Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1881-10-04
Official Report Of the Autopsy Of
President Garfield.


geons sin charge. After stating that a consulta-
ton was held and the mode of procedure
| adopted, the report says: The examination
was then proceeded with and the following
external appearances were observed: The
! body was considerably emaciated, but the
| face was much less wasted than the limbs
Preservative fluid had been injected by the
embalmer few hours before into the left
! femoral artery. The pipes used for that
purpose were still in position. The an
terror surface of the body presented no alb
normal appearances, and there were no
ecchymosls or other discoloration of any
! part of the front of abdomen. Just below the
: right ear and q little behind it, there was an
oval liberated opening about q half inch in
diameter, from which some sations of pus
/ was escaping, but no tumefaction could be
observed in the parotid region. A consider
able number of purpura-like spots were
scattered thickly over the left scapula and
thence forward as far as the axilla. They
ranged from one-eighth to one-fourth of an
inch in diameter and were slightly elevated
and furfuraceous on the surface, and
many of them were continent
in groups of two to four
or more. Similar, but much less abundant,
eruptions was observed sparsely scattered
over the corresponding region on the right
side. An oval excavated ulcer about one
I inch long the result of small carbuncle was
seated over the spinous process Of the tenth
dorsal vertebra. Over the sacrum, there were
four small bed sores, the largest about half
all inch in diameter. 4 few acne pustJIles
and a number of irregular spots of post
mortem hypostatic congestion were scat
tered over the shoulders, back and buttocks.
The interior part of the scrotum was much
discolored by hypostatic congestion. A
group of hemorrhoidal tumors, rather larger
than a walnut, protruded from the anus.
A depressed cicatriX of the wound made by
the pistol bullet was recognized over
the tenth intercessal space, three and a
half inches to the right of the vertebral
spines. The deep linear incision made in
part by the operation Of July 24th and ex-
tended by that of August 8th occupied
position closely corresponding to the border
of the right twelfth rib. 1t commenced
posteriorly about two inches from the verte-
bral spines and extended forwarda little more
than three inches At the anterior extrem-
ity of this incision there was deep, nearly
square abraded surface about an inch across
A well-oiled flexible catheter fourteen inches
long was then passed into this wound,
as had been done to wash it
out during life. More resistance was
case, but after several trials the catheler en-
! tered without any violence to its full length.
! It was then left in position and the body
disposed supinely for the examination ofthe
viscera. The Uranium was not opened. A
. long incision was made from the superior
extremity of the sternum to the pubs, fol-
lowed by transverse incision into the ab-
domen, lust below the umbilliGus The four
flaps thus Termed were turned back and the
abdominal viscera exposed. The sub
cutaneous adip0se tissue, divided by
the incislOn, was little more
than one-eighth an inch thick over the tho
rax, but was thicker over the abdomen, be-
ing about quarter of an inch along the
linea alba and as much as half an inch thick
toward the outer extremity Of the transverse
incision. On inspection of the abdominal
viscera or stu, the transverse colon was OBJ
served to lie little above the line of the
umbillicus. Il was firmly adherent to the
anterior edge of the liver The greater
omenutum covered the intestines pretty
thoroughly from the transverse colon al
most to the pubs. It was still quite fat,
and was very much blackened
by congestion. On both sides
its lateral margins were adherent to the
abdominal particles, opposite the eleventh
and twelfth ribs. On the left side adhesions
were numerous, firm, well organized and
probably old. foot-note here says
These adhesions and the firm ones on the
right side possibly date back to the attack
of chronic dysentery, from which the patient
is said to have suffered during the civil war.
On the right side there were few similar
adhesions and number of more delicate
and probably recent ones. A mass ot
black. coagulated blood covered and con.
4ho 1aft Of hs
great omentum. On raising the omentun
it was found that this blood mass extended
through the left lumbar and lilac regions,
and dipped down into the pelvis, in which
was some clotted blood, and rather more
than pint of bloody matter. Second A foo
note~here says: A large part of this sec
: ond had probably transuded from the in
iecting material of the embalmer. The
blood coadiulating having been turned out
| and collected measured very nearly pint
1t was now evident that secondary hemor
rhage had been the immediate cause OF
death, but the point from which the blco,
had escaped was not at once apparent.
} The omentum was not adherent to the in
= testines, which were moderate y 0lste1 lee
; with gas. No intestinal adhesions were
found other than those between the trans
verse colon and liver, already mentioned
The abdominal cavity being now washed on
as thoroughly as possible, a frutless at
tempt was made to obtain some Indication
of the position of the bullet, tesore making
any further incision. BY pushing the in
testines aside the extremity of the cltheter
, which had been passed into the wound
could be felt between the peritoneum ant
right lilac fossa, but it had evidently doubled
r upon itself, and although prolonged searcl
/. was made, nothing could be seen or felt t.
, indicate the presence Of the bullet, either il
: : that region or elsewhere. The abdomina
viscera were then carefully removed from
= the body, placed in suitable vessels, and Al
examination seriatim was made, with tht
following result The adhesions betweel
the liver and transverse colon proved tt
bound an abscess cavity between the under
surface of the liver, transverse colon ant
transverse meso colcn, which involved th
gell-bladder, and extended to about the same
distance on each side of it, measuring 81.
inches transversely and four inches from be
fore, backward. This cavity was lined b.
thick pyogenic membrane, which
= completely replaced the capsule of tina
part of the under surface of the live
, occupied by the abscess. 1t contained
about two ounces of greenish yellow fluid
mixture of pus and hillary matter. This
abscess did not involve any portion of sub
stance of the liver except the surface witt
| which it was in contact and no communlca
ton could be detected between it and any
part of the wound. Some recent peritoneal
adhesions existed between the upper sur
face of the right lobe of the liver and dia'
phragm. The liver was larger than normal,