Chapter 1

A
DOCTOR
ENJOYS
SHERLOCK
HOLMES

“Nor must you find fault with me if I often give you what I have
borrowed from my various reading, in the very words of the authors
themselves” (Macrobius--trans. by Boswell).

Boswell: _The Hypochondriack_, No. XXI

A
DOCTOR
ENJOYS
SHERLOCK
HOLMES

Edward J. Van Liere

VANTAGE PRESS NEW YORK WASHINGTON HOLLYWOOD

FIRST EDITION

Copyright, 1959, by Edward J. Van Liere, M.D.

Published by Vantage Press, Inc.
120 West 31st Street, New York 1, N. Y.

Manufactured in the United States of America

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 59-14293

To my grandsons:
Edward Van Liere Batchelder and Terry Lewis Batchelder.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I am indebted to several people for helpful criticism in the writing of
these essays. My medical colleagues, Dr. Gordon R. McKinney, and Dr.
David W. Northup, read a number of the essays and made many helpful
suggestions. Professor Armand E. Singer of the Romance Language
Department of West Virginia University critically reviewed all the
manuscripts, and his scholarly erudition is indeed appreciated. The
sympathetic assistance of my wife is also gratefully acknowledged. On
occasion, she took me gently by the hand, and led me away from many a
pitfall. The kind people who aided me must not be taken to task for
errors of commission. I alone am responsible for these.

It is a pleasure to thank my capable and efficient secretaries, Mrs.
Mildred Fisher and Mrs. Ann Beavers, for typing the manuscripts.

Several of these essays have appeared in the following journals:

_The West Virginia Medical Journal_
_Harvard Medical Alumni Journal_
_The Physiologist_
_The Baker Street Journal_
_The Quarterly of the Phi Beta Pi Medical Fraternity_
_The Student Journal of the American Medical Association_

Permission has been kindly granted to reproduce these essays here.

CONTENTS

Doctor Watson and the Weather 11
The Anatomical Sherlock Holmes 19
“Brain Fever” and Sherlock Holmes 25
Curare and Sherlock Holmes 31
Sherlock Holmes and the Portuguese Man-of-War 35
Doctor Watson and Nervous Maladies 41
Dogs and Sherlock Holmes 48
The Botanical Doctor Watson 54
The Surgical Doctor Watson 62
Sherlock Holmes, the Chemist 69
Doctor Watson’s Universal Specific 77
Doctor Watson, Endocrinologist 83
Genetics and Sherlock Holmes 88
The Zoological Doctor Watson 96
Doctor Watson, Cardiologist 102
The Physiologic Doctor Watson 108
Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson, Perennial Athletes 117
The Therapeutic Doctor Watson 127
Doctor Watson, General Practitioner 135

To undertake the writing of a large book is like entering on a long and
difficult journey, in the course of which much fatigue and uneasiness
must be undergone, while at the same time one is uncertain of reaching
the end of it: whereas writing a short essay is like taking a pleasant
airing that enlivens and invigorates by the exercise which it yields,
while the design is gratified in its completion.

Boswell: _The Hypochondriack_, No. I

DOCTOR WATSON AND THE WEATHER

“It had been a close and rainy day in October.”

_The Resident Patient_

To me one of the most delightful touches in the tales of Sherlock
Holmes is the frequent mention of the state of the weather. As far as I
know, no one has emphasized the numerous references to the weather by
Dr. Watson. Especially in the opening of the short stories can these
be found, but they are not confined there, for they appear throughout
the longer tales as well. Many instances can be cited to illustrate
Dr. Watson’s allusions to the state of the weather. Let us freshen our
memory by reviewing some of these.

Numerous references to the rains and winds of autumn may be found, such
as, “... the weather had taken a sudden turn to rain, with autumnal
winds” (_The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor_). And, in a similar vein,
“Outside the wind still screamed and the rain splashed and pattered
against the windows. This strange, wild story seemed to have come to us
from amid the mad elements--blown in upon us like a sheet of seaweed in
a gale” (_The Five Orange Pips_). And in _The Problem of Thor Bridge_,
we find that, as Dr. Watson was dressing one morning, he observed how
the leaves were being whisked away from the plane tree (we would call
it a sycamore) which graced their back yard.

The events related in _The Hound of the Baskervilles_ took place
in the autumn of the year, and several interesting allusions to this
season may be found: “I walked over to the black window, and I looked
through a blurred pane at the driving clouds and at the tossing
outline of the wind-swept trees. It was a wild night....” Another
reference, “A dull and foggy day with a drizzle of rain. The house
is banked in with rolling clouds....” Also, “All day today the rain
poured down, rustling on the ivy and dripping from the eaves....”
And in another instance, “Rain squalls drifted across ... and the
heavy, slate-coloured clouds hung low over the landscape, trailing in
gray wreaths down the sides of the fantastic hills.” And lastly, an
especially interesting allusion may be cited:

We hurried through the dark shrubbery, amid the dull moaning of the
autumn wind and the rustle of the falling leaves. The night air was
heavy with the smell of damp and decay. Now and again the moon peeped
out for an instant, but clouds were driving over the face of the sky,
and just as we came out on the moor a thin rain began to fall.

The paragraph just quoted pictures a rather wet autumn night, but not
an especially bad one. In _The Adventure of the Golden Pince-Nez_,
an extremely wild and stormy night toward the end of November is
depicted. Dr. Watson describes vividly how the wind howled down Baker
Street, and how the rain beat vigorously against the windows. Another
reference may be cited which depicts gloomy autumn days: “It had been a
close and rainy day in October....” (_The Resident Patient_).

It would appear, then, that many of Sherlock Holmes’ adventures took
place during the fall of the year. It must be inferred that the dark
and stormy days of autumn depressed the great detective, for we find
him saying to Dr. Watson, “Draw your chair up and hand me my violin,
for the only problem we still have to solve is how to while away these
bleak autumnal evenings” (_The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor_).

From the instances just enumerated, it would seem that Dr. Watson was
fond of picturing a background of wind, rain, and storm for many of his
stories. He also described the well-known fogs of London with telling
effect. In _The Adventure of the Copper Beeches_, Dr. Watson writes,
“A thick fog rolled down the lines of dun-coloured houses, and the
opposing windows loomed like dark, shapeless blurs through the heavy
yellow wreaths.” And again, “It was a September evening and not yet 7
o’clock, but the day had been a dreary one, and a dense drizzly fog
lay low upon the great city” (_The Sign of the Four_). In the same
story, we find Holmes saying, “See how the yellow fog swirls down the
street and drifts across the dun-coloured houses.” _In The Adventure
of the Bruce-Partington Plans_, Dr. Watson tells how, during the month
of November of 1895, such a heavy fog descended on London that it was
impossible to see the houses on the opposite side of Baker Street.

In addition to wind, rain, storm, and fog, Dr. Watson makes reference
as well to sharp winter weather. In _The Adventure of the Blue
Carbuncle_, it will be remembered that Dr. Watson visited Sherlock
Holmes two days following Christmas to give his friend the season’s
greetings. Watson writes, “I seated myself in his arm chair and warmed
my hands before his crackling fire, for a sharp frost had set in, and
the windows were thick with ice crystals.” When he and Holmes set out
to obtain information about the goose which had swallowed the blue
carbuncle, Watson tells us: “It was a bitter night, so we drew on our
ulsters and wrapped cravats about our throats. Outside, the stars
were shining coldly in a cloudless sky, and breath of the passers-by
blew out into smoke like so many pistol shots. Our footfalls rang out
crisply and loudly....”

In _The Adventure of the Abbey Grange_, Watson describes an adventure
which took place on a bitterly cold morning during the winter of ’97.
On another occasion, Watson tells how he and Holmes went for a walk on
a cold and frosty winter evening (_The Adventure of Charles Augustus
Milverton_). A description of a beautiful winter day may be found in
_The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet_: “It was a bright, crisp February
morning, and the snow of the day before still lay deep upon the ground,
shimmering brightly in the wintry sun.”

Mention is made too of the weather in the spring. On several occasions,
references are made to the cold and stormy weather of the early part
of this season: “It was a cold morning of the early spring, and we
sat after breakfast on either side of a cheery fire in the old room
at Baker Street” (_The Adventure of the Copper Beeches_). _The
Adventure of the Speckled Band_ took place in the spring of ’83.
Watson writes: “It was a wild night. The wind was howling outside,
and the rain was beating and splashing against the window.” In _The
Adventure of the Wisteria Lodge_, the good doctor writes that it was
a cold, dark, windy March evening, and a fine rain was falling. And in
_His Last Bow_, Watson writes that he had recorded in his notebook
that, in the latter part of March in the year 1892, it was a bleak and
windy day.

Milder spring weather also claimed Dr. Watson’s attention: “It was an
ideal spring day, a light blue sky, flecked with little fleecy clouds
drifting across from west to east. The sun was shining very brightly,
and yet there was an exhilarating nip in the air, which set an edge
to a man’s energy” (_The Adventure of the Copper Beeches_). In a
similar vein, “It was a perfect day, with a bright sun and a few fleecy
clouds in the heavens” (_The Adventure of the Speckled Band_). In
_The Adventure of the Three Garridebs_, a lovely spring evening is
mentioned, and Watson writes that the slanting rays of the setting sun
made even a little prosaic street look golden.

For some reason or other, less frequent mention is made of summer
weather. There are, however, several interesting references to this
enjoyable season. In the story of _The Greek Interpreter_, Dr. Watson
writes, “It was after tea on a summer evening....” And similarly, in
_The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone_, our attention is called to the
fact that it was the evening of a lovely summer’s day. It would be
expected that somewhere in the stories an allusion would be made to
the torrid days of August: “It was a blazing hot day in August. Baker
Street was like an oven, and the glare of the sunlight upon the yellow
brickwork of the house across the street was painful to the eye” (_The
Adventure of the Cardboard Box_). An especially poignant reference to a
hot summer night may be found in the story _His Last Bow_. Dr. Watson
gives a vivid description of a hot night on the second of August. He
mentions that there was an awesome hush and a feeling of expectancy in
the sultry and stagnant air. The August to which reference is made was
that of 1914--the beginning of World War I. In that holocaust, Great
Britain lost the flower of her youth. She has not yet recovered from
that mortal blow.

People living in the Victorian era, just like many of us today, were
interested in barometric pressure. In _The Boscombe Valley Mystery_,
an interesting reference to barometric readings may be found. Sherlock
Holmes remarks to Lestrade of Scotland Yard: “How is the glass?
Twenty-nine, I see. No wind, and not a cloud in the sky.” Somewhat
later in the day, he mentions to Dr. Watson: “The glass still keeps
very high.... It is of importance that it should not rain before we
are able to go over the ground.” Fortunately, in this instance good
weather prevailed, for Watson writes, “There was no rain, as Holmes had
foretold, and the morning broke bright and cloudless.”

One might well ask why Dr. Watson emphasizes the state of the weather
so often? Several reasons come to mind: To make the setting of his
stories more realistic; to take up space in the manuscript; to use the
subject of the weather as an excuse for some fine writing; to reveal
Watson’s little-suspected love of nature; or perhaps still other
reasons. Let us examine some of these.

It is well known that writers often have dirty weather prevailing when
foul deeds are to be committed. Dr. Watson, however, does not abuse
this privilege in his writings, although he does occasionally take
advantage of unusual atmospheric conditions to make the story more
exciting. A good example of this is to be found in the novel _The
Hound of the Baskervilles_.

One recalls that Sherlock Holmes laid a trap to catch the villain,
Stapleton. A part of the plan made it necessary for the hero, Sir
Henry, to walk across the dismal moor alone after dark. Holmes had
calculated that Stapleton would let loose his spectral hound that
particular night. It was carefully arranged, of course, so that
Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson, and Lestrade would kill the hound before
any harm befell Sir Henry, and then catch Stapleton redhanded. All went
according to plan until a dense fog started to rise from the adjacent
Grimpen Mire. The low visibility produced by the unexpected fog almost
upset Holmes’ well-laid plans and nearly caused the death of Sir Henry,
because his friends could not see the hound until it was dangerously
close to him.

Can the good doctor be accused of writing about the weather simply to
make the manuscripts longer? I think not. In the first place, there
is no evidence (certainly not in his early career) that the money he
received for his stories bore any relation to their length. Further,
and more important, a man with Watson’s imagination did not have to
rely upon such a mundane topic as the weather to lengthen his stories.
We can dismiss this argument promptly by stating that he was not guilty
of padding his manuscripts in this manner.

Did he use the weather as an occasional excuse for fine writing?
Probably not, although some of the paragraphs in which he describes
the state of the weather, if examples of fine writing, are certainly
examples of vivid writing as well. Several instances could be given,
but one will suffice:

It was in the latter days of September, and the equinoctial gales had
set in with exceptional violence. All day the wind had screamed and
the rain had beaten against the windows, so that even here in the
heart of great, handmade London we were forced to raise our minds for
the instant from the routine of life, and to recognize the presence of
those great elemental forces which shriek at mankind through the bars
of civilization, like untamed beasts in a cage. As evening drew in,
the storm grew higher and louder, and the wind cried and sobbed like a
child in the chimney.

_The Five Orange Pips_

What other reasons could be given for Watson’s frequent allusions
to the weather? There are, of course, the dapper gentleman and the
Scotchman, who are conscious of the state of the weather since they
deplore--for different reasons, to be sure--losing the press in their
trousers by being caught in the rain. To the Londoner, however, who
seems obliviously unaware of the somewhat disheveled state of his
attire, such an explanation could scarcely apply. On the other hand,
one cogent reason does come to mind. It must always be remembered that
Watson was both a physician _and_ an author. Now the state of the
weather is of perpetual interest to a general practitioner of medicine,
and this is what Dr. Watson pretended to be. It is true that the
physician who practices in the city probably is not as weather-minded
as his colleague in the country. Dr. Watson lived in the great city of
London, but often made his professional calls on foot and doubtless
trudged through storm and rain: “When your round is a short one you
walk, and when it is a long one you use a hansom” (_The Crooked
Man_). He mentions that after his marriage he dropped in at 221B
Baker Street from time to time when walking in that vicinity.

In point of fact, the kind of weather is of no little importance to a
person who is called out at any time of day or night, as almost any
physician will testify. This may be one of the important reasons why
Watson makes such frequent mention of the weather in his stories.

All may not agree with me that such descriptions of the state of the
weather add greatly to the interest of Watson’s writings. This is a
matter of opinion; for doubtless there are many men who have little
interest in the weather under any circumstances. Earl Derr Biggers, the
creator of Charlie Chan, had one of his less liked characters remark
that he was not interested in the weather, since he was not a cabbage.
Be that as it may, I have always pitied those individuals who pay
absolutely no attention to the weather; they are missing a great deal
in life.

There are people who see beauty and interest only in a beautiful day.
The poet probably was right when he sang, “What is so rare as a day
in June?” But would anyone deny that there is beauty in a snowstorm
or a sleetstorm, and is not a cloudburst or a thunderstorm an awesome
spectacle, and can not even a duststorm be a striking phenomenon? Now
nature, I grant, can overdo this matter of storms, and too much dust
in the atmosphere or a week of rainy, sullen weather leave much to be
desired.

To those of us who have been thrilled by the saga of Sherlock Holmes
and Dr. Watson, and who have found enjoyment and relaxation in reading
about these famous characters, I would like to make one further
suggestion: Let us think of Dr. Watson not only as a practitioner
of medicine, or only just as an amateur detective and confidant of
Sherlock Holmes, but also as a man interested in many things--a lover
of nature and one who could see charm in all her moods.

THE ANATOMICAL SHERLOCK HOLMES

“I believe he is well up in anatomy....”

_A Study in Scarlet_

A number of references to the anatomy laboratory and to portions of the
cadaver may be found in the tales. Shortly after Watson’s return from
India, he met his old friend Stamford at the Criterion bar in London.
This was a memorable occasion, for it was Stamford who introduced
Watson to Sherlock Holmes. When Stamford was telling Watson something
about Holmes, he said, “I believe he is well up in anatomy....”
Stamford made it clear, however, that Holmes was not a medical student,
but did have pronounced scientific interests. He emphasized the fact
that Holmes had a cold scientific approach to problems which deeply
interested him and that he had been seen “beating the subjects in the
dissecting room with a stick....” When Watson evinced some surprise at
this unbecoming behavior, Stamford explained, “to verify how bruises
may be produced after death” (_A Study in Scarlet_).

At first glance, Holmes’ activity seems to be inexcusable and betokens
a deplorable disrespect for the dead. His researches must not be
regarded in this light, however, for it may be of distinct medicolegal
interest to ascertain whether the bruises on a body were produced
before or after death. This problem has been studied extensively,
and information concerning it may be found in books dealing with
medicolegal matters. Holmes’ early interest and study in this field are
quite understandable, for at that time he was laying the foundation
for his brilliant career as a specialist in the study of crime.

When Watson first started rooming with Holmes he found that the latter
“Sometimes ... spent his day ... in the dissecting rooms....” (_A Study
in Scarlet_). In one instance, reference is made to the preservation
of bodies in the anatomy laboratory: “Bodies in the dissecting rooms
are injected with preservative fluids.” The agents employed in the
embalming fluid are given: “carbolic, or rectified spirits would be the
preservative....” (_The Adventure of the Cardboard Box_).

Osteology must have appealed to Holmes, since bones are frequently
mentioned. Once when Holmes was trying to analyze a difficult case,
he made allusion to Cuvier, the famous anatomist and anthropologist:
“Cuvier could correctly describe a whole animal by the contemplation
of a single bone....” (_The Five Orange Pips_). In _A Study in
Scarlet_, a description of the alkali plains of our great West is
given; these pointed but gruesome sentences may be found:

Here and there are scattered white objects which glisten in the sun
and stand out against the dull deposit of alkali. Approach and examine
them. They are bones: some large and coarse, others smaller and more
delicate. The former have belonged to oxen and the latter to men.

In another instance, Holmes was consulted about a “charred fragment
of bone” which had been recovered from a heating furnace in a private
dwelling. He showed it to Watson, who without hesitation stated that it
was the upper condyle of a human femur (_The Adventure of Shoscombe
Old Place_).

One early spring afternoon, Holmes and Watson upon returning from
a walk found that a visitor had left his pipe on the table. Holmes
picked it up and examined it carefully. Watson writes, “He held it up
and tapped on it with his long, thin forefinger, as a professor might
who was lecturing on a bone” (_The Yellow Face_). This is an apt
allusion, for many medical students will remember the occasion when
an instructor in anatomy held a bone in his hand, pointed out areas
where muscles had been attached, and commented on other characteristic
features. One is reminded of the story of the poet-physician Oliver
Wendell Holmes, who was professor of anatomy at Harvard for many years.
Once when lecturing on the sphenoid bone (a bone of the skull having
an exceedingly complicated architecture), he is reputed to have said
something like this: “Gentlemen, I have in my hand the sphenoid bone.
Gentlemen, I say d---- the sphenoid bone!” Any medical student who has
studied this bone will wholeheartedly agree with the remark.

Mention is made also of fossil bones. When Holmes and Watson visited
the house of Nathan Garrideb, they noticed a large cupboard full
of them. Holmes was invited to take a seat, but his host found it
necessary to clear the chair of bones. Obviously, Garrideb was a most
enthusiastic collector (_The Adventure of the Three Garridebs_).

Sherlock Holmes presumably enjoyed anthropology, for several references
to this science may be found in the tales. In _The Hound of the
Baskervilles_, when Dr. Mortimer first met Sherlock Holmes, the
doctor rather facetiously said to him:

“I hardly expected so dolichocephalic a skull or such well-marked
supra-orbital development. Would you have any objection to my
running my finger along your parietal fissure? A cast of your skull,
sir, until the original is available, would be an ornament to any
anthropological museum. It is not my intention to be fulsome, but I
confess that I covet your skull.”

Holmes apparently was slightly annoyed at this frank but somewhat
insensate disquisition, and remarked, “You are an enthusiast in your
line of thought, I perceive, sir, as I am in mine.”

On another occasion when Dr. Mortimer was speaking of Sir Henry
Baskerville, he stated: “A glance at our friend here reveals the
rounded head of the Celt, which carries inside it the Celtic enthusiasm
and power of attachment. Poor Charles’ head was of a very rare type,
half-Gaelic, half-Ivernian in its characteristics.”

Dr. Mortimer obviously was a keen observer, a person of scholarly
tastes and “a most learned man in his own line.” When he was telling
Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson of his friendship with Sir Charles
Baskerville, he remarked, “... and many a charming evening we have
spent together discussing the comparative anatomy of the Bushman and
the Hottentot.”

Interest in anthropology is evinced further by mention of prehistoric
man. One day, while Dr. Watson was walking on the moor, he met the
naturalist Stapleton, the villain in _The Hound of the Baskervilles_.
Watson’s attention was attracted to the circular rings of stone on a
hillside. He asked his companion whether they were the ruins of ancient
sheep pens. Stapleton replied, “Prehistoric man lived thickly on the
moor....” When Watson questioned him as to when the moor was inhabited;
the answer was, “Neolithic man--no date.”

Another allusion to ancient man may be cited. In the house of Garrideb,
as mentioned, Holmes and Watson noticed above a cupboard a series of
plaster skulls; the names “Neanderthal,” “Heidelberg,” and “Cromagnon”
were printed underneath them (_The Adventure of the Three Garridebs_).
Not only the anthropologist but the trained biologist as well is, of
course, quite familiar with the names of our early ancestors.

Once Holmes’ knowledge of anthropology helped him solve an important
case. A maiden lady had received in the mail a small cardboard box
containing two human ears--one that of a woman. Holmes was called in,
and during the course of his investigations visited the receiver of
the gruesome package. He noted the resemblance of one of the severed
ears to those of the lady upon whom he was calling. Because of the
striking likeness, he felt certain that the person whose ear had been
dismembered was a close relative of the lady he had come to interview.

Somewhat later, he gave a lecture--a thing he was prone to do--to Dr.
Watson on the surface anatomy of the ear:

... there is no part of the body which varies so much as the human
ear. Each ear is as a rule quite distinctive and differs from all
others.... I ... examined the ears in the box with the eyes of an
expert and had carefully noted their anatomical peculiarities.... I
perceived that her [Miss Cushing’s] ear corresponded exactly with
the female ear I had just inspected. The matter was entirely beyond
coincidence. There was the same shortening of the pinna, the same
broad curve of the upper lobe, the same convolution of the inner
cartilage. In all essentials it was the same ear.

Of course, I at once saw the enormous importance of the observation.
It was evident that the victim was a blood relative, and probably a
very close one.

_The Adventure of the Cardboard Box_

This was an exceedingly astute observation on Holmes’ part. He was
right when he remarked that as a rule each ear is quite distinctive,
and cleverly pointed out the important anatomical features. In any
event, the study he made of Miss Cushing’s ear aided him greatly in
solving the mystery of the cardboard box, and we know that the murderer
was promptly apprehended.

In the story just related, a newspaper of the day was supposed to have
suggested that the preserved ears had been sent by medical students as
a joke. It appears that the maiden lady at one time had had unpleasant
dealings with medical students: “... she let her apartments in her
house to three young medical students, whom she was obliged to get rid
of on account of their noisy and irregular habits.... [The ears were
sent] by those students who owed her a grudge and who hoped to frighten
her by sending her those relics of the dissecting rooms.”

Although this theory was later proved to be false, it was not too
farfetched. Indeed, many, many stories can be told about the behavior
of medical students in the anatomy laboratory. A favorite minor prank,
for example, is to cut off a finger or an ear and slip it into the
pocket of an unsuspecting visitor. This bit of horseplay probably
discourages future visits to the anatomical laboratory. Although
anatomy instructors deplore such practices, they are likely to overlook
them, because laymen are not encouraged to visit dissecting rooms.

In the opening of one of the stories, we find Holmes stooping over
a low-power microscope (_The Adventure of Shoscombe Old Place_). He
explained to Watson that there were epithelial cells in the microscopic
field. As far as I am aware, this is the only reference to individual
body cells to be found in the tales. It appears, then, that Holmes
was much more interested in gross structures of the body, especially
osteology, than in microscopic structures.

We have seen that many pertinent allusions to anatomical science may
be found in the tales. In one instance, at least, Holmes’ intimate
knowledge of surface anatomy--that is, the configuration of the
external ear--enabled him to solve handily a perplexing mystery. The
allusions made to anatomical matters are of especial delight to those
of us in the field of biology.

“BRAIN FEVER” AND SHERLOCK HOLMES

“I have only just recovered from nine weeks of brain fever and am
still exceedingly weak.”

_The Naval Treaty_

Several years ago, there appeared in the _Journal of the American
Medical Association_ a provocative article with the arresting
title, “Brain Fever,” written by Louis Cassamajor.[1] The author is
to be commended for his courage in choosing this unusual title, and
the _Journal_ to be congratulated for publishing it. Although
I welcome the term “brain fever,” I did rub my eyes, because I had
not seen it employed for a long time. In my youth the term was used
commonly, but was dismissed from my mind when I commenced the study
of medicine.