Anomalies and Curiosities of Medicine [321]
has been mistaken for real death. None of these cases, however, are sufficiently authentic to be reliable. Moreover, in all modern methods of burial, even if life were not extinct, there could be no possibility of consciousness or of struggling. Absolute asphyxiation would soon follow the closing of the coffin lid.
We must admit, however, that the mistake has been made, particularly in instances of catalepsy or trance, and during epidemics of malignant fevers or plagues, in which there is an absolute necessity of hasty burial for the prevention of contagion. In a few instances on the battle-field sudden syncope, or apparent death, has possibly led to premature interment; but in the present day this is surely a very rare occurrence. There is also a danger of mistake from cases of asphyxiation, drowning, and similar sudden suspensions of the vital functions.
It is said that in the eighty-fourth Olympiad, Empedocles restored to life a woman who was about to be buried, and that this circumstance induced the Greeks, for the future protection of the supposed dead, to establish laws which enacted that no person should be interred until the sixth or seventh day. But even this extension of time did not give satisfaction, and we read that when Hephestion, at whose funeral obsequies Alexander the Great was present, was to be buried his funeral was delayed until the tenth day. There is also a legend that when Acilius Aviola fell a victim to disease he was burned alive, and although he cried out, it was too late to save him, as the fire had become so widespread before life returned.
While returning to his country house Asclepiades, a physician denominated the "God of Physic," and said to have been a descendant of aesculapius, saw during the time of Pompey the Great a crowd of mourners about to start a fire on a funeral pile. It is said that by his superior knowledge he perceived indications of life in the corpse and ordered the pile destroyed, subsequently restoring the supposed deceased to life. These examples and several others of a similar nature induced the Romans to delay their funeral rites, and laws were enacted to prevent haste in burning, as well as in interment. It was not until the eighth day that the final rites were performed, the days immediately subsequent to death having their own special ceremonies. The Turks were also fearful of premature interment and subjected the defunct to every test; among others, one was to examine the contractility of the sphincter and, which shows their keen observation of a well-known modern medical fact.
According to the Memoirs of Amelot de la Houssaye, Cardinal Espinola, Prime Minister to Philip II, put his hand to the embalmer's knife with which he was about to be opened; It is said that Vesalius, sometimes called the "Father of Anatomy," having been sent for to perform an autopsy on a woman subject to hysteric convulsions, and who was supposed to be dead, on making the first incision perceived by her motion and cries that she was still alive. This circumstance, becoming known, rendered him so odious that he had to leave the community in which he practiced, and it is believed that he never entirely recovered from the shock it gave him. The Abbe Prevost, so well known by his works and the singularities of his life, was seized by apoplexy in the Forest of Chantilly on October 23, 1763. His body was carried to the nearest village, and the officers of justice proceeded to open it, when a cry he sent forth frightened all the assistants and convinced the surgeon in charge that the Abbe was not dead; but it was too late to save him, as he had already received a mortal wound.
Massien speaks of a woman living in Cologne in 1571 who was interred living, but was not awakened from her lethargy until a grave-digger opened her grave to steal a valuable ring which she wore. This instance has been cited in nearly every language. There is another more recent instance, coming from Poitiers, of the wife of a goldsmith named Mernache who was buried with all her jewels. During the night a beggar
We must admit, however, that the mistake has been made, particularly in instances of catalepsy or trance, and during epidemics of malignant fevers or plagues, in which there is an absolute necessity of hasty burial for the prevention of contagion. In a few instances on the battle-field sudden syncope, or apparent death, has possibly led to premature interment; but in the present day this is surely a very rare occurrence. There is also a danger of mistake from cases of asphyxiation, drowning, and similar sudden suspensions of the vital functions.
It is said that in the eighty-fourth Olympiad, Empedocles restored to life a woman who was about to be buried, and that this circumstance induced the Greeks, for the future protection of the supposed dead, to establish laws which enacted that no person should be interred until the sixth or seventh day. But even this extension of time did not give satisfaction, and we read that when Hephestion, at whose funeral obsequies Alexander the Great was present, was to be buried his funeral was delayed until the tenth day. There is also a legend that when Acilius Aviola fell a victim to disease he was burned alive, and although he cried out, it was too late to save him, as the fire had become so widespread before life returned.
While returning to his country house Asclepiades, a physician denominated the "God of Physic," and said to have been a descendant of aesculapius, saw during the time of Pompey the Great a crowd of mourners about to start a fire on a funeral pile. It is said that by his superior knowledge he perceived indications of life in the corpse and ordered the pile destroyed, subsequently restoring the supposed deceased to life. These examples and several others of a similar nature induced the Romans to delay their funeral rites, and laws were enacted to prevent haste in burning, as well as in interment. It was not until the eighth day that the final rites were performed, the days immediately subsequent to death having their own special ceremonies. The Turks were also fearful of premature interment and subjected the defunct to every test; among others, one was to examine the contractility of the sphincter and, which shows their keen observation of a well-known modern medical fact.
According to the Memoirs of Amelot de la Houssaye, Cardinal Espinola, Prime Minister to Philip II, put his hand to the embalmer's knife with which he was about to be opened; It is said that Vesalius, sometimes called the "Father of Anatomy," having been sent for to perform an autopsy on a woman subject to hysteric convulsions, and who was supposed to be dead, on making the first incision perceived by her motion and cries that she was still alive. This circumstance, becoming known, rendered him so odious that he had to leave the community in which he practiced, and it is believed that he never entirely recovered from the shock it gave him. The Abbe Prevost, so well known by his works and the singularities of his life, was seized by apoplexy in the Forest of Chantilly on October 23, 1763. His body was carried to the nearest village, and the officers of justice proceeded to open it, when a cry he sent forth frightened all the assistants and convinced the surgeon in charge that the Abbe was not dead; but it was too late to save him, as he had already received a mortal wound.
Massien speaks of a woman living in Cologne in 1571 who was interred living, but was not awakened from her lethargy until a grave-digger opened her grave to steal a valuable ring which she wore. This instance has been cited in nearly every language. There is another more recent instance, coming from Poitiers, of the wife of a goldsmith named Mernache who was buried with all her jewels. During the night a beggar