Page:Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Vol 2.djvu/102

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In this note the author expresses his regret at finding that the demonstration of the binomial theorem, and the first proposition of his paper on the construction of logarithms, formerly presented to the Royal Society, had been previously given by Mr. Spence in his Essay on Logarithmic Transcendents. This author, however, says Mr. Knight, is not particularly happy in the manner of developing the kind of functions treated of in his preface, and therefore in the present note gives a solution of a class of equations of which Mr. Spence has considered a particular case, without however resolving.

No physiological subject has attracted more attention than the first formation of the embryo in the class Mammalia; and although it has been ascertained that an ovum is formed in the ovarium of the quadruped, the circumstances respecting its impregnation have not been ascertained. Harvey, and John and William Hunter, have each failed in this inquiry; Haighton and Cruikshank were equally unsuccessful. In this state of our knowledge, says Sir Everard Home, accident has led to that which no predetermined experiments could have accomplished, and has enabled me to detect the ovum in the human uterus. It is so small, that had not the uterus been previously hardened in spirit, it would probably have escaped observation; and, says the author, it would have been difficultly identified as the ovum from which a child was to be produced, had it not been for the assistance of Mr. Bauer, the only person who could so correctly apply the powers of the microscope as to enable him accurately to delineate its organization.

The history of the case and dissection is as follows.

A servant maid, twenty-one years of age, left her master's house the 7th of January, 1817, for several hours in the forenoon. On returning in the evening she complained of sickness, and went to bed. Next day she continued unwell. The period of menstruation had arrived, but did not come on. She appeared much distressed in her mind. On the 13th she had an epileptic fit, became delirious, and died on the 15th. On examining the uterus it showed signs of pregnancy; and circumstances proved that she must have been impregnated on the 7th of January, that is eight days before her death.