C58 ACTION OF POISONS ON THE ANIMAL IY8TEM. 



III. 



Farther Experiments and Ohservations on tht Action nf Poisons 

 on the Animal System. By ^.C. Brodie, Esq. F. R. S. 

 Communicated to the Society for the Improvement of Animal 

 Chemistry, and ly them to the Royal Society*, 



Former obiiT. I. (OINCEIhad the honour of communicating to the 

 vationsonpoi- ^^ Royal Society some observations on the action of cer- 



tain poisons on the animal systemf, I have been engaged in the, 

 farther prosecution of this inquiry. Beside some additional 

 experiments on vegetable poisons, I have instituted several with 

 a vievi^ to explain the effects of some of the more pou'erful 

 poisons of the mineral kingdom. The former correspond in 

 their results so nearly with those which are already before the 

 public, that, in the present communication, I shall confine my- 

 self to those which appear to be of some importance, as they 

 more particularly confirm my former conclusions respecting 

 _ the recovery of animals apparently dead, where the cause of 



from apparent death operates exclusively on the nervous system. In my expe- 

 death. riments on mineral poisons, I have found some circumstancear 



Effects of mi- wherein their effects differ from those of vegetable poisons, 

 neral and ve- and of these I shall give a more particular account. What- 

 sons df(Fer°-' ^^^"^ "^^X ^^ ^^^ value of the observations themselves, the 

 medicine may subject must be allowed to be one that is deserving of inves- 

 ^beimpruved tigation, as it does not appear unreasonable to expect, that 

 ^^jjjj^ "^^ " '* such investigation may hereafter lead to some improvements 

 in the healing art. This consideration, I should hope, will be 

 regarded as a sufficient apology for my pursuing a mode of 

 inquiry by means of experiments on brute animals, of which 

 we might well question the propriety, if no other purpose were 

 to be answered by it than the gratification of curiosity. 

 Former ac- I" niy former communication on this subject, I entered into 



count given g detailed account of the majority of my experiments. This I 

 ' conceived necessary, because in the outset of the inquiry I had 

 been led to expect, that even the same poison might not always 

 operate precisely in the same manner j but 1 have since had 



* Phil. Trans, for 1812, p. 205. 

 tPhil. Trans, for ISlIjp. 178j or Journal, vol. XXX, p. 295, 324. 



abundant 



