293 Means of detecting Arsenic in the Animal Body, 6^c. 



There is one very important fact to be kept in mind with ref- 

 erence to examinations of this character ; it is the medical treat- 

 ment that the individual has been subjected to before death. For 

 instance, the treatment by diuretics, which will be mentioned 

 presently, may remove from one or more organs the poison previ- 

 ously contained in them, and still the impressions made upon 

 them be too strong to be recovered from. How then is this diffi- 

 culty to be removed ? By carefully preserving all the urine — an 

 observation which is of such importance that it should not escape 

 the memory of any physician. 



What are the best means of treating the poisonous effects of ar- 

 senic ? 



A few words upon two new methods of treating the effects of 

 arsenic, will conclude this article, already extended much farther 

 than I had intended. 



The remedies that we already possess, are, at the very best, 

 but feeble agents to combat the effects of this poison. The one 

 most to be relied on is the hydrated peroxide of iron, it being a 

 veritable antidote to poisoning by arsenic ; however, there are 

 some objections, the principal of which is the slowness of its 

 absorption, for it is only where it encounters the poison that its 

 salutary effects are displayed, by forming with it an inert arsenite 

 of iron. 



A treatment proposed in Italy, is the administration of stimu- 

 lant draughts every two or three hours, consisting of brandy one 

 ounce, wine two ounces, bouillon (the liquid produced by boihng 

 beef or other meat in water) four ounces. It is based upon 

 the supposition that the effects of arsenic are atonic, the truth of 

 which is far from being established. Instances are given where 

 this treatment has proved efficacious, although I have witnessed 

 experiments made with it, in comparison with simply tepid water, 

 where the latter proved to be the most successful of the two. 



The treatment by diuretics is one that deserves some conside- 

 ration ; it is advanced by M. Orfila, based upon numerous experi- 

 ments. It has been more than once stated, that the urine exhib- 

 its a large portion of the arsenious acid absorbed into the system, 

 and it seems very rational to suppose, that if this secretion could 

 be augmented by any means, that the quantity of arsenic carried 

 off would be also increased. It has been observed, that where 

 equal quantities of arsenious acid have been given to two dogs of 



