SANGER. — CHRONIC ARSENICAL POISONING. 173 



tained the most and held it longest. This view is confirmed by Gua- 

 reschi,* Bergeron, Delens, and L'Hote,f and Johnson and Chittenden. $ 

 Chittenden § gives an exhaustive analysis of a body, with quantitative 

 results as far as he could go by his method. The largest amount of 

 arsenic was in a muscle from the back, next in the intestines, and 

 next in the liver. The kidneys contained very little, the brain some- 

 what more than the kidneys. Chittenden was of the opinion that a 

 marked difference was made in the distribution according to whether 

 the arsenic was given in one dose or in several. 



All this work, however, with the exception of ScolusubofTs, has to 

 do with arsenious oxide alone. There is no evidence to show that the 

 same rate or place of distribution holds good for other compounds of 

 arsenic, especially for the arseniates, and we also have no means of 

 knowing where the arsenic goes when ingested in minute, continued 

 doses. 



Schmidt and Bretschneider || investigated the question whether the 

 urine contained arsenious or arsenic acid when the arsenic was taken 

 as the trioxide. Their method was somewhat unsatisfactory. Arsenic 

 acid was found and no arsenious, but possibly with a better method 

 they would have found arsenious acid also. Yet the arsenic acid was 

 undoubtedly in excess. Would a minute quantity of an arseniate pass 

 eventually into the urine with less acute disturbance ? In the same 

 investigation the above authors examiued the effect of metallic arsenic 

 when taken in a perfectly pure state, and found it to cause no acute 

 poisoning. Metallic arsenic was found in freces and urine. This work 

 was a repetition of that of SchroffjIT who, using impure material had 

 found metallic arsenic to be poisonous. 



A statement of the facts we now possess in regard to the volatile 

 compound is in order here. A brief resume of Gosio's work on this 

 subject has been recently given by Shattuck.** 



The compound is generated by the action on arsenical organic mat- 

 ter of the following moulds : Penicillium brevicaule, Mucor mucedo, 

 Aspergillum virens, and Aspergillum glaucum, a few others having 

 been found which have a slight action. Of these the most intense 



* Gazzeta Chim. Italiana, XIII. 176. 

 t Ann. d Hygiene publ. et de Me'd. le'gale, [3], III. 23. 

 \ Amer. Chem. Journal, II. 232. 

 § Ibid., V. 8. 

 || Lor. cit. 



1" Zeitsclir. der Wiener Aerzten, 1858, I. 4. 

 ** Bost. Med. Surg. Journ., CXXVIII. 540. 



