Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1900-07-13
THE SAVING OF LIFE
De PATIENT IN CASES OF DROWNING
OR AFFIRMATION.
II Nay BE Necessary to Keep u
Tongue Traction For Three Hours
TO Revive the Spark Of Latsnt Life
That Still Exists In the victin.

brought back to life after ten minutes
application Of the usual methods all fur-
Their efforts are useless. That is most
unfortunate error, and it should be
guarded against. It is an ignorant preju-
dice that has sent many people to their
graves who might have been saved by
the exercise of little patience.
Some years ago coast guard named
Agne was on duty at point called
l'xAnse du Prophetic, on the southern
coast of France. lie heard cries of dis
tress. a cabin boy OF one Of the vessels
at anchor was drowning. The master Of
the craft plunged into the water to save
the boy. The effort was too much for
him. He became exhausted, and both
We're about to sink when the coast guard
he managed to bring the man ashore, but
the boy disappeared under the water.
Agnel swan out again to the place where
the boy sank and after repeated dives Mt
last succeeded in bringing the little fell
low to the surface. The boy had been
under the water for more than ten min
lltes. He gave no sign Of life. Respira-
ton was suspended completely. But Ag-
mel, remembering the Instructions in the
circular given by DR.. Laborde Of the
Academy Of Medicine, tried regular trac
tons of the tongue and continued them
for three hours. His praseworthy perse
yerance was crowned with success. Res
piraton was at last re-established, and
the boy recovered. The case is mention
ed in the official report of NJ. Nautier,
chief Of the customs service Of Marseiles,
to the directeur generate.
Until 1895 no Psychologist and no med
zeal man would dare to assert that in
such case Intent life could subsist for
hours. But three hours does not mark
the extreme limit. As matter OF fact,
| we do not yet know the length Of time
I that separates apparent death from real
l death. 1t varies according to the sub
1 jects. But nevertheless it is certain that
the suryie, or latent life, always exists in
| the case Of subject whose organs are
| sound. Exterior or apparent death re-
yeuled by the suspension of the function
| al manifestations, especially by the sup
! preston Of the cardio-respiratcry func-
4 ton, is not the final and real denth.
while the organism ceases to live on the
/ surface" says DIR. Laborde Of the acade-
my, sit lives inside" That is to say. life.
4 continues in latent state by the persist
ence Of the functional properties of the
/ organic elements and tissues. The sensi-
tive properties are the first to disappear,
then follow the motor-nerve functions
and finally muscular contractility. Com
4 plete death demands time.
! In short. the general mechanism may
be stopped by the cessation Of a primor-
I dial function, like that OF respiration, but
/ If the organs are not injured they car be
started again and be made to resume
their normal action. While latent life ex-
lists one Should never despair Of saving a
drowned or nsphyxinted person. The
4 most Indispensable function to arouse is
4 that OF respiration. the primordial func-
ton of life. It's necessary to excite the
respiratory reflex, which, according to
4 DR. Laborde, possesses extraordinary
vital power and endurance.
Now, what is the duration Of the latent
4 life of the respiratory reflex? The above
q mentioned case shows that 1t can last for
three hours. DIR. Laborde reports a length
of from two to three hours in his experi-
4 ments on dogs. ue selected in one case a
strong bull terrier and chloroformed the
animal until respiration was completely
stopped. The dog was apparently dead.
4 Fifteen minutes traction revived him.
4 Then the experiment with chloroforln
4 was renewed ard continued until all the
4 evidence OF complete asphy1ia was estab-
Z lished. The fractions We're begun five
minutes later. The dog was called Laza-
rus, singulary appropriate name. This
I time he appeared to be{sure enough dead.
4 After two hours of fractions he gave no
sign of life. DR.. Laborde gave the case
up, but an employee of the laboratory
named Leon Jandon who was very fond
of poor Lazarus continued the fractions.
He noticed that the tongue began to red
den. which is the sure sign of the return
4 of the first respiratory movements. Aft
er 24n hours of fractions respiratory
& hiccough was established, followed by
gasps. and at last regular breathing be-
gan. Lazarus opened his eyes ard looked
around in establishment. He recovered
completely.
1t may be asserted with confidence that
the respiratory reflex subsists. ready to
!, go into action again. for ut least three
!, hours after the condition of apparen;
death. That is an important fact which
should not be forgotten. Some people
may be astonished at the idea OF lngual
fractions continued for three hours. Such
treatment requires great patience. DIR
Laborde uses. instead OF his fingers and
piece Of linen machine which grips
the tongue and makes 20 fractions q
minute.
. This important method discovered by
NJ Iaborde for rcvivinG subjects appar
emily dead has also the advantage Of
being able to establish real death witt
absolute certainty. Death is clearly prov
ed when the respiratory reflex is abol
ished after FIVE or six hours.
Formerly all hope of saving drowned
person was given up when. after huff al
; hour, all the ordinary old means of resto
! ration were exhausted. But now when {
bather is taken out Of the water appar
entity dead. or fireman is asphyxiatet
by mephitic gas. regular tongue traction:
must be resorted to. not for half an houl
only. but for hours, and in most cases TIL,
unfortunate victims will be restored. II
!, save life is the noblest action that on,
: can perform.-Co Courier des Etats Unis
Pooling a Typewriter.
y There were two typewriters in tn
e ROOM One was in use and the other wa
e not. The young man sat down near tn
: one that was not in use and watched tn