it on being cut. Gall-bladder distended with a thin watery fluid. "The uterus contained a little sanguineous mucus, and its internal membrane was red." (We will here remark that the catamenial discharge had ceased about two days before her death.) "The left ovary contained a body about the size of a pea, having the appearance of clotted blood. The urinary bladder was flaccid, and contained about half an ounce of opaque white fluid: its mucous membrane was white." Morbid appearances presented by examination of the old woman. External-Same as in the former case. Interior Head-Its external the same as in the other. Sinuses of the dura-mater, contained a moderate quantity of very fluid blood. Considerable sub-arachnoid serous effusion, which was more abundant upon the upper surface of the hemispheres-and somewhat turbid in same places. It was so considerable as to penetrate the fissures between the convolutions, separating and giving them the appearance of being atrophied. The arachnoid and pia-mater were easily detached from the surface of the brain. The substance of the brain contained fluid blood of a florid hue, which escaped at numerous points of an incised surface. Lateral ventricles emptysmall, and exhibited numerous very firm adhesions. Heart Chest.-Generally the same as in the former case. right side contained rather more, but not turgid with blood, of the same kind, together with a small fibrinous concretionleft side not so firmly contracted, and contained a quantity of the same partially changed blood, together with a small fibrinous concretion. Lungs-more crepitant than in former case, presented the mottled appearance of age, with the intervals too red-considerable blood and frothy fluid oozed upon incision-and the mucous lining was injected. Abdomen.-Stomach normal-small intestines distended with that "burnt with a blue flame"-their mucous memgas brane presented the same vascularity and ecchymosed appearance as in the former case. "Liver, large and granular, fluid blood escaping freely from its cut surfaces." All the other viscera healthy. A portion of the gas from the small intestines was analyzed, and found to contain: "Carbonic acid, 36 45 19 100 It is no unusual thing however to find combustible gas in the intestines of persons who die under a variety of circum stances. In concluding, the author expresses in plain terms, his opinion that the gas, if respired unmixed with air, would speedily prove fatal, by producing asphyxia; and seems inclined to believe that, in the two cases just detailed, it acted somewhat in the same way; at any rate not as a poison. In this opinion he is supported by experiments which have been made upon animals with this gas, and by the notorious fact that colliers frequently breathe for a considerable time, an atmosphere strongly impregnated with it, without suffering any serious consequences. But on the other hand, from some experiments made upon himself by Sir H. Davy, it would seem to be decidedly a narcotic poison. And again, the absence in both of these cases of any considerable discoloration of the skin, engorgement with blood of the liver, spleen and kidneys, and turgid state of the pulmonary vessels, right auricle and ventricle, and of the venous system generally, all of which are most commonly found in asphyxiated persons, renders it probable that such was not the cause of their death, and heightens the probability of its having acted as a narcotic poison. We cannot urge the similarity of the morbid appearances found, to those produced by the narcotic poisons, for, according to the observations which have as yet been made upon the subject, they are so various that no reliance can be placed upon them. We may add however, that if the gas had acted simply by excluding the due proportion of oxygen, and thence as an asphyxiating one, most probably one of the individuals would have suffered some unpleasant sensation, that would have awakened them, and thus have prevented the fatal effects, or at least have caused some disturbance; whereas there was no indication of their having moved much: which we would readily expect, upon the supposition of their having respired a narcotic poison, producing stupor and insensibility. 6.-Case of Imperforate Uterus. By Alexander Tweedie. In the fourth number (vol. ii, p. 258,) of these Reports, is given the early history of this case, together with an account of her first delivery, and the treatment then employed. With regard to that part of the history of this patient, it is sufficient for our present purpose to say: that she was a rather small woman, but had always enjoyed robust health-had menstruated regularly from her fourteenth year, up to the time of her marriage, which was in February, 1836, in her 23d year— that she never menstruated after she was married-that in November, 1836, she was admitted into Guy's Lying-in Charity-shortly afterwards had a slight sanguineous discharge from the vagina, which continued a day or two-that in about twenty-four or thirty-six hours from its cessation, she felt the early symptoms of approaching labor-that soon the pains became pretty severe, and continued so but ineffectual, for some hours-that a smooth globular body was discovered to descend into the vagina at each contraction of the uterusthat no os uteri could be found-that the vagina could be traced throughout its whole extent, and was ascertained to be reflected from this globular body just as it commonly is from the neck of the uterus-that during the absence of pains, this body could be distinctly felt to be the head of the child with the relaxed coats of the uterus intervening-that a point was discovered, which seemed to be thinner than the rest, and an incision was made through it antero-posteriorly, to the extent of an inch and a half-that the waters immediately escaped-that subsequent pains caused a considerable extension of the opening by laceration, extending from the reflexion of the vagina at the ileo-pubic junction on the right side, obliquely across towards the sacro-iliac symphysis of the left-that after a protracted labor and considerable exhaustion, the patient was delivered of an asphyxiated child, which however was resuscitated-and that finally she recovered without any very unfavorable symptoms, leaving a small opening at the top of the vagina, with several cicatrized lines radiating from it, and without any cervix uteri. The present article gives an account of her second confinement, which took place in January, 1838. Her health after her first delivery, had been tolerably good-she had miscarried twice, once at the second month, and the second time at the third month of utero-gestation-and she menstrated regularly during the whole period of lactation, when not pregnant. In this, her second confinement, when she had been in labour 8 hours, the uterine contractions became "intensely powerful," and on examination, there was found at "the ute rine extremity of the vagina, an irregular opening, which posteriorly and laterally seemed continuous almost with the vagina, but anteriorly was bounded by a strong, firm, unyielding, rigid edge, upon which at each pain the child's head was forcibly impelled." The opening was about " the area of a penny," and a cicatrized line was distinctly perceptible, running towards the left ilio-pubic junction. The uterine contractions having continued very powerful for twelve hours, without augmenting the size of the opening, it was determined to enlarge it; which was accordingly done to the extent of an inch with a probe-poined bistoury, after the manner of dividing a hernial stricture. Scarcely any blood followed the incision-the uterine contractions almost ceased for a time, and she felt faint. Upon the exhibition however of some weak brandy she revived, the contractions returned, and in less than an hour from the operation, she was delivered of a full grown child, which was asphyiated but restored after some difficulty. As in her former confinement she recovered without any difficulty-suffering only for a few days some tenderness upon pressure over the pubes-and some inconvenience from distention of the left breast by milk, there being in this case the singular coincidence of the imperforate state of the os uteri and absence of the neck of the uterus, with the want of a nipple upon the left breast. In his remarks upon the probable explanation of this case, Mr. Tweedie observes: "There being thus no cervix, it is evident that the glandular or follicular structure of the part cannot exist; but it does not therefore follow that there was no opening into the womb prior to impregnation. We believe there was an opening, but not surrounded by the glandular structure which naturally exists here: hence, when impregnation took place, the ordinary mucous secretion could not be found, to seal it up; and is it very unreasonable to imagine, that, under this malforma |