CHAPTER XIII.

OF THE INFLUENCE OF THE DEATH OF THE BRAIN OVER THAT OF THE BODY IN GENERAL.

From the consideration of what has been said in the preceding chapter, nothing can be more easy than to form an accurate idea of the manner in which the phenomena of general death, commencing by the brain, are concatenated. The series is as follows:

1st, The cerebral action is annihilated. 2dly, There is a sudden cessation of sensation and voluntary motion. 3dly, A simultaneous paralysis of the intercostals and diaphragm. 4thly, An interruption of the mechanical phenomena of respiration and the voice. 5thly, An annihilation of the chemical phenomena of the lungs. 6thly, A passage of black blood into the arteries. 7thly, A slowness of circulation owing to the influx of such blood into the arteries, and the absolute immobility of all the parts, of the intercostals and diaphragm in particular. 8thly, The heart dies and the general circulation ceases. 9thly, The organic life vanishes. 10thly, The animal heat, which is the product of all the functions, disappears, 11thly, The white organs die.

Though in this kind of death, as well as in the two preceding kinds, the functions are suddenly annihilated; the parts retain, for a certain time, a number of the properties of life. The organic sensibility and contractility, continue for some time, to be manifest in the muscles of the two lives; and in those of the animal life, the susceptibility of being affected by the galvanic fluid is very great in the muscles of the animal life.

This permanence of the organic properties, is nearly the same in every case; the only cause which affects it, is the slowness with which the phenomena of death have succeeded each other. In every case where their duration has been the same, whatever may have been the cause of death, experiments instituted upon these properties, are attended with similar results; for it is evident that concussion of the brain, luxation of the vertebræ, the section of the spinal marrow, apoplexy, compression of the brain, or inflammation, are all of them causes which are attended with a like effect.

The same, however, is not the case with respect to the asphyxiæ produced by the different gases. We have shown the reason of this in the more or less deleterious nature of the gases which produce asphyxiæ.

The state of the lungs also, is very various in the bodies of persons who have died from lesions of the brain. This organ is sometimes gorged and sometimes almost empty: it shews, however, whether the death of the individual has been sudden or gradual. The same indication may be had from the state of the exterior surfaces.

The death, which is the consequence of disease, commences much more rarely in the brain, than in the lungs. Nevertheless, in certain paroxysms of acute fever, the blood is violently carried to the head, and is the occasion of death. The concatenation of its phenomena, are then the same as take place in sudden death.

There are a great number of other cases besides those of fever, where the commencement of death may be in the brain, though the brain itself may not have been previously affected by the disease. In these cases, the state of the lungs is very various; but little can be learnt from it with respect to the nature of the disease. It is only an indication of the manner in which the functions have been terminated.

TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE

Footnote [28] is referenced from Footnote [27] not from the text itself. Footnote [101] is referenced from Footnote [100]. Footnote [108] is referenced from Footnote [107].

Obvious typographical errors and punctuation errors have been corrected after careful comparison with other occurrences within the text and consultation of external sources.

Except for those changes noted below, all misspellings in the text, and inconsistent or archaic usage, have been retained. For example, air-cells, air cells; economy, œconomy; no-wise, nowise, no wise; errors, errours; mechanicians; contractility; hemorrhagy; hebetate.

In the main text: Pg 17, ‘not of the mattter’ replaced by ‘not of the matter’. Pg 20, ‘its accessaries’ replaced by ‘its accessories’. Pg 25, ‘TH TWO LIVES’ replaced by ‘THE TWO LIVES’. Pg 33, ‘make a differerence’ replaced by ‘make a difference’. Pg 36, ‘at the expence’ replaced by ‘at the expense’. Pg 58, ‘nearly analagous’ replaced by ‘nearly analogous’. Pg 59, ‘sudden alteratian’ replaced by ‘sudden alteration’. Pg 69, ‘whick Authors’ replaced by ‘which Authors’. Pg 79, ‘it is succeptible’ replaced by ‘it is susceptible’. Pg 144, ‘at utterence’ replaced by ‘at utterance’. Pg 149, ‘then the nutrive’ replaced by ‘then the nutritive’. Pg 173, ‘physiolgist. Now’ replaced by ‘physiologist. Now’. Pg 173, ‘is ther esult’ replaced by ‘is the result’. Pg 176, ‘the body ensuses’ replaced by ‘the body ensues’. Pg 196, ‘which its practicles’ replaced by ‘which its particles’. Pg 213, ‘cut the treachea’ replaced by ‘cut the trachea’. Pg 235, ‘is propogated from’ replaced by ‘is propagated from’. Pg 236, ‘Ex-riments upon’ replaced by ‘Experiments upon’. Pg 240, ‘to the concominant’ replaced by ‘to the concomitant’. Pg 248, ‘the venons system’ replaced by ‘the venous system’. Pg 252, ‘when the functious’ replaced by ‘when the functious’. Pg 258, ‘swells and cantracts’ replaced by ‘swells and contracts’. Pg 259, ‘pipe, then when’ replaced by ‘pipe, than when’. Pg 261, ‘that livid tin’ replaced by ‘that livid tint’. Pg 278, ‘in sulphureted’ replaced by ‘in sulphurated’. Pg 278, ‘azot, in pure’ replaced by ‘azote, in pure’. Pg 293, ‘extensive hemorhagy’ replaced by ‘extensive hemorrhagy’. Pg 293, ‘have began in’ replaced by ‘has begun in’. Pg 310, ‘I was authorzied’ replaced by ‘I was authorized’. Pg 333, ‘of accute fever’ replaced by ‘of acute fever’.

In the Footnotes: FN 4 (Footnote [4] referenced from) pg 12, ‘the maunmalia’ replaced by ‘the mammalia’. FN 5 pg 17, ‘opake colour’ replaced by ‘opaque colour’. FN 5 pg 17, ‘cogulum of milk’ replaced by ‘coagulum of milk’. FN 13 pg 43, ‘In somnambulition’ replaced by ‘In somnambulism’. FN 15 pg 57, ‘perfect iudifference’ replaced by ‘perfect indifference’. FN 27 pg 90, ‘and peritoreum’ replaced by ‘and peritoneum’. FN 31 pg 105, ‘the duoderum’ replaced by ‘the duodenum’. FN 31 pg 105, ‘as the ileo-coecal’ replaced by ‘as the ileo-cecal’. FN 34 pg 118, ‘to the indiosyncrasy’ replaced by ‘to the idiosyncrasy’. FN 76 pg 206, ‘name of hypocondria’ replaced by ‘name of hypochondria’. FN 90 pg 236, ‘vena porta, as’ replaced by ‘vena portæ, as’. FN 92 pg 241, ‘soon ofter grew’ replaced by ‘soon after grew’. FN 92 pg 241, ‘the plantive cries’ replaced by ‘the plaintive cries’. FN 103 pg 281, ‘prot-phosphuretted’ replaced by ‘proto-phosphuretted’. FN 115 pg 311, ‘of middle heighth’ replaced by ‘of middle height’.