The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1885-03-29
AT THE CLINIC.
An Hour With the Medical
Students at Ann ArbOr.
LAUGHING ON BOTH SIDES,
Operating Upon a Laughing Little
CriPple-A Lady Student-The
Terrible "Moxa."

Inc StuueulS are ranged IN Seml-clr-
cular tiers, each position commanding
a full view of the patient and the orer-
ating surgeon. looked up with con-
siderable interest at the amphitheatre
of faces that were ranged from the floor
on which l stood, almost to the ceiling
The first operation was one that GER
tain young lady will be very thankful
for eighteen or twenty years from now.
This young lady OF the future is at pre-
sent a very sweet and pretty baby six
months old. One of the senior medi-
cal students-a lady-sat before the
class with the baby laughing on her lap.
1t made very touching domestic figure
The lady student might have been
Howells "Dr. Breen, FOR the "Dr. Zay,"
of Elizabeth Stuart Phelps. She was
tall and well proportioned; wore a
dark olive-green dress that fitted as it
should and became her exceedingly.
Her fine face was more than handsome.
There was an expression in it of skill,
knowledge, tirmness and courage. l
take her as typical of the very best ex-
ample of our American lady medical
students. 1t seems to me that no other
country can produce combination at
once so womanly and SO professional.
She assisted at nearly all the opera
tons, and I confess to unbounded adj
miration of her alertness in every emer-
gency and her skiIlful dexterity. The
baby looked up at her and smiled. The
girl patted the little thing on the cheek
and the baby crowed and laughed. DIR.
Maclean held the rosy foot of the child
in his hand and briefly explained to the
students the cause and remedy of the
trouble that was apparent to ALL The
two little feet turned in toward each
other till the toes touched. They were
at right angles to the natural position,
and the trouble-if unremedied-w would
cause the child to become a hopeless
cripple.
At signal from the doctor young
man poured from bottle the anasthe-
tic on towel. This was spread over
the laughing face of the baby. There
was a frightened cry, stifled sob or
two, then stiffness. With careful quick
ness the lancet entered the baby's ankle
-once-twice-thrice. Not drop of
blood was spilled. The little feet were
bandaged into their correct position,
with a speed and dizziness that were
truly wonderful During this there was
not sound in the room. The first to
break the silence was the baby, whose
tremulous cry of returning conscious
ness just as the last bandage was stitch
ed showed that she thought she had
been taken a mean advantage OF, just
as she wanted to crow and laugh at the
10 Nv xrhn hold hor Tha
revolving about the operation. DR..
Maclean had done what Shakespeare
thought impossible, and had spilled not
drop of blood. When the baby takes
its first steps those chubby feet will be
ready to do their part.
A girl of twelve years of age was next
trundled in unconscious. She lay on
the wheeled table to have a tuner
taken from the side of her face-a terri
BILE legacy of that dread disease-scarlet
fever. The great difficulty in this case
was the almost unavoidable danger of
cutting the facial nerve, in which case
one side of the girls face would remain
as paralyzed. The operation was per-
formed. The awakening was to be the
test. The students looked on in breath
less suspense. The Doctor touched the
lips of the reviving girl with the point
of the needle. Finally the girl gave a
pitiful wall that carried with it the sus-
pended dread with which she had
doubtless regarded the trial she was to
pass through when the merciful an
aesthetic overcame her.
Instantly a murmur of appreciation
was heard. The students were quick to
catch the results of the doctou's skill.
"She cries on both sides of her face
now" said the doctor. "But she will
laugh on both sides of her face after
wards"
II cut my ankle with an axe eight
years ago." said the next, as he laid
down his crutches, land there she is"
With that he stuck out his bare foot
and leg, pallid, withered and apparently
useless. When the man limped back to
the room from which he came. Or.
Maclean announced that he was going
to treat the ankle with the cauter
This instrument is the white-hot iron
that became somewhat celebrated from
| the fact that Clara Morris, the actress,
was benefited by its use in Paris some
years ago. The item went the rounds
under the heading, 1.-THE Terrible
Moxa," and benefited Clara also as a
first-rate free advertisement.
/ W 4Ctl pAC A4dl ll0At III 11C LAY
unconscious on the table. The cauter
is a strange instrument, whose work
ing must admit I do not understand.
One man held bottle, another a seem
ingly compressable green bulb. These,
and the cauter which the doctor held In
his hand, were connected by rubber
tubes. The bottle contained naphtha,
and by some means an intense fame
seemed to be directed along the pencil
like cauter, that speedily produced a
white heat at the point of the instru-
ment. AS the doctor held it there was
a kissing sound, and then with a z-z-z-z-z
the point became dull red, next bright
red. and finally glowing white. With
this, as with pen of fire, the doctor
wrote on the white ankle of the uncon-
scious man. Doubtless he wrote "heai-
ing" Every touch of the moxa was
followed by a black mark and smell
of burning flesh. Now and then the
surgeon would hold the dulling iron in
the air for q moment till the flame
dashed it into white heat again.
Although the students applauded the
ry,,al- of fboGa uvhO cfoa1 tho 0pnrotiOuS