Post Mortem Examination of the Late Dr. Harris F. Dunsford, about twenty hours after Death:
“The examination was confined to the head. Some difficulty was experienced in the preliminary steps, in consequence of the unusual density and thickness of the cranium. The necessary section having been completed, endeavours were made to remove the upper portion of the cranium; but so firmly adherent was the dura mater, that it was found impracticable to do so. During the removal of the brain, between two and three ounces of serum escaped from beneath the arachnoid, and possibly from the ventricles. The sinuses of the brain were gorged with blood. The dura mater having been reflected, the pia mater presented the appearance of great vascularity, and on the upper surface of the left hemisphere there was a small quantity of gritty deposit. The brain was of large size, and somewhat beyond the usual weight. The cerebral substance was of a natural consistence, but highly vascular throughout. The lateral ventricles contained a small quantity of fluid, but there was reason to believe that a portion had previously escaped. The third ventricle was dilated. The lining membrane of the ventricles was much injected. The cerebellum and pons varolii were congested, but otherwise healthy. The medulla spinalis was engorged, and much blood flowed from the divided vessels of the membranes. There appeared to have been effusion into the theca.
These were the only abnormal appearances discovered, upon careful examination.”
The immediate cause of his death was cerebral congestion and effusion into the ventricles.
Drysdale, John James, et al. The British Journal of Homoeopathy, vol. 5, 1847, pp. 400.
