Embryonic Development in Man. 369 



meters below the sulcus of the heart. The edges of the perforation 

 are almost clean-cut where they enter the myocardium, as if they had 

 been produced by a dull, somewhat serrated knife. The cut takes 

 a somewhat downward and inward course, traveling through the 

 whole thickness of the myocardium. Where the cut enters the 

 cavity of the heart, the margins are not very smooth, but rather 

 irregular and ragged. The consistency of the myocardium is good. 

 Its color is pinkish-brown, and all the serous surfaces are smooth. 

 There are no atheromatous changes. The heart is covered with a 

 very moderate amount of epicardial fat. In short, the whole organ, 

 except for the wound, is absolutely normal. After the removal of 

 the lungs (the apex of the right one showing a very few tubercles, 

 and a little caseous nodule not larger than a lentil), it is seen that 

 the second, fourth, and fifth ribs of the left side are fractured. 

 The fracture of the second rib is found to be 7.5 centimeters pos- 

 terior to the sternal articulation, that of the fourth one 9.0 cm., 

 and that of the fifth one 9.5 cm. The anterior fragments are di- 

 rected inwards. The fragments of the fourth and fifth ribs are very 

 sharp and are surrounded by an area of subpleural blood extravasa- 

 tion. However, these fragments have not perforated the pleura cos- 

 talis. The extravasated blood is strictly subpleural and no free blood 

 is found on the surface of the pleura. The uterus appears somewhat 

 enlarged, and the left ovary shows a fresh hut already closed 

 corpus luteuni. On opening the uterine cavity a little hemorrhagic 

 mass, about one-half centimeter or less in diameter, is found em- 

 bedded in the mucosa of the posterior ivall, near the entrance of the 

 left tube. This mass is carefidly cut out and placed in Zenker's 

 solution, as it may contain a very young ovum. All the organs 

 of the body, with the exception of the apex of the right lung, and 

 the perforated heart, are found to be absolutely normal. They are 

 all more or less congested with dark fluid blood. It appears clear 

 that the woman must have been struck at the side of her body, or 

 in the back, by a swiftly moving force. This force, however, did 

 not produce any signs of external violence, particularly no con- 

 tusions, abrasions, or wounds. The force traveled through the soft 

 parts, and, meeting the resistance of the ribs, fractured them. The 



