1604 THE DANGERS OF "SHUTTLE-KISSING.’

destructive effect upon organisms, so that, from the

point of view of bacteriology, grape-juice and soda-

water, also a wholesome and agreeable beverage, should

present the same advantages. The eating of lemon-juicewith the oyster becomes thus a scientific proceeding, as

hidden infections may thus be destroyed. Vinegar, with itsacetic acid, of course, acts in a similar way. Lemon-juiceand vinegar, in fact, may be counted as dietetic antiseptics,and their use as adjuncts in salacis and raw shell-fish and soforth has a greater significance than at first sight appears.

THE DANGERS OF "SHUTTLE-KISSING."THE committee which reported this year to the Home

Office and Local Government Board on the practice ofI I kissing the shuttle in weaving sheds pointed out thatthe act is not merely one of mouth-suction, but requires asudden and forcible inspiration to induce a strong draughtof air through the eye of the shuttle, ’and thus carry thethread into the mouth of the operator. In this way particlesof dust, dye, fluff, thread, or size, or possibly disease germs,may be carried through the’ mouth, trachea, and bronchiinto the lungs. It is estimated that a single weaver mayperform this act as many as 450 or 500 times in a day, andit’ is a common result of the working arrangements that thesame shuttle is repeatedly I I kissed " by two or more persons.Mr. Howard S. Murphy, of Preston, has sent us specimens ofthe material removed after a few weeks from the grids attachedto a Murphy and Simpson’s mechanical sucker, which illus-trate the quantity of objectionable particulate matter thatmay reach the mouth or lungs in the course of’ordinary’’ shuttle-kissing." " The committee, it will be remembered,while considering that the dangers of the practice have beenexaggerated, concluded that the habit is objectionable andpotentially dangerous, and ought to be discontinued. It

did not recommend immediate legislation or regulations forthe purpose, but relied on the publicity given to the subjectso to stimulate-invention and popular-feeling that no drasticadministrative action would be found necessary after a few

years. There is, however, -a risk that a subject which has, inthe public and otcial mind, been disposed of by the issue ofa Blue-book will be permitted to fade into oblivion, and wewelcome, therefore, the evidence that mechanical suckers.,automatically threading shuttles, or other methods for pre-venting this unnecessary and insanitary practice are beingincreasingly adopted in weaving sheds in this country andabroad. We trust that the Lancashire weavers will them-

selves cooperate to secure its speedy disappearance in thiscountry. ’-

BIOCYTONEUROLOGY AS REVEALED BY THEULTRA-MICROSCOPE.

HITHERTO our study of the cytology of the neurons, asof that of cellular structure-in general, has been based onthe examination of the images obtained after the cell hasbeen treated by various figatives and stained by variouscolouring matters, or impregnated,. it may be, by variousmetallic solutions. Notwithstanding the fact that by suchmethods a great amount of knowledge on the state of thenerve cell in health and in disease has been amassed, it

cannot be gainsaid that research of this kind is not muchmore than the prosecution of the cult of the cell’s

cadaver, so to speak, and it may be questioned whetherthe images thus obtained correspond to the reality, andwhether the conclusions hitherto drawn as to, cellularstructure may be regarded as j justifiable and final. Recent

, progress in our knowledge. of the constitution of colloids

compels us to consider with reserve the apparent structurerevealed in nerve cells-by the action of fixing agents, all of

’ which are at the same time coagulants. As a matter of fact,

most intracellular substances, be they albuminoids, lipoids,or carbohydrates, are in a colloidal condition, and a revisionof our conceptions of cellular structure is therefore desirable.A long and instructive essay on the whole subject will befound in the zVoitvelle leonograpltie de la Scchvetriere for Mayand June of this year, written by Professor Marinesco, of

the Faculty of Medicine of Bucharest. Professor Marinesco

devotes almost the whole of his paper to a consideration

of the picture of living nerve cells obtained by the

ultra-microscope, and of the modifications produced bythe action of widely varying chemical substances. It

has long been known that colloids contain minute

particles in suspension, particles which, while smaller

than those of true suspensions, are larger than the true

molecule. By the aid of the ultra-microscope these par-ticles can be seen, and they have been seen in the saltsof the colloid metals, in colloidal hydroxides, in organiccolloids, and in certain colours. It is not difficult to recogniseparticles whose diameter does not exceed 0.01 of a micron,and under suitable conditions it is possible to detect otherswhose diameter is not more than 0’003 of a micron. This

appears to be the limit of the range of visibility. Examina-.tion shows that the particles of a colloidal solution arein constant movement, being displaced in a highlyirregular fashion. Each seems to move independentlyof its neighbour, like floating particles of dust in a

ray of sunlight. Now the cytoplasm of the cells ofthe posterior root and sympathetic ganglia of mam-

mals and of animals lower in the, scale, can easily beshown by means of the ultra-microscope to be composed ofgranules whose volume and density vary with the age andspecies of the animal. Further, there are slight differencesin colour in the living cell, according to the degree ofdensity and to the chemical constitution of these granules.When they are large and dense the cytoplasm as a whole iswhitish yellow or yellowish, while if they are very fine it isgreyish or greyish blue. On the other hand, ProfessorMarinesco has not found in living cells any more or less

geometrical arrangement into the familiar Nissl’s granules ortigroid bodies of the dead, fixed, and stained nerve cell.In the larger nerve cells the colloidal granulations are

relatively fine and diffuse ; in the smaller cells theyare bigger and massed together. Colloidal granulesform an integral part of the constitution of nervecytoplasm, and it may be said that different sorts

of nerve cells have differing ultra-microscopic structure

which may be compared with the differing pictures obtainedin these cells as treated by the usual histological methods.Compression of the living nerve cell shows that it possessesa considerable degree of elasticity and will resume its

former shape if the compression has not been too severe ortoo prolonged. If it has been too severe, then some idea canbe gained of the plasticity of the cell; under the latter

circumstances there is very often a notable tendency tolobulation, an interesting fact when it is remembered thatin certain pathological conditions-e.g., amaurotic familyidiocy-the nerve cells are often lobulated. Deformationsof this sort show that the consistence of the nerve cellcannot be that of a mere fluid ; it rather approximates tothe viscosity of a jelly. It is only exceptionally thatProfessor Marinesco has found, in living nerve cells,any Brownian movements of the particles in their cyto-plasm, a fact which suggests that the colloidal consti-tution of the cells is not that of a colloidal solution,but a colloidal jelly. Any agent which will dilute the ’ecytoplasm, and thereby diminish its viscosity, will at thes3,me time cause Brownian movement of the particles atonce to appear. This can readily be done, for instance,with distilled water. It has been already remarked that in

1605CLIMATIC BUBO. -THE VALUE OF HOSPITAL RECORDS.

the living nerve cell no agglomerations of particles similarto the Nissl’s bodies of the dead cell can be found. If,however, the cell is subjected to the action of certain acids,or to certain coagulating metallic salts, and in particular tovarious colouring agents, an appearance can be got in everyway identical with the familiar tigroid arrangement. Thus,if to a suspension of living nerve cells in the serum

of an animal a drop of an aqueous solution, sayof toluidin blue, is added, there is an instantaneous

precipitation and fixation of Nissl’s granules if the

cell is killed ; if it is still living there is no precipita-tion. It is impossible by the ultra-microscope to obtain

any indication of a neurofibrillar structure in cells.

We must not conclude, however, that they do not pre-exist in the cell. and that they are merely a product ofcoagulation at death. They may be composed of a homo-geneous viscous jelly belonging to the class of relativelystable colloids, whose particles are amicroscopic and onlybecome visible under the stress of profound vital alterations.There is much more of note in this article by ProfessorMarinesco, but what has been said will serve to illustrate the

great interest and importance of these researches.

CLIMATIC BUBO.

Staff-Surgeon Dr. G. Rost of the German Navy hascontributed to the Arc7ziv fiir Schiffs- ecnd Tropen-Hygienea paper on this subject, which is notable for its clear andorderly arrangement. He has observed 17 cases-six in theMediterranean and 11 in the West Indies; of these, sevenwere right inguinal, five were left inguinal, in four bothgroins were affected, in one only were the femoral glandsenlarged, and those on the left side. The frequency of thedisease and its relation to the time spent in different

harbours vary much from year to year. The disease has a

prolonged period of incubation, perhaps up to seven weeks ;the uncertainty about the duration of this latent periodmakes it difficult to assign cases to particular ports.Clinically the condition is characterised by a gradualswelling of one or more glands, painless at first, as

there is no periadenitis to begin with or suppuration.The swelling increases, may get as large as a goose’s egg,the several glands remaining still distinguishable. There is

now tenderness on pressure, but as yet no pain ; there is nosuppuration and the skin is not affected. By-and-by comeson periadenitis, with pain and reddening of the skin and asoftening of the gland, which is no proof that suppurationhas occurred. 80 per cent. of the author’s cases had no

suppuration. (Surely 17 cases is but a small number fromwhich to draw percentage figures.) ’The glands along theiliac arteries also enlarge in half the cases. There is little

feeling of illness, perhaps no pyrexia. The course of the

disease is tedious ; it may go on for months, but ultimatelythe periadenitis is absorbed, and the glands themselvesdecrease and slowly become inconspicuous again. The

treatment is symptomatic : rest, puncture, iodoform injec-tion if suppuration has occurred. X ray exposures are

recommended, with precautions. As to differential diagnosis,the ordinary gland inflammations are generally associated,with lymphangitis, and pain and pyrexia are presentfrom the start. The glands, too, are themselves lesshard. The buboes of soft chancre are more likely to showperiadenitis and to suppurate. Syphilitic gland enlarge-ment is easily discriminated. Three of the author’s cases

gave negative Wassermann reactions. No visible cause canbe assigned for the disease ; cases occur from which no-

micro-organism whatever can be brought to view. As to

causation, it only occurs in the groin through which passthe lymphatics from the genital organs. It does not appear,

in children or in married people, or in, those people aboard:ship who are, as the writer says, "abstinent," and he con-cludes it is due to a micro-organism , found on the vaginal’vmucosa of negro women. If this is so the disease should be

greatly reduced nowadays in foreign navies by the vene- -

real prophylaxis which is being carried out. The disease is

referred to as occurring also in Uganda, East Africa, and ’

China. Perhaps some of the medical offiders of the navyserving in the tropics can criticise or extend the suggestive -observations of Dr. Rost.

____

THE VALUE OF HOSPITAL RECORDS.

IN another column we publish an interesting paper by Dr,G. R. Strong on Eight Cases of Osteomyelitis of the Spine.This condition has hitherto been considered a rare one,

although it is possible that, like certain other maladies, the -recorded cases will be found in some number when attention.has been drawn to the disease and the principles of’ differential’diagnosis are pointed out. Osteomyelitis when occurring-in the femur or tibia may be mistaken for acute rheumatism,and as the treatment is essentially surgical the error

is a serious one. Occurring in the spine, as Dr. Strong* °

suggests, a diagnosis of Pott’s disease is likely, or tuber--culous disease of the spine may be suspected.’ One of the cases recorded by Dr. Strong was brought to his notice -when acting as house surgeon to Mr. W. G. Spencer, whilst-the other seven he found by reference to the post-mortem,books at Westminster Hospital, the clinical notes being:afterwards consulted. This series of cases demonstrates..the value of hospital records. Comparatively few cases--

of this condition have hitherto been published, yet byreferring to one hospital register a series of instances-was found. The value of hospital notes naturallydepends upon the manner in which they are taken. The

records of post-mortem examinations are- usually writtenor dictated by the pathologist, a senior man who has had’some experience in expressing in writing what he sees andin making deductions from his findings. Clinical notes,-on the other hand, are frequently taken by the dressers.in the surgical wards or by the clinica-1- clerks in the-

medical wards. Although the students have had some

instruction in note-taking, nevertheless from want of

experience the clinical records thus obtained, unless.

carefully supervised by the registrars or members ofthe staff, are frequently almost- useless for scientific-

purposes. It is true that if, the house physicians or

house surgeons are keen upon their work, their accounts ofthe cases and of the progress of the disease are often,

excellent, but if they are responsible for’a number of casestheir time is so much occupied that they can devote but littleattention to note-taking. It behoves the physicians andsurgeons of the honorary staS’ to see that careful and

accurate records are made, as otherwise a most valuable

source of information and reference will be lost.

CHOLINE IN TARAXACUM ROOT.

AT a recent meeting of the Chemical Society Dr. F. B.

Power and Mr. Henry Browning, - jun., reported the resultsof an investigation into the constituents of taraxacum root.Primarily they found two -new monohydric alcohols, a tetra-

hydric alcohol, and a mixture of fatty acids. Apart fromthe fact that certain of the alcohols found had already beenrecognised in other plants,- they isolated choline. Whilethe investigation was im hand it was reported that some re-markably beneficial results had been obtained in the treat-ment of several cases of cancer by the use of extract oftaraxacum. This was followed by an announcement fromGermany that choline had been used. with very encouragingresults in the treatment of this disease. As is pointed, out by thle