Case of criminal poisoning with oxalic acid, in which perforation of the stomach took place / by Henry Duncan Littlejohn.

  • Littlejohn Henry Duncan, Sir, 1826-1914.
Date:
[1861]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Case of criminal poisoning with oxalic acid, in which perforation of the stomach took place / by Henry Duncan Littlejohn. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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

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    justified in giving it as our opinion, that the death of the child had been caused by the administration of some highly corrosive sub- stance. On touching the inner surface of the stomach, and also the parts in the neighbourhood of the perforation, with litmus paper, evidence of marked acidity was obtained ; and this circumstance, together with the appearance of the mouth, gullet, and stomach, would have led us to suspect that oxalic acid had been the poisoning agent em- ployed, even if this substance had not been indicated to us by the general evidence in the case. Before commencing any chemical investigation, I lost no time in obtaining from my friend Dr John Smith a very faithful sketch of the appearances presented by the tongue, gullet, and stomach, and also a portrait of the child, so as to give a correct representation of the peculiar discolouration of the lips. The tongue, gullet, stomach, and duodenum, along with the spleen, were carefully washed in distilled water, and allowed to soak for four hours. The washings had a decided acid reaction. They were subjected to the process for the detection of oxalic acid as detailed by Dr Taylor in his work on Poisons, and satisfactory evidence of the presence of oxalic acid was obtained. It was esti- mated, from the amount of oxalate of lead precipitated, that nearly four grains of crystallized oxalic acid were present in the mucus coating the stomach, duodenum, gullet, and tongue, and in the wash- ings of the parts. There could be no doubt that the child had died from the effects of oxalic acid, and it was not deemed necessary to subject the alimentary canal to any further examination. A cloak (of a loose greyish material) in which the child had been wrapped was stained in various places, and the colour had changed to a light yellow. Several of these stains, on being cut out and digested separately in distilled water, were proved to be caused by oxalic acid. Finally, the matters removed from the stomach of the mother by the stomach-pump, on being boiled with carbonate of potash and filtered, gave all the reactions of a soluble oxalate. These various experiments were detailed in a report by Dr Keiller and myself; and the mother, Margaret Macdonald, was indicted for the murder of her infant female child, u in so far as she did wickedly, maliciously, and feloniously administer to, or cause to be taken by, her female child, then of the age of twelve days—the said child being illegitimate—a quantity of oxalic acid, or other poison, mixed with water or some other liquid, and in consequence thereof, and immediately or soon after taking the same, the said child suffered severe illness, and died on or about the 6th day of December, and was thus murdered by her.” The trial took place on the 23d of March 1859, when evidence of the most conclusive kind was adduced for the Crown. For the defence it was urged that the prisoner was an ignorant, ill-educated