Title: Cooper, Abraham J.

Source text: The Medical and Surgical History of the War of the Rebellion, Part 3, Volume 1 (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1888), 348-349.

Keywords:post-mortem recordscontinued feverstypho-malarial feverentered as typho-malarial with or without a record of symptoms to substantiate the diagnosiscondition of Peyer's patches not stated, the intestines variously affectedtyphoid feverremittent feverdeafness, abdomen tympanitic, sordes on teeth, gums and lipsmesenteric glands enormously enlargedkidneys full of blood, pyramids of dark-red color

Civil War Washington ID: med.d1e7182

TEI/XML: med.d1e7182.xml


CASE 79.—Private Abraham J. Cooper, Co. A, 186th N. Y.; age 20; admitted Nov. 30, 1864; typhoid fever. [The diagnosis at the Ninth Army Corps Field Hospital, on the 24th, was typho-malarial fever, and at the Depot Field Hospital, City Point, Va., on the 26th, remittent fever.] Symptoms on admission: Pulse varying from 90 to 110, feeble and thready; skin hot and dry; tongue dry, extremely red and gashed; teeth, gums and lips incrusted​ with sordes; deafness; stupor; low delirium. When undisturbed he lay with his eyes half closed muttering broken and unconnected sentences; when aroused he had a vacant expression and was unable to answer correctly. During the first twenty-four hours after admission he had four passages from the bowels; the abdomen was tympanitic, very tender over the small intestine and cæcum, and marked with a few petechiæ and sudamina. Turpentine emulsion, laudanum and milk-punch were administered. Next day there was a slight improvement: The pulse became somewhat stronger, the tongue less tremulous and protruded with more ease; the patient was able to answer a few questions correctly, but the abdominal symptoms continued and there was some epistaxis. On December 2 the pulse became somewhat stronger and less frequent, the tongue quite moist, the sordes partially removed and the diarrhœa checked; but at 9 P. M. the diarrhœa returned, several involuntary stools were passed and the patient fell into a stupor from which he never aroused. He died at 3 A. M. of the 3d. Post-mortem examination eight hours after death: Lungs crepitant throughout; liver pale, with well marked nutmeg appearance; spleen of full size and softened; kidneys full of blood, the pyramids of a dark-red color; mesenteric glands enormously enlarged; colon pale and without ulceration; ileum injected.—Act. Ass't Surg. W. C. Minor, Third Division Hospital, Alexandria, Va.