J.Jpn. Surg. Soc.. 54(10): 889-898, 1954

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Original article

EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES ON THE ELECTRIC SUDDEN DEATH CAUSED BY THE INTRATHORACIC CIRCUIT.

If the organs of the chest were in the electric circuit way, such as the charge of electricity was applied between both upper extremeties, or an upper and lower extremities, the progress to the death caused by the electric injuries could be classified into "cardiac sudden death" and "prolonged sudden death", and the form of death caused by "secondary shock", such as we observed dring electrical circuit between both thighs, was exceedingly rarely experienced in the intrathoracic circuit cases.
In these studies 76 adult rabbits, 15 rats and 15 mice were used and mainly alternating current from 5 Volt to 3,000 Volt was used.
1. The subjects the author used are as follows. The amount of electricity was indcated dy Joules and it was possible to draw a boundary line diagrammatically between the death and the existence. The fatal amount of each kind of animal was definite, i.e. rabbit 500 J., rat 300 J, and mouse,10 J. These amounts were one-twentieth of that between both thighs.
2. The lower the voltage, the longer the time to death was prolonged, and the higher, the shorter it was reduced. There was an exponential-functional relation between the voltage and the time to death.
3. The fatal amount of electricity showed no great difference whatever direction it was passed, that is, from upper to lower extremities on either sides or crosswards.
4. In every cases of the sudden death of rabbits, the fibrillation-flutters of the heart were discovered electrocardiographically after the circuit was closed, and, on the other hand, it was not apparent on rats and mouse but a severe disfunction of the rythm occurred. These coronary insufficiency was chiefly considered as the result of the lack of oxygen in the myocardium.
5. The organic or functional disturbance of myocardium was found momentarily and develops to a reversible tendency. Accordingly, we could rescue lives from death by means of preventing the respiratory interruption caused by the coronary insufficiency.
The severer the tissue was damaged, the more irreversible the cardiac insufficiency would be with passing of time. This evidence was the causation of the progress of the prolonged sudden death.
5. The causes of the death due to the intrathoracic circuit, as a result, could be described as the "cardiac death," and by the electrocardiogram this was definitely different from the death caused by the respiratory arrest.
(author's abstract)

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