reputed to have great efficacy in causing the expulsion of the
product of conception; unfortunately, they are too well known to
require enumeration. They are usually unreliable, and are absolutely
inefficient in doses small enough not to endanger the mother's life,
provided the pregnancy is a healthy one.

Instances in which miscarriage is attributed to the use of some drug
are quite common, and we cannot dismiss them without a word of
explanation. Such cases generally fall into one of two classes. Often
a drug is given credit for efficiency where conception has been
erroneously suspected. Shortly after the menstrual date passes, some
medicine is resorted to, and the subsequent phenomenon, regarded as
the interruption of pregnancy, is really no more than normal
menstruation. In another group of cases miscarriage does actually
occur, although the medicine employed plays only a minor role in its
production. In such instances the irritation which the drug occasions
is the last link in a chain of events leading up to the miscarriage,
but the main factor lies in some fundamental imperfection in the
pregnancy. Physicians recognize a variety of these imperfections, and
know that they may be located in the womb, in the embryo, or in the
tissues which unite the one with the other. As an intimate knowledge
of pathology is often necessary to recognize the underlying, and
therefore the actual, cause of the miscarriage, it is not at all
surprising that patients frequently err in their interpretations of
such accidents, and emphasize unimportant matters.

It would lead us too far afield to attempt to discuss every cause of
miscarriage. Nevertheless, there are some very important ones, not
yet mentioned, which should be understood by the laity, as
appreciation of their significance may avert trouble. In some