Premature Burial and How It May Be PreventedTebb, William
Science
Premature Burial and How It May Be Prevented
Tebb, William
Burial, Premature
“On the 13th of July, 1829, about two p.m., near the Pont des Arts,
Paris, a body, which appeared lifeless, was taken out of the river.
It was that of a young man, twenty years of age, dark-complexioned,
and strongly built. The corpse was discoloured and cold; the face and
lips swollen and tinged with blue; a thick and yellowish froth exuded
from the mouth; the eyes were open, fixed, and motionless; the limbs
limp and drooping. _No pulsation of the heart nor trace of respiration
was perceptible._ The body had remained under water for a considerable
time; the search for it, made in Dr. Bourgeois’s presence, lasted
fully twenty minutes. That gentleman did not hesitate to incur the
derision of the lookers-on by proceeding to attempt the resuscitation
of what, in their eyes, was a mere lump of clay. Nevertheless, several
hours afterwards, the supposed corpse was restored to life, thanks to
the obstinate perseverance of the doctor, who, although a strong man
and enjoying robust health, was several times on the point of losing
courage and abandoning the patient in despair. But what would have
happened if Dr. Bourgeois, instead of persistently remaining stooping
over the inanimate body, with watchful eye and _attentive ear_, to
catch the first rustling of the heart, had left the drowned man, after
half an hour’s fruitless endeavour, as often happens? The unfortunate
man would have been laid in the grave, _although capable of restoration
to life_!”
To this case, Dr. Bourgeois, in the “Archives de Medecine,” adds
others, in which individuals remained under water as long as SIX HOURS,
and were recalled to life by efforts which a weaker conviction than his
own would have refrained from making. These facts lead Dr. Londe to the
conclusion that, _every day, drowned individuals are buried, who, with
greater perseverance, might be restored to life_!
The following case in point appears in the _Sunnyside_, New York,
communicated by J. W. Green, M.D.:--
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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