Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1889-04-18
DEATHS FROM FRIGHT.
AN INTERESTING QUESTION DIS
cusSeO BY A PAThOlOGiS1.


cusseo BY PATHolooiST-
Sboek, - Deadly .. Bullets bat Whaeh ]
Leave No Mark.-M-re Phy sie.I ssre.gtA ]
Docs Not Cut Any figurs-in THIS Cosn- 4
Try Fright Alone Causes Few D~.fhA
Can man or woman in ordinary good
health be killed by sudden fright just q by ;
bullet, knife wound or faui
The bursien u opinion Is on the slde Of the /
theory that even the mast hearty person can
die Of the shors caftsei by fright II seems
that has l-en impossible TO diagnose one Of
these cass Fright, II it causes death leaves
no peculiar nlarsSs by which the character of
such Oh attax can lie defined In Hior>i cases
of death Lore Is some condition that enables
the pit ysIciaiIs to detei mine the cause 1
But ia the case OF death by fright there is
no lesion On the brain nor Is there any condi-
ton Of the organs that definitely marks the
cause Of iemiss Nevertheless u majority Of
the best physicians agree that fright alone
will cause death. DIR William A Ham
uond the specialist In nervous disorders,
holds this view and most Of his colleagues
agree with him Visits male at a number Of
Nth ff1 uteplta4s anu ulslrtsni tcs ,iic"ri
that the physicians in these institutions
nearly all take the same ground I
DIFFICULTIES OF An AUTOPSY
The physician who spoke most freely on
the subject was Coudlct " Cutler. who has
charge of the New York disT-.nsary, the old
est in New York city, and one in which some
l25,U0 patients are treated every year for
all manner OF diseases DR.. Cutler is ex-
pert in nervous disease and rrnks high among
pathological He is decidedly OF the opinion
that per,s5rls in good health can die from sud-
den fright, although, he says, that in his
opinion such are extremely rare.
1T Is question that has baen widely
studied and discussed, and one which has
b.en the subject of much controversy in
medical lournals But a ma ority of ply
sicians now agree that fright may be set
down as a cause of death unassisted by any
other
But Is there not usually some other com
plicatiun' some heart or nervous trouble or
some other organic weaknessr
Not necessarily Of course in most cases
there Is, but death might result from fright
alone even if there existed no organic trou-
blea Nor has the mere physical strength Of
a man or woman much to do with the mat
ter A small weak woman is frequently less
affected by these shocks than a strong man
You see" continued the doctor, there u
something peculiar in the make up Of man
or woman. There are strong men who can
not endure the sight Of blood. There are
men in the medical and surgical profess
sions who never become reconciled to some
Of the more dsagreeable tasks that they are
called upon to perform. Then again there
are others physically weak who have nerves
4 la.
operations"
But how eau it be determined that per-
sou has died from fright alonef
From general conditions" said the doctor.
"Of course there is no means Of defining the
cause of death As in case Of death by ordi-
nary causes So far no LESSONS have been
founl on the brain that would make clear the
action of the shock upon that organ Nor
are there any other marked conditions that
enable one to make a satisfactory autopsy.
In fact have never been called upon to do
So although have watched the discussion Of
this question with interest But to make 1t
plain it Is agreed that where it is known that
a person has been subjected suddenly to q
severe shock. where it is subsequently found
that the person had in life suffered from no
disease and where 1t is also found that at the
time Of death the organs were IN normally
healthy condition, it would appear at once
that death was the result Of fright. You
know alcoholism is put down a cause Of
death. AMI yet it was but the other day that
a prize offered for any paper that would
establish the existence Of LESSONS on the brain
that would prove that alcoholism alone is q
cause Of DEATH
NERVOUSNESS CONTAGIOUS
But is not death from fright very rarefn
Extremely 50" was the reply "As have
aid, | never had one come under my per-
sonal observation. although | believe that
such deaths sometimes occur.
There are, continued DR.. Cutler, cases
where persons suffering from heart troubles
have had death fastened by some sudden
fright or shock, but even these cases are not
common"
But is rot insanity sometimes the result
Of frightT
Sometimes, but it is more frequently
caused by some other kind Of severe shock
But both causes produce but sIuall percent
age OF cases Insanity, as a rule, is caused
by drunken parents or is inherited On tho
whole, this i, an important question, and one
in which pathologists generally are naturally
interested and concerned. II it he possible
TO finally settle the question whether person
can 10 frightened TO death or not something
important will have been done 1t is q com
mon thing to say one has been frightened to
death, but there Is not much in the phrase
As u rule fright, unless it tie an extreme
case, does not affect healthy grown persona
Children subjected to extreme fright are fire.
quently driven into commissions, Just as
women arc driven into mysteries. But there
is not much fear Of death, even in such cases"
You do not think fright alone is worth
considering very seriously as cause of death
IN this country
No, but the human frame is queer ma
chine and anything that bears on any of it's
organs is worth studying The nervous sys-
TEN Is a peculiar ono You NAV place q
strong man among lunatics and leave him
where he will come into constant contact
with them long enough and his mind will no
come affected by his association with the in
sane.
1T has been noticed too. that one child in
school, If afflicted with st. EttIs dance. will
cause other children about him or her to be
come affected to some extent One nervous
twitchng person III a room where others are
sitting will cause others TO become nervous
as well We are to a very great extent a
nervous people, and 1t is necessary to study
every phase of 1t. 1t is here tina. the i'm
portance # the question Of death from fright
comes In New York Mail and Express
saphirs Poser.
An Australian prince, who was also an
archbishop. swure horribly at banquet
and perceiving that Saphir, the celebrated