^ e ^ '■^f^'^o^ V * INSTRUCTIONS AND OBSERVATIONS- CONCERNING THE USE OF THE CHLORIDES OF SODA AND LIME. BY A. G. LABARRAQUE, PHARMACEUTIST OF PARIS, MEMBER OF THE MEDICAL SOCIETY AND THE ROYAL ACADEMY OF MEDICINE. TRANSLATED BY JACOB PORTER, Member of the American Antiquarian Society, the American Geological Society, and IheRoyal Society of Northern Antiquaries of Copenhagen ; Corresponding Member of the Lyceum of Natural History of New York, the Albany In- stitute, the Troy Lyceum of Natural History, the Lyceum of Natural History of the Berk- shire Medical Institution, and the Natural History Society of Hartford; and Honorary Member of the Belfast Natural History Society. THIRD EDITION. NEW HAVEN: PRINTED BY WILLIAM STORER, JUN. 1840. g-^~ N». - \V $ ~< INSTRUCTIONS AND OBSERVATIONS CONCERNING THE USE OF THE CHLORIDES OF SODA AND LIME. / BY A. G. LABARRAQUE, PHARMACEUTIST OF PARIS, MEMBER OF THE MEDICAL SOCIETY AND THE. ROYAL ACADEMY OF MEDICINE. TRANSLATED BY JACOB PORTER, Member of the American Antiquarian Society, the American Geological Society, and the Royal Society of Northern Antiquaries of Copenhagen ; Corresponding Member of the Lyceum of Natural History of New York, the Albany In- stitute, the Troy Lyceum of Natural History, the Lyceum of Natural History of the Berk- shire Medical Institution, and the Natural History Society of Hartford; and Honorary Member of the Belfast Natural History Society. THIRD EDITION. ------------■- ""^"N *?.......,-"", CO , ,.,.a. - NEW H AIT EN .--,;.-/• PRINTED BY WILLIAM STORER, JUN, 1840. ON THE USE OF THE CHLORIDES OF SODA AND LIME. The disgrace, that deservedly attends those, who abuse the public credulity, by publishing to the world those works, in which they proclaim their wonderful remedies adapted to the cure of all diseases, prevented me from printing any instructions concerning the use of the chlorides ia medicine at the time when the first experiments were made with these agents, notwithstanding their happy effects. I limited myself, at that time, to making known my views, verbally or in writing, to the most respectable members of the profession, who could not find, in what had been published on this subject, any disclosures sufficiently extended ; but the benefits of them were so constant, and had become so numerous, that, being requested on every side to give some directions con- cerning the employment of the chlorides, I found myself under the necessity of drawing up instructions to point out the manner of using them. These instructions had become otherwise indis- pensable for the purpose of spreading these powerful disinfecting agents in the Antilles and other countries so often desolated by distressing and contagious diseases. It is to be regretted that the most useful discoveries frequently experience the greatest resistance in their adoption. It has, however, been otherwise with the chlorides; for, soon after mak- ing fully known the results of my experiments on putrefaction, which were verified by the members of the Council of Health and several other learned men of the metropolis, the counselor of state, prefect of police, approved of the instructions for disinfecting the bodies deposited at la Morgue, and directed me, by his resolution of October 19, 1823, to furnish the chloride necessary for the purpose. I supposed it would be useful, in order to inspire more 4 confidence, to introduce with this authentic piece what I should say concerning the powerful therapeutic agent, that I proposed, and to support still more these Instructions by authority, I annex the judgment expressed concerning my labors by the Society of Encouragement for National Industry. All the facts respecting the application of the chlorides as a medicine, that are related in my Instructions, were nothing more than the statement of what had been already published by respec- table physicians, who had kindly made the applications, either jointly with the inventor of the disinfecting process, or alone, in conformity to my ideas. After three years of uninterrupted success among the sick, proved by the observations published in the various scientific journals, and, especially, after a considerable number of experi- ments on animal matters in a state of putrefaction, the Royal In- stitute of France proclaimed, in their turn, the beneficial effects of the application of the chlorides of lime and soda by decreeing me a first prize, at their public sitting, June 20, 1825. The first edition of my Instructions being entirely exhausted, I now republish them, adding only some new facts and discov- eries, with which numerous experiments have furnished me. Prefecture of Police. Paris, October 19, 1823. We, counselor of state, prefect of police, having examined the Report of the Council of Health, from which it appears that nu- merous experiments made successively at different places, and particularly at la Morgue, have proved the efficacy of the chlo- ride of lime as a disinfecting agent, after the process of M. Labar- raque, pharmaceutist of Paris, have resolved as follows : ARTICLE I. There shall be a disinfecting apparatus of the invention of M. Labarraque, at la Morgue, and with each of the commissioners of police designated below. 5 Instructions respecting the Method of Using the Chloride of Lime after the Process pointed out toy M. Iiabarraque, Pharmaceutist. It appears from repeated experiments, that the chloride of lime diffused in water has the property of sensibly purifying the air and of checking putrefaction. Though the employment of this agent may become useful in a variety of circumstances, we shall, in the present Instructions, limit ourselves to its application in two of the most frequent cases. It will be easy, by analogy, to make use of the same process at all times when it shall be thought necessary to have recourse to it. Taking up and Inspecting a Corpse. Before approaching a corpse in a state of putrefaction, it will be necessary to procure a tray, into which should be turned two pailfuls of water; (24 liters)—on this water turn a bottle, (half a kilogram,) of the chloride of lime and stir well the mixture. A cloth should then be taken and wet in the water of the tray, in such a manner as to be taken out easily, and laid very readily on the corpse. For this purpose let two persons unfold the cloth, and put it in the liquid, holding the extremities, which should lie on the edges of the tray; this should then be brought to the side of the putrefy- ing body, and, at the same time, let the moistened cloth be taken out and spread on the corpse. Soon after the putrid odor will cease. If blood or any other liquid proceeding from the corpse should fall on the floor, it will be necessary to turn upon this liquid one or two glasses of the chlorated water ; then rub it with a broom, and the fetid odor will disappear. The operation, however, should not be performed in this man- ner when the liquids spread on the floor are to become the sub- ject of a chymical analysis. It will then be desirable to collect with cave the greatest quantity possible ; and, after this, it will be proper to proceed to the cleansing of the floor as above directed. If the infection spreads into the neighboring apartments, such 6 as staircases, porticoes, and the like, the infected places should be sprinkled with one or two glasses of the liquid chloride of lime, and the fetid smell will cease. Care should be taken often to sprinkle with the liquid contain- ed in the tray, the cloth, that covers the body. This will prevent the putrid odor from being reproduced. As soon as the body is removed, the cloth, that has been used for the purpose of disinfection, should be washed in a large quan- tity of water, dried and laid by. Disinfection of Vaults and Vessels for Urine and Feces. On two ounces of the chloride of lime turn three or four pints of water and shake the mixture ; then draw off and sprinkle the solution upon or in the vaults and vessels for urine and feces. If the offensive smell is not quickly destroyed, repeat the ope- ration at the end of eight or ten minutes. If the infection proceeds, in whole or in part, from urine or fecal matters spread on the ground, it will be proper to sprinkle this likewise with the same solution. Examined and approved by us, counselor of state, prefect of police. Signed, G. Delavau. Extract from the Proceedings of the Soeiety for the Encour- agement of National Industry, at their General Meeting, October 30, 1822. The Society for the Encouragement of National Industry, in awarding a prize for my Memoir^at their general meeting of Oc- tober 30, 1822, express themselves thus : " Whereas the first and principal question, that was proposed by the counselor of state, prefect of police, and for which the prize was instituted, is com- pletely answered by M. Labarraque, author of this Memoir, the committee think proper to adjudge to him the full prize, imposing on him, nevertheless, a condition, to which he will very willingly submit, that of drawing up a summary of his process, of pub- lishing it to the world, and of following up with zeal the execu- tion of it in the various manufactories. This measure appears to us indispensable, in order to render profitable the discovery of M. Labarraque." 7 Note. This committee consisted of MM. Count Berthollet, member of the Academy of Sciences ; Breant, assayer at the mint; Darcet, member of the Academy of Sciences ; Dartigues, mem- ber of the General Council of Manufactures ; Despretz, professor of chymistry in the Polytechnic School; Merimee, perpetual sec- retary to the Royal School of the Fine Arts ; Pelletier, professor in the School of Pharmacy; Roard, member of the Board of Advice of Arts and Manufactures; Thenard, member of the Academy of Sciences ; Vauquelin, member of the Academy of Sciences ; Payen, manufacturer ; and Professor Robiquet, re- porter. Observations concerning the Use of the Chlorides of Lime and Soda, toy A. G» Latoarraque, Pharma- ceutist. I hastened to comply with the condition, that was imposed upon me by the Society of Encouragement, and, even in the Me- moir printed the following month, I mentioned some cases where the powerful disinfecting agents, which I there made known, had been usefully and very extensively applied. I also expressed a wish that all the dissecting rooms, la Morgue and all the shops where animal matters are handled, might be purified by these means. The public authority, after numerous experiments fol- lowed with never failing success, gave suitable orders for making the application. I particularly recommended as indispensable the employment of the chlorides in a case of exhumation for the pur- pose of examining judicially the body of an individual buried several weeks before. The truth of my assertion was proved by M. Professor Orfila upon a corpse, that had been buried thirty-two days, and in the hottest season of the year. This remarkable inspection, performed after the sudden destruc- tion of the fetid smell, fully proved the disinfections, that had been performed before the learned. It was, indeed, a very important discovery, to arrest the decom- position of animal matters, and destroy, so to speak, many causes of death; for who does not know the fatal influence of putrefy- ing animal matters diffused in the air we breathe, and bearing with them the germ of mortal diseases 1 But there remained something more fortunate still, that of arresting the decomposition 8 of living animal matter. This prodigy I have had the happiness to see performed by the use of the chloride of soda on sores. By means of this, the carbuncle has been arrested in its ravages and cured ; the foulest putrefaction of the hospital, degenerate venereal ulcers, and, indeed, gangrenous sores, that were of a bad character, have been rapidly healed. The cancer has been disen- fected, and experiments are made upon this frightful malady, as on herpetic eruptions. Some observations concerning the cure of the scald head have likewise been communicated to the Royal Academy of Medicine. In general, it may be inferred from every thing, that has been observed in the use of the chloride of soda upon the human sys- tem, that this liquor is adapted to destroy the fetid quality of sores, change their nature, and make them pass to the state of simple sores; that it is especially efficacious in atonic ulcers, hospital putrefaction, gangrene, and the like. It may be employed pure, or diluted with one, two, or as far as to eight parts of water; it should be applied in lotions, taking care to cover the sores with lint moistened with the liquor. They should be dressed twice a day ; but, when they are red and inflamed, the use of the chlo- ride should be discontinued, and the dressings, in this case, should be performed according to the prescriptions in treatises of surgery. For ulcer of the uterus, the chloride of soda should be diluted in from twelve to fifteen and even to thirty times its weight of pure water, and used for injections. Prudence will require that this should be done under the direction of a physician, who may increase or moderate its action, or even suspend the use of it when necessary. The chloride of soda is that, which should be used upon the human system; the action of the chloride of lime would not be equally efficacious, though, as was before observed, it possesses as great a disinfecting power. For instance, it will certainly destroy the offensive exhalations, that are diffused in a place inhabited by persons affected with diseases of a bad character, if care is taken to sprinkle the chamber with either of the liquid chlorides very much diluted in pure water, or even by letting it stand in a pan, that is placed in the chamber. The chloride should be renewed morning and evening, or whenever it has lost its peculiar odor. 9 Physicians and others attending on the sick, that are affected with contagious diseases, will derive very great benefit from the liquid chloride, if, to the precaution of breathing it before ap- proaching the sick, and of moistening their hands, they add that of sprinkling it on the floor, and particularly around the beds. The chlorides of lime or soda will be of great utility for cleansing the interior of a ship, and, for this purpose, a spoonful of the chloride should be put into a bottle of water, and this liquid will serve to sprinkle the apartments of the ship ; the dose should be stronger, if the fetid smell is considerable. This operation should be repeated twice a day. Notes containing some of the Cases referred to in the Preceding Paper. 1. Report concerning the Inspection of a Corpse made at the Request of the King's Attorney, August 1, 1823, by MM. Orfila, Hennelle, Gerdy and Lesueur, drawn up by M. Hennelle. " On the first of August, M. professor Orfila and MM. Lesueur, Gerdy and myself, at the request of the king's attorney, repaired to the cemetery of Pere Lachaise, for the purpose of examining the body of a man, who died a month before. At half after seven in the morning, we proceeded to disinter the body; it exhaled an infectious odor; it remained on the ground and out of its coffin till half after ten, the persons, who were to certify its identity, not having arrived. The temperature was from 17 to 18 degrees of the centigrade thermometer. The body was then conveyed to a large and well aired place, that the examination might be made with as much safety and convenience as possible. The odor was still more insupportable, and the corpse had evidently become in- flated since its exhumation : it was, therefore, important, in this case, to make the examination with as much expedition as possi- ble. We began by sprinkling the subject with the chloride of lime dissolved in water. This liquor, which was proposed by Labarraque, pharmaceutist, produced a wonderful effect, for we had scarcely made a few aspersions, when the infectious odor was instantly destroyed, and it became practicable to commence the operation." Extracted from the Archives Generales de Medecine for August, 1S23. 2. An Account of a Gangrenous Affection of the Jaw, cured by Labarraque's Chloride of Soda, was communicated to the 2 10 Royal Academy of Medicine, at their sitting of April 10, 1823, and inserted in the Revue Medicale, by M. Rey, doctor of medi- cine. 3. The following memoir was read to the section of surgery of the Royal Academy of Medicine, at the sitting of July 24, 1823. "Observations relating to complicated Venereal Ulcers, cured by means of the Chloride of Soda, by M. Gorsse, doctor of medi- cine, principal surgeon to the army, and surgeon in chief to the Militaiy Hospital of Picpus, at Paris." Inserted in the fourteenth volume of Recueil de Memoires de Medecine, de Chirurgie et de Pharmacie Militaires, published by order of his excellency, the minister of war. As this work is not to be found at the book- stores, I think proper to cite, in this place, the first of these cases. " A corporal of the sixteenth regiment of the line entered the Military Hospital of Picpus, January 29, 1822, for an ulcer on the prepuce, and a bubo in the right groin. He was treated with friction: The bubo suppurated in a few days, and was opened with the bistoury. The ulcer healed very well, but the sore of the bubo, which was rather large, remained stationary for more than five months, notwithstanding the most appropriate applica- tions both general and local. " At the end of this time, the gastric and pulmonary organs were the seat of a severe irritation ; the sore of the bubo was changed into a phagedenic ulcer, which was inflamed and became painful; the suppuration was fetid and very abundant, the hos- pital putrefaction finally attacked him, and in a few days, the ulcer invaded a great part of the surface of the abdomen. The patient was then removed from the rest. " The inflammation of the gastric organs, however, yielded to a suitable treatment; but the hospital putrefaction continued its ravages. All the means employed in similar cases being resorted to, the ulcer again assumed a good appearance. " The mercurial treatment, which had been discontinued, was resumed; and every thing went on very well for some time. " A little afterwards, the same symptoms appeared with far greater severity, and brought the patient within a hair's breadth of the grave. The same means being again resorted to. produced 11 once more a momentary suspension ; but, not long after, he suf- fered a new return of the symptoms, that had been mitigated; in short, he lingered, for nearly a year, between life and death. " The patient was in the following situation, May 16, 1823, the time when the chloride of soda was first applied ; extreme emaciation and debility, inflammation of the gastric and pul- monary organs, gums swelled and spungy, skin dry and husky, perpetual constipation and sleeplessness ; the ulcer extended to the upper part of the hips, passing over the abdomen within two inches and a half of the umbilicus; it descended on each side between the scrotum and thighs ; its appearance was frightful, and it occasioned the most excruciating distress. The extremi- ties were swelled, indented, here and there decayed, and all the skin, that covered them, was discolored. The suppuration, which was very abundant, and extremely fetid, was mixed with blood oozing from the corroded vessels. " The sores were dressed three times a day with the lint wet with the chloride of soda, in a dose of two ounces with four ounces of water. The next day the odor of the chloride destroyed that of the hospital putrefaction. The dose of the medicine was increased one ounce, and the same dressing continued ; the day afterwards, there was no fetid odor, and very little suppuration ; the surface of the ulcer appeared very favorable; the healing proceeded from the circumference towards the center, and showed itself at once on different parts of the ulcer. The other inflam- matory symptoms had disappeared. " The fifth day the chloride was applied pure; the healing proceeded steadily and rapidly. The ninth day, the inflammation being too severe, the use of the chloride was suspended, the ulcer was dressed with dry applications, and the fungous flesh was cau- terized with the dissolved nitrate of silver. The chloride was resumed about the fourteenth day, and, on the eighteenth, there remained only a few ulcerated parts. The corporal recovered his appetite, and walked about on crutches. Soon afterwards his strength returned, and he is now radically cured." 4. The following memoir was read before the Royal Academy of Medicine. Notice concerning the Use of M. Labarraque's Liquid in the Local Treatment of Certain Ulcers, by M. Cullerier, 12 surgeon, member of the Royal Academy of Medicine. See the first volume of the Archives Generales de Medecine, and the Annales de la Medecine Physiologique for April, 1S23. 5. An Account of the Cure of an Ill-conditioned Scald Head was communicated to the Royal Academy of Medicine by Doctor Roche. This had resisted the various common remedies. Iloyal Institute of France. ROYAL ACADEMY OP SCIENCES. Extract from, the Proceedings relating to the Prizes decreed at the Public Sitting of Monday, Jane 20, 1825. Prize instituted by the Will of M. le Baron de Monty on. There is awarded to M. Labarraque, pharmaceutist of Paris, a prize of three thousand francs, for having proved, by a great number of experiments, that the chlorides of lime and soda, dis- solved in water, may be employed with success, economy and fa- cility for destroying, at once, the infectious odors of the animal matters, that are employed in making catgut, and likewise in the process of dissecting bodies in a state of putrefaction, as well as for cleansing places where the air is corrupted* On Certain Uses of the Chloride of Soda; Remark. In preparing the chloride of soda, one should fol- low exactly the prescription, that is published in my Memoir ; for, if this is not regarded, its properties are changed, and its action may be destroyed ; whereas, if the chloride possesses all its pro- perties, we may be certain of obtaining always the effects that are stated in this notice. After reading the preceding Observations, judicious practi- tioners have been able to distinguish the cases where the applica- tion of the chloride of soda would be followed by a happy result and enlarge the province of the healing art by pointing out the diseases, that require its use. It would be tedious to mention all the justly celebrated physicians and surgeons, who have studied the operation of the alkaline and earthy chlorides. I can not 13 howevef, refrain from holding up to the gratitude of the friends of humanity M. Biett, physician to the Saint Louis hospital, for his numerous applications of it to herpetic affections ; and Mi Jules Cloquet. joint surgeon in chief to the same hospital, for his successful applications of it to gangrenous ulcers. In several of these extremely severe diseases, this able surgeon caused the sphacelated limb to be bathed in chloride diluted in from ten to fifteen parts of water, and gave inwardly from twenty-five to thirty drops of the chloride of soda in a pint of barley water. His observations will be published. Professor Marjolin, surgeon in chief to the Beaujon hospital) made use of the same chloride for gangrenous affections, whether they appeared in consequence of the amputation of a limb, or from any other cause. He observed that the slough separated readily, and that the disease, in a very great number of instances, was subdued. Doctor Segalas, a professor approved by the Faculty of Medi- cine, after a series of physiological experiments, said, more than two years since;, " Great caution should be observed by the phy- sician in the use of this remedy upon the denuded muscles, and, above all, in its injection into the genital parts. Diluted in water3 it is less irritating, and preserves the no less precious qualities, that have placed it among our most powerful medicines." "I have," said he, "this day verified this last remark in two cases of the cure of gangrenous disorders effected very recently under the influence of this agent, commonly designated by the name of Labarraque's liquor. One was the case of a man af- fected with a gangrene in consequence of an infiltration of urine." Here follows a description of the disease. "Besides, the scrotum of the patient was five times its natural size, infiltrated with urine and sphacelated in its lowest part, ellipsoid in its dimen- sions, from four inches in one direction to two and a half in the other. I made a deep incision into the slough, whence the sore might discharge, and passed a fine probe into the urethra ; I then applied lotions to the mortified parts with some chloride of soda in a pure state ; the place, the bed and the chamber were purified instantly. I finished with a dressing of lint impregnated with the same liquid diluted in four parts of water. The next morn- ing, to my great satisfaction, I found several sloughs detached. 14 and the patient in a very good way. I repealed the dressing of the preceding day; in the evening, the sore was alive over its whole surface. I then discontinued the use of the chloride ; and in ten days afterwards, it was entirely healed." The second was the case of a horse, treated by M. Bouley, the younger, veterinary surgeon, and of which an account will be given hereafter. M. Samson, ordinary surgeon to the Hotel Dieu, disinfected the ulcerations of the mouth, with caries of the bone, and suspended for some time the ravages of this frightful malady. The same surgeon, after having, in the presence of doctor Lefevre, applied the ligature to an enormous uterine polypus, saw putrefaction at- tack this foreign body; he effected the disinfection by some ap- plications of chlorated water, and the mortified substance was detached. The operation was followed with success. M. Lao-neau, doctor of medicine, made use of the chloride in injections as an emolient for the gums with ulcerations, exhaling a very fetid smelf. The condition of the patient was ameliorat- ed, and, after each injection, the odor was destroyed. M. Regnardj dentist, wished to apply the chloride of soda to arrest the caries of the teeth, and destroy the odor of the mouth ; but he observed that this medicine excited, in a disagreeable manner, the salivary glands, and, on this account, he believes that it should not be em- ployed as a mouth wash. Doctor Chantourelle employed, a considerable time since, the chloride of soda, diluted in ten parts of water, in two cases of malignant sore throat, and all fetidity, so dangerous to the assis- tants and the physician, disappeared. These cases have been communicated to the Medical Society of Paris. Yery recently he derived great benefit from the use of the chloride taken inter- nally, in a dose of twenty-five drops in a cup of water, to prevent the disengagement of hydrosulphuric gas, which was very trouble- some to a person poisoned by the hydrosulphuret of potash, pre- viously expelled by vomiting. His memoir, read before the Royal Academy of Medicine, has given rise to a learned reports A remarkable fact has been observed in a case of asphyxia at- tended with most severe symptoms of locked jaw. The patient was restored to life by breathing the chloride of soda. A notice of this case, (which was caused by the exhalations of substances 15 taken from the vault of a privy,) with experiments adapted to prevent similar accidents, was read to the Royal Academy of Medicine, and inserted in several scientific journals of the me- tropolis. M. Lisfranc, surgeon in chief of la Pitie, continues with ex- cellent success the cure of burns and common ulcers by means of the chlorides. The chloride of lime, dissolved in water in con- venient proportions, and which is accomplished at three degrees of M. Gay Lussac's chlorometer. has perfectly succeeded with him in cases of this kind. The memoir, which he proposes to publish on this subject, and which he has announced to the Royal Academy of Medicine, will be read with the deepest interest. Ulcers in the nose have been disinfected and cured by injecting, twice a day, the chloride of soda diluted in from two to ten parts of water. In certain diseases of the bladder, the urine is rendered infec- tious and very offensive to the patient. The disinfection may be effected by putting some drops of concentrated chloride of soda into the vessel, in which it is voided. The same result may be obtained on the urine voided ofter eating asparagus, except that it is necessary, in this case, to employ a larger quantity of chlo^ ride. To M. Segalas, who devotes himself particularly to giving in- struction on diseases of the urinary passages, I am indebted for the knowledge of a remarkable fact respecting the disinfection of urine in the organ that contains it, and the relief, that the patient experienced in consequence of using the chloride. I cite it here for the purpose of drawing the attention of gentlemen of the profession to analagous cases. M. G. aged 69 years, affected with a palsy of the bladder, and passing no urine for several weeks, except by overflowing, be- came, after some days, a prey to all the disasters, that succeed the forced distention of the bladder, a prolonged continuance of the urine in this viscus, and the passing of a part of this liquid into the blood. The hypogastric region was distended and pain- ful ; the urine, disturbed and ammoniacal, deposited a thick purulent matter, brick-colored and fetid; the tongue was parched, the skin dry, the chest embarrassed, the voice hoarse and feeble ; he was very restless, and experienced occasional de- 16 lirium. M. Segaias was called. This physician, by the intro- duction of the catheter, confirmed the diagnostics pointed out by the symptoms. A catheter of elastic gum, introduced with the greatest facility, gave vent to a large quantity of purulent urine, and of an insupportable odor. The instrument was left in the urethra for two days, but was several times obstructed. Several times, in consequence of this, injections were used, but they had little success, which determined M. Segaias to make use of a ca- theter of a double course, and wash the bladder with a large quantity of water, following the ingenious method of M. Jules Cloquet. This expedient, employed several days in succession, had the effect, that was anticipated from it. The bladder was relieved from the influence of the putrid matters, that disturbed it, the urine flowed with facility by the tube, and the general state of the patient was sensibly ameliorated ; still the urine continued to deposit fetid purulent matter, which sometimes passed the catheter almost pure. M. Segfalas then had recourse to the chloride of soda diluted in sixty parts of water, and conveyed into the bladder by means of the double catheter. A first irrigation of this kind produced a very remarkable diminution in the secretion and odor of the purulent matter; a second, made forty-eight hours afterwards, was followed with similar success, and two others, made at two days' interval, so far restored the patient, that he was able to attend to his occupation, making use regularly of the catheter for each excretion of urine. The patient experienced no painful sensation during the irri- gation made with the chloride thus diluted in water. This case was communicated to the Royal Academy of Medi- cine at the sitting of August 11, 1825. It is believed that certain poisons may be destroyed by the contact of the same chloride ; but the experiments have not yet been sufficiently numerous to affirm it with certainty. The linen and lint, that are used for dressing the fetid sores, preserve, for a long time, their odor, and contribute to the un- healthiness of the place where they are laid. This may be pre- vented by turning a cup of concentrated chloride upon five quarts 17 of water, and soaking the cloths in this liquid. They may be immediately taken out and laid by to dry, as they will have lost their odor. The disinfection of the halls and markets, effected in August, 1824, by order of the authority, proves, together with the facts reported in this notice, for how many purposes, having for their object the destruction of the causes of fetidity, the alkaline and earthy chlorides may be usefully employed. These substances will finally become of habitual, and even domestic use, which would justify details, into which I have not thought proper to enter. The public health will lay us under obligation to moisten with the disinfecting chloride a body, that begins to give evident signs of decomposition before the time, prescribed by custom or the laws, permits it to be buried. In this case let a bottle of the concen- trated chloride be put into twelve liters of water ; a cloth dipt in this mixture should then be laid over the corpse, taking care to sprinkle it occasionally with the same liquor during the time that it is preserved. The necessity of this operation is daily felt at Paris, and far more so in hot climates. Gentlemen of the pro- fession, called to inspect or embalm a body, may likewise preserve themselves from every unwholesome exhalation by making use of the chloride in the manner, that has just been pointed out. Physicians called upon to certify the deaths of patients, and per- sons, that attend the sick, may secure themselves from the fetid exhalations by applying to the nose a pocket vial containing the disinfecting chloride. The chloride of soda, diluted in twenty-five or thirty parts of water, has been employed with success to disinfect and preserve the corpses in the halls of dissection. This operation is per- formed by means of a water-pot of tinned copper, of the capacity of six kilograms, which should be filled with chlorated water. The fetid bodies are sprinkled twice a day; the ground is then swept and washed with a large quantity of water. At the mo- ment of contact the infectious odor is destroyed, and the animal exhalations, that are diffused in the air, are neutralized. This would be the place to speak of the cleansing processes in. the lazaretto of Marseilles, which I developed in my letter to his excellency, the minister of the interior, and which the Supe- 3 18 rior Council of Health of the kingdom adopted long since, and the execution of which is entrusted to the enlightened zeal of the physicians, who are charged with this interesting establish- ment ; but these things will possess greater interest after experi- ence shall have confirmed them. This would likewise be the place to relate the experiments made during two nights at Bicetre in eight halls, that were very much infected. These halls, to the great satisfaction of the patients and the physician, who takes care of them, were purified by sprinkling them with a bottle of the concentrated chloride diluted in thirty parts of water. The remainder of the liquor served to disinfect the tubs placed without the halls, and the vaults of the insane. It will be readily per- ceived that this mode of cleansing places inhabited by a great number of persons is very simple, little expensive, and must be of important service, when applied to barracks, guard-houses, and military hospitals. His excellency, the minister of war, vol- untarily addressed to me, on the seventh of August, 1824, a very flattering letter on this subject, and the Recueil de Memoires, published by his order, contains several papers relating to the use of the chlorides. The epizootic distemper, that prevailed some months since among horses, has furnished me with the opportunity of stating the effects of the chloride of soda upon the carbuncle-like affec- tions, with which these animals are very often afflicted. One will be able to judge of these effects by the note, which M. Bouley the younger, veterinary surgeon, inserted in the Recueil de Mede- cine Veterinaire for June, 1825, and which I think proper to re- publish in this place. "Note concerning the Use of Chloride of Soda in the Treat- ment of Gangrenous Tumors; by UI. Bouley the younger. " All the veterinary surgeons, who have employed setons in the treatment of the epizootic malady, have uniformly observed that these means were almost always useless and often dangerous. I have myself particularly noticed eight carbuncle-like tumors, that were the result of their application. Five of the animals, that were thus affected, died ; the three others were cured. The five first were treated with cautery and the antiseptics given inwardly, 19 and the other three by the same means and the use of M. Labar- raque's chloride of soda. " The happy effects, that I obtained from this medicine, in- duced me to make known with some details the circumstances, in which I made use of it, and the results, that followed. CASE I. " On the thirty first of March last, a bay horse five years old, belonging to M. Count d'Yssy, was attacked with the prevailing malady. A proper treatment was adopted to relieve this affliction, which did not show any alarming symptoms till the fifth day, when a considerable tumor, somewhat painful, appeared on the breast, in the place where two setons had been made some days before, and assumed, in a short time, all the characters of car- buncle, I then hastened to suppress the setons; I made, at the same time, twelve or fifteen punctures by cautery into the confined parts, and prescribed camphor and the extract of gentian in suit- able proportions. These measures did not produce the effect, that I had expected, and, in the course of the fifth or sixth night, the distemper made rapid progress. He was newly cauterized, and the same treatment was again resorted to. Finally, on the seventh day, there flowed from the tumor, which had newly in- creased, a sanious, fetid humor, of a peculiar odor, that did not per- mit us any longer to doubt the existence of gangrene; the pros- tration of strength was extreme, and every thing indicated a fatal and speedy termination. Such was the almost desperate situa- tion of this animal, when Doctor Segaias saw him and advised me to employ M. Labarraque's chloride of soda, assuring me that he had obtained wonderful effects from it, in a similar case, upon the human system. I hastened to profit by the advice of this learned physician, and made frequent injections of the chloride into the openings made by the actual cautery. These injections were made at all hours, and the sores dressed immediately after- wards by means of cut hemp. I also caused frequent aspersions to be made in the stable with the same liquor diluted in five or six parts of water. " From the time that I made use of this medicine, the tumor made no sensible progress ; and the disagreeable odor, which it exhaled, did in part disappear. From the fourth to the fifth day 20 the sloughs began to fall off, suppuration was established, and every danger ceased; finally, the considerable sore, that resulted from the decay of the gangrenous parts was readily cicatrized, and, in less than a month, the animal was able to return to his customary service. CASES II AND III. " Two horses belonging, one to M. Inge, butcher at Paris, the other to M. Renoult, agriculturist at Yvry, were affected, in the month of May, with the prevailing disorder, and both experienc- ed the same disaster in consequence of the application of setons. These animals were treated and cured by the same remedies as the preceding, in the space of twenty or twenty-five days. " I do not pretend that the chloride of soda is a panacea for all gangrenous tumors, nor do I suppose that this medicine alone would be sufficient; but 1 believe that it is a powerful auxiliary, and I am authorized by the facts to think so, seeing the five first horses, which I treated only with cautery and tonics, died, while those, that were submitted to the action of the chloride, are cured." M. Chanas, veterinary surgeon to the king's cavalry at Paris, in a carbuncle-like tumor, which, in a few hours, had very con- siderably increased, made a deep and very extensive incision on each side of the horse's neck, the animal discovering no signs of feeling. He then applied tow, dipt in concentrated chloride, to these incisions. After the expiration of four hours, the animal experienced some pain. The dressing was performed morning and evening for five days with the same liquor. The swelling gradually diminished ; the healing of the sore was effected in a short time, and the horse was cured. MM. Dnpuy, Girard the son, and Vatel, professors in the school at Alfort, and Berger, vete- rinary surgeon to the life-guards, have in like manner verified the efficacy of the chloride in these affections. M. Dard, a young veterinary surgeon, wrote to me, July 17,1825: " The good effects, that I obtained from the chloride of soda in several cases, and especially in the treatment of a horse affected with the glanders, which is now completely cured, induced me to repeat the same method upon another horse, affected with the far- cy, a disease almost equally obstinate." I give this extract from 21 the letter to induce gentlemen of the profession to try the experi- ments. Instructions for disinfecting and cleansing the stables of the king's life-guards and cavalry at Paris, were drawn up some time since. The writer has reason to felicitate himself on their having been exactly followed. The distemper has ceased to spread its ravages. A great number of proprietors have, in like manner, shared in the good effects of using the chloride of soda to cleanse their stables and sheepfolds. M. Girard, late professor and director of the school of Alfort, has in the third edition of his " Notice sur la Maladie, qui regne epizootiquement sur les Chevaux," thought proper to print these Instructions, introducing them with the following note : " This liquor, employed with advantage by MM. Bouley the1 younger and Vatel, quickly destroys the fetid odor, that the tu- mors exhale, facilitates the healing of the sores, and appears to be a powerful antiseptic. We consider it a duty to publish here a note of M. Labarraque, who first proposed the use of this method already advantageously known in medicine." Note of M. L