An Abstract of the Remarkable Case and Cure of a Woman, from Whom a Foetus Was Extracted, That Had Been Lodged Thirteen Years in One of the Fallopian Tubes; Sent from Riga by Dr. James Mounsey, Physician to the Army of the Czarina, Together with the Bones of the Said Foetus, as a Present to the Royal Society of London, and Delivered Accordingly in His Name, by Henry Baker, F. R. S.

I. An Abstract of the remarkable Case and Cure of a Woman, from whom a Foetus was extracted, that had been lodged thirteen Years in one of the Fallopian Tubes; sent from Riga by Dr. James Mounsey, Physician to the Army of the Czarina, together with the Bones of the said Foetus, as a Present to the Royal Society of London, and delivered accordingly in his Name, by Henry Baker, F.R.S. The Original read at a Meeting of the Royal Society, Feb. 4. 1747-8. THE Particulars of this extraordinary Case are set forth at large in *Dr. Mounsey's Paper, the Substance whereof is as follows: A Soldier's Wife, of Abo in Finland, of a middling Stature, and who had been the Mother of two Children, being pregnant a third time in the Year 1730. was afflicted with violent Pains and Twistings in the Bowels, swooning Fits, Vomitings, and great Disorders in her Back and lower Belly. These Symptoms, and Complaints of several other kinds, continued to make her uneasy, till she found her Burden * It is likewise printed in the Swedish Language, in the Acts of the Royal Academy at Stockholm. Burden increase, which fell from Side to Side as she changed the Posture of her Body, and could be pressed by her Hand from one Place to another, but rather chose to remain on the right Side. After Quickening her Health became better, she grew bigger belly'd than ordinary, and was supposed to carry Twins. About the time her Delivery was expected, she was taken ill with violent Pains by Fits across her lower Belly; but had none in her Back, nor any Forcings downwards; and next Day these Pains went off, which made her suppose she had mifreckon'd. But after this her Breasts swell'd, and gave Milk in Plenty; and her Menses came on, attended with more violent Pains than she had had before; and such large Discharges of Blood from time to time, that she could neither speak nor move; and even after the Floodings were stopp'd, her Blood and Strength seem'd quite exhausted: She often fainted away, and was sometimes thought to be dead. She continued very sickly for ten Years afterwards; during which Time her Burden was moveable, and fell from Side to Side. But in the Month of September 1741, she felt a Pain beneath the Navel, with a Swelling and Redness, which in about three Weeks appear'd like a small Boil. This she pierced with an Awl, and a yellow-colour'd Water ran from it without any Smell, and continued so to do for near three Weeks more, when it discharged a purulent stinking Matter. In the Month of June two small Bones came out, which were given to the Surgeon that visited her; who only applied a Piece of Plaister, persuading her that a Cure was impossible. Other small Bones work'd work'd themselves out afterwards, till October 1742, when the Head-Quarters of the Russian Army being at Abo, this unhappy Woman applied to Dr. Mounsey, who, after a careful Examination, undertook to deliver her. And accordingly, desiring the Assistance of Mr. Geitle, Surgeon to the Regiment of Abo, a grooved Probe was thrust into the Fistula, and an Incision made with a Bistory, upwards and obliquely, from the Linea alba into the Cavity of the Abdomen; but she being unruly, and the Operation not going on to the Doctor's Liking, he proceeded no farther till the next Day; only some loose Bones were extracted, and the Wound dressed with Tents and Compresses, to hold in the Omentum, and keep the Wound open. At the next Operation the Incision was carried downwards, and then another Incision continued from the first was conducted upwards, and slanting at a small Distance from the first; taking care to keep as near as possible the Direction where the Adhesion of this Body to the Peritoneum appeared to be, and avoiding to make the external Wound larger than absolutely needful, lest the Omentum and Guts should fall out; and particularly lest the Suppuration should exceed the Strength of Nature, which was here already nearly exhausted. A large Opening was now made, but the Fœtus being closely enveloped by its containing Sack, the Doctor durst not venture to draw it out by Force, for fear some of the naked Bones might lacerate the internal Parts: Wherefore, dilating this Sack with the Points of a Pair of Probe-Scissars, directed by the Fingers of the left Hand, he pierced and cut in Pieces the Skull, which afterwards he extracted piece-meal. The Matter that first issued out had a very nauseous Smell, and consisted of Membranes, Fat, and corrupted Flesh. On opening the Cranium, the Cerebrum appeared of its natural Colour. The Operation having been long, and the Woman fainting away, the Wound was dressed, without attempting to extract more at that time. In the Evening she was taken with Vomitings; but by proper internal Medicines, and Flannel Stoups wrung out of hot Wine, applied over the whole Belly, and often renew'd, she found Ease, and grew better. — The Loss of Blood, during the whole Operation, was inconsiderable, Next Day the Bones of the Trunk, and most of the other large ones, with their Ligaments and rotten Flesh, were taken out. The Matter discharged for several Days was of a dark-brown Colour, occasion'd by Blood issuing from the dilated Pores of the internal Surface of the Sack, which render'd the Matter at first of a deep-red Colour; but that changed daily and gradually, till at last it became white. The Doctor imagines this Discharge to resemble the Lochia after Child-birth; for after the Fœtus was extracted, the Woman's Breasts swell'd, and gave Milk in Plenty for two Months, in Quantity, Colour, and Consistence, as if after a Delivery at the proper Time. The Doctor examined this Sack very diligently with his Fingers, whilst thin, and not contracted, but formed into Wrinkles, through which he felt the Rectum, the Vesica urinaria, and, as he thought, the the Fundus Uteri. Many small Bones lay in the Folds; but, as she complained not of Pain, they were left till the Suppuration began, excepting those the Sack in contracting itself threw out. Besides Fomentations, Balsamics, proper Bandages, &c. vulnerary detergent Injections were found very useful, thrown in in large Quantities, both to wash out the putrid Flesh, and bring away the Scales of Bones which were still concealed in the Folds of this Sack. The Sack contracted itself daily, grew smooth and white within, and narrower as it approached the Uterus, which gave Reason to believe it one of the Fallopian Tubes. The Wound was cured in about six Weeks, and the Woman deliver'd from a long State of Misery grew fat and lusty, and now enjoys good Health. Comparing these Circumstances together, it seems reasonable to believe this Fruit never was in the Cavity of the Womb, but that the impregnated Ovum was stopp'd in its Passage through one of the Fallopian Tubes, where it grew, and was detained so many Years; and that the Inflammation, which happened below the Navel, was not owing to the Rottenness of the Fœtus, or to its bare Bones seeking a Discharge, but rather to some accidental Friction of the containing Sack against the Peritoneum, thereby producing Adhesion, Obstruction, Inflammation, &c. The Fœtus, before this Accident, must have remained all these Years intire, and without perfect Corruption: For it took no less Time, after its Communication with the common Air, before it shewed shewed Marks of Putrefaction, than a fresh Subject, kept in the same Degree of Heat, would have done. The Doctor's Observations of the Bones are: That they have a full Proportion to those of a Child at nine Months, and that the Fibres are more compact, and their Articulations stronger. The Sockets for the Teeth are six on each Side of the Jaws; the *Dentes Incisores* of the upper Jaw are high and large; the *Molares* have almost all begun to ossify in their *Alveoli*; at least the Crown, which is the cortical Part, is form'd, and they are fill'd internally with a cretaceous Substance. In new-born Children those Parts are seldom found so far advanc'd, which gives Reason to believe this Child did not die within the ordinary Time of Pregnancy, and that the different Accidents, before-mention'd to have happen'd, were chiefly owing to the preternatural Situation of the *Fetus*. Some Places in the Skull appear to have been carious, and corroded by some sharp Humours; and Nature, supplying its ossifying Juices, has repaired these Places, and render'd them more solid and whiter than the rest, but very uneven and scabrous, from the different Times and Directions of the bony Sproutings. There are likewise *Exostoses* on the Ends of the Thigh-Bone, and some other Bones. 'Tis very difficult to determine about what Time the Growth of these Productions began or ended. Supposing it from the Time of the Disorders that happened in the first Months of Pregnancy; would not such a Disease have caused Death to the *Fetus*, before it had come thus to a full Growth? If it was the Consequence of the violent Accidents which happen'd happen'd about the Time of the natural Birth, the Child then must have continued alive some considerable Time afterwards, during which these bony Excrescences were formed; there being a perfect Ossification, as performed by the Laws of Circulation, and not by any vegetative or petrifying Power, as in inanimate Bodies. Two or three of the lateral Processes of the Spine were what first passed thro' the little Ulcer; the rest of the Bones (except a few that were lost in cleaning) were presented by the Doctor to the Museum of the Royal Society. They retain a very strong and singular Smell, though they were immediately cleansed from the rotten Flesh, and well washed. The Woman came by Sea to Stockholm above a Year after this Cure, and was presented to the Academy in good Health; and the Doctor believes she is still alive and well. II. The Motion of Projectiles near the Earth's Surface consider'd, independent of the Properties of the Conic Sections; in a Letter to Martin Folkes Esquire, Pr. R. S. by Mr. Tho. Simpson F. R. S.. Read Feb. 4. AFTER so much as has been already said upon the Motion of Projectiles in vacuo, it may seem needless to attempt any thing further on that Head; nevertheless, as a thorough Knowledge in the Art of Gunnery is become more than