TOL. LVII.] PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS. 445 



XXXI. Of a Hydro-enterocele, appearing like a Hi/dro-sarcocele, and ending in 

 the Death of the Patient, in which the Intestine had passed from the Hernial 

 Sac, into that of the Hydrocele by which the Strangulation was formed. By 

 M. Le Cat, F.R.S., ^c p. 293. 



J. Chiquet, aged 65, was admitted into the hospital Jan. 24, 1767. The 

 account which he gave of himself was, that he had been accustomed to a rup- 

 ture, which he had not been able to reduce for a fortnight past, and that since 

 8 days he had been seized with a vomiting, and was incapable of taking any 

 nourishment. On examination, the tumor was soft, especially at the upper part 

 towards the ring, which seemed to be so free and disengaged, that the finger 

 with the integuments might be pushed under it : the large cord, which came 

 down to it, was flat, soft, and appeared to be composed entirely of the spermatic 

 vessels enlarged. The extremity of the swelling, which was of the size of a 

 large orange, was evidently a very transparent hydrocele ; at the basis of which 

 some hard points were to be felt, which were thought to be schirrous tumors. 

 Mr. Le C. concluded therefore that his complaint was an old hernia, succeeded 

 by a sarcocele and a hydrocele, and that the intestine was at that time returned. 

 He imagined that the vomitings, which were not frequent, might be caused by 

 some other disorder, perhaps by the progress which the sarcocele might have 

 made in the cavity of the abdomen; and he also thought that the weak and al- 

 most dying state the man appeared to be in, was a prognostic of the fatal manner 

 in which those cases usually terminate; for his strength was so far exhausted, 

 that he expired in the following night. 



Mr. Le C. was very desirous of examining the case, having been always in- 

 duced to suspect, from the vomitings, and the flatness, softness, and size of what 

 passed through the ring, that there was a descent of the intestine. On opening 

 the common hernial sac, a large portion of intestine presented itself, which was 

 very flaccid, and almost empty; but what surprized him most was, to find that 

 the convoluted extremity of this intestine had insinuated itself into the sac of the 

 hydrocele, which was formed by the vaginal coat of the testicle, and that only 

 this portion of intestine was strangulated, hard, and changed in colour. The 

 redness was so slight, that this strangulation could scarcely have been the imme- 

 diate cause of the death; but he rather imagined that a universal decay, and 

 waste of strength, for a long time past, had contributed to hasten this event. 



XXX JI. Specimen of some Neio Experiments in Electricity. By John Baptist 



Beccaria, F.R.S. p. 297. 



For Mr. B.'s improvements in this science, see his general Treatise on Arti- 

 ficial Electricity, translated into English, and published for J. Nourse, in one 

 large vol. 4to, in 1776. 



