A case of peculiar interest, because of the accident question, is that of Dr. M. G. Dadirrian, New York. He has made claim for insurance money on the basis of an attackof appendicitis caused by the accidental swallowing of a lump of solder.
History.
—Early in June, 1908, the patient, aged 69, felt a hard lump in his mouth while eating his dinner. The lump was involuntarily swallowed while he was trying to catch it between his teeth. A few days later he developed acute appendicitis. The integrity of the appendix had never been questioned previously. When I saw the patient in consultation with Dr. Charles Hendee Smith and Dr. Thomas H. Cherry, June 17, a rapidly spreading general peritonitis was well under way.
Operation.
—An operation for removal of the appendix was performed as quickly as we could get the room ready. Purulent fluid, past the protective staphylococcus stage,