The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-02-08
MAY LIVE. THOUGH sEHEADEo.
New York Physician Combats Theory o
instantaneous Death.

| ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS DEhLH.
In his paper, Instant Death by De
capitation An Impossibility, According
to Biological Analysis" read at the an.
nuai meeting held in the Waldorf-Astoria
/ Dr. y. Mount Bleyer, as the father o
| electrocution in this country" used fol
his subject the problem of DR.. Canill O.
Paris, Does the Stroke of the Guillotint
| Cause Instant Death?'
| This revelation said DR.. Bleyer has
caused me to carry out a few experiment:
from which I formulated a most plausible
theory. In my opinion, from all the facts
gathered, I and my assistant, DR.. Henry
| f. Waite. concluded that what is to fol.
| low in this paper will be received as a
most rational explanation to the thinker
why such an instantaneous death is an
impossibility."
Continuing. Dr. Bleyer said in part. CDR
Canill. who evidently must be keen OBJ
server to have brought to our notice that
absolute death does not follow guillotining
for several hours on account of the fact
that the brain finds nourishment for an
hour after decapitation. Also, during this
time. the head of the victim retains the
sense of feeling, hearing, smell and sight.
Dr. Canill lays much stress upon a point
in connection with the blood supply to
the brain long after the head has fallen
into the basket. Conscience is a most
complex phenomena, and consciousness is
broad and sweeping term IN applying it
IN general in this connection after de-
capitaton.
"We cannot investigate the phenomena
of consciousness like we do the phe-
nnmena Of light and electricity The de-
lection of consciousness for any length
OF time after ecapita ton with its many
varying complex phases moving onward is
hardly possible. so we can only theorize
until we find more positive proof that life
is totally extinct after agitation. Gross
physiology and psychology alone is not
enough to decide for us such an intricate
and delicate question, and we must there
fore seek aid among the collateral sci
ences.
rs it possible that such mass of lv-
ing matter as the brain dies Immediately
after decapitation? Protoplasm is known
to live for some time outside of the body
when severed from its connections upon
which it lives. The blood of the body acts
as food and air supply to protoplasm and
when this is cut off does not Immediately
means been proved by physiology alone
that in this condition the brain is dead to
impulse.
mo one has proved as yet the difference
between a dead and living brain cell.
How is it thus possible for me to know
exactly what a live brain cell looks like
from that in contradistinction to a dead
one? If we could differentiate between
them we could more easily ascertain how
long before the death of these cells takes
place. This would then solve the exact
life of brain cell after corporal DEATH
I cannot believe that every brain cell dies
simultaneously. The brain cell is killed
by preparing it ready so as to be made
demonstrable to the eye of the microscope
Why then, could it not be possible that
the brain cell does also retain it's life as
1t is of the same constitution and same
power as any other cells in the economy?
Already we know that muscle cell re-
spends to all kinds of stimuli by con-
tracing, gland cell by secreting: an OPP
tic nerve can only experience the sensa-
ton of light. whether stimulated by light
worry, electricity or pressure. Irritable
ity is a fundamental property of living
protoplasm, but is manifest itself in spe-
cific actions according to the specific
structure of the protoplasm under the in
'f1uence of the external world.
Another peculiar phenomenon deserves
special mention. namely. the Transmission
or conducton of stimuli If a small por-
ton of the surface of a protoplasmic
body is stimulated the effect produced is
not limited to this point alone. but ex-
tends to far outlying ends. Stimuli, as a
whole. are more quickly transmitted in an
imal than in vegetable bodies, in human
nerves. This accounts for the phenome-
non exhibited in animal bodies long after
death, that when a stimulus like cleo
tricity is applied to piece of muscle or
nerve a reaction is the immediate result,
such as contraction or twisted This
alone is another proof that the cell has an
independent life and does not die when
life is pronounced by the physician or
Psychologist as being extinct.
AS rule we are not in a position to
determine whether or not a body can be
stimulated, that is to say whether it re-
acts to changes in its environment, since
most of the effects due to stimulation are
The stimuli, perhaps,
which will be of most interest are those
of cases. anaesthetics and electricity, as
they have daily applications in surgery
and medicine. On the other hand, in the
economy the gases of the
blood play principal role. And in de-
capitation also the problem revolves
around blood and its gases. We find that
all cells absorb gases and also substances
in fluid or dissolved state, and hence
dffusible conditions. Finally, many cells
can make use of solid substances, as
blood. Protoplasm finally absorbs the
most various kinds of substance in a gas
ecus condition. Without oxygen life can
not continue. AS a rule the lack of oxy-
gen very quickly arrests the functions of
the cell But we find that the cell stores
up all food and respirable gases and it
therefore is shown that the cell lives for
time upon its own stores. The irrita-
bility of the nerve cell is more quickly
lowered and finally destroyed than that of
the protoplasm of other cells
DR.. Bleyer here cited several examples
to prove that the irritability of animal and
vegetable protoplasm may be temporarily
destroyed without permanent harm. Con-
tinuing he said:
Taking all these scientific truths
which thus far have been put forth and
demonstrated to us by experiment and
observation by the learned savants all
over the globe, we can readily conceive
not only the possibility that this indie
pendent life of the cell does not die as
quickly as the outward appearance of our
forms show and gross physiology points
out to us. There is no telling at present
by our coarse methods how much time is
required for death of the cell to become
apparent in the organ of the mind, the
brain.
physiology teaches us that after the
head fS ha fr,,p nd ,11