Evening Republican, Volume 18, Number 71, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 24 March 1914 — SURE DEATH TESTS [ARTICLE]

SURE DEATH TESTS

Easy Ways to Know When Life

Has Fled.

Simple Methods That Will Prevent Possibility of Premature Burial — Injection of Fluorescein Only Unfailing Plan.

New York. —When the doctor pronounces the patient dead, is he sure? And if not, wljgt tests can remove all doubt? These questions, though not often spoken are probably present in the minds of friends and relatives at every death bed. As death is the worst of all disasters and no mistake could be more awful than premature burial, it is not merely interesting but important for people to know' what tests are conclusive and what are not. When the breathing stops and no sound of heart beat or pulse can be detected, there is little doubt of death. But the little doubt is in itself so dreadful that these common signs are not enough. If the body grows slowly but steadily cool the doubt is lessened, but by no means re mo ved. Nor isi t a sign of life if. after dropping, the temperature suddenly rises again. The placing of a mirror in front of the mouth and nostrils is a well known test. The theory is that even the faintest breath will dim thi mirror. This test is not only worthless, but likely to cause false hopes. Gases generated in the body very frequently issue from the mouth and form a mist upon the mirror. <

Steel needles are sometimes thrust into the muscles for a period of an hour and then examined. If the person is alive the oxygen, of the blood should rust the needle; if dead it should not. This test in actual practice is unreliable, and no faith can be placed in it. Another cause of false hopes is the custom of placing a glass of water filled to the edge on the breast. The slightest movement of the lungs will cause a drop to spill. This, too, is valueless, because after death there are Invariably certain movements „of the muscles known as “cadaveric spasms,” which are frequent enough to spill the water. '♦ Probably one of the most infallible tests is the opening pf an artery. In life the arteries are full of blood under pressure. In death the arteries drain into the veins. This is a very fortunate fact, as it prevents the undertaker from making any mistake. The embalming fluid is injected by opening an artery. Should blood flow he knows that life still persists and is warned in time.

Cutting the skin to see if blood will flow from' the veins proves nothing, as it often flows as late as three days after death. The X-ray, when it is available, provides an excellent proof of death. A photograph of a live being shows the heart with a blurred outline. This is caused by even the faintest movements of the organ. An X-ray exposure of a dead person reveals the heart clear cut and sharp.

There are numberless so-called tests of the eye—its shrinkage in size, the dimming and fogging of the transparent part and other signs. These signs are not sufficient proof, nor is the test of flashing a bright light in the eye to see if the/pupil contracts. Even atropine dropped on the eyeball brings no evidence. It has been proved that the drug will dilate the eye some time after death. Many persons think electricity applied in the form of shocks is a test It Is of no avail, as the muscles usually respond to the current for three hours or more after death. _

Proof beyond question is supplied when the stiffening known as “rigor mortis” sets in. Hysteria, catalepsy and other states often simulate that stiffness. Rigor mortis in one part of the body, usually the muscles of the throat, and gradually extends throughout the body, while the various living forms of muscle stiffening come on Instantly and belong to all the muscles. The so-called “diaphanous” test is unreliable. If you hold your hand dose to a candle or other bright light the fingers show a certain rosy translucency, the hones appearing as dim shadows. After death the fingers usually become as opaque as if made of marble. But exceptions are frequent enough to make the test worthless. A harmless but very powerful dye called fluorescein will settle all doubts very quickly. If a hypodermic syringe is used to inject a little of this dye under the skin it has no result on a dead person. But if this be done to one in whom there is the slightest trace of circulation there follows at once an unmistakable and startling result The entire skin becomes a golden yellow and the whites of the eyes turn an emerald green. The effects pass away soon after the pulse and breathing are restored. This and the test of opening an artery are probably the only infallible death tests.