dilatation formed the aneurismal pouch. 3tio. That the pouch was neither in the substance of the muscle of the ventricle nor that of the auricle, but above the first and to the outside of the second. 4to. That it had no communication with the cavity of the auricle, though it had pushed into, and encroached upon, it; and, 5to. That it was prevented from bursting externally only by the pericardium, which, however, from its thickening, and the intimate union of its two layers, formed a tolerably effectual bar

rier.

From this, and the other cases upon record, we should be disposed to hazard the following remarks; that the lining membrane of the left ventricle is liable to partial dilatations-that these dilatations may or may not be the result of a diseased condition of the membrane-that they may take place, and most frequently do so, in the muscular substance between the bundles of fibres that compose it; but that they may also occur in another situation, behind the valve, and in the manner we have described

that the pouch may attain some size, with out producing any pathognomonic symptoms, unless it should burst, as in the case of General Kyd, and then it is instantly fatal Thus far we believe that we are borne out by facts, and farther than this it would be madness to venture. Nothing is so dangerous as theorizing;

producing any other effect on the system than that of curing the disease.

Dr. Marryat published the last edition of his Therapeutics about 1790, and died in the year 1793. The following are his words in reference to tartarized antimony in fever, which will be found to prove, that the plan adopted by Rasori, was, as nearly as possible, the same as Dr. Marryat had practised full 10 years before the time that it was first tried in Italy.

"Any fever may be soon extinguished by the use of the following powders :-Take of tartarized antimony five grains; white rubbed in a glass mortar and be divided into sugar, (or nitre) a drachm: let them be well six powders; one to be taken every three hours, notwithstanding the nausea the first diarrhoea, they should still be continued, may possibly occasion. If they bring on a and it will soon cease. If these are taken, (which is most commonly the case) without any manifest inconvenience, let there be seven grains in the next six powders; and, in the next, ten. Here I beg leave to retract what I said in some former editions of this work, viz. that till sickness and vomiting were excited, this noble medicine was not to be depended on. For I have since seen many instances wherein a paper has been given every three hours, (of which there have been ten grains in six powders,) without the least sensible operation, either by sickness, stool, sweat, or urine, and though the patients had been unremittedly delirious for more than a week, with subsultus tendinum, and all the appearances of hastening death, they have perfectly recovered without any medical aid, a clyster every other day excepted. I have lately seen a great many cases similar to the above, and the tartarized antimony has invariably produced the same effect."

From the above passage, it will be evident that Rasori and Thommasini, and the other continental doctors, were anticipatad by our countryman in the use, or, as some will say, the abuse of atimony in acute diseases-verifying the asseveration of Soloman, which need not here be repeated.-Ed.

XLVI.

NEW THEORY OF DIGESTIÓN. By Dr. THOMPSON, Professor of Chemistry in the University of Glasgow.

amusement.

This paper, which is published in our respected Glasgow cotemporary of the present quarter, has afforded us considerable It is a fine illustration of the bias produced in men's minds by the nature of their studies or their avocations. Thus, the anatomist seeks for the solution of a problem (in this instance the solution of roast beef or plumb pudding) in animal organization or animal secretion-as, for example, the glands of the stomach and the gastric juice. The experimental physiologist solves the difficulty by means of nervous influence, vital power, the electric fluid, or some other subtle agent:-While the chemical philosopher disengages some acid or alkali that effects the object-say digestion-in the twinkling of an eye.

It is necessary that the constructer of a new theory should, as a matter of course, demolish all those which have preceded him. And this, fortunately, is so easy, that it seldom requires more than a few minutes for the operation. A theory is as readily strangled as a man-and though it cannot be always done without pain to some of the parties concerned, it is unaccompanied by any legal penalty, save that of an occasional literary warfare.

Dr. Thomson is too systematic a philosopher to depart from established custom; and, therefore, he demolishes all that stands in his way before he erects his own edifice -just in the same way as the old houses in the Strand are dilapitated preparatory to the formation of the new line, which seems to spring up, as if by enchantment, in their

rear.*

* How often have we lingered to survey the modern Golgotha (or place of sculls) in the Strand, contemplating the geography of our faculties on the intellectual maps in Mr. Deville's window! All at once we missed our favourite lounge, and found

Dr. Thomson treats fermentation and trituration with lenient, but sovereign contempt, and only condescends to open his battery for a few minutes on the gastric juice, as the "presently received explanation" of digestion. As we are fond of jumping at conclusions, we shall not trouble our readers with the arguments which Dr T. adduces against the existence of a solvent gastric juice. To us, indeed, these arguments do not appear very strong; but still we are more disposed to give an account of the constructive than the destructive theory.

nothing but mouldering ruins and carts in its stead. Two or three days afterwards, we were delighted to see a new and splendid Golgotha in the rear, as if erected by Aladdin's lamp-or the lamps of Deville, and where we hope soon to see the head of our worthy friend, Mr. Nash, with the organs of constructiveness and destructiveness fully developed. By the way, we anticipate some difficulty in the doctrines of phrenology, in consequence of the new improvements. Looking at the Metropolis during the last ten or fifteen years, it would be difficult to determine which organ predominates in the heads of our great architects. For ourselves we have no doubt that " DESTRUCTIVENESS" has the priority-coNSTRUCTIVENESS the superiority.

exists in the food, and is merely isolated by the stomach, and brought into a state capable of acting as a solvent." The following are the facts upon which this opinion is founded.

"It will probably be admitted that common salt is indispensable as a seasoner of food. It has been employed in all ages, and in every country, for that purpose; or if there be any nation which does not employ it, we shall find that this nation lives at no great distance from the sea, and that the food and water used by them, contain enough of salt to answer all the purposes which nature has in view. For common salt is an almost constant ingredient in spring and river water, and all the animal and vegetable substances used for the food of man contain either common salt, or an alkaline chloride of some kind or other. This universal use of common salt cannot be accounted for, unless we admit it to be essential to the proper digestion of food.

Vauquelin announced, many years ago, that the stomachs of oxen, sheep, and calves always contain a quantity of uncombined acid, which he considered as the phosphoric. But Dr. Prout has shown, by decisive experiments, that this acid is the muriatic, and that the human stomach in all cases contains a quantity

of uncombined muriatic acid. He found the same uncombined acid constantly in the stomach of the hare, horse, calf, and dog. These observations have been amply confirmed by Tiedeman and L. Gmelin, who examined the liquid in the stomachs of no fewer than 43 animals, dogs, cats, horses, oxen, calves, and sheep. The liquid in the stomach was acid in every case, and the quantity of acid was always considerable. Muriatic acid was always present. They found likewise acetic acid, and they say also butyric acid. These two last probably appear _only_in cases of imperfect digestion. For Dr. Prout found acetic acid as well as muriatic acid, in the liquid thrown up by dyspeptic patients.

"Tiedeman and Gmelin found, by experiment, that when food is put into the

acid liquid from the stomach, and kept af the temperature of the human body, it is actually dissolved, and converted into chyme, just as it is in the living stomach. They also found that food, when exposed to the action of dilute solutions of muriatic acid, acetic acid, and acetate of soda, at the usual temperature of the living stomach, is speedily dissolved, and brought into a state resembling chyme.

"The stomach is supplied with nerves from the par vagum and the great sympathetic; and it is well known that the gastric nerves are large and numerous. Many experiments have been made on the effect produced on the stomach by cutting the par vagum. The uniform result has been, that the process of digestion was quite destroyed, the food remained in the stomach unaltered, and the animal, though supplied with food ad libitum, died from inanition. It may be sufficient to state the result of the trials of Dr. Wilson Philip in the hospital of Worcester. He found that if the par vagum be cut, and the cut extremities be allowed to remain in situ, the process of digestion is at first impeded; but it is slowly restored again; because in process of time, the cut extremities of the nerves again unite, and the stomach becomes capable of performing its function. But when the par vagum is cut, and a portion of it removed, so as to prevent the extremities from again coming in contact and uniting, the process of digestion ceases, and the function of the stomach is destroyed.

"Dr. Wilson Philip, after cutting out a part of the par vagum of a rabbit, charged a small galvanic battery, and by means of wires from each extremity, taking the stomach of the rabbit in their way, completed the chain of communication. By this contrivance, a current of electricity was passing constantly through the stomach. The result was, that the process of digestion was restored, and went on as well as if the par vagum had not been cut and removed. This important experiment was afterwards repeated successfully in London. Thus it has been ascertained, that electricity may be substituted for the nervous energy, in the process of digestion.

"When a current of electricity, produced in a galvanic battery, passes through a liquid having any salt in solution, the salt is decomposed, the acid accumulating round the posi tive, and the alkaline base round the negative pole. There is reason to believe that it acts in this way in the stomach, when it is made to supply the place of the nervous energy. It would seem from this, that the nerves of the stomach act upon the liquids contained in the stomach precisely as a galvanic current does; and probably by supplying a constant electrical current By the nerves of the stomach, the common salt held in solution by the liquids in the stomach, is decomposed, and its muriatic acid set at liberty. The acid thus disengaged, acts upon the food and converts it into chyme. How the soda, the other ingredient in common salt, is disposed of, is not so clear. But as the blood, the bile, and indeed almost all the liquid secretions of the body, except the urine, contain free soda, we can have little doubt about the way that it is finally disposed of.

setting muriatic acid free in a dilute state," we conceive that, when the nerves are unable to effect this decomposition, all we have to do is, to introduce into the stomach muriatic acid, in a dilute statethat is to say, in draughts, tertia quaque hora, and indigestion will put it to flight! It is with the view of contributing to our stock of knowledge-some people will say, of speculation-and ameliorating some of the greatest evils to which humanity is subject, that we thus endeavour to give the greatest possible extension to the brilliant theory of our Northern confrere.

XLVII.

"Thus the first step of digestion appears to be the decomposition of common salt by the nerves of the stomach, and the setting muriatic acid free in a dilute state. This dilute acid acts as a solvent to the food, and converts it into chyme. The food, thus converted into chyme, is thrown into the duodenum. It would appear that after the solution of the food is once effected, the presence of muriatic acid is no longer useful for the subsequent steps of the digestive process. For in the duodenum, the acid is neutralized by the agency of the bile, which contains a little uncombined soda, but is chiefly characterized by the picromel, which has the property of forming an insoluble compound with the muriatic acid, and of neutralizing it. The great use of the bile seems to be to neutralize the muriatic acid, which is so essential in, converting the food into chyme."

Dr. Thomson thinks it would be easy to point out "the many important practical results which naturally flow from this theory, and the improvements in the mode of treating dyspeptic and bilious diseases" Now, as the digestion is made to depend on "the decomposition of common salt, by the nerves of the stomach, and the

LIGATURE OF THE SPERMATIC ARTERY FOR VARICOCELE.

Various modes of treating varicocele have at various times been had recourse to, but none of them have acquired or deserved any permanent reputation. Blistering, ligature of the spermatic vein, and so forth, are now but seldom employed, and in general, support of the parts and such palliative measures are all that are adopted in the treatment of this inconvenience rather than disease. M. Amussat, of Paris, has recently practised what, as far as we know, is a novel operation for varicocele, namely, the ligature of the spermatic vessels.

The patient, M. Nicolas Rigueri, a Greek, ætatis 30, presented himself to M. Amussat in the month of October last, with a varicocele on the left side as large as the head of a child. Its size was productive of much inconvenience, and obliged him to support it in a linen bag when he wished to walk The disease had begun at the age of fifteen, without any appreciable cause, and had not been relieved by keeping quiet and soothing local applications. M. Amussat, on examining the case conceived that the only way of curing the disease was by tying the spermatic arteries,

and producing the wasting of the testicle. Accordingly, having laid the cord bare for upwards of an inch in length, he dissected for the spermatic arteries, exposed them, although with considerable difficulty, and successively tied both the spermatic trunk, and ten other smaller branches that pass to the testis along the cord. The operation was "extremely delicate and painful," and after its performance the patient had symptoms of reaction which required a copious bleeding, and antiphlogistic measures.

On

the next day the scrotum was greatly swollen and oedematous, and on the fifth, an abscess, which had formed on the left side of the scrotum, was opened, and a quantity of fetid pus let out. Sloughs of cellular membrane came away, and a large sore occupied the anterior part of the scrotum, which was slow in healing, and remained fistulous for a length of time. The wound made in the operation itself quickly cicatrized At the time of the report (Feb. 24th) the testicle appeared to be wasted, a large irregular cicatrix, the consequence of the sloughing, occupied the anterior part of the scrotum, and the spermatic veins, so large before, were converted into hard and knotted corns.

The details of this operation will convince any one that it would be quite unjustifiable, unless the varicose condition of the veins was very extensive and severe. But even in such a case, we doubt whether castration at once would not be better. The ligature of the spermatic artery cures by producing wasting of the testicle, then why not remove that at once, and effectually remove the disease along with it? We would not wish to be misunderstood; we believe there are very few cases indeed where either operation is proper, but we also believe that if either is to be done, castration is preferable to tying the spermatic vessels. The latter, according to M. Amussat himself, is an 66 extremely delicate and painful operation," is attended with quite as much risk as the former, and after all, is not sure to affect the cure of the varicose veins. M. Amussat perceiving the risks which he had run, recommends only tying the main spermatic trunk in future. This might certainly render the proceeding more simple, but would it not

VOL. XI. No. 21.

render it much less effectual? Surely the anastomoses of the other arteries would still be sufficient to feed the veins.

XLVIII.

EXPERIMENTS ON THE OPERATION OF MOR

PHINE IN THE HUMAN BODY IN A STATE OF HEALTH. By Dr. BERAUDI, of Turin.

It is now some twenty years since a talented physician, still practising in the modern Athens, was quizzed a little in consequence of entertaining a number of his brethren, once or twice a week,-not with tea and cards, but with tincture of digitalis! The parties assembled, and commenced the beverage, each keeping a finger on the pulse of his neighbour, in order to determine the phys iological operation of foxglove. The result is well known. Digitalis was proved by direct experiment, to be a strong stimulantalthough since that period the profession has doggedly adhered to the vulgar opinion that the drug is a sedative, and employ it accordingly. A somewhat similar party was lately formed at Turin, consisting of Messrs. Beraudi, Rebrini, Crispo, and Allinio, for the purpose of taking the acetate of morphium, and thus ascertaining its effects on people in health. These four gentlemen met on the 28th of September last, having previously dined, and commenced their experiments. At 3 o'clock M. Allinio, aged 22 years, of bilious temperament, and whose pulse was at 66, swallowed an eighth of a grain of the acetate in some distilled water. He had scarcely taken the medicine when he felt a bitter, and somewhat acrid taste in the back of the throat. In five minutes, there was severe pain in the epigastrium-propensity to sleep, with somewhat laborious breathing. At the end of 25 minutes, the same phenomena continued. At thirty minutes, there was profuse perspiration-with dilated pupils-

34