Diving Bells and Suits 403 



scious, his face red, his limbs completely inert and covered with cold 

 sweat. They tried to warm him, but could not succeed. 



They set sail for Alexandria, where they hoped to find help; 

 but death came after 24 hours. The patient had remained all this 

 time absolutely motionless. He had not defecated or urinated. Those 

 present at his death stated that shortly before he died, he gave certain 

 signs of consciousness and pain; but the paralysis of his limbs re- 

 mained complete. 



IV. July 1, 1869, on the coast of Rhodes, a man named Nicolas 

 Roditis, who had been diving in a suit for about three months, came 

 up from a depth of 35 to 40 meters. After a half-hour, he was seized 

 by severe pains in the epigastric region, and at the same time per- 

 ceived that he could no longer stand up. They took him to Rhodes, 

 where he first consulted a quack, who had him put in an oven. He 

 was not relieved, as one may well imagine; the pains in his stomach 

 persisted; the paralysis of the lower part of his body was complete, 

 and affected the legs, thighs, bladder, and rectum. To the pains of 

 the epigastric region was added the tension of the belly; for three days 

 he had not urinated or defecated, and then an Italian physician was 

 summoned, who catheterized him at once and then tried to cure his 

 paraplegia. They gave him various remedies and had him rubbed; 

 but it was impossible to find out exactly what treatment was given 

 him. 



One month after the accident, he came to Calymnos, where Dr. 

 Pelicanos attended him. At that time, he was completely paralyzed 

 in the whole lower half of his body, both in motility and sensitivity. 

 The bladder and the rectum shared in this paralysis. 



Moreover, he had on the back and lower part of the trunk a large 

 sore 14 by 15 centimeters. All the soft parts were ulcerated and the 

 sacrum was bared. At the level of the two great trochanters, there 

 were also two sores; one had destroyed the skin; in the other, the 

 bone was -bared. Scab on the right calcaneum. Scab on the lower and 

 outer part of the fifth left metatarsal and on the sole of the same 

 foot. Excruciating pains in the region of the stomach; persistent con- 

 stipation. The patient was very anemic. 



He was first given syrup of lactate of iron, cinchona bark, old 

 wine of Cyprus, and a diet as nourishing as possible. The sores were 

 washed with a decoction of camomile and cinchona; they were dressed 

 with aromatic wine. From time to time a cathartic with castor oil 

 or jalap powder. 



No improvement; the sores grew larger; a fever of the daily inter- 

 mittent type, growing worse every evening, appeared. It was evi- 

 dently hectic fever. 



Appetite was almost wanting, the general condition grew worse; 

 a gangrenous sore spread over the prepuce, and finally the patient 

 succumbed in marasmus three months after his accident. 



The paralysis of the bladder had disappeared one month before; 

 but there had been no improvement in the motility and sensitivity 

 of the lower limbs. 



V. In the early part of September, 1868, a man named Nicolas 

 Kardachi, on the coast of Bengazi, was seized by paralysis of the 



