no specific action, inasmuch as it does not at all prevent the formation of the toxines, but it assures their expulsion as fast as they are produced.

On the other hand, when the fever is treated by antipyrin the elimination of the toxic products ceases entirely during the malady so long as the remedy is used-the coefficient descends sometimes even below the normal. But during convalescence the discharge of the toxines takes place en masse for the space of five or six days. Antipyrin is therefore not an antiseptic. It does not prevent the formation of the toxic substances, but does prevent their elimination in the urine.

The authors add that since the completion of their experiments Prof. Teissier has reported some observations on the effect of naphthol in the treatment of typhoid fever. His conclusions are that naphthol is a real antiseptic in this disease, inasmuch as it prevents the formation of toxic matters, both during the course of the fever and during convalescence. N. Y. Med. Jour.

The Growth of Fibroid Tumors of the Uterus after the Menopause. Dr. Joseph Taber Johnson of Washington, D. C., read a paper before the Southern Surgical and Gynecological Association on this subject, in which he said that the object of the paper was to put on record cases and opinions in opposition to former views of this subject, and to aid in recasting our views and in modifying our practice. He had within the last five years seen at least a dozen women with large growing and troublesome fibroid tumors of the uterus who were over fifty years of age, some of them over sixty. These women had all been assured by their physicians that if they could get along somehow until after the change of life, their tumors would not only stop growing, but that they would lessen in size, and probably go away altogether; at least, the troublesome and dangerous symptoms would disappear. They had been advised against any radical operation, and encouraged to believe that as they grew older they would get entirely well. In perhaps the majority of cases this might prove to be very good advice, but the point which the author wished to make was, that as we are now better acquainted with the

history and behavior of these tumors, this was no longer safe advice to give. We could assure any woman that her tumor might not prove to be one of the exceptional cases, and that it might not grow more rapidly even after the menopause than it had before, or that it might not present complications equally distressing or disastrous. When from forty to fifty per cent. of women subjected to supravaginal hysterectomy died from the effects of the operation, this was very safe and conservative counsel to follow. The possible dangers of the tumor were not equal to the probable dangers of the operation.

The author drew the following conclusions:

1. That the "rule" stated in the textbooks, that uterine fibromata ceased to grow after the menopause, had many more exceptions than was generally supposed.

2. That when they continued to grow after the menopause, they pursued a more disastrous course than before.

3. They more frequently became cystic, calcareous, or had abscesses develop in them.

4. These conditions requiring operation according to wellknown rules of surgery, the patients were in a less favorable condition for recovery than before the menopause.

5. If the above-given conclusions were admitted to be true, it must follow that they furnished additional indications for more frequent and earlier resort to the radical operation.

In the hands of the best operators in cases where a pedicle could be secured, the mortality of supravaginal hysterectomy was rapidly approaching that of ovariotomy.

A Claim that Influenza is Contagious.

In his interesting work on "Epidemic Influenza," Dr. Richard Sisley claims that the cause of the disease is probably a microscopic organism, that it is contagious and is chiefly if not entirely spread by contagion. In proof of his theory of contagion, he cites cases that show that influenza spreads from the sick to the sound; that isolated cases of influenza precede an epidemic; that influenza spreads along the lines of human intercourse; that prisoners and other isolated persons often escape influenza, although the disease may be raging in the town in which the prison is situated. He claims that the

local health board should be notified of cases of influenza just the same as in cases of scarlet fever or diphtheria, and that laws should be passed making such notification compulsory. Record.

The Part the Shoulders Play in Producing Laceration of the Perineum, with Suggestions for its Prevention.

This was the title of a paper read by Dr. W. D. Haggard, of Nashville, Tenn., in which he made the following suggestions: 1. The patient should occupy the left lateral decubitus, at least during the second stage of labor.

2. Overcome rigidity of the vulvar outlet by the judicious use of chloroform.

3. The presenting part of the child should be supported, and not the perineum, during the passage of the head and shoulders.

4. Support the head by pressing it well up under the symphysis pubis by placing the right thumb in the rectum and fingers of right hand expanded over the occiput.

5. To retard the exit of the shoulders, pressure should be applied to the trunk and shoulder by placing the index and middle fingers of the left hand in the rectum with the thumb in the vagina to restrain its exit.

6. Support the head and neck by pressure well over the symphysis pubis.-So. S. & G. Ass.

Phenocoll Hydrochloride in Malaria.

Prof. Albertoni, of Bologna, makes a very important communication, relating to the use of phenocoll hydrochloride in malaria. Prof. Albertoni states that he has carefully and extensively employed the remedy in his practice, and that the most excellent results ("I risultati sono bellissimi") were effected in a number of severe malarial cases. A comprehensive and highly eulogistic report has been prepared and will be published in an early issue of the Academia Medica. This is highly valuable information; quinine has heretofore been almost the only available remedy for malaria, and even this at times disappoints. Phenocoll is already favorably known as a superior antipyretic and is also employed with success in the treatment of rheumatism.-Med. and Surg. Reporter.

Dr. Eugenio de la Hoz, Dr. Domingo Cagiao, Dr. Jose Manuel Rodrigues, Dr. Paulo Emilis Villar, Dr. Felix M. Hernandez, Dr. Rafael Caloo, Dr. N. Ribon, Dr. Milceades Castro, Dr. Cayetano Lambano, Dr. Jose M. Martinez, Dr. Isaias Saavedra, Dr. Severo Forres, Dr. N. Villa, Dr. Evaristo Garcia, Dr. Miguel Caicedo, Dr. Emilio Villamezar.

The following medical societies have been elected as auxiliaries of the Congress, viz: Academia Nacronal de Medicina, Academia de Medicina de Medellin, Sociedad de Medi⚫cina del Cauca.

The following medical journals have been designated as official organs of the Congress, viz: Revista Medica, Bogota ; Revista de Higiene, Bogota; El Agricutor, Bogota; Boletin de Medecina del Cauca, Cao; Andles de la Academia de Medicina de Medellin, Medellin.

The expressed wish of the profession of the United States of Colombia is for a date of meeting during the Colombian Exposition. Charles A. L. Reed, Secretary-General, Cincinnati, Ohio.

THE INTERNATIONAL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF THE PAN AMERICAN MEDICAL CONGRESS.-The Committee on Organization of the Pan-American Medical Congress, at its meeting at St. Louis last October, elected the following International Executive Committee: The Argentine Republic, Dr. Pedro Lagleyze, Buenos Ayres; Bolivia, Dr. Emelio Di Tymassi, La Paz; Brazil, Dr. Carlos Costa, Rio de Janeiro; British North America, Dr. Jas. F. W. Ross, Toronto; British West Indies, Dr. James A. De Wolf, Port of Spain; Chili, Dr. Moises Amaral, Santiago; United States of Colombia, Dr. P. M. Ibanez, Bogota; Costa Rica, Dr. Daniel Munez, San Jose; Ecuador, Dr. Ricardo Cucalon, Guayaquil; Guatemala, Dr. Jose Monteris, Guatemala Nueva; Hayti, Dr. D. Lamouthe, Port au Prince; Spanish Honduras, Dr. George Bernhardt, Teguagolph; Mexico, Dr. Tomas Noriega, City of Mexico; Nicaragua, Dr. J. I. Urtecha, Grenada; Peru, Dr. J. Casamira Ulloa, Lima; Salvador, Dr. David J. Guzman, San Salvador; Spanish West Indies, Dr. Juan Santos Fernandez, Habana; United States, Dr. A. Vander Veer, Albany, N.

Y.;

Uruguay, Dr. Jacinto De Leon, Montevideo; Venezuela, Dr. Elias Roderigues, Caracas. Hawaii, Paraguay, Santo Domingo, the Danish, Dutch, and French West Indies, are not yet organized. Nominations for local offices have been received from a majority of all the members of the International Executive Committee, and a number of the lists have been confirmed by the Committee on Organization. These will be announced as rapidly as acceptances are received.

HOLMES & DAVIS.-We are pleased to note the union of these first-class men in business relationship connected with the Holmes Sanitarium at Rome, Ga. In selecting Dr. Davis to aid him, Dr. Holmes has given the profession another evidence of good judgment. Dr. J. E. B. Davis, as our readers well know, is from Birmingham, Ala., and is President of the TriState Medical Society of Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee; Secretary of the Southern Surgical and Gynecological Society; Vice-President of the American Medical Association; member of the Birmingham Board of Medical Examiners; Surgeon to the Birmingham Hospital of United Charities. He is one of the brightest, most prominent, and most promising surgeons in the South, and has already made considerable fame for himself in gynecological and abdominal surgery.

DOSIMETRIC TREATMENT OF PHTHISIS.-Dr. Adolph Burggraeve, editor of the Dosimetric Review, gave the following prescription to his 10th case of pulmonary consumption as reported in his issue for September (ult.):

66

Seidlitz-Chanteaud, to be given daily in laxative doses; arseniate of strychnine to raise the vitality; digitaline as a moderator and regulator of the heart movements; veratrine as a contro-stimulant, for the pleurodynia; kermes mineral as an expectorant, alternated with arsenious acid; hydroferrocyanate of quinine against the febrile exacerbations; codeine and atropine as calmatives and for the night-sweats; quassine at meals as a digestive tonic, and finally, a blister loco dolenti. For alimentation, I gave brandy and milk, boiled eggs, strong soups, lightly salted meats, generous wines and coffee, the regimen to be entered upon after the subsidence of the fever."