A MYSTERIOUS DISEASE.

Wanganui Herald, Volume XXXXV, Issue 13053, 22 April 1910, Page 5

A MYSTERIOUS DISEASE.

NO MEANS OF DIAGNOSING IT.

(Per United Press Association ) CHRISTCHURCH, April 20. That mysterious disca-e, status lymphaticus, which still puzzles doctors, was declared on Tuesday to have been the cause of the death at Timaru of a young man named Eric Cameron, who died the previous day under chloroform. It was shown that the deceased had been carefully examined before being given the anaesthetic, and .that there was no apparent reason why he should not be given it. The doctor who made the post-mortem examination of the body said lie found tho deceased to have been well-nourished and apparently , a healthy young man. ’ The internal organs, heart and lungs, were quite sound, but there was present a thymus gland. This gland was not present in a normal healthy adult. It was present at birth, but shrunk at the age of 12 months. There was also enlargement of the spleen, of the thyroid, and of tho glands in the mesentery. These conditions were present in the disease known as status lyraphaticus, which gave rise to sudden death on any occasion when some gross interference with the ordinary balance of life was made. It had been found in a large proportion of tho eases of sudden death in apparently healthy individuals.' 'Some authorities went so far as to say that to administer an anesthetic to a man with status lymphaticns meant almost certain death. The di-ease had never been recognised during lifetime, and there were no means of diagnosing it. He attributed death to status lymphaticns, hastened by the administration of chloroform. Any sudden shock might have caused tho death of the deceased at any time. ■ The thymus gland weighed 497 grains, and it was the main feature of tho disease from which the deceased suffered.

The coroner returned a verdict in accordance with the medical evidence.