Electro-physiology and electro-therapeutics : showing the best methods for the medical uses of electricity / By Alfred C. Garratt.

maintained for about twenty or thirty minutes. A half hour is usually better than less. We have found this to have been entirely successful in a number of these cases; some, where compression could have been employed, but the patient preferring this method ; but in other cases, where neither compression nor the ligature could possibly be brought to bear, as shown by some given illustra- tions. But first I wish to say that the needle is generally re- quired to be of gold or platinum, at least so as not to oxidize in the blood. But my preference is for an untempercd steel needle, whose point is heavily gilded or platinized for a quarter or half inch of its point, and then the remaining portion of its shaft heavily covered with hard japan, yet so as to leave a good metallic head or eye at its outer end, for contact with the con- ductor of the battery. These are indeed the same kind of needles I always employ for deep electro-puncture. If the japan is well baked in, the shaft of the needle is polished, and yet completely insulated, so as not to injure the walls of the sac, in the least. In the London Lancet of July 30, 1853, p. 94, is reported a case of aneurism of the external iliac, that was cured with elec- tro-puncture by means of the secondary current of electro-mag- netism ! The patient was a sergeant in the Madras Fusileers', and as no other attempt at radical cure was thought justifiable, Dr. Eyere proceeded to operate as we will show in his own words: " I had met with some cases recorded where galvano- puncture was successfully resorted to. It was either in aneu- risms of small vessels, such as the temporal, or at least where the compression of the vessel could be for the time maintained; for this was then regarded as essential. In this case, owing to the situation of the aneurism, it was impossible to effect good compression; nevertheless I thought, under the circumstances of the case, I was warrantable to give electro-puncture a trial. On the 4th September, two long fine needles were introduced an inch within the aneurismal sac, each being connected with the wires of a galvano-iuagnetic machine. The object was to avoid shocks, and merely to pass a current through the sac. Pressure 55*