542 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis. 
Case A. The case of a woman who was taken sick directly 
after drinking a glass of beer, in which poison was supposed 
to have been put. She was soon after seized with tetanic 
convulsions and died within an hour. The stomach was re- 
moved within a few hours after death. The total weight of 
the stomach contents as submitted to us was 261.3 grams or 
8.4 fluid oz.; 77.2 grams taken for analysis yielded 10.1 mg. 
of the pure alkaloid, equal to .53 grains in the whole amount 
of 8.4 fluid oz. Another analysis on 90.7 grams of the 
material yielded 10.4 mg., equal to .46 grains in the whole 
amount. The detection of 4 grain of the alkaloid in 8.4 
fluid oz. of the stomach contents was in this case a complete 
substantiation of the diagnosis of death from strychnine 
poisoning. 
Case B. In this case strychnine had been administered in a 
glass of whisky, death following in about an hour with con- 
vulsions. The stomach was removed the next day. As sub- 
mitted for examination the stomach contents weighed 643.6 
grams, equal to 20.7 fluidoz. One analysis yielded an amount 
of the alkaloid equal to .66 grains, another an amount equal 
to .71 grains for the whole sample. The 21.7 fluid oz. of 
stomach contents contained therefore at the lowest estimate 
-66 or 3 grains of strychnine alkaloid. 
It may be said that in the two cases as described the condi- 
tions were unusually simple, death having occurred with well 
defined symptoms. No antidotes were used and no decompo- 
sition had taken place in the samples when analyzed. If nar- 
cotic alkaloids such as morphine have been used as antidotes 
to the strychnine poisoning, or if much decomposition has 
taken place in the body with the formation of cadaveric 
alkaloids, both quantitative and qualitative results may be 
to some extent interfered with. Morphine, however, on 
account of its very limited solubility in ether-chloroform 
could only appear as traces in the final strychnine residue ob- 
tained by this method. Whereas if*much decomposition had 
taken place the presence of ‘ptomaines would be at least sus- 
pected and the question of the purity of the final residue very 
carefully considered. 
