The Bemidji daily pioneer., 1919-12-23
Precedonto at Hand.


Occasionally q Newspaper carries q
story Of victim Of catalepsy or hys-
terra undergoing narrow escape from
premature burial, and recently an
English daily told Of nurse who was
found in 4 forest between Berlin and
Potsdam. apparently dead from IN
overdose Of veronal, and who was
placed in a coffin ready for burial.
Just before closing the coffin the un.
doFtaker discovered to his horror that
her heart was beating and removed
her at once to hospital, where she
was given electrical treatment, under
which she finally opened her eyes and
uttered q few incoherent words. Such
authenticated incidents cause tho
reader to ask If there is not some in
fallible test Of death known to the
medical profession.
In the "Review Of Comparative
Pathology DR.. SEVERN 1card of Mar
seilles gives the results Of his investi-
cations in progress during a long
period into this subject. His test is
physico- chemical and has to do with
the alkalinity Of the body in life. In
other words, as long as life is present
In the human organism the fluids with
the exception of the urine, the gastric
juices and the sweat) are alkaline. On
the other hand, the tissues after death
are acid.
For q short period after death the
tissues are both alkaline and acid, and
the litmus paper test shows both blue
and red. But seven or eight hours af-
ter death Is supposed to have taken
place the test is positive; II life is ex-
tinct the ncid test is unmistakable and
the blue paper becomes a deep wine
red.
This passage from alkalinity to acid
ity Is found in all the animal series,
and as far back as 1870 it was urged
as test for death by a French physi-
clan, Doctor Delagree, who proposed
In cases where death was doubtful to
introduce litmus paper into small in
cisions in the muscular mass. But this
method is likely to be repugnant to the
family of the subject-an objection
which Doctor 1card has overcome In
his experiments.
Litmus Paper Test
The latter practitioner has made use
of very simple method for procuring
a few drops Of serous matter from
the tissues without mutilating
the body. He attaches small pair of
f~l1 op cl,i nlo
them In place, leaving them in position
for five or six minutes. AT the end Of
this time the forceps are removed and
in the depressions on each side Of the
''pleat" of flesh made by the conf1ning
instrument are seen to ooze several
drops Of serum. The blue litmus is
placed In contact with this fluid, and
If it turns red there Is no doubt that
the patient no longer lives, for the acid
test Is established. Sometimes it Is
\ necessary to wait as long as ten min
utes for the change from blue to red
to take place. but once apparent it is
indisputable. It must be remembered
that this test Is useless before the
lapse of six hours, as acidity does not
thoroughly establish itself in dead
body under this time.
1t Is interesting to recall In connec-
ton with Doctor 1card's test that one
Of the tests commonly employed under
such circumstances has long been that
Of grasping fold Of flesh with the
forceps and retaining 1t there for sew
eral moments. In the case Of q living
body the "pleat" gradually returns to
normal. but when life Is extinct the
compression Of the flesh persists. Doc
tor Icard's test (which has been
adopted in the Marseilles hospitals)
has q double value In that it includes
the physical test Of the compression Of
the skin and the chemical test which
T. establishes a state Of acidity, thus
1&"making assurance doubly sure" and
removing from the realm Of chance
the establishment Of death In cases