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flannels, when the remedy appears to exerta specific influence over the disease, andact like a charm. Should this statementmeet the eye of any gentleman who can andwill give some information, through themedium of your valuable Journal, uponwhat principle this " aristocratic com-

plaint," often baffling the utmost skill of thephysician, yields so readily to such a sim.ple remedy, his compliance will greatlyoblige, Sir, your obedient servant,

WILLIAM EVANS POPE.University College, March 21st, 1837.

WILLIAM EVANS POPE.

SUPPOSED VAGINAL RESPIRATION.

R. STEVENS.

To the Edituo of THE LANCET.

SIR:—I beg to offer a few remarks onMr. Davis’s letter, on vaginal respiration,which appeared in THE LANCET of Marchthe 18th. Mr. D. stated, that " during thetime the head was retained, in order to

keep the trunk on a level with the head,the breech was supported by the righthand, while the left was passed beneath thethorax, in which position," says Mr. Davis," I distinctly felt, for several minutes, theelevation and depression of the ribs, demon-strating that inspiration and expirationwere alternately taking place." Mr. D.not only states, but also shows, by his com-ment, that he is perfectly satisfied that

respiration did take place. From a casewhich once came under my observation,and from the arguments which suggestedthemselves to me at the time, I am not satis-fied with his conclusion, for the head had

compressed the cord against the pelvis ofthe mother, and the foetal circulation beingobstructed, the independant circulation thencommenced, or attempted to do so. Haller

says, " In consequence of a most intelligentstructure, at the first perception of the un-easiness arising from the opposition to the ’,,passage of the blood through the lungs, theexpiring powers become relaxed, the in-

spiring powers are excited into action, andthe motion of the blood through the lungsis rendered free and accelerated." The

poor infant died, because it was so circum-

stanced, that neither the foetal nor the inde-pendant circulation could be effected, inspite of its natural efforts, which were per-ceived by Mr. D. with his left hand. I am,Sir, your obedient servant,

R. STEVENS.

Kennington-road, March 21,1837.

LONDON MEDICAL SOCIETY.

Monday, April 3.—Mr. Bryant, President.

DYSPEPSIA, AND ORGANIC DISEASE OF THE

STOMACH.—USE OF THE NITRATE OF SILVER,HYDROCYANIC ACID, AND SULPHATE OF IRON.—OBJECTIONS TO CREOSOTE.

AFTER a case had been read of malignantdisease of the stomach, occuring in a gen-tleman fifty years of age, with whom novomiting occurred, which was attributedto the fact of the pyloric orifice of thestomach being free from the disease, thefollowing discussion took place respectingthe treatment of affections of the stomach,both functional and organic :-

Dr. JOHNSON said, that if there were sitn-ple irritation, in which the organ did notbear well the presence of food, and diges-tion did not proceed in the usual manner,the plan of treatment should consist, first,in giving small quantities only of the mostnutritious food, and that which was mosteasily digested, whether the disease werefunctional or organic. Various means hadbeen recommended to lessen this irritation,which it was not necessary then to enume-rate. In his (Dr. J.’s) practice, the ni-trate of silver had proved to be one of themost powerful means of reconciling thestomach to the presence of food. He feltquite convinced it was as safe as any othermedicine, and not liable to produce badeffects. Its modus operccndi he did not pre-tend to know. He had given it in con-siderable quantities, but this was not oftennecessary. He generally began with halfa grain, given in the course of a day inthree doses, and increased it, if necessary,to a grain and a half in the same period; heseldom, in diseases of the stomach, exceededthis. In epilepsy, however, he had givenas much as three, six, or even eight grains,in the course of twenty-four hours.

Dr. T. THOMSON inquired whether itwas equally applicable in idiopathic andsymptomatic dyspepsia. Sickness, and otherdisorders of the stomach, might arise fromdisease of other organs, ’particularly of thebrain and uterus. He had found the hy-drocyanic acid most useful in the idiopa-thic cases.

Dr. JOHNSON said that, of course, wherethe sickness or disorder of stomach wasfound to arise from a remote cause, an

attempt must be made to remove the cause;but when that could not be done, or evenin conjunction with the efforts to do so, itbecame necessary to relieve the stomachaffection by direct means. Hydrocyanicacid allayed irritation for a time, but it

generally soon came on again. It was,however, a useful remedy in temporarystates of gastric irritation.A MEMBER inquired whether any one prt!.

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sent had tried the creosote in the affectionsunder consideration.

Mr. DENDY inquired what was thenationale of the action of nitrate of silveron the stomach. He considered there ex-isted, in many instances, an erythematouscondition of the stomach, and in thosecases the nitrate of silver would do good ;but that when there was merely irritationpresent, the hydrocyanic acid was likely tobe the more useful remedy.

Dr. BENNETT asked for information onthe employment of the sulphate of iron inaffections of the stomach. He had foundthe hydrocyanic acid more beneficial in

idiopathic than in symptomatic vomiting.Dr. T. THOMSON.—Is there not fear, in

many cases, that creosote, being so power-ful a stimulant, would produce an inflam-matory state of the stomach? In whatform was the nitrate of silver used ?

Dr. JoHNSON could not give any veryrational explanation of the operation of thenitrate of silver. Its action might, how-ever, be reasoned upon it from analogy. Ina sub-infiamed state of the mucous mem-brane about the fauces, in which there wasthickening of the membrane, elongation ofthe uvula, with harassing cough, and othersymptoms, these were all removed by theapplication of the nitrate of silver. Thelate Mr. Vance owed two-thirds of hisgreat reputation to his extensive employ-ment of that remedy in affections of thisdescription. Mr. Vance’s plan was to dipthe sponge of a probang into a solution ofthe nitrate of silver, and push it down thepharynx until it reached the upper part ofthe oesophagus. In this way his successwas remarkable. The nitrate of silver, ap-plied to highly irritable ulcers, also af-forded great relief. He had used sulphateof iron considerably, but chiefly in cases of Iyoung women, in whom there existed a de-fective action of the uterus. He had not Ifound it effectual in diseases of the stomach,from the same reason as creosote might beconsidered to be dangerous, namely, therisk of establishing a state of inflammation.Creosote might be employed in some cases,such as simple atony of the stomach, withbenefit; but where the organ was in a

state of great irritation it could not begiven with safety. He always administeredthe nitrate of silver in the form of pill. Itwas generally given mixed with crumb ofbread ; but that was objectionable, inas-much as bread was generally adulteratedwith alum and various other substances,and the nitrate of silver was decomposed;he therefore always gave it in conjunctionwith extract of liquorice. He had seenseveral instances in which the skin hadbeen tinged blue by the administration ofthe nitrate of silver. Only one such casehad occurred in his own practice. In thatinstance the patient, a gentleman, took the

medicine fur the cure of epilepsy ; the dis.ease was cured, but in consequence of theanxiety of the patient to totally eradicatethe disease, he continued the medicine forsix weeks beyond the time at which he wasstrictly forbidden to continue it. He hadnever seen the blue tinge, except incases where the medicine was continuedduring more than three months. A similarfact was also noticed by the late Dr.Baillie.

WESTMINSTER MEDICAL SOCIETY.

Saturday, April 1.—Mr. Quain, President.

DIABETES MELLITUS AND INSIPIDUS.—USE OF

STRYCHNINE.—BLOODLETTING IN LARGE

QUANTITIES.

MR. HASTINGS detailed a case, which heconsidered was one of incipient diabetesmellitus. The patient was a young lady,twenty-two years of age, who had sufferedfor several years from dyspepsia and hys-teria. She was very nervous, and in the

early part of last February was subjectedto a severe mental shock, the consequenceof which was, that in the middle of themonth diabetes, with various symptoms ofdebility, came on. She was unable to takesolid food ; and though she only swalloweda pint of fluid during the twenty-four hours,she made five pints of limpid urine duringthat time, but it was -not decidedly sweet.About the 20th of the month small doses ofstrychnia were administered, and continuedfor several days, with the effect of gra-dually diminishing the quantity of the se-

cretion, until it returned to the normalquantity. He did not consider the cure tobe attributable to the astringent power ofthe medicine, but rather to the beneficialinfluence which it exerted on an unhealthycondition of the nerves connected with theassimilating organs. Dr. Peacock, of Dar-lington, had related a case in which thismedicine, in conjunction with opium, &c.,had arrested the progress of the affection jbut he (Mr. H.) was inclined to consider,that this success was mainly attributable tothe effect of the strychnine, and not to theastringent power of the medicines combinedwith it. It was true, that in his (Mr. H’s.)case, the urine was notjdecidedly sweet; buthe thought it fair to conclude that it wouldhave become so in a very short time, hadthe disease not been arrested.

Dr. ADDISON thought that the last con.clusion might admit of considerable doubt.Cases frequently occurred in which theurine became abnormal in quantity, without

exhibitino- Z5 any other unhealthy symptom,from very slight causes, and were easilycured. Sometimes, however, these casesbecame unmanageable, and the disease con-