False accusation in the Royal Medical and Chirurgical Society against a poor man because he suffered no pain while his leg was amputated in the mesmeric coma : and cruel refusal of the Society to receive his solemn denial of the truth of the false accusation / By Dr. Elliotson.

  • Elliotson, John, 1791-1868.
Date:
1851]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: False accusation in the Royal Medical and Chirurgical Society against a poor man because he suffered no pain while his leg was amputated in the mesmeric coma : and cruel refusal of the Society to receive his solemn denial of the truth of the false accusation / By Dr. Elliotson. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    human being, in his ordinary condition, to be subjected to such an experiment without, not to say an increase of low moaning if he was already moauing, but without suddenly giving some other more decided sign of anguish, without some interruption to the ‘ perfect stillness and repose of a statue. Mr. Ward further informs me that he ‘ once put his thumb roughly upon the nerve in taking the posterior flap in his hand to sponge, and also used the sponge very roughly.’ If the man had not been able to bear the pain of the operation without moaning, he would not have been able to retain the perfect placidity of his countenance, the relaxed and motionless state of his lips and hands, and the undisturbed regularity of his breathing.” Ihe mesmeric state of the patient usually lasted half an hour; and, after this lapse of time, the operation having been commenced in rather more than a quarter of an hour subsequently to its pro¬ duction, and having occupied, inclusively of applying the bandages, above twenty minutes, he ‘gradually and calmly/ as^usual, awoke.” At first, he uttered no exclamation; and for some moments seemed lost and bewildered,’—a characteristic and striking pheno¬ menon so familiar to mesmerists when any visible change in external circumstances has occurred while the patient was asleep. But, after looking around, he exclaimed, ‘ I bless the Lord to find it’s all over.’ He was then removed to another room; and, following imme¬ diately,’ Mr. Topham ‘ asked him in the presence of all assembled to describe all he felt or knew after he was mesmerised. His reply was, “ 1 never knew anything more; and never felt any pain at all; 7, once, felt as if I heard a kind of crunching.” ’ Mr. Topham ‘asked if that were painful? He replied, “ No pain at all; 1 never had any; and knew nothing till I was awakened by that strong stvf” (the sal volatile). Of course the moment he became sensible he must have tasted the sal volatile, and would fancy that it awoke him, and he must have continued to taste it for some time after he was awake. When mesmeric patients awake spontaneously, they continually ascribe their waking to their first sensation, or even to something imagined. “ ‘ The crunching no doubt was the sawing his own thigh bone.’ It is not uncommon for patients in the mesmeric coma, although insensible to mechanical causes of irritation, yet to hear more or less. As there are in mesmerism various degrees of insensibility to me¬ chanical causes of irritation, from perfect to but slightly impaired sensibility, in different cases; sometimes in the same case at different mesmerisations; and sometimes at different periods of the same mesmerisation; and sometimes one part is insensible and another sensible: so there are various degrees of affection of hearing. In some cases patients hear not the loudest sounds; in others, they hear and answer questions; and it is very common for them to hear well at one moment and appear perfectly deaf at another, as the mesmeric conditions fluctuate in intensity: and the state of sensibility to me¬ chanical causes of irritation and of hearing may bear no relation to each other. It would be wonderful were all this not to happen, since the very same observations hold in similar affections of a func- a 2