Iropess of .tljc gleMcal j&etcitccs. Quinine a "Natural Constituent of the Body.?A very singular discovery to this cffect has been made by Dr. Bencc Jones, and has been communicated in a lecture delivered at the Royal Institution late last month. A Guinea-pig was given quinine, and for comparison another Guinea-pig was killed at the same time, having had no quinine. In the pig that had taken quinine each organ was heated in a water-bath with very dilute sulphuric acid. The acid extracts were mixed and filtered after cooling, neutralized with caustic soda, and repeatedly shaken up with their own bulk of ether. Tho residue resulting was tested for flumescence, which, as is well-known, is the best test for quinine, and gave evidence of the presence of the alkaloid. But what was extremely surprising was, that the organs of the pig which had had no quinine, gave exactly similar indications. This led Dr. Jones to apply all the ether tests for quinine to the extract prepared from the organs of the animal to which quinine
had not been administered. The same results followed, and, therefore, Dr. Jones considers that there exists naturally in the body either quinine, or some substancc so closely allied to it that, he purposes to call it quinoidine. In concluding his lecture he said: "Assuming that a substance like quinine exists in health in tho textures, can its rapid destruction and removal through the action of marsh-miasm give rise to ague ? Does quinine cure ague by furnishing a substance which retards the changes that go on in the textures ? And in the well-known property of arsenic to preserve organic substances, have we also the explanation of its powers in curing ague ?"
??This is a question which Is there Ozone in the lias latel}' given rise to so much controversy, that we are glad to find that M. Houzeau has given it a definite answer in a paper lately read before the French Academy. M. Houzeau considers that his experiments justify liim in framing the following conclusions:?(1) The principle acting on the test papers is a normal constituent of tho atmosphere in our temperate climates, circulating freely in the open country. (2) Its proportion varies according to certain meteorological data. (3) Various its manifestation. Thus winds and circumstances modify aqueous vapour affect it especially?either of them may not singly cause the test paper to be affected. This, however, is explained by the well-known chemical fact that moisture is required for many chemical changes. But when, notwithstanding that the air is agitated and that it contains moisture, the test papers are still unaffected, it i3 because of an acid principle in the atmosphere, whose existence has already been demonstrated by M. Ilouzeau. (4) The established difference between the chemical activity of the air of town and country is due to the different degrees of renewal of air. In the country the circulation of the air is free, in towns it is impeded by the houses and other buildings ; therefore the more exposed the test paper is, tho more likely it is to turn blue. M. Ilouzeau thinks that water-spouts, hurricanes, &c., have considerable influenco upon the ozone in the atmosphere.
Atmosphere
in the Intestine.?A. very able this subject was read before the Vienna Academy at its meeting on March 22nd, by Professor Langer. The network of lymphatics extends along the whole length of the small and large intestine, and penetrates the projections of I he mucous membrane. These projections occur partly in the form of tufts, and partly in that of transverse or longitudinal folds. The lymphatic network extends into all these projections, and at the base of the larger ones it is arranged in layers, but at the margins it is composed of a single network. All through its distribution the network is closely packed, so that its meshes appear At the margins of all the as punctiform and linear openings. projections of the mucous membrane, tho network is bounded by a vessel extending along the entire margin. In the common frog the lymphatic cavities are generally found distended after injection has been made, so that on section there is seen When this has been removed an irregular mass of pigment. thore are seen numerous bands passing through the chamber in and different directions, manifestly having the same signification In these bands may be seen as the trabecule of the spleen. oblong nuclci, which the author thinks indicative of muscular The
memoir
fibre.
Lymphatics on
Prog's
172
TIIE INDIAN MEDICAL GAZETTE.
The rate of Growth in Plants.?At the meeting of the Academy of Sciences on the 8th of April, II. Duchantre
French
presented an interesting essay, in which he recorded experiments recently made upon the above subject. The plants were regularly measured every day at sis in the morning, at noon, and at six in the evening, by means of a wooden rule fixed to On each occasion notes wore the plant by means of ligatures. taken of the external temperature and other meteorological conditions.
M. Duchantre has found,
as
the
result
of his
experiments, that, with very few exceptions, the growth of these plants experimented on from six in the evening till six in the morning (the nocturnal period) was greater than that from six in the morning till six in the evening (the diurnal period.)
Starchy Degeneration of Adipose Tissne.?According to M. Hayem, when fatty tissue undergoes this form of dege-
neration, it becomes harder than usual and has a whitish color. The small arteries become also hardened and thickened. Under
the microscope, the amyloid matter is seen to be deposited in tHe cellular fibres of the arteries, and on the external surface of the capillaries. In some cases, indeed, the vesicles become themselves infiltrated by the starchy material which seems to be deposited in the substance of the envelope and around the nucleus. The fat contained in the vesicles or the crystals of margarine are pushed to the opposite extremity of the cell to that occupied by the deposit. At the same time an increased number of nuclei appear in the surrounding connective tissue. M. Hayein has especially observed the above described appearances in the loose fat surrounding the kidney, when this organ has itself been undergoing degeneration. will be held at Vienna the 25th of August next, and Professors Yon lager, Senr., Arlt, and Gult, as the managers of the congress, have issued invitations to the ophthalmologists of all countries, assuring them that a rich material awaits their inspection at Vienna, when every effort will be made to render their stay both profitable and agreeable.
The
on
Ophthalmological Congress.?This
The Eelative Merits of Chloroform and Bichloride of Carbon as Anoesthetics.?Or. Sansom has lately been experiment-
ing on this question, and has published the following conclusions : (1) Chloro-carbon has the advantage over chloroform, of its being inhaled with greater comfort ; it is not susceptible of decomposition with the formation of deleterious chlorinous compounds ; and its cost will probably be considerably less. Being less volatile than chloroform, it will probably be best administered by pouring it upon a sponge wrung out of hot water. (2) It is, during its early stage of action, a powerful stimulant to the circulatory system. It will probably be especially valuable in midwifery, for it abolishes pain without affecting consciousness, and its tendency is certainly to increase muscular action. (3) It is not advisable to induce deep narcotism by means of this agent. Its profound effects are very persistent, and it is eliminated from the system slowly. The
Microspectroscope
in
Legal
Cases.?This instrument,
which is described in one of .our early numbers, has just been applied to the detection of blood stains on a weapon. In a case of murder which occ irredin Wales, Dr. Ilerapath, of Bristol, was requested to examine a hatchet for the presence of blood. Having made the usual microscopic examination for the corpuscles with no very satisfactory result, he placed the handle of the weapon in water, and having in this way obtained a solution of the coloring principle of the blood, he examined this solution with the microspectroscope. The result was most satisfactory, the characteristic absorption bands coming out in the clearest possible manner. The evidence was admitted on the trial, in addition to the other testimony, and produced rather a sensation in Court.
Anaesthesia by Pulverized Ether.?This discovery, which we justified fully in attributing to Dr. B. W. Richardson, of London, has recently been claimed by a Frenchman. In the are
Gazette Tleb'lomadaire for March 23rd, M. Leon le Fort tries establish the French claim. He bases his reclamation upon a passage in an article on anaesthesia, written by M. Giraldes in the " Dictionnaire de Me lecine," which is still being published. The translation of M. Giraldes' remark is as follows :?" I think that ether or chloroform pulverized by any of the well-known to
[June 1,
1866.
instruments may yield good results-" This passage, says M. le Fort, remained unnoticed when Dr. Bichardson published his first article on local anaesthesia in February last.
Menstruation and Abortion at 72 Years of
Age?The
Lancet extracts a curious case of the above kind, which has been recorded in the Bulletin de la Societe de Medecine d' Angers. The patient had a secondary flow of the catamenia 24 rears*, after they had first stopped (when she was 48 years of age). She subsequently aborted and recovered the effects of parturition, and died in three months after, of bronchitis.
Tlie
new
portable
enema,
an
instrument
designed
by
Messrs. Savory and Moore, and manufactured by Messrs. Maw and Sons, offers many advantages over those in general use. It consists of a simple India-rubber syringe, expanding and charging itself by means of its own elasticity, and capable of being compressed and emptied by the pressure of the hand. This is connected with a flexible India-rubber bag or reservoir made to contain the fluid to be injected, and readily separating for the of fluid required for an ordipurpose of filling. The quantity nary injection may be contained in the flexible bag, but should a larger amount be required, the use of the reservoir may be dispensed with, the India-rubber entrance tube being substituted for it.
Concretions in the Heart.?To
the various cases?we believe
three in number?already on record, Professor Hvrtt, of Vienna, now adds another. lie states that in one of the bodies brought to the dissecting-room a few weeks ago, we found a flat and perfectly circular body of a diameter of upwards of two centimetres. It was situated in the angle formed by the inferior pulmonary vein, with the posterior side of the left ventricle. It was of i\ yellowish brown color, and of a thickness varying between 10 and 12 millimetres, under a membranous envelope; it contained a bony nucleus composed of five round divisions closely adhering together. Within these bony capsules a pulpy matter, spotted with black and interspersed with fibres, was contained.
Are the Capillaries composed of Cells ??This question is answered in the negative by Ilerr Dr. Federn, who, in a paper read before a recent meeting of the Austrian Academy, says"that the only evidence in favor of the cellular structure is that produced by staining the tissues with nitrate of silver. This form of testimony he considers of no value. In the same paper he described some curious interlacing filaments, which he says he has seen in the walls of most of the capillaries. in the Bodies of Mollusks.?The presence of substances in the tissues of various mollusks has been out by Signor Rizio. The animals experimented 011 were Ostrcea ednlis. Cardium edule, Mytilus edulis, Solen siliqtia, and Pecten Jacobceus. A circumstance which the author of the memoir especially dwells on is the rapidity with which the amyloid substance gives rise in these mollusks to lactic fermentation, so- that in those species in which this matter is abundant, the lactic acid produced is sufficient to protect the tissues from decomposition; from which it follows that the more or less easy preservation of the body of the animal of the relative quantity of may enable us to judge amyloid substance contained in it. See the Compies Rendus, April 2.
Glycogen
amyloid pointed
The spiracular sacs of the porpoise were well described by Professor Huxley in one of his late lectures delivered in thc^ College of Surgeons. They are the sacs which are given off from the anterior wall of the spiracnlar cavity. They are embraced by muscular expansions arising from the frontal and maxillary bones, the contraction of the fibres opening the blow-hole, and tending to expel from it the contents of the sacs. Von Bar has given the key to the homology of these sacs ; and the posterior one possibly representing the ethmoidoturbinals, and the anterior sacs the maxillary-turbinals. This homology is illustrated by the condition of those parts in the Tapir, where the ethmoido-turbinals have become posterior and the maxillary-turbinals anterior.
The Binocular
Microscope
with
High
Powers.?Messrs.
Powell and Lealand, of London, have just devised an apparatus of plates of glass to be added to the ordinary prism, by means of which as high a power as the one-sixteenth inch objective vision. may easily be employed for binocular
had not been administered. The same results followed, and, therefore, Dr. Jones considers that there exists naturally in the body either quinine, or some substancc so closely allied to it that, he purposes to call it quinoidine. In concluding his lecture he said: "Assuming that a substance like quinine exists in health in tho textures, can its rapid destruction and removal through the action of marsh-miasm give rise to ague ? Does quinine cure ague by furnishing a substance which retards the changes that go on in the textures ? And in the well-known property of arsenic to preserve organic substances, have we also the explanation of its powers in curing ague ?"
??This is a question which Is there Ozone in the lias latel}' given rise to so much controversy, that we are glad to find that M. Houzeau has given it a definite answer in a paper lately read before the French Academy. M. Houzeau considers that his experiments justify liim in framing the following conclusions:?(1) The principle acting on the test papers is a normal constituent of tho atmosphere in our temperate climates, circulating freely in the open country. (2) Its proportion varies according to certain meteorological data. (3) Various its manifestation. Thus winds and circumstances modify aqueous vapour affect it especially?either of them may not singly cause the test paper to be affected. This, however, is explained by the well-known chemical fact that moisture is required for many chemical changes. But when, notwithstanding that the air is agitated and that it contains moisture, the test papers are still unaffected, it i3 because of an acid principle in the atmosphere, whose existence has already been demonstrated by M. Ilouzeau. (4) The established difference between the chemical activity of the air of town and country is due to the different degrees of renewal of air. In the country the circulation of the air is free, in towns it is impeded by the houses and other buildings ; therefore the more exposed the test paper is, tho more likely it is to turn blue. M. Ilouzeau thinks that water-spouts, hurricanes, &c., have considerable influenco upon the ozone in the atmosphere.
Atmosphere
in the Intestine.?A. very able this subject was read before the Vienna Academy at its meeting on March 22nd, by Professor Langer. The network of lymphatics extends along the whole length of the small and large intestine, and penetrates the projections of I he mucous membrane. These projections occur partly in the form of tufts, and partly in that of transverse or longitudinal folds. The lymphatic network extends into all these projections, and at the base of the larger ones it is arranged in layers, but at the margins it is composed of a single network. All through its distribution the network is closely packed, so that its meshes appear At the margins of all the as punctiform and linear openings. projections of the mucous membrane, tho network is bounded by a vessel extending along the entire margin. In the common frog the lymphatic cavities are generally found distended after injection has been made, so that on section there is seen When this has been removed an irregular mass of pigment. thore are seen numerous bands passing through the chamber in and different directions, manifestly having the same signification In these bands may be seen as the trabecule of the spleen. oblong nuclci, which the author thinks indicative of muscular The
memoir
fibre.
Lymphatics on
Prog's
172
TIIE INDIAN MEDICAL GAZETTE.
The rate of Growth in Plants.?At the meeting of the Academy of Sciences on the 8th of April, II. Duchantre
French
presented an interesting essay, in which he recorded experiments recently made upon the above subject. The plants were regularly measured every day at sis in the morning, at noon, and at six in the evening, by means of a wooden rule fixed to On each occasion notes wore the plant by means of ligatures. taken of the external temperature and other meteorological conditions.
M. Duchantre has found,
as
the
result
of his
experiments, that, with very few exceptions, the growth of these plants experimented on from six in the evening till six in the morning (the nocturnal period) was greater than that from six in the morning till six in the evening (the diurnal period.)
Starchy Degeneration of Adipose Tissne.?According to M. Hayem, when fatty tissue undergoes this form of dege-
neration, it becomes harder than usual and has a whitish color. The small arteries become also hardened and thickened. Under
the microscope, the amyloid matter is seen to be deposited in tHe cellular fibres of the arteries, and on the external surface of the capillaries. In some cases, indeed, the vesicles become themselves infiltrated by the starchy material which seems to be deposited in the substance of the envelope and around the nucleus. The fat contained in the vesicles or the crystals of margarine are pushed to the opposite extremity of the cell to that occupied by the deposit. At the same time an increased number of nuclei appear in the surrounding connective tissue. M. Hayein has especially observed the above described appearances in the loose fat surrounding the kidney, when this organ has itself been undergoing degeneration. will be held at Vienna the 25th of August next, and Professors Yon lager, Senr., Arlt, and Gult, as the managers of the congress, have issued invitations to the ophthalmologists of all countries, assuring them that a rich material awaits their inspection at Vienna, when every effort will be made to render their stay both profitable and agreeable.
The
on
Ophthalmological Congress.?This
The Eelative Merits of Chloroform and Bichloride of Carbon as Anoesthetics.?Or. Sansom has lately been experiment-
ing on this question, and has published the following conclusions : (1) Chloro-carbon has the advantage over chloroform, of its being inhaled with greater comfort ; it is not susceptible of decomposition with the formation of deleterious chlorinous compounds ; and its cost will probably be considerably less. Being less volatile than chloroform, it will probably be best administered by pouring it upon a sponge wrung out of hot water. (2) It is, during its early stage of action, a powerful stimulant to the circulatory system. It will probably be especially valuable in midwifery, for it abolishes pain without affecting consciousness, and its tendency is certainly to increase muscular action. (3) It is not advisable to induce deep narcotism by means of this agent. Its profound effects are very persistent, and it is eliminated from the system slowly. The
Microspectroscope
in
Legal
Cases.?This instrument,
which is described in one of .our early numbers, has just been applied to the detection of blood stains on a weapon. In a case of murder which occ irredin Wales, Dr. Ilerapath, of Bristol, was requested to examine a hatchet for the presence of blood. Having made the usual microscopic examination for the corpuscles with no very satisfactory result, he placed the handle of the weapon in water, and having in this way obtained a solution of the coloring principle of the blood, he examined this solution with the microspectroscope. The result was most satisfactory, the characteristic absorption bands coming out in the clearest possible manner. The evidence was admitted on the trial, in addition to the other testimony, and produced rather a sensation in Court.
Anaesthesia by Pulverized Ether.?This discovery, which we justified fully in attributing to Dr. B. W. Richardson, of London, has recently been claimed by a Frenchman. In the are
Gazette Tleb'lomadaire for March 23rd, M. Leon le Fort tries establish the French claim. He bases his reclamation upon a passage in an article on anaesthesia, written by M. Giraldes in the " Dictionnaire de Me lecine," which is still being published. The translation of M. Giraldes' remark is as follows :?" I think that ether or chloroform pulverized by any of the well-known to
[June 1,
1866.
instruments may yield good results-" This passage, says M. le Fort, remained unnoticed when Dr. Bichardson published his first article on local anaesthesia in February last.
Menstruation and Abortion at 72 Years of
Age?The
Lancet extracts a curious case of the above kind, which has been recorded in the Bulletin de la Societe de Medecine d' Angers. The patient had a secondary flow of the catamenia 24 rears*, after they had first stopped (when she was 48 years of age). She subsequently aborted and recovered the effects of parturition, and died in three months after, of bronchitis.
Tlie
new
portable
enema,
an
instrument
designed
by
Messrs. Savory and Moore, and manufactured by Messrs. Maw and Sons, offers many advantages over those in general use. It consists of a simple India-rubber syringe, expanding and charging itself by means of its own elasticity, and capable of being compressed and emptied by the pressure of the hand. This is connected with a flexible India-rubber bag or reservoir made to contain the fluid to be injected, and readily separating for the of fluid required for an ordipurpose of filling. The quantity nary injection may be contained in the flexible bag, but should a larger amount be required, the use of the reservoir may be dispensed with, the India-rubber entrance tube being substituted for it.
Concretions in the Heart.?To
the various cases?we believe
three in number?already on record, Professor Hvrtt, of Vienna, now adds another. lie states that in one of the bodies brought to the dissecting-room a few weeks ago, we found a flat and perfectly circular body of a diameter of upwards of two centimetres. It was situated in the angle formed by the inferior pulmonary vein, with the posterior side of the left ventricle. It was of i\ yellowish brown color, and of a thickness varying between 10 and 12 millimetres, under a membranous envelope; it contained a bony nucleus composed of five round divisions closely adhering together. Within these bony capsules a pulpy matter, spotted with black and interspersed with fibres, was contained.
Are the Capillaries composed of Cells ??This question is answered in the negative by Ilerr Dr. Federn, who, in a paper read before a recent meeting of the Austrian Academy, says"that the only evidence in favor of the cellular structure is that produced by staining the tissues with nitrate of silver. This form of testimony he considers of no value. In the same paper he described some curious interlacing filaments, which he says he has seen in the walls of most of the capillaries. in the Bodies of Mollusks.?The presence of substances in the tissues of various mollusks has been out by Signor Rizio. The animals experimented 011 were Ostrcea ednlis. Cardium edule, Mytilus edulis, Solen siliqtia, and Pecten Jacobceus. A circumstance which the author of the memoir especially dwells on is the rapidity with which the amyloid substance gives rise in these mollusks to lactic fermentation, so- that in those species in which this matter is abundant, the lactic acid produced is sufficient to protect the tissues from decomposition; from which it follows that the more or less easy preservation of the body of the animal of the relative quantity of may enable us to judge amyloid substance contained in it. See the Compies Rendus, April 2.
Glycogen
amyloid pointed
The spiracular sacs of the porpoise were well described by Professor Huxley in one of his late lectures delivered in thc^ College of Surgeons. They are the sacs which are given off from the anterior wall of the spiracnlar cavity. They are embraced by muscular expansions arising from the frontal and maxillary bones, the contraction of the fibres opening the blow-hole, and tending to expel from it the contents of the sacs. Von Bar has given the key to the homology of these sacs ; and the posterior one possibly representing the ethmoidoturbinals, and the anterior sacs the maxillary-turbinals. This homology is illustrated by the condition of those parts in the Tapir, where the ethmoido-turbinals have become posterior and the maxillary-turbinals anterior.
The Binocular
Microscope
with
High
Powers.?Messrs.
Powell and Lealand, of London, have just devised an apparatus of plates of glass to be added to the ordinary prism, by means of which as high a power as the one-sixteenth inch objective vision. may easily be employed for binocular
