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MORICCHINI has reported cases to thesame effect, and he says that he hasfound these two acids and the oxalicacid in the nrine after the use ot’ thesolanum tycopersicum.

Gallic Acid.—A drachm of this acidwas given to a dug, a third part ofwhich was again vomited ; in fivehours it was found in such quantity inthe urine that a single drop of thehydrochlorate of iron seamed to makethe 8uid of a dark blue colour.

Succinic Acid.—The urine of a dogwhen examined, about four honrs afterhalf a drachm of this acid had been

taken, was found to be veiy atealine,and to effervesce with the acids. Thehydroclorate of iron caused a thickprecipitate to be thrown down of abrown colour, which being washed anddried, and then boiled in water, sepa-rated succinate of iron.

Benzoic Acid.—It is not vet knownwhether this acid exists naturally inthe urine of some animals or not, orwhether it is introduced by the foodtaken into the stomach, especially inthe herbivorous animals. M. VOGELhas informed us, that it is to be foundin the urine of the rhinoceros, butnot in that of the elephant ; yet theseanimals feed very much on the samespecies of nourishment. The existenceof this acid, however, in the urine ofthe young animals, nourished only bythe milk of the parent, appears to fa-vour the first opinion, nainely, that itis formed naturally in the urine. Onthe other hand, it is said, that someof the plants on which these animalsfeed, particularly the melilotus oflici-nalis, are found to contain large qnan-tities of this acid. However that maybe, the following experiment proves,incontrovertably, that if benzoic acidùe iHtt’oduccd into the stomach, itpasses, uaaltered and in great quan-tity, in the urine. Half a drachmof benzoic acid was given to a dog,which had before taken some nitre;in about five hours the urine whichwas passed was examined, and foundto contain, when evaporated, crystalsof benzoate of potash.

Vegetable Alcalies.—Dr. MARCEThas stated, that the vegetable acidsare decomposed duting the process ofassimiiation, but te experiments of

WOCHLER prove the contrary, as itcan be easily seen that they pass thekidneys unaltered. Dr. Wocliler tooka drachm of the acetate of soda; inabout an hour the urine which passedwas examined, and found to be acid ;that which was passed in two hourswas alcaline, and effervesced on theaddition of acids; in three hours ithad lost its alcaline character, andhad again become acid; many otherexperiments showed the same results.

From experiments made on thecream of tartar, soluble tartar, and theother tartrates, it was found that theybecame, in their passage through the

kidneys, converted into carbonatedsuits. The urine, which becomes alca-line by the use of vegetable salts, isfound to be pretty much loaded withcalcareous phosphates. The use ofcherries was found to make the urinevery alcaline, and by incorporation ofa pound of the sweet cherry, a largequantity of soda was obtained. In

general, observes the author, the fruitswhich contain alcaline salts makethe urine alcaline, whilst those, onthe contrary, in which a free acid

exists, do not appear to exert a pro-portional influence.These ,.experiments will become

useful in enabling ns to prescribe withprecision such substances as we wishto reach the kidneys and bladder intheir active state, and may conse-quently lead to some considerable im-provement in the treatment of thatdistressing complaint, the stone. Thesubject has not yet been concludedby WOCHLER, and as soon as the con-tinuation reaches us, we shall furnishan account of it.

ANNALI UNIVERS. DI MEDICINA.

JAN. & FEB. 1825.

Rupture of the Uterus; escape of theFœtus into the Abdominal Cavity;Operation performed; recovery of thelilother.

The account of this case was furnished

to OMODEI by Dr. LOUIS FRANK, phy-sician to Maria Louisa, duchess of

Parma, and although the particularsare stated in a very loose manner,

346

these circumstances are worthy of

observation; 1st, The operation wasperformed, although we are not toldhow; 2dly, The mother recovered,but the time is not stated, althoughwe are told that she was able to go

out at the end of forty days; 3dly,The woman became again pregnant,and was safely delivered. Had such,

a case occurred in this country, it

would certainly have been served upin folio, instead of being wedged in atthe fag-end of a monthly periodical.

Angela Grossi, forty-four years ofage, a native of Parma, having beensafely delivered of five children, be-came pregnant for the sixth time,and arrived almost to the termination-of gestation, without any unfavour-able symptom. On the 9th of August,during the morning, she began to feelsome uneasiness; she got up, however,and moved about, and a short timeafter was seized all of a sudden withfaintness and vomiting. The personsin the room immediately laid her onthe btd, and in doing so, let her failrather suddenly. Althongh the pa-tient complained of faintnes’-, it wasnot so con;p’ete as to prevent her fromknowing what was done, and the sen-sation which she described to be pro-duced when she was laid upon thebed, was like a violent stretching ofthe abdomen, or as if she had felt twochildren. In the mean time the ab-domen began to swell, the vomitingdid not cease, and the respiration be-came more and more difficult. Thefriends immediately sent for ProfessorRossi, who, on his arrival, from theappearance of the patient, and thehistory of the case, pronounced it tcbe a rupture of the uterus. A consul-tation was held, at which ProfessorCICCONI was present, and it was de-termined to perform an operation foithe liberation of the foetus. The ope-ration was begun about two hoursafter the uterus had given way, byCICCONI. An incision was made inthe left hypogastric region, over tlalpoint at which the feel of the fœtus.appeared to project. The extent oj

the incision, and the direction inwhich it was made, are not stated,which are certainly two very greatdefects in the description; however,it is said, that as soon as the incisionwas made, the feet presented them-selves, and that the fcetus and after-birth were gradually and safely re-moved through the opening. Here,again, is a great chasm in the historyof the case, but we shall endeavourto get further particulars respectingit. The account goes on to say, thatin forty days the patient was able togo out, and that the natural secretionof the uterus returned. In aboutthree years after this operation, shebecame again pregnant, and was de-livered safely at seven months; thechild only lived a few days.The cicatrix of the wound made in

the abdominal parietes had allowedof the formation of a hernia of the sizeof a large apple, which had not givenrise to any particular inconvenience.

A case showing the efficacy of the Hy-driodate of Potash in cutaneous Car-cinoma.

A woman, about fifty years of age,had a cancerous ulceration of the leftbreast near , the nipple ; when shewent into the Hospital, the surgeonunder whose care she was admitted

proposed to amputate the part, but tothat she would not consent. " I then

advised," says Dr. EDWARD GRAEFE," the wound to be drest with an oint-

ment containing a drachm of the hy-drioda e of potass in two ounces ofthe rcse ointment, with which the

’ wound was drest once in the day.The appearance of the wound soon

began to improve; the hardened edgeand irregular surface began to be

; much smoother than before. I in.! creased the strength of the ointmentone half ; I mixed one drachm of thispreparation of’ iodine with one ounce

of the ointment, and the manner inwhich the wound healed was sur-

prising ; in nine weks from the timethe ointment was first applied, the

’ patient was quite well.’ 11 In the cancerous ulcer of the tipperlip, I have found the application oft this ointment attended with the best

effect."—Graefe ans Walther’s Journalder Chirurgy, 1825.