300 INORGANIC AGENTS 



defaecation occurs, but recovery commonly follows. With 

 doses greater than 4 ounces, horses die in a generally anaes- 

 thetic and paralyzed state. In man, death has followed the 

 ingestion of 10 grains of chloral, and several fatalities have 

 occurred after doses of 20 or 25 grains, although these are 

 exceptional cases. The fatal dose for dogs is said to be 

 from 2 to 6 drachms. 



Treatment. — Emetics and the stomach tube, shouting at 

 and beating the animal, external heat. Five times the ordi- 

 nary dose of strychnine and atropine subcutaneously. 

 Strong, hot coffee and alcohol by the rectum. Amyl nitrite 

 inhalations. 



Administration. — Chloral has been given intravenously, 

 subcutaneously, and intratracheally, as well as by the mouth 

 and rectum. The best way to administer it is in solution 

 per orem, or rectum. It may cause abscess if injected under 

 the skin, or thrombi, when thrown into a vein. If given in 

 ball, the chloral may prove too irritating in the digestive 

 tract. It should be diluted at least 10 times, and is given by 

 the mouth with glycerin and water, or weak syrup, or with 

 boiled starch solution by the rectum. 



Uses External. — Chloral may be employed as a stimu- 

 lant, antiseptic, and slight local anaesthetic, in solution (1 to 

 4), upon ulcers and wounds. It may be used with an equal 

 part of camphor diluted with 8 parts of ointment, to relieve 

 itching. A 4 to 8 per cent, aqueous solution forms an 

 excellent antiseptic preservative for anatomical specimens, 

 and chloral may be added to urine for this purpose. 



Uses Internal. — Chloral is used for three purposes in 

 veterinary practice : 



1. First and foremost, to relieve spasm. 



2. To assuage pain. 



3. To procure sleep. 



In human medicine chloral is mainly employed as an 

 hypnotic, but a purely soporific action is rarely required for 

 the lower animals. The spasmodic conditions benefited by 

 chloral include colic, convulsions, chorea, epilepsy, asthma, 



