[893] 



NATURAL HISTORY. 



Account of the Dissection of a 

 Human Foetus, in tvkick the Cir- 

 culation of the Blood was carried 

 on mthout a Heart. By Mr. 

 B. C. Brodie. [_From the Phi- 

 losophical Transactions of the 

 Royal Society of London, for 

 1809.] 



A N opportunity lately occur- 

 Xx. red to me of examining a 

 human foetus, in which the heart 

 was wanting, and the circulation of 

 the blood was carried cri by the 

 action of the vessels only. There 

 have been some other instances of 

 this remarkable deviation from the 

 natural structure ; but in that to 

 which I allude, the growth of the 

 child had been natural, and it dif- 

 fered much less from the natural 

 formation than in any of those 

 which are on record, and I have 

 therefore been induced to draw up 

 the following account of it. 



A woman was delivered of twins 

 in the beginning of the seventh 

 month of pregnancy. There was 

 a placenta with two umbilical 

 chords, which had their origin 

 about three inches distant from 

 each other. Tlie placenta was not 

 preserved, but Mr. Adams, who 

 attended the mother in her lying- 

 ix); observed nothing unusual in its 



appearance. Both foetuses were 

 born dead. They were nearly of 

 the same size. One of them in no 

 respect differed from the ordinary 

 formation ; the other had an un- 

 usual appearance, and Mr. Adams 

 thought it deserving of examina- 

 tion. Through Dr. Hooper it was 

 put into my hands for this pur- 

 pose. 



The foetus measured thirteen 

 inches from the summit of the 

 cranium to the feet. The thorax 

 and abdomen were surrounded by 

 a large shapeless mass, which con- 

 cealed the form of the whole upper 

 part of the body. This mass 

 proved to be the integuments co- 

 vering the posterior part of the 

 neck and thorax, distended with a 

 watery fiuid, about three pints in 

 quantity, contained in two cysts, 

 lined by a smooth membrane. 

 When the fluid was evacuated, and 

 the cysts allowed to collapse, the 

 foetus had nearly the natural form. 

 Its extremities had nearly the usual 

 appearance, except that on tiie 

 right hand there was no thumb ; 

 on the left hand there was no 

 thumb also, and onlj' a single 

 finger. There were three toes on 

 the right foot, and four toes on the 

 left foot. The external nostrils 

 consisted only of two folds of 



skill; 



