Smyrna times., 1875-01-20
Indigestible Food.

At recent meeting of the Societs de Mede-
cine of Paris some curious record of cases of
foreign bodies in the digestive passages were
related NJ. Lunier cited the case of young
woman, a maniac, who had several times tried
to commit suicide. On the first occasion she
took q decocton Of two or three packets of
tobacco, which she had boiled for half an hour.
Another time she swallowed two quarters OF a
hundred of pins. and buried another quarter of
hundred in her scalp. Finally she procured
two hectogrammes (nearly half pound )of gun.
powder set fire to it, and placed herself over it
However, none of these attempts resulted in
anything but making her i'll. Shs passed a
great number OF pins per annum, and 1t was
only at the end of two or three months those in
the scalp were discovered, and thirty of them
removed. At the end Of three months she was
completely cured. This fact tends to confirm
the relative immunity from suffering which is
peculiar to the insane.
NJ. Peter wrote work on the migration of
foreign bodies in the digestive passages, for
which he collected certain number of cases.
Some Of them are as follows: A jVgger having
swallowed a sabre was brought into the Charlie
Hospital. Serious consequences followed. Ad-
| hesiV0 Inflammation 0nsued, resulting in an alb
scess. The sabre became divided into two
parts, and the extraction was performed in two
operations. A sailor, tor half pint of brandy,
swallowed knife, which he atterward passed
easily. But one day the knife would not pass,
serious results came on, and caused his death IN
three days. The necropsy revealed chronic ul-
cerous gastritis. The knife was found, but the
horn handle had been completely digested, and
there only remained vestiges Of the five or six
blades it had contained. Another case was
that of an hysterical womaR, who had swal-
lowed packet Of needles, of Which 396 issued
from her brssts, arms chest, &c. NJ Reliques
related q case of strangulated hernia, operated
on by VI. MaiSOnneuve, in which it was ascer-
tanned during the operation that all the effects
OF stranguation had been brought on Dy the
presence Of lark's claw, which had been Swsl
lowed by the patient and had lodged across the
intestine.
NJ. Forget drew attention to the preparation!
presented by NJ. Gsllard' house surgeon, from
the body of waiter, who, having entered the
hospital on one occasion in consequences OF
having received some blows on the chest, which
brought on some general symptoms, lett cured
Soon after, however, he again came into tRt
hospital for an abdominal affection, to which h'
succVmbed. At the necropsy old adhesion be
tween the pericardium and the corresponding
wall of the lung were found These two organ
were held together by pin, of which the pOin
issued into the interior OF the pericardium
where it was perfectly free. 1t but rarel!
touched the heart, on the surface OF which wa
found series of concentric curves, producel
By the point of the pin, which iucribed tht
beart's movements, on ITSELF just as the style
of sphygmograph would have done. Thi
case, besides being very interesting from
physiological point of view, proved that th
swallowing of single pin will sometimes caus
death. NJ. Durozisr said that coins seemed t
find easy passage through the digestive tube
Thus, man who came to the Hotel Dieu, aite
having swallowed six twenty-lranc, passed then
all, and recovered without any bad symptoms