bodily health and spirits are good, and he is so active as to have made a practice, not only of dressing himself entirely, but for some time of letting himself, step by step, down stairs; by which means he has produced a wound over the tuberosity. of the left ischium: this, however, is now healing, and he is about to receive instruction in the business of a taylor. A How much more, in the course of time, nature may do for him, it may perhaps, be difficult to conjecture; but as the case appears to me very interesting in various views, L shall be happy to see any new light thrown upon the subject by some of your ingenious and experienced correspondents. C. HARROLD. Cheshunt, Herts, Jan. 10, 1811. P. S. I should have observed, in its proper place, that soon after my patient was removed from the machine into a bed, there was some oedema of the legs and thighs, and that though friction of them was not felt, it was followed by a sense of warmth and by perspiration of the parts; and that, after a while, a compleat desquamation of the cuticle of the legs, thighs and feet followed. I have also observed, when upon the machine, that, though there was no feeling in the penis, there was sometimes evident action of the cremaster muscle. To the Editors of the Medical and Physical Journal. GENTLEMEN, HAVING, in the course of practice, met with an unusual Midwifery case, I am induced to send it for insertion in. your Journal, and Reading, Jan. 31, 1811.. Remain, &c. &c. WIDDOWS GOLDING... Sept. 25th, 1810.-I was desired to attend M. B. who re sides seven miles in the country. I returned with the mes senger about eleven A. M. The midwife who was present, informed me she had been with the woman for twenty-four hours. The child, she said, came footling, and had remained in that situation for some hours, as she was unable to get the head away. Upon inquiry, I found the patient was in her forty-first year, and married late in life. Twelve months since, she was delivered of a dead child; the present was her second. She informed me nothing unusual occurred during during the period of gestation. Her pains were now regular, pulse quick, but no hæmorrhage had taken place. On examining the child I found it dead; the midwife had tied a garter round the neck, in which she included the funis, and by the force made use of to bring the head away, all the cervical vertebræ were separated, and the integuments worn so thin by extension, that had I attempted to make use of more force to deliver by the neck, there would have been great danger of separating the head from the body of the child. My first object was to remove the ligature; I then introduced my hand, to examine the situation of the head, and found the chin resting upon the symphysis pubis: it was with more than usual difficulty that the head was brought into its proper position. After waiting a little time to refresh and encourage my patient, I introduced my finger into the mouth of the child to depress the chin, hoping by that means to accelerate the delivery. Meeting with considerable resistance, and knowing the child was dead, I employed more force, at which time the lower jaw separated in the middle. I then passed my forc-finger down the esophagus, and obtained a firm hold, but found the resistance so great that the delivery was impossible. After waiting some time, and finding no advantage had been gained, I suspected some præternatural enlargement of the head. To be perfectly sa tisfied, I again introduced my hand, and found the body of the uterus completely occupied. I was very particular in this examination, and was convinced that the enlargement was produced by an hydrocephalus internus. With great care I passed up the perforator, and made an opening between the temporal and occipital bones; a profuse discharge of bloody water followed, and soon after the head came away without any difficulty. I waited the usual time, and removed the placenta. I am happy to add, that no unfavourable symptom appeared: the patient soon recovered her strength, and obtained convalescence. During the delivery, I observed an unnatural appearance on the back of the child, which I now examined more minutely. Upon the lumbar vertebra, there was a space extending three inches down the spine, and nearly two in breadth, which appeared florid, and the common integuments were wanting. The vertebræ of the spine were all perfect, nor could I discover any aperture that led to that part which I have observed in cases of spina bifida, when situated in the cervical vertebræ. To ascertain the quantity of fluid contained in the head, I filled it again with water, and it held rather more than two quarts. Το To the Editors of the Medical and Physical Journal: Fatal Effect of Eau Medicinale. Communicated by MR. RING, Member of the Royal College of Surgeons in London. GENTLEMEN, THE Eau Medicinale has acquired a high reputation for the cure of the gout; but the following case, in which it appears to have proved fatal, shews the necessity of a little more caution in the use of that medicinę, than has hitherto been observed. I am, Gentlemen, JOHN RING. Mr. Smith, of Bishop's-yard, Charles-street, Grosvenorsquare, sixty-five years of age, was troubled with the gout when twelve years old; and in general had it twice a year, for the last twenty-five years. He frequently had it in his stomach as well as in his limbs. In the spring of 1810, he took half a bottle of the Eau Medicinale, which operated as a cathartic; and in the space of twelve hours, he was much relieved. On Sunday, the 25th of November, he was seized with the gout in his foot; but was not confined to his bed. On Wednesday, the 28th, he took half a bottle of the Eau Medicinale, which operated violently as an emetic, a cathartic, and a sudorific. On Thursday his foot was well; but he complained of a pain in the pit of his stomach, which he could cover with his finger. This increased till five o'clock, when it became very violent, and continued so during the night; alternately affecting his stomach and his bowels. On Friday the pain gradually abated; on Friday night the black vomiting came on, and on Saturday afternoon he expired. The medicine, which seems to have proved fatal in this case, was bought at Mr. Befort's, in St. James's-street; and there is no reason to doubt that it was genuine. The mischief seems to have been occasioned by the patient's taking a larger dose than his constitution could bear. The printed paper accompanying the Eau Medicinale, directs laudanum to be taken when the operation is too violent; but this he neglected. To To the Editors of the Medical and Physical Journal. GENTLEMEN, HAVING for the last fifty years been actively engaged in the practice of medicine, and read and studied all the theories and new plans of curing diseases, nothing has more surprised me, than the directly opposite means recommended for the cure of many, particularly scalds and burns, gout, chorea sancti viti, &c. &c. Professional gentlemen of the highest talents are still at war, respecting their opposite and favourite plans, and have left their humbler brethren at a loss, which to pursue, and occasioned many to adhere to that mode of practice from which they have experienced the best results. I have seen numerous cases of chorea s. v. and haying invariably succeeded by the tonic and stimulating plan, I was the more surprised to see purging advised in one of your late valuable Journals, with a case or more cured thereby. Without at all doubting the fact, I beg leave to relate, as shortly as possible, two or three cases recently cured by the tonic plan. A young married woman, of a feeble habit, was brought to me in a cart, from Hoxne in Suffolk; she had many months been affected with chorea, and rendered unable to look after her family. She looked like an ideot, was in a very weak state, with spasmodic affections in different muscles, particularly in those of her neck and arms. The complaint was preceded by a lying-in, accompanied with a great loss. She had been taking medicines, and was believed by her husband and neighbours to be in "bad handling," the Suffolk vulgarism for witchcraft. I encouraged my patient in the belief of my power to lay the evil spirit, if she would follow my advice to have her head shaved and plaistered, and take a gentle emetic, &c. which she agreed to do; after which a moderate dose of calomel was directed to clear the bowels. Tonic pills with ferrum, zinc vit. opium, camph. and an aromatic, were given night and morning, and a cordial decoct. of cort. cascar. with vitriolic acid, compleated her cure in a short time; a second blister was found necessary to apply to her head, which part of the plan is most necessary to attend to, and without which, or a strong rubefacient plaister, there is much less expectation of success. A gentleman consulted me for his daughter, a fine girl of about nine years of age, who had been under the care of two very able medical gentlemen several weeks, for chorea ; from whom whom I was favored with a letter, stating the plans they had pursued, and particularly their having depended on purg ing, as recommended by Dr. Hamilton, of Edinburgh, but were sorry to say, not only without benefit, but they found their patient getting worse; so said her father, observing she could neither walk or stand, and had entirely lost the use of one arm. ་ The complaint seemed to be induced by her having been kept poorly at a boarding school, and growing unusually fast; this made the tonic, restorative and stimulating plan, evidently necessary. Her head was directed to be shaved, a strong rubefacient plaister applied and to be repeated; a calomel purge to clear the bowels, after which steel, zinc, cortex, &c. as in the first case. These remedies so far recovered her, with the assistance of a generous regimen, that in ten days she could walk with safety and feed herself, with her before useless arm, to the surprise of her disconsolate parents, who brought her down ten miles rejoicing to show her me. Cold sea-bathing was found of great service towards completing her cure. Mr. Tydiman, a fine young farmer of nineteen, from growing very fast, has been attacked with chorea, especially in his arms; he is now under my directions, and has found immediate benefit by shaving and blistering his head, taking medicines as above directed and living on a generous diet. I could bring forward numerous other cases of chorea, suc cessfully treated by the above general plan, modifying it ac cording to circumstances. I have also frequently seen insanity sine febre, proceeding from grief, lowness of spirits, and debility, give way to blistering the head and the tonic stimulating plan, as above recommended. I am, Gentlemen, Your obliged Servant, VERAX. To the Editors of the Medical and Physical Journal. GENTLEMEN, MR. Baxter, a surgeon of great respectability at Mont gomery, has very obligingly communicated to me an extraordinary case in midwifery, which I think ought to be preserved; he has favored me with several documents to prove the facts here recorded, but as these do not scem necessary (No. 145.) E e το |