6
One of the males, Punchum, was a criminal, who committed suicide by throw-
ing himself down a well. A warder in whose charge the man had been placed
was tried for culpable negligence and punished by imprisonment.
A second, Pyku, died from old age and debility. He was 70 years old,
when received on December 13th 1871, had been in the asylum over 9 years, and
must therefore have been close upon 80 years of age at the time of his death.
On post mortem examination some serous effusion was found in the sub-
arachnoid space. especially at the base of the brain. The dura mater was thick-
ened, the arachnoid opaque and pia mater congested. The brain itself small,
shrunken and indurated, its substance peculiarly hard and broken with some
difficulty. The heart was fatty with mitral valves impaired by atheromatous
deposit. Large intestine from hepatic flexure downwards, gangrenous, other
portions of intestines congested and inflamed but without ulceration.
A third, Syennah, had been in the asylum since its opening, having been
received from Nagpur jail in July 1864. He was then described as " thin and
slender, subject to hæmorrhage;" for years he had been feeble and emaciated
notwithstanding a voracious appetite. He died from phthisis on November 2nd.
On examination it was found that the bones of the head were unusually thick
and dense ; the brain small, pale and anœmic. Optic thalami atrophied, mem-
branes of brain very thick, dura mater firmly adherent to the skull, lungs pale
and anœmic with tubercles at the apices, especially on left side, pleura firmly
adherent, heart fatty, valves thickened.
Lutchmangir, admitted in bad health in August 1871, died from acute
encephalitis on March 8th. The brain was found highly congested, the cortex
gorged with blood, cerebral veins full and tinged, and blood extravasated over the
convolutions posteriorly.
On section innumerable puncta vasculosa were found in the white substance,
the lateral ventricles contained opaque serous fluid, the chloroid plexus vermilion
colored, thalami and corpora striata red and softened, lungs slightly congested
on the right side, old pleuritic adhesion on the left lung partly collapsed from
presence of 8 or 10 ounces of serum in the pleuritic cavity. Pericardium contained
2 ounces or 3 ounces of serum, heart fatty, slightly displaced to right side, some
old thrombi in left ventricle and a recent clot in the right ventricle, liver smaller
than usual, spleen enlarged with a thick patch of old lymph on the convex surface
and partial adhesion to the diaphragm, kidneys large and fatty.
Rahee, an old woman, an inveterate mud eater, received in bad health in
March 1877, died from dysentery on 5th May. The bones of the head were
thick, membranes thickened, dura mater firmly adherent to the skull, old depos-
its of lymph along the longitudinal sinus, serous fluid in the ventricles and in
subarachnoid space, especially at the base of the brain, brain small, consistence
softer than usual, vessels of the brain congested and tortuous, lungs pale and
shrunken, heart pale and flabby from fatty degeneration, liver, right lobe full
of small abscesses about the size of a pea or pepper-corn, left lobe healthy, a
portion of the descending colon inflamed and old cicatrices were found along the
transverse colon, peyers patches swollen, and mesenteric glands enlarged.
Bewa, a female, admitted in an emaciated condition on June 1st 1879, was
always of filthy habits and appetite. During the end of February she passed
33 large round worms by the mouth and bowels, became suddenly jaundiced, and
died collapsed on February 22nd. The skin conjunctivœ and all the internal
organs and structures, as membranes of the brain, pericardium, pleura, peritoneum,
stomach, small and large intestines, liver, kidneys, bladder, &c. deeply tinged
with bile, there was also yellow fluid in the abdominal cavity. The brain was
small, contracted, indurated, with flattened convolutions, membranes congested,
liver congested, gall bladder contained bile. No pyœmic deposits found, nor
was any worm seen, kidneys congested, large intestines gangrenous, from the
cæcum to the sigmoid flexure; small intestines free from ulceration or sloughing.