M'arthur Democrat. (McArthur, Vinton County, Ohio) 1853-1865, 1860-12-06
Diptheria-InIeresting Facts EITc-
tied from a POst-Mortem EGamina-

tiOn.
The great number Of cases Of dip.
iberia in all parts Of the country, and
the alarming fatality attending the dis.
ease, make anything pertaining to it
of more than ordinary interest. Be-
low We give an article, prepared by a
physician OF Delaware County, Penn
sylvania, designed more particularly
for the benefit ofmedical practitioners,
as It regards certain facts disclosed by
the pOst.mOrtem examination of case
which occurred in the writer's prac.
tice, The article, however, will be
found Of general interest. 1t is as fol.
lows:
This disease, which, for the last four
or five years, has been making its way
westward, has appeared in various To-
ca,ities through this county, and by its
fatality has caused considerable alarm
in the public mind. 1t is characteriz.
ed by the formation ola membranous
exudation, covering the throat and roof
OF the mouth more or less completely
and in some cases extending into the
windpipe, causing death, as in Group,
by suff0cation. It. is identical with
form Of throat disease which has oc.
casionally prevailed IN different parts
of the country, and which has beeu
variously designated as malignant
sore throat, putrid sore throat, erysip.
elias OF the throat, black tongue, &c.
The tendency in this form Of disease
is to rapid death, or gaugrene of the
parts affected; and it lacks wholly the
inembranous exudation which is the
peculiar feature of diptheria.
The disease is not altogether new.
Several epidemics have been describ
ed in which'this peculiar exudation
was observed, and physicians in every
country have occasionally met with
cases ofthroat disease accompanied by
a membranous exudation, but lacking
altogether the fatal tendency that has
marked this epidemic visitation ofthe
disease. The danger from the exten.
sion of the eXudation in the windpipe
has been referred to. This undoubs.
edly in some cases is the direct cause
Of death, but very many cases prove
fatal in which there is no affection Of
the .wndpipe and no material obstruc.
ton to the respiration. Death has
been supposed to result, in such cases
from the terribly depressing effect of
the disease upon the nervous centers.
Perhaps q large majority Of the fatal
cases have been Of this character, and
until the interesting fact developed by
case that occurred in the family Of
Mr.. Rodman Prichett, of East Gosh.
en-, but little has been brought out to
satisfy the minds OF intelligent physi
clans as to the precise cause of death
in those cases in which the difficulty
about the throat is Insufficient to ac.
count for the result. In Mr.. Prich.
ett's family the disease first appeared
| IN June last, and ut that time counted
its two victims. Last week it again
appeared and added two more to the
list. In none Of these did the exuda.
tion extend to the windpipe, nor was
there an amount Of disease Of the
throat to explain the result.
The attending physicians finding
themselves Laflied in their efforts to
arrest the fatal tendency, sought, in
the last case, and readily obtained the
privilege OF making a PoSjntOrtem
examination, which developed the
fact that in the cavities OF the heart
there had been formed a mass Of firm
Ieathery consistency, and more Or less
a@herent to the cavities in the lining
OF the heart. Much the larger amount
was found in the cavities of the right
side OF the heart, forming, when roll
ed together, a mass nearly an inch in
diameter. The adhesion to the walls
of the heart in some parts were so firm
as to render it impossible to separate
it without leaving particles still at
tached. 1t is true that a gelatinous
mass is often found in the heart, form.
ed by its contracting upon the eoagu.
lated tibrin of the blood, during the
last moments OF existence; but the
leathery character of the mass remov'
ed, and the frmness of the adhesion
preclude such a theory of its torma
tion. A more rational explanation is
found in the altered condition of the
+ fbrin of the blood, which is the re-
markable feature of the disease.
The existence of such a mass wo'd
account, not only tor the rapidly fata'
termination, but also for the existence
of ar extremely feeble pulse in con,
nection with a violent, tumuituous &C.
tion of the heart, as is so often observ.
ed in fatal cases Of !his disease
Should this condition be confirmed BY
subsequent examinations, great practi-
; cal good may result in directing the
attention Of physicians to another
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