The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1900-01-01
DEADLY PT0NAINES.
HANGERS THAT ALWAYS ATTEND
POST MoRTEM, SURGERY.

yiruA URon the victina. t--'
1t is not generally known that deai
body is simply mass of virulently poi
sonous matter almost Immediately aftel
death and long before apparent decompo
sition sets In. Every medical man knows
this from his medical college days, for II
Is one of the stock warnings to medical
students and one which they not infre.
Quently disregard. Occasionally one pays
the price of his carelessness with his life.
There Is probably no long esta blished dis.
secting room in the country that hasn't in
Its records at least one such death. Some
times the victim Of the poison RECEIVERS.
Poisoning Of this kind is from pto-
maines which are present within very
brief period after life leaves the body.
Skin taken from dying person half an
hour before death can be grated on a pa
tient and will grow and form healthy It's
sue. Skin from the same person half an
hour after death might very likely kill
the patient upon whom it was grated.
There is no form of blood poisoning con-
sidered by physicians to be more danger
GUS than poisoning by post norton pto-
maines.
Tho smallest pr;ck ar SCRATCH will ad.
NIT enough Of the dead tissue to cause
death. Often the wound is so minute
that it is not noticed by the victim at the
time. He goes about his business as usu-
al for two or three days. Then he has a
sudden chill. followed by fever. If he
has any suspicion of the truth. he exam.
ines his arms carefully. On one of them
he finds rcd lines Indicating the lymnhat-
dc veins. the unmistakable symptom and
usually the signature of his death war.
rant. All that remains for him to do is
TO send for the brother physician in whom
he has the most confidence and hone that
his constitution is strong enough TO with.
stand the action of the ptomaines, If
the semitic action is very yirulent. the arm
and shoulder swell, high fever, with a
temperature reaching to 1O6 or LOT de-
grees, follows, the swelling passes to the
body, which becomes discolored, the red
tracings Of the ptomaines make net
work over the skin, and a week or ten
days after the venom has entered the lit
tie, unnoted scratch the patient falls into
a state of coma from which he never
energies.
A physician who has had many years
of experience in medical colleges and the
dissecting room, in speaking to a reporter
of post mortem said:
~ have never failed, so far MS l can
remember, to warn students about using
the utmost care In dissecting with their
knives and needles, lest they scratch their
hands or wrists. So in all the medical
schools there is n stringent rule against
any person going into the dssecting room
who has any kind Of sore, scratch or cut
on his hands, but all these precautions
prove insufficient sometimes. Sewing up
cadavers Is one great source of danger.
The dissector is likely to be hasty or
clumsy with his needle and pricks him
self. II he notices the prick he will, I'M
less he is crimiually careless suck the
wound vigorously, for the ptomaines may
be taken into the stomach without dan
ger. Unless he is satisfied that he has
rot out all the septic matter he will eau.
tprize freely. Ii he doesn't notice the
wound until the symptoms make them
selves known he will be fortunate il he
gets off alive, for it is almost impossible
TO check the poison once it bas fairly en-.
tered the system.
~ recall a case several years ago which
| attended. The patient was Young
physician, DR., G. of this city, While dis.
secting he scratched finger of his right
hand and Immediately sucked the wound
and washed it in antiseptics, Three DAYS
later his finger began to swell. He laid
Al, -
a day or two later signs of inflammation
appeurpd along tho lines Of the lvmnhot.
les. The patient had already suffered
from cbills. fever and depression. was
called in and by the time got there the
hand and wrist were badly swollen and
the swelling was extending IN the arm.
1t got as far IA the shoulder and I had
an extremely sick man on NV b,nds
About nil that couyd he done was tn keen
I'm the benrt action with st;mulapts and
Dir. C.'s naturally strong constitution
kent him nm rim the noi.on had RIM its
conrse. His system took ;ts avn wov ~
rid itself NJ tho noisonops m.tter and for
siy montbs his life wos m,Ls n,is.rabIn
with Assesses but be recovered com
DJetcIy. In this resnect he was more for
tuuoto than anotber nbrS;c;o | ~ NV a.
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