and he has the gift of imparting his knowledge in clear and intelligible language. The entire field is well covered from the preparation of plaster bandages to their various applications in the treatment of fractures, dislocations and deformities. The illustrations are good and the typography excellent. STATE BOARD QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS. By R. Max Goepp, M. D., Professor of Clinical Medicine at the Philadelphia Polyclinic. Second edition revised. Octavo volume of 715 pages. W. B. Saunders Company, Philadelphia and London, 1911. Cloth, $4.00 net; half morocco, $5.00. The material of this volume has been selected from the questions asked in recent years at final examinations in medical schools, and from those asked by the various state boards.. Preference is given to the qeustions asked in the larger and more representative states. The author has endeavored to retain herein the original wording of all questions and to condense the answers as far as possible. It includes questions and answers on physics, chemistry, anatomy, physiology, pathology, bacteriology, materia medica and therapeutics, practice of medicine, surgery, obstetrics, gynecology and hygiene. It provides a great help to those preparing themselves for state board examinations, or examinations for hospital appointments. MANUAL OF CYSTOSCOPY. By J. Bently Squier, M. D., and Henry G. Bugbee, M. D. Paul B. Hoeber, New York City, 1911. This brief but admirably compiled and beautifully illustrated brochure is well worth the careful study of not only those who propose familiarizing themselves with the cystoscope to such an extent as to make it a useful adjunct in routine examinations, but even of those who by long practice have acquired special skill. The author properly states that the ability to make an ordinary examination is readily learned, but to be able to make accurate differential diagnosis between tumors, various inflammatory conditions, etc., necessitates much study. The technique of cystoscopy is given in detail, as are the cystoscopic pictures of the normal and of the pathological bladder. The book ends with a brief section upon the technique of ureteral catheterization, operative cystoscopy in the female, and some general observations upon cystoscopic diagnosis. DIAGNOSTIC AND THERAPEUTIC TECHNIC: By Albet S. Moore, M. D., Adjunct Professor of Surgery, New York Polyclinic. Octavo of 755 pages with 815 original line drawings. W. B. Saunders Company, Philadelphia and London, 1911. Cloth, $5.00 net. The first portion of this book is given to description of general diagnostic and therapeutic methods, as the administration of general and local anaesthesia, sphygmomanometry, transfusion of blood, infusion of physiological salt solution, hypodermic and intramuscular injection of drugs, Bier's hpperemic treatment, collection and preservation of pathological materiaì, exploratory punctures, and aspirations. The second part of the book describes the measures employed in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases affecting special regions and organs of the body. The work carefully details the technique of those minor procedures which, although essential to every practitioner, are of necessity omitted from most text books to maintain them within reasonable limits. All the important steps in technique are illustrated by original line drawings at great expense. WYOMING SECTION WESTERN MEDICAL REVIEW Per Published Monthly by WESTERN MEDICAL REVIEW COMPANY, Omaha, Nebr. Annum, $2.00 The WESTERN Medical REVIEW is the Journal of the Wyoming State Medical Society and is sent by order of the Society to each of its members. OFFICERS: Dr. A. G. HAMILTON, Thermopolis. President DR. W. H. ROBERTS, Cheyenne, Secretary All matter for publication in this section should be sent to FRED W. PHIFER, M. D., Editor, Wheatland, Wyo. COLLABORATORS-SUBJECT TO REVISION. Pestal, Joseph. Douglas; Keith, M. C.; Casper; Marshall, T. E., Sheridan; Nelson, N. D.; Shoshoni; Wicks, J. L., Evanston; Wiseman, Letitia, Cheyenne; Young, J. H., Rock Springs. Vol. XVI. CHEYENNE, WYO., OCTOBER, 1911. EDITORIAL. Compulsory Notification of Poliomyelitis. No. 10 At present, twenty-three states require that the health authorities be notified of cases of infantile paralysis. Other states will no doubt soon be in line. While the disease in epidemic form has prevailed in some countries of Europe for a longer time than in this country, and notification has been and is required, France seems to be one of those in which this has not been a requirement of the health authorities. The Paris Academy of Medicine, a little while ago, appointed a committee to consider the question of the propriety of obligatory notification of acute anterior poliomyelitis. On the recommendation of this committee, the academy advises that notification be made compulsory and that it should apply not only to typical cases, but also to doubtful ones, and furthemore, that it should be made at all times even in the absence of an epidemic. It is also recommended that children who have been in close relation with patients suffering from the disease be forbidden attendance at school for three weeks and that disinfection of the rooms at the termination of the disease be undertaken. Although the exact cause of this disease and the precise method of its transmission have not been determined, yet its infectious nature is so well established by clinical observation and experiment that compulsory notifica tion is justified and should be required wherever the disease exists. J. A. M. A. ABSTRACTS. Tobacco Psychosis In a Boy. Pel (Berl. klin. Woch.) does not believe that chewing and smoking of tobacco are by any means harmless, but thinks that he can trace many troubles to the use of tobacco and its contained poisons. Nicotin is by no means the only poison found in tobacc, the others being nicotein, nicotellin, pyrrhol, pyridin bases, sulphuric acid, cyanic acid, cyanammonium, carbolic acid, formaldehyd, carbon dioxide and ammonia. Fortunately for the smoker most of these are lost by the age and dryness of the tobacco when it is used and by the fact that many of them are burned and destroyed in the smoking process. Still nicotin is one of the most poisonous alkaloids, fifty milligrams being a fatal dose for a man. The effect of this habit on different individuals varies very much, some being much more easily poisoned than others. The diagnosis of tobacco poisoning is not easy on account of the inconstancy and variety of the symptoms caused. Each individual is a law unto himself. One person has headache; a second, anemia; a third, nervousness and sleeplessness; a fourth, heart symptoms such as palpitation, arythmia, tachycardia or angina; a fifth, disturbances of vision; a sixth, arterial sclerosis; a seventh, gastric symptoms; an eighth, throat and mouth symptoms. Psychoses also may develop. The author cites the case of a boy of 13 who worked in tobacco and also smoked. Previously strong and healthy, in a few weeks he had no appetite or energy and was pale, listliess, inattentive and walked with difficulty. He did not recognize his surroundings and was subject to hallucinations and hysterical attacks. Reported Cure of Cancer of the Larynx. Our letter from London, in our issue of July 22, contains an account of the very remarkable report of Dr. Robert H. Woods, president of the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland, on what was undoubtedly a case of malignant disease of the larynx with recurrence, which involved not only the common carotid artery, but the praevertebral muscles. The proposed operation necessitated the sacrifice of the pneumogastric nerve and tying the common carotid and would certainly have ended fatally. Under four months' treatment with three grain doses of thyreoid extract, three times daily, there was marked diminution in the size of the growth and persistence with the extract finally caused its complete disappearance. This treatment was tried after the receipt of favorable accounts of the effects of thyreoid extract in two cases of inoperable cancerous lymphatic glands. Thyreoid extract does not seem to be anything more than a powerful alterative and this class of remedies deserve a trial in massive doses whenever the surgeon is unable to intervene.-New York Medical Journal. Methylene Blue Test for Malignancy. Fiehs and Lintz, in the Journal A. M. A., give a preliminary report of their findings that methylene-blue is decolorized by the urine of patients suffering with malignant disease. The same is true sometimes in cases of rheumatism, nephritis, meningitis, etc., but generally to a minor and variable degree. In most instances these latter diseases can be easily differentiated and eliminated, so it seems that the test may have some value in the diagnosis of malignant disease. Thus far it has been positive in every well-established case of malignancy. The technic is described as follows: Methylene-blue-we generally use three to five drops of Loeffler's methylene-blue-is added to a test tubeful of fresh urine; sufficient anilin dye is used to give it a decided blue color. The urine is shaken and then allowed to stand at room temperature for from twelve to twenty-four hours. A control fresh specimen of normal urine similarly treated is made. At the end of said time the blue color of the urine disappears; the upper layer, however, which is in contact with the air, still remains more or less blue. The control specimen on the other hand, remains unchanged, retaining its uniform blue color. A list of the diseases in which the test has been employed with the number of cases of each tested and the number of positive and negative reactions obtained is given in the paper. The Hormon Treatment of Post-Operative Intestinal Paralysis. The study of the hormons constitutes a fascinating chapter in modern physiological research. These bodies, as the name indicates, may be considered as nature's means of stimulating the functions of certain organs. Thus, for instance, it has been shown by Bayliss and Starling that the duodenal mucous membrane produces a "secretin" which, when injected intravenously, stimulates the pancreatic secretion, while adrenalin besides its various other actions also officiates as a hormon in the metabolism of the sugars. It would appear, therefore, that apart from their regular secretory activity many organs generate substances which are carried by way of the circulation to distant parts, and there officiate as functional stimulants. One of the most interesting discoveries is that of Zuelzer, Dohrn and Marxer that the mucous membrane of the stomach contains a hormon, which when injected intravenously was found to stimulate intestinal peristalsis. It was later demonstrated that the same hormon can be extracted from the spleen in amounts sufficient to enable it to be utilized therapeutically. This discovery is of interest both to the physician and surgeon in the treatment of intestinal obstruction from atony of the bowel, as well as of post-operative intestinal paralysis. The results reported by Zuelzer and Saar with Hormonal, the name under which this hormon product has been introduced, have been most encouraging. Its advantage over physostigmin, which has been employed for the same purpose, is that it produces a natural peristalsis and not one of tetanic character. While symptoms of reaction, such as fever and headache, have been noted from its use, these have been of slight and transient nature, and there is every reason to believe that this new physiologic product will prove of material service in medical and surgical practice.From International Journal of Surgery, April, 1911. Iodin In Corneal Ulcer. E. L. Meierhof, New York (Journal A. M. A., August 26), recommends the use of a watery solution of iodin, one grain, sodii iodid, three grains, and water, one ounce, in the treatment of corneal ulcer. Three drops of this solution instilled into the eye three or four times daily without other treatment has been in his hands very successful. The application is not very painful and the pain only lasts ten or fifteen minutes. Occasionally the conjunctiva becomes congested during the treatment, but this is only temporary. After twenty-four or forty-eight hours of this treatment the eye becomes less painful and more tolerant to light and the headache common in these cases rapidly diminishes. The solution can be used for several weeks without causing further annoyance, even if the ulcer is healed. He has treated fifteen cases altogether by this method with such encouraging results that he now offers it to the profession generally. |