Facts relative to Cynandhe Trachealis. 247 



time. I met with an inconsiderable and imperfect 

 membrane, which was readily extracted, and I com- 

 menced the process of artificial respiration, in less, per- 

 haps, than two minutes from the last symptoms of life, 

 but without effect. When all hope of resuscitation had 

 vanished, I proceeded, deliberately, to take a view of 

 the internal appearance of the trachea. 



The first thing that arrested my attention, was the 

 great difficulty and almost impracticability of passing a 

 common probe through the glottis. It exhibited a de- 

 gree of tumefaction, but more manifestly a rigid stric- 

 ture. On proceeding downwards, no remnant of mem- 

 branous concretion appeared in the trachea, and but 

 slight appearances of inflammation. Having thus pos- 

 sessed myself of unequivocal evidence, that respiration 

 was not arrested by any collection of extraneous matter 

 in the wind-pipe or bronchia;, and that the glottis (in 

 this particular case, at all events) was the true seat of 

 the local affection, I determined, on the first occasion 

 that should present itself, to attempt the instantaneous 

 solution of the stricture, by bleeding ad deliquium. 



A short time gave me an opportunity of testing the 

 efficacy of my proposed experiment. I was called, in 

 the night, to the child of a French family, at a board- 

 ing-house, who had recently arrived in town, and who 

 were totally unacquainted with our language. This 

 last was an unpleasant circumstance, for it not only 

 subjected me to the necessity of searching for an inter- 

 preter, but also of disclosing, in ardent terms, the dan- 

 gerous nature of the disease, of which, until strenuously 



