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"A young man, ten days sick of typhoid fever, was brought from Philadelphia to his father's house in Springfield Township, and placed under my care. At that time there was no fever in the neighborhood.

"The residence of this family was an old building that had served the purpose of a dwelling, carriage-house, and granary, with one small window in each room and no means of good ventilation.

"Five members of this family became afflicted with fever in succession, the disease continuing in this house until the last of the following January.

"In November there was an outbreak of typhoid fever extending for two miles along Darby Creek, attacking about thirty persons in about twenty families. Every one of these persons had used the milk from the farm to which the first case had been brought.

"On investigation, it was found that the clothing of this family had been washed at the spring-house where the milk was kept, and probably the same boiler used that was used in washing milk pans and cans.

ceased."

The sale of milk was stopped, and in two weeks new cases

REPORT OF THE LEHIGH COUNTY MEDICAL SOCIETY.

CERTAIN districts of our county were seriously afflicted during the latter part of last summer and winter with diphtheria in epidemic form. It made its appearance first in the city of Allentown in August, after a period of unusual healthfulness, affecting children in different parts of the city simultaneously, and soon after it had gained foothold became widely diffused by contagion, and as the first cases were of great severity, the virulence of the contagion became manifest in those that followed by the short period of incubation, the rapid course of the disease, and the large mortality, increased probably by the diminished power of resistance due to the prolonged and exhaustive influence of an unprecedented hot season.

Many children apparently well one day were suddenly stricken down the next with intense fever, the temperature of the body rising four and five degrees higher than normal, the skin became hot and dry, the pulse frequent and full, with increased thirst and painful sensations in swallowing; the mouth and fauces, the tonsils and post-pharyngeal space presented a vivid red color with considerable swelling of the mucous membrane, with fibrinous exudations upon the tonsils and posterior walls of the pharynx rapidly involving the posterior nares, frequently plugging them up completely. The secretion of tenacious mucus clinging to the walls of the fauces gave rise to painful efforts to clear the throat, causing the patient to hawk and hawk incessantly day and night. Edema of the eyelids and face were common symptoms, and upon examination of the urine not infrequently the presence of albumen was discovered.

The fatality in the majority of cases was due to blood-poisoning; some to rapid extension of the exudation into the air-passages. The disease frequently extended into the cavities of the nose, the Eustachian tubes, and into the middle ear.

In a number of cases muscular paralysis developed gradually, involving the velum, pharynx, the muscles of the neck and extremities, these following the complete healing of the lesion of the mouth and throat. Epistaxis occurred repeatedly in the very beginning, and in some cases directly occasioned death.

It is a singular fact, that in nearly all the cases the exudation appeared first on the right tonsil. Irregular and intermittent actions. of the heart were not infrequent; reduplication of the sound was not uncommon, due to mal-nutrition of the cardiac muscles from deprivation of the constitution of the blood, producing relaxation of the muscles and imperfect closure of the valves.

The remedies used were, muriated tincture of iron, chlorate of potassa, sulphurous acid, sulpho-carbolate of soda, quinia, alcohol, bromo-chloralem, permanganate of potassa, ice, and the inhalations of lime, carbolic acid, muriate of ammonia, etc. etc.

The following case may prove interesting on account of the novelty of the treatment. On the evening of November the fourth of last year, Mrs. G., aged 35 years, mother of five children, was suddenly seized with intense pain in the abdomen, to the right and below the umbilicus, after having been confined to her bed for several days with some uterine difficulty. I was summoned to see her, and gave her relief with morphia hypodermically; ordered a cathartic and external applications. After the effects of the morphia had worn off the pain returned with renewed vigor, and not succeeding in moving her bowels with frequent and copious warm water injections I continued to administer morphia in large doses hypodermically two and three times every twenty-four hours to render her comfortable. On the third day stercoraceous evacuations and vomiting ensued, when I diagnosed the case-invagination of the small intestines. All the usual remedies failed, the patient sank rapidly, when on the sixth day I determined to try pneumatic pressure. Laccordingly procured a plumber's air-pump, introduced a flexible tube into the bowel, attached the gum-hose of the pump to it, and cautiously operated the piston; it worked easily until twelve or thirteen pumpsful of air had been introduced, when the patient complained of the great distension of her bowels, and the piston offering the slightest resistance I withdrew the tube; but a small quantity of air escaped, the balance was retained for six or seven hours, when, to my delight, she passed a large quantity of liquid stool per rectum and made a rapid recovery.

MORTUARY TABLE No. 1.

Showing the number of deaths in the City of Allentown for the year 1876, from various causes.

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MORTUARY TABLE No. 2.

Showing the number of death, at various ages, in the City of Allentown, for the entire year.

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The number of births during the year was 606, of which there was 341 males, and 265 females.

E. G. MARTIN,

Chairman.

At a meeting of the Lehigh County Medical Society held in January, it was resolved, that the paper read by Dr. William B. Erdman on the subject of" An Ovarian Tumor Case" at the September meeting, be handed to the Chairman of the Sanitary Committee to be incorporated in his report for publication in the Medical Transactions of the State for the year 1877.

Case of Ovarian Tumor, by Dr. W. B. ERDMAN:

Mrs. W. H. Larose, aged 44 years, married, and mother of two children. General appearance: complexion sallow; emaciation considerable; habits of life regular. Surface of body: temperature 95° in axilla; perspiration; skin moist and natural. On August 20, 1876, the abdomen measured, at umbilical level, 41 inches; from ensiform cartilage to umbilicus, 11 inches; from umbilicus to symphysis pubis, 10 inches; from right anterior superior spine of ileum to umbilicus, 12 inches; from left anterior superior spine of ileum to umbilicus, 12 inches. There was slight mobility of tumor; no evidence of adhesion; no crepitus; distinct fluctuation over the entire abdomen. There was tenderness about four inches or more below ensiform cartilage on left side. The sound on percussion was dull over entire abdomen, except space of about an inch from sternum and ribs of right side, which was tympanitic. The lumbar sound on percussion was tympanitic on right, and dull on left side. The pressure interferes with digestion and respiration.

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