Description of an Original Instrument to Facilitate the Introduction of Insect Pins for Sutures in Wounds of the Face, and of other Parts, where it is Important to Secure an Accurate Adaptation of the Edges of the Wound. By ALFRED C. POST, M. D., Professor of Surgery in the Medical Department PAGE 277 281 285 Report of the Section on Practical Medicine and Obstetrics Report of the Committee on Diphtheria as it has Occurred in the United States. By HENRY D. HOLTON, M. D., Putney, Vt. Report of the Committee on "Spotted Fever, so-called." By JAMES J. LEVICK, M. D., one of the Physicians of Pennsylvania Hospital; one of the Physi- cians of Wills' Hospital, Philadelphia; Fellow of the College of Physicians 365 On the Use of Aluminum as a Base for Artificial Teeth, as a Substitute for Gold and other Metals, and Red Vulcanite. By AUGUSTUS MASON, M. D., . 373 Report on the Etiological and Pathological Relations of Epidemic Erysipelas, Spotted Fever, and Diphtheria. By N. S. DAVIS, M. D., Prof. of Principles and Practice of Medicine and of Clinical Medicine in the Chicago Medical Report of the Delegate to the Association of Superintendents of Asylums for the Insane, for 1865-66. By Dr. H. R. STORER, of Boston, Professor of Obstetrics and Medical Jurisprudence in Berkshire Medical College The Sensitive and Motor Theory. By BENJAMIN HASKELL, M. D. Health in Country and Cities. Illustrated by Tables of the Death-Rates, Sickness-Rates, etc. etc., in Country and Cities. By W. F. THOMS, M. D., Report of the Committee on Medical Literature. By CHARLES ALFRED LEE, M.D. Report of the Committee of Medical Ethics on Specialties. By WORTHINGTON Minority Report. By HENRY I. BOWDITCH, M. D. Report of the Committee on Rank in the Medical Department of the Army. The Correct Principles of Treatment for Angular Curvature of the Spine. By BENJAMIN LEE, M. D., of Philadelphia, Pa. . PRIZE ESSAY.-Digitalin: its Chemical, Physiological, and Therapeutic Action. An Essay to which was Awarded a Prize by the American Medical Associa- tion, May, 1866. By SAMUEL R. PERCY, M. D., Professor of Materia Medica New York Medical College; Physician to the Jews' Hospital, New York; Fellow of the New York State Medical Society; of the New York Academy of Medicine; of the New York Microscopical Society, etc. etc. MINUTES OF THE SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING OF THE AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION, Held in the City of Baltimore, May 1st, 2d, Sd, 4th, 1866. THE Association convened at 11 o'clock A. M. in Concordia Hall, and was called to order by the President, D. HUMPHREYS STORER, M.D., of Massachusetts, assisted by Vice-Presidents THEOPHILUS C. DUNN, M. D., of Rhode Island, STEPHEN O. ALMY, M.D., of Ohio, and JAMES F. HIBBERD, M. D., of Indiana. The Treasurer, CASPAR WISTER, M. D., of Pennsylvania, the Permanent Secretary, WILLIAM B. ATKINSON, M. D., of Pennsylvania, and the Assistant Secretary, GERARD E. MORGAN, M.D., of Maryland, were present. On motion of Dr. D. P. BISSELL, of New York, the ex-Presidents and ex-Vice-Presidents present were requested to take seats upon the platform. The proceedings were opened with prayer by Rev. Mr. SPIESS, of Baltimore. The Committee of Arrangements, through their Chairman, Dr. C. C. Cox, Lieutenant-Governor of Maryland, welcomed the Association in the following remarks: "Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Association "In obedience to an honored usage, as the organ of the Committee of Arrangements, I extend to you a most cordial greeting. The performance of this duty is to me no ordinary gratification. From various States, near and remote, you have gathered to day to learn more perfectly each other's worth in the light of social intercourse, and to place another garland, fresh and redolent, upon VOL. XVII.-2 the altar of your favorite science. I welcome you to these halls; to the homes and hearts of my confrères; to the courtesies and hospitalities of Baltimore and of Maryland. "For a few days the offices at home will be deserted, familiar forms no longer encountered on the rounds of daily practice, the sick room remain unvisited by its regular attendant. From the theatres of professional toil you have come to share another reunion of kindred spirits, animated, as all true disciples of learning should be, by sentiments of fraternal concord, and an earnest desire to enlarge the boundaries of science and to elevate and dignify the noble calling to which your lives have been devoted. Physiology, medical chemistry, pathology, and surgery are adding richly every year to our stores of knowledge, and, fresh from book and bedside, you are here to compare views upon recent discoveries, suggest improvements in the imperfect systems of medical education, and add to the already accumulated contributions which give interest. to the printed Transactions of the Association. Mingled with a grateful appreciation of your presence in such goodly numbers comes the regret that these seats hold so few representatives from our sister States of the South. In 1860, upon a lofty eminence which looks down from the east upon the most beautiful city of New England, we shook hands with our brethren, and parted. The struggle for the nation's life, since so successfully achieved, had not then reddened the annals of our history. Weary years have dragged on, and in the process of time, at the end of that sanguinary contest, we would fain meet again those from whom we have been separated, draw the mantle of forgetfulness over the past, renew to them the expressions of our regard, and with them. dedicate the hour and the occasion to the sacred cause of learning, friendship, and truth. "These absent ones will yet return; but there are others, who once shared in these meetings, whose vacant seats will never be filled. Eighteen years have elapsed since the American Medical Association, then in the second year of its existence, assembled in this city. In the circle of years it has come back to us once more, but sadly fraught with the changes of time. While we open our arms to the living, let us not be forgetful of the honored dead. More than one brilliant light has been obscured. CHAPMAN, WARRen, Knight, IVES, SILLIMAN, MOTT, FRANCIS, DRAKE, HOOKER, CHEW, DALTON, and others, leaving a proud record of probity, honor, and usefulness, have gone to their higher reward. A Ro man author tells us that, long after the illustrious men of place had descended to the tomb, their images were presented on great public occasions, dressed in the insignia of their office, while the orator revived in the hearts of those present the memory of their lofty deeds. We require no such memorial of our departed. They are with us in our councils; they seem to occupy these very seats; we almost hear their familiar voices, and retrace the oft-scanned lineaments of their thought-graven countenances. Something of the dead still lingers at these anniversaries, animating us by ennobling example, pointing the path of honor they have so successfully trodden. 'Nothing shall cover their high fame but heaven; No pyramid set off their memories But the eternal substance of their greatness, To which I leave them.' "The return of peace brings abundant cause for congratulation. It is true, the domain of science properly knows no sectional strife. No hostile step invades its soil, no bugle calls to battle; its votaries peaceably unite upon a common platform, and lay their offerings of good works upon one common altar. Let us, therefore, banish every thought that might interfere with the singleness of devotion we owe to the science of our choice, and, instead of the rank weeds of prejudice or hate, let us together cultivate the flowers of kindliness, fidelity, and humanity. "In the retrospect of the war, it is our solace that the medical man, under whatever flag he may have served, was found true to the teachings and aims of that sublime calling which, by common consent, has been placed next only to the mission of the Saviour and his self-sacrificing ambassadors. While the bullet and shell have been achieving their deadly work, the surgeon has been discovered cheering the heart of the despairing soldier, binding up his bleeding wounds, and removing, with as little consciousness of pain to the poor sufferer as possible, the limbs that had become shattered and useless by the terrible accidents of war. While other minds have been intent on improvements in warlike implements, by which their fatal destructiveness might be enhanced, the surgeons of the army have been accumulating valuable facts for future refer ence, to be applied only to the relief of the diseased and wounded. The surgical history of the war will, in coming years, stand forth a monument of the industry, skill, and attainment of the medical profession of the army and navy of the United States. "With the dawning peace, a new era opens before us. Spaces of labor extend far into the future; bloodless fields of triumph to be won surround us on every side. The new age is pregnant with more potent influences, grander events, than the past. Let us help on the advancing work. Let us, as members of a great profession, add something to the mighty achievements which will mark the opening era. Let us light a fresh flame upon our altars, which may spread its illuminating rays to the furthest recesses of this vast continent, and be seen and felt throughout the world. "But I am exceeding the limits of this address of welcome. "Most of the principal cities, as you know, have been from time to time honored by the meetings of this Association. Philadelphia, Boston, Cincinnati, Charleston, Richmond, New York, St. Louis, Detroit, Nashville, Washington, Louisville, New Haven, and Chicago have been visited, and some of them more than once, by the inembers of this body. In each of these places we have been cordially received and hospitably entertained, and each is associated in our minds with agreeable and ineffaceable recollections. We trust that our Monumental City will prove no exception to this pleasant rule, but that, after the few brief days of your sojourn in our midst, you will take with you to your homes something to remind you not ungratefully of the meeting at Baltimore. "I again greet you, gentlemen, from whatever section of the broad Union you come-North or South, East or West-and extend to you once more, one and all, a fervent and cordial welcome." Dr. Cox then offered sundry documents in regard to Dr. MONTROSE A. PALLEN, exculpating him from the charges on which he was expelled at the session last year in Boston. On motion of Dr. WILSON JEWELL, of Pennsylvania, the order of business was suspended, to allow these to be received. Dr. Cox moved to refer the papers to the Committee on Medical Ethics, with a request that they report promptly. Dr. JAMES M. TONER, of the District of Columbia, offered as a substitute that Dr. M. A. PALLEN be immediately reinstated as a member of the Association. After much discussion, Dr. W. B. BIBBINS, of New York, called the previous question, which was seconded by Dr. JEWELL, of Pennsylvania; pending which, Dr. WM. MAYBURRY, of Pennsylvania, rose to a point of order, that the Association was not yet organized, inasmuch as the Committee of Arrangements had not yet reported on the credentials of members. The President decided the point of order not well taken. |