56 TOXINS AND ANTITOXINS. 



within the organism, of all kinds of dangerous 

 toxins. The same thing happens when the liver 

 does not functionate normally, and this affords us 

 a knowledge of the mechanism by which foods that 

 are most wholesome may become toxic by reason of 

 poor digestion or poor assimilation. 



The absorption of spoiled viands may, a fortiori, 

 produce serious results. The alteration may be 

 due not only to a bacterial infection, as in tainted 

 meat, but it has also been proved that the flesh of 

 an animal that has died of terror or madness may 

 be very dangerous as a food, even after cooking, 

 because, although there are toxins which are 

 destroyed by a sufficient heat, there are ptomaines 

 and certain toxins that resist destruction under 

 these conditions.* 



The use of preserved but spoiled beef, preserved 

 ham or birds, sausages frequently, and pieces of 

 pork tainted by sausage poison, gives rise to a 

 succession of toxic symptoms the principal ones of 

 which are dryness, constriction of the pharynx, 

 bilious vomiting, diarrhea, dyspnea with pulmon- 

 ary edema, etc. Fish and eggs are foods quite 

 frequently capable of developing serious results; 

 the same is the case with molluscs, mussels, oysters, 

 lobsters, and snails. Lastly, moldy bread, spoiled 

 cheese, putrid water, and spoiled vegetables them- 



* POLLIN and LABIT: Examens des aliments suspects, Masson, 

 publisher. 



