E. D. a woman aged thirty-six, was admitted into the hospital February 20,
1795: she had then been disordered four months. Her insanity came on a few
days after having been delivered. She had also laboured under a similar
attack seven years before, which, like the present, supervened upon the
birth of a child. Under the impression that she ought to be hanged, she
destroyed her infant, with the view of meeting with that punishment. When
she came into the house, she was very sensible of the crime she had
committed, and felt the most poignant affliction for the act. For about a
month she continued to amend: after which time she became more thoughtful,
and frequently spoke about the child: great anxiety and restlessness
succeeded. In this state she remained until April 23, when her tongue
became thickly furred, the skin parched, her eyes inflamed and glassy, and
her pulse quick. She now talked incoherently; and, towards the evening,
merely muttered to herself. She died on the following day comatose.
She was opened about twenty-four hours after death. The scull was thick,
the pericranium scarcely adhered to the bone, the dura mater was also but
slightly attached to its internal surface. There was a large quantity of
water between the dura mater and tunica arachnoidea; this latter membrane
was much thickened, and was of a milky white appearance. Between the
tunica arachnoidea and pia mater, there was a considerable accumulation of
water. The veins of the pia mater were particularly turgid. About three
ounces of water were contained in the lateral ventricles: the veins of the
membrane lining these cavities were remarkably large and turgid with
blood. When the medullary substance of the cerebrum and cerebellum was cut
into, there appeared a great number of bloody points. The brain was of its
natural consistence.