APPENDIX 347 



jection it has been observed as early as twenty-five minutes. 

 Fischer and Hoppe claim that after intravenous injections no 

 arsenic is demonstrable after two to three days, while after 

 subcutaneous injections the time limit is four to five days; 

 after intramuscular injections the urine may show the pres- 

 ence of arsenic for six to ten days. Consequently it is the 

 natural supposition and the case that tlie duration of elimina- 

 tion following intramuscular and subcutaneous administra- 

 tion is longer than after the intravenous injection. It is 

 alleged that, after the last method of therapy, arsenic has 

 been found in the blood at the end of two days, and absent 

 at fourteen days ; in the urine for two or three days ; in the 

 stools for five or six days. By the Marsh test the authors have 

 been unable repeatedly to demonstrate the presence of ar- 

 senic in the blood-serum thirty, forty-five and sixty minutes 

 after the intravenous injection of salvarsan or neosalvarsan, 

 nor have they succeeded in demonstrating traces of the drug 

 in the spinal fluid one and a half to two hours following intra- 

 venous administration. It is possible that the mould test of 

 Gosio, the most delicate qualitative test for arsenic that we 

 have, may throw new light on this subject. The test depends 

 upon the fact that a certain mould {Penicillmm hrevicaule) 

 when cultured on a medium containing arsenic produces a 

 distinct odor of garlic. Examination of human milk at the 

 end of three and twenty-four hours demonstrated the absence 

 of the drug in that secretion. From animal experiments it is 

 proper to infer that the drug is entirely eliminated from the 

 liver and bone marrow in ten to sixteen days. Further ex- 

 periments show that mercury delays the excretion of arsenic 

 and explains why and how mercury ably supplements and 

 supports salvarsan and neosalvarsan in the treatment of 

 syphilis. Potassium iodide, on the other hand, accelerates 

 the elimination of arsenic. 



