[p. 287]
of choking; loss of speech and of sensibility; respiration imperceptible
and indistinct; a very sudden and incredible death,
for they have nothing deadly in their appearance; in colour
like that of life, and for a considerable time after death they
are more ruddy than usual; eyes somewhat prominent, bright,
not entirely fixed, but yet not very much turned aside.
But if the uterus be removed back to its seat before the
affection come to a conclusion, they escape the suffocation.
When the belly rumbles there is moisture about the female
parts, respiration thicker and more distinct, a very speedy
rousing up from the affection, in like manner as death is very
sudden; for as it readily ascends to the higher regions, so it
readily recedes. For the uterus is buoyant, but the membranes,
its supporters, are humid, and the place is humid in
which the uterus lies; and, moreover, it flees from fetid
things, and seeks after sweet: wherefore it readily inclines to
this side and to that, like a log of wood, and floats upwards
and downwards. For this reason the affection occurs in
young women, but not in old. For in those in whom the
age, mode of life, and understanding is more mobile, the
uterus also is of a wandering nature; but in those more advanced
in life, the age, mode of living, understanding, and
the uterus are of a steady character. Wherefore this suffocation
from the womb accompanies females alone.
But the affections common to men happen also to the
uterus, such as inflammation and hemorrhage, and they have
the common symptoms; namely, fever, asphexy, coldness, loss
of speech. But in hemorrhage the death is even more sudden,
being like that of a slaughtered animal.
