St. Landry democrat., 1890-09-06

Q6QL6Ily NiSCUfcIcu JuSs uOAOio Wig SoAAn
was TO be closed. NJ, Brouardel, a French
physician, has written upon this subject
and brought out much of interest. He
children and aged and enfeebled persons,
are especially predisposed to apparent
death. He believes that in infectious dis
eases and algid fevers there are good
many examples of resurrection; the pto-
maines he considers to have Characteristic
anesthetic properties injected into frog,
the latter assumes any given cataleptic
properties that may be desired.
The physician is most apt to be deceived
by byster1cal persons, who are capable OF
living like alternating animals. In per-
SONS convalescing from grave diseases SYN
cope Is easily induced at the moment the
patient rises; the deficient cerebral circu-
lation and venous stagnstion in the lower
limbs are favorable conditions to the oc-
currence of apparent death. M. Brousrdel
relates the case of q criminal who was
hung in Boston at 10 8. m, taken down at
twenty-five minutes past 10 q. m. ano
transferred to the anatomical amphitheatre
an hour thereafter, when his pulse recon-
menced to beat. On opening the thorax
the pulse was seen to beat forty minute,
and it stopped beating at q quarter to 8 p
m. Hoffman tells of similar case
THE DEAD BROUGHT BACK TO LIFE.
During the past two years many cases OF
recovery after apparent death from cleo
tricity have been reported, and in some of
them there was no sign of life for between
two and three hours. M. Lester recorded
seven cases where the subjects, under the
action of lightning, had remained sp-
parently dead from periods varying from
several minutes to three hours. Physicians
who took the observations state that no
pulse could be felt at all, the excitation
having been strong enough to stop the
hearts action. A few years ago scarcely
physician could be found who believed it
possible for person to return to life after
having been buried even for day. But
now the fact finds ready acceptance that
people have been buried from eight to If
teen days and yet been resuscitated.
An interesting and physiological fact
bearing upon this subject has recently
been brought out by experiments upon
dogs with curare, the substance which the
South American Indian uses to poison his
arrows. This poison paralyzes the lungs
first and afterward the heart, and when
given to dogs they generally fall ap-
parently dead within Eve minutes. But in
OIL instances where artificial respiration
was commenced before the Eearr stopped
and persisted in for sufficient length of
time, recovery took place, the heart being
by this means kept at work until the
poison was eliminated by the lung. Acct
dents in which occur much the same
physiological changes as are produced by
curare are not very infrequent, and from
these, conclusions of value can be drawn.
Deaths under chloroform and ether are
occasionally reported. In this class of
cases the hope of resuscitation would seem
to be even greater than is usual in those
Of sudden death.
Where q person who has been under
treatment appears to have died, even If
suddenly and Unexpectedly, 1t is quite a
common custom of the relatives among all
classes to depend upon their own diagnosis
of death and to at once lay out the body,
send for the undertaken. etc.
WHAT PHYSICIANS NIGHT DO.
The doctor is usually informed of the
unhappy occurrence; seldom, however, un-
til several hours aftsrward, the principal
object of notifying him being to prevent
his making another visit. Very likely, in
consequence of this custom, many lives are
lost which might be saved were the physi-
clan called at oncs and efforts to resuscitate
were made by him.
There is one point to be considered in
this connection. In cases Ct sickness peo-
pie generally show the least possible
sense. 1t is notorious fact that in every
case of death, except from some such
they will lay the blame on the attending
r,h ~ II so a ,ocofhln fhSnn 70 do
Were he called in directly after patient
of his had died and he at once employed
artificial respiration or tried to stimulate
the heart by hypodermic injections the
chances are that the relatives and friends
would jump to the conclusion that he had
beed giving medicine In ovedoses, aud
bad poisoned in consequence and was now
endeavoring to resuscitate his victim. The
more intelligent reader would think this
absurd. and yet few years in the practice
of medicine would convince HIM to the
contrary.
DR.. Clark, In advising young physicians,
urges them In cases of deash by drowning
not to fail to use electricity In their efforts
to reauscitate. He says that fine point
of differentiation as to the probability of
resuscitation In case of drowning Is
whether 1t was suicidal or accidental, for
suicide cannot be saved after five min
utes of submergence, but the accidentally,
drowned may be submerged twenty and
possibly thirty minutes, and yet be resus-
citated. The horror and revulsion Of feel
ing aud fear of death OF the latter are not
present In the former, and this influence
on the mechanism of the heart may ac-
count for the difference. "persevere in
your efforts. as life has been restored in
drowning cases after four honrs' work
Boston Herald.
Not manv things in the earth, the water
or the air are ont OF the reach of photog-
raphy. A fash of lightning has frequently
been photographed. Not long ago q French
scientist with camera and an electric bat
terry got good picture Of the bottom of
the Mediterranean sea. And few days
ago q photographer in Pennsylvania OBJ
tanned negative of the bottom of an oil
well In which had been exploded
glycerine torpedo. The instrument was
lowered 100 feet and illuminated with an
electric fash light, the result being dis
tinct picture of q curious cavity in the
earth, fourteen feet long and seven feet
deep.