On some of the more important diseases of the army : with contributions to pathology / by John Davy.

Date:
1862
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: On some of the more important diseases of the army : with contributions to pathology / by John Davy. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. The original may be consulted at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.

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    is least to be depended on. I make the remark reflecting on the diliicnlty often experienced in distinguishing between the redness the result of inflammation, and the redness the result of staining or dyeing effected on the white tissues of the body by the color- ing matter of the blood with which they may happen to come in contact. The similarity of appearance is sometimes so de- ceptive, that, judging from mere sight, the most experienced may, I believe, be led astray. Tlie staining in question is chiefly witnessed in Avarm weather, and when the mortem examina- tion has been delayed, and putrefaction has in some degree commenced. It is well exemplified by immersing Avliite tissues, such as the blood-vessels, in cruor which has been kept some time, and which, on the addition of hydrate of lime or potash, emits ammonia. The higher the temperature of the air at the time of making the experiment, the more rapidly will the dyeing effect be produced : so, in the same manner in the cadaver, the warmer the Aveather, so much sooner may the discoloration be expected; and, as excess of blood in the body favors accelera- tion of putrefaction, the greater that abundance, the readier also Avill the staining appear. Here, it may be remarked, that OAving to the many circumstances Avhich either promote or retard the effect, it is necessarily uncertain, indeed so uncertain, that no exact rule as to time or temperature can be fixed for its occurrence, there being an unknoAvn quality in the problem, that is, the degree of proclivity in the dead body to change,* that * I find it noted in a case of phthisis whieh occurred in ]\Ialta in August, when the temperature of the room in which the l)ody was kept was between 82'’ and 83°, that no appearance of staining was seen in tiie A’essels, where the blood was in contact with them, although 22 hours had elapsed between the time of death and the autopsy : the cadaver was greatlj; emaciated. This may be considered an extreme instance of exemption, and it is given as such, in support of tlie remark in the text. I maj- mention another extreme case of the contrary kind, in which the vessels containing blood were stained of a “bright red,” though only 165 hours had inter- vened between the death and the examination of the body. The case was also one of phthisis, tliat of a soldier fetat. 26, at home, the time Apiil, the temperature of the room 56.° In this instance, the blood, the cruor which did not coagulate, mixed with quick lime gave oft' a strong smell of ammonia. Further, it may be remarked that the staining was confined to the deep seated vessels of the trunk; the temperature under the liver was 70° : there was no trace of it in the vessels of the colder extremi- ties : in the aorta, in which there was no blood, the inner coat was colorless. I shall give a third case, that also an extreme one. It occurred in ]\Ialta, the death also was from phthisis of a chronic kind, and the body was greatly emaciated. The examination was made 39 hours after death ; the temperature of the air at the time (the middle of August) was between 80° and 86°; the wind, the south-east the moist sirocco. The cadaver emitted an offensive smell and was livid; the abdomen was distended and tympanitic; on opening into its cavity, the intestines were found