Waterbury evening Democrat., 1893-05-12

II Il
E3ASsAN&t erested in the fight,
including Dunfee,
WfY[m~ ~ were arrested. These
S<@ facts are merely men
toned as an introduction to the question:
win a blow from a fist cause death?
Prize fighting is a subject with which
the medical profession has little to do.
1t is not pastime that appeals to man.
kind generally. 1t is a brutal sport,
but this is not material The question,
is it possible for blow from fist to
cause death? is one that should be
carefully dealt with. 1t opens a wide
field, and to consider 1t lightly would
be to slight a subject which is of great
interest to the community at large and
especially to followers of pugilism.
In the prize ring-and here let it be
understood, please, that the writer
knows nothing of this kind of sport
and has never witnessed such an exhi-
bition in his life-blows are to be ex-
pected. We have premeditated and &C
cidental blows. In the accidental class
blow, while struck premeditatively,
may not be landed on any particular
part of the anatomy. In the premedi
tated blow of the pugilist some vulner-
able point is desired to be reached, as,
for instance, the side of the jaw or
spot over the heart
The purpose of the pugilist is not to
kill his antagonist, but merely to dis
able him SO that he cannot respond to
the call for the next round.
John L. Sullivan, whom the writer ex-
amined lin his capacity as a physician)
before his fight with Corbett, said he
always tried to disable his antagonists
by striking them over the heart or on
the side of the jaw. Blows delivered
on these parts of the body, in Sullivan's
case, were always more ''effectuar than
others, and If they did not knock his
opponent Immediately INTO unconscious
ness, aided largely in securing him a
| victory.
Sullivan, though he had no anatom-
ical knowledge whether a blow on the
stomach or one over the heart was more
| effective than one on the side of the
| jaw, was aware from experience that
| the blow on the side of the jaw did its
work more quickly and moro completely
| than one delivered on either of the two
other parts named.
1t was by means of a blow on the side
of the jaw, the newspapers tell us, that
Pugilist Donovan lost consciousness
and died some hours later.
But did Donavan die from the shock
| of the blow, or was he suffering at the
time from some disease, which, added
to the shock, caused his death?
Let the reader strike himself or her
self smartly over the sides of the jaw
and note the shock, measured, of course,
by the force of the blow. Immediately
its effect is felt in the disturbance OF
equilibrium.
Shock may be gradual or sudden. A
man of sound health is capable of re.
ceiving more punishment than another
| who is not healthy. In the case of the
healthy man, if he is struck repeatedly
on certain parts of the body, the shock
to his nerves will be gradual. In the
unhealthy mans case one blow, of the
same force as the dozen received by the
healthy man, will often be sufficient tc
cause a sudden shock, or, in ring par
lance, knockout
Atthis time another question suggests
itself Is it possible to kill an un
healthy man with blow of the fist:
Decidedly, yes. If any of the organs
are diseased, such disease, combined
with the shock of the blow, is likely to
cause death.
Is it possible to kill healthy mar
with blow of the fist? Yes, but nat
urally, not so easy as in the case of the
unhealthy man, for the reason already
given.
When two men train hard and faith
n fully for a prize fight and enter the
ring in perfect condition, providing they
have no organic, or even functiona
4 sc I~o vi 9,
one can be killed instantly by the fore
Of blow from the others fist, or tina
he may die later from its effects. III
may lie in an unconscious state TO
hours, but unless there is an interna
ailment, or the brain receives an acci
dental and direct injury by pressur
from . fractured skull or rupture
c blood vessel, he has every chance 70
4 recovery.
In a majority of cases death by shocl
and especially in cases where blow {
= the fist was the alleged cause, the al
topsy showed evidences of disease.
The writer does not know the resu
of the autopsy, or If one was held,
r the case of Pugilist Donovan, and is III
= able, therefore, to talk intelligent
about this particular case. Its almo
an assured fact however, that death
Q his case was not caused by the bio
alone.
i Sullivan's experience as 'knocke
OUT indicates he was right in selectin
the side Of the jaw near the chin as I'll
!, most vulnerable point A blow on IL
top or side of the head, or ON the ten
pies, or on the back of the neck, or
= the stomach, are all liable to knock
man out but none are SO sure of a
complaining this purpose as a hard bio
delivered on the side of the chin.
When the side Of the chin is struc
the central poise of the head is disturb
in two directions deways and bac
wards - and the victim is doub
knocked from his balance.
- Each special sense has nerve cent?
Ifone receives blow on the nose,
hind the ear, etc., 1t is communicat