190 BOVINE PATHOLOGY. 



identification. Examination of the various organs must 

 then be made in the usual way, and specially the eye and 

 nose must be exercised to detect any unusual lesion or 

 noteworthy contents of the alimentary canal or any special 

 odour, for some agents are at once detectable by their 

 special odour which they impart to the blood (chloroform). 

 The contents of the alimentary canal are of the greatest 

 importance, for small particles of mineral poison may be 

 found, or leaves of special plants, or some vehicle of a 

 poisonous dose surreptitiously administered, such as food 

 material not recently administered by the owner, generally 

 of a tempting nature. Some of the contents of the 

 stomach, intestines, and bladder, should be put aside in 

 a closed and sealed vessel for chemical analysis, and it is 

 advisable to similarly preserve portions of the walls of the 

 stomach, and of the bowels and liver, as in these will often 

 be found traces of the poison. Here the practitioner's duty 

 comes to an end, unless he be willing to adopt the methods 

 of testing suggested in works of toxicology. We may 

 remark that the complexity of these processes generally 

 renders the opinion of an expert desirable, if any import- 

 ance is to be attached to the case. It is advisable to be 

 careful as to the manner in which parts and liquids im- 

 pregnated with the poison are disposed of, for pigs and 

 dogs may involuntarily afford a verification of our surmises 

 by the physiological test. 



In special consideration of the various kinds of poisons 

 we must observe certain characters general to the groups, 

 and then those points of importance with regard to parti- 

 cular noxious agents. General stimulants pass into the 

 blood and are rapidly removed ; they never act as poisons 

 after absorption, but the Special Stimulants are less readily 

 eliminated, and, therefore, produce toxic effects varying 

 with the agent. Thus, strychnia, under its various forms, 

 nux vomica, strychnine, and Ignatius bean, stimulates the 

 spinal cord and the nerves passing off from it, and thus 

 increases sensibility to a slight degree (Headland), and 

 causes tetanic spasm. It is seldom used for malicious 

 poisoning, but may be given in overdose. It can be 



