important. The writer reports three cases of injury to the spinal cord, in which there was complete absence of the knee-jerk and ankle clonus. In these cases the cord was completely severed from both cerebrum and cerebellum, and it is very evident, as the writer concludes, that if the knee-jerk depends upon the spinal cord, and is only inhibited by the brain, there should have been an exaggeration rather than an extinction of the phenomenon. On the other hand, he adduces proof that the knee-jerk is something more than a spinal reflex, by the citation of cases, with which we are all familiar, in which from disease or injury there has been a removal of the influence of the cerebrum, with the result of great exaggeration of the knee and ankle reflexes. His argument is completed by the report of several cases of cerebellar tumors, in which there was a complete absence of the knee-jerk and ankle clonus, although the cerebrum and spinal cord were intact. The writer further calls attention to the fact that the familiar post-epileptic exaggeration of the knee reflex is by him found to be absent in precursive epilepsy, and leads him to suspect that this form of epilepsy is due to a cerebellar "discharge," which causes its exhaustion, so that the spinal cord does not receive the influx from the cerebellum, while the inhibitory influence of the cerebrum is in full force. When the discharge is cerebral, inhibition is weakened and the reflex is increased. The whole trend of the paper is toward the theory advanced by Hughlings Jackson, that the knee reflex is due to an influx from the cerebellum, and is not a simple spinal reflex.-Medical Fortnightly. In Memoriam. ROBERT S. GILCREST, M.D. Dr. Robert S. Gilcrest was born at Mt. Vernon, Ohio, May 5, 1823. Educated at Kenyon College, he took his medical degree at the Medical Department of the Western Reserve College in 1853. He immediately settled in De Graff, Ohio, where, in 1856, he married Anna B. Brooks, who survives him. He remained in De Graff, except while serving in the army as surgeon during the late war, till 1886, when he removed to Ottumwa, Iowa, where he formed a partnership with the late Dr. S. B. Thrall. The death of Dr. Thrall, in 1888, threw the burden of practice on Dr. Gilcrest, and his ability and high character enabled him to hold a very large and lucrative practice, till his health failed him last fall. Since last October Dr. Gilcrest had been a constant, but patient, sufferer from cancer of the liver, from which he died February 19, 1892, at his home in Ottumwa. Dr. Gilcrest was an example of the highest type of manhood-pure and refined in his manners and conversation, ever ready with advice and encouragement to his younger professional brethren, always willing to lend his counsel, ripe with with long experience, to his fellows; studious, kind and faithful as a physician; a generous and courteous neighbor; a devoted and loving husband and father; a noble Christian gentleman, living constantly a life that was a beautiful illustration of the principles taught by the Master. RESOLUTIONS OF RESPECT. The following resolutions of respect have been adopted by the Wapello County (Iowa) Medical Society: WHEREAS, By the decree of Divine Providence, our esteemed friend and colleague, Dr. R. S. Gilcrest, a former president of our society, in the fullness of years, has been called from his sphere of usefulness "to that undiscovered country from whose bourne no traveler returns," therefore be it vacant. Resolved, That in the death of Dr. Gilcrest Resolved, That while we bow in obedience | examination most successfully, and obto the mandate of "Him who doeth all things tained the diploma of the Scottish conwell," we recognize the loss of one who was loved and honored by all for his gentle virtues, joint colleges, thus placing her name on manly qualities and scientific attainments, and the British Medical Register. She was whose place among us must forever remain demonstrator of anatomy during her last session at the Edinburgh School. On leaving the school she spent a year as house physician in the Edinburgh Hospital for Women and Children. Last October Miss Jagannadham went to India, where she intends to spend her life as a medical missionary. She is at present in a hospital in Bombay. the medical profession has lost one of its wisest and most accomplished members. Resolved, That we tender to the family of the deceased our warmest, tenderest sympathies, assuring them that we, too, have lost a valued colleague and trusted friend. Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be presented to the family of Dr. Gilcrest, and be published in the CINCINNATI LANCETCLINIC. J. WILLIAMSON, A HINDOO FEMALE PHYSICIAN. A Hindoo woman physician was recently graduated in Edinburgh. Her name is Miss Jagannadham. She studied first three years in Madras, then two years at the Edinburgh School of Medicine for Women, where she passed her -N. Y. Med. Record. INCREASE OF INSANITY IN Insanity has increased so in France that asylums can no longer hold the lunatics. The Assistance Publique has, therefore, decided to place some of the insane paupers who are harmless with peasant families, just as it now puts out pauper children. -N. Y. Med. Record. PATENT ALLOWED. THE AXION ELASTIC TRUSS Is worn with comfort NIGHT and DAY. It has NO METAL SPRINGS to torture the patient or to injure the back. It sets snugly around the body and cannot be shifted by the most violent exercise. We guarantee it to hold with comfort the worst case of hernia, under all circumstances. IT IS WORN WITH EASE BY THE INFANT, THE DELICATE LADY, Capable of the most PERFECT ADJUSTMENT. E B SEND FOR FULL ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE TO G. V. HOUSE MFG. CO., . [Please mention this journal]. 744 Broadway, New York City. Tancet-Clinic NEW A Weekly Journal of Medicine and Surgery. SERIES Terms, $3.50 per Annum. Entered at the Post Office at Cincinnati, Ohio, as second-class matter. Vol, XXVIII.—No. 12. ORIGINAL ARTICLES. CONTENTS. 359 WHOLE VOLUME TRANSLATIONS. LXVII. ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY CIRCUMCISIONS, AND THE A POST-MORTEM REPORT. By F. P. Dorschug, M.D., 363 AN INSULT TO THE MEDICAL PROFESSION OF OHIO. 373 Contents continued on Advg. p. 4. Eczema of the Vulva.-Creasote in Influenza. EDITORIAL. 372 373 ESSENCE OF PEPSINE ingredient of the GASTRIC JUICE, Extracted FAIRCHILD). Directly from the Peptic Glands of the Stomach. See Advertisement " VIN MARIANI" on Insert page x. A VALUABLE AGENT. APOLLINARIS, "The Queen of Table Waters." “Light, sparkling, and easy of digestion." FORDYCE BARKER, M.D., Professor of Clinical Midwifery and Diseases of Women in Bellevue Hospital Medical College; Surgeon of the New York State Woman's Hospital, New York, etc. "Can recommend it in the strongest terms." "Healthful as well as agreeable." "Well suited for Dyspeptics." "Every case of TYPHOID FEVER is a case of WATER POISONING. This is a AUSTIN FLINT, M.D., useful item for the public to keep in mind." Professor of the Principles and Practice of Medicine and Clinical N. Y. MEDICAL RECORD., January 9th, 1892. "THE PURITY OF APOLLINARIS OFFERS THE BEST SECURITY Pharmaceutical Specialties. EUROPHEN. T his Product is formed by the action of iodine upon isobutylorthocresol. It possesses extraordinary value as a dressing in both simple and specific lesions. It has an agreeable odor and is, in all cases, a perfect substitute for iodoform. Europhen has been successfully employed by Drs. Petersen, Seifert, Szoldrski, Eichhoff and others, in the Dermatoses and many Inflammatory and Ulcerative Conditions, and has been given. hypodermically in Syphilis. It is supplied in ounces. PHENACETINE-BAYER. A s an Antipyretic, Analgesic, Anti-rheumatic an. Anti-neuralgic, Phenacetine-Bayer is justly regarded as the safest and most effective of medicaments. In Acute, Inflammatory Fevers, Rheumatism, Neuralgia, Migraine, Bronchitis, Pertussis, Phthisis, and all affections in which fever, pain and restlessness, separately or together, are to be combated, it has an admirable influence. For INFLUENZA (or "la grippe''), Phenacetine-Bayer with Salol is our best remedy. It is supplied in ounces, in pills and tablets of 2, 3, 4 and 5 grains; and also in pills combined with Salol or Caffeine. SULFONAL-BAYER. S ulfonal-Bayer is a "pure hypnotic" because it gives a purely hypnotic action and produces no other effect. It is a "true nerve sedative" because its action continues after the remedy is discontinued. Sulfonal is used in all Insomnias, Insanity, and in all cases in which hypnotics are indicated. It is a safe remedy, and it does not give rise to a drug habit. Very reliable and effective, its action is slower than that of the narcotics; hence, care must be taken to give it as directed. It is supplied in ounces; also in tablets and pills. ARISTOL. n all Ulcerations, Skin Diseases, Lesions of the Eye, Ear, Nose, Mouth and other cavities; in Dysentary, Gonorrhoea, Ivy-poisoning, Burns, Scalds, Blisters and all external traumatisms, Aristol has shown itself to be a safe and effective remedy. It is also given (hypodermically), in Phthisis. It is used in ointments, powders, crayons, suppositories, oils, sprays, collodions, tampons, bandages, etc. Aristol Gauze is now widely used in the place of lodoform Gauze, so long offensive to physicians. Aristol is supplied in ounces only. DESCRIPTIVE PAMPHLETS FORWARDED ON APPLICATION. W. H. Schieffelin & Co., New York. THE CINCINNATI LANCET-CLINIC: New Series Vol. XXVIII. A WEEKLY JOURNAL OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY. CINCINNATI, March 19, 1892. Original Articles. ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY CIRCUMCISIONS, AND THE LESSONS THEY TEACH. A Paper read before the Cincinnati Medical Society, February 9, 1892, BY B. MERRILL RICKETTS, M.D., CINCINNATI. Unlike David, coming to Saul with the captured Philistines, I do not bring to you two hundred prepuces as evidence that I have slain that number of Christians. The earliest mythological information we have is upon Osiris's return to Egypt. He found that Typhon had caused great dissension among the Egyptian people. Typhon dismembered Osiris and cut him into fourteen pieces, giving to each of his followers a piece, he himself securing the phallus. Isis, the spouse of Osiris, by some intrigue, came into possession of the government, and having secured all of the pieces except the phallus, which Typhon had cast into the sea, caused many statues to be erected, each of which was to contain a piece of Osiris, that he might be worshiped as a god. The phallus was ordered special worship, hence the phallic worship and the sacredness of the white bull Apis of the Egyptians, which was chosen to represent Osiris. The Biblical history is found in Genesis xvi: "This is my covenant betwixt me and you, and thy seed after thee, every man-child among you shall be circumcised, and ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, and it shall Whole Volume LXVII. be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you." It is said that Abraham was the first to make the operation, having first operated upon himself, upon his son, and then upon his servants, four hundred in number. The Egyptian Pyramids are the third source of our historical knowledge of this performance, they dating us further back than Remisis II. Being a firm believer in the theory of the origin of the human race being in the western world, I must say that these pyramids indicate that the custom of circumcision was practiced long before their existence, as indicated by some of the explorers of Yucatan, who state authentically that the operation was made some twelve thousand years ago. The various tribes of the North American Indians have practiced the custom for many generations, and we find that it is the custom with the Abyssinians, Arabs, and Hottentots, the latter circumcising the females also. The Australian and African cannibals consider the flesh of the circumcised finer and more delicious for this reason, and offer greater compensation for the capture of males who are divested of their prepuces. The custom seems to have been adopted by the Jews about six thousand years ago, and does not seem at any time to have lost its popularity. However, my object is not to enter so much into the history of this custom, and kinds of operation adopted by the various peoples of different countries, as to speak of a few of the 150 operations I have made during the last ten years. First, I would like to speak of the indications for this operation, they being divided into local and systemic: |