Conducted by J. Wylie Anderson, M. D.

Meat and Cancer.

"The question," says The Hospital (London) "how far the increase of cancer among the more highly civilized nations, which has appeared so marked during recent years, is caused by the greater quantity of meat which is eaten in prosperous countries, is a matter of very serious interest. That man by nature is not a vegetarian, in other words, that he is naturally a mixed feeder, may be taken as pretty certain; but it is slso certain that as the result of hard necessity, meat has generally in times past been to him a luxury, and has but rarely formed a preponderating element in his diet. But with prosperity, and with the greater ease with which animal food can now be obtained, we find whole nations falling upon meat as a necessary ingredient of their daily diet; and in the very nations among whom this change is most noticeable we are told that cancer shows its greatest increase. In support of the connection between meat and cancer, Dr. Roger Williams points to the rarity of cancer in prisons and workhouses, where but little animal food is allowed and hard work is exacted. He has lately found additional evidence as to the small amount of cancer among the convict population, which he says strongly supports this view. Taking the reports of the Commissioners of Prisons for the years 1897 and 1898, he finds that out of 5,915 convicts only three died from malignant disease. Thus, while the cancer mortality of convicts was I in 1971, that of the general population was I in 698, or nearly three times as great. Before we accept these figures as exactly representing the true proportion, one would like to have more details in regard to age distribution, but the difference is so striking that it is hardly likely to be materially upset by any such nicety of cal

culation. We need scarcely say, however, that criminals are a somewhat 'selected' class of people, and that diet is not the only matter in which the convict differs from those outside the prison walls."

A Case of Septic Infection of the Hand and Arm Treated with Antistreptococcic Serum. Recovery.

By William F. Shaw, M. D., Physician to St. Mary's Hospital,
Detroit, Michigan.

As a matter of interest to practitioners who may be called upon to treat cases of streptococcic infection, I wish to report an experience of my own.

Mr. B

was admitted to St. Mary's Hospital on the 28th of May. When examined it was found that the man had a swollen and inflamed arm, a condition caused by septic infection. He had received an incised wound with a razor on the tip of his index finger about fifteen days before his admission, and during that time his temperature had between 101 and 104 degrees.

At three o'clock in the afternoon of the day he entered the hospital this man was given ten cubic centimeters of Antistreptococcic Serum from the larboratory of Parke, Davis & Co. At that time his temperature registered 103.8°, and the pulse rate was 120 a minute. Within two hours the temperature declined to 98.8° and an improvement in the general condition of the patient. On each of the two following days injections of ten centimeters of Antistreptococcic Serum were administered.

1891 It is worthy of note that the temperature in this case rapidly fell to normal after the first injection of the serum, and did not rise again. The hand and arm were in excellent condition and recovery was prompt and uneventful.

Schleich's Anaesthesia.

This feature of modern surgery is naturally well known to the practitioner, but anything bearing upon this subject from the pen of its distinguished discoverer will doubtless always be read with interest. In the "Med.-Chirurg. Centralblatt" for April 13, 1900, is an article by Schleich entitled "Local Anasthesie und Narkose," of which the following is an abstract:

"Schleich first states that such an authority as Mikulicz has pronounced the infiltration anæsthesia absolutely free from danger. The injection of the 1-5th per cent. salt solution interrupts the conductivity of the sensory nerves, and there is no question here of the obtunding of sensibility by poisonous substances— eucain, nirvanin, etc. Naturally the two methods of local anaesthesia, while competitors, have particular indications. Schleich's method is specially applicable in cutaneous and subcutaneous tumors-wens, nævi, lipoma, and the like. Next in order come plastic operations, excision of scars, tenotomies, suture after injuries, freely movable lymphomata, etc. The technique of this work is so simple that any practitioner may make use of it to the complete satisfaction of the patient. Spray of ethyl-chloride is first used to render painless the primary puncture. The whole operation-field is then saturated with the salt solution until an artificial oedema is produced, Ten injections of five g. each may be used for this purpose. When we operate we must take care to cut or burn only in this oedematous zone. By this simple means we may do away with all the dangers of chloroform narcosis, and the reproach to the profession of chloroform-death after petty operations will no longer be heard. Many such deaths have followed the excision of hymens, ablation of wens, tooth-pullings, and the like.

"When we leave the realm of minor surgery we find that distinguished operators like Mikulicz, Czerny and Bier have even performed laparotomy, gastroenterostomy and herniotomy by the sole aid of the Schleich method; while Haberer has amputated at the thigh with no other form of narcosis. Bloch has

burned out extensive lupus of the skin in a most ideal fashion after infiltration-anæsthesia.

"When we operate on boils, carbuncles and buboes we must take care to avoid infection in making the numerous anæsthetizing punctures. With regard to anæsthesia of the fingers and toes, Schleich claims that the Oberst method of using cocain is practically an infiltration anæsthesia rather than a cocainization. Schleich can get as good results from solutions of inert sub

stances.

"The field of local infiltration-anææsthesia is enormous already and tends to increase year by year at the expense of general narcosis secured by chloroform or ether. Still there must always be a residue of operations in which general narcosis is indispensable, and the domain of the two methods should be sharply outlined. At present our chief working rule is simple; whenever local anesthesia will not anæsthetize we must use the general method.

"Schleich here recommends his well-known mixture of ethyl-chloride, chloroform and ether, the proportions varying with the temperature of the mixture. In 5,000 consecutive cases he has not experienced an accident, much less a death, by this form of narcosis."

Cimicifuga: Amenorrhea.

Cimicifuga is the most generally useful of our remedies in all classes of amenorrhea. When perfectly indicated, its action is often marvelous, and sometimes even when not indicated. It is the drug I usually select when the indicated remedy fails, though in such cases I generally employ the active principle, macrotin. When well indicated, I prefer cimicifuga. The drug is most useful in rheumatic, neuralgic, choreic, or hysterical subjects, with menses irregular, delayed or suppressed; ovarian irritation; uterine cramps; bearing down pains in the uterine region and small of the back; limbs heavy and torpid; suppression from cold or emotions.-Dr. Cowperthwaite.

EYE, EAR, NOSE AND THROAT.

Conducted by David A. Strickler, M. D.

The following extracts from the "Annals of Otology, Rhinology and Laryngology" are given verbatim.

My excuse for doing so is that my absence from the city and lack of time render some similar course necessary.-D. A. S.

The Therapeutic Effects of Vibratory Massage in
Chronic Deafness.

OSTMAN, PROF. (Laryngoscope, January, 1900.) Ostman gives the details of his observations in three cases and arrives at the conclusion that vibratory massage is contraindicated.

I. In all the acute inflammatory conditions of the sound conducting apparatus.

2. In all diseases of the sound perceiving apparatus with normal sound conduction. If, however, rigitidy of the ossicles exists it would be well to try the massage.

3. It would seem from its mode of operation, that vibratory massage is of little benefit in middle ear diseases, attended with retraction of the ossicles, in simple chronic middle ear catarrh, or when there is extensive atrophy of the membrana tympani.

To form a fair estimate of possible benefits, two weeks of treatment is necessary in all cases.-Seymour Oppenheimer.

The Rinne and Gelle Tests.

BRUHL. Freiburg i. B. (Archives of Otology, Vol. xxix. No. 1.) By routinely carrying out examinations, the Rinné test by Bezold's methold using A1, C, c1, c2, and the Gellé test with D1 tuning forks the author noted the following diagnostic facts: