Enlarge Descriptive Card Log Book Entry (none)
Rodin Number: 33
E Number: none
Donor: Finley and McCrae
Date: 1903
Size (H x W cm): 24.5 x 15
The specimen shows two aneurysms of the sinuses of Valsalva (arrows, (A)) and a third one in the ascending aorta. The latter has ruptured into the trachea (arrow on lateral view, (B)).
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Comment
The specimen originated in an autopsy performed by John McCrae in 1903 (
Rodin 225) and its inclusion in the Osler collection is questionable. Nevertheless, we have kept it for historical reasons. Rodin speculates that it may have been added to Abbott's collection following Osler’s visit to Montreal in 1904. It is possible that the specimen was shown to him at that time and that Abbott decided to include it because of his comments or that he himself thought it useful to include with his other material. Osler's designation as donor on the descriptive card supports these possibilities.
Although the descriptive card − and the specimen itself − indicates that the ascending aortic aneurysm had eroded into the trachea (and presumably caused the patient's death), McCrae does not mention this in the autopsy protocol. Frederick Gault Finley (1861 - 1940) was a McGill graduate and the physician following the patient before death. John McCrae succeeded Wyatt Johnston as pathologist to the Montreal General Hospital.