Showing 11 results

Archival description
Post Mortem Examinations and Case Books Comerford, Beaumont Harry
Print preview View:

10 results with digital objects Show results with digital objects

Anne Teague, 33, [Wife of] Butler

Occupation or role: [Wife of] Butler
Age: 33
Gender: Female
Date of admission: 20 Jun 1888
Date of death: 21 Jun 1888
Disease (transcribed): Extra-uterine foetation. Abdominal section. Peritonitis. Pyo-salpinx. Serous perimetritis
Disease (standardised): Ectopic pregnancy; Section (Abdomen); Peritonitis (Abdomen); Pyosalpinx (Fallopian tube); Perimetritis (Uterus)
Admitted under the care of: Pick, Thomas Pickering
Medical examination performed by: Penrose, Francis George
Post mortem examination performed by: Bull, William C. and Comerford, Harry Beaumont and Whipham, Thomas Tillyer
Medical notes: 'No history could be got concerning this patient. She was not seen during life by the surgical registrar. She was admitted by Mr Comerford [Harry Beaumont Comerford], the house physician, who diagnosed peritonitis & placed her under Dr Whipham [Thomas Tillyer Whipham]. It was some time afterwards found that the woman was collapsed & on a proper examination of the woman being made by the obstetric assistant, a large abdominal tumor was found’
Body parts examined in the post mortem: Body parts examined: Abdomen, intestines, bladder, peritoneum, uterus, heart, lungs, spleen, kidneys, liver, stomach, intestines

Type of incident: n/a

Annie Waller, 27, [No occupation stated]

Occupation or role: [No occupation stated]
Age: 27
Gender: Female
Date of admission: 3 Dec 1892
Date of death: 7 Dec 1892
Disease (transcribed): Recent delivery. Pleurisy. Bronchopneumonia
Disease (standardised): Parturition (Uterus); Pleurisy (Pleura); Bronchopneumonia (Lung)
Admitted under the care of: Dakin, William Radford
Medical examination performed by: Comerford, Beaumont Harry
Post mortem examination performed by: n/a
Medical notes: This woman became pregnant in March 1892. The child was born on November 30th. In December she was seized with severe pains in the head and cold shivers and severe catching pain in the side of the left chest.
Body parts examined in the post mortem: Pleurae, lungs, pericardium, heart, liver, spleen, pancreas, suprarenals, kidneys, ureters, bladder, uterus and ovaries
Type of incident: n/a

Arthur Garlick, 7, [Child of] Tailor

Occupation or role: [Child of] Tailor
Age: 7
Gender: Male
Date of admission: 28 Jul 1887
Date of death: 29 Jul 1887
Disease (transcribed): Rupture of liver & spleen. Bruise of kidney
Disease (standardised): Rupture (Liver, spleen)Bruise (Kidney )
Admitted under the care of: Haward, John Warrington
Medical examination performed by: des Voeux, Harold Antoine
Post mortem examination performed by: Comerford, Beaumont Harry
Medical notes: 'Instantly before admission was run over by a cab'

Illustrations: No
Type of incident: n/a

Clemence Solange, 50, Teacher

Occupation or role: Teacher
Age: 50
Gender: Female
Date of admission: 30 Nov 1891
Date of death: 11 Mar 1892
Disease (transcribed): Malignant disease of left ovary, omentum, mesentery. Carcinoma of peritoneum. Primary growth probably in ovaries
Disease (standardised): Cancer (Ovary); Cancer (Omentum); Cancer (Mesentery); Cancer (Peritoneum)
Admitted under the care of: Dakin, William Radford
Medical examination performed by: Comerford, Beaumont Harry
Post mortem examination performed by: Rolleston, Humphry Davy
Medical notes: The patient was admitted complaining of swelling of the abdomen with discomfort for three weeks before admission and constipation for two months.
Body parts examined in the post mortem: Pleurae, lungs, bronchial glands, thyroid glands, pericardium, heart, pancreas, suprarenals, uterus, ovaries, bladder, kidneys, spleen and liver
Type of incident: n/a

Ellen Harris, 22, [No occupation stated]

Occupation or role: [No occupation stated]
Age: 22
Gender: Female
Date of admission: 27 Oct 1892
Date of death: 28 Oct 1892
Disease (transcribed): Recent endocarditis. Chorea of pregnancy
Disease (standardised): Endocarditis (Heart); Chorea (Central nervous system); Pregnancy (Uterus)
Admitted under the care of: Dakin, William Radford
Medical examination performed by: Comerford, Beaumont Harry
Post mortem examination performed by: Rolleston, Humphry Davy
Medical notes: Since becoming pregnant some five months ago, she had suffered from fainting fits and could not speak plainly. Two months ago it was first noticed that she would drop things and could not eat up her dinner.
Body parts examined in the post mortem: Head, spine, pleurae, lungs, bronchial glands, thyroid gland, heart, vermiform appendix, intestines, mesenteric glands, spleen, pancreas, suprarenals, kidneys, ureters, liver, uterus and right knee joint
Type of incident: n/a

Emma Small, 50, [No occupation stated]

Occupation or role: [No occupation stated]
Age: 50
Gender: Female
Date of admission: 24 Nov 1891
Date of death: 25 Jan 1892
Disease (transcribed): Fibroid of uterus
Disease (standardised): Leiomyoma (Uterus)
Admitted under the care of: Dakin, William Radford
Medical examination performed by: Comerford, Beaumont Harry
Post mortem examination performed by: n/a
Medical notes: This woman was transferred complaining of constipation and difficulty in passing motions with passage of slime, also of yellowish vaginal discharge which was rather offensive.
Body parts examined in the post mortem: Pleurae, lungs, bronchi, trachea, thyroid gland, pericardium, heart, spleen, pancreas, suprarenals, liver, stomach, bladder, vagina, uterus, fallopian tubes, ovaries and kidneys
Type of incident: n/a

Helena Gollar, 14, Nursemaid

Occupation or role: Nursemaid
Age: 14
Gender: Female
Date of admission: 13 Jul 1887
Date of death: 30 Jul 1887
Disease (transcribed): Granular kidney. Mitral disease
Disease (standardised): Disease (Kidney); Disease (Heart)
Admitted under the care of: Dickinson, William Howship
Medical examination performed by: Slater, Charles
Post mortem examination performed by: Comerford, Beaumont Harry
Medical notes: 'The patient suffered from rheumatic fever when 12 years old but never had scarlet fever. In Sept '86 *see notes No 1003) she was IP [in-patient] here suffering from general oedema from renal disease'

Illustrations: No
Type of incident: n/a

Isabel Woods, 3 weeks, [No occupation stated]

Occupation or role: [No occupation stated]
Age: 3 weeks
Gender: Female
Date of admission: 10 Feb 1892
Date of death: 19 Feb 1892
Disease (transcribed): Cystic degeneration of kidneys
Disease (standardised): Cysts (Kidney)
Admitted under the care of: Dakin, William Radford
Medical examination performed by: Comerford, Beaumont Harry
Post mortem examination performed by: n/a
Medical notes: This child was admitted with the history that one week after birth the mother noticed the child was swollen but thought it was a fat baby.
Body parts examined in the post mortem: Head, pleurae, lungs, pericardium, heart, spleen, pancreas, suprarenals, ureters, kidneys and liver
Type of incident: n/a

Jane Crowther, 29, [No occupation stated]

Occupation or role: [No occupation stated]
Age: 29
Gender: Female
Date of admission: 18 Nov 1892
Date of death: 2 Dec 1892
Disease (transcribed): Ovarian cyst. Removed Nov 23rd. Subsequent intestinal obstruction. Abdominal section Dec 2nd. Division of a band
Disease (standardised): Cysts (Ovary); Removal (Ovary); Obstruction (Intestines); Section (Abdomen)
Admitted under the care of: Dakin, William Radford
Medical examination performed by: Comerford, Beaumont Harry
Post mortem examination performed by: n/a
Medical notes: She became pregnant on February 14th. Up to this time the abdomen was flat. About six weeks after she ceased to menstruate and noticed she was larger in the left lower abdomen than in the right. Premature labour occurred at eight months and the child died after four days.
Body parts examined in the post mortem: Pleurae, lungs, bronchial glands, pericardium, heart, abdomen, liver, spleen, suprarenals, kidneys, ovaries and uterus
Type of incident: n/a

Jane Morgan, 12 hours, [No occupation stated]

Occupation or role: [No occupation stated]
Age: 12 hours
Gender: Female
Date of admission: 1 Mar 1892
Date of death: 2 Mar 1892
Disease (transcribed): Immaturity
Disease (standardised): Premature birth (Systemic)
Admitted under the care of: Dakin, William Radford
Medical examination performed by: Comerford, Beaumont Harry
Post mortem examination performed by: n/a
Medical notes: A foetus aged seven and a half month and born in the hospital. The child lived thirteen hours. The mother was an inpatient with hydrorrhoea gravidarum.
Body parts examined in the post mortem: No postmortem examination
Type of incident: n/a

Post Mortem Examinations and Case Books

  • 406 PM
  • Collection
  • 1840-1946

The post mortem records contain manuscript case notes, with medical notes both pre and post mortem. These include details on patients’ admission to the hospital, treatments and medication administered to patients and the medical history of patients; the medical histories were copied into the volumes from hospital registers, which are no longer extant. The post mortem cases include detailed pathological findings made during the detailed examination of the body after death. From the 1880s onwards the case books contain original anatomical drawings and photographs.

For more information and updates about the project, see our project page

The following information is recorded for each case. The information is transcribed from the case notes and/or the relevant index and, where relevant, additionally standardised using MeSH (Medical Subject Headings)

• Name of the patient. If a name is not entered in the volume, it is noted in the catalogue as ‘[No name stated]’

• Gender of the patient (female / male / unknown)

• Age of the patient. Usually in numbers, following the original, with the following exceptions: 4/12 = 4 months, 4/52 = 4 weeks, 4/365 = 4 days. If no age is entered, it is noted in the catalogue as ‘[No age stated]’

• Occupation of the patient. Where no occupation is entered, it is noted in the catalogue as ‘[No occupation stated]’. Children are often designated according to their father’s or mother’s occupation and women by their husband’s occupation (e.g. ‘F / Horsekeeper’, ‘M. Charwoman’, ‘Hd Grocer’); these have been rendered in the catalogue as ‘[Child of] Horsekeeper’, ‘[Wife of] Grocer’

• Date of admission and date of death

• The names of the doctors treating or examining the patient. ‘Admitted under the care of’ denotes the senior doctor in charge of the case (usually entered at the top of the page and in the index); ‘Post mortem performed by’ denotes the doctor responsible for the post mortem examination (usually signed at the bottom of the page) and ‘Medical examination performed by’ denotes the doctor responsible for the medical examination prior to death (usually signed at the bottom of the page). The earliest records usually contain only one name, and some of the later ones may contain multiple names in each category. An authority record (name access point) with basic biographical details has been created for each doctor mentioned in the records; these can be used to explore all the cases related to a particular individual

• Disease(s) or cause of death of the patient. Transcribed from the medical case and/or the index and standardised, e.g. ‘Disease (transcribed): Phthisis. Fractured base. Disease (standardised): Tuberculosis (lungs). Fracture (skull)’

• Medical and post mortem notes. Brief summary description or transcription of the case notes relating to previous medical history (not a full transcription of the case notes)

• Note on whether the case includes illustrations or photographs; these can also be browsed via genre access points

• Note on whether the death was caused by trauma, accident or suicide

• Subject access points, using standardised terms from MeSH, with disease type (e.g. respiratory tract diseases, cardiovascular diseases) and anatomy type (e.g. cardiovascular system, musculoskeletal system), which can be used for browsing all relevant cases

Note on transcriptions and abbreviations

Names have been silently expanded, e.g. Jas = James, Wm = William

Some common abbreviations and acronyms

AMCH = Atkinson Morley Convalescent Hospital, Wimbledon
BID = Brought in dead
COA = Condition on admission
F = Father
H or Hd = Husband
HP = House physician
HS = House surgeon
IP = In-patient
L = Left
M = Mother
MR or Med reg or Med r = Medical register or Medical registrar
MS = Museum specimen
OP = Out-patient
OPD = Out-patient department
OR = Obstetric register
PMH = Previous medical history
PH = Previous history
Pt or Pat = Patient
PM = Post mortem
R = Right
RF = Rheumatic fever
Ry = Railway
SR or Surg reg = Surgical register or Surgical registrar
TB = Tuberculosis
VD = Venereal disease

St George's Hospital, London