Palla Ákos szerk.: Az Országos Orvostörténeti Könyvtár közleményei 3. (Budapest, 1956)

J. BALOGH, M. D.: The hungarian traumatic surgery in the first part of the 19th century

buted to haemorrhage. After the War of Liberation, Endre Lengyel, a general practitioner of Sárospatak, reports on a case of a girl hit on the head by her lover (O. H., 22, 1858, page 344). After a very meticulous description of the case, author concludes that in view of the deceleration of heart action, convulsions and right-sided dilatation of the pupil surgery was indicaded. He actually carried out the operation, making a cross incision, sawing out a circular plate of bone from the skull. After removing the cake of clotted blood, he sutured the skin. The patient recovered. In the relation of head injury, a series of articles by János Balassa, entitled: „Adatok az agysértések bírálatához" (Contributions to the criticism of brain injuries, O. H„ No. 46 and 47, 1866, ond No. 1, 1867) is a meritful conclusion of the period. According to Balassa, the disturbances of cerebral function are of 3 kinds: 1, commotion, 2. cerebral pressure, and 3. cerebral excitation. He described one of his cases in which there was no inpairment of cerebral function. Balassa ascribed this to the fact that the skull was injured at the frontal bone. He points out, among others, that the sequelae tc what is called a „glass pane fracture" of the skull may develop only after some delay ..insiduously and may surprise the surgeon who has not enough foresight with the full load of danger Trepanation is indicated in such cases. The reports in Gyógyászat disclose that in doubtful cases of skull injury the Courts often sought the advice of the medical professors of the university. Though clinical knowledge was rather abundant, the papers reveal that a considerable measure of uncertainty and guesswork was involved in the comparative interpretation of clinical evidence and necropsy findings. Relatively little can be read about thoracic injuries. I have found a single article in the material of O. T.. entitled: Vizszenvi Morzsa (untranslatable), by Janis Gere, surgeon of the gold miners af Magurka (Orvosi Tár, 13, 193, 1840). A horse thief coper, jailed for the theft, stabbed himself in the chest in his desperation. The surgeon reaching the scene in