From 1918 Autopsy, A First Glimpse of Sickle Cell — and a Warning

Because he was a member of the armed forces, the base hospital followed a directive that dated back to U.S. Surgeon General William Hammond in 1862: They performed an autopsy on his body, and recorded and preserved the results. Their diagnosis had been right: His lung tissue was positive for S. pneumoniae. But the damage done to his body by the infection and his immune system’s response to it was dramatic: The middle and lower lobes of his right lung, and both kidneys and his spleen, were inflamed and necrotic and speckled with hemorrhages.