A PERISCOPE OP , CLINICAL AND PATHOLOGICAL. By G. A. Gibson, M.D. Locomotor in Women.?Mobius lias within tlie last twelve months watched five cases of tabes clorsahs in women, which form the basis of this paper. Tour of these cases were of syphilitic origin; but in the fifth case, although a suspicion of this disease existed, the cause was not so clear. The author points out that in these instances of ataxy there was no other cause save ,?no chills, strains, accident, alcoholism, or sexual ex- cesses, the latter of which can scarcely, he thinks, occur in chaste women. It is well known that, excluding prostitutes, syphilis is about eight or nine times rarer in women than in men, and another fact is also recognised that tabes only occurs in about one woman for ten men. Is syphilis to be called the cause of ataxy ? Every case of syphilis does not cause ataxy, but is ataxy always preceded by syphilis? We know that there is one other change which induces tabes ergot-poisoning, and Mobius is inclined to think that, if we admit syphilis and ergotism as poisons inducing tabes, it is possible that other poisons, such as those of many an infectious disease, may cause 176 PERISCOPE. [AUG. it also. The author concludes by showing how unimportant a part heredity plays in the causation of tabes dorsalis, referring to a former paper by himself, which showed that of sixty-one ataxic patients only one had any member of his family affected by the same disease, and only six had any family history of nervous affections.?Centralblatt fur Nervenheillcunde, Psyckiatrie, und gerichtliche Psychopathologie, 1st May 1884. Localized Perspirations in Locomotor Ataxia.?Raymond and Artaud describe a case of tabes, dating from the campaign of 1870-71, and resulting from syphilis. The patient presented the uncommon symptom of perspirations following every meal and confined to the right half of the head, face, and neck, as far as the shoulder. The temperature of the right side was at the onset of the hyper-secretion 33?'6 C. (92?-48 F.), and of the other side, 32?-8 C. (91o,04 F.) There was no change in the size of the pupil at the time.?Revue de MMecine, 10th May 1884. The Pathogenetic Connexion between Disseminated Sclerosis and Acute Infectious Disease.?We have in a former number referred to a paper by Marie, in which it was contended that acute infectious disease was at times the means of initiating disseminated sclerosis. He continues the study of this subject, and discusses the probable pathological changes. He believes that it originates as an arteritis, with, according to Ribbert, an increase of round cells in the perivascular space, which ultimately become converted intofibrous tissue. The factor leading to this irritation bears, he believes, an intimate relation to the poison of the disease which preceded, and is, in fact, of an infectious origin. He also refers to what we imagine most have had experience of, that various forms of paralysis are not infrequent after typhoid fever. He therefore concludes that in typhoid fever and in other infectious maladies there is a period of secondary or tertiary accidents, analogous to what appears in syphilis.?Le Progrte Medical, 10th May 1884. The Influence of Cerebral Lesions on the Temperature.? M. Eichet made a communication on this subject to the Academie des Sciences, demonstrating by experiment that lesion of the surface of the brain produced a rise of temperature over the whole body, which might reach 42? cent. A cauterization produced the same effect as a puncture. He therefore contended that there exists a true traumatic cerebral fever which is not due to infection.?Le Progrte Mddical, 3rd May 1884. The Cortical Centre of the Inferior Facial.?Dr Raymond, after detailing a number of cases with facial monoplegia, concludes that the inferior facial has its cortical centre in the lower part of the ascending parietal convolution. He reviews the physiological experi- ments made on this region of the brain, and contends that the results

* 1884.] PERISCOPE OF MEDICINE, CLINICAL AND PATHOLOGICAL. 177 of these agree with clinical and pathological observations. The centre of the movements of the face is in animals low in the scale ill- defined, but as those higher in the scale are exaiiiined, it becomes more precisely differentiated. It is early seen to be situated in the postero-inferior part of the frontal lobe. In the monkey, which is most nearly related to man in organization, it occupies the inferior part of the ascending frontal as well as the most inferior part of the ascending parietal, while in more highly organized man it is con- fined to the latter region.?Gazette Medicate cle Paris, 31st May 1884

The Microbe of Yellow Fever.?M. Bochard, at the Academie de Medecine, gave a verbal account of a work by M. Domingo Freire of Bio de Janeiro 011 the above subject. According to the author, the organism is an alga which appeared as transparent rods joined in couples, or as cryptococci cells, which were fertilized by pairing. To the cryptococcus, which is the active agent, he has given the name of cryptococcus xanthogenesis. He found the organism in the soil of cemeteries where yellow fever patients had been buried, and in the soil of the city. He has inoculated animals with this, but finds dogs and poultry specially resist its influence. He has performed 400 preventive inocula- tions of an attenuated virus on man.?Le Progres Medical, 10th May 1884.