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rare, but that its proper muscles should be deficient. We could understand such a phenomenon better were a whole limb gone in utero; but why Nature should pick out a par-ticular bone and its muscles in the centre of a limb for de-ficiency, is a problem that is difficult to solve.

CHLORATE OF POTASH LOTION IN CANCEROUSULCERS.

AT the Royal Free Hospital, Mr. Weeden Cooke is in thehabit of employing a lotion to heal up various kinds of ulcerswhich is worthy of attention. It consists of half an ounce ofthe chlorate of potash, forty minims of hydrochloric acid, twodrachms of the sedative liquor of opium, and a pint of water(twenty ounces). This has been lately used in a very severecase of ulcerated cancer of the lower lip, left side of the face,and left half of the upper lip, in a man aged forty-six, the sub-ject of it these last five years, who had formerly undergone anoperation with but temporary benefit, although the disease inhim is not hereditary, and who was admitted with this cancerin a horribly foul, swollen condition. When we saw the pa-tient on the last occasion (June 1st), we observed that hisgeneral health had much improved by a course of internal me-dicine of bark and hydrochloric acid, and the lotion had con-verted a malignant sore into a healthy granulating ulcer, of aclean pink colour, with a disposition to heal up at the margins.The tendency to bleed, which was always present before, hadnow completely ceased; and we hope that a large portion ofthis ulcer may eventually cicatrize under the plan of treat-ment employed. ______________

TUMOURS AT THE SEAT OF INSERTION OF THESARTORIUS MUSCLE.

THE insertion of the sartorius muscle takes place by anaponeurotic expansion into the inner tuberosity of the tibia.This muscle is the longest in the body, and as its use, besidesbeing an abductor and an elevator, is to cross the legs overeach other, as tailors sit with them, it accounts for the name.Underneath the expansion of the tendon of insertion of thismuscle most pressure exists when the legs are placed in theposition just referred to, and will account for the presence of abursa in this situation. An example of the kind was submittedto treatment by Mr. Fergusson, at King’s College Hospital, onthe 29th of May, in an elderly man. The tumour in this pecu-liar situation was the size of a small flattened orange ; but as itwould have been a matter of some difficulty and danger to dis-sect it out in this situation-danger from the risk of inflam-mation-a seton was passed through it, and a puncture let outall the serum it contained, which was sanguinolent. Its cure isa question of time; but the man is at present going on well.At Guy’s Hospital, on the 1st of June, Mr. Cock removed

a tumour, the size of a walnut, situated over the insertion ofthe sartorius muscle, of an elderly woman, who had had thegrowth for fourteen years, commencing at first in the shape ofa small kernel. She had recently struck the tumour by acci-dent, which caused violent inflammation not only in it, but inthe surrounding skin. This having subsided, permitted of re-moval. A section of the growth showed it to be fibrous instructure, but infiltrated with blood, which might have ledto degeneration of a malignant character. The result of theoperation is at present satisfactory.

Reviews and Notices of Books.Observatioins on Naval Hyqiene and Scurvy, more particularly

as the latter appeared during a Polar Voyage. By ALEX.ARMSTRONG, M.D., R.N., &c. London: Churchill. 1858.pp. 117.

As in the various Polar expeditions that have left this

country, scurvy has always occurred to a greater or less extent,and, with one exception apparently, has made its appearanceduring the first winter in the ice, it appeared to Dr. Armstronga subject for inquiry to what circumstance it was owing that" One ship, in no respect better equipped or victualled than

the others, but in some respects placed under comparativelydisadvantageous circumstances, enjoyed an immunity from thedisease for a longer period than has been hitherto known, and

was visited with less comparative mortality than has everoccurred on board any ship wintering in the Polar sea."-p. 8.

The exemption from scurvy for an unprecedentedly long periodhere alluded to occurred on board H.M.S. Investigator, duringthe late expedition to the Polar regions, and of which Dr.Armstrong was the medical officer. In his present work heattempts to account for such immunity, as has been enjoyed byno other ship, narrating such circumstances in connexion withthe voyage of the Inveat-igator as may have influenced her crewfor better or for worse, describing the means adopted for theprevention of the disease, and finally treating of the disease asit occurred on board that ship." Scurvy did not make its appearance amongst the crew of

H.M.S. Investigator until the spring of 1852, or upwards oftwo years and three months from the date of the ship’s com-mission......But the causes in existence for producing scurvywere by no means few......Notwithstanding a sea voyage of sixmonths’ duration, and a sojourn of two winters on the ice,during the first of which we were on an allowance of food in-sufficient for maintaining the body in a state of health andvigour, and during the second of which our allowance was re-duced to two-thirds of the original quantity, yet it was notuntil we had been nearly seven months on this reduced allow-ance that the disease made its appearance amongst us. "-p. 36.The chief preventive measures laid down by Dr. Armstrong

are the following :-lst. To get together a good ship’s company;or one composed of men of a high standard of health andapparent power of endurance. 2ndly. To attend to the state ofthe air between decks and of the decks themselves; "theformer should be pure and dry, and the latter always dry."3rdly. The proper clothing of the men. 4thly. The promotionof hilarity and cheerfulness amongst them. 5thly. The dueregularity of the quantity and quality of the food, both animaland vegetable; and here must be included a sufficient supplyof fresh succulent vegetables, particularly of the families Cru-ciferce and Aurantiacecs. This supply not always being attain-able on board ship, its place must be filled by " lemon-juice.""The lemon-juice with which we were supplied was of the

most excellent quality, and consisted of two kinds, one ofwhich was prepared by adding a tenth part of brandy, and theother was the acid simply boiled, and containing no spirit.The juice was kept in bottles, each containing sixty-four ounces,with a stratum of olive oil, about half an inch in thickness, onits surface, and the bottles were carefully corked and sealed....... It was mixed in separate tubs, from which each mandaily drank his allowance in presence of an officer. The adop’tion of this practice was attended with the happiest results. Ihad thus the positive evidence afforded me that every man inthe ship drank his allowance (one ounce) daily, and was thusfortified with a regular daily quantity of a powerful anti-scor-

butic. To this circumstance I unhesitatingly attribute not onlythe immunity we enjoyed from scurvy for a longer time thanhas ever been known before in the Polar Sea, but also our goodfortune in maintaining an unprecedentedly high standard ofhealth amongst our crew during the some period."-p. 18.The navy allowance is half an ounce of lemon-juice daily,

with the same quantity of sugar, after the men have been four.teen days upon salt provisions; but in Polar service double thisallowance is daily given. With regard to the relative meritsof the two kinds.of lemon-juice, Dr. Armstrong could detect nodifference in their therapeutic influence over the disease. He

is, however, disposed to give a preference to the juice which hasbeen prepared with spirit, as it remains clear and free fromdeposit in the bottle, while that which was simply boiled

" Deposited a portion of its mucilaginous constituents in theform of a heavy, dense, cloudy-looking mass at the bottom ofthe bottle, apparently indicating that some change had takenplace; but neither its power of neutralizing alkalies, nor itstherapeutic efficacy was in the least degree affected. "-p. 94.

’ The author believes that the opinion entertained by many,that lemon-juice becomes deteriorated by keeping, is quite fal-lacious, as " it will retain its virtues unimpaired for any lengthof time, provided that due care be observed in the mode ofpreserving it." Dr. Armstrong considers there is no disease inthe treatment of which more early decided and certain mani.

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festations of the effects of remedies are observed than in

scurvy."In proportion as we can supply those who are attacked

with it with fresh animal food, fruits, and vegetables, so willthe rapidity of the cure be effected. In the absence of theseremedial agents, which act as specifics in the treatment of thisdisease, the same effects will be produced, but less rapidly, bythe exhibition of lemon-juice alone in quantity proportionate tothe severity of the attack; the therapeutic action of this power-ful remedy being always much aided, and being more quicklyseen, if the diet can at the same time be improved by the sub-stitution, wholly or in part, of fresh meat for salt, where thelatter has been in use....... Lemon-juice, therefore, is, in myopinion, the sovereign remedy in the treatment of this disease,where fresh fruits and vegetables are not available. "-p. 97.As regards the essential pathology of scurvy, Dr. Armstrong

views with much distrust all the hitherto advanced doctrines

concerning it, -a deficiency of the salts of potash in the blood ;an excess of those of soda; increase or diminution of the fibrineof the blood, &c. &c. He inclines to the opinion, however,that in all fully-developed cases ’’ the amount of fibrine willbe found diminished and its plasticity impaired."-p. 72.

Dr. Armstrong alludes to three forms of the malady as itcame within his sphere of observation-1 st, scorbutic debilityor mild scurvy; 2ndly, scurvy proper; 3rdly, acute scurvy.We strongly recommend the careful perusal of the author’sfourth chapter, in which the physiognomy and course of thedifferent forms of the disease are sketched by the masterlyhand of truthful experience. The whole treatise is essentiallypractical, and worthy the most considerate attention of themedical officers of the Royal Navy, as also of the MerchantService.

On Localized Galvanism applied to the Treatment of Pa?-alysi-3and Muscular Contraction. By R. M. LAWRANCE, M.D.,Ophthalmic Surgeon to the Great Northern Hospital.London : Henry Renshaw.INGENIOUS observers availing themselves of the recent disco-

veries of Faraday, du Bois Raymond, and others, have suc-ceeded in giving to medical electricity an entirely new cha-racter. Amongst these stands prominently Duchene de Bou-logne, to whose discoveries ample justice has been done

by Dr. Lawrance. The treatise now before us places in asimple and distinct manner before the reader the history ofmedical electricity from its earliest application in medicine tothe present day. All the experiments made by the surgeons ofFrance and Germany have been tested by the author,leaving nothing to conjecture. Thus the work is eminentlypractical, claiming nothing for the therapeutic agent recom-mended but what it seems fairly entitled to. Pathologicalsurgeons will find many useful hints scattered throughout the work. Unlike some continental electricians, the author,never forgetful of the progress made by pathology, is yet fullyaware that much of the past is now no longer admitted orreceived as truths, and he avails himself of all the modern im-provements in the healing art, to substantiate his views.

" There was a period" (observes the author) " in medicine,when, intluenced by the labours of the illustrious pathologistsof a past age-Lietaud and Morgagni, Bonetus and Baillie, dis-eases accompanied with organic changes of the organs were heldto be uniformly incurable. We now know that they are notso. There was a period, and that not a remote one, whenamputations of the limbs were practised for diseased conditionswhich the modern surgeon now treats without mutilation. Inthis new phasis of medicine and surgery, medical electricityenters and takes its place, not without well-grounded expecta-tions of its therapeutic powers being shortly fully recognisedand acknowledged in all the departments of the healing art." "

HEALTH OF PARIS.A report, prepared by the muni-cipal authorities, and addressed to the Emperor, states thatthe health of Paris is excellent, notwithstanding the greatheat, and that it is free from those epidemic affections whichalmost always accompany an extraordinary rise in the tem- perature

Foreign Department.A URETHRAL BLADDER.

AT a recent meeting of the Surgical Society of Paris, M.Demarquay presented the urinary organs of a young man oftwenty-two, who died under the care of M. Monod, at theParis Maison Municipale de Sante.The patient, much given to onanism, had, three years ago,

retention of urine, with severe pain in the hypogastrium. At-

tempts were made to relieve him with a catheter, but withoutsuccess. Since that time the urine always dribbled away; anda tumour gradually formed in the perinaeum. When admitted,the swelling was much larger than the fist, almost half globular,very superficial, and fluctuating. It projected externally, andalso into the rectum, where it was felt as high as the fingercould reach.

M. Demarquay passed a catheter, which went easily intothe fluctuating pouch, and a small stream of urine followed.But the instrument could not be passed into the bladder. Anincision was then made on the lower part of the tumour, whenurine freely gushed out. A catheter was introduced into thewound, which found its way to the posterior opening of theurethra, and thence into the bladder,* the capacity of whichseemed to the operator extremely small. The instrument wasleft in the bladder, and was used to inject fluid into that viscusevery morning. (The kind of fluid is not mentioned.) A fewdays afterwards the man was feverish, and complained of painin the abdomen; the injections were given up, but the instru-ment was allowed to remain. The symptoms, however, grewworse, and the patient died. (It is not stated how many daysthe catheter was left in the bladder.)

, On a post-mortem examination, a sub-peritoneal abscess wasfound reaching from the pelvis to the diaphragm, without anytraces of peritonitis. The origin of the purulent sac could notbe discovered, and the tissues around the wound made in theperinseum were in a healthy state. The bladder was found ina very remarkable and perhaps unique condition. The kid-

neys and one of the ureters were healthy; the other ureterwas dilated to the diameter of the little finger. The bladder,extremely contracted, was reduced to the size of the trizone,and presented only two-thirds of an inch in diameter; theprostatic portion of the urethra was, on the other hand, muchdilated, and might have lodged a small apple. At the bulb,the urethra presented an enormous dilatation, forming a spaciouspouch, in which a man’s fist might easily have moved. The

parietes of the pouch were thin, and even transparent in someplaces; the mucous membrane lining the pouch was markedby a few eroded spots, and was continued posteriorly and an-teriorly with the mucous membrane of the urethra. No stric-ture nor any possible lesion were found in that canal anteriorto the pouch; and the mechanism by which the dilatation hadoccurred remained obscure. The patient stated that the pouchhad existed about three years.A member of the Society. M. Tarjovay, called attention tê

the fact that the portion of the urethra situated in front of thedilatation had not the least trace of spongy tissue; also, thatthe parietes of the canal were quite membranous and trans-parent ; whilst, in the normal state, they should be surroundedby the corpus spongiosum, which is generally two or threelines in diameter.

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UNEXPLAINED PERFORATION OF THE RECTUM, FOLLOWEDBY FATAL PERITONITIS.

At a late meeting of the Medical Society of the Paris hos-pitals, M. Legroux mentioned the case of a man of thirty-fourwho was seized, after having partaken of sausages and wine,with pain in the lower part of the abdomen. Warm infusionsand enemata did not relieve him, and he was admitted into thehospital. All the symptoms of acute peritonitis soon occurred,and the patient sank about twenty-four hours after admission.On a post-mortem examination, general peritonitis with effu-

sion of fæcal matter in the true pelvis were observed, and thecause of the effusion was found to be a perforation of the ante-rior portion of the rectum, immediately above the reflexion ofthe peritonaeum from the posterior aspect of the bladder. Thehole was round, about half an inch in diameter, and looked asif punched out. The margins were slightly grey, and no traceof inflammation was found in the vicinity. M. Legroux givesno opinion as to the cause of the ulceration which broughtabout the perforation. __ _

* This is certainty a very uncommon and particularly lucky steering of thecatheter.-SUB-ED- L-