Social Movement Studies : Journal of Social , Cultural and Political Protest

Book Reviews Jules Boykoff a , Paul Bagguley b , Randle J. Hart c , Ian Welsh d , Hugo Gorringe e , Dr. Maria Esperanza Casullo f & Louisa Parks g a Department of Politics and Government , Pacific University Email: b School of Sociology and Social Policy, University of Leeds E-mail: c Department of History and Sociology , Southern Utah University E-mail: d School of Social Sciences, Cardiff University E-mail: e Sociology, University of Edinburgh E-mail: f Universidad Nacional de Rio Negro , Argentina E-mail: g Department of Political and Social Sciences , European University Institute E-mail: Published online: 20 Nov 2010.

than the first formation of the embryo in the class mammalia; and 3'et, even at this day, when the same subject has been completely investigated in oviparous animals, and it is known that an ovum i,s formed in the ovarium of the quadruped, the circumstances respecting its impregnation have not been ascertained. " The great Harvey, although supplied by the munificence of his king with deer in all the different stages, after being fit for the *nale, was unsuccessful. John Hunter, who prosecuted the same enquiry in the ewe, also failed. His brother, Dr. William Hunter, in his splendid work on the Gravid Uterus, has given the most correct representations of the human embryo, from the end of the third week till the time of birth, but has not said any thing upon the subject of impregnation. " Haighton and Cruikshank, by experiments on rabbit?, confirmed the opinion of De Graaf,* that an ovum is carried from the ovarium into the uterus, but by mistaking the corpus luteum for the effect of impregnation, instead of the substance in which the ovum. 's formed, which, at that time, was the generally received opinion, ??t entangled in theoretical opinions, which misled them in their further enquiries. " In this state of our knowledge upon this most interesting sublet, accident has done what no predetermined experiments had accomplished: it has enabled me to detect the ovum in the human uterus. It is so small, that, had not the uterus been previouslyhardened in spirit as well as the ovum itself, it probably would have escaped observation; and, after it was found, it could not " *.De Graaf's Observations are mentioned in the 7th vol. of the Philosophical Transactions, p. 40552. In the same volume, P* 4018, Dr. Kerkringius's Observations concerning Eggs to be found in all sorts of Females are noticed." 3 e 2 3()0 Critical Analysis. have been identified to be the ovum from which a child was to be produced, had it not been brought under the eye of Mr. Bauer, the only person, I may say, in this or any other country, who could so correctly apply to it the powers of the microscope, as to determine its form; could so separate its parts on the field of the microscope, as to display its organization ; and so delineate what he saw, as to convey distinct notions that it was the first rudiments of a child." We conceived that we had met with optical deception enough in Sir Everard Home's early papers on vision, in which he demonstrated so accurately what Mr. Hunter was conscious he had left in too imperfect a state for publication, and what Sir Everard afterwards found was illusive. Yet this was demonstration, and with the naked eye.?Now we are called upon to admit a discovery in a subject first hardened by spirits, and, in this altered condition, submitted to the microscope of one who alone is capable of detecting wrhat no one else could detect, and, we suppose, no one elsedelineate.?But, let us return to the history. A servantmaid died epileptic,? " After death, the uterus showed signs of prcgnancy, and, from the statement that has been given, she appears to have been impregnated on the 7th of January, eight days before her death; for, although she was known to have a lover, there are circumstances to prove, that she could not have seen him after that time, iror for many days before. " The uterus having been hardened in spirit, with the assistance of Mr. Clift, I examined the parts. The right ovarium had a small torn orifice upon the most prominent part of its external surface: we slit itopen in a longitudinal direction, in a line closc to the edge of this orifice: the orifice was found to lead to a cavity filled up with coagulated blood, and surrounded by a yellowish organized structure. Upon opening into the cavity of the uterus, Its inner surface was covered with an exudation of coagulable lymph, beautifully represented in the drawing, (Pi. VIII.); the ovum lay concealed among the long fibres of coagulable lymph near the cervix, and was brought to view by separating them with the point of a needle which I employed in making the search. As soon as it was disentangled, it rose up, moving along with the loose ends of the fibres into the spirit, by which the parts were covered. It had an oval appearance: one portion of it was quite white, the other semi-transparent; but, soon after, being exposed to the spirit, the whole became opaque. The os tincaj was entirely shut up with a strong solid jelly, the two orifices at the angles of the uterus, by which it communicates with the fallopian tubes, were both pervious. " As the ovum was so extremely small as to admit of dispute, whether it was one or not, I carried it immediately to Kew, to Mr. Bauer, who, after examining it, said that it looked like the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society. 397 6gg of an insect. His drawings of the ovum and uterus show to ^hat an excellence microscopical observations can be carried, since, in so small a particle of animal matter, he has pointed out the effects of impregnation even before any part of the vascular system "ad been formed, and where only the two projecting points within the ovum had been marked out as the future situations of the heart &nd brain. These two points are still to be distinguished in the ovum in a dried state, and that towards the broadest end is the largest. " Small as this ovum is, it bears a very fair proportion to that represented by Dr. Hunter at the end of three weeks; and, had this woman lived twenty-four hours longer, the ovum would pror bably have, in that time, been united to the fibrous structure surrounding it, and appeared secluded from the cavity of the uterus in the same degree as Dr. Hunter's is represented to be." As this engraving is not coloured, the parts so beautifullyseen, to say the least, are not more conspicuous, nor more beautifully exhibited, than those muscles of the eye to which >ve before alluded. The uncertainty of microscopical observations with large magnifiers is universally admitted.
Perhaps, the mode of using these instruments may be improved since Mr. Hunter's time ; but, if the art is confined to a single person, the result will, we fear, be attended with some scepticism. * The following is Mr? Bauer's description. * On closely examining the subject under the microscope, ? found it consisted of membrane, which, considering the extreme * We shall take the liberty, on this occasion, of transcribing 2Vlr. Hunter's opinion of microscopical evidence:? " I am led to believe that wc may be deceived by the appearances viewed through a magnifying glass; for, although objects, large enough to be seen by the naked eye, are the same when viewed through a magnifying glass which can only magnify in a small degree, yet, as the naked eye, when viewing an object rather too small for it, is not to be trusted, it is much less to be depended upon when viewing an object infinitely smaller, brought to the same Magnitude by a glass. In such a situation, respecting our eye, all the relative objects by which the eye, from habit, judges with more nicety of the object itself, are cut off: the eye has likewise a power of varying its forms, adapting it to the different distances of the parts of an object within its compass, making the object always a whole; but a magnifying glass has no such power: for instance, in viewing a spherical body, a magnifying glass must be made to vary its position, and bring in succession the different parts of the hemisphere into so many focal points; every part serrate not having the same relative effcct on our organ of vision as 3Q3 Critical Analysts. minuteness of the subject, is of considerable thickncss and consistence, very littie transparent, quite smooth, and milk white, ?when they are all seen at the same time : and the eye, under such circumstances, being unabie to vary itself sufficiently to alter the focal distance of the glass, is the reason why rounded bodies appear of different shapes, giving the shape only of the part that is ?within the focus of the glass, placed upon an undefined plane; and if it should have more focal points than one, then there is an increase of parts; and this will vary according to the opacity or transparency of the body. It may also be remarked, that from habit our minds are informed by the necessary actions of our body: therefore, the eye taking on the necessary actions (as it were instinctively ),? adapting itself at once to the circumstances of the object, gives an intelligence to the mind independent of the real impression of the object, so that both the impression and the consequent action give information ; but this cannot be effected by glasses,?for the different focal distances of the hemisphere do not accord with tho?e to which we vary our eyes in adapting them to the distances of the different parts of a rounded body : we are, therefore, left to the impression alone, which is new, and consequently imperfect, the centre being too near for the circumference to be seen at one distance, and the circumference, when seen, bringing the centre within the focus, so as to obscure it: for an eye, with a given focus, which can vary it in a certain degree when viewing objects alone, yet, when looking through a magnifying glass of any power, must now vary the distance of the object according to the magnifying power in the glass, the eye not being able to vary the focal distance of both ; and this, probably, in an inverse degree to (he magnifying power of the glass. This may be observed to take place in very short-sighted people, for in them the eye has the least variation respecting distance. A rounded body may be just of such a size as shall have either of its parts out of the?focal distance of the eye, and must be moved to and fro, alternately, before the centre and circumference can be seen; and, indeed, it is only having a spherical body, of a size proportional to the length of focus, to produce the same effect in every eye.
u The appearance in a transparent body, when viewed through a magnifying glass, are still more fallacious tiian of an opaque one ; for an opaque body gives only the reflected light, which, however, will vary according as the rays come on the object. The moon, an opaque body, gives us various shapes, and therefore shews only the light and shade arising from the irregularity of the surface; but a semi-transparent body, like a red globule, gives both the reflection of the light from the surface, and also the refraction of other rays of light, which vary according to the direction of the light thrown upon the object respecting our eye. 6t In some transparent bodies we have still a greater variety, for wc have both the reflex and refracted light, and these vary accord-Philosophical Transactions of the Hoyal Society. S93 forming a kind of bag or pouch of an irregular oval shape, not quite parts of an inch in length, and in its middle about -^5 parts of an inch broad; on one side, it has an elevated ridge, or targe fold, along the whole length ; and, on the opposite-side, it is open nearly the whole length, but has no appearance of being torn, the edges of the membrane being smoothly rolled inwards, which gives it much the shape of a little shell of the genus Voluta.
" ' When laid on glass, the membrane admitted easily to be laid ?pen on both sides, with the point of a fine camel's-hair pencil, When thus opened, I found it contained another smaller bag some, what less than parts of an inch long, and not quite parts of an inch broad, ending at the upper extremity nearly in a point; but the under extremity was very obtuse or truncate, and in the middle it was slightly contracted, which gave it the appearance of a young seed-capsule of some plants that contain only two seedkernels.
" ' This inner bag consisted of a seemiugly very thin, perfectly smooth, and glossy membrane, which seemed to have considerable strength, as it bore to be rubbed pretty strongly, not only with the camel's-hair pencil, but also with the point of the quill; it seemed to be filled with some thick slimy substance, as an impres-S|on made on it with the point of the quill remained for a consider. able time visible : it contained two round corpuscles, apparently *nore opaque, and of a yellowish tint; they were not only visible through the transparent membrane, but they swelled the membrane over them, so that the light and shade made them to be distinctly seen ; and, by slightly pressing the bag with the quill between the two corpuscles, they could be separated to a greater distance from each other, but, 011 putting more moisture upon the subject, they returned quickly to their former position. This little bag Was along its whole length, with its back part strongly fixed to the Outer membrane,?at least, I could not move it with the camel'shair pencil, and more force I was afraid to employ. " ' I attempted to open the little bag, if possible, to extract the corpuscules; but, on piercing, with the point of a very small needle, the upper extremity, a thick slimy matter, like honey, came out, and with the membrane adhered to the needle, so that I could no farther proceed ; and, fearful of spoiling the whole, I gave up the attempt, and left the subject on the glass to dry; but I observed, as the spirit and moisture gradually evaporated, so the ing to the distance of the object from the eye, or the distance of the light. ' 7 li If the transparent body is not perfectly round, or is by any circumstance broken in the uniformity of structure 011 which transparency depends, (which, I conceive, happens to the red globules when diluted in the serum,) then the different reflections and refractions will give to the eye the impression of so many shapes,?'?Hunter on the Blood, p. 42,-r-Note, 2 400 Critical Analysis, little bag flattened, and, as if melting, shrunk into the outer menf* brane, and almost disappeared, but, in a strong light, was still visible in the microscope.
" ' When quite dry, its colour changed to a light yellowish brown, and it lay quite loose on the glass, except at the upper extremity, where 1 attempted to open it: it was strongly glued to the glass, and it required several times to be moistened at that part with water, to remove it from the glass.
" ' I have now placed it between two pieces of talc in an ivory slider; and, in a strong light, the two corpuscules may still be seen through a common magnifying glass.'" We are sure both these gentlemen will wish to suspend their own decision till other experiments are made, which may be more readily done on such larger animals as may be constantly under our observation; and our experiments on which, being less doubtful, may admit of a greater certainty as to dates. Our country readers, in these respects, may have advantages which will much more than compensate for their want of such magnifiers.
.Before we dismiss this paper, wre wish to know, by what means a discovery was made, that this yellowish structure was organized; or, why Sir Everard should be so inattentive to that accuracy he once seemed to have learned from his master, as to call coagulated lymph cougulabte. Was it still fluid ??If not, how can that be coagulable which is already coagulated.
These are among the difficulties we meet with in this paper,?difficulties which the number and beautiful execution of the engravings did not remove. Some farther Observations on the Use of the Colchicwn Autiminale in Gout; by the same.
The distinguishing Characters between the Ova of the Sepia, and those of the Vermes Testacea, that live in JVater, explained ; by the same.
This paper is valuable as affording at least a scrap of those manuscript treasures, which have hitherto not found their way to the public in any form whatever. " The following observations respecting land-snails were made in the year 1773, the first year that I was initiated in comparative anatomy, under Mr. Hunter. He kept snails to ascertain their mode of breeding; and the notes that were made at the time in my own hand-writing, I now copy. " August 5, 1773.?A snail laid its eggs, and covered them over with earth -3 Mr. Hunter took one out and examined it; the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society. 401 egg was round, its covering strong, and of a white colour, with a degree of transparency; it had no yelk; a small speck was observable with a magnifying glass in the transparent contents. " On the pth, no apparent change had taken place. On the llth, the speck had enlarged, but was too transparent to admit of its form being distinguished ; upon moving the speck, it fell out of its place. u On the 12th, the embryo was indistinctly seen.
On the 15th, the embryo filled a quarter part of the egg, but the different parts were still indistinct. u On the 18th, the body of the embryo had become larger, and the covering thicker.
" On the 19th, the coverings or shells of all the eggs were more or less dissolved, so much so, that Mr. Hunter thought all the eggs Were rotting, and the whole brood of young would be lost. " On the 20th, the young were hatched, and the shells completely formed. 16 On the 23d, when the young snails were put in water, their bodies came out of the shell, as in full grown snails. " On the 24th, they all deserted their nests." Some Account of the Nests of the Java Swallow, and of the Glands that secrete the Mucus of ?which they are composed; by the same. These nests are mentioned by all commercial as well as philosophic travellers, as making a considerable article of trade, and forming a most luxurious dish among the Chinese. Sir Stamford Raffles, by the same accurate observation Which he turned to so good an account in whatever he noticed, observed, that the substance of which these nests was composed, was voided from the mouth of the bird, and not without strong and frequent attempts. Professor Brand analysed them, and found them to consist of a substance intermediate between gelatine and albumen. The bird is double the size of our common swallow, and is found to have a peculiar apparatus. " The only difference between the glands of the migrating swal-'?w, and those of the blackbird, is the smallness of the reservoir; the surface of the gullet upon which the external openings of the glands are seen is cxactly the same; there is not, in the one or the other, any apparatus for secrcting inucus,which is not common to birds in general. " In the Java swallow, we have, on the other hand, a structure a particular nature; there is a membranous tube surrounding the duct of each of the gastric glands, which, after projecting into the gullet for a little way, splits into separate portions like the petals ?f a flower: for what purpose so extraordinary an apparatus coujd be provided, would, probably, have puzzled the weak intellects of no. 231. 3 f 402 Critical Analysis. human beings, and many wild theories might have been formed respecting it, hail not the animal matter of which the bird's nest is composed, and the accurate observation of Sir Stamford Raffles, who had no doubt that the materials of the nest were produced from the gullet, led to the discovery of its use. " That the mucus of which the nest is composed, is secreted from the surface of these membranous tubes, there is no more doubt, than that the gastric juice is secreted from the glands whose ducts these tubes surround; and this confirms an opinion which I hare adopted for many years, that membranes on which no glandular structure could be seen, were capable of secreting mucus; and now that we find those membranes, where their surfaces are so much magnified, exhibit no glandular structure, we may, without the chance of more accurate observers refuting us, be satisfied that no such structure exists." We were not aware, that this conjecture concerning the impossibility of detecting glands in some mucous membranes was entirely new, nor can Ave perfectly reconcile this remark tvith the title of the paper. Some interesting observations follow on the peculiarities by which this and several other animals are adapted for the country they inhabit.
Observations on the Gastric Glands of the Human Stomach, and the Contraction which takes place in that Viscus, By the spie.
By means of Mr. Bauer's magnifiers, six 100th parts of a square inch were magnified 15 times in diameter, or 225 times in superficies. Another part was magnified 900 times in superficies. The drawings are extremely beautiful; and At appears that these larger magnifiers correct the errors of the common lens.
<e The structure upon the upper arch of the.stomach, which, when magnified by a common lens, had the appearance of glands, is shown by Mr. Bauer to be made up of cells in the form of a honeycomb, the sides of which are not formed by doublings of the membrane; for no stretching of the cells alters the form of their orifices, but are regular partitions constructed between the cells.
This honeycomb structure consists of cells of the greatest depth in this particular situation, but it is met with over the whole surface of the cardiac portion of the stomach; only the appearance is so faint as to require a great magnifying power to render it visible.
In the pyloric portion, the cells, in general, have the same appearance ; but there are small clusters, the sides of which rise above the surface, giving the appearance of foliated membranes.
In the duodenum, this takes place in a greater degree, and the loose edges of these membranes, when entangled in the mucusthat covers them, puts on an appearance of rounded glandular George Fordyce, who examined its surface with very inferior means to those employed upon the present occasion, had approached the truth, when he declared it to be composed of cellular Qicmbrane." The similarity, however, in the appearance of the {Esophageal part of the human stomach to that of birds, might fairly lead to a conclusion that the structure and office is similar.
In the Lectures delivered at the College, Sir Everard marked, in a striking manner, the extraordinary provision made by nature for the animals inhabiting the most unproductive parts of the globe. Nothing can be more interesting than these views of benevolence and design in the whole economy of nature. But we may have too much of a good thing; or, rather, a good thing may be hacknied. " I have shown, (says the author,) upon more occasions than 0ne, that the gastric glands are both largest and most numerous in those animals destined to inhabit the least fertile regions of the earth, and are smallest as well as fewest where the supply of food is most abundant, to prevent the body being injured by the effects ?f over-feeding. If this arrangement was necessary in animals, it became still more so in man, whose means of procuring and preparing food for himself so much exceed those of all other animals, and who is, contrary to his reason, too readily disposed to carry the indigencies of the table to excess. In him the gastric glands, &s it was natural to expect, are so small, as to require the aid of IVlr. Bauer's microscope to prove that they belong to the same series of structures as the gastric glands of the ostrich, which admit of being minutely examined by the naked eye." The benevolence of such a provision in unproductive districts is apparent; but we cannot so easily see the necessity ?r advantage of a contrary apparatus to prevent the effects ?f an animal over-eating himself. Least of all can we see the advantage of enabling man thus to indulge with impun,ty; and, if this provision be made in favour of gluttony, may not the bloated drunkard complain how much he has been overlooked. Nor, indeed, is such a provision of Nature ^pparent; for we have not yet learned that the human inhabitants scattered throughout Arabia Deserta have larger or more numerous gastric glands than those who are pampered n this luxurious metropolis, Two very interesting cases are related of gun-shot wounds in the heart. The first, by Mr. Fuge, is by far the most valuable. The patient, from the time he was able to communicate his sensations till his death, was certain that the issue must be fatal : but the length of time he lived after so serious an injury is scarcely to be credited, but for the respectability of the author, and the accurate manner in which all the facts are related. <c I was informed, (says the ingenious relater,) by one of the grenadiers who assisted in conveying him from the field, that, on the recovery of his senses, he expressed his conviction that the wound, from the very peculiar sensations he felt, would prove mortal. The loss of blood appeared not to have been copious at the time he was taken from the ground.
III.?Observations oil Blood-letting from the Hemorrhoidal Veins in certain Cases. By William Brown, M.D. Fel-]o\v of the Royal College of Surgeons, Edinburgh. The great object of this paper, which is well written and extremely well directed, is to lead the practitioner to local bleeding, particularly in the hemorrhoidal vessels and their neighbourhood. The following passage will explain the author's meaning:?
C( It appears (says he) somewhat odd, that, while topical congestion of blood is admitted to exist in a variety of cases, the way in which it is thought this accumulation can be best removed is by taking blood from the arm. One would think that the most effectual way would be to empty the vessels themselves immediately ; and, farther, that we should follow the course we observe the system pursue to relieve itself. The fact that the head is eased by a bleeding from the nose, and the lower belly by the bleedingpiles, is indisputable: nay, that a small quantity of blood from these parts will give more relief than a larger quantity taken .elsewhere," 407 vantage, and the mode of conducting which must be approved. ' . It has been alleged, and perhaps not without reason, that we are disposed to hold foreigners in too little estimation, and there, fore are unwilling to be taught by them. Indeed, the exertions "^hich Great Britain has made in science, arts, and war, give her some title to assume a tone of superiority. Yet it is true that, in some things, she is behind countries which she considers as alm6st barbarous. She might learn more things from them in the arts and conveniences of life. Among others, I think she might be benefitted, without degradation, by attending to the practice of the old continent in the case which I have endeavoured to state.
" The advantage of taking blood from the hemorrhoidal vessels is so well established in many parts of Europe, that the practice is, in a great measure, taken out of the hands of the medical profession. Hence, in some places, there is reason to think it is often employed without necessity, and is productive of inconvenience, by establishing a habit not easily to be overcome. The operation necessary is committed to male and female practitioners, who execute it with surprising dexterity, by the application of leeches to the verge of the anus. The patient is subjected to no indelicate exposure, and to very little trouble. If strength permits, he is Seated on a perforated chair, which only uncovers the anus itself; the operator, stooping or kneeling, by means of a taper, sees the part to which the leech is to be applied; and, provided with a Small round wide-bottomed bottle with a long neck, just large enough to contain one leech, he allows the animal to crawl out and fix itself on the part intended. The operator, having applied one leech, withdraws the bottle, and proceeds to fix one after another the desired number have been applied ; a basin is placed under ^e chair, into which the blood flows. The discharge of blood is Promoted by the use of a warm sponge, which gives also the patient the advantage of a warm fomentation. If the sick is unable to get out of bed, the exposure and fatigue of this remedy are not greater than what accompanies the administration of a glyster.
I have stated that this practice is often precautionary, and occasionally abused; but its employment is more frequent in cases of acute and dangerous disease. It is a most powerful auxiliary to general blood-letting, and at the same time a means of rendering a great evacuation of the vital fluid much less necessary. In cases abdominal inflammation, such as hepatitis, enteritis, puerperal ^e?er, in suppressed menses, lochia, &c. this cure is put in practice ^vith the greatest success. Instead of applying leeches to the-parietes of the abdomen, which is sometimes the case with us, they place them on the hemorrhoidal veins, and uniformly find they more effectually, because more immediately, empty the vessels baionging to the abdominal viscera." 408 Critical Analysis.
The patient was 77 years old, had an inguinal hernia, and, after the operation, suppuration and a swelled testicle. The operation was repeated, a stone having been afterwards discovered by a search made whilst the hernia was reduced.
The slightly-adhering wound was re-opened, and two stones extracted, whilst the hernia was kept in the abdomen. It appeared that the protruded hernia so affected the form of the bladder, as to place the stones out of the sphere of contact of the sound. The operations were performed with the scalpel. , V.?A concise Account of the Typhus Fever, at present prevalent in Ireland, as it presented itself to the Author in one of the Towns in the North of that Country. Being the Substance of a Paper read before the Royal Physical Society of Edinburgh, in November 1817 ; by Wm. L. Kidd, M.R.C.S. London, President of the Royal Phys. Society, Edinburgh, and Surgeon, Royal Navy. The rise and progress of every disease is highly important, and every document serves to render it better understood.
It is now very universally admitted, that unfavourable seasons, bad and insufficient nutriment, have been the cause of the fever wrhich has induced so much distress in our sister kingdom. The history given by Mr. Kidd coincides with what has generally been admitted,? that it every where began among the poor, and spread among them ; that, when the rich wrere affected, it rarely spread, but oftener proved fatal \ that, in all, evacuations of some kind were found useful, but with much greater necessity and freedom in the wealthy. We much regret the author's adherence to the term Typhus, the definition and treatment of which by Cullen is altogether inconsistent with his (the author's) account of the most successful mode of treatment, whether medicinal or dietectic. The following passages will best explain our meaning. "? After \v;hat I have said in the former part of this paper, it will, uo doubt, appear strange that it was in the eases of the poorer classes of society that I was enabled to give the most fa? vourable prognosis; but, however strange, it was not less true.
Poor and squalid, wretched, and unprovided with every comfort, as they were, their recovery was by far more probable than that of those who knew no want of either comfort or attendance. Often have I seen two, and not uufrequently three or four, of those miserable creatures huddled together, w ithout regard to age or sex, in the same bcd; covered with every thing that appeared noxious 410 Critical Analysis.
in a large quantity of water ; a small dose given every hour, and repeated for twelve or fourteen hours, let the effects produced be what they might, unless they should prove unusually -violent. In this medicine, the violent effects which arc often observed to follow the exhibition of the tartrate of antimony arc completely prevented by the large proportion of water in which it was dissolved, by the smallness of the dose, and still more by the disposition which the sulphate of magnesia gave it to affect the bowels. In these cases, then, the effects generally were?moderately emetic, fully purgative, and mildly diaphoretic; and in one or two, or sometimes in all of these ways, it appeared to produce the most beneficial effects.
During the operation of this medicine, I had the patient's skin well cleansed, and generally relaxed by a free washing with warm water and soap, which was repeated the same day, or on the following morning. Mild tepid drinks were taken while the stomach and bowels continued to discharge their contents. After these had been thus freely emptied, I have frequently had no occasion for any further medicine; but, in despite of the use of these means, the disease would occasionally continue its course. In that case, the skin becoming hot and dry, the head, feet, and legs particularly so, I had recourse to the application of cold water to the surface, ?not, indeed, to the extent I could have wished, but as far as I could prevail on the friends of my patients to admit of its use; which never went further than washing with cold water. In some cases I succeeded in having this generally made use of; in most, however, it was only topically applied : in some, the water was perfectly cold; in others, I was obliged to submit to an admixture of warm. In some, where the cold ablution would not be admitted, I compounded for the application of cloths wet with cod water being applied to the surface, and frequently renewed. This practice I found to be of the utmost service, when the cloths were applied in this way to the head, which I generally caused to be deprived of the hair. Vinegar, or vinegar and water, were usually made use of as topical applications to the head; and cloths wet with these were incessantly applied, and renewed frequently, so long as any unusual heat or tendency to delirium manifested themselves. If, however, the affection of the head did not soon appear likely to give way to this mode of treatment, I had recourse to my lancet, and opened the temporal artery ; which generally proved successful. In one case only did I apply a blister to the head; and it was not done until, by two days' solicitation, I had been teazed into compliance by my patient, who was a surgeon: and in that case I regretted having done so, as it prevented the continuance of the cold application to the head, which I am confident would have produced more benefit. In fact, there were very few of the patients under my care whose heads became very seriously affected ; but I knew of some in which all the symptoms of phrcuitis occurred. This freedom from disturbance of the brain to any alarming degree in my patients, I mainly attributed to the cooling plau which I pursued, for, iu some cases, among the very lowest 411 classes of the poor, "where, on visiting and finding the patient quite delirious, I gave directions for opening all windows, doors, &c. in order that a free current of air might be established, I have frequently found, on repeating my visit in a few hours afterwards, that the delirium was either totally gone, or much abated. To many of my patients the application of cold water became very Agreeable, and some of them became urgent for a frequent repetition. Its most usual efl'ect was to relax the pores of the skin, and to change the harsh dryness and pungent heat of the whole surface into a soft and gentle diaphoresis, to remove or diminish the distressing watchfulness, and to induce a quiet and refreshing sleep." ? These and the other remarks are onty a confirmation of Dr. Jackson's practice ; but most of all, of one caution, which, we believe, originated with that physician, and of which his brethren took so ungenerous an advantage as to accuse him of protracting the recovery, and even increasing the number of relapses in our brave defenders, from mere motives of parsimony. The following paragraph will explain our meaning. " The convalescent stage (says Mr. Kidd) I found a very difficult One to manage, and relapses were very commo n. This appeared particularly in those whose health and appetite for food returned more suddenly, than among those whose recovery appeared more lingering ; 1, therefore, became particular in restraining the appetite of the former, as well in the quantity as in the quality of their food, and in paying a scrupulous attention to the state of their bowels.'' We sincerely join with the author in his regret that the prejudices of the country would not permit any examination post mortem.
VI.?Case of Typhus, attended with Trismus and Amaurosis.. By John Astbury Barlaston. VII.?Observations on certain Dropsical Affections which are successfully treated by Blood-letting. By J. Abercrombie, M.D. Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons, Edinb. This is an ingenious and well-written paper \ but we. should hardly have thought it necessary to dwell on a fact now so well admitted , that we have sometimes doubted whether it might not be carried too far. Dr. Blackall has (as the author of the paper remarks) thrown great light on this subject; so much, that we should conceive a reference to Diocassus, Hildanus, and several others, the less necessary.
But, considering the well-deserved reputation of Dr. Parry, "We are doubtfuF whether the practice may not become too general. Dr. A.'s paper concludes with a very necessary S g 2 412 Critical Analysis. caution concerning the uncertainty of the pulse in these diseases, illustrated with a strong case. " I have stated, (sajs he,) that, in the treatment of affections of this nature, the strength of the pulse is a very uncertain guide; for, when the transmission of blood through the lungs is much impeded, we often find that the pulse is small and even irregular, and that it improves in strength, and becomes regular, after copious blood-letting. The following example of this has occurred to mc since these observations were written. " A stout young man, a mason, aged about 28, was affected "with slight anasarca, cough, and uneasiness in his breast. The latter was most troublesome in the night, when it amounted to dyspnica, with a sense of constriction across the thorax, and prevented him from lying upon either side. His pulse was from 70 to 80, weak, and very irregular. He had been ill about a week, during which his nights had been passed with much uneasiness, but through the day he had been able to attend to his business. " He was bled to gxxiv." VIII.?Some Observations on the Treatment of Phlegmon. After the very long paper contained in our last Number but one, we should have thought it unnecessary to return to the subject, were it not again to remind our readers how Edinburgh Medical and Surgical Journal.

413-
Garefully they should examine an author before they quote him. With the generality of books this may be less important ; but, in a writer of such authority as Mr. Hunter, and Who is said to be comprehended with so much difficulty, surely something more than a superficial glance seems necessary.
To do justice to Mr. Hennen, we shall transcribe the introductory part of his paper, as it introduces the name vvhich, in spite of all the multiplied objections to his doctrines, is, most unaccountably, the only standard to which his numerous opponents refer us.
C{ In the present state of the question of the treatment of syphilis without mercury, it would be quite superfluous in me to ttiake many remarks. The results of several trials have already been laid before the public, as they have occurred in the military hospitals of this city, by Dr. Thomson; and in those of London, ^7 Messrs. Guthrie and Ross. " I have felt great pleasure in showing you such of the cases as were still under treatment; and I know that I fulfil the wishes of respected chief, Sir James M'Gregor, the director-gcneral of medical department of the army, when I solicit the inspection and opinions of medical practitioners, who are as well able to form a judgment as yourself. And I beg to assure you, that the same spirit of candour which has induced nie to show you the evidence Xlpon one side of the question, will point out to me, as a duty, to communicate to you every thing which may hereafter appear upon the other. But as some misconceptions may arise in the minds of those who hear of, without being able to see, the practice to which a fair trial is now giving, I think it necessary for me to trouble you "*v*th a few observations. " It has been supposed by some persons, that the cures effected aPparcntly without mercury, have been actually performed by means of the different preparations of that mineral, and by caustic surreptitiously employed. But the slightest acquaintance with the discipline of military hospitals, as at present-couductcd, would 414 Critical Analysis. but Iiavc had their nature totally changed or modified by suck treatment.
That these sores, (at least all of them that hitherto have appeared in the military hospitals here,) and also that the species -which Mr. John Hunter has designated as the true syphilitic sore, heal without the employment of any other means tliau rest, abstinence, cleanliness, &c. is perfectly demonstrable, and is daily to be seen in the wards at the Castle, and at Queensberry IIousc, appropriated to such cases." Now, it unfortunately happens that Mr. Hunter has deseribed no true syphilitic sore on the penis, and seems to doubt whether they ever exist on that part. The term syphilis he confines to secondary symptoms. To ascertain primary venereal ulcers, or chancres, it will be necessary to study his account with-more diligence than is usually done.
When this is accomplitdied, the reader will cease to wonder if such sores cannot be ascertained to be chancres', till they have had all the means of " rest, abstinence, and cleanliness after all which, only their true character is " demonstrable."?[See our Number for March last.'] Connected with the last article, we consider the following paragraph in the Medical Intelligence of this Number. " Solecism."?" How many years further must the correct taste of physicians be olfended by the use of the terms morbid anatomy, morbid poisons, &c. ? What is the meaning of these terms? No doubt, they must signify what is meant by the words diseased anatomy ; for, surely, morbid and diseased have the same import. The words morbid poisons, in course, have the same signification as the terms diseased poisons. In these instances, the notions intended to be expressed, would be justly communicated by saying,?anatomy of diseased parts ; anatomy of diseased lungs, eye, &c.; poisons which occasion diseases, or morbific poisons. These improprieties did not escape the acuteness of a good philologist, the late Dr. Beddoes, and it was reasonable to have expected that the disuse of them "would immediately have taken place on their exposure." As we have always professed a great attention to language, so we shall always be thankful for any instruction and correction on this very important part of philosophy, because the slightest inaccuracy may be followed by errors extending ?vve know not how far. First, then, what is meant by a solecism??We are told, by grammarians, that the term originated in the very impure dialect of the Soloeci, who inhabited a city in Cilicia, and spoke a mixture of Attic and their own dialect: that hence ever}'' expression which came under this description,?that is, that was not entirely barbarous,-? acquired tlic epithet of solecism. If this is the case, we conceive the accusation comes with an ill grace from a provin-Edinburgh Medical and Surgical Journal. 415 physician ; or even from the inhabitants of a metropolis in which the English language is imperfectly spoken. We ^dmit that the word morbid is Latin : the Scottish editor has, however, thought proper to translate it into English, and we Scruple not to say that the translation is incorrect.
As the acuteness of that " good philologist, the late Dr.
Beddoes/' is here referred to, we shall first refer our readers to the passage in which his remark is to be found,( and also to the answer. Dr. B.'s complaint of the danger lest the " phrases morbid poison and morbid anatomy should become inveterate," will he found in our 20th \olume, No. 117,P. 4?7 and 428. The answer is in the same volume, No. ll S, p. 535 and 536. Dr. Beddoes was too cautious to substitute any other term for morbid poison ; and, probably, for lhis reason,, he only hints at, without transcribing, Mr. Hunter's " ill-contrived phraseTo Dr. Baillie he shpws no mercy ln any way, and avails himself of the French translation? Pathological Anatomy. To this term, we make no objection, though, in strict hypercriticism, it might be shown to be as lias no authority higher than Mr. Abernethy.?Every former writer thought it necessary to make chirurgical the adjective of surgeon.?By degrees, the term surgery acquired some authority, and we are far from objecting to surgical?conceiving, that where the sense is not obscured, there can be no impropriety in rendering our language as uniform as possible. But to return to morbid poison.?That some distinction should be made between such animal poisons as are secreted in venomous animals in health, and such as are only the effect of disease, can hardly be questioned ; and, it is not less certain, that morbific is an inadequate term, inasmuch, as it comprehends not only every animal poison, but also every vegetable and mineral poison.?Besides, as we before observed, the term is superfluous, inasmuch as it is comprehended in the word poison. Warner, wti believe, but have not at present leisure to turn over the Transactions of the various Societies,) should be so entirely overlooked. The consequence of successfully dilating the urethra in that case was, however, that it never sufficiently contracted afterwards to enable the patient to retain her urine. In the case first related in the paper before Us, this inconvenience existed before the dilation, and continued afterwards. The condition of the second, after extraction of the calculus, is not mentioned. In the third, the urethra contracted, and the patient, a girl only eleven years old, was completely cured.
Among the remarks of the author of the paper are the following. " A great advantage will result from this mode of operation, if it should be found that, in the majority of cases, the urine is retained after the extraction of the stone; as the great objection to the use of the gorget or knife, in the operation in the female, is the Joss of power of retention wliich follows it, leaving the patient offensive to herself and friends, and the subject of continued excoriation. It is true Mr. Hey has suggested the introduction of a sponge into the vagina, in the hope that, by the constant application of the surfaces of the wound to each other, they might be *nade to unite; and, when cutting instruments are employed, such a trial will be proper.
" Another advantage will be derived from this plan, viz.?that 23].
3 li 41S Critical Analysis, it may be employed as soon as a small stone is discovered in the bladder, when it can be extracted with great case, and at a time that a more dangerous, important, and painful, operation would be hardly proposed.'1 To the last of these remarks, we can have no objection ; but we must receive several more reports before we are satisfied that, in adults, the urethra will with certainty sufficiently contract after any extraordinary dilation, continued for several days. It is true, as Mr. Cooper remarks, that the same inconvenience often happens after the common operation, attended with considerable pain, and other ill consequences. We know not with what success Mr. Hey's plan may have been attended; but this we know, that the continental surgeons usually introduce a flexible catheter during the high state of inflammatory adhesion soon after the operation ; and we have been assured by Professor Scarpa, that, by these means, the wound, for the most part, heal:;, without being followed with such dreary consequences.
Some Cases of Diseases of the Heart, with an Inquiry into their Nature and Causes. By J. H. James, Esq. Surgeon to the Exeter Hospital. Communicated by Mr. Abernethy. Without mentioning names, which we conceive unnecessary, we may be allowed to remark, that many among the most distinguished teachers of the present day have an organ which they ride, if not unmercifully, at least almost unremittingly. Yet all these hobbies are terrible jades.
With some the liver is constantly foundered; with others, the digestive organs ; with others, the head. At length, the heart is now brought in to share the burthen and the blame, not, indeed, without some sympathy ; for we shall find that she often suffers from the failings of other parts, whose duty it is implicitly to obey her. is difficult to do justice to a paper occupying nearly sixty pages: we shall, however, transcribe the introductory part, slightly touch on some of the cases, and offer a few remarks on these, and on the author's general conclusions. 11 In the writings of the older authors, there are numerous cases recorded of examinations of persons who have died with diseases of the heart; many of them highly valuable, but few complete, inasmuch as the views entertained of this, as well as other subjects, were different in many respects from those of their successors : perhaps I may be warranted in saying, because they were less enlightened ; and also because they have, in many instances, omitted to give us a sufficiently detailed account of the appearance of other organs besides those principally concerned. In the works 4)0 of several modern authors, there are eases related of much more value, from the greater care anil fidelity of the examinations, and '?he more instructive views which they present. An addition to our collection of facts in this department is still, however, very desirable; and I am, therefore, induced to lay the following cases, before the Society. They are selected from among those which I had an opportunity of observing, particularly during the latter part of the period that I passed in attending St. Bartholomew's Hospital, when I had very extensive opportunities of seeing the morbid appearances after death, as well as observing the symptoms before it; and my attention to this class of diseases was particularly excited from the frequency with which these cases occurred.
" From the facts which I observed, I was led to form some opinions respecting them, which are in many points, I believe, peculiar ; and, although in the interval which has since elapsed, t have not been fortunate enough to have it in my power fully to confirm them, yet I have not seen sufficient cause to reject them as erroneous . " Whenever mechanical obstruction has been found to exist at either of the orifices leading from the cavities of the heart, some of these cavities have been found to be enlarged in size, and very generally strengthened in structure : one or more may have undergone this alteration, but, most commonly, we find that cavity altered in particular, before which the obstructing cause is placed. Every one, therefore, has agreed to consider this as one of the chief causes of aneurism of the heart. But, if contraction of the aorta at a distance from the heart exists, enlargement of that viscus, it is supposed, may equally take place ; or this, indeed, may happen if obstruction be situated in any other part of the vascular system. Of such cases there are some on record ;* but a very few where there is positive evidence of the fact; and I am therefore particularly induced, in the first place, to offer the three following. In the first, there was evidence of obstruction in the course of the vascular system, and the heart was enlarged, but there was also obstruction at the aortic orifice: nevertheless, I am inclined to believe that this latter was consecutive. In the second, there was evidence of a contracted state of the aorta, with enlargement of the heart. In the third, there appears to have been obliteration of the Vena cava, likewise causing enlargement of the heart. Independently of these points, there arc some interesting circumstances belonging to these cases.'1 We are ready to admit, that a true pathologist will find something interesting in every case of morbid dissection. -Asj however, Mr. James has given an epitome of these cases, *" " Morgagni, Book ii. Letter xviii. art. 2. " Corvisart, Obs. xxiv. p. 117. " These are the only cases of this kind I find in two works very CPpious in cases of diseased heart. 421 it is rarely, if ever, completely extended, must he known to every one accustomed to experiments on living animals. Should, however, a larger portion of blood he thrown out by the aorta than the capacity of the cava will return, it is well known that the venous system is much more comprehensive than the arterial; besides the provision made in the sinuses of the brain, and in the great dilatability of the external jugular vein. In the subject just referred to, the probability is, that, in articulo mortis, when the muscles all became stiflf, the arteries contracted so as to throw all the blood into the veins and the heart. If this was the case, there is nothing very remarkable in the appearances described. The coagula showing a separation of lymph from the red particles is not uncommon.
(See Morgagni and others.) We are, therefore, by no means satisfied with the following conclusion of the author, even if we perfectly understand him. <c In these cases?certainly in two of them?there was evidence of mechanical obstruction, situated in the course of the circulation ; and I presume that the enlargement of the heart may be attributed to this cause. In that which follows, it also appears probable that obstruction existed in the course of the circulation in the great vessels ; however, at any rate, not mechanical, but functional In a subsequent case, Mr. James informs us? disease of the vessels? or was it produced by the increased actions of the vascular system ? This disease ;s so commpn a concomitant of active aneurism, that it is difficult to avoid supposing it to be either a cause or an effect; but if the former,?that is, if it be idiopathic,?why does it not as often occur in the pulmonary artery ? If it be considered as a consequence of the disease of the heart, this difficulty is easily explained, because that disease is found on the left side more frequently than on the right, in the same proportion, probably, as disease of the artery which leads from it. If we should be able to explain hereafter how it happens that disease of the heart so much more frequently occurs ou the left side, then we may at the same time account for the ossification of the systematic artery being so much more general.
Where there is an enlargement of the ventricle, and augmented stFength of pulsations during life, increased capacity and strength of the arteries is found to exist alter death, especially if the case has been of long standing; and also, very commonly, ossification and steatomatous thickening. That the artery should be enlarged in the same proportion as the ventricle, seems natural enough; and also that its parietes should be thicker, since it has to sustain the impetus of a larger column of blood, impelled with preternatural force ; but, if there be a difficulty opposed to the arteries in emptying themselves of their contents, which I imagine to be the case, it will follow that the vessels which are now immediately in the neighbourhood of the principal trunk, will have, more especially, the blood forccd into them with undue violence ; and this will be very likely to occasion unhealthy deposition in the parts so supplied. The vasa vasoruui will be particularly exposed to this cause of derangement. " The coronary arteries in this case, as in most of a similar nature, were also greatly enlarged. If Ave suppose obstruction, to the passage of the blood at the extremity of the arterial system, the resistance would, of course, throw back the blood to the heart more particularly, as being the other end of the column. But, at the orifice of the aorta, valves are interposed to prevent their reflux. In addition, then, to the first and natural impulse caused by the action of the heart, there will be the re-action occasioned by the obstruction, and the effects of this will be more felt near that viscus.
It is not, therefore, to be wondered at, that the coronary arteries are found to participate, in an eminent degree, in the alteration produced by this state. u Corvissai t has considered this augmented inllux of the blood into the heart as one of the causes of active aneurism. That this opinion is erroneous, I think I shall hereafter be able to prove; but this is a question foreign to my present ourpose." Several other remarks follow; but we cannot dismiss this passage without some observations. The body was opened fifteen hours after death, was still warm, and universally rigid. Every one accustomed tp watch tl)e progress of after death, no very prominent symptoms existed during life; or, if they were present, they were confounded with those proceeding from the diseased state of the oesophagus and stomach.
c' It is difficult to say what was the immediate cause of this man's death." For ourselves, we are neither aware of any great quantity ?f disease in the vascular system* nor surprised at the man's death.
Three other cases follow ; of which our limits will admit ?f no other notice than the author's concluding reflections.