biomedicalephemera:biomedicalephemera:A portion of Charles Guiteau’s brain“The doctors killed Garfie

biomedicalephemera:biomedicalephemera:A portion of Charles Guiteau’s brain“The doctors killed Garfield, I just shot him”This is a specimen of the brain tissue of Charles Guiteau. He is best known as the assassin of President James A. Garfield of the USA. While James Garfield was shot on July 2, 1881, he did not die until eleven weeks later. Most of his care was considered competent for the day, but his physicians rejected antiseptic technique, and if they hadn’t, it’s widely believed that Garfield would have survived. The exact cause of death was overwhelming infection, leading to rupture of the splenic artery.His assassin was executed less than a year after his death, by hanging. From the National Museum of Health and Medicine, via FlickrErin McCarthy over at mental_floss expanded on this a couple days back.Fascinating tidbit about the dissection of the brain:“Most scientists at the time believed that insanity, true insanity, always betrayed itself by clear brain damage—lesions, hemorrhages, putrid tissue, or something.” Guiteau’s brain weighed 50 ounces and looked, for the most part, normal—at least to the naked eye. But under a microscope was a different story:Guiteau’s brain looked awful. The outer rind on the surface, the “gray matter” that controls higher thinking, had thinned to almost nothing in spots. Neurons had perished in droves, leaving tiny holes, as if someone had carbonated the tissue. Yellow-brown gunk a remnant of dying blood vessels, was smeared everywhere as well. Overall the pathologists found “decided chronic disease … pervad[ing] all portions of the brain” … Guiteau was surely insane.”Go read more! -- source link

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