Title: Nixon, John S.
Source text: The Medical and Surgical History of the War of the Rebellion. (1861-65.), Part 2, Volume 1 (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1879), 193.
Civil War Washington ID: med.d1e41442
TEI/XML: med.d1e41442.xml
Case from the case-book of the THIRD DIVISION of the ALEXANDRIA HOSPITAL, Surgeon Edwin Bentley, U. S. V., in charge:⃰
CASE 466.—Private John S. Nixon, company H, 59th New York volunteers; admitted October 29, 1862. Chronic diarrhœa. [The following entries with regard to this man appear on the register of the hospital of his regiment: December 25, 1861—diarrhœa; June 3, 1862—cold; June 17th—soreness in chest; June 26th—cough, and pain in the chest; June 27th—spitting blood; July 31st—night sweats; August 15th—sent to general hospital at Fortress Monroe.] The patient was admitted in a dying condition, having a loose stool every two hours. The discharges were dark, watery, bilious looking, and frequently involuntary. The pulse was scarcely perceptible at the wrist. Treatment: Stimulants, anodynes and astringents. Died, October 31st. Autopsy eight hours after death: Body extremely emaciated. The lungs were healthy. The pericardium contained four ounces of fluid. The gall-bladder was moderately filled with bile. The spleen was enlarged and softened. The intestines were distended with flatus, highly injected, and the mucous membrane softened. The bladder and kidneys were healthy.
⃰ It is to be regretted that, in most instances, the records of this hospital do not show by whom the autopsies were made. It is known that many of them were made by Surgeon Bentley himself, or under his immediate supervision, but it is only possible to distinguish these from the others in a few cases.
