The record-union., 1893-09-16
LIGHTING UP THE BODY.
How Surgeons Use Electricity for
the Purpose.
a PATIENTS Interior May Now Be H.
Illuminated so That it May Be Intel
ligently Explored-The Recent Rev
olution in the Making of Surgical
Instruments.
Instruments.

Instruments.
Electricity is finding a wide field of
usefulness in surgery. BY its aid the in
terror of the human body is actually
illuminated, so that the physician can
gaze upon the internal mechanism Of the
patient and find out what is the matter.
For example, suppose that the digestive
organs Of a child go wrong. Perhaps the
difficulty may be due to some object
swallowed. like penny. 1t is an easy
thing TO settle the question by lighting up
the stomach from within. The instru-
ment devised for this purpose is as sim
pie as it is ingenious, says the Washing
ton Star. 1t looks like an ordinary rub
Der tube, to the end of which a bulb of
glass is attached. This, with the bulb
end first, is passed down the throat of the
patient. just like an ordinary stomach
tube. There is no difficulty about swal-
lowing it, as one who has never made
such an experiment might imagine. A
loop of copper wire extends through the
entire length of the tube. Its two ends,
projecting from the other extremity or
the rubber worm, are attached to the pat
terry.
1t is but the work of minute to pass
the rubber worm down the PATIENTS
throat. The electric current is turned on
| and a light equal in power to two candies
! appears within the glass bulb. This light
illuminates the inside of the stomach so
brightly that it can actually be seen
through the front wall of the body, which
exhibits rosy glow. Ii any foreign body
has found lodgment III the organ It will
appear by an Opaque spot. In this way II
is often possible to find out what ails a
| person whose illness might otherwise re-
main a mystery. False teeth are not in
frequently swallowed.
The digestive fluids act SO powerfully
as decomposing agents that the ordinary
substances are quickly dissolved by
them. Thus most foreign bodies that
find their way into the stomach and can
not pass out through the intestinal canal
are soon eaten up. Accordingly, the
notion commonly held by ignorant peo-
pie that frog or lizard can live and grow
in PERSONS stomach is a very funny
one. Nor need anybody entertain
dread lest a cherry tree or other vege-
tarlan develop in his inside. In cases
| where dangerous objects like false teeth
DO lodge in the stomach they must be got
rid OF in one Of several interesting ways,
such as fishing for them.
ILLUMINATING THE ADAMS APPLE.
Another interesting operation is called
''translumination of the iarynx." 1t is
applied in cases where something is sup
posed to be the matter with that organ.
An electric lamp somewhat resembling a
dark lantern, with powerful lens, is
pressed against the outside of the throat
in front, directly over the Adams apple.
Everybody has an Adams apple, which
is the voice box containing the vocal
cords, though IN women it is usually
Il
lection. Close against this organ from
the outside the lens of the lantern is
pressed, so that all of the concentrated
light is shed through the throat wall.
So thin is this wall that the rays pierce
it and illuminate the voice box within,
enabling the physician, by looking down
the patients throat, to examine its in
terror and to see if anything is wrong
with the vocal cords. Just as this inn
portant organ Of speech is examined by
electricity so likewise the surgeon lights
up the inside of the ear and investigates
the condition of the apparatus Of hearing.
For the same purpose with the eye the
| operator is satisfied to use gas light,
throwing a reflected ray into the dark
chamber of the organ of vision by means
OF disk-shaped mirror, through small
hole in the center Of which he sees the re-
tina brilliantly illuminated.
Inside of the cheekbone on each side is
a small cavity known to medical science
as the 'antrum of Hymore." Sometimes,
owing to Inflammation caused by an alb
cess of a tooth or by blow, this cavity
becomes filled with pus. To find out if
such thing has happened the physician
puts into the mouth of the patient small
electric lamp, which has an attachment of
gutta percha, SO constructed as to push
down the tongue. The light, which has
a power equal ty three candles, and is
produced by current Of three volts,
illuminates the whole face. just as hol-
low pumpkin is lighted up by candle.
If there is pus in the ''antrum" on either
side 1t will show black.
In the bone of the skull ON either side,
lust behind the eyebrow. is a cavity
called the "frontal sinus" These two
cavities are examined in like manner by
means of an. electric light inserted be-
tween The bah of the eye and the upper
rim of the bony orbit. Thus the rays are
made to pass through and transluminate
the bones along the brow. Another sort
of electric lamp is employed for look
/ ing through finger which may
have needle in it, Having
found out exactly where the needle
is located it is easy for the surgeon to cut
it out, otherwise it might be quite the re-
verse. By holding such lamp at the
back or palm of PERSONS hand the
whole structure of that wonderful piece
/
REMOVING THE vERMIFoRM APPENDIX.
Within very short time the operation
for cutting out and removing the So
called yermiform appendix has become
very common one in surgery. This little
attachment 70 the human intestines fre-
| quently makes troC bic. Something gets
into it and lodges, the result being an in
fiammation which is apt to be fatal. The
only thing to do in such cases is to cut
open the wall of the abdomen and re-
move the appendix, which is of no use
| whatever to the human economy. Incl
| dentally the surgeon must examine the
intestines to see that they do not require
intending. He must have plenty of light
and so he has fastened to his forehead an
electric lamp like dark lantern, which
projects its rays through lense into the
abdominal cavity of the subject.
Electric motors are utilized in surgery
for varied purposes. One OF these is to
drill away diseased growth of the di-
viding wall of the nose. a saw driven
by electricity is similarly employed for
operations on the jaw. But perhaps the
most remarkable novelty in this line is
the telephone bullet probe. To one end
of a wire is attached nickel-plated bulb
of metal, at the other end is a steel probe.
The bulb is put into the pstients mouth.
Accordingly, when the probe enters the
wound the circuit is completed through
the body of the patient. To the wire is
attached hearing cup with diaphragm
and horseshoe magnet inside of it.
This the surgeon puts to his ear while he
probes for the bullet. When the latter is
touched the contact is announced by
distinct SOUND.
Within the last ten years there has been
a complete revolution in the manufacture