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Memphis Medical Monthly

Memphis Medical Monthly, established as the Mississippi Valley Medical Monthly, 1880 Memphis Lancet, established 1898.

LYCEUM BUILDING, MEMPHIS, TENN.

Subscription Per Annum, One Dollar in Advance.

Official Organ of the Tri-State Medical Association of Mississippi, Arkansas and Tennessee, Memphis Medical Society, and Yazoo Delta Medical Association. C. H. BRIGHT, BUSINESS MANAGER. RICHMOND MCKINNEY, M.D., EDITOR.

W. B. ROGERS, M.D.

DEPARTMENT EDITORS.

A. G. SINCLAIR, M.D.

T. J. CROFFORD, M.D.
C. TRAVIS DRENNEN, M.D., Hot Springs, Ark.
LLEWELLYN P. BARBOUR, M.D., Boulder, Col.

W. D. HAGGARD, M.D., Nashville.

B. F. TURNER, M.D.

EARLY DEATHS: HOW CAN WE LIMIT THEM AND PROTECT OURSELVES AGAINST THEM?

UNDER the above caption, in the Fraternal Medical Examiner for December, 1901, Dr. A. L. Craig, of Rock Island, Ill., calls attention to the large number of deaths which occur in the first, second and third years of the lives of holders of life insurance policies. After reviewing the statistics of a number of fraternal orders and life insurance companies, which show a large percentage of benefits and policies which matured within a very short while after being issued, the author states that it is generally supposed, and has been held for years, that the early mortality of insurance risks was low, especially for the first year or two years of their lives, but it has been the later experience, of the benevolent orders at least, that nearly 40 per cent. of their mortality occurs within the first three years, and 50 per cent. of the 40 per cent. within the first year.

In accounting for this state of affairs, the author states that the records of large insurance concerns within the last few years indicate that quite a percentage of those seeking insurance must have some knowledge of an existing physical condition which threatens their lives, or of some hereditary tendency that may make it doubtful that they live out their expectancy.

He says further: The relation of the applicant for insurance and the medical examiner are the reverse of that of the patient and his physician. The former conceals as far as possible all data relating to family history, environment and his own clinical history and present physical condition that may be material to his examination and affect unfavorably his acceptance, while the patient usually aids his physician in every way he can to discover his true physical status that he may be intelligently treated.

Unfortunately, a large percentage of local medical examiners, while they may be, and in most instances are capable and painstaking physicians, are not thorough and careful examiners for life insurance. It has been found quite impossible to get up a blank that will cover all conditions and elicit all the information that it is sometimes very desirable to be possessed of.

The thorough, conscientious examiner will oftentimes note his conclusions based on the appearance, of the applicant, which are sometimes an invaluable aid to the supervising examiner in receiving the examination. The incompetent or unscrupulous examiner, either unconsciously or wilfully, fails to make a complete report of the conditions as they exist and the examination is thoroughly misleading, with the result that undesirable risks are recommended-the mortality of the order raised and the financial burden increased.

The suggestion that the subject of life insurance examination be included in the curricula of medical colleges and be taught the same as other branches, is regarded by Dr. Craig as a good idea.

While we cannot believe that many physicians would be guilty of connivance either with the applicant or the agent in attempting to secure insurance, we are confident that frequently the examination of an applicant for life insurance becomes too much a mere matter of form. Routinism, press of business, and it may be ignorance, will at times account for laxness in making these examinations, and doubtless many cases of incipient pulmonary or kidney disease are overlooked by the examiner owing to the fact that he does not make his investigation sufficiently thorough. The suspicions of the

chief examiner are occasionally aroused by some apparent lack of a clear personal and family history as obtained on examination, and by this means many doubtful risks are rejected, but naturally the position of chief responsibility is that of the local examiner, upon whose attention to detail depends so much of importance to the company, and not infrequently to the applicant himself. It will always be to the interest of life insurance companies to pay well for the services of their examiners, and thus be able to secure a superior class of professional talent and thereby perhaps save for themselves. losses of considerable proportion.

EDITOR'S NOTES.

DR. II. R. COSTON, of Osceola, Ark., has changed his location to Harkell, Texas.

MESSRS. SCOTT & BOWNE, of New York, are mailing to physicians their desk pad and calendar for 1902. This calendar is a serviceable publication, and should be on the desk of every physician.

DR. ROBERT G. HENDERSON has returned from a protracted stay in New York, where he has been doing work in dermatology. Dr. Henderson will confine his attention to this line of practice.

A VERDICT FOR THE DEFENDANTS was returned by the jury in the case of M. Cohen against Drs. Rogers and Smythe, of Memphis, for fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000) damages for the loss of an arm.

THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF THE MEDICAL SCIENCES will be enlarged by the addition of sixty-four pages to each issue, beginning with the January number. All of these pages will be devoted to the accommodation of original articles. This journal is in the highest class of scientific publications, and is an honor to American medicine.

THE PHYSICIAN'S DAILY MEMORANDUM FOR 1902 is again being mailed by Messrs. M. J. Breitenbach & Company, of 53 Warren St., New York City. This memorandum book has great favor with practitioners, as it serves a very practical purpose in their daily needs.

THE MEMPHIS MEDICAL SOCIETY, at its annual election of officers, held Tuesday evening, December 19, 1901, elected the following officers to serve during the ensuing year: President, Alfred Moore, M.D.; Vice President, Edwin Williams, M.D.; Secretary, James L. Barton, M.D.

DR. W. B. HAGGARD, of Nashville, Tenn., was operated upon recently for an attack of appendicitis, and is now, we learn, well on the road to complete recovery. Dr. Haggard is well known to the readers of the MONTHLY for his excellent work in the field of gynecology and abdominal surgery.

MESSRS. PARKE, DAVIS & COMPANY request us to state that not one of the recent tetanus fatalities following vaccination at Camden, Atlantic City, Bristol, Brooklyn, Cleveland and St. John, N. B., succeeded the employment of their vaccine virus. In not one of these cases was their vaccine used.

THE HELEN HYDE CALENDAR has come to us from the Antikamnia Chemical Company of St. Louis. This calendar is a reprod uction of an oil painting that was exhibited at the Paris Exposition, which was purchased by Mr. Frank A. Ruf, the well known president of the above concern. The painting is the work of an American artist, Miss Helen Hyde, and was one of the most commented upon of the pictures on exhibition at the Exposition. We have never seen a more beautiful study than this, and the harmonious blending of colors gives it a charm that at once attracts the eye of even the most unartistic. The medical profession is certainly indebted to the Antikamnia Chemical Company for favoring them with this exquisite calendar.

BOOK REVIEWS.

FIRST AID TO THE INJURED AND SICK. By F. J. Warwick, B.A., M. B. Cantab., Associate of King's College, London; Surgeon-Captain, Volunteer Medical Staff Corps, London Companies, etc.; and A. C. Tunstall, M.D., F. R. C. S Ed., Surgeon-Captain Commanding the East London Volunteer Brigade Bearer Company; Surgeon to the French Hospital and to the Children's Home Hospital, etc. 16mo volume of 232 pages and nearly 200 illustrations. Philadelphia and London: W. B. Saunders & Co., 1901. Cloth $1 net.

The subject of first aid to the injured and sick has been thrust prominently to the front especially by the recent wars which have been waged in various countries, but it is not merely the soldier who is likely to be in need of such assistance, for every day in our midst occur accidents and emergencies where temporary assistance prior to the arrival of the physician is demanded. Frequently the outcome of an accident or sudden illness depends upon the character of handling that the patient receives in the time of emergency. Therefore it becomes imperative that not merely the physician, but likewise the laity, should be acquainted with the most desirable methods of dispensing first aid. This little book comprises a fund of valuable information on this subject, and will be found to present in clear and unequivocal language such procedures as are demanded in various cases of emergency.

A TEXT-BOOK OF PHARMACOLOGY. Including Therapeutics, Materia Medica, Pharmacy, Prescription writing, Toxicology, etc. By Torald Sollmann, M.D., Assistant Professor of Pharmacology and Materia Medica, Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio. Royal octavo volume of 880 pages, fully illustrated. Philadelphia and London: W. B. Saunders & Co., 1901. Cloth $3.75 net.

This work aims to furnish, in a manner suited for reference and study, a scientific discussion and definite conception of the action of drugs, as well as their derivation, composition, strength and dose. The author bases the study of therapeutics on a systematic knowledge of the nature and properties of drugs, and thus brings out forcibly the intimate relation between pharmacology and practical medicine. Practitioners and students will find the work an admirable guide in that most important part of their equipment, namely, how to use drugs accurately and efficaciously. The book includes the practical subjects of materia medica, pharmacy, prescribing, incompatibility, toxicology, etc. A special chapter has been devoted to toxicologic analysis, including both the inorganic and organic poisons. Pharmaceutic assaying has likewise been given due consideration. There is also a section on laboratory experimentation, which, besides rendering the greatest aid to the student in the laboratory, will serve as a basis for classroom demonstrations. The book will be of the utmost service, not alone to students and practitioners, but also to druggists and everyone interested in the use of medicines.

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