is produced by certain vegetable Poisons, 91 



Experiments wilh the Infu s'lon of Tobacco . 



Exp. 8. Four ounces of infusion of tobacco were in- 

 jected into the rectum of a clog. Four minutes afterwards 

 he retched, but did not vomit ; he then became faint, and 

 lay motionless on one siile; at the end of nine minutes 

 from the time of the injection, the heart could not be felt ; 

 he gasped for breath at long invervals ; and in another mi- 

 nute there was no appearance whatever of life. I imme- 

 diately laid open the cavities of the thorax and abdomen. 

 The heart was much distended, and had entirely ceased to 

 contract; there was no peristaltic motion of the intestines. 



Exp. 9. An ounce of very strong infusion of tobacco 

 was injected into the reclmn of a cat. Symptoms were 

 produced similar to those which occurred in the last ex- 

 periment, and the animal died at the end of seven minutes 

 from the lime of the injection. On opening the thorax 

 immediately after death, the heart was found extremely dis- 

 tended, and to have entirely ceased acting, with the e.K- 

 ceplion of a slight tremulous motion of the auricles. 



Exp. 10. Three ounces of infusion of tobacco were in- 

 jected into the recturn of a dog. He was affected with 

 symptoms similar to those in the former experiments, and 

 died at the end of ten minutes. On opening the thorax 

 immediately after death, I found the heart much distended, 

 and to have entirely ceased contracting. 



Exp. 1 1. Three ounces of infusion of tobacco were in- 

 jected into the rectum of a dog. Immediately there took 

 place tremulous contractions of the voluntary muscles. 

 Five minutes afterwards the injection was repeated in the 

 same quantity. The dog then was sick, and threw up some 

 of the infusion, with other matter, from the stomach ; he 

 became faint, and died ten minutes after the second injec- 

 tion. Immediately after respiration had ceased, I opened 

 the thorax, and found the heart extremely distended, and 

 without anv evident contraction, except of the appendix of 

 the right auricle, which every now and then contracted in 

 a sliglit degree. I divided the pericardium on the right side. 

 In consequence of the extreme distension of the heart, this 

 could not be done without irritating the fibres with the 

 point of the scalpel. Immediately both auricles and ven- 

 tricles began to contract with considerable force, so as to 

 restore the circulation. Artificial respiration was produced, 

 and the circulation was kept up for more than half an hour, 

 beyond which time the experiment was not continued. 



We 



