miscroscopic examination, the one should prove to be fibrous and the others cancerous, it was interesting, and seemed to imply that different kinds of tumors were governed by their own special laws, though situated in close proximity. It was rather unusual that fibrous and cancerous tumors occurred in the same person. Dr. Jenkins remembers having seen colloid cancer in the ovaries, and a fibrous tumor in the uterus. CONVENTION OF SUPERINTENDENTS OF LUNATIC ASYLUMS. THE Association of Medical Superintendents of American Institutions for the Insane, commenced its tenth annual session on Tuesday, May 22, in Boston. They met in the Senate Chamber, which had been tendered them by the suggestion of the Hon. Charles H. Stedman, M. D., a past member of the Association. Twenty-five public and private institutions were represented-among them those of Canada, Missouri, and North Carolina. Dr. Luther V. Bell, of the McLean Asylum, resigned the office of President, and Dr. Isaac Ray, of the Butler Hospital, was elected President; Dr. Thomas S. Kirkbride, of the Pennsylvania Hospital, Vice-President, and Dr. Charles H. Nichols of the Government Hospital at Washington, Secretary. On Wednesday, by invitation of the worthy Mayor, they assembled in the Common-Council Chamber, at the City Hall, and continued to meet there until Friday evening, when they adjourned, to meet at Cincinnati in May, 1856. During the session, Dr. Kirkbride read an interesting paper upon "Bloody Tumors of the Ear among the Insane," which gave rise to a full and interesting discussion. Dr. Ray read an elaborate paper upon the insanity of George III. This paper was remarkable for historical research, and valuable for the information it contained, upon a subject of which, for state and other reasons, so little has hitherto been known. It is calculated, we understand, to make a sensation in medical and political circles, on both sides of the Atlantic. By vote of the Association, it is to be published. Dr. Bell presented a second paper upon "Spiritual Phenomena." After stating certain facts which had come under his personal observation, such as the moving of tables through a space of fifty feet, and the production of rappings, without the aid of machinery or human contact; and the prompt rendering of correct answers to questions, put audibly or mentally, of which no one present but himself could have known any thing; and, further, that in every instance, where the true answer was not known to some person in the circle, he failed to obtain a satisfactory response, he concluded by declaring his entire disbelief in their connection with spirits and the spirit world; but thought they were rather another form of mesmerism, and pointed to the idea of the duality of the brain. In the discussion which ensued, there was a general expression of thanks for the moral courage of the author in venturing to grapple with the subject, and of conviction that, should his views be generally adopted, "the rappings" would be shorn of their tendency to evil. Papers were also read and full discussions had upon "Periodical Insanity," "Farms connected with Hospitals for the Insane," "The influence of the recumbent posture in sickness and health," "The construction of apartments for violent patients," "The uses of restraint, and the best forms thereof," "Etherization in the treatment of Insanity," and various other subjects connected with this specialty. The session was an interesting one, giving evidence that the knowledge of insanity and its treatment is progressive, and that this Association is doing very much, in its quiet and unobtrusive way, to advance the interests of the insane. Editorial. Academy of Medicine.-As will be seen by the proceedings of the Academy, the special committee to whom was referred Dr. H. Green's paper "On the Catheterization of the Air-passages, and Injection of Tubercular Cavities,” reported at the June meeting. The committee of seven was selected by Dr. Green himself, and must, therefore, be admitted to be impartial; six of the committee have signed the majority report, in which it is agreed that flexible tubes may, in some instances, be passed into the trachea, but not without difficulty, and sometimes danger to the patient; but the committee have had no evidence before them of the practicability of passing tubes into the right or left bronchus at pleasure. As to the passage of the armed probang below the vocal chords, in the hands of Dr. Green and others, it failed in every instance. This is most unfortunate for Dr. Green, as it is well known he has claimed the honor of priority in this operation, and which had been conceded to him by some high authority; while, on the other hand, Prof. Trousseau, of Paris, and Mr. Erichsen, of London, have denied its practicability. As to the injection of tubercular cavities, nothing was demonstrated to the satisfaction of the committee, either as regards its utility, or even its practicability. Dr. Barker, as was expected, presented a minority report, or rather two minority reports, for he was allowed to withdraw the first one presented, in which letters of private patients (some of them females) were introduced, testifying to the good effects of the treatment. He was allowed to withdraw this on the plea of want of sufficient time for preparation, and presented another very carefully elaborated, at the adjourned meeting. In the latter report, he considered that the committee had exceeded their powers in investigating the possibility of the introduction of the armed probang below the vocal chords. In this, he was evidently in error, as the question is discussed in Dr. Green's paper, and therefore, was a legitimate subject for consideration by the committee. Dr. Barker's interests are identified with those of Dr. Green in this matter, and therefore, due allowance must be made for his minority report. The Academy, as a matter of convenience, ordered the original paper to be published, with the majority and minority reports, in order that Fellows might have the whole matter before them, at the discussion which is to take place on Wednesday, July 18th. We have neither time nor inclination to pursue this subject further at present; we wait until after the discussion of the whole matter shall have been concluded. Our friends, however, well know how anxious we are to see Dr. Green put in his right position before the whole profession. J. G. A. Sanford Hall, Flushing L. I.-This private institution for the Insane, established in 1845, by the late James McDonald, M. D., continues to enjoy the confidence of the profession and the public, and to which it is most justly entitled. Since the decease of its founder, it has been under the charge of his widow, assisted by his brother, General McDonald, upon whose invitation the institution was visited by the members of the New York Medical and Surgical Society, on the 16th June-the late Dr. McDonald having been a prominent member of that Association. At the termination of their visit, the following resolutions were unanimously adopted. We would add, that they are published without the knowledge of the proprietors. Resolved, That the members of this Society view with the highest satisfaction the continued prosperity of the institution at Sanford Hall. Resolved, That from the thorough inspection they have just made, the members find abundant evidence that the same neatness and good order are maintained by the efficient superintendent and matron, and the same ample provision is made for the comfort and enjoyment of patients, as have hereto. fore uniformly characterized the management of this institution. Resolved, That the able and successful medical treatment of the inmates, no less than its admirable internal administration, warrant the hope that its future career will more than realize the brightest expectations of its enlightened founder, whose memory we would ever cherish in our fondest recollections. Resolved, That the secretary communicate to Gen. McDonald a copy of these resolutions, and express our warmest acknowledgments for the very hospitable entertainment we have enjoyed.—[Extract from the Minutes.] : Bibliographical Notices. The Pathology and Treatment of Leucorrhoea. By W. TYLER SMITH, DISORDERS of the uterine organs, attended with discharges, have within a few years past, engaged the thoughts and the pens of talented and practical men in our profession, and with good practical results. Still there is yet much diversity of opinion, and much left unexplored. Of this field, Dr. W. Tyler Smith is well known as a successful cultivator. We have before us another proof both of his industry and of the success of his labors. His object now, is to present his views of the pathology and treatment of leucorrhoea, a subject respecting which the views of practitioners are far from being settled. In explanation and defense of his using the word Leucorrhoea as the title of his work, he says that the term "groups together a large number of disordered conditions more conveniently than any other now in use." His plan is "by taking leucorrhoea as the starting point, and investigating the different kinds of discharges, and the various states upon which these discharges depend, to give an exact knowledge of an important class of uterine affections." In the execution of this plan, he gives a description of the minute anatomy of the vagina and the os and cervix uteri, and of the secretions of those parts in their normal states, followed by the microscopical pathology of the same mucous surfaces, and their morbid secretions in leucorrhoeal disorders, all of which are abundantly and well illustrated by drawings, which occupies the first four chapters of the book. Dr. Smith makes two principal forms of leucorrhoea-the mucous or cervical, and the epithelial or vaginal,-the former in which the discharge consists principally of mucus-corpuscles and plasma, and is secreted chiefly by the follicular canal of the cervix uteri, and the latter in which the discharge is vaginal, and consists mostly of scaly epithelium and its debris; and gives a minute description of the chemical and microscopical characters of the discharge and the elements found in each respectively. The secretion of the cervix uteri is studied as affected by the several states of menstruation, pregnancy, parturition, and lactation, each of which modifies it more or less; and its characters and functions in each are carefully discriminated. He gives some cases to show the value of a modification of this secretion in the form of a "plug" in the lower part of the cervix uteri, as a sign of pregnancy in cases of doubt. According to Dr. Smith, the difference between the vaginal and uterine mucus is not merely one of relative viscidity or tenacity-they differ also in their elements, those of the vaginal or epithelial being, 1. acid plasma; 2. scaly epithelium; 3. pus-corpuscles; 4. blood-globules; 5. fatty matter-those of the cervical or mucous form being, 1. alkaline plasma; 2. mucus-corpuscles; 3. altered cylindric epithelium; 4. puscorpuscles; 5. blood-globules; 6. fatty particles. The fifth chapter is devoted to the sequelae of leucorrhaa, under which are ranged by our author those morbid changes which have been most commonly regarded as distinct and independent affections, viz., inflammation, abrasion, ulceration, induration, and hypertrophy of the os and cervix uteri, and abrasion and superficial ulceration of the vagina, all of which he regards as, in the majority of cases, secondary affections resulting from the leucorrhoeal disease. He says that he knows of nothing more certain in reference to uterine disorder, than that it is extremely rare for cervical leucorrhoea to exist without inducing disorder of the os uteri; and, on the other hand, disorder of the os uteri very rarely occurs without exciting leucorrhoea, which, after thus excited, is almost sure to aggravate the original disorder. These different forms of disease are described, and the principal points of diagnosis given between leucorrhoea and cancer uteri. The relations between secondary syphilis and leucorrhoea, form the subject of the next chapter, which contains much matter of practical interest calculated to throw light on the important and much mooted question of the modes of transmission of secondary disease. He thinks that "in almost all the cases in which leucorrhoea and disease of the os and cervix uteri are present in women suffering from constitutional syphilis, the uterine symptoms are a genuine manifestation of the constitutional or secondary disorder," instead of being the direct sequelae of chancre in that situation, as taught by M. Gibert, or being the result of simple inflammation, as believed by Dr. Bennet. He thinks that syphilitic leucorrhoea occurs with certainty only under two conditions, viz., 1. when the patient has contracted primary syphilis, and the secondary or constitutional affection has followed in due course; 2. when the mother, being in health, becomes impregnated by a husband who is at the time affected with secondary syphilis, and receives the secondary syphilitic disorder through the medium of the ovum (p. 102). The conveyance of secondary syphilis through the ovum instead of by the secretions, and which he thinks is the great means of communication of secondary syphilis from the male to the female, is a mode which, we believe, is not generally recognized, at least in practice; but is one which our own experience leads us to think deserves more consideration than it has received. The appearances presented by secondary syphilitic leucorrhoea do not differ materially from those of other severe cases of leucorrhoea; its chief characteristics being its existence in connection with frequent abortions, and with other secondary symptoms, and the difficulty in its cure, except by anti-syphilitic remedies. Dr. Smith thinks that there is a large amount of undetected syphilis in the works of both Dr. Whitehead and Dr. Bennet; " and that Dr. Whitehead confounded syphilitic and gonorrhoeal leucorrhoea together. |