The importance of restoration of function is rightly stressed throughout, and the excellence of the author's final results support his contention that practically all cases are capable of repair by the use of the patient's own tissues.

A few points call for comment. In the reference to the important subject of anesthesia we fail to find mention of the extremely valuable administration of intra-tracheal gas and oxygen, and his selection of rectal anesthesia as the optimum method for prolonged cases will not meet with universal approval.

The periods of time allowed in tube pedicle manipulation appear to be unduly short if safety be taken as the first essential. A preference is shown for the transport of tissue from a distance even in comparatively slight lesions, and the many valuable methods of local adjustment receive somewhat scant treatment. The elaborate operation for repair of cleft palate, a combination, as the author states, of Brophy, Lane, skin grafting, and Langenbeck, would require a fuller statement of actual results to ensure its general adoption.

The results shown in cases of hare-lip, again by the author's own method, are strikingly successful. The description of ankylosis of the jaw and its treatment is clear and highly satisfactory.

Mr Pickerill has written a very valuable book, and the work of his publishers is deserving of great praise.

A Memoir of William and John Hunter. By GEORGE C. PEACHEY. Pp. xi+313. Illustrated. 1924. W. Brendon & Son, Ltd., Plymouth.

This work is a by-product of the author's well-known History of St George's Hospital, to which it may be also said to form a fitting complement. It is not in the form of a consecutive biography but, as the author claims in his preface, "it is a patient and laborious compilation of facts and details, many of which throw new light upon the lives of the two brothers." It is evident that Dr Peachey has spared no pains to ensure accuracy regarding the more important events, and even the minor episodes, in the lives of his subjects, by examining original documents and exploring other first-hand sources of information. In this way he has been able to correct some errors, and to explain discrepancies of previous writers, as well as to add new facts to our knowledge.

An introductory "Sketch of the Early Teaching of Anatomy in England to 1746" leads up to a study of William Hunter's career, and seems to justify the claim made for him as "the father of the anatomical schools of London." A chapter is devoted to the association of the two brothers, and this is followed by a detailed study of the career of John Hunter.

The portraits, which enhance the value of the work, include those of Mrs John Hunter, the writer of the song "My mother bids me bind my hair," and their daughter Lady Campbell, both reproduced here for the first time.

This work is a mine of information on the Hunters, and should be specially welcome to prospective Hunterian orators.

NEW EDITIONS

Dislocations and Joint Fractures. By FREDERICK J. COTTON, A.M., M.D., F.A.C.S., Visiting Surgeon to the Boston City Hospital, Associate in Surgery, Harvard Medical School, etc. Second Edition. Pp. 745, with 1393 illustrations. London and Philadelphia: W. B. Saunders Company, Ltd. 1924. Price 50s. net.

In this new and revised edition of a volume dealing with injuries to and about joints are presented the fruits of a life-time of study and experience in hospital and private practice. The thoroughness with which the author presents each section, the clarity of the description, the profusion of excellent illustrations and röntgenograms bid fair to make this work exceed all previous works on this subject. It is the most comprehensive and complete work of its kind before the medical profession to-day. All the data have been drawn from cases seen or under the direct knowledge of the author, and impart a feeling of confidence to those who turn to it for advice in handling this difficult class of work. The direct correspondence of text and illustrations will be found especially helpful, particularly in regard to following out the details of treatment. Careful consideration is given to the surgical anatomy of each region, and many of the sections are amplified by instructive case-records. A strong feature of the book is its practicability, all the methods of reduction and fixation being possible to the practitioner. From the War experience new chapters are to be found, dealing with the effective fixation of infected compound fractures, the active disinfection and closure of joints, and the developed use of physiotherapy methods, based upon the author's own military service.

Special subjects which the author has made peculiarly his own, with reference to downward luxation of the shoulder, Colles' fracture, fractures of the ankle and, more especially, fractures of the os calcis, are all incorporated and fully described.

The volume is handsomely produced, and bears testimony to the author's extensive knowledge of the literature on fractures in a full bibliography.

Differential Diagnosis.

Vol. II. By RICHARD C. CABOT, M.D. Third Edition. Pp. 709. Illustrated. Philadelphia and London: W. B. Saunders Company, Ltd. 1924. Price 42s. net.

In Volume I. the symptom "Pain" and eleven others were considered; a further nineteen symptoms form the subject-matter of this, the second, volume. Delirium, swelling of the arm, dyspepsia, and pallor are a few of those dealt with; and these examples will serve to give an idea of the scope of the work. The book consists of nineteen chapters, each dealing with one symptom. A chapter begins with a few pages of "general considerations"; many useful diagrams show at a glance the relative frequency of the causes of a particular symptom. Thereafter a series of clinical cases are utilised to indicate the various diseases giving rise to the symptom under discussion. In these cases all the salient facts of family history, previous and present illness are noted; then follows a discussion of the case, and a note on the outcome. No fewer than 317 cases are analysed in this way. Thus medical diagnosis is approached in a way essentially clinical, and this line of approach taking the form of the quotation of actual cases, it is the nearest possible substitute for a series of ward visits under the guidance of an expert clinician; moreover, to wards filled with specially selected cases, the study of these clinical records forms an excellent diagnostic exercise. The book will probably be of most use to those with some measure of clinical experience; for them it should prove of great interest and value.

NOTES ON BOOKS

The activities of the Staff of the Mayo Clinic and Mayo Foundation are now so widespread, that it has been found impossible longer to include within the covers of the annual volume of Collected Papers reprints of all the papers emanating from these institutions during a single year. The Committee on Publications has therefore decided on a new policy which, we feel sure after a study of the latest volume of the Collected Papers (W. B. Saunders Company, 1924, price 63s.), will meet with the cordial approval of readers. All the papers published during the year by members of the staff are included in the volume, but they are almost all given in abridged, or in abstract form. A certain number are only referred to by title, but as the source of publication is given in every case, the complete paper can be referred to by readers who are specially interested.

To the general reader this new arrangement presents distinct advantages: a wide range of subjects is covered, and the summaries

are sufficiently full to give a clear and intelligible impression of the author's views.

The work of the Editor, Mrs Mellish, has been more than usually onerous, but it has been carried out with that high degree of efficiency to which she has made us accustomed.

Transactions of the American Gynecological Society, 1923, edited by Arthur H. Curtis, M.D. The forty-eighth annual meeting of the Society was held in May 1923, under the Presidentship of Dr John A. Sampson. In all twenty-one communications were read and discussed. All of these maintain the high level of interest associated with the Transactions of this Society.

Dr Robert Bell's Reminiscences of an Old Physician (John Murray, price 16s.) is a singularly complacent autobiography. The anecdotage contains a few stories that are new (but not particularly good), many that are old (and adapted), and some are fishing stories. About a fourth of the book is devoted to an exposition of the author's views on "the Cancer Problem," but it is of no value as a scientific contribution.

The first two volumes of International Clinics for 1924 contain papers covering that wide range of subjects which we are accustomed to find in these publications. One series of articles deals with the problem of the new-born child, whilst another is devoted to Physiotherapy. Professor Sweet contributes a paper on "The Gall-bladder, its past, present, and future."

Practical Forensic Medicine, by C. Graham Grant, third edition (H. K. Lewis & Co., Ltd., 4s. 6d. net.), contains numerous useful hints on procedure, which are not to be found in the larger textbooks. It may prove of use in an emergency, but the title Practical Forensic Medicine is scarcely justified by its scope or accuracy.

Fifth British
Congress of
Obstetrics and
Gynecology.

NOTES

THE Congress consists in the reunion of the various British and Irish Societies devoted to the subjects of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and includes the Section of Obstetrics and Gynecology of the Royal Society of Medicine, the Midland Obstetric and Gynæcological Society, the North of England Obstetric and Gynecological Society, the Edinburgh Obstetrical Society, and the Section of Obstetrics and Gynecology of the Royal Academy of Medicine of Dublin. Next year the President of the Congress will be Dr Russell Andrews, who

presides over the Congress in his capacity of President of the Section. of Obstetrics and Gynecology of the Royal Society of Medicine.

The Congress will meet in London on 22nd April, and arrangements are being made for three days' work, which will include a discussion on the Diagnosis and Treatment of Puerperal Sepsis, the reading of individual communications, and epidiascopic demonstrations on histological subjects. In addition, a preliminary report on Eclampsia will be communicated from the Special Eclampsia Committee. Operative demonstrations will also be given at the various hospitals by their regular gynecological surgeons. It is intended also to arrange an exhibition of pathological specimens.

Notice of intention to read a paper at the Congress should reach the Hon. Secretaries, Dr Clifford White, 62 Harley Street, W.1, and Dr J. D. Barris, 50 Welbeck Street, W. 1, before 31st December, and the paper itself should be in their hands by the 28th of February 1925.

The London members of the Congress will entertain the visiting members at Lunch on the 22nd, and the President will hold a Reception in the Rooms of the Royal Society of Medicine the same evening. On the evening of the 23rd the members of the Congress and their guests will dine together.

Dangerous Drugs.

THE examination of over 1,000,000 medical prescriptions issued to persons in England and Wales under the National Health Insurance Acts during 1924 is one of several inquiries now being undertaken by the Ministry of Health, in order to ascertain what amounts of morphine, cocaine, and other dangerous drugs are required annually for medical and scientific purposes in the United Kingdom. A similar investigation has already been carried out in Scotland, where 419,000 prescriptions, covering a period of two months, have been examined.

Inquiries of the same nature are now being conducted by other States throughout the world in anticipation of the League of Nations International Opium Conference, which is meeting in Geneva on 17th November, to consider the best means of reducing the world's output of dangerous drugs to its medical and scientific needs.

The urgency of drastic steps is evident from the fact that, according to the British Government's Annual Report on Opium just received by the League's Opium Advisory Committee, proceedings under the Dangerous Drugs Act were taken last year against 295 persons in the United Kingdom alone. Of these, 84 were imprisoned, 165 fined up to £100, and 31 recommended for deportation. The majority of the offenders were seamen, laundry-men, and chemists, Liverpool heading the list as regards big towns with 90, London next with 73, and Cardiff with 27.