of soda were given in solution under the belief that it 

 was an antidote to the poison. Otherwise they were treat- 

 ed on general principles. Both children recovered. 



Another case of internal poisoning is the following : 

 Three children drank an infusion of the root of poison ivy 

 thinlcing it was sassafras tea. The first of these cases 

 was diagnosed as measles, "but on the appearance of similar 



symptoms in the sisters of the first patient, the cause 



of the trouble was found. All recovered. 

 2 



Dr. Pfaff explains the few fatal cases that have fol- 

 lowed Rhus poisoning on the assumption that enough of the 

 poison was absorbed through the skin to cause renal compli- 

 cations in persons having chronic kidney trouble. He 

 showed that the poison, when given internally, produces 

 a marked effect on the kidneys, causing nephritis and fatty 

 degeneration of this organ. 



The irritating action of poison ivy has been attributed 



at different times to the "exhalation", to a volatile alkaloid, 



3 

 to a volatile acid, and to a non-volatile oil. Pfaff , who 



made the most recent investigation of this poison, obtained 



from the plant a non-volatile oil having the same action on 



the skin as the plant itself. He found this oil in all 



parts of the plant and concluded that it was the active 



1. Med. and Surg. Hep. 17, Nov. 1867. 



2. Jour. Exp. Med. 2, (1897), p. 181, 



3. Loc. cit. 



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