Hall states that his experience in the study of cardiac wounds, chiefly on game-animals, would lead him to the conclusion that transverse wounds the lower portions of the heart, giving rise to punctures rather than extensive lacerations, do not commonly cause cessation of life for a time varying from some considerable fraction of a minute to many minutes or even hours, and especially if the puncture be valvular in character, so as to prevent the loss of much blood. However, if the wound involve the base of the organ, with extensive laceration of the surrounding parts, death is practically instantaneous. It would seem that injury to the muscular walls of the heart is much less efficient in the production of immediate death than destruction of the cardiac nervous mechanism, serious irritation of the latter producing almost instantaneous death from shock. In addition, Hall cites several of the instances on which he based his conclusions. He mentions two wild geese which flew respectively 1/4 and 3/4 of a mile after having been shot through the heart, each with a pellet of BB shot, the base in each instance being uninjured; in several instances antelope and deer ran several rods after being shot with a rifle ball in a similar manner; on the other hand, death was practically instantaneous in several of these animals in which the base of the heart was extensively lacerated. Again, death may result instantaneously from wounds of the precordial region, or according to Erichsen, if held directly over the heart, from the discharge of a pistol containing powder alone, a result occasionally seen after a blow on the precordial region. It is well, however, to state that in times of excitement, one may receive an injury which will shortly prove fatal, and yet not be aware of the fact for some time, perhaps even for several minutes. It would appear that the nervous system is so highly tuned at such times, that it does not respond to reflex irritations as readily as in the absence of excitement.
Instances of Survival after Cardiac Injuries.--We briefly cite the principal interesting instances of cardiac injuries in which death has been delayed for some time, or from which the patient ultimately recovered.
Pare relates the case of a soldier who received a blow from a halberd, penetrating the left ventricle, and who walked to the surgeon's tent to have his wound dressed and then to his own tent 260 yards away. Diemerbroeck mentions two instances of long survival after cardiac injuries, in one of which the patient ran 60 paces after receiving the wound, had complete composure of mind, and survived nine days. There is an instance in which a man ran 400 paces after penetration of the left ventricle, and lived for five hours. Morand gives an instance of survival for five days after wound of the right ventricle. Saucerotte speaks of survival for three days after injury to the heart.
Babington speaks of a case of heart-injury, caused by transfixion by a bayonet, in which the patient survived nine hours. Other older cases are as follows: l'Ecluse, seven days; the Ephemerides, four and six days; Col de Vilars, twelve days;Marcucci, eighteen days; Bartholinus, five days; Durande, five days; Boyer, five days; Capelle, twenty six hours; Fahner, eleven days; Marigues, thirteen days; Morgagni, eight days; la Motte, twelve hours; Rhodius, Riedlin, two days; Saviard, eleven days;Sennert, three days; Triller, fourteen days; and Tulpius, two and fifteen days; and Zittman, eight days.
The Duc de Berri, heir to the French throne, who was assassinated in 1826, lived several hours with one of his ventricles opened.