The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1881-09-27


{ tHmortem examination of the body of
/, President Garfield was made this af-l
d 3ternoon in the presence and with,
. the assistance Of Drs. Hamilton,
Agnew, Bliss, Barnes, Woodward, |,
I |Reyburn, Andrew H. Smith, of Ell
beron, and Acting Assistant Sur!
geon D. S. Lamb, of the Army Med
ical Museum, Washington. The
! operation was performed by Dr.s
) Lamb. 1t was found that the ball;
] after fracturing the right eleventh,
4 rib had passed through the spinal
\ column in front of the spinal canal, !
j fracturing the body of the first lum.s
bar vertebra, driving number of:
\ small fragments of bone into thel
adjacent soft parts and lodging just
\ below the pancreas, about two inch-s
J, es and half to the left of the spines
and behind the peritoneum, whereS
it had become completely encysted. /
The immediate cause of death wasf
secondary hemorrhage from one OF
the mesenteric arteries adjoining the
track of the ball, the blood rupturf
ing the peritoneum and nearly al
! pint escaping into the abdominalY
cavity. This hemorrhage is believ-5
!! led to have been the cause of the se-ss
I we're pains in the lower part of thes
! chest complained of just befores
death. An abcess cavity six inchess
!. by four was found in the vicinity off
the gall bladder, between the liver;
] and transverse colon, which weres
! Strongly interadherent. 1t did notg
J involve the substance of the liver,
and no communication was foundy
between it and the wound. A long,
suppurating channel extending fromR
the external wound between the loins
muscles and the right kidney, al-a
most to the right groin. This chan {
mel, now known to be due to theS
burrowing Of pus from the wound, :
was supposed during life to haveE
been the track of the ball. On ex-s
animation of the organs of the chest
evidences of severe bronchitis werea
found on both sides, with bronchos
/ pneumonia of the lower portions off
; the right lung, and though to amuch&
less extent on the left. The lungsH
contained no abcesses and the heartE
no clots. The liver was enlarged
and fatty, but free from abcesses,
nor were any found in any other or
gan, except the left kidney, which
contained near its surface small
|abcess about one-third of an inch i'm
diameter.
In reviewing the history of the :
case in connection with the autopsy,
it is quite evident that the different
suppurating surfaces, and especially
the fractured spongy tissue of the
vertebra, furnish sufficient explana-
ton of the septic condition which
texisted.
4 ID. w. Bliss, e
q J. X. BARNES,
J. J. WOODWARD, 8
ROBERT REYBURN, B
FRANK HAMILTON, I!
ID. HAYES AGNEw, 3
ANDREW III. SMITH, e
4 d. S. LAMB,
q The autopsy of the Presidents
body commenced about five o'clock
land was not concluded until near
ly eight. A large crowd of persons
assembled at Elberon to hear the re- &
suit. DR.. Bliss stated the autopsyE
had beon a very tedious one, andy
that the time occupied in searching
for the ball alone was nearly three
quarters of an hour. The doctor
said Mrs. Garfield was feeling much
relieved since the autopsy, mas
much as it resulted in establishing
the fact that the patients death was
inevitable. The doctor stated fur
ther that the point of the ball was
somewhat blunt, or in q battered
condition, caused by the force with
which it struck the rib, while I'M
other respects its original shape was
not altered. DIR. Bliss took charge,
of the bullet and sealed it for preser-
walton until the courts should re-
1quire its production.
The State of New jersey has is
sued a permit for the removal OF
the body.
Il NO INQUEST HELD. 5
There was considerable discussion
lover the subject of holding an in
quest. The Jersey law, it seems, isl
very emphatic on the subject, not
only in requiring an inquest but in
refusing to receive a death certifi-
cate from physicians not registered!
in the State. The attending physi-
clans, Drs. Agnew and Hamilton,
have not a license to practice in&
New Jersey. and therefore cannot
give certificate of death which can
be excepted by the Assessor, who
acts like the Board of Health. A
law passed by the Legislature last
year made it an indictable offence
for any physician to practice with
out first filing a copy of his diplomat
with the county clerk. An in
stance where physician failed to
file his diploma came up before
the grand jury in the October term
of Monmouth Court in 1880. The
physician was DIR. Kinmouth. a res
ident of Manasquan. The grand
jury found an indictment against
him for not filing a copy OF his di-
ploma with the county clerk. but
the physician was discharged be-
cause the foreman of the grand jury
failed to attach his signature to the
Indictment. q
Attorney General MacVeagh was
strongly opposed to an inquest, and
after considerable trouble succeed
ed in arranging matters so as to-
avoid it.
THE PRESIDENT AFTER DEATH.
Of the appearance of the Presi-
dent after death, Benedict, the un
dertaker, said: "His face had al
life like appearance. There was no
look of pain upon it. He looked
lust as if he had fallen quietly asleep.
If he suffered extreme pain his suf-
|fering must have been short His
form is greatly wasted, but it is not
= .l~oloxc,~ L. ,x,xv ~ oox,e Tie Dr<,,