Anomalies and Curiosities of MedicineGould, George M. (George Milbrey)
Science
Anomalies and Curiosities of Medicine
Gould, George M. (George Milbrey)
Abnormalities, Human; Medicine -- Anecdotes
Moritz gives the instance of a woman dying in pregnancy, undelivered,
who happened to be disinterred several days after burial. The body was
in an advanced state of decomposition, and a fetus was found in the
coffin. It was supposed that the pressure of gas in the mother's body
had forced the fetus from the uterus. Ostmann speaks of a woman
married five months, who was suddenly seized with rigors, headache, and
vomiting. For a week she continued to do her daily work, and in
addition was ill-treated by her husband. She died suddenly without
having any abdominal pain or any symptoms indicative of abortion. The
body was examined twenty-four hours after death and was seen to be
dark, discolored, and the abdomen distended. There was no sanguineous
discharge from the genitals, but at the time of raising the body to
place it in the coffin, a fetus, with the umbilical cord, escaped from
the vagina. There seemed to have been a rapid putrefaction in this
ease, generating enough pressure of gas to expel the fetus as well as
the uterus from the body. This at least is the view taken by Hoffman
and others in the solution of these strange cases.
Antepartum Crying of the Child.--There are on record fabulous cases of
children crying in the uterus during pregnancy, and all sorts of
unbelievable stories have been constructed from these reported
occurrences. Quite possible, however, and worthy of belief are the
cases in which the child has been heard to cry during the progress of
parturition--that is, during delivery. Jonston speaks of infants
crying in the womb, and attempts a scientific explanation of the fact.
He also quotes the following lines in reference to this subject:--
"Mirandum foetus nlaterna clausus in alvo Dicitur insuetos ore dedisse
sonos. Causa subest; doluit se angusta sede telleri Et cupiit magnae
cernere moliis opus. Aut quia quaerendi studio vis fessa parentum
Aucupii aptas innuit esse manus."
The Ephemerides gives examples of the child hiccoughing in the uterus.
Cases of crying before delivery, some in the vagina, some just before
the complete expulsion of the head from the os uteri, are very numerous
in the older writers; and it is quite possible that on auscultation of
the pregnant abdomen fetal sounds may have been exaggerated into cries.
Bartholinus, Borellus, Boyle, Buchner, Paullini, Mezger, Riolanus,
Lentillus, Marcellus Donatus, and Wolff all speak of children crying
before delivery; and Mazinus relates the instance of a puppy whose
feeble cries could be heard before expulsion from the bitch. Osiander
fully discusses the subject of infants crying during parturition.
McLean describes a case in which he positively states that a child
cried lustily in utero during application of the forceps. He compared
the sound as though from a voice in the cellar. This child was in the
uterus, not in the vagina, and continued the crying during the whole of
the five minutes occupied by delivery.
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