619

of angina and cough, which was, however,soon subdued by the use of leeches, and

mercury.On the seventeenth day after the opera-

tion the ligatures came away ; the woundof the face began to heal, and all seemedto indicate a favourable termination, when,on the twenty-third day, at noon, withoutany previous cause, except, perhaps, a slightattack of cough, a violent arterial hæsemor-

rhage ensued from the wound in the neck ;the patient lost about a pint of blood, afterwhich the haemorrhage stopped of itself.On examining the small aperture which hadnot yet healed, the origin of the bleedingcould not be discovered, but from thistime it returned daily for four days, and,strange to say, always at the same timeof day; the quantity of blood lost neverexceeded five or six ounces, and the haemor-rhage always ceased spontaneously. Onthe 27th and 28th, there was no limmor,rhage; on the 29th and 30th, it occurredagain ; but after this time it fortunatelyceased entirely. The patient, under thease of quinine, soon regained his strength,and, four months after the operation, wasdischarged perfectly well.-Journ. Univers.

TEST OF ARSENIC.

The solution of sulphuretted hydrogen isgenerally used to precipitate small quanti-ties of arsenic dissolved in animal fluid. Inorber to detect the metal in the sulphuret,Berzelius formerly proposed, either to vola-tilize it over red-hot iron, or to sublime itin a glass tube; lie has lately found out thefollowing method, which he considers supe-rior to those hitherto employed :-The sulphuret of arsenic, being mixed

with an excess of carbonate of soda, and afew drops of water, is introduced into an

open glass tube, which, at one end, is drawnto a very small diameter ; the mixture hav-

ing been placed about an inch from thesmaller opening, is heated till it fuses, afterwhich a current of hydrogen gas, carefullydried, is passed through the tube for a fewminutes. The gas is then blown off, andthe tube being, by means of the blow-pipe,brought to a red heat, the arsenic is depo-sited, in its metallic .form, on the sides ofthe tube ; the remainder is hydro-sulphateand sulphuret of soclium. In this manner,Berzelius says, the presence of the leastparticle of arsenic wlll be ascertained, pro-vided the hydrogen gas is quite pure, forwhich purpose he recommends it to be pre-pared from distilled sulphuric acid and iron,—Ann. de Physik, 1838.

ON CHRONIC INFLAMMATION OF THE UVEA.

By DR. SIMEONS, of Heppenheim.

Although it is very doubtful whetherthis affection, in its acute form, ever oc-

curs independent of iritis, or inflammationof the other neighbouring organs, it appearsthat chronic uveitis not only may exist,without any concomitant affection of theiris, but that it is very often the cause ofsynizesis, in which it invariably terminates,if left to itself, as is generally the case, itssigns being very obscure, and, as far as weknow, altogether overlooked, by the writerson the subject.The beginning of the disease is charac-

terized by the margin of the pupil beingdrawn backwards, and by its mobility beingsomewhat lessened, and the sight becomingimpaired ; after some time a small ring of agreyish, or sometimes even brown, colour,becomes visible, first behind, then at the

margin of the pupil, which still remainscircular; the colour of the iris is un-

changed, and it can be very distinctly seenthat the ring is not attached to, but ad-vancls from behind, the iris. Sometimes,

instead of the continuous ring, some smallfringes are formed, and gradually coalesceinto one uninterrupted chord ; meanwhilethe sensibility of the iris diminishes con-

siderably ; its contractions are irregular, andthe ring round -the pupil enlarges, so as toleave only a small retracted opening. Sight isnow entirely destroyed, and the iris beginsto be changed in colour ; in brown eyes itbecomes of a greenish yellow, with spotsof a dark-brown colour ; in blue eyes itchanges into greyish yellow, with darkercoloured spots. If the disease proceedsfurther, the pupil is completely closed, andthe iris is, in consequence of the pressurefrom the thickened uvea, partially absorbed.The uvea is now seen protruding throughthe ruptured fibres of the iris, in the formof small prominent tum;;urs, which gra.dually advance towards the cornea. Thedisease is hardly accompanied by any painin the eye-ball, and the patient complainsonly of slight pressure in the frontal region,and, at first, of sparks and muscæ volitantesbefore the eye.

If the capsule of the lens participates inthe affection, its symptoms are somewhatmodified ; a cloud begins to be formed inthe midst of the pupil, and is gradually

. changed into a delined centre, from whichisolated filaments of a greyish-yellow colour,

are seen running towards the margin of

. the iris. This centre becoming larger, andthe ring proceeding from the uvea like-

wise increasing, the pupil is at last closed.The first symptoms of the disease, as wellas the alterations in the texture and colourof the iris, are the same as described above.

620

Rheumatism and gout seem to be gene-Tally the cause of chronic uveitis; some-times, but less frequently, it is of syphiliticorigin.As to the operation of artificial pupil, in

those cases where the disease, having at-

tained its last stage, is of course beyond thereach of medical art, the author is decidedlyagainst it; the fibrous tissue of the iris beingso thoroughly destroyed, that it cannot be ex-pected the operation would be attended withany favourable result ; and in all the casesin which he performed it, or saw it per-formed, the artificial opening was very soonclosed by new exudations.—Journ.für Chir.um Augenheilk.

PHRENOLOGY.

" MATERIALITY OF MIND."

To the Editor of THE LANCET.

SIR,—Knowing the liberal principleswith which your Journal is conducted,and that your pages are always dedicated to’6 free discussion," I have been induced tosend the following remarks upon a paper," On the Organic Materiality of the Mind "by G. D. Dermott, Esq., which appeared inTHE LANCET of the lith of October last.

I ain yours, &c.,A PHRENOLOGIST.

Dec. 20,1828.

It will be seen by this extraordinaryessay, that the author comes boldly forth as avoluntary defender of materialism, yet, fear-ing the obloquy that awaits those who denyan immaterial agency in man, he subse-

quently admits-nay, maintains, that theexistence of the soul is " undeniably ac-knowledged," though dormant in this life.I shall endeavour to examine the proposi.tions in this gentleman’s paper seriatim.He first asserts (and it will be seen

throughout, that assertion supplies the placeof proof) " that the cortical part of the sub-stance of the brain is only subservient tothe medullary part, inasmuch as the formeris the seat of birth, to certain quaJitieswhich afterwards become diffused or circu-lated through the medullary part of thebrain, and even nervous system."

As this conclusion is so highly interest-ing, we would gladly be informed how Mr.Dermott made the discovery of the birth-place of certain qualities which becomediffused, &c., where he found the propel-ling or circulating power, and how " themedullaty part of the brain " is proved to

possess " all the distinguishing living pro-

perties peculiar to the brain, as livingbrain."

Now Mr. Dermott " knows that thereare certain masses, or portions of the brain,individually possessing their peculiar pro-perties, " which is the peculiar doctrine, Ibelieve, of phrenology; consequently, asthese " peculiar properties," according tothe first assertion, originate in the corticalpart of the brain, they must be propelled orcirculated through the medullary part ofthe brain and nervous system, of which weshould like to examine some few of theauthor’s proofs.Mr. Dermott then asserts that " one par.

ticular portion of the brain is the region ofperception, another of thought, another ofmemory, and a fourth for judgment ;" andwe cannot but regret that none of these at.tributes of the fundamental faculties of themind have been assigned a place exceptjudgment, which we are told resides in thecerebellum! What, then, are the offices ofthe cerebrum ? These are fully establish-ed by Messrs. Flourens and Rolando, saysour author ; for these gentlemen, he wouldmake it appear, have taken away the cere-brum, and with it perception, thought, andmemory, but have left the judgment sittingundisturbed "amid the wreck of matter"in the cerebellum ! Now, that taking awayan individual’s brains should deprive him ofmemory, &c., we can easily conceive, butto allow his cerebellum to remain, and withit his judgment, is very curious : reversingthe order of things, however, we are led tosuppose that the aforesaid gentlemen haveremoved the cerebellum and its illustriousinhabitant, and have left perception, thought,and memory, to revel, uncontrolled by judg-ment, in the apartments of the cerebrum!Let experimentalists look to this; whoknows but, in a short time, we may seesome °’ march of intellect’ man obtain apatent for purifying people’s judgments, or,in other words, for an instrument to relievethem of all unnecessary incumbrance ofthought, perception, memory, &c., by reomovinn " rhe seat of birth" of these trouble-some faculties. But to be serious: Air.Dermott says, " It is in vain to state thatwhat 1 have now ventured to affirm is un-true, upon the strength of an assumptionfounded upon ignorance and prejudice, andfrequently made,—that the mental propertiesare totally different from the known proper-ties, and all established ideas of matter;for our ideas are founded upon our know-

ledge of dead or inorganic matter, to which,and theology, the divines, and every sensibleman not in the profession, should confinetheir speculations. " If divines and sensi.ble men were to confine their speculationson mind to dead or inorganic matter, it is