Volume 1

A general system of toxicology : or, a treatise on poisons, found in the mineral, vegetable, and animal kingdoms, considered in their relations with physiology, pathology, and medical jurisprudence / by M.P. [sic] Orfila.

  • Orfila, Matthieu Joseph Bonaventure, 1787-1853.
Date:
1816-17
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A general system of toxicology : or, a treatise on poisons, found in the mineral, vegetable, and animal kingdoms, considered in their relations with physiology, pathology, and medical jurisprudence / by M.P. [sic] Orfila. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The University of Leeds Library. The original may be consulted at The University of Leeds Library.

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    Francka which were published a long time back, are no longer on a level with the present state of knowledge, and can only be considered as very im- perfect sketches of this important Science. The' Treatises written particularly on arsenic, sublimate, copper, lead, nitric acid, prussic acid, opium, &c. furnish only the solution of certain problems in Toxicology, and ought only to be regarded as so many separate tracts, proper for furnishing ex- cellent materials to the arrangement of some of the materials for a work of this kind. I must confess I have been often discouraged by the blanks I had to fill up, and should several times have abandoned my undertaking, had I not been convinced that it is always useful to at- tempt to clear the path, even when imperfectly marked out. This Treatise, consisting of two volumes, 8vo. will be divided into two sections, preceded by an introduction, in which will be pointed out in a succinct manner, the end of Toxicology, its rela- tions with the other Sciences, and the means to be pursued for bringing the study to perfection; lastly, the division of poisons into six principal classes. The Corrosive, the Astringent, the Acrid, the Narcotico-acrid, and the Stupifying. The first section will contain the particular his- tory of the different poisonous substances, drawn from the three kingdoms of Nature, and considered under their relations with Chemistry, Physiology, Pathology, and Medical Jurisprudence.