Abstract

MUCI-MENDOZA, Rafael. La muerte de Napoleón: ¿causa natural u homicidio?. Gac Méd Caracas. [online]. 2008, vol.116, n.3, pp.241-274. ISSN 0367-4762.

Napoleon Bonaparte died at age 52 while in exile on the South Atlantic island of Saint Helena, a british colony, where he was banished after his defeat at the battle of Waterloo in 1815. Theories that Napoleon was poisoned with arsenic have abounded since 1961, when an analysis of his hair showed elevated levels of the toxic element. According to new research into what killed the french emperor his death’ cause was more prosaic than some people would like to think, succumbing to stomach cancer rather than arsenic poisoning, The autopsy describes a tumor in his stomach that was 4 inches (10 centimeters) long. Other historical sources indicate that the rotund French leader had lost about 20 pounds (nine kilograms) in the last few months of his life, another sign of stomach cancer. His stomach also contained a dark material similar to coffee grounds, a telltale sign of extensive bleeding in the digestive tract. The massive bleeding was likely the immediate cause of death.

Keywords : Napoleon’s death; Arsenic; Gastric cancer; Helicocobacter pylori; Calomel; Torsades de pointes.