BOOK REVIEWS.

Medical, literary and scientific publications will be reviewed in this department._Books and journals should be marked NEW ENGLAND MEDICAL GAZETTE, and sent to 80 E. Concord St., Boston.

Pathogenic Micro-Organisms, including Bacteria and Protozoa A practical manual for students, physicians, and health officers. By William Hallock Park, M.D., Professor of Bacteriology and Hygiene, University and Bellevue Medical College, and Director of the Research Laboratory of the Department of Health, City of New York, assisted by Anna W. Williams, M.D., Assistant Director of the Research Laboratory. Illustrated. New York and Philadelphia. Lea Brothers & Co. 1905. pp. 556. Second edition.

Books reaching the reviewer often give rise to either favorable or unfavorable ideas, according as the general arrangement, form, and appearance of the volume impresses him. Just why such an impression is made cannot always be stated.

The volume under consideration is one of the fortunate ones, which is well constructed, well prepared, and satisfactorily arranged. The combination of bacteria and protozoa and the studies connected with them, seems to be a particularly happy one. It is something for which we have looked in vain in the past.

The author is certainly to be congratulated for having produced a volume, both agreeable at first sight, and most satisfactory upon more careful investigation. The history of the study of micro-organisms, as given in the first chapter, allows one to note the beginning of bacteriology, and the advancement of the science step by step, as the microscope became more perfectly developed and as careful investigators devoted more and more of their time to such studies.

Among some of the special points to be noted is the very practical chapter upon sterilization of the hands, instruments, furniture, and various other substances. Diphtheria is treated very fully, and the results of the modern use of antitoxin clearly portrayed.

That the present edition has been carefully brought up-to-date is evidenced by the description which the writer gives of the so-called protozoa found in connection with syphilis, scarlet fever, small pox, and rabies, all of which have been for the first time very recently described in various journals.

One may be sure that the book will not prove a disappointment in regard to the various subjects that it covers, and one may also feel positive that the information contained therein is of the most recent and reliable kind.

W.

Medical Annual, 1905 A Resumé of the Year's Medical Literature by Thirty-six Department Editors, with Added Articles by Noted Specialists. Twenty-third year of publication. Illustrated. New York: E. B. Treat & Co. 1905. pp. 718. Price, $3.00 net.

The book consists of three parts: I. A dictionary of materia medica and therapeutics, with a review of the year's progress in therapeutics, and a list of new drugs. II. Dictionary and description of advances in medicine and surgery throughout the year. III. The year's work in sanitary science. A volume containing such clear and concise notes on such a variety of subjects and the very latest information concerning each, must of necessity prove to be of great value to the general practitioner. To one to whom large libraries are inaccessible, either on account of distance or time, this volume will bring many things briefly described that would otherwise be impossible or difficult to procure. The mere fact that it has reached its twenty-third year of publication is a sufficient proof of its worth.

The Physician's Visiting List for 1906 Fifty-fifth year of its publication. Philadelphia: P. Blakiston's Son & Co.

This arrives in its usual compact, neat, and serviceable form, and continues to warrant the place in professional esteem that its fifty-four predecessors have made for it.

While the very carefully compiled dose-table will not often be used by homœopaths, yet for the members of the other school it will probably be almost indispensable.

Good paper, good printing and good binding unite with good ideas to form a very attractive pocket book that should be of value to every physician who owns one.

W. H. W.

Infectious Diseases By J. C. Wilson, A.M., M.D., Professor of Medicine in the Jefferson Medical College; Physician-in-chief to the German Hospital, Philadelphia, etc. 1905. D. Appleton & Co. New York and London. Illustrated. pp. 925. Translated by J. L. Salinger.

This is a volume giving a full and comprehensive description of the various infectious diseases and the latest methods of treating the same. It has been written by a number of contributors, most of whom are Germans, and so probably better known in their own country than in America. As is usual in all such compilations the chapters vary considerably in excellence, some being most satisfactory and others less so. Klemperer gives a very satisfactory chapter on typhoid, emphasizing particularly the methods of hydro-therapy in its treatment. Para-typhoid is also given a separate chapter. In the section devoted to yellow fever is quoted an article by Dr. Carroll, in which he describes the experimental inoculation of himself by an infected mosquito.

Cholera Indica and cholera nostras are not clearly paragraphed or differentiated in all their phases. Mallory receives two lines, in a note by the editor, concerning the parasite described by him in scarlet fever, while Councilman fares somewhat better as to his parasite for small pox.

In a few instances the reviewer had difficulty in obtaining the exact meaning of some vague sentences.

Taken in its entirety the volume contains a large amount of very valuable information that is easily accessible through a full index. The printing is clear, and the paper good. W. H. W.

The Diseases of the Uterine Cervix By Homer Irwin Ostrom, M.D., Surgeon to the Metropolitan Hospital, etc. Philadelphia: Boericke and Tafel. pp. 386.

The following features of the book are noteworthy: Each chapter is subdivided into paragraphs headed by large type, which greatly facilitate quick reading and ready reference in using the book. The book bears the stamp of individuality and appears to an unusual degree to be a record of the writer's personal experience and methods. The author relies on detailed description rather than on illustration to explain his methods. Much attention is given to local and general therapeutics, with many new and and practical suggestions. The treatment advised is from the standpoint of the practical worker rather than that of the idealist in his study. The descriptions of surgical operations and their after treatment are given in some detail. The recommendations for the use of various remedies for postoperative treatment of surgical cases are contributions to the subject which the reader will appreciate.

The chapter on Gynecological Antisepsis contains many excellent suggestions. A little more stress might have been laid on the fact that many cases of supposed primary tuberculosis remote from the thorax, including cases of tuberculosis of the Fallopian tubes, have been found on autopsy to be secondary to tuberculosis of the bronchial or mediastinal glands. The

author states that post-operative parotitis is always associated with oral sepsis, which develops in consequence of the depression of vital force following a gynecological operation. The comparative frequency of suppurative parotitis after abdominal section and as a complication of appendicitis has been commented on by various writers without giving satisfactory explanations. The author's opinion is quite in accord with the tendency of professional opinion to consider these cases as a mouth infection through Stenson's duct and not as a metastasis. Fortunately such cases admit of a much better prognosis than a true metastatic septic infection of the gland. The author recommends for an intestinal antiseptic, Carbonate of Guaiacol in capsules containing five grains to be taken before eating for several days before operating. He also advises, as preparatory to operating, the drinking freely of pure spring water for several days, and taking a five or ten grain powder of Mercurius Dulcis Ix for several successive nights before the operation, to act on the liver and to stimulate the intestinal function. He advises the patient to drink a pint of hot water shortly before the operation as a prophylaxis against vomiting. He has found Capsicum tincture six drops in two ounces of water, a teaspoonful every half hour, of some benefit for post-operative vomiting. He recommends for an antiseptic in preparing the vagina, one drachm of acetic acid to an ounce of alcohol, and it might be well to add that sixty-five per cent alcohol has greater germicidal power than the ninety-five per cent. He finds an eighth of a grain of morphia, given after the effect of the anaesthetic wears off, very beneficial to the patient, and repeats the dose if it is not sufficient to secure rest. At the same time, he warns against the danger of using morphia to excess. Many excellent suggestions are given for the treatment of shock and for septicemia, which can be read with interest in connection with a paper by the author on Post Operative Vomiting, in the Journal of Surgery, Gynecology and Obstetrics, for November, 1905.

We question the feasibility in the routine vaginal examination of palpating the ureters, the dilated pampiniform plexus of veins, or of a uteroovarian varicocele as a means of obtaining reliable information.

The chapter on laceration of the cervix presents the subject clearly. It is to be hoped that the indications for operating will be more clearly defined in another edition.

The chapter on neoplasms is carefully written at some length and their surgical treatment described. Some of the details differ from those in common use, but he gives his reasons for them. A few illustrations in the next edition will be helpful to some readers.

The book shows painstaking care in its preparation, and it can be recommended as a book of decided merit and practical value. The press work is good with the exception of some minor typographical errors, which mar the appearance of an otherwise handsome volume. G. R. S

Man and His Poisons By Gilbert Abrams, A.M., M.D., F.R.M.S. New York. E. B. Treat & Co.

1906. 268 pp.

It is an interesting speculation, what the practical physician of a quartercentury ago would have said of a book which ranks, among the auto-toxins most perilous to man, the power of thought. Yet so we find thought-power ranked, under date of 1906, by Dr. Abrams, M.D. of Heidelberg, ex-professor of pathology, clinician of wide repute. His statements and illustrative cases in support of them, here chronicled, are exceedingly interesting and stimulating, and may, carefully studied and intelligently experimented with, serve to solve not a few of the most obscure and trying problems that beset a physician's way. The ten chapters of the valuable little treatise deal with many forms of auto-toxæmia, objective and subjective. It has great and practical value to the medical student, graduate and undergraduate.

Physical Diagnosis, including Diseases of the Thoracic and Abdominal Organs For Students and Physicians. By Egbert LeFevre, M.D. Second Edition, thoroughly revised and much enlarged. 479 pp. with 102 engravings, and 6 full-page plates in black and colors. Lea Brothers & Co., publishers. Philadelphia and New York.

In this new edition the general plan of Dr. LeFevre's book is retained, but the material has been thoroughly revised and brought abreast of the times. Topographical and relational anatomy is naturally the foundation upon which the book rests. It tells briefly but impressively what can be determined by auscultation, inspection, palpation, and percussion of the thorax and abdomen. It gives special attention to the diagnosis of diseases of the respiratory and circulatory systems and the abdominal organs.

Of special interest is the chapter on the results and technique of X-ray examinations, now so vital an aid in the diagnosis of obscure cases. The series of illustrations has also been enriched with radiographs, anatomical and topographical plates and photogravures.

This volume as it stands, offers a very practical and up-to-date treatise on its vastly important subject. The fact that its first edition was so soon exhausted, testifies eloquently to professional appreciation of its worth. Minor and Operative Surgery, including Bandaging. By Henry R. Wharton, M.D., Professor of Clinical Surgery in the Women's Medical College of Pennsylvania; Surgeon to the Presbyterian Hospital and the Children's Hospital; Consulting Surgeon to St. Christopher's Hospital, the Bryn Mawr Hospital, and Girard College. Fellow of the American Surgical Association. Sixth edition. Illustrated. pp. 650. 1905.

Lea Brothers & Co.

In this, the sixth edition of a book already well and favorable known to the profession, the author has broadened the scope of his work and included a brief description of the operations most frequently performed, such as appendicectomy, herniotomy and cholecystotomy. These subjects are necessarily very briefly treated, the diagnosis and pathology being entirely omitted and space given only to the operative measures.

The main body of the book, as before, deals with Minor Surgery. It has been thoroughly revised, and much obsolete material excluded.

The whole book is well illustrated, which adds much to its attractiveness. The chapters on bandaging are, as heretofore, excellent.

It is altogether a very satisfactory manual, and a valuable volume for every physician to have in his library. C. T. H. The Elements of Homœopathic Theory, Materia Medica, Practice, and Pharmacy By Dr. F. A. Boericke, and E. P. Anshutz. Philadelphia. Boericke and Tafel. 1905. 195 pp.

This little volume is intended to furnish brief and untechnical answers to the inquiries of those interested in homœopathy,but unacquainted with its theories and practice. Its condensed and suggestive chapters treat, in the order indicated, of Generalities, Drug-proving, Dosage and Potency, The Chronic Diseases, Symptomatology, Homœopathic Books, Homœopathic Medicines, Vehicles for Dispensing, Therapeutics, and Materia Medica. The sources of information are our best known authorities, and the arrangement and condensation of facts has been done with intelligence and good effect.

Drink Restriction; Particularly in Obesity. Being Part VI. of Clinical Treatises on the Pathology and Therapy of Disorders of Metabolism and Nutrition. By Professor Dr. Carl von Noorden, and Dr. Hugo Salomon. New York. E. B. Treat and Co. 86 pp.

The comparative novelty of theme of this little monograph must commend it to the progressive practitioner. We hear much, and justly, of the

evils of too scanty water-drinking. It is interesting and suggestive to find here noted the conditions under which, in the author's opinion, at least, too much water-drinking may work a mischief. Prominent among these are cardiac troubles, hemorrhagic conditions, and obesity. The authors' theories are clearly and conservatively expounded, and many valuable illustrative cases are cited. The little book will well repay the hour or so of time its perusal costs.

1

Transactions of the Ohio State Homœopathic Medical Society, 1905. Forty-first session held at Cleveland, May 16 and 17, 1905. President, J. H. Wilson, Bellfountaine, Ohio; Secretary, C. E. Silbernagel, Columbus, Ohio.

Transactions of the Homœopathic Medical Society of the State of Pennsylvania, 1905. Meetings in Philadelphia, June 12, and in Altoona, Sept. 19. President. W. A. Seibert, Easton, Pa.; Secretary, G. B. Moreland Pittsburg, La.

ANNOUNCEMENT.

The Scudder Brothers Company, Cincinnati, Ohio, will issue early in February a new Eclectic Practice of Medicine, by Rolla L. Thomas, M.D., professor of Practice of Medicine, in the Eclectic Medical Institute, Cincinnati, Ohio.

This work will embrace over one thousand octavo pages, and will contain two full-page lithographs, five full-page color prints, and fifty illustrations in black. Cloth, $6.00, sheep, $7.00.

FOR SALE. A Scheidel X-ray coil and high frequency apparatus. Complete, modern. Especielly adapted to therapeutic work. Address, M.A.C., 495 Columbus Avenue, Boscon.

PERSONAL AND GENERAL ITEMS.

DR. RAY H. DAVIES, B.U.S.M., '03, of Hartford, Conn., has been appointed medical examiner for the Travellers' Insurance Company.

DR. W. R. MUSSON, B.U.S.M., '04, now located in Antrim, N. H., has become medical examiner in his town home.

WALTER J. JILLSON, B.U.S.M., 1905. has located at 15 Parker Street, Gardner, Mass.

THE Nobel prize in medicine for 1905 has been awarded to Prof. Robert Koch of Berlin, for his researches on tuberculosis and its possible prevention. HOMEOPATHIC Physicians are entitled to the share of the official positions filled by medical men, and we are always glad to note their occupancy of such places.

We learn from the Monthly Bulletin of the city and county of San Francisco, California, that one of our esteemed subscribers, Dr. James W. Ward, is President of the Health Commissioners of that place.

Dr. D. J. Norton, another of our subscribers, of Evans, Colorado, is Health Officer of Weld Co. of that state.