Civil War Washington

Case at the Hospitals of Alexandria, Va.

CASE 74.—Private Jacob Evans, Co. E, 1st Del., was admitted Feb. 14, 1865, unconscious and in a condition of low delirium. In a few days opisthotonos came on, and he died on the 24th. Stimulating liniments and sinapisms were applied to the spine and extremities, while the head was kept cool. Post-mortem examination: The membranes of the brain were injected; lymph and pus were deposited from the medulla upwards to near the optic commissure; the brain-substance was cream-colored and softened; the lateral ventricles were filled with pus and serum, the choroid plexus of each opaque and pale and the wall of the posterior cornu softened; the third ventricle was distended with serum, the fourth with serum and pus. The spinal membranes were unaffected. The lower lobe of the right lung was dark-brown, soft, non-crepitant and heavier than water; the left lung was softened, its bronchial tubes injected. There was a slight effusion in the pericardial sac. The walls of the stomach were soft and white; the liver light-colored and cirrhosed; the spleen anæmic; the portal veins full; the colon distended with flatus.