114 CASE OF GREEN PIGMENT- 



sented so very faint a greenish tinge, that they shoukl have 

 passed it unnoticed, had not their attention been specially 

 directed to it. They believe the molecular deposit to be 

 neither green nor pigment, but simply fat. I believe that this 

 discrepancy with my account may be explained by the follow- 

 ing circumstances. The patient died on March 10th ; I 

 made the post mortem examination on March 13th, which 

 was on a Tuesday. From the day following I had the heart 

 under examination in a warm room during four successive 

 days. On Saturday 17th I intended to give an account of the 

 specimen to the Medical Society of London, but was pre- 

 vented from doing so, and on that evening the heart went into 

 the hands of Dr. Routh, who put it in spirits of wine, as it was 

 already decomposing by that time. Happily I had on that 

 day exhibited specimens under the microscope to several 

 friends, all of whom found the molecular deposit to be green, 

 one of them. Dr. A. Henry, so much so, that he deliberated 

 with me, what appropriate name could be given to the deposit. 

 Dr. Gibb recollects to the present moinent, that he distinctly 

 saw a green molecular deposit in the specimen submitted by 

 me to his inspection. The artist, who made the diagram 

 which I exhibited to the Pathological Society in illustra- 

 tion of my paper, coloured it after specimens under the micro- 

 scope. The eye of this gentleman is perfectly achromatic, 

 and practised in the minutest distinction of colours. On 

 the other hand, my microscope is equally achromatic. On 

 Tuesday, March the 20th, the specimen was, by the kindness 

 of Dr. Quain, brought before the Pathological Society. 



Already, on that evening, I could not succeed in showing the 

 green colours under the microscope, because, as I then 

 thought, the light was too yellow and too strong, being con- 

 densed by Gillet's apparatus. But I now believe that it was 

 mainly due to the colour having been changed by decom- 

 position and extracted by spirits of wine. After the meeting 

 of the Pathological Society, the specimen, with several others, 

 was put into strong spirits of wine, and it was only from the 

 21st downwards, eight days after the post mortem, that the 

 specimen, in spirits, could be examined by the reporters. I 

 therefore humbly submit that their report was not based upon 

 the original appearances, but upon a specimen changed by 

 the united influences of putrefaction and spirits of wine. 



On the 24th I gave to Mr. Brooke, of Keppel Street, 

 a mounted specimen for examination. He submitted it to 

 an eminent microscopist, who declared it was nothing which 

 he had not seen before. I requested Mr. Brooke to look at 

 it himself, and he kindlv did so in my presence, using per- 



