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646 DUBLIN. (From our own Correspondent.) LUNATIC ASYLUMS REPRESENTATION. His Excellency the Lord-Lieutenant, as mentioned on a previous occasion, has caused a communication to be sent to the boards of lunatic asylums throughout Ireland with reference to a new scheme giving these bodies a larger share in representation on the governing bodies of asylums than heretofore. The Corporation of Dublin, by a com- mittee of the whole house at a meeting held last week, recommend that, so far as the Municipal Council are con- cerned, it would be satisfied with the power to nominate a number of governors of the board of the Richmond Lunatic Asylum bearing the same proportion to the total number of governors as the city contribution does to the total annual cost of the asylum. The committee also claim that the nomination of governors annually by the Council shall be absolute and final. I believe that the suggestions of the Corporation are premature, and that body, as I understand it, has no locus standi, inasmuch as the circular in question .applies only to county asylums. OPENING OF NEW WARDS AT THE MEATH HOSPITAL. The " John Barber wing" " and the "Bury wards" were to-day (Tuesday) formally opened by their Excellencies the Lord-Lieutenant and the Marchioness of Londonderry. About eighteen months since, a sum of ;f4500 became available from the estate of a gentleman named Barber, and the wing as now completed comprises two wards, each 70ft. by 30ft., light and ventilation being care- fully attended to. The two lower landings contain the board-room of the hospital and a medical board-room, also apartments for the resident officials. Each ward contains sixteen beds, ten of which are permanently endowed by the " Bury bequest." Their Excellencies having arrived, a pro- cession was formed of the stewards, nurses, medical and surgical staff, and members of the standing committee, which proceeded to the Bury ward. Viscount Powerscourt took the chair, and, having made a few introductory remarks, called on Mr. Ormsby, hon. sec., to read an address, and at the termination his Excellency replied, and formally declared the wards open for the reception of the sick poor. Sir George Porter moved, and Sir G. B. Owens I seconded, " That the special and marked thanks of this meeting be hereby given to the Viscount Powerscourt for his kind and dignified conduct in the chair," and, being carried, their Excellencies were conducted by the Reception Committee and Sir William Stokes into the Children’s ward, the Gervas Taylor ward, and the Grattan ward, and afterwards were shown the male and female accident wards, the operating theatre, and other portions of the institution. POISONING BY OPIUM. A lady was found insensible in Phcenix Park last week, and was removed to Steevens’ Hospital, where she died the next day. She had taken a large quantity of laudanum with a suicidal intent, and, although every means at the disposal of the hospital authorities was used, including artificial respiration for seventeen hours, she remained un- conscious until her death. AN EXCISE PROSECUTION. An apothecary residing near Dublin was last week summoned by the Excise authorities for having sold essence of ginger capable of being used internally as a medicine, in the preparation of which methylated spirit had been used, in contravention of the Act of Parliament. The minimum penalty (925) was imposed, and the magistrate who tried the case recommended a further reduction. Dublin, Sept. 25th. _________________ PARIS. (From our own Correspondent.) ETIOLOGY OF TETANUS. WHEN a few years ago Dr. Gustave Richelot wrote his thesis for the " Agrégation, " he upheld the nervous origin of tetanus, which was then the reigning opinion in the profession. Professor Verneuil, who lately introduced a different theory, was also a " neurist " at that time; but since then things have changed, and from our knowledge now of infectious agents, and of their evolution in the organism, the arguments lately furnished are decidedly in favour of the infectious and contagious nature of tetanus. But whilst admitting this, Dr. Richelot is not in accord with Professor Verneuil and others as to die equine origin of tetanus. In support of his view of the subject, Dr. Richelot recently made a communication to the Academy of Medicine in which he related the cases of two young women, aged respectively twenty-one and twenty years, who were admitted into his ward at the Hopital Tenon, and who were operated on for a salpingo-ovaritis at an interval of about three weeks. The first patient underwent the operation on June 15th, and, without any incident, was affected seven days later with tetanus, which carried her off in forty-eight hours. At the necropsy all the organs were found healthy. It was difficult to trace the source of the infection. One circumstance, however, struckDr. Richelot- namely, that from June 16th to June 19th some manure which was in the hospital courtyard was turned up and spread out on the flower beds. The operation on the second patient took place on July 5th. On the llth she was suddenly seized with acute pain, arising from a sort of aura on the left side of the abdomen. At the same time she was affected with a sore throat, trismus, and tonic convulsions. The patient succumbed on the 13th—that is, two days after. At the necropsy nothing abnormal was found. Dr. Richelot considers this second case of tetanus as being the consequence of the first. And yet everv antiseptic precaution was taken, and the room reserved for laparotomies only was thoroughly disinfected. In spite of these precautions, a toxic agent had been transmitted from one to the other. How the transmission took place itwas difficult to say. It nevertheless resulted from these two cases, in placing them in juxta- position, that tetanus was an infectious and contagious malady; but what the horse had to do with it in the present case he could not see. He then cited the observations of divers naval surgeons reporting cases of tetanus occurring in con- ditions where the horse could not easily be implicated ; but, observed Dr. Richelot, as this source might exercise its influence in different ways, and as the duration of its in- fluence was absolutely unknown, researches in that direction would prove of the highest interest. ELECTRICAL TREATMENT OF INTESTINAL OCCLUSION. At a recent meeting of the Academy of Medicine, Dr. Larat read a note on the treatment of intestinal occlusion by electricity. According to the author, galvanic electricity of the intestine deserves to be employed in all the cases of occlusion where medical means had failed, and where the obstacle has become insurmountable by the action of purgatives. Moreover, purgatives are useless when the intestine is impermeable, and become injurious in exciting vomiting, which would aggravate still more the condition of the patient. Dr. Larat says that it is essentially of importance not to lose time, and that electricity should be employed as early as possible: in the first place, the procedure would have a better chance of success; and, secondly, if it should fail, surgical intervention would still be possible and have some chance of success. One application of electricity only is often powerless to obtain movement of the bowels; four or five sittings on an average are neces- sary, and at intervals of several hours. Of sixteen cases, Dr. Larat removed the occlusion of the intestine by electrisa- tion in ten. MORTUARIES. In a note forwarded to the Academy of Medicine, Dr. Benard of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, in referring to pre- cipitated inhumations, indicated one only certain sign of real death-viz., cadaveric decomposition. In order to prevent a person being interred alive, the author proposes, as Tardieu had already done more than thirty years ago, the creation of mortuaries. These mortuaries should be established, as much as possible, in the proximity of the centre of each quarter, in a separate building, and to each of them should be annexed an apparatus of disinfection by hot air, to which the body and bed linen of the deceased patients should be submitted. THE ARCACHON MARITIME SANATORIUM. On Sunday last the Maritime Sanatorium at Arcachon, due to the initiative of Dr. Armaingaud, of Bordeaux, was inaugurated in presence of the official authorities of the
Transcript of DUBLIN
646
DUBLIN.
(From our own Correspondent.)
LUNATIC ASYLUMS REPRESENTATION.
His Excellency the Lord-Lieutenant, as mentioned on aprevious occasion, has caused a communication to be sentto the boards of lunatic asylums throughout Ireland withreference to a new scheme giving these bodies a largershare in representation on the governing bodies of asylumsthan heretofore. The Corporation of Dublin, by a com-mittee of the whole house at a meeting held last week,recommend that, so far as the Municipal Council are con-cerned, it would be satisfied with the power to nominate anumber of governors of the board of the Richmond LunaticAsylum bearing the same proportion to the total number ofgovernors as the city contribution does to the total annualcost of the asylum. The committee also claim that thenomination of governors annually by the Council shall beabsolute and final. I believe that the suggestions of theCorporation are premature, and that body, as I understandit, has no locus standi, inasmuch as the circular in question.applies only to county asylums.
OPENING OF NEW WARDS AT THE MEATH HOSPITAL.
The " John Barber wing" " and the "Bury wards" wereto-day (Tuesday) formally opened by their Excellencies theLord-Lieutenant and the Marchioness of Londonderry.About eighteen months since, a sum of ;f4500 becameavailable from the estate of a gentleman named Barber,and the wing as now completed comprises two wards,each 70ft. by 30ft., light and ventilation being care-fully attended to. The two lower landings contain theboard-room of the hospital and a medical board-room, alsoapartments for the resident officials. Each ward containssixteen beds, ten of which are permanently endowed by the" Bury bequest." Their Excellencies having arrived, a pro-cession was formed of the stewards, nurses, medical andsurgical staff, and members of the standing committee,which proceeded to the Bury ward. Viscount Powerscourttook the chair, and, having made a few introductoryremarks, called on Mr. Ormsby, hon. sec., to read anaddress, and at the termination his Excellency replied, andformally declared the wards open for the reception of thesick poor. Sir George Porter moved, and Sir G. B. Owens Iseconded, " That the special and marked thanks of thismeeting be hereby given to the Viscount Powerscourt forhis kind and dignified conduct in the chair," and, beingcarried, their Excellencies were conducted by the ReceptionCommittee and Sir William Stokes into the Children’sward, the Gervas Taylor ward, and the Grattan ward, andafterwards were shown the male and female accident wards,the operating theatre, and other portions of the institution.
POISONING BY OPIUM.
A lady was found insensible in Phcenix Park last week,and was removed to Steevens’ Hospital, where she died thenext day. She had taken a large quantity of laudanumwith a suicidal intent, and, although every means at thedisposal of the hospital authorities was used, includingartificial respiration for seventeen hours, she remained un-conscious until her death.
AN EXCISE PROSECUTION.
An apothecary residing near Dublin was last weeksummoned by the Excise authorities for having sold essenceof ginger capable of being used internally as a medicine,in the preparation of which methylated spirit had been used,in contravention of the Act of Parliament. The minimumpenalty (925) was imposed, and the magistrate who triedthe case recommended a further reduction.Dublin, Sept. 25th.
_________________
PARIS.
(From our own Correspondent.)
ETIOLOGY OF TETANUS.
WHEN a few years ago Dr. Gustave Richelot wrote histhesis for the " Agrégation, " he upheld the nervous originof tetanus, which was then the reigning opinion in the
profession. Professor Verneuil, who lately introduced a
different theory, was also a " neurist " at that time; butsince then things have changed, and from our knowledgenow of infectious agents, and of their evolution in theorganism, the arguments lately furnished are decidedly infavour of the infectious and contagious nature of tetanus.But whilst admitting this, Dr. Richelot is not in accordwith Professor Verneuil and others as to die equine originof tetanus. In support of his view of the subject, Dr. Richelotrecently made a communication to the Academy of Medicinein which he related the cases of two young women, agedrespectively twenty-one and twenty years, who were
admitted into his ward at the Hopital Tenon, andwho were operated on for a salpingo-ovaritis at an
interval of about three weeks. The first patient underwentthe operation on June 15th, and, without any incident, wasaffected seven days later with tetanus, which carried her offin forty-eight hours. At the necropsy all the organs werefound healthy. It was difficult to trace the source of theinfection. One circumstance, however, struckDr. Richelot-namely, that from June 16th to June 19th some manurewhich was in the hospital courtyard was turned up andspread out on the flower beds. The operation on the secondpatient took place on July 5th. On the llth she was suddenlyseized with acute pain, arising from a sort of aura on theleft side of the abdomen. At the same time she wasaffected with a sore throat, trismus, and tonic convulsions.The patient succumbed on the 13th—that is, two days after.At the necropsy nothing abnormal was found. Dr. Richelotconsiders this second case of tetanus as being the consequenceof the first. And yet everv antiseptic precaution was taken,and the room reserved for laparotomies only was thoroughlydisinfected. In spite of these precautions, a toxic agenthad been transmitted from one to the other. How thetransmission took place itwas difficult to say. It neverthelessresulted from these two cases, in placing them in juxta-position, that tetanus was an infectious and contagiousmalady; but what the horse had to do with it in the presentcase he could not see. He then cited the observations of diversnaval surgeons reporting cases of tetanus occurring in con-ditions where the horse could not easily be implicated ; but,observed Dr. Richelot, as this source might exercise itsinfluence in different ways, and as the duration of its in-fluence was absolutely unknown, researches in that directionwould prove of the highest interest.
ELECTRICAL TREATMENT OF INTESTINAL OCCLUSION.
At a recent meeting of the Academy of Medicine, Dr. Laratread a note on the treatment of intestinal occlusion byelectricity. According to the author, galvanic electricityof the intestine deserves to be employed in all the cases ofocclusion where medical means had failed, and wherethe obstacle has become insurmountable by the action ofpurgatives. Moreover, purgatives are useless when theintestine is impermeable, and become injurious in excitingvomiting, which would aggravate still more the conditionof the patient. Dr. Larat says that it is essentially of
importance not to lose time, and that electricity shouldbe employed as early as possible: in the first place, theprocedure would have a better chance of success; and,secondly, if it should fail, surgical intervention would stillbe possible and have some chance of success. One applicationof electricity only is often powerless to obtain movementof the bowels; four or five sittings on an average are neces-sary, and at intervals of several hours. Of sixteen cases,Dr. Larat removed the occlusion of the intestine by electrisa-tion in ten.
MORTUARIES.
In a note forwarded to the Academy of Medicine, Dr.Benard of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, in referring to pre-cipitated inhumations, indicated one only certain sign ofreal death-viz., cadaveric decomposition. In order to
prevent a person being interred alive, the author proposes,as Tardieu had already done more than thirty years ago,the creation of mortuaries. These mortuaries should beestablished, as much as possible, in the proximity of thecentre of each quarter, in a separate building, and to eachof them should be annexed an apparatus of disinfection byhot air, to which the body and bed linen of the deceasedpatients should be submitted.
THE ARCACHON MARITIME SANATORIUM.
On Sunday last the Maritime Sanatorium at Arcachon,due to the initiative of Dr. Armaingaud, of Bordeaux, wasinaugurated in presence of the official authorities of the
