Anomalies and Curiosities of Medicine [235]
by an odor somewhat similar to that of leather. Old age produces an odor similar to that of dry leaves, and there have been persons who declared that they could tell approximately the age of individuals by the sense of smell.
Certain tribes and races of people have characteristic odors. Negroes have a rank ammoniacal odor, unmitigated by cleanliness; according to Pruner-Bey it is due to a volatile oil set free by the sebaceous follicles. The Esquimaux and Greenlanders have the odors of their greasy and oily foods, and it is said that the Cossacks, who live much with their horses, and who are principally vegetarians, will leave the atmosphere charged with odors several hours after their passage in numbers through a neighborhood. The lower race of Chinamen are distinguished by a peculiar musty odor, which may be noticed in the laundry shops of this country. Some people, such as the low grade of Indians, have odors, not distinctive, and solely due to the filth of their persons. Food and drink, as have been mentioned, markedly influence the odor of an individual, and those perpetually addicted to a special diet or drink have a particular odor.
Odor after Coitus.--Preismann in 1877 makes the statement that for six hours after coitus there is a peculiar odor noticeable in the breath, owing to a peculiar secretion of the buccal glands. He says that this odor is most perceptible in men of about thirty-five, and can be discerned at a distance of from four to six feet. He also adds that this fact would be of great medicolegal value in the early arrest of those charged with rape. In this connection the analogy of the breath immediately after coitus to the odor of chloroform has been mentioned. The same article states that after coitus naturally foul breath becomes sweet.
The emotions are said to have a decided influence on the odor of an individual. Gambrini, quoted by Monin, mentions a young man, unfortunate in love and violently jealous, whose whole body exhaled a sickening, pernicious, and fetid odor. Orteschi met a young lady who, without any possibility of fraud, exhaled the strong odor of vanilla from the commissures of her fingers.
Rayer speaks of a woman under his care at the Hopital de la Charite affected with chronic peritonitis, who some time before her death exhaled a very decided odor of musk. The smell had been noticed several days, but was thought to be due to a bag of musk put purposely into the bed to overpower other bad smells. The woman, however, gave full assurance that she had no kind of perfume about her and that her clothes had been frequently changed. The odor of musk in this case was very perceptible on the arms and other portions of the body, but did not become more powerful by friction. After continuing for about eight days it grew fainter and nearly vanished before the patient's death. Speranza relates a similar case.
Complexion.--Pare states that persons of red hair and freckled complexion have a noxious exhalation; the odor of prussic acid is said to come from dark individuals, while blondes exhale a secretion resembling musk. Fat persons frequently have an oleaginous smell.
The disorders of the nervous system are said to be associated with peculiar odors. Fevre says the odor of the sweat of lunatics resembles that of yellow deer or mice, and Knight remarks that the absence of this symptom would enable him to tell whether insanity was feigned or not. Burrows declares that in the absence of further evidence he would not hesitate to pronounce a person insane if he could perceive certain associate odors. Sir William Gull and others are credited with asserting that they could detect syphilis by smell. Weir Mitchell has observed that in lesions of nerves the corresponding cutaneous area exhaled the odor of stagnant water. Hammond refers to three cases under his notice in which specific odors were the results of affections of the nervous system. One of these cases was a young woman of hysterical tendencies who exhaled the odor of violets, which pervaded her apartments. This odor was given off
Certain tribes and races of people have characteristic odors. Negroes have a rank ammoniacal odor, unmitigated by cleanliness; according to Pruner-Bey it is due to a volatile oil set free by the sebaceous follicles. The Esquimaux and Greenlanders have the odors of their greasy and oily foods, and it is said that the Cossacks, who live much with their horses, and who are principally vegetarians, will leave the atmosphere charged with odors several hours after their passage in numbers through a neighborhood. The lower race of Chinamen are distinguished by a peculiar musty odor, which may be noticed in the laundry shops of this country. Some people, such as the low grade of Indians, have odors, not distinctive, and solely due to the filth of their persons. Food and drink, as have been mentioned, markedly influence the odor of an individual, and those perpetually addicted to a special diet or drink have a particular odor.
Odor after Coitus.--Preismann in 1877 makes the statement that for six hours after coitus there is a peculiar odor noticeable in the breath, owing to a peculiar secretion of the buccal glands. He says that this odor is most perceptible in men of about thirty-five, and can be discerned at a distance of from four to six feet. He also adds that this fact would be of great medicolegal value in the early arrest of those charged with rape. In this connection the analogy of the breath immediately after coitus to the odor of chloroform has been mentioned. The same article states that after coitus naturally foul breath becomes sweet.
The emotions are said to have a decided influence on the odor of an individual. Gambrini, quoted by Monin, mentions a young man, unfortunate in love and violently jealous, whose whole body exhaled a sickening, pernicious, and fetid odor. Orteschi met a young lady who, without any possibility of fraud, exhaled the strong odor of vanilla from the commissures of her fingers.
Rayer speaks of a woman under his care at the Hopital de la Charite affected with chronic peritonitis, who some time before her death exhaled a very decided odor of musk. The smell had been noticed several days, but was thought to be due to a bag of musk put purposely into the bed to overpower other bad smells. The woman, however, gave full assurance that she had no kind of perfume about her and that her clothes had been frequently changed. The odor of musk in this case was very perceptible on the arms and other portions of the body, but did not become more powerful by friction. After continuing for about eight days it grew fainter and nearly vanished before the patient's death. Speranza relates a similar case.
Complexion.--Pare states that persons of red hair and freckled complexion have a noxious exhalation; the odor of prussic acid is said to come from dark individuals, while blondes exhale a secretion resembling musk. Fat persons frequently have an oleaginous smell.
The disorders of the nervous system are said to be associated with peculiar odors. Fevre says the odor of the sweat of lunatics resembles that of yellow deer or mice, and Knight remarks that the absence of this symptom would enable him to tell whether insanity was feigned or not. Burrows declares that in the absence of further evidence he would not hesitate to pronounce a person insane if he could perceive certain associate odors. Sir William Gull and others are credited with asserting that they could detect syphilis by smell. Weir Mitchell has observed that in lesions of nerves the corresponding cutaneous area exhaled the odor of stagnant water. Hammond refers to three cases under his notice in which specific odors were the results of affections of the nervous system. One of these cases was a young woman of hysterical tendencies who exhaled the odor of violets, which pervaded her apartments. This odor was given off