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made to prevent or control infection of the kidneys.Tying-in of a catheter and irrigation of the bladderwere advisable. If the patient had fever and retentionof urine, the tied-in catheter or suprapublic cystotomywas preferable to frequent catheterisation. The urineshould be carefully watched. If the persistentspecific gravity of the urine was under 1015, and theamount over 60 or 70 oz., renal efficiency was

impaired and operative intervention should beconsidered. Steps should be taken to restore renalfunction before operation. To operate on a patientwithout studying the state of his kidneys was to courtdisaster.

The various tests of renal efficiency were thenmentioned and explained by Mr. Fullerton. Theefficiency of the kidneys might be to some extentrestored by regular catheterisation, the use of thetied-in catheter, or suprapubic cystotomy. The tied-incatheter was often very successful. Operative pro-cedure was either intra-urethral, perineal, or supra- I,pubic ; Luys, of Paris, reported excellent results withthe intra-urethral method. Young, of Baltimore, I,reported a series of 450 cases treated by the perinealmethod with 17 deaths, a percentage of 3-77. Freyer had perfected the suprapubic method and had reducedthe mortality to 3 per cent. ’,

In the discussion which followed Mr. S. T. IRWIN,Dr. MORRISON, Mr. P. T. CRYMBLE, and Dr. W. D.THOMSON took part. ,

BRISTOL MEDICO-CHIRURGICAL SOCIETY.

A MEETING of this Society was held on Tan. llth,Mr. C. H. WALKER, the President, being in the chair.

Sir JOHN HERBERT PARSONS gave an address onMedicine and Psychology.

After expressing his indebtedness to his formerteachers, particularly to Prof. Lloyd Morgan, in theBristol Medical School, he deplored the generalneglect of psychology by the medical profession, andsaid that the out-crop of psychoses from the late warhad emphasised this neglect and had proved the needfor a knowledge of psychology among practitioners.Many of the most enthusiastic psychotherapists of thepresent day were imperfectly acquainted with theolder psychology. Sir John Parsons showed thatpsychology had sprung from abstract philosophy byimperceptible stages, and quoted several definitionsof the subject, which he criticised in the general sensethat they limited the study of the science too narrowlyto one or more of its several aspects. He proposedhimself to define psychology as " the science thattreats of the laws of evolution, organisation, andmanifestations of the mental processes occurring inliving organisms in their relation to the organisms inwhich they occur." He argued, further, that so far.as our present knowledge shows, both consciousprocesses and behaviour are contingent upon nervousprocesses. This being so, the study of psychologymust include that of data of six kinds : the phylo-genetic or comparative psychology of animals ; thestudy of individual human minds, or ontogeneticpsychology ; collective or group psychology ; anthro-pological or racial psychology ; psychopathology ;and introspective psychology. The study of theinstincts had been greatly advanced by investigationof mental abnormality along the lines of whichFreud was a pioneer. Sir John Parsons criticisedthis newer work, particularly on the score of its undueinsistence on the reproductive instinct, saying that inthis respect-explanation of human behaviour byreference to a single principle-Freud differed only inkind from some of his predecessors ; for example,Hobbes, who traced everything to fear, Bentham andthe utilitarians to the search for happiness, andComte and the Positivists to altruism. It was timethat medical students were taught psychology atsome stage in the curriculum by qualified medicalmen, particularly by men who had paid due attentionto the older work and were not obsessed by newtheories. To the objection that this would overcrowdthe curriculum of the medical student, he would

reply that much of that curriculum could be dispensedwith, or at all events relegated to post-graduate andspecial courses. Psychology should be separated fromphilosophy and metaphysics and given a status ofits own in the faculty of science. This reform mightappropriately begin in the University of Bristol,which was privileged to have such an eminentbiological psychologist as emeritus professor ofpsychology.

Prof. C. LLOYD MORGAN congratulated the speakeron his address and gave some account of steps alreadytaken to introduce the study of elementary psychologyinto the medical curriculum.-Mr. F. RICHARDSONCROSS said that the address was in itself a proof thatintensive study of a narrow speciality was compatiblewith broader studies of the organism as a whole,even of its highest and least easily comprehendedfunctions.-Dr. R. G. GORDON defended the doctrinesof Freud on the ground that they owned a physio-logical basis, and, as an example, linked the theory ofthe ambivalency of the emotions with the fact of theantagonistic (vagotonic and sympatheticotonic) sub-divisions of the autonomic nervous system.-Prof.JAMES SWAIN and Dr. J. R. CHARLES also spoke, andon the motion of the PRESIDENT a hearty vote ofthanks was accorded to Sir John Parsons.

ROYAL MEDICO-CHIRURGICAL SOCIETY OFGLASGOW.

A MEETING was held on Jan. 13th.Exhibition of Cases and Specimens.

Mr. G. H. EDINGTON showed macro- and micro-scopic specimens of sarcoma affecting an undescendedtesticle which was firmly fixed in the pelvis betweenthe bladder and rectum. The specimen was from alabourer aged 49. There were no signs of secondaryextensions 13 months later. Mr. Edington commentedon the unusual situation of the organ and drew atten-tion to statistics as showing special tendency to malig-nant disease in undescended or malplaced testicle.

Mr. EDINGTON also showed a large urachal cystremoved from a patient aged 50. A palpable tumourin the hypogastrium had been present for betweentwo and three years. It was cystic and resembled adistended bladder, except that it was freely movablefrom side to side. There were no visceral adhesions,and although firmly attached to the apex of bladderthe cyst was comraratively easily enucleated. Itmeasured 13 by 9 cm., and its fluid contents werealkaline and non-albuminous but gave markedreaction for urea.

Dr. JOHN ROWAN showed a kinematograph filmillustrating the mechanism of the refraction of theeye and commented upon the value of this method ofteaching many subjects. He also referred to its valuein recording methods of operation and the conditionof patients from time to time as regards appearance,muscular movements, and gait.

’ Dr. JOHN Cowa:v made a communication on

The Causes of Death in Chronic Valvular Diseaseof the Heart.

In a post-mortem series of 100 cases which showedsome form of endocarditis at death, 19 cases had acuteendocarditis and 81 chronic endocarditis. Of these81 cases of chronic endocarditis, 37 showed a super-imposed acute endocarditis and 44 did not. Of theselast 44 cases, death was due in 21 cases to progressivecardiac failure of unknown origin ; in 12 cases topulmonary lesions ; in 4 cases to cerebral lesions;and in 12 isolated examples to starvation, otitismedia, over-exertion, acute rheumatism, paroxysmaltachycardia, purpura, and heart-block. Chronic renaldisease was present in 25 cases. The most commoncause of death in 81. cases of chronic valvular diseasewas thu,- acute endocarditis, which obtained in 42 percent. of these patients. Of the 100 cases whichpresented some form of endocarditis at death, 56showed an acute endocarditis.