342 BACTERIAL POISONS. 



and the investigations of HAMMOND, NOWAK, SEEGEN, 

 and others, point conclusively to the organic matter as the 

 direct and immediate agent which produces those symp- 

 toms of sickness and nausea experienced in badly ventilated 

 closed rooms. 



Of special importance to the sanitarian and physician is 

 the work on the nature and action of the poisonous principle 

 of expired air which has been done by BROWN-SEQUARD, 

 D'ARSONVAL, and R. WURTZ. The first two observers 

 found that the vapors exhaled by dogs, when condensed, 

 and the aqueous liquid (20-44 c. c.) thus obtained was in- 

 jected into other animals, death was produced, generally 

 within twenty- four hours. The symptoms observed were 

 dilatation of the pupil, increase of heart- beat to 240-280 

 per minute, which may last for several days or even weeks, 

 while the temperature remains normal ; the respiratory 

 movements are generally slowed, and usually there is ob- 

 served paralysis of the posterior members. Choleraic diar- 

 rhoea is invariably present. As a rule, it appears that 

 larger doses cause labored respiration, violent retching, and 

 contraction of the pupil. A rapid lowering of temperature, 

 0.5 to 5, is sometimes observed. These same symptoms, 

 apparently in aggravated form, were obtained when the 

 liquid had been previously boiled for the purpose of de- 

 stroying any germs that might be present. The appearances 

 presented on post-mortem were much like those observable 

 in cardiac syncope. 



The above work has been confirmed, in part, by R. 

 WURTZ, who, by passing expired air through a solution of 

 oxalic acid, has obtained besides ammonia a volatile organic 

 base which is precipitated by BOUCHARDAT'S reagent and 

 by potassio-mercuric iodide. It is said to form a platinum 

 double salt crystallizing in short needles, and a soluble 

 gold salt. When heated to 100 it gives off a peculiar 

 odor. This basic substance may properly be looked upon 

 as a leucoma'ine. 



DASTRE and LOYE and LEHMANN and JESSEN have 

 repeated the above experiments with wholly uegative re- 

 sults. It is possible that the most highly poisonous sub- 



