Acta Bdedicn Scandinavica. Vol. CXXIX, fnsc. IV, 1947.

Book review.

Recherches m.dddic&s en France pendant la Guerre 1939-1945. Bdition medicale Plammarion. Trente textes r6unis et pr6- sent& par Jean Hamburger, Professeur agr6g6 i la Facult6 de MBdecine.

In a preface, written by the prominent Professor Pasteur Val- lery-Radot, it is pointed out that, in the first place, the object of the book is to disseminate in other countries, chiefly perhaps America, a knowledge of what was achieved in France in the sphere of medical research during the war years. It is manifest, too, that, in spite of all the German brutality and all the purely material difficulties, and in spite of all spiritual suffering during the dark years, the French kept the sacred flame of research burning.

The thirty articles deal especially with questions of internal medicine, but there are also works of a purely roentgenological or surgical nature. It is impossible to give an account of the contents of all the articles in a review, and I shall content myself with mentioning some which are of special and immediate interest to the internist.

G . Ramon gives an account of the results of inoculation against diphtheria, i. e. with anatoxin. It proves that the method has had an excellent effect everywhere it has been em- ployed. He adduces as an example Sir Alexander Russel’s figures from England, where, a t the end of 1941, 71 yo of all school-child- ren and 56 yo of all children below school age had been inoculated. Among the non-inoculated 17,091 contracted the disease, while the total among the inoculated was 2,833. The mortality figures were 794 and 13 respectively. It is obvious that, in any case, ac- cording to Ramon, inoculation results in a very impressive reduc- tion of the mortality.

P. LBpine gives an account of a study of the possibility of determining, with the help of an ultracentrifuge driven by com- pressed air, the size of bacteriophages, and of dividing these up into no less than 6 variants.

412 BOOK REVIEW.

R.-A. Gutmann writes on early roentgenological signs of cancer ventriculi. He devotes special interest to the niches proved in the canalis portion, in respect of their possible malignity. The paper appears to be a very conscientious piece of work, the value of which it is not very easy to estimate, however. In any case, the author states that with the help of his observations he was able to diagnose very early cases of cancer ventriculi.

J. Caroli writes on biliary radiomanometry. By this is clearly understood a method of obtaining a conception of the pressure required to fill the biliary passages by way of a cholostomy with the help of an ordinary manometer. The method appears t o be of value in cases of operated biliary passage trouble, where an occlusion has occurred but i t is difficult to find the site of the obstacle. The work is illustrated with numerous radiograms.

P. Mallet-Guy (Lyons) gives an account of chronic left-sided pancreatitis and its surgical treatment. Thus in these case the chronic inflammation is localized either in the tail or in the corpus of the pancreas. The diagnosis is established, inter alia, on the finding of a painful point under the left costal arch. The treatment consists of resection of the left part of the pancreas, or, if this is impossible, of splanchnicectomy on the left side. I do not know whether the method has been employed outside France.

In a short, but very interesting article, one of Pasteur Vallery- Radot's co-workers, P. Blamoutier, describes a case of allergy to mutton. The more detailed analysis shows that the person in ques- tion is not hypersensitive to mutton as such, but only after diges- tion with duodenal juice, etc. for 3 hours a t 40". It proves that a cutireaction is caused by the disintegration products then found in the contents of the duodenum. This view is supported by the observation that the allergic reaction did not appear until 5-6 hours after a meal including mutton.

In an arresting article, B.-N. Halpern (Paris) describes a number of experiments on animals and clinical experiments with anti- histamine substances (antergan, etc.). One obtains a strong im- pression that in this field great and important progress has been made, which will certainly be of great therapeutic significance in the treatment of serum sickness, urticaria, asthma, ulcus duodeni et ventr., etc.

M. Perrault, D. Bovet and P. Droguet (Paris) give an account of the treatment of Basedow struma with aminothiazol(2921 RP). They state that they have had good results with this treatment.

BOOK REVIEW. 413

The minimum daily dose is 0.40 g. A number of experiments carried out in this country with that substance are said not to have been equally successful.

In a short article, which was published more fully in La Presse mkdicale, Pasteur Vallery-Radot, G. Mauric, M. Laudat and P. Milliez (Paris) have made a contribution to the clinical features and biology of cystic kidneys. Nothing specifically new appears to have emerged from the authors’ observations.

L. de Gennes, D. Mahoudeau and M. Laudat (Paris) give an account of two cases of salicylic acid acidosis, and in that connec- tion give a concise and clear account of this undoubtedly serious type of poisoning.

In a considerable study, Justin-Besanpon describes an illness which is unfortunately in the forefront a t the present time, namely hunger osteopathy (L’OstBose de famine). It seems to have made its appearance in France after 1941. J.-B. says that this complaint has been diagnosed previously by, inter alios, Schlesinger in Vienna in 1919. Deficiencies of lime, phosphorus, and vitamin D appear to be very important factors in the causation of this disease. In the first place old people and women are affected by the disease. Diffuse pains in the skeleton, spontaneous fractures, and diffuse decalcification of the osseous system appear to be the chief symp- toms. It would take up too much space here to give an account of J.-B.’s excellent work, which deals with the different types of the disease, its mode of appearance, its diagnostics and its pathology. The article concludes with a very complete biblio-

G. Mouriquand and J. Coisnard (Lyons) have described La maladie chronaxique (chronaxia) in a short article. By this is meant the phenomenon observed in cases, inter alia, of a deficiency of Vitamin Bl, namely an increase in the excitability of a muscle or a nerve in respect of the time interval. This leads to certain symptoms, especially in the case of such sensitive areas as n. vestibularis. The authors have studied the effect of certain drugs, among them, thyroxin, which has a very great stimulating effect on chronaxia.

Th. Alajouanine (Paris) contributes an elegant little paper on La lombo-sciatique. In an eminently clear and intelligible manner he describes the symptomatology and height diagnostics of disc fracture. It contains nothing new to the doctor of today, but in any case the paper may be read with great advantage.

graphy.

414 BOOK REVIEW.

A.-R. Pr6vot (Paris) describes a quick method of titrating peni- cillin, which will assuredly be very useful, but, as I am not a bac- teriologist, I cannot say more.

Different questions concerning sulpha preparations are dealt with in no less than 4 articles. One of the most interesting contri- butions appears to me to be a paper by J. Cottet, D. Bargeton, A. Varay and V. Parrod (Paris), dealing with the study of the question of the elimination of sulpha preparations with the bile. It proves that suitable preparations, among them a sulpha com- pound with tophan (Acid. phenylcinchonic), can lead to a strong concentration of the sulpha preparation in the bile. This, of course, opens a way for the treatment of cholecystitis and cholan- gitis, which may certainly be of the greatest importance.

M. P. Ameuille gives an account of intravenous treatment with novocain. It is, of course, not quite a safe method to inject 10 cc. of 1 % novocain solution into the blood, but i t appears to be ser- viceable in cases of, inter d ia , asthma, pulm. emboli and cardiac dyspnoea.

A contribution by R. Leriche (Paris) takes the form of an ac- count of 800 lumbar gangliectomies, and naturally it is very interesting reading.

For the rest the book contains a great deal of valuable and interesting matter, which is worthy of attention, and which arouses great admiration for French medicine and its leading men, who, under adverse external conditions, have been able t o make so many valuable contributions to the advancement of science and humanity. The book has been published with the help of a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation.

Albert Gronterg.