Froude and Carlyle: The Imputation Considered Medically
Authors: J. Crichton-Browne
Journal: BMJ (1903)

succinctly with a large majority of the diseases and conditions which form the bulk of everyday practice.The book is divided into twenty-five chapters, and differs somewhat from the usual plan of such works (at any rate as far as English works are concerned) in including chapters on obstetrics, serum- therapy, opotherapy, hypnosis, balneology, chemical analysis, post-mortem examination, public health, and pharmacology.'She inclusion of chapters on-radiography and medullary cocainization show that the author has brought his work well up to date.There is a useful littletable giving the equivalent weights in grams and grains of other nations as compared with the Italian system of notation.Indeed, the amount of infor- mation crowded into so small a space is astonishing, and as a reminder of what one has learnt from larger textbooks or from experience, this handy manual, being easily carried in the pocket, completely justifies its existence. OBSTETRICS.DR. JARDINE has been for eleven years on the staff of the Glasgow Maternity Hospital, and in that time bas had a "varied and extensive" obstetrical experience.From that experience he has written Clinical Obstetrics.'It is a didactic elementary treatise on midwifery, illustrated, and we with pleasure say, made more interesting and instructive by re- cords of cases which have occurred in the author's practice.These cases are as a rule well chosen; they are not put in to fill up space, but because they are deserving of record.The value and attraction of the book lies in the strong personal individuality that pervades it.The author is neither an echo nor a copyist; but an observer who has formed his opinions for himself.Herein lies not only the charm, but also the weak- ness of the book,; for it is not possible for one person, even in eleven years spent in the service of the Glasgow Maternity Hospital, to exhaust all the possibilities of difficult labour, and finally decide on the best treatment of everything.Dr. Jardine often frankly and boldly expressed decided opinions sometimes contrary, to those held by most obstetricians, without adducing or referring to evidence in support of his views.Thus, in speaking of concealed acci- dental haemorrhage, he says: " Rupturing the membranes has been advocated, but this I consider dangerous, as the uterus is paralysed, and will not contract."This is apparently a mere opinion, and the statemeflt is contrary to the experience of mostaccoucheurs.Moreover,thereasongivenfornotrupturing the membranes applies with even greater force to the ,accouchement force, which is next described.The author expresses his intention, if he gets another bad case, to try Porro's operation.Ramsbotham says that in his practice of 25 cases of accidental haemorrhage, " of very aggravated nature," 23 were snecessfully treated by rupture of the mem- branes.The mortality of Porro's operation has not yet been reduced to this.For postApartum haemorrhage, the author strongly recommends the intrauterine injection of suprarenal extract, 3 j to two pints of hot water, but does not say how often he has used it.He advises plugging the uterus, but does not mention bimanual compression; nor does he tell the reader that in bad cases plugging has been known to fail.In many respects the teaching of this book is better than that of some recently published American books.Dr. Jardine informs the student of the ease with which in occipito-posterior positions the occiput can be manually rotated to the front, but omits to say that the chin also can, when the face comes down with the chin behind, be manually rotated forwards.He has used Ramsbotham's decapitating hook, and found that it will cut through the neck easily-a fact apparently unknown to most American obstetricians.Puerperal eclampsia is dis- cussed at some length, and 21 cases are recorded.The author strongly advocates the treatment of this disease by saline infusion, but as yet not enough cases treated in this way have been recorded to show that its results are better than those of the general run of cases.