edly plays an important part, at least to those who can avail themselves of its advantages, but to many of our patients it comes as a barren suggestion without help and without promise. In regard to feeding it has long been our custom to adapt ourselves to the peculiarities, surroundings and individual wants and appetites of our patients. The propriety of a prescribed, or a proscribed dietary has always been questionable, as well as the indiscriminate and too frequent use of pepsin and other digestive ferments. Each individual is a law unto himself, and in the administration of remedies for this particular trouble, he should be so considered.] in ten minutes of the time when the dose had been taken, she was unconscious, cyanotic, almost pulseless, respiration rapid and irregu lar, with mucous rales throughout both lungs. The mother had given her several ounces of olive oil. We felt the case to be hopeless, but, more to satisfy the friends than from any expectation of favorable results, we administered by hypodermic injection two minims of sol. atropiæ (gr. iv to 3i) and two drachms of whiskey. Within ten minutes of the time the injections were given the pulse and respiration had improved decidedly, and the constitutional effects of the atropine were marked. In half an hour the patient became conscious, vomited freely, with hematemesis. Milk was THE EFFECTS Of Atropine anD WHISKEY IN given in teaspoonful doses at short intervals. CARBOLIC ACID POISONING. Dr. S. E. Bascom, of Salt Lake City, reports in the Philadelphia Med. Times, the following very interesting case of carbolic acid poisoning treated successfully with atropine and whiskey. He says that on May 4 he assisted Drs. Fowler and Potter "in a perineorrhaphy, the laceration involving the sphincter ani and about two inches of the recto-vaginal wall." "The patient, Mrs. L., a lady 22 years of age, well nourished, quite obese in fact, had been married three years, but had given birth to but one child, eighteen months previous to date of operation, at which time the laceration occurred. The results of the operation. were perfect, and on May 12 we visited our patient for the purpose of removing the sutures. When within a short distance of the house we were met by a sister of the patient, who informed us that the nurse, by mistake, had given the "wrong medicine," and on reaching the house we were told that the nurse had intended giving the patient potassium bromide, but instead of this had given a tablespoonful of pure carbolic acid. The mother seeing a mistake had been made, seized the spoon and placed it to her lips to make certain as to what had been given; the result was considerable excoriation of lips and tongue. When we reached our patient, with Injections of brandy were continued, and later in the evening another dose of atropia. No saccharated calcium was used in the case. By the afternoon of the following day Mrs. L. had so far recovered that we decided to remove the stitches, and, aside from the soreness of the mouth, some diarrhea, and more or less pain in the stomach and intestines (which was easily controlled by morphine), no unpleasant symptoms manifested themselves. The carbolic acid was freely eliminated by kidneys and skin, the discoloration of the urine and odor of the perspiration being noticeable for several days. Within three days the patient was sitting up, and is now entirely well." RECTAL MEDICATION AND ALIMENTATION. That the rectum possesses no mean powers of absorption, has long since been established, yet we fear its great importance is not generally recognized, and that insufficient attention has been given the many advantages of rectal medication and alimentation. Many important diseases are in proximate relation to this cavity, and consequently are more readily affected by remedies thus administered, than by any other mode. Liebig states that a twenty per cent solution of salt injected into the rectum will disappear competely in one hour, so completely that an evacuation at the end of that time will be found to contain no more than the ordinary quantity of salt. The fluid extract of rhubarb has been detected in the urine one hour after injection into the rectum, and abundant proof has been obtained that most, if not all liquids or soluble remedies are absorbed by the rectum with great facility. Hence we may confidently administer medicines whenever indicated, especially for pelvic ailments. Comparatively few resort to this method, even for diseases of this locality, because of their want of confidence in the absorbent powers of the rectum; yet the few who have given it a fair trial seldom return to medication by the stomach for diseases of the bladder, prostate, womb, (ovaries, testicles, lower bowels, etc., etc. Medication by rectal suppository or capsule is simple, direct and cleanly, and when indicated remedies are properly selected and prepared, is very efficacious. The advantages of this mode are obvious; the stomach is left free for food, the disgust produced by nauseous medicines, their probable rejection by the stomach, the trouble of administering to children and delirious patients, and many other practical difficulties, are all obviated. Rectal alimentation also deserves more practical attention than it has hitherto received. Although the practice has obtained from the earliest period, and is probably as old as the science of medicine, yet we have not availed ourselves of its great utility to the extent which its importance merits. Herodotus states the Egyptians used clysters at certain times for their health, and the ancients injected wine, whey, milk, ptisan, broth of spelt, etc., for this purpose. The Romans availed themselves of this method of administering nourishment, as a sustaining treatment, as well as most other civilized nations of which we have any record. The practice has continued to ebb and flow, with the fashion of the period, down to the present day. Many prominent physicians of the last and present century have strongly advocated its more frequent adoption by the profession. The use of pancreatized enemata has been known for over two hundred years. It is mentioned in a Latin treatise published in 1671. It behooves us, then, not to permit this important means of sustaining life under adverse circumstances to langnish or become obsolete at the present day. That its necessity and utility are as important to-day as in the past, will not be disputed, nor has it been superseded by any other method of administering nourishment when the stomach, from any cause, fails to perform its duties. Now that science has furnished us with the means of supplying food partially, if not wholly diges ted, and prepared for absorption, rectal alimentation should attain better results than in former days, and should be more frequently resorted to, if we would avail oursolves of every means in the interest of our patient. Pancreatized and peptonized aliment in a liquid form is readily absorbed by the rectum, and will sustain life for an indefinite period. Its utility in the large majority of diseases is so obvious that enumeratiou would be superfluous. We have barely hinted at a a few of the points of this very important subject, but all will easily conceive its necessity in every day practice, and we trust will not fail to recognize its great importance, not only to the patient, but to the physician, if he would be successful in combating disease, and postponing the dire event of our mortality to the latest period allotted to man.- Canada Lancet. [We willingly concede that the rectum possesses absorptive powers and that in many diseased conditions of the stomach, time and suffering can be saved by the introduction of medicine through the lower bowel. It is also granted that as "many important diseases are in proximate relation" to the rectum, it would be both wise and practical if our remedies were more frequently introduced in this way. It is an easy and safe method; and in diseases of childhood, especially during active delirium, it becomes an urgent necessity, at times, to ignore the stomach and employ the rec tum will have their watery and saline elements absorbed and thereby relieve thirst, but the peptones so used are absorbed in such small quantities as to furnish but a minimum supply of nourishment. And the peptones introduced for any great length of time, or in a too concentrated form, will not be kindly borne by the bowel, and their persistent use can but result in irritation, and subsequently inflammation of that viscus.] CALOMEL AS A DIURETIC. Dr. Ernst Jendrassik, (Therap. Gaz.) at Budapest, claims for calomel distinctive diuretic properties, and advocates its use in connection with jalap in all dropsical affections. Being called upon to treat a case of dropsy in which a strong suspicion of a syphilitic taint existed, he began a mercurial course and was greatly surprised to notice that in two days the urine was voided in such quantities that the dropsical infiltrations disappeared. A relapse occurred in about two weeks and was again as promptly and successfully relieved by the calomel treatment. The calomel was generally combined with the jalap and given in three grain doses, and repeated from "three to five times daily." after the old fashion. But, it is quite another thing, when the writer assumes that the rectum can be made the via naturalis into which alimentation can be introduced for the purpose of nourishing the body. We admit the correctness of the statement, that the use of food in this way dates back to an early period of time, still we argue that the successful em. ployment of rectal alimentation is at variance with general experience and observation, and not in harmony with our knowledge of the anatomy of the rectum, and still less so, with its physiological function. Science, we know, does offer us food pancreatized and pepton ized, but this does not change the anatomy, or alter the function of this organ in the least, Furthermore, through careful and pains taking experimentation, it has been well established that food artificially digested is only absorbed in very small quantities by the rectum. The testimony of two eminent and distinguished scientists, Carville and Bochefontaine, goes far to controvert the "therapeutic fallacy" of rectal alimentation. They have demonstrated that a number of dogs fed by the lavements of meat broth, "500 grammes per diem" to each, lived no longer than the same number fed upon water in the same way and for the same length of time. These conclusions were reached after the "most vigorous abstinence" from all food through the stomach had been enforced. The large intestine has not the power to perform the digestive function unaided by science, and even then very feebly, and hence the nutrition derived from this source is more fanciful than real. The mutaneously with the appearance of the symcous membrane of the large bowel is "thicker, firmer, and less colored" than the small intestine. It has neither villi nor valvulæ conniventes; besides, its "tubular glands are larger and bifurcate at their extremity." The secretion from these glands or from any part of the mucous membrane of the large bowel, contains no "glycogenic" ferment and cannot digest either fibrin or albumen, either fatty matters or starchy compounds, save, in the case of the latter, in a very feeble way. Milk and meat broth introduced into the rec "Urination increased up to 9500 cc. in twenty-four hours, the polyuria usually being proportionate to the extent of the edema present." "It is important," says the doctor, "and interesting to note that the diuretic action of the calomel only shows itself simul toms which indicate the absorption of the mercury." It is the opinion expressed in this report that the diuretic effects alone were due to the calomel as jalap never produced these results when given separately. "The degree of diuresis was dependent upon two factors, first, upon the size of the dose ordered; and second, upon the extent of the dropsy present. It was also observed "that the diuretic effects proceeded pari passu with the manifestations of mercurial absorp tion, such as metallic taste in the mouth, increased reflex excitability, becoming ulticreased salivation, stomatitis, etc." Another interesting observation of the doctor was that in employing doses of 2 to 3 grains of calomel he always obtained free diuresis while larger doses, "6 to 7 grains, always failed." Hence his conclusions were that the effects followed "not upon the amount of medicine ingested but upon the amount absorbed." Larger doses produce diarrhea, and prevent the absorption of the drug. He also noticed that when the drug was given in the proper dose the diuresis usually followed in two or three days, and that a certain quantity of calomel only was required to effect the diuresis, and that any further surplus was wholly ineffectual, especially when polyuria had set in." "The author can give no clue to the manner in which the diuretic action of the calomel in dropsy is effected, still the bypothesis is ventured upon that the primary factor in the diuretic action is the resorption of the edematous fluid by the blood." "In the high grades of dropsy depending upon heart disease, the drug evolves its highest diuretic powers; in cases of slight edema, in pleurisy, and in the edema of kidney disease, the drug fails." ACTION OF RHODAN. We abstract from Schmidt's Jahrbuecher, April, 1886, p. 133, (Ther. Gazette) the results of Dr. Paschkis's experiments on rhodan soda, a rarely used but apparently powerful drug. In frogs the injection of 5 cc. of a twenty per cent solution causes tetanic convulsions of a long duration, recalling the effects of strychnine application. Respiration and heart-beat stop. If three drops of a three per cent solution of the drug are placed upon the exposed heart of a frog, the pulse sinks gradually from forty-six to fourteen beats per minute, until after the lapse of twenty-five-minutes cardiac action is arrested, which can be recovered, however, by the aid of atropine. The action of the drug proceeds from the spinal cord. In mammals the drug causes an in mately tetanic in nature, but differing from the strychnine tetanus by proceeding more slowly. Injected into the carotid artery or jugular vein of rabbits and dogs, rhodan produces a considerable and lasting increase of the arterial pressure. Peristaltic intestinal action becomes also intensified by the drug, and, as observed in the rabbit, urination increases likewise. A NOVEL METHOD OF TREATING PNEUMONIA. R. Lepine (Ibid), recognizing the infec tious nature of pneumonia, assumes that there are two ways of treating that disease: one by supporting the patient (with alcohol) and tiding him over the attack, the other by acting on the offensive, attacking the belligerents at their point of invasion and endeavoring to annihilate them. R. Lepine has been carrying on the latter mode of warfare during a year, and has met with such success that he wishes to put it before the profession for trial. His method of procedure is as follows: With a long needle of a Pravaz'syringe he penetrates an intercostal space to the depth of 2 to 3 centimeters, into the hepatized portions of the lung, then immediately applies the syringe to the canula and injects 20 centimeter cubes of some medicated fluid; the needle is then withdrawn a short distance and made to enter another portion of the lung in the immediate vicinity, and the same quantity of fluid injected. This is repeated until four or five injections are made. He has experimented with several medicated solutions, and has had the best results with one of bichloride of mercury (1 in 20,000). The solution of bichloride of this strength, he found, was not at all irritating to the lung tissue. The only precaution necessary in making the injections is not to penetrate the lung near the root for fear of injuring the large vessels. The author has never seen an untoward symptom follow the injections, but has always observed a marked improvement in all the symp toms. IRON IN THE ORGANS IN DIABETES. Dr. Stanislaus Zaleski (Arch. f. path. Anat. u. Physiol. u. f. klin. Med, civ, 1) has examined chemically and micro-chemically the organs, but more especially the liver and spleen, in diabetes to determine the validity of Quincke's results, which gave as high a per cent as 3.607 of sugar in the liver of a diabetic patient. Quincke found the sugar in the form of a deposit, and, though his investigations were limited to a certain case, he felt himself justified in making the general assertion that iron was to be found as an abnormal deposit in the organs of diabetic patients. Zaleski made a very searching and thorough investigation of one case, the methods and processes of which are given in detail in the paper. He sums up his results and conclusions as follows: (1) Iron appears in the organs in two forms—in the one as an infiltration of every part of the organ, in the other as a deposit-and both forms may be found combined in the same organ. (2) In the first form the iron forms an integral ingredient of the cells of the given organ (at least of the liver and spleen in diabetes). (3) On applying the reagents direct on the organ, "it is necessary to carry out macro-chemical reactions." (4) The microscope needed for micro-chemical examination only when the iron is in the form of a deposit in considerable quantities. (5) The brownishred pigmentary deposits which are seen under the microscope in several organs, and which are considered as pathological features, do not in every case of diabetes give an iron reaction. (6) Siderosis of the organs, in Quincke's sense (the iron in the form of a deposit), is not a constant phenomenon of diabetes. (7) A surplus of iron in the liver and other organs, in so far as one can speak of a surplus when the normal quantity is not yet determined, does not occur in every case of diabetes. (8) In the above described case the iron was found as a slightly stabile compound, probably as an oxy-ferro albuminate. (9) The reaction for iron in the cerebral hemisphere does not fail in every case of diabetes. is (10) The quantity of iron in the blood in diabetes may be relatively increased to considerable: extent.-N. Y. Med. Jour. DREES'S SOLUTION OF ALBUMINATE OF IRON IN THE TREATMENT OF CIRCULAR ULCER OF THE STOMACH. This solution, termed liquor ferri albuminati (Drees), is made by a pharmacist of that name at Bentheim in Hanover. It contains five per cent of sesquioxide of iron, and is said to be absolutely free from acid, from any tendency to induce coagulation or undergo precipitation in the stomach, and from any injurious action on the teeth. To adults it is given in doses of half a teaspoonful or a teaspoonful, three times a day, and the first mentioned is given to children over five years old. Dr. te Gempt ("Berlin klin Woch.," 1886,) No. 15; "Centrlbl f. d. ges Therap.,' June, 1886) has used it in a number of cases of circular ulcer of the stomach, and with the most satisfactory results. With its use he conjoins that of Carlsbad salts and the dietetic measures recommended by von Ziemssen, and avoids recourse to narcotics except occasionally. The vomiting of blood is speedily checked by the iron solution, its long-continued use produces no inconvenience, and it promotes the appetite.-Med Record. IODIDE OF POTASSIUM IN THE TREATMENT OF INFANTILE BRONCHO-PNEUMONIA. Dr. Zinnis, of Athens, (Arch. di Pat. Inf.,” May, 1886; "Rev. des mal. de l'enfance," June, 1886,), has been employing this drug for nearly ten years, with most satisfactory results. He states that it is most useful in the early stage of primary broncho-pneumonia, and in the case of well nourished children between the ages of one and five. It acts more rapidly in the subacute than in the acute form of the disease. When given in doses of from eight to twenty grains, dissolved in three ounces of water, it lowers the temperature within two or three days, reduces the frequency of the respiration, and assists |