Descriptive Card Log Book Entry
Rodin Number: 41
E Number: 121
Donor: Osler
Date: 1878
Size (H x W cm): 18 x 19
The specimen consists of the stomach with a small portion of lower esophagus (E). There is a large carcinoma (arrows) which has ulcerated through the gastric wall revealing the adjacent liver (L).
Comment
The case was documented in the MGR and as Osler's autopsy protocol (Case CCLXXXI ) Rodin Pathology. The patient was a 45 year-old woman who had a 5-6 month history of "well marked symptoms of C” (presumably cancer). The minimal inflammatory reaction on the surface of the liver (most of which has a smooth appearance) suggests that the large size of the gastric disruption may be related to the autopsy/specimen handling. However, Osler's autopsy protocol indicates the presence of "two quarts of turbid fluid" in the peritoneal cavity, suggesting that rupture and peritonitis had indeed occurred.