ROYAL IRISH ACADEMY. 
295 
tion. Dr. Lyons mentioned that Dr. Corrigan, a distinguished member 
of his Committee, had not signed the Deport, not agreeing with the 
other members upon a point connected with the pulsation in that auricle. 
He (Dr. Benson) was inclined to think Dr. Corrigan’s opinion was the 
correct one; but he would request Dr. Lyons to state that opinion again, 
as he was not sure that he had collected it accurately from the very 
short abstract of the Report read. [Dr. Lyons explained]. 
Dr. Benson resumed, and said that the opinions of the gentlemen 
who examined the case with him were very much divided. Two sounds 
were certainly heard when the stethoscope was pressed firmly back upon 
what he believed to be the origin of the pulmonary artery. All sub¬ 
scribed to that. But when the instrument was placed lightly on the 
auricle, sometimes one sound was heard, sometimes two, and sometimes 
none. One heard a splashing sound, another a rubbing, and so on. 
There was no agreement as to the number or character of the sounds; 
and, for his own part, he rather thought there was no sound, strictly 
speaking, produced in the auricle. The sounds which he sometimes 
heard might have depended on the friction of the skin against the in¬ 
strument, or by the ripple caused by pressure, or they may have been 
conducted by the auricle from neighbouring parts. 
He added, it was a curious fact that the sounds of the heart were 
better heard in most other individuals than in M. Groux: the sternum 
formed a kind of sounding-board, which rendered the sounds more 
audible in others; but the advantage in M. Groux’s case was that they 
were more defined and localized. 
Dr. Henry Kennedy said he had arrived at the conclusion that the 
tumour seen in the centre of the fissure could be none other than the 
right auricle, or a portion of it. He founded his opinion mainly on the 
anatomy of the heart itself ; for no other cavity of the organ would admit 
of the same great and rapid, dilatation which was seen when M. Groux 
pleased, to render it prominent; hut, besides what the sight took cogni¬ 
zance of, there was also sensible, to a gentle pressure, a very peculiar 
vermicular motion; and the auricle would exactly be, from its structure, 
the kind of cavity which would generate such a movement. Bronx these 
arguments he felt satisfied that the central tumour was caused by the 
right auricle, and the phenomena present appeared to him to admit of 
no other explanation. He begged to state further his impression that 
in M. Groux’ case the right heart was, most probably, above the natural 
size. Any one who had seen him exhibit could easily understand how 
this would he brought about. It was well known, too, that the pearl- 
divers were all short-lived, and this was due directly to affections of the 
right heart. In the present instance his opinion was founded on the 
very great distances which existed between the three centres of pulsation. 
It was proposed by W. R. "Wilde, Esq., and seconded by Geo. Petrie, 
LL. D., and passed unanimously,-— 
That the Report of the Commission be received by the Academy; 
and that the thanks of the Academy he given to the members of the 
Commission. 
