Civil War Washington

CASE 41.—Private Benjamin Tice, Co. E, 13th N. J.; age 24; was admitted Oct. 29, 1862, with diarrhœa, iliac tenderness, nervous disorder and four taches rouges; the skin was hot and dry, pulse frequent but not very feeble, tongue coated with dark fur; there was also a slight cough, accompanied by very little pain in the chest but with most distressing dyspnœa and almost complete aphonia; the chest was resonant on percussion. Small doses of blue mass, opium and ipecacuanha seemed to relieve the chest symptoms and check the diarrhœa. Later, dulness​ on percussion was noted over the lower portion of the right lung. Dry cups were applied and stimulants administered. After this the pulse became more frequent and feeble, the tongue fissured, the teeth and gums covered with sordes, diarrhœa profuse and tympanites extreme. He died November 6. Post-mortem examination: The heart was healthy; the left lung extensively congested; the middle and lower lobes of the right lung hepatized. The omentum was engorged with dark blood; the liver and spleen enlarged; the mucous membrane of the stomach slightly reddened; the duodenal glands much enlarged; the lower part of the ileum ulcerated in eight large patches. The large intestine was not examined. The kidneys were healthy.—Third Division Hospital, Alexandria, Va.