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resorted to. It was found, on examination,that an ulcer of the stomach had perforatedthe rectus muscle, causing the formation of anabscess in the cellular tissue anterior to it.Had this abscess been opened, the contentsof the stomach would have passed throughthe wound.

Dr. WEBSTER thought the cases detailed.to the society interesting, but he differed inopinion with the author as to the frequencyof similar affections among males. He (Dr.W.) considered such diseases were more

common in females than in the other sex,and referred, in proof of this assumption, aswell to Dr. S.’s own cases, both females, asalso to the paper published in the " ArchivesGénérales" on rupture of the stomach, whichhad been mentioned by the author. In that

paper, all the cases related (not less thanten in number), excepting one quoted fromRichter, were females; and, what is curious,they were either young or middle-aged per-sons. With reference to those cases, he (Dr.W.) would beg to allude to some peculiarcircumstances respecting their history,namely, that in all, the immediate cause ofthe rupture in the stomach appeared to bethe presence of a large quantity of indi-gestible or impure food, particularly unripefruits and esculent vegetables. For example,four had eaten largely of prunes, grapes,apples, and currants; three of haricots;one of green peas and salad, &c. The factof having taken such substances was con-firmed by the articles themselves being foundin the stomach on dissection, and even in theabdomen, from having escaped through theruptured part of the former viscus; andalthough the author had not alluded to thefood taken by his two patients previous to thefatal symptoms supervening, he (Dr. W.)would draw attention to the circumstance,more especially as in the second case re-

lated by Dr. Seymour, it was stated that thepatient was suddenly seized after breakfast.

WESTMINSTER MEDICAL SOCIETY.

Saturday, November 18, 1843.

Mr. FISHER, President.TREATMENT OF SCALP DISEASE.

TIIE PRESIDENT stated that, during a latevisit to Brussels he had gone over the hos-pital of that city, and had been informed byM. Sauterne that he had found one of themost effectual remedies for scald-head, ring-worm, &c., to be an ointment, the chief in-gredient of which was wood-soot. Thecommon soot of the chimney was collected,placed in a quantity of water, and mace-rated by a gentle heat for four days,-the1Iuid was then strained and evaporated in anopen vessel to the consistence of treacle.An equal proportion of this and commonlard, or unguent, were mixed together, andapplied to the affected part night and morn-

ing. The head was shaved as often asnecessary, and washed thoroughly everythird day. The active principle of the oint-ment was probably creosote.Mr. SNOw remarked that the curative

effects of the ointment were probably de-

pendent on the creosote and a small quantityof pyroligeneous acid which it contained.He had somewhere read of the pyroligeneousacid having been applied with success incases of tinea capitis. M. M’lntyre, of

Newcastle-upon-Tyne, had many years sinceused the tar-ointment with great benefit invarious scalp affections.

Dr. SAYER believed that much of the cura-tive efficacy of this ointment depended on thedaily washing of the affected parts with thesoft soap of the country, which containedmuch more alkali than ours did. When hewas in Brussels, twenty-nine years since,the nurses washed the heads of the patientsregularly every morning. The ointmentthen employed, and which he was still in thehabit of using with the most decided goodresults, consisted of equal parts of charcoal,so burnt as to retain its pyroligeneous acid,nitrate of potash, and common brimstone,worked up with hog’s-lard into an unguent,and applied night and morning. In addi-tion to the daily washing, the head wasshaved every fourth day. This ointmentwas mentioned in the 11 Pathology" of Pinelas efficacious in tinea capitis.Mr. FisHER said that in Christ’s Hospital

the ringworm was treated with an ointmentcontaining five grains of the bichloride ofmercury to an ounce of lard.Mr. HANCOCK attributed the great diffi-

culty of eradicating ringworm and othercontagious scalp diseases, when they affecteda great number, to the indiscriminate mix-ture of the persons, the continued use of thesame cap or hat, and the placing differentpersons in the same bed on different occa-sions. He stated that he had been requestedto go to an union workhouse in Sussex, inwhich above sixty of the children were

affected with ringworm. Every kind ofmeans had been used for its removal with-out effect. He ordered the children to beseparated by being placed in various cottagesabout the neighbourhood; a complete curefollowed.

INJURIES OF THE SPINE. PARALYSIS.Mr. HANCOCK related a case which had

lately happened in Charing-cross Hospital. Aman was admitted with paralysis of thelower extremities and of the bladder and

rectum, consequent upon a blow on thelower part of the spine, received by fallingacross a ladder. On admission he waswithout motion or sensation in the lower ex-

tremities ; the bladder had to be evacuatedby the catheter, and the faeces passed in-

voluntarily. On tickling the soles of thefeet the legs were retracted. On examining

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the back there was much swelling, but nodisplacement could be detected, and it wasthought probable that the pressure dependedon the rupture of some of the spinal vessels.He was cupped over the seat of the injury,and a blister placed on each side of thespine. In a short time sensation graduallyreturned, and motion to the extent of bendingthe thigh on the pelvis, but the loss of powerover the bladder and rectum continued. Hewent on in this way for six weeks, the powerof motion, in the meantime, gradually dimi-nishing. He retained sensation until the

last, when he sank, worn out by bed-sloughsand exhaustion. On examination after deaththere was found to be partial dislocation be-tween the last lumbar vertebra and the upperend of the sacrum. There was also frac-ture of this bone through half its extent inthe vertical direction. The re was a small

spicula of bone pressing against the anteriorportion of the cord, leaving the posteriorportion quite free. This pressure explainedthe loss of motion and the retention of sen-sation to the last, but it was curious that heshould recover motion at all. The urine inthis case was exceedingly alkaline, and thepelvis of the kidney contained a calculus of

triple phosphate. The anterior portion ofthe spinal cord was not altered in structure,but was only irritated.Mr. Fisfiss related the case of a policeman

who received a blow on the lower part ofthe spine, which was followed by paralysisof the lower extremities, and of the bladderand rectum. At the end of three or fourmonths he recovered full power over allthese parts, but eventually became againaffected, and in addition to the paralysis haddelirium. He remained quite helpless.

Mr. RUTHERFORD ALCOCK said that the

interesting case related by Mr. Hancockoffered some points of interest. First, as tothe alkaline condition of the urine. Now hehad noticed that in all cases of severe con-cussion at the lower part of the spine theurine invariably became alkaline, its alkalinecharacter becoming gradually less distinctas the symptoms of concussion gave way.He attributed the change to an altered actionof the kidney and not to retention of thefluid in the bladder, as some had supposed,for even when the catheter was frequentlyintroduced the same result took place. He

thought in the first instance, in Mr. Han-cock’s case, the symptoms were referribleto concussion simply, and were relieved bythe mode pursued ; for concussion of thespine was attended with loss of power andsensation, as much as concussion of the brainsuspended the functions of that organ. Therelief of the symptoms would in both casesfollow the employment of bleeding. He hadin the society a few years since read a paperon Compression of the Brain, in which hehad attempted to draw a distinction betweencompression, as the mere effect of concussion,

by which a larger quantity of blood was

thrown on the nervous fibre, which therebybecame irritated, and would not bear thesame pressure as in its healthy state it

would,-and that compression which resultedfrom extravasatiou of blood or pressure ofthe bony parietes. In the first, the loss of asmall quantity of blood removed the symp-toms ; in the other, blood-letting had no sucheffect. He was convinced that if we wereto make progress in our knowledge of inju-ries of the spine and brain it must be byattention to minute points of difference, suchas those he had mentioned.

VARICOSE VEINS.

The PRESIDENT said that when in Brus-sels he had witnessed several cases of variacose veins treated by the potassa fusa in themanner recommended by Mr. Mayo. Theplan, he had been informed, was always suc-cessful, and no bad consequences had everfollowed its employment.Mr. CHANCE had repeatedly, when a

dresser in the Middlesex Hospital, underMr. Mayo, put the plan in question intooperation. He remembered no case inwhich it had failed to effect a cure. Subse-qnent experience had confirmed the efficacyof the plan. On no occasion did he see anybad effects follow the proceeding, althoughin one instance a slough, two and a halfinches long and one broad, was formedthrough the slipping of the strapping.Mr. Ai.cocK remarked that very many

patients were lost from phlebitis, consequentupon interfering with varicose veins, and

suggested that, in some cases, sufficient cau-tion was not exercised in preparing thepatients for the operation.Mr. STORKS remarked that he believed

Mr. Mayo first adopted in this country thepractice of obliterating veins by the causticpotass. He had seen a great number ofcases treated in King’s College Hospital, byMr. Fergusson, on the methods of Velpeauand Davat; that of Velpeau consisting in theneedle being passed beneath the vein ; thatof Davat in its being thrust through, so asto transfix the vein, the point being broughtout by piercing the coats again from below(thus the vein being wounded in four places),a thread then twisted over the ends ofthe needle, as in the twisted suture : thesewere allowed to remain until sufficient in-flammation had been produced to obliteratethe vein. He had seen an union of these twomethods attended with the best results.Ulcers existed in most of the examples, andit was, indeed, surprising to see the effectproduced upon them in twenty-four hoursafter their introduction. It was curious toobserve how, in one instance, a sufficientamount of inflammation was produced in a

very short space of time, and in others seve-ral days elapsed before the desired effect

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was produced. He wished it, however, tobe understood that he did not advocate in-terference with varicose veins unless theyproduced much inconvenience, as whenthey were accompanied with ulcers on theleg or haemorrhage. He had been recentlycalled to a case in which a lady was in con-siderable danger from haemorrhage producedby the bursting of a varix in the leg ; in thatinstance he applied the needles according tothe plan of M. Velpeau with success. He

thought that the danger attending operationsupon veins had been much overrated, whichopinion he believed to be entertained bymany distinguished members of the profes-sion. There were many examples of theminor operations producing death, but thisdid not deter the practitioner from again re-peating them. In those instances wherenumerous small veins are in a varicose con-dition, he had seen benefit accrue from apractice first recommended by Sir B. Brodie,viz., their division by a subcutaneous inci-sion. He begged again to remind the societythat it was only in those cases where thepatient’s life was in danger, or the diseasewas exceedingly troublesome, that he wouldattempt the radical cure.Mr. NORMAN said that in University Col-

lege Hospital the practice of interfering withvaricose veins by operative procedure hadbeen given up, in consequence of the disas-trous results of some of the cases. One case,he knew, had been lost from haemorrhage,and one from phlebitis. In these cases theligature had been applied. In cases inwhich the operation had been successful, theeffect upon the ulcer had been most strikingand immediate. An objection to the opera-tion when successful, consisted in the bloodbeing thrown on other veins, which subse-quently required to be operated on.Some remarks were made by Messrs.

Snow, Brooke, Hillman, and others, respect-ing the causes of varicose veins, after whichthe society adjourned.

MEDICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON.

Monday, November 20, 1843.

Mr. PILCHER, President.

EFFECTS OF MERCURY.

A MEMBER related a case of ulceration ofthe throat, apparently produced by mercury,and, as he believed, terminating fatally byinvolving a small vessel in the ulcerative

process. The patient was a gentleman,sixty years of age, in general good health,and free from syphilis. About a month

ago he caught cold from riding on the out-side of a coach for some distance. He tooka few doses of calomel, which producedprofuse salivation and ulceration about thevelum and pharynx. From one of these

ulcers, probably situated behind the velum, I

haemorrhage occurred on several occasions,and he seemed worn out by the loss of blood.No post-mortem had been allowed by thefriends. The case was mentioned with theview of ascertaining the experience of mem-bers on the subject.Mr. STORKS related a case of a gentleman,

worn down by mercury and syphilis, inwhom slight haemorrhage from the mouthsuddenly occurred, and he died. A slough,the size of a dollar, was found in the trachea,near to its bifurcation. The air-passagesand lungs were gorged with the blood whichhad proceeded from this ulcer.Mr. PILCHER thought it would be inte-

resting to discuss the effects of mercury, orof salivation, on the mouth and fauces. He

thought, in the first case related, it was ex-

tremely probable that the haemorrhage hadoccurred from a single slough. He hadseen frightful haemorrhage from the faucesas the result of mercury, both in small andlarge quantities. He had seen these haemor-rhages in children. He related a case inwhich a man afflicted with syphilis, dropsy,and rheumatism, took a moderate quantityof mercury, and was profusely salivated.The teeth fell out, a portion of the alveolarprocess came away, and the poor fellowwas sinking from hasmorrhage, clots of bloodconstantly forming in the mouth, which,with the greatest effort, he removed. Underthese circumstances Mr. Pilcher was calledin. The mouth was well cleansed, and thenitrate of silver applied. The man reco-

vered. A quantity of blood was swallowedand vomited up again. He related anothercase in which a gentleman, under the influ-ence of mercury, was suffocated by his

tongue becoming suddenly hypertrophied.Mr. LINNECAP. made some remarks on the

difficulty of regulating our doses of mer-

cury, the effects of which were sometimessuch as brought blame on the practitionerwithout just cause.

Dr. WALLER said that mercury had differ-ent effects at different times on the same

persons. He related the case of a lady who,being ill, took some pills containing a prepa-ration of mercury, with the best effect, sofar as her complaint was concerned. Theytook no effect on her mouth. On a subse-quent attack of the same complaint the samepills were ordered, and rapidly produced

profuse salivation. He referred to a caserelated by the late Dr. Babington, in whicha portion of the tongue sloughed, as the re-

sult of one grain of calomel given for threenights successively. In dispensary practicehe had occasionally seen sloughing to agreat extent and ulcerated throat as theeffect of mercury, but he recollected no caseof profuse haemorrhage from that cause.Mr. HEADLAND had no doubt that the

state of the atmosphere influenced very muchthe effects of medicines, particularly of mer-cury. He had noticed this to be the case,