to have his text-book equal the best and to be abreast of the times. We are inclined to think that he has accomplished both these purposes. The mention of a few of the changes in this edition will indicate this. The historical references have been curtailed, as they should be in a book designed as a text-book; the new chemical nomenclature has been adopted; the advances in minute anatomy as bearing upon physiology have been incorporated; elaborate description of apparatus and methods has been avoided, as belonging rather to the laboratory than to a work of this kind; the equivalent of the English weights and measures have been given in the metric system; many illustrations have been left out and others substituted, and the defects in all of them carefully corrected. Besides this, the form and typography of the book have been changed and very much improved. The type is larger and clearer, and consequently much less tiresome. We remember many of the difficulties we experienced in the use of the first edition, and we feel confident that they will not occur with this one. We cannot close this short notice without saying something of the work of the publishers They have done their part so well, they have made such a beautiful book, that too much praise cannot be said of it. Any author should feel proud to have his work thus presented to the public. Therapeutics: Its Principles and Practice. A work on Medical Agencies, Drugs and Poisons, with especial reference to the relations between Physiology and Clinical Medicine. By H. C. WOOD, M. D., LL.D., Professor of Materia Medica and Therapeutics, and Clinical Professor of Diseases of the Nervous System, in the University of Pennsylvania. The seventh edition of a treatise on Therapeutics, rearranged, rewritten and enlarged; 8vo, pp. 908; extra cloth. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott & Co. Price, $6.00. From Otto Ulbrich, bookseller, Buffalo. A new edition of Dr. Wood's work always marks an advance in our knowledge of the treatment of disease. This is even more true of this than of previous editions. It is practically a new book, and contains in detail or by reference all that is now known on the subjects of which it treats. In these days of rapid advance in the treatment of disease, such a book is a necessity. There is nothing, so far as we know, that quite takes its place. In comparing it with the last edition, we notice, in the first place, that the consideration of the remedial measures used in the treatment of disease, other than drugs, receives enlarged and extended treatment. This subject forms Part I. of the book, and discusses, among certain miscellaneous measures, massage, metalotherapy, the feeding of the sick, and the dietetic and general treatment of underlying bodily constitutional states or diatheses, such as exhaustion, obesity, and lithiasis. Much could be said in praise of the way these subjects are handled, and we anticipate that both teacher and student will find much of profit in the careful reading of this part of the work. Part II., devoted to the study of drugs, has been entirely rearranged according to a new classification. While this is too lengthy to quote completely, we feel sure this classification approaches nearer to a scientific standard than the one in the previous editions. It will be impossible for some time to have a satisfactory classification of drugs, but it is certain that we are nearer it to-day than heretofore. These are the principal new features of the work, though to appreciate them fully they should be carefully studied. We have a criticism to offer in regard to the arrangement of the references. The incorporation of them in the body of the text is a mistake. They should be collected together at the foot of each page, and not annoy the reader with their constant and voluminous interpolation. We have had many complaints from students upon this point. We appreciate the value of these references, but we protest against the necessity of either reading them or avoiding them. The latter is a difficult thing to do, and they interrupt seriously the study of the articles. We trust the time will come when the author will change them as suggested, and he will then have not only a most valued treatise but the best text-book on Therapeutics in the language. The Physician's Interpreter. In four languages. By M. VON V. Philadelphia : F. A. Davis, 1231 Filbert street. An attempt is made in this little book to frame such questions as will aid in diagnosis, adapting them to the English, French, German and Italian languages. Theoretically this plan ought to be of value to such physicians and students as already have some knowledge of the pronunciation of foreign languages; it must, however, be tested as to its practical value before this can be determined. Diseases of the Liver. By PROF. DUJARDIN-BEAUMETZ. Translated from the fifth French edition by E P. HURD, M. D. Detroit: George S. Davis. 1888. The Theory and Practice of the Ophthalmoscope. By JOHN HERBERT CLAIBORNE, M. D. Same. These little brochures are two numbers of Series III. of the Physician's Leisure Library. They are as creditable productions, in a scientific sense, as could be well condensed into such small space, while the press-work is unexcelled by any cheap editions of medical literature that we have seen. The publisher is to be commended for his enterprise in placing such choice material within the reach of the most limited purse, and the authors for their skill in conveying so much information that is useful, within such narrow limits. BOOKS AND PAMPHLETS RECEIVED. Disinfection and Disinfectants, etc. Published by the Com mittee on Disinfectants of the American Public Health Association, Concord, N. H. 1888. New York State Board of Health. Eighth Annual Report. 1888. Same. Monthly Bulletin. August, 1888. University of Nebraska. Second Annual Report of the Patho- Biological Laboratory. The Swine Plague. By Dr. Frank S. Billings, Director, Lincoln, Neb. 1888. Transactions of the Medical Association of the State of Missouri. 1888. Annual Report of the Commissioner of Pensions. 1888. Weekly Abstract of Sanitary Reports. U. S. Marine Hos pital Service. Abstracts 35, 36, 37, 38 and 39. 1888. Merck's Bulletin. August, 1888. Suicide and Legislation. By Clerk Bell, Esq., President Medico-Legal Society, State of New York. Author's reprint. 1888. The Prevention and Cure of Perineal Lacerations. By Dr. Thomas Opie, Baltimore, Md. Author's reprint. 1887. Electricity vs. Tait, etc. By Dr. George F. Hulbert, St. Louis. Author's reprint. 1888. Two Cases of Removal of Uterine Myoma, etc. By Dr. Mary A. Dixon Jones, Brooklyn. Author's reprint. Removal of the Uterine Appendages. cases. Same. 1886. 1888. Nine consecutive A Case of Poisoning by Sulphate of Atropia; Recovery. By Dr. Llewellyn Eliot, Washington. Author's reprint, 1888. Ueber Tuberkel-Knoten des Cerebellums. Inaugural Dissertation. Der Friederich Wilhelms Universität. By Dr. William Christopher Krauss, of Attica, N. Y. 1888. Berlin. Michigan State Board of Health Bulletin. August, 1888. By Dr. Claudius H. Mastin, Mobile, Ala. Author's reprint. 1886. The American Hip-Splint. By Dr. A. B. Judson, New York. Author's reprint. 1888. Tennessee State Board of Health Bulletin. August, 1888. Vascular Growths of the Female Meatus Urinarius. By Dr. Augustus P. Clarke, Cambridge. Author's reprint. 1888. COLLEGE ANNOUNCEMENTS. Starling Medical College, Columbus, Ohio. (Forty-second.) 1888. The New York Polyclinic and Hospital. (Seventh.) 1888. The Bennett Medical College, Chicago. (Eclectic. Twentyfirst.) 1888. WHAT IS THE PROPER USE OF ANTISEPTICS IN PUERPERAL DISEASE ?* BY ROLLIN LEDRUE BANTA, M. D., Buffalo, Fellow of the American Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists; Obstetrician to the Buffalo Maternity Hospital. "What plan of antiseptic treatment can be employed with a large degree of success in each of the several forms of the disease? "Does every rise of temperature above 100° F. in the puerperal woman constitute an indication for immediate resort to irrigation? "When should irrigation be intra-vaginal, and when intra-uterine? "When irrigation is employed, how often should it be done, and when discontinued? "What hygienic, medicinal, and dietetic treatment should be used in addition to the local antiseptic measures? To what extent should alcoholic stimulants and antipyretics be used?" About ten years ago it was my misfortune to have in my practice a series of puerperal fever cases. Notwithstanding the strictest antiseptic precautions (the value of the mercuric compounds as germicides were not known to me at that time), one case followed another—not consecutively, but skipping over sometimes two or three, only to reappear in a fourth or fifth. In desperation I had my arm done up for a pretended Colles' fracture, in order to have an excuse for giving up my obstetrical, while retaining my general, practice. After the lapse of four weeks, another effort was made to attend a confinement, with the result Read before the New York State Medical Association, at the annual meeting in New York, October 10, 1888. |