Anomalies and Curiosities of MedicineGould, George M. (George Milbrey)
Science
Anomalies and Curiosities of Medicine
Gould, George M. (George Milbrey)
Abnormalities, Human; Medicine -- Anecdotes
Harris relates several interesting examples. In Peru in 1794 a Sambi
woman was killed by lightning, and the next day the abdomen was opened
by official command and a living child was extracted. The Princess von
Swartzenberg, who was burned to death at a ball in Paris in 1810, was
said to have had a living child removed from her body the next day.
Like all similar instances, this was proved to be false, as her body
was burned beyond the possibility of recognition, and, besides, she was
only four months pregnant. Harris mentions another case of a young
woman who threw herself from the Pont Neuf into the Seine. Her body was
recovered, and a surgeon who was present seized a knife from a butcher
standing by and extracted a living child in the presence of the curious
spectators. Campbell discusses this subject most thoroughly, though he
advances no new opinions upon it.
Duer tabulates the successful results of a number of cases of Cesarean
section after death as follows:--
Children extracted
between 1 and 5 minutes after death of the mother, 21
" " 10 and 15 " " " " " " 13
" " 15 and 30 " " " " " " 2
" " 1 hour " " " " " " 2
" " 2 hours " " " " " " 2
Garezky of St. Petersburg collected reports of 379 cases of Cesarean
section after death with the following results: 308 were extracted
dead; 37 showed signs of life; 34 were born alive. Of the 34, only 5
lived for any length of time. He concludes that if extracted within
five or six minutes after death, they may be born alive; if from six to
ten minutes, they may still be born alive, though asphyxiated; if from
ten to twenty-six minutes, they will be highly asphyxiated. In a great
number of these cases the infant was asphyxiated or dead in one minute.
Of course, if the death is sudden, as by apoplexy, accident, or
suicide, the child's chances are better. These statistics seem
conscientious and reliable, and we are safe in taking them as
indicative of the usual result, which discountenances the old reports
of death as taking place some time before extraction.
Peuch is credited with statistics showing that in 453 operations 101
children gave signs of life, but only 45 survived.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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