Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1876-03-16
Sweating Blood.
Many of your readers are familiar with
the hymn:


! the hymn:
Think of what your Savior bore
! In the gloomy garden,
/ !S,redting blood from every pore
To procure your pardon.
This hymn is founded on Luke's test-
mony:
And being in an agony he prayed more
earnestly; aud his sicedt was as it were
great drops OF blood falling down to the
| ground" Luke % "A.
As Luke does not say his sweat was
blood. but that it was as ii ,oere blood, it is
not certain whether he means what a liter
al Interpretation of his language implies.
But there seems to be good reason to be-
lievc that the phenomena here recorded
was an actual sweating of blood.
For there has long been an impression
in the minds of the medical profession.
that IN certain persons, under great men-
tai agitation. blood has oozed from the
skin; and although pathologists have rec
ognized this, and named the disease Haze
matidrosis, still such cases are so extreme
ly rare, and even when they do occur are so
seldom under the immediate observation
OF physician that would record them,
that many physicians actually doubt il
such thing ever occurred. But the fol-
lowing case from the New York Medical
Record of Feb. 26th. is sufficiently deiin-
itc to remove all doubt on the subject.
The article l. from the pen DR.. NJ. rittcl,
and il as follows
\ Case of Haematdrosis The patient
was a strongly built man of twenty years.
belonging to a well-to-do and healthy iam-
ly. He stated that when twelve years old,
he had an eruption of red spots on the
face. and they were circum>cribed non-el-
eyated. painless. and did not itch. At the
time of their appearance HI, face was ex-
tremely pale, and lac suffered from great
fatigue and headache.
They disappeared alter two months With
out medical treatment
He also stated that year later after be-
Ing severely chastised by his father, blood
at first actually spirited and afterwards ran
slowly and steadily from the dorsal sur
face OF the left hand, although there was
not the slightest wound on the hand. This
lasted some days and then stopped. Ii
was succeeded by great mental depression
and noticeable sluggishness.
He stated that he subsequently, had 9TH
er hemorrhages, and that they assumed
the character OF blood s,ceatiHg so that his
shirt, his neck handkerchief. and his stock
ings would get of rusty color. DR.. Tittcl
had at length an opportunity of witnessing
one OF these attacks personally. He found
That it was accompanied by a decided dm-
mutton in the frequency Of the pulse, viz
from 60 10 40 beats per minute. The hands
and feet were somewhat swollen. The sur
faces most affected were the throat, the
volar surface Of the hand. the anterior sur
face of the leg and the feet. At the same
time the patient complained of fatigue,
headache, dizziness, weakness and disin-
clnation tor food or work, and these symp-
toms always preceded an attack. The
stools and urine were free from blood.
On microscopic examination the dscol-
oration Of the clothing was found to be due
to blood. and OF. examining the patient,
the doctor saw blood actually oozing from
the orihces. OF the sweat glands on the
forehead. and even more distinctly in the
palm Of the LETT hand. an observation
which was confirmed by Prof, Wagner and
several other physicians.
On reviewing the literature of the sub
ject, the author finds many cases of great
er or less authenticity recorded, and a
prevalent impression among the older
WRITER'S that such hemorrhages are con-
nected with ri0lent mental disturbances, or
with phy sical eXcesses In the present case
the microscope showed that the hemorr-
hage was through the canals of the sweat
glands. lie can throw no light on the etiol-
ogy OF the affection, and can only describe
il 10 a lesion IN the innervation Of the cap
llaries of the skin. The patient subse-
quenly joined the artillery aud had no more
hemorrhages.
In reading the New Testament it is no.
ticed that one evangelist frequently records
what the others omit. which i probably
owing to the fact that each recorded what
struck him the most iorcibly. Aud Luke
being physician would naturally observe
and record such "a remarkable phenome-
non as sweating blood. while it would es-
cape the attention Of the others.
K. l.. GRISDLE.