Civil War Washington

CASE 183.—Private Peter W. Backoven, Co. G, 8th N. Y. Cav.; age about 21; admitted Aug. 18, 1863; died 26th. Post-mortem examination: Body not much emaciated; rigor mortis great. The brain weighed fifty-one ounces and a half; the surface of the cerebellum was slightly red and the vessels of the pia mater filled with a purplish liquid; the interior of the brain was normal. The larynx and trachea were pale, the portions between the rings of a light purple hue. The œsophageal mucous membrane was pale gray in the upper part, becoming tawny or purplish further down, and considerably corrugated both longitudinally and transversely. The right lung weighed eleven ounces and a half, the left twelve ounces and a half; both were somewhat congested in their lower lobes. The heart was healthy, its right ventricle contained a fibrinous clot; the liquid of the pericardium was decidedly reddish in color and measured six drachms. The liver weighed fifty-seven ounces, its surface purple with a few scattered yellowish maculæ, its section paler than usual but firm; the mucous membrane of the stomach near the pylorus was somewhat marbled; the spleen, nineteen ounces and a half, was firm and of a chocolate color; the pancreas was normal. Peyer's patches in the lower part of the ileum were elevated, white and covered with small ulcerations, a few of the patches were congested; the large intestine was purple in its upper part, becoming paler towards the rectum. The kidneys were firm; on section a small quantity of venous blood flowed from the cut edges of the pyramids; the right supra-renal capsule was yellowish-white internally and did not contain the usual brown fluid; the left capsule was darker in color and contained a small quantity of brownish fluid.—Ass't Surg. Harrison Allen, U. S. A., Lincoln Hospital, Washington, D. C.