TRANSACTIONS OP SOCIETIES. 
241 
cancer; the omentum, ovaries and womb were all involved. 
Even if the tumor had not been malignant, the patient was too 
much reduced to operate upon. The other— a much more out- 
rageous one— happened in the practice of an old German phy- 
sician, who thought the child lived; hut after making his incision, 
he introduced his hand, felt arOUnd in the abdominal cavity, and 
seized a portion of the large intestine, which he drew out of the 
opening he had made, and was about to cut it off, when a sur- 
geon, who was standing near, seized his hand and prevented 
him. On being asked where the child was, he said — she be 
absorbed” 
Case of Rupture of the Uterus. Reported by R. E. Bland, M. I). 
This base happened several years ago, in the country, about 
fifteen miles from St. Louis. In the month of September, about 
six A. M., I was called to the patient, a very large woman, who 
had been in labor some time, hut the pains were not very 
violent, and there seemed to be no great necessity for ^aste. 
I w&s warming my hands by the fire, when the lady turned over 
from her right side to her left, and in doing so seemed to hurt 
iicrsolf, as slie o\cln : nied , “Oh j, w hat a pain ! ” but as I saw 
n- iiiii n g a u Tof tlieVay , an (ft G^Tpani s not being very violcntJT. 
accepted an invitation to breakfast. On my return to the 
patient's room, I Noticed she had undergone a great change ; her % 
countenance was haggard, and she was vomiting. Apprehend- 
ing some disaster to the uterus* I, as soon as possible, made an 
examination. The os was dilated somewhat, and yielded easily 
to the hand, but no child could be felt. . On introducing my hand 
into the womb, and passing it to the right side, I could discover 
nothing, but* on examining the left side, I found a large rent, and 
through this opening I felt the : child in the cavity of the abdo- 
gmen, into which it had escaped through the ruptured womb. 
/ Following the advice of Lewees* and having felt the child also 
through the abdominal wall, I attempted to deliver through the .st 
rent in the uterus ; but the bowels came in front of the foetus, yy 
protruded through the. opening, and so obstructed it that I could < 
not succeed. I then sent for my friend Dr. Morris, but he not £ 
being at home, the messenger brought another physician, who, 
on first examination, said he did not discover the rupture; but I 
explained where it was, and passing my hand again through the ? 
opening, he acknowledged that he felt my fingers through th§ \ ~ 
If ' . . o ^ 
r- 
X 
\ 
V 
16 
V 
7 8 9 10 Missouri 
BOTAN ICAL 
copyright reserved garden 
