The Russellville Democrat., 1889-07-11
Electricity the safest Test to show whetf-
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CT fffe Is in the 2Sody.
 True cases of catalepsy are very rare. and present a remarkable similarity to death. Dr. s Weir Mitchell tells Of an extraordinary case. Many years ago he saw a young lady from the West, and was told not to mention particular subject in her presence or very serious results would follow He mentioned the subject because of de- sire to see what the result would be. and the young woman at once said: ''You will see that am about to die. " Her breath began to fail and grow less and less The heart beat less rapidly, and finally the doctor could not distin- guish the radial pulse. though he could at all times detect the cardiac pulsation with the ear. There was at last no visible breathing, although little was shown by the mirror The young wo- man passed into true condition of catalepsy, and to the great alarm of Dr. Mitchell remained in that state a number of days, something short of q week. When she fnally returned to consciousness the Doctor felt immense ly relieved. and had no inclination te repeat the experiment.
 There is no alsssssrenticated case of a person having been buried during state Of catalepsy, and. indeed, doctors hold to the opinion that the burial of a person still alive is almost unknown. In reference to this point Dr Mills. in an article on Trance, says; The condition of patient in a state of trance has been frequently and not in aptly compared to that Of hibernat- ing animal. Trance may last for min- utes, hours, days. week or even months Astonishing stories regarding frances, some true. others these the greater number-false. frequently find their way into newspapers. Electric ity furnishes the only sure test to de- termine whether life still remains in a body. "In apparent death, says an authority. ''the pulse can no longer be discovered, and only the faintest sound can be distinguished in the region Of the heart. It therefore becomes uece5sdFg to nave NlbLiA fSdSh crucial test of tho pers st. ence of general vitality. Such a test exists in the Faradic current. Within two or three hours after gen. uine death the muscles cease to be ex- citable by the induced current, but in a case of apparent death this form of electro-muscular coutractility never disappears Every other test that has been proposed has failed under certain circumstances. This alone gives uni- formly positive indications" Prof. Virchow, the great German anatomist, who is said to have dissected more bodies than any other living man, also recommends electricity as the only positive test One pole of the bat tery,n he says. "should be attached to the diaphragm, the most powerful muscle of respiration. and the other to the medulla oblongata, which controls the nerves descending from the head to the neck, and is the vital citadel of the body-the center of respiration and circulation"
 ilt 0tAA1GA Oi JIAAi- BaA AEtA ehA+FT ID guarded against in Berlin and Munich by keeping the supposed dead bodies in the morgue on couches, so arranged that the slightest movement at any time, night or day, rings an alarm and summons medical assistance So far the assistance has never been required. In connection with the dangers of being buried alive or cut up before dead, New York doctor has discovered a new risk-that of being frozen to death by being placed on ice by undertakers. "I have seen in my own practice, he is quoted as saying, ceases where per sons had hardly ceased to breathe when they were placed on ice. This was done before the physician could see the body, and it is a matter horrible to ponder over. It seems to be craze or a superstition with some people to hurry their dead into the ice-box. "- Philadelphia Record.