183

the latter officer’s duty beibg merely to takenotes of what transpired as the discussionsproceeded.

Mr. CALLAWAY, one of the secretaries,obseived that if this was really the duty ofthe secretary, he should forthwith un-

burthen himself of the situation he held inthe Society.The PRESIDENT trusted, after the public

notice ’that had been taken of this violationof order, there would be no future groundof complaint.A long discussion next arose, with re-

gurd to the publication of the proceedingsof the Society, and respecting the right ofthe Society to detain any papers that mightbe read to it.The PRESIDENT, with that openness and

liberality for which he is so pre-eminentlydistinguished, advocated the propriety of

affording, most cordially, every opportu-nity to the facility of publishing whatevertranspired in the Society. He consideredthat faithful reports had done, and would do,more for the interests of the Society, and topromote the objects of its formation, than anyother thing that could possibly be thoughtof; and, consequently, that the Society, in-stead of objecting to the admission of themedical press, was greatly indebted to it, forthe part it took in their proceedings. As tothe right of detaining papers after they hadbeen read to the Society, he thought papers,read by authors themselves, differed very ’,materially from those presented to, andread by, the Secretary. In the former in-

stance, in his opinion, the papers were theliterary property of the author, who had aright to make what further use of them hepleased,—either to publish them, or to lockthem up in his drawer.Mr. CALLAWAY adverted to a case, in

which, he believed, it turned out that the Ipublication of reports, where they were Iallowed, took away the author’s . literaryright in what was read ; and, if this werereally the case, lie thought there would bean objection to permitting the reports be-ing made. He could not but state, how-ever, that the reports in THE LANCET ap-peared to him to be faithful and accuratein every respect.Mr. Sat,MON considered the eye of the

press one of the most excellent checks overthe Society it could under any circum-stances have. Putting every thing else

aside, it was calculated to prevent peopleoccupying the time of the Society in talk-ing nonsense. If they continued to talknonsense, they were held up to the ridicule’of the profession ; and, in such cases,richly would they deserve to be bled weeklyby THE LANCET. (Laughter and applause).Mr. WALLER, Mr. HOWELL, and some

other gentlemen, warmly supported the

President, and agreed with him, to the ut-most extent, in the propriety of assentingto, nay, of earnestly soiicitmg, the veryadvantageous assistance of the medical

press. ,

The Registrar, and a few others, at-

tempted to stand up as staunchly on theother side of the question. They contended,might and main, for " Hole-and-Corner"work. They seemed, like sensitive plants,afraid of being touched, as if consciousthat they were unable to withstand the fairand open gaze of the profession. A negativereply was made by Mr. Field, the Registrar,to the question of a member, whether the ob-jection to the publication of reports of theSociety, did not exist with respect to one

weekly publication only. The question onthis point might, perhaps, have been put toMr. Field in another shape, and in a way inwhich it would have been impossible for himto have withheld the fact; for we conceivewe have solid ground for alleging, that Mr.Field transfers the minutes of the Society toanother publication.Mr. FrELD, too, said, that the reports

must either be by members, or visitors in-troduced by them ; [what a discovery !]and, in his opinion, members ought to beheld responsible for the conduct of thosewho were introduced by them !The PRESIDENT politely and conclusively

observed, that the accuracy with which thereports were made, was both a sufficient

responsibility and security to the Societyand its members.

ST. BARTHOLOMEW’S HOSPITAL.

List of Patients admitted under the Care ofllfr. Lawrence, October 30.

Henry the Eighth’s Ward, No. 1.—BenjaminShaw, setat. 65, malignant tumour, proceed-ing from the lower part of the right orbit,with displacement of the eye and total lossof sight.

No. 2.—W. Miller, setat. 26, large ulcera-tion of the scrotum, with a fungus protrud-ing.

No. 3.-E. Cummings, xtat. 36, slough-ing ulceration of the left ancle.

’

No. 6.-Isaac Pain, setat. 26, ulceration

of the inside of the left thigh, with a sinus

communicating with the femur.No. 8.-James Haynes, aetat. 30, con-

I tracted rectum, with abscess surrounding,and a fungous excrescence growing from theanus.

No. 11.—Edw. Barber, mtat. 50, exten-sive ulceration of the right leg below the

knee.

184

No. 2, (Back Ward).—E. liagger, ætat.

16, slight contusion of the right kree.No. 8.—Richard Sweeney, tetat. t5, opa-

city of the cornea of both eyes, and immo-bility of the iris of the right eye ; ulcera-tion of the right leg, and painful a6’ectionof the limbs.No. 11.-Edward Sharp, sstat. 25, large

sloughing ulceration of the left arm, withfungus.

Lazarus’ T47ard, No. 2.-R. B., actat. 19,ulceration of the left groin, and bubo.No. 3.—W. J., ætat. 27, enlarged gland

in both groins, with phimosis.No. 4.—W. S., aetat. 17, excoriation and

swelling of the prepuce, and swelling of theglans of the groin.No. 8.-W. L., ietat. 25, phimosis and

ulceration of the prepuce, with pustulareruption over the body.

No. 5.—J. L., stat. z,6, bubo in the leftgroin.

No. 10.-W. K., setat. 25, condylomatousexcrescences about the anus.No. 11.—W. E., ætat. 24, ulceration of

the prepuce, with swelling of the glands inthe right groin.

Faith’s Ward, No. 10.—Ann Tilling, eetat.23, ulceration of the varicose veins of theright leg.No. 18, (Back II%ar°d).-113ary Stewart,

xtat. 28, ulceration of the upper parc of thesoft palate, and extending through it.

No.22.—Jane Perry, mtat. 25, circularulcerations on different parts, and pustulareruptions.

No. 21.—Ellen Ross, atat. 35, deeply-seated phlegmonous ulceration of the neck,with scaly erruption.

Magdalen’s Ward, No. 2.—A. K., æt. 18,gonorrhoea, and ulceration of the labia.

Patieizce’s Ward, No. i.-E. M., ætat. 20,syphilitic eruption over the body.

No. 3.-C. R., intat. 18, inflammationand swelling of the right elbow; ulcera-tions and discharge.No. 8.-A. S., eetat. 16, warts.No. 9.—M. A., aetat. 21, swelling and

inflammation of the right labia.

SUPPOSED PARALYSIS OF THE LOWER EXTRE-

MITIES, WITH OBSTINATE COSTIVENESS.

John Errington, setat. S2, was admittedon the 18th of September into Henry theEighth’s Ward, under the care of Mr.Lawrence, as was inferred from his appear-ance and statement, labouring under partialparalysis of the lower extremities, and a

most obstinately costive state of the bowels.He was of middling stature, dark haired,five feca seven inches in height, ruddy ap-pearance, and a potter by trade. Statedthat about seven months ago he was seizedwith chilliness, numbness, and cramps, in

the lower extremities. Had been accug.

tomed to get wet at work, but was not sen-sible of having taken cold at any particularperiod. 1 he uneasiness in his limbs hadcontinued until his admission. Could with

great difficulty walk across the floor ; in at-

tempting to walk, could not place tliesolesout his feet firmly and flatly on the floor.About three weeks ago his urine began topass at night involuntarily. In the daytime he can occasionally pass it at will, butwith considerable pain ; is extremely rest.less at night, and has not slept soundly forsome months. The ancle and knee jointsalways feel stiff. Pressure at the lowerpart of the lumbar vertebrae gives pain,but there is no external appearance of in.

jury. The bowels have ben costive for along time ; pulse 84. Ordered four grainsof calomel, with ten of jalap, to be takenimmediately, with a dose of the house me.dicine afterwards ; five grains of blue pillin the morning, and to be cupped to sixteenounces.

October 3. Since admitted he has beencupped in the loins and neck ; he has takentwo dozen of the aloes and soap pills, fourdrops of the croton oil (a drop every twohours), a pint of castor oil, and a quart ofhouse medicine, besides enemas and a veryconsiderable quantity of calomel and jalap,and yet he persists in stating that his bowelshave been but slightly acted upon, and theevacuations have been of a green waterynature. Complains of pain in the abdomenupon pressure, though there is no tiniiata-ral appearance to the eye.

In a few days afterwards, suspicion beingexcited in the mind of the surgeon that this

patient was acting the part of the old soldier,and subsequent observations confirming thissuspicion, he was ordered to march, to hisno small annoyance.

FRACTURE OF THE I.EG IN A PATIENT AT

THE SEVENTH MONTH OF GESTATION.

Hannah Bruce, eetat. 41, was admittedinto No. 10, Queen’s Ward, under the careof Mr. Vincent, on the 10th of Sept., athalf-past twelve P.M., with a fracture of thetibia and fibula, at about the inferior thirdof the left leg. The patient is seven months

advanced in pregnancy ; gains her liveli-liood by selling articles in the street, and. met with the accident by slipping on thefloor when entering her lodgings. TheI child is alive, and very strong. The limb is

t put up in splints, and the patient confinedto bed.

, October 22. She has not had a badsymp.torn ; the union is perfect ; there is very1 little swelling of the foot; she is able to

1 walk comfortably with a crutch, and wasIthis day discharged. _ _

_

185

MALICN.INT DISEASE WIRHIN THE CAVITY ’

OF THE PELVIS.

Caroline Douglas, ætat. 33, dark-haired.Sallow appearance, and rather corpulent,was admitted on the 21st of July intoFaitli’s Ward, uuder the care of Mr. Law-rence, apparently labouring under nothingmore than simple cedema of the left lower

extremity, and more particularly of the su-perior portion of the thigh. Leeches were

applied, the saline mixture and purgativeshad recourse to, and she soon left the Hos-

pital, as was supposed, much improved.Ju the course of a few days she returned,

worse than on her first appearance, and wasre-admitted. The limb speedily became

nearly three times as large as the other,and the cedema progressively moved up theleft side of the abdomen and chest, involv-ing the mammary gland. The right lowerextremity became occasionally swollen to

a small extent, and towards the close oflife the whole of the abdomen and chest.The patient, throughout her illness, com-plained of great pain in the left extremity,and, upon pressure, over the left iliac fossa.She was a married woman, had had chil-dren, and the youngest was twelve years ofage. For a considerable period the limb

presented all the appearances of’ phlegma-sia dolens, but till death there was an ob-

scurity about the case. At one periodthere was a complete suppression of urine ; Ithe elaterium was then had recourse to,which occasioned the kidneys again to se.crete. Sometimes there was a small quan-tity of blood mixed with the urine. Leeches,general bleeding, cupping, and the most

appropriate medicines ingenuity could sug-gest, were had recourse to. As after cup-ping in the loins a great quantity of wateryfluid escaped, and considerable relief was

therehy afforded, Mr. Lawrence subse-

quently made two small incisions on theexternal aspect of the thigh, and one in theleg, with a lancet, in the hope that theseoutlets might plose additionally advan-

tageous, but unfortunately the hopes werenot realised. In spite of every treatmentthe patient gradually grew worse till the

morning of the 31st October, on which sheexpired.

The Post-mortem Examination was conduct-ed by Alr. Wood ; and the following ap-pearances presented themselves :-On opening the chest and abdomen, the

pericardium was found to be firmly adherentto several parts of the thorax, the peritoneumto the abdomen, and one portion of the intes-tines to another, in various parts, as well asalmost throughout, to the omentum. The

tight ventricle of the heart enlarged, flaccid,and thin; the liver exceed) ugly tuberculated ;the left kidney enormously enlarged through-out its structure, weighing at least two

pounds, but having a healthy appearance ;the right kidney smaller than usual. Theureter from the left kidney traceable, thoughwith some difficulty, through a portion ofthe diseased structure in the pelvis, andperfectly pervious ; the right ureter was

natural. The renal artery on the dis-eased side not much, if any, larger thanusual. An immense mass of diseased struc-ture was found firmly attached to the inter-nal part of the left pubic and ischiaticportion of the pelvis, running along thelinea ilio-pectinea to the sacro-ischiatic

symphysis, as well as in front, crossing thesymphysis pubis, and dipping down to theoutlet. The structure likewise extendedout of the pelvis, proceeding down thethigh for about an inch and a half belowPoupart’s ligament, and pressing firmlyon the femoral vessels.The diseased substance was of a whitishcheesy nature, having somewhat the ap-pearance of medullary sarcoma; and fromsome parts of it, when cut into, a purulentdischarge was observable. A small quan-tity of coagulated lymph and blood werefound in the femoral vein, a short distancebelow Poupart’s ligament; and these, inall probabability, together with the pressureof the diseased substance upon it, occasion-ed the cedematous state of the limb. Thetunics of the femoral artery were muchthickened, indurated, its calibre diminished,and showed slight signs of commencingossification. The arteries, throughout the

subject, were small. The lower three orfour inches of the rectum were free fromthe disease, but all the rest, with a con-

siderable portion of the sigmoid flexure ofthe colon, were involved in it, as well asthe posterior surface of the bladder, fundusof the uterus, the ovaries on both sides, andthe lumbar glands, which, with the excep-tion of the latter, were all, in some part orother, closely attached together, and withthe diseased mass filled up the cavity of thepelvis, attached to it in front to the leftischiatic fossa and sacrum. On carrying aknife through the symphysis pubis, thebones separated easily to the extent oftwo inches, and then the sacro-iliac sym-physes were also observed to be detached.The internal surface of the bladder, oppo.site to where it was pressed forcibly uponposteriorly, presented a very vascular ap.pearance, and had the mucous membrane

slightly ulcerated, which very likely pro-duced the blood that was observed to havepassed in the urine during life.

Mr. Langstaff, who saw the parts afterdissection, considered the left kidney dis-eased, though it maintained, generally, ahealthy appearance ; and that, probably, itsmorbid condition occasioned the suppressionof the secretion of the urine.