86 EFFECTS OF 



arsenic there were evident marks of the influence 

 of the poison on all the organs which have been 

 mentioned ; but they were not in all cases affected 

 in the same relative degree. In the dog, the 

 affection of the heart appeared to predominate 

 over that of the brain ; and on examining the 

 thorax, immediately after death, this organ was 

 found, to have ceased acting, and in a distended 

 state. In the rabbit, the affection of the brain 

 appeared to predominate over that of the heart, 

 and the latter was usually found acting feebly, 

 after the functions of the brain had entirely 

 ceased. In the rabbit, the effects produced by 

 the arsenic on the stomach and intestines were 

 usually less marked than in carnivorous animals. 



The action of arsenic on the system is less 

 simple than that of the majority of vegetable 

 poisons. As it acts on different organs, it oc- 

 casions different orders of symptoms, and as the 

 affection of one or another organ predominates, 

 so there is some variety in the symptoms pro- 

 duced even in individual animals of the same 

 species. 



In animals killed by arsenic, the blood is 

 usually found fluid in the heart and vessels after 

 death ; but otherwise all the morbid appearances 

 met with on dissection are confined to the sto- 

 mach and intestines. As this is the case, and as 

 the affection of these organs is, in many respects, 

 very remarkable, I shall mention the result of 

 my observations on this subject. 



In many cases where death takes place, there 



