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It frequently happens tliat onions are found iueide the body 
cavity. 
The commonest situation in wliich the onion is found is the 
pelvis (Pl. XV, figure 2) — seven cases — and next in order o£ 
frequency the upper part o£ the thorax — five cases. Twice I 
have seen onions in the epigastric région. Often there are two 
onions ; in other cases only one. They are found in both men 
and women. In one case a small onion was flattened against 
each external ear (PL XIV, figure 2). 
The onion was always held in great respect in Egypt as an 
article of food, as an offering in tombs and also for médicinal 
and magical purposes, as the harbinger of prosperity and health. 
It is commonly used at the présent day as an antiseptic. It is 
not unlikely that its powerf ul odour may have led to its use as a 
déodorant. 
Treatment of the Body Cavity. 
Both Herodotus and Diodorus describe the cleansing of the 
body witli palm wine. We have no nieans of checking the 
accuracy of this statement ; but it is quite a rational procédure 
which might have been resorted to for its astringent action after 
the body was removed from the sait bath. 
When the viscera were taken from the body the pelvic organs 
were removed as completely as possible ; in other words, they 
were eut through quite close to the perinaeum ; so that in the 
maie the anus and in the female the whole rima pudendi in 
addition were left as gaping openings. Thèse wounds were 
usually plugged (from inside the pelvis) with fragments of linen 
but in some cases the rima pudendi was sewn up with string. 
When the viscera were removed from the sait bath they were 
thickly sprinkled with the powder (coarse sawdust) of varions 
aromatic woods and, while they were still flexible, they were 
