"louping ill."
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-previously, and had been severe all night. Therehad been no vomiting. Appendicitis was diagnosed,and the usual incision was made and the abdomen
opened, but the appendix could not be found, norcould the esecum or ascending colon. The rightside of the abdomen was occupied entirely by smallintestine. The incision was closed and a median
opening made through which the abdomen wasexplored. The cmcum and ascending colon werefound on the left side in contact with the de-
scending colon, the transverse colon and omentumbeing absent. The appendix was long, swollen, andinflamed, and attached by a long meso-appendix.The caecum and ascending colon were furnishedwith a mesentery presenting a free border at thebrim of the pelvis and attached along the middleline in front of the vertebral column. The rare.anatomical abnormality present would be verydisconcerting for an inexperienced operator, andmight easily lead to abandonment of the opera-tion with an untouched appendix. It is note-
worthy that although the appendix was on the leftside both the pain and tenderness were referredto the usual spot on the right side. This Dr.<Corlette does not attempt to explain. He has seen
many cases of pelvic appendicitis in which the painand tenderness were diffused in the hypogastricregion with little or no localisation at McBurney’spoint. The October number of Surgery, Gyneco-logy, and Obstetr.ics contains an article by JosephH. Schrup on "Left-Sided Appendicitis." Hedescribes a case closely resembling the above.There was tenderness over McBurney’s point, butat the operation the caecum and ascending colonwere absent from their usual place. The jejunumwas coiled up in the right half of the abdomen.The csecum was on the left side near the sigmoid.A radiogram taken later showed angulation at thesplenic flexure and absence of the transverse colon,while the caecum and ascending colon were in- close apposition to the descending colon and
sigmoid. Schrup has collected two other casesof similar anomaly recorded a long time ago, oneby Cabot of Boston in the Medical and SurgicalJournal of 1836, and the other by Cluene in theJournal of Anatomy and Physiology of 1867.
"LOUPING ILL."
A PAMPHLET published by Messrs. Blackwoodand Sons records the investigations of Dr. J. P.
McGowan, assistant superintendent of the Labora-tory of the Royal College of Physicians of Edin-
burgh, into the disease in sheep known as
" louping ill." There have been several inquiriesinto the nature of this malady, but nevertheless itscauses and pathology seem to have remainedsomewhat of a closed book. The research inthis instance was carried out on behalf of the
Edinburgh and East of Scotland College of Agri-culture, and the expenses incurred were metfrom the Development Fund through the Boardof Agriculture for Scotland. In acknowledging thatthe subject of " louping ill " is a very intricate anddifficult one the author controverts the idea thatthe disease is due to ticks, and shows that it occurson holdings and land where ticks have neverexisted, especially in cases of low-ground arablefarms. He agrees, however, that where the tick is"louping ill" is always worse. "Louping ill,"braxy, stomach staggers, and grass sickness are
considered to be essentially of the same nature butepidemiologically different. Braxy is the result of
sudden violent chill as a predisposing factor and’louping ill " is ascribed to a less violent one. The,ause of the complaint is the bacillus bipolarissepticus ovium, which produces effusion into thepericardial sac and haemorrhages in the heartnuscle, mucosa of the fourth stomach and kidneys,and oedema of the lungs and subcutaneous tissues.Extreme variations of outside temperature, pre-valent chiefly in spring and autumn, and improperor poor food-supply render the subjects liable toattack. Lambs sucking an affected ewe may takebhe disease through her milk, and in them diarrhoaais a pronounced symptom. Shelter from badweather, separation of ill-thriving lambing ewes,and special feeding are recommended as preventivemeasures; affected pasture should be burnt, andthe administration of a purgative to affected animalsand their isolation are advocated as remedialmeasures. Injections of cultures of the bacillusinto rabbits produced typical symptoms of thedisease. The investigator does not consider themalady contagious, although recommending isola-tion, and he points out that cattle take the diseaseand are affected in the same manner as sheep.Navel ill, the cedema and pyaemia produced by tickbites, and wool ball in the stomach are cited asinstances of pseudo-louping ill. In the preparationof this report a circular of questions relating to" louping ill" was addressed to many who hadknowledge of the disease and their answers to thequestions put were very helpful to the cause ofresearch.
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Sir Dyce Duckworth has been elected a MembreCorrespondant Etranger of the Academic de Médecineof Paris.
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WE regret to record the death, on Jan. 16th, ofDr. Herbert Williams, medical officer of health ofthe Port of London.
RELEASE OF A MEDICAL MAN IN THE CAMEROONS.-Official notification has been received of the release, onJan. 8th, of Dr. James Lindsay, of the West African MedicalStaff, by a British force from his captivity in the Cameroons.Dr. Lindsay was captured by the Germans shortly after theoutbreak of war and interned near Jaunde.
A DOMESTIC ECONOMY EXHIBITION. - OnJan. 17th, at the Institute of Hygiene, Devonshire-street,W., Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll, opened an exhibi-tion, the object of which is mainly to indicate some of theways in which waste in the household can be prevented. Her
Royal Highness pointed out that although much of the wastein our kitchens is due to carelessness, some must be creditedto an ignorance which may be removed by instruction.Sir William Bennett, the President, read an address ofwelcome. The exhibition will remain open from 12 to 6until Saturday. To-day (Friday) at 3.30, Dr. J. S. Owens
will lecture on Waste in Fuel.DUNDEE’S Low BIRTH-RATE AND HIGH DEATH-
RATE.-For the year 1915 the birth-rate in Dundee was justover 22 per 1000 inhabitants, compared with 28 per 1000 in1905, 24-5 in 1913, and 25 in 1914. Previously the fallingbirth-rate was offset by a falling death-rate. In 1915 thiswas not so, the surplus of births over deaths being only 165 ;in the worst of the previous years it was never below 1500.Among children under 1 year of age the proportion of deathswas 210 for every 1000 born. A contributory cause of thishigh mortality was the occurrence of two severe epidemics ofwhooping-cough, while measles prevailed in the city inthe early part of the year. Whooping-cough also accountedfor 336 deaths, causing the heaviest death-rate from
whooping-cough known in Dundee. The death-rate frommeasles, although high, has been exceeded on one or twooccasions.