HX64117863 RC61 .Z1 Clinical lectures de RECAP Columbia ^nibtrfTH Case. — Clilorosis, 248-257. Anamnesis and mode of living, 24S; Course of disease, 248, 249; Diagnosis, 249; differential, 249, 250; Prognosis, 253,254; Treatment, 254-257. * Erratum on p. 237 : Should be fifteenth and Bixtoenth cases, instead of six- teenth and seventeenth. Chlorosis : unsatisfactory classification of, in the text-books, 250, 251 ; the nervous system in relation to chlorosis, 251, 252; sexual ma- turity in relation to chlorosis, 252 : Brown-Sequard's theory, 252; hae- moglobin in chlorosis, 253 ; hysteria and chlorosis, 253 ; iron and ar- senic in chlorosis, 255, 256; treatment of constipation in chlorosis, 256 ; of the nervous system, 257. Eighteenth Case. • — ChloranaBniia and inciijient pulmonary tuberculosis, 258-262. Anamnesis and mode of living, 2.58, 259; Course of disease, 2-59, 262 ; Diagnosis, 260, 261 ; Objective examination, 259 ; Prognosis. 261 ; Treatment, 261, 262. THORACIC AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES. Nii^ETEENTH Case. — Tuberculous pleurisy, 263-273. Anamnesis and mode of living, 263,264; Course of disease, 264, 270,271,272; Diagnosis, 265, 236; Objective examination, 264; Prog- nosis, 266 ; Treatment, 264, 270, 271, 272, 273. Pleurisy: Eichhorst's treatment, 267; author's treatment, 267, 268; treatment of the fever with antipyretics and with calomel, 268, 269; to further absorption of exudations, 269, 270. Twentieth and Twenty- first Cases, 27'4-283. Twentieth Case. — Chronic pulmonary tuberculosis. Anamnesis and mode of living, 274, 275 ; Course of disease. 275, 276, 278, 281, 282; Diagnosis, 277, 278, 280, 231 ; Objective examination, 276; Prognosis, 276 ; Treatment, 275. Twenty-first Case. — Chronic tubercular broncho-pneumonia and chronic bronchial catarrh. Anamnesis and mode of living, 278, 279 ; Course of disease, 279, 230, 232, 283; Diagnosis, 282; Objective examination, 280; Prognosis, 289 ; Treatment, 279, 282, 283. How the invasion of the lungs by tuberculosis takes i^lace, 277. GrSNEKAL REMARKS CONCEENING THE DIAGNOSIS OF CHRONIC TUBER- CULOSIS OF THE Lungs, 283-290. — Varieties of chronic tuberculosis and their complications, 284; pulmonary phthisis as compared with incipient tuberculosis, 285; the nature and cause of the hectic fever, 2!i5, 286; pneumoniae complicating chronic pulmonary tuberculosis: croupous, 286; catarrhal and caseous, 287; galloping phthisis, 287, 288: acute miliary tuberculosis, 288; peculiarities in the course of tuberculosis depending on the nature of the organs affected, 288. 2S9; prognosis of tuberculosis pulnionum, 239, 290. Treatment of Chronic Pulmonary Tuberculosis, 200-298. Definition of a speciJic remedy, 291; symptomatic treatment: haemoptysis, 291, 292; fever, 292; employment of koumyss, 292, 293; kourayss sanatoria, 294; cod-liver oil, keffir, etc., 294; arsenic, 295; creosote, guaiacol and guaiacol carbonate, 295, 296, 297; the last stage, 297; modern bacteriology in its relation to the ti-eatment of tuberculosis, 297, 298. The Climatic Treat.mbn't of Chkoxic Pulmon^ary TtiBEBCULOsia, 298-316. ^feglect of the subject, 293 ; climate in relation to climatic therapy, 298, 299; the complexity of climatic influences, 299; Webber's classi- fication of climates, 299. The Elements of Climate, 300-303. — The temperature, 300; sun- light, air, etc., 300-303. Former climatic treatment of tuberculosis, 303 ; by residence in the mountains, 303, 304; the supposed curative agencies of high altitudes, 304; Brehmer and his sanatorium at Gorbersdorf, 304, 305; his theories and their refutation; his success, 305, 306; Davos as compared with Gorbersdorf and other sanatoria, 303, 307; change in the climatic treatment of tuberculosis, 307; Russia as compared vrith Western Europe as a resort for tuberculous patients, 308, 309; climatic treatment at home : cases illustrating same, 309-315 ; cases for which trips are indicated, 316. TwEXTY-SECOND Case. — -Croupous pneumonia, 317-324. Anamnesis and mode of living, 317 ; Course of disease, 318, 323, 324; Diagnosis, 318; differential, 319; Objective examination, 318; Prognosis, 319; Treatment, 320, 323, 324. Treatment of high temperature in pneumonia, 320, 321 ; of dysp- noea, pains and cough, 321, 322, 323. A Few Notes on Objective Examination, 325-331. — The importance of morbid symptoms in semiotics, as compared to those necessary for diagnosis, 325 ; their necessary differentiation, 326 ; the nature of the vesicular respiratory murmur, 327 ; of the bronchial respiratory mur- mur, 327; the indefinite respiratory murmur, rough breathing, 327, 328; varieties of rales, 328, 329; the percussion sound, 329; determi- nation of dimensions of heart, liver and spleen, 329, 330; the pulse, 330, 331. ELEMENTS OF BALNEOTHERAPY. Balneotherapy for the Practical Physician, 332-355. Necessity for clinical individualization of balneotherapy, 332, 333 ; the differences in the external and internal employment of min- eral waters, 333; the effect of the temperature of the water, 335-338; effects of the component parts of the waters: sodium chloride and carbonate, carbonic acid, sulphur, organic acids, etc., 338, 339; the effect of mechanical influences during the external employment of mineral waters, 339; the various classes of waters: 1. the chemically indifferent, their effects and use (Schlangenbad, Ragatz, Gasteiu, etc.), 340; individualization necessary in their employment, 340; mineral moor, 341, 342; the influence of climate at the watering-ijlaces, 342; conditions of life there, 343; 2. salt loaters, their use and effects, (Kreutznach, Wiesbaden, Soden, Ischl, Gmunden, Reichenhall, etc.), 343, 344; 3. carbonated waters, indications for employment, 345; 4. salt waters which are at the same time carbonated, 345 ; 5. mineral muds employed in the form of mud-baths, indication for use in diseases of women, :?45, 346; mineral muds employed directly as such, 346; sea- bathing, its effective agencies, 346, 347; hot-air baths, fir-tree baths, 347; hydrotherapy, modes and effects of application, 347, 348; half- baths, rubbings, etc., 349; possibility of balneotherapeutic treatment at home, 349; the Russian bath, 349, 350; seasons of the year for balneotherapeutic treatment, duration of course of same, 350; out- line of the diseases in which balneotherapy is employed, ;350-355. CHOLERA, PARTICULARLY ITS TREATMENT. Pages 356-384. Introductory notes, 356, 357; the nature of cholera, 358; the former clas- sification of infectious diseases and its unreliability at the present time, 358, 359; the three important factors in the development of a cholera epidemic, 359; Pettenkofer's theories concerning the influ- ence of the soil-water, 359; Hueppe's investigations as to the spread of the epidemic in Hamburg, 360; Koch's failure to recognize the im- portance of the surrounding conditions of life, 361 ; Huepi^e's theories concerning the influence of the intestinal tract on the growth of the bacteria, 361,362; the unreliability of experimentation, 362; occur- rence of cholera among washerwomen, 362; the basis for considering cholera as a contagious disease, 362, 363; varieties and course of the disease: choleraic diarrhoea, cholerine, 363, 364; genuine cholera, symptomatology, 364, 365; causation of the algid stage, 365, 366, 1367; reaction period and its attendant disturbances, 367, 368; preventive measures: quarantine in Europe and Asia, 368, 369; over the Suez Canal, 369; the individual quarantining of patients, 369, 370; disin- fective measures, 370; supervision over arrivals, 370, 371; the results of these measures in various parts of Russia during the recent cholera epidemic, 371; the individual measures of precaution, 371, 372; the treatment: the unreliability of statistics as regards the value of the various methods of treatment, 372, 373; absence of any specific, 373, 374; the necessity for distinguishing the symptomatic from the rou- tine treatment, 374 ; treatment of diarrhoea : its varieties, 375 ; laxatives, 376 ; calomel not an " anti-choleraic " remedy, 376, 377 ; opium in diar- rhoea and the reasons for its employment, 377, 378; bismuth, clysters, etc., 379, 380; Cantani's treatment of choleraic diarrhoea, 380; effect of enteroclysmata. 380, 381 : warm baths, etC/, 381 ; treatment of chol- erine, 381, 382; of the algid stage of cholera proper, 382,383; of the reaction period, 383, 384; nature of cholera nostras, 384. SUPPLEMENTS. Ox Bloodletting, 387-406. The recent history of bloodletting and its present condition, 387, 388; neglect of the subject, 388, 389; former failures in its employ- ment and reasons for same, 389, 3^0; opposition to it, 390; depletive and derivative effects, 391; depletive bloodletting: venesection in dis- turbances of the cerebral circulation, :391, :392; in threatening apo- plexy, 392 ; in diseases of the heart, 392 ; in croupous pneumonia, 393 ; local bloodletting, :593; method of application, 394; wet cups, 394; their effect, 394, :395 ; where applied, 395; care in applying necessary, 395; local depletive blood-extraction, 396; derivative bloodletting: nature of liaemorrboids, 396; an angioneurosis. 397; case proving this supposition, 397; etiology of hsemorrlioids, 398; how derivative blood- letting from the anus originated, 398; effects of this bloodletting, 399; case v^here it was employed. 399, 400; care in using tamponade of na- sal cavity for nosebleed, 400; indications for derivative bloodletting: 1. in the region of the head, 401, 402; 2. in the region of the spinal column, 402, 403; 3. in the region of the chest, in various hsemopty- ses, 403, 404; in the abdominal region, in inflammation of large haemorrhoidal nodes, 404; the method of employing derivative blood- letting, 404, 405; the time of the day, position of the patient, site of operation, number of leeches, etc., 405, 406; repetition of derivative bloodletting, 406. 2. Calomel. — In hypertrophic cirrhosis of the liver and in general thera- py, 407-435. History of calomel therapy in England, Germany and Eussia, 407, 408; author's experience with calomel, 408; physiological action of the drug according to Binz, Shiffi, Weiss and Sokoloff, 408, 409 ; the English practice as regards calomel, 409, 410 ; calomel in severe, es- pecially febrile cases of colic from biliary calculi: cases, 410, 411-415 ; Method of employing the drug, 415, 416, 417; calomel compared with castor oil, 417; case of hypertrophic cirrhosis of the liver, 417-427 ; calomel in facial erysipelas, 427 ; in typhoid fever, 428 ; in croupous pneumonia, 428; in acute nephritis, 429; in diseases of the biliary passages, 430, 431; diagnosis of biliary calculi, 431,432; calomel in catarrhal jaundice, 432-435. 3. Syphilis of the Lungs, 436-445. Pulmonary tuberculosis in syphilitic patients, 437; cases of syphi- litic pneumonia, 437; diagnosis of, 441; syphilitic pneumonia com- Ijlicated by pulmonary tuberculosis, 441-444; treatment of, 445; case exemplifying this treatment, 445. 4. Syphilis of the Heakt, 446-459. Lack of knowledge on the clinical aspect of cardiac syphilis, 447; cases of syphilis of the heart (syphilitic myocarditis, syphilitic affec- tion of the cardiac muscle), 447, 448 ; character of the majority of cases of cardiac syphilis, 449; case presenting a type of syphilitic car- diac affection (contemporaneous syphilitic affection of the cardiac muscle and nerves), 449-451 ; its treatment, 451 ; failure of digitalis in same, 452 ; condition of the nervous system of the patient, 452 ; data for diagnosis of cardiac syphilis, 454; its treatment, 454, 455; the milk treatment of disease of the heart, 455; Spanish flies in angina pectoris, 456 ; case of aneurism of the aorta due to syphilitic aortitis, 457-459. 5. Treatment of Fevee, 460-463. Certain symptoms, among them fever, as protecting agencies to the organism, 460 ; treatment of fever in acute infectious diseases, 460, 461 ; use of cool baths, 462 ; cold sheet, 462 ; use of antipyrine, anti- febrine and phenacetine, 462; use of quinine, 463; fever in pulmonary tuberculosis, 463 ; in septicasmia and pyaemia, 463. INTRODUCTION TO CLINICAL EXERCISES. THREE LECTURES. Gentlemen : — Before we begin our clinical exercises, it is necessary that we understand the nature of the clinic and its importance in the matter of medical education and in scientific medicine. The duty of explaining this importance devolves principally on me, as the teacher at the Faculty Therapeutical Clinic, this last being, as we shall see later, the first general, as contrasted with the special, clinic, which you come to attend. The Importance of the Clinic in Medical Education. — You desire to become physicians, that is, to learn the art of treating and preventing diseases. — It is impossible to learn this without the knowledge of disease and of therapeutic means. You cannot interpret disease, unless you know what constitutes the normal condition. The course of medical studies is there- fore such as to teach you first what constitutes the normal condition (Anatomy and Physiology), and later the nature of diseases, their treatment and the nature of the remedies (gen- eral and special Pathology, and Therapeutics with Pharmacol- ogy). Until the present you have occupied yourselves with the above-mentioned sciences ; now, in due order, follows your acquaintance with diseases and their treatment in practice : this necessity of medical education is fulfilled by the clinic, i. e. by clinical instruction and clinical exercises.* What is the in- * " Clinic " is derived from the Greek kXlvtj, a bed, a couch, on which the patient reposes ; as used in these lectures it refers to a hospital con- nected with the medical school for purposes of practical teaching. _ 2 — fluence of clinical exercises or generally of observation and treatment of the sick, even when outside of the clinic, on the course of medical education? The student, on his coming to the clinic, is well informed, but in a purely abstract manner, of all the possibilities of a pathological process, and the potentialities of therapeutic ac- tion. All this information is, as it were, evenly distributed in his mind : there is no occasion for one certain part of it to be- come more prominent than another. In the clinic, as generally in practice, the phenomena of the pathological processes, and the reasons for therapeutic action, as well as the action itself, present themselves not in an ab- stract form, but under all the conditions of a given case ; the}^ may appear to one physician in a greater number than they do to another, but they never will appear to one m such numbers and varieties as to exhaust all the possibilities indicated by pathology and therapeutics. Under such an influence of the clinic or of practical activity m general, certain medical infor- mation will take precedence over others in the mind, and will thus come forward, at the same time grouping itself otherwise than in the systematic studj^ of pathology and therapeutics : for, whereas in this last the etiological and anatomo-pathologi- cal points of view are chiefly predominant, in clinical and in practical work in general the diagnostic and therapeutic con- siderations al'e chiefly taken into account. Systematic exposi- tion starts with the definition of the disease in the direction of its picture ; ^vhereas in the clinic we begin with the picture of the disease and deduct its definition therefrom. This difference creates the practical physician, who. knowing the real nature of the disease and the influence of medical means thereon, appre- ciates correctl}' the extent of the pathological process and the degree of effectiveness of the remedial agencies : he is thus enabled to quickly concentrate his mind on the two most important aims of practical medicine, namely, the recognition of the disease and its treatment. (3n the other hand, this same difi^erence may naturally become the foundation of a future routine tendency in medical practice. — Comprehending then the influence of clinical and of practical activity in general, and the possibility of the two above-named results therefrom — a desirable and an undesirable one — what must be the aims of clinical teaching ? To educate the students into practical and as perfect physicians as possible, the teacher must see to it that they acquire a regular method^ following a laid-out plan, accord- ing to which the clinical exercises, that is, practical medical ac- tivity, are to be conducted, thus avoiding irregular clinical teaching. To prevent the development of a routine habit, he must individualize his cases, that is, point out their special char- acteristics. Of course, the mastering by the future physician of a method and the acquisition of the skill in individualizing is a rather slow process at the beginning ; but once acquired, their possessor finds them at his command sooner and to greater advantage, than the man who is not habituated to them. The acquisition by the students of a method and of skill m individu- alizing must be the chief aim of the teacher, as contrasted with the tendency to convert the clinic into a kaleidoscope, and to show in a short space of time — always limited — all the diseases o'f the special branch of pathology in all their varieties, combina- tions, and under all conditions. It is impossible to show all in one year, — not even in ten ; and to insist upon an impossibility is unreasonable. — Whoever has acquired a method and the habit of individualizing, will quickly familiarize himself with any new case which may present peculiarities unknown to him be- fore ; and such new cases are met with quite frequently even by the very experienced physician, the more so by the beginner : for such is the peculiarity of the medical, as of every other prac- tice, that is, of an activity amidst conditions of real life. The teacher should, surely enough, introduce to his students the principal morbid varieties and typical cases of that particular branch of pathology, to which his clinic is especially devoted. In accordance with their aims the clinics are divided into different varieties: — A. Those conforming to the grades of medical studies. — 1, The Propcedeutic Clinic (introductory, from Greek TrpoTraiSeu'etv, teach beforehand), which is, properly speaking, practical semi- otics, i. e. it familiarizes the students with the signs of diseases and with the groups of signs in real life. In such a clinic the — 4 — teacher cannot, while devoting his time to this subject, conduct any thorough clinical investigation concerning the diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of a case ; besides, the students are not sufficiently prepared to profit by it. 2. The Faculty Clinic is the first complete clinic, in which the teacher conducts before his hearers the above-mentioned medical acts, methodically and individualizing each case, and presents, therefore, a smaller number of patients. 3. The Hospital Clinic. — In this the teacher can do his work more rapidly, and goes over a greater number of cases, thus in- creasing the experience of the students, who had been prepared for this by the preceding clinic. 4. Clinic for the out-patients (ambulator3^) — While the more serious affections are usually to be seen in the hospitals, in the out-patient department we see a great many others ; namely, the less serious ones, that do not go to the hospital, and the serious forms at their beginning. The out-patient department affords also opportunities for observing the course and treat- ment of diseases not under hospital conditions, but under the variable surroundings of every-day life ; as their attendance requires a certain degree of practical maturity, they should be in charge of those students who have gone through the station- ary clinics (the preceding ones) ; but this is not always adhered to, nor is it always possible to do so. B. As to their contents, clmics are divided mto general and special. The reason for the existence of the special clinic lies in the great general law of progress : the subdivision of labor. As a result of the clinician's ability to confine his work to one special branch of pathology, he perfects himself in it, becomes better able to teach it, and assists in advancing it more rapidly as a science. The number of special clinics is therefore continually on the increase : thus in the last few de- cades the former special clinics in surgery, obstetrics and oph- thalmology, were increased by the addition of those in gynae- cology, nervous diseases, insanity, skin diseases, venereal and diseases of the genito-urinary tract. It is rather more difficult to define the character of the gen- eral clinic. What is it. and what are its aims ? The name — 5 — general clinic can only be applied to the clinic of internal diseases. The ailments usually treated in such a clinic refer to organs whose functional activity forms the basis of animal metabolism, namely, the organs of nutrition, respiration, circula- tion and of the secretions, — then disturbances of the processes of the animal metabolism itself, acute and chronic contagious diseases, functional disturbances of the nervous system which are inevitably met with in all these disorders (we can leave aside the organic diseases of the nervous system that belong properly to the clinic of nervous diseases), and at times diseases belong- ing to the special clinics, particularly affections of the female genital organs. What conditions have secured for the clinic of internal diseases its significance and its contents ? The question natu- rally arises, whether it were not possible and more advantageous to distribute all that the clinic of internal medicine claims, over special clinics for diseases of the chest, abdomen, etc. ? There is not the slightest doubt but that clinics of such a nature would be just as useful as any other special clinics ; but they could not possibly replace the clinic of internal diseases in its present form. The fact is, that the special clinic suffers from one radical defect : the difficulty that the specialist clinician experiences even in satisfactorily determining, in the given case, the general condition, the condition of other parts of the organism, after he had recognized in the most thorough manner the defect of the organ of his specialty ; and the more perfect the specialist, the greater this difficulty, as devotion to his specialty must needs have alienated him from the others. The specialists are well aware of this defect, point at and struggle against it, but, as every-day experience proves, cannot remove it, because it is organically connected with the very nature of specialization. What would become of medical teaching and of medical sci- ence, if, possessing only special clinics, we were deprived of one, that would have as its principal aim the teaching of the import- ance of connecting all the phenomena of a given case, so that a general conclusion about it may be arrived at, and thus lead us to the physician's chief duty — application of remedial agents? — 6 — Without such a clinic the education of a phj'sician is not to be thought of. And such a clinic is the one of internal diseases with the above-mentioned contents ; occupying itself with the simultaneous ohservation of disorders of those portions of the organism that are chiefly concerned in connecting all its parts in common ; that is, the simultaneous observation of disturbances of functions that form the basis of animal metabolism, of the metabolism itself and of the functions of the nervous sj^stem. This it is that characterizes the pieculiarity of the clinic of inter- nal diseases and entitles it to the name of a general clinic. Not- withstanding the importance of the surgical clinic, it does not have the character of a general one, as the subjects of its treat- ment do not possess the same importance in the comprehension of the common connection of pathological phenomena, as do the subjects treated of in a clinic of internal diseases. You will see from the above, that the pediatric clinic has the character of a general one. Our university, as also the majority of universities, has two clinics of internal diseases — the faculty clmic and the hospital clinic. As you attend the faculty clinic first, it — the faculty clinic of internal diseases — consequently is the first complete and at the same time general clinic which the student sees : it is the true clinical school of the medical department. From this fact it derives its importance and in it is laid the basis of your future medical activity. While discussing the importance of the clinic and of clinical exercises in the course of medical education, we must make some necessary remarks of a general nature on the method of con- ducting these exercises. What is principally embraced by clinical exercises ? We usu- all}^ have to define the nature of the disease (^examination and diagnosis^, its future course and its termination (prognosis'), and to order a plan of treatment and execute it, being guided by the course of the disease (ohservation). The clinical exercises, as we explained above, must be conducted according to a method and to a process of individualization. As regards a method, I have, after several attempts in the beginning of my clinical and practical activity, adopted the following one as the best : — — 7 — 1. Examination. — I begin my inquiry with: What ails the patient^ and for hoiv long a time / The patient, in the majority of cases, does not distinguish in his history the present from the past, confounds the symptoms referable to diseases of one portion of the body with those of another, the course of the disease with the results of the applied treatment, supplies you with unnecessary information, and is generally incoherent. In the beginning of my practice I used to listen to these tales, and have concluded that they are of no value and only tend to fatigue both the ph3"sician and the patient. On those rare occa- sions when your patient is either an intelligent layman or a physi- cian, stating his case in a connected, sensible manner, there is the danger that the examiner may accept, alongside with the history of the case, also a conclusion about the disease and its treatment, — a conclusion which had been formulated either by the patient himself or by his physicians, as even the manner of relating the history of the case reflects this preconceived opinion. Such a preconceived conclusion will interfere with your further investi- gation and may prevent you from arriving at a correct and proper idea about the disease and its treatment. With this in view, I usually interrupt the patient's narrative, explaining to him that I desire to be informed in a concise manner of the most prominent symptoms he suffers from (as dyspnoea, pains, weakness, etc.), and of their duration (in weeks, months, etc.), that I will later conduct the inquiry in due order, after which I shall be ready to listen to his story. With this I beg the patient to answer as explicitly as possible, thus : first, to affirm or deny only what he is certain of, what he remembers well, otherwise to say : " I do not know, I do not remember ; " and second, to answer the question^ and that only^ without mixing in foreign matter not related to it, and not to be carried away by his own tale, thus distracting the physician's attention from the principal subject. From among the in- numerable multitude of inaccurate answers let me instance for clearness' sake such a one : " Do you drink any tea, and if yes, how much?" Answer: " I am not a particular lover of tea " ; — and only after two, three or more questions the physician finds that, although not a " lover of tea," the patient imbibes so many glasses or cups per day. More time still is wasted uselessly in listening to answers which become tales of subjects unconnected with the case. I advise the beginner not to permit any such distractions. As a circumstantial examination requires time and energy, the above-named deviations will bring it about that at the end, when the important point will have been reached as to what treatment is to be applied by the physician, the latter will have become mentally fatigued just at the moment when his whole energy, judiciousness and mental clearness are to be put to test. However, in the majority of cases it is only neces- sary at the beginning to correct the patient's answers, to state explicitly what is wanted of him, namely, as concise and direct answers as possible, and the further interrogation will proceed smoothly. It is self-evident, that to receive such answers the physician in his turn must put direct, concise and simple ques- tions. The examination of the patient consists of inquiries as to his present condition (^status prcesens) and inquiries relating to his past (anamnesis). When examining a chronic case, I usually begin with the status prcesens., as the information obtained facili- tates the inquiries about the past, and makes the data concern- ing anamnesis itself more intelligible. In recent cases, where, for instance, the patient has been ill only for a few days, and where the anamnesis is on this account short, it is much more convenient to begin with the latter. It would, however, be mere pedantry to strictly circumscribe each method of examina- tion : particularly so, when in examining the present state we are sometimes compelled to make special inquiries concerning the past without going into a full examination of the latter. The examination of the present condition (status prwsens^ consists of interrogation and the so-called objective examination, or examination through the sense-organs. At the beginning both interrogation and to some extent objective examination are resorted to simultaneously, the latter by easily accessible means, as, for instance, in inspecting the tongue, feeling of the pulse, or while talking to the patient, the physician cannot help noticing the latter's condition, the state of nutrition (whether fat or thin), the appearance of the superficial tissue _ 9 — (whether plethoric or anaemic, cyanotic, icteric, cachectic, etc.), his physical and mental condition (movements of the body, facial expression, mode of speaking, etc.). But a complete objective examination, when it becomes necessary to undress the patient or to resort to such means as the examination of the urine, sputum, etc., is much more convenient to make after you will have finished your inquiries about his present and past condition. In interrogating about the status prcesens I first of all seek for information about the most important conditions surrounding the patient's life, and about his mode of living. 1. The locality. — Whether damp, malarial, or dry, dusty : whether open to winds or not, and so on. 2. The dwelling-place. — Dimensions, flooring, position of bed- room, temperature and ventilation, condition of water-closet, and so on. Where is the work of the day performed ? 3. How does the patient wash himself? Outdoor bathing, public hot baths, simple house-bathing, sponging? 4. Clothing in general and particularly the protection of the abdomen (sashes and corsets) and feet (covering — warm or cold, roomy or tight). 5. What nervines is the patient addicted to : tobacco, tea, coffee, wine, whiskey, beer ? 6. What drinks: ordinary water, or alkaline (soda, seltzer), kvass,* milk? 7. Food — meat or otherwise ; light or heavy, frequency of meals ? 8. Family life, single, retired. 9. Children, abortions. 1(X Does the patient get sufficient aleep or not? Duration of the sleeping hours. How often is he sleepy ? 11. Mental and physical activity f Rest? 12. How much of the day is spent out of doors and how much in confined rooms ? * A fermented drink in general use in Russia, taking the place of beer of other countries. Common kvasa is made from an infusion of raised rye-flour or dough, or of other flour or baked bread, with malt. Finer kinds are made from apples, raspberries, or other fruit, without malt. — Century Die. — 10 — We next inform ourselves of the patient's condition by carry- ing our inquiries along an ad opted plan, which is, of course, the essence of systematic examination. The beginner, without having acquired this method, and not appreciating the necessity of it, conducts his inquiries without order, and is therefore liable to be influenced in arrivmg at the diagnosis by the first impression produced on him by the patient's complaints (as, for instance, difficulty in breathing, pain in the side, cough), on the strength of which he is led to think of a certain disease ; and without going into details about the condition of the whole or- ganism, he hopes to quickly diagnosticate the case with the aid of a few questions relating to his assumed ailment. But bitter experience will teach him — if he only be capable of self- improvement — that such reasoning is deceptive and is justly condemned by experience, and that the only reliable — although somewhat slower and more laborious — method of examination, is the complete one, conducted in accord with a certain, once established order. In the basis of my system of examination, which experience has taught me to consider the best, I put the union of two prmciples : the physiological one (systems and or- gans), and the topographical one (neighboring parts). There may be others, but the first condition of ever}' method requires that the questions include all that is most important. 1. Appetite and thirst. 2. The tongue, teeth, mouth and throat. 3. The stomach. Is the introduction of food followed by belching, burning, heaviness, paui, nausea, vomiting ; any pains when the stomach is empty ? 4. Intestines. Character of stool, regular (i. e, daily), of sufficient quantity, evacuation of normal consistency and form, — or irregular ? If the latter, do not content yourself with the general statement of an existing constipation or diarrhoea, but inquii"e fully as to just what irregularity there is. With this m view, take a certain period of time previous to the examina- tion, saj^ a week or more, if the patient can call it to his memory, and inquire about the condition of the stool on each day of this period : whether a constant diarrhoea, or a constant constipation, that yielded only to injections and laxatives, or. — 11 — what is most frequent, both coustipatioii and diarihfjea alternat- ing with each other. If the movements of the bowels were of late exceptionally regular, or constipated, or loose, inform your- self of their usual condition. If the patient resorts to laxatives, find what they are and in what doses. If he uses enemata, — of what and at what time: at bed-time, when the system is fatigued, and the nervo-muscular apparatus in general, as well as that of the intestinal tract, reacts less readily, — or in the morning, after a night's rest and the morning tea or coffee, when the patient feels an inclination to stool not of itself suffi- cient to clear the bowels, but strong enough to do so effectually with the aid of an mjection. Does not the patient, as a general thing, resist the tirst inclination to stool, thus preventing the emptying of the bowels (the most important and frequent cause of constipation^ '! Does he empty at stated times the bowels, when constipated, so as to avoid overloadhig of the same and the possibility of a consequent diarrhoea? What kind of food or drmk, or what conditions in general produce constipation or diarrhoea? Such a circumstantial inquiry will at once lead to a full recognition of the irregularities in the case, — irregularities, that are so important by their frequency and influence on the rest of the organism : you will seldom in- deed find a patient, whatever the disease he may be suffering from, who has perfectly regular stools. The same mquiry will also furnish you with verj" valuable information regarding the therapy and, even more important, in respect to the hygiene of the given part of the organism. How many times, for instance, have I succeeded in effecting a cure of a rebellious constipation, by simply enjoining upon the patient not to resist the first in- clination to stool ; or in persons habituated to no other drinks but warm tea, by advising to diminish the quantity of the latter and to take half a glassful of water of ordinary temperature, from one to three times a day, each time one and one-half oi two hours before a meal. The reason for mv dilating' on the subject of irregular rectual evacuations lies in the fact that we are often liable to pass over this subject and its treatment in a rather hasty and superficial mamier. 5. The anus. Any lumps? Do any haemorrhages take place — 12 — from the anus, and by what phenomena in the rest of the or- ganism are they accompanied? 6. How does the urinary bladder empty itself? Is the urine ever red and turbid? It is here that I inquire about swelling of the lower extremities (the parts of the body in which the phenomena of dropsy make their first appearance). 7. The male genital organs : the condition of jyoientia virilis. How frequent are the connections ? Does the patient feel weak after them (this is very important in neurasthenia) ? Masturbation, past or present ; pollutions. Also inquire about diseases (past or present) that originate most frequently through sexual contact, as gonorrhoea, chancre, syphilis, iis regards this last, I consider it of paramount importance to be convinced as to whether the patient is syphilitic or not; and it is quite superfluous, I think, to dispute the necessity for this. If con- venient, I inquire of the patient whether or not he had syphilis, but do not rely entirely upon either the positive or the nega- tive reply, but verify it by inquiring as to whether the patient (if a woman) has had any children, or abortions and miscar- riages; whether he had any falling of the hair (particularly from the eye-brows and beard), not ascribable to any cause ; any eruptions, and of what nature; are there any scars left? Were there before or are there now any nocturnal pains in the bones and articulations ; any chronic catarrh, etc. ? If, on the other hand, it is either inconvenient or useless to put the ques- tion directly, as, for instance, to a woman, m whom the infec- tion might have passed unobserved, then I at once resort to the above verifying questioning. If such inquiry furnishes me with accurate information, I continue it to the end. But if it leads me back into the anamnesis, — if the history of the apparent or doubtful syphilis has been intimately connected for a long time with the history of other morbid processes in the given case, I then postpone the inquiry until I have collected complete information covering the past, until the in- vestigation of the anamnesis. This observation, as to how far into the anamnesis we may go while investigating the present condition, not only refers to the inquiry about syphilis, but to that about any other disease of the organism. — 13 — 8. Female genital organs. Former deliveries or abortions. Condition of menstruation before and now. Leucorrhcea. 9. The abdomen in general. Well-marked changes in the size of the abdomen, observed even when the patient is dressed, impress themselves on one's memory. But the most important inquiry, regarding the abdomen in general, consists in in- forming oneself as to the presence or absence of pains in that region ; if present, whether constant or paroxysmal, and chiefly, where localized ; this last gives us important informa- tion as to the source of the pams. In case the patient finds it difficult to define the seat of the pain, we assist him in finding an answer by asking him whether the pains are felt all over the abdomen or more to the middle part of it; whether they are accompanied by rumbling, and whether they are relieved by the escape of gases per os or per anu7n, by vomiting or by a loose stool (gastric and intestinal pains). Is there more pain in the upper as compared with the lower part of the abdomen, — more on its right than on its left side? With what func- tional activities do they coincide (from this we infer as to their connection with the liver, kidneys, ovaries, uterus and urinary bladder)? Are there any pains in the posterior wall of the abdomen, in the loins, and with what do they coincide : with constipation, with pains along the tract of the ureters or with movements of the back, as in lumbago m general (i. e. in va- rious myopathies, neuropathies and affections of the vertebrae and their articulations in the lumbar region) ? 10. The chest in general, and also the organs of respiration and circulatio7i. If there are pains in the chest, find their localiza- tion and with what they coincide : as, for instance, pain in the region of the heart, of paroxysmal nature, transmitted to the left arm or to both arms, accompanied by a sensation of fright and anguish (as in angina pectoris) ; pains in the sides, aggravated by coughing, as in pleuritis of tuberculous and other nature ; pains along the tract of the intercostal nerves (as in affections of the same, and in liver and kidney colics) : pains in one half of the chest and simultaneously in the cor- responding arm, with this also tenderness on pressure in the supraclavicular cavity of the same side (neuritis of the bra- — 14 — chial plexus) ; pains all over the chest, aggravated by pressure on the sternum and ribs (as, for instance, when lying on the side), coincidently occurring with rheumatic pains in the ex- tremities and agg-ravated at the same time as these last on catch- mg cold (usually gout or syphilis, which are easily differentiate ed ; or gout and syphilis of the ribs and sternum, at times with a neuritis of a similar origin) and so on. — Then inquire about difficulty in breathing (dj'spnoea), joaroa^^sws of clioking (asthma), paljntation of the heart, coughing, expeetoration, spitting of bloody the condition of the nose and larynx (alterations in the voice). Examine, the pulse and inquire about the conditifyn of the circu- lation : is the patient subject to chilliness in general or in par- ticular parts of the body (the extremities, feet, and particularly the soles of the feet) ? Is he subject to flashes of heat in gen- eral or in some certain part (particularly the head) ? 11. Is there any febrile condition (chill, heat, or only weak- ness, loss of apj)etite, and thirst) ? If not, mquire if patient is subject to any habitual feverish condition, and what does it accompany : for instance, catarrhal conditions, most frequently of the respiratory tract, less so of the intestmes and urinary tract (febris cartarrhalis) ; or it may accompany rheumatic pams in the extremities, in the back, chest and head (febris rheuma- tica) ; i. e. most frequently it is a febrile condition accompanying an exacerbation of gouty or syphilitic pains, or both of these to- gether, on account of a cold or for some other reason. Is he not subject to febrile states without catarrh and '^ rheumatics," of a more or less clearly defined intermittent nature, coincident with a residence in a malarial region, especially during autumn and spring ? Is there a fever of an exhaustive character, accompan}"- ing serious diseases of important organs, most frequently tuber- culosis, cancer or syphilis (particularly frequent with syphilitic liver), etc. ? 12. Condition of nutrition and of the hcematopjoietic system. Does the patient tend to grow full and fat. or thin and pale ? Does he look cachectic, etc. ? 13. Sleep, whether quiet or not ; if disturbed, why so : is there cerebral hypertelnia, neurasthenia, pains, cough, dyspnoea, consti- pation and an overloaded stomach and intestmes. febrile condi- tion, etc. ? — 15 — 14. Mental condition: memory and the faculty of reflection; state of mind, — hopeful, pleasant or oppressed, sad, etc. 15. Headache. Important questions to ask : does your head ache or not? If it does ache, then, the whole or only part of it, whether the temples, the back, the front, the top ; and what is the character of the pain — is it constant or paroxysmal, and what is the nature of the paroxysms ? Before proceeding further I must make here the followmg observation : while the examina- tion, as stated above, is being conducted, information must not only be collected, but also made as clear to the mind as possible ; it is not sufficient to learn the existence of certain morbid con- ditions ; we must at the same time endeavor to find theii' cause, at least the proximate one. The nearer we come to an explan- ation of the latter, the clearer to one's mind become the data obtained by examination, the easier and more fruitful is this exammation. It is self-understood, that such a procedure is more possible for an experienced physician than for a beginner: but the latter will soon gain the experience, if he but acquire th'e habit, instead of simply collecting facts mechanically, to classify the gathered information, to look for the causes and thus prepare valuable material for the erection of an organic whole — the diagnosis of the whole morbid condition. It is of course also necessary at the same time to acquire a certain tact in such attempts at immediate elucidation of the matter, so that the once established order of examination is not mterfered with : if a few questions suffice to make clear the nature of the morbid phenomenon, then an immediate explanation of it is not only desirable, but even obligatory ; but if it become neces- sary to multiply the number of questions, and enter further and further into the inquiry about the condition of organs not yet examined, and even into the history of the past, — then we must postpone the explanation of the phenomenon until we shall have collected all the information, i. e. until after our full examination. Attention and exercise on the part of both the student and the instructor will result in the speedy acquisition of the above-named tact. Let us now resume the question of headache. There is hardly a morbid phenomenon which is so frequent and brought — 16 — about by so many and so various causes as the unpleasant sen- sations in the head: pain and heaviness. Morbid conditions of the soft parts of the head and of the bones of the skull and face, of the numberless nerves of the head, of the organs of the higher senses, and, the most important of all, of the cerebrum itself, which, outside of disturbances of its own substance, reflects in itself in various ways the influence of disturbances of other parts of the organism, — these are all causes of fre- quent headaches and heaviness. If the picture of the morbid phenomenon, as seen from the above necessary questions, points directly to some certain disease (as, for instance, migraine, masked malaria, syphilis, etc.), and if the completed part of our examination — and this latter will have been finished, if con- ducted in a certain order, by the time we reach the inquiries about the headache — - contains data that may be considered as the causative agents of the pain in the head, then we certainly should make inquiries verifying our assumption. Otherwise we must leave the explanation to the end of our investigation, al- though it may happen, especially with an inexperienced practi- tioner, that he will traverse almost the whole region of pathol- ogy, before he will have found the causation of the pain in the head. 16. Vertigo. If present, find whether accompanied by a flushed or pale face, by an overloaded stomach or other dys- peptic phenomena, by constipation, before hsemorrhoidal bleed- ing, before menstruation or after it, by ursemic manifestations, etc. 17. Paiiis in the neck., spine, and extremities. If present, localize them (in the articulations, along the bones, nerves and muscles), and determine their character : constant, aggravated by pressure (in the arthrites, periostites and perichondrites, neu- lites and myosites), or of an opposite nature (as, for instance, lancinating pains in tabes) ; aggravated or not at night, etc. 18. Panxsthesice and anoesthesice. 19. The nervo-miuscular apparatus: condition of muscular strength, disturbances of locomotion, condition of reflexes, 20. Sight and hearing. 21. G-eneral integument: abnormal dryness of the skin, oj' sweating, itching, eruptions. — 17 — Anamnesh (av6.fjLvr](n'ofossor, that of the clinical assistants, and of the students. The professor must, first, himself follow a method and system of individualization m his clmical work, and thus mculcate m the students habits for the same. Secondly,, he must carefully apportion the time allotted *for clinical instruction, so that it may be possible to fulfill all the duties of the clinician in an equable manner. These duties have been defuied above, while discussmg the observation of the patient. As regards, m particular, familiarizing the students m the course of the academic year with the typical cases m all the dejDartments of internal medicine as fully and as equably as ■possible, I must here mark out for you the order which my ex- perience, extending over many years, has taught me to consider as the best. I begm the exercises m the clmic for mternal diseases the first half of the academic year (seventh semester) with diseases of the digestive organs (stomach, mtestmes, liver, etc.), as they are the most important ones, because of their fre- quency and- then- comparatively greater curability. As among the very first cases presented to the students we are also sure to run across some functional disturbances of the nervous system, these are likewise discussed durmg the same half-year. We at the same time take up the diseases of the j)eritoneum, the less im- portant renal diseases (renal gravel and catarrh of the renal pelvis) and gout, which are so frequently met with m diseases of the digestive organs and with which they are so closely con- nected genetically. The second half of the academic year (eighth semester) is taken up with diseases of the organs of respiration and circulation (their causation and partly their diagnosis is some- — 29 — what familiar to the students from the propcecleutical clmic), and also with the more serious renal diseases (as mflammations, degenerations, etc.). Syphilis of the internal organs is preferably taken up the first haK-year, because of the frequency of syphilis of the liver. The acute mfectious diseases, — as typhoid, typhus, relapsmg fever, malaria, pneumonia, acute articular rheumatism, facial erysipelas, etc., the disturbances of nutrition (diabetes, anse- mise, obesity, etc.), and the disturbances of the organs of loco- motion, that we are liable to meet with m the clmic for mternal diseases (as diseases of the muscles and peripheral nerves, of the articulations and bones) — all these are taken up in both half- years. It is impossible to strictly subdivide the contents of the clinic for mternal medicme between the two half-years, princi- pally because we usually meet complex cases, in which, besides the principal disease under consideration, belongmg to that part of pathology with which we are occupied in the given half-year, there are other morbid conditions, which, although belongmg to the other haK-year, must be discussed as fully as the prmcipal disease, for the sake of the correct mvestigation and individualization of the given case. As regards the special therapies, we discuss the internal use of mmeral waters m con- nection with abdominal diseases, the inhalation and climatic therapy in connection with diseases of the organs of resx^iration, the dietetic therapy hi abdommal diseases hi connection with obesity and failure in nutrition, khiesotherapy and treatment by electricity in connection with various cases ; bahieotherapy at the end of the academic year, in the course of which the students have had the opportmiity of observhig the various applications of hydrotherapy. Thirdly, it is the duty of clhiical mstructors to constantly at- tract the student to participation hi the clhiical exercises. As far as objective examination is concerned, all that can be seen and partly (as percussion) heard, can usually be demonstrated be- fore the whole class. But whatever needs demonstration by l^alpation and auscultation would require so much time to be demonstrated before the whole class, that it is impossible to do it in the clinic of internal diseases, and as a subject for histruc- tion, it belongs to the propaedeutic clmic ; but I nevertheless con- — 30 — sider it necessary to always, in every case, afford an opportunity to as many students as practicable, of personally convincing themselves tlii-ough palpation and auscultation of the most im- portant data — those on the presence of which the diagnosis is based. Thus m the course of the year many acquire experience in objective exammation under the supervision of the mstructor (others under the supervision of the assistant, of which later) ; and what is most important, the whole class gams the conviction, that the diagnosis is based on data obtamable not only through investigation by a skilled physician, but through that by a begm- ning practitioner. In conducting the inveMigatioti, diagnosis^ proi/nosis and plan of treatment, as well as m the preliminary analysis of the given case and m further mvestigatuig it, be- fore I pronounce my conclusion, I usually look for the opinions of some of the students, and m the cases of greater difficulty I turn to the whole class, requesting any one to answer the ques- tion asked. Such a procedure not only attracts the students to participation m clinical exercises, but soon excites in them an interest toward these last. The clinical assistants, being independent and responsible phy- sicians, must fulfill theu' medical tasks, namely, to conduct the investigation, diagnosis, prognosis, treatment and observation in the presence and with the participation of the students m the clmic, strictly folio whig the precepts of the school — that is, me- thodically and individualismg — thus contmumg, as it were, the work of the teacher, assistmg the students by exercises m forti- fying themselves m the acquisition of a method and a habit of individualization, and consequently assisting the clmical mstitute m perfectmg its aims. The personal self-advancement of the assistants — at times the future clmical mstructors — as well as the treatment of the patients m clmic, gains not a little by this. It is the business of the students, besides participatuig in the clmical exercises of the professor and his assistants, to conduct and describe the histories of diseases and to be on duty in the clinic. How to conduct the history of a disease. — The history begms with the description of what was found on the patient's admis- sion to the clinic : the principal complaints, the conditions and — 31 — mode of his living, the result of the investigation into the present and past condition of the patient. Then follows the diary ; namely, the daily note of the treatment and of the altera- tions in the patient's condition. The description of the history of the disease^ which is presented at the end of the half-year and which, with the conduct of the history of the disease, serves as a certificate of the student's diligence m crediting him with a semester, embraces everythmg found at the prelimmary investigation, and then based on this — the diagnosis, prognosis and plan of treatment, and finally the diary m a connected, historical statement. In cases of autopsies their results are noted down. Epicritical notices are desirable, but not requisite, as not every history of a disease will present a reason for them. Service in the clinic enables the student to freely observe pictures of diseases and become acquamted with the application of various methods of investigation, as well as of treatment (as, for mstance, hydi^o therapy, massage, electrotherapy, etc.). CLINICAL LECTURES. CLINICAL LECTURES. FIRST CASE. LECTURE DELIVERED SEPTEMBER I9» J889. Gentlemen : — We concluded last time the introduction to clinical exercises, in which we explained in what order the various departments of internal diseases would be taken up by us. At the beginning of our clmical work I present to you the first patient. He has been in the clmic smce last week (from Sept. 13th), and is suffering from several diseases. It is a complex case, selected by me by reason of its being more suitable for demonstration than the others we ha^e in the clinic at present. The patient, a peasant, 18 years of age, when asked as to what ails him, and lioiv long he has been sick, complams, as you see, of pains in the abdomen and loins, of diarrhcea and vomitmg, dating his illness from Sept. 8th, inst. Patient is so emaciated, pale and backward in stature and general growth (he hardly looks to be, 15 years old), that we can scarcely believe that he was completely well up to Sept. 8th. And indeed, when asked about it, he replies that he has been ailmg for a long time, but began to feel very bad since Sept. 8th. In view of this, we must begm, as we explained in our intro- duction, the investigation of the patient from his present condi- tion ; after this the interrogation about his past becomes easier, and the anamnestic data more intelligible. Here is the information about the conditions and mode of livmg of our patient before his admission to the clmic : he lives ill a village of the Tversk Government, m a healthy local- — 36 — it}', free from malaria ; liis dwelling is an ordinary peasant's . hut ; tlie priv}^ is in the barn for the cattle, — not a very cold place; he takes a hot, steaming bath once a week," does not bathe in the sea during summer; does not smoke, nor drmk whiskey ; drinks some four cups of hot, unsweetened tea daily ; has tliree meals a day (early breakfast, midday dmner, and supper), keeps all the fast-days. His food consists of rye bread, cabbage soup, potatoes, occasionally buckwheat gruel, and, ex- cept fast-days, meat tliree times a week. The patient is smgle, has lived the past year with his parents, and does not work on account of illness and weakness ; ui fact, goes out-of-doors but little, exercises little, and keeps his bed most of the time. Some three years before, he had been employed as an apprentice to a ^village tailor, living under the same conditions as when at home ; but with the exception of seven houi^s for sleep and the time taken up by the three meals, he would work the whole day in the close and vitiated atmosphere of the peasant's hut ; leisure for a daily rest or a daily walk was not allowed : this could be had only on Sundays and important holidays ; although he had at his disposal seven hours for sleep wliile workmg, and as much time as he wanted when livhig with his famil}^ the patient had suffered for the last few years so constantly from abdommal pains that he can sleep but three hours out of the twenty- four ; besides, he sleeps on almost naked boards (on a bench). Even from this collected mformation a great deal will be- come clear. It is only by the assistance of considerable muscular activity out of doors that such heavy food as our patient used can be readily digested ; whereas, his only bodily exercise consist- ed m this : that he would sit a whole day in a close room, m one position — that of a tailor at work, — with l^ent body and crossed legs, his left hand holdmg the garment, while the right one is engaged m monotonously plymg the needle. Not to mention other possible causes, such conditions alone are sufficient to give rise to a disordered digestion. The disturbed sleep extending over several years has naturally tended to con- tmuousl}'- undermine his health, etc. — 37 — Now as to the conditions surrounding the patient m our clmic. This latter, as you are aware, is situated m a health}^ location, on a hill, and surrounded by an extensive yard and gar- den. The ward where our patient is placed is satisfactory. The water-closet is warm. For the six days that he has been in the clmic, he got daily two soft boiled eggs, two glasses of milk, two glasses of soup with chicken-meat well mmced, and one-fourth of a pound of bread without the crust. This quan- tity of food was given in six portions, m the following order : 1. At about 8 A.M., two soft-boiled eggs with some bread ; 2. Two-thirds of a glass of soup and some bread ; 3. A glass of milk and some bread ; 4. Two-thirds of a glass of soujd with some bread ; 5. A glass of milk with bread ; and 6, at about 8 P.M., two-thirds of a glass of soup with a little bread. For a drink, only tea which is neither strong nor hot, three to four glasses (not full ones) a day, unsweetened,* for which two small lumps of sugar were given durmg the whole day. For treatment the patient drank daily two half-glassfuls (a gla§s contains about 8 ounces, or about 16 tables2:)Oonfuls) of natural Ems water (Kesselbrmmen), warmed to 30° R. (99.5° -Fl), the first m the mornmg, one hour before the first meal, and the second, one hour before the fourth meal (the second soup) ; some five mmutes after the first and the fourth meals, he took a tablespoonful of decoction of condurango (3 ij to 3 iij), with five drops of the tmcture of nux vomica ; after each soup, that is three times a day, the patient was given a tablespoonful of strong white Crmiea wme ; he was given m the course of the six days, for severe abdommal pains, codeine, gr. ^ -f gr. v sac- chari albi per dose. His abdomen was all this time wrapped m a double layer of flannel. The patient himself preferred lymg, and he was also advised to avoid in any way becoming fatigued, — to repose, and to walk and sit but little. Being literate, the patient was allowed to read a little. Status to-day, September 19, 1889. — Appetite, very poor on l^atient's admission into the clinic, is somewhat better now ; his former thirst, although not great, has disappeared. Tongue, somewhat dry on admission, is now normal. Teeth healthy; * The sugar is bitten off with each sip of tea. — 38 — swallows freely. Before admission, he always suffered from a constant feeling of heaviness and pain at the pit of the stomach, which would become aggravated considerably after eatmg, when there would appear bel clung of gases and of sour liquid, with a f eelmg of burnmg, as well as nausea, and lately almost constant vomitmg. The ejecta usually contamed a moderate quantity of the gastric contents ; at one time some blood (of this latter in the anamnesis)'. The pams and heavmess, as well as the belch- mg and heartburn, have how considerably dimmished ; nausea is rare, and there has been no vomitmg smce his sojourn m the clmic. On his admission the patient had loose bowels, some four to five movements a day, little at a time (about a glassful for 2-i hours), watery, mixed with mucus, but of normal color and without blood. For the last two days the patient had two movements a day (the whole quantity for one day also about a glassful), less watery and without mucus. He had, on admis- sion, frequent paroxysms of severe pain in the abdomen every day, also at night, accompanied often by rumbling, and relieved by a movement of the bowels or by emission of gas per anum. These pains are at present of rarer occurrence and much less severe. We observe no icteric phenomena, nor does the. patient acknowledge any m the past. Emptymg of the bladder takes place regularly; quantity of urine 1400 cc. m 24 hours; spec. gr. 1.014, of a strong acid reaction and pale color; when fresh it is limpid, but soon becomes turbid; microscopic exami- nation has shown this turbidity to consist exclusively of crys- tals of oxalate of lime, with some verj- few epithelia of the urmary bladder and a residue of sodium urate ; albumen and sugar absent. Condition of genitatia normal; no history of either coitus or masturbation. Asked as to whether he suffers from any other pams in the abdomen besides the constant pams we know of at the pit of the stomach, aggravated by eatmg, and the severe paroxysms of pams all over the abdomen (evidently of intestmal origm), the patient informs us that there is a constant severe pam to the left of the umbilicus, that is mtensified by riding m a jolting wagon (an ordinary peasant's vehicle), and is radiatmg mto the left grom and mto the loms ; also some pain m the chest (patient points — 39 — with his hand to the lower lialf of the sternum and the adjacent portions of the anterior surface of the chest). This pain, as it appears from investigation, coincides m time exactly with the pain at the pit of the stomach ; it too is aggravated by eatmg, and it has also diminished smce the patient's sojourn in the clinic ; it depends most likely on the same cause : disease of the stomach. The pain in the left half of the abdomen is evidently referable to the left kidney, but may certainly depend also on disease of the descenclmg portion and sigmoid flexure of the colon. When resting, the patient's respiration is 21 to 24 per minute ; pulse normal (was weak on admission, stronger now), rate 65 to 70 ; movements, and especially rising, mduce dyspnoea and palpitation. Patient has never expectorated any blood, does not cough now, and cannot recollect that he has ever suffered from cough, any throat trouble, or a prolonged coryza. As mentioned above, the patient is very pale and thin (his weight on admission amounted to 91 lbs.). He is also very sensitive to chills. Febrile phenomena are absent : temperature lowered— 36.4 to 36.6° C. (97.5 to .97.9° F.) ; the tendency to sweating, from which he suffered while at home, has disap- peared ; the urine is pale, pulse not frequent, appetite is im- proving. He slept before admission not more than three hours a day ; now he enjoys six or more hours of quiet sleep, thanks to the diminution of the pains, partly to the wme and the more com- fortable bed. Condition of mind, much oppressed on his admission, is now more spirited ; there are positively no signs of a morbidly ex- aggerated mental impressiveness (" nervousness ") ; on the con- trary, the patient, as you see, is ver}" quiet, reserved, and, we must add, to judge from his answers, very sensible. He suffered before admission from headaches and vertigo ; these have considerably diminished and are relieved now, as could be expected, by better sleep and improved circulation (pulse became stronger). Asked about the pains m the back, the patient replies that the whole back aches, but particularly the loins (he puts his — 40 — hand on tlie lumbar regions of the spme and the adjoming lateral parts). As the pams are mcreased not only by ridmg m a joltmg carriage, but also by any movement of the trunk, they pomt not only to the kidneys, but also to the motor agencies of the spine (bones, muscles and ligaments). The objective exammation gives us a clearer idea of the localization of the pam. There is no pain m either arms or legs, — their movements are free ; Ijut the patient is very weak and easily fatigued. Sight and hearing are normal. Anamnesis. — It would be very desirable to be informed of the condition of health enjoj^ed by oui* patient's parents. The pa- tient, I must say agam, is so pale and emaciated, is so puny and backward m his physical development, that one finds it difficult, without further verification, to ascribe these ]3eculiarities solely to the recent mfh-mities, to which the so numerous and so promuient abdommal symptoms pomt. One can not help thmk- uig that his generally weak condition and the local disorders may be but an expression of a general cause (such a cause is most frequently syphilis or tuberculosis) ; is the patient a vic- tim of hereditary syphilis or does he come from a tuberculous family? On inquiry, as you hear, we find that his parents are alive and enjojmig good health; i. e. they do not ail generally and particularly from any chest troubles (they suffer neither from cough nor from any difiiculty m breathmg). Out of a family of seven children, five died m childhood ; those remaming mclude himself and his younger brother, who is not ailing. We can, however, arrive at no positive conclusions from this information ; the fact that out of seven children five died may lead us to sus- pect syphilis, if it were not for the considerable mortalit}^ of chil- dren, which is unfortunately of ordinary occurrence amidst the deplorable circumstances surrounding the life of the peasant. The patient himself has no recollection of having been sick until his fourteenth year, but remembers that he was neither thin nor weak. When fourteen, he was apprenticed to a vil- lage tailor. Of the severe life with the latter we have already spoken. After two years of such a life his health began to fail : there appeared belchmg, heartburn, nausea, heaviness at the pit of the stomach, and, later, pain that kept contmually m- — 41 — creasing ; also vomiting, at first rare, tlieii more frequent ; difficult stool; patient grew emaciated, became weak and. sleep- less. After another year's work in such a condition, patient became very thm and very weak, had to give up work altogether, and over a year ago (in May, 1888) returned home, where, although idle, he still lived under much the same chcumstances as before, without any treatment, so that his health was not at all improved for this last year. Some six weeks ago his former constipation gave place to diarrhoea, — slight at the begmnmg. Eleven days ago, September 8th, the patient havmg eaten some mushrooms, cabbage and cucumbers, he soon experienced severe pains in the region of the stomach, then there set m profuse vom- iting of a dark -colored mass (the first and only time), that resembled snuff dissolved in water, and somewhat later, accom- panied by acute pains in the abdomen, he had some six loose stools of the color of tar (indicates the possibility of the presence of blood m the evacuations ijer os and per anum). Smce then, and up to the time he entered the clmic, September 13th, he suffered contmuously from daily vomiting, diarrhoea and aggra- vatmg pains at the pit of the stomach and hi the abdomen generally. He does not recollect the exact time when he first felt pams generally in the back and particularly m the loms, as well as m the abdomen to the left of the umbilicus, but thinks it must be long ago. It were now time to enter upon the fuial objective examination of the patient ; but the lecture is at end, and without finishmg this exammation and establishing a final diagnosis, I must take up the treatment of the patient ; I must also explain the neces- sity for such a procedure m certain cases in clinical teaching. The case before you is the first that we examine jomtly, and besides, as far as can be seen already, it is a complex one. To judge by the mformation obtained we must expect disturbances of various parts and functions of the organism : of the stomach, intestmes, kidneys, of nutrition. Either of these two circum- stances (the more so when both together) necessitates a lengthy prelimmary analysis that would require many lectures ; and as we have but three lectures a week, it would take us too long to complete our prelimmary analysis. The patient, meanwhile. — 42 — cannot be left without treatment : this last begins from the time he enters the hospital, so that considerable changes may have taken place in the condition of our patient by the time we fin- ish our extensive examinaition. Let us assume, that he will im- prove, will regain his health, will be cured ; what profit can you derive from the fact that /was able to cure the patient, if you yourselves will not acquire the skill to do it, if you will not be constantly informed as to how such a desirable consummation was attained, and if you will not follow with me the treatment and learn why we use certain remedies, and why we replace them with or add others to them, as the changes in the condi- tion of the patient may demand? I therefore, in such cases, conduct simultaneously the analysis of the patient and the course of treatment, and devote one part of each lecture to a contmuation or conclusion of the primary analysis, and the other to observation, that is, to the discussion of the changes that take place and to the direction of a further course of treatment. It is true that without arriving at a positive diagnosis it is impossible to fully explain just why a certain course of treatment is to be adopted. But, as you know from my introduction to clinical work, and as you see it verified in this case, a diagnosis is arrived at, not immediately at the end of the mvestigation, but gradually while this is being conducted ; if we have not as yet established a positive diagnosis, we nevertheless can not say that nothing in the condition of the patient is clear to us. This enables me, with the aid of the information obtamed by you from the systematic study of internal diseases, to gradually acquamt you, although at first not fully so, with the treatment adopted even before the conclusion of the primary analysis, and thus to attract your participation from the very beginning in such an important matter for you as conducting treatment and investigation. The farther we advance in our primary analysis and generally in our familiarity with the case, the easier will such a method of teaching become ; some such method, however, is mevitable. From my long experience, I will add here, that such a method is not only free from inconvenience, but is indeed useful ; the teacher must at times repeat himself — repeat the same subject twice ; but first, such a repetition is usually a — 43 — more lucid explanation of the subject, and forms an addition to one's knowledge ; and secondly, a repetition of those impressions and mformation most important for the practical physician — that should always be fresh m his mind — will result in this, that all the impressions and information will not be superficial and ephemeral, but will implant themselves lastmgly in the memory of the students. It is well understood that, when in analyzmg the patient's condition the plan of treatment will have been discussed, all the gaps will be filled, and whatever could not be clearly understood m the begmning will be explamed then. When beginnmg the discussion of the treatment, as well as the hygiene of the patient, we must first explain to you what has already been done for him smce his admission into the clinic, and what has already produced, as you have heard, a perceptible improvement m the patient's condition. It is hardly necessary to explam the importance of a satisfactory habitation, a warm water-closet, and of flannel around the abdomen of a patient subject to acute abdominal pams and diarrhcjea ; also that he was given food often and a little at a time, — almost exclusively of a semi-liquid nature, and, I may add, lukewarm (tea, milk, soups, everything at the temperature of freshly drawn milk). I shall speak however, more fully later on of such an important subject in any disease, — and especially for our patient, — as diet. You understand the indication for codeine for pain. The chief indi- cation for the wme was the feebleness of the heart's action as evidenced by the weak pulse and by dizzmess ; besides, the wme he got was strong and not sour, such being useful m diarrhoea. I will also remmd you that the rapid combustion of the alcohol of the wme in the blood protects from combustion the tissues of the body, thus checkmg the tendency to exhaustion. To be sure, such effect is inconsiderable, in view of the small quantity of wme the patient gets ; but taking into consideration his ex- treme emaciation and the impossibility, on account of disease of the alimentary organs, of rapid improvement in nutrition, even such a trifling advantage is not to be neglected. I will not stop at this moment to explam the indication for the Ems-Kesselbrunnen mineral water. I know, from years — 44 — of experience, that the students attending the clinic are in- formed theoretically, by their text-books, that such and such waters are used in such and such diseases ; while the systema- tic study of mternal pathology teaches them that for such and such diseases such and such waters are ordered; but I also know that they are completely at sea as regards the clinical, that is, the practical, part of balneotherapy — lacking as they do the ability to select^ for a given case, from several, often many, waters recommended for a certain disease, the one most suitable for the case, as well as the technical skill in the use of such mineral waters (how much and at what times to be taken, etc.). But then I consider it the duty of the clinician to familiarize the stu- dents with this subject ; and therefore, from almost the very beginning of my clinical practice, appreciating highly the great importance of mineral waters as an agent of gastric therapy, — and not of that alone either — I have considered it my duty to see to it that the students acquire skill in selecting mineral waters, and that they become accustomed to their practical use. With this in view I utilize the first case, which presents an indication for the use of mmeral waters ; but such a case must be clear in all its peculiarities, and must be fully diagnosticated. Thus only after having established a positive diagnosis and plan of treat- ment will I be able to show you the indication, in our present case, for mineral waters, — for Ems-Kesselbrunnen m particu- lar, — its quantity and the time of its admmistration (one hour before meals, etc.). Once this elucidation is made and some- what extended by suitable examples, no difficulty will present itself in explaining the indication for mineral waters m other cases that we may come across. The decoction of condurango and the tincture of nux vomica are not to be compared with the mineral waters in their impor- tance ; but their use will be fully explained in the complete course of treatment later on. It remains for us to designate the treatment for to-day. The undoubted and equable improvement of all the symptoms m the condition of the patient pomts to a correct course of treatment, and it will, therefore, be adhered to without alteration ; but in order the sooner to put an end to the abdommal pains and the — 45 -- diarrlicBa, ^yllicll produce a depressing and weakening effect on the patient, I shall replace the codeine with a stronger prepara- tion, — namely, the tincture of opium (tine, opii simplex, 5 di'ops in case of more or less severe pains) and a warm bath ; — not quite a warm one, a lukewarm bath will rather tend to aggravate the diarrhoea, consequently also the pams ; a hot bath may weaken the patient, whose heart is abead}' weak. As we aim to relieve the pams and the diarrhoea without weak- enmg the patient, he will be given a bath that will produce m liim a feeling of agreeable warmth. In the determination of the temperature of such a bath we are guided by the foUowmg : the more exhausted and the more sensitive to chills the patient is, the higher must be the temperature of the bath to produce the sensation of agreeable warmth ; if this sensation is mduced in a healthy man by a bath of the temperature of 27 to 28° R. (92.7 to 95° ^.), then a sensitive patient will requne one of 29 to 30° R. (97.2 to 99.5° F.) and higher. AVe Avill order for our patient a bath of 29° R. (97.2° F.^ so that, m case he feels chilly, we may be able to at once raise it to a higher tempera- tui-e by addmg some hot water. LECTURE OF SEPTEMBER 20, 1889. The jjatienfs condition. The gastric and mtestmal pains were relieved (opium was needed onlj* once), but he had one loose stool; there is also less pain in the back. The bath at 29° R. (97.2° F.) did not seem comfortably warm to the patient, but when its temperature was raised to 30° R. (99.5° F.^ he felt well and remamed m it for ten mmutes. Was some- what weak after the bath, but slept well — longer (seven hours) and sounder than before. Feels himself generally better to-day. Let us now turn to the unfinished part of our joint mvesti- gation of the patient, to the objective exammation. The re- sults of this are as follows : Inspectio7i of the whole body. — On the back we find the charac- teristic scaly eruption of pityriasis versicolor, the microscope - — 46 — shows the presence of the parasite m the scales causing the eruption (microsporon furfur), so generally met with in ema- ciated persons, and particularly m those suffermg from or pre- disposed to tuberculosis. Extreme emaciation ; skin thm, with almost no subcutaneous fat. Cervical, axillary and inguinal glands normal. Qhest — fiat and generally poorly developed ; scapula3 stand out. Percussion and auscultation elicit nothmg abnormal in the respiratory organs, the heart and the great thoracic arteries. Abdomen^ on inspection^ seems to be sunken, and equallj^ so on all sides, also m the region of the stomach (at the pit of the stomach and ui the left hypochondrium). Palpation of the abdomen. — I must first make a few remarks concernmg the method of palpating the abdomen, as I practised it before you, and as I usually do it, without gomg into a par- ticular discussion of this method of investigation, which is the busmess of the propaedeutic clmic, i. e. of practical semio- tics. Palpation of the abdomen must be conducted with the utmost care, so as not to cause harm to the patient nor obtain misleading data, and not to mduce, by roug'h manipulation, pam in localities where there is none. I will also add that abdomuial palpation should be practised as uifrequently as possible, as even the most careful examuiation may react un- favorably on the patient; and moreover, the less frequent the palpation, the more appreciable become any changes ui the data obtamed by this method of mvestigation. I first determine the presence or absence of cutaneous hyperaesthesia. I then proceed to palpate the patient as he is usually seen, ui the lymg position, on the back, at first on the median part of the abdomen, from the ensiform cartilage down to the os pubis, then laterally from the hypochondrium to the ingumal region. I always make a double palpation — first superficially, and afterwards a deep one down to the posterior wall of the abdomen if possible. From the data obtamed by such a method of examination (always obligatory, if the inquuy as to the condition of the abdomen demands it) it may be learned whether it is necessary to resort to other means, such as palpation of the abdomen with the patient in the lateral or in any other position, or to some special method — 47 — of palpation. I would also remark that in the case of a doubt- ful, not clearly defined tenderness to pressure in some part of the abdomen, I palpate, for comparison's sake, the correspond- mg locality on the opposite side, so as to avoid a possible error that may be caused by an unequal pressure. I palpate the diseased side somewhat more lightly and the healthy side somewhat stronger. If this should indicate a greater tender- ness on the former, there is, of course, no doubt of its presence there. I will now recapitulate the data obtained by palpation : cutaneous h}'percesthesia absent ; quite strong compression of the folds of the skin m various parts of the abdomen do not cause any pain; patient says he feels the forcible squeezing, but experiences no pam. From the upper edge of the liver and spleen, located while percussmg the chest and by the palpation of both hypochondria, it becomes apparent that the dimensions of these organs are normal. The kidneys are inaccessible to palpation, either with the patient in the lying or in any other position. The region of the spleen is not sensitive to pressiu-e (pressure under the left margm of the ribs causes no pain). There is considerable tenderness in the region of the stomach (it was stronger on his admission) and some tenderness on the side of the liver, sharply defined by the region of the gall- bladder ; the remaining portions of the right hypochondrium are not tender. Takmg mto account all these data, together with the dyspeptic symptoms learned by interrogating the pa- tient, and the simultaneous relief of these symptoms and of the pain in the region of the stomach, we must accept the stomach as the seat of this pain, and not the left lobe of the liver. As you will recollect, we found on inquiry, that the patient had severe intestmal pams, which have now diminished. Palpation has shown the region of the descending colon and of the sigmoid flexure to be sensitive, while that of the caecum and of the ascending colon were not sensitive — a good sign, indicating, in the presence of diarrhoea, of a frequent desire to defecate, and of mucus m the evacuations, a simple catarrh of the large m- testine. Tuberculous ulcerations of the intestmes, which one might suspect in view of the extreme emaciation of the patient, — 48 — his weak constitution and the eruption already mentioned, are usuall}^ located at the termmation of the small and the begin- nmg- of the large mtestuies, thus causing tenderness in the right, and not, as m our patient, in the left, iliac region. In the other portions of the abdomen, that correspond to the position of the intestines, there is no sensitiveness on palpation. There is, to be sure, some very slight tenderness along the median line of the abdomen, but it must evidently be referred to the abdommal aorta, which is surrounded by a network of nerves, as the paui is felt by the patient only along the course of that artery, and only when its pulsation is perceptible through pal- pation. This sensitiveness to palpation in the vicinity of the abdominal aorta is of conunon occurrence m exhausted and irritable subjects, as our patient had become from long-contm- ued insomnia. Thus also the considerable pamfulness on the left side of the abdomen, which is sharply defined by the locality of the left kichiey and its ureter, is evidently referable to these two organs, and not to the mtestines, the more so because, while palpatmg the left kidney from the front the patient com- plams of pam simultaneously m the left lorn. Sensitiveness on palpation, although m a lesser degree, is also felt m the region of the right kidney and ureter. We must exclude the partici- pation of the peritoneum, tliat is, the presence of peritonitis, m the production of the abdomuial pams : the character of the pains (which are neither as severe nor as sharp as in peritonitis), the freedom of motion, and the absence of febrile conditions, render it improbable. You may see, therefore, that a circumstantial uiquiiy and an exact objective mvestigation make it possible, notwithstanding the existence of many causes for pams and the great variety of them dependent thereon, not to be confused by this variety, but to exactly determme the sources of the pams, the affected organs. As such we fuid, in this case, the stomach, part of the mtestinal canal, both kidneys — particularly the left one — and the gall- bladder. Back. — On his admission the patient complained of pains all over the back, particularly m the loins, aggravated by move- ments of the spine. Objective investigation has sho'svn then — 49 — the absence of liypersestliesia cutis, but on pressure tliere was tenderness in the promment bony portions (the spmous pro- cesses of the vertebrae and scapulae), and some in the muscles of the spme and a few intercostal nerves ; directly and acutel}^ pamful was the region of the left kidney, that of the right one less so. At present the patient does not complain of pain all over the back, but only in the region of the loins, especially on the left side. By objective examination we find absence of cutaneous hypersesthesia, the tenderness in the bones, muscles and nerves of the back disappeared, with the exception of some m the lumbar region of the spine, the motions of the spine became freer, but the sensitiveness m the kidneys, especially the left one, has diminished but little. Considermg the fact that while at home the patient slept on almost naked boards, so that his back was subjected to almost continuous trauma- tism, and that with the removal of these latter (the patient reposing on a soft bed while in the clmic) and with the im- provement m his nervous condition, thanks to a more quiet sleep, relief of the abdominal pams, w^arm bath and the like, the pains over the whole back have rapidly dimmished and almost disappeared, — we must refer these pains to the above- named external parts of the back which suffered from trauma- tism. We must, of course, exclude any affections of the spmal cord or it membranes owmg to the absence of any symptoms of such affections. The pains in the back m the region of the kidneys are unquestionably to be referred to the kidneys, as is evident from the data obtamed through inquiry and objective exammation of the abdomen. The tendon, knee and other reflexes are normal. I have already had occasion to observe that the weak con- stitution and extreme emaciation of the patient, m conjmiction with the pityriasis versicolor, excite a suspicion of the possi- bility of his suffering from tuberculosis. Of the organs affected in our patient, we would in all probability expect the intestines and the kidneys to be the seats of tuberculosis ; we therefore had the faeces and urme exammed for tuberculous bacilli; but m neither of them was their presence demonstrated. Having finished our investigation, we should now pass over — 50 — to the positive diagnostication of the case; but m accordance with the method of teaching adopted by me for cases requiring a lengthy discussion, as I explained last time, I must devote the rest of the lecture to the treatment required by the condi- tion of the patient to-day. We will certainly not change the hygienic conditions. Pa- tient's appetite is improvmg ; he would fain eat more than he is allowed ; but for the sake of caution we will wait another day or two before mcreasmg his quantit}^ of food. The Ems water, the bitters and the wine we will continue in view of their favorable action. In the treatment of the diarrhoea one addition is to be made : notwithstanding the improvement of other symptoms, the evac- uations contmue fluid; this is naturally detrimental to the condition of our emaciated patient and hinders his improve- ment. What are we to add to our treatment m order to overcome this difficulty ? If the evacuations up to now had been not only fluid, but also frequent and contamed mucus, — which would pomt to a contmumg catarrhal condition of the large mtestine, — then it were better to mtroduce some therapeutic means per rectum — as tamim suppositories. But the frequent tenesmus has ceased, and there is no mucus m the faeces ; so that the contmuous fluid evacuations point rather to a poor absorptive power of the small mtestine, dependmg, perhaps, on a catarrhal condition of the same. The mtroduction of remedies i^er anum in diseases of the small mtestine is recommended as yet only for special condi- tions (as, to destroy microbes, to render ptomames harmless, and to remove accumulated contents), m cholera, typhoid fever and other diseases ; it remains yet for practice to prove the useful- ness of such a procedure ; but in such cases, as m that of our patient, of an evidently simple catarrh, practice speaks for the mtroduction of remedies per os. What then shall we prescribe for our patient per os ? Shall we increase the dosage of opium ? No. Opium is mdicated (al- ways after a preliminary emptying of the bowels) m more acute cases of catarrh ; the chief indication for its use is uitestinal — 51 — pain. In chronic cases, where the uitestmal pams have al- ready disappeared, opium seldom cures the diarrhoea, and more- over, it is harmful, masmuch as it tends to derange the appetite and "weaken the musculo-nervous apparatus of the intestmes. The mtestmal pams in our patient are very slight, and the appetite is just beginnmg to improve, while the nervo-muscular apparatus of the intestines is very weak, as is evident from the poorly developed muscular system generally and the constant constipation during the whole course of the disease, mitil the present diarrhrBa. We will, therefore, give him the tmcture of opium as heretofore only in the case of more or less acute mtestinal pams which disturb the patient : five di'ops per dose, while for the diarrhfjea proper we shall prescribe tincture of coto, at first m ten-drop doses in a spoonful of warm water, three times a day, m the intervals between meals, and mcrease the dose if necessary. Why do we give just this, and no other remedy? Fnst, in cases Kke the present one, tinct. coto has proved to be useful, and I can testify to this from my own ex- perience ; and secondly, because in this case tmct. coto seems to be more suitable than the other remedies recommended for diarrhoea, as, for mstance, to mention the prmcipal ones, tannin, lead acetate, silver nitrate, and bismuth. Tannm and lead acetate derange the appetite, while silver nitrate and bismuth subnitrate are less reliable, m my experience, than is tmct. coto. Besides, the simultaneous use of mmeral waters, which is necessar}" for our patient, as you see by the success attendmg the treatment, and as you will find later from the detailed ex- planation of our therapy, makes it easier to bear tinct. coto than tannm and the above enumerated metallic salts. Shall we continue the warm baths ? Patient slept particularly well last night after a warm bath — a quiet, soijnd sleep. As a patient's sleejD is better the less the pain he suffers from, and vice versa, we ma}^ assume that the warm bath has tended to relieve the pains and at the same time to diminish the pathological processes that cause these pams. But experience teaches us that a warm bath may also brmg about better sleep m another way, — by changmg the distribution of blood m the periphery of the body and in the internal organs, — m this case m the — 52 — cerebrum : our patient is alwa3^s chilly, and particularly so on sleepless nights ; but last night he was not chilly. The favorable action of the warm bath on the pains and on the sleep is of the greatest importance to our patient, who has so long suffered with insomnia. Without improving the sleep it is impossible to bruig the nervous system, and consequently the whole organism, to a normal condition. The good effects of a warm bath are the more to be appreciated, as it does away with the necessity for the in- ternal admmistration of hypnotics, which, besides inducing sleep, exert other and even harmful mfluences either on the alimen- tary or other organs or on the nervous system itself. But the warm bath has also its di^awbacks. The patient felt weak some time before and after leavmg the bath ; it was at the same time evident, from the feebleness of the pulse, that the general debility was a result of weakened hear1>action, which was manifested quite clearly m the cerebral circulation. To re- sort to frequent warm baths, subjectmg the patient repeatedlj^ to such weakenmg of the heart's action, temporary and evanes- cent though it be, is certainly hardly desirable. Besides, the frequent use of the warm bath may establish a predisposition to colds, which must especially be taken mto consideration m view of the approaching winter and the severe conditions of life sur- rounclmg our patient. We will therefore order for him baths not daily, but, as circumstances may require, one every second or third day ; we shall contmue usmg them as long as we obtain favorable results. We may expect that, with his improvement, the patient will be able to bear baths of a lower temperature, 29°!'. (97.2°i^.) or even 28° E. (95°^.) ; m case of his complete recovery, he will have lukewarm baths, and later cool rubbings to diminish the susceptibility to cold. Finally, I consider it .necessary and, in the present condition of the patient, possible, to give him a general massage ; I say possible in his present condition, because on his admission, a week ago, the numerous pains were so severe, so aggravated by active and passive movements (as, for instance, even when turned over very carefully) , his sensitiveness on account of the insomnia was so great, that he could hardly have borne the slightest massage. Now, as you know, all the pains have dimin- — 53 — islied, the motions are freer, and there is a feeling of comfort, thanks to the qniet sleep for the past week; the application of general massage is therefore timely. But why and for what purpose ? General massage for cases not exactly like ours, but simi- lar, was recommended by the American physician S. Weir Mitchell, and gave excellent results. His observations were soon verified and his method of treatment was accepted every- where. I personally can attest to its undoubted usefulness, and in certam cases, I thmk, it cannot be replaced by an}- other method. The idea occurred to Dr. Mitchell m connection with a case like the following : a woman, the mother of a numerous family, exhausted by pregnancies, births, and sometimes b}' lactation, Ijegms verj- decidedly to lose her health ; the appetite and nutrition are impaired, she loses sleep, grows very thin and weak ; with these there are usually associated disturbances of the sexual and nervous functions : too frequent and weakenmg losses of blood durmg menstruation, excruciating pams m the head and back, palpitation, dj'spntjea, etc. The usual remedies such as arsenic, iron, the Iwomides, forced feedmg and others — have no effect, ]3i'uicipally because the household cares and the chikben require mtense physical and mental activity and do not leave sufficient time for sleep, poor though it be, but tend to keep up the disturbance of the health. It is in such cases, that Dr. Weir Mitchell, leaving medicines aside (later, when there is improvement in the jDatient's condition he admin- isters iron, and m very large doses at that), attacks directly the cause of the disturbed health, the muiatural physical and mental exertion and the fatigue resulting therefrom; he pre- scribes 'for the patient absolute rest — physical (remauiing in bed six weeks at first without gettmg up at all) and mental (com- plete abstmence from household duties for the same length of time, and even, as far as jDossible, to be kept free from all dis- turbing impressions ; when not bemg given massage, rubbing and frequent nourishment, the patient is allowed to listen to some light readhig, but is not permitted to read herself). In the absence of physical activity, the only means of mducing a con- stantly good appetite and sleep — the first requisites in the — 54 — improvement of nutrition and of the nervous system — she is ordered general massage. The general idea of Mitchell's method of treatment being clear, without gomg mto particulars, for which this is not the time, let us turn to the use of massage in the case of our pa- tient. We were to prescribe for him bodilj^ rest — to rest in a lying position, not only because any movement would produce pam, and does so to some extent even now, but also on account of his extreme weakness and fatigue. I may as well add here, that mental rest is also secured for the patient : his youthful- ness, particularly m connection with his sojourn m the clinic, preclude any care ; his only anxiety — about his health — we succeeded in allaying by promising a complete restoration of health. In the absence of physical exercise we will give him general massage over the whole body except the head, the con- dition of which presents no mdication for massage, and the abdo- men, in which there are so many tender and painful org-ans, that even very careful massage may cause harm. Besides seciu^mg a good appetite and sleep, massage Avill be useful, fu'stly, in di- mmishing the chillmess of the patient's body, by mducing an equable distribution of the peripheral circulation, and through this of the circulation of the rest of the body ; secondly, by re- moving the remainmg pams in the muscles and other parts of the back, it will chiefly tend to better nutrition and to develop the muscles and the other organs of locomotion, which circum- stances, m connection with the general improvement m his health, can not but exert a favorable influence on the future of the whole organism : thirdly, by becoming the means of remov- ing the important disturbance of nutrition, as evidenced by the oxaluria (the constantly abundant urmary sediment consists almost entirely of oxalate of lime). The exact nature of ox- aluria is not known, but its close relation to diabetes mellitus is probable ; the therapy of both has very much m common, and we are therefore led to think that general massage, so useful m diabetes, will also be so in oxaluria. The application of massage in our patient we shall alternate with the use of baths : two or three days massage and then a bath. 55 — We treat the pityriasis versicolor by rubbing the affected parts with cotton-wool saturated in a solution of corrosive sub- limate (1 to 1000). LECTURE OF SEPTEMBER 22, 1889. Condition of the patient. — Appetite better, patient begs in- sistently for more food ; the dyspeptic gastric phenomena, with the former quantity of food, consist only of a slight eructation devoid of pain ; stool once a day and of thicker consistency ; intestmal pains very slight ; the pams in the left kidney are dimmishing, but not to an equal extent. Respiration less fre- quent (20 agamst 23 to 25 as previously), evidently on account of the diminished abdommal pain, and partly also because of a sounder sleep. Pulse, 60, stronger than formerly ; patient's weight 92 lbs. (one pound more than before) ; sleep better — always seven hours and quietly ; pains in the back diminished. He bears massage very well ; feels better than usual at the time of, and a few hours after the massage, — at times he sleeps for about one-half hour after it. There seems to be no call for a change in the treatment, while the quantity of food must be increased. Diagnosis. — Let us now turn to positive diagnostic conclu- sions, while we follow the same method as we have already explamecl in our mtroduction to the clinical work — as we did in our mvestigation. I have already had occasion to observe that the patient's weak constitution and extreme emaciation, as well as the presence^ of pityriasis versicolor, excite a suspicion of tuber- culosis or syphilis. From the data obtained in regard to his parents, we could not, as you will recollect, decide as to his coming from a tuberculous family, nor was there foundation enough for suspecting hereditary S}q3hilis. As far as the patient himself is concerned, everythmg contradicts his suffer- ing from either sypliilis or tuberculosis. As regards the mtes- tines and the kidneys, those organs in which we would suspect the existence of tubercles the soonest, the careful examination — 56 — of the ffeces and urine for the nine clays of his sojourn in the clinic failed to elicit anything to justify the suspicion, while the continuous and comparatively rapid general improvement, as well as the improvement of these organs, speaks decidedly agamst their being uivaded by tuberculosis. Nothing mdicates the existence of syphilis : the hair on the head, quite thick, al- though falluig out a little m the course of the ailment, does so on account of the patient's lack of nutrition, but there never was a decided falling of the hair ; teeth healthy ; outside of the pitj-Tiasis versicolor there is no other eruption, nor is there any scar from any previous ulcerations ; there are no evident traces of any former affection of the mucous membranes ; lymphatic glands are normal, no history of any obstuiate chronic catari-h in the past, nor is there one at present ; no pronounced noctur- nal pains m the tract of the tibiae or other bones, no weakenuig of the memory. We must therefore conclude, that the patient has neither syphilis nor tuberculosis, but tlmt, m his present condition, he is predisposed to this latter, or m fact to any other severe disease, as for instance, chronic nephritis (m view of the decided oxaluria and the evident renal colic) and others. The Stomach. — This organ, wliich seems from the anamnesis to have been affected the first of all, presents a complete picture of a chronic catan4i : there developed consecutively anorexia, heaviness m the stomach, gaseous eructation, sour eructation with heartburn, pain m the stomach, nausea and vomiting, constipation ; all these symptoms were aggravated by eatmg. But will the coincidence of the gastric symptoms in our patient with the type of a chronic gastric catarrh be suffi- cient proof for us to establish a final diagnosis of the latter without further discussion ? Certamly not ; first, because the disease is of such duration and has so weakened our patient, that we are led to think of somethmg more serious than a chronic gastric catarrh, especially as there was some bloody Voni- itmg, which does not occur in the latter; and secondly, because, this being your first and withal complex case, it must be gone mto as particularly as possible, so that there may be a complete explanation of all pomts, not hindered by any doubts (the more — 57 — so, as all the gastric diseases present many similar symptoms). With, this object in Adew we will call m the aid of differential diagnosis. Does not the patient suffer from nervous gastric dyspepsia? This may call mto existence the same symptons as a gastric catarrh : heavmess and pains in the region of the stomach, eruc- tation and heartburn, nausea and vomiting. It chiefly differs from catarrh ui that in the latter all the above enumerated symptoms are constant ; whereas m nervous dyspepsia, in uncom- plicated cases, they are liable to sharp changes m accord with the changes m the nervous condition generally (uncomplicated nervous dyspepsia is rarely seen without a general disturbance of the nervous system) ; if the nervous condition is not normal, then even small quantities of very light food will tend to produce the dyspeptic phenomena ; but so long as the condition of the jiervous system is good, then even abundant quantities of heav- ier food will be digested without any inconvenience ; besides, these changes may occur rapidly, daily. The gastric contents m cases of catarrh contain mucus and, accordmg to the investiga- tions of our clmical assistant, Dr. Popoff, conducted m the lab- oratory of Prof. Babuchin, also leucocytes, whereas neither is present in nervous dyspepsia. But all this refers to j9wre nervous dyspepsia, which is not seen quite often ; if contmued for a long period, it will become associated with a catarrhal condi- tion, which is partly caused by it. Pure gastric catarrh without simultaneous symptoms of nervous dyspepsia is observed more frequently ; but the most frequent cases are probably the com- plicated ones ; viz., catarrh, and at the same time, to a greater or lesser extent, nervous dyspepsia. The presence therefore of mucus 'and leucocytes in the gastric contents mdicates only a catarrh, but at the same time does not exclude the possibility of a simultaneous nervous dyspejDsia. Turnuig now to our patient, the total absence of the above-mentioned sudden changeabil- ity in the gastric symptoms, previously (as I learned in my inquiry) and before us m the clinic, refutes the idea of liis suffering from nervous dyspepsia. Later, when we come to ex- amme the general condition of his nervous system, we will find proofs to justify such a conclusion. — 58 — Does the patient have an atrophic gastric catarrh ? Did not the long continued gastric catarrh induce an atrophy of the gastric glands, which would result in a diminution, or even in a suspension, of the secretion of hydrochloric acid and pepsin, i. e. in the impossibility to digest albuminous bodies ? The rapid dim- inution of the gastric sym]3toms in our patient since his admission to the clinic and their total absence at present while digesting a goodly quantity of largely nitrogenous food (as eggs, soup with bro ken-up meat, milk), speak decidedly against it. Does our patient suffer from gastric cancer ? The patient's age and the long continuance of his trouble certainly contradict this supposition, but still not unconditionally. Cancer is possi- ble even at his age ; and as far as the long duration of the disease is concerned, there might at first be a chronic catarrh, while the cancer could appear later. But against cancer sjDcak positively the same data as against atrophy of the gastric glands : rapid improvement of the gastric symptoms and the unimpeded digestion of a tolerable quantity of food. We can not be so positive with regard to idcer of the stomach. The apparently bloody vomiting and the frequently occurring (especially before admission to the clinic) attacks of severe pains in the abdomen, accompanied by vomiting, speak for it. The fact that this bloody vomit happened only once m the long run of the disease, and even then only after he had eaten a con- siderable quantity of mushrooms, speaks against ulcer. There are known cases where the use of mushrooms, as a food, was followed by a bloody vomit. The attacks of acute pain in the abdomen accompanied by vomiting might be ascribed to an exacerbation of the gastric catarrh, and also to symptoms of liver and kidney colic (of which I will speak later). Although the rapid improvement in the gastric symptoms and their absence during the digestion of a goodly quantity of food do not speak as decidedly against ulcer as against cancer and atrophy of the glands of the stomach, still they make the existence of an ulcer in our present case hardly probable, because even if im- provement and return to health is j)ossible in gastric ulcer, it could not be so decided in such a short time. It is beyond doubt, then, that our patient suffers from a chronic gastric catarrh. — 59 — In a clironic gastric catarrli the mucous membrane of tlie stomach is fomicl to be hypersemic, thickened and covered with mucus. As regards the microscopic appearances, Dr. Popoff's investigations * give the following results : there is observed everywhere a hyperplasia of the tissues of the mucous mem- brane, particularly of the connective tissue, a mass of leucocytes and mast-cells ; the epithelium is not only not detached, but is in a condition of active karyokinesis, while its cells are en- larged and full of mucus : the number of parietal cells is mcreased and the process of karyokinesis is observed m some : then there are a great many chief cells and also a numl^er of cells which it is difficult to clistmguish as belonging to either one or the other (Nussbaum's cells). As regards the hydrochloric acid and pepsm, the mvestigations of Dr. Popoff, both from experiments on animals and from obser- vations on patients, show that m the condition of chronic gastric catarrh these substances are secreted in quantities sufficient for digestion, so that the peptic (digestive) power of the stomach re- mams unimpaired, except at the period when fatty degeneration and atrophy of the gastric glands have already begmi. AVhere, then, one may ask, do the dyspeptic symptoms in catarrh come from ? The causes of these are : 1. weakened gastric move- ments, (as evidenced by the msufficient emptymg of the stom- ach, that usually occurs in gastric catarrh) which prevent the food from bemg ultimately mixed with the gastric juice (this may also be caused by the mucus). 2. As Dr. Popoff assumes, the numerous microbes of the stomach, which remain m it. when the latter is in a catarrhal condition, for a longer time on ac- count of bemg surrounded by the mucus covering the wall of this organ, and also because of the sluggishness of the gastric movements. The classification and study of these microbes m the future will surely shed some light on their possible role in causmg the dyspeptic j)benomena m gastric catarrh, as well as their part m the origm of the catarrh itself. 3. Finally, the addition to the catarrh of a nervous dyspepsia, — of possible changes of nervous origin, in the secretion of the gastric juice. However that may be, the contents of the stomach in a catar- *In liis doctoral thesis, " Catarrli of the Stomach." — '60 — rlial condition contain an abnormal quantity of gases and acids ; then there is besides, as already observed, an insufficient emptying of, and at times even a stretching of the stomach by the accumulated contents, and as a result of the retarded pas- sage of the gastric contents into the intestines, there is consti- 23ation. This stretching of the stomach, quite often met with, but usually yieldmg readil}" to correct treatment, must not be confounded, as is often done, with another, a much less frequent but more obstinate and difficultly removable condition of the stomach, viz., dilatation of the stomach, as it is observed, for mstance, m diseases of the gastric pjdorus, that prevent the passage of the gastric contents into the mtestines. Does our patient suffer, besides the gastric catarrh, also from stretching of the stomach? The data obtained so far fail to verify this, at least for the later period of the disease : neither on his admission nor at present can we notice the least distention in the left hypochondrium ; the attacks of vomitmg, before his admission, with the catarrh m a condition of exacerbation, were of daily occurrence and the vomitmg non-abundant ; whereas m the condition of gastric distention, vomitmg is abundant m quantity, but of rarer occurrence. But it is principally the rapid improve- ment m the appetite that speaks against gastric distention, because in the latter condition, as long as this distention is not removed, as long as the stomach is not enij^tied (for this, lavage is best), there is anorexia. You will observe, that in discussing the ques- tion as to whether our patient suffers from a distended stomach or not, I do not mention the so-called gastric splash, as I do not consider this a reliable symj)tom of distention of the stomach ; it is true that it usually accompanies distention, but may be found to take place also in the absence of this condition, even in perfectly healthy people ; it is even probable that it may occur also in the mtestmes, at least m the large one. It were unreasonable, in view of the unreliability of such a symptom, to attempt to cause it m our patient, whose abdomen, including the stomach itself and the neighboring very tender left kidney, is so highly sensitive. In the discussion of cases which will present a thera- peutic indication for lavage, and which will later probably be brought before you, I shall touch also on the gastric splash. — 61 — Particular attention has been drawn latel}^ to the stomach and its diseases, to the mvestigation of the walls of the stomach, to the condition of its glands at the time of digestion, to the obser- vations of the fiTst stages of gastric catarrh, to the investiga- tion of alterations m the secretions of the gastric juice in diseases of the stomach and m other ailments. As might be expected, the results obtained are taken advantage of m perfect- mg diagnosis : not only is the matter vomited or that oljtamed by gastric lavage (where this last is used therapeutically) ex- ammed, — all this was certamlj" also done before ; but the gastric contents are directly obtained with a view of examinmg them and the introduction of sample food is resorted to (^' trial breakfast," '' trial dinner "). This consists in introducmg mto the previously emptied and washed-out stomach food of a certain quantity and quality, and later, at certain intervals, the gastric contents are withdi'a'mi and examined : by the results of this mvestigation we judge of the peptic power of the stomach, of the quality of the gastric juice (whether or not it contains a sufficiency of hydrochloric acid and pepsm) and of the strength of the gastric movements (whether or not the stomach is emptymg its contents regularly). Some msistently recommend such procedures m prac- tice, and require their application almost m everj'^ case of gastric disease, claiming that diagnosis, without these, is either impos- sible, or at least msufficient. Without drawing at present any general conclusions as to the importance of the above-mentioned methods of investigation, and the judiciousness of their being msisted upon in practice, let us see what data we might obtain, were we to apply these methods to our present case, whose seriousness warrants the use" of any method that would give any special results. If our patient vom- ited or if there were any necessity for washmg out his stomach, then it would certamly be singular not to examme the vomited matter or that obtamed by lavage. But while m the clhiic our patient did not vomit, and lavage was not mdicated (why it was not, is partly ajpparent to you from what I said of the com- plete absence in the patient of any signs of a distended stomach, and will later, in discussing the treatment, be made clear). We consequently would have to resort to obtaining the contents — 62 — of the stomacli and to the expenmental mtroduction of food, that is, to the frequent introduction of the gastric sound. And what woukl we learn by tliis ? We would learn, whether the food is well digested or not, whether or not the hydrochloric acid and pepsin are secreted m sufficient quantity. But we have learned this without the introduction of a sound, and moreover with greater certamty and without any mconvenience or harm to the patient. By mtroducmg easily digestible food m small quantities, we observed that the dyspeptic phenomena began to dimmish rapidly and in a few days disappeared altogether : at the present time our patient, having six meals a day, not onlj- does not observe any dj'speptic symptoms after each meal, but on the contrary soon has a desii^e to eat agam — also a sure indication of a previousl}^ completed digestive act. Consequently, we also mtroduced " trial " meals, and several times a day at that, and we not only learned that the secreted gastric juice ls of normal quality, and that normal digestion can take place, but we also constantly keep under observation the condition of the digestion and its im- provement, not b}' resortmg to the contmual mtroduction of the sound and to the investigation of the gastric contents, — and how mconvenient this would be for both the physician and patient ! — but by being guided by the most reliable criterion, namely, the absence of dyspeptic phenomena and the improvement in the ap- petite, with which the data obtamed by the gastric somid will stand comparison, these bemg frequently misleaduig and.cjuestionable. Besides, these last data can only pomt to the condition of the gastric digestion, and it would therefore be one-sided and erro- neous to judge by them — as one is often tempted to do — of the condition of digestion in general, because dig-estion takes place not m the stomach alone, but to an equal, if not to a greater, extent also in the small mtestine. But this is only one side of the question ; let us look at the other. Does not the introduction of the stomach-tube entail hardships on the patient, — may it not even harm him ? It is only after persistent persuasion on the part of the physician, that patients overcome the feelmg of extrelne disgust towards this procedure. As far as harm is concerned, not to speak of the unfortunate accidents m the past that were due partly to — 63 — tlie imperfectiiess of the metliod and partly on account of the physcian's negligence, even now, with the most perfect method and extreme care, the introduction of the sound is often not devoid of harm to the patient. Thus, in our patient, in the presence of the exacerbation of the gastric catarrh, wdth which he was admitted to the cluiic (daily vomiting with acute pam), the introduction of the sound might have caused a fresh attack of nausea and pain, that is, it might have aggravated the condition of the stomach, that was just beginnmg to improve when the patient m general and his stomach m jjarticular were surrounded as far as pos- sible by favorable conditions. This would take place m a catar- rhal condition of the stomach ; the risk of mjuring the patient would l3e greater still m gastric ulcer or cancer. The introduc- tion of the sound, in cases of nervous dyspepsia, may also considerably aggravate the condition of the patient. More than once, at medical consultations, have I seen severe cases of ner- vous dyspepsia and general nervous disturbance, m which the proposition to introduce the sound was under discussion, — a proposition that in the majority of cases had to be set aside, and the patient improved despite or rather on account of its non-intro- duction. It can not be denied, that the thoughtless mtroduc- tion of the somid, without sufficient reasons, unfortunately quite frequent with practitioners who are carried away by novelty and fashion, deserves strong condenmation. From the foregoing it becomes clear which method would be the more reliable m determinmg the condition of our patient's stomach and its peptic power, — the one that we have chosen, creatmg for the patient and his stomach jDossible favorable con- ditions, and removmg whatever aggravated the condition of the stomach and made digestion difficult, or the other, in which we would add to the above the introduction of a gastric sound, that might exert a contrarj^ influence. Let us now consider the importance of the gastric sound in the differential diagnosis of our case. In regard to the atrophic condition of the gastric glands, the rapid decrease of the dyspep- tic phenomena and the improvement in the appetite speak so strongl}^ against it, as to obviate the necessity for using the so mid. While its use with a diagnostic j) expose in the case of — 64 — cancer would not only fail to give as good results as were ob- tained by observation, but would even lead to vacillations in the diagnosis. In fact, the rapid decrease of tbe dyspeptic phenomena and the improvement in the appetite, which are not to be thought of m a case of a fully developed cancer (the pa- tient has been ailmg for a long tune), enabled us to positively exclude cancer; whereas the examination of the gastric con- tents obtauied by the aid of the sound, b}^ showing the presence of hydrocliloric acid, would lead us to doubt as to whether the case was that of a simple chronic catarrh or whether cancer might not also be present ; for, although m the majority of cases of cancer the contents of the stomach contam no free hydi-ochloric acid, appreciable under certam color reactions, still there are frequent exceptional cases, hi which the free acid is found. In ulcer of the stomach the mtroduction of the sound, not to speak of special risk of injurmg the patient, would give notion g of po- sitive value m the way of a differential diagnosis between thLs condition and chronic catarrh. As regards nervous dyspej)sia, we have said before, that the complete absence of sudden changes in the local (dyspeptic) phenomena, and as we shall see later, the general nervous condition of the patient, permitted us to j)Ositively exclude it without necessitatuig a supplementary investigation. But some will say, this is all clear to me now ; but how was it at the begmnmg ? In the beginning it was only probable, that the patient had a clironic gastric catarrh, and no other disease of the stomach ; but the pi-obability became stronger every day, so that in a few days the probabilit}' became a eertaijity. To be sure we had to wait a few days ; but washing of the stomach, the introduction of a " trial " meal and, subsequent to this, the frequent introduction of the somid, as well as the repetition of this procedure (which would be necessary m such a serious, complicated case of long duration), would also require rather more than less time, because, as was explamed above, observa- tion of the patient when surrounded by favorable conditions only would clear up the matter sooner than if he were surroun- ded by both favorable and unfavorable (the mtroduction of the sound) conditions. The ^possibility of keepmg the patient mider — 65 — observation after he had been placed among favorable circum- stances, the causes keeping up the diseased condition having been removed, while strong medical agents are not resorted to before the matter is clear, — this possibility is of great value m arriv- ing at a correct diagnosis, and consequently, also, correct thera- peutics, especially in chronic cases. Now that we have considered the value that the gastric sound and the mtroduction of a " trial " meal would have in our case, I can express my opmion concerning the importance of this method of investigation in its present state for the diagnosis of gastric diseases in general ; only rare cases present a judicious reason for the application of this method; it may be otherwise when m the course of time the reliability of the data obtained by this method will be increased. To avoid misunderstandings, I will add that we must not con- found two different matters : it is one thmg to work out a new method, which is always a matter worthy of respect, but is only a question of the personal mvestigations of the clinician, and not a subject of uistruction for his students ; to these he must communi- cate only tried methods, that deserve to be applied m practice on account of then valuable results ; nor must they be Ijurden- some to either patient or physician. It is another thing to pre- sent to the students methods that are mcomplete and may burden them with procedures that offer nothing new or valuable, at the same time inconveniencing the patient and leadhig to waste of time and energy on the part of the physician, besides distractmg his attention from facts that are important and yet easily obtain- able. Many a time have I seen the fruitlessness of the labors of physicians brought up under such influences : such a physician would collect a mass of minute and worthless data (not to speak of the present time, let me recall the " titration " ej^idemic of sad memor}^, the exhaustive exammation of the ui'me, useless for practical purjDOses, etc.), without knowmg what to do with them : he would spend time and energy in collecting these and, not havmg passed thi'ough a regular clmical course, he fails to ob- serve the simple, patent and nevertheless very important facts : and even if he does observe, he does not take advantage of them, and thu.s remams, until taught by bitter experience, if not for- — 66 — • ever, a fiiiical seniiotician, a ]30or diagnostician, and consequent- ly an inefficient therapeutist. Such a physician prides himself on his " scientific " method of practice in that he applies the minutest and latest results of mvestigations, not comprehending that science — the highest common-sense — can not be contra- dictory to the orduiary reasonmg, according to which we must select from a great mass of data only what is of utility, and must resort to methods of investigation that are really necessary. I must remind you that whatever has been said of the gastric sound refers to its use for diagnostic purposes ; its application in therapeutics, where it constitutes a useful, unreplaceable method of treatment, is a totally different matter, of which we shall speak later. LECTURES OF SEPTEMBER 27 AND 29 AND OF OCTOBER 4, 1889. Patient^ s condition Septemher 27. — Former treatment con- tinued ; the quantity of food increased : up to the 2 2d the patient got two glasses of milk, two glasses of soup with finely broken up meat, two eggs, and about one-quarter pound of white bread; but now he gets besides these two glasses of milk- soitp with manna, one-fourth of a chicken, and another one- quarter pound of bread. This quantity of food the patient takes m seven portions. The appetite contmues improvmg and the patient craves for more food. The only dyspeptic symptom is slight retchmg. The pains m the stomach and on the side of the gall-bladder have disappeared entirely : pressure m these regions elicits very little tenderness. Stool — once a day, pain- less (smce the 22d he has been given the opium drops only twice) ; evacuations thicker, not liquid, but soft and somewhat formed, without mucus. The urine is less pale, with a smaller sediment of oxalate of calcium. The pains in the kidneys, and especially m the left one, persist as yet and become aggravated on movmg and walkmg, if the abdomen be not suffiently sup- ported by the flannel bandage ; the left kidney is still verj- sensitive to pressure. The pains in the back are limited to the region of the kidneys, the others have disappeared after mas- — 67 — sage. Tlie organs of tlie chest are normal, as before. For five clays tlie patient gained another pound in weight (his weight is now 93 pounds). Sleeps quietly, some seven and one-half houi'S at night and one-half hour m the day-time ; mental con- dition better, physical weakaess less. The former headaches and dizziness absent. There is evidently no need of changing the treatment; we must only increase the dose of the tmcture of coto, as the evac- uations are as yet changeable, at times formed, at others not : besides, the patient might become habituated to the previous dose : we will give him now fifteen drops thi^ee times a day (in- stead of the former ten). We will also add some cognac to the milk — a teaspoonful to a glass. The quantity of food will be carefully mcreased. We will turn now to the diagnosis : The diagnosis of the condition of the stomach was finished last time. We will only add to-day, that the mcrease of the appetite and the contmually improvmg digestion tend more and more to verify our diagnostic conclusions concerning the con- dition of this organ. The intestinal tract. — Until last August the patient suffered with a constant constipation. The causes of this might be : first, the retarded passage of the gastric contents mto the intes- tmes because of the weakened movements which usually accompany gastric catarrh (the patient on admission had no signs of dilatation of the stomach, probably on account of tlie constant vomitmg before admission, which emptied this or- gan) ; and second, a weakening of the nervo-muscular activity of the stomach and mtestmes, due to the weakness of the nervo- muscular apparatus m general and to his sedentary life. Since Augnst the constipation has been replaced by a diarrh(jea — a sign of a superadded intestinal catarrh. Both the large mtes- tme (frequent painful strammg, mucus m the evacuations. P-tms in the region of the sigmoid flexure) and probably the small one (as was exp lamed when ordering tincture of coto) are effected by the catarrh. The patient's weak constitution and poor nutrition, as well as his pityriasis versicolor, excited a sus- picion of tuberculosis m general, and of that of the intestines — 68 — in particular, although the absence of fever and pams in the ileo-coecal region spoke against it. Repeated exammation of the fseces failed to prove the presence of intestmal tuberculosis, while the rapid improvement in the general condition as well as in the condition of the mtestines also positively exclude it. The liver mid the hiliary j^assages. — The liver presents noth- ing abnormal : the pam elicited by pressure at the pit of the stomach was referable, as explamed during the objective exam- ination, not to the left lobe of the liver, but to the stomach, There is slight but constant tenderness on pressure m the region of the gall-bladder, pomtmg to some, diseased condition of the bladder. Which is it? From the data at hand it points only to biliary calculi m the bladder ; the slight intensity of the pains spealts against pericystitis, while the entire absence of swelling excludes any new formation. Catarrh of the gall-bladder, as part of the general catarrh of the biliary passages, must also be elimmated, on account of the absence in the past and at the present time of any symptom of this condition, namely jaundice, as a result of the obstruction of the biliarj^ passages, due to their catarrhal condition. There remain then biliary calculi. Whe- ther or not our patient had attacks of biliary colic brought on, under accidental circumstances (as by traumatism, b}- riding in a jolting carriage, by faulty diet, mental excitement, cold), by the presence of calculi in the bladder, we can neither deny nor affirm. We have not observed them m the clmic ; but then every exacerbation and every attack of pam ceased in the clinic. Concernmg the past history of the patient it is impossible to de- cide as to what extent'the attacks of pain eventuating in vomit- mg depended on the exacerbation of the gastric catarrh and to what extent they were due to liver and kidney colics. As re- gards the last two diseases, we may mfer, judging by the present condition of the patient, that the principal colic was of renal origm. Kidneys. — The left kidney is very tender on pressure ; the right one much less so. Besides, at home, after a jolting ride, and, to a very slight extent, in the clinic after walking, there appeared typical attacks of renal colic, viz., pains in the re- — 69 — gion of the left kidney, radiating upward and into the left lorn, as well as downward into the left groin and left testicle. The cause of this is evidently ascribable to concretions of oxalate of lime m the pelves of the kidneys (nephrolithiasis), especially in the left one. We say of oxalate of linie, because our patient has a typical oxaluria : urine pale, but strongly acid ; on his admission it gave an abundant sediment of crystals of oxalate of liine, with scarcely any uric-acid deposit. Further than this the kidneys are not affected : there is neither hsematuria nor any catarrh of the renal pelves, (the urine contams no mucus, no leucocytes, no epithelium from the renal pelvis, nothing but a small quantity of bladder epithelium), nor nephritis (albumen and cylmders are also absent m the urine). The patient himself presents a typical oxaluric aspect, as described by the well-known neapolitan clini- cian, Cantani : mental and nervous oppression (oppressed mental condition and bodily weakness on his admission), emaciation in general and of that the muscular system in particular, and severe pams m the loins. I will add that, with the improvement m general and with that of nutrition in particular (as seen by the gain in weight), there was also observed a turn for the better in the course of the oxaluria : the urme is now less pale, and gives a less abun- dant sediment of oxalate of lime crystals, but, instead, more of the uric-acid deposits (amorphous sodium-urate and even crystals of uric acid). Physicians resident at the mmeral springs, such as Contrexeville, where so many suiferers with oxalic acid nephrolithiasis congregate, have observed that, with the im- provement in health m these patients, a dimmution in the oxalic acid sediments in the urine takes place, while the uric-acid sediments mcrease proj)ortionately.* However, the improve- ment in our patient is only noticed in the oxaluria as yet ; the kidney pains decrease very slowly. Experience has shown that the concretions of oxalate of lime, formed m the pelvis of the kidney, are the most difficult of all to treat, and require a long time before they disappear. Does not our patient suffer from movable kidnej^s, es^Decially the left one, which is so sensitive on motion (although this symp- * Debout d'Estrees: Des iudications des eaux de Coutrexdville, Paris, 1889, p. 8. — 70 — torn is also found with renal calculi) ? Notwithstanding the patient's extreme emaciation and his sunken abdomen, we were unable, while examming him, to even once feel the left (or the right) kidney ; however, this fact would speak agamst a ma- terial displacement, but would not exclude limited mobility of the kidney, for the existence of even this latter condition is suffi- cient to account for severe renal pains while in motion or while bemg jolted. Considering the extreme failure of nutrition, the weakening of all the tissues of the body and the number of traumata, to which our patient was subjected (riduig m a wagon), mobility, especially of the left, painful kidney, is very probable. Patient's chesty as we said before, is poorly developed. The lungs and the respiratory tract present notlihig abnormal ; the heart is normal except for the weakness of its contractions. The weakness of the pulse, which is now decreasing, depends partly on the anaemia, partly on the weakened heart-action, that accompanies failure of nutrition m general and of the muscular system in particular. Nutriti07i and JTcematopoiesis. We have pomted more than once to the extreme failure of nutrition and to the poor develop- ment of the patient, as well as to the causes of these conditions ; we have also called j^our attention to another important symptom of a greatl}^ disturbed nutrition, namely, oxaluria. As regards hsematopoiesis, the patient certainly presents ansemic symptoms — a weak pulse, paleness, dizziness with a pale face, chilliness, etc. ; but his ansemia is only a part of the general failure of nutri- tion, and not an mdependent affection, as chlorosis, pernicious anaemia, leukcemia. We draw this conclusion, first, from the complete absence of any sjmiptoms of the above-named diseases, and secondly, from the fact that neither the spleen nor the lym- phatic glands present anything abnormal. His nervous system^ when he was admitted to the clinic, pre- sented, as you will recollect, the following abnormal phenomena : poor sleep, dizziness, pains in the head, back and abdomen, oppressed mental condition and bodily weakness — an aggrega- tion of symptoms which is usually observed hi persons suffering from nervous debility, — neurasthenia. Must we conclude from — 71 — this that our patient has neurasthenia ? We constantly hear in our practice nowadays of cases diagnosed as " neurasthenia," and we find that under this name entirely different cases are mcluded, which are similar only in their nervous manifestations, and not even m all of these. Such a custom will eventuate in the term neurasthenia losing its distmctive significance and be- commg a name only for a group of symptoms, and this not always the same ; whereas m reality it defines a certam disease. Here are the characteristic features presented by persons suf- fering from a typical, pure, uncomplicated neurasthenia : ofttimes they are men sturdilj^ built, long-lived, with perfectly healthy pectoral and abdominal organs of a normal (up to a certam period) functional activity, and an excellent nutrition ; and still they are complammg of nervous disturbances, that at times they sleep well, at other times poorly, without being able to as- sign any reason for it ; of a rapid changeability of the mental condition — now oppressed, now excited ; both their mental energ}^ and physical strength quickly give way to weakness. To all this there is superadded pain in different parts of the body, for which there would, at the painful spots, seem to be no apparent local cause ; also hj^pertesthesia cutis and an in- crease in the tendon reflexes ; later on disturbances appear in the functions of different organs, usually first of all constipa- tion, later (occasionally a long time after) nervous dyspepsia, palpitation of the heart, and other symptoms. Investigation of the causes of such a diseased condition usually brmgs to light hereditary predisposition, — weakness and susceptibility of the nervous system from their very birth, and also affections of the latter acquired through the agency of noxious influences. Is it thus with our patient ? The poor sleep in his case was not the result of unknowai causes, but was due to the pams, up- on the relief of which it soon became normal ; with better sleep and with the improvement of the pulse (of the heart-action) the headaches and dizziness also soon disappeared; the other pains were very clearly traceable to various diseased conditions in parts where they were felt; our joatient has neither skin- hypersesthesia and mcreased tendon reflexes, nor any apparent signs of nervous dyspepsia, nor palpitation of the heart; nor is — 72 — his mental condition changeable ; on the contrary, he is very reserved ; the oppressed mental state m which he was when ad- mitted soon passed away with the relief of the; pams, improvement in the sleep and with the revival of hope in our patient ; the considerable and slowly disappearing physical weakness is easily explamable by the extreme emaciation of the muscles and the unsatisfactory development of the skeleton. Considering the general failure of nutrition m our patient, which would nat- urally reflect itself in the nutrition of liis nervous system, then the poor sleep for a prolonged period of time, and the acute pams in the many affected organs for a similar period, which m its turn would affect the nervous system injuriously, and observmg at the same time, how rapidly the latter improves simultaneuosly with the general improvement in the patient's health, with the relief of local pains and better sleep, we must conclude, fu"st, that our patient's nervous system presents not only a particu^ larly weakened condition, but that, on the contrary, it appears to be the strongest part of his whole organism ; and secondly, that our patient has no real, primar}" neurasthenia; that his nervous symptoms were developed m consequence of and owmg to diseases of other organs (witness the anamnesis), and they pass away so quickly with the removal of the causes, that they evidently disprove the existence of obstinate neuras- thenia, even of secondary origin. As is evident from the preceduig, the summary of our diag- nostic conclusions is as follows : our patient has a clu'onic gastro- mtestmal catarrh, that assumed an acute form before he entered our clmic ; also biliary calculi, renal colic, very probably a mov- able left kidney, serious failure in nutrition, with oxaluria', pity- riasis versicolor, a series of secondary nervous disturbances of a passing nature, extreme emaciation of the muscles, and a poorly developed skeleton. We can not state the degree of depen- dence of the last two conditions on heredity, as we know but very little of the constitution and health of the patient's parents ; but it is beyond doubt that at first the contmuous sitting in the position of a tailor at work, and later on the uninterrupted lying- posture, on account of the pams and weakness, which means a contmuous lack of regular phj^sical exercise and fresh air in the — 73 — course of the last four years, in the period of adolescent growth of the organism, could not but play an important part in the development of the diseased conditions above mentioned. Progyiosis. — The patient's condition is serious, that is, such (vide Introduction to Clinical Exercises) as not to present any immediate danger to life, but such a danger may arise either because the various affections of our patient, becoming aggra- vated on the return to his former surroundmgs of life, may bring him into a condition beyond remedial action, or, rather, because of the possible development in the exhausted organism of tuberculosis, chronic nephritis, etc. ; or finally, some accidental cause, such as a severe cold, may bring about a rapidly develop- mg affection that may prove fatal to the weakened organism. The diseased conditions of the patient are not of a fatal character ■per se, and are curable. Whether or not they are easily curable is another question : it must be apparent even to you, beginners though you be, that they are difficultly curable conditions, — particularly so, if we are to apply treatment as thoroughly as our science demands it ; i. e. not only to effect the removal of local affections, but also to improve the patient's nutrition and constitution, without which treatment will be far from thorough ; nor would the improvement m health be lasting. But the chief difficulty lies m this, that if we even succeed in removmg the local disturbances while he is in the clmic, m im- proving his nutrition and in directmg into a healthy path the future well-being of the patient, we must teach him to live, as as far as possible, under such conditions of life, that he may, after leavmg the clinic and returnmg to the former unfavorable surroundings of life, remam m the possession of what he gamed and thuS strengthen his health the more. Such is, in the given case, the physician's view of the future. Of this the patient must be informed only so far as will enable liim to appreciate his own condition and his individual hygiene, in order to combat noxious mfluences, and by avoidmg them to preserve his health ; but not so much of it as would discourage liim, depriving him of the energy so essential in the struggle. Treatment. — To meet all the requirements of hygiene is the essential condition of every successful treatment. You know — 74 — by this time the nature of and the reasons for the hygienic con- ditions under which we placed our patient ; you also know that, partly with a hygienic purpose in view (to make up for the lack of exercise) and partly on account of certam therapeutic objects, as already explamed, massage was ordered for our patient. It remains now, while we occupy ourselves with the hygiene, to speak of the diet. As a drmk, the patient was given only tea, lukewarm, neither hot nor strong. Water, especially if not warmed, would only tend to prolong the diarrhoea. Lukewarm tea, as a slightly astringent drink, is more suitable for diarrhoea. But tea is not only slightly astringent, it is chiefly a stimulant and the patient is habituated to its use ; this is to be taken into account. I will not enter now into a detailed discussion of the important question, as to the limits to be permitted by the physician m the use of stimu- lants, as our case does not j)resent a sufficient reason for such a discussion : our patient not only does not abuse the most impor- tant of these, — wme, brandy and tobacco, — but does not use them at all. I will only observe that, as the normal course of the nervous and consequently of the other functions of the body does not, strictly speaking, require the aid of coffee or tea, and as a resort to such beverages will therefore oidy throw out of balance the regular operation of these functions, the physician can certainly not advise those not accustomed to the use of such stim- ulants to become habituated to them, but, on the contrary, he must dissuade them from acquiring such a habit. It is a differ- ent matter when one is already habituated to the use of tea or coffee. If these have been used for a long time m moderate quantities without exerting any particularly noticeable unfavor- able mfluence, then there is no reason for msisting on absti- nence from them, because their discontinuance (not to mention the fact that m the majority of cases the physician's prohibition will be like unto the voice clamoring in the wilderness) is often accompanied by important and, in the case of an active life of the habitue, very distressing disturbances to his health. To be sure, cases of abuse of these beverages with evident bad conse- quences therefrom, require either limitation in their use or even total abstinence ; the latter, as is evident from what was just said — 75 — concerning their moderate use, is to be accomplished very care- fully. The use of wine, brandy, and to a certain extent of tobacco must certainly be regarded much more seriously, and their limited use or their discontmuance must be urged more msistently ; but I must say agam, their total discontinuance is in certain cases to be undertaken with great caution, after weighing all the cir- cumstances pro and contra. To cause our patient to discontinue the use of tea and to com- pel him, in his present condition, to give up an accustomed and a most permissible stimulating beverage, would be not only m- expedient, but positively erroneous. Our patient needs the tea not only as a drink suitable for diarrhoea, but also as a gentle stimulant. The indications for stimulants are so strong in this case that we have even prescribed wme for him, the indications for which have been pointed out above. " We will now take up the question oifood. The patient was admitted with a chronic gastric catarrh, and in a state of exacer- bation at that. We first of all took care to see to it, that the food did not irritate the stomach, and with this m view we ordered it preferably in a liquid form (particularly on account of the possible, although hardly probable presence of ulcer of the stomach), viz., such as would not irritate mechanically ; and warm, so as not to produce any thermic irritation — neither hot nor cold (especially in view of the diarrhea) ; and finally such as not to irritate the stomach chemically (the patient, of course, gets no vinegar, mustard, or pepper, etc.). Now come the most important questions concerning the quantity and quality of food and the time for taking it. You know that we mstructed our patient to eat little at a time and often ; you also know the nature of the food. The general success of the treatment stands witness to the fact that it also has been administered correctly. You are, doubtless, desirous of knowing why such an apportionment of food was successful and what guided us m prescribing it. We will take it up in order. The quantity and the apportionment of the food. — If a patient with a catarrhal condition of his stomach is given, at his usual meal-times, for breakfast or dmner, one-haK or even one-third of his ordinary quantity of food, he will, on taking it, fail to ob- — re- serve any dyspeptic symptoms at all or lie will have them in a much lesser degree ; but he would usually complain of either being hungry or at least of not experencing a feeling of satiety, that is, a sufficient filling of the stomach. This fact is the basis of the commonly accepted and very useful method of adminis- tering food to such sick — little at a time and at frequent intervals. How is this to be ordered? A sensible, careful patient, with a strong will-power, is ad- vised thus : Eat little at a time, — enough to still the hunger, but never gorge yourself, not even to complete satiety ; but as soon as you feel not merely hungry, but a lively appetite, eat again the same quantity, that is, without complete satiation. It is usually necessary to add : eat as slowly as possible ; do not hurry (a besetting sin) ; you will thus be able to better chew the food and will observe that your hunger is the sooner satisfied : you finish eating before being over-sated. To be sure, even with such patients and with such instructions we do not al- ways at once get good results ; but we at once establish the proper quantity of food to be taken at one time. Patients are liable to either overeat, or to eat too little at a time, if frightened by too energetic instructions from the physician, particularly if they be over-scrupulous : they will not repeat the meal often enough, and by going hungry interfere with the success of the treatment. But if the physician follows attentively the course of treatment and repeatedly offers additional explanations, then the patient will acquire the habit of taking his meals regularly, thus guaranteeing a healthy condition of the stomach also for the future. On the other hand, in some cases — as, for instance, m our pa- tient — such instructions are not sufficient. He was habituated to poorly nutritious, bulky and difficultly digestible food ; here he gets food that is nourishing, of small bulk, easily digested, and besides more palatable and more appetizing. It is, there- fore, rather dilhcult for him to observe the principal require- ment in eating, namely to eat till hunger is satisfied, and not to satiety. If the quantity of food be not clearly limited, he will always overeat. In such cases the physician must do as we have done : havmg explained to the patient the above-mentioned — 77 — requirement, define exactly the quantity of food and the fre- quency of the meals, and then verify their correctness by observation, increasing or diminishing the quantity of and the intervals between the meals in accordance with the degree of the dyspeptic phenomena and the condition of the appetite. The gradual increase in the general quantity of food runs par- allel to the improvement m the condition of the stomach, as you see clearly from the j)resent case. It is even more difficult to properly prescribe the quality of the food. To be guided only by general hygienic and phj'sio- logical data will not bring the desired results, as even little experience will prove : isolated cases are too often met with presenting too great idiosjmcrasies. In consideration of this it only remams to thoroughly study the given case. Our patient had a gastric catarrh while mgesting poorly nourishing food, that was Imlky and not frequently taken ; we proved success- ful with him while givmg him food of an exactly opposite nature. In other cases, as for instance, in those of pure ner- vous dyspejDsia, uncomplicated by catarrh, nourishmg but too delicate food is often successfully replaced by a coarser food. To be sure, we may run across some verj- difficult cases ; but a careful investigation of every given case, of the habits and peculiarities of the patient as regards his food (as to which kind of food agrees with him and which not) will always enable us to prescribe, in accord with the hygienic and physiological data, the first, so to speak, trial food, and later, guided by the results obtamed, to gradually formulate a correct selection, thus at the same time teachmg the patient how to preserve the stomach m a healthy condition. I must here enter my protest against the use of the stomach sound for verifymg the correctness of the prescribed food still more forcibly than I did while we discussed its use for diagnostic purposes hi gastric diseases : iu'st, because the results of verification obtained by the sound, with the methods at present m use, are less reliable than those obtained by ordinary observation ; and then, the introduction of the somid, especially if frequent, may undoubtedly hinder digestion and become prejudicial to the favorable course of the disease. The food must be varied within limits admissible for the pa- — 78 — tient, but it must be prepared plainly, without suspicious sauces and dressings, but palatable withal. In prescribing a diet for our patient, it was not only the con- dition of the stomach that was taken into consideration. The intestinal catarrh, as apparent from the diarrhoea, required cer- tain peculiarities in the prescription, as has been noted above ; the prescription would be different in the case of constipation, which is seen oftener than diarrhcjea in gastric catarrh. The disturbances m the patient's nutrition also require a different diet. We have been able to a certain extent to conform our treatment to these, especially as regards the oxaluria, having prescribed for him preferably a nitrogenized food with a prohi- bition of sweets (excepting a very trifling quantity of sugar with his tea) ; this, as has been proved, was not only permis- sible, but even requisite in the condition of his stomach and intestines. The present condition of his digestive organs cer- tamly does not permit the use of a fattening diet, which is indicated by his extreme leanness, as for mstance, cod-liver oil or large quantities of milk or its preparations. Time will show how far such a diet may be necessary and when its use is pos- sible. It will also be our task to gradually change his present food, in accordance with the rapidity of his convalescence, to his habitual coarser diet, which he will return to after leavmg our clinic. Taking up the treatment proper, we will follow the same or- der as laid down m our Introduction to Clinical Work, and which has been followed in our investigation and diagnosis. The stomach. — The indication for Ems water will be spoken of separately, for reasons we have already explamed. Why did we prescribe for our patient decoction of condurango and tincture of nux- vomica ? The so-called hitters are useful m chronic catarrh of the stomach. Without discussing the pharmacological reason for their action, I will say that clinically their use is of un- doubted utility : when taken at meal-times they alleviate the dyspeptic symptoms. Condurango, notwithstanding its slightly bitter taste, acts like the bitters (by diminishing the dyspeptic phenomena) even better than those formerly used. Besides, condurango is very useful in diarrhoea, which will sometimes — 79 — pass off by the use of this drug alone. The nux-vomica drops are added, — first, because they are strongly bitter (the slightly bitter, insipid taste of condurango is even somewhat unpleasant to patients, who usually prefer the addition of nux- vomica), and secondly, this drug, because of the strychnine, will act as a tonic to the weakened nervo-muscular apparatus of the intestines, and our patient, as you will recollect, suffered from almost constant constipation until last August. It is also con- venient to admmister condurango and nux-vomica in the follow- ing formula : ]^ — Extracti fluidi condurango 3 j, tmcturse nucis-vomicse 3 ij. M. D. S. 20 - 25 drops in one-half wuie- giass of warm water twice a day after meals. Intestines. — The measures to combat the diarrhoea, the intes- tinal catarrh, are as follows : rest m recumbent position, warmth (warm food, a warm abdominal supporter, warm baths), improv- ment m the condition of the stomach, of the gastric digestion, and, as mentioned above, condurango. We have already explained why we prescribed codeine and the tincture of opium, (for pain), why we give coto drops and not tannin or other astringents, — and why we did not resort to tannm or any other clysters. The gall-bladder. — Ems water was prescribed agamst biliary calculi, because clmical and partly pharmacological data lead to the conclusion that the alkalme mmeral waters, to which class, as you know, the Ems water belongs, have the tendency to re- duce the size of and break up the calculi, thus facilitating their expulsion. This will also be expedited in our patient by the improvement in the gastro-intestinal digestion and in the nutri- tion. The correction of faults in diet, rest, the avoidance of traumatic mfluences, warmth (warm abdominal bandages and warm baths), and the strengthening of the nervous system brought about by the relief of the various pains and the im- provement in sleep — all these will tend to dimmish the con- stant tenderness of the gall-bladder and to avert attacks of biliary colic. The Kidneys. — For the oxalic acid gravel we prescribed the ■ Ems water, although alkaline mineral waters are properl}^ more suitable for renal gravel of another nature — namely, the uric acid gravel, which is usually found not with pale urine, as that of our patient and of oxaluria in general, but in urine that is more strongly colored than normal, namel}^, orange-yellow or even orange-red. Against oxalic-acid gravel are particularly indica- ted the earthy (containmg lime) mineral waters, as, for instance, Contrexeville ; but we could not prescribe these waters, as they would act, especially in our patient, as laxatives, thus prolong- ing the exhaustmg diarrhoea. It is the meat diet, the improve- ment in nutrition and in digestion, general massage, and the improvement in the condition of the nervous system, that will diminish the production of the oxalic-acid gravel and stop the oxaluiia. The diminution in the tenderness of the kidneys, and the cessation of attacks of renal colic, will be effected by the same measures, as were recommended for the gall-bladder symptoms, namely, rest, warmth and a strengthened nervous system. As it is quite probable that the patient's left kidney is somewhat movable, it will become necessary for him, later on, when he moves about more freely, to wear a special kidney bandage, in place of the msufficient simple abdominal band. The heart. — The weak cardiac activity required stimulation ; we have spoken above of the mdication for wme m connection with this. Nutrition. — We just now mentioned the measures for com- batmg the oxaluria. While discussmg the diet we spoke of what could be done for the patient in his present condition for the extreme emaciation. The nervous system in general, the musculo^nervous apparatus, the constitution of the patient. — We first of all attempted to im- prove the patient's sleep, for as long as there is sleeplessness we cannot expect any improvement either in the nervous sys- tem or in the condition of the whole organism. We succeeded in gaining a considerable improvement m this direction by re- lieving the various pams and by the use of warm baths and of general massage ; all this has already been spoken of. Besides, the special object m the use of massage lies m the improvement of nutrition and in the development of the nervo-muscular ap- paratus, in the mcrease of muscular strength, which, after the local ailments shall have been removed and improvement in the — 81 — general nutrition having been attained, will become the startmg- point for the possible improvement in the constitution of the patient. It now remains for us to explain why we prescribed Ems water for our patient, and coincidently we shall speak of mmeral waters in general. LECTURE OF OCTOBER 6, 1889. The patient's condition is improving constantly; the pre- scribed treatment is justified by the obtamed results and requires almost no alterations ; there is therefore no necessity for bring- ing the patient before you as frequently as before. The patient was given, as you remember, at the begmnmg, daily, two glasses of milk, two glasses of soup with broken-up meat, two eggs, less than one-fourth pound of white bread and three spoonfuls of wine. He still gets two glasses of milk with cognac, two glasses of soup with meat, two eggs, more than one-half pound of white bread, two glasses of milk soup with manna, one-fourth of a chicken, two meat cutlets, and the wine as before ; but the ap- petite is constantly mcreasing and the patient begs for more food. This quantity of food is well digested, without anj- dys- peptic phenomena, unless it be some belching at times, which is easy, pamless, odorless and non-acid. Very rarely, when the patient feels strong hunger, there appears a slight pain m the region of the stomach, but this ceases at once on taking some food. This pain is but an indication of a greater necessitj' for nourishment, a necessity that appeared simultaneously with the improvement in the condition of the stomach. Considering the patient's extreme emaciation and the fact that he is as yet grow- mg (he is but eighteen years old), this necessity is certainly not to be wondered at. The evacuations, once a day, are normal, more frequentl}^ of a solid consistence (we have given no oj)ium since September 27th). The abdomen is not distended, notwithstanding the abmidant quantity of food and the not very copious excretions, which fact points to a normal intestmal ab- sorption ; this is also apparent from the cessation of the for- merly frequent rumblmg. The spontaneous abdommal pams are — 82 — . insignificant, appeariag only on walking — in the region of the left kiclnej. Examination of the abdomen elicits a marked tender- ness in the same region, and a trifling sensitiveness ui the region of the sigmoid flexure and in that of the gall-bladder. The urine is not pale, but of normal color, does not become turbid so readily as it did formerly : the oxalate of lime sediment is contmually decreasing, while that of sodium urate has increased a little, but ceased to increase further. The pulse is contmuously improv- ing. Patient's appearance is better than before ; he has gained three pounds smce admission (he weighs ninety-four pounds). The pit}'Tiasis versicolor is passing away — is less scaly and paler. The sleep is better ; the mmd is clear, the strength mcreases little by little : the patient is able to stand up longer (this used to produce dizziness) and to walk more. How shall we continue the treatment ? We will add another half glass of Ems water (so that the patient will be taking half a glass three times a day, each time about one hour be- fore a meal) with a view to more effectively diminish the kidney pains, which may be due to the oxalic-acid gravel. To use the Contrexeville water for this would be rather risky, because, as we explained before, it might cause a return of the diarrhoea. Even a somewhat larger dose of Ems water, though it be luke- warm, would tend to prolong an existing diarrhoea. We have therefore limited the dose until now to two half-glassfuls of this water ; but now, with the improved condition of the intestines, we can give some more of the Ems for the above-mentioned purpose. The condurango and the nux vomica will be contin- ued for a long time ; experience has proven the utility of such a procedure in cases similar to ours, in a gastric catarrh of such duration and with a simultaneous mtestinal catarrh. Guided by experience, we will continue the coto drops some time even after the cessation of the diarrhoea, and then leave them off gradually. As is apparent from what was said, we must continue the wine, massage, and at times the baths. May we recommend for our patient walkuig out-of-doors ? He has grown somewhat stronger, the weather is pleasant, and the fresh ail' would certainly be very beneficial for him. But it is bet- ter to abstam, as yet, from recommendmg such walks. Although — 83 — surely better than before, the patient's strength is still not very great ; besides, he still takes at times the warm baths so necessary for him. There is therefore a risk of jeopardizmg the patient's condition through fatigue from walking and a possible cold ; this might bring on a return of the diarrhcea, or it might increase the renal pains. Besides, the walks are not necessary for him as yet : the patient's appetite is excellent and his sleep satisfactory. Before passing on to the mineral waters, I consider it neces- sary to say a few words about those methods of treatmg gastric dis- ease to which I have not resorted in the present case. A review, if not of all, then at least of the most generally used methods of treatment of gastric diseases in connection with our first case, will be advantageous in explaining the relative usefulness of the various methods of this therapy, and will make still clearer the reason why we have treated our patient as we did and not otherwise. 'Hydrochloric acid was proposed for facilitatmg gastric diges- tion some thirty years ago ; and smce it has been shown experimentally that the secretion of this acid by the stomach diminishes at times, or is even entirely suspended, its therapeu- tic application seemed to become even more judicious. During the first year of my clinical practice (also some thirty years ago) I made use of this acid ; but the results obtained compelled me to dismiss it, so that since then I do not resort to it (I shall mention later the only exception where I use it still). At consultations, however, I have had, and have now, opportunities to see it employed in diseases of the stomacli. As before, so at the present time, with the condition of the stomach so carefully investigated by the modern methods, the results of its use are identical. First, they are very inconstant, the acid benefiting the patient at times, but oftener not, on the contrary impairing the appetite, causing pains in the region of the stomach, — in short, tending to hmder digestion ; second, even when it does bene- fit the patient, the relief is only temporary, i. e., it assists in promot- ing the digestion of the meal with which it was taken, but does not cure the disease that causes the dj'spepsia. If this latter disease — 84 — be a catarrh of the stomach, then it will be necessary to cure it with alkalines, bitters, lavage ; if the dyspepsia be of nervous origin, then we must resort to a radical treatment of the gen- eral nervous disturbance. At the same time, hydrochloric acid, being but a palliative remedy, while helping (which it rarely does), will disguise the results of the radical treatment, and will prevent the formation of a correct idea as to the success of the latter ; while in case it does not relieve, it may become harmful, causing, as we said above, a disturbance of digestion and even of nutrition, if used for a long time. We alluded above to the employment of hydrochloric acid in diseases, in which the secretion of this fluid by the stomach, or rather, in which the action of the acid secreted by the stomach on food, is made difhcult, in catarrhal conditions by the presence of mucus, in gastric dilatation by the accumulated contents. (Dr. Popoff, whose work I have already mentioned, found the secre- tion proper of hydrochloric acid by the stomach in these diseases to be normal in a very great number of both experimental and clmical cases investigated by him.) While in cases where the secretion of this acid is entirely absent and cannot be made to reappear, that is, in atrophy of the stomach, when its glands are destroyed, the palliative results obtamed through the employ- ment of the acid are trifling and not to be relied on as tending to prolong to any extent the life of the patient. At all events, as you may know, hydrochloric acid is neither employed nor valued in diseases of the stomach as much at present as it was formerly. Of the employment of pepsm and trypsin, in the form of an ex- tract of the pancreas, I must say the same that I said of the employment of hydrochloric acid, and again with the same exception. Such a conclusion concerning these three remedial agents re- fers to the condition of things at present only, without, of course, making any predictions in regard to their future application. The exception, which was spoken of before, refers to cases of gastric dyspepsia in chlorosis and other anaemic conditions, m which the secretion of the gastric juice is very much decreased, and where hydrochloric acid administered after meals sometimes gives good results. The complete cessation of dyspeptic phe- — 85 — nomena even in these cases can only be obtained however by a radical cure of the above-named diseases. Here I must also mention the various food-compounds, pre- pared so as to make them very suitable for digestion, as meat- juice, (beef-juice), meat powder, peptonized albuminates and the like. I personally do not employ them, but as a consultant have seen them used in quite a number of cases. I could never per- suade myself as to the necessity for their employment. In the majority of cases their use is not followed by any particular results ; while in those rare cases where the patients bore them well — when unable to bear ordinary food — and even improved on their use, investigation has shown that either the " orclmary " food was unsuitable, or that the treatment followed at the time of its administration was wrong, and the food could not there- fore be borne. I will also add that, through the careless prepa- ration and preservation of these so-called " especially digestible " foods, which are unfortunately much more frequent than their conscientious manufacture, they, bemg generally unpalatable, be- come repugnant to, and may even harm, the patient, probably on account of the ptomaines developed in them. The relatively high price of these food preparations must also be taken into account. We employed no lavage of the stomach m the present case, as there was no uidication for it, viz., distention of the stomach by the accumulated contents (as we pomted out m our diagnosis), — not to speak of the exacerbation of the catarrhal condition, just before he was admitted (pains m the stomach and daily vom- iting), which was a strong coutra-indication for gastric lavage. The success of our treatment is a sufficient proof that there was in reality no necessity for the employment of this method of treatment. I hope to present to you at my next lecture a case with indications for gastric lavage, and I will then discuss thoroughly the necessity for its employment in its correct appli- cation, in which it is a most useful method of treatment. 86 — LECTURES OF OCTOBER 10 AND II, 1889. It remains to be explained why we prescribed for our patient a mineral water ; why particularly the Ems ; why in the quantity designated ; and why at certain times (one hour before the meal), etc. Of all known remedies for catarrh of the stomach, and also of the upper portion of the mtestines, of the biliary, urinary and respiratory tracts, for biliary calculi, renal gravel and gout, sodi- um in the form of the bicarbonate and the chloride is considered the best. What is the most convenient form for administering these combinations of sodium in gastric catarrh ? At the begin- ning of my medical practice I occasionally saw sodium bicarbon- ate admmistered even in pills, — the least suitable form: for along with the medicament itself, the bicarbonate, there was in- troduced into the stomach m large quantities a pillular mass (extr. taraxaci, etc.) that uselessly burdened the organ and only served as an obstacle to the efficiency of the sodium. The best form is without doubt a solution, m which the above named compounds of sodium come in contact with the mucous membrane of the stomach in the easiest and most equable manner. Sodium bicarbonate and sodium chloride are often given, with the addition of laxative salts, if necessary, in powders, the pa- tient being directed to dissolve them in a certam quantity of water. The chief recommendation for such a form is its cheap- ness ; but it has, unfortunately, numerous drawbacks : the patient may not always take of the supply prepared by the druggist a uniform quantity, nor does he always dissolve it m a like quan- tity of water (the degree of concentration of the solution is quite important) ; and, what is most important, he dissolves the powders m w^ater of an uncertam composition. This water may contam substances either directly harmful to the stomach (usu- ally an abmidance of lime compounds), or such as will change the composition and through this the effectiveness of the powder dissolved in it. To have powders prepared in a drug- store, weighed out for each dose (often several times daily), would destroy the princi]3al advantage of this method — its cheapness — considering the value of the apothecary's labor ; while to have an exactly prepared solution made with carefully selected soft water (containing but few hard particles ; not to speak of distilled water) for daily use, would make such treat- ment very expensive. It thus remains to prepare exact solutions iu great quantities in factories, which is certainly much cheaper, and which we see in establishments for artificial mineral waters. Can artificial mineral waters replace the natural ones ? My long experience teaches me to prefer the natural ones, used either at the places they are formd, or in the patient's house when imported. We certainly can not deny the efficiency of the artificial waters, which may, m the absence of the natural ones, suffice, if they are carefully prepared. Unfortunately this latter circumstance is rather a rarity. The difference in the prices of the natural and artificial waters is very small, owing to their mutual competition. Besides, the mineral waters are bemg employed now m much smaller doses than they were formerly, (of this later), and treatment by them can by no manner of means be designated as more expensive and less accessible than treatment by other drugs, — rather the contrary. As regards the efficiency of the natural mmeral waters as com- pared with the above described powders, for the composition of which they usuall}^ serve as specimens, the superiorit}^ of the former is so immense as not to admit of any comparison. Many a time have I seen a complete cure by the regular employ- ment of mmeral waters m cases of gastric catarrh, constipation, renal and biliary colic, in which the long contmued use of the powders was productive only of failure. At the beginnmg of my medical practice the customar}^ course was as follows : during the summer, patients were either sent directly to the mmeral springs, or, if not sent there, they were ordered to take artificial waters and at times natural imported ones. At the other seasons of the year the above-named powders and pills were prescribed. The difference m the results of the treatment, made more prominent by the dissimilar conditions of life during the warm and cold seasons of the year, at the place of the patient's regular residence, or, in case of his having gone to the waters, amid completely changed surroundings, was very striking indeed. I therefore, from the very beginning of my clinical and independent medical practice began to use the mineral waters, mostly natural ones, all the year round, exercis- ing due caution, of course; — the routme habit was so strong, and the possible dangers from the use of mineral waters, especially warm ones, m the cold season, were so great. Physicians who quietly looked on while their patients imbibed, both in winter and summer, some five to ten cups and more of hot tea daily, felt anxious lest these patients should catch cold by di-mking three times a day half a glass of Ems or Karlsbad water, which, although somewhat warmed, was still of a lower temperature than the customary beverages. But the force of circumstances, aided by my practice and that of my assistants and former students at the clinic, has triumphed at last, so that now in Moscow, as well as in Russia generally, the use of mineral waters at every season of the year has replaced the pills and to some extent the powders ; although even at the present time in some university cities with clinics, and partly within the circles of their medical mfluence, the improved practice is either alto- gether absent or is only slowly being mtroduced. Appreciatmg highly, for reasons just explained, the import- ance of mmeral waters, I lecture on them every year to my students. I consider it the business of the clmic to impart to the future physicians the skill m selecting and the technique of using the mineral waters ; and the personal experience of my former stu- dents, testifymg to the benefit derived from these lectures, impels me to continue m the same Ime. It becomes apparent from the above why we prescribed for our patient the best remedies agamst gastric catarrh — bicarbo- nate of soda and sodium chloride — in the form of a mineral water. The question arises now, why have we selected the Ems water and no other? To answer this and at the same time to show by what we are guided m selecting a mineral water, we will compare the Ems water with others containing the above-named combinations of sodium. But I must before- hand say a few words in explanation of the difficulties en- countered by the young physician in selecting a mineral water — 89 — in any given case, and thus explain to you the duty of the in- structor m impressing upon you the acquisition of the ability to make this selection. Our physician opens his text-book of pathology and therapeutics and looks for the indications for the employment of the mineral waters in the given case — say catarrh of the stomach : the text-book recommends Ems, Vichy, Yessentucki, Karlsbad, etc. ; for biliary calculi, Karlsbad, Vichy, Yessentucki, etc ; for renal gravel, Vichy, Yessentucki, Karls- bad, etc ; but which water is he to order? No answer. He then looks in his text-book of balneotherapy for advice, and finds that Ems is recommended for gastric catarrh, biliary calculi and renal gravel ; Vichy and Yessentucki for gastric catarrh, biliary calculi and renal gravel ; and Karlsbad for gastric catarrh, biliary calculi and renal gravel. The text-books evidently do not help one. It is only m the clinic, that is, m presence of the given cases, that we can show in a correct way, in the very best- manner, how the choice of a mmeral water is to be made. The clinic certainly does not exclude the text-books on balneotherapy, nor, those on special pathology and therapeutics, — they are surely necessary ; but the clinic supplies the kej- to them, and teaches how to make use of the material therein contamed. Let us take for comparison the mineral waters of Ems, Ober- salzbrunnen, Vichy, Yessentucki, Karlsbad, Franzensbad, Ma- rienbad and Kissingen. We will also have to discuss the so-called bitter waters, which contain principally laxative salts (such as Fiedrichshall, Piillna, and our Caucasian spring " Maria Theresia " ) as well as the earthy waters (as Contrexeville), — since the first named, although of course employed separately, are sometimes used in conjunction with the latter ones ; while the indications for the others are at times not clearly distin- guishable from those we have mentioned. We will thus speak of the most important mineral waters employed for inter- nal use, except those containing iron and arsenic, which we will have occasion to discuss in the treatment of chlorosis and aneemia. I have selected the above enumerated waters because they are the best known and the most studied from a chemical, clinical and to some extent physiological standpoint, and because, if correctly employed, they are undoubtedly efficacious. — 90 — Experience of many years — for some of them, of centuries — has proved that they contain a happy combination of curative agencies, which are very beneficial in many frequently occurring and important diseases ; besides, they present tyjyes for compar- ison with many other mmeral waters, so that m discussing these we discuss not the individual waters, but whole classes of them. I have just said that the mineral waters selected by me for comparison contam a happ}^ combmation of curative agencies. "What are these agencies ? Water, carbonic acid, bicarbonate of soda, sodium chloride, and laxative salts (sulphate of soda and sulphate of magnesia). The constituents of the mineral waters enumerated are found in a comparatively large quantity ; they contain besides some other solid components m a small, even infinitesimal quantity, as compared with those mentioned. The importance of the latter is not absolutel}- known. In se- lecting a mineral water we generally take into account the constituents found in a com]3aratively large quantity ; although we should not, nor is there any reason to, deny the importance of the components found merely m minimal proportion. It is quite likely that some differences in the action of the various waters depend on these latter, though there may be similar com- position as to the quantity and quality of their chief mgredients. You have been taught by pharmacology the pharmaco-dyna- mics of these chief mgredients. I will only remind you of what is most important for an understanding of the therapeu- tic action of mmeral water. Water increases all the secretions ; if warm, it particularly in- creases perspiration ; if of lower temperature, then the urine, bile, etc : b}' mcreasmg secretion it influences the animal metabolism. Cold water causes increased peristalsis in the gastro-intestinal canal, removes constipation, but may tend to cause diarrhoea and pams, mtestinal and gastric, whereas warm water, on the con- trary, soothes the pains and diminishes the diarrlirea. The action of carbonic acid. Avhether free or liberated from the -carbonates, in the stomach, is similar to that of cold water in the gastro-mtestinal canal : it increases peristalsis, removes constipa- tion, but may also cause diarrhcea, pains and, at times, vomiting. It is the hicarhonate of soda and the sodium chloride which are — 91 — the principal curative ingredients of the alkalme mineral waters, as proven by the experience of centuries. The mechanism of their action is not wholly known. We know this much : first, they assist m dissolving and removmg the mucus ui catarrhal conditions, an effect which is of very great importance. In gastric catarrh the mucus prevents the access of food to the mucous membrane, so that this is stimulated to a lesser degree by the food, and consequently secretes the gastric juice less actively, which in its turn reaches the food less readih' on ac- count of the mucus ; on removuig this, the normal condition is reestablished. In catarrhal conditions of the respiratory tract the accumulated mucus causes difficulty in breathing, coughmg, etc. The excellent action of the combmations of sodium men- tioned is not limited to the removal of mucus only, but we know nothing more of an exact nature. Secondly, they uicrease the secretion of the gastric and other alimentary juices, of the urine, etc. They alter secretions ; for mstance, they convert a strongly acid urine, with uric acid sediments, into a slightly acid,' neutral or even alkalme one, and thus they j^revent the formation of fresh gravel and assist m dissolving and removing that already formed. They very likely act m a similar manner on the bile. Thirdly, in small quantities they act favorably on nutrition (contrariwise m large quantities, — of this later), di- mmishmg the quantity of the excreted nitrogen. To both bicar- bonate of soda and sodium chloride a similar action is ascribed, especially as the bicarbonate, on reaching the stomach, must be converted mto sodium chloride in the presence of the free hj'drochloric acid of the gastric juice. But bicarlx)nate of soda is particularly valuable m practice, as principally those waters are used mternally — in catarrhal conditions, l3iliary calculi, renal gravel, gout, diabetes mellitus, etc., — which contain the bicarbonate, usually also the sodium chloride ; and not the ones containmg any sodium chloride without the bicarbjnate of soda. The laxative salts increase peristalsis and may cause a trans- udation from the mucous membrane of the intestines. By emptyhig the mtestmes, m cases of constipation, they cause a dimmution in the size of the abdomen, facilitate breathing and circulation, which is very beneficial in difficult circuktion of — 92 — the head, and chest. Decreasing, by the aid of laxation, the absorption by the intestines, and invitmg a transudation from their mucous membrane, they diminish the fulhiess of the portal venous system (which action may be very serviceable in certain liver troubles), and of the venous system in general ; they also influence nutrition and reduce obesity. The following table, compiled by me from the most reliable analyses obtainable, so kindly placed at my disposal by Dr. A. I. Tsherbakoff, shows the total amomit of the solid components, and, separately, the amount of those that are found in large (m heavy type) and medium (in ordinary type) proportions (the very small components are omitted so as not to impair the gen- eral aspect of the table) in the mineral waters which we have selected for comparison, as well as in the bitter ones. The table also shows the quantity of carbonic acid contained in the various mineral waters, and their temperature in degrees of both Reau- mur and Fahrenheit. The carbonic acid, whether free or com- bined, is shown in its total amount, because when in the stomach, if combined, it will be liberated under the influence of the hydrochloric acid of the gastric juice. As regards the temperature of the water, I will say this : some of you will probably practice at the places where mineral springs are located, but the majority will doubtless employ imported waters (patients are not very frequently sent to the watering places). The imported waters have not, of course, their natural temperature, but that of the surroundings m which the vessel containing them is placed. Nevertheless, the table shows the natural temperature of the waters, that long years of observation have shown to be so very important a part of their efificacy. What shall be the exact temperature of the water we are employing in the given case will be explamed later on. I will only state now, that even while employing the waters at their source the extremes of their natural temperatures are to be avoided ; as, for mstance, in case of a too low temperature, like that of the Marienbad Kreuzbrunnen (53.1°i^.), the water re- quires to be warmed ; in case of too high a temperature, as that of the hot Karlsbad spring, the water is allowed to cool. But at the same time, the Marienbad water is used and prescribed 00 00 QO CO ly; CO ^ '*. CO --0 ?0 CO >_1 t-; t- ^ 1 1 q 0^ Si -P ^ 3 ^ (m' -*" Tl 1^ II ^.^ ^^ ^*v ^-^ .;-^ 08 S Slj ,-j CO oco CO CO T-i cc 00 be "*' ^* rH § CO q T-H q CO 5 S 5 be S^ - — ' d ^^ ^ 1-H q q' 1 ^. ^ d »?i S '"' CO *^ _CM ^H 5 (^ -!2 00 CO 00 CO CO oq 00 t^ ^2. CO "^ q q O x; c 'z: dd^ 1— ( id id :ox z6 dt4. d ^ t-^ X 05 1 1 o 1-H rcjo ■>? ■^ •^H ^H i> ' 1 o ^6 ^ r-t ? , aj oS 2 goo: »o CO q »» 00 q 1 1— 1 x' q q 1 1 , 1 tH tH ?J ■*'-': «0«5 -+ 1 1 r-^ ^ '5 S Ie cOoS *1 >S CO T-H 'N CO 06 0" '"1 q CO 23 CO ci d to q CO CO CO Jr-t- '='^ :S (N IC OJ 0: 3<1 (M E-f c - i-( l-H 00 (M CO 5^ 5 a 53 .^2 3 >5 be ^ OJ c =i'S 3^ *^ 3H •^ =« ^'5 1^ rii 3 3 > >^ -p " 05 s ■Jl 9 ;^ 5h ,5 3 02 P5 > > a ^ ~-'"^~ , " V — . — SP 4) jH a a ,2 5-5 3'^ '^ 3 ® 2 3 rjl a; ft CQ '0 d ^ d'^ tc ^ s^ 3 ^ g H '^1 S ,0 a^s «2^ !a 02 a 3 -p ^^ S m ■fS —v.— — ^ ^ V ' „ (© ^ .PN 'C cS k> ft 5 ci 02 -2 3 t3 ,0 3 a 2 1 1 5 1 3 fir — 94 — because of its being comparatively cold, and tlie Karlsbad for its being a comparatively warm water, and the benefit obtained by the use of these waters, as shown by experience, depends on their being used at the above temperatures. In prescribing the temperature of the imported waters we must also be guided by these experiences, Havmg become familiar with the composition of the mmeral waters selected by us for comparison, let us see why we ordered for our patient the Ems water and why we consider it more suitable for our case than any other water. The diagnosis has showni our patient to be suffering from a chronic gastro-intestinal catarrh, m a state of exacerbation just before he was admitted to our clinic, from biliary calculi, renal colic, oxaluria, extreme failure of nutrition and of physical de- velopment, and from consequent nervous disturbances of a temporary nature. He chiefly comj)lained, on admission, of gen- eral weakness, of pains m the abdomen and of a diarrhcBa. As can be judged by the table, the advantages of Ems water for such a patient are at once apparent : the warm temperature of the water is very beneficial in pains and in diarrhoea ; the moderate quantity of bicarbonate of soda and of sodium chloride is much more suitable for pams, diarrhoea and failure m nutri- tion, than a large amount, as. for instance, that amount of the bicarbonate in Vichy and Yessentucki, and of the chloride in Kissingen ; then the trifling amount of other component parts besides the principal ones (the Kesselbrunnen spring contains, out of the total amount of 35.5 of solid parts per 10,000, 30.2 parts of bicarbonate of soda and sodium chloride, so that on the rest fall but 5.3 parts) is always of great importance, and espe- cially so in a case like ours, where the stomach and the intestmes are so severel}^ affected, because such " pure " mineral watei"S are much easier borne than waters of an opposite composition. The course of the illness has proved, as you know, that we were not m error in prescribing Ems for our patient. Let us consider now what would have been the action of other mineral waters m the present case. Marienbad is evidently contra-indicated, — first, because, being a cold water (53.1°i^.), it would aggravate the diarrhciea and — 95 — all the pains ; and secondh^, containing, as it does, great quan- tities of sodium sulphate (49.5 per 10,000), it would act as a strong laxative. The same must be said of Franzenshad, which is also a cold (51.8°i^.) water, and which also contains, although in a smaller amount, sodium sulphate (28.0 per 10,000). Kissingen is contra-indicated in our patient for many reasons : it is also a cold water (51.8°^.), but, although the sodium sul- phate is absent, it contains such a quantity of the sodium chloride (58.8 per 10,000) that it acts as a laxative, the more so as it also contains, small though the quantity be, some magnesium sulphate, a strongly laxative salt ; finally, it contains no bicar- bonate of soda, but on the contrary a great deal of lime salts (15.3 per 10,000). Karlsbad^ with one important exception, is very similar to Ems: it, too, is a warm (135.8°i^.) water, containing the same amount of sodium bicarbonate (18.1 per 10,000) and sodium chloride (10.3 per 10,000) as Ems. It is also a very pure water ; but among the chief component parts it contams a con- siderable quantity of sodium sulphate (23.9 per 10,000) — a laxative salt. Some physicians employ Karlsbad, as a warm, or hot, water, and in diarrhoea. In cases where the constipation is alternated often by diar- rhoea, but where the first usually iDredominates, I have had opportunity to see some successful results with the Karlsbad ; but for cases similar to that of our patient I positively prefer the Ems. Vichy. — The Celestins spring is cold (53.6°JP.) and con- sequently unsuitable for our patient. The Grande Grille sprhig is very similar to Ems : the water is also warm (105. 8°i^.), does not contain any laxative salts (except a trifling quantity of sodium sulphate), is also very pure, but has a greater quantity of sodium carbonate (48.8 per 10,000), and is therefore contra- indicated in our patient, or is at least less suitable for him than Ems, partly because of his diarrhoea, but principally on account of the extreme failure in his nutrition. The long-continued use of great quantities of bicarbonate of soda has been shown by clinical investigations and experimental data to injuriously — 96 — affect the nutrition, especially in patients as emaciated as ours is. The Yessentucki springs are cold, contain even more bicar- bonate of soda than the Vichy springs, and also a great deal of sodium chloride, and are therefore even more contra-indicated in our patient than those last, on account of the diarrhoea and of the failure in nutrition. Obersahbrunnen (" Silesia water" ) approaches Ems in the quantity of the bicarbonate of soda (21.6 per 10,000), but is unsuitable for our patient because it is a cold water (47.3°i''.), containing a great deal of carbonic acid (38.1 per 10,000), and, although in a small quantity, also sodium sulphate (4.6 per 10,000), and is consequently liable to aggravate the diarrhoea and the pains. I will take occasion to say a few words con- cernmg the employment of Ems and Obersalzbrunnen in diseases of the respiratory tract, in which these waters are used more frequently than any others ; I will do so now, so that I may not have to touch upon this subject later on when we come across patients suffering from these diseases. The Ems waters, from the Kranchen and Kesselbrunnen springs, are employed at their location in the following manner : Kranchen for diseases of the organs situated above the diaphragm, and Kesselbrunnen in diseases of parts below the diaphragm. The reason for this is evident : in the diseases of organs below the diaphragm, as we see it so well exemplified m our patient, with his (on admission) torturing pains and diarrhoea, the warmer Kesselbrunnen (37.3° i2., 116°^.) is more suitable than the cooler Kranchen (28.7°-R., 87.8°i''.) ; on the contrary, in diseases of " parts above the dia- phragm," namely, of the respiratory organs, Kranchen is more suitable, because the much warmer water of the Kesselbrunnen might rather tend to call out haemoptysis. In the imported Ems water there is certainly no such difference in the temper- ature of Kranchen and Kesselbrunnen, and they can therefore both be used indifferently, in view of the similarity of their com- position, heating them up to the temperature required by the presenting case. Sms and Obersalzbrunnen. — Ems is usually prescribed in ca- tarrhal conditions of the respiratory tract, Obersalzbrunnen in — 97 — tuberculous affections of the same : thus in the ordmary most frequent form of tuberculosis of the lungs, that is, in chronic tuberculous broncho-pneumonia. Ems is not prescribed for tuberculosis pulmonum for fear of causing h^emoptj^sis. The cause of hsemoi^tysis when brought on by the employment of Ems in patients suffering with pulmonary tuberculosis, is to some extent found in the very locality of Ems, which is reij .warm during summer ; while the locality where Obersalzbrunnen is sit- uated is much cooler. Another cause lies m the fact, that Ems, bemg warm and containing less of carbonic acid, rather tends to constipate, and constipation creates a predisposition to heemop- tysis ; whereas Obersalzbrunnen, being cold and contaming a great deal of carbonic acid and also little of a laxative salt (sodium sulphate), is rather of a laxative nature. When using the im- ported Ems and Obersalzbrunnen waters, the differences of locality and temperature are of coui'se not taken mto account, and both waters may be employed mdifferently for catarrh and tuberculosis of the respu-atory organs, Obersalzbrunnen being prescribed for cases mclmed to constipation, and Ems for those with a tendency to diarrhoea. As has been explamed above, the Contrexeville water, contain- ing lime, would be the most suitable for the oxaluria and renal colic in our patient, but as it would tend to prolong the diarrhoea we were compelled to abstain from employmg it and had to resort, m combating the above-named diseased conditions, to the use of the alkalme Ems waters. It becomes apparent from the above, why we preferred above others the Ems water for our patient; but to make still clearer the matter of selecting mineral waters and at the same time to characterize, even to a slight extent, the most important of those selected by us for comparison, I shall again return to this subject m the next lecture. LECTURE OF OCTOBER 13, 1889. Condition of the patient. — A week has passed since we saw the patient last time. Durmg this week he continued takino- the warm Ems water (one and one-half glasses per day), the — 98 — decoction of condurango with drops of nux-vomica, drops of coto, and wine ; continued taldng baths at times and had mas- sage constantly. The patient's condition is steadily improving. The quantity of food is slightly increased by the addition of a glass of milk and of about one-fourth of a pound of white bread, and the food itself is somewhat changed; on account of the difficulty in obtainmg . fresh eggs, they were discontinued and replaced by an additional quantity of chicken meat. The patient gets now per diem the following : about one poruid of white bread (the whole bread with the crust is eaten), one-half chicken, two meat cutlets, two glasses of soup with broken up meat, two glasses of milk soup with manna, and three glasses of milk with cognac. This quantity of food is digested by the stomach without any dyspeptic phenomena. The intestinal evacuations once a day, the first days after the third half-glass of Ems was added, were formless and even somewhat liquid, however without pams on defecation, but these last few days they again became quite solid, although the patient contmues, as I said, drinkmg three half-glasses of the water. The abdo- men is not distended. The spontaneous pains appear only at the side of the left kidney, more frequently on motion, and are weaker than formerly. Examination of the abdomen also elicits tenderness only on the side of the left kidney ; at the other places, among them m the region of the gall-bladder and sigmoid flexure, where a week ago pressui-e elicited tenderness, there is at present neither sensitiveness nor tenderness to be noted. The urine became normal, — it is neither pale nor turbid, outside of the usual and normal slight cloudiness due to mu- cus, and gives absolutely no sediment of calcium oxalate crys- tals. The pulse continues strong. Patient keeps gainmg m weight, the latter being no\v ninety-eight pounds (seven pounds more than he weighed on admission). His sleep is satisfactory, his strength grows steadily. After what was said of the plan of treatment and in view of the just enumerated results of this last, it is evident that noth- ing is to be changed as yet in the treatment. The di'ops of coto must be continued till the mtestinal evacuations become normal — steadily, without oscillations ; the dose of these drops 99 — must be slightly increased, as the patient could become habitu- ated to them ; instead of fifteen drops as heretofore he will be given twenty drops three times a day. I return to the mineral waters. In what cases is Marienhad to be prescribed ? This water in the quantity of bicarbonate of soda (16 per 10,000) and of sodium chloride (17 per 10,000) approaches Ems water, but con- tains a great quantity of a laxative salt, sodium sulphate (49.5 per 10,000) and besides it is a cold water (53.1°!'.). I will attempt to give you a description of typical patients who require treatment by Marienbad. They are usually people of good constitution, over forty years of age, well-to-do, leading generally an mdoor life, brain-workers ; their amusements (readmg, cards, theatre, society) also of a mental character, with little out-door exercise, — mostly city inhabitants. The followmg collection of diseased phenomena is usually to be found with them : 1st, considerable dyspeptic phenomena — prmcipally constant or frequently occurrmg symptoms of an over-loaded stomach (due usually to a temporary overdistention of the organ, and not to an established dilatation of the same) : a feeling of fulness and heavmess m the epigastrium, belch- ing, often pamful, with a sensation of burning, of gases, liquids, or of mostly undigested food ; but constant and severe pains, as well as vomiting, are usually absent. Investigation ordmarily finds the causes of this condition to be m the majority of cases as follows : the patient over-eats constantly ; being well-to-do, he usually has very palatable food, often also wine, and he there- fore eats much more than is plainly necessary for satisfying hunger ; added to this is a nervous dyspepsia, as the patient is either a neurasthenic, or, as we shall see later, becomes such; oftentimes there is also associated with this a gastric catarrh, but such is usually trifling, without pain or vomiting. Then such patients usually suffer from a constant constipation (or at least from an insufficient emptying of their bowels), partly on account of their neurasthenia, partly because of the distended stomach, that is on account of the retarded passage of the — 100 — gastric contents into the intestines. The abdomen is distended, the cliaphi'agm is pushed upward. The urme is more colored than normally, and gives frequently some uric acid sediments. There appear at times slight symptoms of renal colic, and some gout}- pains in the small articulations. The liver is usuUy enlarged and sensitive on account of hypersemia. Tliis latter is due either to the fact that the patient is addicted at the same time to alcoholic drinks, or because the passage of the food-stuffs from the intestmal canal into the vente portee is more abundant than normally, or, as some suppose, also because these stuffs contain a great number of ptomames (which are also supposed to cause a h}^jer?emia of the liver), which in such a condition of digestion are produced in abundance by the usual microbes of the stomach and of the intestmes. There are at times also produced slight symptoms of liver colic. The organs of resphation are either normal or there is a slight catarrhal condition of the upper respirator}^ organs ; the organs of circulation are either healthy or present some slight signs of a chi'onic arteritis. The patients, however, usually complain of dyspnoea and palpitation, which may in part be due to purely mechanical causes, as the high position of the diaphragm, or partly to reflex action, through the nervous system, by the abdommal disturbances, and perhaps on account of the above mentioned ptomaines. The patients are usually not lean, but stout, and sometimes even obese ; they usually complain of " influxes of blood to the head," or of the followmg morbid symptoms (partly simply of a vasomotor origm, partly probably of ptomaine origin) : a feeling of heat in the head, flushed face, a general heavmess in the head, at times pam at the nape of the neck, clizzmess, troublesome sleep, fatigue while employed mentally, and an irritable and somewhat gloomy men- tal state. Such patients, if they were not neurasthenic before, become such now to a greater or lesser extent, on account of the above-mentioned abdominal and mental disturljances, es- pecially under the influence of the above-described mode of living. If this morbid condition is not clearly defined as yet, being only in the begmning of its development, then it is, of course, possible to bruig the patieiit to his normal healtii by the — 101 — aid only of a strictly regulated diet. But if this condition be completely, even if not extremel}- developed, then it would be erroneous to attempt to improve the patient's condition hy hy- giene only, without a resort to treatment : it is doubtful whether such an improvement could ever be reached; at any rate only after a considerable length of time, in the course of which the patient would remain needlessly in a very unsatisfactory or even painful condition. It is here that we must prescribe Marien- bad in connection, of course, with hygiene. Before we speak of the action of Marienbad, let us consider what would be the action of Ems in such a case. Being a warm water and not containing any laxative salts, Ems would tend to costiveness, thus aggravating the constipation, and, on being absorbed, would increase the overloading of the vena portffi and the hyperfemia of the liver ; as a consequence both the chest and chiefly the head sjaiiptoras would become aggra- vated. Whereas Marienbad, bemg a cold water and contaming a laxative salt, if used correctly in quantities sufficient to cause abundant, gruel-like evacuations (but not watery, of which later ^, would sufficiently empty the gastro-mtestinal canal and would thus remove the above-named consequential disturbances. If the Marienbad water be administered correctly, that is, so as to produce abundant, gruel-like evacuations, but not always watery, then it is likely that its bicarbonate of soda and its sodium chloride are absorbed either completely or j)aTtially, because with the general improvement of the patient the former slight sjanptoms of liver and kidney colic, as well as the gouty symptoms, are seen to disappear. Patients, especially if obese, grow thin by the use of Marienbad. If ni addition to the use of Marienbad, there is also a radical change instituted, even for a short time, in the mode of living and in the surrounding circumstances ; as, for mstance, a trip to Marienbad itself, and later, to combat the neurasthenia, a trip to the sea-bathmg places (for those who are younger, to the more northern ones, as Lamanche or the Baltic Sea ; for the older ones — to Biarritz or the Black Sea), or, without leaving the immediate localit}'-, a removal from the citj^ to the country (m connection with this, Marienbad is taken in May, while the — 102 — • younger patients bathe in the river during June and July, and the older ones take salt-baths at a temperature of 27°R. and lower), then the result of such a treatment may be a complete return to health ; — the patients feel rejuvenated. If, besides, the physician be careful and strict in his requirements and make it clear that the obtamed result can be lastmg only m case the hygienic rules are strictly adhered to, and the former careless mode of life is avoided, then the issue will be perfectly satis- factory, especially if the patient possess a strong will and be careful of his health. In the contrary, unfortmiately more frequent, cases, when the patient falls back to his irregular hygienic habits, a repetition of the Marienbad or of some other similar water becomes necessary. These repetitions do not, of course, give the same satisfactory results, as when the water was used the first time, and besides a repeated and, particularly frequent, employment of mineral water is not without its un- doubted harm, for it deranges digestion and nutrition. What would be the action of the Vichy sprmgs on a case, as described above, so suitable for Marienbad? Grande Grille, being a warm water and containing almost no laxative salts, would aggravate the constipation and with this also the con- dition of the patient. The cold Celestms would be less consti- pating ; but not contamuig any laxative salts, it would not act upon the bowels sufficiently and would consequently be inferior to Marienbad. In such cases it is the degree of costiveness that decides the choice ; if the tendency to constipation is not great, then even the cold Celestms will act as a laxative, if assisted by a temporary or a frequent use of a small quantity of some bitter, so that together they will exert an effect approxi- mating the action of Marienbad ; (the other diseased conditions, outside of constipation and its consequences, found in a patient described above, as the dyspeptic, liver and kidney symptoms, will be certainly favorably acted upon by the Celes- tms, so rich in bicarbonate of soda). This latter is then evident- ly better mdicated for such patients than Vichy. What would be the action of the Karlsbad spruigs on such a patient? They contam sodium sulphate, but in half the quantity, contained by Marienbad, and besides they are partly — 103 — warm and partly hot : the warmth of the water may, especially m conditions of constipation, inhibit the laxative action of the moderate quantity of the sodium sulphate and consequently, by aggravating the costiveness or its effects (particularly the head symptoms), will aggravate the patient's condition or at least by not inducing a sufficient evacuation of the bowels, it will not produce the necessary curative effect. A few words regarding the indication for Kissingen. It has much ui common with that for Marienbad, because, although Kissmgen does not contain any sodium sulphate and but a little (5.9 of the 10,000 parts) of magnesium sulphate, it still is a laxa- tive, thanks to its low temperature (51.8°i^.), the great amount of carbonic acid (30.4 per 10,000) and the enormous quantity of sodium chloride (58.8 per 10,000). But the laxative action of Kissingen is not as strong as that of Marienbad, and it is there- fore suitable for such patients as were described in discussing Marienbad, but somewhat older and not m the best of nutrition ; besides, also for such patients as do not present any clearly ex- pressed indications for the use of bicarbonate if soda (as uric acid gravel, etc.), as this last is absent in the Kissingen water. For what cases is Karlsbad prescribed ? Principally for severe gastric catarrh, accompanied by pains and vomitmg, and for severe liver colic, depending on biliary calculi; m both such cases there is, to a greater or lesser extent, constipation, or con- stipation mtermittent with diarrhoea of short duration ; but this latter is neither constant nor considerable (for such a case, as was explained above, we would employ Ems). The warm or even the hot water of the Karlsbad springs, contaming a moder- ate amount of sodium bicarbonate, of sodium chloride and of sodium sulphate, and as little of the remainmg mgredients as the water of the Ems springs, and being just as "|?w,re," acts splen- didly in the above mentioned cases. Marienbad would evident- ly be unsuitable for such cases, because, being a cold water, it would tend to aggravate the gastric pains, the vomiting and even the attacks of the liver colic, or because it would purge the pa- tient strongly ; whereas in these cases severe purgmg is posi- tively undesirable, as it hmders the treatment, while our aim is to empty the bowels regularly ; this would not prevent absorption — 104 — and consequently the further action of the mmeral alkaline water on bile, biliary calculi and also on the urine and urinary gravel, if such is to be found at that time. On the contrary, Vichy, namely, the warm Grande Grille, which would be suitable in such cases because of its warmth and of the abundance of its sodium bicarbonate, is contra-indicated by the constipation, that particularly aggravates the head symptoms, because, not contam- ing any laxative salts, the water would aggravate the constipa- tion and its consequences. The same must be said of Ems. In the above described cases where Karlsbad is indicated, if the con- stipation be severe and the head symptoms considerable, then a laxative salt (usually the " Karlsbad " salt itself, obtamed from Karlsbad water and containing sodium sulphate) is added to the water ; while m old persons, in whom there may be any apprehen- sion of apoplexy, derivative bloodlettmg is to be resorted to, leeches applied to the region of the coccyx, before Karlsbad is employed. A few words concerning the indications for the Fraiizensbad Salzquelle (lit. salt-spring). Franzensbad is famous for its min- eral-mud baths (Moorbader). Thither flock in great numbers women suffermg from diseases of the genital organs and from failure in nutrition and strength, and also exhausted and neuras- thenic men. Such persons often, almost always, suffer with dyspeptic symptoms, gastric and mtestmal, due to a slight catarrh or to nervous dyspepsia, — usually with constipation, — who require the use of slightly alkalme and laxative waters. Salzquelle, as you may see by the table, is just such a water, and is in addition very pure, containmg, outside of the prmcipal ingredients, very little of other component parts. Marienbad would be too strong for such patients. Ems is also unsuitable, as it would not remove the constipation. Finally the cold Salz- quelle is preferred to the hot Karlsbad for women with diseases of the generative organs, because of the liability of the latter to either cause or to aggravate internal hemorrhage. The chief indication for the Vichy springs is gout (arthritis urica) and renal gravel (in the form of urates) with or without dyspeptic symptoms, but ^vithout obstinate constipation, and besides in patients with a florid, or at least a good nutrition. — 105 — Marienbad would be unsuitable for such patients, for acting as a laxative, it would hinder absorption and consequently also any further action of the alkalies ; while Karlsbad, because of the warmer temperature of its water, would have a weaker diuretic effect, and besides would act as a laxative, which again would counteract its diuretic effect. Finally, Vichy contains bicarbonate of soda — the prmcipal active agent for the above- named cases — in a much larger amount than either Karlsbad or Marienbad. However, Karlsbad is prescribed for renal gravel, as well as Vichy is for biliary calculi, we bemg guided, besides other considerations, usually by the fact that if, in the presence of both the liver and the renal colics, the fu\st predomi- nates, then Karlsbad is given, if the latter — then Vichy. Yessentucki. — There is a generally prevalent opinion to the effect that the Yessentucki sprmgs are equivalent to those of Vichy. This opinion is wrong; the number of indications em- braced by the Yessentucki springs is much greater and much more varied than the number of mdications for Vichy sprmgs. They are alike m the quantity of the predominant bicarbonate of soda, although the Y^essentucki springs Nos. 17 and 18 are richer m it than the A^ichy sprmgs. But the chief difference between the springs of both groups consists in the quantity of sodium chloride, of which there is little in Vichy and much in the Yes- sentucki. The considerable quantity of the sodium chloride imparts to the Y^essentucki sprmgs a laxative action, which is lacking in the Vichy sprmgs ; although this laxative action is not as strong as that of the waters contamiug sodium sulphate or magnesium sulphate. We shall see later that m this quality of the Y^'essentucki sprmgs lies their chief preference. Finally the three Yessentucki springs, Nos. 17, 18 and 4 (the ascending stream), so very similar in their composition C|ualitatively. pre- sent a considerable quantitative difference, which again forms a great advantage, enabling us to order this or that spring, accord- ing as to Avhether the case requires a stronger or weaker action, taking into accomit the degree of development of the diseased conditions, the constitution and nutrition of the patient. In all the cases for which the Vichj- sprmgs are prescribed (vide above), we also prescribe the Yessentucki with even greater — 106 — .success, if there be, as there is liable to be in the majority of cases, a tendency to constipation; if there be an inclination toward diarrhoea, which is rather of rarer occurrence, then the Vichy, as is apparent from what was stated above, would be more preferable. In view of their low temperature and the considerable quantity of the contained sodium chloride and carbonic acid, i. e. because of their laxative effect, the Yessen- tucki springs are successfully prescribed for the same cases, in which Kissmgen-Rakoczy is indicated (vide above), if there is simultaneously an indication for the introduction into the organism of bicarbonate of soda, which is lacking in the Kis- singen spring. With the aid of the simultaneous use of a small quantity of some bitter water, as, for instance, of the Maria Theresia spring (near Pyatigosk), the water of the Yes- sen tucki sprmgs Nos. 17 and 18 can in many cases fully re- place Marienbad, and, when warmed sufficiently, also Karlsbad. For urinary gravel, composed not of urates, but of phos- phates and oxalates, as also for gouty patients with failure in nutrition, in the so-called atypical gout, the earthy mineral waters are indicated ; the best of these, as far as is known now, is ContrexeviHe, which I have already mentioned above. LECTURE OF OCTOBER 18, 1889. While comparing the mineral waters of which I spoke above, I presented typical examples where they are to be employed, but I certamly did not mtend to exhaust the whole variety of cases which may present some preeminent indication for the use of this or that water. This comparison of the most impor- tant mineral waters has made clear to you their chief individual characteristics, the knowledge of which will enable you to correctly prescribe these waters ; I repeat, the most impor- tant waters, because they have been the most investigated, the most useful, and because in the great majority of the occurring cases we see them meet all the indications ; not to mention the fact, that they, as I said once already, present types of whole classes of mineral waters. This comparison has also made it — 107 — clear to you as to how the selection of a mineral water for a given case is made, which knowledge will aid you in prescrib- ing also other mineral waters not discussed by us. When speaking of treatment (in the Introduction to Clmical Exercises) I pointed out the mistake of employmg complicated medication. You might ask whether it would be correct to use such combinations of drugs as presented by a mmeral water. You might also ask why I selected for comparison only the foreign waters, except the Yessentucki. The knowledge of the effectiveness of the mineral waters has been obtained in a purely empirical way, at a remote period, when medicine and balneology were far from their present per- fected condition. To reach this perfection there were required centuries of labor, gigantic progress in diagnostication, general pathology and therapeutics, as well as in the chemical and clin- ical (and partly physiological) knowledge of the mineral waters. These tests of centuries the waters stood nobly : the more they were studied, the greater and not lesser, became their importance, until it is now enormous as compared with what it was before. They stand above comparison with the various com- plex decoctions, powders, pills, drops, etc., — fruits of experience, but oftener of the fancy of the physician, — fruits of but ephe- meral existence, as time shows, burymg them into oblivion. For comparison we took only foreign waters, except Yessen- tucki. We must first of all remember that these foreign waters are the very useful ones, and that a familiarity with these and the knowledge of their employment is just as necessary as the knowledge of the employment of opium, quinine and others, and these also are foreign drugs. We have selected these waters because they present the best examples known to us of a happy natural combination of curative agencies, and because the indi- cations for their use are best known to us (it is for the same reason that we chose Yessentucki from among our own waters ) . However, I do not in the least doubt, but that the considerable employment with us of the foreign mineral waters is but a matter of temporary duration. I am perfectly certam, that our great land is very rich in various mineral waters possessing just as happy, and even much happier, combinations of curative — 108 — forces. Time will bring it about, that we will become acquainted with these waters and that we will investigate their composition. Knowing this last and the various combinations which cen- turies of experience in foreign waters, and some experience in our o\vai, has shown to be effective, we shall soon learn for what cases these our waters will be beneficial, and we will em- ploy them on the spot as well as export them, mstead of the foreign ones, as we do now. I pass now to the very important subject of the mode of employ mg the mineral waters : what shall be the daily quantity, at what time of the day admmistered, and for how long a period. At the beginning of my medical practice the mineral waters were employed only during summer and the patient usually de- parted, with the purpose of di'mkmg them, for the places where the springs were located. Imported mineral waters were pre- scribed but seldom. Artificial mmeral waters were used also during summer in those few places, so rare then, where such waters were prepared. But for the principal object, I will repeat, of drinking the water, summer excursions were under- taken to the mineral water resorts. The general character of practice at that time was such that waters were used then in much larger quantities than they are used now. Dr. Debout d'Estrees (" Les indications aux eaux de Contrexeville," Paris, 1889) mentions the fact that the famous writer Madame Sevigne (he refers, as you see, to a long gone- by past) was ordered daily at Yichy 12 glasses of the water of the Grande Grille spring, she being previously bled and given a laxative. We now generally give less. Dr. Debout d'Estrees is rather inclined to ascribe this to the fact that, a« he expresses it, the struggle for existence has made our generation anaemic and nervous.* Without denying, but on the contrarj^ considering it quite probable, that the percentage of men of strong constitution and health in certain social strata is now smaller than it was form- erl}^ I still think that there was another reason for the former * 'Sos cerveaux, surmenes par le striiggle for life, nous out donue I'ane- mie et les nevroses, que ne connaissaient pas nos peres (page 11). — 109 — use of water iii greater quantities, namely, this : that the arrivals at the springs, never having the necessary time at their dispo- sal, the physician attempted to obtain the desired effects sooner, and therefore administered the water m great quantities. But at present, when the waters are much more used, while remain- ing at one's own constant residence, this lack of time, and with it the necessity for haste, are absent. It is well miclerstood that the progress in diagnosis, general pathology and therapeutics could not but have a certain influence on the diminution of the prescribed quantity of the water for cMnking purposes. However, even now the routme method of drinking the water at the resorts in summer differs greatly from the manner in which they are used at the other seasons of the year, and even now pre- serves a great many of the former procedures. The water is usually drunk m the early morning, when it is not yet hot, so that the prescribed walk to be taken after the water is made less burdensome ; the water is taken on an empty stomach and m lesser quantity than formerly, but always in a greater quantity than when the water is prescribed not in summer, but at other seasons of the year and at the place of the patient's residence. Such a routine treatment often gives excellent results. Picture to yourselves a city mhabitant of strong constitution, who is habi- tuated to late rismg and of course to retirmg late to bed, who com- mits errors in his diet, lives a mental life, has almost no exercise, and but seldom goes out into fresh air, — imagme such a person lead- ing a totally different life at the w^atering place : he rises early and therefore goes to bed early, observes a correct diet, spends consider- able time out-doors, does a great deal of moving around, rests from his mental labor, and frequently, in addition to all this, removed from the place of his permanent residence and free from the many constant and unpleasant impressions, he drinks the correctly pre- scribed water and usually takes his baths regularlj^ We certainly get in such cases strikingly good results. But unfortunately such is not always the case. Routine, that has always something of good with it, — namely, that which created it, remams but routine, that is, it is at times beneficial, at other times harmful. Not to speak of the cases, when the physician's advice concerning a trip to the watering place is incorrect, when without individualizing — 110 — the given case, without considering all its peculiarities, he orders a trip not for the one for whom it may be convenient and bene- ficial, but for a person who can only with difficulty tear himself from his near relatives and wonted surromidings of life, and for whom, besides, such a trip is beyond his means. Not to speak of such a wrong and useless advice to midertake a trip, I will only point to the impracticability of the above alluded to routine even for many such cases, where the trip is both indicated and possible. Here is one of the cases that occur quite frequently. A woman, somewhat exhausted and ansemic, subject to chills, nervous, and a poor sleeper, comes to the watering place in ac- cord with the advice of tlie physician, begins the above described routine method of living and of drinking the waters. She cannot fall asleep early m the evening but sleeps quite somidly in the morning hours. She is waked up to go to the spring, to take a walk, and to listen to the inevitable music. Without having a good night's sleep she starts out, soon becomes chilled, owing to the coolness of the morning air, experiences a sharp sensation of hunger and is soon fatigued ; and in such a condition — hun- gry, chilled through and tired out, she must drink a cold water and walk for a long time. Her condition has, of course, become even worse than it was before, and the water was of no benefit. The patient then consulted one of my former students, who lived at the watering-place and who was acquainted, tlirough my clinic, with the use of mineral waters. He first of all advised her to sleep in the morning as long as she felt sleepy, not to interrupt the sleep, not to drink the water on an empty stomach, but after the morning coffee, before breakfast and before dinner, and m a lesser quantity ; to be out in the fresh, open ah, for a longer time, but at the same time to walk only as long as her strength permits it, and by no manner of means until she be- comes fatigued. After this the patient began to improve. I alluded to the trips to the watering places with the purpose of acquainting you, at least to some extent, with this medicinal agency, and to present examples in which this agency is suitable and where not, and finall}^ to point out the necessity, while employing this remedy, for individualizing your cases, so that you may not fall mto routine habits and that you may — Ill — change the routine order of living and of drinking the waters in accord with the peculiarities of the given case. I cannot discuss the subject much longer, the more so, as you will all undoubtedly have to prescribe the mineral water much of tener for the patients m their places of residence, without sending them to the watering places. We will now endeavor to answer the questions as to the quantity of the water to be used per day, for how long a time, and at what periods of the day. I have already said that at the pres- ent day mineral waters are employed in lesser quantities than formerly, but the manner of employing them at the different watering places, or even by several physicians at one and the same watering place, is very varied ; I will therefore, in view of the absence of any standard or commonly accepted rule, speak only of that method of employing the mineral waters to which I adhere on the ground of my own experience extending over many years. The quantity of the daily dose of the waters depends, of course, on what you have in view when prescribing the water, and consequently on the character of the water chosen for the purpose. Within the limits of the effects of the waters selected by us for comparison, we may note the following most impor- tant objects, that we most frequently strive for : 1. We strive to secure a direct effect on the mucous mem- brane of the stomach and the upper portion of the intestines, or, besides this, by way of absorption of the mineral water by the intestine and by its entrance into the blood, on the mucous membrane of the biliary, urinary and resjDiratory tracts, on bil- iary calculi and urmary gravel ; provided the intestmal evacua- tions of the patient take place regularly. In such cases we usually prescribe Ems, Obersalzbrunnen, Vichy and Yessen- tucki, in doses, for adults, from two to six times a day (the usual dose is one-half glass, i. e. four ounces, or three-fourths of a glass, i. e. six ounces, but then only four glasses a day): for weak and exhausted persons two or three half-giassfuls of Ems or Obersalzbrunnen ; for strong persons with a good nutrition three to six half-glassfuls of Vichy or Yessentucki. In case there is a tendency to diarrhea I prescribe a smaller number of doses and the warm sprmg, or water warmed up to the required — 112 — temperature. If I find an already existing diarrhoea, then I order only Ems, m smaller doses, and at times, at the beginning, only half-doses, one-fourth of a glass, or two ounces of the water, still more warmed. In cases with a tendency to constipation I use Yessentucki springs and in a greater number of doses. If in addition to an inclination to costiveness the patient be ex- hausted, weak and suffering with pains, that serve as an indication for warm water (gastric pains and liver colic), then I prescribe Ems, warmed, in less frequent doses (for mstance three or four half-glassfuls) and at the same time evacuatmg clysters. I will add here, that both for cases to which I allude now and for those of which I shall. speak later, we can prescribe in summer generally more water than at the cold season of the year ; because movement in the free air assists the organism in better sustaming the mineral waters ; and light summer dress makes out-door movement certainly easier, than the heavy whiter overcoat. Besides, the use especially of warm water is rather risky m winter : at the hours of di'inkuig one must not go out of doors, but must walk aromid the room. In ordering movement, whether out-of-doors or withm the room, while ^^'ater is bemg takmg, you will clearly see from what I said just now and from the examples alluded to above, that every given case must be mdividualized, i. e. we must take into considerstion the season of year, the weather, the quantity of the ordered ^^^ater, the strength of the j)atient and indeed the whole coui'se of treatment. 2. We have m view the same aims as m the first cases, but we deal with patients who either suffer constantly from consti- pation, or from a constipation that is at times intermittent with a diarrh(pa, and in whom we must therefore take pains to secure a regular evacuation of the bowels, but at the same time to pre- vent severe purging, as that would destroy our chief object, namely, the absorption of the mineral water and its passage into the circulation for further effect. In such cases I either order Yessentucki (as I do for cases with a tendency to costiveness) and. moreover, in larger doses (up to six half-glassfuls), at times with the addition of a bitter water, or, if in case of severe pams (of gastric origin and liver colic) there is also required a warm — 113 — or even a hot water, then Karlsbad — ui wmter three to four half-glass fuls (if necessary I add Karlsbad salt), in summer from four to six doses of three-quarters of a glass each, also with the addition of the salt, if necessary. As referred to above (vide Yessentucki), Karlsbad water may in such cases be often replaced by the warmed Yessentucki, with the addition of some bitter water. 3. Finally we aim not only at evacuating the bowels, but at inducing a more or less considerable looseness of the same for a certain period of time, as, for instance, for several weeks. For such cases I order Marienbad or Kissingen or Yessentucki (with the addition of a bitter water), three-quarters of a glass per dose, from three to six doses a day, in accord with the desired and obtained results, and usually only during the summer. The use of such a quantity of water in winter or generally at a cold sea- son of the year is inconvenient and risky, as it absolutely re- quires considerable movement or at least a prolonged stay out- of-doors. In the winter and at the cold season generally we can reach the desired effect for such cases, even if somewhat slower, by ordering simultaneously with Yessentucki some bitter water, — of l3oth together some four half-glassfuls per day — adminis- tering more of the one or of tlie other, in accord with the de- sired and the obtained effect. For how long a jperiod is the prescribed water to he taken? (The length of the course of treatment.) Certainly, up to the time the desired object is effected ; but I usually do not continue treatment with mineral waters for longer than six weeks at a time. If they are prescribed for a recent catarrh of the stomach and intestines, or of the biliary, urinary and respiratory tracts, then the above length of time, or even a shorter period of five, four or three weeks, is quite sufficient ; just as in the cases in which the waters are ordered as constant laxatives. But for cases of chronic catarrh, biliary calculi, renal gravel and gout a six weeks' course proves frequently insufficient ; but this not- withstanding I often interrupt for a time the use of the pre- scribed water after six weeks or before — for two reasons: 1. A longer, unmterrupted administration of mineral waters tends to disturb digestion and nutrition, as there appear dyspeptic — 114 — phenomena, and the patients grow thin and pale. 2. As the ef- fects of the water last for some time after its employment has been discontinued, we give an opportunity for the results of the treatment to show themselves, after we have ceased employmg the water after a period of six weeks ; then, guided by these re- sults and by the condition of the patient's digestion and nutri- tion, we are enabled sooner or later to return to the treatment by waters. The distribution of the prescribed quantity of the water over the course of the day must be made in accord with the aim we have in view. If the water be employed for its action on the mucous membrane of the stomach and of the intestines and also for its absorption and passage into the circulation and for further action, then we must assign the ordered quantity over the whole day — for instance, before morning coffee or tea, midday lunch and dinner (at about 6 p. m. ; it is better to avoid the use of the waters late at night, as that may disturb the sleep). But if the water be taken for its laxative effect, then all the prescribed doses must be taken, in intervals between fifteen and twenty minutes, in the morning on an empty stomach ; this is quite con- venient as it requires at the same time movement during the summer and in vigorous persons of strong constitution and fair strength ; for contrary cases we must order one-half of the doses before the morning tea and coffee, and the other half before the midday meal. A mineral water is always to be taken on an empty stomach (the last dose at least one hour prior to a meal), because its action on the mucous membrane of the stomach and intestines, as well as its absorption and its laxative effect, have then a much more favorable influence, not being hindered by the con- tents of the stomach and intestines. A mineral .water taken soon after a meal will have, if an alkalme, only a palliative effect on the dyspeptic symptoms. It will diminish pyrosis, alleviate belching and the feeling of heaviness m the stomach, but, as I said once already, will with difficulty exert its princi- pal, most important action, m fact may completely lose it. The practice of some of administering the mineral waters with the meals, — usually Vichy or some other alkalme water for renal — 115 — gravel and gout — deserves positive condemnation. Notwith- standing its constant administration, the gout and the attacks of renal colic are not influenced at all, while the patient's nutrition and digestion suffer from the constant introduction of a mmeral water ; besides, the use of the mmeral waters in the ordinary regular manner, as during a course of treatment, does not bear as good results in these patients, as it does m patients not habit- uated to the constant use of waters. The employment of alkaline mmeral waters m cases of gout and renal gravel for a continu- ous period of time, but with interruptions, in a small daily quantity and m the usual manner, i. e. on an empty stomach, deserves undoubted preference over the above-mentioned practice of constant drinking of waters during meals. The quite extensive employment at the present time of the alkaline mineral waters, natural and artificial, as a constant beverage, is prejudicial on the same ground. From a great deal of what I said concerning the mternal use of mmeral waters, it is easy for you to comprehend, where the cold water is indicated and where the warm one. We must now give more precisely the temperature of the prescribed waters. Under a cold water we mean water of such a temperature as can be Ixjrne comfortably by the stomach, usually not below the temperature of an ordinary apartment in winter, i. e., about 14° R. (64°#.). Of the waters we discussed,. Marienbad, Franzens- bad, Kissmgen and Yessentucki are given at such a temperature (sometimes a little higher) for their laxative effect. Alkaline waters, indicated for their action on the mucous membrane of the stomach and intestmes and for aljsorption, are admmistered to persons mclmed to constipation, at a temperature of about 18^ to 20°'i?. (74° to 78°jP.), and to those with a tendency to diarrhfjea at the temperature of freshly drawn milk, i. e. about 25° to 2.1° IL (88.2° to 92.T°i^.), while for diarrhcea with severe gastric and intestinal pains as well as for kidney gravel, they are given warmer still. While drinld]ig the mmeral waters such a diet is ordered as is, firstly, required by the condition of the patient; and sec- ondly, all the very sour articles of food are to be excluded, as the use of vmegar with meals, lemon, also cucumbers, mush- — 116 — rooms, berries and fruits, so as to avoid a possible diarrhcea, fre- quently of a severe nature, accompanied by acute intestinal pains, and so obstinate, as to require not only an interruption in the treatment, but a prolonged cessation of the same, because a return to the use of the mineral water brings on a recurrence of the diarrhoea. Ripe, sweet berries are sometimes borne well while the mmeral waters are employed, but this is always risky, as together with the sweet ones there may be some that are unripe and sour. The mineral waters, used as they are at the present time in smaller and moderate, as compared with the past, quantities, are contraiyidicated only in considerable disturbances of the circu- lation, h(jematopoiesis and nutrition, in conditions of cachexia and marasmus. — We have often seen anaemic and exhausted persons, as, for instance, our patient, or, still more frequently, women exhausted by pregnancies and diseases of the sexual ap- paratus, but with an undoubted gastric catarrh, for whom, in view of their ansemia and exhaustion, one rather hesitates to order a mineral water, hoping to cure them by directly ordering forced alimentation, iron and arsenic, but without first improvmg the condition of the stomach. Such attempts — I repeat again, m the presence of an undoubted gastric catarrh — always fail : the " nutritious " food does not nourish the patient, as it is not digested ; on the contrary, introduced in large quantities (at the advice of the physician — the so-called forced alimentation) and in conjunction with iron and arsenic, it tends to derange diges- tion still more and through that the general condition. On the contrary, — by regulating strictly the hygiene, and, particularly, the diet and physical exercise (i. e., prohibiting any fatigue), and by ordering general massage, it becomes possible, even in such cases, by the moderate use of the light mineral waters and bitter drugs, to so improve the condition of the patient's stomach-, as to make it possible to further improve the general condition and, consequently, that of the stomach itself. Our patient may serve as a good example of the results of such a mode of treat- ment. Nervous dyspepsia certainly does not present any contra- indication for the use of mineral waters, if it be accompanied by — 117 — certain morbid conditions presenting an indication for their use, as, for instance, gastric catarrh, renal gravel, gout, etc. ; in the absence of such indications it would be erroneous to rely on the mineral water alone as a cure for nervous dyspepsia. Of the treatment of this so frequent and so important morbid con- dition we shall speak when discussing cases of patients subject to it. Condition of patient October 18th, 1889. Patient is given the same food. His condition is as good as it was five days ago, when we saw him last. During these five days he gained one pound in weight, — he weighs now ninety-nine pounds, eight pounds more than he weighed on admission. Of the morbid symptoms there remain, although constantly dimmishing, the former pains in the left kidney on motion, leanness and physical weakness. What is to be done further? Having finished the analysis of the present case, and the plan of treating it, and having brought the patient to a very satisfactory condition, we must proceed to the analysis of other patients ; it will thus be impossible for us to return to him as frequently as heretofore, and it is therefore necessary to outline the plan of future treatment for a longer time, which is at jDresent, after our treat- ment has been justified by the obtained results, certainly more possible than it was at the beginning. The patient has been taking the Ems-Kesselbrimnen for the last five weeks ; notwithstanding the complete absence of dys- peptic phenomena, still caution requires, that we do not dis- contmue at once the use of this water, but continue it for another week. First, because the patient has had the catarrh for such a long time ; secondly, the dyspeptic phenomena are absent when very light food is taken with due care (little at a time and frequently), whereas the patient has to return to his habitual rougher food ; and, thirdly, to meet as much as possible the renal indications (oxalic acid gravel). We will also continue for another week the drops of coto, dimmishing the dose contmually for the same reasons, — so as to secure the obtained result, the cessation of the diarrhoea. The bitters (condurango and tinctura nucis vomicae) we will continue for a long period, very likely up to the time he leaves — 118 — our clinic, as experience has shown the utility of their prolonged administration after an obstinate catarrh of the stomach and in- testines of such duration, especially in emaciated patients, and also in view of the approaching change in his food. The baths, which continue to influence the patient favorably, will be ordered for him only at rare intervals, in view of the fact, that he will soon begin taking out-door walks in the free air. We will continue massage up to the time when the pa- tient will become strong enough to be able to walk and to generally move around in a measure satisfactory to his health. The pains in the region of the left kidney depend, as was explamed above, partly on the oxalic acid gravel and partly on the displacement of this organ. Instead of the former abdom- inal bandage the patient put on yesterday a kidney truss, and to judge by the considerable relief thereafter of the above-named pains on motion, we may well hope to remove them entirely. What shall we do to further improve the patient's nutrition and his physical vigor ? We cannot thmk of resortmg to an}' fattening- means ; the use of koumyss at this season of the year and under hospital conditions is out of the question. It were besides risky to order koumyss, kephir or cod liver oil on account of the only recently passed dyspeptic phenomena and the diarrhoea that ceased not long ago. We must then confine ourselves to the correct regulation of the food. For the same reasons it would be risky to give arsenic and, although not to such an extent, also iron. But then, our patient's appetite is so good, and his weight increases so consid- erably, that there appears to be no necessity for resorting to these drugs. After he will have discontinued the use of the Ems water, we will think of prescribing for him silver nitrate, m view of the considerable weakness of the patient's nervo-muscular apparatus, and also in view of the recently ceased intestinal catarrh, so that we may the better secure the now present good condition of the intestinal tract. Until now we have not yet ordered any out- door walks for our patient, although, considering his prei- ent — 119 — condition, lie could take these to some extent, and they would certainly benefit him ; but we did not allow them on account of the extremely unfavorable weather — it being damp, windy and cold. It would be beneficial for the patient to spend the winter in the South, in a warm climate, where he would be able to stay out-of-doors for a long time and move around clad in a light garment, convenient for a weak patient : this would tend to rap- idly improve his nutrition and strength, and through these also his constitution (growth). It certainly would be cruel irony, in view of the patient's poor or even wretched circumstances, to- recommend him a trip to the South ; but my duty, as that of a clinical instructor, requires that I point out to you the indica- tions for climatic therapy, that you may take advantage of them in treating other patients. FROM THE LECTURE OF NOVEMBER 28, 1889. Almost six weeks have passed since we saw the patient last. He continued taking after that, for a whole week, the Ems water and the coto drops, and then left them off. Five weeks have passed since, and his digestion remains good, notwithstanding the fact that his food is coarser now. He continues the use of the bitters. In accord with our propositions he was given three weeks ago pills of silver nitrate, of one-twentieth grain per dose (with extr. trifolii), at first three times a day, the last ten days four times a day, every time immediately before a meal. We discontmued the baths recently, and instead of these he is sponged twice a week, m the morning, with a mixture of brandy and water, half and half, at first of the temperature of fresh milk and later somewhat cooler, followed by rubbmg with flannel ; this he bears well, does not feel chilly, but feels hale and hearty. Massage is continued less frequently than before, as the patient walks around a great deal. Three days ago (November 25th), m a light frost and during pleasant, dry and quiet weather, the patient began his fresh-air walks, at first twice a day, half an hour each time — and this seemed to do him good : he is not chilly, does not become fatigued and sleeps — 120 — better after it. Some three weeks previous to these walks, which could not be taken on account of the uninterruptedly bad weather, the patient, being confined in the room and deprived of fresh air, began to sleep poorly, but he was improved by frank- linization (static electricity), which was resorted to rather than the use of hypnotics internally. Patient's condition at presetit. He gets rougher food: more than a pound of bread — half of white bread, the other half pound of rye-bread; instead of chicken and beef cutlets — a pound of beef ; instead of chicken soup — lately, cabbage-soup, besides — six eggs, three glasses of milk with cognac, two spoon- fuls of wine. Digestion entirely normal. With the kidney truss on, pains in the left kidney are experienced only when maldng very abrupt movements, and even then they are slight, while in ordinary walking, and especially when at rest, none at all are experienced. Examination of the abdomen elicits but slight sensitiveness in the region of the left kidney. Pulse of normal strength. The patient has grown considerably m body (his weight now is 111 pounds, or 20 pounds more than what he weighed on admission) and loolcs hale ; there appeared even a slight flush on his cheeks. His sleep is good, mental condition splendid and physical strength very much improved. " The patient, or rather the convalescent, desires to leave our clinic in about two weeks, before Christmas, so as to visit his parents. Up to that time he will continue the bitters, the silver nitrate pills and the sponging, and also, at intervals, franldiniz- ation and massage, till the gradually mcreasing walks will per- mit us to dispense with them. We will also continue to gradu- ally introduce our patient to food that approaches Ms habitual one. Patient left the clinic December 15th, strong and havmg become stout (his weight 115 pounds — 24 pounds more than he weighed on admission), and digesting freely, for the last week, cabbage-soup, buckwheat-gruel and rye-bread. On his departure he was advised not to eat much at a time, to avoid fatigue, and not to go to any bathing establishment in bad — 121 weather, but to sponge himself mstead with a mixture of water and brandy. Our clmical assistant, Dr. Nikulin, received two letters from the former patient, one in the middle of February, and the other mthe middle of April, 1890. He writes in the firft that he IS well and bears the wmtry weather well fdoes not catch cold), and also the ordmary peasant's food, and in the second, that at the time of the great fast days (before Easter) he a e well and has borne well the fast meal, has not experi- enced with this any abdominal pains, has neither grown thin nor weak. ^ SECOND CASE LECTURES OF OCTOBER 20 AND 24, 1889. The patient before you has been in the cluiic for three weeks already. The detailed analysis of the first patient I presented to you terminated only with the last lectm-e, preventing me until now from presenting before you this one. Meanwhile the con- dition of this patient has undergone a considerable change for the better ; but the case is so mstructive that I consider it necessary to acquaint you with it. The patient is fort}'' years of age, was admitted to the clinic September 29th, complaming of constant heaviness and pain in the stomach, aggravated by meals, of belching of gas of the odor of rotten eggs, of pyrosis, nausea and vomiting of large masses. Conditions and mode of living. Patient spends about three summer months in the country, the rest of the year he lives in the city; in either of the places in a healthy locality and a good house. Is not habituated to open air bathing (sea or river), but takes his bath in the public bath-house once a month. Smokes a great deal (about forty cigarettes per day), does not drink any brandy, and but little and seldom wine and beer. Used to drink formerly a little very sweet tea, but discontinued it lately on account of the pjTOsis, and drinks only water, four glasses a day. Has three meals daily ; is fond of fat, sweet and cold articles of food (as ice-cream), dislikes meat, nor can he, as he says, bear it. Patient Ls married, denies ever having been affected with syphilis, and presents, neither from the investigation of his present condition nor from his past history, no indication of the latter. Patient is occupied durmg the summer, in the capacity of a manager of a country place, with rural economy ; has much to do, and is subjected to — 123 — a great deal of worry; never sleeps enough, is constantly fatiguing himself, eats irregularly and always in a hurry ; in winter, the other extremes : has no responsible occupation, leads a secluded life, plays cards, reads, moves very little in the open air and has little exercise. Anamnesis until his admission to the clmic and for the time he has been there. — Patient comes from a healthy family. Does not remember having had any sickness until his fifteenth year ; in his sixteenth year he had some febrile affection ; in his twenty-first had passed through an attack of typhoid fever. Since his twenty-fifth year he began his activity as a country manager, leading the above-described mode of life. It is to this period, that he refers the beginning of his present illness, the appearance of heaviness (but no pains) in the stomach, of belch- ing, heartburn, nausea and, very seldom, of vomitmg. Some three years later these phenomena became aggravated and to them was added constipation. Two years later, that is, about ten years ago, along with the aggravation of the above-named symptoms, there appeared severe pams in the stomach, and vomiting of dark, ground-coffee like masses. Patient began to take Yessentucki water and improved considerably; but the morbid symptoms again became worse in the course of a year. Patient drank Karlsbad water, was treated with silver nitrate, and another period of improvement, lasting one and a half years, followed; but returning to his former mode of living, the morbid condition became agam aggravated, and since then until the present time there took place no considerable im- provement of even a temporary nature, but, on the contrary, the condition grew steadily worse. Patient began to grow thin and weak, slept badly, became low-spirited and irritable. He always felt better durmg summer than in winter, thanks to the constant outdoor occupation and notwithstanding the irregularity of his life. Since his treatment with Karlsbad water, or since more than seven years ago, the patient has not been treated any more with mineral waters, but has been takhig various pharmaceutical preparations, without deriving any substantial benefit therefrom. ISTor was he treated by gastric lavage. For the last six weeks the morbid symptoms — 124 — have become especially aggravated: the pains m the stomach became excruciating ; to obtain a relief from them, the patient at times caused vomiting intentionally ; besides, spontaneous vomiting of large, coffee-like masses took place once in ten days ; the vomited matter usually contained particles of food, more frequently of meat, ingested several daj^s previously. Directly on the second day of his admission the patient's stomach was washed out with Ems water; this brought away an enormous quantit}' of mucus — through the sound and along its sides. The washing was repeated on the next day, but m view of the great quantity of mucus the Ems water was replaced by a stronger (two per cent) solution of sodium bicarbonate, so as to more certamly clear the mucous mem- brane of the stomach of the accumulated mucus. This second washing also brought away a great quantity of mu- cus. After the washings the pams and heavmess were con- siderably relieved. He was given internally Ems-Kesselbrun- nen at the temperature of freshly drawn milk, a half glass- ful three times a day, each time one hour before the meal ; five drops of tinct. of nux vom. twice a day, after each meal (the decoction of condurango, prescribed at the beginning, was set aside, as it tended to increase the pyrosis) ; for severe pyrosis magnesia usta, about one-fourth of a teaspoonful for a dose ; for the relief of the severe abdoinuial pams we tried first bismuth subnitrate (in 5 gr, doses) and tinctura canna- bis indicee (in doses of 10 drops), but they were of little avail, and we replaced them successfully with one-fourth gr. doses of codeine (+5 gr. of carbonate of sodium). For constipation a clyster of two to three glasses of water at the temperature of warm milk, every other day. In view of his wealaiess and the exacerbation of the pains on motion, the patient was advised to repose (which he preferred himself) and to avoid sudden changes of position. The abdomen was protected by a flannel bandage. A preferably liquid food was ordered — neither cold, nor hot, at the temperature of warm milk, of a bland charac- ter and in small quantities at a time. At first the patient was given, for a whole day, only two glasses of chicken bouillon, one glass of milk, about one-half a glass of milk-manna gruel. — 125 — two eggs and about one-fourth pound of white bread, ^Yithout the crust. The quantity of food was increased proportionately with the improvement in the patient's condition. Strong Crimea wine, which the patient drank rather reluctant- ly, but which had to be given on account of some weakness of the pulse, was administered in tablespoon doses once or twice a day ; to the milk was added some cognac, a teaspoonful to a glass of milk. All these included his food and drink the fhst time. He was advised to smoke as little as possible. During the early time of his residence in the clinic, the pa- tient had two attacks of vomiting, but of less abundant contents than formerly. Examination proved the vomited matter to con- tain leucocytes, sarcina ventriculi, heematin and free HCl. the latter in a quantity even greater than normal (three and one- half in one thousand), while a specimen portion of fibrin was completely and rapidly digested. Another washing of the stom- ach after the second vomiting, with a two per cent solution of bicarbonate of soda, brought away much less mucus than the first two washings. Xotwithstanding the fact, that he felt very much relieved after each washing, which apparently exerted a favorable miiuence on the course of the disease, the patient sub- jected himself to them rather reluctantly ; iDut after the thiid washing the disease took such a favorable course, that there appeared no necessity to insist on further washings, and we are satisfied with the above outlined treatment. The present condition of the patient is, as I said before, much better than it was on his admission. The appetite is keener. The first days the patient was given for a whole day two glasses of chicken bouillon, a glass of milk with cognac, about one-half glass of milk soup with manna, two eggs, and about one-fourth pound of white bread ; he gets now one-half pound of white bread, four eggs, two glasses of milk soup with manna, two glasses of bouillon with manna semolino and four- glasses of milk with cognac (outside of this no beverage but one and one- half glasses of Ems water) and, as you will hear presently, he is able to digest all this food much easier than before. He gets his wine, as heretofore, one or two spoonfuls per day. As he takes meat rather reluctantly and observes after its ingestion an — 126 — aggravation of the gastric symptoms, we do not insist upon his eating it. The gastric symptoms may at the present time be summed up as follows:, at about five P. M. the patient experi- ences pains at the pit of the stomach, (he takes his dinner at one P. M. and drinks a glass of milk at about three P. jM.), which are quite bearable while he is resting, but increase on his moving about, and which are relieved by an easy belching of odorless gases ; they disappear at seven p. M., when food is taken again. During the rest of the day the patient is almost free from any gastric symptoms ; whereas on his admission he ahiiost continu- ously suffered from painful belching of fetid gas and sour liquid, conjoined with a feeling of very severe heartburn, nausea, and acute, at times even excruciating, pains in the upper part of the abdomen simultaneously with pain in the opposite part of the back. The improvement of the patient is also evident from the fact, that for the last ten days there appeared no necessity for resorting to the above-mentioned palliative means against pyrosis and the pains. There was no vomiting for about two weeks. The obstipation also begms to disappear : there were normal movements for the last three days without the aid of clysters. The urine is somewhat pale, but, outside of this, normal. The organs of both respiration and circulation present nothing abnormal : pulse 60 to 70, was somewhat weak on ad- mission, but is of almost normal strength now. The patient, who never was fat, naturally became yerj thin while ailing. The temperature is below normal, about 36° (about 98°^.) seldom a little higher. The sleep is short, about six to seven hours, but much more sound, than it was on his admission, when it was disturbed by abdominal pains. Mental condition now better. Dizziness and the pains at the nape of his neck, to which he was subject while suffering with obstinate constipation, do not trouble him any more. The patient is stronger than he was on admission. The objective examination of the abdomen gives, as you see, the foUowmg results. Abdomen not distended, whereas on his admission there was considerable bulging of the upper part of the abdomen, and especially so in its median portion and left half. There is no cutaneous hyperEesthesia, Tenderness on pressure — 127 — along the median line, from the xyphoid cartilage to the umbili- cus, is more noticeable in the direction upwards ; below the umbilicus along the same line there is no tenderness. Both hypochondrial regions, especially the left one, are tender on pressure : the right at a point that corresponds more to the position of the pylorus than to the gall-bladder. There is sensi- tiveness on pressure in the region of the caecum and the ascend- ing portion of the colon. No other abdominal morbid condi- tion is elicited by the objective exammation. ' Diagnosis * It is evidently the stomach that is chiefly ai3^ected in our patient, and, besides, not by one, but by several morbid conditions. The great accumulations of mucus and the presence of leucocytes in the gastric contents point to an unquestionably severe catarrh of the stomach. Vomiting of dark liquid, that accompanies the attack of acute pains over the whole epigastric region, and especially at the pit of the stomach, and the presence of hcematin in the above-named liquid, speak in the present case for gastric ulcer ; we shall see later, why cancer is excluded. We also observe symptoms of nervous dyspepsia ; that is, a greater or weaker development of the dyspeptic phenomena under the influence of a respectively better or worse mental con- dition, though this latter, as well as the general nervous symp- toms (poor sleep, general weakness) depend evidently in their turn on the affection of the stomach and the pains and the insom- nia resulting therefrom : from the anamnesis and from observation of the patient we learn, that a gloomy and irritable mental con- dition, insomnia and general weakness run parallel to the condi- tion of the gastric symptoms, and that they mcrease or diminish in proportion as these are better or worse. Finally, the patient has a considerable dilatation of the stomach. This is shown by the following : the very marked inflation of the whole epi- gastrium, especially at the pit of the stomach and m the left hypochondrium, which was so noticeable before the washings, but has disappeared since ; the vomiting of great masses, that has troubled the patient for such a long time, the great quantities of *After the investigation is finished, further explanations, regarding diag- nosis, prognosis, etc., are always, in every case, conducted in the patient's absence. — 128 — tlie gastric contents, that were bronght np by the first washing made on an empty stomacli ; the presence in these masses, as ob- served by the patient more than once, of food mgested several days ago ; the pamful belching of great quantities of fetid gases and sour liquids, which pointed to stagnation and dj-speptic decomposition of the gastric contents. On patient's moving about, the abdominal splashing was also clearly heard. I men- tion this sj'mptom simply because it was present; but I would certainly not attempt to cause its appearance mtentionally : iirst, because it would be inexcusable, in view of the former attacks of acute pams and the great sensitiveness in the region of the stomach, to call out this phenomenon, as there would be a risk of simultaneously causmg the appearance of such an attack; and secondly, because, as has been ex^Dlained before, I do not consider this phenomenon as a reliable symptom of dilatation of the stomach. I will add here, that I know of cases, where the splash was caused intentionalh^ and where the somid, mtroduced immediately after that, showed the stomach to be empty, while after the sound was taken out, the splashing could agam be pro- duced. In view of the above midoubted sj^mptoms of consider- able gastric dilatation it would be a profitless task to resort, for diagnostic purposes, to such doubtful methods of investigation, as the mtroduction into the stomach of gas-producing mix- tures and the like ; not to speak of inconveniencmg the patient or even of subjectmg him to dangers, that may arise from such attempts. As regards the mtroduction uito the stomach of salol and the consequent determination of the length of time, when salyciluric acid could be detected m the urine, — the appli- cation of this method of investigation in our case, in the pres- ence of the determmed diagnosis of gastric dilatation, would be but a " scientific '" ornament to an already erected structure ; not to mention the fact, that time must yet prove the degree of reliabilitj" and practicability of such a diagnostic method. I must also add, that not only does our patient present undoubted symptoms of considerable gastric dilatation, but that the absence of such a morbid condition would be unmtelligible in his case. Dilatation of the stomach may appear as a result either of gas- tric catarrh or of nervous dyspepsia. Our patient has a severe ■ — 129 — gastric catarrh of long duration, and also nervous dyspepsia. The symptoms of gastric ulcer in the given case have also been observed for a long time, some ten years, but they would at times disappear for a year or a year and a half, which fact would lead us to think of former cicatrization of the ulcers and of present scars. However, these latter seem to be so located, that they do not, at least not to a great extent, embarrass the egress of food : we are led to think thus by the rapid relief from the constipation, which indicates a sufficiently free passage of the gastric contents into the intestines. Does not the patient also have a cancer of the stomach? There is certainly much that speaks against it : the sum total of the gastric symptoms is sufficiently explained by the undoubted- ly existing affections, namely : by the catarrh, the ulcer and the gastric dilatation, and also by the nervous dyspepsia ; the dura- tion of the illness, the absence of a swelling in the region of the stomach, and the abundance of free HCl in the gastric contents all speak against cancer. But all the enumerated data make the absence of a gastric cancer in this case only very probable, but not fully certain : there is also in gastric cancer observed sometimes an abundance of free hydrochloric acid in the contents of the stomach ; nor is it rarely, but in fact frequently, that we are unable in cases of cancer to detect a swelling in the region of the stomach ; it is not at all impossible, that to the long con- tinued gastric suffermg of a non-cancerous character in our patient, there was also superadded of late a cancer of the stom- ach. But then, such apprehensions could only be entertained on the patient's admission to the clinic ; at present, after a consider- able improvement has taken place, an improvement that is generally absent in cases of gastric cancer, and would be so particularly in one as broken down as our patient is, — at present such apprehensions are untenable. As regards the other organs in our patient, we will only note the tenderness on pressure in the region of the Ccecum and the ascending portion of the colon, surely dependmg on some slight typhlitis and colitis, as results of the prolonged obstinate constipation. The liver, spleen, kidneys and the urinary blad- der, as well as the organs of respiration and circulation. — 130 — present nothing abnormal. We have already alluded to the failure of nutrition and the disturbances of the nervous system. The prognosis is certainly more favorable now, than it was on the patient's admission to the clinic, when we appre- hended the possibility of a gastric cancer. But even now his condition must be considered as very serious, that is, as one that presents no immediate danger, but a great possibility of the same, thus : the obstinate gastric ailment, that has repeatedly reappeared after improvement has taken place, — to be sure, on account of the patient's negligence, — may in the end completely destroy his now already failing health ; some accidental cause may bring about a rupture of the thinned-out gastric walls at the sites of the ulcers and of the cicatrices. We have, therefore, while giving him hopes of a return to health, enjoined upon our patient the necessity of a strictly regular mode of living and circumspection in movements and exertions, so as to avoid dangerous consequences. Treatmejit. — The gastric therapy of the present case differs from that of the preceding one, chiefly m that in this case we ordered lavage of the stomach, that has given such good results. I shall discuss this important method of treatment, after I will have explained the other therapeutic means ; these latter will take but little of our time now, after our discussion of the first case. It is certainly not necessary for me to explain to you why the patient was ordered the above-described diet, the warm abdominal bandage and rest, and why he was given a mineral water (I shall speak later of my reasons for prescribing the Ems-Kesselbrunnen), and the tincture of nux vomica. We have explained above why we gave codeine and magnesia usta. We did not order any warm baths for the relief of the abdominal pains, first, because the codeine relieved the pains sufficiently, and secondly, that he might avoid movements incident to un- dressing, immersing in the bath and dressing again ; these, as any other movements, would tend to aggravate the pains. Why have we selected of all the mineral waters the Ems- Kesselbrunnen ? Within the limits of the waters chosen by us for comparison, we apparently had to avoid the cold springs and — 131 — those rich in carbonic acid, as such would tend to aggravate the gastric pauis and the vomiting in our patient ; and we also had to avoid springs rich in alkaline and laxative salts, because of the patient's exhausted condition. For these reasons we had to exclude, first of all, Marienbad, Kissingen and Franzensbad, they being cold springs, and to select from among Ems, Karlsbad, Vichy (the warm spring of Grande Grille) and the warmed Yeesentucki springs. In view of the patient's debilitated con- dition we gave the preference to Ems, as it does not contain any laxative salts (like Karlsbad) and is less rich in alkaline salts, than Vichy and Yessentucki ; though if the condition of the nutrition were better, the other three waters could be given. And as a matter of fact, it appears from the anamnesis, that the patient, when in a better condition of nutrition and strength, was treated with success by the Yessentucki and the Karlsbad waters. All this refers to treatment of the gastric catarrh. How is ulcer of tjie stomach to be treated ? We know of no directly curative remedy, but experience teaches, that an ulcer heals under the same treatment and the same (or even stricter yet) diet, that is so successful in gastric catarrh.* How shall we treat dilatation of the stomach ? After having removed the accumulated gastric contents and having cured the catarrh and the ulcer, it would be necessary to attempt to strengthen the nervo-muscular apparatus of the stomach by the aid of massage, electricity and hydrotherapy (douches in the region of the stomach). The ulcers and cicatrices of long standing in the present case would make it very risky to resort to such measures, as their employment would bring about strong contractions of the stomach, and consequently a liability, not to * A later supplemental note : For the last few years I add to this treat- ment the use of bismuth subnitrate with undoubtedly successful results. I give at first twenty-grain doses, increasing the dose, later on, to 3 j ss and more, once or twice a day, — always on an empty stomach (in the morning before breakfast, and one hour before dinner). The powder of bis- muth is directly put on the tongue and is washed down with the warm alkaline water, which is indicated for the given case. The patient lies on his back, then turns on the belly, and from side to side, so as to enable the remedy to more certainly come in direct contact with the ulcer. — 132 — speak of the pains, of rupturing the walls in the thmned-out portion of this organ. However, to judge by the favorable course of the disease, we may hope that, on removing the accumulated gastric contents and on curing the catarrh, the ulcer and the nervous dyspepsia, the strength of the nervo- muscular apparatus of the stomach will reestablish itself to a sufficient extent; For the treatment of the slight typhlitis and colitis, it will ua all probability be sufficient to establish a regular emptying of the bowels, to see that the abdomen is kept at rest and warm, in connection, of course, with the contemporaneous improvement in the gastric ailment. The improvement in the nervous disturbances of the patient is attained as yet through the improvement of the gastric trouble, through the alleviation of the pains consequent upon this last and of the msomnia. Later on, after we will have finished the treatment with the mineral waters, we will think of combating the nervous disturbances and, cojisequently, the nervous dyspepsia, with silver nitrate, which the patient had used before with great success. Arsenic and iron are contra- mdicated by the condition of the stomach. We will besides order for our patient general massage (except massage of the abdomen), in accord with the indications, which we followed in our first analyzed case. We hesitate as yet to order massage under the apprehension, that the movements of massage might aggravate the abdommal pams. The treatment by cold water, with a view of improving the patient's nervous state, is contra-indicated by his exhausted condition. I will now take up the subject of gastric lavage. The pres- ent case may be called a typical example of the class of cases, in which lavage of the stomach is an miconditional indication of such importance, that without its previous employment no other kind of treatment can be instituted. In such cases even one or two washmgs are sufficient to rapidly brmg about important re- sults : by carrjdng away a mass of dyspeptically decomposed gastric contents, absorption of the products of such a decompo- sition — certamly very injurious to the patient — is put a stop to, as well as the irritating effect produced by them on the walls _ 133 — of the stomack, causing vomiting and pains ; consequently, as a result, a rapid alleviation of the symptoms .is effected ; further, the mucous membrane of the stomach is cleared of the mucus, and is made accessible to the radical treatment of the catarrh by mineral waters and by bitters ; finally, the nervo-muscular appa- ratus of the dilated or distended stomach is able, on the latter being emptied, to act better, namely to expedite the gastric con- tents into the intestines and thus prevent a fresh accumulation. Therefore, not only in cases of such a prolonged and obstinate morbid condition, gastric dilatation, as seen in our patient, but even in more recent cases of overloading of the stomach, in which the indications for emptying this last are as positive as they are in our present case, I begin the treatment with gastric lavage, repeating it several times till the patient obtains un- doubted relief ; and at the same time I begin the radical treat- ment, if possible, of the gastric disease, most frequently of the catarrh or of the nervous dyspepsia, that has caused the dilata- tion or distention of the stomach; and as soon as the acute symptoms, the attacks of pain, and vomiting, and pain on pres- sure in the region of the stomach, have ceased, I add to the foregoing such remedial means, as would strengthen the weak- ened nervo-muscular apparatus of the stomach, namely, electri- city, massage, or douches, according to the idiosyncrasy of the case. As soon as the sound improvement m the patient's con- dition can last without lavage, I at once discontinue it ; because experience teaches that a prolonged employment of lavage may generate a habit for it, of which it may become difficult to get rid ; an example of this will be presented later. But if the in- dications for lavage are neither so positive, nor so necessary, particularly not in cases of old dilatation, hut in. those of recent distention, then, without resorting to washings, I order radical treatment in conjunction, of course, with regulation of the hy- giene in general and of the diet in particular. If the success is prompt and lastmg. then I surely content myself with the adopted treatment ; otherwise I add to it lav- age. Wherever possible I avoid lavage, as it is never, especially at the beginning, an indifferent process and far from beiag harm- less for the patient, not to speak of the feeliag of disgust enter- tained towards it by him. — 134 — We often observe in practice, how lavage — which was for- merly and is to an extent even now a fashionable procedure — is employed quite frequently without success. Let us consider the causes, as I have observed them, of such failures. The most frequent cases are as follows : the patient suffers from a gastric catarrh in a condition which does not present any indication for lavage. At first the physician does not resort to lavage, and orders the radical treatment, but he prescribes it either incorrectly or carelessly, without regulating the hygiene and particularly the diet. Failure follows. The physician now resorts to lavage, without having correctly instituted his former treatment and regulated the hygiene, and not having rectified his former errors and omissions, failure is sure to come again. — Or take such a case. The patient has a gastric catarrh in a condition presenting positive indications for lavage : this is or- dered by the physician, but he neglects the radical treatment of the catarrh, forgetting that lavage, though an excellent, is at the same time but a symptomatic, palliative measure. The patient is not only not cured, but acquires the habit of washing his stom- ach, " cannot get along without it," just as one suffering with constipation and habituated to clysters is unable to get along without these. I will tell you in this connection of one very instructive case from my practice. The patient, thirty-five years old, of good constitution, called on me in February, 1888, com- plaining of pain and heaviness in the region of the stomach, nausea, poor sleep and oppressed mental condition. Anamnesis. — Up to his twenty-fifth year the patient enjoyed good health ; but has since then abused alcoholic drinks (whis- key and beer), took only one meal a day, but an abundant one, and was at times intensely preoccupied with his affairs (he is a tradesman). He soon grew restless, of a sad mood, and costive. Some five years ago there appeared dyspeptic gastric symptoms and pains at the pit of the stomach. The patient continued drinking and leading his former mode of life. Two years ago the gastric pains became aggravated, and there appeared once or twice a week abundant vomiting, containing considerable quanti- ties of mucus. He left off drinkmg and called on his physicians : these ordered daily gastric lavage with plain water, but no othei' — 135 — treatment, cautioning him only to avoid heavy food. The first two months the patient experienced considerable relief, but later the improvement not only became stationary, but gave way to a more aggravated condition. Present state. — - Patient smokes much and drinks a great deal : nine to ten glasses of tea daily with cream, and four to five glasses of soda or artificial seltzer water ; drinks neither beer, wine, nor brandy. Washes his stomach daily for the last year with plain water on an empty stomach; this brings up mucus, at times in considerable quantity. The lavage procures a relief from the heaviness and pain in the stomach, from the nausea and oppressed mental condition for one or one and one-half hours (in the beginning the relief lasted one-half day or even longer), but later he returns to his usual condition. He is con- stipated : movements of bowels every other day — evacuations small and hard. Once or twice a month patient takes castor- oil or some bitter water. Abdomen distended. The liver, spleen, kidneys and the organs of circulation and respiration present nothing abnormal. Nutrition poor. Sleep unsatisfactory, mental condition oppressed. Treatment : Ems water, one-half glass three times a day, one hour before meals, at the tempera- ture of freshly drawn milk ; decoction of condurango and the tinc- ture of nux vomica ; watery clysters ; once during the day fifteen grains of potassium bromide in the last half-glass of the Ems water, and in the morning sponging of the whole body with water at the temperature of 22° to 18° B. (about 82° to 67° i^.). Hy- giene in general and the diet in particular strictly regulated : quantity and quality of food and drink is limited and precisely designated — to be taken frequently, but little at a time. He was advised to gradually rid himseK of the habit of washing his stomach : to do gastric lavage at first twice a week, then once, and later to discontmue it altogether. In about eight weeks of such treatment (the potassium bromide was discontinued before that time), the patient could get along without lavage, and im- proved considerably : there remained only slight retching and some inclination toward constipation ; the pain and heavi- ness in the gastric region, as well as the nausea, disappeared; both sleep and mental condition improved. A prolonged sail — 136 — on a Volga steamer brought about a complete return to health. Finally, there are cases, where the emploj^ment of gastric lavage, in nervous dyspepsia, is wrongly applied. Take such a case. Some ten years ago there was admitted to our clinic a medical student of the senior class, with a strongly develoj)6d neurasthenia and nervous dyspepsia. The physician whom he consulted before his admission to the clinic, found a " splash " in his abdomen, and concluded that the patient suffered with dilatation of the stomach, requiring gastric lavage. Ex- amination of the patient failed to elicit any symptoms of dilata- tion of the stomach : the abdomen proved to be equably and pro- nouncedly sunken everywhere ; but to quiet the frightened patient a sound was introduced : the stomach proved to be empty, which fact raised the patient's spirits considerably ; while the sub- sequent treatment, with cold water douches and silver nitrate, soon removed the phenomena of neurasthenia and of nervous dys- pepsia. Or here is another case (a later supplement). Patient, thirty-six j'ears old, of good constitution, was admitted to our clinic April Tth, 1890, complaining of heaviness in the region of the stomach and belching, of constipation and pains in the abdomen, which proved on mquiry to be of intestinal origin, of poor sleep and oppressed mental state. Anamnesis : Until his twenty-ninth year patient enjoyed good health; at this age he passed through an attack of t}^hoid, which left him in a weak- er condition than he was before. Later there were superadded some other influences imfavorable to health : the patient, who formerly used to bathe with apparent benefit to his health, had to give up bathing on account of change of residence and ab- sence of a suitable bathing place ; he began to be intensely preoccupied in the capacity of a manager of an estate, and to all this were finally added certain family troubles. Under such conditions there appeared, two years ago, belching, heavmess m the stomach, constipation and, later, intestinal pains. Patient began to be treated, took at various times hydrochloric acid, pepsm, bismuth, carbolic acid, resorcin, soda powders, for a short time silver nitrate, and, for a shorter period still (eight days), arsenic — but all these failed to bring any relief. During — 137 — December, 1889, and in January and February, 1890, he had been given about sixty ivashings of the stomach, which failed to alleviate his condition in the very least. During February and March the patient drank Vichy, cold and aft€r meals, also without success. Mode of living. ■ — Patient lives in a healthy locality and re- sides in a good house. Does not bathe in the sea, takes baths at home but rarely. Smokes little ; does not drink anj- beer. wine or brandy ; drinks some five to six glasses of weak, warm and unsweetened tea per day ; drinks neither water nor kvass ; eats two light meals a day ; keeps no fast days. He is smgle. This last year, on account of indisposition or, rather, considering himself sick, he gave up his occupation, which fact tends to more aggravate his oppressed mental state. Status presens. — Appetite somewhat worse. There is a con- stant heavmess at the pit of the stomach and light belching of odorless gases, both after meals and on an empty stomach ; there were neither m the past, nor are there at present, any pj-rosis, nausea, vomiting, and pam at the pit of the stomach, neither spontaneous nor on pressure. Being costive, patient resorts often to laxatives, as pulvis liquiritise compos. Intestinal pains. Abdomen somewhat distended. The liver, spleen, the kidneys, the organs of respiration and of circulation present nothhig abnormal. Patient grew thin. The sleep is poor, the mental condition oppressed. Treatment. — The, symptoms of neurasthenia and of nervous dyspepsia, so marked even on his admission, became so promi- nent durmg the first days of the patient's stay in the clinic, that we ordered hydrotherapj' (douches, from 22 to 18°it. (81.5 to 12.5°F.'), to the exclusion of any other treatment. There fol- lowed a rapid simultaneous improvement in all the symptoms : as heaviness at the pit of the stomach, belching, constipation, intestinal pains, msonmia and oppressed mental condition. Patient left the clinic April 30th, almost completely improved. He was advised to make this improvement durable by summer bathing and by a correct mode of living, and among other things, also by a return to his occupation, but without unduly exerting himself — 138 — FROM THE LECTURE OF NOVEMBER 28, 1889. Five weeks passed since we saw the patient last. Up to November 17th, he drank the Ems water and took drops of the tincture of nux vomica ; had at times clysters, and but very seldom resorted to codeine. Since the 17th, he is given pills of silver nitrate, at iirst one-twentieth-grain twice a day at meal- time, and since November 2 2d, three times a day. For the last several days he has had general massage. Patient desires to leave the clinic to-morrow. His condition has improved con- siderably. The appetite is good ; patient gets durmg the day a pound of bread, six eggs, two glasses of bouillon, three to four glasses of milk-soup with manna (patient refuses meat), and at times begs for more food. Of the gastric symptoms there remained some heaviness at the pit of 'the stomach, at times easy belching, and, very seldom, slight, rapidly passing pains, that do not require any codeine. He is somewhat costive, and must at times resort to clysters. The tenderness on pressure in the region of the ccecum and ascending portion of the colon dis- appeared. Pulse is good. His nutrition has improved markedly. Has eight hours of quiet sleep. Mental condition better; he feels stronger. Patient was advised, besides a strict persever- ance in a correct mode of livmg and circumspection in move- ments and exertion, to continue the treatment by silver nitrate and the general massage. THIRD CASE LECTURE OF NOVEMBER 3, 1889. The patient, a student, twenty-two years old, complains of abdominal pains and constipation, which is at times replaced by a diarrhoea ; of palpitation and of unpleasant sensations in the region of the heart, of pains in the head and spine, and of poor sleep ; he is quickly fatigued b}' physical and mental exertion and is in a despondent mood: he is always disturbed by various anxieties, but chiefly by the apprehension, that he suffers from an " organic heart trouble." Circumstmices and mode of living. — For the last four years patient lived continuously m Moscow, summer and winter. Lodgings fair, water-closet cold ; he formerly used to bathe himself, but has not done so lately, as bathing would chill him and cause attacks of cardiac palpitation. He does not go to public baths, but washes himself at home. Drmks but little tea, and neither coffee nor wine. Smoked before, but has discon- tinued it now, as it brought on palpitation of the heart. Order of meals : breakfast, tea with bread in the morning, dinner and sup- per ; his board was always good, with the exception of a period of two weeks, of which more later. The patient is, as I said, a student, and also a private tutor. He goes out of doors for two hours daily. Has enough time for sleep, from 11 p. m. to 8 A. M. Anamnesis. — His parents, according to his statement, are healthy. While yet in the gymnasium (high school), some ten years ago, the patient suffered from constipation, otherwise en- joyed fair health up to the time he took up his residence in Moscow, when the constipation increased and the patient began to grow somewhat thin and weak. He passed through an attack of acute articular rheumatism some three years ago, but it was of — 140 — a light character (he not being confined to bed during the attack) and it passed away in a few days with the aid of sodium salycil- ate ; since then he suffers with palpitation of the heart. About one year ago his sleep became poor, mental condition gloomy, the weakness more pronounced, the attacks of palpitation were accompanied by unpleasant sensations, and at times even by pains in the region of the heart. All these phenomena became ag- gravated because of an affliction, which the patient had suffered some three months ago. A month ago the patient was compelled to have bad meals, which caused a diarrhoea ; this was stopped at first by tra. opii, but it reappeared again ; since then the patient would either be constipated for three or four days, or would have three or four stools a day, with pain m the abdomen, of liquid consistency and with an admixture of mucus. He had a diarrhoea when he was admitted to our clinic, October, 29th. He was given five di'ops of the tincture of opium ; the abdomen was wrapped in flannel, and one-half glass of hot Ems-Kesselbrunnen water was prescribed for him to be taken in the morning on an empty stomach, one hour before his tea, and a tablespoonful of the decoction of condurango (3ij to fiij) with five drops of the tincture of nux vomica after dinner and supper ; a clyster m case of constipation and, after the diarrhoea stopped, one day static electricity (" the bath" — i. e. sitting on the insulated chair at the time of the seance), the next day general massage, excepting the abdomen ; later on, cold water treatment. He was enjoined to avoid physical and mental fatigue — to read but little ; while the diarrhoea lasted he had tea for a drink ; of the food we will speak later. Status. — Patient is of average physical stature and, contrary to his assertions that he grows thin, his nutrition is quite satis- factory : the subcutaneous adipose tissue is quite considerable, and the muscles are well developed. The appetite and the gas- tric digestion, as the patient claims, are very changeable : on the days when he has a good rest, and when his mental condition is good, he eats well without experiencing any unpleasant after- effects ; but after a poor sleep, and when feeling poorly, he eats little and still experiences a painful sensation at the pit of his stomach, that passes away only after painful and prolonged belch- — 141 — ing. Until the appearance of the diarrhoea he experienced no other unpleasant sensations in the abdomen ; but with the diar- rh(Ea there appeared also intestinal pains. After his admission to the clinic the diarrhoea ceased and the intestinal pains have almost disappeared. He had yesterday a water clyster, that in- duced a satisfactory evacuation after a constipation of two days' duration ; the abdomen, however, is somewhat distended and slightly sensitive to examination, which latter causes some gur- gling. We are unable to detect any particular tenderness or generally anything abnormal in the regions of the stomach, liver, spleen and kidneys. The urine is normal. The patient was for a long time very intemperate m his sexual relations ; the erections are now weaker, he himself feeling weaker after the acts of copu- lation, although he performs them less frequently than formerly. He had two attacks of gonorrhoea, which passed without leaving a trace, but had aggravated his disturbed mental state. He is free from syphilis. — Some dyspnoea on walkmg. Pulse normal, except durmg the above-mentioned attacks of palpitation with pain in the region of the heart, when it is considerably quickened. Objective examination elicits nothing abnormal in the respiratory organs, heart and blood-vessels, as well as in the chest, with the exception of a small area of cutaneous hypersesthesia around the left nipple, an area smaller than that of the region of the heart, where the patient experiences pain during the severe attacks of palpitation. Fever absent. The nervous phenomena are exact- ly pictured in the complaints of the patient and in the anamnesis. Headaches, when the patient is constipated, are experienced in the occipital region, while after mental exertion, in the frontal part ; at times slight migraine. The pains along the spine seem to be due to cutaneous hypergesthesia in the region of several vertebrae. All the movements of the spine are perfectly free and painless. Reflexes considerably increased. As the lecture draws to a close, we will take up the diagno- sis later ; and now a few words about the treatment. After having ingested poor food, the patient suffered from an attack of diarrhoea, evidently due to an intestinal catarrh, for the pain- ful evacuations were mixed with mucus : it is likely, that the gastric catarrh also began then, and that the dyspeptic gastric — 142 — phenomena depend, to some extent at least, on the catarrh ; we therefore prescribed Ems, but in view of the diarrhsea, only one- half glass in the morning, and very warm. The mdication for condurango and the tincture of nux vomica, which proved of such advantage in both constipation and diarrhoea, as you know from the analysis of the first case, requires no explanation, when employed for a patient, who suffers alternately from diarrhoea and constipation. The indications for the use of electricity, mas- sage and hydrotherapy will be spoken of later, after the final diagnosis has been arrived at. LECTURE OF NOVEMBER 7, 1889. Status. — Patient's condition improved all around. Appetite and digestion are such that for the last three daj's he is given daily two plates of chicken soup, three-fourths of a chicken, over one- half pound of roast meat, six eggs and about one pound of white bread ; he takes all this at four meals, and, outside of slight heavi- ness and belching, and even this rarely, not after each meal, he suffers from no dyspeptic phenomena. Such a condition after only a five days' use of Ems, and of but one-half glass of it per day, speaks against catarrh of the stomach, the more so against ulcer or cancer, especially if you recollect the slow improvement in the appetite and ui the nutrition with the more energetic and continuous treatment and very strict diet in our previously dis- cussed case of a real catarrh of the stomach ; it also excludes dilatation of the stomach, as the evacuations, though with the aid of clysters, are sufficient. The abdomen is less distended and not tender. He had almost no cardiac attacks during these days. He sleeps better, although not every night. His mental state is calm, especially after I examined and positively assured him that he had no organic heart lesion, and that his malady was perfectly curable. There is also less weakness. Before taking up the final diagnosis, we will say a few words about the treatment, as indicated by the present condition of the patient. As there is no gastric catarrh, we will discontinue the Ems water, but will continue the condurango and the nux vo- — 143 — mica, for there is still at times a feeliiig of heaviness in the stomach and some belching; besides, the diarrhoea has only ceased recently and the constipation continues as yet. Frank- linization and massage acted well on the patient ; but the ces- sation of the diarrhoea requires hydrotherapy instead. We will also prescribe for the patient silver nitrate (one grain in twenty pills with extract trifolia), at the beginnnig twice a day, imme- diately before each meal. As the sleep is not as yet always sound, and the disappearance of the diarrhoea permits of the use of bromides, we will resort to these if necessary. The reason for the employment of silver nitrate and of the bromides will be made clearer after the final diagnosis, when we will take up the whole plan of treatment. Diagnosis. It is evident, from what was pointed out above, that catarrh, dilatation, ulcer and cancer of the stomach may positively be excluded in this case ; while the change in the ap- petite and in the dyspeptic phenomena, and their close connec- tion with the general nervous condition go to show, that the patient suffers from nervous dyspepsia. Besides the gastric there are also present morbid intestmal, cardiac and general ner- vous symptoms. We will begm with the general nervous symp- toms, as even you, though beginners, will easily perceive from the data collected by observation and objective investigation, that they are the most important in this case. To better elucidate the importance of the morbid nervous phe- nomena in this patient, I must, refer you to what I said regarding the condition of the nervous system in our first case. ( Vide pp. 7 0-72.) From a careful comparison of the two, you will perceive that our present case is just the opposite of that one : in the pres- ence of a good constitution and nutrition, of a normal condition of all the organs, except the nervous system (the trifling diarrhcea appeared only recently, while the constipation and the cardiac phenomena are, as we shall see later, of a neurasthenic origin). The patient leading a life amidst mcomparably better surround- ings, there appeared a primary, obstinate, progressive neuras- thenia, its sum total of symptoms having been made clear by inquiry and by objective examination. It is a case of genu- ine, typical, although not extremely developed, neurasthenia. — 144 — A s far as its origin is concerned, we know nothing definite of the influence of heredity, while the factors that caused its appear- ance are patent ; thus : a three years' residence, during both winter and summer, in a great city, conjoined with considerable uninterrupted mental labor (private tutoring even in summer), lack of bathing all this time, worries, but certainly most impor- tant of all, extreme intemperance in sexual relations and also the attacks of urethritis. In extreme cases of genuine neuras- thenia, it is necessary to call to aid the differential diagnosis from hysteria and even from multiple sclerosis. But in this moderately developed case, where the distinction from these dis- eases is so very evident, such procedure, a differential diagnosis, would be but a waste of time. Although our patient had an attack of acute articular rheumatism — a very slight attack and of short duration — but in the presence of the perfectly normal condition of the organs of circulation, the morbid phenomena met with in this case in the sphere of the plexus cardiaci, as palpitation and pain in the region of the heart, must be referred to the neurasthenia, of which they constitute a very frequent symptom. The constipation, that is, the weakening of the nervo-muscu- lar apparatus of the intestines, was at the beginning due to his neglect to attend to the calls of nature while yet in high school. With the development of general neurasthenia this condition of the intestines naturally became more aggravated. The intesti- nal catarrh, which appeared about a month ago, was the cause of the origin of the diarrhoea, and since that time the intestines presented a picture of two contemporaneously existing morbid conditions — of the weakness of their nervo-muscular apparatus and of a catarrh of their mucous membrane. Progyiosis. — Whether or not our patient has an innate pre- disposition to neurasthenia cannot be asserted with certainty ; but even if it be present, it is hardly of any considerable extent : the data, obtamed by the investigation, show, that up to a certain period, almost up to the time he entered the university, the pa- tient had no symptoms of weakened nervous activity ; these latter began to develop only after the following evident causes appeared, tending to neurasthenia, namely : constant residence — 145 — and constant occupation (also during summer^ in a great city, lack of bathing, to which he was habituated before, worries of various nature, and chiefly — sexual intemperance. In such cases, that is, where there is no mnate and, besides, obstinate, difficultly removable weakness of the nervous system, but where the neurasthenia is acquired and is, as in our patient, not extremely developed, a perfect cure is possible ; but the stability of the cure, and the absence of recurrent attacks will certainly depend on the will-power and the ability on the part of the patient to avoid the influences, that give rise to neurasthenia. Treatment. — We will begin with the principal ailment m the present case, the disease of the nervous system, neurasthenia. As what concerns his hygiene, we will chiefly advise the patient, first of all, to shorten at once his occupations and return to his native place, there to stay until the beginning of the future semester, in the middle of January ; then to entirely discontinue his work for at least one month every summer, while residing as long as possible in a pleasant suburban locality, to bathe in the s-ea or river, to take due care of his sleep, not to interfere with it (as for instance, by an unnecessary meal or fatiguing mental work immediately before going to bed), nor to shorten it, — to sleep just as long as necessary ; to work only after a sufficient rest, and never to fatigue himself either physically, or mentally. We will advise complete abstinence from sexual intercouse — the most important cause of the morbid condition in the present case. Unfortunately the advice of the physician concerning this matter is not always followed ; but it were erroneous to think, that it is never followed, and that it would therefore hardl}- be worth while giving it. On the contrary, a sensible, decisive and friendly advice will not be followed rather in the minority of cases, but if followed, it will be of mestimable value to the patient, which is the most important aim of the physician's practice in such cases. Nor is the fulfilling of this advice as difficult or impossible, as the patients, of whom we speak, usually think, if the physician but teach them to avoid sexual excitement through physical mfluences (as constipation, soft bedding, tight clothing, alcoholic chinks, etc.), as well as through influences acting in a psychical manner (lascivious thoughts, cer- — 146 — tain books, certain male and female society), and if he explain to the patients the harm in such cases of insufficient physical activ- ity, of mental idleness, of lack of aesthetic impressions and, first of all, impress upon them their moral and religious duties. Be- sides, our patient is twenty-two years old and in a year and a half he will graduate from the University; consequently in the near future we may expect that he will marry. The best of all the non^apotheeary means for the treatment of neurasthenia is hydrotherapy, and in proportion as the patient is young and the condition of the internal organs and that of nutrition is good, and the more the nervous disturbances have the character of nervous depression, the more applicable is cool or cold water ; on the contrary, if the patient is older, and the apprehensions excited by the condition of this or that inter- nal organ are great, while the condition of nutrition is bad and the more the nervous disturbances have the character of excite- ment, — mental (total insomnia, anxious mental state) and physical (hypereesthesia, pains and spasmodic attacks of nausea and palpitation, hampered and quickened respiration), — the more applicable is warm water. I usually devote two lectures, at the end of the year, to clinical balneotherapy — to balneothera- py for the practical physician, and I will discuss then the subject in a more detailed manner ; but what I have already said is sufficient to show, that for x)ur patient cool (and later cold) water is more suitable than warm water. One of the best, if hot the best, way of applying cold water to patients of quite strong constitution, as in the case of our patient, is in the form of fan-like douches under high pressure, applied over the whole surface of the body, except the head, on which a cold compress is placed. The diar- rhoea did not permit until now of the employment of these douches, and we therefore, out of the non-apothecary means, used only general massage and electricity. General massage is by far not as reliable in the treatment of neurasthenia, as hydrotherapy is : for cases of neurasthenia of the nature of excitement, with hysteroid symptoms, massage is as unsuitable as it is in pure hysteria, and sometimes simply impos- sible of application, for instance, in cases with considerable hyper- sesthesia. But in our patient, in view of the fact, that the symp- — 147 toms bearing the character of depression prevail, that the hypersesthesia is insignificant, either by its intensity, or by the extent of the affected area, in view of the chillines of the patient and the trifling amount of physical exercise prescribed for him, and consequently partly to replace this last, we resorted to general massage, and, as we said before, the results have justi- fied our expectations. Electricity, particularly static and galvanic, is shown from ex- perience to be beneficial in neurasthenia, but not alwaj's so. We cannot give any precise mdications for its employment : ex- perience decides as to whether it is beneficial or not, and as to which form is to be employed — static or galvanic (either one or the other) ; we have tried the static, and as it proved to exert a good effect on the nervous disturbances from which our patient suffers, we did not change it. At present, when the diarrha?a has ceased, the intestinal pains have finally cUsappeared and the abdomen became free from pain, we will leave off massage and electricity and will use the dou- ches, m the beginnmg at 28°i?. (about 97°^.) and later at a lower temperature. The chief apothecary remedies used in neurasthenia are silver nitrate, arsenic and iron. The last is suitable in cases of neu- rasthenia with a strongly pronounced ansemia, which is more frequently seen in women than in men. For our patient iron is not only not indicated, as he has no symptoms of aneemia, but is rather contraindicated, as it may easily impair the appe- tite and cause constipation, from which the patient is alreadv suffermg. Arsenic is suitable for cases of neurasthenia in which the patient's appetite is poor and his nutrition has failed greatly ; our patient's appetite, although changeable, is never- theless most of the time good, his nutrition suffered but little, while the recently ceased diarrhoea constitutes a contraindication to the employment of arsenic, as this last causes a diarrhoea so easily. Silver nitrate is particularly beneficial in those cases of neurasthenia in which the morbid phenomena of the nature of depression prevail, as in our patient ; it too tends somewhat to costiveness, but not at all to the extent and frequency, as is the case with iron, nor does it impair the appetite in the least. It — 148 — therefore becomes apparent to you why we employed silver ni- trate. Is it always necessary to employ two or more remedial agents in neurasthenia, as we do in the present case — silver nitrate and hydrotherapy? Certamly not always : for cases of moder- ately developed and recent neurasthenia in robust young men it is sufticent — especially in summer, when a prolonged stay out-of-doors is possible — to observe the hygiene and hydrothe- rapy, for example, in the form of river, or still better, sea-bath- ing. The neurasthenia in our patient is quite severe and of long- standing, the season of the year now is the beginning of winter ; besides, the patient contemplates returning soon to his own home, where he will not be able to be benefited by the use of such strong fan-like douches and under high pressure, as he has in our clmic, but will replace them by a hand-douche from a pump, acting certainly much weaker ; this was the reason for our prescribing for the patient hydrotherapy and silver nitrate at one and the same time. If the above-named remedial agencies, very good though they be for neurasthenia, will not act with sufficient rapidity — which is very possible in the given case of such obstinate neurasthenia, — and will not with sufficient rapidity remove certain particu- larly burdensome morbid phenomena, dependent on neurasthenia and in their turn prolonging it, principally the poor sleep, then we will order symptomatically bromides (15 grains of sodium bromide m case of insomnia), until the prmcipal treatment, hydrotherapy and silver nitrate, which we may call radical, will securely remove also the insomnia together with the other symptoms of neurasthenia. The bromide preparations, some of the best, if not the best, somnifacient agencies, are particularly indicated in the given case also by the gloomy and worrying men- tal state as well as by the morbidly excited sexual sphere (lascivi- ousness and a tendency to pollutions). I must also observe, that the bromides, as any other symptomatic and palliative means, must be ordered with extreme caution, just in quantities required by the necessity of the case. The abuse of symptom- atic and palliative remedies is the true sign of a poor physician, who is either unable to comprehend the case and to order the — 149 — radical treatment, or, what is more frequent, who is rather annoyed at the necessity of fulfilling this, his duty. The cardiac phenomena, since the patient's apprehensions about his heart had been allayed and he generallj^ feels better, have become so quiet, that they require no particular treatment. The diarrhoea has disappeared, and there remain only some trifling dyspeptic phenomena, at times slight heaviness and belching, and some constipation. Of the treatment of the con- stipation next time. LECTURE OF NOVEMBER 28, 1889. Before discussmg the treatment of the gastro-intestinal dis- turbances in neurasthenics, let us see whether there is only one variety of gastric nervous . dyspepsia, and whether this variety is always to be met m the form we see it in our patient. The theoretical attempts to create various, very numerous forms of nervous dyspepsia, basing their classification upon the as- sumed heightened or lowered activity of the gastric nerves — sensory, motor, and secretory, — have all failed ; but practice has proved the existence of at least two varieties of nervous dyspepsia : one, the most frequent, such as seen in the present case (its prmcipal symptoms — a feeling of heavmess after a meal and belching), observed in neurasthenia with the character of depression ; the other, less frequent, of which the chief symp- toms consist of severe pains in the region of the stomach (car- dialgia and gastralgia proper), followed by tormenting, very sour belching and nausea, accompanied frequently by contem- poraneous attacks of severe migraine. This variety is usually seen in neurasthenia with the character of excitement. The treatment and partly the diet differ in either of the varieties of nervous dyspepsia. When ordering a diet for nervous dyspepsia, we must be guided, as has already been explamed in discussing our first case, besides the general physiological and dietetic considerations, also by the mdividuality of the given case. Generally speak- ing, for cases of pure nervous dyspepsia, uncomplicated by any — 150 — otlier disease of the stomach, the " delicate " food given for gastric catarrh is unsuitable ; rather, on the contrary, we must order food which is more prone to excite a sufficient excretion of the gastric juice • however, m cases of the above-named sec- ond variety of nervous dyspepsia, careful observation in the administration of such food becomes necessary. In tliis last variety there is quite probably an increased secretion of the gas- tric juice or, at least, of the hydrochloric acid contained in it ; and a still greater excitation of this secretion will brmg about an aggravation of the heartburn and sour belching, as well as of the pains in the stomach and of the sour vomiting. More- over, while directing the neurasthenic patients to eat, though not as frequently nor as little at a time, as we advise patients with gastric catarrh, but still not very much at a time, so as not to overeat, we must bear in mind that the neurasthenic patients are just the ones who are liable to fall into the other extreme of not eating sufficiently, of starving, and thus prolong- ing, through an msufficiency in the nutrition of the nervous sys- tem, their neurasthenia. In prescribing the diet we must also consider the constipation, from which the neurasthenic usually suffers, especially in the beginning ; later on there is superadded a catarrh of the large intestine and there appear intermittently both diarrhoea and constipation ; and to counteract the costive- ness we must vary the food and prescribe, as far as possible, such food to which the patient is not habituated : for instance, in patients who habitually drink tea and no water, costiveness is frequently removed by drinking two to three half glassfuls of water, one half glass in the morning on an empty stomach and in the course of the day, one or two hours before a meal ; in others the same effect is produced by replacing the morning tea with weak coif ee with milk and with chicory ; in others again by the use of raw milk or of curdled milk, but without taking at the same time of any other food and particularly of bread ; by the employment of vegetables, (as, for instance, a half or a full glass of carrot juice in the morning on an empty stomach), of berries and fruits, eaten not together with the other food, but taken on the previously more or less emptied stomach. The treatment of gastric nervous dyspepsia and constipation — 151 — begins naturally with the treatment of the general neurasthenic condition. Then the same noyi^apotJiecary agencies are applied also to the digestive organs. For the variety of dyspepsia seen in our patient, the above-described douches are suitable (in these the douche on the abdomen is allowed to play for a somewhat longer time than on the other portions of the body), also ab- dondnal massage, as well as the uiduced and interrupted gal- vanic current applied directly to the abdomen. In the other variety of nervous dyspepsia, accompanied hy gastric pains and acid vomiting, these means may tend to aggravate the mor- bid condition, and we therefore employ warm baths, static elec- tricity (" the bath " and the " fan " to the region of the stomach) and the constant galvanic current (one electrode over the stom- ach, the other on one or the other side of the neck, at the region of the vagus and the great sympathetic nerves). If with the nervous dyspepsia there is also abdominal suffer- ing, causing attacks of pain and sensitiveness of the affected organs (for instance, liver and kidney colic, acute or subacute catarrh of the biliary and urinary tracts, as well as of the stom- ach and intestines), then only warm baths are suitable and probably also franklinization ; douches, massage, the induced and the interrupted galvanic current will onl}^ tend to aggravate the condition of such patients (and at times even to a danger- ous extent, as douches and massage by causing hsematuria and acute exacerbation of pyelitis). Silver nitrate is apparently suitable in an equal degree to either variety of nervous dyspepsia. Bitters, and particularly nux vomica, are beneficial in the variety of neurasthenia seen in our patient, but are unsuitable where there is pyrosis and severe belching, gastric pains and acid vomitmg, as they aggravate these symptoms, evidently by creating a still greater excitation of the secretion of the gastric juice or at least of its hydrochloric acid. It was thus in the second case discussed by us (vide p. 122). In such patients, if there be at the same time a gastric catarrh, requiring the use of an alkaline mineral water, for instance of Ems, this last must be given after a meal, say' in about an hour ; it is then borne well (probably because the secretions of the gastric juice caused by it is used up for digestion), whereas, if _. 152 — given one hour before a meal it tends to call out pyrosis, acid belching and even pain in the stomach. At times the constipation is rapidly put a stop to by the radi- cal, above-outlined method of treating general and gastro-intesti- nal neurasthenia ; but at other times it is slow in disappearing and we then must resort to temporary means, to clysters, and, much less frequently, to laxatives ; but we first of all insist upon, that the patient respond promptly to the inclmation to stool. I have spoken elsewhere of the prmoipal mdications for the regular employment of clysters. I will add here, that it is usually sufficient to make a clyster of two to three glasses of water of the temperature of 20°i?. (about 79°i^.). The best time to employ a clyster is in the morning, after the first meal (especially after the coffee) and before beginnmg one's usual work, which may weaken the already lessened mclination to stool. Havmg put in the clyster, some would do better to at once re- spond to the consequent inclmation to stool, while for others it is better to resist for a few minutes : experience will teach in which case one or the other advice is more beneficial. The ap- prehension to become habituated to clysters is without any ground, if we employ at the same time all the therapeutic and hygienic measures for curmg the general and the gastro-mtestinal neurasthenia. In case the clysters do not sufficiently empty the intestines, then, until the radical treatment of the constipation has not done its work completely, resort must be had to the employment of laxatives. In view of the great number of laxatives recom- mended, I consider it necessary to enumerate those that have proved themselves preferable over others, in my experience. 1. Magnemi usta — burnt magnesia — a light laxative. 2, Po- tassium tartrate — much stronger. 3. Sodium sulphate ( Grlau- hers salt), still stronger (it is best to administer this with the addition of some sodium bicarbonate, or in some alkaline mm- eral water, otherwise it may cause intestinal pains and unneces- sary looseness of the bowels. 4. Poivdered rhubarb — either by itself or, m case of pyrosis, in conjmiction with half its quantity of burnt magnesia ; it acts moderately, but effectually. 5. Aloe is probably the best laxative because of the reliability of its action. — 153 — which, besides, approaches normal laxation ; nor does one become habituated to its use for a long time ; (the best formula : 5^. — Extr. Rhei comp., extr. aloes aa. 3ss. M. f. 1. a. pilulse 20 v. 30. Consp. lycopodio). 6. Folia sennae — acts well and not strongly in a cold infusion (when hot will rather tend to cause pain), which is readily prepared at home. 7. Infusum sennae salinum (i. e., with the addition of Glauber's salt) is a strongly acting- laxative, especially suitable when a sure and rapid effect is desired, as, for instance, in cases of dangerous cerebral attacks (congestion of the brain threatening apoplexy): it is then given every hour in wineglassful doses (contammg two tablespoon- fuls), till the desired effect is obtamed. 8. Podoioliyllin^ 9. Gas- car a sagrada^ and 10. Cortex rliamnifraugulae are all very useful, if it become necessary to temporarily replace the rhubarb, aloe and the semia leaves, to which the patient became habituated, and which have therefore ceased to be effective. 11. Calomel ; this is probably borne by the gastro-intestmal organs better than all the other laxatives, and is particularly suitable in diseases of the biliary passages and in acute mfectious diseases of the mtes- tinal canal, but it has also its contra-indications. (This will be spoken of in another lecture.) 12. Castor-oil acts effectively, but is unsuitable for frequent use. The doses of the laxa- tive remedies are approximately given by pharmacology : each given case must be individualized, beginning, in case there are no urgently necessary indications, with a small dose. To judge by the course of his health, it will not be necessary to employ the clysters m our patient for a long time, nor will there hardly be any urgency for the administration of laxatives ; but there occur cases, usually in elderly persons whose muscular apparatus is not only in a condition of asthenia, but already in that of atrophy, where there are found at one and the same time morbid conditions of the abdominal and thoracic organs absolutely contra-indicating the employment of hydrotherapy, massage, and of the induced and interrupted galvanic currents, and where the exhaustion of the patient constitutes an obstacle m the way of applymg correct hygiene, as, for mstance, sufficient exercise ; m such cases the business of the physician consists .wholly in the skilful contemporaneous employment of clysters — 154 — and of laxatives, in the dexterous selection and careful inter- changing of these last. In our first analyzed case we had to treat diarrhoea, in the present case, constipation ; either of the patients have, com- paratively speaking, simple cases of diarrhoea and constipation. Quite different is, of course, the treatment of constipation, that intermits with a diarrhoea, in cases of intestinal neurasthenia with, at the same time, a chronic, obstinate catarrh of the large intestme ; this presents a wide field for the systematic employ- ment of clysters, simply evacuatmg and medicated ones — with tannin, bismuth, boric acid, etc. ; different also is the treatment of diarrhoea in acute and chronic infectious diseases of the intes- tinal canal, in stagnation of blood in the portal vein because of hepatic diseases, m the various neuroses, as in Basedow's dis- ease ; different is the treatment of constipation, if along with it there are found other morbid conditions, thoracic, abdominal and cerebral. The general question : " how to treat constipation," or " how to treat diarrhoea " is just as unreasonable as the question " how to treat a cough " : in each given case the ordermg of treat- ment must be preceded by a precise diagnosis. We will now turn to our patient, who is leavmg the clinic to- day, intending to go to his home. For the eleven days which passed smce we saw the patient the last time, he took bitters and silver nitrate in pills (one- twentieth grain twice a day), when necessary he had watery clysters and the daily employment of the fan-like douche under high pressure, in the beginnmg at 20°i?., the last days at 18°^.; on the abdomen the douche played somewhat longer than on the other parts of the body. The patient bore the douches very well : he rapidly warmed himself and felt heartier after the douche. For this period we had to resort to the bromides four times (fifteen grams at bedtime) : he slept sounder after this. Status. — The patient, as you hear, declares hunself much better than what he was formerly ; the appetite is good, the dys- peptic gastric phenomena disappeared, the stool is mostly regu- lar, the clyster is used only at times, the former painful sensations in the abdomen passed away ; the former cardiac attacks hardly — 155 — at all trouble him now ; the physical strength is good (patient began taking out-door walks), but the sleep is not always sound, while mental occupation still causes headache, although not a severe one, and a feeling of fatigue. On the morning of the day before yesterday, the patient, while rising awkwardly from his bed, felt a sudden pain in the right inguinal region. The cause of the pain was shown by mvestigation to be due to a slightly displaced kidney ; after this was pushed back into its place, the pain disappeared. There is no doubt but that the kidney was movable before (before the appearance of pain the patient did nothing that could displace and make movable a kidney that was until now normally im- planted in its place), but it was supported in its place by the intestines, which, on account of the constant constij)ation, were considerably distended with gases. At present, when with the regular evacuation of the bowels, the meteorism passed away (the abdomen is not distended), a trifling cause, such as an awkward movement, was sufficient to displace the now mov- able kidney. However, the displacement is not great and it is quite likely that he will be able to get along without a kid- ney truss, and a belt worn either separately or attached to the mider-dress may suffice. While movmg about, the patient will have to tighten the belt, and when at rest to loosen it, otherwise the constant tightening of the part of the abdomen under the belt will aggravate the constipation. Our advice to the patient : after leavmg the cluiic to take silver nitrate (it apparently does not increase the constipation in our patient) for another month, gradually mcreasing the dose (the first two weeks three pills daily, the next two, four a day, while the last days to reduce by one pill daily) and then continue for another six weeks the fan-like douche from a hand-pump, gradually lowering the temperature to 16°it. ; to resort to potassium bromide as rarely as possible, and when necessary to use a clyster. We have spoken already of the hygienic mstructions. FOURTH CASE, FROM THE LECTURE OF NOVEMBER 24, The patient, of whom we will speak presently, since his admission to our clmic was so exhausted and suffered from such torturing pains, that we could hardly think of transfer- ring him from his ward to the class-room for demonstration. However, not only were all the hospital attendants well informed about his condition and our views concerning it, but almost all of you, while visiting the ward, had the opportunity to see everything that could possibly be demonstrated before a large audience : chiefly the emaciated and cachectic appearance of the patient and the attacks of tormentmg vomiting, from which he suffered ; therefore in view of the interest m the case I will take it up now. The patient, a retired military man, fifty-nme years old, was admitted to our clinic complaining of oppressive pain in the stomach, pyrosis, belchmg of the odor of rotten eggs, of vomitmg and constant, tormenting nausea (which compelled him at times to induce vomiting by irritating the pharynx by tickling), and also of emaciation and debility. AnamneBis and mode of living. — Since his youth patient has lived almost his whole life m the Caucasus, where he frequent- ly suffered from malaria, for which he was treated with quinine. For the last ten years patient was always subject to costiveness, and he frequently experienced after a meal slight heaviness in the stomach and belchmg, that annoyed him but little. For the rest, luitil last summer (1889), our patient, bemg of strong con- stitution and leading a quiet life under favorable conditions, could hardly complain of anything. The chief irregularity in his mode of living consisted m a lack of exercise, constant sittmg, while reading, writing or at times playing cards, in a — 157 — very plentiful table and considerable use of alcohol — two to three wine-glasses of whiskey daily, about two glasses of .local Caucasian wine and tea with cognac. Durmg June the pa- tient passed through the customary attack of malaria, which quickly yielded to quinine, but after this the usual gastric symptoms, heaviness and belching after meals, became aggra- vated and were accompanied by others — pjTosis and nausea ; the constipation became more obstinate. Until the middle of August the patient's condition was bearable enough and he did not resort to treatment. But since then the condition be- came rapidly aggravated : the appetite disappeared, the sensation of heaviness in the stomach gave way to oppressive pain, belch- ing (now malodorous, of rotten eggs) and pyrosis increased; patient began to vomit, the nausea became a torture, and the patient was compelled to intentionally provoke vomiting ; he grew thin and weak. He then called in his physician. The treatment (at first HCl, later the bitters, condurango and nux vomica, and Vichy water m one-half glassful doses tlrree times a day, then gastric lavage) brought but little relief and for a short time : the gastric symptoms kept on growing worse, while his nutrition and strength failed with ever increasing rapidity, till in this condition he was admitted into our clinic. The clinical investigation elicited the following. The ner- vous system in a normal condition (inquiry has failed to estab- lish the existence at any time even of neurasthenia); and so are the organs of respiration. There are signs of arterio-sclerosis ; the arteries are somewhat hard ; there is a slight systolic mui'mur over the sternum and a moderate enlargement of the left ventricle : the heartbeat is felt the clearest in the mammillary line ; the pulse is frequent and somewhat weak ; the temperature of the body is subnormal, and there is extreme emaciation. The urine con- tams some sugar (one per cent) and some albumen. The inquiry failed to elicit any clearly pronounced sj^mptoms of diabetes mellitus, as immoderate thirst and appetite, m the past. By objective examination nothing abnormal is to be noted in the liver, spleen and kidneys. Patient had no syphilis. The digestive organs. — All the above enumerated symptoms, that progressively increased before the patient's admission to the — 158 — clinic, continued to augment rapidly, accompanied by a corre- sponding failing of the strength ; almost from the very first day the patient failed to retain the administered trifimg quantity of food and of medicme, the latter consisting of some Ems water and condurango, tra. valer. eether., and morphine. The food was ejected completely undigested. The ejecta, as proved by repeated exammation, contained, besides the undigested food, very little mucus, very little hydrochloric acid (0.33 per 1,000) and usually some bile ; there was never an}^ blood. The sub- gastric region was slightly distended and somewhat sensitive ; no swelling in the abdomen could anywhere be palpated. Gas- tric lavage done the very first day with a solution of soda, brought but a trifling relief from the gastric symptoms, while lavage on the next day failed even in this. The clyster brought away a small quantity of dry excreta. In speaking of the diagnosis, I will take up only the organs of digestion; on the others I will touch but lightly. The im- portance of abnormal phenomena in the organs of circulation was already alluded to. The constant presence of albumen in the urine (although cylinders are absent) depends, most likely, on the presence of a slight, so-called senile^ interstitial nephritis, that usually accompanies arterio-sclerosis in aged people. The failure in nutrition and strength must certainly be consid- ered as a result of the disease of the digestive organs, and not of diabetes, which never presented any pronounced symptoms, while the percentage of sugar was trifling. We will have time to discuss m detail the importance of the symptoms and diagnosis of arterio-sclerosis, as well as of the nephrites and of diabetes mellitus later on in suitable cases, m which these diseases play the chief role. What disease of the digestive organs is our patient suffermg from ? It is evident from the first that it is a disease of the stomach. Which is it ? Nervous dyspepsia can surely be ex- cluded ; not to speak of the fact, that nervous dyspepsia can hardly ever bring one to the condition in which we find our pa- tient, there is nothmg that would speak for it : neither did the patient ever suffer from general neurasthenia, nor do the gastric symptoms present the important feature of nervous dyspepsia. — 159 — namely, changeability ; on the contrary, they are very con- stant. Does our patient have an ordinary gastric catarrh ? To cause the gastric symptoms to the degree seen in our patient, the catarrhal condition should have been extremely developed, con- sequently there would have been a great accumulation of mu- cus, whereas, on the contrary, there is very little of it. Grastric ulcer may evidently also be excluded, as there are no attacks of acute pain so peculiar to this condition (cardialgia), nor was there any blood m the vomited matter. Our patient has, first of all, atrophic gastric catarrh, an atrophy of the gastric glands ; this is apparent from the fact, that the vomited food is undigested and the quantity of hydro- chloric acid is very much diminished (0.33 per 1,000 instead of the normal 2.00 per 1,000). But atrophic catarrh of the stomach is observed in various diseases, which lead to exhaus- tion, to marasmus of the organism. Which of these diseases is the most probable in this case ? It is cancer, because the pa- tient, who only four or five months ago enjoyed his ordinary, for the last ten years, good health and even a florid nutrition, was reduced m such a short time to extreme marasmus ; of chronic diseases, leading to marasmus, it is the malignant growths which have a particular tendency to such a rapid course. The absence of signs of other chronic diseases, that may bring about a condition of marasmus (as, for instance, inveterate syphilis or tuberculosis, etc.), as well as the patient's age, also speak for cancer. The localization of this, in view of the obsti- nate vomiting, is most likely to be in the pylorus of the stomach (no swelling is anywhere to be palpated), although the almost constant presence of bile in the vomited matter speaks some- what against a difficult passage in this place. Cancer pan- creatis is to be excluded to some extent by the absence of permanent jaundice, which could be expected in a cancer of this organ, of sufficient size to compress the duodenum, on ac- count of the pressure exerted by the cancerous growth on the ductus choledochus (not to mention the possible ascites from pressure of the same swelling on the vena portse). We are generally unable to obtam am^ definite symptoms of a pancre- — 160 — atic cancer, that would result from the mfluences created by a cessation of the functional activity of this organ, nor can we certamly do so in the present case, as everything mtrocluced into the stomach is vomited up. The treatment, in view of the impossibility of introducmg any- thmg mto the stomach and of the rapidl}^ approaching dissolu- tion, could only consist of nutritive enemata (two to three raw eggs with the addition of some water and table salt, the whole contained in a glass and warmed to the temperature of 30°i2.), to which were added some eight drops of laudanum, so that the clyster could be better retained, and a dessertspoonful of cognac as a stimulant ; for the excruciatmgly pamful vomiting we some- times mjected morphine hypodermically (one-eighth grain at a time). Patient died on the thirteenth day after his admission to the clinic. Autojjsy showed : sclerosis of the arteries, among others also of the aorta ; left ventricle dilated, its walls pale and flabby, but presenting at some places traces of hypertrophy ; a moderate nephritis, the liver, spleen and pancreas present no changes ; catarrh and atrophy of almost the whole mucous membrane of the stomach (it is very much thinned out and is perfectly smooth, its surface not presenting that normal mammillary appearance, surface mamelonnee^, the muscular layer of the stomach is also atrophied ; the duodenum is so con- stricted in its lower third, that it hardly admits an ordinary pencil : on the inner surface of the posterior wall of the mtestme in this locality there is a cancerous ulcer the size of a ten cent piece — situated in the cancerous growth of the intestinal wall, this last — the tumor — being the size of a walnut ; the neigh- boring mesenteric glands present a series of cancerous me- tastases. Thus m the four patients demonstrated by me, you had the opportunity to observe, besides a great many other ailments, the prmcipal varieties of diseases of the stomach, namely : pure nervous dyspepsia (m the third case), — a pure chronic gastric — 161 — catarrh (in the first), — simultaneously (in the second), chronic catarrh, ulcer and gastric dilatation, with additional phenomena of nervous dyspepsia, where, however, notwithstandhig- the co-existence of several diseases of the stomach, it was possible to diagnose each of them, — and, finally, an atrophic catarrh of the stomach, and cancer, if not of the pylorus, then of the duo- denum, which is so similar to it m its symptoms. FIFTH CASE. FROM THE LECTURE OF DECEMBER 7, 1890. The patient, a peasant, fifty years old, was admitted to the clinic November 24th, complaining of pain in the epigastric region and in the right hypochondrium, of jaundice, emaciation and general weakness. Anamnesis and mode of living. — Until his twentieth year pa- tient lived in a village, since then in Moscow, in the capacity of a janitor. His lodgings are fair. He bathes himself during summer in the sea, at other seasons of the year takes his bath — a sweat bath — every week. Drinks a great deal of hot tea, a moderate quantity of whiskey during the last year, but used to drink to excess formerly. His food is the ordinary food of a workingman. Until the appearance of the disease he did not fi^nd his occupation fatiguing. Is married and has many children. When nine years old, patient passed through an attack of va- riola; when twenty-one years he had some febrile disease from which he completely recovered, enjoying good health since and until last August. Patient had no syphilis. Last May patient had a severe affliction. Last August there appeared some pains in the epigastric region and in the right hypochondrium, the appetite became impaired, and he grew costive. Three weeks ago — in the beginning of November — there appeared jaundice and the patient grew markedly emaciated and weak. While in the clinic he continued costive (every one or two days he had some dry excreta, not in the least colored by bile), and the abdo- men was somewhat distended. Patient was given, November 30th, seven powders of calomel, each containing one grain (the first five every hour, the last two every two hours) : the stools were a little loose, and only slightly colored by bile, but they — 163 — were not the characteristic calomel stools ; patient was not weakened after this, but neither did he experience any relief (the pains remained as heretofore). Besides calomel the patient took daily (except November 30th) three half-glassfuls of warm Ems water, once or twice (during the exacerbation of the pains) one-quarter grain of codeine, and during the day some four tablespoonfuls of strong wine (the pulse was all the time some- what weak). As the evening temperature rose to 38.5° (101.3° ^.), he was sometimes given quinine (five grains per dose once a day) ; this apparently diminished the febrile condition. Be- sides, he had some warm baths, that tended to relieve somewhat the pains and the itching of the skin. Status. — The patient is of good constitution, but very emaci- ated ; the skin and the sclerotics are severely jaundiced. The appetite is very poor. There are almost no dyspeptic phenom- ena, except some slight heaviness after a meal : he never had, nor has he now any constant and painful belching, pyrosis, nausea or vomiting. The pains in the epigastric region and in the right hypochondrium do not become aggravated after a meal, but do so on pressure on the painful parts. The abdomen is dis- tended. The liver is enlarged and sensitive to pressure, but does not present any palpable unevenness or any protuberance ; the gall-bladder is distended to the size of a considerable swel- ling, but is almost insensitive to pressure. The spleen is some- what enlarged. Patient is constipated : after the calomel he had every other day watery clysters, which brought away a small quantity of uncolored by bile evacuations. The urine is very much jaundiced, contains neither sugar nor albumen. The arteries are slightly stiff, the pulse is frequent and somewhat weak. The organs of respiration present nothing abnormal. Patient, as I said once, is feverish ; his evening temperature ranges between 37.5°i^, (99,5°i^,) and 38,5°i^, (101,3°^,), His sleep is poor, he is at times dizzy ; his skin itches. Diagnosis. — A morbid process, which develops in a man no longer young, approaching old age, but of strong constitution and good health heretofore, — especially if developed after a severe affliction, — and leading the patient to a rapid failure of nutrition and of strength, is usually a cancer (generally a malig- — 164 — nant new formation), less frequentl}' diabetes mellitus. Our patient has neither diabetes nor any other pathological process (except a cancer) which could explain his dangerous condition. Syphilitic gumma, compressing the ductus choledochus, is most certainly out of the question : not only does the patient deny infection, but he presents absolutely no signs of syphilis (besides, his wife had eleven children and not a single abortion). Hy- pertrophic biliary cirrosis and multilocular echmococcus of the liver, which one may be led to suspect in view of the enlarge- ment of the liver and because of the jaundice, are to be excluded, besides other considerations, by their much slower courses ; so that only cancer remains. Which organ is affected by it? It is evidently not the stomach, because there are neither severe, nor in fact any gastric symptoms, and besides it is apparent, that the ductus choledochus is compressed (the evacuations are not in the least colored by bile, there is jaundice, the gall-blad- der is very much distended), and consequently the tumor must be located about it. It is evident that the tumor is most likely to be assumed as lying on the lower surface of the liver (in the porta hepatis), or that it is a cancer of the pancreas. We have already stated in connection with the previous case that we have no reliable symptoms, outside of a localized swellmg, that would indicate a cancer of the pancreas, nor can we detect any such swellmg in our patient. Cancer of the liver is to be ex- cluded — though not absolutely so — by the fact that m the part of the liver accessible to palpation there is observed neither any unevenness, nor any protuberance, and besides, its sensitive- ness is not great and is everywhere equable, and not severer in some places than in others. This sensitiveness and at the same time the enlargement of the liver is fully explamed by the stag- nation of the bile in. this organ and the consequent distention of its capsule. Prognosis — is but too evident. Treatment. — - Notwithstanding the improbability of the pres- ence of such a process in the biliary tract in our patient, on which treatment could produce an effect, we nevertheless at- tempted in the beginning to treat the case by calomel and Ems, but failed to obtain any results. It only remains now to sus- 165 tain the patient's strength and relieve the particular!}^ painful symptoms ; the means for this were spoken of before. FROM THE LECTURE OF JANUARY 18, I89I. The condition of the patient grew continually worse and January 16th he died ; the last two days of his life were marked by a surprismg lowermg of the pulse and strength, and by ex- treme paleness. The autopsy made to-day showed the f olloAving : cancer of the pancreas, that extended by ulceration into the duodenum and caused a severe haemorrhage ; the intestines (except the sigmoid flexure and the rectum) are filled with clots of blood ; the ductus choledochus is very much distended above the seat of pressure, and so are all the other biliary ducts, as well as the gall-bladder (this last to the size of an ostrich egg^. SIXTH CASE. LECTURE OF OCTOBER 25, 1889. The patient, a peasant, twenty-nine years old, was admitted to the clinic October 20th, complaining of jaundice, weakness and pains all over the abdomen, but particularly in the right hypochondrium ; he claims, that he took sick one week before his admission here. Anamnesis and mode of living. — Patient comes from a healthy family ; until his twentieth year he lived m a village, then served in the militia, and for the last two years, as a member of the reserve army, he made Moscow his place of residence. His lodgmgs are fair; the water-closet cold. While m Moscow, he does not bathe in the river (bathed formerly and felt very good) ; goes frequently to the public bath-house ; drinks a great deal of hot tea ; is subject to sweating. Twice a week drinks some three wineglassfuls of whiskey. Order of his meals : in the morn- ing tea with bread, later dinner, and supper. His board is good (fish on fast days), but patient is very much occupied — he supervises the forwarding of goods and accompanies the wagons packed with them — so that he frequently takes his dinner not at home, nor m time, eating whatever he may get hold of (as sausages, salted fish, etc.) ; nor does he sleep enough on account of his occupations. For the last two years patient had a great deal of worr}^ partly on account of the very responsible nature of his occupation, partly on account of some family troubles. Patient is single, had no venereal affections. With such data on hand, we certainly could not rely on the patient's statement, m reply to the first question, that until the present illness he had never been sick. As a matter of fact, the inquiry about the patient's condition, about the functional activities of his organism immediately before the present illness. — 167 — has elicited the fact, that although his appetite, digestion, urm- ation, respiration and circulation were perfectly normal, still the patient while residing in Moscow, in better rooms and eating better food than formerly, lost flesh and his hale and hearty mental state, became impressionable and irritable ("began to take things too seriously to heart ") ; besides, since October 1st, or some two weeks previous to the present illness, he began to experience, most frequently while riding on the street pavement (as he often rode in a wagon while forwarding the goods), some pain in the right hypochondrium (patient pointed directly to the region of the gall-bladder). October the 13th patient had eaten some fat soup of the flesh of white sturgeon, and the same day, having remained for a long time out of doors, he became verj- much chilled; in the evening he felt pain at the pit of the stomach and weakness. The next day the pain grew worse, and the appetite tecame im- paired ; on the third day the white of the eyes became yellow. October 16th patient took some very salt and fat cabbage soup made of kidney, and after this drank some cold beer. There appeared on the same day severe pains around the umbilicus and an attack of diarrhoea, which continued into the next day. October 18th the pains around the umbilicus diminished and the diarrhoea ceased, but the pains in the right hypochondrium grew worse and the urine became dark. October 20th the patient entered our clinic. For the last few days the patient excreted daily small quantities of dry fetid evacuations entirely uncolored b}^ bile. October 21st the patient was given seven grains of calomel (in powder, one grain every hour) : patient had good loose stools the 21st and the 2 2d, copious and characteristic calomel dark-green evacuations, after which the pains around umbilicus completely disappeared, and those in the right hjrpochondrium were relieved, the urine became clearer, the heaviness in the head was relieved, and the appetite returned. The 23d the patient was given one-half glass of warm natural Karlsbad water (Miihlbrunnen sprmg), one hour before dinner, and the 2 2d two half-glassfuls, one an hour before dinner, the other an hour before supper. — 168 — Yesterday, the 24th, the patient had a severe attack of pain, lasting from five to seven p. M., in the right hypochon- drium and under the right scapula, and at the same time the temperature, which was normal until then, rose to 38.5° R. (101.3° #.). ^to^its. _ The temperature is as yet 37.6°i2. (99.7°i^.), but the patient, as you may hear, claims to feel much better now than he did before admission. The appetite is very good, but he is given as yet but little to eat. Dyspeptic phenomena are absent ; a clyster, administered yesterday, brought away a sufficient quantity of evacuations markedly colored by bile. The urine is much more limpid, than it was before, but ex- amination shows, that it contains still some biliary pigment and the biliary acids, but neither albumen nor sugar. The abdomen (protected smce his admission by flannel) is sensitive only in the region of the gall-bladder, and is not distended. The liver is somewhat enlarged, the gall-bladder does not permit of palpation. Nothing abnormal found in the region of the spleen and of the kidneys. The organs of respiration and of circulation are in a normal condition. Patient's sleep is generally better, than it was before admission, but still it is not perfectly normal, partly on account of the abdominal pains, and partly — in the absence of these last — simply because of the msomnia caused by worrying about his illness. We alluded in the anamnesis to the somewhat gloomy and irritable mental state of the patient. Biagiiosis. — Outside the light nervous sjanptoms, — of the significance of which we have spoken already in connection with the discussion of neurasthenia in the first and third cases, — we observe in the patient at present only symptoms of an affection of the biliary tract, namely : jaundice, sensitiveness on pressure and pains in the region of the gall-bladder, usually not severe, but at times very severe and acute, in the form of clearly definable attacks. For a week before the patient's admission to the clinic he suffered from gastro-intestinal disturbances (loss of appetite, intestinal pains and diarrhoea), which passed away rapidly in the course of two days. Up to that time the appetite and digestion were perfectly normal, and after that the — 169 — appetite returned quickly, the dyspeptic phenomena disap- peared, the intestinal pains passed away and there are, properly speaking, no intestinal symptoms : if the patient is costive and if his evacuations are not bile-colored, it is to be ascribed to the small quantity of food and the damming back of the bile ; that is, to the affection of the biliary tracts, which proves itself to be a more obstuiate morbid condition, than the rapidly disappearing gastro-intestinal disturbances. It were therefore erroneous to consider the present case as one of a gastro- intestinal catarrh, that spread into the biliary tracts : the above-mentioned quickly passing away gastro-intestinal dis- turbances could hardly originate from any more or less firmly established gastro-intestinal catarrh ; while the affection of the biliary tracts, I must say again, proves itself to be very firmly established. Besides, its symptoms, as pains in the region of the gall-bladder, appeared even two weeks previously to the before mentioned gastro-intestinal disturbances, at a time when both the appetite and the digestion were as yet perfectly normal. It is evident that the disease of the biliary tract existed before the appearance of the enumerated gastro-in- testinal disturbances and only became aggravated after them. What disease then of the biliary passages does our patient suffer from? Guided by your knowledge of the special pathology of the internal organs and by what I said of biliaiy calculi in connection with the first case discussed by us, you have probably concluded, by this time, that our patient is suf- fering with calculi m the gall-bladder, and you are not in error : our patient is really suffering from this disease, which, although not completely developed, presents, nevertheless, all its charac- teristic symptoms ; — a disease of great importance, because of its frequent occurrence and because it is so easily cured by a correct treatment and regimen (hygiene), while otherwise it may ruin one's health and become dangerous. I consider it, therefore, necessary to stop here to discuss the importance of its symptoms, its diagnosis and therapy. What is the formation of gall-stones due to ? All are agreed on one point, namely, that it is promoted by the sluggish pas- sage of the bile along the biliary tracts. This fact explains the — 170 — frequency of biliary calculi in women (the wearing of a narrow corset and pregnancies limit the movements of the diaphragm, which assist in propelling the bile along its passages and its entrance into the intestines) and in men of sedentary habits of life (m these also the movements of the diaphragm are hmdered, and are neither as free, nor as extensive as in men leading a lively, physically active mode of life). It was further assumed that the cause of the formation of biliary calculi is to be found in the secretion of a bile of an altered, as compared with the normal, character ; but exact investigations failed to substantiate this assumption. It is more probable, as supposed at the present time, that biliary calculi are formed within the normally secreted bile, through the influence of causes which emanate from the intestinal canal and which call forth a precipitation of the cholesterin, of the biliary pigments and of the lime salts — the chief component bodies of biliary calculi. According to some, these causes (it is most likely assumed, that it is the microbes, so abundant and various in the intestinal canal) call forth a catarrhal condition of the gall- ducts and of the gall-bladder, which impedes the passage of the bile and which, through its products, occasions the alterations in this fluid, and the formation within it of the above-named precipitates ; while others assert that these causes are directly responsible for the changes produced in the bile and its pre- cipitates. All these assumptions require further investigation and verification. The clinical facts coincide in so far with these suppositions, that they substantiate the frequency of the co-existence at one and the same time of gall-stones and of a catarrhal con- dition of the biliary passages (it must in this connection be kept in mind, that the irritation of these last by the calculi may also lead to a consequent catarrh of the same) : constant ten- derness, and at times direct sensitiveness on pressure in the region of the gall-bladder, and frequent jaundice are the charac- teristic symptoms of biliary calculi. But as the peculiarly characteristic symptoms of this disease are to be considered attacks of biliary colic accompanied by sharp, at times excru- ciatmg pain, which develops rapidly, and which disappears — 171 — after a certain period of time just as rapidly. I will not stop here to describe an attack of colic : that you know well from your study of special pathology. The attacks of biliary colic are considered as due to neuralgia of the hepatic plexus, probably in conjunction with a contemporaneous tonic spasm of the gall-bladder. It is assumed that these attacks are caused by the passage of the calculi through the narrow por- tions of the biliary tracts, which occasions, as a consequence, an irritation of these last; but as we shall see later, this is hardly always the case. I said just now, that as the most characteristic symptoms of biliary calculi are considered the attacks of biliary colic ; but it would be very erroneous to thmk that their absence would speak against the presence of biliary calcuK. On the contrary, we very frequently come across cases of this disease which do not present attacks of sharp pain, i. e. of biliary colic, but in which a constantly present pain of only moderate severity in the region of the gall-bladder is observed, of which the patient complams himself, or which may be elicited only on investigation by pressure. Sometimes, in these cases, in their further course, we observe also the appearance of attacks of biliary colic, at other times we do not. These cases yield to the usual treatment of bili- ary calculi, as do cases characterized by attacks of liver-colic. It may be stated, that if we consider the attacks of biliary colic as the most characteristic symptom of biliary calculi, then we may say that the most frequent, and the most constant symptom of this disease, is a constantly present pam in the region of the gall-bladder, aggravated by pressure. It appears, then, that our patient has unmistakable symptoms of biliary calculi and of a catarrh of the biliary ducts. Even now there is some pain in the region of the gall-bladder, ag- gravated on pressure, while on his admission it was much more severe. He had yesterday quite an acute attack of biliary colic, and slight attacks, as seen from the anamnesis, made their appearance since the beginning of October. While the jaundice, which developed in connection with the trifling and rapidly disappearing gastro-intestinal disturbance (it pre- sented on the patient's admission a complete failure of the — 172 — bile to enter the intestine), proves the fact, that, up to the time this disturbance made its appearance, there was a catarrhal condition of the biliary ducts, severe enough to become exacer- bated from a trifling cause. Some consider it necessary for the diagnosis of gall-stones to search for passed calculi in the evacuations. I consider such a search an idle task for practical purposes. In the great ma- jority of cases, to which may be referred the present one, the diagnosis is easy, and does not present any difficulties. In the rare cases of a difficult diagnosis, the detection of calculi in the excreta is, firstly, of such casual occurrence, and fails so frequoiitiy, that it can not be relied upon, and, secondly, even when successful, it is of but small assistance in the matter. Let us touch upon these, generally quite interesting, cases of difficult diagnostication. It is at times necessary to decide as to what the patient suffers from — biliary calculi or cancer of the liver. We usually have to do in such cases with very emaciated patients, who present a slight jaundice and who have severe pains in the region of the liver (which is also sensitive on pressure, especially at the seat of the gall-bladder), but without any pronounced objective symptoms of cancer of that organ. A search is made for the stones in the evacuations, and, let us assume, it is successful — the stones are found ; but will this fact exclude a contemporaneous affection by a cancer (patients who suf- fer for a prolonged period with gall-stones become quite frequently victims of cancer of that organ) ? And to settle the fact of the presence or absence of this last is usually the most important diagnostic task in such cases. It is not the detection of calculi in the excreta, but the careful objective examination and attentive analysis of the patient's past and present conditions, of the course of the disease, — ^at times it is the success or failure of the treatment, — that clear up the diagnosis in these cases. We further meet patients with symptoms which excite a suspicion of both gall-stones and of disease of the stomach, usually of an ulcer (less frequently of cancer) about the py- lorus : such patients have attacks of severe pains, with vomit- — 173 — ing (but without the characteristic icteric phenomena and without blood in the vomited matter) and tenderness on pres- sure to the right of the middle abdominal line, between the umbilicus and the costal edge, at a seat corresponding at times to the gall-bladder and at other times to the gastric pylorus. Here also, even if the search for gall-stones be successful, the question, as to whether there is not also with the biliary calculi a gastric ulcer, remains unanswered; here also the diagnosis is cleared up by the aid of the same procedure as in the foregomg case (least of all, however, by the results of the treatment, that may be similar in both diseases). As regards the objective ex- amination in such cases, I will say, that if the pain is felt distmctly by pressure on the mentioned region in the direction upward, toward the right hypochondrium, it points to sensitive- ness of the gall-bladder, but if the pain is felt in the direction downward and inward (to the umbilicus), then it is sensitive- ness of the gastric pylorus. Finally, while speaking of cases in which the diagnosis of biliary calculi is made with difficulty, I must mention the difference between them and the attacks of neuralgia of the hepatic plexus caused by them (i. e. of attacks of biliary colic) and attacks of pure neuralgia of the plexus. We first of all ask whether there is such a thing as a pure neuralgia of this last? Some assume that there is : thus the well-known clinician, and the author of a capital work on diseases of the liver, Frerichs, described a case of biliary colic, for which re- peated treatment at Karlsbad failed, while a strengthening and anti-nervine treatment was successful, and he considers this case as one of pure neuralgia of the hepatic plexus (hepa- talgia). But Frerichs' case is, in my opinion, not convincing, chiefly because the anti-nervine treatment in the case was preceded by the repeated treatment at Karlsbad : it is probable that this last removed the biliary calculi, while the attacks remained, having become an independent hepatalgia, which in its turn yielded later on to the anti-nervine treatment. An example of this we see in the neuralgia of the facial nerve, caused by aching teeth, which persists (though not always, but at times for a long period) after these are cured or ex- — 174: — tractecL I have not met with cases which could be considered as presenting a genuine and withal primary, idiopathic hepa- talgia, but I have frequently seen such in which the period of undoubted symptoms of gall-stones, during which the usual treatment was available (calomel and mineral waters), was followed by one in which the attacks of biliar}^ colic continued, although somewhat weaker, and only yielded to treatment directed towards strengthening the condition of the nervous system (and local treatment to the region of the gall-bladder with static and galvanic electricity). It is likely that the cal- culi in these cases have already disappeared and there remained only an independently established biliary colic in the form, con- sequently, of a hepatalgia not of a primary, but of a secondary origm, consequent upon the formerly present calculi. The diagnostic difficulties for me consisted not in my inability to make up a decision, as to whether the biliary colic in the given case presented symptoms of gall-stones, or whether it was a primary genuine hepatalgia, but in deciding as to the period of the disease, whether there are as yet present biliary calculi to be treated accordingly, or whether the attacks of biliary colic presented an established neuralgia, which was to be treated as such. It is not always easy to decide on this point, and a conclusion can be reached through a careful analysis of the condition of the patient, the course of the disease and the results of the preceding treatment ; but at times only fresh therapeutic attempts decide the matter. The present case, as I said already, does not belong to those in which a diagnosis is difficult. In view of the so distinctly prominent data in the sphere of biliar}^ tracts and the slight nervous symptoms in our patient, pure hepatalgia is positively to be excluded, as well as ulcer of the stomach, m view of the condition of the digestion, and finally also, cancer of any organ, in view of the patient's youth and physical strength as well as on account of the rapid improvement in his condition. Again, there are cases in which the diagnosis, properl}^ speak- ing, is easy, but the physician — certainly if negligent — may commit an error. The fact is, that patients suffering from biliary calculi, who do not have any attacks of biliary colic, but — 175 — only a constant pain in the region of the gall-bladder, complain frequently of pain in "the pit of the stomach," without dis- tinctly designatmg the seat of pain, which is so easily done in view of the vicmity of the gall-bladder to the " pit of the stomach." The physician, yielding to the first impression, mvestigates, makes pressure only ia the region of the stomach, asks the patient about it, receives in reply that the pain is aggravated, and concludes that the patient has a gastric catarrh ; whereas a careful mvestigation, i. e. such as would also include the neigh- boring organs, would show in such cases the seat of the max- imum sensitiveness in the region of the gall-bladder. There may certainly be present at one and the same time both biliary calculi and a gastric catarrh, but hi such a case we must find a complete summary of the symptoms of both diseases. In speaking of the diagnosis, we must say a few words con- cerning yesterday's attack of biliary colic. The patient felt very much relieved by the action of calomel : the sensitiveness on pressure in the region of the gall-bladder has considerably diminished since then and remains so at the present time. But he had another attack of colic yesterday. What could have caused this ? The usual causes, which call out such attacks, — as traumata (as we saw in our patient when it resulted from riding in a jolting wagon over the pavement), mental disturbances, dietetic errors, and colds — were all absent in the clinic. We can only say this much, that such attacks are frequently observed at the beginning of the treatment of biliary calculi with Karlsbad (or generally with any alkaline) water, which fact, however, prevents in no way its further curative action.* The above-mentioned attack was accom- panied by a slight febrile condition — a not infrequent phe- nomenon : in my article on calomel I have described a case of * A similar plienomenon is observed in the treatment of renal gravel by mineral waters, namely, the attacks of renal colic appear or become aggravated at the beginning of the treatment; so that in either case, that is, in the treatment of either biliary calculi or of renal gravel by min- eral waters, it is advantageous to warn the patient of the possibility of such an initial aggravation of the attacks. — 176 — gall-stones, in which the attacks of biliary colic were almost always accompanied by a febrile condition. Prognosis is favorable : the disease is curable ; but the stability of recovery and the absence of recurring attacks depend on the patient's will and ability to fulfil all the re- quirements of hygiene and therapy. Treatment. — The patient was at first given calomel, which pro- duced such a considerable and usual improvement in these cases.* We then prescribed the warm alkaline and slightly lax- ative mineral water (Karlsbad Miihlbrunnen). Why did we prescribe it? Surely not because we were guided by theoretical considerations, which change m accord with the changes in the views concerning the formation of gall-stones : thus, when the cause of these last was supposed to be found in the altera- tions of the secreted bile, then the eifect of alkaline mineral waters was attributed to the influence on the secretion of bile, to the fact, that by the aid of the alkaline, the secretion of the bile becomes more abundant and more fluid (this was evidently also substantiated by experimental mvestigation), and it was consequently thought that it would thus tend to dissolve and remove the stones ; at the present time, when the chief cause of the formation of biliary calculi is considered to be due to alterations m the already secreted but sluggishly (stagna- tory) passing bile on account of the catarrhal condition of the biliary tracts, the beneficent influence of the mineral alkaline waters on the gall-stones is chiefly ascribed to their action on this catarrhal condition. There is perhaps to an extent some truth in either of the views, but the chief guide for the employ- ment of mineral alkaline waters in gall-stones are not all these as- sumptions, but the facts that practice has proved the utility of the employment of these waters for this disease and has taught the method of employing them. Why did we prescribe Karlsbad water, and no other alka- line water, as Ems, Marienbad, Vichy and Yessentucki? I had occasion to go into particular explanations regarding the selec- * The indications for calomel for biliary stones liave been fully discussed by me in my article on calomel, and to avoid repetitions, I must refer the reader to it. — 177 — tion of mineral waters ; I would therefore, for the sake of a short explanation of the present case, say but a few words. If the patient were subject to diarrhoea, we would give him Ems ; but as he is slightly costive, he was given Karlsbad. As a strongl}^ laxative water Marienbad is not indicated in this case, and being a cold water and rich in carbonic acid, it would tend to aggra- vate the pains, and is consequently contra-indicated. If the he- patic colic and the gall-stones would play but a subordmate part m our case, and the principal trouble would consist in renal colic and renal uric-acid-gravel, while the patient himself would present unmistakable symptoms of gout (arthritis urica), then we would prescribe Vichy, Yessentucki (warmed), etc. The patient declares, that as he apprehends the loss of his occupation, he would like to leave the clmic as soon as possible ; we will therefore prescribe for him a somewhat larger dose of Karlsbad than what is usually admmistered during the cold sea- son of the year with constant coniinement within the house : thus, the day before yesterday our patient drank one half-glass- ful of the above-named water, yesterday he had two half-glass- fuls ; we will prescribe to-day three, and from to-morrow he will take four half-glassfuls, two doses one hour before the early (mid-day) dinner, in the interval of one-quarter of an hour one from the other, and the other two one hour before supper (7 P.M.) in the same order. The gradual increase in the quantity of the mineral water, beginning with one half-glassful per day, is in- dicated in the present case by the fact, that first the patient had recently a diarrhoea, and secondly, he had only lately loose stool from calomel : four half-glassfuls of Mlililbrunnen from the very first day would have caused a diarrhcjea, which is far from being- desirable. Besides the Miihlbrunnen we shall order for the our patient a warm bath, which we are likely to repeat, as a very beneficial agency in pains caused by biliary calculi and by catarrhal jaundice. In case the patient has another attack of biliary col- ic, he will get one or two doses of one-fourth of a graui of codeine, which, to judge by yesterday's attack, is sufiicient to subdue the pain (in very acute attacks a resort to morphine be- comes necessary). The patient, as I said before, is somewhat — 178 — nervous and subject to sleeplessness : he will be given at times a few drops of the sether-valeriana preparation (the more so, as the pulse becomes weak at times), and at bedtime, to overcome the sleeplessness, daily doses of fifteen grains of potassium bromide. FROM THE LECTURE OF OCTOBER 27, 1889. Status. — There were no attacks of biliary colic, the temper- ature is normal, there is improvement all around. The former treatment will be continued. FROM THE LECTURE OF NOVEMBER 15. Status. — The patient, as you hear, declares that he is com- pletely cured. As a matter of fact, his appetite and digestion are normal (stool for the last few days without a clyster), the jaundice disappeared, attacks of biliary colic are absent, there is neither pain, nor tenderness on pressure in the region of the gall-bladder, the sleep is sound (he was given the bromide only during one week), and the mental condition is hale (we found it necessary to give him only two warm baths, while for the few last days he was given cool spongings 20° JR.. (about 11° F.'), with a mixture of water and brandy, which exerted a beneficial influence on his nervous system). Until to-day, patient drank of Miihlbrunnen four half-glasses daily ; to-day we will give him only two haK-glassfuls, because his affairs require that he leave the clinic to-morrow. The patient was made to understand that onl}^ the visible symp- toms of his disease had disappeared, that time would show how lasting his recovery would be, and that to avoid the return of the morbid attacks, he must beware of irregularities in his mode of living, which we discovered by our investigation (his sojourn in our clinic has served as a good hygienic schooling for our pa- tient). We told him that it may very likely become necessary to resort to repeated treatment by Miihlbrunnen, and that this treatment must be postponed till the warm season of the year, (i. e. so as to avoid at least until then a return of the morbid — 179 — attacks), when he would be able to undergo treatment by mui- eral waters, without being compelled, at least altogether, to give up his occupation. I do not advise our patient to drink any Miihlbrunnen at home, first, because at the present season of the year, with his occupa- tion out-of-doors, it would subject him to a risk ; and secondly, because the drmking for twenty-four days of the Miihlbrunnen, which he finishes to-day, may perhaps suffice ; already for the last ten days there is no jaundice, nor any pain in the region of the gall-bladder, while no attack of biliary colic took place since the one of which we spoke October 25th. In other cases it is frequently necessary to prolong the course of treatment with mineral waters for six weeks. Further than that I usually do not continue the treatment with mineral waters, but make an interruption, and if necessary, repeat it ; I do this because, fii'st, a more prolonged, uninterrupted employment of mineral waters may exert a deleterious influence on nutrition and digestion, and secondl}^, to enable me to clearly define the results obtamed by the treatment. If, during this necessary interruption the patient be sulf ering with pains in the region of the gall-bladder, I then prescribe ether, — ten, fifteen or twenty drops three times a day (exercise special care, so as to administer the smallest dose to men already advanced in age, who may have a hyper- trophy of the heart, or in whom it is generally easily excitable), or, for men with good digestion, ether (§j) and oleum tereben- thinse rectificatum (3j) in the above-named dose. These reme- dies (the remedy of Durande consists, properly speaking, of one part of oleum tereb. and four parts of ether) are sometimes un- doubtedly effective. But ordinarily I contmue the treatment of gall-stones until all their symptoms have disappeared (and even somewhat be- yond that time) ; chiefly not the attacks of biliary colic (which appear so vaguely, that they can hardly serve as a guide), but the constant pains and sensitiveness on pressure at the seat of the gall-bladder. It is always a most reliable way to be guided by these last symptoms ; the attacks of biliary colic, however, cease usually before the disappearance of the above-named con- stant pains and of the sensitiveness on pressure. — 180 — While discontinuing the treatment, as per above-named indi- cations, I am far from assummg that the gall-stones have been "cured," removed, or are absent: we frequently observe cases, where the above enumerated symptoms have disappeared, and the patient feels absolutely no pain in the region of the gall- bladder, no attacks of biliary colic have taken place for a very long time, and the patient leads a faultless hygienic life, when all at once, through an accidental cause (most frequently follow- ing strong mental excitement) an acute attack of biliary colic breaks out unexpectedly, showing the presence as yet of one or many stones in the bladder. It is true such cases are very rare ; ordinarily the return of the attacks of biliary colic is preceded by a return of a constant, although slight, pain and sensitiveness on pressure in the region of the gall-bladder, that reminds us of the necessity for a repetition of the treatment and usually of the necessity for a stricter observance of hygienic rules. But, I re- peat again, the treatment must be conducted only till the disap- pearance (and somewhat longer) of the above-named symptoms. To continue treatment until " the stones have completely disap- peared," is unreasonable (not to speak of the possible danger from a too prolonged treatment), because, what can guide us in pro- longing the treatment, and for how long a period can we do it? Then there is no necessity for it : experience shows, that with the observance of hygiene, with regularity in all the functional activities of the organism, calculi may remain in the bladder without giving rise to any morbid phenomena ; but if the hygienic rules be neglected and there be superadded gastro-intes- tinal, nervous and other disturbances, then even the complete removal of the stones (if such be successfully accomplished) will be of no avail, as others will be formed again. I alluded once already to the fact, that on the return of the symptoms at the seat of the gall-bladder it is necessary, in order to anticipate an attack of biliary colic, to repeat the treatment with mineral water. Sodium salycilate and olive oil, recommended recently for the treatment of biliary calculi, do not, in my opinion, deserve any consideration. The present case does not present sufficient cause for the — 181 — discussion of the operative treatment of biliary calculi, which is at times (to be sure, in conjunction with correct therapy and regimen, in very rare cases) the sole means for the relief of the unbearable sufferings or even the means of saving the patient's life. SEVENTH CASE, LECTURE OF MARCH 24, 1892. The patient, a private of the reserve army, complains of jaun- dice, enlargement of the abdomen, oedema of the legs, a febrile condition and general weakness. Mode of living and anamnesis. — Patient lives in a healthy, non- malarial locality (a village) of the Vladimir Government. The residence is an ordmary peasant's house, the stable serves as a water-closet. Used to bathe durmg summer until the appear- ance of his sickness. Takes a hot bath every week. Smokes some and is a moderate tea-drmker, but drinks daily a goodly quantity of whiskey and at times considerable of it. His board is good. He is single. Denies syphilitic infection, and investi- gation substantiates this denial. In view of his sickness he has had no occupation lately, but served in the army formerly. Patient comes from a healthy family. He began drinking whiskey when eighteen years old and suffered since then with burning and belching after meals. Entered the military service in his twenty-first year (served as an artillery man in Warsaw), when he was compelled to abstain from drmking, and noticed that both the burning and the belching disappeared ; but in June 1891, he seems to have passed through an attack of typhus (during six weeks he had suffered from high fever, debility and unconsciousness), after which, at the end of July, he was given a leave of absence " to recover his health." He began drinking while at home, when there soon reappeared belching, burning and pams in the stomach, especially after a cold drink and rough food. By the end of September there appeared the jaun- dice, and at the same time the gastric symptoms became aggra- vated, especially the pains, which were this time accompanied by vomiting. The patient left off' drinkuig, became more care- — 183 — ful witli his food, and took some Karlsbad salts and some pow- ders (apparently containing rhubarb) ; by the middle of Novem- ber the pains and dyspeptic phenomena were relieved and the jaundice, as he claims, disappeared. Patient again took to drinking, and again there appeared jaundice, pains and vomiting (now of daily occurrence), and also a slight febrile condition, enlargement of the abdomen, cedema of the legs and general weakness. Patient entered our clinic the first time December 6th, with the following most important data (besides those above enumerated) : the liver is very much enlarged, firm, smooth (edge sharp), not tender to pressure, nor is the region of the gall-bladder sensitive ; the faeces are but slightly colored by bile, the urine is very much jaundiced, contains neither albu- men nor sugar ; the spleen is slightly enlarged, there is moder- ate ascites ; the heart is somewhat raised by the high position of the diaphragm, its tones are clear, the pulse is weak ; the or- gans of respiration and the nervous system are m a normal con- dition. The patient was prescribed a diet, Ems, the bitters (extr. condurango fl. and tra. nux vom.) and stimulating drops (tra. valer. aether, and liqu. anod. Hoff. aa) ; the vomiting ceased, and the dyspeptic phenomena were relieved. December 11th he was given ten powders of calomel aa gr. j, after which he had abundant loose characteristic calomel stools, followed by almost normally colored evacuations, while the urine became more limpid and the febrile condition passed away. After the calomel we continued the former treatment (Ems, bitters and stimulants), but December 20th, the pa- tient, before the termination of the laid-out plan of treatment, left our clinic, considerably improved however : the jaundice and the dyspeptic phenomena have almost completely passed away, as well as the oedema of the legs, the ascites diminished, and his strength began to return. After leaving the clinic the patient again took to drinking and began eating indiscrimi- nately, but this notwithstanding he felt comfortably well until the middle of February. Since then his condition grew rapidly worse : there appeared considerable jaundice, almost daily vom- iting and diarrhoea (three to four very fluid, painless stools per day), the abdomen enlarged rapidly, the legs became oedematous, — 184 — there appeared a febrile condition with daily chills, weakness and later on haemorrhage from the nose and gums, and hemera- lopia. He was again admitted to our clmic March loth. Since admission patient has been taking all the time remedies to strengthen the heart's action (wine, tra. valer. aether. + liqu. Anodyn. Hoffm., twenty-five drops four times a day, and fre- quently caffeinum natro-salycil., five grains three times a day), and December 17th he was given five one-gram powders of calomel with good effect. The febrile condition, which reached in the evenings 40.2° (104.5 ^.), diminished after the admin- istration of the calomel and later disappeared altogether, so that it was entirely absent these last three days ; but to-day he had again a slight chill. The urine became more limpid after the calomel, while the evacuations are tolerably colored and became less frequent and more solid (twice a day). The dyspeptic phenomena passed away. The pulse and general condition of the patient became better, but the ascites is on the increase. Status. — A slight appetite appeared. With the disappearance of the fever the thirst diminished and the dryness of the tongue passed away. The gums are spongy and bleed. The pain in the stomach, the vomiting and the other dyspeptic phenomena passed away. The stools are as above. The urine is less jaundiced, than it was on the patient's admission, contains neither albumen nor sug-ar, its quantity amounts to 1,500 c. c. There are no pains in the abdomen, the ascites is very consider- able, the superficial abdominal veins appear very much dis- tended. The ascites does not permit of palpating the liver and the spleen at present, but on his admission investigation showed, that the liver was very much enlarged (its free edge is some four fiugers' width below the normal), but otherwise m the same condition as it was during the patient's first sojourn in the hospital ; it is also perfectly msensitive to pressure (and so is the region of the gall-bladder), although the spleen emerges one and one-half to two fingers' width from under the edges of the ribs (patient never had malaria), it is firm and also insen- sitive. The heart is raised by the high position of the dia- phragm, but it is not enlarged ; at both the apex and the base there is a perceptible systolic murmur of equal intensity. — 185 — Pulse 112, regular, stronger than it was on his admission, but still somewhat weak. There is no pam in the chest : d.js23n(t!a on moving about (when at rest, respiration 30 per minute), a slight cough with a trifling amount of mucous expectoration; auscultation elicits some dry rales here aiid there ; the voice is very hoarse (laryngoscopic examination shows a catarrhal con- dition of the vocal cords). Patient is very thin and weak. We alluded above to the febrile condition ; with its disappear- ance the sleep became better, while the formerly occurrmg (in the evening during the increase of the fever) headaches have almost completely disappeared. Movement gives rise to dizzi- ness. The consciousness is clear, but the memory has weakened somewhat durmg the last half-year. The mental condition is oppressed. There is hemeralopia. Hearing is normal. No pains in the back, arms and legs. The legs up to the knees are considerably (jedematous. Severe jaundice: the sclerotics and the visible mucous membranes are colored yellow, the skin brown-yellow. ' Diagnosis. — The dyspeptic phenomena as well as the pains in the stomach, which appeared with such regularity while the patient was drinking and committing dietetic errors, and which passed away as soon as the patient gave up drinking and exercised due care in his food and which so rapidly yielded to the treatment by Ems water and bitters durmg the first sojourn of the patient m the clinic, point undoubtedly to a catarrh of the stomach. Caused at the beginnmg by excesses in drinking whiskey and by dietetic errors, this sickness is now perpetuated by the so markedly appa- rent impediment in the circulation of the vena portse due to the disease of the liver. The diarrhcjea, too, is chiefly to be ascribed to this impediment m the circulation : the trifling admixture of mucus in the evacuation points only to an msignificant intesti- nal catarrh, while the evacuations, although mfrequent, are abun- dant, watery and entirely miaccompanied by pains (m a catarrh, on the contrary, they would rather be frequent, not so abundant, rather more of a mucous than of a liquid nature, and to a great- er or lesser extent accompanied by pains). The urinary organs, outside of the presence of biliary elements in the urine are healthy. Except for the pains in the stomach, which were ac- — 186 — companied by vomiting and which disappeared now, the abdo- men is entirely painless and has always been so ; in view of this we must consider the great ascites in our patient as a result of the impeded circulation of the vena portse, which fact is also substantiated by the considerable distention of the subcutaneous abdominal veins, by the above-named diarrhoea and by the en- largement and thickening of the spleen. This last condition cannot be referred to anything else : the patient never suffered with malaria, while there is no sufficient reason to ascribe this enlargement to the results of an (assumed) former typhus ; such an enlargement and thickening of the spleen is rather unusual after typhus. The sharply pronounced symptoms speak clearly for an affection of the liver and of the biliary passages, but this we shall discuss at the end, after we will have analyzed the condition of the other parts of the organ- ism. The catarrhal condition of the pharynx, larynx and the slight bronchial catarrh, so usually seen in drinkers, requires no special explanations. The cause of the displacement of the heart upward is clear. The weakness of the pulse and the sys- tolic murmur may depend partly on the displacement of the heart, partly on trophic changes in the cardiac muscle (which it would be so natural to find in a patient, who passed but recent- ly through a severe febrile affection, and who, this is most im- portant, has so ruined his health in general, and particularly his nutrition, by drinking) and partly on account of some distur- bance of the mnervation of the heart caused by chol?emia, the presence in the blood of biliary elements, because the patient presents already unmistakable signs of the presence of cholsemic phenomena — bleeding of the gums and hemeralopia. There is not the slightest foundation for considermg the sys- tolic murmur as a symjDtom of affection of a cardiac orifice or of a corresponding valve, first because the most important proof of the existence of such an affection^ a resultmg enlargement of the heart — is absent, and secondly because m December, during the patient's first sojourn in the clinic, the tones of the heart were clear, there were no murmurs, although the principal morbid phenomena in our patient (the abdominal) were already at that time in evidence, though to a slighter degree. The — 187 — frequency of the pulse is due to the same causes, and also un- doubtedly to the febrile condition. The oedema of the legs is kept up by the weakness of the pulse, but it certainly depends principally on the pressure of the fluid (which accumulated m the peritoneal cavity and distended the abdomen), exerted on the inferior vena cava and the great veins of the abdominal cavi- ty terminating in it. We can find no other causes for the feb- rile condition outside of disease of the liver and of the biliary passages. After all that was said, we hardly need to stop here for the explanation of the nervous symptoms. What disease of the liver does our patient have? I must first of all observe, that cases of hepatic diseases, in which the diagnosis is directly apparent by the collection of the symptoms, are less frequently seen, than such which for their diagnostica- tion require a resort to differential diagnosis ; as an example of the first class, we may instance a case in which a large, painless liver with undoubted fluctuation at some point on its surface in conjunction with a complete absence of any other morbid data either m the liver itself, or in the rest of the organism, points at once to an echinococcus cyst of this organ, or when an enlarged, tuberous and extremely sensitive liver in a cachectic patient, who is apparently free from syphilis, speaks for cancer or gener- ally for a malignant new formation in this organ. Our present case belongs to the second class of cases, and we will therefore apply to it the above-named method of differential diagnosis. It is evident that the sum total of the symptoms in our patient can not be ascribed to either hypersemia of the liver, or to fatty degeneration of this organ. Amyloid degeneration of the liver is to be excluded by the considerable ascites, by the phenomena of icterus and the absence of albuminuria, which could be expected as a symptom of a contemporaneous amyloid affection of the kidneys, if we admit such an advanced amyloid degeneration in our patient as would be necessary to assume in order to explain the great enlargement of the liver as well as of the spleen. Syphilis of the liver could give rise to the symp- toms observed in our patient (with the addition, however, of pains in the hepatic region, which usually accompany syj)hilis of this organ, but which were and are now absent in the present — 188 — case) ; but this is not onl}^ to be excluded by the fact that the patient, not by any means a man of deceitful nature, denies syphilitic infection, but chiefly by the fact, that neither the an- amnesis nor the present history give the least clue as to its pres- ence. Against cancer of the liver speak the patient's youth, the absence of roughness, and complete insensitiveness of this organ, as well as the repeated improvement (and even disappearance) of the phenomena of icterus and the parallel cessation of the feb- rile condition after the employment of calomel, which could not be thought of, were they conditioned by cancer of the liver, Echinococcus cyst could not give rise to the symptoms ob- served in our patient, not to mention the fact of the absence of any symptoms of this affection (fluctuation). Multilocular echinococcus, which emigrated into the biliary passages and caused the chronic jaundice, differs from the present case in this, that it occasions a very pronounced alteration in the shape of the liver (the right lobe is particularly enlarged), that it takes a more chronic course, is usually unaccompanied by as- cites, and especially of such magnitude, but principally by the fact, that a diminution, the more so the disappearance, of the icte- rous symptoms caused by it, is never effected by the employ- ment of calomel. There remams, therefore, that disease of the liver, which, in view of the etiology of the given case — abuse of alcohol in conjunction with an assumed attack of typhus — would first of all suggest itself, namely cirrhosis of the liver, as a result of an interstitial inflammation of the organ (hepatitis interstitialis). Our knowledge of the cirrhoses of the liver is far from being- perfect. The pathologo-histological data concerning these af- fections are interpreted in various ways. As based on these, some assume the following cirrhoses : vevious, in which the inter- stitial inflammation begins from the branches of the vena portse ; biliary, in which it progresses from the small biliary passages, and the mixed, when the disease advances contemporaneously from both the venous and the biliary branches ; others again as- sume that there is only one kmd of cirrhosis, that the interstitial inflammation of the liver involves at the same time both the branches of the vena portye and the biliary ducts and that it — 189 — only predominates to a greater extent in one case around the first, in the other case around the second, but that eventually it spreads everywhere. The clinic proves the following : there are, iirst, cases of cirrhosis, which present only results of im- peded venous circulation in the liver (as ascites, enlarged spleen, diarrhoea, intestinal as well as gastric haemorrhages) without an arrest in the flow of bile ; second — cases, in which, on the contrary, the last condition is observed, without any disturbance of the circulation of the portal vein ; and third, - — such, where both classes of symptoms are to be seen. It appears then, that the clinical data are in greater accord with the first of the above-named views, which was first promulgated by the French investigators Charcot, Hanot and others ; the second one is defended by the Germans. It is also from an etiological point of view more probable, that m some cases the exciting agencies of the inflammation reach the liver through the blood vessels, in others through the biliary ducts (from the intestinal canal) and in others agam contemporaneously through both tracts. The fact, that the interstitial inflammation, originating at one point, for in- stance at the biliary ducts, and accompanied at the beginning only by signs of an arrested flow of bile, may later on spread also over the circumference of the system of the vena portse and give rise to phenomena of disturbed circulation in this last, can surely not serve as a proof that the process com- menced everywhere at one and the same time. I will also say that in cases of cirrhosis accompanied by disturbances of the portal venous circulation, the liver is sometimes very much diminished in size (the cirrhosis first described by Laennec, called by his name), at other times it is greatly enlarged. Some think that such an enlargement takes place only at the beginnmg, and that later on it is followed by a diminution m size, and that if this decrease does not take place, it is to be ascribed to the fact that the exhausted patient does not last long enough for this process to develop. As a matter of fact, it has been proved by various investi- gations that the liver, enlarged at the beginning, undergoes a process of shrinkmg later on. But we much more frequently — 190 — meet cases, in which the liver remains enlarged up to the patient's death, although the patient may live long enough, even longer, than those with a small liver, and we cannot therefore assert, that such an enlarged liver always undergoes diminution later on. The pathologo-histological investigations fail as yet to clearly elucidate this point. Thus the clinic presents the following forms of cirrhosis : 1. Venotis, or cirrhosis accompanied by the phenomena of dis- turbed venous portal circulation, in which the liver is either extremely dimmished in size (Lcennec or atroijldc cirrhosis^ or very much enlarged (hypertrojjliic venous cirrhosis, by which we mean a hypertrophy of the connective tissue of the liver, while its glandular element, the hepatic cells, are always af- fected in cirrhosis). 2. Hypertroijhic biliary cirrhosis, accom- panied by phenomena indicating the retention of the bile, and 3. Mixed cirrhosis, with symptoms of both. What form of cirrhosis does our patient suffer from? The first impression of the case, the jaundice and the ascites would suggest a mixed cirrhosis ; but a further investigation will lead us to another conclusion. As evident from the anamnesis, there appeared repeatedly in our patient after a drinkmg debauch and a faulty diet, an attack of jaundice contemporaneously with pronounced signs of a severe gastric catarrh (dyspepsia, pains, vomiting), while a corrected diet and treatment caused their disappearance at one and the same time, so that it (the jaundice) undoubtedly depends on a catarrhal condition of the great biliary passages. It is true, that this last, being present for a long time or recurring frequently, may also spread over to the small biliary ducts and thus give rise to inflannnation of the connective tissue around them, i. e. it may bring about a condition of biliary cirrhosis, but the investigation of the given case speaks against the presence of this last, for the jaundice has so rapidly yielded to the regimen and treatment, and particularly to the calomel, which it usually fails to do in biliary cirrhosis (the phenomena of impeded flow of bile in this yield to successful treatment much slower). Consequently our patient has venous cirrhosis and of the hypertrophic form at that (the liver is much enlarged) and at the same time also catarrh of the biliary passages, cho- — 191 — langitis catarrhalis. There are no symptoms of biliary calculi. The febrile condition of the patient, which accompanied the jaundice and disappeared with it at the previous, as well as at the present, sojourn of the patient in the clinic, seems evidently to be due to the just mentioned cholangitis. Treatment. — In view of the discussions conducted m the pre- vious lectures, it is, of course, superfluous for me here to enter into particular explanations regarding the use of calomel, of Ems, the bitters and the stimulating drops durmg the patient's first sojourn in the clinic, as well as of calomel and the stimu- lants (together with the diuretics, as wine, the above-named drops and the caffeme) employed at the present time. After the calomel the high temperature fell rapidly, and for the last few days the patient had no fever at all; at the same time there took place a pronounced and considerable dimmu- tion of the icterous phenomena and the dyspepsia disappeared. Thanks to the effect of the stimulants the pulse became stronger, but the quantity of urine was not perceptibly in- creased, while the most threatening symptom — the ascites, so distressing to the patient, causing such a disturbance of the breathing and of circulation — became more aggravated, so that in the near future we shall have to resort to operative evac- uation of the peritoneal cavity. We will agam administer to-day to our patient some calomel, as he again had a slight chill and the jaundice has not passed away ; we may also expect a diu- retic effect from the calomel. We will, of course, continue the wine, the above-named drops and the caffeine in increased doses. The other diuretics, as potassium acetate and the strong ones (as adonis vernalis, squilla, etc.) are unsuitable for the present case on account of the diarrhoea (after the calomel the patient's bowels move better, not worse). However, the irresistibly advancing ascites can hardly encourage us to hope for a considerable effect of the diuretics, and the performance of paracentesis abdominis is inevitable. Prognosis. — A fully developed venous cirrhosis of the liver, hypertrophic and atrophic, is incurable in the present condition of therapy ; not one of the tried remedies, among them also the iodine preparations, realized oui' expectations : the rarely ob- — 192 — served cases of effective action of these last remedies are very likely due to the fact, that these cases present a mixed cirrhosis, from alcohol and syphilis. Given a relatively favorable condi- tion of the other organs and good surrounding circumstances, we may succeed in prolonging the patient's life by keeping in good order the digestion, circulation and the secretion of urine and by operative evacuation, at times, of the peritoneal cavity. The greatly disturbed condition of our patient's health gives us but small encouragement for considerably prolonging his life. FROM THE LECTURE OF MARCH 27, 1892. After the second administration of calomel there was no fever, the secretions are sufficiently colored, the biliary pigment disappeared from the urine and the sclerotic became clear, but the ascites progresses further and it becomes necessary to tap the abdomen to-day. The further history of the disease. — March 27th we obtained by tapping 2500 c.c. of limpid, lemon-colored fluid of a purely transudative character; this afforded the patient considerable relief. Since April 1st patient became delirious (the delirium simulates delirium potatorum). At the entreaties of his parents patient left the clinic, April 4th, for his home. At the end of the month he again returned to Moscow and was examined by the clinical assistant under whose care he was formerly : the delirium disappeared, there is not a trace of jaundice (the hemeralopia and the systolic murmur disap- peared) ; there is enormous ascites and oedema of the legs ; by tapping 3000 c.c. were drawn ; investigation showed that the liver is just as enlarged and solid as it was during the patient's sojourn in the clinic. Patient went home, returned to Moscow at the beginning of June again with an enormous ascites and oedema of the legs. Again 2500 c.c. were drawn, he was given sodium iodide (20-50 gr.) and six glasses of milk per day : the result of this treatment in two weeks amounted to absolutely nothing, and the accumulated ascites again necessitated tapping, by which 3000 c.c. were drawn. Patient has gone home and we have lost track of him smce. EIGHTH CASE. FROM THE LECTURE OF DECEMBER I, 1889, The patient, a peasant eighteen years old, complains of pam in the right hypochondrium, of jaundice of one and one-half years' duration and of general weakness. Mode of living and anamnesis. — P'or the last ten years pa- tient has Lived constantly without intermission in Moscow (formerly lived in a village), all the time in damp and cold rooms (usually m a basement) ; does not bathe in the river, takes a weekly steam-bath. His board is tolerably good. Has been addicted to drinking whiskey for the last two years. His oc- cupation is that of a shoemaker, he works from morning till evening, and, except holidays, is seldom out-of-doors. Patient enjoyed good health until two years ago. Since then, as I said before, he began to drmk whiskey ; six months after this he began to feel pain in the right side and soon after there appeared jaundice, which is severely aggravated at the present time. The pain in the right side is of a double nature : it is either constant and bearable, or at times very acute, lasting- three to four hours. The attacks of this last pain became more frequent and more acute in the course of time, and have been accompanied of late by vomiting (evidently attacks of biliary colic). Patient grew thin and weak and was admitted to our clinic November 27th ; he was never treated before. He denies syphilitic infection and presents no signs of it. Status. — Patient is of fair constitution; there is very con- siderable emaciation and jaundice of the skm and of the sclerse. The appetite is good ; patient digests daily about three-fourths of a pound of meat, one-half pound of bread, two eggs and two plates of soup, without the least dyspeptic signs, and even begs for more food. He is somewhat constipated: the — 194 — evacuations are diy, fetid and apparently not at all colored 'by bile. The urine contains a moderate quantity of biliary pigment, but neither sugar nor albumen ; to judge by the absence of color in the secretions, pointing to a failure of the bile to pass mto the intestines, we should expect a darker dis- coloration of the urine (an mdication that the glandular ele- ments of the liver, the hepatic cells, are already affected and hindered in their activity). The spleen is normal. The liver is enlarged, more solid than normally, but of regular outlines and smooth, and very sensitive to pressure. The organs of respiration and circulation, as well as the nervous system, present nothing abnormal : the sleep is good. Fever absent. Diagnosis. — It is evident, that our patient has biliary calculi and a severe catarrh of the biliaiy passages, — cholangitis catar- rhalis, — to which must be ascribed the pains, the failure of the bile to pass mto the mtestines, its retention in the liver (this again caused the enlargement of the organ and probably an im- pediment also of its bile-formative function and through this of its other activities by compressing the hepatic cells) and gen- eral jamidice. But is this all? Is there no further affection of the liver, and if so, what is its nature? The etiology, the course of the disease and the condition at present show, that such a further affection could be an interstitial inflammation around the minute biliary ducts of the liver, that is, a develop- ment of a hypertrophic biliary cirrhosis (I shall not review the differential diagnosis applied in the former case). We can neither deny nor affirm the presence of such a cirrhosis in tbis case ; on one hand the disease has lasted for a time long enough for a cii'rhosis to develop ; but on the other hand it may safely be assumed that the observed symptoms were caused by cholangitis and biliary calculi. We shall wait for further observations. We must also wait with our prognosis, the more so as it always depends not only on the diagnosis (even if clearly defined), but also on the degree of success of the treatment. We cannot, however, deny the fact, that in view of the patient's youth, his good constitution and the healthy condition of his other organs (outside of the liver), as well as because the — 195 — patient did not subject himself to any treatment, his future jjrospects are favorable. Treatment. — We will iirst prescribe calomel in a slightly laxative dose, without inducing a diarrhcea ; later on we may employ a mineral water, namely Karlsbad, as the patient is inclined to be costive ; in the former case, with a tendency to diarrhrea and weakness on the part of the patient. Ems was prescribed. We will also order for the patient one or probably more warm baths. FROM THE LECTURE OF DECEMBER 12, 1889. Status. — December 3d, 4th and 5th patient took four one- grain powders of calomel daily with the best of results : the 6th. 7th and 8th, he had, once a day, sufficient, soft, normally colored stools. The 9th we again observed that the evacuations were poorly colored, and he was therefore given, the day before yesterday and yesterday, four powders of calomel. The effect was again good, but there ajjpeared slight salivation, which we combat with the usual means of rinsing his mouth with potas- sium chlorate and pamting the gums with tra. gallarum; out- side of this, the patient's condition is entirely satisfactory : the appetite is normal, the dyspepsia disappeared, the circulation, respiration and the nervous system are in good order, he feels much stronger ; the urine contams almost no biliary pigment, the acute pains in the region of the liver have almost passed away, the liver itself is almost insensitive, but it has diminished, though markedly, not much so, which circumstance speaks for the presence of a cirrhosis, though of small extent. We will certamly give no calomel to-day, but from to-mor- row on he shall take Karlsbad ; later on, in case of necessity, we will again resort to calomel. The further Jiistory of the disease. — Patient drank four half- glassfuls of Karlsbad water daily until January 2d, when he left the clinic ; we did not administer calomel any more. By the time he left not only were the evacuations all the time entirely colored and the urine always limpid, containing no biliary pigment, but the general jaundice had almost disap- — 196 — peared, the patient gained eleven pounds in weight (he 'weighed 121 pounds on admission, his weight when he left was 132 pounds), and gathered strength; the liver is entirely msensitive to pressure, but it remained of a rather more en- larged size than it would be normally. At our insistent advice patient gave up drinking, and about six months later he appeared before our clinical assistant in the same satisfactory condition, as he enjoyed when leaving our clinic. Thus the dxth case presents biliary calculi and cholangitis, the sevew^A — hypertrophic venous cirrhosis and cholangitis, the eighth — hi\idi,v J calculi, cholangitis and a slight hypertrophic biliary cirrhosis. In my article on calomel the reader will find not only a fully characteristic, but also a very severe case of hypertrophic biliary cirrhosis, which however, terminated favor- ably. NINTH CASE. FROM THE LECTURE OF NOVEMBER 16, 1890. The patient, a peasant twenty-nine years old, was admitted to the clinic a week ago, complaming that the abdomen " swells up," and that he is weak ; he added, that he was once before taken care of in the hospital, where he was told, that his disease is called echinococcus of the liver. Mode of living and anamnesis. — -During the last year, on account of his illness, patient has been liviug m a village of the Ryazan Government, in a healthy locality ; formerly he lived alternately in both Moscow and in the village, under the ordinary conditions of life of a peasant and of a workingman. While in the country his occupations are those of a peasant; in the city he is a joiner. He drank but little whiskey. He is married and has several children ; his wife never aborted. Patient comes from a healthy family and until the last four years enjoyed good health. Four years ago he began to notice a swelling in the right hypochondrium, which was painless, but kept constantly growing, until he was finally so much hindered in his occupation and movements, that three years ago he entered the hospital, where they performed an oper- ation, drew the fluid and told him (he has a distinct recol- lection of the name) that his disease was called echino- coccus of the liver. He remained in the hospital for seven months and left without a trace of the former swelling. The next year and a half he enjoyed good health; but about a year ago he again observed a swelling in the right hypochon- drium, somewhat painful at that time, which also began to grow in size and interfered with his work ; at the same time patient began to grow thin and weak. Two weeks ago the swelling suddenly diminished, and almost disappeared, but at the — 198 — same time tlie abdomen began to swell rapidly, it l)ecame pain- ful and there appeared chills, fever and diarrhoea; he had some ten liquid stools daily ; in the course of two days the fever and the diarrhcea passed, and soon the abdominal pains quieted down, but the abdomen began to increase m size ; the patient then came to Moscow and entered our clmic. Status at the day of admission. — The appetite is good, but the patient eats little at a time ; otherwise he feels uncomfortable, as respiration grows difficult. Outside of this there are no dyspep- tic phenomena; stools regular. The quantity of urine is 1100 c. c, containing neither albumen nor sugar. Tliere is a pro- nounced ascites of considerable size (distinct fluctuation) : the circumference of the abdomen at the level of the umbilicus is 98 c. m., the distance between the anterior superior spine of the ileum and the umbilicus is 28 c. m. The tension of the stretched abdominal walls does not permit of palpatmg the liver. There are neither pains nor sensitiveness on pressure m the ab- domen. The diaphragm is very much raised. There is dysp- noea on moving around, breathing while in a state of rest is 26 ; pulse 76, regular, but weak ; outside of this there is nothing ab- normal in the organs of respiration and cu-culation, as well as in the nervous system, except that the sleep is not sound on ac- count of the large size of the abdomen, which hinders motion and freedom of abdominal breathing. Fever absent. The pa- tient, as I said before, has grown weak and thm. He denies syphilitic infection, nor are there any indications of it. The patient was placed amidst normal conditions of life, the abdomen was protected bj' flannel, and he was given internally potassium acetate as a diuretic, and six to eight tablespoonfuls of port wine per day. Status to-day. — Patient feels somewhat better : his breathmg became freer, his strength mcreases, and the sleep is also better ; the dimensions of the abdomen do not present any marked decrease ; the quantity of urine has almost doubled (2000 c. c). Diagnosis. — It is evident, that within the last year there agam formed ui our patient an echinococcus bladder, which burst into the peritoneal cavity, and probably, at the same time, also — 199 — into the intestines. The absence of severe pains and of fever for the time — one year — the disease lasted speaks agamst its being an abscess of the liver : the pains were very trifling, while there was no fever at all ; the appetite remained always good, but the patient could not eat as much as he desired, in view of the pres- sure exerted by the enlarged liver on the stomach, and he there- fore grew thin and weak. Tlie emptying of the contents of the echinococcus bladder into the peritoneal cavity caused a slight peritonitis, which soon passed, but it produced ascites. Treatment. — Accumulations m the peritoneal cavity do not in the majority of cases yield to internal treatment, but require operative interference — either radical, or, in case of impossi- bility, palliative, namely, the drawing off of the fluid. Fortu- nately m the present — very rare — case, the condition is more favorable. The phenomena of peritonitis were so trifling (the pains were not of an acute character, there was no vomiting, the fever was slight), and passed away so rapidly, that we hope for a favorable, hardly at all changed condition of the perito- neum, and consequently may expect a possible absorption of the accumulated fluid. That part of the liver, which escaped the invasion of the echmococcus, performs its functions normally, as evidenced by the regular digestion and the fact, that the in- testinal evacuations are well colored by the bile ; consequently we may hope for a sufliciently free circulation in the liver, and therefore also in the portal system. The appetite is good, the stomach, intestines, kidneys and the other organs are healthy. All these circumstances encourage us to hope for the possible absorption of the fluid accumulated in the peritoneal cavity ; it would therefore be erroneous to resort at once to the operation, befo're first attempting internal remedies. Having surrounded our patient by correct hygienic conditions, we prescribed a diuretic to encourage the absorption of the accu- mulated fluid. Sudorific treatment, as, for example, warm baths, pilocarpine, would tend to weaken the heart's action and would thus, instead of encoiiraging absorption, rather add to the accu- mulation ; not to speak of the fact, that in the patient's condi- tion, with his difficultly performed respiration and circulation, such treatment would become dangerous ; while treatment by — 200 — the aid of laxatives would tend to disturb digestion and nutri- tion, thus aggravating, mstead of improving, the patient's con- dition. In prescribing the diuretic treatment, we aimed at the two principal agencies of urinary secretion — the heart and the kidneys : for the first we gave the wine, as the patient's pulse was weak, for the second potassium acetate (strong diuretics, as adonis vernalis, squilla, etc., would disturb digestion, and weaken the patient), half a drachm per day, thus: IJ. — Potas. acetatis 3j, aquse petroselini jvj, for two days, in tablespoonful doses ; this was given during four days, after which it was stopped for two days. The condition of the patient is apparently improving, and the plan of treatment will therefore remain as heretofore ; but as the dose of the potassium acetate — 3ss. for a whole day — is rather small, and the patient bears it well, we will increase the dose to one drachm per day: I^. — Pot. acetatis 3ij, aquae petro- selini jij, for two days, in tablespoonful doses. As before, we will interrupt the administration of the drug after four days for two days : thus the power of digestion will more certainly be preserved in a good condition, nor will there be formed a habit for the drug, which would bring on a weakened effect of this last on the patient. FROM THE LECTURE OF DECEMBER 12, 1590. Status. — Patient declares that he feels entirely well. As a matter of fact, his appetite is good, digestion regular, the quantity of urine 2000 (it even reached 3000), the spleen is normal, the abdomen is of normal dimensions, its circum- ference is 72.5 cm., the distance from the superior spine of the ileum to the umbilicus is 15 cm., the diaphragm is at its normal position, there are no traces of any former accumula- tion, the respiration, circulation and the nervous system are in a normal condition, the patient became stout and quite strong. The liver is entirely insensitive and is markedly enlarged in its left lobe ; nothing abnormal to be noted in the right one. Echinococcus bladders are most frequently found — 201 — in the right lobe of the liver: limited functional activity of this portion of the organ may bring on an increase in the func- tional activity and hypertrophy of the left lobe. The patient was told of the possible failure of a fresh forma- tion of the swellmg, but in case of its reappearance he is to apply at once for medical aid. TENTH CASE. FEBRUARY, 1890. The patient is thirty-three years old and was admitted to our clinic February 3, 1890, complainmg of pams in the right side and of difficulty in breathing. 3Iode of living and anamnesis. — Patient is a resident of Moscow, inhabits fair lodgings, the water-closet is cold. Fre- quents public baths ; is subject to sweating-. His occupation is that of a foreman at a railroad station : he is a bookkeeper and superintends the reception and delivery of goods ; this occupation is not a fatiguing one. He is married, but his wife had no children. Has strongly abused alcohol since his twenty- third year, but since his illness, from July of last year, he gave up drinking altogether. In December 1877, patient became infected with syphilis, and was treated for two months with potassium iodide, and one year later he entered the hospital m St. Petersburg, where he was treated with mercurial inunction, and also with potassium iodide. Since then, in the course of the next ten years, up to the summer of 1889, he observed nothing to require a resort to treatment. During the summer of 1889 he began to ex- perience heaviness in the abdomen and d3'spnoea, and soon after that pains in the right hypochondrium aggravated at night- time and on movmg around. The patient left off drinking abruptly ; after this the appetite grew worse, and he began to grow thm and weak, the dyspnoea increased, and he became costive. At the advice of his physician, w^ho already at that time detected a considerable enlargement of the liver, he drank, during one month, Yessentucki waters No. 17 and took laxa- tives, but without any avail. Since September 1889, patient was treated during three weeks in the hospital with mercurial — 203 — inunctions — altogether about ten times — and with potassium iodide internally, and later on took the same, without increasmg the dose, at home for another three weeks ; the pain improved for some time. From that time on until his admission to the clinic the patient was not treated, and his condition continued growmg woi'se. Status on February Sd. — Patient is of a strong constitu- tion. Appetite fair, but patient eats little, as the feeling of heaviness in the abdomen becomes aggravated after a meal. There is no dyspepsia. He is very costive. Urine shows ab- sence of albumen and sugar. The abdomen is enlarged, there is slight ascites. The spleen is somewhat enlarged ; the liver very much so : on percussion the superior border is higher than normally, while the free border is palpated at a distance greater than the width of the palm below the costal edge ; it is moreover not sharp, but dull to the touch ; there are no other alterations in the shape of the liver ; it is more solid than normally, and besides, it is sensitive to pressure all over ; the mobility of the liver in respiratory movements is of slight extent. There was no jaundice before, nor- is there any at present. The heart is displaced upward, its tones are clear, the pulse — 66 — is weak, there is some dyspnoea. The organs of respiration present nothing abnormal ; there is no fever. The patient is very weak and thin. The impeded breathing and the nightly exacerbation of pains on the side of the liver prevent sound sleep. The head, and especially the occiput, aches while patient is consti- pated, but the pam is relieved by a good evacuation of the bowels. Diagnosis. — If certam persons, who are habituated to drink- ing -strong alcoholic drinks for a long time, leave off the habit abruptly, then as a consequence there appears a whole series of disturbances : the appetite is impaired, the patient has either constipation or diarrhtjea instead of the former regular evacua. tion of the bowels, the pulse grows weak, there appears dyspnoea, the patient grows thin, sleeps badly and weakens physically and mentally. As seen from the anamnesis, some of the disturbances observed in our patient are undoubtedly of such an origin, while the others depend on an evident disease — 204 — of the liver : this last is very much enlarged and sensitive, and •the ascites and the enlarged spleen speak of impeded circulation in the portal system. What hepatic disease is to be found in this case? The anamnesis, and partly the symptoms, as the regular aggra- vation of the hepatic pains at night, pomt to syphilis as the immediate cause of the affection of the liver ; we cannot at the same time deny the influence of a prolonged abuse of alcohol. With such data on hand and in view of all that we said.^ while discussmg the foregoing cases, regarding the diagnosis of dis- eases of the liver in general and their differential diagnosis in particular, there seems to be no reason to further discuss the exclusion of other affections of the liver in this case. Of the two affections, the presence of which is possibly indicated by the anamnesis, which is more probable, the syphilitic or the alcoholic ? The data which speak for syphilis of the liver are incontestable : the liver is pamful, which is only to a slight degree the case in alcoholic affection of the org^an ; the pains are aggravated at night-time, specific treatment relieves the pains, and the liver is very much enlarged (this again is but to a slight extent the case in the alcoholic affection of the liver) ; there are no dii'ect indications of the existence also of an alcoholic affection of the liver (as impeded portal venous circula- tion is also peculiar to syphilis of the liver), but we simply can not deny the possibility of its existence in the given case. What is the nature of the sj^Dhilitic affection in the given case? There is* first of all an mdication of a syphilitic perihe- patitis, namely : tenderness of the liver, the aggravation of pains at night-time, and the restriction of the respiratory movements of this organ ; however, the value of this last symptom is les- sened by the fact, that m the presence of an enlarged liver and of tension of the abdominal walls, the respnatory movements of this organ are liable to be less free than under normal con- ditions, even if we exclude the possible adhesions due to the perihepatitis. There are no iiidications of any considerable gummatous swellmg, as the surface of t^ie liver is smooth. There remain, therefore, out of the number of various sj'^philitic affections of the liver, minute disseminated gummatous new — 205 — formations, disseminated interstitial hepatitis and its result in the form of cirrhosis of the liver, to which in this case we must ascribe the enlargement of this organ. Which of these just mentioned aif ections prevails is rather diificult to say : the symptoms of impeded portal venous circulation pomt to an already existing cirrhosis. Prognosis. — The pams in the liver, caused by the perihepa- titis, yield readily to specific treatment, especially to the iodide preparations. But the prognosis is most favorable, when there are gummatous swellmgs, even if considerable, but without af- fections of other parts of the organ ; in such a case complete cure is possible. Much worse is the prognosis in diffuse mter- stitial hepatitis and in the cirrhosis of the liver resulting there- from : here the success of the treatment is liable to be rather insignificant and of short duration ; if aggravated, after a tem- porary improvement, the disease yields with greater difficulty to treatment and usually termmates in death. The same process evidently takes place in the liver, as in the nervous system (and probably also in the other organs), namely, an outspoken syphilit- ic affection (gummatous? — as in the nervous system, in case of lues of the brain and spmal cord), which yields completely to specific treatment, and also such, in which the connection with syphilis is apparent (as shown from the statistics of the affections of the nervous system, progressive paralysis and tabes dorsalis), but in which the specific treatment falls short of havmg this ef- ffect. The prospects, as regards the termuiation of the disease in our patient, who presents such evident symptoms of affection of the ivhole liver and together with this also symptoms of an already progressive impediment in the portal venous circulation, are certamly not favorable ; but as the patient was never sub- jected to a continuous, sufficiently persistent and intensive treatment, the last word in the prognosis will depend on the treatment. Treatment. — Having surrounded the patient by regular hy- gienic conditions, we will prescribe for him some strong wine, as the pulse is weak and the patient at the present more than at any other time is m need of his habitual stimulus : for the constipation, — watery clysters, and for the principal affection — 206 — specific treatment, at the beginning iodine in the form of sodium •iodide. We will give him the iodide, and not mercury, first, because m the last stage of syphilis, which, as seen from the anamnesis and from the very nature of the sj^philitic affection, our patient is passing through, iodide is more applicable ; and secondly, because the patient's health has become greatly im- paired, and the mercurial treatment by itself is more liable to weaken, than the treatment with iodides ; and thirdly, because the syphilitic pains particularly yield readily and rapidly to the iodine treatment. We will administer the sodium iodide in an alkaline mineral water, as in Vichy, one and one-half glasses per day because the iodides are better borne by the organism when dissolved in it, and also because our patient's urine is red, very acid and saturated with uric acid salts. In such cases as the present one, the iodine preparations are to be administered, as experience teaches, in constantly increasmg and generally large quantities. We will be guided in our further treatment hj the results of the iodine treatment. Status on February 28th. — The patient took sodium iodide as follows : February 4th, 20 gr. ; February 5th and 6th, 30 gr. each day ; February 7th to 10th, -tO gr. each day; February 11th to loth. 50 gr. each day ; February 16th to 20th, 60 gr. each day ; Febru- ary 21st to 28th, 70 gr. each day. The iodide was administered in solution (3ij in fvj aquse dest.) in tablespoonful doses, with the addition in the begmning of a small quantity of Yichy-Celestins, and later — in view of a beginning looseness of the bowels — of Ems-Kesselbrunnen, about one and one-half glass per day. To-da}' the patient announces that he feels so well, that, ap- prehending the possible loss of his situation, he mtends to leave the clinic. His condition is as follows : the appetite is very good, bowels move regularly (the clysters were necessary only during the first daj^s of the patient's sojourn at the clmic), the quantity of urine is greater, it is limpid and not red, all the pains disappeared, the pulse is better, the sleep is good, patient gathered considerable strength, the liver is entirely painless, but it has dimmished in size but very little, and so did the ascites. — 207 — The patient was inforined of the seriousness of his condition ; he was told, that, although the pams have disappeared, the ap- petite and sleep improved and he became stronger physically, still the most important and the most dangerous symptoms — • namely, the enlargement of the liver and the ascites, have not yielded markedly to the iodide treatment; that the treatment must be continued persistentl3% and that at present he must be- gin the mercurial treatment ; he was made to understand, that a correct employment of such a powerful drug as mercury, to avoid any risk of harm, is onl}- possible under immediate medi- cal supervision and under suitable circumstances, namely, m the Hospital, and that any postponement of this treatment will exert a dangerous tendency as regards a favorable termination of the disease. The patient insisted that he must return to his occupation and that he would try to be treated at home ; he left the cluiic the next day. The further hhtory of the disease. — Patient continued taking sodium iodide during March in small quantities and irregularly, but up to June he felt almost as well as he did on leaving the clinic. Since then there reappeared the severe pains in the right side, and the patient began to take calomel, four powders a day (the dose is unknown ; he had slight looseness of the bowels) in the following manner : one week calomel, the next week none ; during this time rinsed his mouth with pot. chlor. and his gums were not affected. Tliis treatment was continued through June, July and August. The patient improved some- what and his tolerable condition contmued up to February 1891, when the right side became agam painful, the abdomen began to enlarge rapidly, and later on the legs began to swell. Feb- ruary 18th patient again entered our clinic. Status on February ISth. — Appetite very poor; there is properly speaking no dyspepsia, but the nausea and vomiting- are rather of ursemic nature, as they take place not after a meal, but in connection with heavmess in the head and with paui. There is at times constipation, at other times diarrhoea. The urine contains a considerable quantity of albumen, and also some cylmders — hyaline and granular ; the quantity of urine in twenty-four hours is 500 c. c. The ascites is great, while the — 208 — oedema of the legs extends up to their middle ; the spleen does •not admit of palpation. The liver is in the same condition in which it was a year ago, the tenderness on pressure is not con- siderable. The heart is displaced upward, the pulse is 96 and weak. The respiratory organs are normal. Fever is absent. The sleep is very poor. The patient became very much ema- ciated and weak. Treatment. — Correct hygienic conditions, wine, and an injec- tion when necessary. As the patient has been treated for a long time with mercury, and has not taken any iodide for almost a year, we prescribed for him sodium iodide, at the beginning in a small quantity of Ems water, and later on in boiling milk. As the tendency to diarrhoea increased while the iodide was being administered, we also gave at the same time ten to twenty drops of tra. coto four times a day, which enabled us to con- tinue the administration of the iodide for six weeks, and to in- crease the dosage to ninety gr. per day ; but there was no im- provement: February 27th we had to di'aw 3000 c. c. of fluid of a purely transudative character from the peritoneal cavity. Smce March 19th we added to the sodium iodide also mercurial inunction — a half-drachm of mercurial ointment per day. March 25th, however, we were again compelled to draw 3,000 c. c. By the end of March the specific treatment with the iodide, as well as with the mercury, was discontinued (we made altogether about ten inunctions) and we contmued to strengthen him as much as possible. April 12th patiei^t left the clinic in the same condition in which he was admitted ; the accumulation in abdominal cavity, after the last tapping, did not as yet reach the former dimensions, but it continued on the increase. RHEUMATISM AND GOUT. ELEVENTH CASE. LECTURE OF NOVEMBER 29, 1889. The patient, a peasant water-carrier, twenty-five years old, was admitted to the clinic, complaining of severe pains m the articulations, loss of appetite and weakness. Mode of living and anamnesis. — Patient lives in ^Moscow. His lodgings are very warm, the water-closet cold. Goes often to public bathing house and drinks a great deal of hot tea ; is very much subject to sweating. Is a moderate whiskey drinker. His food is that of an ordinary workingman. He works hard and is very much fatigued at the close of the day. He is smgle. Until the present sickness the patient always enjoj^ed good health, except that he suffered with headaches, which appeared at the hot season of the year during field labor, and which passed away accompanied by nasal hgemorrhages. A week ago, November 21st, the patient became strongly chilled, and in the evening he experienced chills, fever and pain in the articulations; he took no tieatment, and until his admission to the clinic, November 27th, he grew worse and worse. No- vember 27th and 28th the patient was given seven ten-grain powders of sodium salycilate in Ems-Kesselbrunnen water, after which he had considerable tinnitus aurium, but the pains were very much relieved and he was not given any more of the salycilate. The painful articulations were rubbed with warm olive oil and wrapped in cotton. Status. — The appetite has reappeared, there is no dyspepsia, stool regular. The urine, formerly red and quite saturated, became limpid ; it contains neither sugar nor albumen. The — 210 — liver and spleen are in a normal condition, as well as the organs of respiration, circulation and the nervous system. His tem- perature on admission was 38.2° R. (100.7° i^.) ; at present it is 36.8° R. (98.2° F.'). When admitted patient perspired freely, now he perspires but little. On admission, all the joints (except that of the hip) of the lower extremities were affected, also both the elbow jouits : the pains were acute and the patient avoided any movement ; a slight swelling onlj^ was noticed at the articu- lations of the knees. At the present time all the pains are con- siderably relieved, but they are felt as yet to some extent where- ever they were before ; the swelling of the knee-jomts disap- peared. The noise in the ears continues as yet, but to a very much lesser degree. Biagyiosis. — It is evident that our patient suffers from acute articular rheumatism. This is shown, outside of the charac- teristic picture of the disease, by the acute beginning of this last in an organism previously healthy, in the presence of the equally peculiar in this disease predisposmg conditions, as a warm lodging, frequent hot baths, hot tea, proclivity to perspiration, constant fatigue from physical labor, and finally a cold, and also by the decided effect of the salycilate of sodium, which serves in acute articular rheumatism as hardly less of a specific remedy, than quinme does in malaria. We know of no other disease, that would call out so suddenly such an agglomerate of symptoms and which would so rapidlj^ yield to the salycilate of sodium. Prognosis, — The disease is slight and is already passing away, but it is very liable to return, especially under the cir- cumstances surrounding our patient and his mode of living. Treatment. — The patient was given the most reliable remedy against acute articular rheumatism, namely, sodium salycilate : you have seen its effects. I usually administer sodium salyci- late in a small quantity (in one or two glasses per day) of the alkaline water Ems-Kesselbrunnen, or, to persons of a strong constitution and with good nutrition and who are, moreover, mclined to gout, m some Vichy-Celestins, because this remedy is borne, if thus admmistered, in the best manner. The pa- tients, who dislike the unpleasant taste of sodium salycilate. — 211 — may take this last in cachets and wash them down with an alkaline water. For acute articular rheumatism I never fail to give sodium salycilate until tiunitus aurium is produced (just as in the ease of quinine for malaria), at times quite strong, at other times, in very severe cases, till very pronounced, watch- ing of course carefully the action of the heart, in which large doses of salycilate of sodium, especially if given for a long time without an intermission, may induce a condition of collapse. Experience taught me to regard such a mode of employing sodium salycilate in acute articular rheumatism (just as quinine is used for malaria) as giving the best results : the disease is mterrupted rapidly and the interruption Ls lasting, the disease is not protracted, and does not return, as in cases where the remedy is given timidly and m small doses, without exerting any positive effect ; this is very important, because the earlier and the more completely the disease is interrupted, the more certain may the patient be of avoidmg the development of its dangerous complications, cardiac and otherwise. As soon as the tinnitus appears to be sufficiently pronounced, as judged b}^ the severity of the disease, I at once discontmue the use of the salycilate. It happens frequently that with the appearance of a sufficiently strong tinnitus aurium the articular pains and the fever disappear not to return, so that the remedy is not given any more. But if the tinnitus has markedly dimmished, but the pains and the fever continue, although to a lesser extent, then immediately prescribe again sodium salycilate. I begin m adults with ten-grain doses every two hours ; but if the case is very severe and this dose be well borne, I rapidly increase it. givB fifteen and later twenty grains every two hours, carefully watching, I repeat again, the condition of the pulse, so that in case of necessity to administer stimulants, as tinctura valer. gether. and liqu. anodyn. Hoffm. aa. As I said before, the fever and the swelling of the knee-joints left our patient, and the pains have very much diminished in mtensity, but they are still felt to a slight degree wherever they were formerly, while the tmnitus aurium, on the cessation of the administration of the salycilate, has continually diminished and is now very slight. In accord, therefore, with the above-men- .„ 212 tioned rule, we will ag^ain return to this remedy, but without iii- 'creasing its dose, because its effect is satisfactory as it is, and the case is a light one. Antipyrin is also valuable in the treatment of acute articular rheumatism. There have even been described several cases of the disease in which the salycilate failed, while antipyrin was, successful. I have not met with such cases, and guided by the number of my own observations and those of others, I still con- sider the salycilate of soda as the most reliable drug in the treat- ment of acute articular rheumatism ; besides, antipyrin in large doses is even more dangerous for the heart than is salycilate of soda. The severity of some cases of acute articular rheumatism with cardiac and other complications may, of course, be deter- mined by the particularly severe effect of the disease-causing agent, — very likely of a parasitic origin, because acute articu- lar rheumatism is characterized by all the features of an infec- tious and withal acute affection ; but, as I said before, such cases are chiefly to be observed, when the treatment of the disease has been long neglected, the disease not being interrupt- ed at the beginning, and the patient continues to subject him- self to colds (as, for instance, by living in cold rooms, or having a cold water-closet), and to traumatic influences (can not obtain sufficient rest, gets up, or generally moves around). In such cases the sudden breaking up of the disease does not take place and there is no immediate return to health, so that a chronic affection of one or, more frequently, of several articulations is established, which goes under the current name of " chronic rheumatism,''^ — a name which is not correct, is vague and pre- vents the formation of a positive diagnosis, and consequently also treatment, of the various affections, which are all without any differentiation embraced under this term (I shall have yet occasion to return to this subject). The affection, usually of one joint, which was left over, passes often into a condition of severe inflammation, which eventuates into pus-formation ; this last circumstance points to a superadded secondary infection by pyogenic microorganisms. Chronic affections of the jouits, remaining after acute articu- — 213 — lar rheumatism, are often found also in cases in wliicli it attacked not a healthy, but a previously diseased organism, as for instance a tuberculous subject (thus in cases of acute articular rheuma- tism in youthful " scrofulous " persons), or more frequently one suffering with syphilis or gout, or even one with only a predis- position to gout. In view of the coming lectures on " chronic rheumatism " and gout, I wish to stop here to discuss the rela- tion of acute articular rheumatism to the latter disease. As proved by facts, gout is the result of an accumulation of uric acid salts in the blood and their deposition — principally that of the acid sodium urate — m various, or perhaps in all the tissues and organs, most frequently in the articulations, in their cartilages and other tissues ; this deposition is the cause of va- rious affections, according to the variety of the affected organs. Whence these uric acid salts accumulate is a debatable ques- tion; but this fact is certain, that such an accumulation is promoted by excessive eating and by the use of wine in the ab- sence of active physical exercise, which means by conditions which weaken in the organism the processes of oxidation. The well-known clinician Ebstein assumes, not without ground, that the deposition of uric acid salts in the joints is chiefly favored by an abundant formation of uric acid in the organs adjacent to the joints, in the bone-marrow and the muscles. Acute articular rheumatism is accompanied by a febrile condition (which causes an increased formation of uric acid) and by abun- dant sweating, so that the urine is greatly diminished in quan- tity, becomes very red and saturated, and gives on standing an abundant sediment of sodium urate. It is well understood, that if such a morbid process, which brings about an increase in the formation and a decrease in the excretion of the uric acid — through a decrease in the quantity of the urine — will affect not only a gouty person, but even one with a predisposition to gout, then this last is bound to make its appearance at once. And as a matter of fact, we often observe the folio wmg : A man, say, forty years old, of good constitution, with supera- bundant nutrition and good digestion, a good eater, who imbibes freely and is physically inactive, and who has for a long time past observed that his urine was red, in short a candidate for — 214 — gout, without, however, presenting a suigle local symptom of the same, is suddenly affected by acute articular rheumatism, grows feverish, sweats, and passes some red urine with an abundant brick-dust sediment. Salycilate of sodium is administered cor- rectly and the disease is rapidly interrupted ; the fever and the pains disappear. The patient feels well, but in about two to three days he returns complaining that the " rheumatism " re- turned in the great toe of the right foot and has caused him excru- ciating pam during the whole night. The painful spot turns out to be swollen and red, but all the other joints of the body are en- tirely free from pain and there is no fever ; in short the patient has a typical attack of acute gout and not the least return of acute rheumatism. In other cases of this last in persons suffering with gout or predisposed to it, the fever and the greater number of articular affections disappear on correct treatment, but in one or more of the affected articulations there will remain a chronic disease by this time of a gouty nature. The further course of the disease. — The patient took six ten- grain powders more of the sodium salycilate, after which the tinnitus increased, but the pains disappeared and there remained only the general weakness. With the aid of a good appetite the patient improved rapidly, and December 11th left our clinic. During the last days, before dismissal, his whole body was sponged several times with water and brandy, and this strength- ened him. On leaving, he was advised not to take any hot baths during cold or damp weather, but instead to sponge himself as above, and also to drink less of hot tea. TWELFTH CASE. LECTURE OF FEBRUARY 19, J891. The patient, a peasant woman, 58 years old, entered onr clinic January 29tli, complaining of pains and swelling in the lower and upper extremities, chiefly in the articulations of the wrist and shoulder, the knee and the ankle, and also in the small articula- tions of the hand and foot on either side. She has had the pains there for the last year and a half ; they are aggravated by movements and make these last extremely difficult. Mode of living and anamnesis. — She has been living for the last eighteen months in Moscow ; lived formerly in a village. The lodgings are tolerable, the water-closet cold. Takes a hot bath once a month. Drinks neither tea nor brandy now, nor did she drink any before. Tlie food is that of an ordinary work- ing woman. Was married and had several children ; no abor- tions ; has been a widow for a long time. For the last year and a half has been unable to work on account of sickness ; formerly she did a great deal of very hard labor in orchards. Has always enjoyed good health up to the appearance of the present illness. In the autumn of 1889, while working durmg cold weather in the orchard, she felt pains in the finger-joints of both hands ; she contmued at her work, but the pains increased considerably and to them was superadded swelling of the painful spots, so that it became impossible for her to work. She consulted a phj^sician, who gave her some ointment, and for internal use some sweet- ish powders, evidently of sodium salycilate. She felt relieved, but the disease did not disappear entirely, and prevented her from working ; in such condition it was protracted until the beginning of the last winter (1891), when, with the cold weather, the former pains became worse, while fresh ones ap- peared, accompanied by swelling in the remainder of the above- enumerated affected joints. — 216 — During the three weeks' sojourn of the patient in the clinic ■she drank daily of Yessentucki water No. 17, — at first one and a half, and later one glass per day ; she took several times salyci- late of soda, at fu-st every other day and later every third day, in quantities of twenty and later of forty grains daily, which caused some tinnitus aurium ; and since February 6th, as soon as the affected joints, thanks to rest, warmth and the above-mentioned treatment^ became much less pamful, they were subjected to massage, and later we applied the electric static current : the patient felt much better. Status to-day, February 19tJi. — The usual appetite is moder- ate. The stomach, intestines, liver and spleen are m a normal condition. The urine is reddish, without albumen and sugar. Menopause established fifteen years ago. The organs of respir- ation are normal (the slight bronchial catarrh, with which she suffered on entering and which caused some cough, passed away), as well as the organs of circulation, except that the arteries feel somewhat stiff. The patient, somewhat spare for a long time past, has not grown much thinner during the sickness. The temperature on admission was slightly raised, 37.6° (99.7°^.), but it soon became normal. The sleep is good. There are no pains in the head, nor anywhere else outside of the above- named articulations. In these last the pams have considerably diminished and the movements become much more free. The swelling, which was particularly considerable (there is also noticeable some fluctuation) in the wrist and shoulder-joint, as well as in the knee-joints of both sides, has diminished, while the slight redness observed on her admission, and the higher tem- perature in the last-named articulations, have disappeared. Diagnosis. — The patient presents a type of what is usually denoted m the text-books of special pathology, in literature in general, as well as in practice, as chronic articular rheuma- tism ; or, if besides the articulations there are also affected other organs of locomotion, as the muscles, nerves and the bones (i. e., all the portions of the bones, and not their articular surfaces only), then it is simply designated as chronic rheuma- tism. I had already occasion to ob3erve that I consider this designation incorrect, vague, and one that prevents the for- — 217 — mation of a positive diagnosis (and consequently treatment) of the various affections, whicli are all, without any differen- tiation, embraced under this name. I will take advantage of the opportunity presented by this case, the only one of its kind on hand at the present time (although there occur others, of a more complicated nature and therefore more suitable for my purpose) to elucidate the basis of my opinion. The term rheumatism, having long lost its ancient definition, has even at the present time no concise meaning : by it is meant on the one hand an acute articular rheumatism, — which is a sharply differentiated disease, no less definite than are measles, variola, typhoid, typhus, etc., a disease which must not be confounded with any other, — and on the other hand, cases of the nature of the present one (of the importance of which I shall speak later), as well as more complicated ones that are diversified by the affected organs as well as, princi- pally, by their etiology, and which are, besides, approaching by their many interstitial (in the character of their symptoms) manifestations the affection known as arthritis nodosa sive deformans. Nomenclature must of course avoid unnecessary destruction, it must not intrude on solidly based and univer- sally intelligilDle defuiition.s, nor introduce unnecessarily, be- fore explaining fully the nature of the subject, any new terms; it should, however, strive for precision. If we must preserve the name rheumatism, then it can only be attamed on the condition that we give it a definite designation : and this requisite is fully effected if we preserve this name solely for acute articular rheumatism, a disease, as I said before, of a definitely distinguishable character. The term rlieumatism, as employed formerly in its old definition, will certainly not correspond with exactness either to what we know already, or to what we will probably learn in the future concerning the nature of acute articular rheumatism ; we find the same facts as regards the terms measles, small-pox, scarlatma, plague, etc.. and in their correspondence to the relative diseases. Precise definitions will be possible only when the nature of the enumerat- ed diseases will be laiown with precision, but until that time the hnplanted appellations have more rights to existence and they — 218 — must therefore remain : the name rheumatism for the above alluded to discussed (m the eleventh case) acute aifection of manj articulations is no less firmly implanted than are the names measles, small-pox, etc., for the diseases designated by them, and, I must say again, it refers to a sharply differentiated, definite disease, just as do these terms. But if we were to preserve the name rheumatism for acute articular rheumatism, may we then apply it, without depriving it of a defuiite significance, to cases like the present one and to others still more complicated, which I mentioned and of which I shall yet have occasion to speak ? Evidently not — first, be- cause these cases differ one from another, presenting, as we shall see later, different affections origmating from various causes, and secondly, because they are not in the least identi- cal m their nature with acute articular rheumatism. Thus the present case : at the beginning the jomts of the fingers were affected and became swollen, and they have remained so until now ; one yea7' later the other joints became affected, and they remain thus now. Where is here the picture of acute articu- lar rheumatism ? Do we find here a contemporaneous affection of many articu- lations of a changeable, jumping character, accompanied by a febrile condition, by various complications, cardiac and other- wise, which it would be so natural to expect, if the disease were in reality what passes under the name of acute articular rheumatism, and one withal of such long duration ? Fmally, the salycilate of soda, which acts m such a specific manner, hreciking up so decidedly an attack of acute articular rheumatism, acted in this case — to judge by the history of the disease and by our observations in the clinic — solelj^ as a symptomatic remedy, as a slight pam-stilling agent, neither interrupting nor curing the disease. There occur, it is true, cases where an evident, typical, acute articular rheumatism does not terminate in a rapid breakmg up and cure of the disease (usually on account of the fact, that the patient is surrounded by unfavorable circumstances, or is not treated, or is treated wrongly and not sufficiently energetic- ally), but leaves a chronic disease of the affected joints, which — 219 — is dragged along through months and years, and is presented m exactly the same form as the present case, namely, without any characteristic peculiarities of acute articular rheumatism, un- yieldmg to treatment by the salycilate, which fails to cure it. To denommate such cases by the term of chronic articulai- rheumatism, i. e., to consider them as cases of acute articu- lar rheumatism — a disease havhig all the peculiarities of an acute infectious process — which passed into a chronic condition, would be the same, as if we were to consider chronic bronchial catarrh, which is sometimes left after measles, as chronic measles, or the diarrhoea left after an attack of typhoid fever, as chronic typhoid. It is apparent, that in all these cases it was not the acute infectious disease which passed mto a chronic condition, but there were left local affections, which are caused by and, under favorable conditions, disappear with the disease, and under unfavorable circumstances become chronic. In the chronic affection of the joints, which remams after an attack of acute articular rheumatism, there take place at times apparent recurrences of this last : thus there appears a febrile condition, the affection of the jomts becomes aggravated and takes on a migratmg character, and the salycilate of soda exerts anew its beneficial effect. But such recurrences of acute artic ular rheumatism, which are generally so very peculiar to this disease and which occur frequentl}- also in cases where its attacks leave no trace of any chronic affection of the joints, cannot go to prove the fact, that the chronic articular affection, which in the intervals between the attacks extended over months and years, is identical with the acute infectious disease, which passes under the name of acute articular rheumatism. What then do these cases of chronic joint affection, of polyar- thritis chronica, as our present one and others mentioned by me, present ? Here it becomes particularly necessary to employ careful clinical analysis : I usually make m such cases a dou])le investigation and a double diagnosis — the anatomical, defining the affected organs and tissues, and the etiological, referring to the causation ; I resort to this j^rmcipally because the therapy presents differences not only m accord with the causes, but als(j with the affected organs, as joints, bones, muscles and nerves. — 220 — The anatomical investigation gives the following : the most frequently and preeminentl}' affected parts are the joints ; in these we must determine the condition of the articulating ends of the bones and of their cartilages, the condition of the articu- lating capsule and of the soft parts outside of it. Less frequent- ly are observed affections — usually with pain and swellmg — of other parts, besides the jomts ; it then becomes necessary to determine just what part is affected : the skin, as evidenced by a hyperaesthetic condition, by dermatitis, etc., or the bones, most frequently in the form of a periostitis, accompanied by pain, which becomes aggravated on pressure, — and sometimes by swelling ; or the cartilages, as seen, for mstance, in a perichon- dritis of the costal, laryngeal and aural cartilages, — most fre- quently m gout ; this condition also is accompanied by pain, which becomes worse on pressure ; or it may be the muscles, as proved by the existence of a myositis : a high temperature, ten- sion and sensitiveness on pressure and motion, and, later on, emaciation of the affected muscles, m which cirrhotic indura- tions may form ; or the nerves, in the form of a neuritis : pains, tenderness on pressure and various functional disturbances. The investigation of the causes brings to surface most fre- quently the following : acute articular rheumatism, and also, although much less frequently, other acute mfectious diseases, gonorrhoea (I cannot help observing, that the name polyar- thritis gonorrhoica is much more preferable to the meaningless, vague term " gonorrhoeal rheumatism"), syphilis, tuberculosis, gout, a cold, traumatic influences, (of these last not so much those of an acute nature, — contusions, wounds, etc., — as the less severe, but constantly acting ones, as intense, fatiguing phj^sical activity) and abuse of alcoholic drinks ; for although alcohol does not cause directly any joint affections, it undoubtedl}^ creates a predisposition to them. Chronic affections of the joints, as I said once, are usually not of a simple, but of a complicated origin, depending on the effect not of one, but of several, even of many causative agen- cies, as, for instance, of the conjoined action of a former acute articular rheumatism and at the same time of gout, syphilis, of a cold and of traumatic influences. — 221 — What general name then is more suitable for those chronic affections of which we are speaking at present ? If we desire to preserve the briefness so essential in a term, then it is best to call them i^oly arthritis chronica^ because the affections of the joints are usually predominant, and such a name neither deter- mines beforehand the concise diagnosis — and therefore the treatment — of the given case, nor does it render it obscure, as is the case with the term chronic " rheumatism." We will turn now to the analysis of the present case. Per- sons of our patient's age, — fifty-eight years, — living in the midst of miserable conditions, full of privations, suffer often from a particular form of gout, the so-called atonic gout, as distinguished from the other, the ordinary form, to which we alluded m our previous case. In our patient there are no characteristic manifestations of gout, as, for instance, affections of the joints of the great toes, neither the generally preeminent affection of the small joints (both the small and the larger ones are affected), nor any apparent gouty deposits around the artic- ular ends of the bones ; but she presents indications of a pre- disposition to gout — the constantly red urine and, as observa- tion in the clinic made it evident, the favorable action on the patient of an alkaline (Yessentucki) mineral water. This pre- disposition to gout explams the fact, why the certain mfluences, traumatism and cold, to which the patient subjected herself with impunity during the whole of her laborious life, have at last, in her old age, caused the appearance of an articular disease. As regards the so much apparent influence of cold (she was taken sick twice during the beginning of cold weather), it is worth wliile noting, that precisely those joints became affected, which were either uncovered — as those of the fingers, and the wrist, or but insufficiently protected — as those of the knee and of the ankle (as the patient wears neither drawers nor a petticoat, while the soles were protected). As mentioned above, in the diseased joints the affection is found in the soft parts, located outside of the articular capsule, as evidenced by the swelling and by the higher temperature and slight redness on admission, and in the capsule itself (fluctua- tion detected) ; there are no signs of any affection of the bones. Prognosis. — Judging- by the favorable course of tlie treat- ■ment, we may hope for a satisfactory issue of the disease ; we may expect a return to a considerable extent of freedom of motion, in case, certainly, the patient succeeds in avoiding- m the future any deleterious influences, which are liable to cause a recurrence of the disease. Treatment. — Wh}^ we prescribed for our patient, with her predisposition to gout, an alkaline water, and, m view of her ao-e and poor nutrition, a small quantity of the same, you certainly understand well. I will only add that when atonic gout be fomid in patients, who have been ailing for a long time before with the usual form of gout, who drank a great deal of mineral alkaline waters, and whose nutrition suffered con- siderably, then we must admmister to them either the lightest alkaline watere (Ems), or the earthy waters (Contrexeville). To be sure, our patient's nutrition is not of the best, but still we cannot call it very poor, and as she never drank any min- eral waters, w^e therefore prescribed for her a very active alkaline water (Yessentucki, No. 17), but, as I said before, in a small quantity, and the course of the treatment justifies completely this conduct of ours. The salycilate of soda, as a pain-stilling agent, has relieved the patient sufficiently, Massao'c and the constant electric current seem to exert a favor- able influence by diminishing the articular swelling and by making motion easier. "We will therefore continue the Yes- sentucki water, a half-glass twice a day, the application of massage and of electricity ; but there is no more need for the salycilate. nor for any other pam-stilling drugs in general. We limit ourselves to the above-named means, because they seem to be sufficient. An excellent remedial agent for chronic joint affections we have in the salt baths, warm or even, m the absence of contra-mdications, hot : we do not resort to them in the present case, because we can seemmgly get along without them, but prmcipally because they are contra-indicated by the season, it being wmter time : the patient, after leaving our clinic, would subject herself to a greater risk in catching cold. A good remedy for chronic articular affections is car- ^ 'in — bolic acid (in the form of fomentatious of a two to four per cent solution and hypodermic injections) ; there is no need for it in the present case, and, besides, injections of carbolic acid cause severe pains. The iodine, as well as the mercurial preparations, are undoubtedly useful m articular affections when complicated by syphilis. In prescribmg local treatment attention must be paid as to what organs or tissues are affected. For muscles the best thing is massage. For the articulations — Spanish fly, massage, elec- tricity and carlx)lic acid. For affections of the periosteum only general treatment, usually anti-syphilitic or anti-gouty, or both together, as, for instance, iodine preparations m alkaline mineral waters ; massage and electricity increase the pains and aggravate the disease. For the neurites — rest, Spanish fly, irritating and paiu-stilling salves, and, at the end of the acute stage, a careful massage, not of the nerve itself, but with a derivative aim m view, of the neighboring parts, chiefly of the muscular masses ; the action of electricity is not certain. Finally, I repeat again, salt baths, warm or hot, are useful in all the affections. FROM THE LECTURE OF MARCH I, 1 89 1. The patient leaves the clinic to-day. All the functions are normal, the nutrition as well as the strength has improved. The swellmg remams, althoughjmuch less than it was before, only in the wrist-joints, while from the others it has almost passed away. There is an entire absence of any pains on pressure, or on passive and short active movements. A pro- longed walk gives rise to a feeling of fatigue, and later also of pain in the knees, which, however, soon pass away after rest. Patient was advised to avoid certain harmful influences and to continue massao-e. THIRTEENTH CASE. LECTURE OF MARCH 3, 1892. The patient, a widow of an official, is forty-seven years old, and entered our clinic February 27tli complaining of severe pains in the loins and in the thighs down to the knees ; the pains are very much aggravated on motion, so that this last is almost impossible ; she also complains of pains in the chest and in the left half of the abdomen. Mode of living and anamnesis. — The patient is an inhabitant of one of the governments around Moscow, lives in a healthy locality and occupies a good house, but the water-closet is cold. Has not bathed in the river for the last five years, takes a hot bath twice a month, perspires very freely. Drinks no coffee, wine or whiskey, only some four glasses of hot tea per day ; generally drinks but little: besides the tea only water, not more than one glass during the whole day. She breakfasts and dines at a good table, eats many sweets. Has been a widow for the last five years ; was never pregnant. Goes out but little mto fresh air, has but little exercise. Her occupations are those of a small housekeeper. Patient comes from a healthy family and is herself of a strong constitution ; in her seventeenth year she passed through an attack of typhoid, in her twenty-seventh had malaria. Has en- joyed good health since, up to the climacteric period, which began five years ago : the first three years the menstruation was irregular, but two years ago it ceased entirely. With the advance of the climacteric period there began to appear attacks of heat in the head and pronounced perspiration all over the body ; they were of frequent occurrence during the fii'st year, several times daily ; since that time the quantity of the urine dimmished, the urine became red and left frequently a reddish 224 — 225 — precipitate. Four years ago she had for the first time a very severe attack of renal colic on the left side, as evidenced by pains in the left loin transmitted to the left groin, which lasted, with intervals, for four days. A year later she had another attack of lesser severity, lasting two days. After that the attacks of renal colic took place frequently, always on the left side, but they were not of severe intensity. Since October 1891 there appeared a constant severe pam in the left loin and on the corresponding side of the abdomen, and smce then began all those pains with which the patient entered the clinic, and which kept continually on the increase. The treatment was as follows : at the beginnmg sodium salycilate until the production of tmnitus aurium during one month, but without any success ; then, for one month, potassium iodide (dose unknown) in solu- tion, three spoonfuls per day ; no results whatever. Later, cool spongings with a wet towel for one month, also without any success ; finally, for two weeks before she entered the clinic, the patient drank Vichy-Celestins (she never used any mineral water before), about one glass and a half per day, and felt slightly relieved. While in the clinic the patient continues drinking the same water warmed to the temperature of freshly drawn milk, three half-glasses during the day, each time one hour before a meal. Status. — The appetite is impaired. While observing a strict diet and using Vichy in the clinic, she has no dyspeptic symp- toms, but formerly she felt heaviness in the stomach and pyro- sis almost constantly. The patient is usually constipated and takes castor oil twice a month ; in the clinic the rectum is sufficiently emptied with the aid of watery clysters. The liver and the spleen are in normal condition. The pahis on the left side of the abdomen are due to the considerable tenderness of the kidney and the ureter ; on the right side the kidney and the ureter are also tender on pressure, but much less so. For a few days before her admission to the clinic, the patient discontinued drinking Vichy and the quantity of urine on her admission was small, — 500 to 700 c.c. in twenty-four hours, the urine very red, of a strongly acid reaction, with a considerable deposit, principally of sodium urate ; at present, when the patient resumed drinking — 226 — Vich}^, and, as we advised, not verj hot tea (she thus perspires less) and a greater quantity of ordinary water, the amount of urine increased from 1000 to 1200 c.c. in the twenty-four hours, the urme is not so red, and the sediment is much smaller. Urine contains neither albumen, nor sugar. The organs of res- piration are healthy. The dimensions of the heart are normal, its tones clear, but the pulse is somewhat weak, which points to an insufficient activity, and probably to the already affected nutrition of the cardiac muscle, a condition so very natural in a sick woman who takes so little exercise. The patient was former- ly stout, but grew thin during the disease, and yet she cannot be said to be emaciated. There is no fever. The pains prevent sleep to some extent, but yet it is quite sound and sufficiently prolonged. The pains in the chest of which the patient com- plains, are proved by investigation to depend on the sensitive- ness of the sternum, ribs and scapulae ; but most sensitive are the pelvic bones (especially the sacrum) and both femurs ; the movements of the acetabular articulations are extremely pain- ful, which condition causes great difficulty in turning over in bed, and makes getting up and walkhig about almost impossible : the patient, as you saw, was carried mto the auditorium on a chair. Diagnosis. — It is evident, that we have here to deal with a typical case of gout, arthritis urica. The patient, of strong constitution, with a hitherto good digestion, lived always in affiuence, ate more than was necessary, had but little exercise, no children, grew stout, and with the approach of the climac- teric period with its peculiar vasomotor disturbances (frequent " bathing " of the whole body in sweat, which increased the patient's usual tendency to perspiration), she began to excrete a diminished quantity of red urine with an abundant uric-acid deposit and began to suffer from renal colic, a disease to which gouty persons are so liable to be subject, as it is connected with the very nature of gout : then there appeared the above- mentioned pains in the bones, gouty periostites. Is not there also syphilis m the case, as the pains prevent quiet sleepmg at times ? It is true that the pains interfere with the sleep, but only when the patient while asleep makes — 227 — a movement causing pain ; this last causes the patient to start up, but after a rest the pain passes away and the patient again goes fast asleep. But the nocturnal exacerbations of syphilitic pains are of a different nature, they last longer, for many an hour, and are not relieved by quiet posture ; on the contrary, such patients at times get up and prefer to walk about during the nocturnal attacks of these pains. I will not stop here to discuss the point, that the bones which are most frequently affected in syphilis, as for instance, the tibiee, the bones of the forearm, of the skull, are not affected here ; nor are there any, specially characteristic of gout, affections of the small joints, and particularly of the great toes. But whereas the anamnesis and the present condition point with such positiveness to gout, they fail to give any indications of syphilis. Finally, one month's treatment with potassium iodide brought absolutely no improvement, while a two weeks' use of Vichy water has produced an inconsiderable but nevertheless un- doubted relief. As to what concerns the fact, that in our patient it is the pelvic bones and the femur which are preeminently affected by the gout, it is quiet possible, that this was aided by a cold while sitting down in the water-closet m the beginning of the cold weather, last October, when the buttocks and the thighs were exposed to chilling blasts. Prognosis. — Experience proves that patients like the one before us become usually free from the severe symptoms of gout and its recurrences, after an ordinarily repeated use of mineral waters (at the beginning alkaline, later alkaline and earthy) and a strict observance of hygienic regulations. Treatment. — As a cause of failure of the former treatment we must apparently consider the vagueness in the diagnosis. The physician saw what he considered as " chi'onic rheuma- tism," and during a whole month he was admmistermg sodium salycilate till the production of tinnitus aurium, but without any success ; salycilate of soda is perfectly inert in cases of gouty affections proper, and especially in gouty periostites ; it acts solely as a pain-stillmg agent, and then in connection with alkaline mineral waters, only in gouty articular affections complicated by acute or subacute articular rheumatism or by — 228 — the affection of the joints consequent upon this, as well as . by a catarrhal condition of these last. The failure of the treatment and a suspicion of syphilis led to the employment of potassium iodide, although it would have been more judi- cious to administer at first an alkaline mineral water, because, whereas the presence of syphilis was suspected, the presence of gout was beyond doubt. An indication for the employment of cool sponging could be found either in the nervousness of the patient, who was harassed by pains, or again, in the vague idea about " chronic rheumatism ; " but the nervousness could certainly not be removed without setting aside its causes, namely, the contmuous pains ; as for pains in general, and particularly for those of renal origm, warm baths are more suitable than the cool spongings (whether or not warm baths are suitable m the present case, we shall see later on). The patient was given Vichy, as experience proves that the strong alkalme waters, as Vichy and Yessentucki, are the best remedial, agents m such a typical gout, as found in our patient (later on, in atonic gout. Ems or an earth}' water like Contrexeville is more suitable). We administer Vichy in a moderate quantity, although it would be desirable to give it in a larger, because the patient is not only unable, in view of the winter, to go out of doors, but she can not as yet even walk about the room : such being the case, a considerable quantity of an easily absorbable water, which has no tendency to loosen the bowels, would increase the vaso-motor distur- bances in our patient, the mfluxes of blood to the head, and the perspiration, which last would diminish the secretion of the urine. As we cannot administer any considerable quantity of the mmeral water, we shall be compelled to give it for a longer period of time. What else shall we prescribe for our patient to hasten her relief and improvement ? As was said once, and as proved by experience, we have nothing to expect from the salycilate of soda, of which the patient took so much. The same may be said of antipyrin and other similar medical agencies, the action of which is so similar to that of the salycilate. Besides, these remedies are not only useless in the given case, but even harm- — 229 — ful, as they increase the tendency to sweating, which prevents the excretion of a sufficient quantity of urine, and weakens still more the cardiac activity, weak as it is at present. To give for the present case the preparations of opium for the relief of the pains would be very erroneous, as they would aggravate the above-mentioned vasomotor disturbances, which so distress the patient (as the influxes of blood to the head), and prevent sufficient urinary secretion (as the perspiration). It were most desirable to diminish the pains in a radical manner by removing their causes, which consist, namely, in those pecu- liar gouty deposits of sodium urate in the painful parts. Lithium, used for this purpose, is imdoubtedly effective, but not to a particular extent. We will prescribe for our patient piperazine recommended recently, which seems to pro- mote solution and removal of uric acid deposits ; there exist ui- vestigations w^hich speak much in favor of piperazine. We will prescribe it in solution, (]J. piperazini 3], aquee destil. fvj) in tablespoonful doses three times a day, consequent!}^ fifteen grains a day, immediately before taking her Vichy water. Of external means, in the present case with gouty periostites, electricity is useless, while massage is even harmful, as it may aggravate the pains. Warm baths are contraindicated by the extreme sensitiveness on movmg about : the acts of undressmg, getting mto the bath, emerging therefrom and di-essing anew, would aggravate the pains to a greater extent, than they would be relieved by a warm bath. ^loreover, for this case we should have to employ, m view of the great tenderness of the kidney and of the ureter in the left side, very warm baths, which again would increase the tendency to perspiration so harmful for our patient. FROM THE LECTURE OF MARCH 27, 1892. The patient continues to drink Yichy, and from March 4th to 25th she had been taking piperazme. Her condition has im- proved considerabl3% all the pains in the bones as well as in the kidneys have very much diminished: the patient walked with — 230 — ease into the auditorium. All her functions are regular, the urine is not red, gives no sediments and is of a weak acid re- action, the sleep is sound, there are no nocturnal pains, as the motions are painless. As to what concerns the action of piperazine, it would seem, that after it was administered the relief of the pains appeared sooner, in fact much sooner ; however, we cannot be sure about this, as the patient drank at the same time Vichy water, the use of which we could not, to make the experiment clear, set aside, on account of the patient's aggravated condition. The stomach bore the piperazine well in the above-named dose, and the drug has in general failed to cause any unpleasant signs.* As we were unable, as said before, to give the mineral water in large quantities, we must continue its use for as long a time as possible. The further history of the disease. — April 7th patient left the clinic almost without suffering any pains. Until the time that she left the clinic she drank Vichy in the former quantity : the urine became pale and had at times a neutral reaction. Patient was advised to discontinue drinking the mineral water, but during the summer, in case of a recurrence of the pains, even if they be not severe, to renew drinking Vichy, in the same quan- tity, but for a shorter period, say three or four weeks, and also, if possible, to take lukewarm baths of 27° R. (92.7° F.~) with salt and soda, of the first some six, of the last some three pounds per bath ; experience has shown the utility of such baths for gouty persons ; she must certainlj- observe most carefully her individual hygiene, as explained to her. She was advised to take more exercise, but with due rest, never fatiguing her- self, and especially avoid fatiguing the formerly diseased parts. * Further observations proved tliat piperazine cannot be relied upon ; that its action, if it has such, is insignificant and uncertain, and that it belongs to the class of drugs, which have recently been pushed to the front by speculation and advertised by pseudo-scientific methods. FOURTEENTH CASE. LECTURE OF OCTOBER H, I89I. The patient, the wife of a tradesman, is thirty-two years old ; she entered our clinic October 2d, complaining of pains all over the body, and particularly in the abdomen, in the right side, in the chest, arms and legs ; of dyspnoea, palpitation, oedema of the legs, poor sleep and general weakness. Mode of living and anam^iesis. — Patient lives in one of the governments around Moscow, m a good locality and in a good house. Never bathed in the river much, and for the last five years has not bathed at all, as it caused attacks of severe dyspnoea. Visits once a week the public bath-house ; is not subject to sweating. She drinks two to three cups of tea and a glass of coffee; has never used any alcoholic drinks. Her order of meals — breakfast, dinner and supper; patient was always very intemperate in her eating, and is very fond of fatt}^ starchy and particularly of sv/eet articles of food. She was pregnant twice, last confinement nine years ago. She has some trifling household occupation ; during the cold season of the year patient almost never goes out-of-doors ; in summer she is out-of-doors some, but on account of ill-health hardly ever walks at all ; which, however, she did not do even while well, because she never liked walking. Patient comes from a healthy family and is herself of very robust constitution. Has always lived in the above-described manner, always ate much and exercised little ; with the cessation of pregnancies she became very stout, and five years ago began to suffer with biliary colic, in the form of character- istic attacks of severe pains in the right side accompanied by vomiting and jaundice. October 1886 she entered our clinic the first time, and we found that besides general obesity and 231 — 232 — biliary calculi there was also a clearly pronounced gout, ex- pressed in renal colic, the urine giving an abundant sediment of sodium urate, and in gouty periostites of tUe various bones and especially of the ribs (there was neither then, nor is there now any sign of syphilis). The patient observed the diet, drank Vichy, took several warm baths, and in the course of a month left the clinic greatly improved ; but notwithstand- ing the fact, that we pointed out to her clearly what her mode of living would bring her to, she did not in the least alter it, and in January 1887 was again compelled to reenter our clmic, in which she remained for a month, was treated m a sim- ilar manner and left the clinic again improved. But being of a weak will-power, she returned to her former mode of livmg again, and in October 1887 she applied to the clinic for the third time, with all her former troubles, which became worse this time, and were especially accompanied by a severe renal colic. The treatment consisted in giving her calomel several times, warm baths, and later on Karlsbad and Vichy. Patient agam improved considerably, and notwithstanding her former irregular mode of living, but little changed for the better, she enjoyed comparatively good health durmg almost a whole year, and only in October 1887 she was again compelled for the fourth time to apply for treatment ; she was given calomel once, and later drank, during a period of six weeks, Karlsbad-Miihl- brunnen. two closes of one-half glass each m the morning, and Vichy-Celestins, two doses of one-half glass each the latter part of the day. She improved much, led a somewhat more regular life and felt comfortable for about a year and a half; then with her former disorderly habits of life there reajDpeared the former affections, both kmds of colics and particularly the gouty affections of the bones and articulations became much ag- gravated, and nine days ago patient entered our clinic, three years after her fourth sojourn in it. Status. — Patient is very stout ; the color of the skin, for- merly normal, is at present dark, olive-like. The appetite is poor, there is no thirst; patient generally drinks sparingly. Slight dyspeptic phenomena, as pyrosis, belching, nausea, appear only when the diet is neglected, otherwise they are absent. — 233 — She is costive ; has daily stools, but insufficient ones ; the excre- tions are normally colored by bile. The abdomen is large — from an evident deposition of fat as well as from intestinal me- teorism. Menstruation appears in time, but is small in quantity, lasting only one day. The urine, although small m quantity — 900 c. c. — is pale and turbid; the sediment contains a great many crystals of oxalate of lime, epithelial cells from the renal pelvis, and leucocytes ; albumen and sugar absent. The kidneys and the ureters are very sensitive. The liver is enlarged, but of normal consistency and form, and is not tender ; the region of the gall-bladder is tender. There is considerable tenderness in the sternum, ribs, scapulae and vertebrae ; dyspnoea. There occur attacks of palpitation with slight signs of angina pectoris, as a sensation of oppression at the side of the heart and simulta- neously in the left scapula and left arm. The objective examin- ation of the respiratory tracts elicits nothing abnormal. There is no cough. The dimensions of the heart cannot be defined, on account of the great thickness of the subcutaneous fat ; its tones are clear, but very weak ; the pulse is regular, but very weak. At present, as at other times, there is no fever ; but during a cold all the pains become aggravated, and at such times the pa- tient has some fever, but it is slight and of short duration. There is no headache. Dizziness is of frequent occurrence, espe- cially when she gets up suddenly or stands for some little time, then the face becomes pale. The sleep is always very poor on account of the general pains. For the last year slight hysterical attacks began to appear : a sensation of oppression in the chest and in the throat, and weep- ing ; there are no convulsions or loss of consciousness. All the bones and the joints of the extremities are more or less sensi- tive ; in the lower ones it is especially the joints of the great toes, in the upper ones it is the shoulder-joints. There is a pro- nounced hyperaesthesia cutis. Hearing and sight are normal. Extreme muscular weakness. The legs are oedematous up to the middle. Diagnosis — The greater part of the affections which are observed in our patient were already discussed by us m con- nection with the foregoing cases. The stomach is as yet in — 234 — good condition. The costiveness and the intestinal meteorism ■depend on the weakened condition of the muscular apparatus of the intestines, so natural with the inactive mode of life and the general muscular weakness of the patient. The urinary tract presents signs of nephrolithiasis and of catarrhal pyelitis. There are biliary calculi. The enlargement of the liver, in the presence of insensitiveness and normal consistency, and also in view of the general obesity, must be referred to a fatty condition of this organ ; this is also evidenced by the olive color of the skin, which points to some difficulty in the secretion of bile, caused by a narrowing of the biliary passages through fatty de- posits. The weak cardiac activity, as seen by the weak pulse, dizziness in connection with a pale face and oedema of the legs, in the presence of a pulse of normal frequency and of normal rhythm, must be ascribed to the weakened activity of the cardiac muscle, very likely due to a fatty condition of this last ; this con- dition, in connection with the developed hysterical j)henomena, may also be the cause of the slight attacks of angina pectoris and of palpitation. The dyspnoea, in the presence of a normal 'condition of the respiratory tracts, depends evidently also on cardiac weakness, and is jDartly due to the high position of the diaphragm on account of the enlarged abdomen. The slight hysteria developed in our patient under the influence of an in- active life in confinement, contmuous insomnia and prolonged severe pains. The cutaneous hypersesthesia may partly be due to the hysteria ; however, it is of usual occurrence in severely pamful affections of subcutaneous parts ; the hysteria in our pa- tient is slight, whereas the cutaneous hypersesthesia is extremely pronounced and is observed not over one-half of the body, as is frequently the case in hysteria, but all over, and particularly over the deep painful parts, as the gall-bladder, urinary passages and over almost all the bones and cartilages. The disturbances of nutrition are very typical in this case : under the influence of the above depicted mode of life and with the cessation of pregnancies, our patient developed general obesity, later typical gout, arthritis urica, with the uric-acid nephrolithiasis, and later still, under the influence of muscular inactivity and the su- peradded functional nervous disturbances, thanks to a great — 235 — quantity of sweet food, there appeared oxahiria. As is well known, such a combination of disturbances of nutrition, or with the addition yet of diabetes mellitus, is to be frequently met with. Prognosis. — The condition of the patient is evidently very serious : in the presence of so many and such great disturban- ces of the organism, any accidental illness — of no consequence in a healthy person — may take on a fatal significance. As to what concerns the cure, or at least a considerable improvement in health, even this, as we shall see later, is beset with great difficulties, not to mention the patient's weak will, which para- lyzes all our efforts in the direction of restoring her health on a durable basis. Treatment and course of disease. — Diet, watery clysters, in ac- cord with the necessity of the case, and stimulants (a mixture of the sether-valerianate drops with the Hoffman's di'ops with coffee). At the beginning, in view of the great sensitiveness of the gall-bladder, we gave calomel in eight one-grain powders, one every hour ; this brought about considerable improvement, but also a considerable, although only temporary, weakness,, so that we had to give up the further use of calomel. For the same reason, after the first warm bath, which relieved the abdominal pams — those of the kidneys and of the gall-bladder — but which has very much weakened the cardiac activity, we were also com- pelled to give up warm baths. Massage of the affected joints and general massage, as indicated by the oxaluria, even if very slight, proved to be impossible, on account of the cutaneous hypereesthesia. We had to limit ourselves to prescribing the Contrexeville water — for the oxaluria — in half -glassful doses three times a day, and to small doses (ten grains twice or three times per day, but not every day) of sodium salycilate as a pam- stillmg agent, and fifteen grains of sodium bromide at bed-time (but not every night) as a somnifacient ; both drugs were ad- ministered in the above-mentioned doses of Contrexeville water ; but this relieved the patient but little ; while larger doses of the salycilate were contra-indicated by the weak heart. Contmu- ing the use of the mineral water we now took up antipyrine, in five-grain doses twice a day ; this acted well and relieved the pains to such an extent, that sleep became possible, without weakening the cardiac activity. — 236 — The patient left the clmic October 27th, markedly relieved in all her sufferings. For further treatment she was given the foUowmg advice : while resorting as far as necessary to watery clysters, to stimulant and pain-stillmg drugs (as antipj'rme and, later, if she become habituated to it, phenacetine in the same dosage), she must drmk alternately Vichy-Celestins, for the uric-acid deposits, and Contrexeville for oxaluria, — m small quantity (one half-glassful twice a day) and mtermittently, and also to drmk milk ; when possible to resort to massage, as soon as the pains and the hypersesthesia diminish, and to warm baths, when the weakness is diminished and durmg the warm season of the year. The treatment by milk was advised as follows : while continu- ing the di^inkmg of the mentioned mineral waters, and while re- sorting as far as necessary to the use of clysters, of stimulants and anodynes, durmg the days of the milk treatment to use, be- sides milk, only coffee with some sugar and a little tea without sugar, and absolutely nothing more, no other food or drmk ; to drink milk which is neither fat nor skimmed, one half-glassful at a time, during the whole day, in such a quantity as not to feel hungry, but not more than this ; it is ordinarily sufficient to drink five to seven glasses per day ; to drink for several days at a stretch, till there appears a feeling of weakness ; then to leave off the milk, and to take up for a few days continuously another food, in accord generally with the prescribed diet ; (va- rious foods are recommended — meat, fish, eggs, and also starchy articles ; excluded — sweet and very fatty food, as well as various desserts, sauces, gravies, etc.) ; as soon as the sensation of weak- ness will pass away after the use of such food, then return at once to the sole use of milk for a few days, until a satisfactory result is obtamed. For indications for this treatment by milk m such cases, I refer to my article on syphilis of the heart. I will add, that in cases of atonic gout similar to our present one, when even the mmeral waters prove ineffective, or effective but to a slight extent, good results are frequently obtamed by a continu- ous use of a tea made of herbs and root of fragaria vesca (straw- berry tea) ; for a pinch of this tea use a glass of boiling water, let it steep well and drmk this quantity once or twice a day. DISEASES OF THE KIDNEYS, SIXTEENTH AND SEVENTEENTH CASES. LECTURE OF FEBRUARY 19, 1893. The patient, a peasant, age thirtj-nine, entered the clinic one week ago, complammg of swelling of the legs and face, difdcul- tj in breathing, headache and general weakness. Mode of living and (mamnesis. — Patient grew up in a village of the Moscow Government, but has been living in Moscow for a long time. His lodgmgs are rather cold, the water-closet quite so. Takes a hot bath once a week. Is a hard smoker, has been an intemperate alcoholist for a long time and is addicted to drmking hot tea. His table is that of a working- man. He is married, has children ; no history of syphilis. His occupation is that of a machinist in a prmting establishment, his work-day from 7 A. M. to 8 P. M. (with an interval of one hour for dinner), has enough tune to sleep, but not much of an out^door life. Until ten years ago patient had nothing to complain of, but later began to observe, after drmking heavily, swelling of the legs and face, which would pass away within a few days with- out treatment. Some six years ago, also after a debauch, he spat considerable blood, but this passed without leaA'ing a trace and never reappeared. In the beginning of this winter there appeared the usual oedema of the face and of the legs, l^ut it did not pass away ; and recently it increased and to it was superadded a slight enlargement of the abdomen, diarrhoea, dyspnoea, headache and general weakness, all of which com- pelled him to seek medical aid in the clinic. During a week's sojourn in the clinic, patient began to im- prove markedly, thanks to the warm room and to the warm 237 — 238 — water-closet, to rest in a comfortable bed and to the use of .strong wine (six tablespoonfuls per day), and of the stimulant drops (tra. valer. seth. and liqu. anod. Hoffm. aa gttas. xxv, four times a day), his food consisting of milk (boiled, in view of a tendency to diarrhoea), milk soup of grits (semolino) and chicken soup. Status. — The appetite is better than it was on admission, the former diarrhoea ceased. The liver and spleen present nothing abnormal. The region of the kidneys is somewhat tender on pressure. On admission to the clinic his urine amounted to 500 c.c. for the twenty-four hours, containing 0.3 per cent, of albumen by Essbach's albuminometer, and a sediment consisting of a few granular cylinders and red blood-corpuscles, and many leucocytes; the quantity of urine is now 2000 c.c. with 0.2 per cent, of albumen, a few leucocytes and with almost no cylinders and red blood-corpuscles ; some accumulation of fluid can be ob- served in the abdominal cavity. The dj^spncea, although easier, is still considerable ; there is a slight cough with some expecto- ration ; objective exammation of the respiratory tracts elicits nothing abnormal, outside of some dry rales here and there. The heart is enlarged : the apex beat is felt one finger's width to the left of the left mammillary line, and the sound on the in- ferior part of the sternum is markedly duller than on the superior; the tones are clear. The pulse is 88, of regular rhythm, but somewhat weak ; still it is already stronger than it was a week ago. The oedema of the legs and of the face diminished some- what. There is no fever. Sleep is prevented by pains in the head which, although quite severe as yet, have abated some. The general weakness is less at present. Before we turn to the diagnosis and treatment of this case, I will present to you another for a parallel investigation. This patient, a peasant woman, thirtj^-nine years old, entered our clinic October 31st, 1892, complaining of considerable swelling in the face, legs and abdomen, of extreme dyspnoea, of cough, constant headache, and extreme weakness. Mode of living mid anamnesis. — The patient is a constant re- sident of a village in the government of Moscow, situated in a very damp locality. She lodges in an ordinary peasant's hut, with ' — 239 — a water-closet in the barn. Patient takes a weekly steam-bath over an oven, after which she clashes water over herself standing at the front of the house, even in winter.* jS'ever drank any whiskey or wine — drmks a great deal of tea ; food, ordmarj^ peasant's. Patient is a widow, had neither children nor any miscarriages. Judgmg from her anamnesis as well as her present condition, sjiDhilis may be excluded. She does house-work and field-labor. Until the last five j^ears our patient always enjoyed good health. Five years ago there appeared for the first time swel- ling of the legs and face, which passed away in the course of two weeks without any treatment. Since then the eyelids would swell occasionally. Last August the legs and face became swollen ; during autuimi and winter the swelling continued in- creasing and the abdomen began to enlarge very markedly ; to this were soon added headaches, general weakness, dyspnoea and cough, and at times a diarrhoea of abundant fluid evacua- tions, accompanied now and then by slight pain in the abdomen. Patient has beenm the clinic for the last three and a half months. Her surroundings and diet were the same as m the foregomg case, but on account of the diarrhoea, milk was given in small quantities — two and a half glasses during the twenty- four hours. The treatment was as follows : the looseness of the bowels was kept under control, but not stopped suddenly, first, because it could assist in decreasing the oedema and espe- cially the abdommal dropsy, which was very considerable, as we shall see later, and secondly, because the dyspnoea, caused b}^ the oedema of the lungs and by uraemia, of which we will speak later, would become intolerable if the patient were con- stipated. To modify the diarrhoea, which took place occasion- ally, and not to check it suddenly, fifteen drops of tra. coto, thi-ee times a day, proved to be sufficient ; opium, which is generally not indicated m cases of chronic, slightly painful diarrhoea, is ev- idently contra-indicated in the present case by the general weak- ness as well as by that of the heart, but especially by oedema of the lungs. To strengthen the cardiac activity we gave the same drops as in the foregoing case, twenty-five drops three * A custom prevalent among a great iDart of the Paissian peasantry. — Note of the translator. — 240 — times per day ; we were compelled to discontinue the use of wine, as it tended to aggravate greatly the pains in the head. When the latter became very severe we resorted at times with success to five-grain doses of phenacetine. As a diuretic we tried at first diuretin (theobrominum natrobenzoicum, 3j in 3vj of aqua destil., in tablespoonful doses), but had to give it up after the fifth dose, as it increased the headache and caused nausea and vomiting. For the same reason we left off caffeuium nitrobenzoicum, which we prescribed after the diuretin in five- grain doses three times per day. We then gave her calomel, which was administered in one grain doses four times a day and was well borne, without increasing the diarrhoea ; but it did not in the least increase the quantity of the. urme nor relieve the ursemic phenomena (the headaches), and it also was therefore given up. We have had thus to limit ourselves, for purposes of acting upon the kidnej^s, to the employment of baths since the end of November. The patient, who has acquired of late a susceptibility to cold, felt chilly in a bath at the temperature of 30°i2. (99.5°i^.) and 31°i2. (101.7°i^.);but at 32°i?. (104°i^.) and laterat 33°i?. (106.2° i^.) the bath mduced an agreeabl}^ warm sensation. The patient had such baths, with slight interrup- tions, from the time she entered the clinic until December 10th ; they brought about a slight improvement, the quantity of urine bemg increased temporarily and all the morbid phenomena hav- ing diminished; but tills improvement was rather unstable and passed off rapidly, so that by December 10th the average quanti- ty of the urine was about the same as when she was admitted, about 1200 c.c. in twenty-four hours, and the condition of the patient improved but little. From that date on, we began the employment of dry hot-air baths, from 4:5° E. (1SS.5°F.) to 60° J?. (167°^.), in an apparatus conveniently applied, as you see, to the bed ; these batlis called out profuse perspirations, and the condition of the patient began to improve steadily smce ; by January 10th the amount of urine was increased to 2000 c.c. in twenty-four hours, by February 10th to 3000, which amount re- mains at present ; the oedema and the ascites have also dimm- ished greatly, and the patient has since enjoyed the good condi- tion ui which you find her now. — 241 — Status. — The appetite, which was poor on the patient's admission to the clinic, is good now. Tlie dyspeptic phenom- ena, as heaviness in the stomach and belching, also nausea and vomiting accompanied by severe headache evidently of ursemic origin, observed on her admission, have passed away ; so has, since the middle of December, the diarrhoea. Ascites is not apparent at present: the circumference of the abdomen on a level with the umbilicus was 172 cm. before, but at present is 89 cm. The hver and the spleen, which did not admit of pal- pation on patient's admission, present on examination notlimg abnormal now. No menstruation smce August ; it was former- ly regular and painless ; she never had any leucorrhoea ; the gy- naecological examination shows that the climacteric period is approaching. The quantity of urine on admission was 1,000 c.c. in the twenty-four hours, red, turbid, with an abundant sedi- ment, consisting of a great quantity of renal epithelium, granular hyaline cylinders, red blood-corpuscles and leucocytes; there was 0.6 per cent, of albumen ; the amount of urine is at present 3,000 c.c, it is pale, slightly turbid, with a trifling sediment, in which the quantity of the above-named elements is much smaller, while the red blood-corpuscles, the renal epithelium and the epithelial cylinders are absent altogether; there is onl}^ 0.2 per cent, of albumen. When admitted, patient was suffermg from a severe dyspnoea, which would not allow of sleepmg in a re- cumbent posture, and a severe cough, that would raise with con- siderable difficulty a small quantity of expectorated matter, accompanied by mucous rales in the inferior portions of the lungs ; at present the rales, as well as the cough and dyspnoea, have almost disappeared, and the patient is able to sleep in a recumbent posture. The apex impulse, which could not be palpated on her admission, is clearly felt now along the left mammillary line ; at the same time the pulse, which was former- ly very weak, although not quite frequent (80) and rhythmical, became stronger and less frequent (72 to 76), the sound over the sternum is everywhere clear, the tones of the heart clear. The formerly enormous oedema has almost disappeared; there re- mains yet some on the legs. Fever neither before nor now. Patient, formerly very pale, is not so pale now. The sleep, — 242 — which was formerly prevented by headaches and the patient's inability to sleep in a recumbent position, is now good : the head- aches are less frequent and milder, the general weakness is much less. These gathered data will certamly make it clear to you, that it is the kidneys which are principally affected m both cases, and that the morbid processes are of a chronic nature. Enter- ing to-day on the discussion of diseases of the kidneys, namely, chronic ones (as there do not happen to be in the clinic just at present any pure cases of acute nephritis), I selected from among the clinical patients the two whom I presented before you, be- cause I considered their clinical analysis, conducted along paral- lel lines, as particularly useful in acquamtmg you with the chronic nephrites ; but before going any further, before consider- ing the diagnosis and the treatment of both cases, I think it necessary to take a brief survey of the varieties of chronic nephritis recognized by modern pathology. Pathological anatom}^ has proved that a chronic nephritis is always the same in the sense, that there always takes place a contemporaneous affection of the glandular element, — the urin- ary tubules, — and of the interstitial substance, but that in a great number of the cases one or the other of the affections is more predominating. The clinical data prove, that the variety of the disease and its course in cases in which the affection of the glandular tissue predominates, are clearly distmct from the va- riety and course of the disease with a predominance of the affec- tion ofthe interstitial tissue, and the clinic therefore distinguishes two varieties of chronic nephritis : the parenchymatous and the interstitial. In the interstitial variety there is a great quantity of pale and limpid urine with a trifling sediment, consisting usually, although not constantly, of hyaline cylinders, the albu- minuria is inconsiderable and inconstant ; the various oedemata are either absent, or there ma}^ be some slight oedema of the legs, while the left ventricle of the heart is hj^pertrophied and usually dilated. In parenchymatous nephritis the urine is scanty, very turbid, and gives a considerable sediment, contain- ing leucocytes, frequently also red blood-corpuscles, renal epithe- lium and epithelial, granular and hyaline cylinders ; the albu- — 243 — minuria is considerable; with this there occur severe anasarca and accumulations in the cavities, and a frequently recui'ring, ob- stinate diarrhoea, while the left ventricle of the heart, although enlarged (dilated), is not at all, or very little, hypertrophied, probably because the nutrition of such patients fails rapidly, whereas the nutrition of patients suffermg with mterstitial neph- ritis may remain for a long time in a good condition. In interstitial nephritis death is brought about either by apo- plexy in the brain, caused by hypertrophy of the dilated left ventricle in conjunction with a chronic arteritis, or even an atheromatous condition of the arteries ; or by uraemia, or through disturbances of compensation (when the heart is further affected) or through inflammation of the mucous membranes, to which last these patients are so predisposed. Parenchymatous nephritis causes death through ascites and ui^aemia, as well as through the above-named mflammations, to which such patients are even more predisposed. Both varieties of the fully developed nephri- tis are incurable; but patients with interstitial nepliiitis, enjoy- ing moderately good health, may live for a long time, much over ten years, while those with the parenchymatous variety will only live a few years and that in a condition of great debility and severe suffering. Prognosis is therefore worse for cases of pa- renchymatous, than for those of mterstitial nephritis. In the course of both varieties of chronic nephritis there take place changes which point to their close relationship, to the fact, that they belong to one process. In interstitial nephritis the urine will frequently diminish in quantity all of a sudden, become turbid, throwing down an abun- dant sediment, containing the same formative elements, as it does in parenchymatous nephritis, and show a great quantity of albumen, and at the same time there will appear considerable oedema ; but all these phenomena will pass away rapidly in a few days under correct regimen and treatment (usually cardiac stimulants and warm baths), and the physician — certainly, the one who is very unexperienced or rather careless — who first saw the patient in the above-depicted condition of exacer- bation, will be compelled later on to change his diagnosis (and consequenily also the prognosis), and instead of what seemed to — 244 — him a parenchymatous nephritis, will recognize " an exacerba- tion " of the interstitial variety. It is true, that this "exa- cerbation " is in reality but a rapidly passing parenchymatous inflammation, com plicating the original variety ; but this ori- ginal variety, with all the peculiarities in its course and termina- tion, and consequently in the prognosis, is in such cases after all an interstitial nepliritis. Such " exacerbations " of intersti- tial nephritis may pass away even if untreated, as is seen, for in- stance, from the history of our first patient. Parenchymatous nephritis terminates in the majority of cases fatally ; but at times, rather rarely however, a more favorable termination takes place, which is known as the " transition into interstitial nephritis" : thus the amount of urine increases, its turbidity, the sediment of abundant formative elements and the considerable albuminuria, all these bemg the chief symptoms of a severe affection of the renal parenchyma, decrease and become insignificant. Alongside with these the various oede- mata and exudations into the cavities disappear, the diarrhoea ceases, while the nutrition improves, the patient gathers strength, and there is developed a hypertrophy of the left ventricle of the heart; thus the picture of a typical paren- chymatous nephritis changes to that of a typical interstitial variety with its more benign course. It becomes evident, that this "transition of a parenchymatous nephritis into an in- terstitial" is but the cessation or extreme diminution of the more dangerous parenchymatous process, and a continuation, in the form of a further extension, of the interstitial variety, which always accompanies the parenchymatous form. Diagnosis. — From the above it becomes apparent, that our first patient suffers from a chronic interstitial nephritis (as evidenced by the fact, that the disease had existed for ten years, that the oedemata are of a slight and rapidly passing character, and that the heart is enlarged) with an occasional " exacerbation," i, e. complicated by a rapidly passing inflam- mation of the renal parenchyma. That this last is of a rapidly passing nature is seen by the rapid improvement m the patient's condition : during the course of one week, with the aid of a correct regimen and the emplojonent only of cardiac stimulants, — 245 — even without warm baths, the quantity of urine was raised from 500 c.e. in the twenty-four hours to 2000, and the forma- tive elements in the urinary sediment began to disappear. For the sake of completness in the diagnosis we must say a few words on the condition of the heart ; its dilatation is indicated by its enlargement: the dilatation of the left ventricle, as ap- parent from the long duration of the disease, is of a permanent nature, while the dilatation of the right one (as can be judged by the dull sound on the inferior portion of the sternum) is probably of a temporary character, dependent on the weakened activity of the heart, and is likely to diminish with the improve- ment of the latter. The rapid increase in the quantity of the urine points to a hypertrophy of the left ventricle. The dys- pnoea, headache and insonuiia, which appeared together with the developed cedema and the diminished quantity of the urine, and which decrease with the increase in the amount of this last, are evidently of an ursemic character. Our second patient, from what we are led to judge by the above- mentioned two varieties of chronic nephritis, presents not a rapid- ly passing inflammation of the renal parenchyma that occurs in- cidentally during the course of a chronic interstitial nephritis, but a firmly established parenchymatous nephritis ; this is in- dicated not only by the characteristic picture of the disease, as by obstinate dropsical phenomena of anasarca, ascites and cedema pulmonum, by persistent diarrhoea, characteristic urine, and the condition of the heart, but also by the unyielding nature of the disease to treatment : warm, and even hot water-baths at the temperature of 32° (104° F.) to 33° R. (106.2° i^.) employed durmg a whole month, failed to bring about the lea.st improvement in the patient's condition, and only ener- getic application of air-baths at a high temperature induced a decided turn for the better. Prognosis. — As seen from the course of the disease and its treatment, we may hope in the first case for a speedy disap- pearence of the "exacerbation " and for the return of the patient to his ordinary tolerable condition of health, while in the second case we may expect the " transition " of the disease into a toler- able condition of interstitial nephritis, i. e. the cessation of the more dangerous~parenchymatous process. — 246 — From the analj^sis of these two patients aud from their further observation you will become acquainted with typical cases of both varieties of chronic nephritis and with the most important changes in their courses and also with the most effi- cient means for their treatment. Treatment. — We gave as yet no hot baths to our first patient on account of his weakness, while internall}^ he was given stimu- lant drops in view of the diarrhoea. At present the patient is somewhat stronger and we will therefore order for him some baths and internalh^, outside the above-mentioned stimulant di'ops (for the diarrhoea stopped), also some caffeine, as a diuretic which acts through the heart, by strengthening the latter's ac- tivity ; as a diuretic agent on the kidneys, we have only milk : the " strong" diuretics are contraindicated by the condition of the kidneys, while the less irritating ones — as the alkaline mineral waters, — cannot be used on account of the only recently ceased diarrhoea. The mdication for prescribmg caffeine — in the con- dition of cardiac activity as observed in the present case — for its diuretic effect through the heart, and no other •■' cardiac " drug, is certainly sufficiently clear to you now, but it will be- come clearer still, when, m analj^zing clinically diseases of the heart, we will discuss the comparative eff'ect of different cardiac drugs. In the second case, after what was shown by its obser- vation, we must continue the air-baths at a high temperature and also the stimulatmg drops. For internal use, in view of the patient's pallor, there is an indication for iron ; arsenic is contra-indicated, outside of other considerations, by the former obstinate diarrhoea. The male patient left the clinic ^larch 11th. From February 19th to March 6th he was given seven baths at the temperature of 31°it. (about 101.7°i^.) ; mternally he was given from Feb- ruary 19th to the 2Tth caffeine natrobenzoate (in five-gram doses, at first twice a day, and later three, four and five times), and from February 27th to March 6th he had theobromine natroben- zoate, in drachm quantities daily (3j in fij of water, in table- spoonful doses). There was no appreciable difference in the action of either of the drugs, but, as is well known, and as you — 247 — may also judge by the present case, we have to give greater quantities of theobromine than of caffeine ; and the first costs more than the second. Already by March 6th the principal morbid phenomena, as the oedemata, the dyspnoea, headache, insomnia and weakness, disappeared, and the amount of urine increased^ the patient left the clinic strengthened, suffering with a trifling albuminuria and an enlarged, but functionally efficient left ventricle of the heart ; the right ventricle has evi- dently returned to its normal dimensions, as the sound on the inferior part of the sternum became clear. Our advice to the pa- tient when leaving : not to abuse brandy and hot tea, not to go during the cold season of the year into a cold water-closet, nor to take a steam-bath in winter, and to wear woolen undergar- ments. The female patient left the clinic April 17th. The very small quantity of iron (tinctura tonico-nervina Bestujeff, * five drops three times a day) which was prescribed for her Feb- ruary 23d caused a diarrhoea on the very next day and it was therefore discontinued. Under the use of tra. coto the diar- rhfjea soon ceased. The treatment then consisted of the use of air-baths at a high temperature, together with the use of stimu- lating drops. By the begmning of April the baths became un- necessary: the anasarca, ascites and the cedema of the lungs passed away, there was no recurrence of the diarrhoea, the head- ache and insomnia disappeared, the patient left the clinic with an albuminuria (0.2 per cent), but very much strengthened and with a functionally active heart. Our advice on taking her leave : to take no steam-baths over the oven, nor dash any water over the body during a frost, and to wear woolen undergarments (with this last, being indigent, she was supplied from the clinic). * Solution of chloride of Iron (U.S.P) . . 850 min. Stronger ether 4 fl. oz. Alcohol, enough to make . . . . 16 fi. oz. Each fluidrachm contains about Yz gr. of metallic Iron. (U. S. D.) ANAEMIAE. SEVENTEENTH CASE. LECTURE OF MARCH 16, 1893. The patient, a merchant's wife, age twenty, not desiring to enter the clinic, is being treated at hoine and comes here only for advice. She first applied here one week ago, complaining of difficulty in breathing, palpitation of the heart and dizziness on moving around, a constant noise in the head, general weak- ness and a slight oedema of the face and lower extremities. Mode of living and anajiinesis. — Patient moved two weeks ago to Moscow, into a good residence, and before this she lived in a healthy country locality, also in a good house. Is not used to sea-bathing, but takes a bath (in the public bath-house) weekly. Does not smoke, drinks neither wine nor coffee, and but a little tea. Has good meals (fish on fast-days). Her occupation is light, of a household nature, but fatiguing on account of her weakness, this last also keeping her most of the time in-doors. Was married two months ago. The patient enjoyed good health until last summer, but on account of the cholera epidemic she spent that summer in a condition of great mental anxiety and suffered also a severe shock from the loss, by cholera, of persons dear to her. Since autumn the patient began to grow pale and weak ; and during December the above-enumerated morbid phenomena made their appearance and since her marriage have become particularly ag- gravated. Status. — The patient, as you see, is of average constitution and very pale, while a week ago the pallor was striking and had a greenish tint. The pallor, as well as the (jedema of the legs and face, have decreased considerably for the last week, because 248 — 249 — the patient began taking iron, which we prescribed for her in the clinic. Up to the time that she began taking iron her appetite was poor and she suffered from nausea after meals ; the appetite is now better and the nausea disappeared. She is costive, but watery clysters empty the bowels sufficiently. The urine is pale, of a specific gravity of 1007, but contains neither albumen nor sugar, nor peptones. The liver, the spleen and the abdomen in general present nothing abnormal. Menstruation appeared first when she was seventeen years old and had been quite reg- ular formerly, but since summer it began to appear once in three months and very scantily, last time in December ; it was always painless. Gynaecological examination shows the uterus rather under-developed, considering patient's age. Both the dyspnoea ' and palpitation are now less than they were a week ago. The respiratory organs are in a normal con- dition. The dimensions of the heart are normal. All over the region of the heart there is heard a systolic murmur, while over the veins of the neck the murmur is constant. The number of the red blood-corpuscles is 50 per cent, of the normal, of the haemoglobin but 12 per cent, of the normal quantity ; there is neither poikilocytosis nor leucocytosis. The pulse is 80, as yet weak, but already stronger than formerly. Patient is not feverish. The sleep is fair. She complains less of noise in the head, of dizziness and general debility. Diagnosis. — We evidently have .here before us a typical ease of chlorosis in its extreme development. No part of the organism, outside of the blood and the sexual apparatus, pre- sents any signs of a primary affection : the observed morbid phenomena, which in their entirety form such a complete pic- ture of chlorosis, depend apparently on a clearly pronounced alteration in the blood ; the systolic murmur in the region of the heart in the presence of normal dimensions of this last depends cer- tainly on the same cause. Pernicious anaemia may be excluded b}" the absence of any signs of increased disintegration of the red blood-corpuscles, namely the absence of poikilocytosis, pepto- nuria and urine of a high specific gravity ; against leukaemia speaks the absence of leucocytosis and of symptoms of any affection of the spleen and of the lymphatic glands ; this last — 250 -^ also excludes pseudo-leuksemia ; that the disease is not an anae- mia resultmg from failure in nutrition and hsemotopoiesis as due to unfavorable conditions of life, is evidenced by the fact, that the disease developed under the identical material con- ditions, under which her health was formerly satisfactory, while a depressed mental state — as in the present case — is shown by experience to favor the development of just the condition of chlorosis. What is the nature of chlorosis ? The investigation of this question lies outside of the domain of clinical exercises proper, as conducted for beginners, but I consider it important to take it up now, so that we may define the disease more fully and consequently be able to distinguish it with greater precision from other cases of ansemia that we may run across later on. In the text-books of internal pathology chlorosis is described in the part treating of diseases of the blood ; but this part forms one of the weakest features of every text-book. Let us take, for example, the well-known German text-book of Eichhorst, translated into the most important European languages : ." Chapter VIII. Diseases of the blood and of the hlood forming organs. Part first. Diseases of the blood.''"' And now, without any explanatory introduction, there follow one after the other descriptions of leuksemia, pseudo-leukgemia, pernicious anaemia, chlorosis, melansemia, purpura simplex, purpura rheumatica, purpura hcemorrhagica, scorbutus, hsemoglobinuria and heemo- philia. What a variegated collection ! How can we consider as belonging to one class such affections as purpura simplex — a but insignificant symptom to be met with in a great many differ- ent diseases, and Werlhoff's disease, which, when fully developed, presents all the symptoms of an independent affection, of a disease sui generis^ in all probability of an infectious nature. On the other hand, if we place among diseases of the blood purpura hsemorrhagica, in which the primary affection of the blood is perhaps probable, but has not been proved as yet, then why not describe in the same chapter also malaria, in which disease the affection of the blood is so apparent, and very probably of a primary origin? If the chapter of the diseases of the blood — 251 — treats of leukgemia and melana;mia, in wiiich the alterations of the blood are but consequent on affections of the other parts of of the organism and on other diseases, then why not place there also urpemia, cholsemia, etc. ? To treat thus of diseases of the blood tends to produce a vague idea about them in the begin- ner's mind and puts them within narrow limits. A short in- troduction should at least delineate fully the limits of this department of diseases, should distinguish the primary affections of the blood from the changes consequent thereon, and should keep it prominently before the beginner's mind, that it was only for the greater convenience of exposition, that either has been described in other parts of the text-book. It is evident, that placing chlorosis in the chapter that treats of diseases of the blood, will assist but little in explaining the nature of this disease, especially if we consider the modern ac- count of the same. The changes in the blood in chlorosis and their consequences are evident, and to judge by the present case, may be very great : but what produces them? We do not observe in oui' patient any signs of an insufficient development of the general circula- tory system, as the presence of a narrow calibre of the vessels, etc., to which Virchow called attention m cases of chlorosis, though they occur very rarely. The influence of unfavorable material conditions and of disturbances of digestion on the. nu- trition and hsematopoiesis have to be excluded by the very fact of their absence in the present case. One thing is certain — the presence of a disease-causing influence on the nervous sys- tem, namely, the depressing mental condition. Influences of such a nature play an important part in the setiology of chloro- sis\ Some physicians, as for instance, the late Prof. Botkin, in his clinical lectures on chlorosis, are even inclined to classify chlorosis with nervous affections. While I recognize fully, from my own experience, the truth of his observations as well as of those of others, — observations of which the present case may serve as an example, — I still think that the morbid influence on the nervous system serves but as the exciting cause, which calls to the surface the hidden, but nevertheless already existing disease. — 252 — I base my opinion, first, on the fact, that in many cases chloro- sis is developed without any such influences on the nervous system ; secondly, because such influences on the nervous sys- tem cause chlorosis only at the age when sexual maturity is in the process of being formed, while at any other age no such effect takes place; and thirdly, because even at this age they may call out the existence of the disease in some, and fail to do so in others. It is reasonable to assume that the im- mediate cause of the disease lies in the process of development of sexual maturity, and in the condition and functions of the sexual organs at this period of life. The signs of incomplete development of the sexual sphere and the anomalies of men- struation, usually observed in chlorosis, as well as the remark- able facts which have become known lately, all tend to streng- then this assumption still further. The well-known physiologist Brown-Sequard promulgated the idea that the glandular organs of our body secrete not only ex- ternally, but also internally, thus exerting an influence on the life of the organism. As a particular confirmation of his idea, he pointed to the inter-relation between the activity of the male generative organs and the general condition of the organism, and on this fact he based the application, with a therapeutic aim, of his well-known injections. These injections were at first com- promised by being thoughtlessly applied, and partly also through invidious exploitation, but at present they are considered as worthy of experimentation by serious investigators. Similar observations were at the same time made known, which tended to prove the hitherto unsuspected connection between the condi- tion of certain parts of the body and that of the body as a whole : I refer to the investigations, which prove a relation of the thyroid gland to myxoedema, of the suprarenal bodies to Ad- dison's disease, probably of the pituitary bodies to acromegaly, of the pancreas to diabetes. One cannot help thinking that there may be a similar relation between some special condition of the sexual apparatus during the period of the formation of sexual maturity and chlorosis ; this condition being such, that only in its presence may influences on the nervous system cause the development of chlorosis, while the other circumstances, as — 253 — failure in nutrition and blood-formation from various reasons, may favor this development.* I must say here a few words on the relation of chlorosis to hysteria, in the aetiology of which morbid conditions of the genital sphere also play such an important part. The combi- nation of chlorosis and hysteria is seen, according to my experi- ence, not only infrequently, but rather rarely. The influence of marriage in chlorosis and hysteria is as follows : other condi- ditions being equal, for example, with a similar and withal good constitution, amidst similar and withal favorable con- ditions of life, hysteria, even if strongly developed, often passes away completely after marriage, or is at least considerably diminished; while chlorosis, if slight, becomes neither better nor worse after marriage and requires treatment ; but if con- siderable, it always becomes worse, so that for chlorotic girls late marriage is more advisable, for the phenomena of chlorosis will then cease to recur and will finally disappear, and sexual maturity as well as that of the whole organism, will be fully established. The prognosis in the present case is favorable, considering the patient's fair constitution, her good conditions of life, and also * A later addition [from the article of the well-known (by his works in the domain of pathology of metabolism) Prof . Noorden : "Altesund Neues liber Pathologie nnd Therapie der Chlorose." — Berliner Klinische Wochenschrift, iS'os. 9 and 10, 1895]. What causes the diminution of hae- moglobin in chlorosis,- — the increased disintegration of the blood, or the weakened power of haematopoiesis ? The bilirubin of the bile is formed from the hsematin. From the bilirubin there is formed hydrobilirubin of the feces and urobilin, identical with hydrobilirubin ; this urobilin is ab- sorbed by the intestines and passes into the urine, of which it forms the principal coloring matter. Thei'efore, the general quantity of urobilin in the urine and of hydrobilirubin in the feces may serve as an index of the disintegration of the haemoglobin. Not only the pale urine and the usually pale color of the feces in chlorosis, but also direct measurements of the quantity of urobilin in the urine and of hydi'obilirubin in the feces, which measurements show their diminution in this disease, — go to prove that the disintegration of the haemoglobin is not increased in chlorosis, but diminished, and that consequently the decrease of this body in the blood depends on the weakened power of haematopoiesis. On the con- trary, in other anaemiae, — as in the pernicious, leukaemic, febrile, ma- larial, — where the existence of an increased disintegration of the blood is too certain, there are constantly found greater quantities of urobilin in the urine and of hydrobilirubin in the feces. — 254 — in view of the fact that she has hardly been subjected to any treatment. The prognosis would certainly be less favor- able, if her constitution and mode of living were poor and if we had found in her such an extreme development of the disease after a considerable and frequent use of iron and arsenic ; and such a thing does occur. Whereas now, especially in view of the fact that iron is well borne and is evidently effective, we may well hope to bring the patient soon out of her chlorotic condition. It is true, that this last is liable to recur and seldom yields to treatment instituted the first time ; but with the aid of a good constitution and favorable conditions of life repeated treatment is usually successful in preventmg a recurrence and in establishing the health on a firm basis. Otherwise the con- dition of health is liable to undergo different changes, while the organism may acquire a predisposition to various diseases, espe- cially to pulmonary tuberculosis. Treatment — First of all, be sure to create as favorable hy- gienic conditions as possible; the principal therapeutic means are iron and arsenic. Before prescribing these drugs you must carefully investigate the condition of the stomach : it is just as erroneous to consider the dyspeptic phenomena due to chlorosis as caused by a gas- tric catarrh and to hesitate in prescribing iron and arsenic, as it would be, on the contrary, to prescribe at once these remedies without previously removing such a catarrh, in case this last condition were present. The dyspeptic symptoms, as seen in our patient with extreme chlorosis, were trifling, (vomiting after meals) and appeared only during the course of the chloro- sis ; we therefore prescribed iron at once, and, to judge by the course of the disease, rightly so. Eight pills a day (the well- known Blaud's pills : iron sulphate, potassium carbonate aa, tragac. q. s.), four after dinner and four after supper, each of them containing one and a half grain of iron sulphate, dimin- ished the phenomena of chlorosis, improved the appetite, while the nausea after the meals disappeared. If, on the contrary, with a moderate chlorosis there were present considerable dys- peptic symptoms which had existed prior to the appearance of the chlorosis, then it would have become necessary at fhst to — 255 — remove them (most frequently by the use of alkaline mineral water and of bitter remedies). When shall we administer iron and when arsenic in cases of chlorosis ? In proportion as the phenomena of chlorosis are more prominent and the condition of nutrition favorable, the sooner must we give iron, and that in large, frequently even in very large doses, beginning with moderate ones and increasing them gradually ; the best form is that of pil. Blaud. On the contrary, 'if the character of the chlorosis is less prominent, and if the nutrition has suffered greatl}-, and the more evidence there is of the case being one of simple ansemia, as a result of failure of general nutrition and that of hsematopoiesis in par- ticular, — then it is better to administer in the beginning arse- nic, especially if the appetite be poor, thus : ^. acidi arsenicosi gr. j, extr. trifolii q. s. ut f . 1. a. pillulse thirty or forty — one twice a day, after a meal ; and later arsenic combined with a small quantity of iron, as : IJ. acidi arsenicosi gr. j, ferri hydi'ogenio reducti grana xxx extr. trifolii q. s. ut f. 1. a. pil, xxx, in the same dosage. Still, there occur also cases of pure chloro- sis with fair nutrition, but of a very obstinate frequently re- curring nature, when the patients become habituated to the use of iron, this latter ceasing to exert any effect (so that it is un- able to prevent a recurrence of chlorosis) ; in such cases the administration of arsenic — -as mentioned above — instead of the iron, usually prevents the recurrence of the disease, after which iron, in case of another recurrence, will again act favorably. There is no need of interrupting the administration of arsenic itself, or in combination with some iron, during the menstrual periods ; but we must certainly interrupt the administration of large quantities of iron during these periods. We frequently have to stop the iron even a few days before the appearance of menstruation, otherwise tliis latter will be very profuse, thus weakening the patient. The attempt to continue the adminis- tration of iron up to the very time of the appearance of the menstrual flow (so as to avoid the necessity for delaying the treatment), and then, by using egortine, tra. hydrastis and such like, to diminish this flow, usually miscarries ; and it is better not to hurry on with the treatment and interrupt it a few days — 256 — before the menstruation appears. The condition of tlie diges- tive apparatus may also require mtermissions during the treat- ment by iron and arsenic. But in a general way the treatment is continued until a complete and certain removal of chlorosis is effected. I consider it also necessary to remind you of the fact, which is unfortunately liable to be easily forgotten, that while taking arsenic every sour article of food is to be forbidden, as meals with vinegar, lemon, and all sour or soured fruits and berries, sour sauces, as well as horse-radish and mustard, which are usual- ly prepared with vinegar ; otherwise a diarrhoea may start up, usually of a painful and lasting nature, delaying the success of the treatment. The iron mineral waters play but a subordinate part in the treatment of chlorosis, principally because they do not stand transportation as well, for instance, as the alkaline waters, and can be successfully used only on the spot ; but the treatment of chlorosis and of aneemiae in general by the aid of ferrous min- eral waters is not more successful than the treatment by medi- cinal preparations of iron, but is in fact less so. The treatment of chlorosis and of ansemise in general by import- ed arsenical and arseno-ferrous mineral waters, so widely adver- tised of late (Bourboule, Levico, Roncegno) does not, from my observations, present any advantage over the treatment by the above-named correctly prepared medicinal preparations of arsenic or of arsenic with iron. The constipation is easily overcome in our patient by watery clysters. These are eificient in the majority of cases ; in ex- ceptional cases we have to administer, and that rarely, light laxatives. There seems to be no reason for any other symp- tomatic treatment in the present case ; m some cases we do resort to it; but the more the physician refrains from such treatment, and particularly from the use of the various nervines, as, for instance, the bromides, and the more he insists on the radical treatment, the more successful will he be in establishing a condition of sound health. I cannot help telling you that a predominating palliative therapy in practice is a sure sign of a poor physician. — 257 — The condition of the nervous system in chlorosis requires certainly the greatest attention on the part of the physician, as is apparent from what we said concerning the Eetiology of the disease : it is necessary to strengthen this system as much as possible ; but to effect this purpose we must not direct our efforts against individual nervous symptoms, but we must act on the whole system. It is true that both iron, by improving the condition of the blood, and arsenic directly, improve the state of the nervous system as a whole ; but the application of hydi'otherapeutic and of balneotherapeutic means in general is also very beneficial in this connection. If the patients are not predisposed to chills, then bathing in the river, or, better still, in the sea, is the simplest means. Unfortunately, in cases of considerable chlorosis, patients are usually chilly and become weak after bathing ; for such cases we must order baths at the temperature of 27° it. (92.8° F.") and lower, so that the patients while m the bath, would feel refreshed, but not chilled, and after the bath would become quickly warmed and feel vigorous. ,Such baths are best prepared with table-salt and soda. Warm baths (29° R, and over; 97.2° F?) tend to weaken such pa- tients. As our patient is not habituated to bathing in the river it will be more suitable to advise her to take the above-named baths for the coming summer season. The patient was treated under the supervision of one of our clinical assistants : the result of the treatment was entirely successful. EIGHTEENTH CASE. LECTURE OF MARCH 5, 1893. The patient, a young girl nineteen years old, entered our clinic March 2d, complaining of dyspnoea, palpitation and dizziness on moving around, and of general weakness. Mode of living and anamnesis. — Up to within two years ago the patient lived in a small country town in a healthy locality and in favorable circumstances ; but since then she has been living constantly, summer and winter, in Moscow. Her resi- dence is fair. She bathes outside, but during the last j-ear bathing tended to weaken her and cause dizziness. She neither smokes, nor drinks coffee or wine ; drinks some four glasses of tea daily, sweetened and with lemon. Has three meals a daj^ but they frequently consist of lunches onlj^, as bologna, cheese, etc. She is a student of midwifery and attends her lectures from nine o'clock m the morning to three o'clock in the afternoon ; her evenmgs are spent m sewing and reading ; she has sufficient time for sleep ; goes out for about an hour and a half in the fresh air, but during her service as mterne in the lying-in hospital (six days every month) she is entirely con- fined to the house. Durmg the last year she is becoming very much fatigued from her studies. In her childhood patient passed through attacks of mea- sles, scarlatina and mflammation of the lymphatic glands on the right cheek, which suppurated and left a scar. Since then and up to the time she moved to Moscow, she enjoyed good health, with the exception of an attack of malaria, which was of short duration and yielded to qumine. During the first winter that the patient spent at Moscow, she began to feel weak- ness, dyspnoea and palpitation ; the appetite became impaired, there appeared dyspepsia and an inclination to costiveness, 258 — 259 — ana menstruation became verj irregular ; later on, in May of last year, during laborious preparations for the examinations, there appeared considerable hEemoptysis. During the summer the patient remained at Moscow, and the condition of weakness, the dyspnoea, palpitation and dizzmess kept increasing. In October patient, havmg caught cold, began to cough, and at this time she also had haemoptysis for two days, felt some pain in the left side of the chest, and was feverish. In the course of a month all these phenomena disappeared but the weakness, dyspncea, palpitation and dizziness became aggravated. In January patient was takmg, during two weeks, tra. nervina Best, without any appreciable results. Status. — Patient is of a weakly constitution, of tall stature, but with an insufficiently developed somewhat flat chest, and pale. The appetite is poor. Eating is accompanied by belch- ing, pyrosis, nausea and by a sensation of heavmess m the stomach. She is usually costive, but there occur at times loose stools ; thus, during the last twenty-four hours she had . three loose stools, accompanied by pains in the abdomen. The urine contains neither albumen nor sugar, its specific gravity is 1021. The liver and spleen present nothing abnormal. The menstruation, which, previous to her coming to Moscow, was regular and painless, has become very irregular since, appears only once every two or three months, and is accom- panied by abdominal pains ; she menstruated last time six weeks ago. The heart is not enlarged, its tones are clear, there are no murmurs, pulse is very variable, between 60 and 84, and weak. Movement causes palpitation and dyspnoea. The number of the red-blood corpuscles is 50 per cent., that of the heemoglo- biii 35 per cent, of the normal. Leucocytosis and poikilocytosis absent. There is a slight enlargement of the thyroid gland. Patient does not cough, but has at times pams in the left side of the chest, especially after she has been sitting for a long time in a stooping position. Careful objective uivestigation of the lungs elicits nothing abnormal. Patient grew thin ; she is slightly feverish — 36.4.°/iJ. (97.5° F.) in the mornmg, 37.4 R. (99.5° i^.) in the evening. Sleeps poorly; is dizzy; has at times attacks of migraine with vomitmg. After sitting for a long — 260 — time, experiences heaviness in the head and pain in the loins. There is considerable general debility. Diagnosis. — The simultaneous appearance, about a year and a half ago, of general weakness, dyspnoea, palpitation, dizziness, of a sensation of noise in the head, and of the irregularity of menstruation, and the occurrence of changes in the blood, and the enlargement of the thyroid gland, all point to chlorosis ; but we have here evidently something more to deal with than chlorosis only. The hsemoptysis during last May and especially the above-described disease of last autumn point to tuberculosis of the lungs. The absence of pronounced objective signs in the 'chest, as well as of cough and expectoration, do not certain- ly speak agamst it. Not to speak of the literature of the subject, even a limited personal experience is sufficient to prove the fact, that such rapidly passing, incidental illnesses, as that from which our patient suffered last autumn, are of frequent occurrence during the mcipient stage of pulmonary tuberculosis ; they pass away apparently, but usually precede the development of the real disease and serve therefore as a true indication of the presence of this last. It would be an unpardonable mistake to hesitate in such cases in taking the necessary measures against pulmonary tuberculosis and to wait for local symptoms — beginning with the cough and objective data to the finding of bacilli inclusive. For the rest, our pa- tient presents also some local symptoms, as pains in the left half of the chest, and general indications, as slight fever, the most probable cause of which m the present case is tuberculosis of the lungs. A question may arise as to whether the group of symptoms presented by our patient, so peculiar to chlorosis and appearing at the beginnuig, did not depend also on an incipient tuberculo- sis of the lungs, i. e., whether our patient had before and has now chlorosis, or only pulmonary tuberculosis. Against the last supposition speaks experience which proves that, although at the beginning of pulmonary tuberculosis emaciation, pallor and weakness are apt to occur, such a simultaneous collection of symp- toms peculiar to chlorosis, as observed in our patient, does not take place ; besides, we note considerable alterations in the blood — 261 — and an enlargement of the thyroid gland. We must, however, take into account the fact, that the above-mentioned signs of an- £emia are due not to chlorosis alone, but depend certainly on fail- ure in nutrition and haematopoiesis amidst the unfavorable con- ditions under which our patient lived while in Moscow, and, later on, also because of the incipient tuberculosis pulmonum ; so that we may call the disease chloranaemia, which, having attacked a weak constitution, created a predisposition to pulmonary tuberculosis. Prognosis. — It will be more convenient for us to discuss the prognosis of chronic tuberculosis of the lungs after we will have analyzed a few cases of this disease ; as far as the present case is concerned, I can only say that it is curable. Treatment. — We will first of all advise our patient to give up her studies and to return to the former favorable conditions of life, until she is well again. As regards treatment, we must certainly first of all remove the dyspeptic symptoms. The patient is already taking Ems water — one-half glassful twice a day, warmed, one hour before a meal — and bitter drops (extr. fluidi condurango guttas xxx and trae. nucis vomicae guttas v, twice a day after a meal), and for overcoming constipation she resorts to the use of watery clysters. In view of the diarrhoea of the last few days we will prescribe ten grains of bismuth once or twice a day pro re nata What shall we give her after the dyspeptic symptoms will have been removed? Shall we treat the chlorosis or the tuber- culosis ? We must certainly treat the tuberculosis, — first, because of the greater danger it presents, and secondly, because the principal remedy for chlorosis, namely iron, especially in large doses, is clearly contraindicated in the present case, as it may give rise to haemoptysis, to which the patient is so much pre- disposed, and which may favor the further development of the pulmonary trouble. Perhaps later on, after this last will have been completely and securely interrupted, we may be able, if necessary, to prescribe iron, certainly not in large doses, and with due care. Concerning arsenic, it is, firstly, contraindicated partly by the long-standing dyspepsia and the frequently occur- ring attacks of diarrhoea ; and secondly, although it is used in the — 262 — treatment of tuberculosis, it is much inferior in its effects in this disease to creosote and guaiacol. Of all the apothecary drugs at our disposal, these last two, in the present condition of our knowledge, are the most successful ones in the treatment of tuberculosis. I shall discuss these and the treatment of tu- berculosis in general when we come to analyze some cases of this disease ; but I will only state here, that not only in incipi- ent tuberculosis, but also in cases presenting a failure in nutri- tion or anaemia, or slight chlorosis with only a predisposition to tuberculosis (on account of heredity, or of a poorly developed chest), I have frequently witnessed much more benefit from the use of these remedies, than from the employment of arsenic alone or in combination with iron. In vicAv of all this we will prescribe for our patient, after the dyspeptic symptoms will have been removed, guaiacol carbon- ate, it being borne by the stomach readily, in five-grain doses, after each meal, at other times in a half-glass of milk ; we will constantly increase the number of the doses, and administer the drug for a long time, but with interruptions, till we will have secured a complete and lasting cessation of the pulmonary trouble. FROM^,THE ILECTURE OF MARCH 16, 1893. Until March 12th we continued the above-outlined treat- ment of the digestive troubles ; and we were enabled since then to leave off this treatment and to prescribe guaiacol carbonate, in five-grain doses, the first two days one dose a day. and later two doses daily. The condition of the patient at present is as follows : the appetite is better ; there is no dyspepsia, stools regular ; during the period of menstruation that occurred recently after a prolonged absence of the same, there was an evening rise in the temperature (as is frequently to be seen in tuberculous women during their menstruation) up to 37.6° R. (99.7° #.), and now it is 36.6° R. (97.5°) ; the dizziness, heavi- ness in the head and the general weakness have diminished considerably. Patient leaves our clinic to-morrow and will continue the treatment with guaiacol in constantly increasing doses, guided by the results of the treatment and the condition of the stomach. THORACIC AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES. NINETEENTH CASE. LECTURE OF JANUARY 29, 1893. The patient, a merchant's clerk, thirty-seven years of age, en- tered our clinic yesterday, complaining of severe pain in the left side, of dyspnoea, cough and general debility. Mode of living and anamnesis. — Patient has lived for the last twenty-two years constantly in Moscow ; formerly lived in the country. His lodging-rooms are good, with a warm water- closet ; but he spends the day m a cold store. He takes a hot bath once a week; does not bathe during the summer; drmks as many as fifteen glasses of hot tea per day ; is subject to sweating. Has been drmking whiskey, half a bottle daily, for a long time; somewhat less for the last two months. Does not smoke. Has a good board. Is married and has a few chil- dren. Never had syphilis. Four years ago, after a blow over the nape of the neck, on which dropped a bale of goods, there appeared on the injured part a small swelling, which soon disappeared, accompanied by pain, which was also relieved in the course of time, but which, on his catching cold, reappears even now (periostitis of the occi- pital bone). Outside of this and of some slight colds, which, as he claims, were relieved by hot baths, patient has no recollec- tion of any other diseases. The present trouble began six days ago : patient was severely chilled by a draught and in the even- ing felt pain in the head and weakness, but this notwith- standing he went out to take a hot bath ; on his return he began to shiver and felt a pain in the left side. On the next day he grew worse still, the pain was aggravated, there ap- peared a cough, patient was compelled to take to his bed, and 263 — 264 — remained in a condition which was growing worse all the time, till his admission to the clinic ; for the last five days he has been taking quinine powders, one in the morning and one in the evening. Yesterday he was given in the clmic a watery in- jection, the painful side was rubbed with butter and chloroform and wrapped in cotton and flannel, and internally we began to administer the mixture of Hoffman and Valeriana drops, twenty-five at a dose, and also some wine ; besides, he was given in the evening one-fourth grain of codeine. Status. — Patient is spare and of weakly constitution ; his chest is flat and narrow. Until the advent of the disease his appetite was good, he sufi^ered from no dyspeptic symptoms, and had regular movements of the bowels. At present he has almost no appetite at all ; a meal, even if light, causes difficulty in breathing ; he had no movements of the bowels for four days previous to his admission to the clinic, but yesterday a clyster brought on a sufiicient evacuation. The urine flows freely, is red, and contains neither albumen nor sugar. No abdominal pains. The regions of the liver, spleen and kidneys present nothing abnormal. There is dyspnoea of the same character as yesterday, thirty -six respirations per minute, much more frequent on moving around; the pains in the side are somewhat quieter, and so is the cough ; there is very little expectoration (twice during twenty-four hours). Objective investigation on the right side elicits nothing abnormal ; on the left side posteriorly, from the middle of the scapula downward, there is dullness, as well as over the lateral surface ; the vocal fremitus is very much weakened ; on auscultation, all over the left half of the chest, the respiratory murmur is weaker than on the right ride and non-vesicular, but of an indefinite character ; the respiratory murmur is especially weak at the area of the dull sound ; besides this, posteriorly, over the surface of the dull-sound area there are heard along a narrow zone some rales of an atelectatic char- acter, while anteriorly, almost on the same level, there can be perceived a pleuritic rubbing sound. The intercostal spaces on the left side of the chest are sensitive to pressure. The heart is neither displaced nor enlarged, its tones are clear ; the pulse is 110, regular, of fair volume (patient gets through the day — 265 — four tablespoonfuls of wine and seventy-five drops) ; it was weak yesterday. The temperature yesterday morning, 38.1°i^. (100.5°^.)' ill the evening 39.6° J?. (103.3°i^.), this morning again S8.1°E. (100.5°i^.). Patient slept somewhat better than he did while at home, but still poorly, and was slightly de- lirious. The whole head aches, but especially the injured spot. There is slight dizziness on getting up ; the weakness as for- merly. Diagnosis. — We have apparently to do here with an acute tho- racic disease, which causes the febrile condition and, through this, some disturbance in the organs of digestion and in the ner- vous system. The disease itself is evidently not located in the thoracic wall, which, outside of the sensitiveness of the intercostal spaces, presents a healthy condition, but within the chest, in the pleura or iu the lung. What is it then — pleuritis or pneumonia ? All the symptoms speak against pneumonia and for pleuritis : the severe pains, the weakened respiratory murmur in connection with a considerable area of a dull sound (if there were pneu- monia in the case we would have, according to the period of the disease, either pronounced bronchial respiration, or, in the begin- ning, crepitation, and, at the end, subcrepitation), the pleuritic friction sound, weakened vocal fremitus and a dry cough; the expectoration is triflmg in quantity and does not have the pneu- monic character. The considerable difference between the morning and evening temperature — 38.1°it. (100.5° i^.) and 39.6° R. (103.2° i^.) — is not usually peculiar to pneumonia. Thus the case is one of pleuritis, and to judge by the consid- erable area and intensity of the dull sound, by the weakened respiratory murmur and vocal fremitus, and partly also by the degree of the dyspnoea, there must be a considerable effusion. With this the diagnosis is, however, not at an end. Pleuritis may be of variable origin : it maybe due only to a cold, and al- though this causative agency is disputed by many, my observations lead me to think that its existence can hardly be denied ; it is fre- quently due to tuberculosis, to pyogenic microbes (the strepto- cocci and the staphylococci), to acute articular rheumatism, to in- flammatory conditions of the kidneys, sometimes to syphilis, ac- tinomycosis and other diseases. What is the origin of the pleu- — 266 — ritis in the present case ? To attempt to prove that the disease in the present case is not due to acute articular rheumatism, be- cause this last is absent, or to nephritis, on account of the ab- sence of this disease, or to syphilis, because of its absence, etc., as would be attempted by a clinician who zealously believes in " the usefulness of exercises in differential diagnostication" (and there are such), would be but a profitless task, which, moreover, lowers the utility of a method really useful in certain cases and to a certain extent. From the collection of data re- ferring to the case before us it becomes apparent, first, that cold has played undoubtedly an important part in the aetiology of the pleuritis, and secondly, that notwithstanding the absence of indisputable symptoms of jDulmonary tuberculosis, it would be rather rash on our part to conclude, in view of the patient's weak constitution and poor nutrition, as well as because of the long-continued abuse of whiskey so ruinous to health, and with- out further observation and examination of the sputum, that the pleuritis was entirely due to cold, and that the patient was free from tuberculosis. What is the character of the effusion in our patient ? In cases of pleuritis caused by cold only, and also in pleuritis of this nature in tuberculous persons, the effusion is usually, at least at the beginning, of a serous character. To decide the question of the nature of the pleuritic exudate we have to resort to a trial aspiration ; but this procedure has to be adopted only when the disease yields to no other treatment, whereas our treat- ment is only just begun. Prognosis. — Pleuritis caused by a cold, as well as pleuritis with pulmonary tuberculosis, may eventuate in a complete return to health ; but the condition of our patient must nevertheless be recognized as serious, namely, as such, which, without present- ing any immediate danger, may lead to it in the future, as we learn from the pathology of the disease. Treatment. — ■ Before discussing the treatment of our patient, I must make a few general remarks concerning my treatment of pleurisy, as it differs from the treatment recommended by the most widely read text-books on internal pathology and thera- peutics. — 267 — Thus we find in Eichhorst's Handbuch d. speciell. Pathol, u. Therapie ( fourth edition, vol. I, p. 590) : " In a recent and uncomplicated serous pleuritis we must, in the beginning, quietly wait " (Bei einer frischen, nicht complicir- ten serosen Pleuritis, warte man zuniichst ruhig zu). Later on, if during the second and third week the disease presents no changes, we are to employ internal remedies to aid in the absorp- tion of the exudate ; but if by the fourth or fifth week we were unable to achieve any success, and the effusion is considerable or is even increasing in quantity, then we must resort to thora- centesis to effect its removal. Of internal drugs to aid absorp- tion, Eichhorst recommends iodine (with due care also exter- nally, over the painful side of the chest), diuretics, seldom laxatives, rather strong diaphoretics (subcutaneous injections of pilocarpine hydrochlorate and per os salycilic acid and so- dium salycilate), while for debilitated and anaemic patients, nutritious food and strengthening measures. But I, on the contrary, consider it erroneous to " wait quiet- ly " until the second or third week, limiting one-self to hygiene and palliative measures. My observations teach me that the sooner we succeed in breakuig up the acute stage of the pleu- risy, the more favorable will be the further course of the dis- ease, and the sooner will occur absorption of the effusion and the possibility of aiding it by therapeutic measures. Even in those cases, as for instance, in acute pleurisy in syphilitic or tuberculous patients, in which, later on, the cure of the pleurisy and the return to health in general will be effected by other treatment, having a particular, special relation to the principal disease, as iodide and mercury in syphilis, creosote and its pre- parations in tuberculosis, — even in such cases the acute stage of pleurisy, if pronounced clearly, requires a preliminary treat- ment of a particular character for itself. The principal symptoms which characterize the acute stage of pleurisy, and which form an indication for such a treatment are fever and pain in the chest ; with these there are, of course, dyspnoea and a dry cough, which are the more embarrassing the more prominent the first two symptoms : until these last are removed, or at least consider-ably relieved, we cannot hope for the absorption of the effusion to take place. — 268 — For the treatment of the acute stage of pleuritis, for the re- moval of the above-named symptoms, I resort to the following : To relieve the pains I employ blood-letting;* certainly in patients who are not anaemic, but in those with good nutrition and strength, and consequently, as we can see by the aetiology of the disease, in cases of rather unfrequent occurrence. Next to blood-lettmg, or, if this be contra-indicated, then at once, keep the painful side warm, as in the present case, or in case of necessity, give hypodermic injections of morphine, and internally codeine, Dover's powder, or again morphine to quiet the cough that tends to aggravate the pains m the chest. The best remedy against the fever I consider to be sodium salycilate ; at the same time I administer stimulants (to guard against collapse), which are, moreover, generally indicated m pleuritis. It is here, in the acute stage of pleuritis, that the great usefulness of this drug becomes apparent, as it causes a fall in the temperature and at the same time induces a pro- nounced relief of the pains, of the dyspnoea and cough. I ad- minister the drug in ten-grain doses, and during twenty-four hours I begin with thirty or forty grains and increase the quantity as required ; m moderately severe cases, as the present one, three or four days of such treatment are sufficient to bring about the desired result. I will not stop to discuss here the various drugs, the effect of which is similar to that of the salycilate of soda (as antipyrin, antifebrine, phenacetine), to which, in pleurisy, I prefer this last, but will say a few words on the use of calomel and qui- nine in this disease. I administer calomel in pleurisy only in those very rare cases, in which this disease is complicated by certain morbid condi- tions in the abdomen, which form an indication for calomel (of this I spoke before) ; consequently calomel is given not against the pleuritis itself, but with a view of meeting such indications. Quinme does not have even a shadow of the effect produced by the salycilate of soda in pleurisy. While speaking of the comparative effects of quinine and sodium salycilate in pleurisy, * Vide article on ''blood-letting." — 269 — I will mark down the following difference between them, as observed in my experience : quinine acts well in febrile affec- tion of the respiratory tract (of the nose, pharynx, larynx, tra- chea, bronchi} of a catarrhal nature caused by colds, better than the sodium salycilate ; this last acts well in febrile diseases of the organs of locomotion due to colds, and especially of the muscles, aponeuroses and articulations (in the healthy organism, as well also as in the gouty, syphiKtic, and in the one generally dis- eased), in which quinine exerts almost no effect whatever. I will take up now the further treatment of pleuritis. Hav- ing removed the above-mentioned acute symptoms so as to further absorption of the effusion, I take particular care to establish a regular functional activit}^ of all parts of the organism, a good nutrition and a favorable condition of the nervous sys- tem ; as what concerns therapy, I apply flying blisters, so as not to keep up the irritation later on, over the pamful half of the chest. With the exceiDtion of in syphilitics, I do not use iodine internally m pleuritis, as I did not obtain any benefit from it, but on the contrary harm, the general condition be- coming worse ; iodine externally fails to produce any marked effect, while it annoys the patient and hmders the application of the blisters. Except when necessary laxatives are certainly harmful, as they tend to weaken the patient. The diuretics can not be relied upon to a great extent. The strong diaphoretics are very risky, and may be used only for exceptional cases, and even then they can hardly be preferred to the operative method for removing the effusion. As what concerns this last procedure I resort to it, first, when the exudation, if considerable, is not undergoing any ab- sorption for a long time ; but still I do not hasten, and do not limit myself to the four or five weeks' period recommended by the text-books ; I had occasion to observe that a considerable effusion which had existed longer than this period, and which in the opinion of some physicians required operative abstraction, but which was not thus removed at the advice of other physi- cians, imderwent absorption with the improvement in the gen- eral condition of the patient, thanks to better hygienic condi- tions and to a more careful surveillance over the regularitias of — 270 — .functional activity and over the condition of nutrition and of the nervous system of the patient ; secondly, in case of rapid mcrease in the effusion, and of the danger to life accompany- mg this mcrease because of the pressure on and displacement of the neighboring organs ; thirdly, in cases of purulent and pu- trid effusion, which tends to keep up the exhausting fever. I turn now to the treatment of our patient. Blood-letting is contra-indicated by his debilitated constitution and nutrition, and we therefore had to limit ourselves to keeping warm the painful side of the chest and to quieting the cough. As the temperatm^e w-as high last night, d9.6°E. (103.3°^.), we will prescribe to-day sodium salycilate, begimiing with four ten- grain doses per day, each dose in one-fourth glass of warm Ems water. The stimulants, which were indicated even yesterday by the weakness of his pulse, it is the more necessary to continue giving to-day, in view of the fact that we are administering so- dium salycilate, as far as necessary and in a larger dose. As what concerns hygienic conditions, the prmcipal ones in pleuritis are rest and warmth. The '' ambulance " treatment of pleuritis, even if this last be inconsiderable, will lead, particularl}^ in the cold season of the year, to a more dangerous aggravation of the disease. FROM THE LECTURE OF FEBRUARY 3, 1893. The course of the disease. — January 29th we gave him forty grains of the salycilate, the evening temperature was 38.4° i^. (101.1°-F.) ; the night of January 30th was spent somewhat better. The 30th he was given fifty grains of the salt, the evening temperature was 37.5°i^. (99.o°i^.) ; had a very good night the 31st ; January 31st and February 1st he was given forty grains of the drug each day, and the temperature fell then for good, while the condition of the patient improved at once. Yesterday, February 2d, he w^as not given any of the salt at all. Status. — He feels very well; has an appetite. Had regular stools for the last two days without clysters. The urine in- creased in quantity, and is not red. The pain on the left side — 271 — of the chest is much relieved and he can breathe more freely ; the number of respirations is twenty-four per minute, instead of thirty-six as formerly. He coughs much less. The quantity of expectoration has not dimmished, and it contains tuberculous bacilli. The pleuritic friction murmur disappeared. The area of dullness has dimmished. In the area of dullness,, as well as all over the left side of the chest in general, the respiratory murmur, which was formerly weak and of an indefinite quality, became much clearer, while in the region of the apex of the left lung, in front, under the clavicle, as well as behind, there appeared moist rales. The pulse is 80 and of fair volume. Last evening's temperature, S6.6°B. (97.9°i^.). This morning, 36.5°^. (97.6°^.). His sleep is good. There is neither headache nor dizziness on getting up. He is gathering more strength. The presence of the tubercle bacilli in the sputum and of the rales in the superior apex of the left lung, which could not be heard when the patient was unable to fully expand the left lung, as he could not breathe sufficiently deep, and which became noticeable now when breathing became free, speak for tuberculosis of the lungs. The beneficial effect of the sodium salycilate is but too evident in the present case. After the first few days of the patient's sojourn in the clinic under entirely normal circum- stances, which were more favorable than duiing the first six days of the disease before his admission to the clinic, and with the aid of the necessary symptomatic treatment, the improve- ment in the patient's condition was but triflmg ; but from the very first day that we began the use of the salycilate of soda the temperature began to decline rapidly, and in four days a complete breaking up of the disease took place: the tempera- ture fell finally to the normal and the local symptoms de- creased very markedly. At present, while keeping continually the left half of the chest warm, we will apply a blister, the size of the palm of the hand, under the left scapula, and for internal use we will give him creosote, beginning with five drops three times a day, and increasing the dose gradually. 272 — FROM THE LECTURE OF FEBRUARY 17, 1893. The course of the disease. — Febuary 3d we applied the first blister under the left scapula ; the 9th, the second one on the lateral surface of the left side of the chest. Since February 14th, patient is treated by inhalations of compressed air. He takes creosote in eight-drop doses, three times a day. Status. — The appetite is good, there is no dyspepsia, the stools are regular, the urine normal. At times patient experi- ences a trifling pain in the left side. The breathing is free. There is almost no cough, and there is but very little expectora- tion, which appears at times, and is absent at others. Objec- tive examination shows that there is only under the scapulse a slight difference in the percussion sound and that the respira- tory murmur is but slightly weaker on the left side. In the region of the apex of the left lung there are sometimes heard a few rales, at other times they are absent. The temperature is normal, the sleep quiet ; he gathers strength. Treatment. — The blisters are not necessary any more. The creosote must certainly be continued. The benefit derived from inhalations of compressed air during the period of the absorption of the pleuritic exudate, is but too well known. The patient asserts, that after the inhalation of compressed air breathing became easier and the sensation felt by him heretofore, outside of the pain, of tightness in the left side, was relieved (as the patient expresses it, " the side was loosened "). Our patient, however, presents some contra-indi- cation to this treatment, in view of the tuberculous nest in the left lung, and it was only because of the inconsiderable size of this nest that I ordered, three days ago, previous to the absorption of the exudate, the inhalation of compressed air. In the presence of more or less considerable tuberculous nests such inhalations are not only not beneficial, but, on the contrary, rather harmful, probably because they assist in aspiration of tuberculous expectoration by the healthy portions of the lungs. In our apparatus (Waldenburg's) for inhalation of compressed air, the air is conducted, as you see, from outside through a win- — :273 — dow-frame and is warmed in a special apparatus. The air for our patient, conducted from the outside and warmed before being ad- mitted to a Waldenburg apparatus, is passed through a Wolff jar containmg eucalyptus oil. The patient, considerably strengthened, left the clinic Febru- ary 22d. He was mstructed as to the necessary regimen, and was advised to continue the creosote treatment. TWENTIETH AND TWENTY-FIRST CASES. LECTURES OF APRIL % 13 AND 14, J893, Patient, a sergeant-major of the reserve army, age 37, en- tered our clinic, March 8, 189S, complaining of dyspnoea, cough with expectoration, pain in the left side and general weakness. Mode of living and ariamnesis: — Patient resides in a damp, marshy,, woody locality. His rooms are very small, damp and cold ; the water-closet is cold. For the last three years he has almost never taken a hot bath, although he washes himself at times at home ; does not smoke or drink whiskej' (he drank and smoked much formerly), drinks only a little warm tea. His food is that of an ordinarj^ workingman. He is single, never had syphilis. Our patient is a clerk in a country house, is much occupied, does not sleep sufhciently, is often fatigued. and subjected to colds, as he is compelled to talk much and loudly out-of-doors in every season of the year. Patient comes from a healthy family. Since his nineteenth, year, he was addicted to the abuse of whiskey. During his twentieth year he passed through an attack of malaria, which, lasted nine months. On his twenty -second year he entered the military service, in which he spent five years, during which time he did not drink any liquor, and enjoyed excellent health, liecoming a reserve, he began to drink again, and seven years ago, while employed m rafting, he began to cough, at first only slightly, but later on much more. Two and one-half years later, in the autumn of 1888, he suffered for the first time from haemoptysis, which lasted for about one month (about one half-glassful of blood daily) and weakened the patient consid- erably : he grew thin, and began to complain of dyspncpa. Dur- — -275 ^ mg the autumn of 1889 there occurred another attack of hsemoptysis, which lasted a week ; patient at the same time be- gan to grow feverish and to feel a pain in the left side* Then, at the advice of his physician, he gave up whiskey drinking and smoking, and subjected himself to treatment. Of the drugs employed for treatment he remembers that creosote was of the greatest benefit of all, and he had been takmg it during the winter of 1891-1892, up to forty drops a day, in milk; as a result of this treatment he gathered considerable strength, and became somewhat stout, while the fever, cough and the pain in the side diminished. Last January all the mor- bid symptoms reappeared again, as the result of a cold. Pa- tient has been taking since cod-liver oil (three tablespoonfuls a day), at times powders of codeine, and applied blisters, but there was no improvement. During the month that the patient resided in the clinic, the treatment was as follows ; as he was costive, he was given, when necessary, watery clysters ; during the mornmg cough, which was most embarrassing, as the expectoration was then brought up with great difficulty, patient sipped about one glass of a mix- ture of Obersalzbrunnen water and warm milk ; this assisted ma- terially in loosening the secretion ; at bed-time, in case the cough prevented sleep, patient was given one-quarter grain of codeme ; the left side of the chest was kept warm ; as the pulse was somewhat weak, he was given four tablespoonfuls of wme dail}^ From the very first day of the patient's sojourn m the clinic, he has been taking creosote, commencing with five drops up to thirty drops a day. Besides this, patient took, March 29th and^SOth, some ipecacuanha (mfusi rad. ipecac, e gr. vj fvj, altogether twice this quantity) which was indicated by the diffi- cult expectoration with the aggravated djspncea and rales, and also with the rise in temperature, up to 38.8'' it; (101. 9°i^.), while before this the temperature was below 38°i?. (100.5°i^.) ; after having taken the ipecac, patient expectorated very freely, the dj^spnoea was relieved, the rales diminished and the temper- ature reached its previous height. Status. — Patient is of average constitution. The appetite, — 276 — which was poor on admission, is good no\A'. Tliere was no dys- pepsia before, nor is there any now. The stools are regular at present. The urine flows freely, contains neither sugar nor albumen, was reddish on admission, but is of a normal color now. The pams in the left side of the chest, not severe before, are trifling now. The dyspnoea and cough are much better at present than they were when the patient was admitted to the clinic. There are no pains in the abdomen, nor does objective exam- mation discover anythmg abnormal in it. At the time of admission he had a muco-purulent expectoration, of about one- half-glassful per day, mixed with blood ; at present it is just half of what it was formerly. Repeated examinations of the expectoration always showed the presence of tubercle bacilli. On percussion the sound over the left side anteriorly from the clavicle to the fourth rib, as well as posteriorly from above down to the middle of the scapula, is duller than from the mid- dle of the scapula downwards and on the right side, where the percussion sound is normal ; on auscultating the left side, over the area of dullness, we hear bronchial breathing and abundant moist rales ; on the right side, under the clavicle, there are also at times heard a few rales ; at the other parts of both the left and the right sides of the chest we hear the normal respiratory murmur, either vesicular or indefinite, in accordance with the depth of the respiratory movements. The heart is neither en- larged nor displaced, its tones are clear, the pulse was at the begmning 100 and somewhat weak, but is now 88 and of fair volume. When admitted, his evening temperature was about ^S°R. (100.5°^.), and the morning below S1°E. (98.6°i^.) ; now in the evenmg it is 37.6°i?. (99.7°-F.) or SLb^E. (99.5.°i^.) and in the morning below Sl°Il. (98.6°^.). Patient is very thin : his weight when admitted was 147 pounds, it is now 119. His sleep is good now ; it was prevented formerly by cough and dyspnoea. There is no headache. He has become markedly stronger than he was on admission. Diagnosis. — It is evident, that we have here before us a pure case of chronic tuberculosis of the lungs, which causes all the morbid symptoms observed in our patient, the local as well — 277 — as the general ones, as fever, emaciation, and weakness ; the other organs seem to be unaffected. The lungs may become affected by tuberculosis, first, from the neighboring organs ; such cases are of comparatively unfrequent occurrence generally, and are particularly rarely seen in the clinic for internal diseases ; they are more frequently met with, as tuberculosis of the vertebrae. in surgieial and peediatric clinics ; besides, they pla}^ but a sec- ondary part m the principal affection ; secondly, through the blood, when there is a general infection of this last ; these are also, comparatively speaking, rare cases of miliar}- tuberculosis of the lungs ; and, thirdly, most frequently, through the respira- tory passages, when the apices of the lungs become first affected* (either both at once or at the beginnmg one, and then the other), and later when the affection spreads by contiguity or through aspiration of the tuberculous expectoration b}- the hith- erto healthy portions of the Imigs ; these are the cases, which are known in pathological anatomy as broncho-pneumonia tuberculosa chronica, and which are called in common parlance consump- tion of the lungs, and in the clmics, hospitals and by physicians chronic tuberculosis of the lungs. The present case belongs evidently to this last class : the tubercular affection of the Imigs, in view of the other unaffected organs, is present beyond doubt and to a considerable extent : both the superior lobe of the left lung and the apex of the right one are affected : the anamnesis gives sufficient proofs of its chronic course, ^^'hile the absence * This is, however, a disputed question. Thus Volland (Zeitschrift fiir clinische Medicin, 1893), denying that the presence of the tubercle bacilli in the air was ever proved, assumes, that infection by tuberculosis takes place in infancy, when the children are not on the arms of the mother or nurse, but unable as yet to walk, they crawl about, rub their hands over the floor, on which there may be some tuberculous expecto- ration, and then over their faces, and thus infect themselves through accidental lesions of continuity, so frequent around the mouth and nose. The infection by tuberculous and other microbes gives at first rise tu eruptions ("scrofulous"), and later to an affection of the lymphatic glands ; then in the presence of a predisposition to tuberculosis, be it hereditary or acquired, the disease will sooner or later spread from the primary focus in a general way, but most frequently along the lymphatic vessels and the glands of the neck andpleui-a, the apices of the lungs, etc. Kesting on these grounds and on some other data, which he cites, Volland insists upon prophylactic measures consistent with these last. — -278 — of the exhaustive fever (namelv, chills, constant and consider- able rises and falls of the temperature as well as abundant sweating) shows, that the period of consumption, phthisis proper, has not as yet arrived. The prognosis will be more conveniently discussed, when we speak of the prognosis in chronic pulmonary tuberculosis in general ; while the treatment, in view of the success attained by it, will of course remain the same. Patient left the clinic by the end of April, considerably strengthened and markedly grown, his weight being one hun- dred and fifty-six pounds, as against one hundred and forty- seven on admission ; he had no fever, no pains in the side, almost no dyspnoea, and a slight cough with about one-fourth of a glass of expectorated matter per day; he was advised to continue the creosote in constantly increased doses. This patient is a woman, forty-six years old, who entered the clinic April 2, 1893, complaining of dyspnoea, cough, and general weakness. Mode of living and anamnesis. — Patient has been livmg for a long time, during both winter and summer, in jMoscow. Her residence was always a poor one, of late she lived in the base- ment of a stone building, which was cold and damp, the water- closet cold. Takes a hot bath every week. For the last half- year patient gave up smokmg and whiske}' drinkmg, but used to smoke before, and drank a wineglassful of whiskey with both dinner and supper ; drinks but little tea ; her board is that of a working-woman. Her occupation — in the line of house- keeping — ■ is burdensome, so that patient frequently does not sleep enough and is overworked. Goes but rarely out-of-doors. Has been married for twenty-six years, has had eleven deliveries, all normal, last time eight years ago ; has five children living ; presents no indications of syphilis. Patient comes from a healthy family, and enjoyed during her childhood fair health. When fifteen years old she passed through an attack of typhoid fever. Later on she caught fre- — 279 — qiient colds and coughed at times. Twelve years ago she had a slight attack of acute articular rheumatism. Eight years ago a pleurisy on the right side, after which the cough became con- stant, more severe in the winter than in the summer, accom- panied at times by fever and pain in the right side. Last January (1893) the patient's condition became considerably aggravated, as a result of vexatious troubles and of a cold : the cough became very severe ; there appeared considerable dysp- noea and a feverish condition, the patient grew thin and lost strength, and her voice became very hoarse and weak. As far as treatment is concerned, patient resorted lately, as well as be- fore, to the use of Dover's powders, and at rare times to ipeca- cuanha ; she never took any creosote. Durmg her residence in the clinic patient was given, when necessary, a watery clyster, and every morning a glassful of Obersalzbrunnen water with milk, to be sipped during the cough ; at bed-time a powder containing one-fourth grain of codeine, and durmg the day twentj^ drops three times a day of the mixture of liq. anod. Hofmanni and liq. ammoniianisati* aa. Besides this, patient took, on her admission, ^vj of mfu- sion of ipecac (e gr. vj), then terpine hydrate, five grains per dose, at the beginning twice, and later on three times per day, and for the laryngeal catarrh she inhaled atomized silesian water. Status to-day, April 9th. — The aj)petite, which was poor on her admission, is better now. There is no dyspepsia. The former costiveness is somewhat relieved. The urine, which was reddish formerly, is almost of normal color, without al- bumen or sugar. The abdomen in general and the regions of the liver, spleen and kidneys present nothing abnormal. Menstruation is unfrequent — once in two or more months (last time one month ago) — quite abundant, but painless ; no leucorrhoea. When admitted, she had considerable dyspnoea, pains all over the chest, and especially in the right side, severe cough, some expectoration, mostly of a muco-purulent character, partly foamy and tinged with blood, more than a glassful during * Liq. ammon. anisatus is a mixture consisting of liq. amnion. 19.5 per cent., anise oil 2.4 per cent, and alcohol (90 per cent.), 78 per cent. — 280 -- twenty-four hours ; the expectoration shows, at times, the pres- ence of the tubercle bacilli; percussion elicits nothing abnormal anywhere in the chest, on auscultation we hear everywhere a great number of rales, dry and moist, and over the apex of the right lung, in front and in the back, some slight bronchial breathing (the percussion sound is not altered in those places). At pres- ent the dyspnoea, cough and expectoration, as well as the rales, are much less prominent, the pain m the chest is greatly re- lieved. The voice, which was very hoarse and weak on her ad- mission (laryngoscopic examination showed the presence of a laryngeal catarrh), is clearer and stronger now. The heart is neither displaced nor enlarged, its tones are clear, the pulse, 100 and weak on admission, is now 84 and stronger. The highest temperature the patient reached during her stay in the clinic, took place the day before yesterday : namely, 37.8°i^. (100°^.) in the mornmg, 38.2°i?. (100.7°^.) in the evenmg ; this morning the temperature was 37.6° i^. (99.6°i<'.), last even- ing, 37.8°i?. (100° J^.) Her sleep, which was formerly pre- vented by the cough, is at present much more quiet. At rare in- tervals patient suffers from migraine, and, when fatigued, from dizziness. She is much stronger than she was when admitted. Diagnosis. — The presence of tubercle bacilli m the expectora- tion is an undisputable proof that the patient has pulmonary tuberculosis, while the other data, concernmg both her present condition and her past history, as the bronchial breathing and the rales in the region of the apex of the right lung, the pains m the right side of the chest, and the chronic course of the disease, strengthen this supposition and point to that form of tuber- culosis from which our previous patient also suffers, namely, chronic tuberculous broncho-pneumonia. But the two cases differ from each other hy the great variance in the local, as well as in the general symptoms, and by the course of the disease. Let us take the local data first. Our male patient presents pronounced symptoms of a complete affection of the whole upper half of the left lung, as evidenced by dulhiess in this region, by bronchial breathing and abundant rales, while the other parts of the chest, with the exception of the few rales heard at times on the right side, under the very clavicle, pre- — 281 — sent nothing morbid, as evidenced by a normal percussion sound, and a normal respiratory murmur ; in our female patient the percussion sound is everywhere normal and there are rales in abundance all over the chest. The male patient has evident- ly a complete tubercular affection of a considerable extent of the upper portion of the left lung, while the remaining parts of the lungs, outside of the right apex, are unaffected either by tuberculosis, or by a simple bronchial catarrh ; in the female pa- tient, if we consider the bronchial breathmg and the rales in the region of the right apex as a sign indicating the presence of a tuberculous nest (which is shown loj the presence of bacilli in the sputum) in this region, what then must be the condition of the remaining parts of the bronchi and of the lungs ? We may suppose in this connection two morbid conditions : first, an or- dinary bronchial catarrh, secondly, a chronic tubercular broncho- pneumonia diffused all over the lungs, not, however, as a com- plete process, but in small islands surrounded by pulmonary tissue containing air, and which do not therefore cause any dull- ness nor bronchial breathing ; such cases are usually observed during the further course of the disease (as their development requires some time), at its very termmation, at the period of phthi- sis, when the exhaustive fever and the extreme emaciation of the organism foretell the approach of the fatal issue ; but even at this time, when the aspect of the patient itself is a clear indica- tion of the diagnosis and of the prognosis, even then the physi- cian can only hear rales on auscultation, but can nowhere obtain a sure alteration in the precussion sound, nor generally any positively certain symptoms of a compact thickening of the pul- monary tissue. Before we decide as to which of the two diseases our female patient suffers from, whether it is a chronic, at times exacer- bated, bronchial catarrh, or a chronic tubercular broncho-pneu- monia diffused all over the lungs in its last stage, let us compare the course of the disease and the general condition of both patients. The male patient is thirty-seven years old, he comes from a healthy family, lived under unfavorable conditions of life and abused alcoholic drinks, but for the last three years he has not been drinking or smoking, and has subjected himself to — 282 — quite a radical treatment ; but this notwithstanding, having been ill only seven years, he loses his health steadily. The female patient is forty-six years old, she comes from a healthy family, has been surrounded by similar poor circum- stances, has also been a drinker (although a rather moderate one, as she asserts) and a smoker, has had eleven children, has been ailing for eight years, had never subjected herself to radi- cal treatment, and still her health is not failing as rapidly as it does in the male patient ; on the contrary it is rather in a con- dition of a tolerable statu quo, worse in the winter as regards the cough and the dyspnoea, and better during the summer, but it is not accompanied by such periods of fever and such a con- tinuous emaciation, as we find in our male patient. Let me add, that while in the clinic, the woman improves more rapidly than the man (thus, the fever, generally trifling and without having the slightest symptom of an " exhaustive" nature, dis- appears itself without any resort to antifebrile remedies) ; still we did not as yet give her any creosote, while the man began to take it from the very day of his admission to the clinic. We are justified then in concluding from the above state- ments, that our female patient has a moderately developed broncho-pneumonia tuberculosa chronica and a diffuse chronic bronchial catarrh, but not a broncho-pneumonia tuberculosa chronica disseminated over the whole lungs, in its last stage. This conclusion is strengthened also by the fact, that the muco-purulent expectoration, peculiar to bronchial catarrh, as observed in our patient, contained only at rare intervals the tubercle bacilli, whereas the sputum of phthisical patients contains them usually in abundance. Prognosis. — The chronic bronchial catarrh, as well as the broncho-pneumonia tuberculosa chronica as developed in our patient, are both yielding to treatment, which is the more en- couraging, as the patient up to this time was treated solely in a palliative way. Treatment. — To explain why we gave the patient Obersalz- brunnen mixed with milk in the morning, codeine at bedtime, the mixture of liq. anod. Hofmanni and liq. ammonii anis., as a cardiac stimulant and as a means to promote expectoration, — 283 — during the day, and why we gave on her admission ipecac ; to explain all these after what was said in connection with the treat- ment of the foregoing case, appears to me superfluous ; as re- gards terpine hydrate, I will say, that on a par with the alka- line mineral waters, it forms the best remedy, of those for internal use, for the treatment of chronic bronchial catarrh ; as soon as the exacerbation of the disease, which compelled the patient to come to the clinic, has quieted down, we will begin the treatment by creosote. (The female patient continued the above outlined treatment up to the time she left the clinic, April 23d ; when she left her condition was as follows : appetite normal, stool regu- lar, the dyspnoea, cough, expectoration and rales have dimin- ished greatly, there are no pains in the right side, nor is there any fever ; the sleep is sound, the patient gathered strength and became somewhat stout; she weighs 133 pounds as against 129 she weighed when admitted. She was prescribed creosote treatment.) GENERAL REMARKS CONCERNING THE DIAGNOSIS OF CHRONIC TUBERCULOSIS OF THE LUNGS. We have analyzed four cases of chronic pulmonary tubercu- losis. First, episodic, transient affections of the lungs by tuberculo- sis, which precede the development of the permanent disease in a person predisposed to tuberculosis because of a weakly constitution and the presence of chloraneemia. Second, a small tuberculous focus in the apex of the left lung, complicated by pleurisy of the left side. Third, a complete considerable affection of the left lung and an incipient affection of the right one, without any compli- cations. Fourth, a moderate affection of the lungs (apparently, to a greater extent, of the right one), complicated by a chronic bronchial catarrh, which at times becomes greatly exacerbated. The cases of pulmonary tuberculosis, which are to be seen at this time in the clinic, present, outside of the two last — 284 — discussed cases, the same condition as tlie third case ana- lyzed by us, namely, chronic tuberculous broncho-pneumonia in various stages of development, but without any complications and in general without any pronounced peculiarities, and there appears therefore no reason for taking them up for discussion. There is one case of chronic pulmonary tuberculosis in its last stage, in that of phthisis declarata, but the patient is so exhaust- ed, and the final issue is so near at hand, that it is impossible to transfer him from his small ward into the auditorium for dem- onstration before the class. However, the four cases discussed by us represent practically the most important clinical forms of chronic pulmonary tubercu- losis — those which are particularly accessible to treatment, and in which treatment is of the greatest benefit. The complications which occurred with them — chloransemia, pleurisy and bron- chial catarrh — are also very important, as they are observed particularly often. It is true, that the multiplicity of forms of chronic tuberculo- sis of the lungs, which is to be seen in medical practice and which depends on the peculiarities in the course and develop- ment of the tuberculosis itself, and on the complicating diseases and the peculiarities of the affected organs, is far from being exhausted by the cases we discussed ; but not only in the clinic, not even in a systematic text-book of internal diseases, un- less it be in a special monograph, can this multiplicity be ex- hausted, or a complete picture of all the various forms of chronic tuberculosis of the lungs to be seen in medical practice, be pre- sented. I consider it, however, useful to outline before you now, after we have discussed the previous cases, a clinical picture of those varieties of the disease, which we had no opportunity to bring before you, at least the most important ones ; my aim in doing this is, that the cases presented to you alongside with these forms, as well as these last side by side with the presented cases, might become more salient, and might be better and more strongly impressed on your memory, than is usually the case when pathology is studied systematically, but without the aid of a clinic. - 285 — The last stage of chronic tuberculosis of the lungs is pulmon- ary phthisis, phthisis declarata. You had occasion to see a suffi- cient number of such patients both in our clinic and in the propsedeutic clinic when you were engaged in studying the ob- jective examination of the diseases of the organs of respiration ; you are familiar with the sharp local changes, with the charac- teristic abundant expectoration, containing great numbers of tuberculous and other bacteria and elastic fibres of the broken- down pulmonary tissue, and also with the characteristic habitus of such patients : their extreme emaciation, their great debility (the patients, when seen, are always in the recumbent posture), the high jumps and the low falls of the temperature, the ex- hausting sweats. How great is the difference between these and the cases of chronic tuberculosis of the lungs in its in- cipient, or frequently even in its advanced development, when the patients, only slightly or not at all emaciated, with but a slight cough, without a constant or considerable fever (only a trifling rise of the temperature toward the evening without QMj considerable fall in the morning), — are not only not confined to bed, but are actively occupied with their affairs, and look simply like men whose health is not quite up to the or- dinary, but by no means like pronouncedly sick people. I will stop here to discuss the importance of the exhaustive fever — the febris hectica — seen in phthisical patients, which is so characteristic by the high jumps and the low falls of the tem- perature, and also by the sweatings which accompany these last. As is well known, the expectoration of phthisical patients contains, besides the tubercle bacilli, also numbers of other micro-organisms to which is ascribed the pernicious influence on the organism of the patient, and which are considered as the cause of the last, phthisical stage of chronic pulmonary tuberculosis ; but until recently the nature of the special micro- organism, which is accountable for this pernicious influence, has not been thoroughly mvestigated. Exact investigations touching upon this subject have lately appeared from the Insti- tute for Contagious Diseases under the supervision of Prof. Koch at Berlin. (Petrushky, Tuberculose und Septiccemie, Deutsche med.Wochenschrift, 1893, No. 14.) ^ 286 — In the expectoration, which was subjected to a certain process, ■ by which everything that was mixed with it in the cavity of the mouth was removed, there were found much smaller num- bers of bacteria, than in the expectoration which was mixed with the saliva ; it was found that this expectoration, free from saliva, contains principally tubercle bacilli, and of the others the most constant and the most abundant were the pyogenic or- ganisms, namely, the streptococci. They were also found in the tissue of the lungs and other organs, and also in the blood of dead phthisical persons, so that, according to Koch, the last stage of chronic pulmonary tuberculosis presents already a com- plication of this last by a secondary infection of the organism through streptococci, which enter the body through the ulcer- ated spaces (the cavernse) in the lungs, in a way very similar to that in which they infect the organism when entering through wounds. It thus becomes clear, why the fever in the last stage of chronic tuberculosis of the lungs has the identical features of that seen in septic wound mfections. Koch calls the tempera- ture curve in this fever, for brevity's sake, streptococcus curve (Streptococcencurve.) * Pneumoyiice complicating chronic ful'monary tuberculosis. — Fi- brinous (croupous^ pneuononia occurs, although very rarely, in chronic tuberculosis of the lungs and is easily diagnosticated, especially if it affects a patient whom the physician knew be- fore : in such a case the physician will be able to detect, beside the old, well-known tuberculous focus in the apex, say, of the right lung, also an affection of the whole of the inferior lobe of the same or of the other lung, as evidenced by the dull percus- sion sound, by crepitation, bronchial breathing, subcrepitation ; the expectoration will be tmged with blood and will contain along with the tubercle bacilli, pneumonic diplococci, while * iSTot all, however, entertain a similar view on this subject: Leyden does not believe that other micro-organisms, besides the tubercle bacilli, play any part in the phthisical period ; he points out the fact that in miliary tuberculosis and in tubercular caseous pneumonia the fever is very high, and still we find only tubercle bacilli, and no other micro-or- ganisms in these cases ; Frankel states, that in many cases of tuberculous pneumothorax the pus contains only tubercle bacilli {Berlin. Klinische Wochenschrift, 1893, :N'o. 42, pp. 1029-1030). — 287 — the temperature will rmi the course so peculiar to croupous pneumonia. The disease may terminate in recovery or death, but if recovery takes place, there is usually observed an aggra- vation in the course of the tuberculous process. But more frequently chronic pulmonary tuberculosis is com- plicated by catarrhal and caseous pneumoyiice, which are emi- nently peculiar to it. Here also the diagnosis is easier, if the patient was known before. The physician then observes simulta- neously with the sudden rise and the further pneumonic course of the temperature, a rapid increase of the local changes : the well- known sign of tuberculous affection, for instance, of the apex of the right lung, the slight dullness under the very clavicle, with prolonged expiration and in the presence of rales, is ob- served to be spreading to a greater distance down to the third, and then to the fourth rib, and later on further, becoming more intense all the while ; the same is observed in the posterior sur- face of the chest ; with this there are heard over the area of the dull percussion sound rales and bronchial breathing. A whole lung may thus become affected in a short time ; but generally the affection spreads at a slower rate than in the case of croupous pneumonia, and, besides, usually from above dowTiward, and not in the opposite direction, as ordmarily occurs in croupous pneu- monia. Concerning the termination of the disease, there are cases in which the pneumonic fever keeps on but for a short time, the affection of the lung is not considerable and passes away with the fall of the temperature, leaving traces of the former tuberculous focus, at times slightly increased ; in such cases the pneumonia is very likely of a catarrhal nature. In other cases the affection of the lungs spreads to a considerable extent and does not become limited, the high temperature of a pneumonic character, with its slight difference between morning and evening does not fall, and the patient succumbs after a few weeks (four to eight) from the commencement of the pneumonia. Autopsy shows in these cases a considerable caseous pneumonia, which terminated in the destruction of pulmonary tissue and the formation of cavities. These are the cases of what the Frenchmen call galloping pulmonary phthisis. There was one such case that has left a particularly strong — 288 — impression on my mind. The patient, whom I have known for •several years, had small tubercular foci in both pulmonary apices, at times expectorated blood and was feverish, but had nevertheless enjoyed fair health and was very active. After one certain period of time, unfavorable to his health (after a fa- tigue and a cold), his temperature rose suddenly and the area of dullness under the right clavicle began to spread downward and also on the posterior surface of the right half of the chest. During six weeks, until the patient's death, the tempera- ture vacillated constantly between S9°B. (102°F.) and 39.5° i^. (10SA°F.') m the mornmg and 39.5°i^. (103.1°!^.) to 4:0°R. (104°J^'.) in the evening, while the right lung was almost com- pletely affected. It is thus evident that the clinical pictures j^i'esenting the pneumonic complications of pulmonarj^ tuberculosis, the or- dinary course of this last and its last phthisical stage, differ one from the other, and enable one to recognize these various mor- bid conditions. Acute miliar^/ tuberculosis of the lungs may also be superadded to chronic tuberculosis (i. e. to chronic tubercular broncho-pneu- monia), and its clinical picture differs also from the clinical pic- tures of the usual course, of the last stage and of the pneumonic complications of this last ; it is rather similar in its clinical as- pects to an irregular typhoid fever ; but it is more opportune to discuss acute miliary tuberculosis in general and that of the lungs in particular when we chance to come across, if not a case of this comparatively rare disease, then one of typhoid fever. The most important complications of chronic tuberculosis of the lungs by affections of other organs, outside of those we dis- cussed above, are pneumothorax and pyopneumothorax, tubercu- losis of the larynx, and intestinal tuberculosis. Clinical pictures of these diseases enable one to fully recognize their presence. As regards the peculiarities in the clinical picture and in the course of chronic pulmonary tuberculosis, which are determined by the peculiarities of the affected organs, I will only note the following. Persons who fall victims to chronic tuberculosis of the lungs may be subdivided into three classes : there are those — 289 — who are by nature of a weak constitution, with a narrow and flat, under-developed chest (in proportion to their height) ; they frequently come from as weak and even tuberculous par- ents, and present but too evident a predisposition to tubercu- losis of the lungs ; others, on the contrary, who were formerly of a strong constitution, robust, and enjoyed the best of health, become affected by pulmonary tuberculosis after their health had been previously undermined, most frequently by syphilis, alcoholism, prolonged and severe malaria, or diabetes mellitus ; quite often these persons succumb sooner than those belonging to the other categories (m those previously affected with dia- betes mellitus the course of pulmonary tuberculosis is always liable to be unusually rapid, more so than in any other case) ; lastly, persons of the third class do not present the character- istic peculiarities of either of the above two classes. Prognosis of chronic tuberculosis of the lungs. — I must repeat what I took occasion to say two years ag-o while comparing the treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis by injections of Koch's tuberculin (discussed at that time) with the treatment of this disease by the usual method, with the aid of creosote, arsenic, koumyss and cod-liver oil, in connection with the necessary symp- tomatic treatment, for the removal of difficult and exhausting symptoms, and with correct hygienic measures, including, of course, the climate. I said then : " What results did we obtain from this treatment ? What experienced physician has not ob- served, even in the advanced — but certainly not in the last — stage of pulmonary tuberculosis a considerable improvement for a period of years, and in the incipient period, a complete recovery of the general health ad integrum, while all the local symptoms, subjective and objective, disappear unless there re- mains only a slight difference between the respiratory murmur over the apex of the healthy lung and that of the affected one ? What experienced physician has not noticed that such a re- covery of health, such a cure, may last for years ? I had occa- sion to keep under observation such recovered patients for pe- riods of from five to ten years, before I lost track of them. It is true, that at times, after several years of such a favorable condition, the patient will reappear again with symptoms of pul- — 290 — monary tuberculosis ; but it can usually be proved that this .fresh reappearance of the symptoms has been preceded by a weakening in the general condition of health, because of an ir- regular mode of living, unsatisfactory circumstances, or an attack of some painful disorder; it thus remains, in such cases, to decide whether all this was due to the lighting up of the old focus, or to the appearance of a fresh infection. Finally, such a method of treatment, whether it result in the above-outlined favorable issue or not, is neither risky nor fraught with any danger, as is so frequently the case during the treatment by injections of tuberculin." The slighter the local, i. e. the pulmonary affection, and the better the general condition of health, and the less the number of complications, — the better is, of course, the prognosis, and contrariwise (although there are exceptions to this). As to what concerns the influence on the prognosis of diseases developed before the occurrence of the chronic pulmonary tuberculosis, we may say that it is particularly unfavorable in cases where the pulmonary tuberculosis seizes upon an organism previously affected by diabetes mellitus, and also by syphilis. However, in the last case, in persons of a strong constitution, we may sometimes succeed, after having influenced the syphilis effectively by the iodides or less frequently by mer- cury, in obtaining some good results by the usual treatment of the pulmonary tuberculosis. (Vide article on "•' Syphilis of the Lungs.") TREATMENT OF CHRONIC PULMONARY TUBER- CULOSIS, Do we possess a remedy against chronic pulmonary tubercu- losis, which may be called specific? Before we present an answer to this question, we must say that the nature of a specific has not been, as yet, clearly defined. Thus, as the most typical specific remedy, we consider quinine in malaria, which last is an infectious disease ; whereas modern medicaliescn ce searches for specific remedies against infectious diseases in the products of the vital activity of the micro-organisms, which — 291 — are considered as the causative agencies of these diseases; consequently these remedies are of a nature totally different from that of quinine.* Such being the condition of things, I can only define the nature of a specific remedy in the words I spoke while dis- cussing the treatment of cholera : " a specific remedy is not one which exerts its effect upon one certain symptom of the disease, but one that strikes, so to say, the very centre of this last, and by acting at once on all the symptoms, breaks them up, causing a cessation of the disease, as quinine does in malaria, and sodium salycilate in acute articular rheumatism." If we are to regard a specific drug from such a point of view, then there is no doubt that we have no drug whose effect in tuberculosis could be comparable to the action of quinine in malaria ; but the effect produced by creosote in tuberculosis is such that it cannot be called symptomatic only ; its action is, besides, evident only in tuberculosis or in cases of predisposi- tion to the same, and, as far as I know, in no other disease. - Let us now turn to the treatment of tuberculous patients as based upon facts. Symptomatic treatment^ by which we mean the removal of all the distressing and debilitating symptoms, plays an important part. During the discussion of the previously presented cases of chronic tuberculosis of the lungs I had occasion to speak of the treatment of all the symptoms of this nature, except haemoptysis and fever, which I will take up presently. During haemoptysis the patient must preserve quietude and be silent. If there are no contra-indications, in the form of a diarrhoea or extreme debility of the patient or in the degree of the haemoptysis, we must first of all administer a laxative (an eccoprotic, not a drastic) and then secale cornutum, an * Let me recommend you an interesting, altliougii somewhat verbose and lengthy (a common fault of the majority of modern writers) article of Behring's (Prof. Behring, " Die atiologisch-therapeutische Bestre- bungen der Gegenwart," Deitisc/ze med. Wocftenschrift, 1893), in which the author, being a partisan of Koch's, criticises sharply, but nevertheless judiciously, the general pathological and therapeutic positions of Vir- chow, which once played an important role, and discusses the question of the specific treatment in its past and present condition. — 292 — infusion of 3ij to 3vj, a tablespoonful every hour; to quiet the ■cough codeiae or morphine. For habitual, repeated haemop- tysis two to three leeches to ' the coccyx (vide article on '' Blood-letting "). If the fever is not considerable and the rise of temperature does not exceed 38° (100.4° i^.), then there is usually no necessity for the employment of special measures in combattmg it : the creosote treatment, by causing a general improvement, causes also a cessation of the fever. But in case the fever is more considerable, then, at the commencement of the creosote treat- ment, before it has as yet an opportunity to exert its effects, I prescribe for the mornmg, during the fall of the temperature, five to ten grains of quinine, and in the evening, during the rise of the temperature, four to eight grains of phenacetine, less frequently three to five grams of antifebrine, and still less so ten to twenty grains of sodium salycilate, and very rarely antipyrin. Most frequently we have to admmister antipyretic drugs in the last stage of chronic tuberculosis of the lungs and during its pneumonic complications, to administer them of course until a marked lowering of the temperature is effected, but not until it be brought down to the normal ; this last is frequently im- possible, always useless, and besides risky, as it requires large doses of the mentioned antipyretics, and may thus cause a dangerous weakening of the heart. The most important part is played by improvement in the nutrition (and this is usually accompanied by an increase of patient's strength), whether it result, in connection with the successful employment of the symptomatic treatment, from the application of hygienic measures only or from them and the additional use for this purpose of various remedial agencies, the most important of which are koumyss and creosote. It is only with the aid of improved nutrition and strength, that we obtain the good results to which we alluded in discussing the prognosis. Koumyss. — Until the time when large doses of creosote were introduced into medical practice for the treatment of chronic pulmonary tuberculosis, koumyss was considered the best means for improving, in a very short time, the nutrition — 293 — and strength, and also the local symptoms. But since then, koumyss has become less important. First, because creosote, al- though somewhat slower, gives the same results ; and whereas the koumyss treatment is only possible during the three sum- mer months (from the middle of May till the middle of August) after which it must be interrupted for nine months, during which time the obtained results are either partly or entirely lost, the treatment with creosote can be continued constantly, only with those short (about one month) interruptions, which are required by the peculiarities of the creosote treatment itself. Secondly, the treatment with creosote is incomparably more accessible than a trip to the koumyss sanatarium, which in- volves considerable expense, worry, and finally the risk of not being able to obtaui good koumyss, or good board, lodging, etc. It would, however, be erroneous to assume that koumyss has entirely lost its importance. There may occur many cases in which the koumyss treatment is both more convenient for the patient and indicated either during the interruption in the cre- osote treatment or when this last is not well borne or does not give the expected result, which last circumstance occurs, how- ever, only in the minority of cases treated by creosote. Moreover, koumyss is beneficial in the treatment of other diseases, out- side of chronic pulmonary tuberculosis. It constitutes an unre- placeable medicinal agency for effecting a rapid recovery of health which has suffered from serious maladies or from a pro- longed residence under unfavorable hygienic conditions. Fi- nally, koumyss is useful not only for improving the health, but, by causing a sound and prolonged sleep, for its strong effect up- on the nervous system : koumyss is an excellent remedial agent in neurasthenia. If the neurasthenic patient is not thin, the more so if he be stout, then the best thing for him is bathing in the river, and, even better still, in the sea (up to a certain age, after which baths at the temperature of 27°i?. (92.8° i^.) are more suitable ; of this we shall speak in due time) ; but if the nu- trition of the neurasthenic patient has failed considerably, then bathing may become very harmful to him, while the baths at 21° R. (92.8°#.), even if harmless, will be but of little benefit — 294 — and but for a short time, during the employment of these baths ; whereas koumyss in such cases, by improving the nutrition and by exerting a powerful influence on the nervous system, may bring about a complete recovery of health. In the same cases of neurasthenia, which are accompanied by a failure of nutrition, koumyss by its effects is superior to the best apothecary drugs used against neurasthenia, as arsenic and silver nitrate ; (these last are preferred to koumyss only because they may be used at any time of the year). I will add here, that we meet very often cases of neurasthenia complicating chronic pulmonary tuberculosis. While speaking of the koumyss treatment, I mentioned trips to the koumyss sanatoria. This must be explained. The fame of koumyss as a curative agency, a fame which is fully merited, as I can testify also by my own practical experience, has origi- nated in the locality between the Volga and the Oural. There existed before, and there exist to an extent now, vast feeding grounds, which make it possible to breed horses in great herds ; the summer there is mostly dry and warm, even hot. Only during such a summer can the patients use the considerable quantities of koumyss, so necessary for obtaining good curative results ; only at such localities, from such an abundance of young healthy mares, which are not used for labor, but feed on the abundant pasture-grounds, will the patients obtain good kou- myss in a sufficient quantity. The attempts to resort to koumyss treatment in the absence of such conditions, even in the cities (compare the air of the city with that of the field) or even during the winter (!) months, give, of course, miserable results, and are usually harmful (as the koumyss is not borne well and causes a diarrhoea), and has surely no claim to be re- garded as koumyss treatment.* Treatment with cod-liver oil (during the cold season of the year), with keffir, less frequently with milk and the farinaceous preparations, may serve as a good aid, in improving the nutrition, to the other treatment, but it certainly cannot be compared to the genuine koumyss treatment. * Prof. IST. F. Goluboif has written a great deal on the subject of kou- myss treatment. — 296 — The treatment with arsenic was spoken of before, and particu- larly its use in chlorosis and chloransemia with a predisposi- tion to pulmonary tuberculosis. Creosote^ guaiacol^ OA'idi guaiacol carhonate. — How these reme- dies exert their effects — whether directly on the tuberculous bacilli (which is denied by some) or only by strengthening the organism, and thus diminishing the predisposition to the devel- opment of these last — is not known ; but the fact that they are effective is beyond any doubt, and is recognized as such by a majority of most competent practitioners. My own practical experience speaks in favor of the subject in a similar manner. There are also heard dissenting opinions, which are due partly to insufficient observations, and partly to the fact that the creo- sote, guaiacol and its carbonate are not always of the best quality, and do not always have the same constituents. The effect itself of these remedies consists in this, that as a result of their prolonged and gradually increased use, the appetite is improved, the former slight dyspeptic symptoms disappear, the nutrition and strength improve considerably, at times strikingly so, and together with these, also the local symptoms. The above-named remedies are used at the beginning in small and later on in gradually increasing doses, as, for mstance, creo- sote or guaiacol at first five drops (guaiacol carbonate five grains), once a day, and later, more and more frequently, alwaj^s after a meal, and, when taking frequent doses, if not after a meal, then in a half-glassful of milk ; if they are taken in ca- chets or capsules, then one-fourth of a glass of milk is taken before the capsule and another one-fourth after it. The ra- pidity with which the dose is to be increased depends on how well the remedies are borne and on theii" effects ; if, after taking them, there is felt an unpleasant heaviness in the stomach and the appetite is not improved, then the dose remains the same ; but if, as usually happens, the appetite is improved, and there is no heaviness in the stomach, but on the contrary even the formerly present — before the beginning of the treatment — dyspeptic symptoms disappear, then the dose is increased up to thirty, sixty, and more drops in the twenty-four hours. At times the treatment must be interrupted, say, for two to four — 296 — weeks after two months of treatment; we must, of course, in doing so, take into consideration the patient's individuality and the successful results of the treatment : the more considerable these last, the less necessity there is for hurrying on with the treatment. The interruptions are made with the aim in view of not injurmg the stomach and the kidneys ; at times, although it may be rarely, during the treatment with the above-named remedies, there is observed the appearance of albuminuria, which usually passes away after the cessation — in such cases necessary — of their employment. Creosote and guaiacol do not present any notable difference in their effects : the guaiacol carbonate is at times better borne by the stomach, but it is high-priced and evidently exerts a weaker effect than creosote or guaiacol ; such is at least my im- pression, received from its use in several cases. We are rarely compelled to mtroduce creosote or guaiacol in- to the system through other ways than the stomach. The slight dyspeptic symptoms, so frequently seen in patients with chronic pulmonary tuberculosis, depend usually upon the gene- ral weakening of nutrition, of the function of hgematopoiesis and of the nervous system, and are not due to a chronic gas- tric catarrh ; a gradual and carefully conducted treatment with guaiacol or creosote not only usually ameliorates these, but with the improvement in the general condition, the symptoms pass away entirely. But if these dyspeptic symptoms be con- siderable, then we can usually succeed in removing them by preliminary treatment, and bring the stomach into a condition which would enable it to bear well creosote, guaiacol, or at least guaiacol carbonate, as was the case with our patient who suffered with chloraucemia and incipient tuberculosis (vide 18th case). But still I had occasion to observe a case of chronic pulmonary tuberculosis complicated by a very obstinate chronic gastric ca- tarrh of an independent origm, not due to the pulmonary trouble, in which creosote was not borne by the stomach, even after the latter had been subjected to a preliminary treatment, and the patient improved only after a prolonged introduction of great quantities of creosote — dissolved in olive oil — by subcutane- ous injections, usually into the buttocks. — 297 — The introduction of creosote through the respiratory tract is usually badly borne (it causes severe coughing), and does not produce even a shadow of the effect which is obtained by the continuous and gradually mcreasing administration of the drug- through the stomach. The inhalations of small quantities of creosote are sometimes well borne, but outside of a slight relief in loosening the expectoration and some improvement of this last (patients sometimes find that the expectoration, dur- ing the inhalation of creosote, is of a less disgusting taste and odor), it induces no marked change for the better in the local symptoms and in the condition of the affected portions of the lungs. I may add that the same may l^e said also regarding the other remedies of the inhalation therapy, as eucalyptus oil, ol. terebenth. rectific, — which is more beneficial in bronchial catarrh complicating chronic pulmonary tuberculosis, and cer- tainly also m a plain bronchitis, — menthol, Peruvian balsam and others. All that was said of the use of koumyss, creosote and other remedies in chronic pulmonary tuberculosis, does not refer to the last stage of this disease : at this stage these, as well as all other, remedies are but little effective; we have as yet no reli- able means for the treatment of the disease at this period. When chronic pulmonary tuberculosis is complicated by catarrh- al and caseous pneumonia, then koumyss is of course of no avail ; of the use of creosote in cases of these pneumonic com- plications I can say nothing : since I am using creosote m con- siderable doses, I observed such complications of chronic pulmonary tuberculosis but rarely ; there are no sufficient data in the literature on the subject. The tendency, so peculiar to modern medical bacteriology and which promises so much for the future, of searching in the pathogenic micro-organisms themselves, in the products of their life-activity, for means for immunization against the diseases produced by these micro-organisms, and also for the treatment of these diseases, has not resulted as yet, as far as tuberculosis is concerned, in anythmg of practical importance. I have spok- en elsewhere (in an article entitled " Treatment of tuberculosis by Koch's tuberculin" appended to the Russian edition of the — 298 — lectures) of the thoughtless, I may say precipitous treatment •of tuberculosis by tuberculin — ■ an attempt the failure of which can only be measured by the world-wide hopes its appearance has excited. In passing from the therapy of the patients suffering with chi'onic pulmonary tuberculosis to their hygienic treatment, we must principally take up their climatic hygiene, which is usu- ally, but less correctly, called climatic therapy ; but the import- ance of this subject and the approaching close of the lecture hour compel us to postpone it till the next lecture. THE CLIMATIC THERAPY OF CHRONIC PULMONARY TUBERCULOSIS. LECTURE OF APRIL 16, 1893. For a long time I have made it the business of my clinical instruction to discuss this subject not only in view of its im- portance and the entire ignorance on the part of the students about it, but also because it cannot be denied, that the majority of the practitioners are but slightly acquamted with the sub- ject, and do not therefore prescribe the climatic treatment correctly. On the contrary, as we very frequently see by the physicians' advices, the climatic therapy is expected to yield what it cannot, and no advantage is taken of what it can give. Later on I shall illustrate my assertions by sufficiently con- clusive examples. Before we speak of the climatic therapy of chronic pulmo- nary tuberculosis, we must say a few words regardmg climate and climatic therapy in general. Climate (Gr. KXt7xa[T-], a region, zone) denotes, properly speaking, a distance between two cir- cles parallel to the equator. In connection with climatic therapy, climate is considered as the sum total of all the influences of the given place, which include its quantity of sunlight, its tempera- ture, air, waters, soil and vegetation ; besides these, in choosing a certain locality with a climato-therapeutic aim in view, we must also take into account the various changes in the above-named influences which take place during the various seasons of the — 299 — year, and also the conditions of life in the given locality, — the peculiar traits of its population, the residence, the diet, etc. You thus comprehend that climate is something of a very complex and changeable nature ; neither climatotherapy, nor even climatology are therefore much advanced. Thus, for in- stance, meteorology (the most important basis of climatology) can foretell the condition of the weather for the next twenty- four hours, but is unable to predict its condition, for the given locality, for the approaching season of the year, for instance, for the winter, which would be a matter of great importance for climatotherapy, because the climate differs not only during the various seasons of- the year, but during one and the same sea- son of the year it is liable to be variable in different years : one year, for instance, the winter is cold, the next year it is warm, or with a clear and quiet weather, or rainy, snowy, windy, etc. The complexity and inconstancy of the climatic influences, in the undeveloped state of climatology, make it impossible to establish any satisfactory climatotherapeutic classification of the climates. Webber, the author of the article on climatotherapy in the well-known collective edition of Ziemssens Hayidhueh der all- gemeinen The^-apie^ states that he was tempted to describe the climatic sanatoria in alphabetical order, but the necessity of avoiding repetitions so inconvenient in a text-book prevented him from domg this. As a great many others, he divides the climatic sanatoria into those situated near the seashore (these again being subdivided'into warm, cool, damp and dry ones), and those situated inland (with subdivisions into mountainous and low) ; but this subdivision certainly does not do away with the necessity, while selecting any climatic sanatorium, for care- fully considering not only its seaside or inland position, its high or low altitude, its warmth or coohiess, but also all the remaining numerous climatic and life peculiarities and the manner of their combination, by availing oneself of the aid found in literature, or better still, if possible, of the opportunity of a personal acquaintance with such places. Such being the condition of climatology and of climatother- apy, in discussing the special climatotherapeutic question, namely, that of the climatic treatment of chronic pulmonary — 300 — tuberculosis, I consider it best, without touching upon the unsatisfactory division and the characteristics of the climates, and giving a short review of the elements of climate and its therapeutic, or, rather, hygienic, effect in general, to give an his- torical exposition touching at least the last decades of the cli- matic treatment of chronic pulmonary tuberculosis. I am led to think that this will be the best method for explaining the nature of the climatic treatment not only of this disease, but of the whole idea in a general way, in so far as we can at least judge of this subject in the present condition of our knowledge ; I think thus, because, although the question of the climatic treatment of chronic pulmonary tuberculosis is but a special one in the domain of climatotherapy, it is undoubtedly the most important one.* THE ELEMENTS OF CLIMATE, The temiJerature of the locality. — Heat weakens the nervous system (causing fatigue, disinclination to work, sleepiness), the appetite and nutrition. Cold excites the appetite keen- ly ; it is therefore unsuitable for debilitated persons with poor digestive powers, who also evince an inclination to colds and to diseases dependant thereon. Such patients are best beneiited by localities with a moderate temperature, one which is neither hot nor cold, and withal as constant as possible, undergoing but few changes, because a rapidly and pronouncedl}- changeable temperature tends to aggravate and to cause in such patients cold and diseases resultmg therefrom. On the contrary, for neurasthenics a moderately changeable temperature is suitable, with moderate winds, as, for instance, the temperature of sea- side localities ; of this we shall speak when discussing balneo- therapy. * The hand- and text-books of climatotherapy, besides the climatic ther- apy of chronic pulmonary tuberculosis, usually mention this therapy for the following diseases: catarrhal and "rheumatic," gout, scrofulosis, various anaemic and nervous diseases (neurasthenia, hypochondriasis, etc.) ; however, there are certainly but few diseases in which correct climatic conditions would not be of importance. — 301 — 2. Moderate sunlight acts beneficially on the mental condition, on tlie nervous system, and on nutrition. For winter, therefore, the localities where the day is mostly clear are particularly suitable ; during summer, on the contrary, when there is a su- perabundance of sunlight, shady, woody places are preferable. 3. The air. — Moisture in the air. — Damp air is generally de- . leterious : damp and hot air increases the noxious effect of heat ; damp and cold air has even a greater tendency to cause cold and diseases due to it, than cold air which is not damp. Very dry air, either warm or cold, irritates the mucous mem- branes and increases the tendency to cough and hsemoptysis. An average degree of moisture in the air is therefore a necessary attribute of a good climatic sanatorium. Considerable cloudi- ness of the sky and severe rains are harmful, as they increase the amount of moisture in the air and in the soil, and tend to decrease the amount of sunlight, which last is generally slight during the winter ; but moderate rains are useful because they purify the atmosphere. Snow is beneficial for the same reason, 'and also because the covermg of snow prevents the air from be- coming contaminated by the various kinds of dust which rise from the ground. The density of the air, the pressure of the air. — It is thought that the air of the seaside localities, under the greatest pressure and therefore the densest and the richest in oxygen, excites the appetite more readily than the rarefied air of moun- tainous localities at high altitudes ; but this circumstance is usually counterbalanced b}^ the necessity of a greater amount of physical exertion, of greater muscular labor as spent in fre- quent ascensions in a mountainous locality. The considerable alterations in respiration and circulation observed on ascending very high mountains or on ascending in a balloon have no sig- nificance for climatic therapy, because the climatic sanatoria are mostly located at altitudes between 500 and 1500 meters; the rarefaction of the au- peculiar to such altitudes does not produce to any marked extent such influence on respira- tion and circulation, and on the organism in general, as is pro- duced by the rarefied air of the high mountains. The great development of the chest, so frequently observed in inhabitants — 302 — of the mountains, must be ascribed not to the rarefaction of the mountainous air and the increased respiratory movements conse- quent thereon, but rather to increased depth of the same move- ments as necessitated by frequent ascensions. The motions of the air, the winds, are of enormous importance climatically : some winds carry with them warmth, moisten the dry air, and clear the atmosphere of dust ; others bring with them cold or heat, superfluous moisture (dampness), or, on the contrary, dryness, dust. A good climatic sanatorium must be protected from noxious winds by an elevation of the land, or by a forest. The dem-ness of the air, the freedom from all kinds of dust, inorganic, organic dead and living (as micro-organisms), is the highest, most necessary requisite of a climatic sanatorium. The presence of ozone in the air is beneficial. 4. The soil. — The relief of the soil, in the shape of eleva- tions or mountain ranges, which^ serve as a protection against noxious winds, is directly important' in determining the value of a climatic sanatorium. A damp soil predisposes to malaria, is deleterious to those suffering from catarrhal and " rheumatic " affections, as well as for those afflicted with chronic pulmonary tuberculosis, and for many other patients. A dry but bare soil, only sparsely covered with vegetation, which fills the air with dust, is^particularly harmful for patients with chest troubles, for whom the best is a dry soil, but one covered with vegeta- tion, or, during the cold season of the year, with snow. 5. Waters. — A good water for drinking purposes is certainly a necessity at a climatic sanatorium. The neighborhood of the sea, which moistens the atmosphere, purifies it by the aid of an almost constant wind, modifies the extremes of temperature, at times warms the locality, as by warm sea-currents, and presents frequently the possibility of profiting by the beneficial — as for neurasthenics — sea-bathing — through all these influences forms a very important preference for a climatic sanatorium. 6. The vegetation, by covering the soil, prevents the forma- tion of dust, and by absorbing the carbonic acid and yielding up the oxygen, purifies the air and assists in the formation of ozone. Forests form an excellent protection against the winds — 303 — and, during the summer, against tlie excessive heat of the sun. 7. The heauty of the locality (the view on the sea, moun- tains, etc.) exerts a favorable psychical influence and plaj^s by no means an unimportant part in the selection of a sanatorium. 8. The value of a trip to a sanatorium, that is, the import- ance of removing the patient from the habitual conditions of life (at times unfavorable, as, for instance, an unhealthy locality, excessive occupation, worries, etc.) and of a change in the mode of living, by instituting exercises in the open air, and also the importance of the conditions surrounding the life at a cli- matic sanatorium — partly needs no explanation, and was, to some extent, already spoken of when we discussed the internal use of mineral waters ; we shall also touch upon the subject later on, as well as when we come to discuss the subject of bal- neotherapy. We will now take up the climatic treatment of chronic pul- monary tuberculosis. Up to within the fifties of the present century its treatment consisted chiefly in this, that the patients, during the cold season of the year, were sent away to localities with a prevailing warm climate, at first to places on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea protected by the Alps from the cold winds (the Riviera), as Cannes, Nice, Mentone, San Remo, etc., and later on to neigh- boring places around Cairo (Heluan), Algeria and to the Madeiras. In these localities, besides the warmth and the protec- tion from the cold winds, there was greatly appreciated the absence of sharp variations in the temperature. Finally patients with a dry cough and with an inclination to haemoptysis were advised to avoid localities with dry air, as, for example, the en- vironments of Cairo, and to go to places where the air is suffi- ciently moist (as, for instance, Madeira), while for patients with abundant expectoration, on the contrary. Some thirty-five years ago, the physicians of Europe turned their attention to the treatment of chronic pulmonary tubercu- losis by residence in the mountains. Observations in mountain- ous localities induced them to do so: thus it was found that — 304 — in Peru, where at the seaside localities the above-named disease is seen frequently, and where it rapidly brings on a fatal termination, a residence for the patients during a long period in the mountainous plains — at the altitude of 3000 meters — in the neighboring Andes has been considered since a long time as the ordinary and only successful treatment. Meeting with scarcely any cases of chronic pulmonary tuber- culosis at such high altitudes, observers came to the conclusion that the success of this treatment, consisting of a prolonged res- idence in plains situated at high altitudes, depends on the pres- ence m such localities of a peculiar " immunity " as regards the above-named disease. The principal element, which was considered as exerting a favorable influence on the patients suffering from chronic pulmonary tuberculosis during their resi- dence on high altitudes, was the rarefaction of the air, which, as it were, excited increased respiratory movements, brought about a better ventilation of the air, and tended to develop the chest, etc. But neither supposition was found to be true. It was proved that pulmonary tuberculosis is also met with in moun- tainous localities, although there it is of much rarer occurrence thanks to the absence of factory life and similar conditions, the population not being huddled together, as in localities with a dense population, under unfavorable conditions of life ; while at the same time it was found, that even in Switzerland, in the factory districts, situated as they are on high altitudes, there is quite a number of consumptives. The importance of rarefied air in climatic mountain sanatoria has been spoken of before. The German physician Brehmer, deeply convinced of the curative properties of the climate of mountainous localities for tuberculous patients, was the first to establish, or he thought he established, such a sanatorium ; I said he thought because the place selected by him, in the vicinity of the village of Gorbers- dorf, in Silesia, at an altitude of hardly 550 meters, can not be called a truly mountainous locality. But even without the features of a really mountainous place, Gorbersdorf is distin- guished by its excellent climate during summer, which is not hot, but cool, almost without rains, and is protected from noxious winds ; in connection with this the air is remarkably pure, free — 305 — from dust and rich in ozone, thanks to the abundance of trees, especially of firs : it abounds therefore in many pleasant, shady walks ; the soil is hard. Brehmer was convinced of both the " immunity" of mountain- ous localities as regards tuberculosis and of the beneficial influ- ence of the rarefied air of the mountains on tuberculous pa- tients, although the environs of Gorbersdorf present cases of consumption ; and as regards the rarefaction of the air — not to repeat what was said before, that there was no foundation for ascribing to it any special benefit for the consumptives — we can not speak of the presence of any considerable rarefaction of the air on such but slightly elevated locality as Gorbersdorf. Besides that, Brehmer entertained a theory of his own regard- ing the beneficial influence of mountainous localities on tuber- culous patients, namely: tuberculosis attacks persons whose lungs are large, but whose hearts are of small dimensions, and in whom therefore the lungs are not sufficiently supplied with blood and are poorly nourished, and who through such conditions become predisposed to tuberculous affections ; on the mountains the pulse becomes more frequent, which means that the activity of the heart is increased, the lungs receive a greater supply of blood, they are better nourished, and therefore are better able to withstand tuberculosis and can sooner be cured of it. This theory was of course proved to be without any patho logo-anatom- ical foundation in fact, not to speak of the insignificant influ- ence of such a slightly elevated locality as Gorbersdorf on the increase of the frequency of the pulse. But all this notwithstanding, Brehmer achieved a greater suc- cess in the treatment of patients afflicted with chronic pulmonary tuberculosis, than was obtained by the ordinary, at that time, treatment of such patients. This fact was recognized by com- petent German physicians and clinicists and has led to the es- tablishment of sanatoria after that of Gorbersdorf, with the application of Brehmer's method of treatment. This " method of treatment," to which Brehmer is so much indebted for his successes, consists properly speaking of a strict observance of hygiene. Thus, in the other climatic sanatoria patients, under the impression that the climate will do everything and that every- — 306 — thing is possible in such a climate, neglected the necessaiy hy- giene as much as they did in their own homes, permitted them- selves to smoke, to drink too much wine, did not observe the diet regularly, spent the nights in playing cards, in visitmg the theatre, etc., and therefore took no advantage of the pleasant hours during the day while the sun is up, nor of the fresh air and out-door exercises. Brehmer was remorseless in requiring of his patients the strictest observance of hygiene ; he insisted upon the avoidance of pernicious habits in the mode of living, upon going to bed in due time, upon as prolonged out-door life as possible, upon exercise compatible with the patient's strength ; he required a correct diet (in the form of frequent administra- tion of . nutritious food) and the use of wine ; and, besides all these, he ventured to introduce hydrotherapy into the treatment of tuberculous patients. It is true, that both the use of wine and the application of hydrotherapy w^ere conducted without a plan and with too great impulsiveness (thus, for instance, the patients were given too strong douches) and at times they were produc- tive of harm ; but it was nevertheless shown, that wine and such moderate hydrotherapeutic procedures as sponging, when not prescribed aimlessly but by observing the individual peculiari- ties of every patient, are of benefit to many suffering with chronic pulmonary tuberculosis. Of the various sanatoria, which were established in imitation of that at Gorbersdorf, we must stop to consider the one best known of all, namely, Davos in Switzerland. Davos is a wide tableland situated at an altitude of 1960 meters, protected by mountains from northerly and northwesterly winds. The best season of the year is the advanced winter, when the covering of snow is constant, the air is pure when there is no wind, the sky is almost always clear and the sun sends down sufficient warmth ; thanks to this, as well as to the dryness and the quietude in the air, it is so warm that the patients are able to be up and about out-of-doors in comparatively light garments. During the other seasons of the year there arrive the unpleasant local wmds from the mountains and plains and then, in the autumn, when the snow begins to fall, and in the spring when it thaws, the climate is damp and inconstant ; and the summer is warm, there is but lit- — 307 — tie shade, and it is dusty. The cHmate of Gorbersdorf is there- fore better during the summer, but there the winter is worse, because during it the weather is often damp and changeable. The majority of other European health-resorts, established on the plan of that at Gorbersdorf, have not the same distinctly mountainous character as Davos has, and resemble in this respect Gorbersdorf. Many physicians when comparing Davos with the warm cli- matic places, for instance with those on the Riviera, give the preference to Davos for the following reasons : the air at Davos, thanks to the snow-covered ground, is so pure that it stands in this respect above comparison with the air at the above-named warm places ; at Davos there is no wind during the winter and the climate is therefore more constant than in the warm locali- ties where noxious wmds prevail; in these places the winter is not only warm, but even hot, whereas at Davos it is just warm enough to enable one to be up and about dressed lightly : thanks to this the appetite of the patients living at Davos is better than in those living at the above-named warmer sanatoria. From the above you can clearly perceive what an important change took place during the last decades in the climatic treat- ment of chronic pulmonary tuberculosis : whereas formerly the salvation of the patients living in the middle and the northern parts of Europe and generally in countries with a similar cli- mate, was considered to lie in a trip to the South and a prolonged residence there during the cold season of the year, — a trip which was often beset with difficulties and entailed hardships on the patients and their families, which was frequently attend- ed with the risk of a failure, and often impossible for many, — at the^ present time such patients are enabled to apply the cli- matic therapy during the winter season much nearer to their own homes. There is also a possibility for this treatment with us, not only in our mountainous localities, but also in the plains so largely prevalent in Russia. The slight relief of the soil in the form of a forest, especially of fir-trees, serves as a sufficient protection from cold winds and exerts a modifying influence on the winter cold, if we desire to select a place which is located — 308 — on the inolines of the soil facing the south. The cover of snow insures pure air. If during the winter, in the severe colds, the patients will be compelled to confine themselves within the house for a longer time than in Western Europe, then during the autumn and spring, when we have yet some frost, while there it is already thawing and damp weather, the condition of things will be reversed. If, finally, on account of the severity of our climate its influence during winter will be inferior to that of Western Europe (and this I question ! ), then how many times will this disadvantage be outweighed by the possibility of avoiding the above alluded to difficulties and risks, which are inseparable from far journej^s and prolonged sojourn in remote countries ; it will remove the necessity for expenses permitted but to a few and frequently bringing ruin to the welfare of many families, necessitating separation from the familiar sur- rounding circumstances and business on the one hand, and compulsory, oppressive idleness in a strange land on the other hand. Unfortunately with us it is as yet an affair of the future. Up to now there prevail though to a slighter extent than for- merly, advices for trips to " the South " and " over the border " (meaning Western Europe). Many physicians prefer the ready advice " Take a trip to Cannes, Mentone, San Remo, etc., or to Gorbersdorf, Davos," to the one which requires more labor to explain as to how the patient should conduct himself in the cli- matic circumstances which surround him or, in case these be unsatisfactory, how to take advantage of those near by, frequent- ly of the very near and directly neighboring localities with fa- vorable climatic conditions. Besides, it frequently happens that the advice to go to the South or to Europe is given with such abruptness and so negligently, that the patient decides to under- go the necessary expenses for the trip, under the impression that the trip itself will bring about a cure ; he perceives later on, that the trip failed to cure (it frequently does not even bring about an improvement in health), and that not only a cure but even a satisfactory improvement in health requires a long time, treatment, and a constant observance of hygiene ; having given up the trips which became impossible,his means and affairs — 309 — ruined, he ends by what the physician should have advised him to begin, namely by attempting to improve his health not through temporary, fruitless measures, as trips to the south, but by changing his mode of living in accord with the conditions of his health and by taking ably advantage of the climatic op- portunities presented by the local place of residence or by the one nearest to it. A few cases from my practice will serve as illustrations of what I said. 1. This case, which I observed some twenty-five years ago, has remained indelibly in my mind, as it produced a strong impression, and has been the means of my inaugurating the present practice in the domain of climatic therapy. The pa- tient, forty years old, of average constitution, sober and non- syphilitic, was a grain merchant on the Moscow baggage station of the Moscow Ryazan Railroad. He passed the whole day either in talking (usually loudly, rapidly, without rest, and fre- quently also shouting) out in the dusty or cold air, or in drink- ing tea in the tavern. When I saw the patient, he had been suffering already for about a year and a half from chronic pul- monary tuberculosis of the right lung (approximately the upper third of the superior lobe was attacked), had frequently expectorated blood, was often feverish, grew thin, but was as yet strong. After having removed by symptomatic treatment (leeches to the coccyx, quinme, pulvis Doveri) the acute condition for which the patieut consulted me, I made it clear to him that a satisfactory improvement of his health is impossible with his present mode of living, and inquired whether he would" be able to take a trip to the South (it was during winter then), warning him, however, that there might arise a necessity for more than one trip. Patient replied that neither his competency nor his family relations permitted him to even attempt such a thing. Further inquiries elicited the fact, that he had iu his possession, some 200 miles to the south- east of Moscow, a pleasant country place which is neither dusty nor damp, and a fair little house ; some vegetation, vari- ous household buildings and a barn could form a distinct pro- — 310 — tection from the winds ; it was also found that the patient could give up liis present occupation, and having settled down in his country place, would be able to find also some occupa- tion there. Having prescribed for the patient treatment with cod-liver oil (we did not, at those times, give creosote in large doses) and the drinking, in the morning, of Obersalzbrunnen with milk, and having instructed him as to what he was to do in case of the appearance of fever and the mcrease of the cough, I positively advised him to leave Moscow and to move to the country place, explaining to him the hj^giene in particu- lar: to permit a temperature in the room which should not be hot, to have a warm water-closet, to use but lukewarm and no hot drinks, to replace the greater part of tea by milk ; nor must his food be hot; to take a bath, not a hot one, during the warm season of the year only, and that not frequently ; during the cold season to sponge the body with a mixture of warm water and brandy; but the chief thing — not to go out-of- doors during severe frosts, when the wmd is cold and when there is no protection against its blasts, or when the air is very damp, or occasionally dusty; and on the other hand to take advantage at any time of staying out-of-doors, when the frost is not severe, say between eight or ten degrees (patient was always habituated to cold), when the weather is quiet and protection against the wind may be obtained along the various country buildings and around the garden or the grove, when the air is neither damp, nor dusty ; not to talk during the cold season of the year while out-of-doors, and generally to talk only as much as necessary, not loudly, and drawing the breath care- fully ; finally, to devote himself to some occupation, but not to work beyond his strength, never permitting himself to become fatigued. The patient, being an intelligent, careful man with a strong will power, followed my advice to the letter and appeared be- fore me a year later (during May of the next year), aston- ishing me by such a marked improvement in his health than which I saw no greater, not only from one winter's sojourn, but from that of several winters spent by such patients in the South : — 311 — the nutrition was completely improved, he gathered considerable strength, there was no haemoptysis; fever and aggravation of the cough occurred but at rare intervals, incomparably less frequently than before, the cough in general and the quantity of expectoration diminished, the dullness at the area of the af- fected place changed but little, but the area over which rales had been heard decreased considerably. I must add that the patient did not give up his accustomed occupation, and not more than during fifty days was he compelled to confine him- self within the house, partly on account of the weather, partly because of the fever and the aggravated cough. During the next seven or eight years, he showed himself to me at first every year, and then every other year, usually in May, always in the same good condition as after the first year of his country life. The further condition of the patient is not known to me ; but whoever is familiar with the miserable results generally brought about by the trips to various health-resorts, trips which require constant moving around, from the home to the sanato- rium and back, and which cause so much ruin to the family, to the affairs and to the well-being of the patient — whoever knows all this will certainly perceive the impression produced on my mind by the above-described results of the climatic treat- ment (or to be more precise, by the generally hygienic treatment) at one^s ovjn home. Let me tell you of some cases, peculiar in another respect, observed in my recent practice. 2. In July of last year I was called to see the wife of a country merchant, thirty-one years old, who complained of eough, dysp- noea, emaciation and general weakness, and who desired me to inform her as to whether or not she should go to Yalta (in the Crimea), as advised by her physicians. The locality where the patient resides '(in the Tula Govern- ment) is a poor one, and except wmter-time it is either dusty or muddy. The residence is satisfactory, the water-closet cold. The board is good, her beverage consists of hot tea with milk, no alcoholic drinks. Patient has been married for twelve years, has nursed in all eight children, of whom five are alive. No syph- ilis. Notwithstanding the frequent births, the nursing of the — 312 — children and a considerable amount of housework, the patient assists also her husband, spending daily some five hours in a cold flour-store, situated on a dusty street. Patient is very much attached to the children and the family, and is a typical specimen of a good wife and mother, and of a verj^ painstaking housekeeper. Until five years ago she had enjoyed good health. Five years ago during autumn patient passed through an attack of pleurisy (severe pains in the left side of the chest, cough, fever ; the principal treatment consisted in the application of Spanish flies, which relieved her), after which she began to cough, at first but little, and later on more and more, and became also feverish ; but of this she took no notice and continued to work as usual. Two months ago the patient began to feel very ill and took to bed: there appeared severe pains in the left side and a considerable fever, while the formerly moderate cough be- came aggravated and the expectoration began to show the pres- ence of blood. In the course of three weeks the fever decreased, but the severe cough, the abundant expectoration and the dyspnoea remained until now, and the patient continues to ema- ciate and weaken. Her treatment consisted m the application of flies, and during two weeks, until the middle of June, she has been taking six drops of creosote daily ; later on, at the be- ginning of July, patient was advised to take a trip to Yalta. Status. — Her appetite is poor ; dyspeptic phenomena absent ; she is constipated (patient takes two or three times during the week, thirty or more drops of extr. fluid, cascarse sagradse). The urine contams a small quantity of albumen and a few hy- aline cylinders. Menstruation is regular, of normal quantity and painless. The liver and the spleen are normal ; so is the heart, but the pulse is frequent and weak. There is some dys- pnoea, cough, expectoration of about two tablespoonfuls a day, at times with an admixture of blood ; coughmg causes pain in the left side of the chest. On the lower half of the left side of the chest, posteriorly and laterally, there is dullness on per- cussion, while auscultation elicits bronchial respiratory murmur and some rales ; the apex of the left lung shows a characteristic focus with abundant and loud moist rales ; objective examination — 313 — of the right side gives normal data. The patient is somewhat feverish, her sleep is sound, and not interrupted by the cough, the head aches when the fever is increased. The patient and her husband stated to me that the advice to take a trip to Yalta causes them a great deal of anxiety ; that such a trip was for them, plain country people, a matter of un- usual importance, as it might possibly result in many unpleas- ant accidents ; that it was impossible for the husband to accom- pany his wife, and, which is most important of all, she would be unable to take along the children, all of whom were very young as yet; that the mother was so attached to them, and they to her, that separation would be intolerably painful and harmful for the mother's health. The husband told me that the wife having gone without the children to live in a country place, she could not stand the separation but for two days and was compelled to return, while the " children were crying all the time during her absence." Further inquiry elicit- ed the fact that the husband possessed, some four or five miles from his constant residence, a section of forest in a pleasant, dry locality, and that he had built there a spacious and clean little house in a place completely protected from wind and dust. My advice was as follows : I could not approve of a residence of two months' duration at Yalta ; on the contrary I feared the possible heat, so harmful for the appetite, and the dust, and I advised the woman to remove together with her children to the above-named country place and to remain there until the appear- ance of snow, when she might return to her constant residence. I explained to the patient and to her husband that it was not only necessary for her to recover from the disease which attacked her two months ago, namely, inflammation of the left lung, but also to get rid of the other affection, which has been ruining her health during the last five years and which settled also in the same lung (tuberculosis of its apex) ; I made it clear to them that she must therefore remain at the place of her con- stant residence only during the winter, when thanks to the snow and frost both dust and dampness are absent, while the rest of the time she is to live in the above-named country place, where a more spacious residence is to be built at once, with ^ 314 — conveniences for winter, with good stoves, and chiefly with double floors and double frames. The husband replied at once that he could do all this very readily, that by autumn the house would be ready for occupancy. To this I added, of course, that the patient must take care of herself, must refrain from fatiguing labor, must drink more milk and less hot tea, and must wear drawers (which she did not do before and which were required in view of a possible nephritis) ; as what concerns her outdoor life, I repeated to her my instruc- tions as given to the case described above. I further instructed her to resort to the use of clysters in case of constipation, and to take a laxative only in case the clyster proves ineffectual ; for the cough to drink Obersalzbrunnen with milk ; to take guaiacol in the order explained in the treatment of chronic pulmonary tuberculosis, not exceeding the dose of twenty to twenty-five drops per day (because of the albuminuria, even though it be trifling) ; in case of weakness to take the stimulating drops (tra. valer. seth. and liqu. Anod. Hoffm. aa). 3. At the beginning of last autumn a land proprietress in one of the country places around Moscow requested of me ad- vice about her daughter. The girl, twelve years old, of a weak- ly constitution and slightly hysterical, passed a year ago through a severe febrile affection, which left her with a cough and debili- tated. The family physician found tuberculous bacilli in the sputum and advised Mentone for the winter. The first two months' residence at Mentone exerted no influence on her health, and only after she commenced taking creosote did her health be- gin to improve markedly. On her return to Russia in the spring the improvement continued (the treatment with creosote was discontinued by this time), and by autumn only the cough re- mained, without any expectoration. Status. — The appetite is excellent, the digestion normal, all the abdominal organs, as well as the heart and the circulation, are in good condition, the nutrition, sleep and strength good. Outside of a moderate dry cough the organs of respiration pre- sent nothmg abnormal : objective examination fails to elicit any dyspnoea, pains or any other pathological changes. The physicians have however again advised her to go to Mentone for the winter. — 315 — The girl's mother declared, that in view of the large family, of her husband's affairs and the serious pecuniary expenses incurred b}^ such a trip, this last presents extremely embarrassing diificulties ; that the improvement m the girl's health began not from the time they took up their residence at Mentone, but only two montlis later, when she began the creosote treatment ; that Mentone is crowded and dusty, and that the whole family, re- moved forcibly from the habitual conditions and cu'cumstances of life (they always led a country life in a healthy locality, in an excellently arranged country residence, protected from the winds by the woods) felt as if they had been exiled. I told them that I considered the life at ^lentone as unsuitable for such a family, and that m m}^ opmion the trip to Mentone and back with all the possible accidents attached thereto, as well as the patient's attempt to disaccustom herself from a cli- mate in which she will after all have to live, were much more risky than to remain over winter at home, in the accustomed, favorable place of residence ; I therefore ad- vised to constantly remain in the latter, keeping the same points in view — mutatis mutandis — as explained b}' me in the foregoing cases. As the girl was formerly studying hard, and had at times to pass examinations, which circumstance acted deleteriously on her nervous system, and being of a lively dis- position she talked a great deal while, out-of-doors, I advised to entirely give up the examinations conducted m the manner harmful for the nervous system, to study without unnecessary effort, to talk less, and to strictly refrain from talking when out- of-doors during cold weather. As for treatment I prescribed creosote. The above described cases may serve as examples of my hab- itual climatotherapeutic practice. The results of such practice as regards the lasting recovery of health are incomparably better, in my observation, than the results obtained by frequent trips to far-away places with a totally different climate, and by a pro- longed sojourn there. I will not speak of the cares and worries that one avoids in the treatment at home, without these trips. It would however be narrow-mindedness to completely deny the benefit derived from trips with climatic treatment in view. — 316 — Each given case must be individualized, as should always be ■ done in therapy : if in the majority of cases such trips are con- nected with considerable inconvenience and frequently even with serious disturbances, there are on the other hand eases where all these are absent, where on the contrary it becomes beneficial for the patient, not only for climatotherapeutic pur- poses, but also otherwise, to be removed away from various un- favorable conditions surrounding him, and from his habitual mode of living. But it may be stated in a general way, that a trip with climatic treatment in view is particularly indicated in those cases, in which a single trip and but a short sojourn maj^ achieve the purpose of brmging about a recovery of health, as, for instance, in cases of debility after an attack of a severe disease. I had already once occasion to mention the indications for such a trip while analyzing our first case. (Vide the lecture of October 18, 1889, at the end.) But in cases of chronic diseases, principally in chronic pulmonary tuberculosis, in which lasting improvement in and preservation of health requires not only a prolonged, but a constant residence among favorable climatic and generally hygienic surroundings, a trip to a far-away, the more so to a foreign, land is indicated only at the beginning, when it becomes necessary to at once put the patient into favorable cli- matic conditions, and when such are not easily found at home ; but later on it is necessary to search for such conditions in the place of residence or near by, at any rate in the native land, in one's fatherland, where the patient is after all enabled to have some occupation proportionate to his strength (patients with chronic pulmonary tuberculosis are entirely incapable of any activity only in the last, phthisical stage), which would to some extent satisfy him and give him means for a livelihood, which is very rarely possible m a foreign land. We have discussed at sufficient length the general hygiene of patients with chronic pulmonary tuberculosis several times be- fore, and also while discussing the therapy of this disease. TWENTY-SECOND CASE. LECTURE OF MARCH 3, J 893. Patient, a peasant, nineteen years old, was admitted to the clinic March 1st, complaining of severe dyspnoea, of pain in the left side of the chest, of headache and general weakness. Mode of living and anamnesis. — For the last five years pa- tient has lived at Moscow. His rooms are dry and warm, but being a clerk in a green-grocer's shop, he spends his whole day in a basement floor where the store is located. Bathes himself at times during the summer, takes a hot bath once in two weeks, drinks a sufficient quantity of tea, but no brandy ; does not smoke. His board is that of a workingman. Patient is single, never had any venereal diseases. Patient comes from a healthy family ; he had smallpox dur- ing childhood, but since then up to the present illness enjoyed good health. February the 27th he remained for a long time in an ice-cellar, was thoroughly chilled and m the evening felt a pain in the left side, had a severe chill and later fever which continued up to the time he entered the clinic, March 1st. On the day of his admission patient was given twelve one- grain powders of calomel, one every hour (before that he did not move his bowels for two days). He had four abundant characteristic calomel evacuations, attended with slight pain : he was then given five drops of tra. opii and his abdomen was wrapped in some flannel ; after this the mtestinal pains quieted down and the loosenesss of the bowels ceased. He was given twice a day twenty-five stimulant drops (tra. valer. aether, and liqu, anod. Hofmanni aa) and the left side of the chest was kept warm by rubbing with warm oil, and then wrapping it with cotton-wadding and flannel. Status. — Average constitution. He has no appetite, there 317 — 318 — are no dyspeptic phenomena, nor were there any previous to the disease. Had regular stools before he fell sick ; had no stool during the first two days of the disease, then was given calomel, later opium. During the last twenty-four hours he had one stool, somewhat liquid but without pain. The urine passes freely, 500 c.c. during the twenty-four hours, is rich in urates, contains neither sugar, nor albumen. Tlie abdomen, as well as the whole body, is slightly sensitive to pressure ; there is a hy- pergesthesia cutis in connection with a high temperature. The liver and spleen are normal. The heart, except for the fre- quency of the contractions (pulse 100), is normal ; the pulse, which was somewhat weak on admission, is now good. There is some dyspncea, — respiration 32, on admission 36 per minute, — some trifling pain in the left side of the chest, a slight cough, with some tliick viscid expectoration of a rusty color. There is a dull percussion sound under the left scapula, bronchial breath- ing and vocal fremitus are more pronounced than under the right scapula. Objective examination in the other regions of the chest elicits nothing abnormal. Headache and dizziness on getting up. His sleep is fair. There is general debility. The course of the temperature : the morning of the day before yesterday, on admission, 40.2° R. (104.4° i^.), evening (he had before this some calomel stools), 39° R. (102.2° 1^.), yesterday morning, 38.7° R. (101.6° i^.), in the evening, 40° R. (104° F.), this morning, 39. 5° R. (103.2° F.~). Diagnosis. — Here, as in the case of the pleurisy with effusion (nineteenth case), we evidently have to do with an acute disease in the cavity of the chest which causes a febrile con- dition, this last appearing simultaneously with the local symptoms, namely pains in the left side of the chest. This disease may be either pneumonia or pleurisy with effusion. If we review the comparison between the symptoms of both diseases, which we did while discussing the above mentioned case, we shall see that the symptoms of the present case speak against pleurisy with effusion, and for pneumonia, namely, for croupous pneumonia (fibrinous) : the pains in the side are not severe ; together with a dull percussion sound there is observed clear bronchial respiration, and not the weak respiratory mur- — 319 — mur of indefinite quality, as in the above-named case of pleurisy with effusion ; the vocal fremitus is increased (there it is weak- ened), the cough is not dry, as it is there, but with expectora- tion and characteristic at that of fibrinous pneumonia ; the affection of the lower lobe of the lung is also characteristic of the same. The course of the temperature, when it became established after its fall caused by calomel passed away, also speaks for pneumonia, namely, the temperature is high, and the difference between the morning (to-day 39.5° R. — 103.2° ^.) and the evening (last evening 40° B. — 104 FS) is trifling, of one-half of a degree, whereas in the above-named case of pleurisy, at the beginning of the patient's stay in the clinic before antipyretics had been prescribed for him, the morning temperature was 38.1 R. (100.6° F.~), that of the evening 39.6° R. (103.2° J^.). The mi- croscopical examination of the sputum, so easy of accomplishment in the clinic, but difficult in private practice, is unnecessary in the present case, as the diagnosis is evident beyond doubt. It is otherwise, if we have to deal with a pneumonia in the upper pulmonary lobe, and especially in a patient in whom we are led to suspect the presence of tuberculosis : then it is certainly neces- sary to examine the expectoration for prognostic as well as ther- apeutic purposes ; it ma}" contain in one case tubercular bacilli, in another pneumonic diplococci, and in a thu'd both. Prognosis. — The case is serious ; it may terminate in re- covery, but may also end m death ; which of the two it is im- possible to say, but we may certainly with greater probability hope for recovery, in view of the patient's youth, his fair con- stitution and the good condition of his cardiac activity, and also because of the fact that during the two days that the patient has been in the clinic we did not observe any further spread of the pneumonic process. In addition to this, the patient has been placed since the day before yesterday into favorable conditions by his life in the clinic, and is subjected to treatment : the calomel lowered the temperature considerably for more than twenty-four hours, and it was probably the cause why the pneu- monia did not spread. Treatment. — We possess as yet no specific remedies for pneu- — 320 — monia,* and have to rely on the symptomatic treatment. We must combat the symptoms of the disease, and prevent any of them from developing to any dangerous extent, until the disease will terminate itself. As ordinarily dangerous symptoms in croupous pneumonia may be considered a very high temperature, a very weakened cardiac activity, and dyspnoea ; the cough (and very rarely pain in the side) may be considered not as a directly dangerous, but as a very embarrassmg symptom which exerts a harmful influence on the patient's condition. I prescribe treatment for high temperature in croupous pneumonia only when I see that its effects are fraught with danger. As a measure of the degree of danger of these effects are considered the patient's sensations, the condition of the pulse and the respiration: the higher the fever, the worse the patient feels, and the worse are the pulse and the respiration, and on the contrary, so that with the fall in the temperature and with the termination of the crisis, the patient usually feels well, the pulse becomes good, or yields easily to the effect of cardiac stimulants, and there is no dyspnoea even by the time when the local affection presents as yet no changes and remains in the former extent. The worse therefore the patient feels, as evidenced by ex- treme anxiety and a feeling of distress, the weaker the pulse and the greater the dyspncea, the more necessary does it be- come to lower the temperature. I have long ago discarded digitalis,! cold baths and quinine as means for lowering the high temperature of croupous pneu- monia ; quinme I give only in the very last stage of the disease, when resolution is prolonged, and when the febrile condition is of a strongly remittent nature in the mornings. I also give it, as described above, in chronic pulmonary tuberculosis, thus : for the morning remission qumine, and for the evening exacerbation phenacetine or antifebrine ; but to lower the * The attempts to treat croupous pneumonia, as well as the attempt to create immunity towards it, by the products of the life activity of the mi- cro-organisms considered as the causative agency of the disease, are as yet not ripe enough for practical application. t See article on the treatment of croupous pneumonia by calomel. — 321 — temperatui-e of croupous pneumonia I resort to calomel, only in patients of a strong constitution, and only at the incipiency of the disease when the strength is in good condition; espe- cially do I give it when there is an indication for calomel as evidenced by the condition of the gastro-intestinal canal (as constipation, meteorism, and a high position of the dia- phragm, tending to increase the dyspnoja), and by that of the biliary passages. The effect of calomel in croupous pneumonia is explained in the article alluded to, and is partly also seen from the present case. To repeat calomel in croupous pneu- monia is usually unnecessary in view of the short duration of the disease and the danger of weakening the patient. To further lower the temperature, to bring it down from an im- desirable elevation, I usually give phenacetine or antifebrine, ordinarily in the evening when the fever is increased, and in small doses (three to eight grains of phenacetine, or three to five grains of antifebrine), which usually prove satisfactory. I avoid the use of sodium salycilate and of antipyrine in view of their weakenmg effect on the heart, which effect is especially dangerous in pneumonia. To keep up the weakened cardiac activity I administer the stimulating drops mentioned here more than once, wine, coffee with cognac, whiskey, less frequently camphor (to persons not habituated to alcohol and unable to bear it). Treatment of dyspnoea^ pains and cough. — There occur in- frequent cases in which the dyspnoea is at the beginning of the disease so severe that it requires local bloodlettmg, less frequently general ; these are cases presenting a tempestu- ous onset of croupous pneumonia, when in conjunction with severe pains which embarrass respiration, a considerable portion of one lung becomes suddenly affected, and simultaneously with this, because of the impeded cii'culation in the affected lung and of the weakened cardiac activity (on account of the very high temperature), there takes place an oedema of the other lung which develops rapidly, and is at times accompanied by haemoptysis.* But ordinarily, a sufficient relief of the dyspnoea is obtained by lowering the high temperature, by * Vide article on "Bloodletting." — 322 — strengthening the weakened activity of the heart, and by re- lieving the pains and the cough. In case the dyspnoea is very severe and dangerous, as a result of an oedema of the lungs developed in acute cases at the termination of the croupous pneumonia, — in a patient, already debilitated and presenting symptoms of an approaching collapse, — then bloodletting is not to be resorted to (as recommended by many text-books), as it is then a very risky measure under such conditions, but stimulants must be administered, also senega, and large Spanish flies are applied. For relieving the pain it is usually sufficient to keep the pamful side of the chest warm (by the aid of warm oil, batting and flannel), to relieve the cough, and the coughing spells which tend to aggravate the pains. It is only on rare oc- casions that we have to resort for the relief of the pain to local bloodletting or to an hypodermatic injection of morphium. As the cough aggravates the pain, and through this as well as by embarrassing respiration and circulation, it also aggravates the dyspnoea, and prevents sleep, it must, therefore, be reduced to the possible minimum. As long as the expectoration is scanty, and the rales are either few or entirely absent, we should give codeine, opium, in the form of pulvis Doveri, rarely morphine. I had observed many times that the first thing a physician administers to a patient suffering with pneumonia, is infusum ipecacuanhse which is continued for several days ; this is undoubtedly an error : there is at that time as yet nothing in the bronchi that can be brought awa}^, and the ipecacuanha only tends to aggravate the cough, and if ad- ministered for a long time, it deranges the appetite and prevents its timely return. On the other hand, we must exercise ex- treme caution during the administration of the above-named narcotic remedies. Changes in the course of croupous pneu- monia are liable to take place rapidly: codeine, opium and morphine, which relieved the dry cough, and therefore also the dyspnoea and the pain, thus benefiting the patient greatly until say the fifth or sixth day of the disease, may become harm- ful on the morning of the following day, usually at the time during which the crisis occurs, by aggravating the dyspnoea, at a time, — 323 — when the respiratory passages are filled with liquid contents (as evidenced by abundant subcrepitant and more prominent moist rales, whose appearance is to be carefully watched), on account of the entrance mto them partly of the liquefied pneu- monic mfiltration (although this is usually absorbed), but prin- cipally of the oedematous fluid. Now we must put aside the above-named narcotics, which we gave only yesterday, and while continuing the stimulants, we resort to expectorants, usually to senega in an infusion, 3j - 3ij to fvj, and in severe cases also to large Spanish flies. We will now turn to the treatment of our patient. From the data outlined above you will perceive that there are no indications at present for bloodlettuig, nor were there any before. The indication for calomel, as well as its effect in the given case, were already spoken of. What shall we give the patient to-day ? We will first of all give him agaiu five drops of the tincture of opium, as he had some loose stools, although they were painless and appeared once during the twenty-four hours. The opium will also be beneficial in quieting the cough. We will contmue the stimulant drops. Their action is good : twenty-five drops without wine, twice a day, produce a fair pulse. Pain in the left side is sufficiently relieved by the part being kept warm. For the cough — tra, opii, and in case of constipation, one-fourth grain of codeine. As the temperatiu'e is quite high and the dyspnoea very pronounced, we will give him, in view of the probable evening rise of the temperature, three grams of phenacetine. FROM THE LECTURE OF MARCH 5, 1893. The day before yesterday, at seven p. 3i. the temperature was 39.8° R. (103.6° i^.), and after he took three grains of phenace- tine, it fell to 38.8° R. (101.8° _^.) by ten o'clock in the evenmg ; this morning it is 39.5° R. (103.1° i^.). Yesterday morning the area of dullness seems to have spread somewhat upward, to-day it is of the same extent, as it was yesterday ; there is no further spread. Auscultation over the region of dullness elicits bron- chial breathing, no rales anywhere. The pams in the left side, — 324 — as also the cough, are trifling and cause the patient no incon- ' venience ; the dyspnoea is moderate. The pulse is good ; he gets twenty-five stimulating drops four times a day. He is constipated. The sleep is fair, he feels better, the hyperaes- thesia cutis disappeared. The prognosis remains favorable, because all the symptoms are slight, the strength is good, and at the present time there is no further spread of the pneumonia ; this is the seventh day of the disease and we may soon expect the ci^isis. Treatment : a clyster, coffee with milk (as a cardiac stimu- lant, at the same time counteracting the constipation), stimu- lants, phenacetine and codeine, as necessity requires; finally, in case oedema of the lung supervenes during the crisis, senega, or even a Spanish fly. FROM THE LECTURE OF MARCH 16, 1893. The day when the last lecture was delivered, the seventh day of the disease, the temperature did not rise m the evening (39.2° i^.— 102.7°^., as against 39.5° i^. — 103.1° I', in the morning) ; on the next, eighth day, the morning temperature was 39.6° B. (103.2° #.), but it rapidly fell to 38° R. (100.4° ^.) in the evening; on the ninth day 38.7° R. (101.6°^.) in the mornmg, after three grains of phenacetine 38.4° R. (101.1° i^.) in the even- ing, and on the tenth day in the morning, with the appearance of considerable sweating, 36.2° R. (99.01° _F^.), and since then there is no fever, the appetite appeared and is continuously getting stronger. There was no further spread of the pneu- monic process during the seventh, eighth, and ninth day of the disease ; but with the advent of the crisis the local phe- nomena underwent a rapid change : the dullness began to clear up, the bronchial breathing disappeared, there appeared abun- dant rales and the cough mcreased. Patient took two bottles of an infusion of senega, 3j to fvj a tablespoonful every hour, and by the twelfth day of the disease — March 10th — the cough disappeared, the rales vanished and the percussion sound at the region of the former pneumonia cleared up en- tirely. To-day the patient, who, as you see, is completely improved, leaves the clinic. A FEW NOTES ON OBJECTIVE EXAM- INATION. (^From Various Lectures.') While speaking of the general examination of a patient I said : •' By far not everything obtainable by examination is necessary and important for medical conclusions ; we must be particularly careful not to confound diagnostic aims with those necessary to semiotics, for not everything of interest to the semi- otician is necessary to the diagnostician." As a matter of fact, every morbid phenomenon is of interest in semiotics as an independent science, as a branch of natural science, whereas for diagnostic purposes only that is of impor- tance, which forms a symptom, a sign of disease ; and the more certain the indication presented by the morbid phenomenon as regards the disease, the more reliable is this phenomenon as a symptom, the more important does it become for diagnosis. Not all the morbid phenomena possess the same value as regards diagnosis ; on the contrary, the number of morbid phenomena important for diagnostic purposes is by far smaller than the number of all the morbid phenomena in general. If we were to compare the sum total of these last, the knowledge of which the student must acquire during his study of semiotics, with the limited number of those, which are made use of not only by very experienced and conscientious physicians in their prac- tice, but even by clinical instructors, then we would find a great difference. I may also say, that not only in private practice, but even in the clinic, are the methods of examination less com- plicated, without losing thereby any of their correctness, than those usually recommended by text-books and by the instruc- tion in semiotics. This is the reason why students, who have become familiar — 326 — with semiotics and who come to the clinic, have usually a gen- eral idea of the nature of many morbid phenomena, probably of all, but in the majority of cases they are unable to appreciate their comparative value for diagnosis, and cannot separate the most important of these from the rest ; quite frequently they are able to note in the patient some trifling signs, at the same time failing to perceive valuable symptoms. It is certainly the business of the clinical instructor to put prominently before the mind of the future physicians whatever is most important ; this is comparativel}^ but little, but they must be taught to firmly possess this little : it is however desirable that both the text-books and the instruction in semiotics have the same aim in view. Some abbreviation of the course of instruction in semiotics, and stricter choice in the matter to be communi- cated to the students and in what is necessary to be acquired by them, would aid mateiially in reaching such an aim and would be more than timely now, when, with the rapid progress of the various medical sciences, the students are less and less able to satisfy all the requirements of a serious examination. I will bring forward a few observations which I usually make, with the aim in view of pointing out what is most impor- tant on various occasions, in connection with the objective ex- amination of the patient, namely, in percussion, auscultation and palpation, except auscultation in diseases of the heart, on which I touched but slightly in the preceding lectures, and which, as well as the examination of this organ, I expect yet to take up in the future. To make the matter clearer I shall instance such a case. I call out a student, and mvite him to auscultate the patient and tell me what he hears. In reply he says that he hears rough breathing. I ask for the meaning of this term, and what condition of the respiratory passages it indicates, but fail to obtain a satisfactory answer. I then remind the students and impress it on their minds to al- ways remember the following data concerning respiratory mur- murs : Vesicular respiratory murmur indicates, that the area over which it is heard, contains normal pulmonary tissue, and con- sequently it has a diagnostically definite significance. [Each — 327 — and every symptom, to the importance of which I call the at- tention of the students, is described by me, produced, if pos- sible, by voice imitation, and is demonstrated on the patient to as great a number of students as practicable ; while the resident physicians, the assistants in the clinics, as well as the privat- docenten engaged therein, instruct during the evening hours the students in the skill of determining practically on the patients those diagnostic symptoms, to which I called their attention.] Broncliial respiratory murmur indicates that the pulmonary tissue over which it is heard contains no air (the exception refers to the bronchial respiratory murmur transmitted from the larynx and trachea, but then it is heard usually with equal dis- tinctness over both sides of the chest). Besides the bronchial and the vesicular respiratory murmurs, which possess a charac- teristic distinctness in their acoustic qualities and which have a definite diagnostic significance, there are other respiratory murmurs which resemble neither the vesicular nor the bronchial murmurs, and which indicate nothing definite (they can be found both in perfectly healthy respiratory passages, as, for in- stance, in men when breathing quietly, and in various affections of the bronchi, lungs and pleurae) ; these therefore possess no definite significance, and are for this reason called the indef- inite respiratory murmurs. To this class must be referred the so-called rough breathing ; and to distinguish this is for the diag- nostician but an unnecessary burdening of the memory by a rhetorical, but not a diagnostic term. Once the respiratory murmur is neither vesicular nor bronchial, it has no diagnostic significance, and is therefore of an indefinite quality ; whether it be rough or otherwise is of no importance. Under certain conditions, but not independently by itself, the indefinite res- piratory murmur (i. e. the one resembling neither the bronchial nor the vesicular, and whether it be rough or otherwise is not important) may possess a diagnostic importance ; thus, for example, if under one clavicle we hear a vesicular respiratory murmur, and under the other constantly an indefinite one, for instance, the so-called prolonged expiration, one of the varieties of the indefinite respiratory murmur, especially in a patient, — 328 — who excites a suspicion of tuberculosis, tlien we have a founda- ■ tion to conclude, even before the appearance of the more positive symptoms, such as rales and alterations in the percussion sound, that that pulmonary apex is affected, over which we hear the indefinite respiratory murmur. In connection with the same we must also make the follow- ing observations : About rales. — We must distinguish dry rales (usually whistling ones) and moist rales ; of the latter, the very fine ones, crepitant, as typically represented in the beginning of a pneumonia, then somewhat more prominent, subcrepitant, as typically represented at the stage of resolution of a pneumonic process and at the beginnmg of an oedema of the lungs, and finally the medium and the coarse rales, as typically represented by a pulmonary cedema which spread upward, and by a bronchial catarrh with abundant expectoration. Then I advise to memorize well the nature of the rales which characterize the most frequent affections of the respiratory organs. 1. Abundant moist rales, at the beginning subcrepitant, later more coarse, which appear simultaneously on both sides of the chest, at first under the scapulae and later spreading further and further upward (and parallel with this the dyspnoea becomes aggravated), pomt with certainty to pulmonary oedema, which increases rapidly and requires immediate treatment. 2. Less abundant moist rales on both sides under the scapulae, which remain constantly subcrepitant and do not spread upward, and which are usually heard on deep inspiration, ordinarily in per- sons with a distended abdomen and a highly elevated diaphragm, — which condition prevents a full expansion of the lower pulmonary parts, — point partly to a condition of atalectasis, partly to a slight stationary oedema of these parts. 3. Rales which are heard on either side only over the middle portions of the lungs, and which are not perceived in the apices and the lowest portions, now more diy, now more moist, medium and large bubbling ones, point to a bronchial catarrh, either dry or moist. As a very rare exception I have seen an un- complicated bronchial catarrh (without any affection of the pulmonary tissue) on one side, which lingered from the very — 329 — childhood of the patient, at times quieting down, at others, dur- ing the cold season, taking on an acute form, the predisposition to which catarrhal condition was evidently determined by an in- sufficient expansion of the affected half of the chest during the early part of life (semiatalectasis of the lung ?). On the other hand the above-mentioned rales, if considerably spread over both halves of the chest, may be heard in bronchopneumonia — most frequently of tubercular origin — which attacked both lungs (the differential diagnosis between bronchial catarrh and tubercular bronchopneumonia was spoken of in connection with the twenty-first case). 4. Moist rales, observed over a limited area, in one focus or in several, point to an affection of the lung tissue, — croupous pneumonia, pneumonia complicating grippe, pertussis, etc. ; such a focus exhibiting moist rales in the apex of one or the other lung or of both forms one of the most certain symptoms of tuberculous affection of the lungs. In some cases — as in pneumothorax and in cavernse — the respiratory murmurs and rales may possess a particular quality of resonance (simple and metallic), at times of such a pro- nounced and characteristic nature, as to plainly point to the above-named morbid conditions. The percussion sound. — The principal quality of this, which must chiefly be taken into account, is its force : a clear, a dull or a flat sound. In rare cases the percussion sound over the chest, ordinarily not resonant, may possess a similar pronounced resonant quality as the phenomena observed in auscultation; it then has a similar diagnostic significance. Determination of the dimensions of the heart., liver and spleen. — The dimensions of the heart are firstly determined by palpating the region of the heart-impulse at the apex (I recommend most earnestly exercise in such examination, as it gives most im- portant data), and secondly by percussion over the sternum : in the normal condition the lower half of the sternum gives almost as clear a percussion sound, as the upper one ; while in case of an enlarged heart, and especially of its right half, the per- cussion sound over the lower half of the sternum and to its right is duller than over the neighboring parts — upward and to the right — of the chest wall and the upper half of the — 330 — sternum. The area of the apex beat of the heart and the right border of the dull sound at the cardiac region, present entirely sufficient data by which we can judge of the dimensions of this organ. The lower border of the liver and of the spleen is determined by palpation, and the upper border hy percussion. While per- forming the last it is hardly worth while to search for the rib to which it extends. The statement of the text-books " from this rib to that " are but average deductions from many ob- servations. Every individual case will present departures from these mean dimensions. Consequently, if such depar- tures be small, then we cannot deduct therefrom any conclu- sion as regards the alteration in the size of the organ; but if they be considerable, then there is no necessity to occupy one- self with recounting the ribs : for it is plainly apparent, that the area between the superior and the inferior borders is markedly greater, or pronouncedly less extensive, than is peculiar to the organ in its normal condition. It also suffices an experienced look to judge by this area as to whether the organ is replaced or not. This is the reason why I insist, for the sake of acquiring such experience, on exercising as much as possible in defining the borders of the hver and of the spleen, and thus acquire a strong mental hold on the dimensions as well as the localization of the area contained within the above- named borders in the normal condition of these organs, as well as when they are enlarged, diminished and replaced. The importance of feeling the pulse, at one time somewhat forgotten, thanks to the enthusiasm generated by the method of percussion and auscultation and also to sphygmography, but at the present time appreciated rightly, requires certainly no necessity for discussion. Of the many peculiarities of the pulse we must at all times define its three principal qualities : its frequency, rhythm and, most important of all, its strength. The strength of the pulse depends on the quantity of blood, on the force of the cardiac contractions and on the elasticity of the arteries. Feeling the pulse enables one to judge certainly only of the results of interaction of these factors. To determine the condition of these last we must consider the other data, the — 331 — condition of nutrition and hsematopoiesis, and the results of the examination of the heart and of the arterial system. Sphygmo- graph}^ and sphygmomanometry, not to speak of the great inconvenience their use occasions in private practice, cannot replace the determmation of the qualities, prmcipally of the strength, of the pulse, nor of the condition of the arteries as obtained by touch. We shall yet have occasion to speak of the pulse, as well as of auscultation of the heart, when analyzing clinically the diseases of this organ. ELEMENTS OF BALNEOTHERAPY FOR THE PRACTICAL PHYSICIAN. LECTURES OF APRIL 20 AND 21, 1893. While giving clinical, that is, practical instruction in pathol- ogy and therapeutics, the clinician embraces the opportunity, in prescribing the treatment, to touch on all the means pos- sessed, by this last, and in doing this he is enabled to classify these means from his own special clinical, principally individ- ualizing point of view. I therefore since long, almost from the very beginning of my clinical activity, always touched upon the subject of balneotherapy. In former times this was the more necessary, as the student at the clinic had almost no idea about this subject, because it formed no part of the curriculum of university instruction. During recent years among the various courses of our medical schools there were also established courses in balneotherapy, but I still keep to my custom of discussing the subject in my lectures ; in doing this I am also urged on by my former students, who attest to the value of these lectures by their own experience. As far as the internal employment of mineral waters is concerned, I spoke of the necessity of its clinical characteristic ; but there is another reason for the utility of such a characteristic of balneotherapy, which is common to both the external and the internal employment of mineral waters. The reason for this lies in the practice, common to all hand- books, text-books and courses of balneotherapy, of expounding together the employment of mineral waters both for external and internal uses, while discussing the subject in general, as well as in the description of special kinds of mineral waters. The subject of balneotherapy in general, that is, the science of the application of mineral waters for external and internal 332 — 333 — use, is very extensive, extremely complicated and varied ; there is hardly a department of special pathology on which it does not touch. By the internal use of the mineral waters we aim principal- ly to influence the mucous membranes, the blood, the nutrition and the various secretions, and through all these, the nervous system ; while by their external use we act through the skin on the nervous system, and then through this last on the other parts of the organism. It is thus apparent, that the numerous and various diseases, for which the mineral waters are administered internally, differ from the great number and variety of diseases, in which they are applied externally ; it is consequently but too evident how different may be the indications for the in- ternal use of mineral waters from those for the external use of the same. To this we must subjoin the following : that the experience proving the effectiveness of the mineral waters was obtained at the places where these are located, and consequent- ly their curative efficacy, as shown in certain diseases, was due not only to their employment, but also to the peculiar charac- teristics of these localities, to the climatic, dietetic and general conditions, as well as to the change in the mode of living of the patients who took up their residence there. To correctly ap- preciate the proper action of the mineral waters, balneotherapy must take into consideration also these last influences, climatic and otherwise, generally hygienic. All these balneotherapy must consequently touch upon. This many-sidedness of the subject, which is determined by the great variety of its contents, consti- tutes a great obstacle in penetrating into the true nature of balneotherapy, especially so for the beginner, who in a general way finds it difficult to differentiate the enormous mass of ma- terial T)ffered to him for acquisition during the few years of his university (medical") course. Therefore to better define the so important therapeutic value of the mineral waters proper, I continue to discuss this sub- ject also at the present time during my clinical instruction ; and for the sake of still greater clearness I discuss the internal use of the mineral waters separately, and the external use, or halneo- therapi/ in the narroiv acceptation of the term, also separately, after you had been shown during the course of the year the applica- — 334 — tion of various balneotherapeutic agencies, — as the warm baths, hot air-baths, douches, cold and warm compresses, etc. ; all these were demonstrated and explained to you, as well as the indications for the use of other similar agencies, as, for instance, alkaline baths in the cases we came across (thus in the thirteenth case). In speaking of balneotherapy in the narrow sense of the word (the external use of waters) I only aim to give its fundamental principles, the most important which should always be fresh in the memory and clear to the understanding of the practical physi- cian, and which are not always clearly defined, but rather made vague in- the above-mentioned complicated and diversfied treat- ment of the subject by handbooks, text-books and various courses. The exposition of this most important matter is sub- divided into three parts : the action of the waters, the varieties of the same, and a short sketch of diseases in which the waters are applied externally. The action of waters in their external application is principally determined by their temperature, and to a lesser extent by their composition and mechanical effect. I. The Effect of the Temperature of the Waters. 1. O71 the nervoiis system. — Waters, the temperature of which approaches that of the surface of the body — 27° R. (92.8° F.^ to 28° R. (95° F.^ — are known as thermically indifferent ; with a higher temperature — 29° R. (97.2° i^.) and more — as warm or hot; with a lower temperature — 26° R. (90.6° i^.), and less — as cool or cold. The thermically indifferent waters exert by themselves no effect on the nervous system ; but by keeping the body in an equable temperature, they protect it from the irritation pro- duced by the constantly changing external temperature, and thus induce a quieting effect. Cold baths exert a stimulating effect on the central nervous system, calling forth a spirited mental state and a desire for mental and physical activity, and remove contrary conditions. Warm baths act on the nervous system in a weakening manner, causing fatigue, unwillingness to work and inclination to sleep ; they quiet the condition of excitement. Such an effect of the cold and of the warm baths — 335 — is observed in the majority of cases, but there occur also nu- merous exceptions ; in describing' the external use of waters in diseases of the nervous system I shall speak of this more. The effect of baths on the central nervous system may take place through various ways : directly in a centripetal way through the sensory nerves of the skin, through reflex action on the vasomotors of the cerebral and the cerebro-spinal vessels, and consequently through alterations in the cerebral and cere- bro-spinal distribution and circulation of blood, through the va- cillations produced in this last by changes which are caused by the baths in the general circulation (as, for instance, by the in- flux of blood to the external parts after warm baths), later on through alterations produced by baths in the general nutrition. By influencing the nervous centres through the skin, the baths may exert an effect through these last on all the nervous func- tions — sensation and motion, nutrition and secretion. The mechanism of this action is not known with certaint}^, but the fact of its existence is beyond any doubt ; thus : warm baths quiet pains and convulsions, cold baths may call out muscu- lar contractions, as evidenced in the treatment of constipation by cold douches on the abdomen or into the rectum ; later on we shall discuss the important changes which may be produced by baths of various temperatures on the temperature of the body, on the body metabolism, on the secretions, on the calibre of the vessels, distribution and movement of the blood and lymph, and the activity of the heart and the respiration ; all these changes, as I said before, are reflected in their turn in the condition of the nervous system. 2. On the temperature of the body. — The thermically indifferent baths, produce no marked effect on the loss and production of heat by the body. In cool and cold baths, up to a certain de- gree of cold and within a certain limit of time, the body is at first chilled, but later on it becomes rapidly warm and the in- ternal bodily temperature is not lowered, but remains normal, or is even raised. Similar to the action of cold baths is that of other cooling hydrotherapeutic procedures, as douches, semi- baths, sponging with a wet towel. The constancy of the inter- nal bodily temperature in the presence of a considerable loss of — 336 — heat in a cold bath is determined by the diminution of this loss as caused by the contraction of the peripheral vessels and by the increased production of heat in the body. But if the degree of cold and the time during which the bath is being taken ex- ceed certain limits — which are, of course, variable in different cases — then the body, having become warmed after the first chill, is chilled anew, does not any more become warmed either in the bath or out of it, and is subjected to an abnormal state, which is made apparent by a condition of general weakness, in- stead of stimulation, by loss of appetite, and by a red saturated urine containing a great amount of urea and uric acid. If the use of such baths or of similar hydrotherapeutic procedures be resorted to repeatedly during a careless and negligent treatment, then there is established a genuine febrile condition, accompa- nied by emaciation of the body, which may lead eventually to a serious disturbance of health ; any curative effect of such a treatment is certainly out of the question. Warm and hot baths prevent the loss of heat by the body and even bring warmth to the body, and therefore the internal bodily temperature is raised while in them ; thus Mosler observed that in baths of 40° G. (104° ^.) to 44° C. (111.2° 1^.) the temperature in the cavity of the mouth was raised to 38.6° H. (118.8° -F.), and Bartels noted that after a ten minutes' stay in the steam bath at the temperature of 53° G. (about 127° i^.) the temperature in the rectum was raised from 38° Ft. to 40.4° R. (about 122.5° F.y 3. On the tissue metabolism and on the secretions. — The ther- mically indifferent baths, not influencing the loss and produc- tion of heat by the body, exert no marked effect on the tissue metabolism and on the secretions. Cold baths, and generally the loss of heat, increase the excretion and consequently the production of carbonic acid, i. e. the combustion of fats, in proportion to the degree of this loss, and consequently to the increased production of heat ; the body becomes lean. If the degree of cold and the duration of the bath are kept within the above-mentioned limits, so that the body, after becoming warm after the first chill, is not chilled later on, then the excretion of urea, representing the disinte- - 337 — gration of the albumens, is not altered by such baths ; but if these limits are exceeded, that is, if the body, having become warm after the first chill, is later on chilled again and does not become warmed any more, then there develops a morbid condi- tion which passes into fever, and with this the excretion of urea and of uric acid, representing the disintegration of the albumens, becomes increased. Hot baths, by raising the temperature of the body, increase both the excretion of urea, which means the disintegration of the albumens, and the excretion of carbonic acid, i. e. the combus- tion of fats. After warm, and particularly after hot baths, the body perspires (consequently it loses heat), while the amount of urine is diminished and its concentration is increased. 4. On the circulation and respiration. — The thermically in- different baths exert no marked effect on the calibre of the vessels, and consequently also on the distribution of blood throughout the body, on the frequency and force of the cardiac contraction (the pulse), nor on the frequency and depth of the respiratory movements. The body becomes first pale in a cold bath, as its vessels are constricted, then the color changes to red, the vessels dilating and the circulation growing quicker, these phenomena remain- ing after the bath; in the unnecessarily cold and prolonged baths, the skin takes on a blue tinge, which is a sign of venous hypersemia and of slackened circulation. In a hot bath the skin grows red, on account of a dilatation of the vessels, which effect lasts for some time also after the bath. Very hot water, the application of which is, of course, possible only in a local way, determines a contraction of the vessels ; this is the basis for certain therapeutic measures in gynsecology, as the use of hot vaginal douches for metrorrhagise and to assist in the absorption of exudations formed as a result of a parame- tritis. In a cold bath the contractions of the heart, the pulse, be- come stronger and are at first more frequent (because the simul- taneous contraction at the beginning of the peripheral vessels increases the blood-pressure and thus excites the activity of the left ventricle), but grow less frequent later on. ■ — 338 — In a hot bath the contractions of the heart, the pulse, become more frequent and weak in proportion to the rise of the internal bodily temperature. In a cold bath the respiratory movements become deeper and more frequent in proportion to the excretion of carbonic acid. In a hot bath the respiratory movements become more frequent in proportion to the increase of the internal bodily temperature and to the increased excretion of carbonic acid. II. The Effects of the Component Parts of the Waters. The most important component parts of the waters used externally are common salt, carbonic acid and sodium carbon- ate. Experiments have shown, that a salt bath, containing three per cent of common salt, increases (as compared with a bath of water not containing any salt, at the same temperature and of the same duration) the consumption of oxygen and the excretion of carbonic acid ; this effect does not take place, if the nerve-endings be paralyzed by curare. From this it be- comes apparent, that the sodium chloride in the above-named concentrated solution irritates the nerve endings of the skin and in this way exerts a strong influence on the metabolism and on the secretions. Medical observations concerning the effec- tiveness of salt baths, as in scrofulosis, rickets, unabsorbed exudations, etc., have long ago proved the fact of such an influence. Salt baths of the above-named concentrated solu- tion cause the superficial vessels first to contract (the skin becomes pale), and later on to strongly and continuously dilate (the skin grows red and remains so for quite a considerable time after the bath) ; thus the salt baths, besides mfluencing the circulation, and consequently the nutrition of the general integuments, may also exert an influence on the distribution of the blood throughout the body, and through this means as well as by the above-mentioned irritation of nerves of the skia, also on the nervous sj^stem. The carbonic acid, when present in the bath in a sufficient quantity, irritates the peripheral endings of the nerves and in this way acts as a stimulant to the nervous system. — 339 — The sodium carbonate, in the quantity found in the alkaline waters employed for bathing purposes, causes but a slight irri- tation of the peripheral endings of the nerves, rather contrari- wise, quieting them, improving the condition of the skin by the fact that it assists in the removal of the fats (by saponifying them) as they accumulate in the mouths of the glands of the skin, and also in the removal of the epidermis. Sulphur seems to exert some effect on the skin, because sul- phur baths proved to be beneficial in certain cutaneous affec- tions ; any further effect than that the sulphur baths do not apparently exert, and they are also considered as chemically indifferent waters. Other bodies found in mineral waters employed for baths, do not cause any marked effects. The substances found in the mineral muds, as the organic acids, sodium chloride, iron sulphate and other salts, exert an irritating effect on the peripheral nerve endmgs, as may be inferred from the curative effect of the muds, but we possess ng positive knowledge concerning this subject. Even if absorption, in the bath, of certain substances by the body does take place, it is of such trifling extent, that it pos- sesses no practical significance. III. The Effect of Mechanical Influences during the External Use of Waters. The mfluences of such a nature, as in out-door bathing the current in the river and the waves in the sea, the concussions of the skin in the fan-like douches under a high pressure, the friction in the half-baths and m the wet spongings, and various other massage-like procedures, act as irritants on the skin, i. e. in the same sense as the thermic and the chemical agencies, and consequently they enhance the effect of these last. The movements made by the patient, as in swimming and other movements in sea-bathing, friction of one's own body in the front in half-baths and wet spongings, exert an influence on the metabolism and on the secretions, on the circulation and respiration in the same way as the above-mentioned agencies. — 340 THE VAEIOUS CLASSES OF WATERS. 1. The chemically indifferent tvaters, usually warm (acrato- thermse), contain but one or less to a thousand of component parts — usually of alkaline carbonates, chlorates or sulphates — namely, not more than any river water, and therefore they act only by their temperature. They are used either as ihermically indifferent waters, which protect the body from irritation by the continuously changing external temperature, which means that they quiet the nervous system in various nervous disorders, especially in those in which the symptoms of hypersesthesia pre- vail, principally in neurasthenia and in hysteria ; or they are em- ployed in the form of warm and hot baths, deriving the blood towards the periphery in hypersemia of the internal organs, and exert a pronounced effect on metabolism and absorption in the_ several varieties of chronic polyarthritis, gout, syphilis, and metallic poisonings. Of the well known waters of this class I shall name as examples, Schlangenbad,* Ragatz,f Gastein,| Teplitz,§ Leuk,|| Plombieres,^ Abas-Touman.** To this class * In the province of Hesse-Nassau, Prussia, six miles west of Wiesba- den. t In the canton of St. Gall, Switzerland, situated on the Tamina in lat. 47° N., long. 9° 30' E. It is noted for its hot springs, and has about fifty thousand visitors annually. I A valley in the crown land of Salzburg, Austria-Hungary, south of Salzburg. It is famous for its picturesque scenery. At Wilbad-Gastein there are hot springs. § A town and watering place in Northern Bohemia, situated in the val- ley of the Biela, near the mountains, forty-six miles northwest of Prague. It is one of the most frequented places in Europe, and has been the scene of several conferences of princes. Population in 1890 (commune), 17,526. II Leuk (loik), P. Loueche (lo-esh), a village in the canton of Valais, Switzerland, situated on the Rhone, fourteen miles northeast of Sion. 1 In the department of Vosges, France, situated on the Augrogne, fifteen miles south of Epinal. It has the most important mineral springs in the Vosges, with thermo-mineral, iron and alkaline baths. It was known to the Romans and was greatly developed by Napoleon III. ** A watering place on the Caucasus. — 341 — also belong the sulphur waters, as, for instance, those of Aachen * and of Pyatigorsk.f I must now make some general remarks concerning not only the enumerated watering places, but any others as well. It were a great, unpardonable error, in view of the fact that the above-named (and any other) watering places are classified in one category, to consider them as identical and to send patients there indiscriminately, as, for instance, to send a nervous, ema- ciated female patient, for whom the thermically indifferent baths are suitable, to Teplitz or Pyatigorsk, where the warm and hot springs are situated, and to send a gouty patient, with a multiple arthritis, who would be benefited hj warm or even hot baths, to Schlangenbad with its thermically indifferent baths. This would be as great an error as if we were to prescribe for a patient Ems while he needs Marienbad, or on the contrary. Every watering place possesses certain peculiarities which must be taken into consideration. These peculiarities depend on numerous con- ditions. The difference in the temperature of the baths was spoken of before. The method of employing them is also of importance. Let us take, for the sake of comparison, Franzens- bad and Saki (in Crimea, near Eupatoria). In both places mkieral moor is employed, but in Franzensbad it is added to a water bath of a mostly thermically indifferent temperature, and the bath is taken within a closed space, while in Saki the pa- tient is put directly into a mass of mud which has been pre- pared since morning in the open air and which was strongly heated by the rays of the sun, and he is covered up with a simi- lar mass of mud, so that the temperature of such a bath is raised high, and the bath is a hot one. It is self-understood that Fran- zensbad benefits a different class of patients, than are benefited by Saki. To Franzensbad flock nervous, emaciated men and * Aaclien is the German name for Aix-la-Chapelle, in the Rhine prov- ince, Prussia, about lat. 50° 46' X., long. 6° 5' E., an imjHjrtant commer- cial and railway centre. It was founded by the Romans as a watering- place. t A town in the Terek Territory, Ciscaucasia, Russia, situated on an affluent of the Kuma in lat. 44° 4' N., long. 42° 8' E. It is noted as a watering place on account of its sulphur springs. Pojiulation in 1889, 13,114. — 342 — women (we shall have occasion later to speak of the use of moor-baths hi Franzensbad for diseases of women), because many observers have proved that the thermicallj indifferent moor-baths exert frequently even a greater quieting effect on the nervous system, than the thermically indifferent baths of the chemically indifferent springs (acrato thermae). In Saki you will see gouty and syphilitic patients with inveterate affections of many joints, and others in whom it is expected the hot baths will exert a strong influence on the metabolism and absorption. A particularly important part m determining the special peculiarities of the various watering places is to be attributed to their climate. To better explain its influence, let us continue the former comparison between Franzensbad and Saki. Pa- tients with weak nerves, who usually bear heat badly, would be harmed by a sojoui'n during the extremely hot summer at Saki, but on the contrary they would profit by the cool summer of the Franzensbad valley ; whereas for patients, who are bene- fited by the hot mud-baths (and these in the open air), the hot summer in Saki would be very suitable, but not the cool sum- mer at Franzensbad, that may bring on a cold in a locality much visited and exposed to every wind. Another example : both Gastein and Pyatigorsk possess warm springs of a similar temperature; but the patients who come to Gastein, who are frequently advanced in years, are emaciated, with failing nutrition, with weak nerves, and whose nervous condition and nutrition improve so well under the influence of the mountainous, cool climate and pure air of Gastein, would fare poorly at Pyatigorsk with its hot summer, and dusty and malodorous air ; whereas for patients, who are treated by baths, mercury and iodides, and who therefore are easily pre- disposed to cold, the hot summer and the warm soil of Pyati- gorsk are very suitable.* Another example: it is a quite differ- ent thing to order salt baths in Stara Russa (in the Novgorod * I do not speak here of the peculiar characteristics of the water of the warm Gastein springs to conduct an electric current, as proved recently by exact physical investigations, because the nature of its therapeutic value (and this last we have no foundation to deny) is not known with certainty. — 343 — Government) with its damp and cool summer, or in Slavyansk (in the Charkoff Government) with its dry and hot summer or at the Odessa estuary, where the summer heat is modified by the influence of the Black Sea. Then for the patient who, for the sake of a trip to the water- ing place, leaves his habitual surroundings, his usual mode of living and his ordinary diet, the degree of comfort and the conditions of life at this place are of no small importance : one enjoys a quiet, restful locality, rich in natural beauties ; the other is more benefited by a great, populous, lively centre, as the most frequented watering places become during the " season." Finally, it is of course of very great importance as to what sort of a physician will supervise and direct the treatment at the watering place. The above is sufficient to show how necessary it is for the physician to act thoughtfully not only when he advises a trip to a watering place, which is in the majority of cases so burden- some for the patient, but also when he recommends a certain watering place. It is necessary to become thoroughly acquaint- ed with such places, at least with the most important of them, either through the medium of literature, or, which is better, by a personal visit. As a summer trip with the purpose of resting or of travelling, the physician will find nothing more pleasant than a trip to the watering places for a personal acquaintance with them, as well as for the observation and treatment of diseases, the sufferers with which flock thither. The watering places form a sort of a clinic of such diseases. I will turn now to the further examination of the waters. . 2. Salt waters (containing common salt). — Their action is of a double nature — thermic and chemical ; the benefit derived therefrom is apparent : that the thermic agency may by itself exert a strong effect on the processes of metabolism and absorp- tion, we must have a recourse either to hot baths — 31° R. (101.8° F.) and higher, or to cold ones — 21° B. (79.2° #.) and lower, for which the majority of cases will present contra- indications ; the addition to the thermic effect of a chemical agency — the common salt — which acts in the same manner as the thermic one, enables us to confine ourselves in such cases — 344 — to either thermically indifferent baths, 28° R. (95° i^,) to 27° R. (92.7° F.\ or to warm, 29° R. (97.2° F.) to 30° R. (99.5° i^.), or to cool ones, 26° R. (90.5^.) to 22° R. (81.5° F.), and it certainly increases also the action of both the hot and the cold baths. The percentage of common salt in such baths is usually from two to four, seldom greater, while at the beginning, for a very sensitive skin and in the case of children, it is even smaller, beginning with one per cent. The chief indications for the use of salt baths are : scrofula, rickets, chronic exudations, chronic multiple arthritis (chronic articular "rheumatism"), less frequently diseases of the nervous system. The salt water sprmgs are very abundant in Western Europe ; the places particularly frequented are Kreutznach,* Wiesbaden,! Soden,| Ischl,§ Gmun- den,|| Reichenhall,^ and others. Of our springs — Stara Russa, Slavyansk and the Black Sea estuary at Odessa (their action, in a general way, is similar to that of the salt springs). 3. Oarhonated waters, containing a great quantity of free car- bonic acid, as Schwalbach,** or our Narzan in Kisslovodsk. These are used in the form of cool baths ; in the thermically in- different, and especially in the warm ones the carbonic acid evaporates rapidly. The effect is partly of a thermic nature, but principally, thanks to the carbonic acid, strongly stimulating. They are indicated in cases of neurasthenia and hysteria (also * In the Rhine province, situated on the Nabe, twenty-one miles west southwest of Maintz. t In Hesse-iSTassau, Prussia, three miles from Rhine and six miles north by west of Maintz. It was known in Roman times ; is frequented annually by about ninety thousand visitors. I In Hesse-Nassau, nine miles west northwest of Frankfort on the Main. § In Upper Austria, at the junction of the rivers Ischl and Fraun, twenty-seven miles east by south of Salzburg. It is the favorite resort of the Austrian royal family and nobility. Population in 1891 (commune), 8,473. II In Upper Austria, situated on the lake of Traun, thirty-three miles southwest of Linz. T[ In Upper Bavaria, situated on the Saalach, nine miles southwest of Salzburg. ** Or Langenschwalbach in Hesse-Nassau, Prussia, eight miles north- west of Wiesbaden. Population (1890), 2,698. — 345 — in conjunction with chlorosis and anaemia) with the character of depression, and contraindicated in these diseases if they present the character of excitement. Thej are also employed after treatment by warm and hot baths to remove the condition of debility and the predisposition to colds, created by these last, as for instance, the baths of Narzan after treatment at Pyati- gorsk. 4. Salt ivaters tvhieh are at the same time carbonated^ as the artesian springs of Rehme-Oeynhausen in Prussia. Their action is of a complicated nature, — thermical, chemical, and, thanks to the carbonic acid, strongly stimulating to the nervous system; their employment therefore requires particularly careful consid- eration : empirically they are recommended in diseases of the nervous system, especially in the different varieties of tabes dorsalis. 5. Mineral muds, added to baths of mineral ivaters, i. e. em- ployed in the form of dissolved mud-baths, are employed at many foreign watering places ; with us in the Pyatigorsk group of min- eral waters the mud of the lake of Tambuktan is employed for diluted mud-baths. Franzensbad has been particularly famous for a long time for its moorbader. To what was already said about their use we must add their employment in diseases of women, in which they are very frequently applied. The effect of the Franzensbad moor-baths in diseases of women is usu- ally explained and described in the following manner: The mud-bath causes uterine contractions, these being the more pronounced in proportion to the state of flabbiness and enlarge- ment of the uterus. Thus, if the mud-baths be used in a case of insufficient involution of the uterus soon after normal delivery or after abortion, then the identical phenomena are observed as accompany in the normal course of the lying-in period the pro- cess of involution of the uterus, namely, labor-like sensations and an increased secretion resembling lochia, and containing formative elements peculiar to this last. And just as after- pains cause the narrowing and obliteration of the uterine ves- sels, thus weakening the nutrition of the uterine muscle and bringing about the transformation of its albuminous substances into easily absorbable fats, in the same manner the con- ^ 346 — tractions of the uterus caused by the mud-baths determme the identical process in case of uterine subinvolution. If as a result of a prolonged state of subinvolution of the uterus its mucous membrane has also suffered, then a prolonged employment of mud-baths causes a return to the normal condition not only of the uterine muscle, but also of its mucous membrane, llie ab- sorption of exudations in the parametrium is also assisted by the use of the baths in question. The drinking of the waters of Franzensbad springs, which are slightly laxative and are bene- ficial in digestive disturbances to which these women are usu- ally subjected, assists in the treatment by mud-baths. 6. The mineral muds emijloyed directly as such. — Those of Saki, spoken of above, at Tchocra, near Kertch, at Tinack, near Astrachan. The foreign physicians, as far as we are aware, do not employ these methods of treatment. 7. Sea-bathing. — The effective agencies in this are as fol- lows : The psychical effect of the sea-view, especially on those whose constant residence is far from the seashore, is usually benefi- cial by inducing a restful, hearty mental state, and inspiring love of life ; other beneficent factors are : the salt and the low temperature of the sea- water (usually below 21° 7?. — 79.2° F. — 80 that it acts like a cold salt bath) ; the continuously inter- changing effects of the temperature of the water and of that of the air as the body is either wholly or partly immersed in the water : these temperatures are usually variable, the water being fresher, the air warmer, and on the contrary; besides, the air is usually in motion (the winds), and so is the water, which fact tends to even more increase the variability of the temperature ; and a changeable temperature stimulates the peripheral nerves much quicker than one that is constant, whether it be low or high ; considerable mechanical influences : the wind, the waves, the motions of the bather; the humid, pure air of the seashore, which is under the greatest atmospheric pressure and conse- quently rich in oxygen. It is evident from the above, that the effect of sea-bathing is very pronounced on the nervous system as well as on nutrition (as the appetite is very much increased by it, sea-bathing is con- — 347 — traindicated for patients with poor digestive powers). Sea- bathing is recommended principally for cases of neurasthenia and hysteria with the character of depression, and contraindi- cated in the same affections with the character of excitement. For the indications and contraindications to sea-bathing in the colder climates (in the Baltic Sea, Northern Sea, and LaManche) and in the warmer (Bay of Biscay, Mediterranean, Black and Caspian Seas) compare below, in the treatment of diseases of the nervous system, the general indications and contraindica- tions to cold and warm baths. Sea-bathing is also recommended after treatment with the warm and hot baths to remove the weakness and predisposition to cold created by them; thus after treatment with the Saki mud-baths, the patients are recommended sea-bathing, for which purpose is very suitable the seashore near Eupatoria (in the Crimea) with its warm water and warm air during the summer. Sea-bathing is also sometimes pre- scribed for suitable cases of scrofula in place of salt baths ; and also in some certain cases of superfluous fat or general obesity. I will say a few words on some other varieties of baths. Tlie hot-air baths. Their strong effect was sufficiently explained in the analysis of the sixteenth case of chronic parenchymatous nephritis. Fir-tree baths. — These are prepared by adding to baths of plain or mineral water a distillation by steam of pine and fir nee- dles, containing ethereal oils, and a decoction of these last con- taining tar, turpentine and organic acids. The effect is that of a stimulant. The electric baths, together with the other methods of applying electricity, are discussed with the subject of electro- therapy. 8. Hydrotherapy. — All the hydrotherapeutic procedures are generally applied in such a manner, that the patient becomes at first chilled, and is later on warmed or, in view of the fact that the cooling of the body acts the stronger the warmer the body before the cooling began, he is at first warmed up, then chilled, and later is warmed up finally. This final warming up is known as the reaction. For the treatment to succeed, the reaction must be complete : if it be absent or incomplete, a condition similar to fever ensues, and in case the hydrotherapeutic proce- — 348 — dures are frequently repeated without any reaction following them, a genuine febrile condition is developed which continues also after the cessation of the hydrotherapeutic treatment, and which debilitates the patient, as was explained already in con- nection with the effects of cold baths. I will state here that the same may occur to the patient also while bathing in the sea or anywhere else, if the bather remains in the water for a long time ; therefore, having become chilled on immersing in the water and warmed up later, the bather must emerge from his bath while he is warmed, before secondary chilling takes place. The hydrotherapeutic procedures act both thermically and mechanically ; their effect is ver}- strong, especially on the ner- vous system. They are principally recommended for diseases of the nervous system, particularly for neurasthenia and hys- teria ; they are also recommended for the removal of the predis- position to colds, for superfluous fat and in some other cases. The hydrotherapeutic procedures, namely, the various forms in which hydrotherapy is applied, are general and local. Of the general forms the best is the fan-like douche under a high pressure. The construction of such a douche enables one to change the temperature of the water rapidly, almost instantly, and therefore not only can the patient be first warmed up and then cooled off, but this process can be repeated as many times as necessary. The form of the water as it strikes the body in spurts increases the stimulating effect of the douches. Finally, the water strikes the body with a force which the construction of the douche permits of varying and causing it to become, if necessary, very considerable. Consequently such a douche exerts simultaneously both a thermic and a mechanical effect, whereas in the other most frequently applied procedures, as rubbings and half-baths, a mechanical effect is brought about by the aid of massage, i. e. by the assistance of a very skillful ma- nipulator. The douche is directed all over the body, from below upward and backward, except on the head.* The antiquated * (Addition to the first edition.) All that was said of the fan-like douche refers to cool and cold-water douches. In some cases hot-water douches are very beneficial : local, from 35° B. (110.8° F.) to 40° E. (122° F.), in the form of a single stream, most frequently in obstinate " rhevimatic " affections (usually arthritis and neuritis, less frequently myositis of — 349 — douches which are unfortunately not dismissed as yet by lay- men, in which the principal mass of the spurting water strikes the head, are very harmful. Of the other general procedures the most used and undoubted- ly effective and beneficial ones are the rubbings and the half- baths. At times, to be sure in but rare cases, they are borne better than the fan-like douche under high pressure, although the majority of patients express a preference for the latter. Of the local forms of applying hydrotherapy the most fre- quently used ones are : cooling of the head, in hyperaemia of the brain, heat to it in ansemia of the brain, watery clysters, a warming compress, etc. 9. It is evident from the above-outlined sketch that it is not necessary for balneotherapeutic treatment always, in every case, to send the patient away to a watering place, to the seashore, or to some large city with a well constructed hydrotherapeutic institution. The most important varieties of baths, baths of variable temperatures and salt baths, at times with the addition of soda, may be prescribed and carried out with the necessary implements at the patient's residence. Sea-bathing may be re- placed by bathing in the river or in a lake. Hydrotherapeutic rubbings and half-baths may be carried out everywhere by in- structing a servant how to do it. For the fan-like douches there are portable apparatuses, which give a sufficiently high pressure, thus : the portable douches of Piet and the much cheaper pumps of Allweiler, which are conveniently affixed to the douches. I must say here a few words concerning the use of our popu- lar bath (Russian bath) . Its hygieniQ value, as evidenced by its purifying the skin, removing the fats and dirt which ob- struct the glands of the skin, and by keeping up the normal functional activity of the skin, is very great, and especially so for the laboring class of the community ; but its employment gouty, syphilitic, catarrhal, traumatic and other origin) in persons unable to bear cold — usually in conjunction with massage (and, if necessary, with the contemporaneous treatment of the gout and the syphilis), and also in diseases of women ; general, from 33° R. (106.2° F.) to 38° B. (117.2° F.), in the form of a fan-like douche under high pressure, for neu- rasthenia and hysteria in debilitated, aneemic and chilly persons. — 350 — during the cold season of the year, in bad weather, entails the risk of catching cold on returning from the bath-house. With- out therefore dissuading healthy people habituated to it from employing it, and advising only to avoid hot baths and bathing during bad weather, I must say that the use of these baths must be strictly limited, or even prohibited, to persons who are weakly and predisposed to colds, the more so to ailing ones. The therapeutic effect of the bath and of the usual massage con- nected therewith, in cases of slight ailments due to a cold, but of a " rheumatic " and not of a catarrhal origin, is beyond doubt beneficial, but during the cold season of the year and in bad weather it is accompanied by considerable risks. Balneotherapeutic procedures employed in a warm room may be applied during all the seasons of the year ; but the best season for such treatment is certainly the warm one, when a prolonged stay out-doors is possible without risking a cold. As regards the time of the day, all the balneotherapeu- tic applications must be made not on an empty stomach, but best after the morning coffee or tea, after a previous evacuation of bowels. The duration of the balneotherapeutic course of treatment depends certainly on the peculiarities of the given case, but in the majority of cases it does not require more than one and a half or two months. An unnecessarily prolonged hydrothera- peutic treatment (and I have seen it prolonged not only over half a year, but even over one or two years) is much oftener harmful than beneficial, by debilitating the nutrition and the condition of the nervous system, and by inculcating in the pa- tients habits of constant artificial stimulation by the aid of hydrotherapeutic procedures, of which, later on, they can but with difficulty rid themselves. A short outline of the diseases in which the waters are used ex- ternally^ will give you some idea of the extent of balneothera- peutic applications and of the importance of this method of treatment. 1. Diseases oftlie nervous system. — In neurasthenia and hysteria with their multiform manifestations balneotherapy is consid- ered to be the most important method of treatment, both on ac- — 351 — count of the effectiveness of its action and the variability and extent of its application. The chief rule to be observed here is as follows : in proportion as we have a young patient with a strong constitution, in whom the condition of the internal organs need excite no apprehension, whose nutrition is good, and in whom the nervous disturbances bear the character of debility, the more suitable it is to use cool and cold water, such as con- tains a large proportion of carbonic acid, and the balneothera- peutic forms of application of a stimulating nature, as douches, sponging, half -baths, sea-bathing ; all these necessitating motion of the water, movements on the part of the patient and massage. On the contrary, if our patient is older, possessing a weak con- stitution, in whom the condition of one or another of internal organs excites grave apprehensions, while his nutrition is poor and the nervous disturbances have the character of excitability, the more suitable are thermically indifferent waters and balneo- therapeutic applications of a quieting nature, such as do not necessitate any movement either on the part of the patient or of the water, namely, baths. But this rule is only applicable to the majority of cases ; in the considerable minority, in which the above-enumerated con- ditions do not coincide (as, for instance, when the patient is young, but weak constitutionally, or young, of a strong consti- tution, but emaciated, debilitated and chilly, and so on ; or the patient is not young, but of a strong constitution and nutrition, while his nervous disturbances have the character of debility etc.), after inquiring carefully of the patient as to the former effect on him of a cold and a warm bath (as bathing outside and indoors, warm baths), we must act in a manner reverse to this rule. Finally, there may occur cases which present no positive indications for either of the methods and m which a careful trial will determine the method to be resorted to. Diseases of the brain, principally disturbances of the circula- tion as determined by a condition of atheromatosis of the arte- ries (general and those of the brain in particular) and by other causes. For these the chemically and thermically indifferent baths are suitable ; at times also the warm ones (not over 29° M. — 97.2° #.) and the slightly alkaline, namely, those containing but — 352 — a small quantitj- of sodium chloride and of soda, and also cooling of the head (in some cases warming it) ; cold and hot baths, as well as the applications tending to stimulation, are contraindi- cated. Diseases of the spinal corcl^ principally tabes. For these the thermically indifferent, salt and salt-gaseous (with a moderate quantity of common salt and carbonic acid) baths are suitable, as well as slight hydrotherapy (sponging). Hot and cold baths, baths containing great quantities of salt and carbonic acid, as well as strongly stimulating forms of application, as douches and sea-bathing, are contraindicated. 2. Diseases of the digestive organs. — For gastro-intestinal neurasthenia, which is expressed in a weakened condition of the nervo-muscular apparatus of the intestines and stomach, various douches, cool, cold, and of changeable temperature, or a warming compress on the abdomen, in connection of course with simultaneous general hydrotherapy for the general neuras- thenic condition, are very beneficial. In catarrhal conditions of the stomach, intestines and the biliary passages, as well as in biliary calculi, warm baths form an excellent adjunct to the ordinary treatment of these diseases. 3. Warm baths are equally beneficial for renal gravel, for pyelitis, catarrh of the ureters and the urinary hladder, while cases of acute and chronic 7iephritis are benefited also by hot baths. 4. For hyperoimia of the spleen douches over the left hypo- chondrium, of the same nature as those employed in gastro-in- testinal neurasthenia. 5. Different varieties of peritoneal inflammation. — Some pa- tients bear ice better, others warm applications, others again a warming compress on the abdomen. 6. Diseases of the male genital organs, principally the various forms of impotentia virilis. In these the general balneothera- peutic treatment, directed against the general neurasthenic con- dition, is of more importance than the local treatment ; while locally, after the general neurasthenia has been removed, care- ful electrotherapy is particularly efficacious. 7. Diseases of the female genital orgatis. — We spoke of the peritoneal inflammations above. For painful menstruation a — 353 — rubber bag filled with hot water and applied to the lower part of the abdomen is beneficial. For light cases of metritis, warm sitz-baths. For subinvolution of the uterus and the endometri- tis dependent thereon, and also for exudations in parametrium, the thermically indifferent, salty and moor baths and hot vagmal injections are useful. 8. Diseases of the resjnratori/ organs. — The inhalation of va- rious atomized liquids for catarrhal conditions of the larynx and trachea. Hot baths followed by sweating in bed while cov- ered by warm blankets are at times resorted to in cases of bronchial catarrh accompanied by very abundant secretions, for the sake of alternating with other methods of treatment, if the patient became so habituated to these last that they fail to ex- ert any marked effect on him ; these baths may be employed only when the condition of the heart permits it, and generally extreme care must be exercised. In pleuritis and in pleuropneu- monitis, a warming compress applied over the affected part of the chest is beneficial ; however, in the majority of cases the pa- tients prefer better to keep this part warm by the aid of warmed oil, cotton-batting and flannel. In chronic pulmonary tubercu- losis the patients, if not feverish, at times bear well the some- what cool sponging prescribed with a view of assisting the func- tion of the skin and simultaneously combating the neurasthenic condition. 9. Diseases of the heart, — Neuroses of the heart — palpitation, cardiac asthma, angina of nervous character (not the true angina pectoris coronaria), as well as the cardiac, angioneurotic and other neurotic' conditions associated with morbus Basedowi, as well as the weakness of the cardiac muscle determined by it, as evi- denced by a dilated heart and a weak pulse, — all these present indications for the employment of balneotherapeutic treatment, the nature of which depends on the character of the general nervous condition present and of all the peculiarities of the given case (vide above concerning balneotherapy in neurasthenia and hysteria) ; this treatment is indicated not only when the heart and the arteries are in a normal condition, but even when they pre- sent incipient organic alterations ; extreme caution is certainly to be exercised in these cases, and the treatment is to be instituted — 354 — only when there exists a complete compensation of the organic disturbances. 10. Diseases of nutrition and luematopoiesis. — Chlorosis and ansemia accompanied by their usual neurasthenic and hj-sterical symptoms, present indications, in slight cases, for the use of warm sea or river bathing — 20° R. (11° F.^ to 18° R. (72.5° jP.) — and also of slightly carbonated baths ; for more pronounced cases plain or salty, thermically indifferent baths, while for strong- ly pronounced ones balneotherapeutic treatment is contraindi- cated. For general obesity cool salt baths and river and sea bathing are suitable. For diabetes mellitus, which is etiologi- cally so closely connected with the nervous system, thermically indifferent and slightly cooling spongings are indicated in accord with the condition of this last. For gout thermically indiffer- ent baths; of these the best are salty, alkalme ones. 11. For scrofulosis. — Thermically mdifferent and cool salt baths, and sea-bathing. 1 2. For sy])hilis. — Warm baths to assist cleanliness and the functional activity of the skin (which in its turn aids in the better absorption of the mercury), and hot baths to enhance the activity of the metabolic processes, usually given simultane- ously with the administration of the specific treatment ; later on, to remove the debility and the predisposition to colds engendered by such treatment, strong carbonated baths (Xarzan after Pyati- gorsk), sea-bathing and hydrotherapy are resorted to. 13. In metallic poisoning, most frequently in mercury and lead poisoning, hot baths and later strengthening balneothera- peutic procedures are also used. 14. What concerns the application of balneotherapeutic pro- cedures for febrile conditions and febrile affections it was spoken of and discussed by me in connection with the several analyzed cases. 15. Diseases of the skin and of the subjacent tissues. — Cold fomentations and ice in traumata, hypersemia and inflammations. Baths with alkaline carbonates and sulphates for certain erup- tions. 16. Chronic myosites, neurites (most frequently ischias) and arthrites, as multiple chronic arthritis and chronic articular — 355 — " rheumatism." For these are suitable warm and hot, salt and alkaline baths, as well as the muds, and later, to strengthen the patient who became weak from the treatment and to remove the predisposition to cold, strongly carbonated baths, warm sea- bathing, as in Eupatoria after treatment by the Saki muds, and careful hydropath}". 1 must note the following : Strange as it may seem, I have often observed that treatment of " catarrhal" diseases, namely, of the above-named chronic affections of the organs of locomotion and also catarrhal conditions of the res- piratory and other passages, is often confounded with the treatment of an existing predisposition to colds. Thus the pa- tient tells his physician, that he has "■ rheumatics" and is fre- quently subjected to colds, although he suffers from none at the present time. The physician catches at the word '• rheu- matics," prescribes warm or even hot baths, plain or salty ones (I had occasion to see the Saki mud advised in view only of a pre- disposition to cold, without any cold or '^ rheumatic" affection being present at the time of the advice), which certainly only tend to increase this predisposition. This last condition must be treated not by hot baths and muds, but by removing its causa- tive agencies, which are usually found to lie in gout, syphilis, abuse of alcoholic drinks, in a habit for abundant hot drinks and warm clothing, in neurasthenia, etc. ; while for the treat- ment of neurasthenia and at the same time to inure the body to cold, hydrotherapy and bathing are suitable, and certainly not hot baths or muds. CHOLERA, PARTICULARLY ITS TREATMENT. LECTURE OF MARCH 19, 1893. Whether or not we shall be visited by cholera this year is un- certain. The history of the past presents no positive precedents in this regard. Durmg the summer of 1883 Egypt was visited by a very severe epidemic of cholera, the one during which Koch succeeded in finding the cholera bacillus, while the sum- mer of the following year in Egypt was perfectly free from it. But it is certainly probable that we may also have an epi- demic this present year. It is true that cholera, which remained over winter and came to life again in the given locality, may not possess the same virulence nor be diffused so extensively as when carried over from another locality ; but still it is pos- sible that many of you will have to face the necessity of com- bating this disease, and I therefore consider it my duty, the duty of a clinician, to assist you as far as it lies in my power by my advice. Cholera, as many other diseases, is familiar to you from the systematic course of special pathology; but firstly, this course you attended a year or more ago, and science never remains in one place ; it is never stationary : its level is becoming contin- uously higher and higher and is, besides, constantly changing, presenting not a smooth, but a constantly undulating surface : one point falls, the other rises to the surface. The year just passed, a year of a consideral^le cholera epidemic, was particularly instrumental in compelling us to revise our knowledge concern- ing cholera and especially its treatment. It is therefore imperative that you become acquainted with the results of this revision. But it chiefly devolves on the clinician, in view of a possible epidemic, 356 — 357 — to discuss the subject of cholera before his students for another reason. After attending on your course of special pathology, you meet later in the clinics all the forms of diseased conditions peculiar to our local and climatic conditions of life ; but or- dinarily you do not chance across cases of cholera. For the long period of my clinical activity, only once, in the sixties, when to my clinic was annexed a department for cholera, did I have the opportunity to discuss cholera cases before the students. But ordinarily, either there are no cases of cholera during the aca- demic year, or, as it happened last year, during the epidemic the senior students of the last year are absent, having been sent away to combat the invasion of the disease. But the syste- matic course of special pathology cannot educate a physician without the aid of the clinic : the information obtained from this course, the therapy (not to speak of its other peculiarities) are of but an approximate nature, and only by individualizing this information, applying it to all the peculiarities of the given case, as taught by the clinic, can we hope for a successful treat- ment. As regards cholera it is the duty of the clinician to as- sist as much as possible in what the clinic is lacking, paying particular attention to treatment, to discuss as far as the lack of clinical individualization will permit, at least the principal forms of the disease, which may l)e seen in patients and which may require treatment. The object and character of my lecture is thus determined by what I have said above. The question of the nature of cholera, and also the picture of the disease, will be touched by me only so far as may become necessary for elucidating the prophylaxis and the therapy. The Nature of Cholera. Cholera belongs to the class of infectious diseases. These diseases are at the present time considered to be caused by mi- cro-organisms, by microbes which invade the organism and pro- duce the diseased condition therein. The microbes of all the infectious diseases have not as yet been discovered, but the very marked similarity, in their chief features, of those diseases the — 358 — microbes of which have not been identified, with those where these have been found, compels us to class both varieties under one category. It is not long since there prevailed a classification of infec- tious diseases into miasmatic, contagious, and miasatic-conta- gious. By the miasmatic diseases were meant such as are not trans- mitted from one infected by them, to another, and the cause of which, the pathogenic microbes, enter the affected organism from the surrounding elements. The malarial diseases were considered as tj^pes of such affections. As contagious diseases were considered such as are capable of being transmitted from one patient to another in a direct manner, without the participation of the surrounding nature. Among these were classified : syphilis, small-pox, measles, scarla- tina, typhus fever, diphtheria, etc. By miasmatic-contagious diseases were meant those, which, to become infectious, need the assistance, so to speak, of the sur- rounding elements and the presence therein of some special favorable conditions, without which the person affected by this disease within the given locality is incapable of causing an epidemic ; and on the other hand, the above-named diseases will not develop m the given locality, notwithstanding the presence in the surrounding elements of all the conditions favorable for their development, as long as this locality is not visited by a person who carries within his system the germs of the disease. It was therefore assumed, that these, after leaving the pa- tient's organism, are not yet capable of causing infection, but become so after remaining under favorable conditions for a cer- tain time outside of the organism. To this class of diseases belong cholera, typhoid fever, etc. At the present time it is impossible to entirely rely upon the classification just outlined : successful experiments have been made, though it is true that they need further confirmation, of inoculation with the malarial diseases directly from the pa- tient to a healthy individual ; syphilis can be transmitted not only directly, but also through the medium of dishes, instru- ments, etc., consequently after it has remained for a certain — 359 — time under the influence of the .surrounding nature : the same is true also of diphtheria. It seems that at certain times, rare though such cases may be, cholera causes a direct infection. Nevertheless, the principal characteristic peculiarities of the different classes of infectious diseases, as outlined above, do exist and are to be kept constantly in mind : malaria is, after all, non-contagious outside of experimentation, and syphilis, measles, small-pox, scarlatina, .typhus fever, diphtheria are of an extremely contagious nature ; while cholera is but slightly con- tagious and, in direct contradistmction to the very contagious diseases, it depends for its development entirely on the con- ditions present in the surrounding nature. Outside of the " seed" of the disease and the conditions of the surroundings, an important role m infection, as proved by observation, is played by the individual's predisposition to chol- era, or by the absence of the same. I will take a brief survey of our knowledge concerning the three factors which play the chief role m the development of the cholera epidemics. The individual predisposition to cholera has been shown by observation to be determined hj digestive disturbances and by failure in nutrition, as evidenced by the fact that a population exhausted by starvation falls an easy prey to the epidemic. It is hardly probable that this fact is the only one determinmg the individual's susceptibility to cholera, but we know nothing more definite about the subject. It was Pettenkofer who called particular attention to the conditions of the surrounding elements, the local (meaning the soil and climate) and the temporary, the season of the year and the condition of the weather; but we know nothing positive regarding this matter : thus, for instance, Pettenkofer's theories concerning the influences of the vacillations of the soil- water on the develop- ment of the cholera epidemics have not been substantiated by facts. As an example of the prevalent idea as touching on the influence of the surroundings on the development of cholera epidemics, I will present before you the results of the ob- servations and mvestigations made by the well-known bacteriol- ogist, Prof. Hueppe, during the recently prevalent severe epi- — 360 — demic at Hamburg.* I shall have yet another occasion to touch upon Prof, Hueppe's statements ; and I will therefore only say, as far as they are concerned, that notwithstanding their interest, the facts presented lack verification, while the hypotheses propounded must be proved by facts. After analyzing the local conditions, Hueppe considers as the cause of the sudden and very severe breaking out of the cholera epidemic in Hamburg not the conditions in the soil, but the condition of the Hamburg aqueduct. The water is derived from the Elbe, above the city, while the city impurities are conducted into the Elbe below the city ; during the high tide of the sea, these last are carried up the river and reach the place from which the aqueduct starts, without passing through any purifying filter. According to Hueppe, the cholera was im- ported into Hamburg from Russia or France on sailing vessels by patients whose evacuations, without any previous disinfection, polluted the river. As a general fact, Hueppe assumes, basing this assumption on his own investigations and that of others, as Frankel, that the cholera bacilli are rapidly destroyed in the rivers of Europe (although this is somewhat contradicted by investigations of other bacteriologists), and that if cholera spreads along the course of rivers, it does so not by the aid of the cholera bacilli carried by the waters, but through cholera patients sailing on river vessels ; but he points out that during the month of August, 1892, when the Hamburg epidemic began, there were exceptional conditions, as extreme heat, shoaliness of the river and the warm temperature of the water, which contributed to the fact that the cholera bacilli, as he supposes, were enabled to remain longer in the water, were carried into the aqueduct, in some parts of which, as the house reservoirs where the water not being in motion leaves a precipitate and has a warm temperature, they again became virulent and even began to multiply. It is hardly necessary to dilate on the fact that this supposition, how- ever great its probability, lacks verification by facts. f * Hueppe, Die Cholera-Epidemie in Hamburg. 1892. Berliner Kli- nisclie Wochenschrift, 1893, Nos. 4-7. t Later addition : The spreading of cholei-a, principally through water, is very strongly substantiated by the last investigations of Prof. — 361 — The .seed of cholera, the cholera bacterium (the so-called " comma bacillus " ), was discovered by Koch. He did not pay due attention to the conditions of the surrounding nature, whether local or temporary. He and his followers are justly reproached also for this, that the term " contagiousness " was employed by them in the sense in which the term " infectiousness " is ordi- narily used, and thus cholera, in spite of other investigations (among which I may class also my own, in accord with which cholera is but slightly contagious, i. e. it is but very seldom trans- mitted directly from one person to another), was considered as a directly contagious disease ; it is attributed to them that this fact has engendered a sort of panicky feeling toward cholera, and that it assisted in the adoption of but very one-sided meas- ures for its prevention. According to Hueppe, the observa- tions made during the recent epidemic of cholera at Hamburo- have succeeded in completely eradicating the teaching of the contagiousness of cholera. This has also been verified by the observations of Dr. Wermel during the recent epidemic in Nij- ni Novgorod (vide " Meditzina," 1892, Nos. 36 to 37). According to Hueppe, the cholera bacilli are destroyed en masse in the large intestine (by the acidity of its contents, as he assumes), while those which remain and escape from the af- fected organism alive, do not possess any virulency, any power to infect, on account, as Hueffe thinks, of the deficiency of oxygen in the biological processes of the small intestine (a con- dition approaching that of anserobiosis). The cholera bacteria become again virulent and multiply outside of the affected or- ganism under conditions of which we know nothing. The ob- servations, made during the former, as well as during the recent epidemic, to the effect that cholera is but slightly contagious and is but rarely transmitted directly from a sick person to a healthy one, speak certainly in favor of Hueppe's assertion, thus constituting his chief bulwark. But the case brought for- ward by Hueppe in proof of the slight contagiousness of the Koch. R. Koch, Ueber die Cholera iu Deutschland wahrend des Winters 1892 bis 1893 (in the Deutsche Medic. AVochenschrift, IS^o. 36, 1893) ; also R. Koch, Cholera und Wasserfiltration (in Berliner Klinische Wochenschrift, Xo. 27, 1893). — 362 — cholera bacilli expelled from the yick organism (in this case u child devoured the excreta of his father affected by cholera, as they resembled rice soup, and remained unaffected), can hardly prove anything, because of its singularity ; it is possible that the child possessed an individual non-predisposition to cholera, a natural immunity toward it. I may as well state here that the various experiments of swallowing pure cultures of cholera bacteria, as has l)een done by Pettenkofer. Emmerich and some A'ienna physicians, without any bad results occurrmg therefi'om. can also hardly be considered as proving anything : not to speak of the individual immunity (although it would be straining the point to constantly consider the same), we are hardly justified in judging by the degree of virulence of the cholera bacilli devel- oped under artificial conditions of pure cultures, of the virulency of the cholera bacteria which left the affected organism and un- derwent a development among unknown, to us. conditions of the surrounding nature. The rare cases in which there was a direct transmission of cholera from tbe sick to the healthy, Hueppe explains by the fact that in the presence of a severe diarrhoea the bacteria are enabled to rapidly traverse the intestines, and therefore, as he thinks, remaining but for a short time in a medium deficient in oxygen, they emerge from the affected organism with a suffi- ciently preserved degree of virulence. The comparatively fre- quent occurrence of cholera to be seen among the washer- women who handle linen not sufiiciently disinfected, Hueppe considers as due partly to the presence in the Imen of enormous numbers of bacteria of cholera, as well as of cholera toxine. and also to the fact that the choleraic bacteria, remaining in the linen mixed with the excreta, that is, living outside of the or- ganism, may become anew sulficiently virulent. The universally adopted theory of the contagiousness of chol- era, as based on the above-discussed facts and considerations, is as follows : the cholera bacteria enter the org-anism together with the food and drink, per os, multiply exceedingly in the small intestines, invading also their walls, produce a toxine, cause an extremely acute and severe affection of the stomach and in- testines, as evidenced by nausea and diarrhcea, and then, on ac- — 363 — count of the great and rapid loss of the fluid portions of the organism and especially on account of the absorption of the above-named toxine, they call out the phenomena of the algid stage of cholera, so peculiar to the disease, and of which we shall speak later. The Form and Course of the Disease. In accord with the plan of my lecture, I shall not touch on the epidemiology of cholera. I will only say, that during the cholera epidemics there are observed, more frequently than at other times, intestmal catarrhs (diarrhoese), nervous disturbances of a neurasthenic character, thanks, of course, to the panicky feeling towards cholera prevalent in the population, and also gastric disturbances of a dyspeptic nature, partly also of nervous origin, partly as a result of the sudden change in dietetic habits, of the monotonous food, of the constant use of boiled water, and also as a result of the employment of various " preventive" drops, as hydrochloric acid and others. I will now take up the various choleraic affections, but I will call your attention only to their most important characteris- tics, the symptoms and the course, by which we must be guided in making a diagnosis and in prescribmg treatment. The incubation period, occupied by the time when the infec- tion took place until the appearance of the disease, is short, usu- ally between one and three days. We distinguish three varieties of choleraic affections. Choleraic diarrlioea. — AVith a condition of general malaise the patient has abundant fluid stools but slightly colored with bile, usually of a painless nature, but accompanied by consider- able abdominal gurgling. The disease either passes away in a few days (with or even without treatment), or passes- into cholerine, or directly into cholera. The character of the sudden- ly appearing diarrhcea, during an epidemic of cholera, as to whether it be of a choleraic nature or not, can with certainty be decided only by a bacteriological examination of the excreta ; without this last a probable diagnosis only is possible, but not a positive one. But the bacteriological examination, so impor- — 364 — tant f(n- defining the general cliaracter of an epidemic affection, is not practicable for the purpose of diagnosticating cholera in private practice during an epidemic : the results of such an ex- amination are not obtained soon enough, but at a comparatively late time, so that is impossilile. while waiting for them, to leave the sick person witliout any treatment at a time when every hour is precious, and if he happens to suffer from cholerine or cholera, then every moment is invaluable. Besides, it is unrea- sonal)le to waste time and energy on a minute bacteriological examination during a cholera epidemic, when the physician's time is usually wholly occupied and his energy is in a state of extreme tension. Consequently in cases of diarrhoea of which we speak now. we must be content with a prol^able diagnosis. As what concerns treatment in such cases, it will l)e spoken of later. Chohrrine. — (leneral malaise, a slight felaile condition, vom- iting and diarrhcea of abundant liquid discharges, at first col- ored, even though slightly, by bile, later colorless; great thirst, ver}- little urine, pulse weak, a rapid decrease in the bodj^ fat, cramps in the calves, general weakness, and weakness of the voice. In a few days the disease passes away, the patient is convalescent, l)ut for a long time, for weeks together, he re- mains very weak. In other less fre([uent cases, with a lack of pro]3er treatment and nursing, the morbid phenomena mcrease and there appear syiiiptoms of the algid stage of genuine cholera, during \Ahich. or during that of reaction following the algid stage, the patient succumbs; but with assistance at the proper time even such cases may tend to terminate favoral)ly. (jri'tiuinr cliolera develops either fro]n the above-outlined ail- ments or more frequentlv directly : after one or more days of slight and pauiless diarrh(pa ('• the prodromal "), there sudden- ly takes place an attarlx of cliolera : the evacuations l)ecome all at once frequent and abundant, tliey lose their yellow coloring and take on a resemblance to rice-soup ; to this there is soon superadded vomiting, which consists in the beguuiing of the gastric contents, then of biliary matter, and finally of similar rice-soup-like liquid masses. Even a few hours of such a con- dition may Ije followed by the phenomena of the so-called cold — 365 — period of cholera (stadi urn algidniii, s. cyanoticuin, s. asplncti- cuni ) : the patient lies in a condition of extreme weakness, speechless, at times moaning and whining with a weak voice from the pain caused by the nuiscular cramps, which however pass rapidly; when asked anything he replies slowly (conscious- ness weak) and in an exceedingly weak voice ; the l)ody is cold to the touch, the bodily fullness (turgor vitalis ) is sharply dim- inished, the cheeks fallen in, the nose sharp, the eyes deep in their sockets, the skin is cyanotic and ^v■l■inkled, and if caught between the fingers does not return to its previous condition ; there is an insatiable thirst, no urine, pulse hardly perceptil)le, tones of the heart extremeh' weak. With the appearance of the algid stage the vomiting and diarrh(ea usually diminish. The phenomena of the algid stage are undoubtedl}', but onl}^ to some extent, determined by the great loss of tlie fluid por- tions of the organism, and by the results of this loss, as thicken- ing of the blood, disturbances of the circulation, deficiency of oxygen in the blood and tissues, etc., caused by such a great traUsudation into the intestines : the loss of the fluid parts of the organism and the results dependent thereon are insufficient to explain the above-named phenomena. There occur cases, and very severe ones at that, which present an extreme devel- opment of the algid stage, the patients dymg during it, while they have neither diarrhoea nor vomiting (cholera sicca) and autopsy reveals but a trifling exudation into the intestines. Moreover, every physician who has ever seen a goodly num- ber of cholera patients, is well aware of the fact that very often there is to be observed a disproportion between the quantity of the liquid evacuations and the symptoms of the algid stage : the first may be very considerable, while the latter are insignifi- cant, and contrariwise. It is thus evident that outside of the great loss of the fluid parts of the organism there must also be some other cause to account for the algid stage of the disease. As such was considered the toxine produced by the cholera bacteria. As a matter of fact both Xicati and liietsch obtained from pure cultures of bacteria a poisonous body, the introduc- tion of which into the systems of animals caused a fall in the temperature, paralytic phenomena and finally death. Out of the — 366 — contents of the small intestines, as found on autopsies, Hueppe obtained a toxine which he considers to be a peptone produced from the albuminoid constituents of the intestinal contents un- der the influence of the cholera bacteria and of deficiency in oxygen. He also obtained an identical toxine from the contents of the large intestuie and from the intestmal secretions of chol- era patients, but in a much smaller quantity ; this leads him to think that the above referred to toxine is partly absorbed by the small intestine, and is partly destroyed by the acidity of the large intestine. Introduced into the systems of animals, as guinea-pigs, rabbits and dogs, the cholera toxine produced a fall of the temperature, paralytic symptoms, and finally death : the paralytic phenomena were sometimes preceded by severe dyspnoea and cyanosis ; the autopsy of the animals so killed revealed the fact that the kidneys, liver, and the heart have un- dergone, according to Hueppe, changes similar to those found in the same organs of patients who died during the algid period of cholera, and on whom autopsies were performed. The ab- sorption of the cholera toxine is certainly very probable, and may be considered as a generally accepted fact, otherwise it would be difficult to explain the so promment and apparently toxic symptoms of the algid stage. (Hueppe assumes that he succeeded in proving the presence of this toxine in the first urine excreted during the reaction stage of cholera, which fol- lows the anuria of the algid stage.) It is beyond doubt that it is not so much the loss of the liquid portion of the organism as the choleraic toxine, which determmes the acute affection of the nervous system in general and that of the vaso-motor in par- ticular, as observed during the algid stage, as well as the changes of the protoplasm, such as the cloudiness and the coagulation-ne- crosis of the muscular heart fibres, of the hepatic and renal epithelia, which are all found at the autopsies of persons dymg durmg this stage of the disease. The affection of the last (the epithelium of the kidney) causes a nepliritis, the symptoms of which become prominent during the next reaction stage, on the pathological anatomy of which I may as well touch now : the vessels and the interstitial substance of the renal parenchyma are not affected, but the morbid pi'ocess (coagulation-neero- — 367 — sis) attacks the epithelium of the glomeruli and of the convo- luted tubules, and it (the epithelium) becomes detached ; in cases of recovery, the epithelium is rapidly regenerated and the nephritis does not pass into a chronic condition (Ley den, Berl. Klinische Woclienschrift, 1893). Without stopping to con- sider, in accord with the plan of my lecture, all the anatomo- pathological data peculiar to the algid stage of cholera and known to you from the systematic course of internal pathology, as the thickening of the blood, the drying up of the tissues and the like, 1 will only call your attention to the changes in the spleen so characteristic in cholera (Prof. Stiller, in the i^erlin. Klin. Wochenschrift, 1898) ; this last is found in patients dy- ing during the algid stage as diminished in size and wrinkled, a condition analogous to that of the vessels and depending, quite probably, on identical causes. According to certain m- vestigations, the spleen in the prodromal period of cholera is hypertrophied, just as it is in other infectious diseases. Durhig the stage of reaction the spleen again increases in size. Patients die frequent!}^ while in the algid stage, especially during the very height of the epidemic. If they recover, then the clearly and unmistakabl}' pronounced algid stage is never followed by an immediate recovery, but there take place new and very variable morbid phenomena, which are collectively designated under the name of reaction period or under that of choleraic typhoid ; although the incorrectness of this last term is admitted by everybody, still it became so popular that it is employed by all. These phenomena are of three varieties : 1. Most frequentl}^ there is an acute nephritis (as evidenced by a small quantity of urine containing much albumen, numbers of cylinders and epithelial cells), accompanied by severe ursemic symptoms. 2. Much less frequent is a febrile condition, accompanied by typhoid symptoms, without any renal affection, due evidently to the considerable alterations produced during the preceding stages in other organs, — in the intestines, liver, heart, spleen, blood, etc. 8. Various morbid conditions, their origin apparently due to other infections which found such a favorable soil in an organ- — 368 — ism attacked by cholera : diphtheria of the intestines, of the urinary and biliary bladders, of the vagina, and also of the pharnyx (in conjunction with parotitis), of the larnyx with bronchitis, and, even if not frequently, with pneumonia and in- flammation of the serous membranes, various affections of the skin (as eruptions), ulcers, abscesses, erysipelas. All the three varieties of the morbid processes occurring dur- ing the reaction period may occur simultaneously in the most variable combinations. A fatal issue is of frequent occurrence also during this period. Recovery after a severe pronounced attack of cholera is a slow process. Preventr^e Measuees. Following the plan laid out for my lecture, I cannot stop to thoroughly discuss this most important subject, but will only make a few observations. Quarantines, as employed heretofore, proved to be inefficient; but it does not occur to me, that the question about quarantines has been decided and that they had been recognized as ineffi- cient or even impossible. To be sure it is difficult to picture to one's self the establishment of an efficient and very strict quar- antme along all the boundaries of the European governments, which are thickly populated and keep up such a lively commu- nication among themselves : this would cause great embarrass- ment and could only be obtained at the cost of considerable expenditures. But the quarantine along the highways leading from the birthplace of cholera, from Asia, is a different matter. Our present Central Asiatic boundaries, tlirough which the re- cent epdiemic of cholera forced its way, extend mostly through wilderness, and do not present any possible means for the estab- lishment of a strict quarantine ; but it is pointed out, that not far from these boundaries there are located mountain-chains which admit of a passage only through certain places, where it would be a very easy matter to establish the strictest quaran- tine which would embarrass only the hisignificant caravan trains. We certainly are not to conclude from the fact that it is impossible to establish reliable quarantines over all tlie Asiatic — 369 — liighvA'ays, that it is useless to do so wherever it is possible. A more direct application of the quarantine over the most impor- tant road from India, the Suez Canal, would probably bear bet- ter results, if not for the selfish opposition of England, which makes it impossible of realization. The brevity of the incuba- tion period of cholera does not require any very prolonged quar- antining. It is hardly probable, that cholera is transferred through goods, unless it be certain special ones, as old clothes and others, the admission of which is usually forbidden by self-protecting governments. Special attention must be paid to the dirty linen of the passengers, by submittmg it to strict dis- infection or even destroying it by fire. It is true, that notwith- standing all the quarantine measures, if the quarantine is kept but for a limited time, which would otherwise cause extreme embarrassment in places with such an extensive travel as for instance the Suez Canal, * there may remain unobserved and may pass on persons sick with but a slight choleraic affec- tion, choleraic diarrhea, but who may however carry with them the seed of infection and under favorable circumstances become the cause of an epidemic. Furthermore, from observations made in Hamburg, it is made certain, that in persons who re- covered from cholera, there are to be found for a long time, even after the intestinal secretions have entirely taken on their normal form, in these secretions the characteristic comma bacilli. How- ever, the fact that the quarantine measures do not act as an absolute bar to the invasion of cholera, need not mean that we must neglect their undoubted usefulness to diminish to a very great extent the possibility of its being transferred. To thoroughly interrogate every single passenger, as was practised during the recent epidemic on the railroad lines, is of course a superfluous procedure ; but the watching over the travelling public, at least along tracts with a considerable travel, on railroad and on river lines, the separation of the evidently * (A later addition.) The last (1894) international sauitary conference concluded that in place of the quarantine at the Suez, the sanitary in- spection of the sailing vessels by physicians be enforced more strictly, if they arrive from unreliable and doubtful ports, at the time they leave them, as well as during their journey. — 370 — affected ones from the healthy, the application of disinfection and the rendering of necessary aid, are of course necessary measures. I will not stop here to discuss the subject of disinfection, its means and ways, its application to the patient, to his linen and his residence, to the affected locality and houses, to the tramway cars, steamboats, etc., as all this is discussed for your benefit by a competent person in special lectures. Nor will I speak here of the measures touching upon the re- establishment of the normal conditions in the affected localities ; this is certainly desirable, but it must not be done in a hurry, as is usually done during the approach or even during the attack of the epidemic, but in a substantial manner, requir- ing a long time for its completion in accord with a matured, thought-out plan. I cannot help stating here, that at the sight of the above- named hunying measures adopted for the re-establishment of former conditions of health, the use of which measures is doubt- ful while their cost is great, seeing the frequently unreasonable and unnecessary expenditure of means for disinfection, which also entails considerable expenses, the thought occurs that it were bettei' to devote the financial outlays thus expended to obtaining for the indigent population of healthy food and drink, as the benefit derived from these dviring a cholera epidemic is of inestimable value. It is absolutely necessary, that a most thorough disinfection be effected around the patient, not only in cases of a clearly pro- nounced choleraic ailment, but in the presence of every doubt- ful diarrhoea ; that the patient's excreta, his linen (if it be but slightly soiled, otherwise burn it) and objects surrounding him should be disinfected. An important preventive measure is the careful supervision over persons arriving in the given locality, the isolation of those who present signs of an apparently choleraic and even of a doubtful affection, the innnediate application of thorough dis- infection and also the immediate rendering of the necessary assistance, l^jvery case to which we succeed in applying thor- oughly lljese measures, diminishes the possibility of developing — 371 — or of increasing the epidemic. The fortunate condition of things in Moscow during the last epidemic is undoubtedly to be as- cribed m a great measure to the careful and skillful application of the enumerated measures. In July of last yea,r, in view of the serious application of the above-named and other measures, and also on account of other considerations. I expressed a hope (vide the Moscow Gazette, July 16, 1892) that the further course of the epidemic would be of moderate severity, at least in the northern and the north- western provinces of Russia, heretofore not visited by the disease. The course of the epidemic in Nijni Novgorod, Moscow and St. Petersburg and in other localities of the above-named provinces in Russia has completely justified my expectations ; while on the southwest the epidemic was severe. I have no doubt, but that if in Baku and other places of Transcaucasia, in Astrachan, Tzarytzin. Saratov and Samara, the same measures had been adopted as were practised in Moscow, instead of the absence, not only at the beginning but also later on, of any preventive measures, and instead of the street riots which assisted so much in spreading the cholera, the course of the epidemic would have been different ; it would not have developed to such a degree in the cities and would have been prevented from in- vading the villages and country places, where preventive as well as any curative measures are so difficult of application, while the population, which is generally poorly fed, was ex- hausted by a previous failure of the crops. The individual measiires of pre caution can be summed up in this, that one must not in any way alter his habitual mode of living, by which we mean a mode which preserves one's health in good order ; in case there be any disturbance of health one must at once look for a physician's advice, also on the return of the habitual disturbances, and especially those of the diges- tive organs ; he must follow a certain once prearranged plan of treatment and hygiene, but under no circumstances is he to be allowed to treat himself by various " cholera" measures, drops, etc., so extensively advertised during the prevalence of an epi- demic ; when perfectly healthy he must avoid the use of the so- called (psuedo) preventive measures, as for instance hydro- — 372 — chloric acid, quinine, etc., wbicli will only tend to disturb digestion, thus creating a predisposition to choleraic affections. Pure spring water need not necessaril}-^ be boiled for drinking purposes, while water of doubtful purity, if its use cannot be avoided, must previously be allowed to settle down, be strained and boiled, and, I must say, it should be drunk only when re- cently boiled, wliile water which had been boiled a long time previously should not be used for drinking purposes. The Teeatment. I alluded m the beginning of the lecture to the fact, that, to replace as far as it is in my power (because of the absence of cholera patients) the lack of clinical individualization, I wdll discuss at least the most important situations in which a cholera patient may find himself, and to which treatment must be applied : I must also add that this is the more necessary, because of the rapid course of the disease, and the lack of time at the physician's disposal, for the number of sick is usually great ; a calm and circumstantial analysis of the patient's condition is much more difficult in cholera, than in any other disease, and it is therefore necessary to have become previously acquainted with the peculiarities of treatment of the various conditions in which the patient may be found. I must how- ever take a preliminary review of some of the general therapeu- tic statements in connection with the treatment of cholera. 1 consider it as of special utility for yon as beginners : a correct view and a clear intelligence constitute the most important re- quisites of successful activity. We are frequently told, to be sure not by medical men, that, as the statistical data prove the mortality from cholera to be the same under all systems of treatment, which goes to show the impotence of every kind of treatment of cholera, it is use- less to waste any means on it, and it were better to devote the means on hand to obtaining nourishmg food to that portion of the population, vhich h particularly liable to fall a prey to the disease on account of insufficient nourishment. This assertion can l)e refuted in a few words : only a layman, who in — 373 — judging of the effectiveness of treatment relies on such doubt- ful data as those lent by statistics, could pronounce himself against the treatment of cholera : but every physician who had the opportunity of seeing a sufficient numl)er of cholera patients. and who perceived clearly the difference in the course and the issue of the disease between the cases in which treatment was begun early, and those that were treated late, cannot but be fully persuaded of the effectiveness of and the crying urgency for treatment of cholera patients. It is with a certam degree of pomposit}- that the assertion is made that it is not the cholera, but the cholera patient who must be treated. You who are well informed of the fundamental principle of clinical, i. e. practical activity, namely, that in all diseases, without any exceptions, we treat the patient and not the disease, will be astonished and taken aback by such an asser- tion, and you will naturally ask: how otherwise? and when can we see and treat the disease, if not in the patient ? As you know, there exists no specific remedy for cholera, i. e. such a remedy as would not act upon some one separate symp- tom of this disease, but striking, so to say, the very centre of the affection, would thus act on all the symptoms, and by de- stroying them, would bring about a cessation of the disease, as quinme does in malaria, sodium salj'cilate in acute articular rheumatism, and to a lesser extent, as the results of the treat- ment are not so positive, mercury and the iodides in syphilis. As we have no such remedy, it remains for us here, as m other dis- eases for which there exist no specific remedies, to pursue a symptomatic treatment, combating separately the symptoms which exhaust the patient, and subject his life to danger, and thus we enable the patient to tide over the disease, and save his life. Still it is strange to hear dou1)ts expressed regarding the pos- sibility of a specific treatment of cholera. Where can there be a basis for such doubts in view of the above-named existing spe- cific remedies for certain diseases ? And especially at the pres- ent time, when there had been opened to therapy so many new and promising ways creating a possibility of treating the most serious diseases by the aid of the secretions and of the — 374 — tissues of the organism itself, uiid also by the products of the life-activity of the j)athogenic microbes, the greatest ene- mies of the organism. Who is able to foretell the various means, the remedies, the combinations of various means and remedies, that the therapy of the future will make use of ? . Stranger still appears such an assertion : " For other (out- side of cholera) infectious diseases, as typhoid, pneumonia, etc., we have long ago rejected specific remedies, having concluded, that symptomatic treatment only (?) will assist the organism in getting rid of the infectious agency." But this is not true ; nobody ever rejected them ; let there be found to-morrow as re- liable a remedy for typhoid and pneumonia, as quinine is for malaria or salycilate of soda for acute articular rheumatism, and every physician, including the author of the above statement, will at once resort to it, reducing to a minimum, if not discharg- ing altogether, the usual symptomatic treatment ; thus, for in- stance, it happened with the symptomatic treatment of acute articular rheumatism, which was being employed at the time before the specific effect of sodium salycilate became known. It is rather odd to hear it stated, that " the symptomatic treat- ment only will enable the organism to free itself from the infec- tion,'' in view of the effects of the above-named specific remedies in malaria and acute articular rheumatism, effects which excel so much by their accuracy and rapidity the symptomatic treat- ment of those diseases, for which we have no specific treatment. Equally strange is the identification of the specific treatment with the routine one. This is a confounding of ideas. Routine is not a peculiarity of an}^ metliod of treatment, but surely a deplorable quality in the physician himself: both the specific and the symptomatic methods of treatment may be applied in a routine manner, and again they may also be employed in a non-routine way, so as to pay due attention to the characteristic peculiarities of the given case, of the treated patient, which would but mean to subject him to a system of individualization in treatment. I will turn now to the discussion of the treatment as applied to the various conditions in which the patient may be found. — 375 — 1. The diarrhcea. — It is self-understood, that not every case of diarrhoea met with during a cholera epidemic is to be treated as a choleraic diarrh(Ea. During such a time we may run across patients suffering with a chronic intestinal catarrh which causes constipation intermittent with diarrhoea, or even a continu- ous diarrhoea ; if the diarrhoea from which such patients suffer, remains during the cholera epidemic in the same condition as it was before, then there is no reason for changing the usual treat- ment of such a diarrhea, for attributing to it a certain •' anti- choleraic '" shade, thus inordinatelj^ frightening the patient. I will add right here, that not only in such cases, but also in cases of doubtful or even undisguised cholera ailment, it is necessary to insistently keep up the patient's spirits by encouraging him that the disease he suffers from is a " simple," and not a " gen- uine choleraic '' affection, thus averting as much as it lies in our power the oppressive mental state, which is produced in the patients by the anxiety of falling a prey to cholera, and which tends to make their condition so much worse. We may also see during the cholera epidemic cases of acute diarrh(jea, but apparently of a non-choleraic nature, as for in- stance, acute catarrh of the large mtestine, as evidenced by frequent inclination to stool, tenesmus, pains, and scanty evac- uations with an admixture of mucus and blood. However, such cases are rather of infrequent occurence dur- ing a cholera epidemic, and the acute diarrhcese met with at such times are usually, or in all probability, of a choleraic nature fas described above), or of such a character, as not having an apparently Mow-choleraic nature, and they therefore give rise to suspicion of their being of a choleraic origin (" the doubtful cases"). A positive diagnosis, as we explained above, is impos- sible ; the bacteriological examination, which would positively diagnosticate either class of the cases, is not applicable in prac- tice. What then is the treatment of such cases ? Having first of all informed yourself by a short inquiry of the kind and quantity of food and drink the patient had been taking recently and of the character of intestinal evacuations, and having in- spected and palpated the abdomen, you should decide as to whether or not the intestinal canal is sufficiently emptied of its contents. If not, it must be emptied b}^ the aid of laxatives : this precedure, so necessary in any diarrhoea in case of insuffi- cient emptying, the more so of overfilling of the intestines, is the more necessar}^ in cholera affections, in which case the lax- ative may he expected to remove together with the other in- testinal contents the cholera bacteria which so greatly multi- ply in the small intestines, and the toxine produced by them. Which laxative is the most suitable for such cases ? Castor oil or calomel with castor oil. I will take up calomel ffi^st. As a laxative calomel is particularly useful, as my observations during the former epidemics of cholera, principally of 1853 and 1854, testify, in patients of a robust or at least not of a weak constitution, with a large abdomen ; in those who are subjected to dyspeptic gastric phenomena (in such cases the castor oil is frequently badly borne and is vomited up), to habitual consti- pation, jaundice, to biliary colic attended with constant tender- ness on pressure over the region of the gall-bladder. I admin- ister a four or live grain dose of calomel, repeat it in two hours, and again in two hours (if by that time there have not taken place abundant evacuations sufficient to empty the intestines) ; then I give a tablespoonful of castor oil, which is usually better borne after calomel. To patients who do not present the above-named peculiarities, I only administer castor oil. I will also touch here on calomel as a generally "• antichole- raic" remedy. It was recommended as such not only in the bep-inninor of the disease when the intestines are overfilled, but also for the later stages attended by a continuous, even severe diarrhoea, as well as for the algid stage of true cholera, under the assumption, that if taken internally, it will be converted into corrosive sublimate, thus exerting a fatal effect on the cholei'a bacteria found in the small intestines. Galomel is particularly recommended for cholera by the well-known Mii- nich clinician Ziemssen. But I will repeat here what I said in 1885, concerning the use of calomel, namely: in cholera I did not see the slightest success from the employment of calomel during the two severe epidemics at Moscow in the years 1853 and 1854, when, in the capacity of a resident pliysician of the — 377 — temporary cholera department in the University clinic, I had the opportunity of seeing a great many patients, and when calo- mel formed the ordinary treatment of the disease. Calomel was also tried during the recent epidemic and it was proved, that its use was not only of no positive, but not even of a doubt- ful value. Besides, it is quite probable, that its continuous employment results in producing a harmful effect on the in- testines which had already become strongly affected by the cholera, and on the kidneys, the affection of which, appearing during the period of reaction, is of such frequent occurrence in cholera, and is fraught with grave danger to an organism severely shocked by the preceding course of this disease. The above-named cases, in which, according to my observations, calomel in the begmning of the disease exerts an excellent effect as a laxative remedy, without, I may add, the least dan- ger to the patient, are the only ones, for which I administer the drug in cholera. I will add that for the identical purpose of directly acting on the. cholera affection, by destroymg in the intestinal tract the cholera bacteria and the toxine or toxines produced by them, there were recommended, besides calomel, many other drugs, notably salol. Experience proved that they were of the same value as calomel, as far as their direct anticholeraic effect is concerned, and that they also exerted a harmful effect. Hueppe, from his observations during the recent cholera epidemic, recom- mended specially tribromphenolbismuth ; but data communicated by him, as well as the observations of other physicians, fail to show that this remedy deserves any greater credit than calomel, salol, and a host of others recommended until now. I return now to the treatment of the diarrhoea. What is to be done for cases, in which, after an evacuation of the intestines had been effected b}- a laxative, the diarrhoea still continues, and also for those cases which present no necessity for the admmis- tration of a laxative, as the physician sees them at a time when the intestinal tract has akeady been evacuated, but meanwhile the diarrhoea continues, thus certainly debilitating the patient? In either class of cases we must first of all give opium, namely, the tincture (tincturaopiisimplexs.thebaica), as the most suitable — 378 — opium preparation, and as one, besides, which can be divided in doses most conveniently, not requiring any weighing, like opium purum and extr. opii aquosuni. The employment of opium at the present time must certainly be explained. During the former cholera epidemics opium may be said to have been the most generally employed remedy in doubtful as well as in undisguised cases of choleraic diseases. At the pres- ent time the matter is considered in a different light: starting with the supposition, that opium, by weakening the peristaltic efforts of the intestines, assists in the retention and multiplica- tion (as determined by the greater amount of rest allowed to them) in them of the cholera bacteria, thus at the same time tending to increase the quantity of the produced toxine and the general intoxication of the system, many observers insist upon completely renouncing opium as a remedial agencj^ for chole- raic affections. But my observations, as I mentioned above, were sufficient for my formulating the following : I had the opportunity dur- ing the cholera epidemics to cure by moderate doses of opium (of this later on) many cases of diarrhoea, after a preliminary evacuation of the intestinal tract, or without the same when there were no indications for it. The exact nature of these diarrhoeas remained then, and remains now uncertain : it is just as impossilile to assert that they had all been choleraic diarrhoeas, as that they had not. In other, much less frequent, cases, not- withstanding this method of treatment, in conjunction of course with the appropriate hygienic measures, the diarrhoea did not stop and there developed cholerine or genuine cholera. With such observations in view I consider it erroneous to reject a remedy which acts so successfully and so rapidlj- in the majority of cases under discussion, and I recommend, after the intestines have been evacuated, to administer at once to an adult patient fifteen or twenty drops of the tincture of opium, and later on, if necessary, in accord with the effect of the opium and the course of the disease, to give the same in five-drop doses and always in warm (boiled) water, or with the addition of strong wine or good clarified brand}^ The ordinary dose is from thirty to forty or even sixty drops during twenty-four hours. — 379 — This treatment I usually continue for one, one and a half, or the longest, for two days. And what is to be done next? In the greater majority of cases, this treatment will brmg about a ces- sation of the diarrhoi'a. In other, less frequent, cases, the diar- rhoea is only diminished, but does not cease altogether, and without taking on in the least the character of a choleraic affec- tion, it is prolonged, and shows an inclination toward becoming chronic ; in such cases, leaving aside opium, I resort to bismuth, especially if the large intestine become affected, or tra. coto, if the small intestme is the seat of the disease, or both together ; I also administer ordmary clysters, or with bismuth, tannin and boric acid. Finally, there are still less frequent cases in which the diarrhoea, m spite of the treatment, becomes aggra- vated, and the affection takes on a choleraic character. Then, but not before one or two days of opium treatment, I set aside the opium, principally because in moderate doses it is ineffective, while the administration of large doses is fraught with danger : for such doses will overcome the irritant influence of the chole- raic affection on the intestinal peristalsis, which may result in constipation — a condition certainly of extreme danger, and a moderate diarrhoea is by far preferable to a non-evacuated intes- tinal tract ; but even if such be not the case, then in view of the possible approach of the algid stage, when the nervous system is most severely affected by the choleraic toxine (with the re- sulting thickened blood and a lack of oxygen), I consider it very dangerous to still more weaken this system by the introduction of large doses of opium. Havmg then set aside opium, I administer internally bismuth subnitrate in doses sufficient to put a stop to the excessive diar- rhoea which deprives the organism of so much fluid, namely, ten to fifteen grains at a dose, from four to six times a day ; I recommend bismuth as a remedy reliable in non-choleraic diar- rhoeas, which acts at the same time as a disinfecting agency, is well borne hj the intestines and does not exert any deleterious effect on the nervous system, as would be the case from large doses of opium. But as regards the expectations reposed in bismuth as a positive anticholeraic agency, exerting an effect on the cholera — 380 — bacteria and their toxines, which effect would be evidenced by a rapid and decided change of the choleraic affection to the better, these expectations were but little substantiated by observations, just as was the case with calomel, salol, etc. Together with the bismuth I advise for patients suffering from the cholera affection in the condition under discussion large (from 1000 c. c. and more), and hot (38° to 40° C.) watery clysters with tannin (one per cent solution^, as recommended by the well-known Neapol- itan clinician C'antani. Cantani * in his treatment of cholera chiefly aims : firf^t, to destroy the cholera bacteria and their toxines m the intestines, and secondly, to diminish the thickening of the blood and to assist in the elimination from the organism of the cholera tox- ine absorbed by the blood. To effect his second purpose he recommends the introduction hypodermicall}^ of a solution of common salt (the so-called hypodermoclysis, of which we shall speak in connection with the treatment of the algid period) ; while for the first purpose he resorts to the above-named clysters (enteroclysmata), in the belief that they may reach beyond the ileo-ca3cal valve (valvula Bauhini) into the small intestine and there exert an influence on the bacteria and their toxines. I personally had as yet no opportunity of treating cholera patients since the time (1884) that Cantani called attention to his method ; but there are abundant proofs in the literature of the subject which speak of the merits of Cantani's treatment: both his own and the en- thusiastic reports of many other Italian physicians fell short of the expectations excited, and the percentage of deaths has hardly changed perceptibly since the introduction of this method ; nevertheless, the eiiteroclysmata as well as the hypodermoclys- mata are recognized as useful aids in the treatment of cholera. I'he principal effect of large hot enteroclysmata consists in tliat they communicate warmth to the body, which means that they communicate the exciting influence of the heat to an or- ganism weakened by diarrhoea and the cholera affection in general : the diarrhcea and the vomiting diminish, the jDulse grows stronger, the self-feeling becomes better. The entero- * Vide liis communication in Berl. Klin. Wochenschrift, No. 37, 1892. — 381 — clysmata exert also some effect by acting on the cholera bac- teria and their toxines in the large intestine, and by removing them.* What other measures, outside of those enumerated above, must we resort to in the treatment of the affections under dis- cussion ? I refer of course only to such patients as enjoyed fair health up to the time they fell victims to cholera (we surely cannot touch here on the treatment of persons afflicted with any chi-onic or aoute affection previous to their being attacked with cholera, as that will lead us too far). In sjLich patients, be- sides the intestinal therapy, we must also treat tlie cardiac and the general conditions. To combat these last symptoms, as well as those presented by the intestines, the chief measures resorted to, besides those mentioned above, (Consist in keeping the patient warm (as by a warm bath, by covering the patient well, and particularly hj keeping the abdomen warm, and by giving warm drinks — the best is weak tea), and in the administration of alcohol in the form of wine, cognac, jum and distilled brandy. The hot baths (30° R. and higher), so useful in the algid stage of cholera, are of course unnecessary in the af- fections under consideration : these measures and the employ- ment of enteroclysmata, repeated as necessary, will keep the patient sufficiently warm. 2. Cholerine or the period of cholera 'proper^ preeeding the algid stage. — The same heat-generating measures and the enteroclys- mata employed repeatedly. For internal use, as far as vomit- ing permits it, bismuth and alcoholics. There are no sure measures against vomiting : we try ice, ether, and in very rare exceptional cases, as, for instance, when the vomiting takes on a dangerous character in cholera patients who are afflicted with cardiac or arterial disease, we resort to hypodermic injections of morphine (one-eighth or one-fourth grain at a time) or cocaine (^. cocaini muriatici gr. xv, aquse destil. fss). A whole or one- * (A later addition.) Prof. Genersich recently recommended washing out the whole alimentary canal (so that the fluid introduced per anum is ejected by vomiting per os) in cholera and other diseases (Progres Medical and Deutsche Medicinische Wochenschrift, 189:3). It remains for the future to determine the value and the application of this method of treatment. — 382 — half syringe at a time), the introduction of which into the or- • ganism, with the consequent weakening effect on the nervous sys- tem, is not desirable at all in view of the possible approach of the algid stage. But usually vomiting, and its effects on the organism, do not require the use of such strong measures ; moreover, as men- tioned above, the enteroclysmata diminish the vomiting to an extent. Nor do the cramps necessitate the employment of strong measures, such as hypodermic injections of morphine. The best means for combating the cramps is to immediately put the affected part into a position opposite to that into which it was contracted; most frequently the cramps take place in the muscles of the calves extending the foot; it is sufficient to flex the foot and the cramps cease ; however, as was mentioned above, the cramps tend to rapid disappearance by themselves. 3. The algid stage of cholera projyer. — The above-named meas- ures contributing heat, including the enteroclysmata, also hot baths : in a general way the body should be kept warm by all suitable means at hand. Later on, with the first symptoms of the approaching algid stage, to counteract the thickening of the blood, the lack of oxygen and the anuria, and also to excite by warmth the heart and the nervous system, resort must be had to Cantani's large (from 300 to 1,000 c. c. at a time) hot (38 ° to 40° C. ) hypodermoclysmata, containing a solution of common table-salt (7.5 to 1,000), injected into places where the skin is easily raised in folds and the subcutaneous layer affords a convenient receptacle for the introduced fluid (except in the region of the neck, into which the introduction subcutaneously of a large quantity of fluid is known to be fraught with dan- ger). Usually after such a hypodermoclysma has been admin- istered, the pidse, hitherto hardly perceptible, grows stronger, and the general weakness of the patient diminishes. It is true that this improvement does not last long, and on the hy- podermoclysma being repeated, it ■ — the improvement — is not as considerable as it was the first time; nevertheless, the value of the hypodermoclysma is beyond doubt, and its employment is unconditionally indicated. The injection into the veins of a salt solution does not offer any advantages over the hypoder- — 383 — moclysmata; it is moreover applied with greater difficulty, unless it be in the hospital, and besides is not devoid of danger. Finally, during the algid stage, it is of the greatest importance to introduce stimulants both internally, such as hot tea, the various alcoholics, ether, camphor, and hypodermically ; for this last we use oleum eamphoratum fortius (1 : 5), one syringeful at a time, and caifeinum natrobenzoicum, from one-third to two- thirds of a syringeful (it is best used thus : 1^.. natri benzoic!, caffeini aa 3ij, aquae destil. 3ss.; such a considerable concentra- tion will assist in keeping the solution in better condition, nor will it become turbid). It needs no explanation that both the hypodermoclysmata, as well as the hypodermic injections of the various stimulants, should be made under the strictest anti- septic precautions.* 4. TJie period of reaction (typhoid cholera). — The treatment of the nephritis caused by cholera consists in warm baths and abundant drinks. The treatment of the typhoid and uraemic symptoms : signs of congestion (as a flushed face) require the application of cold to the head or even the application of leeches to the root of the nose, if the patient is not very weak ; for symptoms indicating excitability of the nervous system (as delirium, etc.) sodium bromide ; and for symptoms of nervous oppression, moschus and washing of the head with fresh water. If the body temperature be very high (about -10° 6'., 104° i^.) small doses (three to five grains) of phenacetine or antifebrine will reduce it to an extent. * (A later note.) Prof. Slikliareft'sky ( " On the Treatment ot Cholera during the Algid Stage," a reprint from Nos. 16 and 17 of the South- Kussian Medical Gazette, 1893) calls attention to the long forgotten, but according to the observations of many physicians, very effective treatment of the algid period of cholera by the method of Dr. Chapman. "The gist of this method consists in this, that with the aid of cold or heat an effect is produced on the patient's spinal column, w^hile the other parts of the body are subjected to heat in the first case, and to cold in the second by compresses. Thus a rubber bag filled with ice is placed along the spinal column of the patient during the algid stage, and dtiring the typhoid period a similar bag is filled with water at the temperature of 38° B." Considering the algid period of cholera as an " infectious neuro- sis," Prof. Shkliareffsky explains from this point of view the effect of Chapman's method of treatment. Prof. Shkliareffsky' s article is full of interesting points. — 384 — The treatment of the various complications — as erysipelas, ulcers, abscesses and diphtheritic affections (as dysentery, etc.) — is to be conducted according to the indications of these com- plications. Having spoken thus far of the genuine Asiatic or India cholera, I will now say a few words on cholera nostras. The attacks of this disease are similar by their nature and course to those of the genuine cholera, and may also occur with a similar intensity, but are not as extensive as these last: cholera nostras occurs only as an endemic, never as an epidemic disease. The microbe which produces it is as yet unknown ; they failed to find the comma bacilli of the genuine cholera in the evacuation of patients suffermg from our (or European) cholera. During the prevalence of this last Finkler and Pryor found a bacterium similar to, but not identical with, the comma bacillus of genuine cholera ; but in the following epidemics, the Fmkler-Pryor bacilli have not been found. Last spring, there occurred in the vicinity of Paris (at the beginning only there, and at no other place in France) severe cholera-like attacks, but without any notable tendency to further spreading. Consider- ing them of the nature of cholera nostras and noting that they occurred in the localities which had formerly suffered severely from the true Asiatic cholera, some physicians assumed that cholera nostras was but a degenerate descendant of the Asiatic cholera. The treatment of the attack of cholera nostras does not in the least differ from that of the genuine Asiatic cholera. SUPPLEMENTS. ON BLOODLETTING. AN ADDRESS DELIVERED AT THE ANNUAL MEETING OF THE MOSCOW PHYSIO-MEDICAL SOCIETY, JANUARY, 1889. G-entlemen : — I propose to speak of bloodletting — a reme- dial measure the value and importance of whicli an experience extending over many years taught me to appreciate. I shall discuss bloodletting only as applied in the doraam of internal medicine, without touching on its use in surgery, gynaecology, pediatrics, etc. This is not the place to dilate on the history of bloodletting, which begins, probably, with the history of medicine itself. I shall only touch on that period m its history, of which I have been an eye-witness myself; I shall do that, that I may show how my own experience was formed concerning the employ- ment of this measure. During my student years and my three years' clinical assistantship, bloodletting, general as well as local, was resorted to frequently and unsparinglj^ : the influence of Broussais was as yet prevalent, although not strongly, and I must add, to a constantly diminishing extent. I visited later, in 1856, Western Europe, and found there a complete reaction against venesection, both in literature and in practice : during my three years' sojourn there, I did not see, in any of the clinics in Germany, Austria and France, the employment of bloodlet- ting, and only very rarely indeed did I witness the use of cup- ping-glasses and leeches. On my return to Moscow, I also found here the beginning of a similar reactionary movement, which resulted in this, that eight or ten years later a similar negative stand was taken against the employment of bloodlet- ting in practice (I do not speak of my own), as obtained at that period in Western Europe, as well as in England. Let us consider the position occupied by this subject at the present time. In Western Europe we hear complaints of the unjust condemnation and neglect with which the subject of bloodletting is being treated ; and from such men as, for in- stance, in England, Fen wick, Broadbent and Oliver; in France, 387 — 388 — Hayem ; in Germany, the well-known clinical teachers and authors of special pathology and therapeutics, Liebermeister, Striimpell, and Eichhorst. As all these complain of neglect, this seems to be continuing. Liebermeister, Striimpell and Eiclihorst recommend bloodletting, but they do not give any sufficiently clear indications for its emplojanent, thus showing but a poor personah experience. Eegarding these same recom- mendations it is interesting to note the opinion of another clini- cal teacher and author of a text-book of special pathology and therapeutics, Jiirgensen, who confesses openly to being sceptical towards bloodletting, and who expresses himself as follows : " Personally I am, perhaps, too much afraid of blood, and I will therefore rather not enter my opinion." * He further makes a statement, which is evidently intended for Liebermei- ster, Striimpell and Eiclihorst, authors of the most widel}^ read text-books of special pathology and therapeutics, to this effect : " We observe a tendency m our text-books of to-day not to wholly neglect the use of bloodletting, even if the author in his practice does not employ it at all, or very rarely." | As regards medical practice with us, with the exception of Moscow and the ph3^sicians who are the followers of Moscow methods in medicine, everywhere else, in the principal med- ical centres, the university cities, as well as in the regions embraced by their influence, bloodletting, and abstraction of blood in general, is looked upon, as far as I know, with disfavor. I am unable to bring before you any literary ma- terial on the subject, as I am not aware of the existence of any such ; but as far as is known from practice, the stand taken against bloodletting is of a pronouncedly negative character, at least up till now, in the above-named localities. Thus, for in- stance, a patient from a provmoial city who applied a few leech- es by the advice of his physician, a graduate of the Moscow University, and who was considerably relieved by them, later on, while consulting a University professor, not in Moscow, heard him ask, after inquiring about his disease and the treat- ment, " Whoever uses leeches now ? " Or another example : a * Ziemssen, Handbucli d. allgemeinen Therapie, I. B., 2 ii. 3 Th., An- tiplilogistisclie Heilmetlioden v. Jiirgensen, S. 159: " Ich fiirineine Person bin vielleiclit iibertrieben blutsclieu iind mochte daher mit meinem Ur- tlieil zuriickhalteu." t Ibidem, S. 219: "Man erkennt in unseren heutigen Lelirbiichern das Bestreben die Blutentzieliung uicht ganz fallen zu lassen, audi dann, wenn der Verfasser in praxi seltenen oder gar keinen Gebraucli davon macht." — 389 — patient, who was suffering with pain in the stomach and with nausea due to extreme hypereemia of the liver caused partly by weak cardiac activity, partly by abuse of wine, and who has been taking various drugs without any relief, called in the aid of a Moscow physician. This last ordered leeches to the coccy- geal region : on the very next day the above-named sufferings disappeared, without in the least weakening the patient. One month later the patient returns to his constant place of resi- dence, and tells his former physician, a clinical professor, of the improvement in his health, whereat this last remarks : " But this improvement is only temporary." Patient however replies : •' Whether temporary or not, I cannot say, but I appreciate it dearly, whereas the former medicinal means have not done for me even that much." (3r here is another : a patient, who at the advice of his physician, a Moscow man, applied leeches and was relieved by them, was asked by another doctor, not from Moscow, as to the age of his physician. When told that he — the physician — was thirty years of age, he observed : " I thought he was seventy years old, as he employs such ancient remedies.'" I had occasion to hear a great many similarly expressed opinions ; l)ut I have not heard such as would favor the employment of bloodletting. It is also curious to note, that the unfavorable opinions come from persons, who have never employed blood- lettmg, and who therefore had no personal experience with this method of treatment. Turning now to Moscow and the region influenced by its teachings, I will first of all touch upon my j^ersonal relation to the subject under discussion. As I said before, during my student years and my clinical service, l^loodletting was prac- tised frequently and unsparingly, so that I had many an oppor- tunity to witness its undoubted value, when it could not be re- placed in many cases, while in others I also saw great harm caused by it. Of course, only later on, as my practical experi- ence began to mature, did I learn to appreciate with greater exactness its beneficial as well as its harmful effects. The errors of the medical practice of those times consisted in this, that it was taught that bloodlettmg would cure diseases — " the inflammations" — considering as an inflammation pneumonia, acute articular rheumatism, etc. ; consequently, without taking into account the condition of the patient's strength, they re- sorted not only to one, but to repeated bloodlettings (the so- called '' coup sur coup" of Bouillot), not curing the disease, but debilitating the patient, thus increasing to a fatal extent the — 390 — conditions favoring a bad termination of the disease. Another cause of the unfortunate employment of bloodletting was to be found in the imperfectness of diagnostic skill at those times : thus, for instance, in headache, in which out of ten cases we will probably in one resort to bloodletting in the coccygeal region, we then did it if not in all the ten, surely in nine, and we did not put five to eight leeches as is done now, but from ten to twenty and more. As one of the harmful influences of those times must be considered the universal custom of the laitj^ to resort to local, and at times even to general bloodletting without the physician's advice, a custom which fortunately does not exist at the present time, thanks, we must openly confess, to the negative stand taken by the medical profession toward the subject of bloodletting. But I must say again, that at the same time, at the beginning of my medical career, 1 had occasion to observe the undisputed benefit from bloodletting and even the impossibility of replac- ing it, and I therefore never left off this method of treatment ; but in accord with my experience extending over many years, with the continually developing medical maturity and the rapid progress in the domain of diagnosis, general pathology and therapeutics, I worked out a different practice of bloodletting. As regards the practice in Moscow, 1 can remember the time — the acme of the period of opposition to bloodletting — when I met almost no colleagues who resorted to bloodletting as a derivative measure, and I had to defend my position when advising its application in consultations. At the present time the matter stands otherwise : my own practice and that of a number of the attending physicians at my clinic, as well as personal assistants who became later on independent practi- tioners and partly also clinical instructors, have brought it about that the employment of bloodletting as a derivative measure in the wsij 1 am applying it, has become firmly established in Moscow and the circle of its medical influence. I will explain now the method used in my present prac- tice of bloodletting. I shall be concise, as I intend to speak only of what is proved by facts to be certain, without touch- ing upon theories which explain and prove the benefit de- rived from bloodlettmg. In the present condition of physi- ology and pathology such theories are as yet impossible : there exists no theory that could not be contradicted ; and in doing this, there is always a danger, — to be sure, only when the subject is but superficially discussed, — while disproving the — 391 — theory on which the facts are based, to consider also these last as refuted. My conviction regarding the benefit of bloodlet- ting as based upon facts has been reached by the same method of analyzing and criticising, as my personal conviction of the benefit derived from any other indisputably efficient remedial agencies of our therapy. With every bloodletting there takes place a more or less considerable depletion of the circulatory system: this effect of bloodletting surely no one will deny. The so-called derivative effect of bloodletting i« not recognized by all : I am personally convinced of this last effect, and I will explain later on what I mean by it and will show wh}^ I believe in it. I. Bloodletting, tvTiere the chief effect is depletion, although at the same time there may he also derivation. Venesection is resorted to by me, when in disturbances of the brain or chest circulation there occurs a vital indication, i. e. an indication to save the life from threatening death ; this occurs m the following most important cases. Disturhanees of the cerebral circulation. — 1. In the presence of evident symptoms of a threatenmg or an inevitable cerehral apoplexy in patients with atltermatous arteries., usually caused by rupture of the cerebral arteries : in embolism and thrombosis the indications for bloodletting are much less frequent. I must say here a few words concernmg the condition of the pulse. ' Bloodletting m such cases is to be done not only when the pulse is full and strong, but also if it be weak, as long as we have to do with a patient who is not anaemic. Let me say, that the majority of patients present the following appearance ; the pulse is weak, but the patient's nutrition is in a good condition, he does not look anaemic, rather plethoric, and the inquiry from among the surrounding friends elicits the fact, that the patient enjoyed a good appetite and digestion, has never suffered from any loss of blood, has usually complained of feeling warm and not chilly, etc. In such cases the small pulse points not to anaemia, but to a weak condition of the cardiac muscle, name- ly of the left ventricle, or to a disturbance of the innervation of the heart, which in its turn may be due to the disturbance of the cerebral circulation, which occasioned the apoplectic condition. Here we must employ bloodlettmg and administer at the same time stimulants per os or hypodermically : frequent- ly at once after or even during the bloodletting, the pulse becomes fuller and stronger. Bloodletting in these as well as — 392 — in the cases which will be spoken of later, should always be •performed in the presence of a physician. As regards the amount of blood to be abstracted, in this as in other cases, I abstract from adults twelve ounces, but frequently, guided by the condition of the constitution, nutrition and hsemato- poiesis of the patient and other peculiarities of the given case, eight or six ounces. 2. In the presence of evident symptoms of threatening or already occurring cerebral a'poplexy in fatient^ ivith a chronic ne- phritis and hyjjertrojjliy of tJie left venti-icle. The text-books often recommend bloodletting in the treatment of urtemia, but they fail to give any definite indications, the absence of which among the recommended therapeutical measures forms, however, the usual weak point of many a text-book. In a given case it may lead the young physician into committing a fatal error, namely: if with the urpemic symptoms there are also present signs of threatening cerebral apoplexy, and with these there is a full and strong pulse because of a hypertrophy of the left ventricle, a flushed face, etc., then we must of course employ bloodletting ; but if the symptoms of threatening apoplexy are absent, if the face is pale, the pulse weak, and if there is consider- able oedema, then bloodletting may harm the patient greatly, if it does not directly kill him by hastening the development of cerebral (edema. In such a case we should not resort to bloodletting, l)ut we should administer stimulants, and prin- cipally calomel, as a laxative and diuretic remedy whose effect diminishes directly the ursemic poisoning of the blood. Disturbances of the circulation ivithin the chest. 1. There occur cases, though rarely, of diseases of the heart., most frequently with stenosis of the left venous openmg, when the patient, as yet not anaemic and generally not exhausted, presents a condition of extreme disturbance of the cu-culation, principally of the pulmonary, as evidenced hj severe dyspnoea and by hsemoptysis, and of the portal, as seen by the enlarge- ment and sensitiveness of the liver : here we have no time to wait for the effects of remedies which regulate the cardiac activity and the circulation ; besides, the best of them, namely digitalis, is at times badly borne in such cases and acts slowly : it is slowly absorbed, as you can easily comprehend, on account of the overfilling by blood of the liver, and, consequently, also of the stomach. Here we must employ bloodletting, adminis- ter stimulants (as the pulse is usually weak) — at times calo- mel, if there be an mdication for it, — and later on digitalis, — 393 ^ which by this time will usually he well borne and Avill exert its favorable effects. 2. There are cases, though not frequent ones, presenting a tumultuous onset of croupous pneumonia, when there becomes affected at once a considerable portion of one lung, and simultane- ously with this, in view of the embarrassed circulation in the affected lung, there appears an oedema of the other healthy lung, which spreads rapidly, and is accompanied at times by haemoptysis. If the patient is not old, and is possessed of a sound constitution and has enjoyed good health before he was attacked by the pneumonia, then we must do bloodletting ; if the pulse, as happens rather unfrequently, be weak, then we must certainly administer simultaneously stimulants. The text- books usuallj' recommend, after explaining that the oedema of the lungs depends on the weakened cardiac activity, for treat- ment stimulants, and for the relief of the right ventricle blood- lettmg from the overfilled venous half of the circulation. Again I must point to such a want of precision in the indica- tions, in recommending in such a general way bloodletting for pulmonary oedema. If we deal with a case as described above, then we must of course abstract some blood. But if we have a case of pulmonary cedema which appeared at the termination of an attack of croupous pneumonia, after the seventh or eighth day and later, in a patient already debilitated and presenting symptoms of collapse, then we should not resort to bloodletting, a rather risky procedure in such a case, but we must administer stimulants, resort to large blisters and to the use of senega. However, as regards the recommendation by the text-books of bloodletting for pulmonary oedema we cannot help recalling to our mmd agaui the observation of Jiirgensen, that the authors of the text-books recommend bloodletting, but never employ it themselves. Local Bloodletting, cupping-glasses with scarification, and leeches, are employed Ijy me with the aim in view of depleting the blood-vessels, m the followmg, most frec^uent, cases. 1. In acute pleuropneumonia and acute pleurisy. — In pure pericarditis uncomplicated by a pleurisy of any considerable extent, the resort to bloodletting is rather rare : the therapeutic indication can usually be fulfilled by a large blister. 2. In acute nephritis. 3. In acute inflammation of the great nervous trunks, principally of the sciatic nerves — as in ischias ex neuritide acuta. For all these enumerated cases, I employ cuppmg-glasses with scarification, not leeches. I prefer them — 394 — to leeches in all cases in .which the local conditions permit their employment — for the foUowmg reasons : theii- application, as well as their effect, is more rapid ; bleeding stops at once after the cups are taken off, and there is no consequent bleed- ing, so that we are enabled to extract the desired amount of blood with greater exactness without weakening the patient, as happens frequently with leeches after which it is difficult to stop the bleeding, and there may occur more bleeding later on ; the depleting effect is also accompanied by derivation, which is greater than in the case of leeches, and which is also beneficial in the above-enumerated cases ; finally cupping-glasses with scari- fications are cheaper than leeches and require less care on the part of the patient after they are applied. The number of cupping-glasses for the above-considered cases is usually six. seldom four, at times eight ; this last number may be employed, for instance, in pleuropneumonia, when to the pleuritic phenomena, such as severe pains in the side embarrassing breathing, and therefore increasing the dysp- noea, which is itself caused by the pneumonia, there are super- added symptoms of a tempestuous attack of pneumonia with a simultaneous ( edema of the other healthy lung, — symptoms, which were spoken of above, in touching on bloodletting ; in such cases, which are not clearly defined, cupping may replace bloodletting. Local abstraction of blood, namely, as I said before, wet cups, are resorted to by me in the above-mentioned cases in the presence of the following conditions : when the patient has not as yet become weakened, therefore usually only at the begin- ning of the disease, during the first two or three days ; in ischias ex neuritide also later ; if the local symptoms, especially the pains, are severe and far advanced. As regards pleuritis I must say that with it also bloodletting is indicated principally by the acuteness of the attack when the patient's condition is as yet not weakened, and not by the causation of the pleurisy : to be sure, we are much more frequently compelled to do bloodletting for pleurisy caused by a cold, or for pleurisy of a pneumonic nature, than for purulent or tuberculous pleurisy ; but these two forms of pleurisy do not by any means present an absolute contraindication to local bloodletting. The eft'ect of bloodletting is usually manifested by the diminution of the excruciating pains and the dyspnoea in cases of chest troubles, by the improvement in the condition of the urine, in acute nephritis, by the decrease of the febrile condition, by the more — 395 — quiet sleep, and — as I can attest from mv own observations — by a more favorable consequent course of the disease. Where are the cups to be applied ? In the above-enumer- ated diseases of the chest they are usually apj^lied to the posterior and lateral surfaces of the thorax ; hi nephritis to the back, in the region of the kidney ; in ischias ex neuritide, on the buttocks, some four or five cupping-glasses of medium size around the incisura ischiadica, leaving the central part for the Spanish fly, which must usually be applied soon after, a few hours after the bloodletting. I do not thmk that this last procedure is a trifling affair : m ischias ex neuritide a large fly exerts its best effect when applied to the sides of the incisura ischiadica and to its circumference, and especially if it be applied soon, in a few hours after the bloodletting. But if there be scattered over the part several incisions over the above-named region, as a result of the inaccurate directions of the physician, and to apply a fly directly on these Avould be extremely painful and would tend to cantharis poisoning, then we must either wait or apply the fly to another place ; in either of which cases the patient gains. In connection with this I cannot help observing, that in a general way, due attention is often not paid to the mtelligent treatment of the surface of the body at the afl:ected place, and it — the surface — is exploited rather thoughtlessly, forgetting that it is on this surface and with its assistance, that we are sometimes compelled to withstand the last positive struggle against the disease. Thus, for instance, in the various chest affections dry cups are applied over the chest to effect a relief from dyspnoea- — a relief usually of but a slight nature and short duration — and these are at times applied in such numbers and with such im- moderate zeal, that at the decided hour, when the consulting- physician is usually called m. — in case for instance, an (jedema of the lungs is developed, and the jDatient can be saved onl}' by the aid of stimulants, by senega, and principally, by large flies applied to the chest (if applied to any other portion of the bodj', we cannot obtain even a shadow of that effect), — the chest is seen to be covered by so many severe ecchymoses resulting from dry cupping, that there is no place over it even for a small fly, whereas, as we said, we must apply a large one, and usually more than one. The same may be said of pamting the skin with the iodine tincture, which is just as little useful in the above-named cases and which, later on, serves as an obstacle to the application of Spanish flies. — 396 — 4. For local blood-extraction with depletion in view in dis- eases of the abdomen, usually in circumscribed peritonitis (most frequentl}^ for perityphlitis, at times for pericystitis of the gall- bladder). I resort to leeches (as cupping is inconvenient over the abdomen), from six to ten in number. Of local depleting bloodletting — the application of leeches — in the region of the head, I shall speak later, for convenience of exposition, in connection with derivative bloodletting. II. Bloodletting, -where ^ altJiough there is also depletion, the PPvES^ClPAL EFFECT IS THAT OF A DERIVATIVE. To clearly elucidate what I mean by derivative bloodletting. I must first say a few words on the subject of hgemorrhoids. AVhat are haemorrhoids ? And does there exist in reality a morbid condition which must be distinctively named " haemor- rhoids " ? The ancient medical works devoted much space to the subject of haemorrhoids. Later the criticism of the views of the ancient writers resulted in a complete rejection of the same, so that for some time haemorrhoids were not treated of by any text- books on pathology. At the present time they again begin at least to speak of the symptoms peculiar to this condition, even if they do not consider it as an independent morbid state : thus the text-book of Eichhorst, the only one of all the modern Ger- man text-books of pathology, in describing the diseases of the rectum and anus, describes haemorrhoidal molumina preceding- haemorrhages from the back passage, and consequently haemor- rhoidal phenomena are alluded to in this connection as a pe- culiarity of the above-named local affections. I held similar views at the beginning of my medical practice, assuming, namely, that there exist no haemorrhoids as a morbid con- dition of an independent nature, and withal of a general character, but that all so-called haemorrhoidal symptoms are but deter- mined by certain diseases of the rectum and anus in the presence of an impeded circulation in the portal system, as caused hy constij)ation, intestinal meteorism, abdominal obesity. hepatic diseases, etc. But experience taught me otherwise : it proved that haemorrhoids constituted a morbid condition by it- self, totally independent of diseases of the rectum, anus or the abdomen in general ; that it may be seen in connection with these, as well as with diseases of any other parts of the organ- ism, but it may also occur without these, in their complete absence ; in fact, it is more frequently absent, when these affections are present. This morbid condition determines the periodical appearance of morbid attacks in the head, spine, chest — 397 — and abdomen, which take on a more or less I'apid or slow devel- opment, and wliich dmippear suddenly with the appearance of haemorrhage, at times from the nose (more frequently in child- hood and boyhood), less frequently from the chest, i. e. haemop- tysis (more often in youth), but most frequently of a •' haemor- rhoidal " character, from the back passage. The nature of the appearance and of the disappearance of the attacks is distmctly angioneurotic, peculiar to other neuroses of the circulatory system, such as migrame. urticaria and others, and I there- fore consider haemorrhoids as an angioneurosu. Here is the fost case, which, together with similar ones later on. led me to formulate my idea about the nature of hge- morrhoids. The patient tells me that when a boy he suffered with nose-bleed which was preceded by headaches and a flushed face : with the bleeding the headache would disappear. When a youth he had slight haemoptysis. Imt unaccompanied with any constant cough or generally with any constant attacks in the chest. Patient is now forty years old : he is of a robust constitution, with an entirely healthy chest. He complams of periodic ma- laise : there appear heaviness in the head, pain in the neck, disturbed sleep, gloomy and irritable mental state, and indispo- sition to work; he experiences pains along the spinal column, especially in the lumlmr region, a feeling of oppression in the chest and palpitation, intestinal pains, and the stool is some- what difficult ; then there appears haemorrhage from the back passage and all the symptoms vanish. Outside of these attacks, which occur three or four times during the course of the year, and last one or two weeks, and which hinder him in his occu- pation, the patient is entirely healthy and does not present abso- lutely any morbid symptoms either in the rectum and anus or in the abdominal organs in general, or in an}- other part of the organism. Such cases of pure, uneomp>licated hcemorrltoids are certaml}^ very rare : during the thirty-nine years of my practice, I have seen only about twenty. I must however state here, that if the symptoms of such uncomplicated haemorrhoids be less pro- nounced, they are usually borne without difficulty, not forming a sufficiently strong reason for calling in the assistance of the doctor. While the cases of haemorrhoids to be seen together with other morbid states of the abdominal as well as of any other organs, are far from being rare : in these mutually com- plicating each other morbid conditions, it is at times possible to — 398 — distingiiisli which part of the attack is to be referred to the haemorrhoids, and which is to be ascribed to other causes ; but at times they are so intermingled that it is impossible to effect this distinction. The cause of haemorrhoids is to be looked for m the inborn peculiarity of the organism. This is indicated by the ordinaril}^ observable hereditary predisposition to haemorrhoids, as well as by the absence of other causative agencies. In the above- named cases of pure haemorrhoids I failed to find such agencies either in the condition of the organism itself or outside of it : nor did these cases present the effect of causes which increase the inborn predisposition to haemorrhoids, causes which I shall touch upon later on. As regards the condition of the haema- topoietic faculties in persons presenting symptoms of pure haemorrhoids, some could be considered as plethoric, others, again, as anaemic, while the majoritj^ presented all the signs of normal haematopoiesis. I may add that some of the above- named cases of uncomplicated haemorrhoids presented also other phenomena of angioneurotic nature (such as migraine and urti- caria), and quite frequentl}^ the coincident occurrence of the haemorrhoidal bleeding with the menstrual flow — an angio- neurotic process: in cases of pure, as well as of complicated haemorrhoids in women, the haemorrhoidal bleeding takes place most frequently during or immediately after the menstruation, and also immediately before it. Of the influences which in- crease the predisposition to haemorrhoids, the use, or even more, the abuse, of alcoholic drinks is evidentl}^ one, and quite likely a sedentary life and immoderate horseback riding, espe- cially galloping and trotting on a wild horse. In the above- named cases of pure haemorrhoids, the bleeding, while it determined the disappearance of the morbid symptoms, did not in the very least weaken the patient, neither did it cause any anaemia, or any generally bad consequences ; whereas haemor- rhoidal bleeding aggravated by the abuse of alcohol or by dis- eases of the rectum or anus (as, for instance, by rupture of the dilated veins), may cause dangerous anaemia and debility of the organism. I will turn now to derivative blood-letting. It stands to reason beyond doubt, that the observation of cases in which the morbid symptoms m the head, chest, and other organs disap- peared consequent on haemorrhoidal bleeding gave rise to the idea of bloodletting at the circumference of the back passage for affections of the head, chest etc., the aim in view being not de- — 399 — pletioii alone ; to effect depletion onl}-, it would be much more natural, in case. say. of affections of the head, to choose as a place for blood-extraction one much less distant from the head. As a matter of fact, bloodletting from the circumference of the back passage has since long been considered as of a derivative nature. It is certain that at the beginning there occurred fre- quent mistakes, when haemorrhoidal bloodletting was recom- mended for such affections of the head, chest, and other organs, in which not only haemorrhoidal. but any other bloodletting was contraindicated, and it was only in the course of time that experience showed where the former was suitable. To explain the nature of observations on which I base my personal opmion as to a special, not only a depletive, effect of blood-extraction from the circumference of the back passage, I will cite a case in my practice which I had under my observation twenty-five years ago, and about which 1 delivered an address before this society in October, 1864. Although I have had many occasions before as well as since, to see cases proving without doubt a special influence and value of haemorrhoidal blood-extraction, and pointing to indications for it. still this observation is par- ticularly strong in its conclusiveness. I was called to attend a woman suffering from severe nose- bleed : she lost a full deep-bottomed plate of blood, and the bleeding still continued in spite of all the adopted measures. Patient was a woman of about forty years of age, of very ro- bust constitution, living in favorable conditions of life : she had until recently enjoyed good health, and at the time presented nothing abnormal, outside of the bleeding and some trifling gene- ral weakness and that of the pulse ; everything was in good order ; there was only a feeling of heaviness in the head and an oppres- sive mental state. Inquiry elicited the fact that some time ago, while driving in a sled, the patient's feet were severely chilled, but on her return home they became warm again and she con- tinued to feel well ; however, the menstrual flow which followed soon after this occurrence and which was formerly regular and abundant, was at that time very scanty and terminated much sooner than at the usual period. By the end of the menstru- ation patient began to feel heaviness in the head, and in a few days there appeared the nose-bleed, the feeling of heaviness not abating. I ordered ice on the head, and for internal adminis- tration infusum secalis cornuti ex 3ij ad 3vj ; in the course of the day and night the bleeding ceased somewhat, but it again in- creased in the morning and she lost another plateful of blood. — 400 — I then put aside the ice and the ergot and ordered four leeches to the circumference of the back passage. By the time the leeches had fallen off the bleeding ceased, and did not return again. On the morning of the next day the heavmess in the head disappeared, tlie patient felt as usual hale and strong ; she did not even complain of weakness ; the following menstrual periods were, as formerly, regular and abundant. It is apparent that m this case the action of the four leeches applied to the circumference of the back passage consisted in producing a depletion of the circulatory system : the abundant depletion through the nose — the blood filling a deep-bottomed plate — did not remove the sensation of heaviness, nor did it avert the severe haemorrhage on the next day ; whereas but an insignificant haemorrhoidal blood-extraction (as the four leeches, together with the bleeding following their bites, could at a maxi- mum abstract but eight ounces of blood) stopped the haemor- rhage, relieved the head symptoms, and all this so rapidly and so decidedly, that to ascribe this fact to accident would be equiv- alent to closing one's eyes to an obvious fact, and to manifest- ing one's incapacity for observation. If the effect of the haemorrhoidal bloodlettingf in the de- scribed case was not of a depletive nature, what was it then? I call this effect derivative., so that it may not be confounded with depletion, and may be named by a special term ; I em- ploy for this purpose the term derivative, as one long in 'use, but I do not connect with this name, for the sake of explaining the nature of the alluded effect, any theory, which is an impos- sible thing in the present condition of our science. I will note here another thing. In the above described case I did not resort to tamponade of the nasal cavity, and the termination of the case has completely justified my mode of action. I will also say, that there occur cases of nose-bleed, in which a tamponade of the nasal cavity may become directly dangerous : thus I had occasion to see patients over sixty or seventy j^ears of age who since childhood had a predisposition to bleeding ; this last is usually preceded by and at times it relieves cerebral congestion. There occur cases in which such haemorrhages become excessive, without however affording any relief to the symptoms in the head : in such I consider tampo- nade as an extremely risky procedure, for it may tend to cere- bral extravasation of blood, and I resort to sliglit haemorrhoidal blood-letting, — usually with the same success as in the above- described case. — 401 — The Indications for Derivative Bloodletting. 1. In the region of the head. — Cerebral congestion, without a simultaneous affection of the circulatory system, and also in connection with diseases of the heart and blood-vessels, espe- cially in those cases where along with the constantl}^ present phenomena of cerebral congestion (as disturbed sleep, gloomy and irritable mental state, heaviness m the head, pain in the neck and at times in the temples, reeling during walkmg, dizziness on stooping down, etc.) there occur at times also sud- den fluxes of blood to the head (the face flushes rapidly and deeply), reminding one of haemorrlioidal molumina, and threaten- ing with an approaching apoplectic attack. If the phenomena of cerebral congestion are of moderate severity and not of an ur- gent character, I at first regulate the mode of living, prescribe less of mental work, more of exercise, walking, and massage of the feet which are usually cold and chilly in such patients. I regulate the diet, remove various morbid conditions which tend to keep up the cerebral congestion, such as constipation, cough (usually due to a catarrhal condition of the larynx or the bronchi), and only then do I resort to the derivative bloodletting, when the above-named measures fail to produce the desired ef- fect. But if the phenomena of cerebral congestion be strongly developed and the patient be of robust constitution with good nutrition and good haematopoiesis, and particularly if the above- mentioned influxes occur, then I at once apply a few leeches (in very threatening cases, as I explained above, I do bloodletting), and together with this I resort to the above-enumerated meas- ures. I will state here that an ice-bag applied in such cases to the head exerts but a trifling effect which passes as soon as the bag is taken off. Of the stability and duration of the effects of the derivative bloodletting in the above-named affections of the head, as well as in diseases of other organs, I shall speak later on, when expounding the method of derivative bloodlettmg m connection with the question of repeating the same. For the above-described cases of cerebral congestion I do not resort to the application of leeches behind the ears and to the nasal septum, i. e. with a direct depletive purpose. We can apply but a few leeches to the nasal septum (two to four), so that we are unable to get any sufficient effect : and according to some observations we are led to think, that such an insufficient deple- tion from the given place may even tend to increase the phenom- ena of cerebral congestion. The application of leeches behind the ears may certainly relieve the attacks of cerebral congestion ; _ 402 — but /first, we shall be compelled, to effect this, to apply at least twice as may leeches as we would do for the derivative (hae- morrhoidal) bloodletting, i. e. we shall find it necessary to cause twice as great a loss of blood, and secondly, even aftey. such a loss of blood we fail to obtain as complete, stable and lasting an effect, as we do with the derivative bloodletting. There is only one class of cases for which I continue to apply, as I consider it an undoubtedly correct and valuable practice, my former method of bloodletting in the region of the head with a direct depletive aim in view. I refer to the appli- cation of two to four leeches to the nasal septum in cases of cerebral hj^eraemia in infectious diseases, most frequently, of course, in typhus and in typhoid fever. There occur cases of these diseases, in which during several days there continue symptoms of cerebral congestion very distressing to the patient, namely: severe headache, insomnia, at times violent delirium, — all these accompan3"mg a distinctly flushed face; then there oc- curs nasal bleeding and the symptoms are considerably relieved (there is nsually with this also a considerable fall in the tem- perature, which continues for some time), without however causmg an}^ marked weakness in the patient. If in such cases the bleeding from the nose does not occur for a long time, while the further development of the symptoms and their deleterious effect on the condition of the patient continue, yielding but slightly to ice applications to the head, then if the patient be at all strong, it is necessary to apply two, rarely three or four leeches to the nasal septum ; bloodlettmg, even if it be inconsider- able (and this is, of course, desirable, in such cases), is suffi- ciently effective in removing the above-mentioned symptoms. The application of leeches to the circumference of the back passage in such patients would be extremely inconvenient ; and besides the eft'ect of the derivative bleeding in these cases is uncertain. 2. In the region offJie apinal coluvin. — Hyperoimia of the spinal cord mtd of its membranes^ as evidenced by pain along the tract of the spinal column and in the region of both sciatic nerves (the trunks of the last presentmg no tenderness on pressure, thus showing the absence of symptoms of neuritis), occurring in the majority of cases simultaneously with symptoms of cerebral congestion, rarel}- by itself or to a more predominating extent. It is well understood, that before ordering the application of leeches we must by a careful diagnosis determine exactly the na- ture of the affection, so as not to confound with it other diseases — 403 — of the spinal cord and its membranes, as well as spinal synovites neurites and mj^osites, and also various functional nervous dis- turbances, sucb as neurasthenia and hysteria, and abdominal diseases, as hepatic and renal colics, constipation, etc. With a correct diagnosis on hand, the effect of the haemorrhoidal blood- letting on the symptoms of hyperaemia of the spine and its mem- bers is just as stable and complete, as it is in cerebral congestion. It is of course difficult to determine as to how much of this effect is, in these cases, of a derivative character, and how much of a depletive one ; be as it may, it is incomparably more efficacious than bloodletting, even if more abundant, but pro- duced anywhere higher up along the tract of the spinal cord. o. In the region of the chest. — (a) In haemoptysis not due to any organic causes, in the presence of healthy lungs and heart. Such haemoptysis, as is well known, usually occurs in young persons predisposed to pulmonary tuberculosis, and also in such young persons, who are not predisposed to this disease, but who have a weakened nervous system, especially as a result of sex- ual irregularities, and who are at the same time inclined to pure haemorrhoids, i. e. haemorrhoids under which, as I explained above, we understand an angioneurotic condition. If a hae- moptysis of this nature does not rapidly yield to other meas- ures, then the most reliable means is slight haemorrhoidal bloodletting. This will of course bring about only a cessation of the haemoptysis for the time being ; later on the repetition of haemoptysis must be met with by radical measures, which consist in strengthening the organism, in removing the neuras- thenia and the sexual irregularities, etc. (b) Haemoptysis in pulmonary tubercniosis, excepting those cases in which it is caused by destruction of large blood-vessels in cavernous regions. If the haemoptysis be at all considerable, without yielding quickly to other measures (among other things, in the presence at the same time of constipation with a distend- ed abdomen, which is not relieved by a laxative), and in case the patient does not present any signs of great weakness, then I order two, seldom three leeches to the coccjrx, and I must here testify to the successful effect of such bloodletting ; the haemoptysis ceases without causing any particularly noticeable weakness of the patient. (c.) Haemop)tysis in diseases of the heart., princip}ally in affec- tion of the left venous opening. — In these cases, especially if at the same time the liver, as a result of blood-stasis, be enlarged and sensitive, and after the other indications, such as the relief of — 404 — constipation, the regulation of cardiac activity, etc., have been fulfilled without bringmg about the desired results, then we must resort to bloodlettmg. I will recall to your mind what 1 said before in connection with bloodletting, that in such cases of a pronounced disturbance of compensation we must employ bloodletting, even before fulfilling the other indications ; in case disturbances of compensation be absent, and the moderate hae- moptyses recur frequently, without yielding to other treatment, then we must apply a few leeches to the coccyx. 4. hi the ahdominal region. — For blood-stasis in the liver and consequently in cases of impeded circulation in the portal sys- tem, as caused by diseases of the heart, by immoderate eating and by the use of alcoholic drinks, etc. If in such cases of enlarged and sensitive liver there predominate biliary disturbances point- ing to an insufficient secretion of bile (as a bitter taste, at times vomiting of bile, an insufficient coloring of the excreta ; symptoms of biliary pigment in the urine), in connection with a particular tenderness in the region of the gall-bladder and with a simultaneous constipation, then it is advisable to give calomel. But if the enumerated biliary symptoms are absent, then there is an indication for the application of leeches to the coccyx. It is hard to determine as to how much of the effect of the leeches in these cases is of a derivative nature and how much of a depletive one ; but the principal thing is that it is effective, incomparably more so, with a smaller number of leeches, than the effect produced by applying the same along the right hy- pochondrium, which procedure would be an unpardonable mis- take in such cases, just as it would be erroneous in pericystitis of the gall-bladder to apply leeches to the coccyx, instead of along the right hypochondrium. 5. In inflammation of large haemorrhoidal nodes, leeches when applied to the coccyx, acting at one and the same time both as a depletive and as a derivative measure, serve in very pro- nounced cases as the most effective means. In conclusion let me say here a few words regarding the method of employing derivative bloodletting. As any other blood-extraction, it must be '•performed in the presence of the physician, and especially so in the above-named cerebral and chest cases. In other cases, in patients who are not weak, we may rely on a male or female assistant-surgeon (Feldscher) if they are well known to the physician, reliable, familiar with the alteration of the pulse, and are able, when — 405 — necessary, to administer stimulants, as Valeriana or Hoffman's drops, which may at times become necessary for patients with a weakened nervous system, or in those who have become frightened even before the leeches are applied. I will state here that a weak pulse does not always constitute a contraindi- cation for derivative bloodletting, as was partly also explained in connection with the subject of the more considerable blood- letting — venesection. Bloodletting should be performed in as spacious and airy a room as possible. The time of the day, — The best is during the evening, before going to bed, so that after the application of the leeches the patient may remain m bed until morning ; however, in urgent cases it may be done at any time. No leeches are to be applied immediately after taking food, but some time later in accord with the quantity of the same. The intestinal tract should be evacuated as a preliminary meas- ure : if this be sufficiently effected by an injection, then it should be made directly before the leeches are applied ; but if there is a necessity for the employment of a laxative, then, hav- ing administered this last, we must of course wait for its effects and then wait for a few hours before we apply the leeches, and before doing this we administer some stimulant so as to avoid any weakening on the part of the patient. The position, of the fatient must be lying, or at least reclining (in dyspnea) on the side. The practice formerly in vogue of performing haemorrhoidal bloodletting with the patient in a sitting posture may tend to call out dangerous fainting. The site of the derivative bloodletting is, as explained above, pointed out by nature itself, namely, the circumference of the back passage ; but I order leeches to the coccyx, and not all over the circumference of the anus : for this last is much more painful and serves later as an obstacle to defecation ; it is more- over more difficult to stop the bleeding in this locality and to preserve the necessary cleanliness. The day following the bloodletting the patient should remain at home, so that the wounds caused by the leeches may heal the sooner, and in case he feels any weakness — which, if the indica- tion be correctly understood and the number of leeches carefully considered, will occur but very rarely, and even then during the first day only — then he should take two or three doses of the above-named stimulant drops. The number of leeches. — During my early practice I had fre- quent occasions to see usually ten leeches applied, seldom less. — 406 — more frequently a greater number, as twelve to fifteen, at times twenty and even more. I was then convinced of the undoubted harm of such considerable extraction of blood, and I began to apply five leeches, thinking that in case of necessity I can repeat the bloodletting. Experience has taught me that there are but very rare cases where we have to repeat, i. e. to apply twice five leeches, in the course of a few days : in the majority of cases five, in exceptional cases six or seven leeches, produce a suffi- cient effect. The number of five (or six to seven) refers to all the above-enumerated indications, with the exception of the chest indication — the haemoptyses : for these I never use more than five, more often four or three, and in pulmonary tuber- culosis, as alluded to above, even two. To keep up the bleeding after the leeches fall off. — Experience has proved that derivative bloodletting is attended with the best effects when, after the leeches fall off, the bleeding is kept up by washing the wounds with warm water until the blood, at the beginning usually very dark, becomes bright red in color. The repetition of derivative bloodletting. — Among the ob- jections against this last, — raised, however, usually by persons who do not themselves resort to it, and thus lack the necessary experience, — we hear this one, that derivative bloodletting once produced determines by this fact alone the necessity for its being- repeated. From long experience I will state the following : if, for instance, cerebral congestion (and this may be said of the other indications for derivative bleeding) was relieved at the given time by the application of leeches to the coccyx, if with this the causes producing the cerebral congestion were removed, and the patient follows strictly the physician's advice which will result is setting aside these causes, then there is usually no necessity for a repetition of the derivative bleeding. But if the patient neglects the physician's instructions, and conse- quently thus permits the causes of the congestion to further exert their deleterious mfluence, or if these causes be not removable, then certainly, to avoid the worst consequences, we are com- pelled to repeat the application of the leeches once or twice during the year, — rarely, in very exceptional cases, more fre- quently, usually in the course of time, in a smaller number than at the beginning ; but if the number of leeches is ordered with care, in accord with the patient's idiosyncrasies, his con- stitution, haematopoietic ability, and so on, then we never observe any anaemia, nor any weakening of the patient result- ing from derivative bloodletting. CALOMEL. IN HYPERTROPHIC CIRRHOSIS OF THE LIVER AND IN GENERAL THERAPY.* The principal mercurial compound used in the treatment of internal diseases, outside of syphilis, is certainly calomel. As is well known, there exist various views regardmg its effective- ness. In England calomel is highly valued and is one of the ordinary, commonly used drugs, although less so than it was at the beginning of the present century, when it became known. In France it is not so much valued and its employment is limited ; but in a general way there is a considerable similitude in its use with the English practice. But it is quite different in Germany. According to Nothnagel and Ross bach there is to be noted a progressive scepticism in the direction of internal mercurial treatment (except in syphilis), so that at the present time there is hardly one positive indication for the use of the drug. The above-named authors consider calomel as a conven- ient laxative at times. As far as I am acquainted, from liter- ature and personal experience, with the modern practice of the German physicians and their attitude toward calomel, I can but substantiate the correctness of the authors' statement. It how- ever occurs to me that calomel is not fully appreciated by the modern German practitioners in its application to the treatment of diseases of the liver, namely, of the biliary tract. Thus, even the work of Binz ( *• Arzneimittellehre " ), the tendency of which can hurdly be called sceptical, contains no such indication for the employment of this drug. The tendency of the Russian practice is similar to what we find among the Germans, name- ly, the same progressive scepticism that began in the fifties ; the condition at present, as far as I am aware, is the same as in Germany, I do not speak of myself and those of my former students who had the opportunity to see me use calomel in the clinic. * Address delivered before the Moscow Physio-Medical Society, Jan- uary, 1884. 407 — 408 — During the fifties, when I was a student, and later on as an .assistant in the clinic, I had frequent opportunities to observe the use of calomel. I failed to see an}^ successful results, but saw a great deal of harm done. The causes of this were to be found in the poor diagnostication of those times, in the insufficient exactness of the indications for the use of the remedy, namelj-, in what diseases it should be used, when to begin and when to stop its administration (failure to properly indicate all this led to unnecessary diarrhoeas and exhaustion of the patient) ; then in the inability to prevent the occurrence of stomatitis, as the use of potassium chlorate as a gargle was unknown then. But at the same time I happened to observe once a case outside of the clinic, where an old physician, without making a diagnosis, but simplj' on account of the presence of the "status biliosus," administered calomel in a small, slightly laxative, dose ; the immediate marvellous improvement in the patient's condition has impressed itself upon my memory. Since 1860 I conducted an mde^^endent clinical and private practice, at the beginning of which, under the influence of the general ''■ progressive scepticism "' toward calomel, I almost never used it ; but some four years later I had to resort to it, and since that time I have learned to appreciate the value of this remedy. In the following lines 1 intend to bring forward proofs of my conviction, that calomel in diseases of the biliar}^ passages is a valuable drug which, in the present condition of therapy, cannot be replaced. In connection with this I will also touch, in a few lines, on the use of calomel in erysipelas, typhoid fever, pneumonia, and acute B right's. I must touch, in a few words, on what pharmacology calls the phj^siological action of the drug, namely, the influence of calomel on the liver, on the secretion and excretion of bile. The development of scepticism toward calomel, outside of the above-named clinical causes, was undoubtedly aided by the fact, that whereas the phj^sicians have derived the greatest good from the use of calomel in diseases of the liver, and in view of the well-known dark-greenish evacuations following its use have put it down as a cholagogue, pharmacological investi- gations, by the aid of artificial biliary concretions, have led to the conclusion that not only is the quantity of secreted bile not increased by calomel, but on the contrary, after a continuous use of the same, it — the secretion — tends to diminish. But the doubtful conclusions of these pharmacological data as regards the calomel therapy in diseases of the liver are, to say the — 409 — least, premature. It was firstly proved that the dark-greenish color of the usually so abundant calomel evacuations is due to a rapid descent of bile from the superior portion of the intestine, this descent being caused by the employment of calomel (but of no other laxative). Further, let us take the following from the above-mentioned work of Binz : " If, in accord with the investigations of Shiff, we consider that the liver not only prepares, but also excretes the bile already pre- pared and again absorbed by the intestines, then the diminution of the latter after a calomel diarrhcea becomes clear " ; and again : "• In this manner calomel frees the juices of a possible superfluity of any component parts of the bile, and can be called a cholagogue from a point of view totally different from the former." We will add that Shiff's theory, on which the physiologists, thanks to the contradictory results of Sokoloff's work, looked with distrust, has received lately considerable support, if not complete confirmation. Weiss has repeated Sokoloff's experiments in the laboratory of Prof. Boulyginsky, and after three years of labor has arrived at conclusions con- tradicting those of Sokoloff, but substantiating Shiff's theory.* And if this theory be correct, then we may assume that calo- mel, by causing a considerable excretion of bile and thus diminishing its absorption and its return to the liver, cannot but influence also the formation of bile in the liver, as accord- ing to Shiif 's theory the quantity of bile secreted by the liver is made up of that which was reabsorbed and of that which was newly formed. However I do not at all intend to enter upon useless hypotheses. I only desired to show that the present condition of the pharmacological data can in no man- ner serve as a basis, as they sometimes did and do now, for the sceptical view as to the effectiveness of calomel therapy in hepatic diseases. I again repeat, I do not intend to elucidate the pharmacology of calomel, but to bring forward clinical tes- timony as to the effectiveness of this remedy, — rather to deter- mine the diseases, in which its use is successful, and to clearly point out the indication for it in the sphere of such diseases. The English practice, to which calomel owes its reputation, has among other thmgs given a very indefinite indication for the use of calomel, namely, torpor of the liver, an indication, by the way, that remains even up to the present time almost the' most frequent one. The following combination of symptoms is embraced under this designation : constipation or a general * Vide The Physiology of Bile. Moscow, 1883. — 410 — irregularity of the intestinal functions, insufficient coloring of the excreta, a too great development of the intestinal gases, a pale, sad face, low spirits, etc. Such a picture of disease may undoubtedly be seen in diseases of the liver, in which neither calomel nor anything else, m the present state of therapy, will be of any avail, as for instance m cancer, in multilocular echinococcus, m simple (Laennec, non hypertrophic) cirrhosis of the liver. Again this picture may also be observed in other diseases of the liver, as in hj-peraemic conditions of that organ, in which calomel may be effective, but m which other drugs will do the same and better, and must be for certain reasons preferred, as, for instance, mmeral waters containmg Glauber's salt (Marienbad). My investigations lead me to thhik that there are only two diseases of the liver, or properly speaking, of the biliary passages, in which calomel is not only efficient, but will do what no other remedy, in thr; present condition of therapy, will, be it a laxative or otherwise. These diseases are : severe, especially febrile cases of colic from biliary calculi fcolica hepatica), and hypertrophic cirrhosis of the liver. Severe, especially febrile cases of colic from biliary calculi. — During the tirst four 3'ears of my practice, as I said before. I never used calomel. Ijut some twenty years ago I took it up. Here is the first case which induced me to employ it. I will relate it Imelly. as I have had since many more typical cases and had the opportunity of better observation (1 will com- municate one of them later in extensoj. Patient was about fifty years old, of good constitution, lived in favorable circumstances and led quite a regular mode of living ; but he was at times careless with his food and also with the use of alcoholic drinks. CUiest and nervous sys- tem normal. Urine reddish in color (no albumen). There were some slight gouty phenomena in the small joints. He was troubled with dyspepsia (there was no evidence of any gastric catarrh), had a tendency to constipation, slight attacks of liver colic, and moderate tenderness on pressure m the region of the gall-l)ladder. Fever absent : condition of strength good. I regulated his mode of living, especially the diet, and pre- scribed Vichy (C'elestins) in the morning on an empty stomach, thi'ee doses aa 3V, at the temperature of freshly drawn milk, and at times, in case of an insufficient emptying of the intes- tines, the third dose of Vichy ^va.s replaced by a similar dose of bitter Friedrichshall water, also warmed somewhat. There — 411 — followed rapid improvement during the first two weeks : ap- petite, sleep and mental condition became better, the dyspeptic phenomena and the pains in the region of the liver disap- peared ; less tendency to constipation. Then, after this, a considerable error in diet, and a cold at the same time ; the patient called on me in five days, complain- ing that everything became worse, although he continued the- former treatment. To be sure, the appetite was gone; the pain in the region of the liver grew much sharper and was aggra- vated after drinking the mineral waters, especiall}' the bitter ones ; there appeared slight icteric symptoms and obstinate con- stipation. I stopped the mmeral water and administered castor oil ; he vomited up the first teaspoonful, but had a stool after the second ; but his condition was not ameliorated. There ap- peared febrile condition with an evening exacerbation. I gave him three three-grain doses of quinine in the course of the day. He grew worse by the next day : pains and icteric symptoms aggravated, temperature higher, the patient is weaker and more irritable. I then administered twelve powders of calomel grain j (-f- five grains of sugar) every hour, and at the same time a gargle of potassium chlorate ; verily, tlie effect was magical : the patient had abundant, characteristic calomel evacuations, both the fever and the pains disappeared on the next day, the sleep and the mental condition became normal, the appetite reap- peared. Two days later, the patient returned to his former treatment with the mineral water, and, punished by experience, kept a strict diet, and soon improved completely. I will now communicate to you a very typical case, the last of a similar class of cases seen by me, and one of those that I had a good opportunity to observe : the patient was in my clinic last summer and had more than once served as a subject of my clinical lectures before students and physicians. Mr. N., a member of the circuit court, forty-two years of age, entered the clinic January 25, 1884, complaining of severe pains in the region of the stomach, under the right hypochon- drium and all over the abdomen, of jaundice, feverishness, and extreme debility. Mode of life and anamnesis. — Patient is married, has no syphi- lis, almost never used any alcoholic drinks formerly, while during the last year and a half drank none at all. The principal irregularities in his mode of living were as follows: insufficient sleep (some six hours in the twenty-four), a great amount of mental labor (fourteen hours a day), little exercise — 412 — out of doors, summer in the city ; smoked about fifty cigarettes daily ; had irregular meals — but once a day — and was careless in selecting his food. The last year and a half the patient was compelled by poor health to work less (three hours a day), gave up smoking, and is very careful with his diet ; drinks tea and coffee moderately, without cream or milk, and with but a small quantity of sugar (formerly he used about three-fourths of a pound of sugar in twenty-four hours). Ten years ago there appeared the first symptoms of neurasthenia : low spirits, quick fatigue from mental and physical labor, constipation, al- though the gastric digestion was satisfactorj. The patient took silver nitrate, somewhat improved for a time, but continued to work hard, slept and rested little, and the neurasthenic symptoms became more and more aggravated each year. The constipation particularly increased the last four years and the pa- tient resorted to clysters and at times to castor oil. During June, 1882, he had the first attack of liver colic; in October, the second. The patient drank Vichy and Ems for a week and a half each. In November another attack of colic with nau- sea ; again Vichy and Ems for three weeks. In April, 1883, another attack of colic, and Vichy and Ems for three weeks, and from the latter half of July until the end of August (for about ten weeks) Karlsbad, three glasses per day. September 30th and October 1st, while riding for a long time in a jolting carriage, he experienced a severe attack of colic, for the first time accom- panied by jaundice and fever (chills and later heat). Since then and up to the time he entered the clinic his condition was as follows : every day, some two hours after dinner, he expe- riences a painful sensation in the region of the stomach and in the right hypochondrium. The pain is usually of moderate se- verity and lasts for about one hour ; but once during the week it is quite severe, lasting for several hours, and is accompanied b}^ an increase m the jaundice ; and once in about every two weeks (of late more frequently) there appear attacks of severe colic lasting three to four days, with pronounced jaundice and fever (40°), which begins with a severe chill and lasts during the three or four days. The treatment for this time was as follows : he drank continuously first Vichy, later Ems in small doses (f v three times a day), and used laxatives constantly : either an ad- ditional teaspoon of Karlsbad salt to the mineral water, or a tea- spoonful of powdered rhubarb in a glass of water, and at times castor oil. During the attacks of colic accompanied by fever he was given quinine until he experienced slight buzzing in the — 413 — ears, but this failed to produce any effect on the fever. The result of the treatment unsatisfactory : the attacks of colic and fever continued to increase and became more frequent ; there appeared intestinal pains, which became frequent and more severe on the continuous use of the mineral waters ; the patient became very emaciated, debilitated, lost his sleep and was in bad spirits. Status January 2Jf^ ISSJj.. — Patient of medium constitution, and, as mentioned above, emaciated and weak. Thqre is a moderate jaundice of the skin and of the sclerotics. He has almost no appetite, some thirst. Has belching after dinner, and at first heaviness in the stomach, later pains, as described in the anamnesis ; with this there is nausea, and at times vomiting, after which the pains grow less severe for some time. Abdo- men somewhat distended ; moderate pressure elicits pain in the stomach, and much more of it in the region of the gall-bladder ; liver and spleen not enlarged. Notwithstanding the constant use of laxatives, a stool takes place only after a clyster of warm water (and even then not always satisfactorj^) every other day; only castor oil can replace the clyster. The evacua- tions are paler than normal, pale yellow. Besides the attacks of liver colic, i. e. of pains which appear two hours after a meal, in the stomach and under the right hypochondrium, accompanied at times by nausea, the patient is suffering from other pains, evidently of intestinal origin, in the umbilical region and along the course of the large intestine, accompanied by gurgling and relieved after an emission of gases or after a clyster. The urine, 500 c. c. in twenty-four hours, is red, con- tains biliary pigment, but neither albumen, nor sugar. Chest healthy. Pulse 80-90, very weak. Poor sleep, on accomit of abdominal pains. Mental work causes headache. Lately fatigue brings on dizziness, during which the patient grows pale. Oppressed low spirits. Patient was admitted on the third day of his usually severe attack of colic with fever. Tempera- ture in the evening 38.6° R. (101.5° _F.) ; in the morning of the next day 38° B. (100.4°i^.), evenmg 38.8° B. (101.8°i^.). He is lodged in a dry, warm room, and ordered at first to be confined there, not to sit for a long time, to lie down at once on feeling fatigued, not to tire himself with reading, and to keep the abdomen warm (Provence oil and a double layer of flannel). Diet : weak, warm tea, without milk or sugar ; between two or three tablespoonfuls of port wine per day; chicken soup, chicken meat and some white bread ; he is to eat several times — 414 - per day, but never to satiety. When feeling weak and dizzy, he, is given twenty-five drops of Trae. Amnion. Valer. and Liq. Anodyni Hoffmanni aa, twice or three times a day. If neces- sary a clyster of warm water is administered. January 27tli. — In the begmning calomel (one grain + live grains of sugar) every hour, and after the fourth dose ever}- two hours ; from this day on constantly gargling his mouth with potassium chlorate (3ij to o^j). After the seventh grain, the patient had a thorough clearing of the bowels with characteristic calomel evacuations, without intestinal pains ; the calomel was stopped at once. January 29th. — Morning temperature 37° R. (98.6° F.)^ evenmg 37.2° R. (99° F.) Patient is much better : he has some appetite, almost no colic, intestinal pains less severe and less frequent; amount of urine 1000 c. c, color paler: sleeps well, feels generally better and stronger. February 1st. — Condition same, but colic somewhat more severe ; stool onlj^ after a clyster ; had five grains of calomel in the manner as above; two hours after the last dose, the interne, fearing to weaken the patient more with a superfluous dose of calomel, ordered a spoonful of castor oil. Then fol- lowed evacuations as formerly and also a similar improvement. February 9th and 10th. — Patient has no fever, feels stronger and heartier, eats better; but the colic has been worse these days ; eight grains of calomel in the former manner. February 11th. — No stool. Temperature 39.2° R. (102.5° F.). Had a spoonful of castor oil (this was the last dose ; he was given no more of it). A good calomel evacuation. February 12th. — ^iovnmg temperature 36.8° R. (98.2° F.). evening 37.2° R. (99° F.~) ; urine 1500 c. c. of almost normal color ; colic again insignificant, improvement in everything else. Thus up to February 17th. February 17th. — An evident error in diet ; ate too much. Colic much stronger. February 18th. — A severe chill. Temperature in the morn- ing 40.1° R. (104.1° i^.). Was given calomel, one grain every hour. He had a stool after the fourth dose. a,nd did not get any more. Evening temperature 37,6° R. (99.6° i^.). February 19th. — Mornmg temperature 37° R. (98.6° F.~), evening 39.2° R. (102.5° F.^. Xo further laxation. Was given six grains of calomel, as before. February 20th. — A good calomel stool. Mornmg tempera- ture 36.9° R. (98.2° ^.), evening 37.1° R. (98.8° F.) No colic. — 415 — From this day on the patient's condition continued improv- ing : the fever disappeared, the patient ate more and digested well (no heaviness and belching) ; the clyster acted better, and at times the bowels moved without any clyster; the intestinal pains appeared at rarer intervals, and were much less severe than formerly ; the color of the urine became normal and the general jaundice began to disappear ; he began to sleep better, has grown stouter and stronger. The attacks of liver colic appeared now and then, but each time they grew weaker and weaker. At such times he was always given calo- mel : February 29th, March 3d, 9th. 15th, eight grains on each day, and the last time, March 24th, four grains, with good effects, without ever causing any laxative action. Since March 24th he had no attacks of liver colic, the sensitiveness in the region of the stomach and gall-bladder dis- appeared even before, and a little later the intestinal pains also ceased. The patient began the use "of condurango since April 1st, 3SS. in fvj, two tablespoonfuls per day. He left our clinic April 21st entirely improved ; the appetite and digestion be- came normal, he had stools without the aid of clysters, and all the abdominal pains disappeared : he has grown somewhat stouter, quite strong and hearty. Since the latter half of February he had warm baths twice a week : at first at 30° R. — as he was quite chilly — six baths; and before leaving, when with the improvement in sleep, he became less chilly, tliree baths at 28°, 27.5° and 27° R, The baths at 30° R. quieted the patient, while cool ones strengthened him. , Twenty years passed in the interval between these two cases the first and the last. During this period I had the opportunity of observing many such patients, and of employing calomel. With all their various peculiarities these cases all present, in their principal traits, the same characters as the two related above. My practice is as follows : the simplest cases of liver colic accompanied by some dyspeptic phenomena require only a strict diet and a generally regulated mode of living ; but such oases are certainly rare. For those that we ordinarily run acj'Oss, with more or less severe attacks of liver colic, gastric ca tarrh and jaundice, I prescribe a strict diet, a regular mode of living and Ems, or Vichy, or Yessentucki, or Karlsbad (less frequently Marienbad), in accord with the peculiarities of the case. Calomel is less frequently administered in fresh, recent cases : much oftener for patients who had suffered for a long time from liver colic and deranged digestion, who have more — 416 — than once gotten well, who had been subjected to recurrent attacks of the disease, have grown weak and thin and are not benefited any more by the use of mineral waters. As the principal indication for the use of calomel I consider not so much the severity of the individual attacks, as the presence of the constant pain in the region of the gall-bladder, generally in the liver, and the fever : calomel administered in such cases has always produced results as splendid as it did in the above- mentioned cases. In a small minority of cases (less than in one out of every twenty), without undoubted symptoms of pericystitis, I ordered leeches — from six to ten alongside the right hypochondrium. For the sake of precision I must tell you also of a case which was not benefited by calomel ; however, this case, which etiolog- ically belongs perhaps to the class of cases under consideration, is certainly one of a different nature. The patient, a female of sixty, strongly built, had since her fortieth year suffered from liver colic, had frequently used the mineral waters, but did not complain of any colic lately. Without anything to account for them, there appeared febrile attacks of a pyaemic nature, against which enormous doses of quinine proved ineffectual (the salyci- lates were as yet not in use at those times). As no cause for these attacks could be determined, we, guided by the anamnes- tic data, concluded them to be probably due to abscesses of the liver, as caused by biliarj^ calculi, although there was neither jaundice nor pains in the region of the liver, neither spontane- ous nor on pressure (the liver was felt to be diminished in size). The appetite became somewhat livelier and the next at- tack of fever came later; however the attacks continued as before without cessation up to the time she died. The case was one in private practice, and no autopsy was permitted. I usually prescribe one grain of calomel every hour, and after the sixth dose (either before or after it, in accord with the pe- culiarities of the case) every two hours, and after the first good calomel evacuation I stop the drug. Ordinarily I give no more than twelve grains in succession, and in case the patient has no loose stools I give a tablespoon- f ul of castor oil two hours after the last dose ; but this is rarel}^ necessary. I have observed that patients in whom castor oil causes nausea, bear it better after calomel. Diarrhcea after calomel is of rather I'are occurrence and is easily checked by a few drops of simple tincture of opium. Larger doses of calo- mel and more frequently administered I found unsuitable : they — 417 — weaken the patient who usually suffers already with poor health, and cause obstinate diarrhoea. With the very first dose of calo- mel that I prescribe, I advise gargling with a solution of potas- sium chlorate (3ij to^vj), and continue this last for a few days after the use of calomel has been stopped. I never observed any trouble in the gums while taking such precautions. We hear at times that calomel acts only as a laxative. Neither the pharmacological nor the clinical data present a ba- sis for such a view. But even if calomel acts only as a laxa- tive, are then all the laxatives alike ? Ignorant indeed would be the practitioner who would consider all the laxatives alike, without differentiatmg the cases where each of them may be employed. Facts have made it sufficiently clear to me. that whether as a laxative or otherwise, calomel will in certain cases do what, in the present condition of therapeutics, no other laxative, nor generally any other drug, can do. Many a time have I seen cases which, just as the second related case, were not benefited by the various laxatives, including castor oil, when the con- dition of the patient remained the same, or became frequently worse, while calomel turned the scales. As far as the particular comparison between calomel and cas- tor oil is concerned, I will say this much : In the above-described diseases of the biliary passages, castor oil can hardly at all be compared to calomel : it only causes a loose stool, without pro- ducing the characteristic, in the case of calomel, dark-greenish, abundant bile-colored evacuations ; nor does it produce that ef- fect on the morbid phenomena in the domam of biliary passages. which is so pronounced and so constant after the use of calo- mel. Besides, it is badly borne in such cases, ofttimes induc- ing vomiting and aggravating the disease. In erysipelas of the face, in typhoid fever, croupous pneumonia and acute Bright's, there is some similarity in the nature of the effect, but an enormous difference in the degree of this last. And to ad- mmister — with the purpose of obtaining an effect similar to that obtained from calomel — doses of castor oil, larger than those used for ordinary laxative effects, would be an unfortunate pro- cedure, as even the ordinary doses are not borne as well as those of calomel, while larger ones would affect injuriously the stomach and the mtestines, which circumstance would result not in improving, but in aggravating the condition of the pa- tient. Hypertrophic cirrhosis of the liver. — I observed only one — 418 — case, to which I shall refer here. Novemher 8, 1883, 1 was called for the first time to see N. N. The patient, twenty-three years old, had long since ceased to obey his elders, was extremely irritable, formerly neglected his health entirely, and during his illness lost his faith in medicine, did not follow his physician's instruc- tions, and is in addition to this very weak, so that it is almost impossible to obtain from him any information as to his past. All the data, which we succeeded in obtaining from him and from his relatives after he improved, may be summed up as follows. When fifteen years of age, patient had an attack of diphtheria, after which there remained some hoarseness (paresis of the left vocal cord). During several summers he suffered from intermittent fever, one or two attacks, which yielded quickly to quinine. Patient took to drinking during the last four years, and exclusively wine at that, Madeira (never drank any brandy), in great quantities, from three to five bottles per day, so that he was tipsy almost every day. The last year and a half he became very irritable and lost his appetite. In the summer of 1883, he began to have daily vomiting in the morning, after the first glasses of Madeira. During the month of September pa- tient spent much of his time, late in the evenings, in excursions, garden-parties and during bad weather was subjected to attacks of cold. By the middle of September he became feverish, lost his appetite completely, and the whites of his eyes became yellow. A physician was called in September 25th, and detected an enormous enlargement of the liver. At the advice of another physician he gave up drinking wine, and from October 11th drank natural Karlsbad water, one and a half glasses per day, somewhat warmed. During the time that he was treated with the Karlsbad water, patient had every day ten to fifteen loose stools, not more than a teaspoonful at a time (hardly one half a glassful during the twenty-four hours), of a painful character ; since then the abdomen became constantly sensitive, especially so in the left lower half. The jaundice became aggra- vated during this period, the abdomen increased in size (the physician diagnosed abdominal dropsy), and there appeared (edema of the legs. The sleep became very poor. October 22d and 23d the patient took infusion of digitalis (from ten grains), but without any result. October 28th, he began to take adonis vernalis, but did not even take the whole of the first bottle. Since then and until November 3d, he took pills made of extr. rhei compos. 3j, extr. hyosciami gr. ij (after he stopped taking the Karlsbad water he became constipated), which produced loose — 419 — stools, similar to those caused b}^ the Karlsbad water : some ten to fifteen stools per day, not more than one teaspoonful at a time. From November Ist to 10th, patient took potassium bromide (ten to fifteen grains at bed-time) for his poor sleep, without any success, and during both days of November 5th and 6th, he took fifteen grains of potassium iodide. Status November 8th, 1883. — Patient is generally surrounded by excellent conditions of life ; but the room which he preferably occupies at the present time, is situated m a corner, and has many windows, while near by the patient's very bedstead is a door, through which there blows a strong draught (along- side of this is a cold watercloset). This notwithstanding, pa- tient stubbornly refuses to change his room ; besides, he is very weak. Only two weeks later, when he improved somewhat and grew more obedient, we succeeded in removing him into a large, spacious, entirely satisfactory room, and this removal had in- duced a favorable change in his condition. Outside of four glasses of milk a day, patient neither eats, nor drinks anything : drinks neither wine nor tea, does not smoke (formerl}^ he drank tea and smoked). , Patient is of a weak constitution : he is tall, and has a nar- row chest. Is extremely weak and emaciated ; the abdomen is enormously enlarged, the legs are oedematous almost up to the kneds. The whites of the eyes are moderately yellow ; the skin' is yellowish at some places, light-olive colored in others. At the present time (August, 1884), when the patient, as we shall see, improved greatly, and the evacuations for the last six months became normally colored, the color of the skin is light olive. Patient asserts that his skin was thus colored for a very long time, long before the appearance of the evident jaundice in September, 1883. The tongue is normal. There are no gastric disturbances, such as belching, pyrosis, nausea, vomiting, sensation of heaviness and pain in the region of the stomach, either spontaneous or induced by pressure. As mentioned al- ready, he has some ten to fifteen stools daily, a teaspoonful at a time : the evacuations are loose, whitish, slightly but still sure- ly colored by bile, and contain some mucus. There are un- doubted symptoms of accumulated fluid in the abdominal cavity. The circumference of this last at the level of the umbilicus is 95 c. m., the distance between the xyphoid cartilage and the symphysis pul^is is 12 c. m. But the abdominal walls are fla]> b}', not distended, and extremely thin (on account of the extreme general emaciation), so that examination of the abdomen is eas- — 420 — ily made. The subcutaneous abdominal veins are not distended. .There is constant pain in the left lower half of the abdomen, which is increased on pressure and at times after evacuations. The amount of urine is 350 to 400 c. c. a day : it is very con- centrated, gives the reaction of the biliary pigments and contains some albumen ; at times there are found in the urinary sedi- ment uric acid cylinders. The spleen is slightly enlarged, not sensitive. The liver is enormous : everj^where equable, preserv- ing its normal shape, and reaching beyond the border of the ribs and down to the umbilicus. The surface of the liver is perfectly smooth, not presenting the least protuberance ; the anterior border is sharp. The liver feels very hard and is entirely insensitive to pressure ; there never were nor are there now any spontaneous pains in the region of this organ. I must repeat again that the extreme thinning out (with the general emaciation) and flabbiness of the abdominal walls enabled us to palpate the liver with an ease, that is only rarely possible. Percussion of the superior border of the liver shows it to be somewhat higher than normally. The respiratory organs are normal ; the condition of the larynx was alluded to above. The heart-beat, perceptible in the mammillary line, is diffuse, but weak ; there is a dull sound in the region of the heart in the normalline; the tones are clear. The pulse is 110 to 120, ex- tremely weak ; the arteries are, however, felt without difficulty, they are somewhat tortuous and apparently slightly thick- ened. The patient is feverish : the evening temperature is be- tween 37.8° R. (100.4° F.) and 38.5° R. (101.3° F.^, the morning the same or more frequently lower. The skin is dry and covered here and there by extensive eccliymotic spots, which reappear easily after a slight pressure. His sleep is restless and lasts only from three to four hours out of the twenty-four. The head does not ache and is generally free. The final diagnostic conclusions are reached by me during the exposition of the course of the disease and of the effects of the treatment, for in this way, as will be seen later, we obtain valuable data for the diagnosis. Let me only mention here my first suppositions. I certainly could not stop on simple hyper- aemia of the liver, whether active or passive, as such an assump- tion could not adequately explain the presence of jaundice, the impaction of bile, the enormous enlargement of the liver and the absence of tenderness in the same. Cancer of the liver was excluded on account of the absence of pains on pressure, and by the results of palpation. Closure of the ductus choledochus was — 421 — excluded by me in view of the absence of attacks of hepatic colic in the past and the absence of pain and sensitiveness on pressure at the present time, but chiefly on account of the fact, that notwithstanding the enormously enlarged liver, the evacua- tions were not entirely colorless, and contained some biliary pigment, while the icterus of the face, of the general integu- ments and of the urine was very moderate, being far less consid- erable than when seen in cases of closure of the principal biliary duct. Outside of the hypertrophic cirrhosis one would most certain- ly suspect either multilocular echinococcus or syphilis. Against echinococcus there was the shape of the liver, while syphilis was excluded by the fact that neither the patient nor his parents ever had this disease. The presence of abdominal drop- sy I had to refer to peritonitis, which was caused by a cold caught in the patient's rooms ; the following facts lead to such reasoning : the abdominal pams appeared about the middle of October; for a whole month previous to this the patient was confined in his room, lying most of the time in bed clad only in his undergarments, either covered with a quilt, or entirely uncovered when feverish ; while near by the bedstead there was the door, either half or entirely open, through which there en- tered a strong draught from the watercloset alongside of it. The pains appeared at the time when the patient began having, thanks to the Karlsbad, ten to fifteen loose stools per day ; at first they occurred only with each inclination to stool, but later on they becaine constant. As will be seen further on, from the diary of the disease, the matter stood thus : When the danger from further colds ceased, when the abdo- men was constantly kept warm, and when, after the use of calo- mel, the diarrhoea disappeared and consequently at once with it there also passed away tlie irritation of the peritoneum by the intestinal movements, then the abdominal pains began to di- minish, so that even in two weeks from the time I began my ob- servation there was a noticeable diminution of the abdomen contemporaneous with the disappearance of the pains. At that time it was as yet impossible to diagnosticate a diminution in the volume of the liver even to the slightest extent ; the be- ginning of this process of diminution was only observed two and one half weeks later. Finally, notwithstanding the considerable abdominal dropsy, the patient did not present the least sign of any distension of the veins on the abdommal surface, although in view of his extreme emaciation this condition could surely be — 422 — very easily perceived ; this condition of the veins, as you know, is observed in cases of abdominal dropsy caused by hepatic dis- ease, on account of impeded circulation in the portal system. Thus I put it down as a hypertrophic (biliary) cirrhosis of the liver, catarrh of the large intestine, a peritonitis of moderate severity, particularly in the vicinity of the sigmoid flexure, and also a possible cirrhosis of the kidneys, this last in view of the former abuse of alcohol, the cardiac and arterial phenomena, and the presence of albumen and cylinders in the urine. The considerable development of the cedema of the legs and partly the abdominal dropsy I ascribed to the failure of the cardiac activity induced by the sudden cessation of wine drinking, by the fever and emaciation ; the same may be said partly in re- gard to the poor sleep. Having made the patient as comfort- able as it was possible in his own room, and later, at the first opportunity, having removed him into another more satisfactory one, I advised to keep the abdomen warm by the use of Provence oil and a double abdominal flannel binder, and for nourishment and drink to continue the warm milk (later on, when the appe- tite improved, we added roasted woodcock, without the skin, and some white bread), and to support the cardiac activity and the nervous functions in general, he was given his habitual nervines : a glass of sutticiently strong tea during the day, some six to eight tablespoonfuls of Madeira wine, and three to four times a day twenty-five drops of the mixture of the tinctura valer. aethereae and liquoris anodyni Hoffmanni aa. Guided by my ex- perience in the use of calomel for hepatic colic caused by biliary calculi, I decided to try this remedy in the present case. I also thought of applying Spanish flies to the lower part of the left abdomen, but the considerable ecchymoses just in this re- gion prevented me from doing this : while lying on the left side patient pressed his hand on this region and the ecchymotic spots presented true reprints of the palm and of the fingers. Nov. 9. — Gargling of the mouth with potas. chlorate: this the patient continued throughout the whole period of treatment with the calomel, up to the end of June, 1884. Six powders of calomel, containing one grain each : the first three every hour; the others every two hours. The sixth was followed by abundant and characteristic calomel evacuations of a dark-green color, and painless. This time, as well as at other times later on, the patient had one or at most two loose stools from calomel, but never more, always more or less abundant and painless. — 423 — Nov. 10. — Xo stool : the former frequent and useless at- tempts at defecation ceased from this time on. The abdominal pain subsided somewhat, both the pulse and the sleep are mark- edly better : everything else as before. Nov. 11. — Three one-grain powders of calomel, one every hour. A good calomel evacuation. Nov. 12. — The same treatment, the same result. Nov. 13. — Two powders — the same result. Nov. 14, 15., 16. and 17. — He was not given an}- calomel during these days. Xo spontaneous stool : a clyster caused a slightly formed evacuation, not of the same dark-greenish color as after calomel, but colored more markedly than it was before, though still less than normal. The appetite began to reappear, the abdominal pains diminished, the sleep is better, the pulse fuller and stronger, although still 120 per minute. Everything else as before. Nov. 19^ 20, 22, and 23. — Three grains every day in the former order. The usual effects. Nov. 2-j. — The patient is evidently improved : the appetite is livelier, the evacuations are more markedly colored (but stool tgikes place only after a clyster of warm water which is given every other day), the jaundice is less pronounced, the abdominal pains begin to disappear, the al)domen not so large ( oO and 40 cm.}, the sleep and pulse better. Nov. 26 and 27, 29 and 30, Dee. 3 and 4- — Three grains of calomel as Ijefore. The usual calomel stool, less abundant than formerly. The improvement continues little by little. Dec. 7 and 8. — Four grains of calomel daily ; no stool. Dec. 9. — Three doses of calomel, two grains every two hours. Four hours after the last dose a tablespoonful of castor oil. Abundant calomel evacuations. Dec. 11, 12 and 13. — Appetite markedly better. Stool either spontaneous, or by clyster, fairly well colored, but by far not normally. The jaundice of the eyes and skin is disappear- ing ; but the olive color has remained until now. Xo abdominal pain. But here I will note a most important fact : from this time on the amount of urine has suddenly increased, up to 900 or 1,000 c.c. in the twenty-four hours, and it became limpid and free from any biliary pigment : still there is some albumen as yet ; the febrile condition diminished. The fever continued for another six weeks tip to January 2 2d ; but instead of the former evenmg temperature, 87.8° R. (100.4° F.^ to 38.5° R. (^101.3° #.), and at times the same in the morning, the even- — 424 — ing temperature was only 37.6° R. (99.6° F.) to 37.8° R. .(100.4° #.), and the morning about 37° R. (97.6° F.). During these days we could for the first time diagnosticate a slight diminution in the size of the liver. Sleep and pulse (110) still better. No fresh ecchymotic spots appeared agam. As regards treatment we must add that during the past month the patient was given four times quinine, twice in five-grain doses on the days when he did not get any calomel. The quinine was well borne by the stomach, but failed to exert any influence on the fever. Dec. 25. — The dimensions of the abdomen are 78 and 33 cm. The cedema of the legs is rapidl}^ dimmishing. Stool agam only by the aid of clysters, the evacuations less in number and their color paler. Dec. 26 and 27., 29, 30 and 31. — Three one-grain doses of calo- mel, one every hour. A moderate calomel stool. Jan. 3, ISSJf. — Three one-grain doses of calomel, one every hour. No stool. Jan. 4-- — Three doses of calomel, two grains every two hours, later a teaspoonful of castor oil. Abundant calomel evacuation. From January 5th up to 22d, equable improvement continues. On that day the symptoms of accumulation of fluid in the abdo- men, the cedema of the legs, as well as the fever, have all en- tirely disappeared. The liver continues decreasing in size. Dur- ing this time the patient was given two soap-baths so as to clean his skin ; this weakened him. During the last days the stool is again worse; it is necessary to resort to a clyster, the evacuation is insufficient and its colormg is again lighter. Jan. 23. — Four doses of calomel, one grain every hour. No effect. Jan. 24. — Three doses of calomel, two grains every two hours. Abundant calomel evacuations. From that time un- til the present (August, 1884) the patient's condition con- tinued to improve. Little by little the appetite grew better than it ever was during the last- three years. The liver con- tinued to shrink in size, although slowl}^ so. The albumen in the urine amounts only to a slight reaction, but it did not disappear entirely. The sleep became entirely normal, while the mental state, as compared with what it was before, is marvellously good. Patient began to take on flesh and gather strength little by little. The evacuations, after the abundant calomel stool, were for a few days spontaneous, in sufficient — 426 _ quantity and fairly well colored ; but later on they grew less abundant and became less colored, till finally a resort to clyster was had again. We then administered calomel again — from now on always in three two-grain doses, every three hours without any castor oil — and obtained the usual good results. Thus calomel was given February 6th, 16th and 26th, March 6th and 30th, April 14th, May 1st and 16th, and the last time June 20th. Between March 6th and 80th, when calomel was not administered, he was given for about two weeks fiv of Ems-Kesselbrunnen, three times in the morning, slightly warmed, without the least effect on the patient's condition. At the same time, after the Ems, in view of the fact that not- withstanding the absence of fever the pulse was still frequent (100), we tried digitalis (24 grains in an infusion during three days), but this also failed to exert any effect. The pulse grew less and less frequent only contemporaneously with the improve- ment in health, but even now it is about 90. Finally for the sake of completeness we must add that, thanks to the prolonged recumbent posture, usually on the back, with legs flexed at the knees, the patient developed contractures and paresis of certain muscles of both legs and feet. Gradual exercises by walking, massage and the induced current removed, though slowly, these conditions, and with this the muscles have markedly mcreased in size. vSmce March the induced current was applied to the abdomen so as to act on the intestines and liver. This has apparently also exerted some influence on the constipation ; whether or not the liver was influenced, it is difficult to say, as the liver had diminished in size even before, and since this time it has diminished but little (we also continued the use of calomel). At the present time (the end of August, 1884) the patient's condition is as follows : while living during the summer in the country he walks a great deal. For more than two months he had taken no calomel, nor any other treatment. The appetite is good, the digestion is perfectly regular (he resorts to clysters but very seldom), his sleep is excellent, the mental condition good, the patient has grown stout and strong. The urine still contains some albumen, but in a very trifling amount ; the arteries and the heart are in the former condition, the pulse is still about 90. The liver is much smaller m size than it was before, but still certainly larger than the normal liver ; it reaches two fingers' width beyond the border of the ribs and is firmer than normally. The light olive-like color of the skin has not changed. ^ 426 — I will return now to the diagnosis, the interest in which in the present case is quite evident. The markedly favorable course of the disease compels us to entirely exclude multiple eohinococcus. It is otherwise with sj'philis : did we not treat a syphilitic liver with a mercurial preparation, calomel ? This supposition cannot be entertained for the following reasons : neither the patient's father (now dead, but whom I knew well) nor his mother had syphilis. The patient himself, who had now acquired boundless implicit confidence in the physi- cian, and who became very docile, declares that he was gener- ally averse to sexual intercourse, had never suffered from any- thing, not even gonorrhea, that he never had any falling out of the hair (this is now remarkably thick), nor any eruptions or ulcers, nor any nocturnal or other pains. The results ob- tained by palpating the liver, namely : the perfect smoothness of its surface, the regularity of its shape and its shaip, free border, also speak agamst syphilis; the slight coloring of the evacuations and the jaundice are also unlikely to be seen in syphilis of the liver. Finally, the treatment itself : calomel was always administered so as to cause loose stools, which it did : and it was given at intervals which became more and more prolonged. Every experienced physician is well aware of the fact, that success in treating syphilis of the liver, or generally any severe case of syphilitic affection, cannot be attained by such mtensive mer- curial treatment applied in such a manner, and that it can hardly be expected without a simultaneous use of large doses of potassium iodide. Therefore, even with greater probability than at the beginning of my observation, can I view this case as one of hypertrophic cirrhosis of the liver. It is worth our while to note the following : the etiology of hy- pertrophic or biliary cirrhosis of the liver made clear the fact, that contrary to the simple Laennec cirrhosis, it is seen in those who abuse wine, and not whiskey. The anamnesis of the case described by me substantiates this fact : our patient always di'ank Madeira, never any whiskey. A few words concerning the prognosis. Is the improvement in the condition of the liver of a lasting nature ? If the patient will lead as regular a mode of living as he does now, then the recurrence of the icterous symptoms seems to me but slightly probable, and even if it will occur, then in the presence of the effective influence thereon of calomel, it will present no partic- ular danger. It is otherwise if we were to ask, whether or not — 427 — the other variety of hepatic cirrhosis — the Laennec cirrhosis — could develop ; this however is a question we are unable to answer at the present time. The albuminuria and the arterial and cardiac phenomena have certainly a very serious significance as regards the future state of the patient. Be as it may, the improvement m the patient's condition under the given circum- stances is marvellous : the patient's relatives, who last autumn lost all hopes for his recovery, inquire of the physician about the advisability of having the patient married. Facial Erysipelas. — For young persons with a good heart and regular digestion, I give quinine until a slight noise in the ears is produced, and if the conditions permit I order general baths of 24° to 20° it., and apply cold compresses to the parts affected by erysipelas. Quinine exerts a favorable effect in lowering the temperature ; the same may be said of the cold compresses, which, together with the quinine, may even directly interrupt the process, when the fever and the further spread of the erysipelas cease. But there occur cases of facial erysipelas in persons of advanced age whose cardiac activity and digestive powers are below normal, who suffer from dyspepsia or gastric catarrh with a tendency to constipation, with attacks of he- patic colic, either m the past or at the present time, and in whom the evacuations are not normally colored. In such cases quinine is badly borne by the stomach, and so are the cold baths, in view of the abdominal distension caused by meteorism and the weak cardiac activity. Neither of the above drugs gives as good results hi such cases, as in those of the preceding class. I replace them by calomel, in one-grain doses every hour (the last doses every two hours), till looseness of the bowels is established ; if this does not take place after twelve grains, I administer castor oil. I never omit in these cases the potassium chlorate gar- gling, A good loose stool is followed by improvement in the me- teorism, the respiration and the condition of the head are made easier, the temperature is lowered for one or two days, the pa- tient is enabled to sleep quietly one or two nights. At times the temperature will fall to the normal without ever rising agam ; then the further spread of the erysipelas ceases. But if the temperature rises again, if the erysipelas spreads further and the condition of the patient's strength is satisfactory, then I ad- minister calomel for the second time in the former fashion. We never have to administer the calomel more than twice, either because the erysipelas ceases, or, in case it does continue, because the fever is slight, and the patient's strength is affected by the — 428 — continuance of the disease. I then prescribe moderate doses of quinine, which is better borne then, after an improvement in the condition of the digestive organs has taken place, thanks to the use of calomel. Typhoid Fever. — Like many others, I also witnessed the value of calomel in this disease. In accord with others, I ad- minister it during the iirst week and usually not later than on the eighth or ninth day of the disease. I give it when there is no diarrhoea, when the strength of the patient permits it, and I must say again I particularly insist on giving it to patients with a condition of the digestive organs as described above in touching on the second class of erysipelatous patients. The loose stool after calomel diminishes the meteorism, relieves the breathing and the condition of the head, causes a fall of tem- perature for one or two days, and enables the patient to spend one or two quiet nights (he sleeps better and is less delirious). The favorable effect of two good days at this period on the further course of the disease is not to be underestimated. I o'ive the calomel here in the same manner as I administer it for erysipelas, but I do not repeat it, out of apprehension of weaken- ing the patient ; this apprehension is of even greater importance in typhoid fever than in erysipelas. I cannot help observing here that the assumed specific effect of calomel on the intes- tinal microbes of the typhoid fever does not seem to me partic- ularly probable. We fail to observe a sudden interruption of the fever by calomel, as we do in the case of quinine in mala- ria ; we only witness here a favorable effect on the further course of the disease, just as we did in erysipelas, and, as we shall see presently, in pneumonia, and in acute Bright's, — in processes which have nothing to do with intestinal microbes. On the contrary m cholera, in which we would most certainly expect an effect from the calomel, 1 failed to see the very least effect from it during the two severe epidemics in Moscow, of 1853 and 1854, when in my capacity as a resident physician in the temporary cholera ward of the university clinic, I had charge of a great many patients, and calomel constituted the ordinary treatment of cholera. Croupous Pneumonia. — During the first two years of my medical practice I used digitalis, but it did not prove efficacious, at times it was even harmful, and since then I never use it in pneumonia. In several cases I tried cold baths and concluded that, although the patient may bear them, they hardly profit by them, if we except a trifling fall of the temperature of but short — 429 — duration. My acquaintance with cairine did not tempt me into trying this drug. From qumine I only obtained a fall of tem- perature of short duration, and this only when administered in enormous doses which are but with difficulty borne by the stom- ach and the nervous system ; I therefore discarded this drug, ex- cept in some protracted cases, when the fever is of a strongly remittent type in the morning, and moderate doses of quinine become effective. Even less suitable for pneumonia do I con- sider sodium salycilate, especially in view of its action on the heart. My principal remedy in the treatment of pneumonia, outside of the usual symptomatic drugs (as Dover's powders for the cough in the beginning when there is but little or no ex- pectoration, wine for the heart, etc.), has been calomel until now, and is even at the present time when antipyrin and antif ebrin are introduced mto practice. I administer it in the same manner as for erysipelas, namely in sthenic cases of pneumonia, to pa- tients of strong constitution, when the condition of their strength is good, mostly during the iirst days of the disease, and particularly when the condition of the digestive organs resem- bles that described above in connection with er3-sipeifttous pa- tients of the second category. The effect is the same as in fa- cial erysipelas and typhoid fever : the looseness of the bowels is followed by a decrease in the size of the abdomen, by relief of the respiration and of the condition of the head, by a fall of the temperature and by at least one quiet night. Such a relief at this stage of a disease of the limited duration of croupous pneumonia, has, according to my observations, the same favorable influence on the further course of the affection, as it has in typhoid fever, if not a better one : at times the fall of temperature caused by the calomel passes directly into the crisis. We usually do not have to repeat the calomel in view of the rapid course of the disease and the danger of weakening the patient. Acute Nephritis. — In those cases which developed mdepend- ently of any preceding infectious disease, and also in those seen during the puerperal period, but not connected with puerperal septicaemia, I administer calomel for the first days of the disease, in the same manner as described in connection with erysipelas, with the identical good result, as shown by the con- siderable fall of the temperature and the diminution of the lo- cal phenomena : the pains in the region of the kidneys grow weaker, the urine increases in amount and becomes limpid. If the temperature after this rises again, and the condition of the strength is fair, then I sometimes resort to a repeated use of calomel, just as I do in erysipelas. — 430 — As contraindications to the use of calomel, outside of the weakness of the patient (as evidenced principally by the pulse), are considered severe diarrhceas with abundant exhausting evacuations, but not such as were described when we discussed the case of the patient suffering from hypertrophic cirrhosis of the liver: such a diarrhoea is on the contrary an indication for the use of calomel. An Additional Note Appended to the Edition of 1895. I will touch now on the indications for the use of calomel in diseases of the biliary passages. In my former communication I mentioned two affections of the biliary passages in which calomel should be used, namely, acute, particularly febrile, cases of hepatic colic, and hyper- trophic cirrhosis of the liver. Further observations compel me to widen the range of these indications : calomel should be used, for hypertrophic cirrhosis of the liver, in all (not only acute) cases of biliary calculi and in catarrhal jaundice. The indication for the use of calomel in biliary calculi and in catarrhal jaundice I must formulate thus : if the ordinary meas- ures employed in the treatment of the disease, such as a regu- lated regimen, diet, at times warm baths, and chiefly the use of mineral waters, either alkaline or earthy (Contrexeville), im- prove the condition slowly, if we observe constant tenderness in the region of the gall-bladder (in biliary calculi) or over the whole liver (as in catarrhal jaundice), the more so if it be at- tended with a febrile condition (as well as without it), and if the above alluded to contraindications to the use of calomel are ab- sent, then we interrupt the use of the mineral waters and administer calomel in the manner explained in the first commu- nication ; later on we return again to the mineral waters and, if necessary, repeat the calomel ; every time we do that we must of course put aside the mineral waters. To illustrate these propositions I shall speak here briefly of the following cases. 1. Biliary Calculi. — This patient was first treated for an exacerbated chronic catarrh of the large intestine. The patient, a woman sixty-seven years old, passed through an attack of dysentery four years ago. She usually complains only of slight dyspeptic symptoms (heaviness and belching after meals), of pain in the region of the gall-bladder, and of irregu- lar stools since the attack of dysentery : either a constipation or a diarrhoea for two or three days. The present condition : an — 431 — accidental cold was followed by loss of appetite, by the ap- pearance of nausea, of intestinal pains, and a feverish condition. On the next day vomiting and diarrhoea accompanied b}- severe intestinal pains : some insufficient liquid stools mixed with mu- cus, but without any blood, three to four per hour : the abdo- men is distended and sensitive, particularly in the region of the colon. Evening temperature 39.2° R. (102,5° FS) ; the urine shows the presence of albumen. In the evening we began to give her one-grain doses of calomel every hour. After the third powder the vomiting ceased ; the ninth dose was followed by abundant painless dark-green evacuations ; the calomel was stopped. Patient began to feel better at once. In the course of three daj^s the temperature fell to the normal ; with this there disappeared also the albumen. The first three days after the calomel she had two to four stools a day ; later, one. The dark- green color of the evacuations continued decreasing during a whole week. Tannin clysters which were used on the fourth day after the calomel brought to a speedy termination what there was left of the intestinal catarrh. In a year and a half the patient presented herself to me in the following condition : the nervous system, the chest (outside of a slight atheromatosis of the aorta) and the kidneys normal ; she complains of a constant bitter taste, frequent belching of bile, a feeling of fullness in the stomach, moderate pain in the region of the gall-bladder, aggravated on pressure, and of con- stipation with intermittent diarrhoea. Warmed Ems and Vichy in slight quantities proved of no avail ; while the bitters (nux vomica and condurango) brought but slight relief. I then prescribed one-grain doses of calomel every hour ; after the third powder there appeared abundant dark-greenish stools (painless), three times the first day, twice the next (she was only given three powders of calomel) ; the above-enumerated symptoms have entirely disappeared both from the stomach and the biliary passages for a long time. Only in the course of an- other year did the patient present herself again with the same symptoms, but in a much lighter degree; the same plan of treatment, three one-grain doses of calomel, and the same suc- cess. In connection with the above-described case I consider it necessary to touch upon the diagnosis of l^iliary calculi. Some consider as a reliable symptom only undoubted attacks of biliary colic, without paying due attention to the presence of pain in the region of the gall-bladder, of which the patients — 432 — complain, or which is detected by pressure. My observations are of the following nature: in all the cases of biliary calculi which are attended by frequent or infrequent attacks of biliary colic, there is observed a constant, i. e. occurring in the intervals between the attacks, pain, as above-described, in the region of the gall-bladder; exceptions to this are very rare indeed. Further, there occur cases of biliary calculi where the above-mentioned pain is seen without any attacks of liver colic. We also meet various gradations between these two classes of cases : thus it happens that for a long time there is observed only a constant pain in the region of the gall-blad- der, and later there may also appear attacks of biliary colic ; these last may be of variable severity, from the lightest to the very severe ones : then the attacks of biliary colic may cease, thanks to treatment or to a regulated mode of living, and there remains only the constant pain in the gall-bladder, which in its turn may also disappear. In view of all this I consider the above-named constant pain in the region of the gall-bladder as a certain symptom of the presence of biliary calculi therein. This pain depends very likely on a chronic inflammation of the walls of the gall-bladder caused by the presence of the calculi: while the attacks of biliary colic are determined by spasms of the nervo-muscular apparatus of the bladder and by the accompanying neuralgia, and is called forth by such mfluences as traumata (a ride over a jolting pavement, inconvenient clothing), mental anguish, dietetic errors, and cold, as when sitting with right side exposed to the window or the street side of the house during the cold season of the year, or while staying out-of-doors with the right side of the body against the cold wind. 2, Catarrhal Jaundice. — I will describe here one of the cases observed by me. November 12, 1890, there entered our clinic a peasant, thirty years of age, complaining of pain in the region of the stomach, fetid belching, nausea, at times vomit- ing, and of jaundice and general debility. Conditions and mode of living. — The locality is healthy, the residence is good, the working-room is very hot (patient is stoker by occupation), and this in connection with a cold watercloset, and the necessity of going out of the room often, gives rise to frequent colds. During the summer the patient bathes in the river ; during the remaining seasons of the year, he takes a weekly bath ; he is subject to sweating. Smokes a little ; is a moderate tea-drinker, does not abuse brandy. Is — 433 — married; is not affected with syphilis. The meals are those of a working-man, consisting of dinner and supper. Works some twelve houi's a day : until the appearance of the present disease the work never tired him. Anamiiesis. — Patient comes from a healthy family, and until the last four years enjoyed good health. Then he suf- fered from masked malaria appearing in the form of attacks of excruciatmg pain in the right half of the head, which at times terminated in a severe nose-bleed from the right nostril, causing him to faint. These pains and nose-bleed continued for two years and almost disappeared when the patient moved to another locality. He then improved, although he did not enjoy his former health, and was free from any suffermg for about one year. But for the last year he has been suffering from dyspeptic symptoms pointing to a gastric catarrh (pain in the stomach after a meal, belching and pyrosis ). One week ago, as a result evidently of a cold, the patient began to have a febrile attack, pain in the larynx, hoarseness, the habitual slight cough became aggravated and at the same time there appeared vomiting and diarrhoea, and soon after that also jaundice. Statu8 November 13, 1890. — Patient is of average constitu- tion, poor nutrition, with jaundice of the skin and of the eyes. The appetite is very poor, the meals are followed by pain in the stomach, fetid belching, pyrosis and nausea : while in the clinic he had no vomiting. The region of the stomach and the liver, i. e. the subgastric and the right hypochondriac, are sensi- tive to pressure. The liver is somewhat enlarged. The spleen is normal. Had no stool for the last two days (formerly he had diarrhoea). To-day, a clyster brought away a few hard scybala, almost without any biliary pigment, of the color of clay. The urine is of the color of beer, gives a decided reaction of biliary pigment ; contains neither albumen nor sugar. The pulse is not frequent, but somewhat weak. The organs of cu'culation and respiration are normal. The pain in the throat, the hoarseness and the severe cough disappeared and there remained only the habitual slight cough due to chronic lar3rngeal catarrh. Patient has no fever. The sleep is usually good, but last night he could not sleep on account of the itch- ing of the skin. The right half of the head is somewhat pain- ful even now (the supra- and infraorbital nerves of the right side are sensitive to pressure). Fatigue is at times accompan- ied by dizziness, which points to the fact that the former — 434 — abundant losses of blood left the patient in a somewhat anaemic condition. Further than the general debility, there is nothing abnormal in the nervous system and the organs of locomotion. The course of the disease. — November 13th, five one-grain powders of calomel every hour, and then five again every two hours. Potas. chlor. for gargling the mouth, four tablespoon- fuls of wine, diet, warmth (flannel) to the abdomen, and rest. Loose, soft, dark-greenish stools, after which the urine became limpid. Since November 15th he was given Ems-Kesselbrun- nen, half a glassful three times a day, one hour before a meal, warmed to the temperature of 28 ° i?., and when necessary in case of constipation, clysters, and to allay the itching, to im- prove the sleep, and also to act on the stomach and the biliary passages, warm baths. By November 21st the dyspeptic phe- nomena diminished, the sleep became better, and the patient felt somewhat stronger; but the icterous phenomena which yielded to calomel reappeared again in their former condition since the loth: the evacuations became colorless, and the urine dark, just as they were before the calomel treatment. Novem- ber 21st we repeated calomel, of course setting aside during the 21st and 22d the Ems water, five one-grain powders every hour, and then two more every two hours. The effect was tem- porary, although there followed a more prolonged, relief of the icterous symptoms and of the pains in the region of the liver, similar to what took place after the fust doses of calomel. Then until December 1st, notwithstandmg the use of the Ems water, the extr. fl. condurango (twenty drops twice a day, after a meal), the warm baths and a regulated diet, neither the icterous symp- toms nor the pain in the liver diminished to any marked ex- tent. I will say that after the second dose of calomel the patient had a toothache, especially on the right side, probably on account of carelessness in gargling his mouth ; but there were no symptoms of mercurial stomatitis. December 1st calomel was administered for the third time ; five one-grain powders every hour, then three every two hours, and in two hours after the last powder a tablespoonful of castor oil, the mouth being all this time carefully rinsed with the potassium chlorate solution. Patient had abundant, loose, soft, dark-greenish evacuations, the last of which began to be graduallj^ colored by biliary pig- ment, at first somewhat weaker than normally, and later perfectly normal ; with this the amount of biliary pigmentation in the urine began to diminish rapidly, and the general integu- ments began to pale. The pain in the liver also disappeared — 435 — rapidly after the last abundant calomel evacuation. The pa- tient returned again to the treatment with Ems water, condu- rango and sometimes baths, which was interrupted the last time by the calomel treatment, and December 8th left the clinic en- tirely recovered. For the sake of precision I must add that one week before the patient left our clinic an accidental cold (from a draught through the window) caused the appearance of a severe attack of his habitual pain in the right half of the head in connection with a slight febrile condition (37.8°i2.). A clyster containing ten grains of quinine was administered (in view of the previous gastric catarrh), after whicli, accompanied by severe noises in the ears, the fever and the headache disappeared rapidly, the patient felt himself much stronger, and the improvement con- tinued its ordinary course. SYPHILIS OF THE LUNGS. For the last two years we have had no opportunity of obseiT- ing any cases of pulmonary syphilis. Meanwhile at the present time, in connection with the discussion in our lectures of chronic pulmonary tuberculosis, to which syphilis predisposes so readily and together with which it is at times seen, it is but proper to say a few words regarding the syphilitic affection of the lungs (pneumonia syphilitica, lues pulmonum). I shall make use, for this purpose, of my former communications and of the cases observed by me after these had been made. My communications were made at the meetings of the Moscow Physio-Medical Society, April 11, 1877, and Janu- ary 16, 1878 (they were afterwards published), consequently several years before the discovery by Koch of the tubercle bacillus — a discovery which determined the specificity of tuberculosis, which up to that time, under the influence of Virchow's theories concerning the subject, was generally con- sidered as an inflammatory process and was usually known in the clinics under the name of chronic pneumonia. The diagnosis of pulmonary diseases was not possessed at that time of such an important means as the detection of tuberculous bacilli in the sputum. This notwithstanding, the above- mentioned communications preserved, as you shall see from the extracts, their clinical, i. e. medico-practical importance. From the First Communication. Xot every physician has had the opportunity to observe an uncomplicated, positively certain syphilitic affection of the lungs ; but who has not heard, or does not hear at times of certain persons affected with some chest disease, who were for a long time supposed to have suffered from an ordinary pulmonary phthisis and were treated as phthisical persons, but who were cured finally by potassium iodide and mercury ? Excited curiosity will naturally search for the determining differences these cases present as compared with ordmary 436 — 437 — pulmonary tuberculosis, but it fails to obtain any definite indications. Such indications are absent not only in the literature of the past, but even in that of very recent date. Ordinary pulmonary tuberculosis, as is well known, is often seen in syphilitic patients. Those persons who had been in- fected by syphilis and were subjected to the necessary treat- ment therefor, under unfavorable circumstances usually suffer from a radical impairment of their health, which frequently terminates in pulmonary tuberculosis. I had frequent oc- casions to observe, that not only persons who have passed through syphilis, but even those who presented its early or late manifestations, were sufferers from pulmonary tuberculosis in its ordinary form, presenting febrile symptoms, haemoptysis, cough, expectoration, changes in the percussion sound, in the respiratory murmur, and certainly more or less abundant con- stantly present rales. In such cases the attempt to resort to iodides or to mercury (if the syphilitic manifestations at the time present required it) not only produced an improvement in the chest trouble, but usually tended to its rapid and very pronounced aggravation, which compelled one to give up the specific treatment. I chanced to observe two cases of chest troubles in syphilitic persons, which are decidedly different from those I have just out- lined. I saw the first case fourteen years ago. Patient, thirty years old, of a good constitution, with a well-developed chest, coming from a family of healthy, sturdily built people, with no case of tuberculosis in the family, and living among favorable conditions of life, had been suffering durmg the last six or seven years with attacks of undoubted syphilitic infection, manifested for the last three years by deep serpiginous ulcers of the skin and periostitis of the tibiae and ulnae, which yielded to the treatment by potassium iodide, and reappeared again after the cessation of the treatment. Several weeks before I sa'w the patient he was complaining of pain and a feeling of oppression in the chest, slight dyspnoea and general weak- ness ; one week before, thanks to an accidental cold, he began to cough slightly and became somewhat feverish. (The pa- tient became during the last years very susceptible to colds, and his attacks of colds usually take the form of a febrile bronchitis of short duration and slight intensity). During the last days patient was confined to his room, the cough quieted down, and the fever disappeared entirely. Status. — Patient is costive, his abdomen is somewhat dis- — 438 — tended by intestinal gases, the urine contains neither sugar nor albumen ; there is a slight cough, some expectoration (once or twice in the morning ; patient always fails to preserve it for physician's examination), dyspncea, pain and a feeling of oppression in the chest; both clavicles are very prominent, the sub- and supraclavicular fossae are very marked, and the sound is duller in these places (especially on the right side) than in the area below ; the vocal fremitus is weakened,' while auscultation gives an indefinite respiratory murmur, approach- ing bronchial respiration. Everywhere are heard non-abun- dant rales, characteristic of bronchial catarrh. Patient lost flesh. His sleep is poor. He has slight nocturnal pains in the tibial and ulnar bones. During the course of one week patient was confined to his room, took no treatment, and observed the diet prescribed for him in view of the meteorism and his tendency to constipation. From this time the cough and expectoration ceased and the rales disappeared. After weighing all the data as found in the case, I concluded that the pulmonary trouble was of a syphi- litic nature, and required the use of mercury, because during recent years the patient had been constantly treated by potas- sium iodide and had observed that it failed to exert the same decided action it had done formerly ; moreover, he had not been treated by mercury for a long time, and generally had but little mercurial treatment. Circumstances compelled me to adminis- ter the mercurial treatment in a form different from what I usually do. During the fii'st week while he was under my observation, before I commenced the mercurial treatment, patient began to suffer from severe, intolerable itching which became aggravated at night and prevented his sleep. Scratch- ing caused an eruption in the form of very minute red papules, and aggravated the itch ; the spots that the patient could not reach by his hands, and which he therefore did not scratch, were not covered by the eruption. Baths and various external applications were of no avail ; only applications of a corrosive sublimate solution brought considerable relief. In view of this the general mercurial treatment was ordered as follows : externally applications of a solution of bichloride for the itch- ing and the eruption, and also certainly for its internal effect: as the eruption was widely disseminated, the applications of the bichloride solution had to be done over an extensive surface ; internally strong Zittmann's decoction (Decoctum Sarsaparillae Compositum Fortius P. G.), as a slight laxative, and at the — 439 — same time as a mercurial preparation. The itching and the eruption disappeared rapidly ; this was|followed by a return of the sleep, and after four weeks of such treatment, the dyspnoea, pain and the sensation of oppression in the chest passed away. the sub- and supraclavicular fossae became less marked, for, thanks to the improved appetite and digestion, the patient grew a little stouter, while the above-described symptoms which had been elicited by palpation, percussion and ausculta- tion, could not be observed again : the chest in these regions, as everywhere else, presented nothing abnormal. I had several occasions to run across the patient during the next eight years : he complained somewhat of gastric and nervous disturbances, but his chest, outside of slight, rapidly passing bronchitic troubles, was healthy. The second case, which I had under observation six years ago (during the winter of 1870-71), is a complete duplicate of the foregoing one. Patient was also thirty years old, of a very robust constitution, living under favorable conditions ; he had been suffering from syphilis for nine years, the last five years principally from various periostites and from ozoena. Was once treated with mercury at the beginning of the disease, but since this took only potassium iodide, which has ceased recently to exert its formerly good effect. For the last few years patient began also to suffer from slight disturbances of digestion and of the nervous system, and also from bronchitis of a febrile type of a slight nature and rapidly yielding to rest at home and the use of quinine. For some time before I saw the patient first, he was taken sick with his usual febrile bronchitis, but this time it was accompanied by pain in the chest, and by dyspnea ; these were not present formerly. Patient confined himself within, the house, and when I was called to see him for the fu'st time he had no fever, and the cough was just passing away. Status. — Patient has a slight cough without expectoration ; dyspnoea, a feeling of oppression and pain in the chest ; the clavicles are very prominent, and the sub- and supraclavicular fossae are sharply marked, especiallj- on the right side : over these places the sound is duller and the vocal fremitus weaker than in the area below, especially on the right side, while the respiratory murmur is of an indefinite quality, approaching bronchial respiration ; over the whole chest there are heard rales here and there, peculiar to bronchial catarrh ; there is no fever, patient became somewhat emaciated. As in the first case, pa- tient was given no treatment during the first week: for the — 440 — same reasons as guided me in the first case, I wanted to examine the disease more thoroughly, before prescribing specific treat- ment in the presence of such chest symptoms ; during this time the cough disappeared entirely, as well as the rales, while the other symptoms remained unchanged. Guided by the same reasons as in the first case, mercurial treatment was ordered, in the form of inunctions with mercurial ointment. Altogether twenty-five inunctions were made : five of ten grains each, five of fifteen grains, and fifteen of twenty grains each. During the course of the treatment the morbid symptoms began to disappear, and at the termination of the same there was neither dyspnoea nor any feeling of oppression or pains in the chest ; the above- described symptoms, which were observed on the objective ex- amination of the chest have also disappeared, the sub- and supraclavicular fossa became much less prominent, partly, of course, on account of the fact that, thanks to the corrected diet, the appetite and the digestion were in good order during the treatment, and the patient grew somewhat stout. The first case impressed me, not because the chest symptoms which could excite a suspicion of pulmonary tuberculosis, yielded so completely to the effects of the mercurial treatment, but be- cause the whole group of these symptoms presented such a sharp distinction from the collection of symptoms of ordinary pul- monary phthisis, and the patient himself resembled a consump- tive so little ; it was only the second observation, in which all the characteristics of the first case were repeated with photo- graphic accuracy, which led me to the conclusion that I had to deal not with a group of coincidently connected symptoms, but with a permanent form of syphilitic pneumonia, in its genuine, uncomplicated form ; a diseased condition, which semiotically and diagiiostically differs greatly from the picture of ordi- nary pulmonary tuberculosis in non-syphilitics, as well as in syphilitics. The principal criterion by which we could judge that in both cases the affection was undoubtedly of a syphilitic nature, the criterion ex juvantibus was but too apparent : under the influence of the mercurial treatment the morbid phenomena disappeared. My conviction was even more strengthened by all we know concerning the anatomical alterations in the pul- monary tissue when it becomes aft'ected by syphilis, the inter- stitial and gummatous character of these alterations which result in the thickening of the pulmonary tissue, and in the ex- pulsion of air therefrom — all of which coincided so fully with the nature of the symptoms observed in the above-described cases on their objective examination. — 441 — Putting now together the peculiarities of these cases which enable us to recognize syphilitic pneumonia in its pure, uncom- plicated form, as distinguished from chronic pulmonary tuber- culosis seen in non-syphilitic patients, as well as in syphilitics, we get the following: 1. Anamnestic and other data, pointing to an affection of the patient's organism by syphilis. 2. The robust constitution of the patient. It is very likely that persons with weak constitutions and with a predisposition to ordinary — tuberculous — consumption, are rather sooner af- fected by the disease, their lives not being prolonged until the appearance of late syphilitic manifestations, to which belongs syphilitic pneumonia. 3. The objective symptoms of thickening of the lungs are as follows : dull percussion sound, weakened vocal fremitus, alter- ation in the normal respiratory mui'mur. A sharp marking out of the sub- and supra-clavicular fossae, due very likely to an adhesive pleurisy, which accompanies syphilitic pneumonia as frequently as adhesive perihepatitis accompanies syphilitic he- patitis. Dyspnoea, a feelhig of oppression and pain in the chest. 4. Absence of haemoptysis, cough, expectoration and rales. 5. Absence of febrile condition. 6. The decided effect of the specific treatment. That such cases of syphilitic pneumonia as described above may in their further course, if not recognized and treated at the beginning, or if not presenting any possibility for treatment un- der given conditions, become complicated by other affections of the respiratory organs, such as a severe bronchitis, a pleurisy with effusion, an acute and chronic pneumonia of non-syphilitic nature, and then appear in another form, is both possible and probable ; but such complicated cases do not permit a deduction to be drawn therefrom in regard to the diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic conclusions about syphilis of the lungs. FRo:\r THE Second Cojvoiijnicatiox. Patient, thirty-two years old, entered the facult}^ clinic Octo- ber 21, 1877, complaining of dyspncea, cough, loss of voice, swelling of the legs, and enlargement of the abdomen. Mode of living and anamnesis. — Patient lives in a damp lo- cality. Residence and board good. He was addicted. to much smoking, and to immoderate whiskey drinking (neither smoked — 442 — nor drank lately), and being a superintendent of an estate, he talked much and loudly, and fatigued himself. Patient comes from a healthy family. In February, 1870 (when twenty-live years old), he had post-coitum ulcera penis, which passed away in the course of two months and a half with the aid of local treatment solely. In November of the same year there appeared a papular eruption, and later on ulcers on the skin. With the aid of thirty inunctions with mercurial ointment, and eight bottles of potassium iodide, everything dis- appeared by February, 1871. During March, 1872, there appeared nocturnal pains and slight swellings of the clavicles and of the tibiae ; these lasted for eight months and disappeared without treatment. During the next four years our patient enjoyed good health. In March, 1877, there appeared a cough with dyspnoea and expectoration; during June various oedemata and general weakness ; in July, hoarseness of the voice and pain on deglutition. Later on, by the time he entered the clinic, all the enumerated symptoms in- creased rapidly, with the exception of the cough which dimin- ished during summer and remained so (since autumn the patient was conhned within doors) ; there were but trifling febrile symp- toms, if we are to judge from the inquiry. Status. — The appetite is poor, there are slight dyspeptic phenomena ; diarrhoea ; ascites. The liver and spleen do not admit of palpation. The urine is 600 c.c. in quantity during twenty-four hours ; it is reddish, turbid, and contains much al- bumen and many cylinders. There is pain in the throat on swallowing and coughing ; complete aphonia : laryngoscopic examination shows a condi- tion of thickening and softening of the mucous membrane of the true and false vocal cords and of the epiglottis, and later on also the presence of ulcers in these parts. There is severe dyspnoea ; the cough is but slight, expectoration of a muco- purulent character, with an admixture of blood, the quantity of the expectoration at the beginning Ijeing about one-fourth of a glassful for twenty-four hours ; later on the quantity of expec- toration and the cough became very insignificant. On the right side the sound is dull over the clavicle and from there down to the third rib ; thence downward it grows clearer ; in the subscap- ular fossa and also between the scapula and the vertebral column upward, the sound is also dull. On the left side, immediately above and below the clavicle, the sound is somewhat dull, but excepting these regions it is everywhere clear. All over the — 443 — lungs there are heard whistling rales ; besides these, in the area of the dull sound on the right side, there is heard a respira- tory murmur approaching bronchial respiration, and very few loud moist rales ; on the right side prolonged expiration. — The impulse of the heart is not displaced, but it is weak : its tones are clear. The pulse is 96, somewhat weak. The evening temperature reaches 38° B, (100.4° F.). There is everywhere a slight anasarca, which is considerable on the foot and the leg. The skin presents traces of serpiginous ulcers. The sleep is poor. There is general debility. The course of the disease. — Durmg the first days the patient was given Dover's powder and some quinine. The cough rap- idly diminished after this, and so did the quantit}" of expectora- tion and the number of rales ; but the diarrhoea increased some- what, and quinine was therefore put aside, and tra. opii simplex was given. A week after the patient's admission to the clinic the fever began to increase somewhat, the pulse grew weak, notwithstanding the use of stimulants (as wine and tra. valer. aether.), the dropsical phenomena became more marked, and there appeared uraemic symptoms : heaviness and pain in thef head, and nausea. November 8th there appeared erysipelas accompanied by considerable fever (39.7° M. — 103.6° ^.), and November 12th patient died. Durmg all the time that the pa- tient remained in the clinic, the area of the dull sound over the surface of the chest increased gradually from above do^vnward ; during the last days it was impossible to examine the chest pos- teriorly on account of the patient's extreme debility. The patient was under the observation of our clmical assis- tant, Dr. V. G. Nesteroff. The first communication made by me in regard to syphilitic pneumonia led him to think of the possible presence of such in the present case, in view of the fact that the symptoms of thickenmg of the lungs, and especially of the right one, were so considerable, while the fever was slight and moist rales were observed only over a very limited area (under the right clavicle), while the whistling ones disappeared during the first week of the patient's sojourn in the clinic. While analyzing the case before my students, I arrived at the following diagnostic conclusions : 1. Chronic inflammation of the kidneys (large kidney, i. e. chronic parenchymatous ne- phritis). 2. The ascites and the diarrhoea may possibly have their special causation in an alcoholic or syphilitic cirrhosis of the liver. 3. A simple or degenerative atrophy of the heart. 4. As ^ 444 — regards the pulmonary affection, I agreed with Dr. Nesteroff that the peculiarities of the case, as observed by him, together with the anamnestic data, and the nature of the laryngeal changes, lead us to recognize in the present case a syphilitic pneumonia ; but as fever, haemoptysis, cough, expectoration, and moist rales, although observed in a small degree, are still not entirely absent, as was the case with the patients who suf- fered from a pure syphilitic affection of the lungs, and who were spoken of in my first communication, we may then assume that the present case presents neither a pure syphilitic pneumonia, nor a pure ordinarj^ chronic one (the usual pulmonary consump- tion), but very possibly a contemporaneous affection of the lungs by both processes. As regards treatment, the specific — - antisyphilitic — treatment was contraindicated by the multitude of painful affections, and by the extreme failure of nutrition and strength, as well as by the fact that the syphilitic affection of the lungs was not pure, but complicated by phenomena of ordinary consumption. The autopsy was performed by the then decent of pathologi- cal anatomy (now professor of general pathology), A. B. Vogt. The results of an extensive report and of the microscopical ex- amination are as follows : syphilitic disease of the larynx (ulcers, scars, diffuse papillary growths), agglutinated pleura, syphilitic (interstitial and gummatous) affection of the upper lobes of both lungs (especially of the right one), a chronic catarrhal pneumo- nia also of the right lung (of its upper and middle lobes), an acute, developed during the last days of patient's life, catarrhal inflammation of the lower portions of both lungs, " brown " atrophy (atrophia fusca^ of the cardiac muscle (the cardiac valves and orifices are not altered) ; a syphilitic interstitial he- patitis, amyloid degeneration of the spleen ; the increased size of the kidneys presents sharply defined signs of Bright's disease. While communicating this case at the annual (January, 1878) meeting of the Physio-Medical Society, I arrived at the follow- ing conclusions : 1. What I alluded to in my first communi- cation of April, 1877, as possible and probable, became a real fact in this case : namely, the syphilitic pneumonia was proved to have become complicated by bronchitis, adhesive pleurisy and by chronic catarrhal pneumonia,"* as well as by acute. 2. This case proves that it is possible to diagnose not only a pure syph- ilitic pneumonia, but a complicated one as well. * Sucli was the name at that time, under the influence of Virchow's teaching, of chronic pulmonary tuberculosis. — 445 — Observations made by me in the domain of diseases of the respiratory organs, and especially of syphilis and pulmonar}^ tuberculosis, during the last fifteen years — since my second communication on syphilis pulmonum — strengthen my asser- tions which were put forward by me in the above communica- tions, touching upon the semiotics and the diagnosis of simple and complicated syphilitic pneumonia. As what concerns the treatment of this last I must make a correction. In the above communications I spoke against specific treatment in syphilitic pneumonia complicated by tuberculosis, in view of the fact, that during such a treatment this last is liable to rapid advances. For the immense majority of such cases this position holds good even now. But with the aid of modern diagnosis (as the presence of tuberculous bacilli in the sputum enables one at times to recognize early even very slightly diffused affections of the lungs by tuberculosis, and consequently early measures of treatment can be adopted in time), and modern treatment, such as by creosote in large doses, there occur, although rarely, exceptions, as a type of which may serve this case observed by me. ,The patient, who became infected with syphilis about ten years ago and who presented at the time seen undoubted manifestations of syphilis of the nervous system, begins to cough more frequently than formerly (he usually coughs because of a laryngeal catarrh brought on by smoking), and complains of pain in the side of the chest ; at the same time he grows somewhat thin and weak, but has no febrile symptoms. Objective investigation shows considerable solidification in the upper lobe of the right lung, and with this there is heard over the solidified area a respiratory murmur of a character ap- proaching bronchial respiration, and at times infrequent, non- abundant rales ; the expectoration, which is very scanty, shows the presence of tuberculous bacilli. Thanks to a sufficiently thorough iodide treatment the symptoms of solidification and pain in the right side disappeared, while the patient himself grew stronger; with the aid of creosote following this treat- ment, the cough diminished to the degree usual with the patient, the rales, as well as the bacilli in the expectoration, disappeared, while the patient himself became so stout and strong, that his health could be called florid. Later on the patient underwent also calomel and iodide treatment, which was ordered because of the other above-mentioned manifesta- tions of syphilis, without any marked impairment of his health and without the slightest symptoms of a recurrence of the pulmonary tuberculosis. SYPHILIS OF THE HEART. Feom the Clln'ical Sta2>:dpoi^"t. The short report of my address * which was published in the Contributions to the Pliysio-Medical Society (No. 1, January, 1887) contains only my conclusions ; the remaining part of the report is not written by me and it, as well as the references which appeared in many other editions, present certain inaccu- racies due to somewhat .hurried observations. Having some time at mj^ disposal during the summer of 1889, I decided to prepare for publication also my own com- munication on syphilis of the heart, as I can see from medical literature that the subject is just as interesting now as it was two and a half years ago ; but this communication appears at the present time in a somewhat changed form : first, be- cause the number of cases observed by me has increased, and one of these, which had been under my care in the clinic during the last spring, will be discussed by me later on, as it presents some peculiar characteristics ; and secondly, because I wil] only touch slightly on the general therapy of the diseases of the heart (to this I had to resort in complicated cases of cardiac syphilis ; I therefore spoke of it in particular during my first communication), as I intend to take up the subject and discuss it more fully in the edition of my lectures when treating of the subject of diseases of the heart in general. Turning to the literature on the pathology of the subject. I must say that with the exception of some additional matter of a casuistic nature, the subject under discussion did not advance during these two years and a half. As regards the pathological anatomy, we have long been informed of the existence of gummatous myocarditis, and we know now of syphilitic affections of both the endocardium and pericardium ; but we posses.s no definite mformation re- * Delivered at the annual meeting of the Moscow Physio-Medical Society, January, 1887. 446 — 447 — garding syphilitic affections of the cardiac vessels and nerves, and meanwhile clinical observations, as we shall see later, lead us to the conclusions, that in some cases the syphilitic process attacks the cardiac nerves even to a preeminent degree as com- pared with the other tissues of the organ. As far as the clmi- cal data are concerned, the modern text-books of special pathol- ogy and therapeutics do not pay due attention to syphilis of the heart. To be sure, among the causative agencies of cardiac diseases syphilis is mentioned as one ; gummatous myocarditis is treated of by pathological anatomy ; but there is no mention made of cardiac syphilis in either symptomatology or diagnosis ; while in discussing the treatment some allude to the possibility of a specific treatment in cardiac diseases, while others do not mention even this. Thus the study of the modern text-books will rather tend to cultivate a neglect toward the subject of car- diac syphilis, failing to bestow on it the attention it merits. An impression is abroad that syphilis is but an accidental dis- covery during autopsies, and that it is rather a subject for path- ological anatomy than for the clinic. Be as it may, the study of these text-books fails to convey the idea of the considerable practical importance of this affection. In vain will the student search in these text-books for answers to the questions : What is the clinical aspect of syphilis of the heart ? In what forms does it present itself ? Has this cardiac affection any practical significance so that it can be recognized in time and subjected to successful treatment? How effective may such treatment prove ? Up to the present time I have had occasion to observe already more than ten cases. I will first describe those which present a smaller variety of attacks and are less complicated by other diseases. The First Case. — Patient is about forty years old, was infected with syphilis, and does not abuse alcoholic drinks. For the last few years he has been suffering with dyspnoea, palpitation, and at times with symptoms of disturbed circulation (as evinced by (jedema of the legs and lungs and by enlargement of the liver), which is but slightly and for a short time relieved by digitalis. The left ventricle is enlarged, but the heart sounds are clear and there are no symptoms of atheromatosis of the arteries: i. e. not only is there no systolic murmur at the sternum, but the arteries are not stiff, and there are no symptoms of a disturbed cerebal circulation. The kidneys are healthy. Treatment by sodium iodide, commencing with ten and increasing up to 100 — 448 — grains per day during the period of six weeks, brought about a complete improvement in the patient's condition: all the morbid ■symptoms disappeared, and in the three or four years during which the patient was constantly under my observation, he only had at times attacks of dyspnoea and palpitation of much less frequent occurrence and of slighter intensity than formerly, which yielded rapidly to digitalis ; but he never again had any oedema. The left ventricle diminished in size (the apex beat of the heart is on the left mammillarj^ line, whereas for- merly it reached beyond it) and the pulse became less frequent, stronger and more regular. jSTutrition and strength improved considerably. Patient re- peated twice the treatment with sodium iodide. The seeojid case is in all respects similar to the foregoing, ex- cept that the patient suffered, not from a disturbance of the general circulation, but from frequent attacks of cardiac asthma which culminated in oedema of the lungs and did not yield to either digitalis or to any other remedies. After a course of energetic treatment with sodium iodide, the attacks disappeared entirely for a long time, and even when they reappeared later on they were much less frequent and of slighter intensity, and yielded rapidly to digitalis. Third Case. ■ — Patient is fifty-five years old; is infected with syphilis ; suffered before with acute articular rheumatism, and abused to some extent alcoholic drinks. Has been suffer- ing for more than a year with torturing attacks of angina pec- toris, for which he took a great variety of palliative remedies, lately always nitro-giycerine, several times a day, with but a trifling, rapidly passing, relief. Patient has stiff arteries and presents evident symptoms of insufticiency of the aortic valves (sharp diastolic murmur at the sternum, a jerking pulse, enlarge- ment of the left ventricle); but outside of the attacks of angina pectoris he presents nothing morbid : neither dyspncea, nor pal- pitation, nor any oedema, — all the functions are normal. The sodium iodide treatment relieved the patient considerably and later on inunctions of mercurial ointment brought about a com- plete cessation of the attacks of angina pectoris ; the objective signs of insufficiency of the aortic valves and of general chronic arteritis remained unchanged. The fourth case is similar to the third : there were also at- tacks of angina pectoris, which yielded to specific treatment. The above-described cases of syphilis of the heart must be considered, from their aspects, as exceptions, because the other — 449 — cases, i. e. the considerable majority of such, present usually another aspect, differing by a great variety of attacks, and by being usually considerably complicated, namely : by alcoholism or gout, by chronic arteritis, gastro-intestinal disturbances, and also by simultaneous syphilitic affections of other organs, most frequently of the nervous system and of the liver. The cardiac symptoms in such cases, as I said above, take on a great variety of forms and are usually all easily discoverable : such as a con- stant dyspnoea with palpitation and a sensation of oppression in the region of the heart, attacks of cardiac asthma, as well as of angina pectoris, considerable cedema and accumulations in the cavities as a result of disturbed circulation. The heart is usually enlarged, especially its left ventricle, and the pulse is weak, frequent and arythmical; a systolic murmur is frequently heard at the sternum. Examination of both the present and the past conditions of the patient either elicits syphilitic infec- tion directly, or makes it very probable. The general character of all these cases is such that the most careful and conscientious non-spe.cijic treatment fails to bring about any marked improvement, while a specific treat- rnent consisting of the employment of sodium iodide and of mercurial inunctions results in a lasting improvement : the mor- bid phenomena disappear, there remain only the objective signs of some enlargement of the heart, and at times a weak systolic murmur over the sternum. As a type of the above alluded to majority of cases of car- diac syphilis as seen by me, I will now describe more fully the one spoken of before, which was under my observation in the clinic during the last spring, and served as a subject for my clinical lectures during the beginning, the middle and the end of the patient's sojourn in the clinic. Patient, thirty-four years old, entered the clinic March 7, 1889, in a very aggravated condition, complaining of extreme weakness, dyspnoea, and swelling of the whole body, and espe- cially of the legs. Mode of life and anamnesis. — Patient has no constant place of residence, but lives in turn in three different cities, several months in each. His rooms, in a hotel, are not always satis- factory ; the watercloset is always cold. Patient drinks some four glasses of tea per day ; avoids drmking coffee, as it gives rise to palpitation ; has one meal a day, always containing some meat; smokes much, and is addicted to alcoholic drinks : not less than seven wine-glasses of brandy, and seven bottles of beer — 450 — per day ; and three times a month even more than this. With ■ the exception of the last month, such drinking has continued for ten years, but during the last month he entirely discon- tinued the use of alcoholic drinks ; his occupation is not of a fatiguing nature, outside of considerable travel — in winter on sleds, in summer mostly on the steamer. The patient is tall and broadly built ; was even when young inclined to corpulence and was subject to attacks of slight dyspnoea, but since he began to abuse alcoholic drinks both the corpulence and dyspncjea increased ; barring this, the patient does not recollect having had any diseases until two years ago. At that time he became infected with syphilis : there appeared an ulcer on the penis, eruptions, and falling out of the hair. Patient took pills of mercury during three months, and after a two months' interval, for another month and a half ; as a re- sult all the above-named symptoms of syphilis disappeared, but the patient began to feel weak and fatigued by his work, which he formerly bore well. Some eight months ago, after an ordinary day's work, he had at night an attack of angina pectoris without any ascribable cause : there was pain along the sternum and in the region of the heart transmitted to the back, left shoulder, and the left arm down to the elbow ; the pain was not severe, but lasted for a whole night and passed away in the morning without any treatment. Since then there occurred nocturnal pains in the legs, in the region of the tibial bones. Patient again took pills of mercury during one month, and the pains in the legs disappeared. The second attack of angina pectoris similar to the first one took place on the night of February 1, 1889; it was not severe, but also continued during the whole night, for about eight hours. Patient at once left off drinking brandy and beer, after which he rapidly lost his appetite and grew thin and weak. Three weeks ago the dyspnoea began to increase, and there ap- peared oedema of the legs. Patient took no treatment, and the described attacks, having reached the above-mentioned severe state, compelled him to enter our clinic. Status March 7', 1889, — Appetite not as good as it was before ; eating is accompanied by pyrosis, eructations, nausea, and oc- casional vomiting. Since the patient gave up drinking beer and brandy he suffers from constipation ; has every other day some hard evacuations. Until that time he used to have three to four soft, gruel-like, painless stools. The urine is secreted freely, to the amount of 1,000 c.c. in twenty-four hours, of a red — 451 — color, containing neither albumen nor sugar. The liver is en- larged and painful. The spleen presents nothing abnormal. There are symptoms of fluid accumulations in the abdominal cavity, and, as mentioned above, considerable Oidema of the arms, legs, and of the entire subcutaneous tissue. Patient complains of palpitation. On account of the present corpulence, of the cedema of the subcutaneous tissue, and of the weak cardiac ac- tivity, the results obtained by the objective examination of this last are not pronounced: there is a weak cardiac impulse felt at the left mammillar}^ line, but percussion elicits a dull sound over the left half of the sternum, and auscultation a weak systo- lic murmur. The pulse is 120, verj^ weak and arythmical. The dyspn(jea is very pronounced, 46 to 52 per minute; patient is unable to lie down. There is no cough. The condition of the lungs, as shown by percussion, is normal (onl}^ the dia- phragm is somewhat raised), and auscultation shows abundant moist rales under both scapulee. The temperature is 38° R. (98.4° _F.). He hardly sleeps at all on account of the dyspncjea. His mental state is extremely depressed, and at times very irritable. There is considerable weakening of the memory. Xo dizziness, headache, nor any pains, except some in the region of the calves when they are compressed. Extreme weakness of all the movements, and especially of those of the lower extremities. Having put the patient in a condition of rest, having limited the quantity of drink to what was absolutely necessary, and after regulating the diet (at the beginning all his food and drink consisted of a glass of tea without sugar in the morning, a half-glass of bouillon and a small cutlet for dinner, and six glasses of milk durmg the whole day ; later on, with the im- provement of the patient, the diet was accordingly changed), we prescribed eight tablespoonfuls of strong Crimea wine per day, the mixture of the aether- valerianate and Hoffman's drops aa at the beginning up to 200 drops per da}', digitalis m an infusion, altogether twenty-four grains during the fii\st two days, a large Spanish fly over the region of the heart, and a clyster in case of necessity. By the third day there occurred some slight improvement : the pulse was 98, the dyspnoea somewhat less severe and the amount of urine was 2500 c.c. ; but on the next day the dyspnoea became again aggravated, and the urine fell to onl}' 1500 c.c. As the clyster evacuated the bowels insuffi- ciently and the abdomen was very much distended, we gave him calomel, one grain every hour : after the fifth dose the — 452 — patient had abundant loose dark-green evacuations, the respira- tion became easier, but the amount of urine did not increase. We then resorted again to the infusion of digitalis, twenty-four grains during two days ; the stimulants, namely the wine and the above-2iamed drops, were given to the patient during all the time that he remained in the clinic, — later on in smaller doses in accord with the improvement of the pulse: only during the last days before patient left the clinic did we leave off these drops. The second dose of digitalis given together with the stimu- lants in the first large dose, failed to markedly improve either the pulse or the respiration, or to increase the amount of urine over 2000, and did not produce any marked decrease of the signs of oedema. Putting then aside the digitalis and continu- ing the stimulants, sodium iodide (~ij to 3VJ) was ordered in Ems water (in view of the continuing dyspeptic symptoms), a tablespoonful in a quarter of a glass of the water (altogether between one and one and a half glasses of Ems per day). March 15th, twenty grains of sodium iodide ; 16th, thirty grains; 17th and 18th, forty grains each: the urine rose to 3000 c. c. in quantity, the signs of oedema began to diminish, the pulse became less frequent (78-72), breathing grew easier, sleep better, the temperature fell to the normal. From March 19th to 2od he had fifty grains of sodium iodide per day, from the 23d to the 28th sixty grains ; with the former quantity of drink the urine amounted to -1000 c.c. ; the cedema passed away, the breathmg became free (20-18), the sleep quiet; the li\'er has diminished considerably in size and is not sensitive, the pulse became regular and strong, but is still frequent (96- 100). He was again given iufusion of digitalis (twentj^-four grains of digitalis) during two days, but without any appreciable result. We then again resorted to sodium iodide. We must now say a few words concerning the condition of the patient's nervous system. Notwithstanding the consider- able decrease in the extent of the oedema and the increase of the patient's strength, the weakness in the movements of the legs, which was ascribed to general debility and to the great weight of the legs on account of the (jedema, remained in the former condition : the patient was unable to either walk, or to even stand erect ; we could not bring out any tendon reflexes in the legs (the sensibility was preserved). Massage failed to improve the condition of the lower extremities. Such a paretic state of the legs and a considerable weakening of — 453 — the memory, in the presence of an undoubted syphilitic infec- tion of the organism, have naturally led us to suspect a syphi- litic infection also of the nervous system ; we therefore continued the specific treatment the more persistently, constantly increas- ing the dosage of the sodium iodide, from