The Osceola times., 1882-07-15
DISEASE PHOTOGRAPHED.
What a Reporter Saw In a Photographers
Gallery.
New York Press.

What a Reporter Saw In a Photographers
Gallery.
New York Press.
In 1868 Mr.. q. T. Mason, then Secre-
tary of the National Society of Ameri-
can Photograph Artists, established a
nttle workshop in the grounds of
Bellevue Hospital. for the purpose of
extending the field of his art to the pho
tograph of surgical cases. For four
teen years he las given his ser
vices to this work gratuitously. His
collection of photographs, illustrating
surgery, is the largest and most valua-
BILE in the world They would fill seven
teen large tones, and it would take a
week to look at them. He has made a
revolution in the method of illustrating
surgical works, Before 1870 books on
surgery depicted operations and dis
eases by means of wood-cuts. The lat
ter were not only satisfactory in them
selves, but we're often exaggerated.
The surgical profession will not sub
init to wood-cuts at all, but insist upon
seeing photographs OF operations. In
the latter works Of surgery, wood cuts,
have been discarded and in their place
photographs of the subjects for illustra-
tions are put. Indeed photographs have
in some instances the use of text. "A
physician came to me the other day."
said Mr.. Mason to Press reporter,
"for couple of photographs illustrating
disease which he was studying. He
said that the two pictures gave better
idea of the subject than forty pages OF
descriptive matter" Five large photo
graphs of the lungs in various stages of
consumption, some of which they
had been honeycombed by the disease,
we're shown the reporter. 1t was re
marked that they told more than a
thousand pages Of text. "a professor
from the Medical College came to me
one day." confined Mr.. Mason, "and
told me that he had been teaching
classes for years how the leg ought to be
amputated, and that they never seemed
to understand it. | took series OF
photographs showing the successive
stages of a successful amputation. They
were used by him for his classes" Since
Mr.. Mason began his work photography
has been employed in the great cities OF
Europe as an invaluable adjunct in max
ing surgical history.
81 have seen more disease than any
other man in New York" said the pho
tographer as he took down large tome
filed with his photographs and opened
it for the reporter 10 look at. 81 am free
to say this because have seen the i'm
portant cases of all the different rhysi-
cians-more cases than have come un-
der the observations of any one of them"
This" said he, pointing to photo
graph of a fine looking young man,
whose hands and feet had dropped off,
sis an Englishman who died here with
Oh L.. haI h.an inf
ed in India. He was there vaccinated
for smallpox, aud it is supposed that
vaccine matter had come from a leper.
The patient was heart broken. His
death was II years of ago.
This is Prof Woods great case of the
reproduction of the lower jaw. continued
Mr.. Mason. indicating photographs of
skull in two positions. A girl who
work in a match factory had her
lower jaw affected by phosphorus, and
was obliged to have it removed. Prof
Wood left remaining an adjunct of the
lower jawbone, whose function was to
nourish it, From this a new iAwbone
grew. Nothing of the kind was heard
of before. When the girl died, many
years after she left her skull to DR.. Wood
1t was sent TO Europe for scientific men
to see.
Among the photographs was one show
ing the hands of woman bent in an
unnatural position. "rhis was a case
of lead posoning," said Mr.. Mason. "The
lady lived on Fifth avenue. She first
noticed that she couldn't play the piano
Her fingers had lost their delicacy of
touch. Then she began to lose all use
of them. A physician was called in, and
found that some of the muscles of her
hands had been paralyzed. He was at
a loss to account for it. At length he
noticed cosmetic on her dressing table.
Upon analy zng it, ke found that the
casmetic containd lead. The woman
had used it on her arms and face, and
was suffering from lead poi,e1, She
could close her fingers. but could not
open them. A pair of steel springs pressed
her fingers back in place agaiR when
she wanted to open them. She finally
recovered the use Of her hands. Here
YOU have the case Of boy dead with
the lockjaw. They always bend III this
halfcresent way when they die of this
disease. The picture is taken TO show
the characteristic position"
A case of progressive muscular atophy
presented some singular features The
victim was very muscu'ar boy, who,
from over.exercise, had caused wasting
away of his muscles. His arms below
his elbows were like those of an oars
man above the elbow they were shrunk-
en- to mere pipe'stems. His legs below
the knea We're like those of pedestrian ;
He suffered no pain but lost all strength.
A rare disease shown in the book was
case Of elephantiasis. or thickening of
the skin. The disease occurs in tropi.
cal countries only, and the victim had
contracted it in the South. His ley
looked like one of the big trees of Cali
forni. 1t was four feet around. the ex-
ira growth being an unnatural thick
ness of the skin. This is hasty glance
at few of the marvellous and singular
cases pictured in one book of Mr. Ma
sons large collection.
There are numerous cases shown of
the transplanting of skin, which may
be taken from another person or even
from dead person.
POACT INIUN