The hair of
the head measured 18 inches, that of the beard eight inches, and
that on the breast from four to six inches. Rosse of Washington
mentions an instance in which after burial the hair turned from
dark brown to red, and also cites a case in a Washington cemetery
of a girl, twelve or thirteen years old, who when exhumed was
found to have a new growth of hair all over her body. The
Ephemerides contains an account of hair suddenly turning gray
after death.
Nails sometimes grow several inches after death, and there is on
record the account of an idiot who had an idiosyncrasy for long
nails, and after death the nails were found to have grown to such
an extent that they curled up under the palms and soles.
The untoward effects of the emotions on the vital functions are
quite well exemplified in medical literature. There is an
abundance of cases reported in which joy, fear, pride, and grief
have produced a fatal issue. In history we have the old story of
the Lacedemonian woman who for some time had believed her son was
dead, and who from the sudden joy occasioned by seeing him alive,
herself fell lifeless. There is a similar instance in Roman
history. Aristotle, Pliny, Livy, Cicero, and others cite
instances of death from sudden or excessive joy.
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