Case of Hon. Charles Sumner / by Marshall S. Perry.

  • Perry, Marshall S. (Marshall Sears), -1859.
Date:
[1856?]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Case of Hon. Charles Sumner / by Marshall S. Perry. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the National Library of Medicine (U.S.)

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    iAM f/yv. . $. ) CASE OF HON. CHARLES SUMNER. BY MARSHALL S. PERRY, M.D., OF BOSTOK Communicated to the Boston Society for Medical Improvement, Dec. 8th, 1856 The assault was made upon Mr. Sumner in the Senate of the United States, on Thursday, May 22d. The first blow produced insensibility. It is not certain how many blows he received ; they were many. He bled profusely, and fell insensible on the floor. When he was removed to the ante-room, it was thought he could not survive. His wounds were dressed by Dr. Boyle. He had two gashes on the back of the head, one above each ear, about two, or two and a half inches in length. These gashes went through the scalp to the bone, which was laid bare, but it is supposed not fractured. Besides these, he had bruises on the face, on the back of each hand and on the arms. From the time of the attack until the Monday following, no seri- ous symptoms manifested themselves, except some pain and sore- ness in the head, and nervousness. Tuesday morning he had more pain, and in the afternoon he was quite feverish. During the night the pain became very violent, and when 1 saw him early on Wednesday, for the first time, professionally, he had a high fever, pulse 104, intense pain in the head, eyes suffused, and extreme ner- vousness. The scalp above the right ear was inflamed, having the appearance of erysipelas. This inflammation extended to the glands of the neck, which were swollen and tender Jo the touch. On examination, it was found that pus had formed under the scalp, which escaped readily on opening the wound, which had been