The phonoscope (Nov 1896-Dec 1899)

12 THE PHONOSCOPE October, 1897 J =1Ra^ Uterus A Puzzle to X=Ray Experts The injury inflicted on Charles F. Lacombe of the Mountain Electric Company by frequent exposure to the X-ray and its surroundings by which his hands have been burned, has re-aroused interest in the new process. It is the only record in this city where the harm has been sufficient to cause alarm, but it was the experience of a number of experimenters after the discovery of the Roentgen ray that the portion of the anatomy much exposed suffered in some peculiar way. Of late, through rapid improvements made in the tube and in the generator, the danger has been lessened, but not to that extent where all danger is at an end. The careful medical man who is called on to use the ray generally warn the patient that there is some slight danger of a burn, but the experts in Denver have grown to know the dangers and guard against them. Up to last February the total record of injury sustained from the new discovery was twentythree, and of that number twelve occured in this country, one in Canada, four in England and six in Germany. Those who have interested themselves in this matter have not agreed upon the cause. There is a growing belief that the con. dition of the blood and of the body generally may have something to' do with it, others believe the skin's condition most responsible and it is possible that inferior tubes may be more responsible than anything else. Many theories have been advanced. Some have supposed burns to be entirely due to frequent and long exposures, but that is not tenable because in the recorded injuries five followed a single exposure and ill two cases two sittings only preceded the eruptive phenomena. Others have compared it to sunburn, but more severe results have fol. lowed the use of the rays than have ever followed sunburn. Tesla believes that the hurtful action of the X-ray is not due to the ray, but to the ozone generated in contact with the skin. Ozone when too abundantly produced attacks the cutaneous surface, its action being no doubt heightened by the heat and moisture of the skin. Prof. Thomson takes exception to Tesla's reasoning and believes that the rays themselves are responsible in some way. The radiation in an X-ray tube may be divided provisionally into three classes: ether waves, cathode rays, which are undoubtedly streams of matter electrically charged, and the X-rays, about whose nature there is no conclusive evidence at the present time. If the walls of the tube are thin enough and of suitable material, all these radiations will emerge and pass into the surrounding air. It is a matter of doubt if the cathode rays observed outside the vacuum tube are the same as those inside, but the inner ones undoubtedly cause the outer ones. There is no evidence that the X-rays carry with them particles of matter or that they directly cause a stream of particles, in fact, the evidence seems to point to the belief that they are ether waves of extreme shortness. Dr. Gilchrist of the John Hopkins University who has made a special study of the disease, gives his opinion that the X-rays are not responsible, but that probably the cathode rays, being streams of matter electrically charged, are responsible. The modern Crookes tube used to produce the X-ray has platinum reflectors, and it is speculated that the lesions may be due to the entrance of Dlatinuru particles and that the cathode rays which vccompany the X-rays are really responsible. The "X-ray dermatatis," as the disease from which Mr. Lacombe is believed to be suffering began with a darkening of the color of the skin which became dry and wrinkled. After a short time the pigmented skin could be rubbed off. In ten days the pain affected the parts and an examination showed a thickening of the bones of the hand and forearm. The joints were stiff. The aching, throbbing and shooting pains grew worse, the bones were tender and the skin changed to a deep brown. The pain is due to the inflammation of the periostem and possibly the bone, besides the softer tissues. In such cases it takes from six weeks to four months to bring about a return to the normal condition. X=Rays on Boy in Court For the first time in history, so far as is known, the Roentgen or X-rays were used in a court of justice recently to aid in the determining of a dispute as to personal injuries. The exhibition was conducted before Justice Johnson and a jury in Part I., of the Supreme Court, Brooklyn, N. Y. The subject was nineyear-old Martin Hutchinson, of i860 Dean Street, who, through his father, George H. Hutchinson, is suing the Atlantic Avenue Railroad Company for $10,000 damages. The point to be determined by the use of the X-rays was whether the head of the humerus bone of the left arm was fractured. Little Martin attended a Christmas festival in 1895 and was returning home on one of the company's cars when he was taken ill and it is claimed was thrown bodily from the car by the conductor, into the street. Some of his ribs were broken and his shoulder fractured. The case was tried recently and resulted in a disagreement of the jury. The plain, tiffs attempted to introduce X-ray photographs to show the nature of the injury to the humerus. They were objected to, Lawyer J. R. Soley, for the railroad company, said he would agree to the examination of the boy by the X-rays in court. The apparatus was set up in front of the jury box, the electricity being furnished from the electric light wires in the building. The machine was operated by Electrician Arthur W. Fox and Hayden Baker. Dr. William J. Morton and George R. Fowler conducted the examination. The proceedings opened with Dr. Harry Plympton on the stand, as an expert. He testified as to the taking of the X-ray pictures used on the other trial. He considered an examination by the use of the X-rays as exceedingly dangerous. He said from the exposure to them, the skin was liable to become burned, ulcers have been known to form and were frequently very severe. Lawyer J. Stewart Ross objected to the rays being used unless the Railroad Company would stipulate to indemnify the boy or his parents for any injuries that might be sustained. This caused a sharp discussion between Mr. Soley and Mr. Ross, and as a result the examination proceeded. Mr. Ross and the boy's father declined to permit any one connected with plaintiffs side of the case to take part in the examination, nor would he agree to have the examination proceed unless the defendant did agree not to expose the boy to the rays longer than three minutes or to place him nearer than six inches to the Crooke's tube. After some difficulty the doctors succeeded in getting the machine adjusted, and little Martin, seated on a stool, stripped to his undershirt, smiled while one million volts of electricity snapped in the tube and rendered the bones of his left arm visible. Dr. Morton, seated in front of him, looked through the fluroscope. After examining the right side for a minute, he examined the left. This concluded the period of time allowed under the stipulation. Mr. Hutchinson declined to permit his son to be further submitted to the rays. '(Staphs, 'phones anb 'Scopes The Phonetoscope The phonetoscope is the latest improvement in the instruments used by physicians and surgeons. Its use enables one to hear the respiratory apparatus, of the organs of digestion, of the ear in health and diseased, of muscles, joints, bones, fractures, dislocations, etc., and even the capillary circulation. The slightest vibrations, excluding other slight noises in the room, are heard during examination. It makes it possible for the physician to examine dressed persons with scientific accuracy, offers a certain method of detecting people who feign deafness, and enables the physician to appreciate the normal and pathological sounds emmitted by the organs of the body. The phonetoscope is perfected on the principles used in the telephone. A physician says: "The principles of the telephone are carried out absolutely in the new instrument. We have all known this for years, but none of us ever thought of applying the principles to the purpose for which they were most needed and yet we all realized the old stethescope, which we have been using, was a crude apparatus. The difference between the two instruments is that one is made on the principle of a trumpet and the other on that of a telephone. With the new phonetoscope the beating of the heart can be heard as distinctly as though the ear were placed directly over it. ' ' The phonetoscope was patented only last May. The Yerkes Telescope Great things are expected of the Yerkes telescope, that has just been mounted near Chicago. Its forty -inch lens is the largest ever made and its power is greater than that of any other astronomical instrument devised since the days when Galileo first bethought himself of putting two pieces of glass in a tube to magnify the apparent size of distant objects. This enormous telescope is in the hands of capable men, eminent in their scientific achievements and probably competent to put the wonderful instrument to its fullest possible uses. Already from observations made of the moon certain latter-day theories regarding the existence of vegetation on the planet have been disproved, and perhaps by means of it other mistaken notions concerning the various members of the solar system in respect to which humanity feels a natural and keen curiosity will be dispelled. But astronomy is a positive and not essentially a negative science. Its first function is to determine facts rather than to disprove speculations. The latter flow prolifically from unusal discoveries and there is now prevailing a marked tendency to imagine startling things about some of the other members of the great planetary system to which the earth belongs. Mars is a fruitful field for speculation. Many nonsensical suggestions have been made of late years concerning the possibility of inter-planetary communication and even supposedly learned men have joined the discussion with a gravity hardly to be expected.