The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1888-08-02

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harassed the dying person, but the per.
ceptions, the intellect, the emotions, the
will are blunted and no longer respond to
excitations that formerly moved them.
Death, as we see in persons who have
suffered from more or less protracted i'll
ness, is not generally an act that is
accomplished in few moments Of time.
It may even last for several hours, during
which period the vital forces are extin.
guished little by little, so gradually in
fact that we are not able to determine
the exact instant at which life becomes
extinct.
PSYCHOLOGISTS
speak of death as occurring through the
cessation Of the action of either the brain
or the heart or the lungs. But the brain
cannot be regarded as an organ absolutely
essential to life, however necessary it may
be to its regular and systematic course.
The entire organ may be removed from
certain kinds ofanimals and yet life goes
on almost as perfectly for Is time as though
It were still there to dominate the rest of
the body. The heart beats, the lungs re.
spire, the stomach digests and the several
glands continue to elaborate the secretions
proper to them, and not only all this, but
actions are performed which are well cal.
culated to excite astopishment in those
Who see them for the first time and who
have embraced the idea that all intelli.
gence resides in the brain. Thus, for
instance, if the brain be entirely removed
from the head of frog and the web be.
tween the toes be pinched- the limb
is Immediately withdrawn; if the shoul.
der be scratched with needle, the hind
foot of the same side is raised to remove
the instrument; ifthe animal is held up
by one leg, it struggles2 ifplaced on his
back-a position to which frogs have
great antipatby-it Immediately turns
over on its belly; if one foot be held
firmly with pair of forceps the frog
eudeavors to draw it away, ifunsuccessful
it places the other foot against the
instrument and pushes firmly in the eft.
fort to remove it; still not succeeding, it
writhes the body from side to side and
makes movement forward. have seen
rattlesnake strike after it's head was cut
off, and viper has been known to crawl
straight for its hole after suffering like
mutilation.
LIVING WITHOUT A BRAIN.
Nor, are such experiments the only evi
dence we have that life may persist though
the brain be absent. It sometimes hap
pens that individuals of the human
species are born without brains. In one
instance Of the kind life was present for
six months. Though very feeble, this
being had the faculty Of sucking, and the
several functions of the body seemed to
be well performed. It's eyes clearly
perceived the light, aud during the night
it cried if the candle was allowed to 60
out. After death the Uranium was
opened, and there was found to be an
entire absence of the cerebrum. In
another case, that Of q male infant which
lived eighteen hours, there was found af.
ter death no vestige of q brain, neverthe'
less respiration was established; the pu.
pills contracted to light; bitter juice put
into the mouth was Immediately rejected
and loud noises caused movements ofthe
body. In another case in which the era
mum was entirely empty life continued
for four days, yet this being opened and
shut its eyes, cried, sucked and even ate
broth.
The brain, therefore, is essential to life
only 80 far as it is essential to the con-
tinued action of tho heart and lungs.
When it is the seat of disease iu certain
of its parts the action of all the organs of
the body is more or less impaired,
although they may continue their func-
tions in such q manner as not to be
Immediately destructive to life. 1t is
only when brain disease leads to the
arrest of the action of the heart or lungs
that death becomes inevitable.
DEATH BEGINNING AT THE HEART,
occurring either as the. result of brain
injury or disease or like factors affecting
the organ itself, may take place suddenly
or after very considerable period oftime
has elapsed. In neither case is the act of
death painful. Should the heart stop
suddenly the brain is at once deprived of
its due supply of blood, all sensbility is
Immediately abolished. There are a few
imperfect respiratious, aud life has van
ished, probably without the stricken
person having the slightest consciousness
from the moment that the current of
blood failed to reach his brain. Such
cases are comparatively infrequent, but
they are common enough for us to have
become acquainted with the phenomena
by which they are characterized. The
aspect of a person dying in the manner
described shows that there has been no
suffering, mental or physical; the
countenance is placid and tbe.postion of
the body that of entire repose.
In other instances the state of the
patient for considerable period before
death is marked by great suffering. The
respiration is difficult, the lungs are.
copgested, there are periods characterized
by faintness and loss of consciousness, the
limbs and the face become dropsical, the
recumbent posture is attended with an
increase in the feeling of suffocatlon, due
to the interference with the respiration,
and hence the patient is obliged to pass
the greater part of the day and the night