The sun., 1896-08-30

above rules be followed, chioroform may be
given in any case requiring an operation with
perfect ease and absolute safety 60 as 70 do good
without the rlSk Of evil"
But even this good nows was not received with
full faith. Too many medical men had seen or
heard Of cases which seemed TO prove that
| ohloroform was not an agent over which they
| had oomplete control. II was suggested that
| perhaps results obtained In India could not be
accepted as criterion Of practice In the tenn
perate zone. SO another board Of investigation.
working under the auspices OF the Lancet, has
been engaged for months past In an exhaustive
inquiry. Its members have Investigated care
fully no fewer than Tie deaths from ehloro-
form. and their report tends to resstablish the
former reputation OF the drug.
II presents three series OF cases: Series
A, derived from the report Of the committee of
the Royal Medical and Chirurgicai Society.
contains 80 cases Of death under chloroform;
series b, derived from an analysis of the
fatalities recorded between the years $50 and
1891 IN various British and foreign pubica-
tions, contains 500 oasea, and series G, derived
from the inquiries made by circular. contains
81 cases FROM hospitals and seven from private
practice All these were csfefully examined In
such way rs TO eliminate, as far as posaible,
the personal beliefs Of the examiner. and to pre-
serve only what had been placed on record by
competent peraons who were present when
death occurred. According TO this testi-
mony. in the 7l6 deaths from or during
the administration OF chloroform, the pulse Din
other words, the hearU was observed to fail hrst
certainly in 1s3, and probably In ~ more. or
more than 3l.5 per cent The respiration was
noted to fail first certainly In rs cases, and
probably in seven more. or only about IL per
cent. Both functions are said to have failed
simultaneously certainly mss cases. and prob
ably In 10 more: and In 3a2 the poiat was not
noted with sufficient accuracy to justify the
statement Of any conclusion. But the fact re-
mains that, in nearly one-third of the whole
number of fatalities. the recorded opinion of
those present was In favor OF the result having
been due to failure Of the heart rather than to
failure Of the respiration.
1t is pointed out Also that experiments on an
imals are apt to be misleading. because the sub
ject selected would usually be healthy. while
most human subjects in the operating room are
diseased. 1t is suggested, also. that deaths dur
ing surgical operations not of q severe kind
sometimes occurred before the discovery Of aa-
esthetics and were vaguely attributed to shock.
The cause, whatever its nature, probably still
exists, and it's victims are now charged TO anes-
thetics.
The objection to ether as an snRsthetio by
most English surgeons hRs bsen based chiefly
upon the slowness with which IL operates and
the distress which its administration causes to
many patients. Both these disadvantages have
now been overcome by combining nitrous oxide
(laughinR gasl with the ether fumes until un-
consciousness Is produced. Instead Of the ether
cone an apparatus similar in some respects to
that In weii-equipped surgeon dentists office
is employed, fhe patient breathes easily into
the mouthpeee. the first three or four inhala-
tions being of the gas alone. The ether fumes
are gradually substituted. In two minutes the
patient 10 unconscious. and there is no choking
or distress such the ether alone often produces
The latest report upon the possible dangers of
chloroform is .likely to lead to the rapid intro
dnction in this country Of this nsw and safe
form OF anasthesia-
The increase OF suicides 10 again attracting
serious public attention in this country. The
distinct falling of in the amount Of violent
crime during recent years as been made q sub
ject of national congra;ulation for some time.
When this IL contFastAd with q growth OF
suicidal mania far greater than the increase in
population will account for. there is presented
a mystery which NOBODY has yet been able to
fathom. The official returns Of cases of
elf-murder In the United Kingdom during the
last three years have just been published. The
number Of persons who committed suicide in
1899. and who so the Coroners' juries certified.
were insane. WAS 2,4T2. For 1898 the number
was 2,764. The increase in the three years In
England waa more than eleven per cent; In
Ir.iara :, vas 6fteep ner cent
~. ...,,.. -, ,,..r,,,. l., ,,
iho '.C. ~ -. Vi o,'.,ou ~ 49,. =. @
'u'nea A4'o'. ~ ~. .pno,- ,han a. ' ~ Tn,,As
no moro :" 's ~ u.,,,..., 90 IA .,a,o",
which was originated by Coroners' jures in
days when such verdict made . difference In
80 ,-aa,,oon, NJ ,be remain. NJ the victim and
~ 49,, dt.no.i,,o, n, his nronsrtv Now I, IA 70.
.rdea ss a conce.sion N the feelinps of snr-
.,..,.o t.t.,ds and ra,atIvas In nip.,v-nin.
80 an, n, hundred the act of seIt.dsstruc-
80 ,s ths onIv evidence n, nnsound mind y,
s,',, s y, ,hs docsa.sd
~ ,,or,aI,,v ra,prns n, nj, ,ba NATHAN. y,
-. go ssn.cinlIv ~ northa,n corn,rIss
.tasav ,ncrsassin rho ,endsrcv - s,T
ss. H. Ena,.no Tho increase h.. han mt
,..r,,,,,ed ,r for more tnan forty years Occasion.
III. ~ s,ysncss arc sndden a. dprio,, ,iroa.
o., sA .vo,,.u.n, and comms-c,.I diss,,a.s
=. see and ,sa1 p,, ,h.ra ia n.ra