MINEKAL OR INORGANIC POISONS 45 



paint. Like arsenious oxide, it is volatile, but gives an 

 amorphous sublimate. A strong solution of the chloride 

 is made by boiling the sulphide with hydrochloric acid, 

 and constitutes butter of antimony. It is used as a caustic, 

 and is characterised by giving a turbidity of the insoluble 

 oxychloride on dilution with much water. 



Actions of Antimony. — The sulphides and oxides are 

 slowly dissolved by the digestive juices, and thus exercise 

 similar, but less intense, effects to those of the soluble 

 preparations. The soluble compounds act as gastro-intes- 

 tinal irritants, causing, in carnivora, vomition, and in large 

 doses also violent purging, weakness, collapse, and death. 



According to Kaufmann, dogs are poisoned by 3 to 6 

 grains. 



The antimony compounds do not appear to owe their 

 emetic properties to an action upon the centres of vomition, 

 but to their local gastro-intestinal effect ; for, on injection, 

 very large doses are required to produce emesis, and it is 

 found that the antimony is excreted into the alimentary 

 tract. 



Like arsenic, antimony causes fatty degeneration of the 

 liver, and the oxide is therefore given to geese to produce 

 fatty liver for the preparation of foie grasse. 



Ruminants are able to withstand very large doses, and 

 some doubt has been expressed as to whether poisoning can 

 possibly be produced by antimony ; but extreme nausea, 

 colic, and death have been observed in the horse, whilst 

 actual vomition in the cow, following the administration 

 of Kermes mineral, is on record.* 



Finlay Dunf quotes valuable experiments on horses with 

 tartar emetic. They show that such large quantities as 

 10 ounces of the drug given over a period of ten to eighteen 

 days do not exercise any noticeable physiological effect. 

 But a healthy horse, given 10 ounces of tartar emetic in 

 solution in one dose, showed nausea, uneasiness, and pain, 

 and died within about six hours. 



* Winslow, ' Veterinary Materia Medica,' 1901, p. 215. 

 t ' Veterinary Medicines,' 1911, p. 268. 



