Recent Literature A Dictionary of Psychological Medicine . By D. Hack Tuke, M.D., LL.D. Philadelphia: P. Blakiston, Son & Co. 2 vols., pp. 1405
1892
Boston Medical and Surgical Journal
down in the preceding chapters, of fifteen actual cases, -a portion of the book that we would commend to the student for careful study. There are naturally a few statements to which exception might be taken, and a very few defects. Tho section on hysteria is inadequate, stress is not laid upon the French doctrine of hysterical stigmata and no mention is made under hysteria of contraction of the visual field, while the possibility of permanence of hysterical manifestations is too little
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... The section on the traumatic neuroses is inadequate and exhibits only too markedly the confusion that still reigns upon this group of affections. The merits of the work are very great. It is clear, concise, and accurate. It is excellently arranged and thoroughly systematic. We know of no work, not even the admirable Italian manual by Bianchi, which is a better guide for the student and practitioner in the difficult subject of diagnosis of diseases of the nervous system. A Dictionary of Psychological Medicine. Although this work abundantly justifies its modest title, it is vastly more than a dictionary. It is an elaborate and complete encyclopaedia of psychological medicine, in fact a small library in itself on that subject. The high expectations which Dr. Tuke's work iu this field had raised, are more than fulfilled in the volumes before us. The object of the dictionary is, to quote from the preface, to provide information more or less systematic iu regard to the definition, etymology, and synonyms of the terms used in medical psychology, with the symptoms, treatment and pathology of insanity, together with an abstract of the laws of Great Britain and Ireland. The philosophy of the mind is expounded in a separate article. Tho history of the insane and tho reforms undertaken to ameliorate their condition in various countries of the world are fully given. Another and unusual feature, is a bibliography illustrative of the literature of iusanity, confined to works iu the English language. Although tho burden of the work has been borne by the author, he has been aided by a large list of contributors, among whom are many famous authorities on mental disease in Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy and this country. Other departments of medicine and other sciences are represented of eminence. In so much that is of interest and of solid value, it would seem invidious to particularize, but we cannot forbear mentioning the ful 1 and satisfactory articles on the many contributions by the author. Few books are more open to mistakes of omission thau a dictionary. At the same time we very much doubt if any future dictionary of the sort will be found to be more complete, accurate, up-to-date, and generally satisfactory, than this one, tho only work of the kind extant. A single review cauuot possibly do justice to individual articles or the work as a whole. It is enough to add that it will be found to be a most valuable reference hand-book for the alienist and student of psychological medicine. The general physician also cannot fail to find the book exceedingly useful in special cases. It is a conjoint book, all of the proof sheets having been submitted to the authors for mutual criticism and revision ; so that it may be considered to be a consensus of the surgical opinion of the authors. It is intended to serve as a text-book for American students. As a whole we like the book, but it has certain defects. It fails entirely to give to the student's mind a proper value of the relativo importance of subjects; for instance, the surgery of the genitourinary tract occupies one hundred and twenty-six pages, while the surgery of fractures, which is of great importance to the student, occupies only fortyeight pages. The surgery of the head and of the abdomen occupy a prominent place in the volume. It is questionable whether such distinct specialities as the eye and ear should be included in a text-book of surgery. All in all, however, the book is distinctly the most satisfactory work on modern surgery with which we are familiar. It is thorough, complete and condensed. It is very large (1175 pages), and its bulk and its intended use as a iext-book for students, should have accorded it a stronger binding. Some of the cuts are not satisfactory; many of them are works of art. It is unfortunate that the publishers did not accord to the book better printing and a more even standard of cuts. Probably no one is better qualified to 6peak of the surgical treatment of tic-douloureux than the surgeon who first ventured to remove the Gasserian ganglion for the relief of that condition, and his Lettsomian lectures of the current year are certainly the most complete if not the only monograph that has appeared upon the subject. The first lecture deals briefly with the uuiology, pathology and symptomatology of the disease, full notice being taken of the recent pathological researches of Dana and J. J. Putnam in this country. The evolution of surgical treatment is then dwelt upon, from the simple operations of neurotomy The Boston Medical and Surgical Journal as published by The New England Journal of Medicine. Downloaded from nejm.org at SAN DIEGO (UCSD) on June 26, 2016. For personal use only. No other uses without permission. From the NEJM Archive.
doi:10.1056/nejm189210061271408
fatcat:a67vgvz5sbe6zgkt3zsu6qeoie