The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1904-04-08
Meeting Of The County Medical
Society.
Medical

Society held its regular monthly meet
ing at Odd Fellows hall in this city on
Tuesday, the 5th inst. There were
eighteen physicians present besides two
clergymen, Revs. Hanks aud Clyde.
After the minutes of the last meeting
We're read and approved the application
of DR.. l.. d. Hickson was acted on and
he was voted as member of the society.
t.Dr. Hume introduced the following
lresolution which was unanimously
carried:
Whereas, We believe that the bill
for preventing the adulteration of foods
or drugs, and for regulating traffic there
in and for other purposes" entitled
house bill 6295, is wise provision for
the protection of the public welfare,
therefore
Resolved, That we the members of
the Shiawassee County Medical Society
do hereby respectfully petition that the
same be enacted into law at the earliest
possible moment.
The president, Doctor McCor-
mick, said he was pleased to be
able to announce that the society had
two distinguished visitors at the meet
ing, one teacher of clinical medicine
in the University of Michigan, and the
other a well known expert in nervous
diseases, DR.. G. B. Burr, of Flint, who
was now councillor for this district. He
then introduced DR.. George Dock, pro-
fessor of the theory and practice of
medicine and of clinical medicine in the
University of Michigan, who read apaper
on pneumonia. Being teacher in the
University, the society naturally expect
en- to learn all that was newest and best
in the management of this disease. He
went very infinitely and carefully over
the iology,symptomatology and patho-
logy of this disease. The germ which
causes pneumonia is very general and
widely distributed, existing. in the
mouths and Threats of many well peo-
pie; and is also capable of producing
other diseased conditions and complica
tions as well as pneumonia. Some
families are much more suscepti
BILE than others; some individuals are
more susceptible than others in the same
family; lowered vitality, and especially
exposure to coldand wet are the princi
pal exciting causes. AS rule the dag
nosis of pneumonia was comparatively
easy, the sudden rise of temperature, the
rapid wiry pulse, rapid breathing, head
ache, flushed face, pain in the side
cough, rusty sputa, together with dull
ness on percussion over the affected area,
.crepitant and suberepitans rales are all,
in the aggregate sufficiently diagnostic
symptoms of this disease. The most of
those patients are more or less delirious,
sometimes wildly so, requiring constant
vigilance on the part of the nurse or at
tendant to prevent them injuring them
selves, by jumping out of windows, run
ming away, and getting lost, and various
other mad pranks. He instanced sever
al such cases occurring under his own
hospital management. Pyamia as
complication of pneumonia is sometimes
very obscure and difficult of diagnosis.
an exploratory operation alone deter
mining the point. 1t is also an exceed
ingly dangerous complication. Here he
gave the history of two or three such
cases treated at the University. The
acute symptoms of an average case
usually run their course in about seven
to nine days, but some drag out much
longer. About sixteen per cent Of them
are fatal. 1t is very fatal in old people
and in young feeble children. After
passing in review the various forms of
treatment, that in the past have been in
vogue, their comparative efficiency and
their adaptability to the prevailing type
of the disease, he then detailed his own
treatment of pneumonia. TheIfirst req
uisite was good nurse. The sick
room should be large, well lighted and
affording plentiful supply of fresh air.
He strongly condemned the practice he
observed in many places, when called in
consultation, of having the sick room
overheated. and crowded with the
friends and relatives of the sick one, thus
vitiating the atmosphere by robbing it
of its oxygen. Regarding the tempera-
ture he relied upon the application of
cold for its reduction, either the cold
Tubing or the use of the cold coil; the
icebag for the head for delirium, the
cold coil for the subsistence of pain in
the side. He rarely used any form of
anodyne; expectorants were rarely call
ed for; arterial stimulants with care; oc-
casionally ;digitalis alcohol and strychnia
for feeble heart; bromide of Ammonium
in large doses for sleeplessness His
closing advice was, Treat the patient
not the disease be governed by condi-
lions present in each case.
DDr Burr, of Flint, made neat, spicy
speech complimenting the author on
the scientific character of his paper, and
the medical society upon their interest