I am reporting this case of foreign body in the trachea to point out the importance of accurate and careful history-taking in children in whom laryngeal symptoms suddenly develop and persist in spite of ordinary methods of treatment. I am reporting it also to show the value of more than one laryngoscopic examination in those cases in which a diagnosis of laryngeal diphtheria might be doubtful, especially with a history of circumstances under which a foreign body might have been aspirated.
REPORT OF CASE
On Nov. 1, 1923, M. F. R., a girl, aged 4 years, developed a cold, with sneezing, running eyes and cough. Her appetite was good, however, and at supper she was given the "bone of a potroasted lamb." While eating the meat from the bone she suddenly screamed, began to choke and then lost speech completely. She was immediately taken to a physician's office, where the