66 
Allt IN THE HEART OF A HOUSE. 
dead in his box; having, from the position of the carcass, evi- 
dently fallen quite suddenly, and, as it would seem, died without 
a struggle. 
Being fully prepared to meet with some post-mortem appear- 
ance out of the common way, more than usual pains were taken 
in opening the body. The sternum was carefully removed by 
sawing through the cartilages of the ribs, without cutting into or 
disarranging the pericardiac membranes. No sooner was the 
pericardiac case opened, than out protruded the heart, with very 
unusual force ; it appearing as if the bag containing it were too 
small for it, and it were pressing for liberation. Denuded of its 
bracing membrane, the heart appeared — the right ventricle in 
particular, which now lay uppermost — enormously distended ; 
and the tumefaction conveyed to the pressure of the fingers the 
sense of fluctuation, from which I myself — as well as Dr. C — 
who was present at the examination — opined that either fluid 
blood or air must be within. I cut into the ventricle transversely, 
near its apex, with a scalpel; and to my surprise a quantity of air 
burst forth, the parietes of the cavity instantly collapsing after 
the manner that a gas-distended stomach or bladder would have 
done ; and what adds to this similitude is, that the gaseous emis- 
sion assailed the nose with just such another odour as ordinarily 
proceeds from an opened bowel. The discharge of the air was 
succeeded by a copious efflux of semi-fluid, grumous, ill-condi- 
tioned blood, which, as it flowed, bubbled and frothed as though 
air had been mixed up with it. The walls of the ventricle itself 
were unusually thin, apparently owing to the dilatation they had 
undergone ; while those of the left ventricle were in altogether 
an opposite state — one of extraordinary contraction and density, 
even almost to the annihilation of its cavity. The auricles both 
contained blood ; but there was this difference between them — 
that within the left the coagulum was unusually small, firm, and 
tough ; while the blood in the right was very laxly or imperfectly 
coagulated. The coagula within the pulmonary veins were per- 
fect ; but in their texture soft and easily lacerable, and black in 
colour. The right lung was dark-coloured, and in places exhi- 
bited incipient hepatization ; the left was in a perfectly sound 
condition. 
