Electricity in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Diseases of the Nose, Throat and Ear. With 161 Illustrations. By W. Scheppegrell, A.M., M.D., ex-Vice-President American Laryngological, Rhinological and Otological Society; Vice-President Western Ophthalmclogic and Otolaryngologic Association, etc., New Orleans, La. G. P. Putnam's Sons, 27 West Twenty-Third Street, New York, 1898. This is the first systematic work ever published upon the subject. The author has obtained his literary material largely from late American and foreign journals, making in all 565 bibliographical references, and has rounded out this mass of information from the store of an extensive personal experience. In addition to a fair and full discussion of technique and of the relative merits of the various instruments and methods for applying electricity in the regions mentioned, quite a number of the thirty-seven chapters are devoted to the general principles of electricity, its uses and effects, and we think we have never seen the hard points in this connection more clearly elucidated. The work is very practical and comprehensive, and will prove of inestimable service to all practitioners who treat the nose, throat and ear. A Manuel of Modern Surgery, General and Operative.-By John Chalmers DaCosta, M.D., Člinical Professor of Surgery, Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia; Surgnon to the Philadelphia Hospital, With 386 Illustrations. Philadelphia: W. B. Saunders, 925 Walnut Street, 1898. Octavo., 911 pages. Net price, in cloth, $4.00; half morocco, $5.00. etc. The avowed purpose of the author in first publishing this book was to furnish a work which would stand between the complete, but cumbersome, text book and the incomplete, but concentrated, compend. That he has succeeded in providing that which was needed is evidenced by the demand for a second large edition within less than four years. The present volume conforms in general outline to its predecessor, but has been considerably enlarged and fully revised in accordance with the most modern advances in surgery. Among the new sections are those on the liver, gall-bladder, spleen, pancreas and female breasts. Injuries by electricity and the use of the Roentgen rays are fully described in separate chapters. A very timely section is that on wounds inflicted by modern projectiles. Among the newer operations described in full are Schede's thoracoplasty, use of the Murphy button, Bodine's colostomy, Senn's method for resection cf the shoulder joint and Owen's operation for hare-lip. The work in its present form is very comprehensive and is admirably adapted to the needs both of medical students and general practitioners. This work consists of fifty chapters, arranged in five parts. The first division, on "General principles," is a comprehensive exposition of the physiological periods in the life of women, antiseptics and asepsis, pelvic diagnosis, local treatment, minor and major operations, with special chapters on drainage and after-treatment, and last, but not least, the relations of dress to the diseases of women. The second, and largest part, treats of inflammations, which are considered from a pathologic and etilogic standpoint. rather than in the common regional method. The author's plan in this respect has many advantages, particularly as to the avoidance of reiteration and the presentation of pelvic affections in the combined forms which they ordinarily assume. In fact the trend of the argument throughout the book is to emphasize the functional unity of all the reproductive organs. In part three, tumors, tubal pregnancy and malformations are discussed and clearly differentiated. Part four is devoted to traumatisms, and includes the best chapter ever written on the subject of perineorrhapy. The final division of the work is on displacements, which are made plain to the dullest understanding by a large number of colored and uncolored diagrams. The last chapter of the book, on massage, strongly endorses the Brandt method, and clearly delineates its indications, contraindications and special modes of application in the various pelvic lesions. The author's descriptions of selected modern operations are direct and definite, and are well elucidated by a generous supply of firstclass original drawings. The book in its entirety is worthy of all praise. SELECTIONS. In view of the fact that cod-liver oil in its crude, refined or emulsified form induces atony of the digestive organs, and hypertrophy of the gastric and intestinal mucous membranes, it is evident that the easily digestible and assimilable Hagee's Cordial, containing as it does the true active principles of the oil, is the most eligible succedaneum for this oil. Chemical food is a mixture of phosphoric acid and phosphates, the value of which physicians seem to have lost sight of to some extent in the past few years. The Robinson-Pettet Co., to whose advertisement (on page 8) we refer our readers, have placed upon the market a much improved form of this compound, "Robinson's Phosphoric Elixir." Its superiority consists in its uniform composition and high degree of palatability. Dr. Moritz Busch, who has been sometimes described as Bismarck's Boswell, and who enjoyed terms of special intimacy. with the great Chancellor, is the author of an important paper on Bismarck and William I., which was published entire in The Living Age of September 3. It was written with a view to publication after Bismark's death, and it contains so much that was communicated to the author by Bismarck himself that it is almost autobiographic. Geo. W. Samuel, M.D., Nashville, Tenn., says: "I had a case of a man who had been drinking heavily for several days. I prescribed Celerina in tablespoonful doses every three hours, and in a short time he was in good shape again. I also used it in a case of neuralgia, in the following formula: R-Celerina, 8 ounces; quinia sulph, 60 grains. M. Sig. Teaspoonful every four hours. It acted like a charm. In a case of impotency I used calomel in connection with Celerina, and the patient reports everything standing all right." Anti-Phymin.--The many forms of tubercular infection have had their share of so-called cures, which have sprung into existence only to find an early retirement because of their failure to secure specific results. Anti-Phymin contains the essential elements in the most potent combination, and has recorded more successes in the hands of scientific observers in the treatment of consumption, catarrh and diseases of the mucous membrane than any other remedy ever discovered. From sixty to ninety days' trial will convince the most skeptical. - Clinical Trials of the Action of Diuretin. By Professor Gram, Copenhagen.--From very numerous trials the author concludes that Diuretin possesses a very powerful diuretic action, and that this is due to a direct influence on the kidneys. Diuretin is readily absorbed into the system and is wholly non-toxic, as only in one case was slight vertigo experienced. The ordinary daily dose is about 90 grains, which is given in single doses of 15 grains each. The quantity of urine is frequently increased by administration of Diuretin more than five fold.-Therapeutische Monatshefte. Alimentation After Surgical Operations on the Digestive Tract. - Dr. J. P. Zum Busch, Physician-in-Chief at the German Hospital in London (Die Heilkunde), has recently called attention to the value of Lacto-Somatose in surgical practice, and especially after operations upon the gastro-intestinal canal. The cases in which he has employed this new product comprise chiefly herniotomies in adults. and children, gastro-enterostomies, resections of the intestines, and operations for appendicitis. Although administered from the first day following the operation, Lacto-Somatose was always well tolerated, never producing nausea or vomiting, or exerting any constipating tendency; on the contrary, the preparation seemed to increase the appetite. The author also employed Lacto-Somatose during the convalescence from severe diseases, and in the intestinal affections of rachitic children, and observed that it exerted a beneficial influence upon the disease and at the same time promoted the nutrition of the patient. In view of his experience he is therefore inclined to recommend it as an easily digestible and well assimilated food product in all conditions of malnutrition. Without considering the reasons for the great prevalence of vaginal, uterine and ovarian troubles, summed up in the phrase. "Female Diseases," the fact cannot be denied that most American women are so afflicted, and every general practitioner, to say nothing of physicians who devote themselves to the treatment of these complaints, will bear witness to the truth of this statement. In general practice scarcely a day passes in which the physician is not consulted by nervous, hysterical or anaemic females, seeking relief for conditions superinduced by pelvic disorders. As a usual thing the direct cause is remote, and hence cannot readily be determined by the physician, who is, however, desirous of aiding the patient as promptly as possible. How to do this without surgical interference, and in the case of young girls without submitting them to digital examination, is the problem presented. We make no exaggerated claims when we state that the concurrent testimony of hundreds of physicians, many of wide experience in this class of ailments, goes to demonstrate that in Ponca Compound (presented only in tablet form) the practitioner has a definite remedy of the most potent and beneficial character, which will produce satisfactory results in all cases amenable to internal treatment. Food and Teeth.-George W. Williams, D.D.S., of Richmond, Ind., one of the leading dentists of that state and a popular writer on dental subjects, in a recent article says: "Many of the prepared foods sold for children are destitute of the qualities necessary to form sound and painless bones and teeth, and there is a great difference in growing up with fine grained, well glazed teeth in comparison with having the brittle, chalky teeth we commonly see. Diet is of the first importance in promoting the upbuilding of the bony system, and incidentally we would state that as a food for this purpose there is nothing that will equal Imperial Granum.' It is a pure, unsweetened food, made from the most nutritious portions of the finest growths of wheat. No derogatory word has ever been uttered by the medical or dental professions against 'Imperial Granum,' and its bone-building qualities. Perhaps the most important period in childhood is when the first set of teeth are erupting. It has been calculated that one child in ten has its life destroyed in consequence of diseases which have their origin at this time. Thus it is evident that children should be watchfully cared for, and I believe that besides those who die from diseases readily traced to irritation during the eruption of the first teeth, a number are the victims of diseases superinduced by general neglect of the mouth and the consequent tooth decay and improper mastication of food." Medicine, a Progressive Science. The Neurosis. There is scarcely a writer of prominence today upon this subject who does not lay great stress upon the importance of early and prolonged treatment of the primary manifestations of an almost infinite variety of nervous affections with the view of preventing the constant development of still graver diseases. Neurosine is composed of only such drugs are are recognized by the profession as standard medicinal properties. In hysteria, epilepsy and neurasthenia it is unexcelled. Neurosine is presented in a most permanent and palatable form, an elegant and efficient combination of well known and long tried. remedies, concerning whose virtues in the diseases and conditions. indicated there is absolute unanimity of expression among all observers and authors upon the subject. The paroxysms of epilepsy is alleviated in the administration of Neurosine; a permanent relief is often obtained by its persistent use, but always where there are symptoms of neurosis, Neurosine should be administered in teaspoonful doses in a wineglass of water, three times a day so long as |