MINEEAL OE INOEGANIC POISONS 7S 



36 per cent, of ammonia, has the specific gravity 0'88, and 

 evolves ammonia gas on exposure to air. Diluted ammonia 

 is a 10 per cent, solution. Ammonia gas can be easily 

 condensed to a liquid by pressure, and is used to produce 

 cold in refrigerating plants by the rapid evaporation of 

 the liquefied gas. ' Dilute ammonia solutions along with 

 soap form popular cleansing agents and adjuncts to the 

 bath. Along with turpentine or vegetable oils and soap, 

 ammonia, or the carbonate, forms valuable embrocations. 

 Ammonia is present in coal tar liquors and coke oven 

 affluents, but the proportion is not high enough to cause 

 danger. The poisonous effects of such liquors are due to 

 other constituents, chiefly creosote. Mishaps occur some- 

 times through mistakes in dispensing, strong ammonia 

 being taken instead of ammonium acetate, dilute ammonia, 

 or nitrous ether. Such errors lead to serious results, 

 involving injury to the mouth, pharynx, and oesophagus 

 (Wallis Hoare). 



Toxic Doses. — Ammonia and ammonium carbonate, 

 especially the former, possess a high degree of toxicity, 

 although it is not possible to accurately state the doses. 

 Kaufmann gives 480 grains as toxic for the horse, 1,000 

 for the ox, and 30 for the dog ; of the carbonate, for the 

 horse 1,200 grains. Hertwig* found that half an ounce 

 of the strong solution, when diluted, had no bad effect on 

 horses, but that when concentrated 1 ounce killed in six- 

 teen hours, and 3 ounces in fifty minutes. These figures 

 agree with those quoted by Kaufmann. 



Effects. — Strong ammonia acts as a corrosive poison like 

 the fixed alkalis, destroying the tissues by dehydration, 

 solution of the epidermic and epithelial cells, liquefaction 

 of albumins, and saponification of fats. 



Ammonia is readily absorbed by the skin, lungs, and 

 mucous membranes, and exerts on all animals a stimula- 

 tion of the reflexes, marked by general excitation. When 

 injected, ammonia produces general tetanic convulsions, 

 which are absent in a muscle after severance of the motor 

 * See Dun, ' Veterinary Medicines,' 1911, p. 167. 



