Colles mentions a man of fifty-six who, while eating, perceived a sensation as of a rent in the chest.

The pain was augmented during deglutition, and almost immediately afterward he commenced to expectorate great quantities of blood.

On the following day he vomited a bone about an inch long and died on the same day.

At the autopsy it was found that there was a rent in the posterior wall of the esophagus, about 1/2 inch long, and a corresponding wound of the aorta.

There was blood in the pleura, pericardium, stomach, and intestines.