any
subject that he touches he throws practical light.

In the introduction to his edition of the works of Ambroise Pare,
Malgaigne says that the first reference to a metal band in connection
with trusses is to be found in Rhazes. Hernia was, of course, one of the
serious ailments that, because of its superficial character, was rather
well understood, and so it is not surprising to find that much of our
modern treatment of it was anticipated. The manipulations for taxis, the
use of a warm bath for the relaxation of the patient by means of heat
and by putting the head and feet higher than the abdomen while in the
bath, and the employment of various kinds of trusses to prevent
strangulation of the hernia recur over and over again, in the authors of
the Middle Ages. Many of the suggestions are to be found in the early
Greek authors, but subsequent writers give a certain personal expression
to them which shows how much they had learned by personal observation in
the employment of various methods.

Pagel, in Puschmann's "Handbook of the History of Medicine," declares
that Rhazes' most important work for pure medicine is his monograph on
smallpox. Its principal value is due to the fact that, though he has
consulted old authorities carefully, his discussion of the disease is
founded almost entirely on his own experience. His description of the
various stages of the disease, of the forms of the eruption, and of the
differential diagnosis, is very accurate. He compares the course of the
fever with that of other fevers, and brings out exactly what constitutes
the disease. His suggestions as to prognosis are excellent. Those cases,
he declares, are particularly serious in which the eruption takes on a
dark, or greenish, or violet color. The prognosis is also unfavorable
for those cases which, having considerable fever, have only a slight
amount of rash. His treatment of the disease in young persons was by
venesection and cool douches. Cold water and acid drinks should be
administered freely, so that sweat and other excretions may carry off
poisonous materials. Care must be taken to watch the pulse, the
breathing, the appearance of the feet, the evacuations from the bowels,
and to modify therapy in accordance with these indications. The eruption
is to be encouraged by external warmth and special care must be taken
with regard to complications in the eyes, the ears, the nose, the mouth,
and the pharynx.

A fact that will, perhap