PHYSIOLOGY OF FREEZING. 683 



convinced that many of his soldiers had been buried alive, and he 

 offered a large reward for the surest means of distinguishing between 

 this trance-like condition and actual death. The prize was awarded to 

 Professor Andral, who claimed that listening to the heart-sounds by 

 means of the stethoscope was the surest way of ascertaining whether 

 death had taken place or not, because with this instrument could still 

 be heard the movement of the heart-valves, when by all other tests 

 one could no longer detect any sign of life. Napoleon's prize might, 

 however, well have been awarded to Professor Middeldorf, of Breslau, 

 who with his akidopeirastic (needle-test) was able to detect signs of 

 life some time after the sound caused by the movement of the heart- 

 valves had ceased to be audible with Andral's stethoscope. 



Up to the present day this method is the most reliable one for as- 

 certaining whether death has occurred or not. It is surer than the 

 cutting of the sole, the burning with sealing-wax, or any other test. 

 A long needle is thrust (between the fifth and sixth ribs) into the 

 heart, a proceeding that is not at all dangerous, provided that the 

 needle does not enter below a certain depth. The needle must be of 

 such length that about one half of it projects from the chest ; the 

 slightest movement of the heart will cause that part of the needle 

 which is visible to vibrate. 



But no one need fear that those soldiers of Napoleon who were 

 thus buried alive ever awakened in their graves. As surely as there 

 can be no question but that by careful treatment quite a number of 

 them could have been saved, just as confidently can it be asserted that 

 their numbness, provided no careful attempts were made to restore 

 them to life, resulted in actual death. Unfortunately, it has not yet 

 been ascertained how long this trance-like condition may last with 

 the frozen whether five or six days (many such cases are known), or 

 whether it may not continue even longer. 



We have already, at the beginning, referred to the danger of an 

 incautious warming of the frozen. If the warming be accomplished 

 too quickly, a sudden reaction will set in, which the patient will not 

 be able to survive. Blood which has been frozen and then thawed is 

 still red, but of a different shade. The coloring matter of the blood 

 has become separated from the blood-cells. Blood of this description 

 causes congelation in blood which is in its normal state. One can kill 

 an animal in sound health by injecting such blood into its veins. But 

 the process takes a different turn in cases where the frozen are gradu- 

 ally warmed and restored. If a very minute quantity of the frozen 

 blood is again brought into solution and sent into the system, this small 

 amount of poison will be taken care of. This is the reason why, in all 

 attempts at revivifying persons who have been frozen, the warming 

 and the restoring of the juices to their normal condition must be 

 gradually done. The best way is to lay the patient into snow, to rub 

 him with snow (which should be renewed several times), and then to 



