Postmortem
examination revealed everything normal, and death must have been
caused by syncope following violent pain. Watkins cites an
instance occurring in South Africa. A native shearing sheep for a
farmer provoked his master's ire by calling him by some nickname.
While the man was in a squatting posture the farmer struck him in
the epigastrium. He followed this up by a kick in the side and a
blow on the head, neither of which, however, was as severe as the
first blow. The man fell unconscious and died. At the autopsy
there were no signs indicative of death, which must have been due
to the shock following the blow on the epigastrium.
As illustrative of the sensitiveness of the epigastric region,
Vincent relates the following case: "A man received a blow by a
stick upon the epigastrium. He had an anxious expression and
suffered from oppression. Irregular heart-action and shivering
were symptoms that gradually disappeared during the day. In the
evening his appetite returned and he felt well; during the night
he died without a struggle, and at the autopsy there was
absolutely nothing abnormal to be found." Blows upon the neck
often produce sudden collapse. Prize-fighters are well aware of
the effects of a blow on the jugular vein.
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