351

and at the very height of the disease. Themachine employed contained from 25 to 35plates; the electric current was passedalong the spinal marrow, from below up-wards, for half an hour, without interrup-tion ; it was repeated six times during thetwo days that the man lived. The momentthe electric current was established the manbecame calm, to the surprise of the numer-ous physicians surrounding him ; his mus-cles became relaxed ; the skin was coveredwith moisture, and the circulation becametranquil. Such, indeed, was the effect produced, that the-patieut constantly cried outfor the electric pile. Unfortunately, M.Matteucci was confined to bed bv a brokenleg, and unable to direct the necessary ope-rations ; the persons to whom they were

intrusted could not keep up the electriccurrent even though the pile was renewed :the good effects, however, produced in thi,case were so manifest that M. Matteucelooks forward with confidence to the resulof a future trial.—French Gazette, May 191838.

SECTION OF THE CLEIDO-MASTOIDMUSCLE FOR TORTICOLLIS.

By M. J. GUERIN.

THE last Number (17) of the ’’-FrenchMedical Gazette" contains an interestingmetnoir hy the Editor, M. Jules Guerin, onsection of the sterno-cleido-mastoid musclein cases of torticollis. M. Guerin relatestwo ca3es in which the operation was at-tended with complete success :-

Iu the first, that of a young person, 19years of age, after having tried extensionby mechanical means for two months, with-out success, M. Guerin proceeded to ope- rate in the following manner -.- Havingraised a fold of skin, parallel to the mus-cle, the operator iutroduced a bistoury (theflat side being turned to the skin) under-neath the muscle, and divided the latterwith facility, thus imitating the well-knowsoperation for club-foot. The division ofthe sterno-cleido-mastoid was followed byan audible cracking sound. The smallwound, made in the skin, was covered with a bit of dyachylon, and on the third day the machinery, formerly employed withoutsuccess, was applied. On the sixth day,some slight resistance of the divided mus-cle was experienced, and this became moresensible on the eighth day. On the eleventhday the position of the head was perfectlystraight, but the cervical region still re-

mained evidently inclined on the dorsal.The treatment ordinarily employed in suchca=es, was now continued for two months,vt the exprraticn of which the patient wasperfectly cured. It should be mentioned,hat. io this case, the description of which

we have considerably abridged, the torticol-lis was carried to the very highest degree.The second case was every way analogousto the former one. A cure was obtained in

thirty-four days.MICROSCOPIC OBSERVATION OF

THE VACCINE VIRUS.

M. Duaois, of Amiens, a physician ofcelebrity in France, has lately made someresearches with the microscope on thenature of the vaccine virus, from which hederives the following conclusions :-

1. The virus, whether in the liquid or

dried state, presents no appearance of glo-bules or animalculae.2. When recentlv extracted from the

pustule it is remarkably iluid and trans-parent, but by degrees loses its form and

’ becomes, as it were, crystallised.3. When dried we find in the virus two

t orders of deposit, one composed of longopaque filaments, the other which presents

a species of net-work of the most extremetenuitv.

4. These latter, which essentially belongto the true vaccine matter, exist in everycase with a perfectly identical appearance,and whenever they ceased to exist thematter was found to have lost its contagiousproperties.

: 5. An examination of the vaccine matterwith the microscope enables us to determinethe existence or the non-existence of its

preservative powers.—Bullet. of the RoyalAcad of Medecine, April, 1838.

BRITISH MEDICAL ASSOCIATION.May 22nd, 1838.

THE minutes of the last meeting havingbeen read and confirmed the following gen-tleman was admitted a member of the Asso-ciation,-Dr. KINNIER, East-road, City-road.

In consequence of not having heard fromMr. Warburton respecting‘the publicationof the remainder of the Evidence on the

Medical Education Bill, it was unanimouslyresolved,—That a deputation do wait uponLord John Russell in furtherance of thesame object.! The tollowing gentlemen were named as

the deputation:—Dr. WEBSTER, President;E. E,ANs, Esq.; R. DAVIDSON, Esq.; M. W.HILLES, Esq. ; W. FARR, Esq.

Mr. CRisp moved, and Mr. FARR secondedthe motion, which was carried unanimously,i -That the Report of the Poor-Law Com-mittee on the subject of better medicalattendance on the poor and remuneration

of parochial medical otlicers be left in the1 hauds of the President to make such altera-

tions as he might deem necessary prepara-, tory to its being printed. The meeting then

adjourned.