688

mach ; the mesenteric veins were enlargedto four or five times their natural size, anegorged with blood; eight or nine of thfmesenteric glands were enlarged, and con tained a white granular substance, whichwas pronounced to be tuberculous, the

largest gland was situated over the aorta,which was not dilated. The small intestineswere intus-suscepted in two places; the in-ferior, situated about eighteen inches fromthe ileo-coecal valve; the superior, aboutthree feet above the other; the mucousmembrane appeared healthy ; nothing parti-cular was found in the liver. Thorax.-The tumour was found to occupy the wholeof the mediastinum, and the right side of thethorax, extending quite up to the neck ;posteriorly, it extended to the spine; thevena cava superior was found completelyobliterated, not the slightest trace of it beingperceptible, so that the direct communica-tion between the thoracic duct and the heartwas entirely cut off. The great emaciationevident in the patient was, perhaps, attri-butable to this fact. The thoracic viscerawere found completely adherent to one ano-ther, so that they appeared an irregular solidmass, and it was found impossible to detachthem without the scalpel. Dr. CARSWELLconsidered it to be a most perfect specimenof encephaloid carcinoma. The tumour ispreserved in the Museum of the University.

In lecturing on this case Dr. ELLIOTSOKobserved, that the encephaloid was the mostmalignant disease to which the body is lia-ble. He had never known an instance inwhich any operation, even though the wholeof the diseased mass, or the limb to whichit was attached, was removed, had suc-

ceeded in preventing the disease from re-turning in some other part of the body, andquickly destroying the patient. The diseasewas characterized by the formation of abrain-like substance. The cause of theau’ection was not known ; and though some-times the disease was seen in persons whose ’iancestors had suflered from it, this was byno means the case in all instances. It oc-curred in various structures ; sometimes onsurfaces, sometimes in the inside of a veinor a bronchial tube. It had been called" medullary sarcoma," but that was an im-proper term; the matter certainly was notmedullary.The disease most frequently occurred in

persons who had not passed the middleperiod of life, while schirrus generally at-tacked individuals who had passed that age.The encephaloid disease was often, too,met with in children, but it was most com-mon in persons of about the age of thispatient, 33. It sometimes attacked the eye,and sometimes the extremities. The diseasewas not attended with much pain, exceptfrom a sensation of distention; whereasschirrus was characterized by a sharp lan-

I cinating pain. The encephaloid tumour! occasionally might appear like a collectionof matter, but if opened under that impres-- sion, the patient became much worse.

In the present instance, the case at firsttppeard to be one of periostitis, with a, small collection of fluid under the membrane,, He (Dr. E.) did not feel himself justifiedin then thinking it anything else. He hadseen such collections in other portions of thepcriosteum, which gave way under the localapplication of the tincture of iodine. In. this. instance the hydriodate of potash andiodine appeared at first to act ben ficially,the tumour being evidently less after theiremploymeut; but the true character ofthe disease began to be shown, and thetumour increased in size, in spite of thelarge doses of iodine given. He had neverseen a case of inflammation of the perios-teum of the sternum which did not yield tothe treatment employed in this case, andwhen he found that fail, he suspected thecase was encephaloid. The disease hadanother peculiarity besides that of attack-ing persons in the middle period of life,which was, the rapidity with which it in-creased. No other kind of disease increasedso rapidly. This case afforded a good in-stance of the powerlessness of iodine in

malignant disease. He considered it pro-bable that the disease, in this case, hadcommenced internally.

Since the remarks at page 678 were writ-

ten, we have been informed that Dr. SHARPEYhas been elected. It is an unfortunate affair.

To the Editor.—SIR:—Can some of yourreaders give the history of Messrs. Smithand Hulbert, who exhibited at Newingtonon Monday last They would. by so doing,confer a great favour upon the medical prac-tioners of this neighbourhood. It is report-ed that Mr. S., in consequence of his self-degrading dispensaries," has driven one ortwo medical men from his district. Mr.Hulbert is, personally, a perfect strangerhere. Indeed, I believe he has only been afew weeks in the Borough. He appears tobe a sort of protégé of Mr. Smith, or perhapshe is a missionary sent by the Poor-LawCommissioners. Yours, respectfully,

CHIRURGUS.August 11, 1836.We have just received, from Dr. O’Beirne

of Dublin, a communication entitled AnAbstract of Original Views on the Func-tions and Diseases of the Intestinal Canal,with an examination of objections urgedagainst them, and a further report of theirsuccessful application. Read at the BritishAssociation in August, 1835." As the me-moir would occupy nearly thirty pages ofTHE LANCET, we must take a little time toreflect on the request for its insertion.