734 



DROWNING. 



Him ; the prize of the academy belongs to another 

 to whom it may be more useful than it would have 

 been to me ; the next year I hope to deserve it by a 

 better work." la 1784, Drouais again entered thi 

 lists. The Canaanitish woman at the feet of Jesu; 

 was the fruit of his study. He was publicly crowned 

 and led in triumph, by his fellow students, to thei 

 master. He accompanied him as a pensioner to 

 Rome, when- lir -tmlied and copied the greates 

 masters. His Dying Gladiator, and, particularly 

 lii> Marius at Mintune, on being exhibited in Paris 

 gained him and David's school a new triumph. He 

 now sketched his Philoctetes at Lemnos; but his 

 career was suddenly checked by an inflammatory 

 fever, which put an end to his life before lie had com- 

 pleted his 25th year, and while he was engaged on a 

 picture of Caius Gracchus. His rivals and his 

 friends united in erecting a monument to him in St 

 Mary's church (in the Via Lnta). 



DROWNING is a sort of death caused by im- 

 mersing the exterior opening of the respiratory tube 

 in a liquid. Actual death is often preceded by ap- 

 parent death (asphyxia, q. v.) ; and it is possible, if 

 this state has not continued too long, to resuscitate 

 a person apparently drowned. This circumstance 

 has led to careful investigations of the nature oi 

 drowning, and also, in the neighbourhood of seas 

 and large rivers, to the erection of public institu- 

 tions for the resuscitation of persons apparently 

 drowned. This kind of death furnishes, likewise, a 

 difficult subject for medical jurisprudence, and gives 

 occasion to the inquiry, whether a body found in the 

 water was actually drowned, or whether life was 

 lost in some other way ; and great attention has 

 been paid to the marks of this sort of death, which 

 are to be found upon the body. But, notwithstand- 

 ing all this pains, much uncertainty still hangs over 

 the subject. This remark is true, as well of the 

 manner in which death is the consequence of immer- 

 sion, as of the signs of having been drowned, and 

 the means of resuscitating from apparent death. If 

 a person voluntarily immerses his head in water, he 

 perceives a roaring in his ears, a tickling in his nose, 

 a pressure upon his breast, and a kind of stupid feel- 

 ing. If a man, unable to swim, falls into the water, 

 he instinctively makes every exertion to escape from 

 it ; he holds his breath, moves his head up and back- 

 wards, lays hold of every solid body which presents 

 itself, and even grapples at the bottom of the water. 

 These struggles continue a longer or shorter time, 

 according to the strength and presence of mind of 

 the unhappy subject: at last, he sinks, exhausted, 

 becomes unconscious, strives to breathe, draws in 

 water, and life is gone. If the body is taken from 

 the water, it is commonly found to be very cold ; the 

 limbs are stiff, the countenance distorted, livid, and 

 often pale, the eyes half open, the pupils enlarged, 

 the mouth filled with foam, the breast and region of 

 the upper stomach expanded. Sometimes the body 

 is still warm, though it cannot be re-animated, the 

 countenance blue and distorted, the veins of the 

 neck much swollen. This takes place when one is 

 drowned in alcohol, or in marshy or warm water, or 

 when a person, in a state of intoxication, or with a 

 full stomach, or a heated body, falls overboard. On 

 opening the body of a person who has been drowned, 

 the epiglottis is found to be raised, bloody foam ap- 

 pears in the wind-pipe and bronchial passages, the 

 Jungs are soft and distended, a large quantity of 

 black fluid blood is collected in the right, and less in 

 the left cavity of the heart, a little water is in the 

 stomach, and the vessels of the brain are swelled 

 with blood. Death is sometimes caused by suffoca- 

 tion and want of air, and sometimes as in apoplexy : 

 In the latter case, it happens very speedily, and a 



little water is sufficient to produce it, if the person 

 falls upon his face. In this case, when the body i$ 

 openea, the foam in the wind-pipe is wanting, and 

 the vessels of the head are fuller. The various con- 

 stituents of the water, such as irrespirable gases, 

 contribute also to modify and complicate the mode 

 of death. 



The following are the methods of treatment re- 

 commended by the London Humane Society for the 

 Recovery of Persons in a State of Suspended .Anima- 

 tion. As drowning is, probably, the most frequent 

 accident by which animation is suspended, we give 

 all the rules of the society here, and shall refer from 

 Freezing, hanging, &c., to this article. 



Cautions. Lose no time. Avoid all rough usage. 

 Never hold the body up by the feet ; nor roll the 

 body on casks ; nor rub the body with salts or spirits ; 

 nor inject tobacco smoke or infusion of tobacco. 



Restorative Means. If apparently drowned, send 

 quickly for medical assistance ; but do not delay the 

 following means : Convey the body carefully, with 

 the head and shoulders supported in a raised position, 

 to the nearest house. Strip the body, and rub it 

 dry ; then wrap it in hot blankets, and place it in a 

 warm bed, in a warm chamber. Wipe and cleanse 

 the mouth and nostrils. In order to restore the 

 natural warmth of the body, move a heated covered 

 warming pan over the back and spine ; put bladders 

 or bottles of hot water, or heated bricks, to the pit 

 of the stomach, the arm-pits, l>etween the thighs, and 

 to the soles of the feet ; foment the body with hot 

 flannels ; but, if possible, immerse the body in a warm 

 bath, as hot as the hand can bear without pain, 

 as this is preferable to the other means for restor- 

 ing warmth ; rub the body briskly with the hand ; 

 do not, however, suspend the use of the other means 

 at the same time. In order to restore breathing, 

 introduce the pipe of a common bellows (where 

 the apparatus of the society is not at hand) into 

 one nostril, carefully closing the other and the 

 mouth ; at the same time drawing downwards, and 

 pushing gently backwards, the upper part of the 

 windpipe, to allow a more free admission of air; 

 blow the bellows gently, in order to inflate the 

 lungs, till the breast be a little raised ; the mouth 

 and nostrils should then be set free, and a moderate 

 pressure made with the hand upon the chest. Repeat 

 this process till life appears. Electricity to be em- 

 ployed early by a medical assistant. Inject into the 

 stomach, by means of an elastic tube or syringe, half 

 a pint of warm brandy and water, or wine and water. 

 Apply sal volatile or hartshorn to the nostrils. If ap. 

 parently dead from intense cold, rub the body over 

 with snow, ice, or cold water. Restore warmth by 

 slow degrees ; and after some time, if necessary, em- 



y the means recommended for the drowned. In 

 ;hese accidents, it is highly dangerous to apply heat 

 ;oo early. If apparently dead from hanging, in addi 

 .ion to the means recommended for the drowned,bleed- 

 ng should early lie employed by a medical assistant. 

 '.{ apparently dead from noxious vapours. &c., remove 

 the body into a cool, fresh air. Dash cold water on 

 he neck, face, and breast, frequently. If the body 

 >e cold, apply warmth, as recommended for the 

 drowned. Use the means as above recommended for 

 inflating the lungs. Let electricity (particularly in 

 accidents from lightning) be early employed by a me- 

 dical assistant. -If apparently dead from intoxication, 

 ay the body on a bed with the head raised ; remove 

 he neckcloth, and loosen the clothes. Obtain in- 

 tantly medical assistance, as the treatment must be 

 egnlated by the state of the patient ; but, in the 

 mean time, apply cloths soaked in cold water to the 

 lead, and bottle* of hot water, or hot bricks, to the 

 calves of the legs and to the feet. If apparent'y dead 



