The Northern Journal of Medicine.Vol.II (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated.1845 Excerpt: ... From the foregoing table it appears that the admissions into the hospital have been most frequent in the month of January; and next to that, in the months of August, September, October, and November. The number of cases occurring in the early part of the year is probably to be attributed to the festivities prevalent about that period; and the numbers in autumn to destitution, want of employment, and other causes referable to the absence of strangers from town, which induce the lower class of prostitutes to seek a temporary asylum and cure in the hospital. The next point of interest presented to our consideration is the age of the patients. The following table exhibits the num ber of each age The last column refers to patients affected with warts and abscesses, excluded in the calculations of this table. It is consistent with our observation that few females engaged in prostitution escape from some form of venereal disease beyond a few months, and that they more certainly apply for hospital aid during a first than during a subsequent infection (unless of the severer forms of the disease); and we conceive, therefore, that the foregoing table furnishes a fair estimate of the average age of prostitutes. It will be seen that the patients from 17 to 20 years of age include considerably more than one half of the whole number admitted during the nine years, and that the average age of prostitution is probably about 18. Of the infants included in this table, six were from 6 to 12 months old, one 15 months, one 2 years, and the remaining one 3j years. Of these cases some were affected with gonorrhoea preputialis; the majority with cutaneous eruptions, in the youngest patients apparently congenital, and in the others of a condylomatous character, with ulceration of t...