Volume 49 · Issue 08 · 1935

Until about 12 years ago the diagnosis of a retinal detachment wag almost equivalent to a sentence of inevitable blindness in an eye so affected. To Gonin belongs the great credit for the demonstration of the important role which the retinal hole or holes play in the causation and surgical treatment of the disease. His pioneer work on the tear-sealing operation has not only made the formerly dreadful and hopeless ocular malady curable in approximately fifty 'percent of the cases but also Caused a profound stimulation to further investigations of the various aspects of the detachment problem. Although in the past few years, quite a number of new operative methods have been devised, the fundamental principle underlying these methods has been unaltered, namely the obliteration of the retinal hole.

The larval stages of Paragonimus consist of the sporocyst, the first and second generation rediae and the cercaria. In the present paper, only the second generation redia and the cercaria will be described.

The case described below is a unique one. Spontaneous rupture of the uterus in labour is not unknown, but a double spontaneous rupture without serious intra-abdominal hemorrhage, is, as far as we know, hitherto unrecorded.

The presence of excessive amounts of carotin in blood and body tissues has been the subject of much discussion and investigation. Bealz (1) in 1896 who first called the attention to this condition, described in under the term of aurantiasis cutis. Von Noorden in 1907 (2) apparently dealing with the same condition designated it as xanthosis diabetica. Miura (3) who made further observations on this disease, adopted no new term different from that used by Von Noorden.

Maxwell (1), writing of Paragonimiasis in Formosa, refers to it as "endemic haemoptysis, an extremely common but not very serious ailment in the regions where the worm is found." He also mentions that, in addition to the lung, other sites such as the brain and the abdominal wall are sometimes invaded. In a more recent article (2) he refers to cases of lung infection which have been found on the continent of Asia at Foochow, at Dongkau in Fukein, in Southern Hunan, at Ichang, and at Shaoshing.

All authorities agree that primary abdominal pregnancy is of extreme rarity, if it ever occurs. The case reported below, after the most painstaking examination seems to justify being described as such a condition.

Blackwater Fever is comparatively rare in China. As far as we know it occurs only in Formosa, Yunnan, and Hainan and occasionally a case is reported from the South China ports. Since 1932 several cases have come each year to the Mary Henry Hospital, Nodoa, Hainan Island.

Baby L., female, 6 weeks, was admitted on July 5, 1934. The patient, second in the family, was a normal delivery but a swelling, located between the anus and the coccyx was noticed at the time of birth. It felt rather tense and apDeared lobulated, was eleven centimeters in diameter to about three centimeters in diameter at its caudal end. When the child cried it became more tense while the face and lips became cyanotic. No bulging of fontanel was seen on pressing the tumor. After ten or twelve days it collapsed considerably not unlike a rubber bag half filled with water. No other abnormality was found.

Sieu Cien Ing, Male, Widower, aged 68, was admitted to this hospital on April 20, 1934, complaining of a tumor of the right breast. He first noticed as a small hard swelling of the breast three years before admission. It gradually increased in size, and for the last six months has become more and more painful. He complained bitterly of pain on admission.

A well-built youth of 25 years of age was admitted to the Hankow Methodist General Hospital on February 6th of this year with the following history. 40 days ago he first had difficulty with micturition.

The chief interest of this type of new growth of the ovary lies in the difficulty of a correct clinical diagnosis, because of the close resemblance of the physical findings to those of an ovarian cyst. The large size of my specimen and acute abdominal pain make the clinical picture still more confusing and the similarity to an ovarian cyst with a twisted pedicle still more striking.

Elsewhere in this number of the JOURNAL appears a review of the report on an enquiry into the effectiveness of the treatment of syphilis sponsored by the League of Nations. The appearance of the report and the recommendations issuing from it mark the culmination of a long and arduous task. As a contribution to our knowledge of the requirements for the adequate treatment of primary and secondary syphilis, the report is an important document. Although the essential purpose of the enquiry is fulfilled in the report, perhaps its most significant result has been the reawakening of a more active interest in one of the great problems of public health, the effective control of syphilitic disease.

The purpose of this study is to analyze the causes of stiIl births among the 3,974 consecutive deliveries in the First National Midwifery School Maternity Hospital.

In an earlier communication, one of us (Feng, 1933) has noted that filariasis due to infection with Microfilaria malayi is very common in Chekiang especially in Huchow. Feng (1934) also showed that A. hyrcanus var. sinensis and Mansonia uniformis are suitable intermediate hosts for the transmission of the parasite in this district. The present study is an attempt to find out the incidence of filariasis in this district and also to see the proportion of the different species of filariae that are responsible for the infection. Owing to lack of time and difficulties in examining any group of population in rural areas, the study was based only on patients coming to the Huchow General Hospital. However, as Huchow is a small city situated in the rural districts of northern part of Chekiang, the hospital is well known among the villagers in the whole area and as most patients came from the rural districts, the data may be regarded as representative of the incidence of the whole district.

It is interesting in going back over the history of the development of preventive medicine to witness the influence of economic factors and calamity on the advances made in the practical application of what is known about preventive methods.