Two cases of fatal poisoning by arsenious acid : with remarks on the solubility of that poison in water and other menstrua / by Mr. Alfred S. Taylor.

  • Taylor, Alfred Swaine, 1806-1880.
Date:
1837
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Two cases of fatal poisoning by arsenious acid : with remarks on the solubility of that poison in water and other menstrua / by Mr. Alfred S. Taylor. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by Royal College of Physicians, London. The original may be consulted at Royal College of Physicians, London.

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    great part, subsided. Death took place within the average period of time. The summits of the rugae in the stomach were in this, as in the former case, especially inflamed. This is what I believe to be very common, where the mucous membrane is at all inflamed. It appears to proceed from these promi- nent portions of the membrane, coming more directly in contact with the particles of the poison. There was, how- ever, one appearance here, which was not observed in Case 1 ; namely, extensive ulceration of the mucous coat. My own observation, in the few cases in which I have had an opportunity of making a post-mortem examination, agrees with that of Dr. Christison; namely, that ulceration is not a very common morbid change from poisoning by arsenic*. Dr. Christison remarks, that “ death frequently takes place, before that process can be establishedand says, that, “ for the most part, it is hardly to be looked for, unless the patient has survived nearly two days. We may observe, however, that the inflammation produced by an irritant poison, like arsenic, does not follow exactly the same laws as that which is termed ‘ healthy inflammation,’ in surgery. The action of the poison is specific. The inflammatory condition of the stomach may be more rapidly induced, and the consequences of that inflammation more speedily mani- fested. Although, then, ulceration of the stomach, as an effect of arsenical poisoning, is not common, yet this case proves, that the process may be certainly perfectly esta- blished, both in this organ as well as in the intestines, when the poison has operated fatally within so short a period as seventeen hours. , There is another point worthy of remark in the account of the inspection; namely, that not a trace of the poison could be discovered in the stomach. This is to be regarded as the more singular, when it is considered that an ounce of the powder was taken; that the deceased lived only seventeen hours ; and that the arsenious acid, of all poi- sons, is most liable to become enveloped in mucus, and locked up within the folds of the mucous membrane. One * On Poisons, 247.