4. That the duty of getting rid of the poison rested with the kidneys.

5. That as much as, or rather the equivalent of, 133 grains of the strongest oil of vitriol should be permitted to circulate with the blood of a child nine years old without producing any very dangerous consequences.-Lond. Med. Gaz.

Polypus of the Rectum. By MR. SYME.-Sir A. Cooper states, in his Surgical Lectures, that "in the course of his life," he met with only ten cases of polypus of the rectum.

Some time ago, I met with five cases in the course of a single fortnight--two of them in adults, and three in children—and I have seen a sufficient number of other instances of the disease, to satisfy me that it is not by any means so rare as has generally been supposed. It presents itself in three different forms, of which one usually occurs in childhood, and does not appear much beyond puberty. A gentleman now established in practice, not far from Edinburg, when attending my lectures--then I suppose about eighteen or nineteen years of age--applied to me for the removal of a polypus, such as is met with in early life; with this exception, I never met with it beyond the ninth or tenth year. It is extremely soft vascular, of a florid red colour,

and assumes the form either of a worm from two to four inches in length, or of a strawberry with a connecting footstalk two or three inches long. This tumor seldom protrudes except when the bowels are evacuated, and then admits of ready replacement, although not without occasional hemorrhage, which may be of considerable amount. The vascularity of this growth, and its attachment above the sphincter, made me averse from removing it by excision; and Sir A. Cooper has mentioned the alarm that was on one occasion excited in his practice by doing so. I have always employed the ligature; and though the soft structure readily gives way when the thread is drawn, bleeding has never occurred in a single instance, or any other symptom in the least degree disagreeable resulting from this mode of removal; I am therefore induced to regard it as the best that can be employed.

The disease appears in adults in two very distinct forms. In one of these, the growth is soft, vascular, prone to bleed, lobulated or shreddy, and malignant-looking, so as on the whole to resemble very much the cauliflower excrescence of the os uteri, but possesses a peduncle or foot stalk of firm texture, capable of sound cicatrization after being divided. The profuse, frequent, and protracted bleeding which proceeds from this sort of growth, renders its removal an object of great consequence; and this may be effected very easily, and with perfect-safety, by transfixing the radical cord of connexion with a double ligature, tying the threads so as to include a half of it in each, and then cutting it across a little below the constricted part. In a tient of Mr. Craig of Ratho,(who detected the disease from the great hæmorrhage it occasioned,) I could not accomplish protusion of the tumor, but guided a ligature on my finger, and tied it on the neck within the rectum. It is more satisfactory to force or draw the swel

pa

ling beyond the sphincter, so that the sound and morbid parts may be distinguished with certainty, and this can usually be done with great facility, although the growth has attained a large size. In a hospital case recommended by Mr. Anderson of Castle-Douglass, I brought into view and removed a tumor not less than an orange, which had a most malignant aspect, and had nearly exhausted the patient by hæmorrhage.

In the other form which polypus of the rectum assumes in adults, the tumor is of a firmer consistence, smoother surface, and more regularly spherical or oval form, so as to resemble the growth which in general constitutes polypus uteri. The symptoms resulting from this simple swelling are rather annoying than seriously alarming; and the patient, therefore, is apt to delay requiring assistance for a long while. In the case of an old lady, whom I saw with Mr. Hilson of Jedburgh, the tumor was about the size of a cherry, with a long stalk, and we were assured had protruded every time the bowels moved for twenty years. In another case, a gentleman whom I saw with Dr. Johnston of Cumnock, the tumor was nearly as large as an egg, had a cuticular covering, and appeared to have existed for a period equally long. I have always removed these growths in the way that has been already described, and never met with the slightest consequence of a disagreeable kind.-Lond. and Ed. Month. Jour. of Med. Science.

Pain in the Side, in thoracic inflammations, generally corresponds, according to the indication of the patient, not to the precise point of the organ affected, but to one a little below it, that is, the painful sensation experienced is in a situation inferior to the lesion. When local evacuations of blood, therefore, are ordered, or blisters, they should be directed to be applied a little higher than the painful part(Rostan.) This precision is not without importance in certain cases, for it may happen that, following the indication of the patient, remedies are often applied to the abdomen, when the disease is at the lower part of the chest.-Ibid.

Sugar in the fluid of Ascites in a Diabetic Patient..-In the fluid from the abdomen of a diabetic patient who was attacked with ascites, Dr. Landerer detected evident traces of the presence of sugar. The existence of this substance is almost all the secreted fluids in the body of persons affected with diabetes has now been proved.-Heller's Archiv.

Operation of Gastronomy for the Relief of Internal Strangulation.— We are informed that the operation of gastronomy has been recently performed by Mr. Hilton, of Guy's Hospital, with complete relief to the intestinal obstruction, in a man, twenty years of age, suffering from internal strangulation of a large portion of ileum of twelve days' duration. The point of obstruction was situated about twelve inches from the cæcum. The patient died of exhaustion a few hours after

the operation. Full particulars of the case will shortly be given at the Medical and Chirurgical Society.-Lond. Med. Gaz.

Fatal Effects of Ether Vapour on Animals.-M. Gruby found, in his experiments on ether-vapour, that dogs twenty days old lost their sensibility in from eighteen to twenty minutes. Grown-up dogs lost the power of sensation in eight minutes, and died if the action of the ether was continued for forty-five minutes. The dogs recovered their sensibility and motion when they were exposed to the air, if the experiment with the ether was not prolonged beyond eighteen minutes for the young, and forty to forty-four minutes for the adults. Young dogs, which had ceased to breathe, were brought to life by copious bleeding from the jugular vein.—Ibid.

Medical Controversies.-Dr. Cheyne remarks, in reference to a work which he wrote against a treatise by M. De Moivre, that, "being written in a spirit of levity and resentment, I most sincerely retract and wish undone, so far as it is personal or peevish, and ask him and the world pardon for it, as I do for the defence of Dr. Pitcairn's Dissertation on Fevers against the late learned and ingenious Dr. Oliphant. I heartily condemn and detest all personal reflections, all malicious and unmanly terms, and all false and unjust representations, as unbecoming gentlemen scholars and Christians, and disapprove and undo both performances, as far as in me lies, in every. thing that does not strictly and barely relate to the argument."-Life of Dr. Cheyne.

Many modern controversialists of the medical profession might profit by the example of this candid old physician of the seventeenth century. Nothing can more strikingly show the absurdity of indulging in violent controversies on medical subjects, than the utter indifference of another generation to them, and the complete oblivion into which they sink in a course of a few years. But medical writers are of an irritabile genus; and it is a rarity to meet with such an example of candour and good feeling as that shown by Dr. Cheyne.-Lond. Med. Gaz.

Fever in Ireland.-Fever is rapidly extending its ravages even in Dublin. The Cork-Street Hospital, one of the largest establishments of its kind in Ireland, is literally crammed with patients, to such a degree of inconvenience, indeed, that the governors have given directions to have temporary buildings-if sheds or tents can be so called-prepared for the reception of numerous patients for whom there is no accommodation within doors. The state of the Meath and Richmond Hospitals is equally deplorable, and the accounts from all parts of the country represent disease and destitution proceeding at an equal pace.-Ibid, from Times.

Honours Conferred on Medical Men.-The Queen of Spain has created Professor Orfila a Knight of the order of Charles III. Her

Majesty has also made him a dignitary of Spain by a special ordinance. These honours have been conferred on the eminent French Professor in consequence of his having completely remodelled the medical institutions of Madrid. In this reform, Orfila appears to have accomplished a miracle; for he has actually succeeded in satisfying all branches of the profession! When we have another medical reform bill under discsusion, it would be desirable to secure his services for Great Britain.

Don Pedro Castello, chief physician of Isabella II. has also been made a Knight of the Order of Charles III. and has had conferred on him the title of Marquis of Health (de la Salud.) As our French contemporary remarks, this must be a great recommendation to patients, but it is only reasonable to expect that the Esculapian marquis himself will henceforth be free from all attacks of sickness! The creation of this extraordinary title is in accordance with a strange practice prevalent in Spain, of fixing upon some quality or virtue in raising to the peerage an individual who may have no territorial possessions. Hence, among non-professionals, we find Dukes of Fidelity and Victory; and for the first time, we believe, among professional men, we have the creation of a Sanitary Marquisate!

Don Pedro Maria Rubio, another eminent Spanish physician, has been created a Knight of the Royal American Order of Isabella the Catholic.-Ibid.

Secret of Success in Medical Practice.-Skill and art alone are not sufficient. He (a medical practitioner) must be particularly mindful of his conduct. It is this which recommends him to the public, and creates confidence; for as the generality of people are incompetent to pronounce on his science, it is natural for them to take the measure of his ability from the measure of his conduct. By force of conduct alone, a physician, of very moderate talents, may become the favourite of the public; and without it, the most skilful professional man remain unnoticed and unappreciated.-Lond. Med. Gaz. from Hufeland.

Funeral of Professor Tommasini.-The funeral of the late Prof. Tommasini is said to have taken place recently at Parma with imposing splendour. The whole of the court, and more than three hundred families of distinction, were present at the ceremony. The members of the various medical faculties, and all the dignitaries in the army and in the state, were among the followers. The leaden coffin was borne to the church of the Campo Santo by the students of the Faculty of Medicine. The funeral took place at night, and as the procession passed through the streets, the front of each house was illuminated by torches, the last testimony of the sorrowful respect and gratitude of a nation.-Ibid, from Gaz. Med.

Adipocire.-By the courtesy of our friend Dr. Blakeman, of Bleecker street, we were invited, a few days since, in company with

Drs. Miner, Senr., J. K. Rodgers, A. C. Post, Linsley, F. C. Stewart, Borrowe, Williams, Rockwell, A. E. Hosack, &c., to inspect the body of a Mrs. F., which had been disinterred from a burying ground in Twelfth street, in which it had lain for 17 years. It was that of a very large woman. The coffin in which it had been enclosed was very little affected by its inhumation. The form of the cadaver was perfectly preserved. The extremity of the nose was gone, and the features of the face partially discernible. The arms, which were placed along the sides, had become much compressed by the swelling of the body, and the hands had broken off at the wrists. The remains of one hand, upon the right side of the abdomen, were distinctly visi ble, and the forefinger, with its nail, was entire. The rotundity of the breast was perfect-the abdomen flattened, as if by compression against the lid of the coffin. The left foot, like the hands, had separated from the ankle. The rotundity and shape of the thighs was remarkably preserved. The shroud adhered to the body and was not decayed, though discoloured. The cadaver presented a greenish hue from mould, with which it was covered, and a fresher coat of pure white, had been deposited upon it since its exposure to the air. The cap was distinct upon the head, and the bow of black ribbon on one side, somewhat faded, remained. By the consent of a son of the deceased, who was in possession of the body, a piece about a foot square was cut out of the abdominal walls, by Dr. Post, so as to expose the cavity. The knife passed easily through their substance, which was found to consist entirely of a yellowish cheesy substance. The thin layer of abdominal muscles could be discriminated, similarly converted beneath the adipose layer, which was very thick. The inner surface of the abdominal cavity was smooth. The viscera and a large lump of adipocire, lay at the bottom. The diaphragm was distinctly seen. Below it, and towards the left, much shrunken and condensed, and having the consistence, somewhat, of lung, lay the liver. The stomach, having its natural form and a macerated appearance, was distinctly visible, and some portions of the colon, collapsed and membranous, were discoverable. This was all that could be seen within the abdominal cavity through the aperture that was made. The exsected piece of abdominal wall was then replaced. An odour closely resembling that of gum ammoniac, exhaled from the body. We learn that the soil in which the coffin was interred, was sandy, and not moist; and that two bodies of children buried over it, and others in the vicinity, were in a state of complete disorganization. Some finger-bones, lying loose in the coffin, were taken up, and found so much softened as to be cut easily, but not altered in form. The shavings which the coffin contained, were blackened, but otherwise unaltered. The subject was 69 years of age, very,fat, and weighed 170 pounds. The disease of which she died has escaped our recollection. The conversion of the human body into adipocire, though rare among us, has been not unfrequently met with. A body in this state of preservation was exhibited some time ago, at one of our public museums, coming, we believe, from Canada.-N. Y. Annalist.