IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR ASCERTAINING THE PRESENCE AND DEGREE OR CESSATION OF VITALITY IN THE HUMAN BODY, AND IN ANIMALS OF THE HIGHER CLASS, APPLICABLE TO THE SEMEIOSIS OF HEALTH, DISEASE, AND DEATH
Year: 1861

page_text: ETTERS PATENT to Marc Antoine François Mennons, of the British
and Foreign Patent Offices, 39, Rue de l'Echiquier, Paris, in the Empire
of France, for the Invention of "IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR ASCERTAINING
THE PRESENCE AND DEGREE OR CESSATION OF VITALITY IN THE HUMAN BODY,
AND IN ANIMALS OF THE HIGHER CLASS, APPLICABLE TO THE SEMEIOSIS OF
HEALTH, DISEASE, AND DEATH."-A communication from Léon Victor
Collongues (M. D.), residing at No. 72, Grande Rue, Passy-les-Paris,
in the Empire of France.
Sealed the 16th April 1862, and dated the 26th October 1861.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said Marc Antoine François
Mennons at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition and Declaration, on the 26th October 1861, pursuant to the
9th Section of the Patent Law Amendment Act, 1852.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, MARO
ANTOINE FRANÇOIS MENNONS, of the British and Foreign Patent Offices,
39, Rue de l'Echiquier, Paris, in the Empire of France, send greeting.
WHEREAS I am in possession of an Invention for "IMPROVED APPARATUS
POR ASCERTAINING THE PRESENCE AND DEGREE OR CESSATION OF VITALITY IN THE
HUMAN BODY, AND IN ANIMALS OF THE HIGHER CLASS, APPLICABLE TO THE SEMEIOSIS
OF HEALTH, DISEASE, AND DEATH," communicated to me by Léon Victor Collon-
gues (M. D.), a person resident at Passy-les-Paris, in France, and have

page_text: petitioned Her Majesty to grant unto me, my executors administrators, and
assigns, Her Royal Letters Patent for the same, and have made solemn
declaration that it is a communication.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Marc Antoine François Mennons, do
hereby declare that the following Complete Specification under my hand and
seal, fully describes and ascertains the nature of the Invention, and the manner
in which the same is to be performed, reference being had to the Figures
of the accompanying, Drawing, and to the letters marked thereon, that is
to say:-
The Invention communicated to me consists in a novel combination of
acoustic instruments, by aid of which the variable degrees of animal vitality in
health or disease may be translated into signs of known value, and. by which
the transition from life to death may be verified with absolute certainty.
This application of acoustics, to which the Inventor has given the name of
"dynamoscopy," reposes on the theory that the degree of vital energy in
animated beings is in direct ratio to the rapidity, intensity, and number of the
vibrations of the nervous system. In following out this theory, a continued
series of observations led to the discovery of the fact that the murmuring
sounds perceived in auscultating the extremities and other parts of the animal
frame are in reality due to the vibration of the nerves, contrarily to the
opinions of Wollaston, Ermann, Laennec, and other physiologists, by whom
they have been diversely attributed to muscular action, or to spasmodic con-
tractions of the heart and arteries. A further course of experiments practised
on a large variety of human subjects, and on animals of the higher order
resulted in proving, 1stly, that the murmuring sounds produced by these
nervous vibrations possess all the characters of musical notes; 2dly, that the
variations in the degree of vital energy in the different phases of health or
disease, give rise to corresponding changes in the notes emitted, which
ascend and descend in perfect unison with those of the musical scale; 3dly,
that at the approach of dissolution, these notes after passing through the suc-
cessive gradations of the scale, become imperceptible at the extremities of the
body, from whence they retreat towards the centre, where they may in most
cases still be perceived for several hours after the suppression of the respira-
tion, and of the pulsations of the heart; 4thly, that in synocope, catalepsis,
and other forms of apparent death, these notes not only remain perceptible
so long as a trace of vitality exists, but differ essentially in character from
those of the real post-mortem murmur. These general indications obtained, it
became necessary to discover a practical means of applying them with cer-
tainty to the study of the animal economy. To this end advantage was taken

page_text: of the known principle in acoustics, that each note of the diapason executes
a given number of vibrations per second, from whence the induction that the
notes emanating from the animal body should represent a number of
nervous vibrations coinciding exactly with their position in the musical
scale; that thus, in obtaining the accord between the sound emitted by the
body and that of a diapason, the vibrations of the note chimed by the latter
should precisely correspond in number with those of the nervous system. The
accuracy of this induction being verified by actual experiment, the discovery
has been completed by, the combination of apparatus hereafter described, by
aid of which the nervous vibrations corresponding with the different degrees
of vitality, may be rendered distinctly perceptible to the ear, and numerically
estimated by comparison with notes of known value.
Figures 1, 2, represent two steel diapasons, the first sounding from si-, :
=60 vibrations per second to fa-₁ =85 vibrations, and the second from
do 2:32 vibrations, to sol-2: =48 vibrations. These diapasons are each
composed of a fork with double branches A, A, fitted with metallic slides
B, B, which are adjusted to the required note by means of the pressure
screws C, C; D is a threaded rod forming the lower extremity of each instru-
ment, and which, after having traversed the two caoutchouc discs E, G, and
the cork conductor F, screws into the wooden or metallic support H. The
branches of the diapasons thus arranged are graduated by any of the known
acoustic processes, to the points at which the slides should be adjusted
for the production of the different notes of the scale. The notes sounded
1 the two instruments above described, are.-
of the known principle in acoustics, that each note of the diapason executes
a given number of vibrations per second, from whence the induction that the
number of
notes emanating from the animal body should represent a
nervous vibrations coinciding exactly with their position in the musical
scale; that thus, in obtaining the accord between the sound emitted by the
body and that of a diapason, the vibrations of the note chimed by the latter
should precisely correspond in number with those of the nervous system. The
accuracy of this induction being verified by actual experiment, the discovery
has been completed by. the combination of apparatus hereafter described, by
aid of which the nervous vibrations corresponding with the different degrees
of vitality, may be rendered distinctly perceptible to the ear, and numerically
estimated by comparison with notes of known value.
Figures 1, 2, represent two steel diapasons, the first sounding from si-, :
=60 vibrations per second to fa-₁ =85 vibrations, and the second from
do-: 32 vibrations, to sol-: =48 vibrations. These diapasons are each
composed of a fork with double branches A, A, fitted with metallic slides
B, B, which are adjusted to the required note by means of the pressure
screws C, C; D is a threaded rod forming the lower extremity of each instru-
ment, and which, after having traversed the two caoutchouc discs E, G, and
the cork conductor F, screws into the wooden or metallic support H. The
branches of the diapasons thus arranged are graduated by any of the known
acoustic processes, to the points at which the slides should be adjusted
for the production of the different notes of the scale. The notes sounded
ustruments above described, are.-
No. 1. With slides.
No. 2. With slides.
do 2: 32 vibrations per second.
si
60 vibrations per second.
do
64
do.
do.
"
re-2=36
do.
do..
"
re=72
do.
do.
mi-2=40
do.
do.
"
39
mi: =80
do.
do.
fa - =42
do.
do.
"
"
fa -1: =85
do.
do.
sol=48
do.
do.
"
"
Without slides.
Without slides.
fa 88 vibrations per second. la 53 vibrations per second.
Figures 3, 4, represent two other diapasons producing a series of lower
Tender to add to the clearness of

page_text: No. 3. With slides.
-
do s. 16 vibrations per second.
No. 4. With slides.
-
do 48 vibrations per second.
-
mi
re
-
=18 do.
do.
re
وو
-
=20-
do.
do.
mi
"
3°
=21
do.
do.
fa
دو
3
=24 do.
do.
sol
"
do.
do.
fa
sol
-
Ja --=26
si
Without slides.
=30 vibrations per second. la
-
-
-
= 9 do.
do.
"
4'
=10 do.
do.
-
=10
do.
do.
."
=12
do.
do.
'
Without slides.
=12 vibrations per second.
Figure 5 represents a sound conducting apparatus, termed by the Inventor
the "dynamoscope," by means of which the notes emanating from the nervous
system are rendered sufficiently perceptible to the ear to be accurately com-
pared with those emitted by the diapasons above described. This apparatus,
the form of which may vary according to its intended application, is (for the
human subject) generally composed of a solid rod I, in metal, ivory, cork, or
other suitable conducting matter, provided at one extremity with an ear piece J,
and at the other by a cylinder or finger piece K. These extremities J & K
are screwed to the rod I, and may be replaced at will by pieces of different
forms and dimensions, according to the size and conformation of the ear
passage of the operator, or of the fingers of the subject to be examined.
Figures 6, 7, 8, represent in detail the separate parts of the apparatus, with
different sized finger pieces for children and adults. In the auscultation of
plane surfaces these finger pieces may in most cases be advantageously replaced
by massive extremities of similar form.
The "dynamoscope" just described being set by its finger piece K (as seen
in the dotted lines Figs. 2, 3,) on the conductor F of one of the diapasons, the
latter is sounded by striking the branches A, A. The operator then adjusts in
his ear the extremity J of the dynamoscope, and having observed and retained
either by voice or memory the note produced changes the instrument from the
diapason to the finger of the subject to be examined. The ear being applied
as before, the note proceeding from the nervous vibrations is compared with
that just chimed by the diapason. Should the notes thus compared be found
in unison, the numerical value of the nervous vibrations, and consequently the
degree of vitality possessed by the subject, is at once ascertained by simple
reference to the acoustic scale. Should it, on the other hand, be found that

page_text: a discordance exists between the two notes, the slides of the diapason are
raised or lowered, as the case may be, or again, one diapason is substituted to
another until perfect unison is obtained. Thus, for instance, in supposing the
digital note to accord with the re-1: (diapason No. 1) the known value of
which is 72 vibrations per second, representing an equal number of vibrations
of the nerves, it may be inferred that a high degree of vital energy is possessed
by the individual, that number of vibrations having been found to correspond
with the maximum of health. Or again, in the opposite extreme, in supposing
the digital note to accord with the do-: (diapason No. 4), the known value
of which is 8 vibrations per second, it follows that the stamina of the patient
are at the lowest ebb, that number of vibrations having been proved to corre-
spond with the final stage of disease. These examples are only stated to aid
the comprehension of the modus operandi, and will be completed further on
by tables indicating the semeiotical value of the different notes. It should
here be remarked, that after a certain amount of study the practitioner may
dispense with the diapasons, and trust entirely to the ear for the correct
estimation of the sounds refracted by the dynamoscope. At the outset the
direct comparison of the vital notes with those of the diapasons is absolutely
indispensable, commencing with the instruments Nos. 1, 2, by which the
clearest sounds are produced, and gradually extending the experiments to the
Nos. 3, 4, on reaching which the ear will be found to have acquired the
power of ascertaining the presence and value of the most distant murmurs of
In the practise of dynamoscopy on the human su
15 Strictly necessary
to commence by the examination and comparison of the sounds emanating
from the extremities of each hand, the local auscultation, when required, being
afterwards proceeded with.
In every case the patient should be placed in such a position as to allay, as
far as possible, the muscular contractions of the member or surface to be
examined, and in short, care should be taken to avoid the intervention of all
vibrations other than those of the auscultated parts, especially in extreme cases
when the higher and more clearly defined notes are no longer perceptible.
As it would be impossible in the limits of the present Specification to
enumerate the dynamoscopical signs and gradations of tone peculiar to each
class and stage of disease, I purpose confining myself to a detail of the primary
indications, as obtained from the digital extremities, and which will serve as
'
key to all the rest.

page_text: cate slight disease.
serious but curable disease.
more serious disease than at fa-:
more serious disease than at la-3:
more serious disease than at fa-3:
more serious disease than at la-:

page_text: As at first sight these tables might appear more complicated than they
really are, I reproduce them in a condensed form, as shewn by the following
Diagram, which may be assimilated to a reversed thermometrical scale:-

page_text: As will be seen, the preceding scale starting at the point marked +, from
the re- on both sides, (72 vibras per second = "perfect health")
descends progressively to 18° (1° above zero) corresponding with the re-
=72 vib. on one side, and re-:=8 vib. on the other, which in the large
majority of cases indicate the lowest amount of vitality consistent with any
degree whatever of bodily health.
At corresponding with re-₁ =72 vib. on one side, and la-, =53,
vib. on the other commence the indications of positive disease, which assumes
a more and more serious aspect in descending the scale towards O-5° (re-1
=72, vib. on one side, and fa-4=10 vib. or four octaves below, on the other..
Beyond this point the decreasing value of the notes progresses in direct
ratio with the increase of the morbid symptoms. A little later they subdivide
into th, th, th, &c., &c., and finally sink into an undefined murmur,
denoting the immediate approach of dissolution.
The gradations of sound from the outset of disease to its close, will be more
clearly exemplified by the following memoranda of a few well characterised
cases extracted from the author's note book.

page_text: 1st day re-,
C. CEREBRAL FEVER.
36, on right side, and re-, 36, on left.
2d do. re-,
36,
do.
"
la-26,
do..
3d do. sol-
48,
do.
32
re-, 36, do.
4th do. re-
36,
do.
"
re-, 18, do.
5th do. re-,
18,
do.
"
6th do. re-,
36,
do.
"
7th do. fa-
21,
do.
"
8th do. la-s:
26,
do.
"
la 10, do.
re-36, do.
fa-21,
la- 26, do.
do.
9th do. re-
10th do. do-:
8,
8,
do.
"
fa-10,
do.
do.
he
11th do. no perceptible notes do.
„ do- : 8, do.
دو
Evening of same day = Death.
undulating murmur
The foregoing details of the primary signs obtained from the digital
auscultation, may as before stated be adopted as standard, by aid of which
the practitioner may assign a definite value to the intermediate indications
observed in the different species and stages of disease. From these elements
may, after a little experience, compose a series of auxiliary scales, divided
to correspond with these intermediate signs, and forming dynamoscopical
tables by reference to which any default of memory may be supplied. It should
however be remarked that the general characters of the vital notes are to
some extent modified by the age, sex, and idiosyncrasy of the individual, as
also by certain abnormal influences. These varieties which leave unchanged
the semeiotic value of the nervous vibrations may be briefly resumed as
follows:-
Senile Notes. Strong, hard, sonorous, and uniform.
Male Adult, do.-Strong, soft, full, and uniform.
Female Adult, do.--Soft, mellow, low, uniform, changing during pregnancy
o hard, strong, and irregular.
Infantine Notes.-Thin, deep, filiform, soft, and regular.
During Sleep. The vital notes are always softer and less perceptible than
n the waking state.
During Anaesthesia.-The notes become irregular at the commencement,
nd tremulous in the more advanced stages.
During Surgical Operations.-They run through the different gradations of
one with extraordinary rapidity, and in extreme cases become intermittent,
nd almost imperceptible, assuming all the characters of the notes observed
the advanced stages of the most fatal diseases.

page_text: Under the Influence of Electricity. The perturbations of sound
more distinctly marked. The full, soft, and uniform notes become strong,
hard, and rolling, and continue so for a certain length of time after the ter-
mination of the experiment.
As a general rule these phenomena are confined to the portions of the body 5
comprised in the circuit of the current.
The general laws of observation above enumerated are found to apply with
but few exceptions to the examination of all animals of the higher class, the
only essential difference hitherto noted being that in certain cases the post
mortem vibrations disappear much more rapidly than from the human 1
subject. The dynamoscope employed should be fitted with a massive
extremity, and may be applied to any part of the body.
Having thus explained the rationale and practise of dynamoscopy as
applied to the semeiosis of health and disease, I will now describe, in con-
clusion, its application to the distinction of real from apparent death. It is an
acknowledged fact that in the generality of cases conclusive proof of dissolution
can only be obtained from the reunion of a variety of signs, including sus-
pension of respiration, and pulsation of the heart; relaxation of the sphincters,
depression of the eye, and opacity of the cornea; rigidity of the body, and,
finally, decomposition. With the exception of the last, none of those signs
taken alone can be depended on as absolute proof of death, even when sup-
ported by the negative result of secondary tests, such as the application of
electricity, actual cautery, &c., &c. In certain cases of syncope, for instance,
the large majority of these indications may frequently be observed. In Asiatic
cholera and other rapid disorders the depression and opalescence of the
often found to accompany the final stages of the disease; and, lastly, examples
of catalepsy have occurred in which the absence of decomposition constituted
the only available proof of vitality in presence of the several counter-indi-
cations above enumerated. The existence and gradual suppression of the
nervous vibrations in different parts of the body revealed by the dynamoscope
during the first few hours which follow decease, afford an infallible means of
tracing the latent vitality to its extremest limits. As before stated, the digital
notes of the patient "in articulo mortis" subside into an undulating murmur,
which in most cases remains more or less perceptible until death supervenes.
eye
is
Immediately after all sound disappears from the extremities of the body,
but on applying the dynamoscope to the neck, the wrists, and the upper part
of the feet, it is found to exist in the form of a sharply-defined continuous
murmur. From thence the sound gradually recedes towards the centre of the
body till it reaches the precordial 'regious where it settles down, becomes inter-

page_text: mittent and tremulous, and finally disappears. The time which elapses
between the actual cessation of life and that of the nervous vibrations varies
according to the locality and the nature of the disease or lesion by which
death is caused. In several cases observed in the south of France, the pre-
cordial murmurs were distinctly perceptible up to the sixteenth hour after
death; but in Paris ten hours has been the maximum period hitherto noted.
In a recent case of apoplexy they were remarked to have ceased almost
instantaneously throughout the whole body, the most careful auscultation
having failed to detect even the precordial murmur within twenty minutes
after the attack.
In syncope, or in cases of apparent death resulting from asphyxia, catalepsy,
hysteria, &c., &c., the digital murmur continues to be perceptible so long as a
trace of life remains; while the notes observed in approaching the centre of
the body present a certain character of organic vitality of which the real post
mortem vibrations are entirely divested. In one remarkable instance observed
at the hospital of Montpellier, the patient after passing through the various
stages of a scorbutic disease fell into a state of profound catalepsy, which was
so far mistaken for absolute death that the body was laid aside for interment.
Some hours later an accidental circumstance led to a dynamoscopical
examination, which resulted in proving the existence of the digital vibrations
accompanied by a crepitating sound, which is only perceived in the living
subject. The means of resuscitation usual in such cases were at once applied,
but without apparent success, although the increasing intensity of the vibrations
observed from hour to hour denoted a gradual return of vitality, till at last
after the thirty-sixth hour the patient suddenly awoke from the cataleptic
state, and after a brief period of delirium came completely to himself. Fifteen
days later he was discharged from the hospital in perfect health. The same
results were obtained in four other cases of a similar character which have
fallen under the author's notice, the difference between the vital and post
mortem vibrations being in each instance distinctly marked. Although the
fact may be of little practical importance, it may here be observed that the
retreat of vitality from amputated members is accompanied by the same pheno-
mena as the general extinction of life. Immediately after the operation the
well-defined notes previously perceived at the extremities of the member
subside into a murmur similar to that observed at the approach of general
dissolution, and gradually recede from the periphery to the centre, where they
die away within from ten to fifteen minutes. In all those experiments on
inert bodies the auscultation should, when practicable, be performed with a
dynamoscope of cork, or other matter less liable than metal to refract the

page_text: vibrations of surrounding objects. In certain extreme cases the subcutaneous
tissue may be laid open, and the instrument applied directly upon it, by which
means the vital murmur may sometimes be detected after having become
imperceptible at the surface.
Having now described and ascertained the nature of the said Invention,
and the manner of carrying it into effect, I would have it understood that I
do not confine myself to the precise mechanical details of the dynamoscopical
instruments so long as their principles and characteristic features be retained.
By what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is, the improved
combination of acoustic apparatus, substantially as herein set forth and repre-
sented in the annexed Drawing, by means of which, applied as above described,
the presence and degree or cessation of vitality in the human body, and in
animals of the upper scale, may be ascertained and translated into signs of
known value.
In witness whereof, I, the said Marc Antoine François Mennons,
have hereto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-fourth day of
October, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and
sixty-one.