688 



Experiments 



In mammals, the lungs are sometimes a little emphysematous; 

 almost always they are ecchymosed in places, sometimes, but 

 rarely, with real hemorrhage; in other cases, following sudden 

 decompressions, I have seen them practically carnified, returned 

 to the fetal state, and sinking in large fragments to the bottom of 

 the water. When I discuss sudden decompressions, I shall try to 

 explain this strange phenomenon. 



One curious fact is the suddenness with which rigor mortis 

 appears. I have observed this result carefully in sparrows. If one 

 cuts off the head of one of these birds, rigor mortis does not appear 

 for about three-quarters of an hour, whereas it comes between 10 

 and 20 minutes after death in rarefied air. 



I shall take as examples a certain number of experiments re- 

 ported in Chapter I. They give the data for the following table. 



Agitation. 



We see that this is a phenomenon that is absolutely constant 

 and independent of the speed of death, the quiet or agitation of the 

 bird, and the degree to which its temperature has fallen. 



It does not exist in asphyxia in closed vessels, at normal pres- 

 sure (except in the conditions of Experiment CCL) and I think it 

 can be attributed only to the exhaustion of the carbonic acid of the 

 blood and the tissues, by breathing in rarefied air. We shall see 

 in Chapter VIII that this exhaustion is real. 



