fast for three days, together with the intra-anal application every evening of a little ointment composed of glycerite of starch, two parts to one of unguentum hydrargyri.

It is little more than a year ago since Prof. Roentgen startled the world by his discovery of the permeating power of the so-called X-rays. So important a branch of medicine and surgery has this new science become, that a new monthly, the American X-Ray Fournal, devoted to its practical application, has been started in St. Louis. Dr. Heber Robarts is its editor.

Dr. Charles A. L. Reed (Cincinnati Lancet Clinic, April 10, 1897) states that primary cancer of the gall bladder is found associated with gall-stones in 95 per cent of all cases. In the great majority of instances the cholelithiasis antedated malignancy. Other not infrequent sequelae of gall-stones are cancer of the liver or common duct, empyema of the gall-bladder, hepatic abscess, the formation of diverticula, biliary fistulae and adventitious constricting bands.

To distinguish between tubercle bacilli and smegma bacilli, Runge (quoted in the Med. Review) advises to place the film, with out first passing through the flame, into absolute alcohol for three hours, then for fifteen minutes or more in a five per cent. aqueous solution of chromic acid. The acid should be thoroughly removed by repeated washing in water, when the film is ready for staining in the ordinary manner, only the tubercle bacilli now reacting to the color test.

The Chicago School of Gynecology and Abdominal Surgery, a Post-Graduate School, will begin its first course June 15. Each course lasts a month and continues throughout the entire year. The object of the school is to give special and practical instruction to physicians in gynecology, diseases of the abdomen and abdominal surgery during the entire day. It is located at 169 S. Clark St., and has a large and select faculty. Dr. Byron Robinson is founder of the school.

Dr. William R. Lee, in Practical Medicine, says that the appearance of the tongue in rubella is pathognomonic and describes it as follows: "The tongue is slightly swollen, the edges and sides of the upper surface show a little higher color than normal, the surface is covered to within a quarter of an inch of the edges with a grayish-white, smooth, moist coating; the papillae are swollen, showing as pink spots through the coating and over the edges of the upper surface. These swollen papillae spot the whole upper surface of the tongue."

BOOKS.

Retinoscopy (or Shadow Test) in the Determination of Refraction at One Meter Distance, With the Plane Mirror.- By James Thorington, M.D., Adjunct Professor of Diseases of the Eye in the Philadelphia Polyclinic and College for Graduates in Medicine; Ophthalmologist to the Vineland Training School for FeebleMinded Children and to the M. E. Orphanage, Etc. Philadelphia: P. Blakiston, Son & Co., 1012 Walnut St. 1897.

While the trial lens will probably always keep its place at the head of refraction tests, some other method is often of great service either to confirm the subjective findings or to supplant them in the case of childrer and illiterates and in patients predisposed to glaucoma. Of the few reliable objective tests, retinoscopy is the most easy and accurate. Dr. Thorington's mongraph is largely an abstract of his college lectures on this subject. His directions and descriptions are exceptionally clear and concise, and the little book he has written, we think, will be helpful to every physician who is interested in the fitting of glasses.

A Text-Book of the Diseases of Women.-By Henry J. Garrigues, A.M., M.D., Professor of Gynecology and Obstetrics in the New York School of Clinical Medicine; Gynecologist to St. Mark's Hospital and to the German Dispensary, Etc. Containing 335 Engravings and Colored Plates. Second Edition. Thoroughly Revised. Philadelphia: W. B. Saunders, 925 Walnut St. 1897. Octavo, 728 pages. Prices: Cloth, $4 net; sheep, $5 net

Three years ago we had occasion to commend this work earnestly to medical students and general practitioners as being a clear and thoroughly modern exposition of the subject in all its practical details. The present volume contains much that is new, especially as regards aseptic surgery; a section on the technique of intestinal operation has also been added to the appendix. The author has wholly rewritten and greatly simplified that portion of the text relating to the surgical treatment of uterine fibroid and cancer. He advises vaginal hysterectomy whenever feasible. The division of the text into a general and a special part is of great service to the student, and with the systematic arrangement followed accounts largely, no doubt, for the popularity the work has attained in American colleges. The differential diagnosis of analogous conditions is discussed with singular clearness. In the matter of treatment the author is at his best, being very full and explicit both as regards medical and surgical measures. Operative details are elucidated by numerous artistic woodcuts. The chapter on the anatomy and de

velopment of the female genitalia is unusually full, and the accompanying illustrations form a complete atlas of special morphology. A copious index facilitates rapid reference by the busy physician.

Diseases of the Ear, Nose and Throat and Their Accessory Cavities.-A Condensed Text-Book. By Seth Scott Bishop, M.D., LL.D., Professor in the Chicago Post-Graduate Medical School and Hospital; Surgeon to the Illinois Charitable Eye and Ear Infirmary; Consulting Surgeon to the Illinois Masonic Orphans' Home and to the Silver Cross of Joliet; Formerly Surgeon to the South Side Free Dispensary and to the West Side Free Dispensary; Member of the International Medical Congress, the Pan-American Medical Congress, the American Medical Association, the State Medical Societies of Illinois and Wisconsin, the Chicago Pathological Society, Etc. Illustrated with 100 Colored Lithographs and 168 Additional Illustrations. One Volume, Royal Octavo, pages xvi-496. Extra Cloth, $4, net; Sheep or Half-Russia, $5 net. The F. A. Davis Co., Publishers, 1914 and 1916 Cherry St., Philadelphia; 117 W. Forty- Second St., New York; 9 Lakeside Building, Chicago.

With all due deference to the "wise men of the East" we are always particularly pleased to see anything good from the pen of a western physician. The work before us is condensed, yet exhaustive. The author knows when he has said enough on any particular subject. His statements as a rule are rational, explicit and forcible. There is much that is original, especially as regards new methods of treatment.

The writer prefers bromide of ethyl as a general anesthetic and recommends, along with other measures, early serum treatment in cases of diphtheria. The text is divided in four parts, on diseases of the car, of the nose, of the pharynx and of the larynx respectively. The consideration of ear, nose and throat affections in one and the same volume is in our opinion the correct idea. An important feature of this work is the great number of life-like illustrations in colers, representing as no words could do the exact appearances both normal and pathologic of the structures concerned. Medical students and general practitioners who need a book of this kind that is quickly serviceable, reliable and in every way up to date need look no further.

Warner's Poeket Medical Dictionary of To-Day.-Comprising Pronunciation and Definition of 10,000 Essential Words and Terms Used in Medicine and Associated Sciences. By William R. Warner. William R. Warner & Co., Philadelphia. 1897. We do not approve of manufacturing establishments entering into competition with legitimate publishing houses, and Warner &

Co. might put before the profession in a more ethical manner the merits and advantages of their preparations. As for the dictionary itself, the most one can say for it is that it is convenient and fairly up to date, but as a rule the definitions are so brief as to be merely synonyms. The book is clearly printed and has a neat flexible.

cover.

Surgical Hints for the Surgeon and General Practitioner.-By Howard Lilienthal, M.D., Assistant Attending Surgeon to Mt. Sinai Hospital, New York City. New York: International Journal of Surgery Company. 1897. Price, 25 cents.

In writing this little book the author's aim has been to present a number of observations and suggestions whose value has been thoroughly tested at the bedside and in the operating room. A review of its pages will show how much practical information he has conveyed within a small compass, and this he has been able to do by eschewing all superfluous verbiage and by writing clearly and to the point. The material is well arranged, the typography excellent, and the little volume is of a convenient size to be carried in the pocket and perused at leisure moments.

Lippincott's Medical Dictionary.-A Complete Vocabulary of the Terms Used in Medicine and the Allied Sciences, with their Pronunciation, Etymology and Signification, Including Much Collateral Information of a Descriptive and Encyclopaedic Character. Prepared on the Basis of Thomas's Complete Medical Dictionary. By Ryland W. Greene, A.B., with the Editorial Collaboration of John Ashhurst, Jr., M.D., LL.D., Barton Professor of Surgery and Professor of Clinical Surgery in the University of Pennsylvania; George A. Piersol, M.D., Professor of Anatomy in the University of Pennsylvania; and Joseph P. Remington, Ph.M., F.C.S., Professor of Theory and Practice of Pharmacy in the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Company. 1897. One Royal Octavo Volume of 1168 pages.

The editors of this dictionary have succeeded admirably in their efforts to produce a lexicon which should be at once correct, convenient and comprehensive. The definitions are thoroughly apt and accurate, reminding one of Johnson. As to the completeness of the work, a careful search has failed to reveal the absence of any English or Latin medical word or term of practical significance. As indicated in the title, there is much of a descriptive and ency clopedic character. For instance, under the names of important orgaus and tissues are outlined their structure and function; the action, therapy, preparations and dose of each drug are mentioned; and the causes, symptoms and treatment of the principal diseases

are stated succinctly. The origin and primitive meaning of nearly every derivative is given, and pronunciation is indicated according to the most approved phonetic notation. The type is large and clear and differentiated so as to facilitate consultation; the paper used is of good quality and not glaringly glazed; the proof reading has been excellently well done. Altogether, this work appears to us to be the happy medium in medical lexicography.

Hysteria and Certain Allied Conditions. - Their Nature and Treatment, with Special Reference to the Application of the Rest Cure, Massage, Electrotherapy, Hypnotism, etc. By George J. Preston, M.D., Professor of Diseases of the Nervous System, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Baltimore; Visiting Physician to the City Hospital; Consulting Neurologist to Bay View Asylum, the Hebrew Hospital, the Church Home and Infirmary, etc. Illustrated. Philadelphia: P. Blakiston, Son & Co., 1012 Walnut Street. 1897. Price, $2.00.

Nowadays it is generally accepted as true by the medical profession that hysteria, though so protean in its manifestations-in short a mocking-bird among maladies-is still a distinct and veritable disease. Its very common occurrence in all classes of society and particularly in those women who frequently require or desire the services of a physician makes its proper estimation and management of great practical importance to the practitioner. The volume at hand is the only recent one upon this subject. The author has evinently made a careful study of his theme both from the literary and from the clinical standpoint. The contents are divided in eleven chapters, three of which are on treatment. Especial stress is laid upon the value of suggestion, change of environment, electrotherapy and other non-medicinal measures; the author is opposed to surgical interference except when organic lesions of the reproductive organs are known to exist. He describes the stigmata of hysteria very clearly and fully and brings out in prominent relief the differential features of the disease The sections on the history, nature and pathology of the hysterical state are particularly interesting to all such as delight in the study of reasons and causes and effects.

5

Joseph Eastman aptly says: "The uterus, something like the parrot, will do the talking for every organ of the body and mimic. every disease in the encyclopedia of pathology. The pelvic organs are as dials upon which are expressed the ills of the entire body in many of the neuroses. How few of us can positively differentiate between profound neurasthenia expressing itself in the pelvis and diseased pelvic organs causing and maintaining profound neurasthenia."