Civil War Washington

CASE 139.—Private Nathan Upton, Co. B, 1st D. C. Cav.; age 32; was admitted Sept. 6, 1863, with typhoid fever, and died on the 19th. Post-mortem examination eight hours after death: Rigor mortis well marked. The brain substance was healthy; the pia mater slightly congested; half a drachm of fluid was found in the ventricles. The right lung weighed twenty-four ounces, the left fifteen ounces; the lower lobes of both were much congested. The right auricle of the heart contained a venous clot which extended into the ventricle; the left auricle contained a small fibrinous clot; the pericardium was everywhere firmly attached to the heart, so that its separation was almost impossible without tearing the muscular tissue. The liver was healthy; the gall-bladder contained three ounces of a thin straw-colored liquid; the spleen was firm and dark purple on section, weight thirteen ounces and a half. The mucous membrane of the stomach was congested. The small intestine was healthy in its upper portion, but in its lower part the solitary glands were enlarged and Peyer's patches ulcerated. The large intestine was healthy. The kidneys were congested; weight of right six ounces and a half, of left seven ounces.—Ass't Surg. Harrison Allen, U. S. A., Lincoln Hospital, Washington, D. C.