Galen also adds, that upon one occasion he removed a portion of carious sternum and found the pericardium in a putrid state, leaving a portion of the heart naked.

It is said that in the presence of Leucatel and several theologians, Francois Botta opened the body of a man who died after an extended illness and found the pericardium putrefied and a great portion of the heart destroyed, but the remaining portion still slightly palpitating.

In this connection Young mentions a patient of sixty-five who in January, 1860, injured his right thumb and lost the last joint by swelling and necrosis.

Chloroform was administered to excise a portion of the necrosed bone and death ensued.

Postmortem examination revealed gangrene of the heart and a remarkable tendency to gangrene elsewhere (omentum, small intestines, skin, etc.).