you are sure it has exhausted itself, and when the patient begins to get worse, do not think it is an aggravation for the Lord's sake. Many split on this rock. Nothing makes me so angry as to have a person come into my office and say, "Doctor, I have been worse ever since I took that medicine,"' where I know medicine had nothing to do with it. As to this patient, he is getting better, and I believe cocculus will relieve this stricture, so I will continue it for two weeks more. We will go on and give you this medicine and you will come back in two weeks. He asks me if I am going to put something into his throat. I will not. I never, in spasmodic strictures, put instruments into cavities where there is a liability to spasm; that very often aggravates the case. I say that it is a triumph of surgery if you can by internal administration of medicine cure a STRICTURE OF THE ESOPHAGUS. 97 disease which formerly was treated only surgically. I do not mean to put any instrument in your throat to-day; but you must come back in two weeks. If you should get worse, come next Saturday; but, if you think you are getting better, stay two weeks. The great fault of teaching in medical colleges is this-that you are led to believe, when you are called to see a case of disease, it will be easy to diagnose and to treat. The descriptions are so simple in the books that little difficulty is apprehended by the student as to his. capability to perform professional duty. This is wrong. Often in diseases there is such a similitude that it takes the closest power of discrimination and the greatest wisdom to diagnose one friom another. You think it is easy to diagnose a dislocation of the lower jaw. Yet even this has been mistaken. There are difficulties in all cases, but the man who overcomes the difficulties, makes the best physician. The greater the difficulty on the one hand, the greater should be the incentive to study on the other. Don't you dare, when you have gone home after curing a simple case, to think that you are a great doctor; because you are not, for diseases get well of themselves. Take a bad case and bring that through all right, and then you can prove yourself competent. When you are an IM. D., when yoll think you have passed through the green room and are regularly empowered to encounter all the diseases with which the world is affected, do not, because you cure one or two of them, think you are a great man. The next case we will have is a small tumor over the eye. It is not much, but it is the little things ini this life that make the great ones; it is the atoms which make the world; it is the motion of those particles which make light, heat and electricity, and the man that disregards the little things in life, is not the man that can overcome the great ones. HATTIE-ANDREWS, aged 15 years. Here is a tumor that lies directly over the external cantlhus of the eye: Sometimes these smnall tumors which grow in the neigh 98 OPERATION FOR SEBACEOUS TUMOR. borhood of the frontal bone, or skull, from the pressure they exert, have a tendency to absorb the bone, and a tumor like this one pressing down so on the bone may absorb it. This is a favorite way to remove them. Raise the skin, like that, and then enter the knife, with the back downward, and cut from within; that makes a clean cut down through the tissue. After you have made your incision, take a pair of forceps, and raise up the skin. These things stick very tight sometimes, and are sometimes very difficult to get out. (The tumor was dissected out.) Sebaceous tumors have different kinds of sacs. In some you have seen the envelope is very thin; in other instances the sacs are perfectly firm and hard; and still in other instances they adhere not only to the superimposed structures, but also those below. This patient now should be principally treated with cold water dressing. No, do not give her any medicine. I know she will get well without, and if I were to give her medicine and she were to recover, I might suppose that I was very scientific. Common sense in medicine, is a great thing, gentlemen. The trouble is, we are apt to lose our common sense when we come to get too inuch science. It is not the most studious physician who makes the best practitioner. It is an acknowledged and accepted.fact that the most distinguished men in the profession for their learning, are often the least practical when they come to tie bedside. PROF. HELMUTH [To a student of the class]: Q. Now, sir, ether you say is an anesthetic. Who introduced it 1 A. Dr. WELLS, of Hartford, Conn. Q. Are you sure it was Dr. WELLS? What about Dr. MORTON? See page 17. Q. Who introduced chloroform? A. Prof. SIMPSON, of Edinburgh. Q. What are the rules for giving ether. In the first instance, must the patient have a full or empty stomach when he takes ether? A. An empty stomach. Q. Then what is the next thing, This gentleman says they must let atmospheric air in where apatient is anesthetized? A. It is not necessary. The rule for the administration of ether is this: that if the ether be pure, there is no necessity for atmospheric air. The best precaution is to have the patient fast for at least three hours, anld after fasting lie should have, about half an hour AN1ESTHESIA. 99 before administering the ether, a stimulus in the shape of brandy, or about eight to ten grains of bromine of potassa. Then the anoesthesia must be carried to insensibility. Spencer lays it down as a law, and as one of the principles, that he never pushes anesthesia to more than insensibility. When a purple skin and stertorous breathing appear, then it is time that it should be suspended. With chloroform the case is very different. In chloroform there must be always an admixture of atmospheric air; the patient to be watched carefully and very closely. Fluttering of the heart and spasmodic breathing are bad signs with chloroform, and the trouble is just here-a patient may pass from life to death before the operator is scarcely aware of it; and a patient in apparently good health may take his seat in the chair, and the chloroform may affect him in such a manner as to make death irmminent, or he may expire at once. It is for this reason that I am opposed to giving chloroform, except, perhaps, in cases where it seems to act remarkably well, such as the relaxation of the muscles in obstetrical practice. I argue that it is better for the operator, that the patient take ether,' than to run the risk of a sudden death.!From ether you have the stage of insensibility coming slowly, it is true, but still it is a better and a safer practice to resort to than. the use of chloroform. If I am operating on a patient under chloroform, I have to be thinking of the hllloroform as well as the operation; but if I am practicing with ether, I am fiee of care, and that is a great deal. NEURALGIA OF THE STUMP. 101 painis him all the time, anld lhas for the last two years. The suffering is worse at night tllan ii the day. The cicatrix has contracted on the end of the bone. There was no pain for a number of years after the operation; but the parts began to be sensitive when the integument began to contract over the bone. At the time of the amputation, mortification was rapidly extending up the arm. PROF. HELMUTH: Thlat arm is a very good text for two or three lectures. In tle first place, it is a good text to speak from, with reference to wlhat is called trlaumatic gangrene.. You will recollect that, when I was speaking of the terminations of the inflammatory process, I stated that in dry gangrene or in the ordinary forms of mortific.altion, it'was necessary, beoLre anipultatilg, to wait for the line of demarcation, and that in other cases, it was just the contrary; and when we had traumatic gangrene, which extended rapidly, and the life of the patiellt was at stake, amputation.should be performed, and thle sooner tile better. If you will put yoiur finger on thle end of this stump, yon will feel that the bone has been sawn off diagonally, that the bone is sharp at that extremity, that the tissues have adhered thereto, and that there hlas been a contraction of the flap. There is a difference of opinion as to the period and point of amputation in traumatic gangrene. Particularly in those injuries which result froml machinery, where the parts are bruised, and crushed and lacerated to a pulp, and there is no way whatsoever to relieve the patient, and the gangrene seems rapidly extending itself-then to wait for the line of demarcation is to wait for death, and to give the patient over to it. It;f, on tile other hand, we have dry gangrene, then it is wrong to perform an amputation until the line of demarcation is fillly formed. In such gangi'ene as this mani had, amputation must be resorted to within one or two days. Tlhere may be a primary amputation performed; but after an amputation, no matter how skillfully performed, certain untoward results may follow. For a considerable period of time after an amputation a patient may consider himself cured; but some unhealthy action may take place in the stump, which gives rise to intense pain, which may be easily accounted for. There is a great tendency in all tissues during the healing process to contract, and during contraction there is a tendency to adhesion to the end of the bone. This patient says that for sevene or eighlt years he enjoyed perfectly good health, 102 NEURALGIA OF'rTHE STUMIP. and but little pain. Then, two or three years ago, lhe began: to feel pain and soreness on the under surface of the arm, and then he referred his suffering to the amputated fingers. There is frequently this peculiarity attending amputations —that the patient seems to have sensibility conveyed to his brain through the stump, as it was through the limb before it was taken off; and sensations at the end of the fillgers are apparently felt as well as they were before the arm was amputated. Here has been a,contraction of the cicatricial tissue, and an adherence to the bone; and as the tissues adhered to the bone, they embraced within them certain filaments of the Inedian nerve. The median nerve on the under side of the arin is included in this cicatrix, and therefore ]le will tell you that lie has all these nervous sensations. In other words, he has neuralgia of the stump,. which is worse at night, which gives him apparent sensitiveness at the end of the fingers, and whicil is always aggravated in bad weather. He can tell by that stump when a storm is coming. The pain is always worse at night, and is then of a shooting and darting character. What can we do to relieve this neluralgia of the stump? If it is simply idiopathic, and caused by the division of the nerves alone-if there are no mechanical troubles connected with it, there are medicines which will be of the greatest possible service to relieve the patient. I may mention here, that during the battle of Waterloo the Marolis of -Anglesy had his leg shot -off; it was amputated on the spot, but for five years he suffered very severely from neuralgia of the stump, trying many remedies to relieve the pain, but all in vain; and I assure you that this pain is almost unbearable at times. Finally he sought Ilahnemann in Paris, and by him was cured of the neuralgia by internal mledication. That is a fact in history, and there is no denying it. In a case like this, however, where the nerves are involved in the contracting tissue, other means may have to be resorted to, to produce the desired effect. Before I speak of the mechanical causes of this neuralgia of the stump, I will relate a case of the affection which was cured by the use of a medicine but little known. I was called across the river to see a man suffering from neuralgria of the stump. He had recovered from a thigh amputation; the stump had healed, and seemed sounId, and yet the pain he TREATMENT FOR NEURALGIA OF THE STUMP. 103 suffered was perfectly appalling. He had tried a great many medicines, such as belladonna, the acetate of copper, -ign., cicu.j zinc, hydrochlorate of amm, morphia, and others of that class of medicines which act upon the nervous system, and which, according to the symptoms in each particular case, will often produce relief. In this case, however, all the different remedies were tried without avail, and the patient was in such despair that he often thought of committing suicide. He had tried many doctors, of all schools, and had given himself up as a hopeless case. He was a great smoker, and as he stooped one day to light his pipe from a scrap of French newspaper, he read of a case of neuralgia of the stump which had been cured by eating onions. He immediately sent out and procured three large ones, and ate them; and for the first night in two years he slept. He continued this treatment for several days, and was able to sleep every night. Then he thought hlie would try the tincture of allium cepa; and lie took the tincture with almost the same effect. He got into the habit of eating an onion every night before going to bed; and finally cured himself of the neuralgia. This medicine, therefore —allium cepa-must be put down as one of those for neuralgia of the stump, and it is well to recollect it. With respect to the patieint before us, it would seem that we must do something to prevent further contraction of that cicatrix. We will give himi some internal medicine, and apply a lotion to the stump. If that does not do, and the pain becomes aggravating, the adhesions must be loosened from the bone by an operation. That will certainly relieve him, and then internal medicines must be given. If a mechanical obstruction is the cause of the neuralgia, we must resort to mechanical means for relief. I will prescribe for two we.eks: the tincture of allium cepa, five drops, to be taken four times a day in a tablespoonful of water; and I will have applied to his arm at night a simple onion poultice. Take a good sized onion, chop it up fine, put it into a rag, and tie it on to the stump at night. MARIA REED, aged 16 yeas. With a broken needle in her hand. She has the blunt end of the needle in her hand; and if it were within reach, and you could determnine its position, it would be high time /ten to cut down and take it ont. But now I cannot even feel the needle, and do not know where it is located, and it would be improper to make an exploratory operation in the palm of the hand in search of it, when we do not know in what direction to probe. Needles have entered the palm of the hand, and have come out at the shoulder; they have entered at the knee, and I have taken them out at the chest. And so with bits of glass and splinters. Metallic substances, especially, have a tendency to wander through the system. Until this needle comes nearer the surface it would be wrong to meddle with it. She will feel it somewhere near the surface after awhile. It may move quite fast. As it does not give her any inconvenience, it is better to wait until it makes its location known. She need not worry herself about it, for it will not hurt her. This looking for needles when you don't know where to find them, is a very ulsatisfactory thing, and very unsuccessful. KATII PAULDING, aged 3~ years. Hislory of Case.-Has been lame since she had a fall, six months ago. She was standing in the door, a dog ran under her and pushed her legs apart, and she fell heavily on the floor. She immediately arose, but walked lame, and has been- lame ever since. For two weeks she has not been able to walk at all. She has a great deal of pain at night. PROF. HELMUTH: This is a rapid case of hip disease. You observe one foot is turned out, and the leg seems longer than the other. She complains a great deal of pain in the knee, and the mother supposed tIATTIAE ANDREWS, aged 15 year's. (Continuedfro. parge 97.) Dr. THOMPSON says that lie was sent for Oll Sunday night to see the patient; found the right eye swollen up and closed, and suspected erysipelas; the pulse was at 120; and he prescribed aconite and belladonna. On Monday night, the eye was still more swollen. Forty-eight hours after the operation the inflammation had extended to both eyes. He withdrew the sutures, and there came away at least two tablespoonsfiul of sanguineous pus. The wound gaped open. At the time of the operation there was a small artery which bled considerably, and was not tied, hoping that tile hemorrhage would stop without a ligature. But there was some secondary hemorrhage, and the wound filled with blood and pus, so that it was necessary to open it. Afterwards slight compression was made with plaster; and now she is doing very well. She was brought here on Tuesday morning, and has been here ever since. She can now open her eye, and there is scarcely any swelling. These sebaceous tumors sometimes undergo a spontaneous cure. Sometimes an inflammatory action sets up in the sac and the contents are discharged. But then there generally remeains an unsightly scar. Therefore make it a rule, in removing sebaceous tumors, to remove as much as possible of the cyst wall, or else you may have a reproduction. But the cyst is not of sufficient importance for you to remove it altogether, if portions of it lie in very close proximity to important structures, because, if you remove three-fourths of the cyst, in a majority of cases, the other one-fourth will pass off with the discharg(e. In the performance of the operation you must never injure any other part. That is a law, you must always follow, in whatever operation you perform. 110 QUIZZES ON HERNIA. Q. How would you diagnose varicocele from hernia? A. In the varicocele the swelling is not reducible, and has the feeling as of a bunch of worms. Q. What is the difference between enterocele and epiplocele? A. In the first the intestine alone is displaced; in the latter, the omentumn alone is displaced. Q. What is entero-epiplocele? It is that in which both the intestines and omentum protrude. Q. What is encephalocele? A. Hernia of the brain. Q. What is pneumnocele? A. Hernia of the thorax. Q. What is reducible hernia? A. One in which the protruding bowel may be replaced into the cavity from which it came, either spontaneously or by taxis. Q. What is irreducible hernia? A. When there exists a protrusion of the bowel which cannot be returned to the abdomen. Q. What is strangulated hernia? A. It is that form of hernia in which the bowel is so pressed upon at the point where it passes through the walls of the abdomen, that it is strangled or constricted, which prevents the contents of the intestines from passing to the anus, and the venous circulation is impeded. Q. What is crural or femoral hernia? A. It is a dropping down of the bowel behind Poupart's ligament, and appearing as a tumnor at the upper part of the thigh. Q. What is the difference in diagnosis between femoral and inguinal hernia? A. In the femoral hernia the finger can be introduced into the inguinal canal. Poupart's ligament cannot be made out, even though the gut has ridden over it. An inguinal hernia lies inside of the spine of the pubis. Prof. HIelmuth said: Psoas abscess nmay, in rare instances, be mistaken for fernoral hernia. But the many presenting symptoms of spinal disease, the slowness and variability of progress, the fluctuation, and the part at which the abscess points, which, in the majority of cases, is outside of that which hernia protrudes, serve to form the distinctions necessary for diagnosis. An enlayrged giand has been mistaken for hernia by most distinguished surgeons. Hamilton records a case in which several days elapsed before the diagnosis was made out, the delay causing the death of the patient. Sir Astley Cooper also mentions two QUIZZES ON ANEIURtISM, H1EMOSTATICS, AND TETANUS. Ill -fatalcases of the kind. The absence of cough impulse, the solidity of the tumor, history of the case, and the constitution of the patient, must be our chief guides in these cases. Q. How would you diagnose sarcocele fiom hernia? A. By absence of cough, impulse, and the non-inplication of the spermatic cord, and the history of the case. Q. What do you understand by the term Aneurism? A. A pulsatory tumor, which. is filled with blood, partly fluid and partly coagulated, and whose cavity communicates with the arterial canal. Q. What do you understand by the terfr True Aneurism?. A. It is formed by the dilated coats of an artery forming a pouch, or sac; this sac is composed of all the arterial coats. Q. What is the difference between a true and a false aneurism? A. By true aneurism we mean a partial dilatation of all the coats of the vessel. By false aneurism we mnean expansion of the one, the rupture of the other. Q. How is the dilatation of aneurism classified? A. Into cylindroid, fusiform or sacciforvm. Q. What is the difference in these three dilatations of aneurism? A. In cylindroid the expansion is abrupt and uniform. In fusiform the enlargement is spindle-shaped. In sacciformn the dilatation is partial, and arises from the side of the vessel. Q. What is hoemostatics?. A. The arrest of bleeding. It may be natural or may be artificial. Q. What do we understand by torsion? A. Twisting of arteries to arrest bleeding. Q. What is tetanus? A. Permanent spasmodic contractions, or spasm of the voluntary muscles of a portion or nearly the whole of the body, rendering it stiff and straight. Q. Iow many kinds of tetanus are there? A. Idiopathic, produced by exposure to cold; and tranumatic, produced by bodily injfiries, particularly the injury of a nerve. Q. What is trismus? A. When the spasm presents itself in the muscles of the neck, throat, and jaw. Q. What is episthotonos? A. When the muscles of the back are affected, the patient is drawn backward into the shape of a hoop, and rests on his head and heels. Q. What is emprosthotonos? A. It is exactly an opposite condition of episthotonos, tile body being bent oor drawn forward. 112 CASE OF HYPOSPADIA AND' RETAINED TESTICLE. Q. What is pleurosthotonos?.A. It is when the muscles'of the side of the body are affected with tetanic spasm. Q. What is hypospadias? A. When the urethral opening teriminates or exists in the course,of the canal on the lower side of the penis. Q. If the urethla terminated on the upper portion of the penlis, what would it be called? A. Epispadias. I propose to present to the class to-day a case of hypospadia, with retained testicles, which has been operated upon once or twice, without success. I might say that all operations are nearly useless in this class of cases. This young man has been a student of -medicine, but has been rendered unfit for work by this deformity. Both of his testicles are retained and sore. In a majority of instances the operations in such cases are unsuccessful. I bring him before you to show you an aggravated case of hypospadias,,and at the same time to state a very peculiar fact, which is this: that this man has all the sensation of passing semen, as if his parts were in a normal condition, and that the sensation is attributed or referred by him to the end of the-, penis. The semen and urine pass through an opening in the membranous portion of the urethra. The patient has been operated on by Dr. Tiffany, of Baltimore, but the operation was not successful. The opening is now in the perineum. The patient is very destitute, and I thought that I would bring him before the class, that you might have an opportunity of seeing the case; and if any of you choose to assist him, with ever so little, lie will be grateful. I shall therefore ask him to exhibit himself to you. It is rare that you can see such an aggravated case of hypospadia, and this complicated as it is with by retained testicles. Patient is brought in. HENRY WILSON, aged 37 years. Q. You have had this rmalformation from birth? A. Yes, sir; from my birth. Q. Before yol were operated upon, how far back in the COLD ABSCESS. 113 urethra was the opening through which you passed water? A. Three and a half inches. Q. As you came from boyhood to puberty, did you have sexual desire? A. Yes; and rather prematurely. Q. The scrotum was well developed before the operation? A. Not very well. There was some redundancy of tissue. The testicles never came down. Q. When you have emissions of semen, do you have pain in!he testicles? A. Not at all. Q. Do you have any unpleasant feeling in the testicles? A. Yes, preceding the emission. It makes the left testicle painful a long time before there is an emission. Q. Then you do not have any such trouble in the right testicle? A. I have no evidence of any right testicle having an existence. I was operated upon by Dr. Tiffany, in Baltimore. His object was to make a flap out of the scrotum. HENRY PICKETT, Aged Five Years. Has had a swelling on the lower jaw for about three weeks. His mother thinks he has a decayed tooth, but has not complained of the tooth-ache. Very often in children we find that where there are diseased fangs of a tooth, or where the alveolar processes of the inferior or superior maxillary bone are very thin, an irritation is aroused which extends along the root of the tooth, and connects itself to the periosteum and we have the formation of cold abscesses. This boy has a cold abscess, caused by an irritation at the root of the tooth, external to the periosteum, in tissues so yielding that very little pain is experienced. It is not yet time to do any thing with this abscess. The suppuration is slow, and has all the characteristics of a chronic abscess. There is very little pain, but the suppurating process is proceeding. I can detect slight fluctuation there now, and by introducing a needle perhaps I could withdraw the matter; but that opening would not be suf ficient; the pus would not be fully discharged, and a second in 114 -CASE OF DEMENTIA. cision would be necessary; and the desire of the mother is to avoid a scar. Therefore, I think that we will leave this as it is for several days. Bring him back at the end of a week; if it has fully suppurated, we will withdraw the pus and leave nothing but the puncture. Give the boy three powders per day of cal. carb.,. 30th trituration. JOHANNA REGLAN, Aged Four Years. History of Case.-The child can use her hands, but does not know how to feed herself; does not know how to walk; has a vacant look; is very quiet. PROF. HELMUTH: Here is a case which does not properly belong to my department. There is no surgical disease here. There is a deficiency in mental development, of brain structure. There is such a lack of brain and nervous power that the child, although it sees and hears, is not able to accomplish the simple act of prehension, and does not even know how to eat. She has the use of her hands, but does not understand how to take up food and put it in her mouth. In a case like this, nothing but a long course of treatment can be expected to do any good. The prognosis is extremely unfavorable in every way. The peculiarity is this: Here is a healthy woman, with a healthy husband, who has had several children that are perfectly well; yet, without any known cause, she is delivered of a child mentally deficient. It is not my province to enter into this subject-which is very interesting; and I shall refer the patient to Dr. Lillienthal. There is nothing more lamentable than such a case as this. There is notling so affecting as to see a case which is almost hopeless. That child is but little above an idiot. It can see and hear, but cannot comprehend. It seems, however, to be physically strong. In cases like this we must give an extremely guarded prognosis. No doubt there are institutions and courses of treatment, existing at the present day, whereby such a condition may be relieved. This child cannot talk; scarcely knows how to swallow, and probably would not swallow, if it were not a partially involuntary act. ANGULAR CURVATURE OF THE SPINE. 1 17 ject we are attempting to accomplish is often thwarted. This boy has improved very much under the treatment. He states that he has a good appetite; and you see that the roses are coming to his cheeks again. He then had a hectic flush; now he has the tint of health. One of the openings in his hip is nearly closed, while the other is getting better. He has been taking silicea-30th. Continue giving him the same medicine, and bring him back to-day three weeks. I think that I can say that by May you will have him pretty well cured, unless he gets a cold; I mean that the abscesses will heal, and the boy will be comparatively comfortable. He will limp a little for a considerable time. Angular Auxv^*raxF Atf tot Sbpin** (Continued from _page 41.) (No name given.) You will recollect that this child had Potts' disease of the spine. She has been under treatment since October 1. We think that she is better; she certainly is no worse. Even if the child were to grow up with that slight protuberance on her back, it would scarcely be noticed. She has been taking cal. carb., 30th. Continue it and bring her back in four weeks. We shall then see a more visible improvement. Prof. Helmuth quizzes the class: Q. What do you understand by tumor, surgically speaking? A. The term is restricted to an enlargement of part or structure caused by some specific morbid growth. Q. What are some of the diagnostic differences between an innocent and a malignant tumor? INNOCENT. MALIGNANT. ]. Hrrmless with reference to the sur- 1. The tumor is apt to destroy or inrounding structures. volve surrounding structures. 2. Texture bears some resemblance to 2. Texture differs from the nprmal certain of the surrounding structures. structure of the human body. 3. Non-liability to return (excepting 3. Great disposition to return. recurrent fibroid.) 4. Liability to profuse bleeding. 4. Absence of hemorrhage. 5. Great tendency to soften. 5. Little disposition to soften. 6. Great tendency to ulceration. 6. Not much tendency to ulcerate. 7. Very offensive, ichorous or bloody 7. Rarely accompanied by offensive discharge. discharges. 8. Infiltration of the parts on which 8. Non-infiltration of surrounding they grow, which is often entirely transstructures. formed. 118 TUMOR AND ANEURISM QUIZZES. Q. What is the color of tumors? A. They vary with the number of blood-vessels.contained in them, and also with the amount of inflammatory action in the tumor, or in the superimposed tissue. Q. What is the color of n'evus? A. Purple. Q. Of fatty tumors? A. Yellow. Q. Fibrous tumors? A. Whitish. Q. Cartilaginous tumors? A. White and glistening. Q. What is the consistency of fibrous and scirrhous tumors? A. Hard. Q. What of cystic tumors? A. Soft. Q. What is a hypertrophic tumor? A. Is one which consists of an enlargement or increase of the proper tissue of the part; sometimes having a distinct capsule, and contained in the substance of an organ. Q. What glands are mostly attacked? A. Especially the tonsils and the prostate, meibomian, thyroid, and mammary glands. Q. What is the simplest variety? A. Chronic enlargement of the tonsils. Q. What are fibro-cystic tumors? A. Those in which cysts form in fibrous tumors, either by an accumulation of fluid in the insterstices or by local softening with serous effusion. Q. What are recurring fibroid tumors, and on what part of the body do they gtow? A. Thev are soft, fragile, lobulated tumors, of fibrous structure, grow on the fingers, within glands, and in the jaw in close proximity to the bone. Q. How can you distinguish abscess fiom aneurism? A. By the absence of the thrill, by the fluctuation, and previous history of the case. Q. Which is the most malignant and fatal variety of cancerous growth? A. The encephaloid cancer. Q. What is diffuse aneurism? A. It is formed by the blood escaping from a wound in an artery, into the surrounding cellular texture. Q. What arteries are most liable to aneurism? A. The ao'ta and popliteal artery. Q. What are the diagnostic signs between an abscess and an aneurism? A. From the earliest stage of abscess the tumor is hot, throb rtrUiCalt (1Qinit of banaru a 10t1, 18Th. HARRY PICKARD, Aged five Years. (Continued from page 11 3.) PROF. HELMUTH: On the side of this little boy's jaw you will recollect that there was a hard substance we thought indicated the formation of a cold abscess. There is a great deal of difference in the formation of pus, when inflammatory action seems to exist, and when there is none that is apparent. In fact, a large accumulation of pus can take place in a cavity of the body, and yet its formation be unattended by the usual symptoms which belong to acute inflammation; but, on the contrary, the system will be seriously affected by the symptoms which indicate constitutional irritation. You can have the formation of a large quantity of pus taking place in the body, or some occult spot and yet have, none of those inflammatory symptoms which belong to acute forms of suppuration. Instead of having a high degree of inflammatory action, we may have a low, broken-down condition of the system -irritability, quick pulse, pale face, loss of appetite-and a general condition of the whole body indicating that there is a great deal of irritation; and we may even find hectic fever, resulting in regular chills, which may be mistaken, on account of the regularity of the paroxysms, for intermittent fever. This is a simple case of cold abscess on the side of the cheek. There is nothing more difficult to diagnose than a cold abscessthat is to say, a chronic abscess-when there is a large quantity of matter involved. There are some pressure symptoms in abscesses, which are of a most perplexing nature. Small as this abscess appears, it offers a fruitful subject for a lecture; but we have been over tle subject quite fully, and I will only refer to the insidious nature of those abscesses which occur in different parts of the body-and especially in cavities where the pressure symptoms give rise to a great many obscure synmptoms. GEORGE W. FLEMING,.Aged Thir'ty Years. The patient, who has brought a card of introduction to me, states that he has been told that lie has some trouble with the prostate gland; has had symptoms of the disease for twelve years. After every stool, or the passage of urine, there is a discharge of a dirty, yellowish-white fluid from the urethra-about a thimblefull in quantity. Can remain all day and all night without urinating. Q. The chief symptom that you have now is the loss of some fluid after you pass water. Does that, and its train of symptoms, make you feel badly, and weak at times? A. I cannot say that it makes me feel badly. Q. Does it worry your mind? A. No, sir. Q. Does it make you feel weak, or give you any pain in the loins, or humming in the ear? A. No. Q. You only desire to get rid of it, because of its unpleasantness? A. That is the reason; and because I thought it might become worse after a while. Q. Have you, in addition to this discharge, a loss of power. A. Yes; for the last four or five months. Q. Do you have any desire for sexual connection, or does the loss of desire and of power go together? A. I have no desire at a1ll OW. Q. Does this discharge pass from you without any excitement? A. Yes. Taking the age of the patient into consideration, the probability is against there being a disease of the prostate gland, unless it lbe some disease of traumatic origin. You do not generally find disease of the prostate gland until forty-five or fifty years have passed. The enlargement of the prostate is, as Sir HenryThompson says, the common heritage of mankind. Nine-tenths of the men (I except women) as they advance to the age of fifty or sixty, have more or less enlargement of the prostate gland. I do not know whether any of you have ever tried to dissect the prostate gland from the bladder; but if you should-, you will find ENCYSTED TUMOR. 127 in for a long time, but not to such an extent as to throw the patient into a fever each time, as was done in this case. You will remember the case of the little boy, at the first Clinic of this season, whose arm was fractured at the external condyle. He came to my office a great many times after that, and I made passive motion with the arm with the utmost care; but I have not succeeded in getting a perfect motion of the joint, and the motion is still somewhat impeded. So you will observe that it is not always a means of perfect restoration, even when [properly attended to. In this case, perhaps, the passive motion was carried to too great an extent, and stiffness of the muscle, instead of flexibility, was the result. But the only chance of obtaining a movable joint is to place the patient under the influence of ether, break up these adhesions, and then carefully persist in passive motion for three or four weeks. TIMOTHY DARLY, Aged -Forty-two Years. History of Case.-The patient states tha the has had this on his back for about twenty years; has another smaller one near it which has been there for twenty-five years. The large one was lanced about a year ago and then healed up. It did not trouble the patient much until then. It broke this morning. Before it broke it was smooth and round. DR. J. H. THOMPSON: This is an encysted tumor. They will sometimes remain without much increase in size or occasioning inconvenience for a long time. About a year ago suppurative action set up in this tumor, and pus probably found its way to the surface, just within the membrane of the sac, under the skin. It was then lanced, and soon afterwards healed up. Since that time, suppuration has again taken place; and this morning the tissues became so thin that the sac ruptured. As I squeeze it you see all the contents of the tumor gush out. There is some pts mixed with it. The suppuration has probably destroyed the sac, and we will apply 130 PERIOSTITIS. in men who are over fifty years of age, and who have been addicted to high living, or to the use of alcoholic beverages. I do not know of any remedy that can be given internally that will have much effect upon this disease. The knife is the only resort, and that is better resorted to in cases where the lipoma is pedunculated than where it is flattened. This disease never interferes with the mucous structure or with the cartilage of the nose. Although it is with a great deal of difficulty that it can be removed, yet with care it can be done. I shall not undertake to operate upon this case to-day, because there is so much surface involved that I am afraid that we should not find material enough to make the flaps to cover the gap. If there should be any thing specific in the case, of which we have some indication in the pharynx, we should have a more unhappy result than if we left it in its present condition. It has been recommended by some that iodine should be employed locally; and I will use it in this case. But, instead of applying the tincture of iodine, which would give her a great deal of pain, I will prescribe an ointment of the iodide of potash. The prescription is thus written: "I': Ung. Potas. Iod. ij." Spread the ointment on a piece of linen and apply it to the nose. BRIDGET DOYLE, Aged Twenty-three Years. History of Case.-A felon on the end of the index finger of left hand. Has been sore three weeks. Does not remember bruising it in any way. She poulticed it for a while, and then opened it with a needle. It then became worse, and she went to a doctor, and had it opened with a knife, but not very deep. DR. TaHOMPsoN: This, as you know, is a form of felon-the fourth variety in which the pus forms under the periosteuin; and in this case the bone has become diseased. In treating this disease where the PARALYSIS OF THE CESOPHAGUS, 131 inflammation has affected the deep tissues, and there has been an effusion of pus under the periosteum, slight incisions do more harm than good. You must go down into and through the periosteum, to allow of the evacuation of pus underneath; for that is the cause of all the trouble. If you prick it lightly through the skin, you may perhaps find a little pus, which has formed under that tissue, but the discharge of that will give relief for only a few hours. If you wish to do the patient a real service and give permanent relief; you must cut down until you feel the bone with the point of the knife. If the patient had gone to a doctor in time, and had the finger thus opened, I have no doubt she would have saved the bone, which I now feel with the probe and easily remove. The end of the finger should be tightly bandaged every day, and the openings will soon heal. SIDNEY FANNING, Aged hifty-ive Years. The patient states: I was sent here by Dr. Rushmore, of Hempstead. My trouble is in my throat, above the entrance to the wind-pipe. It has been coming on for a year or more; but more rapidly within the last four or six months. I have very great pain in swallowing, and frequent coughing. Dr. Rushmore said that it was an obscure case, and sent me here to find out what was the matter. After talking a little while, it hurts me. In eating, if I use soft food, the most of it will pass down. If I use hard foods it will remain in the throat. I make every effort to swallow, but it remains, and I can eject it, as I would phlegm. It seems sometimes almost impossible for me to swallow any hard food. I can exercise but very little. I gave out twice in coming up these stairs. The pain is only in the act of swallowing. I have no difficulty in breathing. At times it is very difficult for me to make any effort to swallow; and I will go for hours without even swallowing spittle. I can drink warm fluids, if they are not too warm, better than cold. 'u# ginti CliniE of #anuaj 30th, 1875. MISS VAN HOUGHTON. ( Continued from page 55.) PROF. HELMUT H: Gentlemen: You recollect I presented to you a case of cleft palate early in the session, and you remember I stated at the time, that this class of cases wad hardly the variety to operate upon before you, because it would be impossible for you to see the steps of the operation, which is always tedious. This patient was therefore removed to the surgical hospital, and the operation was performed with instruments with long handles, such as you see here. This was the operation: I pared the jedges of the fissure; Dr. Thompson put in the stitches, and Dr. Cranch took them out. It is always proper and necessary that you have instruments with long handles, and particularly that the knives shall have long shanks, and a short cutting edge. You should also have blades bent at right angles, to loosen the tissue from the palatine bones, and also a double-edged knife to insert under the edge of the palate, to divide the levator palati, in order that the flaps may fall together after you have pared them. Then you have scissors, with handles such as you see here, and a long needle-holder. The needles you use are the same as those for vesico vaginal fistula, sharp and round, with no cutting edge. They should be threaded with silk, and the wire hooked into that. Here is one of them, round, and curved at the end. If you have a long needle, it is almost impossible to draw it through one lip of the cleft, before you introduce it into the other. Now, holding the needle at an angle, you introduce it on one side about a quarter of an inch from the margin, and you push it through and catch it inside the cleft, draw it out, and draw the silk through. Then enter it on the other side, directly opposite, and draw it through. It is better to put in two or three stitches at once, before you draw them 136 CASE OF ONYCHIA MALIGNA. employed for the relief of the enlargement. By the application of caustic lime and soda, an eschar is produced. Another method is the passage of two pins underneath the veins, winding over them a silk suture to obstruct the circulation, then introducing a teno — tome, and dividing the veins between the pins. For instance, we have veins that are tortuous. We introduce a pin underneath the vein and bring it out there, and (illustrating on black-board), another pin there. Then we twist over the pins a figure 8 suture of silk; then pass the tenotome underneath the veins flatways, turn up the edge, and cut it through. This is one of the very best methods of obliteration. THE PATIENT: DO you think there is more than one vein inlplicated here PROF. HELMUTH: Oh, yes; I think all the superficial veins of the fore-arm are involved. WM. BROWN, Aged Five Years. PROF. HELMUTH: Here is a patient who has disease of the toe-nail which has become inverted. The nail is dead, and it will be necessary to remove it, and I will now proceed to do so. The patient is a little boy. Put him on the bed; let his foot hang down over the end, that we may see the condition of the nail. It is dead, putridblack; but still it lies in the matrix, and there yet remains enough connection between the dead and living structure, to keep up a certain amount of unhealthy growth. The nail must be removed at its root. This is a different affection from the ordinary ingrowing toe-nail; in the one case the nail grows in and obstructs the circulation, and we have ulceration as from a foreign body. In this case, however, the disease is at the root of the nail itself. You see it smells like a piece of dead bone, and must be removed as soon as possible; and we will therefore spray it with ether and produce local anaesthesia. Before the introduction of local anesthesia, we often used to freeze portions of the body before operating upon them, and in this way I have removed manytumors. The preparation principally used in those days was ice and ONYCHIA MALIGNA. 13 7 salt. Then came ether, and then local anaesthesia, as it is now used for many surgical operations, such as lancing a felon, the removal of small tumors, portions of toe-nail, etc. But there is a substance which readily chills the tissue to insensibility, and that is Rhigolene, introduced by Henry J. Bigelow, M. D., of Boston. It takes about three minutes to freeze the parts. [ Prof. Helmuth extracts the nail.] You see that, although the top of the nail was in a very diseased condition, still at its root it was quite healthy, there being sufficient action going on from the matrix to keep up a certain amount of healthy nutrition. The removal of nails is very painful, and the trouble arising afterwards is, that there is a tendency to the formation of unhealthy granulations, which ultimately result in a fungous growth. I will first stop the hemorrhage by pressure, as there will be considerable. I will then apply a plaster of oxide of zinc; watch the parts very closely, and, if the granulations seem to be unhealthy, we will give nitric acid internally, and apply a solution to the parts. Let me explain to you a little how these nails grow. You all know that we have the skin divided into two layers, the cutis vera, or the true skin, being the inferior layer. It is composed of two layers, the corium and papillary body, and over the papillae lies the basement membrane, and then the epiderma. The office of the former is to generate cells, which, as they come to the surface, become scales and are cast off. The epidermis and the corium are reflected back on each finger, as you see there, and a groove is formed and the papillary body comes up to the groove. From the papillary body we have the basement membrane, and new cells are formed from the basement membrane, and this constitutes the matrix of the nail. The cell is formed in the groove of the epiderma, and the nail grows out as you see there. Now, in removing the toe-nail, you seize it with forceps and withdraw it by force; but sometimes the granulations are so unhealthy, and there seems to be so much constitutional irritation, and the parts have become so exceedingly sensitive, that you have to use not only local, but general anaesthesia. Often in very aggravated cases of ingrowing toe-nail, you can cure your patient by taking a knife, holding it as if you were about to whittle, and, shaving off the tissues straight down to the nail, letting the nail remain as it is. Another excellent method is to scrape the nail on the top until it becomes sensitive, cut a notch into the centre of the apex of it, 138 RUPTURE OF THE CORACO CLAVICULAR LIGAMENT and elevate each side by tucking under it lead, such as you will find in tea boxes. Another method was contrived by a dentist, and is one not generally known. He simply bent a little piece of silver wire into a curved shape, and turned in each end like a hook. He raised up the ends of the nail and hooked the ends of this spring under them, and the constant traction of the spring had a tendency to raise the nail from the sides and let it grow out. It is a very nice method, and you can make the instrument yourself. A little piece of watch-spring will answer the same purpose. You can cover it with a piece of thread. It is astonishing how little pressure it takes to cause a nail to grow in the right direction. 2rtpiste (of *he (Cor^4ov 114viv*o I'm(Ca] ai Z, gamerus* WILLIAM SPELMAN, Aged Sixty-eight Years. Q. Where were you born? A. Philadelphia. Q. Blackberry alley? A. No, sir; at the corner of Sixth and Lombard streets. Q. I was your neighbor. Did you know Doctors Helmuth and Sims? You have come to the right place at last? A. I cannot raise this arm. Q. [To the Students.] Are any of you, gentlemen, prepared to diagnose this case —you who are looking for those glossy sheepskins? We have been lecturing a good deal of late on shoulder affections, and this will be quite interesting. Q. [To the Patient.] Now tell me about your trouble. Stand face to face. Does that hurt you (moving arm upward)? A. It pains. Q. Where does it pain you? A. Under my shoulder. Q. Stand straight-put your elbow on your chest-now put your harid up here (on opposite shoulder). Ile has now his elbow down to his chest and his hand on the opposite side. Now we will see what else is the matter. I will examine his shoulders firom bellind. There is a little difference in their contour, the uninjured one being a little higher. Put your hand behind you MOVABLE CARTILAGE. 141 Q. Does the pain come suddenly? A. No, sir. Q. Does it catch you? A. No, sir.. Q. It is hard to the touch? A. No, sir; soft. Q. Judging from the character of this disease, and from the manner this tumor appears and disappears, the sudden character of the pain, and the stiffness of the joint when he attempts to move, I should say, perhaps, there is a loose cartilage within the joint. There are in the cavity of the joints, and more especially in the knee-joint, movable cartilages, which wander from place to place. They seem to originate from the synovial membrane by the side of the joint, and are generally attached to it by a pedicle until some motion of the patient has a tendency to loosen them, and then they move within the joint. There is a good deal of surface between several bones which enter into the formation of the knee, and a cartilage of no very ordinary size-even that of a marble-will move about from place to place, and give rise to little inconvenience except when it comes between the condyles of the femur and the head of the tibia, and pressure is made on it; then the pain is sudden, and the patient even sinks down. The peculiarity of these cartilages, when you come to examine them, is simply this: They bear a close resemblance to healthy cartilage, and perhaps the same relation as the sesamoid bones to the bony portions,of the body. They seem to be developed in the joint and grow from the synovial membranes. They are pedunculated at first, and afterwards become loose, and fall in the cavity of the jbint. There are several methods which have been recommended for the relief of this affection, and I know one case which was cured entirely, or said to be, by the internal use of rhus. I also gave rhus to a member of the class, a patient, but I don't know that it produced much effect. I know, however, of a patient that was cured through internal administration of medicine. If drugs do not effect a cure, the removal of the offending substance may be effected, by having a strong iron ring made to press down over the cartilage, and making an incision through the diameter of the ring, at the same time pressing on the parts and allowing the foreign substance to pop out; the object being chiefly to prevent air from entering the joint. We will therefore prescribe for this patient for the present. PARTIAL PARALYSIS OF THE (ESOPHAGUS. 143 [Parent.] He goes out every day a couple of hours to stretch his leg; for exercise. Continue with the medicine. I desire you to bring him here once more, about the last of February, and then we don't want:to see him again until next October. I want you to bring him then, as I think by that time he will be nearly cured, and I wish to have him appear before the class. [To the Students.] One reason that this patient has done so well is because his parents have taken such an interest in his case. In nine, out of every ten such cases, no benefit results, because the treatment is so tedious, and requires such constant watching, that even parents themselves, become negligent in the bestowal of proper attention, such as looking after the splint, giving the limb the requisite amount of rubbing, etc. SIDNEY FANNING, Aged Ffty-five Years. ( ontinuzedfiron page 131.) [The patient examined with a Laryngoscope.] PROF. IIELMUTH: This patient will explain his case to you very well, therefore I think I will allow him to tell his story. The Patient: I judge from the remarks of one of the professors of practice that mine is a case of inflammation of the larynx, and was of such a character, as I understood the doctor to describe Laryngitis Carcinomnatous. I forgot the name for three or four days, and was thinking of the word cosmo, but knew that was not it, but I got it afterwards. Q. What did you say it was? A. Laryngitis Carcinomatous. Q. What else was there about it? A. Professor Houghton said it was inflammation of the epiglottis as thick as my finger; all the cartilages were enlarged on account of the inflammation. [A student, who was present at the laryngoscopic examination, corrects the patient, and explains the nature of the disease.] Q. You say there was inflammation all around the perichondrium? A. Yes, sir. 144 PARTIAL PARALYSIS OF THE (ESOPHAGUS. Q. Down to the vocal cord? A. He could not see them very well, but the epiglottis was pressed back and very thick-as thick as my finger. Q. How long has this been going on; did the doctor prescribe for you? A. He did. Q. Did you know what he did? A. I could not say. Q. Now we will find out what the symptoms are. Can you tell us when this trouble first began? A. Ten years ago. Q. You seem to speak better now than when you first came in; how did it appear first? A. As a hacking at different times. When in church, after singing one or two verses, I always had to go out, and would go this way [coughing]. I remember of that 15 years ago. Q. Did you become suddenly hoarse; and would you be worse towards evening? A. I don't remember. Q. Did you have any dryness in your throat, in the morning especially? A. I think I did. Q. Did you ever lose your voice entirely? A. No, sir. Q. Does it hurt you to swallow? A. Very much; liquids, or any thing cold, or any thing approaching solids. Q. Suppose you were to take a warm semi-solid, like milk toast, could you swallow that? A. After swallowing a small portion, and trying a little, then I could gradually swallow soft milk toast. Q. Do you ever, after swallowing any thing, regurgitate it? A. Not immediately after swallowing. I can swallow part. The other part will remain, and I try to swallow it. Q. You only get part down? A. Yes, sir. Q. Do you ever choke when you swallow, and have the fluid come out of your nose? A. Very often; within the last three or four months that has been the trouble with me. Three months ago I could eat pretty well, but gradually after my meals, in attempting to swallow a mouthful of food, part would come through my nostrils, and part go into my wind-pipe, and I would be choked. Q. That is just the bother? A. Yes, sir. Q. [To the Students.] This man has partial paralysis of the superior muscle of the pharynx, and besides that inflammation of the perichondrium. SUBACUTE THECITIS. 145 Q. Are you growing worse? A. Yes; gradually growing worse. Q. How old are you? A. Fifty-five. Q. And you have enjoyed tolerably good health? A. Yes, sir. Q. Did you, in your younger days, bolt your food; do you now eat in a hurry? A. Most generally, like men in business. Q. Very hot and cold things make no difference to you? A. No, sir. I swallow them all alike. Q. And then you run off to work with your mouth full? A. Yes, sir. (To the students.) This is a trouble which may result, sooner or later, in a stricture. Hie has partial paralysis of the superior muscle of the pharynx, which don't act, or at least does so only partially. He takes a drink, or a sup of fluid, and he gets half through swallowing, and the action stops. You have all noticed how the cesophagus contracts in the horse when drinking water, and so it does here. These different fibres of the muscles act consecutively one after the other, and being under control of the will, all goes well, but if one set of fibres does not act in unison with the others, we have a reverse action, and part of the food is ejected, and only part goes the right way. I should suppose electricity would be a good thing to be applied here to the neck, and I would also administer cocculus. I forgot you have been prescribed for; therefore you will go on and take the medicines ordered. (The patient.) I am through with that prescription to-day. Q. How fSar do you live from here? A. 20 miles. Q. When will you see Prof. Houghton again? A. To-day. Q. Then I will see him about it, and hope hereafter you will not only be of service to us, but that we will be some benefit to you. JAMEs BRowN, Aged -Fifty-two Years. Prof. Helmuth.-Tell me about your disease from the beginning. A. It occurred about three years ago. Q. This wrist became affected in the winter time? A. Yes, sir, in ()ctober. 10 SUBACUTE THECITIS. 147 Q. Croton oil? A. Yes, sir. Q. Wet bandages? A. Yes, sir. Q. And it don't get any better? A. No, sir. Q. Have you ever taken any homceopathic medicine for it? A. No, sir. Q. Have you had a dry bandage over it? A. Yes, sir. He has had the wet bandage applied to his arm, according to directions, and a dry bandage over it, which is very good. Now I will put him on a high potency of rhus, and give him two powders a day, night and morning. (To the patient.) You must take this medicine, and do nothing else. I don't want you to mix it with any other prescription. If you are under two kinds of treatment neither one will do you any good. fUvogical Q11uic of tebruarp th, 1875..Dr. J. T. Thompson. —This case of encysted tumor, which you saw two weeks ago, has had notliing done for it except the application of strips of adhesive plaster. The sides of the cyst have now adhered, as I then told you that they probably would]. The action which nature has set up here for the cure of this case has disintegrated the cyst so that it was not necessary to remove it. Nature has performed the entire cure, just as it would if the sac had been removed before it ruptured. MR. PARKER, Aged Thirty-s'x Years. Prof. fIelmuth.-This patient voluntarily comes before you. He is a patient whom I attended for Dr. Belcher. As I have just lectured on fractures, I bring }him before you in order that you miaay hear tile history of the case and see the method of treatment. T~he patient states that his jaw was fractured a month ago. He was at work in an ice house, and while standing at the bottom of an inclined plane, down which the ice passed with great velocity, a block of it flew off the side, at a tangent, and struck him on the face. The jaw bone broke just at the angle. He was rendered insensible for twenty-three hours, and does not recollect anything about it. This large block of ice, coming with such velocity clown the inclined plane, must have struck him with tremendous force. For a long time after I first saw him he could not get up from the bed, because of giddiness, and a certain amount of confusion of the brain-all showing that he had received a very severe concussion. Now his health is very much better, and the bone is uniting finely. I will show you the method I use for bandaging fractures like this. I first take a square piece of tin, cut INJURY TO THE CAUDA EQUINA. 151 Prof. tI-elmuth.-This is one of those cases that need to be studied from beginning to end. The disease has been obscure from the very first day of its appearance; and when we see it now, in its better developed form, we have no right to cast a shadow of reproach upon those other physicians who have seen it in its obscure state, because we do not know when we may ourselves have to pronounce upon just such a condition. There are certain obscure diseases in surgery, whether in the formation of abscesses, imperfectl y developed hip disease, or irritation of the spine, which are very difficult to diagnose until they are fully developed. It is not, therefore, our province to throw discredit on any one, because in the earlier stages of the disease the diagnosis was not made out -as we now see that it ought to have been. Let us always keep this before us in surgery. Rather than now blame any treatment that has been applied, we will take it for granted that these gentlemen all did what they thought was best. No matter what school a manr may belong to, we cannot believe that he is dishonest when he takes cliarge of a case of this kind, or that he does not do his best. It is the lack of proper attention which constitutes malpractice. We take it for granted that the majority of respectable plhysicians, when they have a case of this character, do their very best. It is unfortunate when they do not succeed; but it is,not for us to sit in judgment upon what they do. Doctors, tas a general rule, are honest, true hearted men, no matter to what school they may belong; and if iministers of the gospel would pay half as much atteiition to the members of their flocks as the generality of doctors (ldo to their p-atients, then, in the d.ay of judgment, the devil will be most egregiously disappointed. In examining this patient I shall first look to see if his prepuce is elongated. Sometimes the removal of the prepuce has great effect in alleviating these symptons. There are ceses on record wh}ere simulate, hip diseases have been relieved by the excision of' tile fore skisn, strange as that may appear. You s:e that the prepuce of this patient is very much elolngated. An adhesion has been formed on the side. Q. Did this child, when he was four years old, have any fall? Mrs. Vanider.-Yes; he fell out of his wagon. In going over a curbstone the wagon tilted and he fell out. I do rinot know where he struck. Thlat was between the ages of three and four years. Hie appeared to be well afterwards. I do not know that he sus 152 FRACTURE OF LOWER THIRD OF THE ULNA. tained any injury at the time, but it was during that year that he first began to show symptoms of disease. Prof Helmuth. —My own little boy fell out of a wagon in tile same way when he was three years old, and he was paralyzed for two years afterwards. The splints are off now; he is twelve years old, and he is getting well. You can trace this disease straight back to that injury.'I'his child has no hip disease; but he has disease of the canida Pquinln, or nerves which go down on each side of the spinal mnariow, an(l which cause contraction of the adductor muscles of the thigh. All of these muscles are very stiff. The use of electricity has done him a great deal of good-perhaps more good than anything else. I do not promise anything about this patient. I will have a consultation with Prof. Burdick about it. I do not think that the child has anythinc the matter with either hip. I think that the trouble is in the spine, resulting from the injury that the nerves received when he fell. We move our bodies by the muscles that are supplied by the nerves that come from the spine; and if you injure a part of those nerves, na species of paralysis of certain muscles usually follows. This boy has a variety of paralysis of the rotator muscles. These cases in their incipient stages are very difficult to diagnose —much more difficult than in an advanced stage like thle present. Recollect what I told you about the elongation of the prepuce. Tile first thing, probably, that I shall do in this case will be to circumcise the patient. JULIA MURRAY, Aged Forty Years. History of Case.-(On Sunday last, at about half past 11, as I was coming out of the Grand Hotel, I slipped and fell. My feet slipped out from under me, an(l I put my hard behind me and fell dirctly on the wrist. I went back to my hotel, and a gentleman stretched out lny arm, and then told me to go to a doctor. I went to a physician on 31st street and Broadway. The doctor said that the bone was broken, and he set it. It gave me a great deal of pain.) Prof Helmut/t. —This is a fracture of the lower end of the ulna. ANEURISM OF THE AORTA. 155 you and telling his case has given him a little nervous palpitation. The bruit is now entirely gone. When he is resting in bed he is very comfortable. His neuralgia has all disappeared. His heart is beating about three times as loud as it generally does, because he is a little excited. I gave this patient i drachm of gallic acid three times per daytihat is about 90 grains per day; and five drops of sub-sulphate of iron three times per day on alternate days. Gallic acid has a specific action on the blood, and has a tendency to coagulate it. It is one of the surest medicines that can be given to arrest internal hemorrhage. I gave him this because I knew of nothing else; and because I had seen two reported cases of aneurism which were said to have been cured by its use. Two months before I had been consulted by a gentleman from Atlanta, Ga., who bore with him letters of several of the most distinguished gentlemen of New York, stating that he had aneurism of the aorta; and who had taken iodide of potash in large quantities. I ordered him the same treatment I have stated, and have received favorable reports from him. This patient had been under treatment at Atlanta, Ga., about a month, when I received this letter concerning him: ATLANTA, GA., Nov, 30,'74. WILLIAM TOD HELMUTH, M. D. fiy Dear Doctor-Dr. Cleveland requests me to write you, giving a statement of Mr. F. F. Coulter's case. IIe was kept on gallic acid and per sulph. ferri solution, as you advised, until the first of this month, when, upon careful examinaltion, the heart's action was found to be perfectly normn:il. The sufflement spoken of in our first has entirely disappeared. Pulse 72 per minute. The sound of the pulsation of the heart perfectly clear. There yet remained that huskiness of voice and some torpidity of the liver. The sclerotica slightly tinged yellow. Discontinued gallic acid and per sulph. ferri sol., and put him on digitalis ~ dilu. tion, 10 drops three times a day for one week. Improvement set in again after second day's use. Sclerotica clear; skin looking better; tongue cleaned off nicely; healthy in appearance; hoarseness somewhat better; continued second week digitalis. I think from his present condition he will make a perfect recovery. Respectfully, F. F. FABER, M. D. (Countinued from page 157.) STEPHEN O'IIARA, Aged Fifty-four Years, on whose finger a felon was opened one week ago, returns. Prof. Helmuth. —In this case we applied fluoric acid in solution (see page 157), and it has done a great deal of good. Hle has not had any trouble with the bone, but there was a considerable discharge. I only bring him now before you in order that you may see the condition of the hand. You will find in the treatment of felons that you can always afford a great deal of relief, when they begin to suppurate, by removing all of the dead skin, which, becoming thickened, from its unyielding character, gives a great deal of pain. By taking the scissors and removing this you will relieve the patient from much suffering. Sometimes, in t he earlier stages, you can make these felons abort, by dipping the finger in ley, and sometimes by placing around the finger the thin white skin which is between the shell and the white of an egg. The application of nitric acid is said, also, to sometimes make a felon abort; but when it has progressed so far that the inflammation cannot be arrested, then it is better to accelerate the suppurating process. But in the earlier stages we can, no doubt, prevent the foraiat!oi of' pus. it is not necessary to wait until suppuration is complete before opening the felon. In this case the process was only beginning; there was but a slight indication of the formation of pus; but I endeavored to get the knife down to the side of the bone, and the operation has been a success. JULIA MURRAY, Aged Forty Years, (Continued from page 152.) who was before the class at the last clinic with fracture of the ulna, returns to have the arm redressed. Prof: fHel7nuth. —The bone is healing as well as it can. I can FRACTURE OF LOWER THIRD OF THE ULNA. 161 stance may also be poured out, though in a lesser degree, in the medullary canal, thus giving support both externally and internally to the fractured ends of the bone. This substance gradually, and in different ways, is transformed into the so called provisional or intermediate callus. This substance is not bone; but in the deposit around the fracture, points of bone begin to be deposited, the fibrine poured out, becoming first cartilage, and then receiving into itself phos. phate of lime, it becomes bone. A similar work is going on within, in the part called the medullary canal. Then begins the third stage, which goes to the end of the sixth or eighth week. During this period the external and the internal deposits become completely ossified and firm, though the ends of the bone are not yet grown together. The fourth stage extends to the end of the fifth and sixth month. During this time the external or provisional callus becomes covered with a periosteum, and the ends of the bones themselves are fastened together by a bony deposit.'The fifth stage extends from the fifth or sixth, to the twelfth month. During this time the ends of the bone become grown together so strongly that the bony ring or provisional callus is no longer wanted, and it becomes absorbed and disappears —in other words, having no further use for it, nature takes off her splint. The point of fracture is now as strong as any other part. The union of compound fractures takes place in a different manThe union of compound fractures takes place in a different manner from that of the simple fracture just described. In this case there is suppuration, and the bones remain disunited several weeks, and there is no provisional callus formed. But after some time the ends of the bones soften and granulate; and when the production of pus declines, the granulations are gi adually changed into bone. Prof. Helmuth. —To a student of the class: Q. Can you describe fracture of the lower jaw? A. It generally takes place near the chin. It may occur also near the angles of the jaw. It may be simple or compound, and is known by the pain, the swelling, the inability to move the jaw, the 11 162 INFLAMED ULCER. indentation felt by the finger, the irregularity of the teeth, and the grating sensation felt while moving the jaw with the hand placed on the back fragment. Q. In a fracture of the lower jaw, what is the best bandage to be applied? A. The figure 8 bandage. Q. Who introduced the figure bandage? A. John Rhea Barton one of the most promising surgeons that the United States ever knew; and who made himself immortal by the operation for anchylosis of the knee joint, which bears his name. Q. When suppuration is progressing, does the patient sweat? A. When suppuration is going on in the body, particularly if there is any amount of pus forming, there is profuse sweating. This is one of the symptoms of the disease. Not only is this sweat profuse, but the character of the coldness and shivering is peculiar, and appears at regular intervals. Many a case of suppuration in malarious localities has been mistaken for intermittent fever. A chill comes on in the afternoon, followed by fever and profuse sweat; and these are the symptoms which may lead you astray when suppuration is about to commence. It is by means of these symptoms that we diagnose the formation of cold abscesses in obscure places. SOPHIA BARTLETT, Aged Forty-one Years. History of the Case.-" I have had this sore on my leg for about a month. At first there came an inflammation extending about three or four inches. Then three or four purple marks came around it, and it spread rapidly. It br,)ke the next day. When it first made its appearance, I put sweet oil on it, because I thought it was only a little pimple. Then I put on spermaceti ointment, to cure it. Then I was told to use Dally's salve. rThe inflammation still kept spreading." Prof. Helmuth. —Here is a case of irritable ulcer, or, what should more properly be called in the wider classification, "an inflamed sore." You will recollect that this variety is different from the irritable, becaase the inflammatory action seems to extend to a greater degree around the former. When we have an inflamed sore we not only have the ulceration which INFLAMED ULCER. 163 is extending at the localized point, but we generally have a diffuse inflammatory action throughout the connective tissue Ultimately, this high degree of inflammatory action will disappear and the patient will seem to be better constitutionally; but we will have a change taking place in the surface ofthe ulcer itself; and then will present the old fashioned variety of ulcer, with no disposition to heal, and with scarcely any granulation visible. These are the sores that we frequently see in persons of her position in life, who are unable to lay aside work. If she could go home and secure the right kind of treatment-which we will prescribe-keeping her leg in an elevated position for three or folr weeks- that ulcer could be cured without the slightest difficulty. But if we have to strap it, and support the parts with a bandage, so that she can perform the ordinary avocations of life, it will be a very different thing to manage, and the cure will be tedious. The patient says that her foot hurts her more when it is elevated than when it is down. Why is this? Because the parts are in a congested condition; but if she will persist in keeping the foot elevated, and let sufficient blood out of the distended capillaries, then the reverse will be true; and she will have less pain when the foot is elevated than when it is dependent; for when it hangs the blood will rush into it and it will begin to throb, and beat, and burn. In such a condition as this, the first thing to be done is to allay the local irritation.'The diffuse inflammatory action is extending along the connective tissue and renders any pressure upon the foot almost unbearable. The best thing to reduce this inflamm:,tion is a simple cold water application. She must keep the leg elevated; then take a piece of canton flannel, or old nmuslin, arnd fold it four times upon itself; dip this compress in cold water, wring it sufficiently to prevent its dripping, and eavelop the leg threvwith; over that, wrap a piece of dry canton flannel, and over that, a piece of oiled silk, and tie it on with three or four tapes. I venture to say, that she will not have the wet bandage on that sore but a few minutes before the rag will be so dry that it will have to be rewetted. She will have to keep rewetting it as often as it becomes dry. As the inflammatory action disappears, it will take longer for the banda e to dry. For the first day or two it will have to be wet two or three times in an hour. She must keep her leg on a chair, and the water by 164 TRAUMATIC GANGRENE. her side, and as often as the bandage becomes dry, remove it, wet, and apply it over and over again. Internally, she had better have aconite. After the inflammation has subsided we will then come to the treatment of the ulcer. What shall we do with that? Put mud or dry earth on it. The wet earth treatment is almost as good as the dry. If you apply earth after the inflammatory action has subsided you will find that in less than four days you will have a granulating surface where there is none now. During the first three days the foetor and the discharge will increase, then a slough will separate from the centre of the sore, and you will have a granulating surface appearing. You can continue applying the earth, and if you desire to hasten the cure you can strap it every day, and give internally silicea, calcarea, mercurius, or any of the medicines which the constitution seems to indicate. But in the first stages you must give medicines to subdue the constitutional disturbance and keep the blood out of the capillaries; then give something to stimulate the ulcer, and, finally, promote the process of granulation and cicatrization. I expected that I would have an amputation to perform this morning, but the case would not keep. It was a bad case of traumatic gangrene —worse than I had any idea of-and as soon as I saw it, though it was at night, I was obliged to remove the arm. As I told you, when speaking of traumatic gangrene, you are never to wait for the line of demarcation. The accident in this case occurred on Monday night. On Tuesday I received a telegram, asking if I could come over and see it. I telegraphed back to bring the patient to the hospital. He was caught between two cars, he does not know exactly how, and the arm was terribly mangled I did not see the case until Thursday at half past four in the afternoon, and then the gangrene was rapidly extending. In three hours it had increased two inches; and, at half past seven in the evening I could barely find flap enough to make Larrey's amputation at the shoulder joint; however, I succeeded in so doing. When I took hold of the tissues I could feel them crepitate in my fingers. The veins across the shoulders were very much enlarged, 1 66 CONCLUDING REMARKS. If he was run down like the man Hart, whom you saw, there would be but little } ope. Hart, you will remember, had two or three openings into the scrotum. In such a case an operation would have been entirely out of the question. He died in a most miserable condition, worn out by the constitutional irritation and the profuseness of the discharge. At the time he was here he had twenty-eight openings. The discharge was so great that when he would raise up be would leave about two quarts of pus in the paper which was used as a dressing. This patient is a great deal better in every way. He has had nothing internally but calcarea and silicea. Prof. Burd;ck, of the obstetrical department, proposes next wecek to honor us with the presentation of his prizes, which will assist to leave pleasant memories not only of these clinics, but of all who have taken part in them. I hope that when you come to the practical part of your profession-particularly in the obstetrical department-you will be able to know a head presentation from a wind bag! Our clinics this session have been remarkably well attended and supplied with patients. They have been attended not only by the gentlemen of the class, but by outside physicians, and by members of the faculty, who have been regularly present. I regard this, not only as complimentary to you, but also as a compliment to myself. We were carried a little cat of our usual line in clinics, by the case of subclavian aneurism, and, because of our attention to that subject, we were not able to lecture much on amputations. I believe that when we have finished with the latter we will have gotten through a pretty complete surgical course. When we take into consideration the number of patients we have had at these clinics, I think we may congratulate ourselves, that the facilities in the surgical department of the Homoepathic College have been equal to those of any institution extant. I do not say this as a boast; I only mean to say that I am supplied with facilities for teaching, and it affords you opportunities for seeing, the practical results of medicines administered according to the homoeopathic law. I long ago made it a rule never to perform operations before the class which all could not see, because those operations are not only uninteresting to lookers on, but they become very tedious. Therefore, while I have lectured upon, and shown you CONCLUDING REMARKS. 167 cases of cleft palate, fistule, and diseases of the nose, I have performed the operations at the hospital and brought the patients here to you afterwards that you might see the results. I trust, therefore, gentlemen, that though you have all had a great deal to do this winter, that you have had some pleasant times at these clinics. Next Monday week is the birthday of Washington, and is properly regarded as a national holiday; I shall, however, continue my lectures on amputations, and, although I do not make the attendance at all compulsory, I would like to see as many of you as possible here, because I have been unavoidably detained from lecturing on that subject, having so much to teach on aneurism. After I had lectured to you on the case of cleft palate I took the patient to the hospital and operated. Probably only two or three could have seen it had I closed the cleft here. I always endeavor to bring before the class all the operations which can be seen; but those which are tedious I prefer to do elsewhere, and bring the report of the case, with the patient, or perhaps the specimen, before the class, so that you may know the result. Of all the lectures that I deliver I regard the clinics as the most agreeable. I like them, because I endeavor to make them a little free and easy for you, and because I can vary a little in the subject. If there is anything that I do dislike, it is to occupy an entire hour talking on one dry subject, without variation. Many a time I have stopped and told a story, when I have seen a man nodding. Just as soon as the little narrative begins, he wakes up and is as bright as a dollar. As this is the last clinic before examination I have to thank you very kindly for your attendance, and for the decorous manner in which you have always conducted yourselves in my presence, not only in the clinics, but everywhere else. So far as I know, not a single unpleasant circumstance has occurred between us, to mar the harmony of our friendship, which I hope will long continue to exist. If, at any time hereafter, when you have received your "sheepskins," and enter upon professional life, I can be of the slightest service to you in surgery, you can always write to me, and I will do all that in me lies for you. But do not be egotistical. Do not, if callel to a case you do not understand, endeavor to treat it entirely yourself. If you do not send for me, call for some one who makes such cases a specialty. R3collect it is no disgrace to 168 CONCLUDING REMARKS. say "I do not know." It is a great deal better to say " I do not know, but I will call a consultation," than it is to be sued for $10,000 damages. Nine tenths of the suits for malpractice could be avoided, if consultations were called at the proper time. Young men have very erroneous ideas about consultations. They think that summoning a brother physician in counsel, proves derogatory to their wisdom as doctors. So they hold on to a case in the hope that it will all come right in the end. Although dame Nature does a great deal for surgery, and helps the doctor out of a great many scrapes, it is better not to urge her too far. Therefore, when you have an obscure case, do not be afraid to ask advice; and if you cannot get it where you are, you iwill always readily receive it from the Nlew York Homoeopathic Medical College. Whether I am here or not, you may be sure the desired assistance and information will come. But if you disregard your Alma Mater, sometime she may disown you. Gentlemen, when you return to your homes, and look back upon this course of lectures, I trust that you may consider these clinics as among the pleasantest hours of your student days. To Prof. S. P. BURDICK, Dr. J. H. THOMPSON, and to all who have assisted us in these surgical clinics. GENTLEMEN-For the students and myself I tender you our best regards, wishes, and many thanks for the obligations we are under for the valuable services you have rendered to the class; and for the many interesting cases you have presented for our instruction. We regret that the end of the clinical term has come, but trust we shall see you at our next session of 1875-76, which promises in every respect, to prove equal, if not superior in clinical facilities, to the one which is now passed. NEW YORK, February 25th, 1875. To Prof. HELMUTH. My Dear Doctor-I offer to you this Report of your Surgical Clinics as a token of my regard and respect for you, and for your ability as a Clinical Teacher. I have no expectation of pecuniary or other reward from you or the New York Homceopathic Medical College for the labor I have undertaken, save the approval of yourself and the Faculty. Yours, very truly, PHILETUS J. STEPIHENS. 172 CLINICAL RECORDS. MRS. CUNNINGHAM, Aged Forty-eight Years. Encephaloid tumor of left mamma, size of walnut, hard, purple and unbroken. Etherized, and tumor dissected out down to ribs and sternum, leaving an opening several inches in diameter. She had been operated on by Prof. TI. sixteen months ago for a similar tumor, and was then told that it would return. Previous to first operation the tumor had almost disappeared under conium mac., prescribed by Dr. Dunham, when an injury reproduced it. Wound sprayed with carbolic acid, packed with carbolized cotton, and adhesive straps applied. Wound showed healthy granulations, and good recovery expected. It was strapped firmly to bring edges of wound together, and Fowler's solution, gtt. ij., twice a day, ordered. The only unfavorable symptoms following the operation were intermittent pulse, found to be idiopathic, and retention of urine, which was relieved by acon. and canthar. Strangury, retention of urine and intermittent pulse often follow operations, and the last may be a bad indication, and dangerous in inverse proportion to the strength of patient's constitution. In a few days more the patient left the hospital, the wound having healed very kindly. fss1lt"a 4 0 b""*tatu" WVM. DOHN, Aged Four Years. Talipes equino-varus, operated upon one year ago, but operation rendered fruitless by the patient not wearing the proper shoe. Tendo Achillis and tibialis anticus divided subcutaneously, and shoe ordered to be worn at once. BRIDGET MCNALLY, Aged Fifty-four Years. (See Page 30.) Passed climacteric ten years ago. Two years since a small hard lump appeared in right mamma; it was painful; the nipple was retracted. The integument then ulcerated, and the peculiar REPORT OF SURGICAL CASES. 173 granular appearance, with occasional hemorrhages, which belong to epithelioma, was noticed. The two different varieties of epithelioma, superficial and deep seated, were explained, and the arguments for and against operative measures in cancer pointed out. The value of ars., hydrast., conium, sepia, and phytolacca were noted, and the patient promised to return at the next clinic. MARGARET CAULDWELL, Aged Forty-eight Years. Sebaceous tumor of the scalp, situated in the occiput; appeared two years ago. It gave but little inconvenience, but was growing rapidly; it had attained the size of a large walnut. Dissected out entire. The various forms of cystic tumors were mentioned. se$ assu ins tR. Ane earg MRS. R., Aged 1%o ty-five Years.'This case was a very aggravated one, had existed for a number of years, was accompanied by anal spasm, and rendered the patient very miserable. Hemorrhoids removed by the platina wire brought to a white heat by the galvano-caustic battery. There was no hemorrhage. The fissures were divided throughout their extent. The cure of fissures and cracks about the anus may be sometimes accomplished by the forcible dilatation of the sphincter. JoS. BROTHERFIELD, Aged Five Years, Brought here supposed to be tongue tied, but it was discovered that he had nursed well, could talk fairly, and project tongue. Slight impediment in speech, due to lack of education of certain muscles. No operation required. 174 CLINICAL RECORDS. 2su IaOU$s A)40hylvi (Orlee LENA. ELCESSE, Aged Six Years, Two years ago fell and injured her knee, which became very much swollen. Iodine was applied, then she was put in bed, and extension by means of a two pound weight kept up. Spurious anchylosis took place nine months ago, and Professor Helmuth divided tendons of external hamstring, and ordered motion. She can now walk fairly, but there is still much swelling of the joint, with atrophy of muscle of the leg. Rhus tox. internally. Anchylosis splint ordered. RACHEL MCPHERSON, Aged Fourteen Years. Spurious anchylosis of right shoulder. Humerus closely adhered to scapula, which latter had great latitude of motion; crepitus felt on motion; pain worse in winter. Had taken rhus tox 3, one year ago without effect. Anchylosis from chronic rheumatic arthritis. Operation recommended. MRS. S., Aged Forty-two Years. Tumor beneath middle third of clavicle; came two months ago. Pains like sticking with a needle; no pain from pressure; firmly adhered to subjacent structures. Pronounced enchondroma, and she is to return in a fortnight for removal. The peculiarities of cartilaginous growths were mentioned, their connection with bones, and those most obnoxious to their formation were alluded to. REPORT OF SURGICAL CASES. 175 JOANNA SCHANAHAN, Aged Twenty-four Years. Sebaceous tumor of the scalp, which was already suppurating, was left to take care of itself. Very often, either from injury or from efforts of nature to remove abnormal formation, suppuration occurs in cysts, and cures may be spontaneous. -In this case such a process is going on, and a cure may probably result. Adhesion, either taking place within the walls of the sac or the cyst wall, being removed by ulceration. JOHN FORSYTHE, Aged Nineteen Years. Tumor of right little finger, palmar surface hard, movable; is accustomed to lift heavy packages; noticed first appearance about a year ago, after a sprain; feeling of crepitation along flexor tendons of the wrist when exercised. Pronounced enlarged bursa of flexor tendon, with diffuse ganglion at wrist. The contents of a bursa vary; sometimes it is a straw colored fluid, sometimes of the consistence and appearance of honey; sometimes it resembles the vitreous of the eye; sometimes there are cartilaginous formations, which are discharged, which resemble the seeds of a melon; this variety of growth is called a melon seed bursa. A ganglion is an adventitious bursa. Bursae are subject to inflammation, which may terminate in suppuration, and even gangrene. Sometimes bursae rupture spontaneously. The methods of treatment are: sudden forcible pressure; puncture with scarification of sac internally to cause adhesions; painting with iodine externally and internally; longitudinal incision along palm of hand to relieve traction; insertion of seton through the sac. In this case a seton was passed through the sac, and cantharides applied to palm to blister. Some improvement; crepitation partially disappeared. Cantharides collodion continued. 176 CLINICAL RECORDS. No improvement since last week. Palm so hard cannot be blistered by cantharides. Apply croton oil; take internally iodide of potash, and use continued pressure. This case returned in a week, being very much relieved. The treatment continued. JOHN S., Aged Sixty-six Years, About two months. since injured his head by striking it forcibly against a door. Periosteal inflammation was set up; pain severe, worse at night. Now a node presents itself, which is painful on pressure, and fluctuates. On lancing, there exudes blood, and a very fetid pus, produced by caries. Pronounced periostitis and caries. Ordered wound to be packed with lint saturated withI: Carbolic acid, 3j. Sweet Oil, 3 v. Water, 3 iij. GRACE BRINKENDAL, Aged Eight Jfonths. Capillary naevus on forehead; operated on five months ago, but has returned. Operation performed by placing suture pins through the tissues under the nrevus in the form of an X, and drawing tense a ligature under these pins. If nitric acid is applieJ as soon as the red spots appear it will destroy the naevus, if small. Continued pressure is another means used to kill nsevi. The methods by galvanic puncture, vaccination, etc., were explained. PAT WHALEN, Aged Fifty-six Years, Thrown from a wagon two months since, striking his shoulder, in which joint there is dull, aching pain, worse at night. He was made to go through the motions which diagnose dislocation, and the various positions explained to the class. There were no signs REPORT OF SURGICAL CASES. 177 of luxation, and the affection was pronounced synovitis. Rhus tox. topically and internally. Synovitis may, unless treated, proceed to spurious anchylosis; but the timely administration of ml, dicine and passive motion will, in the majority of cases, prevent such a result. The diagnosis between spurious anchylosis and true synostosis was entered upon and explained at length. MR. TURNER, Aged Sixty-four Years. About five years ago inflammation began at inner canthus of left eye. Gradually the erosion has extended, now involving the lower lid. Resembles epithelioma. Diagnosis obscure. Pus must be examined for epithelial cells with microscope. A portion of the discharge was obtained for this purpose, and, in the meanwhile, prescribed hydrastis 6m. HUGH KELLEY, Aged Thirty-six Years. Operated on seven years ago at Brooklyn Hospital. Owing to imprudence the cut has never properly healed. The sinus was slit up and the fissures divided at the bottom. The wound was. packed with prepared lint. The first appearance of fistulae, their varieties, and methods of treatment, by knife, ligature, paralyzing the sphincter, and internal medication, were detailed to the class. #,, * $ EDMoNIS WALKER, Aged Twenty Years. Fungus growth and ingrowing toe nail of left great toe,, which had existed for several years. On cutting into the fungus it was found to be an osseous growth from the phalanx, probably produced by irritation by the ingrowing nail. The whole outgrowth 12 REPORT OF SURGICAL CASES. 179 as above, a blood-blister is formed, and, although there is little pain, then is the time to commence treatment. If no care is exercised, inflammation proceeds to suppuration. All pressure must be taken from the joint, and the patient not allowed to walk. AUGUST GRIESS, Aged T'hirty-four Years. Tumor of the size of an orange on left side of neck, under superficial fascia; lobulated; supposed to be cystic; fluctuation detected. Began to grow about eight months since. Operation postponed at request of patient. A. B., Aged Twenty-six Years. In hypospadias the outlet of the urethra is on the under surface of the penis, in epispadias the opening is on the upper sur. face; the disease is congenital. In this case the opening is in middle third of the corpus spongiosum, no normal meatus being present. There is also fissure of the glans. Penis is bent as in chordee. Urethroplasty may be performed for the cure of' this affection, but in this case no operation was desired by the patient. KATIE WARD, Aged Twelve Years. Swelling of left mammary gland; not painful. Has been painted with iodine, and improved under it. Prescribed phos. 30 once a day for a week. The use of this medicine in hypertrophy of the mammae, as well as in mammary abscess, was highly extolled. REPORT OF SURGICAL CASES. 183 Prescribed iodide of potash, grs. ij., four times a day internally, and topical application of carbolic acid spray (Lister's sol.). In this case the constitutional taint was inherited from the father. Among the antidotes for the syphilitic poison iodide of potash is certainly one of the very best. J. E. II., Aged Five Years, has double oblique inguinal hernia, which has become scrotal. Cough impulse perceptible, tumor opaque, congenital. Hernia maybe confounded with hydrocele, which may also be congenital. The following are a few of the points of differential diagnosis: CONG. HERNIA. HYDROCELE. 1. Appears from the top of 1. Appears first at bottom of scrotum. scrotum. 2. Is generally opaque. 2. Is more or less translucent. 3. TIas cough impulse. 3. Has none. 4. Testicle felt at bottom of scro- 4. Testicle scarcely felt, if at all. tum, distinct from tumor. The testicle, in its descent through the ingunial canal, may lodge at the ring and simulate hernia. To determine whether this be the case, interrogate the scrotum. Taxis was employed, and the hernia readily reduced. An appropriate truss was ordered, and nux vom. given internally. GEO. R. M., Aged Fifty.one Years. About twenty months ago there appeared, from constitutional causes, at a point one and a half inches above left temple, an abscess, which increased until it became the size of an egg. Slough came out, and the abscess remained open, suppuration continuing this morning a sequestrum about an inch square was discharged, 184 SURGICAL RECORDS. consisting of the external table of the bone, the underlying diploe presenting healthy granulations, with profuse secretion of fetid pus. Ordered the parts dressed with Lister's sol. carb. acid, and to be taken internally, silicea 200. Care must be exercised to keep the hair from the wound in all injuries to parts covered with hair. "y>~t*r$a^tDp8~f aft ME$aN ra Aa 8%, JOHN W., Aged Nine Years. Two years ago, without known cause, the left breast began to enlarge, with burning, stinging pains, worse at night and in damp weather. The breast is soft, and nearly as large as a woman's. There is neither hardness nor soreness. Phos. 30 was prescribed, it being peculiarly adapted to such cases. ELIZA A., Aged Seventeen Years. Has pustular eruption on middle finger of right hand, caused by wearing a ring. Eruption appeared about two years ago. Commences as pustules, which degenerate into a squamous condition. Burns after scratching. Resembles impetigo. Sulphur every night and morning. HARVEY D., Aged Six Years. The tumor in scrotum was first noticed about three months ago. There is no cough impulse; testicle distinctly felt at bottom of scrotum; translucency distinct when applying a lighted taper; the pains are paroxysmal, so that he screams during motion. Exploring needle is followed by exuding of serous fluid. Hydrocele in children may be cured by puncturing, to allow escape of fluid and the internal administration of medicine. In adults, however, an injection of iodine or a seton is usually necessary. Prescribed rhododendron 30, night and morning. The sac was punctured and the fluid withdrawn. REPORT OF SURGICAL CASES. 185 MARTHA P., Aged Thirty Years. Been married three years; has three children. Contracted syphilis from her husband. This case is a most remarkable one. The nymphae are enormously enlarged, and project beyond the external labia, which are also swollen. The clitoris is singularly cylindrical in shape, having a length of three inches and a diameter of one and one half inches. Several pedulnculated condylomatous growths, varying in length from one to three inches, appear, arising from the labia minora. The perineum is thickly studded with these growths, which extend backward to the anus. Complicated with this affection are painful external hemorrhoids. Goes for weeks without an evacuation and is in constant distress. Prescribed thuya 3, gtt. v. three times a day, topically: 1) Thuya, 3 j. Aquae, S vj. M. Farinaceous diet ordered, also sitz bath night and morning, after which the above application is to be made. Must be kept quiet and in recumbent position. If these means are not productive of good, surgical measures will be resorted to. The use of nitric acid and the bichloride of mercury in the treatment of such diseases was pointed out. Bursa at little finger dissected out, it not having yielded to previous treatment. Crepitation at wrist gone. MRS. P., Aged Thirty-four Years. About a year ago there came a swelling on left side of face, just anterior to and below the ear, accompanied by neuralgic pains, which were worse in damp weather. Has earache constantly. Has had diseased teeth, which were extracted. It was very sensitive, especially at one point. Has grown steadily to the present time. Prescribed Hecla lava 3, three powders daily for a week. 186 SURGICAL RECORDS. There are two forms of exostosis-cancellated and ivory; the former usually attacking the epiphyses of the long bones; the latter, by far the most formidable, appears in the flat bones, especially those of the head and face. The causes are constitutional, rarely local. In the case above cited the predisposition already existing (the decayed teeth) may have been the exciting cause, while the neuralgia may have been the result of pressure of the tumor upon the nerves of the part. GEO. PIERCE (Sailor), Aged Ffity. one Years. (Continued from page 181.) For the last week has not been improving. Is alternately better and worse. Within the past two weeks several spiculae of bone have been discharged from the wound. Were these portions larger, the indications would be more favorable. Recommends scraping the bone. To which patient objects. Prescribed silicea. CHAS. J., Aged Twenty-six Years. Right leg injured three months ago by falling plank. Began to swell, the swelling going and coming every week. There is considerable pain, which is greater in damp weather. Has had a fracture of the lower third of the fibula, with partial rotation of the astragalus, and rupture of external lateral ligament. The foot is somewhat everted. There is some deformity and stiffness of the joint. Ordered an elastic stocking for the leg, and prescribed arnica externally and internally. The prolonged use of too strong a solution of arnica will often produce a condition closely resembling erysipelas. REPORT OF SURGICAL CASES. 189 MARY M., Aged.Eight Years. Fistulous opening on right cheek, caused:by scrofula, with enlarge. ment of the glands of the neck. Pus exudes; face pale; has scrofulous cachexia. Has pain, which is worse atnight. Loses flesh. In persons afflicted with scrofula, there is always a tendency to leucothbemia. Probe discovers no caries. Prescribed calc. 30, twice daily. Baryta also is often indicated in this condition. V 4 MARTHA PINCKNEY, Aged Thirty Years. (Continued from page 185.) This was a peculiarly aggravated case of condylomata and enlarged clitoris and labia, which were so large as to completely cover the vaginal and anal openings and the perineum; they were from the size of a bean to that of an egg, and, if removed, would have filled a two quart measure. The patient was born in Virginia, was married to a man from whom she had contracted syphilis, to whom she bore three children; she was finally compelled to leave him on account of his vices. Strange to say, however, this woman was earning her living at service, being obliged to stand upon her feet most of the time; she suffered terrible pain during urination, with severe aching in her bones, chiefly at night. She was also much exhausted from the bleeding of the tumors. The condylomata and the clitoris were pedunculated and covered with unhealthy mucus, and, owing to the irritation consequent upon walking, were constantly bleeding. She was ordered (until she could be received into the hospital) to have frequent sitz baths, farinaceous food, no meat, compresses saturated with one part of tincture of thuja to eight parts, of water externally, and thuja 3d internally, gtt. iii. three times a day. Attention was called to the use of the following agents for the refibroid tumors, hemorrhoids, condylomata, and 6ther soft parts, 190 SURGICAL RECORDS. viz: the ecraseur, invented by Chassaignac, nitricacid, mercurius corrosivus ( 3 j. to ~ j. collodion) and the galvano-caustic wire, after which, the patient being etherized, the enlarged clitoris was removed by the ecraseur with no subsequent hornorrhage; two small candylomata beneath the clitoris were then ligated with a double thread and cut off by the scissors. These two ligatures and the one through the pedicle of the clitoris were left in, to guard against secondary hemorrhage. The patient was then placed in the hospital and the previous treatment continued. The patient was reported to be doing well. Tlhe patient, being etherized, was placed in Sims' position, and three anal condylomata were ligated with a double thread and cut off with the scissors. T'wo large condylomata were ligated and left to slough away; they were all found to be very tough and vascular; it was then ordered that the wounds be dressed at once with cold water, then for two days with styptic cotton, which is cotton dipped into a solution of tannin, persulphate of iron, benzoic acid and alum. Only three condylomata now remained. Prof. Helmuth reported that the patient was doing very well, and that he had searched the records and found but few similar cases, and these were not so severe as this. MARY J. M., Agent Eight Years. This child was light haired, pale faced, nervous, puffy under the eyes, had dilated pupils and presented a general scrofulous appearance, though the parents and the other children were said to be in fair health. Eight weeks ago a hard swelling appeared under the right inferior maxillary, causing the child to cry a great deal, chiefly at night, which finally discharged pus externally, since which time she has lost flesh. She has had no other glandular swellings, neither has she been salivated. There was no disease of the bone, but simply a scrofulous enlargement of the parotid gland. Air, exercise, and calcarb. 30th, a powder three times a day, were ordered. REPORT OF SURGICAL CASES. 191 ANTHONY W., Aged FiPteen Years. This lad suffered from a sprain of his left ankle with severe, deep pain, occurring without any known cause, unless due to a slight mis-step eight weeks ago; he had suffered eight weeks since with rheumatism. A sprain was described as an accidental rupture or wrenching of the parts about the joint, often with dislocation suddenly taking place which the muscles at once reduce. The patient had, probably, from subacute arthritis, weakened the joint, thus predisposing to the accident. There was neither a fracture nor a rupture of the internal lateral ligaments. Having been preceded by disease of the joint it was ordered that he rest as much as possible, using a crutch when it was necessary for him to walk; he should not touch his foot to the ground for six weeks, and must not be exposed to dampness or be out at night. A cold compress was applied at night, covered by flannel and oiled silk, and rhus tox. 3d. gtts. x. in half a glass of water, a table spoonful every three hours was ordered. He was told that if not properly taken care of, effusion in the joint might result and finally fibrous anchylosis. ERNEST D., aged 7 months. This babe presents a peculiar case: its mother states that the child snores " terribly " and has great difficulty in breathing during sleep and nursing; when sucking the respirations can be heard all over the room. Attention was called to the fact that any obstruction in the posterior portion of the mouth, as swelling of the tonsils or a polypus, or an enlargement of the turbinated bones, might cause obstruction to breathing. The tonsils or velum palati did not seem enlarged, and an attempt was made to pass a small bougie into the nostrils, which failed; a small probe was, however, with effort passed to she posterior nares of either side, and it was 192 CLINICAL RECORDS. found that the turbinated bones were enlarged and the schneiderian membrane thickened, thus closing the passages. The mother was instructed to use a syringe with a fine nozzle to throw warm water through the nares, and have the probing repeated every week or two, gradually increasing the size of the instrument, and IHecla-lava was ordered to be administered at night. MARY B., Aged Ni;neteen Years. Three years ago a playmate pushed a barbed crochet needle from over the extensor tendon of the right thumb through to the inner and fleshy side of the thumb. Her physician broke off the protruding barb and drew the needle back through the point of entrance. Since then she has suffered with pain in the thumb during bad weather, and with frequently recurring numbness. It was pronounced that the nerve and tendon of the thumb had been divided, and a simple electrical apparatus was ordered to be used once or twice a day as follows: apply a ring of zinc around the thumb and one of copper around the wrist, connect these with a copper wire and put a little vinegar under the copper ring. This is also an excellent appliance in bed sores and obstinate ulcers. C. M., Aged Twenty-two Years. An operation for varicocele being about to take place, the following very opportune explanation of varicocele and its operations was given: The tunica vaginalis is a peritoneal investment of the spermatic cord and testicle: the spermatic cord is made up of the spermatic artery and veins, and vas deferens, the latter carrying the semen to the vesiculce seminales; the pampiniform plexus is the collection of veins which pass through the spermatic cord. Varicocele usually occurs on the left side, because the right REPORT OF SURGICAL CASES. 193 spermatic vein enters the vena cava acendens at an acute angle, while the left spermatic vein enters the efferent vein of the kidney at a right angle, and also the valves of the right vein do not open as readily as those of the left. T'he symptoms of varicocele are, a feeling of weight in the testes, pain in the small of the back, and a depressed mental condition; the patients usually are strong, robust young men, of good habits, accustomed to hard work and long continued standing. The treatment is palliative and radical. The first is by means of a suspensory bandage. The second aims to obliterate the enlarged veins by either of the following methods, viz: 1st. Pass a needle armed with a cord behind the vein, making the point of exit of the needle near the point of entrance; then twist the ends of the cord and you thus compress the veins. Thirteen of fourteen cases treated in this way were cured; the fourteenth died of phlebitis. 2d. Remove a crescentic piece of the scrotum, then sew up the wound and thus cause compression. 3d. Make an incision through the scrotum and ligate the veins. 4th. Inject perchloride of iron. 5th. Put a truss and pad over the external abdominal ring through which the veins pass up, and by this means irritate the veins and effect a cure. T''hat method is the best which excludes the air from the veins. It must, also, be borne in mind that ligating the spermatic artery will result in atrophy of the testis, and this accident has occurred to di stinguished surgeons, one of whom was murdered for having made a mistake and included the spermatic arteries in his ligature. It is better, then, remembering that the vas deferens feels like a ligamentous cord; that the artery can be known by its gentle pulsation, and the veins by their feeling like a bundle of earth worm s, 6th. To get the vas deferens between the thumb of the left hand and the os pubis; the artery between the first and second fingers, thus leaving the veins clear for ligation as follows: pass a curved needle armed with a double thread with the loop near the eye of the needle, in front of the thumb through the integument behind the veins; cause it to reappear in front of the first finger and remove the needle; then enter the unthreaded needle at the same point of entrance as before, carry it j st beneath the srotal wall 13 REPORT OF SURGICAL CASES. 195 powder three times a day, unless it became worse, requiring removal by the ecraseur or galvano caustic wire. Bread and milk, mush, rice and hominy, and mutton broth were ordered, and to wash the ulcer with warm water. This patient returned to the hospital to have the entire tongue removed, but before the appointed time, left without assigning any reason. RANDOLPH R., Aged Eleven Years. This child had a swelling which appeared suddenly in his scrotum five months ago, and no effort had been made by his parents to have it attended to, though it had sometimes become " almost black." It gave cough impulse, hence was not encysted hydrocele of the cord; it was not infantile, because the testicle was at the bottom and was pronounced a congenital oblique inguinal hernia still reducible. The gut was returned without difficulty, and it was ordered that the child wear a truss and have nux vom.30th, a powder every night, to strengthen the muscles of the abdominal wall. J. BURNS, Aged Four Years. This man reports that he began to suffer with stinging pains in his hips during walking three years ago; in the course of a year his right leg became a little lamc, and is now smaller and shorter than the other; his leg "goes to sleep " and becomes cold very easily; he is unable to raise his foot, and suffers with severe pains shooting down the anterior surface of the leg. HIis symptoms are ail worse in damp weather, and his appetite very poor. His physician had called it sciatica, cupped him, and gave him medicine with no benefit; he has also used rhus tox. for ten days without effect. He had never had a blow upon his back or a strain, nor suffered with pain in the knee. 196 CLINICAL RECORDS. It was pronounced a threatened paralysis, and electricity to be the best treatment, but, since we are unable to furnish him with this for the present, he was given colocynth to be taken every fifteen minutes during his severe pains, and ordered to moisten a flannel rag in alcohol, having a tablesponful of salt to the pint, and to rub his leg with this night and morning, also to take plenty of out door exercise. The internal medicines were rhus tox. at first, and afterward strychnine. D AVID G., Aged Seventeen Years. This young man had fallen through a hatchway ten weeks ago, and sustained a Colles' fracture,viz., a fracture of the lower extremity of the radius, with dislocation of the ulna, which had been treated with a pistol splint, and he probably came to see if it had been properly managed. He was told that it was not necessary to break the bone over again, and that time, friction and exercise would help him regain the normal motion of the joint. J. L. S., Aged Thirty-eighlt Years. The following diagnosis of hydrocele and description of the methods of cure were made before the operation. Hydrocele of the tunica vaginalis is a collection of serous fluid between the tunica vaginalis testis and the tunica communis. This man's trouble began seven years ago, and is a hydrocele, because the swelling began at the bottom; it gives no cough impulse, he has severe pains in the back and groin, is very depressed, mentally; the tumor is translucent and irreducible; while hernia comes from above, has cough impulse, can usually be reduced by taxis, and is opaque. Varicocele, on the other hand, has the peculiar earth worm feeling of the veins. 198 CLINICAL RECORDS. syringe, and the needle was withdrawn from the scrotum, and thus the whole operation, consisting of the removal of the contents of the tumor, the injection into the cavity, and the removal cf lthe injectioin, was accomplished by one capillary puncture. JOHN D., Aged )Four Years. This boy had teen troubled with a vesical calculus, which had become lodged in the prostatic portion of the urethra, causing great difficulty in urination, and at times suppression; there was danger of rupture of the urethra and extravasation of urine; his prepuce was elongated, symptomatic of calculus, and he had also the frequent inclination to urinate which belongs to the disease. As to the operation: If possible the stone was to be removed through the urethra by a fine pair of urethra forceps. The patient was etherized and the extracton attempted, but it was unsuccessful; recourse was then had to the removal through the perineum, which was successfully done by the lateral operation, and a stone the size of a bean removed; the incision was made high up in the perineum on account of the position of the calculus; some little difficulty was experienced in securing a small deep artery, cut during the operation. After the operation the boy was removed from the hospital. Jan. 17th. Prof. Helmuth reported that on the 12th inst. the boy had been removed without his knowledge to his home in New Jersey, and that, as soon as he discovered it, he had written to a physician there to see him daily and report. He had done so, and all went xwell till the 16th inst., when it was found there was infiltration of urine into the tissues of the scrotum, which were pu;plish in color. The Professor had him returned to the hospital, and he finds that he passes about one half of his urine this morning through the urethra. It was ordered that the scrotum be strapped up by adhesive plaster attached to the abdomen, and he be carefully watched. The Professor stated that it was possible for one to recover after losing one half the scrotum from this cause. No catheter was to be used in this case. REPORT OF SURGICAL CASES. 199 Jan. 24th. After the scrotum llal been strapped up a very small am)unt of urine escapel throughl the perineal wound for three days, since which none had escaped, and the purplish spot was nearly gone. Attention was called to the fact that there is more danger of infiltration of urine when the triangular ligament is divided, as in this operation, than in other operations for the urethral calculus. Jan. 31st. At this time all the urine was passed through the urethra, the purplish appearance of the scrotum was all gone, and the boy prenounced cured. Cured by Digital Compression in 72 Hours. CHAs. D. (colored), Aged Fifty Years. Before this man was brought into the theatre, attention was called to the following particulars: An aneurism is a tumor containing blood and communicating with the cavity of an artery. The ordinary or encysted aneurism is sub-divided into several classes, thus; it is called fus?/form, when the whole circumference of the artery was expanded; pedunculated, when there is a small opening between the aneurism and the artery; true, when all the coats of the artery are expanded; false, where the internal and middle coats are upturned; dftuse, when the sac walls are formed by cellular tissue; dissecting, when the blood passes between the coats of the artery. Any sudden and rapid strain of a joint may give rise to an aneurism; a clot forms on the wall of the sac, becoming almost organized, which thickens the coat of the artery and is called after Brocca, the active clot; this sometimes proceeds to such an extent as to cure the aneurism and is Nature's method of cure. The "pas.sive clot" is a currant jelly-like substance found in the centre of the aneurism. The method of cure of Antyllus, which is the oldest, is to ligate the artery above and below the aneurism, cut down on the sac and empty it of its contents. Anel's method wvas to ligate the artery on the cardiac side near the aneurism. Hunter's method was to ligate the artery on the cardiac side at some distance from the aneurism. Wardrop and Brasdor,' method was to ligate the REPORT OF SURGICAL CASES. 201 temperature running down to 94j~ and his pulse to 81, remaining till morning between 71 and 76. JAW. 11th. At 8 A. M. his pulse came up to 84, and his temperature to 98j~; by noon the pulse reached 94. Only slight pulsation could now be detected in the tumor. At S r. x. the pulse was 104, decreasing gradually, reaching 88. At 5.40 P. M. the patient was quiet and suffering no pain. At 6 P. M. pressure was taken off for a moment, the pulsation found to be very slight and a movable clot plainly discernible. Between 9 P. M. and morning the patient slept a little during each pressure, waking at every change; at 10.30 P. M. there was some subsultus tendinum. JAN. 12th. At 1 A. M. the patient's temperature was 98~O, pulse 100 which decreased to 92 by 6 A. M. At 3.15 A. M. there was further subsultus tendinum; at 9 A. M. his pulse was 94, his temperature 99j~ and that of the tumor 94j~, and he was suffering no pain. At 3 P. M. his pulse was 105: at 4 P. M. it was 98 and temperature of the tumor 961~. At 6 P. M. his temperature was 993~ and that of the tumor 981. JAN. 13th. At 4 A. M. his pulse was 91, gradually reducing to 84 by 6 A. M., when his temperature was 99~ and that of the tumor 981~. At 3 P. M. his pulse was 92, his temperature 99j~ and that of the tumor 96~0. At 9 A. M. his pulse was 82, his temperature 98"~ and that of the aneurism 98"~, at which time, after 75 hours' pressure, it was discontinued. Prof. Helmuth had taken great interest in the case, visiting the patient daily at 9 A. M., noon and midnight, and leaving nothing undone that could contribute to success. Great credit was due the class for their kindness and attention. The patient slept well all night and woke in good condition, though exhausted. JAN. 14th. The tumor was carefully examined by Prof. Helmuth, Thompson and Robinson, Drs. Baldwin and McVicar, and others, and no pulsation could be detected, and the tumor was found to be gradually reducing and hardening; the collateral circulation had been growing better day by day, and was now very well established, pulsation being distinct in the articular arteries. An examination was made daily and no pulsation detected. JAN. 17th. Prof. Helmuth reported in the clinic that he regarded the patient as cured; but, for fear there was a small stream passing through the sac, ordered pressure to be resumed on the 18th at 9 A. m. and kept up for 12 hours, to be again re REPORT OF SURGICAL CASES. 203 MATILDA B., Aged Eleven Years. Att ention was first called to the following operation for nlevi: 1st. Electrolysis, which is not always successful. 2d. By placing two pins at right angles beneath the naevis and ligating it with thread beneath the pins, being careful to insert and withdraw the pins in sound tissue, which causes less hemorrhage aud insures better success. 3d. By Perchloride of Iron. 4th. By Nitric Acid. 5th. By Pressure. 6th. By Vaccination. 7th. By a thread soaked in'Nitric Acid and drawn through. 8th. By passing two cords beneath the naevus in one direction, two others beneath it at right angles to the former two, then tying and constricting the nsevus in quarters and allowing it to slough away. This being a typical case, operated on once before by electrolysis unsuccessfully, the last mentioned method was employed after etherization. Attention was called to the use of nitric acid to cauterize any twigs that may reappear: if done at once it avoids another operation; also to the fact that some nalvi are so large as to occupy one side of the face and require the ligation of the common carotid; also to the primary and transient,anestllesia caused by ether very soon after its administration, during which minor and brief operations can often be performed, and the secondary and more profound anaesthesia following. JAN. 24th. Patient was brought in doing nicely; the mother was instructed to dress it with simple cerate and return to the Dispensary in three days. ISAAC R., Aged FSjty-one Years. This was a case that has given rise to some discussion among surgeons, and the man has been before all prominent American surgeons and in many College Clinics. IHe carried certificates from many surgeons, most of whom pronounced it an aneurism of the thoracie and abdominal costa, and with these certificates he was able to secure a living. His history and symptoms were as follows: two and a half years ago he was working at his trade, steel pen making, when he noticed a swelling in his back which 204 CLINICAL RECORDS. annoyed him in lying down, causing a choking feeling and increasing till he had fainting spells; his abdomen then began to swell, chiefly on the left side, and he began to pass blood with his stool He now passes about three table spoonfuls with every stool, cannot lie down at all, and is about the size of a woman with child at term. Attention was again called to the subject of aneurism-to the false variety, where the external coat only of the artery is expanded, the internal and middle being ruptured, to the true variety where all the coats are expanded, to the dissecting, where the blood passes between the laminae of the middle coat usually, after passing down the course of the artery, rupturing the internal coat and connecting again with the circulation. Prof. Helmuth expressed the belief that this was a dissecting aneurism; one peculiarity of the case was that no pulsation could be felt. The man is liable to death at any moment, but may yet outlive his physicians. C. W. S., Aged Three Months. The mother of this baby, who seemed perfectly posted as to the case, stated that when the child was three weeks old she first noticed that it had a hydrocele on the right side, and that a rupture descended every four or five days, swelling the scrotum like an egg and causing the child much pain; she was about to have a truss fitted to the child, thinking that it would cure both affections. Examination showed translucency and that it was not a hydrocele of the tunica vaginalis, because the scrotum could be drawn down readily and was not evenly distended, but was an encysted hydrocele of the cord accompanied by oblique inguinal hernia. An exploring needle was very carefully used and the fluid drawn off, which will probably excite sufficient inflammation to produce a cure; and she was instructed to have a truss fitted after two or three days. 206 INDEX. PAGE. PAGE. Fracture of the Humerus................9, 31 K. Inferior Maxilla.......... 148 Paterson Cae................... 12 Knee, Housemaid's.....................73, 178 Potts............................. 186 Trea tment of........... 73 Treatment of..................... 186 Knee Joint, Disease of.................... 178 Quizzes on.................... 7, 8, 9 Treatment of. 178 of the Lower Extremity of the Radius............................ 9 L of the lower third of the Ulna..152, 159 Lateral Spinal Curvature................. 44 Treatment of..... 46 Ligament Rupture of the Coraco, Claviclar Ligament, and Bruised Capsular LigaGanglion.......................... 175 ment.............:...................... 138 Treatment of.................. 175 Ligation of the Innomihnta................ 49 Gangrene Traumatic..................... 164 Subclavian................. 50 Lithotomy............................... 198 ~H Lip, Epithelioma of......................19, 32 Operation for......................... 23 Hemorrhage, internal..................... 173 ipoma Nsi.............................. 129 Hiemostatices-Quizzes on................110 Lockjaw —Quizzes on..................... 110 Hemorrhoids removed by Platina wire.... 173 Loose Cartilages in Joint............... 140 Hernia, Congenital................. 76, 106, 157 Operation for 141 Treatment of..................'.. 158 Lower Jaw, Fracture of................... 148 Double Scrotal................... 183 Treatment of.................... 183 ]. and Hydrocele................... 204 Mamma, Cancer of.................. 30, 171 Operation for.2................ 204 1Mammary Gland, Preternatural EnlargeQuizzes on............. 109, 110, 111 ment of................................. 179 Oblique Inguinal......195....... Treatment of................. 179 Treatment of...................... 195 Hypertrophy.. 184 Hip Joint Disease, 60, 79, 85, 86, 104, 105, 115 Treatment o f..................184 116, 142, 165 Mother's Mark........... 38 Treatment of.61, 85, 86, 105 Movable Cartilage....................... 140 117, 165 Operationfor............ 141 HouEemaid's Knee..................... 73, 178 Treatment of....... 73, 178 N. Hydrocele.........1................ 128, 196 Treatment....................... 128 Nasal Passages-Obstruction of............ 191 Operation for................... 197 Treatment of............ 192 Hypertrophy of Clitoris.............. 185, 189 Naevus................ 13, 19, 106, 203 Treatment of... 185, 189 Treatment of..................... 14, 15 Mamma.................... 179 Operation for............... 15, 18, 203 Treatment of.............. 179 Capillary........................... 176 in Boy.................... 184 Necrosis, Acute........................... 171 Treatment of.............. 184 Treatment of.................... 171 Tonsils.................... 33 of the Os Frontis................ 183 Treatment of............... 34 Treatment of.................... 181 Nose....................... 129 Jaw........................181, 186 Treatment of............... 130 Treatment of......... 186 Parotid Gland............ 190 Tibirement of................. 181, 1865 Treatment of............ 190 Operation for.................... 70 Hypochondriasis..........................89 Frontal Bone.........31 Hyp s.Frontal Bone.................... 31 Treatment of.............. 89 Treatment of..................... 32 Hypospadias....................... 179, 181 Needle, broken............................ 104 and retained testicle.......... 112 In wrist........................... 187 Neuralgia of the Stump................... 101 I. Treatment of..... 103 Node.................................... 176 Inflamed Ulcer........................... 162 Nose, Hypertrophy of...................... 129 Treatment of............ 163 Indolent Ulcer............................. 85 0. Treatment of................ 37 Inflammation-Quizzes on................. 28 Oblique Inguinal Hernia................... 195 Injury to the Cauda Equina.. 14 Treatment............ 14195 Treatment of.. 152 Obstruction of Nasal Passages............ 191 Innonimata, Ligature of................... 49 Treatment of 192 Inferior Maxilla............. 185 Onychia Maligna.......................... 136 Treatment of.............. 185 Operation for............. 137 (Esophagus, Stricture of................. 74, 95 Treatment of...............76, 95 P. Jaws, Lower, Anchylosis of...83, 126, 180, 187 Operations for 84, 180, 187 Paralysis of the Ejaculatory, Ducts........ 123 Joints, Anchylosis of Elbow............... 126 (Esophagus........... 131, 143 Treatment...................... 126 Treatment of.............. 145 Loose Cartilage in............ 140 Traumatic....................... 29 Operation for.... 141 Treatment of.................... 29 INDEX. 207 PAGE. PAGE. Partial Paralysis.............;....... 195 Spurious Anchylosis of Knee Joint..... 174 Treatment of........... 195 Treatment of...... 174 Pharaphymosis.. 100 Right Shoulder.... 174 Paronychia....... 64, 130, 159 Treatment of...... 174 Treatment of.......... 64, 131, 159 Staphyloraphy................... 59, 133 Parotid Gland, Scrofulous Enlargement of. 190 Stricture of the (Esophagus.............74, 95 Treatment of.............. 190 Treatment of..76, 95 Paterson Case, Fracture................... 12 Subacute Thecitis................... 145 Periostitis..130 Treatment of............ 147 Treatment of............. 131 Snbclavian Aneurism....................89, 48 Periostitis and Caries.................... 176 Treatment of........ 49 Treatment of........ 176 Ligature of.......... 50 Phlebolithes..................... 134 Suppuration-Quizzes on................ 29, 162 Phymoses...................... 51, 100, 188 Synovitis.......................... 53, 176 Operation for............... 52, 188 Treatment of................. 53 176 Pleuritic Abscesses........................ 171 Treatment of.......... 172 T Popliteal Aneurism........................ 199 Treatment by Digital C,:mpression of 200 Talipes Equino-Varus.............e....... 172 Pott's Disease of the Spine, 24, 41, 93, 94, 117, Operation for....... 172 156 Tetanus-Quizzes on................ 110 Treatment........... 42, 93, 95, 117, 156 Testicles Retained....................... 112 Fracture.......................... 186 Thecitis, Subacute..................... 145 Treatment of......... 186 Treatment of............ 147 Preternatural Mobility.................... 10 Toe Nail-Disease of................... 136, 177 Prolapsus Ani............................. 46 Operation for.................. 137 Treatment of................ 47 Tongue Tie........... e.................... 188 Operation for.................. 188 O_.- Epithelioma of the............. 194 Treatment of.................. 194 Quizzes —Abscess, Aneurism.............. 119 Tonsillitis............................... 38 Aneurism.....................11, 118 Treatment of.................. 38 Aorta............................. 91 Tumor Cartilaginous.......... 74 1... 87 Congestion........................ 28 Cystic........................... 179 Fracture.................7, 8, 9 Enchondromaous............. 174, 187 Dislocation.................... 100 Treatment of.... 187 Fracture of Lower Jaw............ 162 Encysted.......................... 126 Hernia.................. 109, 110, 111 Treatment of............. 126 Hip Joint Disease.............. 100 Encysted Hydrocele............... 184 Inflammation..................... 28 Treatment of.. 184 Iunominata Artery............... 91 Quizzes on................... 117, 118 Inter-columnar Fascia............ 91 Sebaceous................. 97, 108. 173 Suppuration.................29, 162 Treatment of............ 98 Tetanus......................... 110 Traumatic Gangrene...................... 164 Ulceration....2.......... 27 Paralysis....................... 29 Treatment of.......... 29 R. U. Repair in Fracture......................... 160 Ulcer, Indolent..................... 35 Remarks, concluding............... 166 Treatment of...................... 37 How to apply Straps............... 30 S. Inflamed....................... 162 Treatment of.................... 163 Salivary Glands.-Enlargement of Glands.. 124 Specific......................... 182 Treatment of......... 2.. 25 Treatment of....................... 183 Scirrhus................................ 30 Varicose........................... 81 Treatment of...................... 30 Operation for............ 82 Scrofulous Enlargement of Parotid Gland.. 190 Ulceration................................ 27 Treatment of. 190 Ulcer................................ 27 Sebaceous Tumor of Scalp............. 173, 187 Treatment of 175, 187 V. Sebaceous Tumor......................97, 108 Operation for............ 98 Varicocele.................192 Section of the Nerve and Tendon of the Operation for.................... 193 Thumb. 192 Varicose Ulcer........................ 81, 128 Treatment of. 192 Treatment of.............82, 129 Specific Ulcer.........................,.. 182 Varicose Veins............................ 134 Treatment of................. 182 Spermatorrhea...................... 121..... 121 Treatment of............... 124 Spine, Angular Curvature of............... 24 Whitlow......................64, 130, 157, 159 Sprain of Ankle.......................... 191 Treatment of........64, 131, 157, 159 Treatment of.............. 191 Wound of Mouth.......................... 180