A New York Physician's Gift to the Botanical Garden.-Dr. C. R. Allen, of New York City, has presented to the New York Botanical Garden a valuable collection of stoneworts. Dr. Allen is vice-president of the Torrey Botanical Club, and it took him many years of hard work and thousands of dollars to gather the specimens. It is probably the most complete collection in existence.-Medical Record. Early Pupil Symptoms of Acquired Syphilis. Out of 53 syphilitics examined, 14 exhibited the anomaly which Sulzer believes he is the first to note. Visual acuity and light-perception are practically normal, and the symptom, the lack of associated reaction on the part of the pupils, is evidently due to a lesion of the motor part of the peristaltic arc which occasions the contraction of the pupil under the influence of light and of near fixation. In 12 of the 14 patients the pupil-reaction to light was weak or absent, while convergence was normal. This peculiarity is characteristic of the Argyll-Robertson sign, but differs from the latter as the pupils were of medium diameter or much dilated in all the syphilitic patients. In one case the pupils did not react to light nor in convergence, and in another the lack of associated reaction was the reverse of that in the ArgyllRobertson sign; light-reaction was retained, while convergence did not occur. Accommodation was normal in all. This distinct and constant dissociation distinguishes the disturbances observed from internal ophthalmoplegia. It also explains why this anomaly has passed unnoticed. The vision being undisturbed, it attracts no attention. All of the patients were in the first year of syphilis, the majority in the third month. The duration of the symptoms is less than that of internal ophthalmoplegia, the course averaging four to six weeks. In one case the dilated pupil was immovable, but accommodation was intact.-Journal of the American Medical Association. Book Reviews. Clinical Pathology of the Blood. A Treatise on the General Principles and Special Applications of Hæmatology. By James. Ewing, M.D., Professor of Pathology in Cornell University Medical College, New York City. In One Handsome Octavo Volume of 432 pages, with 28 Engravings and 14 Full-Page Plates in Colors. Cloth, $3.50, net. Lea Brothers & Co., Philadelphia and New York, 1901. This is a valuable book on an exceed ingly important subject. So much work has been done of recent years in relation to the varying composition of the blood that a reference-book of authoritative character is needed. We have arrived at that point where our knowledge of many cases of disease cannot be regarded as complete without an examination of the blood. In this work the five opening chapters are devoted to the general physiology and pathology of the blood. The chemistry of the vital fluid, the morphology and physiology of its cells, together with the methods of enumerating and estimating the contents of the blood are set forth in perspicuous style. A second part, also including five chapters, relates to the special pathology of the blood. These chapters treat of chlorosis, progressive pernicious anæmia, leukæmia, pseudoleukæmia, and anæmia infantum pseudoleukæmica. In a third part the blood-changes in acute infectious diseases are described. One chapter of this part is given to a consideration of Widal's test. Our author's judgment upon this matter is that, although the belief in the specific. quality of the test has been abandoned, yet it remains an extremely valuable diagnos tic procedure under several conditions. Its chief value lies in its capacity to distinguish during the height of the illness certain conditions, such as acute gastritis, tuberculosis, meningitis, and pneumonia, which may simulate typhoid fever. In the early diagnosis of the disease it has proved disappointing in the experience of most observers. The author believes, however, that the combination of an indistinct serum-reaction, diminution of fibrin, absence of leucocytosis, and presence of relative or absolute lymphocytosis can almost never be demonstrated in the early stages of any obscure febrile disease except typhoid fever. A fourth part relates to the composition of the blood in constitutional diseases, and a fifth division discusses the changes effected by the presence of animal parasites, including malaria, relapsing fever, and miscellaneous parasitic diseases. An excellent minor feature of the book is that each chapter is followed by a bibliographical list. Progressive Medicine. A Quarterly Digest of Advances, Discoveries, and Improve ments in the Medical and Surgical Sciences. Edited by Hobart Amory Hare, M.D., Professor of Therapeutics and Materia Medica in the Jefferson Medical College of Philadelphia, etc. Assisted by H. R. M. Landis, M.D., Assistant Physician to the Out-Patient Medical Department of the Jefferson Medical College Hospital. Volume II. June, Surgery of the Abdomen, including Hernia-Gynecology-Diseases of the Blood. Diseases of the Glandular and Lymphatic Systems. 1901. Me tabolic Diseases-Ophthalmology. Lea Brothers & Co., Philadelphia and New York, 1901. This publication was awarded the grand prize at the Paris Exposition of 1900. The contributors to the present volume are Dr. William B. Coley, who writes of the surgery of the abdomen; Dr. John G. Clark, who deals with gynecology; Dr. Alfred Stengel, who describes diseases of the blood and ductless glands, the hæmorrhagic and metabolic diseases; and Dr. Edward Jackson, to whom we are indebted for the article upon ophthalmology. These are well-known writers, each of whom is an authority in his chosen field. In addition to a general review of the most important work done in abdominal surgery Dr. Coley, in the present volume, devotes special attention to the surgical treatment of malignant diseases of the intestines and rectum. In the review of gynæcology Professor Clark gives an interesting summary of the recent work in regard to the parasitic origin of malignant growth. This is an exceedingly important field of investigation, and it seems probable that we are destined to obtain in this line of research the key to the dark problem of the etiology of carcinoma. A succession of observers have followed each other in this field, and, although their discoveries and conclusions are not all in accord, yet it seems that the truth may at last be found by a continuance on this path. It is certainly one of the most important questions in surgery, perhaps exceeded by none in significance to the human race. Dr. Stengel has carefully excerpted the latest literature regarding diseases of the blood and disturbed metabolism. In his usual felicitous style Dr. Jackson presents the gist of recent communications of value relative to disorders of the ocular apparatus. From what has been said and implied it follows that those who possess themselves of this series have at hand a serviceable compendium of progress, while the abundant references will enable those who wish to study their subjects in full to refer to the original sources as far as they are accessible. Whitman's Orthopedic Surgery. For Student, Practitioners, and Specialists. By Royal Whitman, M.D., Adjunct Professor of Orthopedic Surgery, New York Polyclinic, Instructor in Orthopedic Surgery in the College of Physicians and Surgeons, and Chief of Orthopedic Department in the Vanderbilt Clinic, New York. In One Handsome Octavo Volume of 642 pages, with 447 Illustrations. Cloth, $5.50. net. Lea Brothers & Co., Publishers, Philadelphia and New York, 1901. Perhaps to no department of the art of surgery would popular consent allow more Godlike attributes than that which corrects or markedly relieves conspicuous deformities. The distorted spines, knockknees, bow-legs, flat-foot, diseased hipjoint, withered extremities, club-foot, and many other unsightly malformations, "the halt, the maimed, and the blind," such sadly familiar sights, can generally be appreciably relieved if the nature of the early symptoms is recognized and the process checked in its incipiency. It gives us pleasure to commend such an excellent exposition of the purposes and methods of orthopedic surgery as Dr. Whitman has prepared. The text is admirable in its perspicuity, directness, and simplicity, and its quality is undoubtedly enhanced by the profusion of beautiful and faithful illustrations. In this field, as in all others, but rather specially in this field, the responsible position of the general practitioner and family medical adviser looms up with prominent distinctness. The tendency of our times is strongly toward prevention as better than cure. This attitude is of peculiar importance in orthopædics. The more alert the general practitioner in detecting initial symptoms, the more will the realm of specialism be circumscribed. When the premonitory manifestations of coxalgia shall no more be vaguely referred to rheumatism we shall see a far less number of cripples upon our streets. For such reasons the physician should study attentively these conditions as they are delineated in this work. The results cannot fail to be encouraging. The Diagnosis and Treatment of Diseases of the Nose, Throat, Naso-Pharynx, and Trachea. For the Use of Students and Practitioners. By Cornelius G. Coakley, M.D., Professor of Laryngology in the University and Bellevue Hospital Medical College, New York. New, Second Edition. In One Handsome 12mo Volume of 556 pages, with 103 Engravings and 4 Colored Plates. Cloth, $2.75, net. Lea Brothers & Co., Philadelphia and New York, 1901. This is a very serviceable manual. It describes the main features of diseases affecting the nose and throat, and the text is appreciably assisted by the numerous graphic plates. The book is of a practical character and well adapted to act as a guide to the subjects of which it treats. The author has paid particular attention to the matters of examination, diagnosis, and treatment. To see a picture in the laryngeal mirror is not all that is necessary; we must learn how to interpret the characters thus revealed. The author's sections upon treatment are representative of his own beliefs and practice. He wisely makes no attempt to refer to every measure which has been proposed or adopted, but cites those only which he has himself found of service. The student may look for further methods in the more encyclopædic treatises. The typography is of the best. That a second edition has been demanded. within two years is an undeniable tribute to the usefulness of the book. In revising the work the writer has added a chapter on the affections of the upper respiratory tract in the infectious diseases: a subject of much importance to the general practitioner. A System of Physiologic Therapeutics. A Practical Exposition of the Methods, Other than Drug-giving, Useful in the Treatment of the Sick. Edited by Solomon Solis-Cohen, A.M., M.D., Professor of Medicine and Therapeutics in the Philadelphia Polyclinic; Lecturer on Clinical Medicine at Jefferson Medical College, etc. Volume ii, Electrotherapy, by George W. Jacoby, M.D., Consulting Neurologist to the German Hospital, New York City; to the Infirmary for Women and Children, etc. In Two Books: Book II, Diagnosis; Therapeutics. Illustrated. Published by P. In the second volume of this excellent treatise the application of the electric current to the diagnosis and treatment of disease is fully discussed. The author describes the normal and abnormal reactions of motor nerves and muscles and of sensory nerves as a necessary preliminary to understanding the reactions of disease and thereby to the establishment of a diagnosis by electrical means. The insight which electricity affords as regards prognosis is also duly considered. Next in order comes the subject of general electrotherapy, in which the physical effects and method of application of the current receive due at tention. In the section upon special electrotherapeutics the author details the chief affections of the nervous system, muscular apparatus, joints, and visceral diseases in which electrical treatment has proved of avail. It is impossible to discuss each and every disease or morbid process susceptible of being beneficially influenced by electricity. The author, accordingly, has limited his task to a description of the methods of treatment in general use in the various groups of diseases, and mentions special methods only when some special affection requires treatment different. from that of the group to which it belongs. In psychoses our author does not recommend the use of electricity. Faradic brushing may produce transitory improvement in stupor, but no permanent benefit. It should be remembered also that fresh delusions may easily be implanted upon a psychically disordered brain, and electricity is one of the agents most capable of having this unfortunate effect. In the electrotherapy of spinal-cord diseases we shall have to confine ourselves to the relief or alleviation of attacks of pain and to the assuagement of certain functional processes. The latter part of the volume contains several articles upon the use of electricity in surgery and the specialties. Induction-coils. How to Make, Use, and Repair Them. Including Ruhmkorff, Tesla, and Medical Coils; Roentgen Radiography, Wireless Telegraphy, and Practical Information on Primary and Secondary Battery. By H. S. Norrie (Norman H. Schneider). Second Edition, Revised and much Enlarged. New York: Spon & Chamberlain. London: E. & F. N. Spon, Ltd., 1901. This small work contains an immense amount of condensed information concern ing the mechanism of electrical appliances as employed for various purposes. It may be safely affirmed that, the more fully the physician comprehends the construction of his instruments, the more practical and thorough his knowledge of the electrical machines, the more completely equipped will he be for the adaptation of the battery to the diagnosis and treatment of disease. In the book before us he will receive such information as to enhance his manipulative skill and power. The Diseases of the Respiratory Organs, Acute and Chronic. Arranged in Two Parts and Interleaved for Supplemental Notes. By William F. Waugh, A.M., M.D., Professor of Practice and Clinical Medicine in the Illinois Medical College, etc. The Clinic Publishing Company, Chicago, 1901. With the pen of a ready writer Professor Waugh has constructed an interesting and suggestive little work upon the diseases of the respiratory apparatus. His descriptions of the symptoms of the different diseases embrace all the cardinal points upon which we rely in framing the clinical diagnosis. The evidence of the physical signs is presented in connection with the description of the course of the affection. His sections upon diagnosis contain the gist of the matter; but it is in the depart ment of treatment that the distinctive feature of the work resides. To this subject the author gives sedulous attention, and expounds the system of alkaloidal medication. There can be no doubt that the combination of active principles in the hands of an experienced therapeutist constitutes efficient medication. Together with the dominant treatment by means of alkaloids he gives also concurrent adjuvants in order to mitigate some of the symptoms. In pneumonia, for example, the method for which superior results are claimed consists of the combination of aconitine, veratrine, and digitalin, substituting strychnine arsenate for veratrine as asthenic conditions are manifested. The remedies are given in small, frequently repeated doses until their physiological effect is apparent. The Acute Contagious Diseases of Childhood. By Marcus P. Hatfield, A.M., M.D., Professor Emeritus of Diseases of Children in the Northwestern University Medical School; Professor of Diseases of Children in the Chicago Clinical School; Attending Physician to the Wesley Hospital. Pp. 142. Price, $1.00, net. ical Appearance, and Therapeutic Application. By J. W. Wainwright, M.D., Member of the American Medical Association; New York State Medical Association; United States Pharmacopoeial Convention, 1900; American Chemical Society, etc. Pp. 229. Price, $1.00, net. G. P. Engelhard & Co., 358-362 Dearborn Street, Chicago, 1901. The author has in this book brought together information from scattered and, in some instances, not generally accessible sources, concerning numerous drugs or chemical combinations which have of late. years been introduced to practice and which have been more or less widely employed. The author has, in the main, performed his task well, in so far as he has indicated. the classes of disease in which these remedies have proved of service. Some of those which he has included, however, have been known and used so long that they need not have been mentioned in such a work. Such, we should say, are acetanilid, antipyrin, bromoform, sozoiodol, etc. The author might also have enlarged his field of reference with good effect. The book is issued in excellent style. On page 37 we notice what appears to be a misprint: "Dr. Favorite Prescriptions of Distinguished G. P. Engelhard & Co., 358-362 Dearborn Street, Chicago, 1901. The subject of this book, though of lim-Murray, Galvestonian Lectures, 1895,” inited extent, is, nevertheless, of much im- stead of Gulstonian Lectures. portance in view of the frequency of these contagious diseases among children, the complications to which measles and scarlatina give rise, and the loathsomeness and fatality of small-pox. The author has woven together in this work a clear and connected account of the course, progress, complications, and dangers of these affec-adapted to most of the ills to which human tions, based upon his own experience, and flesh is unfortunately heir. There is no fortified by the descriptions of other doubt that such a book has its uses. To writers, native and foreign. His sections young practitioners, in particular, it may upon treatment give sound instruction. serve as a guide in the manner of combinThe book is adapted to fulfill a useful pur-ing remedies and as an index to those drugs pose. A Syllabus of New Remedies and Therapeutic Measures. With Chemistry, Phys This book contains a large number of formulæ drawn from approved sources and which have been most commonly prescribed. The book is divided into sections according to different classes of disease. |
