Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1893-01-06

nced passages In the works Of Unzer
and ProChaska, established ON a firm
basis, and solely by experiment. the
so-called "reflex" function of the spinal
cord. and its independence, in certain
conditions, Of the control ordinarily ex
ercised over it by the brain. His dis
coveries. like those Of Bell, ut once
threw flood Of light upon many of
the dark places Of nervous pathology,
and pointed out the means of rational
and successful treatment. Within the
last few years experimental research
has forced the nervous system to dis
close more and more Of its secrets, and
it Is full of promise for the future. 1t
has already been carried sufficiently
far to enable the surgeon. in many
cases. to discover the precise part of
the skull beneath which an abcess or
tumOr Of the brain is situated, to ire
phine at the right spot, and, without
any further exploration, to empty the
abcess or to remove the tulnor. Such
operations are comparatively new, but
they have already saved many lives
and without doubt are destined to save
many more.
The illustrations drawn from the
nervous system are especially valuable,
because they relate to a portion of the
organism which has been unsuccessful
~ studied by other methods of inquiry
The whole of modern brain surgery has
been the direct result of experiments
on living animals. and could have been
brought even to its present early stage
by no other method. It must be re-
membered that trephining of the skull.
probably for 40 elevation or removal
of bone depressed by fracture, was
practiced by the prehistoric men of
the Stone Age; while brain tumor
was first removed within the last five
or six years.
To take a third example from the
same group, DR.. Hopes experiments
on living animals cleared up much
which had before been doubtful regard
ing heart disease, Notwithstanding bed
side experience and post-mortem exam
nations, and have enabled physicians
ever since to detect the earliest indica-
tons of cardiac changes and correctly
to appreciate the sounds which are
significant Of improvement or of de-
terioration.
Lying across the middle Of the front
of the throat, almost Immediately I'M
der the skin, is Il small organ called the
thyroid gland or thyroid body. Until
quite recently nothing was known of
its uses in the economy, insomuch that
it was scarcely supposed to have any;
but it was known to become enlarged,
chiefly i'll peasant women in certain
counties OF England, especially Derby
shire and Wiltshire, and the enlarge
ment was called goiter or bronchOcele,
or, frequently, 'Derbyshire neck The
enlarged thyroid often becomes Il
source Of discomfort from its weight
and bulk, and is sometimes il serious
| impeachment. to breathing. Proposals
| were often made to remove 1t altogeth-
er when enlarged. In 1873 the late
Sir William Gull called attention to Il
state which he described rs Il ''cretinoid
condition in adults aud which soon
afterwards was called ''myxoedema, ="
name implying infiltration of the It's
sues with mucosity. The subjects of
| myzeodema are chiefly adult females,
| and the disease is characterized by Il
thickeninS of the simultaneous tissue,
| most noticeable in the face and hands,
the face becoming enlarged, swollen
| looking and eXpresSfOnless. There Is
also dullness of all the facilities and
unnatura slowness Of all the move
Of A az
to be entertained that myxoedema
| was connected with some change In
| the thyroid, and this body was expert
mentally removed from sufficient
number of animals III which all the
| symptoms of the disease speedily de-
! clared themselves. The experiments
showed O that the thyroid body full
fills very important function with
reference to the general nutrition; (2)
that, even if materially enlarged, but
! still able to discharge it's function, 1t
! should on no account be removed as
| if it were something Of little or no
value in the organism. So far, the gain
is perhaps negative; but the causes of
of thyroidal failure have yet to be as
certained, and there can be little doubt
but that positive results will be secured
by and by. Already, indeed, attempts
have been made to cure myxoedema
by Injecting under the skin Of the pa
tent liquid prepared from the thyroid
glands of animals, and these attempts
have been rewarded by very promis-
ing amount of success.
Proceeding to the second group, an
excellent example of them is furnished
by the experiments preliminary to John
Hunters operations for the cure Of
aneurism or to Won Graefe's operation
for the cure Of glaucoma. The results
obtained by experiments on the legation
of arteries, from the time Of Hunter
EDWARDS, have led to very great and
constantly increasing saving Of human
life.
For medico-legal purposes expert
ment has often been used successfully,
and has afforded evidence which could
not have been obtained In any other
pecially, it has furnished tests Of great
er deicacy, and applicable to smaller
quantity Of material than those Of the
chemists laboratory. A person has
been poisoned by belladonna, and the
organs VIII yield a substance to which
no chemical test could be successfully
applied, but which will cause dilation
of the pupil when put into the eye Of
rabbit. Or the poison may have been
strychnia, and enough may be obtained