veins, and finds its way to the heart, notwithstanding the constriction of this circular muscle, or SPHINCTER, as it is called. But, when the bowels are distended and obstinately costive, the veins cannot, by their feeble power, overcome both the constricting muscle and the obstruction above, and so they swell into tumors, all round or on one side of the anus, and very often give great pain by their distension, pressing upon and aggravating the nerves that accompany the veins and arteries. Now remember that the arteries which bring the blood to the part, being connected with, and subject to every beat of the heart, they easily convey it to the tumors; but the veins having to raise it upwards, and the sphincter muscle and loaded bowels both pressing upon them, they are too feeble to drive the blood onward: it cannot mount, and so the swellings increase; thus piles are formed. Every person will soon discover that the blood finds its way back to the heart, and ceases to distend the piles, much quicker when he lies down, and when the bowels are empty. Excesses of all kinds, wine and irritating food, increase the irritation, and take away from the power of the veins; and so they cannot contract and send their blood upward, which they must do of themselves alone, because they are not like the arteries, subject to the action of the heart, but return the blood to it. We spoke of internal or blind piles, and said we would explain them. The term simply means, in popular usage, piles within the gut-piles that are not to be seen or felt; that only show their existence by bleeding at stool. Sometimes, we think, the term is applied to piles that are visible, but do not bleed. After piles have existed for a long time, and harrassed the patientsometimes within and sometimes without, sometimes painful and sometimes quite endurable-they often become reduced to thick and partially solid tumors, or folds of skin, rendering the person still uncomfortable from interfering with cleanliness, irritating and itching, and sometimes producing permanent thickening of the verge.-The Scalpel. DEATH FROM A DROP OF LAUDANUM. BY H. V. WOOTEN, M. D., LOWNDESBORO', ALA. A fine, healthy, female child, in the fifth day of its age, suffered from "griping," as its mother supposed, for which she administered to it one drop of laudanum. Thirty minutes afterwards, its breathing becoming slow and stertorous, I was sent for; but, being absent, another physician saw it, who found it impossible to get the child to swallow anything. External excitants, &c., were resorted to, and three hours after the laudanum was taken I saw it. Its pupils were dilated and insensible to light, breathing very laborious, each inspiration giving a loud struggling sound, great lividity of complexion, &c. It would draw four inspirations, at the rate of sixteen per minute, and then cease to inhale about thirty seconds, when the four inspirations would again be drawn. On the fourth inspiration, a general spasm of the extremities would seize it. Its pulse during the last two inspirations were about fifty to the minute, during the spasm and suspension of breathing it would run up to about 100, become very weak, and finally cease at the wrists about six seconds before the breathing was resumed. This condition continued without material variation until the sixth hour, when on bathing it in hot water and brandy, followed by the application of plasters of cayenne to the feet and hands, it breathed continuously, but with great difficulty, at the rate of 30 inspirations to the minule, for twenty minutes, and its pulse during all this time ranged from 90 to 100. Its pupils contracted a little, and the lividity of complexion disappeared to a considerable extent. Hopes were now entertained that it had passed the crisis, and would recover; but spasms again seized it, from which it fell into a collapse, from which nothing that we could do would raise it. After this it would draw only three inspirations at the rate of twelve to the minute, when spasms would occur, and the suspensions of breathing become longer. At the tenth hour, it drew but two inspirations together about twelve seconds apart, and then suspended for nearly a minute. For three hours, I thought, during every sus pension of breathing, that it was dead, as its pulse would cease at the wrists before breathing was resumed; but it continued to labor for breath in this way uutil the end of the eleventh hour, when it died. The laudanum was dropped from an ounce vial, in which there was but about ten drops. It had been stopped with a piece of twisted paper, and hanging up about a year. All the inner surface of the lower part of the vial was encrusted with opium, and the remaining laudanum was heavily charged with this deposit resulting from evaporation. Every means of keeping the child alive which our ingenuity could suggest, were diligently applied, and with apparent effect, but not success. This case is one which rarely occurs, and I report it mainly on that account; yet it is not otherwise destitute of interest. The stomach pump was not used, because I had no tube of suitable size, and, besides, I was satisfied that it was too late to resort to measures of that kind, when I saw it.-Southern Med. and Surg. Jonrnal. CASES REPORTED. The first was the case of a young man by name of Thomas Adkins, between 15 and 18 years of age, rather slender or spare-built. About the age of 12 or 13 years, he was taken with a violent cold or influenza; and, ever after, he had very bad health. About four years after, he was taken down with common bilious fever, and called in Dr. Banks, an eminent physician, and, at that time, one of the most eminent surgeons in the State of Georgia. He received the usual depleting treatment, for the usual time of near three weeks,-when the fever was broken up, though he complained of severe pain and soreness in the region of the liver, and low down towards the fight hip, near the superior part of the anterior margin of the os ilium, where a large tumor or abscess formed. The abscess was finally opened, and it discharged a quantity of matter. After several weeks, it was pronounced, by Dr. B., to be a mercurial ulcer and incurable. The ulcer continued to spread very fast, extending over a large region of the right side, eating away the entire muscles from the anterior part of the abdomen, from near the linea alba to the spine, and from the anterior margin and crista of the ilium, extending up the side, exposing three ribs, the liver, and the intestines, before he died. I saw this patient, as a neighbor, several times; and, on the morning before he died, I saw the wound dressed. The patient continued in his right mind to the last, except occasionally when under the effects of opium. The second was the case of Robert Stewart, who was about 12 years of age, and who had, in 1830, suffered severely from some inflammatory disease, on account of which he afterwards had but very bad health. In 1834, he was taken with bilious fever, and received the usual treatment. In about twenty days it was said, by Dr. Bell, his attending physician, that his fever was broken, yet he continued with a severe pain and soreness in his right side. Finally a large tumor formed in the same region as I have described in the case of Adkins, and the patient continued to grow worse. At the end of about seven weeks from his first attack of the fever, I was called to see him, and learned the particulars of his case, as above stated. I suspected that matter was formed in the tumor, and was deeply seated. After due preparation, I gave him a course of medicine. I then opened the tumor, which discharged a large quantity. I kept him under constitutional treatment, for about two weeks, when he was fairly convalescent. The treatment was a course of medicine every day, or every other day, with the best alteratives and tonics that I could procure. I have two more cases on hand, which I expect to report soon. REVOLVING TOOTH KEY. Mr. Smilie of South Reading, an ingenious dentist, of rare promise -a brother of Dr. E. R. Smilie, who has contributed largely to the modern stock of beautiful and useful surgical instruments-has produced a new device for extracting teeth, which deserves the close examination of practising dentists. The new and essential feature is the construction of the fulcrum, attached to the common bar. The hook may be turned to any angle, and from one side to the other, without altering a screw. Next, the face of the fulcrum, which comes in contact with the gum, is covered by a broad spring, that yields as the power is exerted at the handle, and the tooth is thus raised nearly perpendicularly from its socket, while violence to the alveolar wall is avoided by the wide, elastic surface of the spring, pressed along the arch. Dentists, alone, must decide upon the utility of this improvement; and, if it passes their ordeal favorably, the inventor will have numerous orders for specimens. Boston Med. & Sur. Journal. From the Water-Cure Journal. HEALTH STANZAS. BY MRS A. C. JUDSON. THERE are pearls from the ocean, And gold from the mine, And gems of rich beauty Resplendently shine; And coronets gleam With the diamond so rare, There are many things costly And choicer than wealth," Who, who would not seek it, That's found 'neath the skies? Yet oft it is bartered By many for nought, Save some gross enjoyment, Away with all viands, At Fashion's loved shrine, O give me a breathing In pure air of heaven, From the bountiful springs My diet be simple, As Nature designed, And strength of the mind; And life, though so checker'd, From the Eclectic Medical Journal. CURE FOR BURNS. A correspondent in Kentucky sends us a recipe for the treatment of burns, which is no doubt valuable. The excellent effects of lime and linseed oil have been well ascertained. The present prescription is wor thy of attention : "In your first number you requested those having any valuable infor mation, to present it through your Journal. We have an application here for burns and scalds, that I have never seen published in any work. I have tried it, and seen it tried, and never known it to fail. It is dry slacked lime, mixed with an equal part of lard, spread on a cloth, and laid over the part. It acts like a charm; relieves pain and subdues inflammation. A servant girl of mine, this winter, got her feet and legs badly scalded by a pot of scalding water tilting over on them. The skin came off of one of them with the stocking. We applied the lime and lard immediately. It relieved the pain directly. We every day took the old plaster off and put a new one on, and in a couple of weeks it was entirely well. A child near here scalded one hand in hot coffee, the old school remedies were applied by one of the craft, it inflamed and got worse, and the child died. H. E." From the Eclectic Medical Journal. PHYTOLACCA DECANDRA IN SYPHILIS. MESSRS. EDITORS-If the following remarks on the use of the Phytolacca Decandra in Syphilis, from the pen of Richard Clark, are "none the worse for being twice told," you may give them a place in the Electic Journal. I find them in the March No. of the American Intelligencer for 1839. Make such disposition of them as you please. L. C. D. "DEAR SIR :-I take the liberty to communicate to you some remarks on the employment of the Phytolacca Decandra in the treatment of Syphilis. Seeing that the alterative properties of this article of the Materia Medica are very lightly spoken of by writers, I was not inclined to repose much confidence in the statements of others respecting its virtues as a remedy in the disease above alluded to. Wood and Bache, in their U.S. Dispensatory, observe that in small doses it-the Phytolaccaacts as an alterative, and has been highly recommended in chronic rheumatism.' The Eclectic Dispensatory seems to regard it in pretty much in the same light. Togno and Durand, of your city, in their edition of Edward's and Vavasseur's Manual of Materia Medica say, ' in the form of decoction, tincture, or extract, it has obtained some reputation in the treatment of rheumatic affections, and especially in syphilitic rheumatism, or in cases of scrofula.' From the manner in which this article is mentioned, I do not think it sufficiently recommended to warrant physicians in using it. But from statements recently made to me by gentlemen of respectability and standing in society, who have had ample opportunities to test its remedial virtues on their own persons, I was induced to pay some attention to it, and to watch its effects more narrowly in those cases that came under my observation; and I have no hesitation in saying, that it is the most safe and speedily efficacious remedy I have ever met with in the treatment of Syphilis. In many cases that have resisted the usual methods, whether on the mercurial or the non-mercurial plan, the Phytolacca has succeeded in eradicating all traces of the disease, without any perceivable bad consequences. So far as my observation and experience extend, I am not aware of a single case, in numbers that have been treated with this remedy, in which secondary symptoms have supervened. Indeed, I am firmly persuaded that, when the remedy is resorted to in the incipiency of the disease, no secondary symptoms will If this fact can be established, of which I have no doubt, the use of the Phytolacca is certainly greatly preferable to that of mercury, so much in vogue, and to which may be referred the very symptoms of which we are so apprehensive, and from which such serious consequences result. occur. "The mode of preparing it, adopted by those who have experienced benefit from its employment, is this: Take of the root about one peck, to which add one gallon of water, and boil down to one half. The decoction is then put aside till it cools, and of this a wine-glass-ful is taken. It might be supposed that the quantity taken would induce emesis, |