Cook, John Parsons, -1855; Palmer, William, 1824-1856 -- Trials, litigation, etc.; Trials (Murder) -- England -- London
Mr. ROBERT EDWARD GAY, examined by Mr. SERJEANT SHEE--I am a member of
the Royal College of Surgeons. In 1855 I attended a person named Foster
suffering under tetanus. He had an inflammatory sore throat, muscular
pains in the neck and the upper portion of the spinal vertebræ. He was
feverish, and had the usual symptoms attending catarrh. On about the
fourth day the muscular pains extended to the face. A difficulty of
swallowing came on, the pains in the muscles covering the spinal
vertebræ and in those of the lower jaw increased. In the evening of that
day the jaw became completely locked; the pain came on in the muscles of
the bowels, the same in the legs and the arms. He became very much
convulsed throughout the entire muscular system. He had frequent and
violent convulsions of the arms and hands, and afterwards of the legs.
The difficulty of swallowing increased up to the ninth or tenth day. Not
a particle of food, either solid or liquid, could be taken or introduced
to the mouth. An attempt to swallow the smallest portion brought on the
most violent convulsions. The convulsions were so strong throughout the
whole system that I could compare him to nothing more than a piece of
warped board in shape. The head was drawn back, the abdomen was forced
forward, and the legs were frequently drawn upwards and backwards. The
attempt of feeding with the spoon, the opening of the window, or placing
the fingers on the pulse frequently brought on violent convulsions. He
complained of great hunger. He was able to speak. He repeatedly cried
out he was very hungry, what would he do if he could not eat? and he was
kept alive till the fourteenth day by injections of a nutritive
character. He screamed during these convulsions, and the noises he made
were more like those of a dying man. About the twelfth day he became
insensible. The convulsions, although very weak, continued till the
fourteenth day, when he died. He was by business an omnibus conductor.
He had been ill some few days--it might be a week. He had no other hurt
or injury to his person of any kind which would account for these
symptoms. His body was not examined after death.
By LORD CAMPBELL--What do you call the disease?--I call it inflammatory
sore throat from cold and exposure to the weather. The symptoms became
tetanic in consequence of an extremely nervous and anxious disposition.
He had a very large family, and was a very hard-working man. I did not
hear the evidence of the witnesses who described the symptoms of Mr.
Cook.
Cross-examined by the ATTORNEY-GENERAL--That is what you call idiopathic
tetanus?--Yes, decidedly so. I have had a vast number of cases of
inflammatory sore throats and a great many anxious, nervous patients.
That is the only case I have ever seen of idiopathic tetanus.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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