NE'VIIS (known popularly as mother-spot or mole) is a congenital mark or growth on apart of the skin. Sometimes it is merely a dark discoloration of the surface as described in tl,e article MACULA:, in which ease it is termed a mole and is perfectly harmless; but often it consists of a dense net-work of dilated blood-vessels, a reddish or livid tumor, more or less elevated above the surface of the surrounding skin. The most fre quent situations of this vascular 'nevi are the skin and aulicutaneous cellular tissue of the head; but tbeytuay occur elsesinere. The popular beilef That they are caused by the longing of the mother during her pregnancy for a lobster, or strawberry, or raspberry, or sonic: other red-colo•ed article of food, and that the ...allitencie of her mind has impressed upon the fetus a mom or less vivid image of the thing she longed for; and hence the name of mollttr-spot. Sometimes these tumors vaste away spontaneously, and give no trouble; but frequently they increase rapidly, invade the adjacent tissues, and ulcerate or slough, and thus become dangerous to life by hemorrhage. When these tumors do not show a tendency to increase, no treatment is necessary. When they are
obviously increasing in size, the continual application of cold (by means of freezing mix . tures), with moderately firm pressure, is sometimes of service; but a more certain method N to employ means to produce such an amount of inflammation as to obliterate the vessels; for this purpose, the seton, the application of nitric acid, and vaccination of the tumor, have been successfully applied. The injection of strong astringents, with the view of coagulating the blood, has sometimes effected a cure. if all these means fail, extirpation, either with the ligature or knife, must be resorted to; the ligature being regarded as the safest aad best method. For the various methods of applying the liga ture, the reader is referred to any standard work on operative surgery. If the tumor is in an inaccessible spot, as in the orbit of the eye, and is increasing rapidly, the only course is to tie the large vascular trunk supplying it. The common carotidartery has in several instances been tied with success for vascular nrevus in the orbit.