A. M. A. Congress

During the week 7,819 members of the American Medical Association--in convention assembled at Chicago--concluded their annual session. Cheating. The chairman of the section on medicine opened the meeting of that section with a fierce invective against unscientific and unscrupulous prescribing by a limited number of physicians. "One of the most flagrant instances of irrational therapeutics," said Dr. Joseph A. Capps, Chicago, "is the abuse of the physician's license to prescribe alcohol. It is well-known that most of the liquor dispensed by druggists on physicians' prescriptions is not intended for the treatment of the sick. Whatever we, as individuals, may think of the Volstead Law, we are morally bound to restrict prescriptions to medicinal purposes. Selling one's prescription blanks to the druggist is worse than fee splitting, and should be cause for exclusion from membership in the American Medical Association!" Subcostalgia. The surgical section heard Dr. Marshall Clinton, associate professor of surgery in the University of Buffalo, describe a condition called "subcostalgia," which he asserted is fairly common. It occurs usually on the right side in right-handed people, as a result of stooping over. The patient may complain of pain before and after an abdominal operation which has been done for removal of the appendix, an inflammation of the gall bladder or for some other reason. The specific cause of the pain is the fact that, in short-waisted people, or people having unusually long ribs, stooping over habitually squeezes a nerve trunk between the rib and hip bone. The chief sign of the disease is an extreme pain when pressure is applied under the rib. At operation the swollen nerve ending and the tip of the rib may be removed, and in a correctly diagnosed and properly treated case, the cure of the pain is immediate and permanent. Thyroid gland. In the surgical section also, Dr. George W. Crile, Cleveland, discussed the present standing of knowledge of the thyroid gland. The abnormal conditions for which physicians are called include increased secretion from the gland, lessened secretion and abnormal growths. In the case of lessened secretion physicians treat the condition by giving small doses of iodin during youth or during periods such as pregnancy when the gland may be heavily drawn on; also by the giving of doses of thyroid extract or of thyroxin. Dr. Crile pointed out that iodin must be given with great caution to grown persons who may have a tendency to thyroid tumor.

Spleen. Following the address by Dr. Crile, Dr. William J. Mayo, Rochester, Minn., told the assembled surgeons of the present status of knowledge regarding the spleen. The exact function of this organ is even yet unknown, but it seems to be intimately associated with the manufacture and destruction of the elements of the blood and is therefore very important in relation to certain diseases of the blood.

Mastoids. Dr. Samuel J. Kopetzky, New York, told how infection of the mastoid region, behind the ear, following influenza, sore throat, pneumonia or colds, may result in a general infection of the whole body.

Cancer. A number of physicians, from various cities, gathered in the section on pathology to hear the latest views regarding cancer. This discussion was opened by Dr. Francis Carter Wood, New York, who told of the newest researches in attempts to produce cancer experimentally in animals. It was found that repeated painting with tar would produce cancer fairly easily in the white mouse, with great difficulty in the rabbit and white rat and hardly at all in the guinea pig. Cancer and sarcoma have been produced in certain instances by the use of animal parasites. It was his belief that heredity played a relatively small part in the production of cancer in the human being.

The surgical treatment of cancer was discussed by Dr. Edward Starr Judd of the Mayo Clinic. He listed the results in the surgical removal of various types of cancer. It was his belief that cancer was undoubtedly becoming more common, in spite of the advancement that has been made in the control of the disease.

Apoplexy. How a man at the apex of his work may avoid the penalty of hardened arteries in the brain and the possibility of cerebral hemorrhage or apoplexy, was told by Dr. H. H. Drysdale, Cleveland, in the section on nervous and mental diseases. The frenzied finance habit which will not allow a patient to relax and forget his responsibilities when necessary was blamed for many serious illnesses. "The national sin of overeating, especially of meat," was cited by Dr. Drysdale as one of the heavy burdens which an elderly man may ask his body to bear. Alcohol, taken before meals, was given as one of the causes of overeating.

Rickets. Five physicians, including Dr. Leonard Findlay of Glasgow, Scotland, presented all of the latest views regarding diagnosis and treatment of rickets in children. Modern methods of treatment included the use of cod liver oil, in order to provide the adequate vitamins; the use of calcium and phosphates to provide the bone-building substance, and of the Alpine lamp, to get the specific effects of light in stimulating the growth of the bones.

Cosmetic surgery received particular attention. In the section on stomatology, which is concerned with diseases of the mouth and of the face, Dr. V. H. Kazanjian, Boston, described the conditions that are most frequently encountered and told how the nose may be reconstructed by both surgical and mechanical methods. In order to supply a new nose for the old one, or one that has been destroyed, impressions of the face are taken with plaster of Paris, a new nose is modeled in harmony with the contour of the patient's face, and then, out of various materials, an artificial nose is developed and means are devised for holding it properly in place. Numerous cases were described and photographs submitted showing the successful results.

Dr. Robert H. Ivy, Philadelphia, told how flaps of tissue may be dissected from one part of the face and transplanted to fill in a defect elsewhere.

Dr. Vilray P. Blair, St. Louis, discussed results in the treatment of deformities of the nose when there is also a harelip and Dr. George C. Schaeffer, Columbus, Ohio, described a new method of skin grafting especially adapted to treatment of conditions affecting the face. He ended his paper with an attack on the quack beauty doctors who promise much and fulfill little.

Verdict. "About the most successful session in point of attendance and interest that the American Medical Association has ever held," was the general verdict.