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Show H HAS TWO HEARTS. HH A. Physician's Report on the Most Itemarlc. BBc ablo Case of William King:. BK William 'King, the negro who has BH two hearts and is able to control the BH pulsations of either at will, and who BHj occasionally excites the medical associa- BK tions of the Atlantic coast by making BB- an exhibition of himself, has been ex. H amined by Dr. C. A. Jackson of Pitts- BH burg, who reports as follows: H 'The man has two distinct hearts, BH oonneoted only by the larger blood ves- BE eels and a very elastic pericardinm. He BB has the peculiar power of moving either BH of these two hearts independently and BBj can hold one up under the ribs while BH the othor is let down into the groin, BH where it can be felt pulsating even mor? BBj plainly than when in its natural posh BH tion. He can stop one or both from beat. BBj ing for a period of one minute and BB probably longer, but he has been told BBJ that to extend the timo beyond that BB limit would probably endanger his life. Bj The stoppage of either heart silences BBJ the pulse beats on the corresponding BBj side, but does not affeot the other. If BBj both are stopped at once, no pulse beat BB can be detected in any part of the body, BB "The left heart is the larger of the BJ two, being about the size of a ooooanut, BB which is Tory largo for a man of King's BB size. The right one is no larger than BB a good sized goose egg. K "When one heart is down in the BB flank and the other in normal position, BB they are separated by a distance of about B 14 inches. As they lie ordinarily in the BB ohest thoy are only about two or three BH inches apart. BB "The most remarkable thing about BB King's case is the fact that each heart BB appears to be complete in all its details BB and furnished with sufficient blood for BB use on its own side of the body. B "In some species of lower animals BB there are two distinct hearts, but in BB them the right side sends blood to the K lungs, while the left does the work for fl tho general circulation of tho whols Bfl bodv." |