=Abdominal Fermentation.=—Abdominal fermentation is putrefactive fermentation as it effects the tissues and necrotic substances of the abdominal cavity itself (excepting the digestive organs), caused by the action of zymogenic bacteria. Perforations of the intestines or appendix, inflammation of the mesentery or peritoneum, may allow putrid material to escape into the cavity proper, where bacterial action will produce noxious gases. You will recognize a condition of this kind by the following illustration: As soon as the point of the trocar has penetrated the peritoneum and the rod has been withdrawn, there will be an escape of gas. This escape is due to the internal pressure being greater than the atmosphere pressure. This explains the swollen condition of the abdominal wall and its subsequent relaxation as the gas is allowed to escape. Certain diseases predispose to abdominal fermentation as inflammatory diseases which effect the peritoneal covering of the organs, and cause a swollen abdominal wall after death. _Treatment._—In the treatment of these cases it is always advisable that the operator be familiar with the location of the disease, so that direct trocar application can be made to the affected part. The location of the affected part is not always the same, as it varies with the location of the particular tissue or organ affected. In appendicitis, where death has occurred without surgical attempts to remove the appendix, the operator should spray the right inguinal space with enough fluid to neutralize the cause of the gas. Where the cause of death has been typhoid, the umbilical, hypogastric and epigastric spaces should be sprayed. Where the cause of death is puerperal fever, the right and left inguinal and hypogastric spaces should be sprayed. The gas itself, will be eliminated from the cavity of the body by simply inserting the trocar and allowing the gas to escape until the internal pressure approximates that of the atmospheric pressure. This though does not prevent the reformation of gas, as the origin of the gas is the living and growing fermentative and putrefactive bacteria. To prevent a recurrence the bacteria must be killed, and this is done by spraying a germicidal fluid around the affected part. Abdominal fermentation and gas is much easier to treat than gastric or intestinal fermentation. =Gastric Fermentation.=—This is recognized by a frothy coffee colored purge from the mouth or nose caused by pressure in the stomach, due to putrefactive bacteria, and their action on proteid food substances which are present in the stomach. Where the cause of death has been principally from inflammatory processes, or where the deceased has died shortly after eating a full meal, this condition must be looked forward to. The swollen condition directly over the stomach is another visible sign of value in diagnosing the condition.