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of the recurrent fibroid variety, had been removed at St.Thomas’s Hospital two years before. It was remarked thatafter the operation there was a constant spasm of the muscleswhich were exposed in the wound. This was noticed dailywhen it was dressed. On New-year’s eve his face was observedto be affected, and on the following day a regular attack ofconvulsions ensued, which continued until death on Jan. 2nd.At the autopsy, several nerves of the anterior crural were

found to pass into the circumference of the wound or to itssurface. The body was that of a strong young man.

RECURRENT FIBROID TUMOUR OF THE LEG ; REMOVAL; DEATEFROM PYÆMIA.

(Under the care of Mr. BIRKETT.)Morris H-, aged sixty, admitted 31st December, 1862.

A recurrent fibroid tumour was removed from the outer side ofthe leg on the 14th January. This operation was followedby all the symptoms of pyæmia, which ended fatally on the24th.The liver, spleen, and kidneys were found very soft, but con-

tained no purulent deposits. The lungs were in a state oflobalar congestion, without any inflammatory products. Theskin was yellowish, especially on the face.

UNIVERSITY COLLEGE HOSPITAL.

AN UNUNITED COMPOUND FRACTURE OF THE LEG, OFTHREE MONTHS’ DURATION, EXTENDING INTO THE

ANKLE-JOINT ; AMPUTATION ; CLINICAL REMARKS.

(Under the care of Mr. ERICHSEN.)A. W. R -, aged fifty-two, a baker, was admitted Oct. 17th,

1862. On coming down stairs with some bread on his head, hehad made a false step, fallen backwards, and broken his rightleg. When brought to the hospital, the lower part of the legwas found to be broken, and a portion of the tibia projectedconsiderably through an open wound. The limb was carefullyset, but union of the bones did not ensue; and as his conditionwas somewhat precarious, it was considered prudent to ampu-tate the leg through its upper fourth. This was done on the28th January, 1863, under chloroform, on which occasion Mr.Erichsen made a few practical remarks.He said the man was in a precarious condition, and the limb

in a less satisfactory state than it was some weeks ago; a por-tion of the tibia still protruded and was in a state of necrosis,and the leg was undermined with abscesses. Even if he didnot remove the limb now, it would be an inconvenience ratherthan a source of usefulness to him. His constitution would notbear up against any further delay; he would be likely to gooff from erysipelas or pyæmia; the former he had had twicealready. Under all the circumstances, there seemed nothingto be done but secondary amputation. The injury at first wasnot sufficiently severe to amputate, and he then had hopes ofsaving the limb, but latterly these had been abandoned. The

patient had been artificially maintained by three pints of stoutdaily, brandy, animal food, &c. The hectic symptoms he hadhad at one time had subsided, and there was now present thelow anaemic exhaustion rather than any special disease. Hiscondition was not so favourable to recovery as it would havebeen if he had consented to part with the limb some six weeksago.The leg was now removed at its upper fourth by antero-

posterior flaps. The tissues were much infiltrated, from thegeneral condition of the body. The flaps had to be dissectedback, and did not retract ; they were cut sufficiently long, andbut three or four teaspoonfuls of blood were lost.On examining the amputated limb, the fracture was found

to be immediately above the ankle-joint, and the lower end ofthe tibia was in a state of considerable necrosis, with a projectionoutwards of the upper fragment, causing the leg to be muchdeformed. The ankle-joint was involved; the injury hadsplintered the malleolar arch; the upper surface of the astra-galus was deprived of its cartilage, and the bone was roughand bare. There was no hope of saving such a limb, the causesof the deep suppuration of which were now fully explained.There is now a reasonable hope that the man will make a good

recovery.

ROYAL INSTITUTION.-The executors of the late JamesWalker, Esq., F.P..S., have presented to the Royal Institutionof Great Britain a marble bust of Professor Faraday, by Noble.

ROYAL INFIRMARY. EDINBURGH.OPERATIONS PERFORMED BY MR. SPENCE DURING THE MONTH

OF JANUARY.

THE following list has been furnished by Dr. Arthur G. Reid,resident surgeon at the infirmary :-

Operations. -1. Amputation of the thigh (upper third).2. Amputation of the leg below the knee. 3. Excision of the

elbow-joint. 4. Tracheotomy (croup). 5. Hernia (femoral).6. Removal of several depressed pieces of cranial bones.

7. Large bronchocele, consisting of several cysts, tapped andinjected.

Minor operations.-1. Operations for the cure of hydrocele(two). 2. Removal of fibro-cystic tumours of the mammse(two). 3. Radical cure of haemorrhoids. 4 and 5. Ununited

fractures of the ulna and of the tibia and fibula, stirred up bya strong needle. 6. Amputation of the forefinger. 7. Ampu-tation of the ring and half the middle fingers. 8. Removal ofenlarged tonsils. 9. Removal of erectile tumour. 10. Removalof necrosed bone (tibia). 11. Removal of the greater part of thebody and of the nasal and palatine plates of the superior maxilla.for necrosis following fever.

ROYAL MEDICAL & CHIRURGICAL SOCIETY.

TUESDAY, JANUARY 27TH, 1863.

SAMUEL SOLLY, ESQ., F.R.S., IN THE CHAIR.

CASE OF WHITE FIBRO-SEROUS DISCHARGE FROM THE THIGH.

BY A. B. BUCHANAN, M.D.,PHYSICIAN TO THE DISPENSARY FOR SKIN DISEASES, GLASGOW.

(Communicated by E. H. SIEVEKING, M.D.)

THE author recorded the history of a remarkable case of discharge of white fibro-serons fluid from the posterior cutaneoussurface of the thigh, at present under his care in Glasgow. Thepatient was a woman, in other respects in fair health, agedforty-six, and mother of six healthy children. The dischargewas white, like milk, and flowed from excoriations producedby the rupture of small vesicles scattered over the back of thethigh; and particularly from an infiltrated patch, of the sizeof the palm of the hand, on which the vesicles and excoriationswere most abundant. The milky fluid coagulated a few minutesafter being passed. It contained a fatty molecular base similarto that of chyle, and a few nucleated cells. The results of achemical analysis closely corresponded with those yielded by" chylous urine."The patient dated the commencement of her malady from a

shivering fit twenty-one years ago, shortly after which shenoticed a "lump" " in the situation of the affected surface.Fifteen years ago vesicles appeared, from which a brownishfluid exuded on scratching. For the last six years the dischargehas been milk-white, and is always worst in wet weather, andwhile the patient is walking about, when its amount may behalf a pint per hour. At night it ceases to run, recommencingabout an hour after the patient rises in the morning; but indry or frosty weather it may occasionally be absent for a weekor two. The veins of the affected limb are varicose, but noenlargement of the lymphatic glands could be detected. Theauthor succeeded in controlling the discharge for two monthsby a long elastic stocking ; the use of which, however, had tobe discontinued, owing to severe lancinating pains in the thigh.The breasts also swelled, and began to secrete small quantitiesof cholestrum. Immediately on ceasing to use the stockingthe uneasy sensations subsided, and the discharge commencedanew.

After remarking that cases of this affection were extremelyrare in temperate latitudes, Dr. Buchanan pointed out, by re-ferring to several recent examples, that they were probablymore frequent in warm climates. He cited, however, and gavean account of, two unequivocal cases of the same affection, bothdating from the seventeenth century; one of which, in a malesubject, occurred in Germany, and the other, in a female, inFrance.While referring to various pathological theories, the author

fully recognised the identity of the above disease with " chylonsurine," or, as he would prefer to call it, " white fibro-serousurine." " He objected particularly to the theory which iden-

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