Enlarge听听听听听 Descriptive Card听听听听听 Log Book Entry (none)
Rodin Number: 17
E Number: 127
Donor: Ross and Osler
Date: 1877
Size (H x W cm): 17.5 x 19.5
The specimen shows left ventricular hypertrophy (corroborated by a measured weight of 610 g at autopsy) and biventricular dilation.
Comment
The descriptive card indicates that the cardiac abnormalities are the result of 鈥渙ver-strain (鈥渁thlete鈥檚 heart鈥�)鈥�. Osler's detailed description of the pathologic findings is given in the autopsy protocol (
rodin_oslerian_pathology_2015.pdf). The case was also published in the Canada Medical and Surgical Journal 1878, 6: 385 - 395. Osler confessed in the published report that he was unsure of the cause of the hypertrophy at the time of the autopsy.聽 However, "enquiries about the past life of the man" showed that he had worked as a blacksmith and a laborer and Osler speculated that聽muscular over-exertion might have been responsible by interfering with聽the passage of blood through the systemic blood vessels, resulting in an increase in聽arterial pressure. Today, it is known that chronic rather than episodic聽hypertension is聽the聽cause of the hypertrophy. Although the findings in this specimen are consistent with hypertensive cardiac disease, the possibility of idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy might also be considered.
The reference to 鈥淐.M. St Mar. 1898鈥� on the descriptive card is unclear. George Ross was Professor of Medicine and Vice Dean at 苹果淫院 (1889-92).