Traumatic Aneurysm of the Left Ventricle.

Although aneurysm of the heart is still thought to be a somewhat rare and unusual pathological condition, recent work shows that it occurs not infrequently after coronary occlusion and infarction. Parkinson, Bedford, and Thompson (1938) estimate that it occurs in 9 per cent. of cases of cardiac infarction examined at necropsy. In the absence of coronary disease, aneurysm of the heart appears to be exceedingly rare ; and trauma as an exciting cause is seldom referred to in papers on the subject. Warburg (1938) in a recent monograph has collected, from papers and reports dating back to the year 1676, 197 cases of cardiac lesions due to non-penetrating injuries, but of these only two or three appear to be instances of traumatic aneurysm of the heart. The case recorded here is one of traumatic aneurysm of the left ventricle, due to a non-penetrating injury to the thorax. Although the diagnosis was not made during life, the case presents some interesting points clinically and medico-legally.