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Oakden, William Marshall
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James Tapper, 44, Salesman

Occupation or role: Salesman
Age: 44
Gender: Male
Date of admission: 26 Jan 1917
Date of death: 27 Jan 1917
Disease (transcribed): Fractured skull. Extra- & subdural bleeding. Subarachnoid bleeding. Bruising & tearing of brain. Advanced pulmonary phthisis with pleurisy
Disease (standardised): Fracture (Skull); Bleeding (Brain); Bruise (Brain); Tuberculosis (Lungs); Pleurisy (Lungs)
Admitted under the care of: Pendlebury, Herbert Stringfellow
Medical examination performed by: Trevor, Robert Salusbury
Post mortem examination performed by: Oakden, William Marshall
Medical notes: 'Knocked down by a taxi-cab and brought up to the hospital. Was conscious enough to give his name, but later lost his senses’
Body parts examined in the post mortem: Thorax, abdomen, skull
Illustrations: Yes
Type of incident: Accident

Charles Cook , 61, Signalman

Occupation or role: Signalman
Age: 61
Gender: Male
Date of admission: 12 Oct 1916
Date of death: 12 Oct 1916
Disease (transcribed): Carcinoma of rectum. Piece of bone in rectum causing ulceration and perforation. General peritonitis. Enlarged prostate. Cystitis
Disease (standardised): Cancer (Rectum); Ulcer (Rectum); Perforation (Rectum); Peritonitis (Abdomen); Enlarged (Prostate); Cystitis (Bladder)
Admitted under the care of: Fedden, Walter Fedde
Medical examination performed by: Oakden, William Marshall
Post mortem examination performed by: Trevor, Robert Salusbury
Medical notes: The patient had not been well for three weeks. Two days ago he had acute pain in the epigastrium, vomiting and constipation.
Body parts examined in the post mortem: Lungs, larynx, thyroid, pericardium, heart, abdomen, liver, spleen, pancreas, kidneys, bladder and alimentary canal
Illustrations or photographs: Yes Type of incident: n/a

Kate O'Dowd, 40, [Wife of] Soldier

Occupation or role: [Wife of] Soldier
Age: 40
Gender: Female
Date of admission: 28 Oct 1916
Date of death: 29 Nov 1916
Disease (transcribed): Carcinoma of transverse colon. Removal. End to end anastomosis. Local peritonitis. Dilatation of stomach due to obstruction by band
Disease (standardised): Cancer (Intestines); Operation (Intestines); Anastomosis (Intestines); Peritonitis (Abdomen); Dilatation (Stomach); Obstruction (Stomach)
Admitted under the care of: Fedden, Walter Fedde
Medical examination performed by: Oakden, William Marshall
Post mortem examination performed by: Ingleby, Helen
Medical notes: She had not been in good health for a year. She had swelling in the left side of the abdomen for six weeks, becoming larger and more painful.
Body parts examined in the post mortem: Abdomen only examined
Illustrations or photographs: Yes 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