The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1934-11-08
RESTORING LIFE TO THE DEAD
Dr.: Cornish Explains Steps He Would Take If GiOe
BY DIR. ROBERT E. CORNISH
lcopyriEht. 1888. NEA Service. IncJ


mission TO attempt resuscitation of
convicts legally executed by lethal
gas.
There are four essential require
ments in the methods I would en-
ploy:
First, removal or naturalization
Of the agent originally causing
death.
Second, artificial respiration.
Third, starting the heart.
Fourth, nursing the patient back
to health.
Professor George Hughling,
swimming instructor at the Uni
versity of California, has devised
a method Of resuscitation from
drowning which promises to save
many lives. He has demonstrated
that it is possible to give artificial
respiration while wading through
the surf and carrying the body
over his shoulder.
Professor Hughling can even
give artificial respiration while
swimming and towing the body, if
the water is not too rough. In an
actual case in France, he had to
carry an apparently drowned man
a considerable distance through
the surf to get him ashore.
BY using the accepted carry, the
victims heart we'll might have
stopped during the carry, so that
Mr.. Hughling might have applied
artificial respiration ashore many
hours without avail. But the man
soon started to gasp and then to
talk before Hughling even had
him ashore.
Professor Hughling's method ig-
nores the difficult third and fourth
requirements, but secures maxi
mum saving of time in the first
and second. These two or ordinar-
lily adequate, if continued long
enough, and if started before the
heart has stopped.
TOR the third requirement,
Il starting the stopped heart,
there is no satisfactory method in
general use, and present methods
for the fourth leave much to be
desired.
This may involve condition
similar to the dreaded ana deadly
surgical shock" If the patient
remains long in severe shock"
he is likely to be partly insane
after he RECEIVERS, if he is for
tunate enough to do so.
In case of the convict executed
by inhaling hydrocyanic acid
fumes, the first requirement would
be partly met by John Finn Jr.
Ga gas mask engineer), who would
be ready, wearing gas mask. He
would enter the death chamber as
soon as permitted after the pris-
oner was pronounced dead by ply
Sicians.
We would quickly remove the
prisoner, and we would lay him
on our teeter board and imme-
diately inject methylene blue into
his veins. This was shown to be
an antidote for cyanide poison
ing in rats, by DR.. j. C.. Geiger of
San Francisco.
Methylene blue neutralizes
cyanide, but will not restart either
the heart or breathing, according
to Mrs. Brooks.
Therefore, Immediately on lay
ing the dead prisoner on the
board, artificial respiration would
be started by hand. In a few
seconds the man would be tied to
the board. and teetering started
Immediately, following the methy-
lene blue injection.
H. j. Henriques and I have
shown that lettering not only
produces artificial respiration, but
also considerable artificial circul-
lation of the blood.
The arterial blood would quick
" become saturated with the life
giving oxygen. Also, by means of
a mask held over the face, or per-
haps preferably with a rubber
tube put in the patients wind
pipe through the mouth, the pa
TENTS lungs would be supplied
with nearly pure oxygen. contain
ing about per cent carbon
dioxide.
PROFESSOR YANDELL HEN
Il DERSON of Yale university
found this mixture remarkably
effective in starting breathing in
newborn infants, or in other vic
TINS of aSphyxia. Such gas mix
ture is now used by most fire de-
partment inhalator squads.
The lettering and giving of
oxygen would continue several
minutes, with the board six to
eight seconds in each end-posi-
ton.
Although the blood is circulat-
ed. we find this method alone will
not start the heart Of dead
sheep or dead dog.
I1OMGNCl. Will q SJCNAAOoNOkNs VA
better. the very sensitive electro
cardiograph," we would watch for
the slightest sign of heart action.
Ringer. Sollman and others
showed fifty years ago that the
isolated heart, removed entirely
from the dead body. may be
started beating many hours after
death. Thus Langendorf started
the removed heart of child dead
from pneumonia, twenty-five
hours after the child'S death.
It appeared that starting OF
such heartbeats required not only
injection or saturation Of the
arteries Of the heart with prop
er fluid. but also production in
the hearts arteries of actual pres
sure at least equivalent to a
column of water fifteen to twen-
" inches high.
It is borne out in clinics that
when the arterial pressure Of a
patient falls below this point. the
heart stops in death. Soilman
was even able to produce several
beats in a heart by injecting its
(coronary) arteries with mercury
n quicksilver. the LIQUID metaD