progeny, instead of following its hybrid parents, reverts to one of the two species, which, by intercrossing, gave rise to its hybrid parents. If nature then, follows so constantly the law in regard to crossing even between species, surely any single observation, tending to lead to the belief that she has been guilty of an inconstancy so great as to permit of crossing between animals still farther separated in classification, that is, in different orders, such an observation must be looked upon with great uncertainty as to its correctness; especially when so many sources of fallacy are present as could be in the case related by Dr. Funkhouser. And even in case of fertility between the two members of that class, the rooster and the duck, science would perhaps be more willing to upset all her previous views of classification, and acknowledge to have unjustifiably placed them in different orders, (notwithstanding the very obvious fact to the contrary), than to admit that nature had been so erratic and capricious in her operations.] ABSENCE OF ILL RESULTS FROM CONSANGUIN EOUS MARRIAGES IN JAPAN. An interesting contribution to the study of consanguineous marriages occurs in the paper of Dr. Baelz on the Japanese, in the Sei-I-Kwai. He says: "Near the bathing resort, Atami, there is situated a small island named Hatsushima. The inhabitants of that island, nearly three hundred in number, have for more than two hundred years exclusively married amongst themselves; strange blood has never entered the island. Those people live by fishing, and from the proceeds of a small trade with the neighboring coast. They are physically and mentally quite normally developed, and their statistics show a larger number of births, and a smaller number of deaths in proportion, than any other part of the Japanese empire." THE WEIGHT OF MAN. of man is 154 pounds, made up as follows: Muscles and their appurtenances, sixty-eight pounds; skeleton, twenty-four pounds; skin, ten and a half pounds; fat, twenty-eight pounds; brain, three pounds; thoracic viscera, three and a half pounds; blood, which would drain from the body, seven pounds. The heart of such a man would beat seventy-five times in a minute, and he should breathe fif teen times a minute. In twenty-four hours he would vitiate 1,750 cubic feet of air to the extent of one per cent. A man, therefore, of the weight mentioned, should have 800 cubic feet of well ventilated space. He would throw off by the skin 18 ounces of water, 300 grains of solid matter, 400 grains of carbonic acid, every twenty-four hours; and his total loss during that time would be six pounds of water, and a little more than two pounds of other matter. CARDIAC LYMPHATIC GLAND. Dr. E. Baisrtrocchi has demonstrated the existence of a lymphatic gland of the heart. The gland is situated where the fold at the beginning of the aorta touches the pulmonary artery. He finds the gland to be constant in many of the lower animals and has observed it five times in the human subject. THE LENGTH OF A STEP. Dr. Gilles de la Tourette has recently published a monograph upon normal locomotion and the variations in the gait caused by diseases of the nervous system. He found, from a comparison of a large number of cases, that the average length of a pace is, for men 25 inches, for women 20 inches. The step with the right foot is somewhat longer than that with the left. The feet are separated laterally in walking about 4 inches in men, and about 5 inches in women. The ataxic gait is characterized by an actual shortening of the pace coinciding with an apparent lengthening, and by a considerable increase in the lat Prof. Huxley asserts that the proper weight eral separation of the feet. THE FUNCTIONS OF THE MEMBRANA TYMPANI ILLUSTRATED BY DISEASE. Sir William Dalby points out that our knowledge of the functions of the membrana tympani may be added to by the observation of this structure when it becomes altered by disease. He points out that structural changes in the tympanic membrane, as, for instance, extensive calcareous deposit of a very extensive nature may exist without impairment of hearing. That the obstacle to hearing is in the conducting media, and therefore in the tympanic cavity, and not in the nervous structure can be, in such cases, readily demonstrated by the experiment with the tuning fork. Loss of continuity in the membrane, he also shows, does not necessarily interfere with its function, provided that its ligamentous support which it affords to the chain of ossicles is not impaired. That the loss of continuity in the tympanic membrane does not of itself interfere with its function, is still further shown by the careful and continual observation of cases in which the mem brane is perforated by incision or disease, and the author thinks that the loss of hearing is due to causes which do not include this loss of continuity in the tympanic membrane. ELEPHANT'S BRAIN. The brain of the elephant which was removed by Drs. Spitzka and Brill on the occasion of the slaughter of that animal at Central Park, weighed thirteen pounds and two ounces. Each cerebral hemisphere weighed singly four pounds and twelve ounces. The weight of the mesencephalon with attached optic nerve origin was three pounds and ten Dr. Spitzka was enabled to confirm the absence of the true pyramids in the elephant, and says that the representation of the elephant's brain in the text-book is a mere caricature. The olivary bodies are extraordinarily prominent; the deep trench between the pons and olives is not filled out, and that therefore the only animals in which the trape ounces. zium is completely hidden by the redundant development of the pons are: Man, anthropoid apes, and the elephant. The brain weights given above do not include the membranes, and it is intimated that the deep structure of the elephant's cerebral hemispheres indicate a remarkable approximation to the type of the porpoise. As is wellknown, the cetacea and land animals near the elephant in zoological position, agree in placentation as well as in other important points. THE MOVEMENTS OF THE HEART AND INTESTINES ILLUSTRATED BY PHOTOGRAPHY, Dr. William Gilman Thompson says: That several years ago he had been much interested in reading the account of a series of photographs of the horse, taken while the animal was in motion, and that this had suggested to him the practicability of securing similar views of the movements of the heart under various conditions. Carrying this suggestion out, he had been enabled to take photographs of normal hearts in full systole and full diastole, and also as affected by various stimuli such as heat, and different drugs. In his early experiments he employed an ordinary camera; but more recently he had devised a form of apparatus which rendered the work much easier as well as more accurate. By the aid of his improved apparatus, he was able to take no less than six successive views on the same plate, in the space of one second, a feat in photography which had never before been achieved. Each image was clear and distinct, without any blurring. The animal of which the heart was to be photographed was anesthetized, and an incision having been made in the median line, the heart was exposed, and a collar of celluloid slipped behind it in order to secure a light background, which was a matter of no little importance. The light used was strong sunlight, and the animals experimented on were cats, kittens, rabbits, rats, frogs and pigeons. The results are very interesting, and the movements, changes of form, and pulsations of the heart were distinctly shown. The shape of the apex was found to be greatly affected by different drugs, and of the various stimuli employed, heat was found to produce the strongest systole. Of the chemicals tried, glonoin, either painted over the surface or used hypodermically, was also very active in producing a similar effect; while chloral caused marked diastolic distension. In photographing the movements of the intestines the same methods were employed. He had been able to demonstrate positively that two peristaltic waves sometimes occurred, moving simultaneously in opposite directions; although the preponderance of motion was toward the anus. In summing up his observations, Dr. Thompson alluded to the accuracy of the photographic method he had devised, the rapidity and ease with which data for scientific conclusions could be accumulated, and the facility with which the action of various cardiac and intestinal stimuli could be illustrated before classes of students. IN THE RESPIRATORY TRACT. The researches of Fubini and Giuffre upon numerous animals were made in the following manner: The heart of a frog or of a toad was laid bare, and a wound was made at the apex. As the blood issued, it was received in an 0.75 per cent solution of chloride of sodium, the proportion being 20 parts of blood to 80 parts of the saline solution. This mixture, after being strained, was slowly injected into the trachea of a guinea-pig or of a rat. After the lapse of from five to fifteen minutes the ani mal was killed by destroying the medulla oblongata. The chest was speedily opened, and the afferent and efferent vessels of the heart tied. The heart was then removed, and its external surface carefully and repeatedly washed with the saline solution. The organ was then opened and its contents examined. Even in the observations made within five minutes of the tracheal injection, some batrachian red blood-corpuscles were found in the midst of the innumerable corpuscles In regard to the movements and form of proper to the animal itself. the heart he said: 1. The long diameter may or may not shorten in systole; but it usually shortens from one-fifth to one-thirteenth. 2. The transverse diameter shortens at least one-fourth. 3. The apex does not in all cases cause the impulse-beat; and this very frequently is produced by the hardened anterior wall of the heart pressing against the thoracic walls. The form of apex varies greatly under the influence of different drugs. In like manner, the blood of the rat or toad. From five to seven minutes afterwards the animal was killed, and corpuscles belonging to the mammalian animal were always found. The authors hope that these facts may serve as the basis of a new method of transfusion. MEASUREMENTS OF BODY Surfaces. P. Putilor, of Omsk, the surface of a man's According to some measurements made by head is 27 times as large as a child's at birth, while the trunk and upper and lower limbs have respectively 7.5, 7, and 10.8 times the 4. The contractile power of the right vensuperficial area in an adult that they have in an infant. The mucous membrane of the retricle may outlast that of the left, and patho-spiratory apparatus appear to increase much logically the two ventricles may contract independently. 5. The lumina of the ventricular cavities are capable of being entirely occluded by the circular fibers acting independently of the longitudinal and transverse; thereby demonstrating the immense reserve contractile power in all the cardiac fibers. THE ABSORPTION OF RED BLOOD CORPUSCLES more than that of the esophagus, the former measuring 13.5 times as much in an adult as in an infant, while the latter only measures and the small and large intestine, 18 and 22 4.7 times as much. The stomach is 50 times, times as large. The internal surface of the digestive canal is given as 1200 sq. cm. in the baby and 18.300 sq. cm. in the adult, and the surface of the liver is 199, and 744.5 sq. cm. in the two bodies, respectively, that of the adult being 3.9 times that of the baby. much more virulent than is the conjunctivitis of the newly born. Finally, the coccus does not remain confined to the palpebral conjunctiva, but finds its way into the lymph circulation, and is Swept into regions where it finds no sustenance, but blocks up the nutrient channels. II. ON THE PROBABLE CAUSE OF THE COL. This fact, and, according to Heyl, not the inORED RINGS SEEN IN GLAUCOMA.—W.Dobrow-vasion of the corneal epithelium, causes the olski, M. D. formation of corneal ulcers, the disagreeable III. ON THE ORIGIN OF STRABISMUS.-J. complication we have so often to deal with in Stilling, M. D. these cases. IV. A CONTRIBUTION TO THE STUDY OF SYMPATHETIC OPHTHALMIA.-By H. Gifford, M. D. ON PURULENT OPHTHALMIA AND ITS TREAT MENT BY HOT WATER APPLICATIONS. In the Archives of Ophthalmology, Septem. ber, '86, Heyl gives a résumé on the present knowledge of that form of conjunctivitis which is called gonorrheal in the adult and conjunctivitis neonatorum in the infant, and which is now considered to be due to the gonococcus of Neisser, the double coccus. Heyl states that this coccus only attacks the cylindrical epithelium of the conjunctiva, (that is, the epithelium of the palpebral conjunctiva) and not the pavement epithelium (that of the sclero-corneal portion of the conjunctiva). The growth of the coccus depends on the age of the epithelial cell. He describes this growth in the following manner: The coccus finds its way into the conjunctival sac, lays hold of the cylindrical epithelium, disintegrates it, and then finds its way into the sub-epithelial tissue; at this stage, it ceases to grow; bye and bye the destroyed epithelia have been replaced by new cells, and as soon as this happens, the propagation begins again, until the new cells have been destroyed. And thus the process goes on. cells in the early stage of development, furnish no proper nutriment for the coccus." The coccus is, furthermore, said to be affected by the vitality of the cell, and as a reason for this statement, he gives the clinical fact, that gonorrheal ophthalmia in the adult is so In other words, From the foregoing considerations, the application of nitrate of silver to the palpebral conjunctiva, as it has been in practice for many years, appears to be the most rational method of treatment, as it keeps the cells of the conjunctiva in a young state, constantly destroying the superficial and older ones. Thus the conditions are continually rendered unfavorable for the growth of the coccus. Antiseptic treatment, strictly speaking, has proven of no or little value. Hot water applications were some ten or fifteen years ago considered an excellent mode of treatment of these cases, at least in Europe. They had empirically been found to be valuable. Heyl, by his deductions, comes now to the conclusion that hot applications act 80 beneficially by simply placing the tissues in a condition which is unfavorable to the growth of the coccus, that is, they virtually do the same thing as do the applications of nitrate of silver. They are especially valuable as soon as the cornea becomes cloudy. From these considerations and his experience, Heyl believes that the best treatment for the gonorrheal ophthalmia in the adult is "the repeated applications of weak solution of nitrate of silver, carefully neutralized every three hours, with constant applications of hot water." The hot water (as hot as the hand can comfortably bear it) is applied by means of a handful of absorbent cotton, dipped into it and applied to the closed eyelids. [When the writer of this report some ten years ago treated his first case of conjunetivitis neonatorum on American soil, and made use, as he had been taught, of hot water applications, and to the benefit of the little sufferer, he was severely chided by one of our best authorities for doing so. He was, furthermore, told that in case of a malpractice suit, he could not get any expert to testify to the scientific correctness of such treatment. Tempora mutantur, and hot water is again put in its proper and well-deserved position as a valuable therapeutic agent, not only in gonorrheal conjunctivitis, but also in a number of other eye diseases. Not that the writer is prepared to simply subscribe to Heyl's statements, but he believes that in a certain proportion of cases of eye affections, hot water applications are as good as, or even better than cold applications. ON THE PROBABLE CAUSE OF THE COLORED ON THE ORIGIN OF STRABISMUS. The origin of strabismus is as yet a somewhat unsettled question, although of late it has been pretty generally assumed, that the refractive condition of an eye, as such, is the cause of the different forms of strabismus. It has also been generally assumed that the visual axes of both eyes are parallel, when at rest. In a paper on this subject in the Archives of Ophthalmology Stilling proves that this opinion is an erroneous one, and, that for the majority of mankind the squint ing position is that of rest. He has examined many individuals and has found that most eyes converge during rest, many diverge and but few are parallel. Further on he proved that not only is convergence in most people the position of rest, but also, that the variety of the form of rest of non-squintiug hypermetropic and myopic eyes corresponds to the variety of squint predominant in these two classes of abnormal refraction. The predominance of convergence in hypermetropia is greater than that of divergence in myopia. The position of rest has, therefore, to be considered as an important factor in the production of squint. The cause of squint, then, is not hyperme ciated with hypermetropia, viz., convergence, and the prevalence of the divergent form of strabismus in myopia is not due to the anomaly of refraction as such, but to the prev alence of divergenee as a position of rest in myopic eyes." In the same Archives we find an article by Dobrowolsky on the probable cause of the colored rings (seen around a light) in glaucoma. According to Donders and his followers these colored rings were considered to be due to a cloudiness in the refractive media, as it is most frequently observed in glaucoma. Mauthner had, however, come to the conclusion that these rings were due to ner-tropia, but the position of rest usually assovous irritation only, at least in one case examined by him. This idea of Mauthner receives a very strong support by the experience of Dobrowolski made on his own eyes while he was in the Russian bath. While in the bath he at once noticed colored rings, and at first he thought them due to the steam in the air, but subsequently he proved to his own satisfaction, that they were caused by and disappeared with the hyperemia of the head and face which the heat of the bath produced. After having related some further experiments, he comes to the conclusion: That rainbow-rings may be seen by eyes which are free from any cloudiness of the refracting media, and that the only way to explain this phenomenon is to assume, that it depends upon irritation of the retina and the optic nerve by hyperemia. He then answers the question, why do not all hypermetropes develop convergent squint, in the following way: 1. In a number of cases of hypermetropia the position of rest is divergence. If in such instances the internal recti become more or less insufficient, the consequent strabismus will be divergent. 2. With some hypermetropes the position of rest is slight convergence only. If strabis mus develop in any of these cases, it could be only of the relative divergent variety, even if the interim should not be insufficient. |