A letter to the Right Hon. Sir G.C. Lewis, Bart., M.P. ... / from three of the medical witnesses for the defence, in the case of Thomas Smethurst.

  • Richardson, Sir Benjamin Ward, (1828-1897)
Date:
1859
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A letter to the Right Hon. Sir G.C. Lewis, Bart., M.P. ... / from three of the medical witnesses for the defence, in the case of Thomas Smethurst. 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.

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    The existence of pregnancy, which had been over- looked by all the medical men engaged in the case, was proved by the discovery in the uterus of a foetus, said to be of seven weeks, but the exact age of which was not decided. Two other points further corroborate the view we have taken of the case. There was evidence adduced of pre-existent disease of the liver. There was also evidence of subacute peritonitis. These indications are entirely consonant with what has been observed in similar cases of dysentery. We shall enter, in the next section, into a further considera- tion of the post-mortem appearances. The Second Question which presents itself to us is; Was the death of Isabella Bankes compatible with the hypothesis of poisoning by arsenic^ antimony^ or by both ? To this question we con- ceive a negative answer is justified by facts—sympto- matic, pathological, and chemical. It is justified by the symptoms. While it is true that the symptoms of vomiting and purging, and other symptoms observed in the case of Isabella Bankes, have been also observed in cases of arsenical poisoning^ there has been no case known, and we challenge the production of the history of a case, in which death resulting from the administration of