1062

PARIS.

(From our Paris Correspondent.)

DEATH OF DR. N. GUÉNEAU DE MUSSY.

I REGRET to have to report the death of Dr. NoelGuéneau de Mussy, which took place yesterday morning athis residence in Paris. He had been ailing for some time,and spent the winter in the south of France, whence he re-turned only on Thursday last, somewhat improved in health.He intended to resume his practice, which was very exten-sive, but his condition became aggravated and he expiredrather unexpectedly. Dr. Gueneau de Mussy was a well-known and much-esteemed physician, and his death will bea great loss not only to the French, but also to the Englishand American residents of Paris. He was seventy-twoyears of age. He took his degree in 1839, was an Agregeof the Faculty of Paris, Member of the Academy of Medi-cine, and for many years Physician to the Hotel Dieu.

THE FUNERAL OF VICTOR HUGO.

That accidents should occur in such a great concourse ofpeople as that brought together to witness the funeralprocession of Victor Hugo was inevitable ; but the numberwas few in proportion to the densely packed multitude thatthronged the thoroughfares. There were several brokenarms and legs caused by falling from trees and platforms,&c., which were erected for the occasion. There were alsosome cases of fainting and insolation, principally among thesoldiers ; this is not to be wondered at, as the weatherwas rather sultry, which added considerably to the fatigueof having to stand so many hours without food or drink.The Cardinal Archbishop of Paris, whose health had much

improved, has had a relapse of his bronchial affection, andhis condition, which is rather critical owing to his advancedage, is causing great anxiety to his friends.

Paris, June 3rd.

VIENNA.

(From our own Correspondent.)

SMALL-POX IN VIENNA.

THE epidemic of small-pox has been severe. In Vienna

proper, strict prophylactic measures have been taken toprevent its introduction. During the month of March 414persons were attacked by the disease in the suburbs and282 in the city. In one week 82 persons fell ill in

Vienna, of whom 20 died, 124 cases occurring in the suburbs.In the week following 76 cases of small-pox were re-

corded in the city, 14 ending fatally; in the suburbs 120cases were registered. The population of Vienna amountsto 748,889; that of the suburbs to 321,564.

AMAUROSIS AFTER PARTURITION.

The following interesting case was observed by Dr. L.Königstein, in the clinique of Professor Spaeth. A woman,aged twenty-eight, was delivered of a seven-months’ childon Aug. 29th, 1884. The course of the pregnancy and deli-very was normal. Shortly after the expulsion of the placentathe patient fell asleep, and when she awoke, after the lapseof three hours, she was totally blind. Dr. Königstein, onexamining her next day, found outwardly nothing abnormal.The pupils were enlarged almost ad maximum, their reactionon light and shade was very weak, and the patient couldscarcely distinguish light from darkness. The ophthalmo-scope showed striking paleness of the papilla and narrowingof the arteries. No medication was employed. By Aug. 31stthe patient’s vision had improved considerably. She couldperceive movements of the hand at a distance of one metre.The field of vision was limited. No ophthalmoscopic changewas observed. On Sept. 1st distinct reaction of the pupilswas present. The field of vision was free. The next day theacuity of perception was normal, the arteries being some-what distended. After the lapse of another week all wasnormal. The blindness consequently was caused by retinalischæmia, which occurs but rarely in childbed, as in generaluraemic amaurosis after eclampsia, or amaurosis after severehaemorrhage occurs; but in this case the urine contained no

albumen, and free hæmorrhage did not take place. Onlyone case similar to the above is known-namely, that ob-served by Weber in St. Petersburg, and published in theBerlin. Klinische Wochenschrift in 1873.

THE SYPHILIS BACILLUS.

Dr. S. Lustgarten recently lectured in the I. a. R. Societyof Physicians on his researches on the syphilis bacillus; hisstatement being corroborated and somewhat widened by theexperiences of Dr. Julius Fiirsh and Dr. Julius Mannaberg,from tlie Vienna Dermatological Clinique, in connexion witha recent case of sclerosis. The sclerosis contained a largenumber of bacilli as it were in the form of nids.

THE APPLICATION OF PHOSPHORUS IN CASES OF RACHITIS,

Some years ago Wegner described the changes of thebones of animals caused by the ingestion of phosphorus,and hinted that this drug may perhaps play a rôle in thetherapeutics of rachitis. Kassowitz, in Vienna, took upWegner’s idea, and not only repeated the experiments withanimals, but also applied this remedy to rachitic children.As he stated at the meeting of Natural Philosophers inFreiburg, in 1883, he obtained excellent results with thisremedy. Last year in Magdeburg he was already ableto announce with greater certainty that phosphorus, iftaken in doses of half a milligramme per diem, re-

moved all the symptoms of rachitis. Many physiciansexperienced in children’s diseases agreed with Kassowitz;but opponents of the treatment also arose. Baginsky, inBerlin, applying phosphorus for rachitis, observed only in 8cases out of 72 a slight improvement; in 4 cases even adeterioration. Lorey, in Frankfort-on-Main, had 25 cases,in 7 of which the application of phosphorus produced a goodeffect, and in 18 the success was doubtful or altogetherwanting. Professor Weiss, in Prague, had in 7 cases a nega-tive result, and in only a single instance a positive one.Schwechten, in Berlin, observed out of 41 cases 4 recoveriesand 21 improvements; 11 times phosphorus produced noeffect, and 5 times it caused deterioration. Professor Monti,in Vienna, is of the same opinion.

EXPERIMENTS WITH RHODANE POTASSIUM.

The saliva contains, as is well known, rhodane potas-sium, and the urine combinations of it. As only little isknown about its physiological and toxic qualities, Dr.Paschkis, from Professor Stricker’s laboratory, made experi-ments with it on animals. An application of rhodanenatrium or rhodane hydracid increases the reflex irritability;

) if applied in small quantities it causes tetanus, which is!: more lasting than that caused by strychnine. Rhodane

potassium increases the blood pressure and irritates theterminal prolongations of the vagus in the heart. A solutionof it, if dropped on the heart of the frog, produces stasis of

" the organ, lasting up to fifteen seconds. Paschkis employed- the soda, and not the potassium salt, to exclude the effect of

the potassium on the heart.S THE VIENNA UNIVERSITY.

For the forthcoming summer term 195 theoretical lecturesand practical demonstrations are announced in the Facultyof Medicine, to be delivered by 121 professors, " docenten,"and assistants. In the past winter term 2291 ordinary(of whom 873 were from Hungary) and 164 extraordinarystudents matriculated in the Faculty of Medicine. In

- the whole of the Faculties the number of ordinary studentsa amounted to 5076, that of extraordinary students to 765.e

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Obituary.JOIIN MORE YOUNG, M.A., M.B., C.M. GLA8., &c.

WE have just received notice from India of the suddendeath of Surgeon John More Young, I.M.D., from hydrophobia.It seems that about two months and a half before the

melancholy event, while caressing a little sick dog (belongingto a brother officer), it licked his hand, on which, unfor-tunately, there was an open suppurating sore. The handswelled and was painful for a day or two, but no more wasthought about the matter, although the pet dog dixl

; from rabies, the result of a bite from a mad dog. )Ir.

Young, however, was not left long in forgetfulness, for in