The New York herald., 1869-03-30
Interesting Post Mortcm Examinati0n Of
Man Who Died Of Hydrophobia.
fFrom the Cincinnati CONNER,

[From the Cincinnati Commercial, March ~.
post mOrtem examination OF Timothy Creedon,
the unfortunate man who was bitten by little pet
terrier several weeks ago, and who died OF hydro
pnooia On WEDNESDAY e az morning, was made DAY ne
presence Of several professors and practitioners Of
medicine; and, 1t may be added, that as such an op
Is seldom that science can peer into the interior
structure OF human being who died of hydrOphO-
ba it was thoroughly and exnaustively done in this
supposing, then, that the reader familiar with me
dical science shall ask what was dtscovered-what
account Tor Timothy death Tom ne
scratch Of little 'black ana tan' terrier, there is
but one answer, and that Is one word-n0thing
Nothing from brain to vcera to unraveI the mystery
OF hydrCphObia. and t Is more than probable that II
the greatest anatomists in the world had conducted
the autopsy instead Of q few OF our resident phys
clans, without being told or without knowing the
cause Of DEATH they never could have assigned It
some satisfaction In Knowing even that they could
not know, for science Is curious and must know all
that Is to be known about the subject challenging Its
The details Of the post-mortem examination may,
however, be brieny detailed. In all cases Of hydro
namely, great dinlculty and intense pain in % swa
lowing, the act OF which brings on the frightfu
spasmodc action Of the head and mouth and an
extreme senslt1veness TO current Of air upon the
exposed portions OF the body. The larynx or head
OF the wndpipe In the present case was nrst exam.
simply made IN the neck or throat which exposed
the interior to ready view. The larynx was well
developed ana natural In all It's parts. IL appeared
slightly congested and contained little frothy
mncus. The windppe was natural The lungs were
healthy except the left lung which adhered TO the
wall OF the chest an old condition which grew out
OF an attack OF peursy In early life. The esopha-
gus, or hole In the throat behind the wndpipe
through which the food passes INTO the stomach,
was perfectly natural, and so were the stomach,
liver and intestlnes The body was well nourished,
and the muscles were well formed and natural The
brain was reserved for the final point OF
scrutiny, and upon this function there was
drawn together as In one focus, the entire ntellec-
tua force OF the assembled learning and experience.
Much Is determined BY the appearance OF the brain
after DEATH In It's greater or less nvolutions and
convolutons, the eye OF science reads the intelec
tuai character or force OF the man. and can tell
whether Its action was natural or was driven be-
yond Its speed BY the fatal use OF stimulants.
In the present case there were only two points
Of difference from the perfectly healthy brain.
First the brain substance was softer than IL
usually found In persons recently deceased OF
ordinary diseases; and last the white substance Of
the brain showed an absence OF blood. IL did not
appear have the amount OF blood ordinarily found
In the brains OF the dead Neither OF these conditions
were marked but they attracted the attention OF the
several medical gentlemen present as somewhat un-
usual. Whether they resulted from the hydrophobic
condition Is matter that cannot be determined,
and 1t il to be regretted that nothing was discovered
upon this interesting occasion calculated TO thrsw
any additional light upon the still more Interesting
subject OF death from hydrophobia.