Verdicts of coroners' juries : the case of the late Mr. Cordwell / by P.F. Curie.

  • Curie, Paul Francis, 1799-1853.
Date:
1845
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Verdicts of coroners' juries : the case of the late Mr. Cordwell / by P.F. Curie. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

    16/86 (page 16)
    26th Feb.—The patient continued to improve. The above pre- scription was repeated. 27th Feb.—The fever was diminishing, and the patient felt altogether better. The tongue was cleaner, but the thirst con- tinued, and there was no appetite. The pulse was a little frequent and rather too full. Aconite, one drop of the third dilution in five doses ; a dose every four hours. Toast and water was now allowed as the first step towards a return to nourishment. 2 8th Feb.—The patient was looking very much better, and all the external signs promised approaching convalescence. There was hardly any heat of the skin ; the pulse was about 85, and the limbs perfectly free from pain. The thirst continued, but was less urgent. I considered that two days more would suffice to subdue the acute state, and that abstinence was still altogether necessary during those two days, as the appetite had not yet returned, while the thirst and some frequency of pulse still remained. Bryonia, one drop 3rd dilution in five doses; a dose every four hours. The toast and water to be continued. Finding the patient so well, I intended to defer my next visit till the next evening; but in the afternoon of the 1st March, (Saturday,) I was summoned to attend him as soon as possible. I found him in one of a series of fainting fits. The face was pale, but not very cold; and the pulse weak, not, however, indicating dissolution; the pulsations about 65 per minute. He was perfectly clear in his mind, but his voice was very low ; there was a little pain and rumbling in the abdomen. I was told he had passed in the bed several loose offensive motions since one o’clock p. m. about the time the change took place, and upon examination I found the evacuations to consist of dark blood. The mouth was very dry, requiring constantly a little water, and he could not breathe with- out having a small piece of rag moistened in his mouth ; the skin was somewhat colder than in health. I sprinkled cold water on the face, and ordered the temples and forehead to be rubbed with