THE following observations on the action of Antipyrin and Thallin were made at the suggestion of Dr. Ringer on patients admitted under his care into University College Hospital. My main object has been to investigate the utility of these drugs in the treatment of acute articular rheumatism, and to compare their action with that of Salicylate of Soda. Notwithstanding the voluminous literature on this subject which has appeared during the last few years, further observations would seem to be

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... able when we consider the somewhat conflicting opinions at which different observers have arrived. After the admission of a case of acute rheumatism, no drug, or merely a placebo, was given for the first twelve or twenty-four hours. By so doing any error due to the simple effect of complete rest on the temperature was as far as possible avoided. The fall of temperature from this cause is often not inconsiderable, amounting in some cases to one or two degrees Fahrenheit. Dr. Ringer points out that the first temperature taken after admission is often the highest. The administration of the drug was then commenced, and in those cases in which it did not appear to be beneficial it was followed by i the administration of the salicylate of soda. The following ' are brief details of some individual cases :-Cases of Acute Rheumatism treated with Antipyrin. , CASE 1.--T. R -—, aged twenty-two, was admitted on Oct. 12th, 1885, with his first attack. The right elbow and wrist were swollen, red, and very painful, and the left shoulder was painful on movement. There was a faint systolic murmur at the apex. During the twenty-four hours after admission the temperature varied between 100° and 1014°. At 3 P.M. on Oct. 13th (day after admission) twenty grains of antipyrin were given, and repeated at 4 P.M. and 5 p.. The temperature fell gradually from 101'4° at 3 P.M. to 98'4° at 12 P.M.; the physical condition of the joints remained the same, but the pain was rather less. On the following day at 11 A.M. the temperature had risen to 100'4° ; twenty grains of antipyrin were given, and repeated every two hours until 6 P.M., the result being a fall to 98° at 7 P.M., without the slightest effect on the symptoms. At 3 A.M. on Dec. 15th the thermometer rose slowly to 998° at 11 P.M. At 11 A.M. on the following day twenty grains of salicylate of soda were given, and repeated at intervals of two hours. The result was a