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daeed the knife at the posterior border ofthe axilla, and divided one after the otherthe latissimus dorsi, the teres major, andthe teres minor. All these muscles gaveway with a cracking noise, which was in-creased by the resonance of the chest. Inext passed my knife into three places bythe head of the humerus, and divided in asimilar manner, under the skin, the denseand hard false ligaments which surroundedthe new joint, and, lessening the extension,I loosened the head by a few rotations.A powerful extension was now again com-

menced on both sides, and the three assist-ants behind the patient pulled suddenlywhile I conducted the humerus towards the

joint into which it slipped on a sudden,without again springing out. One shoulderlooked now just like the other. The thorax,the shoulder, and the arm were envelopedwith bandages which were soaked withpaste, and after a few hours they all be-came dry and hard, and prevented any mo-tion of the right side.The bleeding from the wounds,which were

not larger than those made in phlebotomy,was at most a few drops. No unpleasantsymptoms ensued, and the patient sufferedeven less than the majority of persons inwhom I have reduced old dislocations. Onthe ninth day I took off the bandage ; bothshoulders had exactly the same level andform, and there was neither swelling norpain. The punctures in the axilla had com-pletely healed, and scarcely a trace of themcould be found ; there was no collection ofblood or pus. The arm was already capa-ble of motion, and its actions were far lesshindered than they are sometimes after thereduction of a recent dislocation ; because inthem there is often for a long time a sensi-tive contraction of the unnattirallv stretchedmuscles, while in this case the division ofthe resisting muscles and of the newly-formed joint not only rendered the reduc-tion possible, but at the same time dimi-nished its after consequences. The limb isnow again restored to perfect utility.-Medicinische Zeitung, and Foreign MedicalReview-Dec. 1839.

THYMIC ASTHMA.

THE following cases, of a disease whichGerman writers denominate Thymic Asth-ma, we extract from an American Journal.They may serve as a point of comparisonwith the cases which have, already, beenpublished in various numbers of THELANCET:-CASE I.—Congenital Cough; Repeated and

increasing Paroxysms of Strangulation; ;Sudden Death. Enlarged Thymus Gland; ;Hypertrophy of the Heart.

March 12,, 1838. An infant boy, seven

months old, was fat and stout, although of

late somewhat neglected by the mother,who could nurse him only once a day, be-ing obliged to work away from home.From birth he had been subject to slightcough, and to attacks of strangulation ex-cited by the cough. These attacks had oflate grown more frequent, occurring five orsix times during the twenty-four hours;less frequently however at night. The childwould grow blue in the face, struggle forbreath, and recover itself again : each pa,-roxysm continuing about a minute. Duringthe interval, the child was perfectly well,except the cough : no dyspnoea; no gastricor intestinal derangement. Last eveningthe child was sitting upon its mother’sknee lively and well, when one of theseattacks of strangulation occurred, and in aminute it was dead.

Post-mortem Examination, Fourteen Hoursafter Death.-Lips violet; large livid spotsabout the lower portion of the back, and onthe thighs ; considerable rigidity of thelimbs. Body well-formed, and fat.

(Jn removing the sternum with the carti-lages of the ribs, the whole space beneath wasfound occupied by the thymus gland, evident-ly hypertrophied. It was pyriform in shape,witth its smaller extremity attached to theanterior portion of the trachea, commencingabout midway between its laryngeal extre-mity and its bifurcation, and extendingdown in close connection with the fibrouscoat of the pericardium so as completely tocover the great vessels and the heart, excepta line or two near the apex, and touchingthe diaphragm. Its length was four inches(French), its greatest breadth three inches,its greatest thickness, which was at itsmiddle, three quarters of an inch, or oneinch : it was divided by a long fissure intotwo lobes; its colour and consistence were

natural. The phrenic nerve on one sideerosst’d the superior portion of the en-

larged gland, that of the other passing un-der and to the side of it; one was noticedto be much larger than the other. The parvagum was not at all implicated. Theheart, after raising the enlarged gland, wasnoticed to be also larger than natural : andon opening the nericardium. which was

healthy and contained no fluid, this enlarge-ment was found to reside entirely in theleft side of the organ, the right side appear-ing as a sort of appendage to the left. Bothauricle and ventricle were considerably hy-pertrophied, and perhaps slightly dilated ;the different orifices were free: the cavitiescontained no blood, but it was noticed,when the great vessels were divided in re-moving the heart, that a large quantity ofdark-fluid blood was discharged.The fauces, the larynx, the trachea,, and

the bronchi examined through the divisionsof the second order, were perfectly natural.The lungs were of a pale flesh colour, and,in every part, dense and firm, crepitating

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very little on pressure, and when cut intodischarging a little reddish serum contain-ing no air-bubbles : on attempting to tearthem they were found to retain their na-

tural resistance; they were not at all granu-lated.The stomach contained a considerable

quantity of curdled milk : its colour andstructure were natural, except that its mu-cous membrane was a little softened inthe great cul de sac. The glands of Peyerin the small intestines were hypertrophied,especially near the ileo-cœcal valve, anrlthe mucous membrane covering them, as

well as around them, perhaps a little soft.,ened. The mesenteric glands were gene-rally enlarged. The large intestines werevery much distended with gas, and con.

tained a considerable quantity of healthyfaeces ; the mucous membrane was muchsoftened, and its mucous follicles very dis-tinct. The other organs in the abdomenwere healthy. The brain was not examined.

CASE II.—Pneumonia, rapidly Fatal (in lessthan Twenty-four Hours); Death withoutStrangulation ; ; Enlarged Thymus Gland.

April 13, 1839. An infant, aged threemonths and two weeks, had never beensick a day; had never experienced anydifficulty of respiration, until the time of thepresent attack. On the night of the llthult., the mother noticed that the child wasfeverish and restless, having had a triflingcough for two days previously. The childon the 12th lay quiet, and seemed disposedto sleep, with no apparent quickness orobstruction in the respiration (this was care-fully examined); only the alæ nasi moved.There was no febrile excitement, exceptthat the pulse was accelerated, but small.The countenance and lips were not livid.Six hours after this the child died. Abouttwenty minutes before death the mothernoticed a " drawing" in the respiration, anda convulsive movement of the shoulders,and that the lips and forehead were blueish.The close of life, however, was tranquiland without symptoms of strangulation, thechild appearing to be sensible until nearthe last.

Post-mortem-Examination, Twenty Hoursafter Death.-Chest well formed. A con-siderable quantity (a teacupful) of bloodyserum in the right pleural cavity, whichhowever did not much compress the lung;pleura, at least that portion of it coveringthe lung, natural. The inferior and middlelobes, and the lower third of the superiorlobe of the right lung, presented the appear-ances of pneumonia (lobular) in the firstand second stage. The lower lobe of theleft lung, especially the posterior portion,was in the same condition, but less ad-

vanced, and less extensively affected. The

superior portions of both lungs were freefrom congestion, but crepitated very little.Larynx natural: slight redness in the

trachea, increasing in its lower portion, andstill more marked in the bronchi of the first

order; while the smaller bronchi, evea

those passing directly into the portions af.fected with pneumonia, were, with one ex.ception, perfectly natural.Heart natural ; contracted ; free from

blood, as were also the great vessels.The thymus gland evidently enlarged ; its

length three inches six lines (French); itsgreatest breadth one inch eight lines: itsthickness about half an inch. Its shapewas pyriform, and bifurcated at its supe.rior extremity. It was attached above tothe trachea, extending upwards to half aninch from its junction with the laryux ; be.low it was loosely attached to the pericar.dium, lying upon the great vessels, andcovering two-thirds of the body of theheart: neither the phrenic nerve nor thepar vagum were compressed by the enlargedgland.The stomach, liver, and spleen were

healthy. The intestines and the brain werenot examined.

LATERAL DEVIATION OF THESPINE.

BY M. BOUVIER.

THEY who maintain that contraction ofthe muscles plays the chief part in thegreater number of lateral deviations of the

spine, and that these deformities should inconsequence be treated by tenotomy, are re-quired to prove the affirmation of the threefollowing positions :—1. That in the ma-

jority of lateral deviations of the spine, as indeformities really produced by muscularcontraction, the muscles corresponding tothe concavity of the curvature are renderedextremely tense, when an attempt is madeto straighten the spine. 2. That the perma-nent retraction of these muscles is not pre.ceded in the greater number of cases by de.formity of the spine. 3. That section or

excision of these same muscles on thedead subject causes total or partial disap.pearance of the curvature.

[M. Bouvier decides each of these point?in the negative ; and hence concludes thatcurvatures of the spine are not, in the ma-

jority of cases, capable of cure by the planrecently advised and practised by a rivalorthopoedist of the French capital. The

point at issue can, however, only be fairlysettled by the results of the operation on theliving subject.]—L’ Expérience, No. cviii.July, 1839; and Brit. and For. MedicaiReview, April, 1840.