Las Vegas daily optic. [volume] (Las Vegas, N.M.) 1880-1908, 1904-03-09
Medical Inspector Of French
Army Attributes Disease to
Eating too Much Nest
TELLING STATISTICS
Rare Occurrence 0f the Disease
Where i Vegetarian Dict II
ii the Ascendancy
From the Paris Matin.

tu1 FAl0 Mstib.
It II . long time since appendiciti
has been discussed 1t the Academ
Of Medicine. True, We have had vacl
tions. and though appendicitis Is nc
idle, the academy supposes It ough
to rest during the months Of Augua
and September. And. besides, II b.
CINE to become difficult tosay anythin
new on d question which for ten year
past has made so much ink AMI bloc
run 1t Ia DR.. Shauvel. medical inspes
tor 0f the army, who has helled tn
cat BY q study on the frequency Of al
pendicitis In the French army.
A little detail In passing. Durini
the year 1902 the military hospital
received G6s patients afflicted with III
pcndicitis. Out OF this number Is
have been treated according TO tn
surgical rite, and $50 have received
purely medical treatment, although
according to a celebrated mot, "lh,
medical treatment Of a~ppenliciti,
does not exist or the lss operated
on with the knife. twenty.three died;
while the 4Se not treated with the
knife furnished but five deaths
scarcely / per cent. Thus, theoreti,
cally, medical treatment does not ex.
Isl; but, practically, medical treat
ment cures nlnety.nine out Of q hun.
bred. This is vexatlous for the the
orists, but not TO be treated with con-
tempt BY the sick,
NJ. Chauyel pushed yet further his
inquiries. Onr army In Africa In.
cludes Europeans and natives. Leg.
ionaries. soldiers OF the line and Tur.
cor. are they equals before append.
citis? or Mohammed. does he kindly
extend his protection over The ap-
pendi.es OF his followers? In five
years, from 1875 TO 1902, out OF an Of.
fcctiye Of $4,000 men. We have among
the French and Europeans l37 cases
OF appendicitis, or o64 per 1000.
while In the same space Of time out
Of an effective OF 1900 natives we
ind but thirteen cases. that is, Ola
per 1000.
by this Il appears that appendicitis
Is two times less frequent among the
French soldiers In Algeria than among
the French or France. and It is ten
times more rare among the native
Algerlans. The difference Is much
too great 70 be accidental. II should
have q cause. What Is Il? Is Il an
affair Of race. OF climate, or religion
N. Chauyel thinks II Is a question Of
alimentation.
The Arabs are very sober. They
eat little, and are. above all. yegetar-
When they do eat meat they eat
Il very much cooked. Accordingly.
among the native tribes living their
ordinary life appendicitis Is almost
unknown. II one observes Il more
frequently among our auxilarics.
sharpshooters and spahis. IL ~ be.
cause the regime 81 the latter Is no
more the regime of the Arab. but
nearer 10 that of the Franch troop.
er.
This explanation, perhaps. Is not ab.
solutely satisfactory. inasmuch as Il
Ices not tell Us how and why this
immunity extends 70 Euro
lean transplanted 20 the soil III Afri.
"a, where their alimcntaray regime
diners from the regime u HE
metropolis, but . may suspect that
/ has much truth in II. Other obs
have signallkcd this rarity Of
appendicitis among people less earn,
Iyorous than ours. Dr. Snyder, who
Tor ten years past has been attached
q TIE court 81 Tie shah of pcrKla, las
lad 70 treat but 1--WE cases of this ma
lady at Teheran. three Of which were
Europeans and only Two Porslans
Dr.. Snyder also attributes the fafty
81 appcndlcular Academia a. tho mode
y Authorization of The Perlans. At
reheran abstinence from pork is obi
and the meat Of eattio IL al
most unknown. They hardly eat any
meats but mutton ana chicken. and
hose always very MUCH cooked. one
the two Perslans attacked by APP
,endicitIs was d student recently ri,
.urned from Paris. and he had con-
inued 10 feed himself III The Euro.
,ean style.
On The other hand. Dr. Matignon
Who for five years was physician Al
he Preach embassy at Picking. has
OF met a single case or appendicitis,
ither IN the missions OF In he hos
ital OF Nantang, during the whole 81