Diving Bells and Suits 399 



plegia, which, strangely enough, began only twenty-four hours 

 after the decompression. Here is the complete observation: 



Quidelleur, 28 years old, given to drink. January 18, 1869, descent 

 to a depth of 28 meters. 



After staying on the bottom for an hour, he came up deaf in 

 one ear; it was his first symptom, he had no pain, and merely noticed 

 a buzzing, accompanied by deafness in the left ear. 



January 19, he went to a depth of 16 meters, finished his shift 

 of an hour and a half, and told me when he came up that his deafness 

 disappeared at the bottom. 



January 20, he went down to a depth of 28 meters. That day, 

 while four divers were in the sea, and among them Quidelleur, the 

 ship made a complete turn around its anchor, and this accident 

 resulted in rolling around the ship's chain the four air tubes and the 

 four signal cords of the divers. 



There was a moment of confusion, during which the signals could 

 no longer be felt; and when Quidelleur reached the deck, he com- 

 plained that at three different times he was raised from the bottom 

 to a depth of about 10 meters, and each time he fell back suddenly, 

 with great injury to his ears. In all, he remained for one hour at an 

 actual pressure of 3.8 atmospheres; and he complained only of pains 

 in his ears, especially the left one. 



I had him rubbed with dry flannel, as was always done after a 

 descent of more than 20 meters, and I noticed nothing abnormal 

 about him. 



On January 21, diving was interrupted all day, and Quidelleur 

 like the other sailors worked at different jobs on board. In the evening 

 at 5 o'clock, he came to take me on shore, and I noticed that he did 

 not look well; when I inquired about it, he assured me that he had 

 no pain except a little in his left ear. One hour afterwards, I was 

 sent for; he was complaining of violent pains, without a definite loca- 

 tion, extending over his whole body. I had great difficulty in making 

 him talk, but his attitude showed me that the chief pain was in the 

 abdomen. The patient was doubled over, all his members were bent 

 against the front of his body. The pains were so great as to make 

 him weep; he finally told me that the pain was as great as if some- 

 one were tearing open his belly and his chest. I noted no swelling 

 and no redness of the skin. His pulse was 70; it was greatly depres- 

 sed. The rather hasty respiration was jerky .... 



At eleven o'clock in the morning (January 22), I was told that 

 the patient was complaining again of not being able to urinate; I 

 noted the presence of liquid in the bladder, and warned by this 

 symptom, I tested for a lessening of sensitivity and motility. Both 

 were weak in the lower limbs, without being entirely gone. The penis 

 was in a semi-erection. The introduction of a catheter into the bladder 

 gave a half-liter of urine. It flowed slowly; muscular contraction was 

 not present; the bladder was paralyzed. The pulse was quite normal, 

 the pains of the day before were gone, the respiration was good. 



Friction on the spinal column and on the lower limbs with 

 opodeldoc balm. Elder tea. 



