The earliest ether anaesthetic in British North America--a first for Saint John, New Brunswick?

Literature relating the early history of ether anaesthesia in New Brunswick which, as part of British North America was a British colony until 1867, is reviewed. There is documentary evidence that the first ether anaesthetic for dental surgery in what is now Canada, was administered in 1844 in St. John, New Brunswick. There is also documentary evidence that the first ether anaesthetic for general surgery was administered in St. John on Monday, January 18, 1847, rather than in Montreal in March, 1847.

Determination of perfusion field during local hyperthermia with the aid of finite element thermal models.

Two-dimensional transient thermal models of human thighs undergoing microwave diathermy are developed with the aid of experimental data to shed light on the blood flow response occurring during local hyperthermia in muscle. The experimental data were taken from tests on six human subjects treated with a 915-Mz, direct-contact microwave diathermy device which incorporated a system for simultaneously cooling the skin surface with a cold air stream. The numerically calculated perfusion fields were determined by systematically varying a model's blood flow response to the temperature stimulus until good agreement between the experimental and model temperature fields were achieved. The model blood flow values were then checked against those measured in the human experiments via xenon 133 washout and good agreement here was also found. The future use of models of this type in clinical diagnosis and hyperthermic treatment is proposed.

Joint Committee on Aviation Pathology: XVII. Round window tear in aviators.

It is the intent of this paper to draw attention to round window tears with the inherent symptomatology that has, for the first time, been documented in two aircrew members. It is also felt important to emphasize that the condition, regardless of etiology, could be catastrophic to the flying pilot and may be an up-recognized cause of otherwise unexplainable accidents. Not all cases of window tears cause vertigo-but some do. Not all vertigo so caused is prostrating--but some is. Because of the findings in two reported cases, it is postulated that round window membrane tear may be a significant cause of pilot disorientation. It may have been the root cause of peculiar and previously unexplained air crashes. The corollary of this hypothesis is the proposition that, in the future, careful attention be paid to the ears of pilots recovered from what would otherwise appear to be a mysterious accident.

Analysis of mortality and morbidity in 100 composite resections for oral carcinoma.

The postoperative morbidity and mortality in one hundred patients who underwent composite resection for oral malignant disease are reviewed. Although there was a 7 per cent mortality and significant morbidity, the majority of patients did well. This procedure offers potential cure for life-threatening malignant disease.

Management of patients with urinary calculi.

A retrospective survey was made of 305 patients with proved urinary calculi. When those patients with a solitary stone were compared with those with multiple stones no diagnostically helpful difference was noted in the prevalence of abnormal serum or urine biochemistry, urinary infection, or anatomical abnormality of the urinary tract. The same was true of the stone composition and the need for surgery. It seems that neither routine radiological examination nor regular follow-up is likely to help identify patients whose stones are going to recur.