, 1885-03-14
AT THE CLINIC.
AIN HOUR WITH The MEDICAL STU
DENTS AT ANN AR6oR-
Operating Upon n Laughing Little Cripple
"A Lady misunderstanding ON Both
side>-The Terrible s'bIoxa'-
Dramatic Situations.


Hnke Sharp In Detroit Free rress.l
The students are ranged in semi-circular
tiers. each position commanding a full view
of the patient and the operating surgeon. l
lookel up with considerable interest at tho
amphitheatrs of faces that were ranged
from the fioor on which l stood, almost to
the ceiling.
The first operation was one that a certain
young lady Will be very thankful for eight
cen or twenty years from now This young
lady OF the future is at present a very sweet
and pretty baby 6 months old. One of the
senior medical stndents-a lady-sat before
t., class with the baby laughing
ON her lap. It made a very
touching domestic figure. The lady
student might have been Howells' "Dr.
Breen,' or the @Dr. Fay" OF Elizabeth Stu
art Phelps She was tall and well proper
toned; wors a lark olive-green dress that
fitted as 1t should and became her exceed
ingly. Her fine face vas more than hand
some. There was an expression in IL of skill,
knowledge, irmness and courage. l take
her as typical OF the very best example Of
our American lady medical students. II
seems to me that no other country can pro
duce a combination at once so womanly and
so professional. She assisted at nearly all OF
the operations, and l confess to unbouded ad-
miration Of her a~lertness in every emsr-
gency and her skillful dexterity. The baby
looked up at her and smiled. The girl patel
the little thing on the cheek and the baby
crowed and laughed. DR.. Maclean held the
rosy foot Of the child in his hand aud briefly
explained to the students the cause and rem
edy OF the trouble that was apparent to all
The two little feet were turned in toward
each other till the toes touched. They were
at right angles to the natural position, AMI
the trouble-if unremedied-would cause the
child to become a hopeless cripple.
At a signal from the doctor a young man
poured from a bottle the anesthetic on a
towel. This was spread over the laughing
face OF the baby. There was a frightened
cry, a stihed sob or two, then stiffness. With
careful quickness the lancet entered the
babyis ankle-once -~twice-thrice. Not a
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 a
sound in the room. The first to break the
silence was the baby, whose tremulous cry
of returning consciousness just as the last
handage was stitched showed hat she
thought she had been taken a mean al
vantage Of, just as she wanted to crow
and laugh at the lady who held her. There
was nothing revolving about the operation.
DIR. Maclean had done What Shakespeare
thought impossible, and had spilled no drop
Of blood. When that baby takes its first
steps those chubby feet will be ready to dc
their part.
A girl of IL was next rundled in uncon-
sciou1 She lay on the wheeled table to have
a tumor taken from the side OF her face-a
terrible legacy Of that dread disease-scarlet
fever. Tne great difficulty in this case wa
the almost unavoidable danger of cutting the
facial nerve. in which case one side Of the
It'll. - - - ----I-.- MI
operation was performed. The awaking was
to be the test The students looked on in
breathless suspense. The doctor touched the
lips of the reviving girl with the point OF q
needle. Finally the girl gave a pitiful wall
that carried with it the suspended dread
with which she had doubtless regarded the
trial she was to pass through when the
merciful anRsthetic overcame her.
Instantly a murmur Of appreciation wos
heard. The students were quick to catch
the results of the doctors skill.
"She cries ON both sides of her face now
said the doctor. @But she will laugh on
both sides OF her face afterwards"
II cut my ankle with an Ak eight years
ago." said tho next, as he laid down his
crutches, @and there she Is" With that lie
stuck out his bare foot and leg. pallid.
withered and apparently useless Whom the
man limped back TO the room from which
he cams, DIR. Maclean announced that he
was going to treat tho ankle with the cauter.
This instrument is the white-hot iron thnt
became somewhat celebrated from the fact
TINT Clara Morris, the actress, was benefited
by its use in Paris some years ago. The
item went the rounds under tho heading.
The Terrible Moxa,' and benefited Clara
also as n frst-rate fre3 advertisement
When the man next came In he lay I'M
conscious ON the table. The cauter Is a
strange instrument, WHOSE working l must
admit / do not understand. One man held a
bottle, another q seemingly compressable
green bulb. These, and the cauter which
the doctor held in his hand, wers connectel
by rubber tubes. The bottle contained naph-
tina, and by some means an intense flame
seemed 10 be directed along the pencil-l like
cauter, that speedily produced n white heat
ut the point Of the instrument As the doc
tor held 1t there was a kissing sound, and
then with a z-z-z-z-z-z the point became duh
red, next bright red, and finally a glowing
white. With this, as with a pen of fire, the
doctor wrote on the white ankle OF the un
conscious man. Doubtless he wrote "heal-
ing" Every touch OF the moxa was fol-
lowed by a black mark and a smell of burn
ing flesh. Now and then the surgeon would
hold the dulling iron in the air for a moment
till the flame lashed 1t into a white hsat
again.
Although the students applauded the
pluck OF those who stood the operations with
out the aid Of the anssthetic, yet on all
othor occasions the utmost silence was main
tanned. There was nothing theatrical about
the clinic, yet some of the situations were
certainly az dramatic as could be imagined.