Foreign Medical Literature

Author(s): Daniel Coate and H. H. Toland

Source: Provincial Medical & Surgical Journal (1840-1842), Vol. 2, No. 41 (Jul. 10, 1841), pp.
297-298
Published by: BMJ
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/25490486
Accessed: 19-04-2024 19:14 +00:00

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 FOREIGN MEDICAL LITERATURE. 297
license to exercise them) seems to be generally
I brought the substance away with me to my resi
dence,
admitted. The only point in dispute is, after having stated to my patient and his
whether
this qualification should be a "minimum"
friends there
nature of his case, so much of it at least
quired of all who enter the professionasbefore
was needful
obfor them to know.
taining their " summos honores," or On a "the most careful examination of this sub
maxi
mum," a test imposed upon all who stance,
haveI com
became well satisfied that it was a portion
of the
pleted the-ir preparations for practice, and wholargehave
intestine which had sloughed from the
taken their ultimate grades, that is,upper
on part
all the
of the colon. Its length was about ten
members of the Colleges of Physicians and
inches, Sur of all the coats of the intestines.
composed
geons. I do not hesitate to decide for the former.
Its situation in the alimentary track was easily dis
the reasons appear to me too obviouscoverable,
to need a cecum or caput coli and the ap
by the
pendix vermiformis,
recapitulation, and are sufficient of themselves to both of which were entire,
confirm me in opposition to Mr. Hawes's not measure
having undergone any decomposition, or at
which is based on the latter. least sufficient to prevent them from being easily
The "minum" qualification ought, identified;
however, ulceration in other parts had proceeded
to be sufficient to afford the public a to a considerable extent. Upon inquiry and ex
protection
amination, I learned that the patient had passed
against ignorant and half-educated practitioners.
How the board, which should confer this uniform
one or two free stools daily; ate heartily of oat or
Indian meal gruel; felt no pain or definable sen
"minimum" qualification should be constituted,
demands further consideration; I believesations
the of distress; his pulse was good; and he
mode
proposed in the resolutions of the Gloucestershire
uttered a confidence truly incredible, that he would
Association, (Prov. Journal, No. 23,)bewould behealth and the society of his family,
restored to
the best. I have not had an opportunity of seeing White since
Lastly, in order to provide some general super the date of mny last mentioned visit, but have
intendence of medical affairs,-a board, equivalent reason to be assured that he is alive, and well
to Mr. Hawes's senate, might be formed in each enough to be pursuing his ordinary occupation as
metropolis, the members being selected from, and a labourer.
appointed by, the councils of the several reformed
Feb. 2, 1841.
corporate bodies.
Gloucester, June 15, 1841.
EXCISION OF A PORTION OF THE INFERIOR
MAXILLARY BONE.
FOREIGN MEDICAL LITERATURE. By H. H. TOLAND, M.D.
CASE OF ACUTE ENTERITIS TERMINATING IN A August 10, 1835. Toby, a male slave, aetat. 9
SLOUGHING OF A PORTION OF THE COLON. years, the property of E. P-, Esq., was placed
under my care on account of osteo-sarcoma of th
By DANIEL COATE, M.D.
inferior maxillary bone. The disease commence
THE subject of the present article, Robert White, in 1833, and increased regularly until I saw him.
a native of Ireland, about 36 years of age, and with The enlargement extended from the neck of the
a robust constitution, was attacked with dysen bone on the left side to tle, symphysis, and
tery in the month of October last. I visited him was so much increased in size as to be in con
twice only while labouring under this form of the tact with that of the o)posite side. The tongue
disease; he resided at a distance of eighteen miles was elevated and misplaced, and mastication and
from me. I treated him principally with calomel deglutition were performed nith difficulty.
and opium, with occasional laxatives; it is unne An operation being thought advisable, I per
cessary to dwell upon the treatment; suffice it to formed it, in the presence of and by the assistance
say, the attack was one of the severest grade, and of some medical students, on the 13th of August
the treatment as judicious as I could employ under He was placed in the recumbent position, and an
his circumstances, which were indigent in the ex incision miade from half an inch below the lobe of
treme. From the period of my last visit, (which the ear to the corner of the mouth, dividing all the
was on the loth,) till the 4th of November, I re soft parts. 'r'hey were then dissected from the
ceived no account from my patient, at xvhich time diseased bone and turned down. The bone was
I was requested to visit him again. My attention next divided on the right side, but near the sym
was first directed to an extraordinary tumor pro physis, with a small amputating saw, so that al
truding from the anus, and about the size of a the diseased mass might certainly be removed. It
large fist; on careful examination, it proved to be became necessary to expose the superior maxillary
a portion of the large intestine "inverted," gan bone at its posterior and external portion, so as t
grenous in spots; this condition had existed for have access at the point to which it was desirable
three or four days at this time. Having washed the to make the section. This being done, and the
portion of the intestine, I proceeded to restore it, flap turned up and retained by an assistant, th
which by steady and pretty firm pressure I suc neck of the bone was divided just anterior to the
ceeded in effecting, pushing it as far up the rectuln articulation with Hey's circular saw. Consider
as I could reach, and ordering a T bandage to be able difficulty attended this part of the operation,
firmly applied, in order, if possible, to prevent its depending on the great and sudden enlargement
descending again. of the angle. The diseased bone was theni easily
I was now shown a "something" which truly separated from the internal soft parts, and re
surprised me, when I was informed that it had moved.
been discharged per anum by this patient; it had There were no vessels divided that required a
been kept six days in a trough containing wa,ter. ligature. The flaps were brought together and

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 298 MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE.
closed by the interrupted suture and adhesivewas tapped successfully by Br. Kara.
pericardium
strips. Great exhaustion followed the operation,
wajef, ofde
Kronstadt, in 1840.
pending both on the violent exertions made by the
patient, as well as the shock given to the nervous
system by the pain, &c., consequent to such an
MORTALITY OF FRENCH CONVICTS.
operation. From a report on the galleys at Toulon, it-would
For two days he was restless, complained of appear that the mortality of the convicts who are
some pain in the head, pulse 160 and small. These confined there is much less than might have been
symptoms, however, yielded to the administration supposed. In 1838 and 1839, the mortality was
of calomel and opium with laxatives. 67 in 2,300; in 1840, it was 80 in 2,500, or about
On the fifth day the ligatures were removed, the 3 per cent. per annum.
wound having healed.
The portion of bone that remained was drawn
inwards by the muscles with which it was con
nected, so that the teeth did not come in contact NOVEL SPECIES OF HERNIA.
with those of the opposite jaw, which, after a few In a communication from Dr. Adamson, in
months, being incrusted with tartar, and the gums serted in the last number of the Lancet, th
diseased, were extracted. " junior members of the profession" are invited
The diseased bone weighed half a pound, and meditate on a curious case of " inguinal hernia o
was so soft that a probe could be passed through both hemispheres." Prodigious!!!
it in almost any direction.
Twelve days after the operation the boy was
sent home, being almost well, and much less de
formed than might be supposed, after losing so
NEW FELLOWS OF THE COLLEGE OF
large a portion of the inferior maxillary bone.
PHYSICIANS.
le is now in good health, and as useful on the TH E following gentlemen have been elected fe
plantation as any one of his age. lows of the college at the last annual meeting.
Some surgeons recommend the carotid artery to Dr. Blain, Dr. Cooper, Dr. C. Forbes, Dr
be tied before commencing such an operation, lest Goldie, Dr. M. Hall, Dr. Le Fevre, Dr. Robe
haemorrhage might be troublesome. In this case Lee, Dr. Morrison, Dr. Macarthur, Dr. A.
no vessel was divided that required a ligature; Thomson, and Dr. Yelloly.
cold water with pressure being sufficient to arrest
the flow of blood. Nor do I think it necessary in
any operation, either upon the superior or inferior
maxillary bones, the actual cautery being prefer
COLLEGE OF SURGEONS.
able in operations upon the former, and in those ON Thursday, the 9th, George James Guthrie
upon the latter, ligatures can always be applied Esq., was elected President, and Anthony Whi
without difficulty to the divided vessels, so as to and John G. Andrews, Esqs., were elected Vic
control the haemorrhage. The operation of putting presidents of the College for the ensuing year.
a ligature on the common carotid is, I think, more
dangerous than the excision of either the superior
or inferior maxillary bones.-Amer. Journal of
Med. Sc., April 1841. ROYAL COLLEGE OF SURGEONS IN
LONDON.
List of Gentlemen admitted Members on Frida
July 2, 1841.-Charles M'Carthy, John Stratfo
SUCCESSFUL PARACENTESIS PERICARDII. Collins, Thomas Beale, George Codd, George F
Blacker, Harve P. Ha don, Edward Vise, Th
A CASE of paracentesis pericardii, which termi
nated successfully, is briefly related in the January
mas Guy, Frederick Wood, George B. Porteis
number of the Austrian Yahrbucher. The patient Richard R. Perry, Maurice Spotswood, Rober
was twenty-four years of age, and laboured underBuchanan, William George Tiley.
hydrops pectoris, with the greatest degree of dysp [The examinations at the College are now ver
nea. A small trochar was passed by Dr. Schuh strict; on Friday week seven candidates were
through the edge of the pericardium, inside the jected, on Monday five.]
internal mammary artery, and between the third
and fourth ribs. Nothing came except a few
drops of blood. A sound was now irntroduced for TO CORRESPONDEN'TS.
a few lines through the canula, and immediately
Our Report of the Meeting of the Newton
struck on the pulsating vessels. In order to Branch
be arrived too late for insertion in the prese
more sure, the trochar wvas again introducednumber.
at
the fourth intercostal space. A quantity of reddish
We request that in future all letters, communi
serum, was now slowly discharged. The patient cations, &c., may be addressed to Dr. Hennis
was able to sleep a little on the following night;
Green, 58, Margaret-street, Cavendish-square.
in two or three days the edema of the feet began
to disappear; the dyspnoea gradually became less
distressing, and at the end of the month thePrinted
pa by THOMAS IBOTSON, of I0., St. Martin's Lane, in the
Parish of St. Martin in the Fields, and G(EORGE JOSIAH
tient was cured, not only of the effusion into the
PALMER, of 20, Regent Square, in the Parisli of St. Pancras,
pericardium, but also of the dropsy of the chest.at their Office, No. 3, Savoy-street, Strand, in the Precinct of
In the March number of Huilland's Journalthe Savoy; and published by JOHN WILLIAMS RUISEY, at
his Residence, No. 6, Wellington-street, Strand, in tliq rrq,
llusi9n is made to another caue, in which the
sIat gf tb9 XSVQ1,wFWUj, Jul l, #1

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