13G LOCALIZED ELECTRIZATION. 



no longer replied to questions ; his respiration slackened, at times he seemed 

 as if he forgot to breathe ; his face became discoloured and his lips blanched ; 

 then the breathing became stertorous ; he could not feel when pinched ; in a 

 word, he was asphyxiated afresh. He was quickly restored by cutaneous 

 faradization of the precordial region, applied this time less severely, as it was • 

 quickly and acutely felt. It was continued by my son for about twelve 

 minutes, until the respiration, circulation, and intellectual faculties, were all 

 completely restored, and he could stand erect and walk. 



Believing this cmre to be only apparent, I ordered his removal to the Hotel 

 Dieu, to the wards of Professor Trousseau, where I shortly followed him. 

 Foreseeing that the carbonic oxide would continue its poisonous action, and 

 produce a return of coma, I had placed sinapisms upon his legs, and had 

 directed the person who conducted him not to let him sleep. An hour later 

 I found him in the hospital, in a state of coma, into which he had fallen on 

 the way, in spite of the efforts of his guide, who had in vain slapped him to 

 try to keep him awake. It was necessary to return to the electro-cutaneous 

 excitation of the precordial region, and to repeat it several times during the 

 day, as well as to apply sinapisms over the body, before we were entirely 

 freed, towards the evening, from the tendency to consecutive coma, due to 

 the poisonous influence of the carbonic oxide. 



In this case we have seen a lad who was asphyxiated by carbonic 

 oxide, in whom the respiration had ceased (it was not known for 

 how long a time), and in whom the feeble action of the heart was 

 only discoverable by the ear. 1. He recovered entirely, in a few 

 minutes, under the influence of precordial electro-cutaneous excita- 

 tion, his respiratory and cardiac functions. 2. He fell back many 

 times into the same state of coma and asphyxia, shortly after 

 the suspension of faradization, whicli, perseveringly re-applied 

 on several occasions, during nearly a whole day, finally triumphed 

 over the asphyxia. 



It was incontestably and solely to the faradization that the 

 rapid disappearance of the grave symptoms was iu this case to be 

 attributed. The proof of this assertion rests so plainly in the 

 relation of the facts, that it seems useless to dwell farther upon 

 the point. 



I proceed to describe briefly another case of aspyhxia by car- 

 bonic oxide, which brings into prominence the therapeutic value 

 of reflex excitation of the nervous centres, by cutaneous faradiza- 

 tion; and at the same time shews the necessity of continuing 

 the application for a long time, until respiration is perfectly re- 

 established, under penalty of seeing the asphyxia return and lead 

 to a fatal issue. 



Case VI.— I was called to a woman asphyxiated by carbonic oxide, in La 

 Charite under the care of M. Andral, where she had been conveyed on the 

 previous evening. In a short time I restored the resijiration and the heart's 

 action to their normal state, and had dispelled the coma. The patient had 

 so far recovered her intelligence that she was able to. give me information 

 aboiit what had happened to her, and about all the symptoms of her asphyxia. 

 I believed her to be safe. But some hours later she relapsed into somnolence, 

 and, although treated by sinapisms and even by blisters, she died dm'ing the 

 course of the night. 



