The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1881-10-02
THE AUTePsY.
omcIaI Report OF the Doe.ors.

sue of the american Journal Of
AedicG Science contains the fol-
lowing official report Of the autopsy
of President Garfield, prepared by
the surgeons in charge.
Official record of the post mortem
examination of the body of Presi-
dent James A. Garfield, made Sep
TENDER goth, 1881, commencing at
80 pm, eighteen hours after death,
at Francklyn Cottage, Elberon, N.
j. Present and assisting: DR.. DIV.
Bliss, Surgeon-General J.V. Barnes,
u. S. A.; Surgeon J. j. Woodward,
U. S. A.; DR.. Robert Reyburn, DR..
Frank II. Hamilton, DR.. ID. Hayes
Agnew, Dr.. Andrew Smith, of
Elberon and New York, and Acting
Assistant Surgeon ID. S. Lamb, of
the army medical museum, Wash
ington. Before commencing the ex-
animation a consultation was held
by those physicians in a room adj
joining that in which the body lay,
and it was unanimously agreed that
the dissection should be made by
Dr.. Lamb, and that Surgeon Wood
ward should record the observations
made after. 1t was further unani-
mously agreed that the Uranium
should not be opened. Surgeon
Woodward then proposed that the
examination should be conducted as
follows: That the body should be
viewed externally for any morbid
appearances existing; that d cother-
Ter should be passed into the wound,
as was done during life, to wash out,
for the purpose of assisting to find
the possible track of the bullet;
that long incisiOn should next be
made from the superior extremity Of
the sternum to the pubs, and this
be crossed by a transverse one just
below the umbilicus; that the alb
dominal flaps thus made
should then be turned back
and the abdominal Yiscera
examined; that after the abdominal
cavity was opened the position of
the bullet should be ascertained, if
possible, before making any further
incision, and that the thoracic Wis
cera should be examined. The Or
der of procedure was unanimously
agreed to. The examination was
then proceeded with, and the follow
ing external appearances were OBJ
served: The body was considerably
emaciated, but the face was much
less wasted than the limbs. A pre-
serving fluid had been injected by
the embalmer a few hours before,
into the left femOral artery. The
pipes used for the purpose were still
in position. The under surface of
the body presented no abnormal ap-
pearanceS, and there was no ecchy-
M siS Or other discoloration of any
part of the front Of the abdomen.
Just below the right ear, and little
behind it, there was an oval, ulcer
ated opening about half an inch in
diameter, from which some rancous
pus was passing, but no tumefaetiOn
could be observed in the parotid
opening. A considerable num-
Der Of purpura-like spots were
scattered thickly over the left soap
ular, and thence forward as far
as the axilla. They ranged from
One-eighth 10 One-quarter of an inch
in diameter, were slightly elevated
and furaceous on the surface, and
many of them were continent in
groups of two, four or more. Sim
liar, but much less abundant erup-
ton was Obseryeds parcely scattered
over the corresponding region on
the right side. An oval eXcaYated
ulcer about an inch long, the result
of small carbuncle, was seated over
the spinouS process of the tenth
dorsal vertebra. Over the Sacrum
were three or four small bed sores,
the largest about an inch in dia-
meter. Five acorn puStules, and a
number of irregular spots of post
norton hypostatic congestion, were
scattered over the shoulders, back
and buttocks. The inferior part of
the scrotum was much discOlored
by hypostatic congestion. A group
of hemorrhoidal tumors, rather
larger than walnut, protruded from
the anus. a depressed cicatriX of
the wound made by the pistol-bullet
was recognized over the tenth inter
c0Stal space, three and half inches
to the right of the vertibral spine.
The deep interlinear incisiOn made
in the parts by the operation Of July
p. and extended by that of August
S, occupied a position closely CORES
pondenJ to the upper border Of the
right to the twelfth rib. 1t COM
menced poSterorily about two inches
from the yertebral spines, and ex-
tended forward a little more than
three inches. At the anterior eX-
tremity of this incisiOn, there was
4 deep, nearly square, abraded sur
face about an inch wide. A well
oiled flexible catheter fourteen
inches long was then passed into
the wound as had been done to wash
it out during life. More opposition
was at first encountered than had
usually been the case, but after
several trials the catheter entered
without any violence to its full
length. It was then left in position
and the body was disposed sHpinely
for examination of the viscera. The
Uranium was not opened. A long
1nciSion was made from the superior
extremity of the SterDum to the