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the corresponding part of the lungs, which are indurated, andsometimes traversed by ramifications of the bronchi, de-formed and flattened. On one occasion the stethoscope de-tected tubular respiration over a space the size of a shilling;and several times I have perceived deep cavernous breathing,and almost always autophony. This last phenomenon is ex-plained by the fixed and resisting opposition that the indu-rated lung offers to the vibrations of the voice of the auscultor,whilst the thickening and hardening of the pleura produceaegol1Y by the tremulous resistance thence opposed to the
bronchophonic vibrations of the patient.The conclusions at which M. Christophe arrives are: 1.
When aegophony is present, an effusion, either disseminatedor collected, always exists. 2. In simple aegony, such neverexists. Thus the latter signifies a chronic, dry, and pseudo-membraneous pleurisy, accompanied generally by a subjacentinduration.Most of the subjects in whom I have met with segony,were
all affc eted by gastro-intestinal engorgements; subject to coldand shivering, and liable to get colds. I have also markedin them a pale and somewhat yellowish complexion, espe-cially about the nose and lips, shrunken features, a dry cough,with sometimes the expectoration of whitish pellets of mucus,thick and shining.These observations the author has made known, that their
truth may be tested, and that their value in diagnosis may beverified.The stethoscopic sign which M. Christophe has made known,
seems to be, certainly, rather finely drawn. Every person whohas attentively examined the chest in disease, must haveoften experienced some difficulty in distinguishing betweenbronchophony and acgophony, by meeting with sounds whichmight almost indifferently be referred to either; but we havehitherto heard of no one who has developed a new sign fromthese mid-sounds, and named it; yet we may suppose some ofthem may be pretty constant in certain conditions, and cha-racteristic of those conditions, as M. Christophe represents.Alloiving the sound of aegony to be a distinct sign, our diagnosismust no longer be confined to noting bronchophony, in all its.shades, from aegophony, but we must take this new sound,xgony, standing midway between the two, and distinguish itfrom either-a task we believe not very many will attemptand one requiring nice ears and nice discrimination, and,withal, having no very direct bearing upon therapeutics.However, the labourer is worthy of his hire, and M. Christopheis certainly praiseworthy for his accurate exploration of thechest in disease, both by the ear, and by post-mortem ex-aminations.
British Medical Journals.ON ULCERATION OF THE CERVIX AND OS UTERI.
Dr. EDWARDS, (of Bath,) in the Provincial lTedicaL and Sur-gical J ol1rnal, records several cases of this affection, with aview of showing its nature, its effects, and the results of treat-ment. The facts and arguments correspond entirely withthose familiar to the readers of THE LANCET through thewritings of Dr. H. Bennet. We refer, therefore, to the pre-sent communication rather with a view of showing the ex-tension of these important principles, and adding a word ofencouragement to the writer, than from any striking noveltywhich it contains. On the importance of a judicious applica-tion of the speculum vaginae, the following remarks are wellput:-
" The drawbacks for investigating the condition of the in-ternal female organs of generation, in this country, are nume-rous ; and those who have made this branch of our professiona subject of special study, will agree with me when I assert,that a delicacy of feeling in the patient, which I, at the sametime, cannot too highly commend, has been hitherto too fre-quently fostered on the part of the medical practitioner, byhis not duly estimating his importance, and thus caused anadditional impediment to the necessary examination with thespeculum, necessary alike, I believe, to the welfare of the pa-tient and the reputation of the practitioner; and if the wel-fare of the former be connected with such an investigation,may not the physician’s delicacy be construed into an almostcriminal neglect, if he thus allows evils to continue for years,disappointing hopes of relief, and leaving for a last resortthat which is from the beginning the only rational and effi
cient mode of treatment. I am quite aware that slight soresand abrasions, from various causes, very frequently recoverwithout any or very little treatment whatever, yet the casesthat are so frequently met with of severe ulceration con-tinuing for years, without even a proposal for the employmentof the speculum, and a consequent neglect of remedies appliedto the diseased part, and subsequently the rapid cure whichI have seen effected by means of that instrument, and topicalapplications, warrant, I conceive, the above remarks."
I The general conclusions arrived at by the writer are to thefollowing effect :-
" 1st. That dysmenorrhoea is occasionally only a symptomof this disease, resulting from congestion and ulceration ofthe cervix and os uteri.
" 2nd. That sterility is a most frequent attendant, thoughnot, as has been considered, a necessary condition, the mecha-nical obstruction in the uterine neck being sufficient to ac-count for it, as in dysmenorrhoea.
" 3rd. That abortion is occasionally produced by it; whenit does occur, the disease is commonly aggravated, sometimesaltogether lit up by it.
" 4th. That when the os uteri, as well as the cervix, isulcerated, the mischief extends from the former to the latter.The os uteri is generally the last part to yield to the reme-dies. In the treatment it is well to remember this fact.
" 5th. That in the generality of cases that have occurredto me, the nitrate of silver has answered all the purposes ofan efficient caustic, and that I cannot but view the actualcautery, the Vienna paste, the pernitrate and acid nitrate ofmercury, as well as nitric acid applications, of too violent acharacter for ordinary use to that portion of the body."TREATMENT OF LOCK-J.-W IN THE HORSE BY THE NATIVES OF
THE WESTERN COAST OF AMERICA.
Admiral Sir GEORGE F. SEYMOUR, commanding in the Pa-cific, in a communication addressed to the editors of the
Veterinàry Record, describes the practice pursued under theabove circumstances. It must be borne in mind, that tetanus,occurring independently of wounds, is not so intractable asthe disease produced by these lesions, and that it yields tomany remedies of different kinds. Of those described by theadmiral, the stimulating effects of the capsicum vapour seemto have been the most efficient. The writer, however, mayspeak for himself.
" Our horses had travelled about forty miles, during thelast of which, one of them, usually equal to great fatigue, was.found disposed to flag, and on arriving at the place of ourdestination, and trying to take off the bridle, the bit remainedfixed, and the jaw clenched upon it. The muleteers at oncesaid it was lockjaw, produced by a stroke of the sun, whichhad been intensely hot during part of our ride, and that itwas not an uncommon effect with their mules in excessiveheat, and was only to be cured by the following remedy:-A quantity of the common green chilies or capsicum, in
the pod, were placed in a linen bag, and set-fire to in a chafing-dish, which was placed under the horse’s nostrils, and he wasmade to inhale the smoke. The animal showed great distressby this time. The action of his heart was loud, with a quickspasmodic pulsation. The veins, particularly those of thehead, were turgid and distended, and the natives said that hewould die unless blood flowed from the head. This occurredin about an hour and a half, in a thick but not copious dis-charge of blood from the nostrils. The jaw then relaxed alittle, and the bit fell, and the horse gradually recovered.
" He had been previously back-raked; some eggs were intro-duced into the fundament, and the ears had been rubbed witha liniment. The natives, however, treated these remedies assecondary, and relied on the smoke of the chilies, which, theysaid, had in one instance saved a horse after continuing withhis jaw locked for upwards of seven hours, but he had thenbled, and recovered.They expressed a disinclination to use the fleam." I do not think, from the state of suffering in which I saw
the horse, that he could have lasted much longer than thetime at which lie was relieved by the discharge from thenostrils. After it the man in charge of the horses would notallow his patient to remain quiet, but led him gently up anddown the yard the whole of the subsequent night.
" At three o’clock in the morning he appeared quite reco-vered, and was allowed to feed on maize-stalks, and to eatmashes made of light farinaceous materials."