The Jeffersonian. [volume] (Stroudsburg, Pa.) 1853-1911, 1873-08-21
The Strangest of Strange Cases.

Iu the thirtieth annual report (ror
1879 of the State Lunatic Asylum at
Utica, we 6ud a description Of the follow.
ing remarkable case A woman thirty
years of age, single, seamstreas, with no
hereditary tendency to insanity, but of a
highly Dervous aud excitable organiza
ton, emotional and irregular in feeling
at times bouyant and lively. and then
gloomy and depressed. Her health dur.
ing early life was delicate, though she
suffered from no definite disease. At the
age of 20, in April, 1862, she was seized
with pain in the head 1t was of short
duration, but severe, and during its con-
tinuance she was delirious. Attacks OF
the same character, both in the severity
of the pain and the mental disturbance,
have occurred since at intervals of from
one to three months Her mother says
for years she has complained of pain. and
pressed her hand on either side of her
head, with the exclamation, "Oh mother,
mother, shall die ~ That FIVE years ago
she was obliged to call in help, as the
patient threatened and intended to take
her own life +; that both before and after
she began the use of morphia her con
duct was peculiar and erratic that after
the morphia habit was known her con
duct for many years preceding was
wrongly attributed to this cause. In this
condition she was admitted to the insttu
ton, on the 5th of May, 1871. Now
comes the trul y mysterious part of the
case. Examination revealed scars and
ecchymosed spots, covering nearly the
whole of the body which could be reach
ed by her own hand 1t was hard and
extremely sensitive to the touch. This
condition of swelling and tenderness
extended in a narrow ridge to the spine.
For two weeks applications were employ
ed, without success, to relieve the pain
and tension. At this time, on the 18th
of August. the patient in rubbing her
hand over the breast discovered IN elcvat
ed poiut, just under the skin, which on
pressure gave a prickiug sensation, this
was cut and a broken needle extracted
On the 18th another needle was removed
The breast was now iuaamed aud ex
tremely sensitive. August 2Sth another
needle was taken out.
From this time till September 29th one
to FIVE needles were removed daily. Dur.
ing October aud November needles were
taken from various parts of the body.
The largest number extracted in nay day
was twelve.
For the first two months but compare
lively little pain was felt in the extrac
ton. The skin was thickened, harsh and
dry, and almost insensible from prolonged
and distributed use of the objections
Afterward she suffered acutely, and often
begged that their removal might be post
poned from day to day.
No needles were removed during the
last two weeks OF her life; 2S6 were ia
ken from her body during life eleven
were found in the tissues after death !;
three were passed from the rectum dur
ing sickness making total of 800 nee
dies and pieces. OF this number 246
were whole and fifty -four were parts
The patient repeatedly and persistently
denied any knowledge of having intro
duced them either by the stomach or
through the skin. Her mother could
throw no light upon the subject She,
however, recalled, the circumstance that
the patient purchased at one time ten pa
pers of needles, and could account for
only two of them They were not obtained
or introduced while in the asylum. She
was under strict surveillance, and had no
means of obtaining any number OF nee
dies, and those removed were all rusted,
and bore evidence Of having been long
time in the body. The stomach was
closely examined after death, and was in
a perfectly healthy condition, with no
evidence of any previous inAammatory
action.
The only theory which seems to US at
all tenabe, is that they were introduced
through the skin while she was under the
influence of morphia, hypodermicaly ad-
ministered. and while suffering from
hysteria. That some were found in posi-
tons where they could not have been Ia
serted 10y the patient can be accounted
for by the movements in the tissues'
which we're observed SO often during the
life of the patient.