593 plugging sufficient to arrest any haemorrhage. On the diagnosis of adhesions all he would say was that often when operating he had detected no adhesions, even after the asseveration to the contrary of some of the Brompton physicians. When soft adhesions were present the lung was easily pushed away from the parietes, and puncture was therefore difficult. In a case of what was regarded as loculated pleuritic effusion, it turned out, on operating, that but a few weak adhesions were present,

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... these being unavoidably broken down some fluid escaped into the general pleural cavity, with the development of septic pleurisy. The aspirator was certainly the best instrument to use in exploration; during the withdrawal of the cannula it was possible to ascertain whether a cavity had been traversed. In his paper he had referred only to cavities the result of bronchiectasis. 's method, which will appear in full in an early number of THE LANCET.-The PRESIDENT -considered that for certain individuals in the active sexual period it was proper to remove the testes in order to pre--vent the occurrence of repeated discomfort and chagrin from inability to satisfy the physiological desires. -Mr. PEARCE GOULD related another case of amputation of the penis by his own method, which occurred in his practice about two years ago. The patient was a man aged fifty-four, in whom the inguinal glands were involved ; in the operation he removed also these affected glands. An ordinary glass syringe was a very convenient instrument to permit of micturition in the standing posture. He was not convinced of the necessity of removing the testicles in such cases, for in his opinion a chaste life was consistent with perfect health.-ilfr. J. H. MORGAN spoke of the question of heredity in cancer, which varied according to the tissue in which the new growth -occurred. He thought removal of the testes inexpedient, unless there were signs of disease of one or both organs, for mere castration caused considerable temporarydepressionin parts controlled by the sympathetic system.—Mr. W. PYE considered that mere castration was not an operation dangerous in itself. A perfectly chaste life was, he held, possible without deterioration of the general health ; if the testicles were removed he should expect rather that important changes would occur in the body at large.-Mr. DAVIES-COLLEY referred to two -cases of cancer of the body of the penis on which he had operated; he removed the organ at the root, and then opened the urethra in the perineum. This method was advocated by Thiersch in 1871, but Professor Humphry of Cambridge had performed a similar operation many years before this. He did not think that removal of the testes was called for.-Dr. W. M. ORD asked whether any trustworthy information existed as to the fatality of the operation that produced eunuchs in the East.-The PRESIDENT said that the operation was done at a very early age in the East, the patients being buried in sand to check the heamorrhage and heal the wound; there was a certain percentage of deaths. Mr. PEARCE GouLD read notes of a case of Alveolar Abscess causing death from thrombosis of the cavernous sinus. A widow, aged fifty-seven, was admitted into the Temperance Hospital with the mouth and teeth in a foul state; a sloughy opening was seen in the centre of the right cheek. An incision was made into the tissues over the jaw from the outside, where fluctuation was detected over the lower part of the masseter; the swelling of the face subsided a little after this, but the patient's general condition was very unsatisfactory. Six molar teeth were extracted on the right side on Feb. 22nd. A probe passed into the external wound detected bare bone; the trismus lessened, but there still remained continued fever and the mouth was very foul-smelling. Some oedema -of the right temple had also appeared. Four days after the removal of the teeth, an abscess above the external angular process of the orbit and another in the posterior triangle of the neck were observed, but the external jugular was not thrombosed. The general state did not improve; the pulse was 126, small, and weak; the temperature 103'80; respiration stertorous, and crops of herpes about the lips. The patient was very drowsy; there was great oedema of the orbit and chemosis, with some proptosis of the right eye and less of the left; the eyeball could be moved a little from side to side. The patient had some rigors on March 1st. The general asthenia increased, and on March 2nd the conjunctivas were yellow and motions colourless. Death occurred in a state of coma. At the necropsy several globular abscesses were found in the lungs with very dense walls, and no signs of adjacent inflammation. The liver was fatty and enlarged; the kidneys healthy. There was necrosis of the outer part of the right side of the lower jaw; the temporal muscle was discoloured, but not actually purulent. Some lymph was detected along the basilar process of the occipital bone and sella turcica. The blood was more fluid than usual. The right cavernous sinus was greatly distended, and contained greyish-yellow brokendown pus and clots; the right ophthalmic vein was similarly affected, and the circular sinus with the superior petrosal on the right side. The inferior petrosal and lateral sinuses were