OKGANIC POISONS AND DEUGS 



109 



Toxic Doses. — The toxic doses of strychnine and of 

 powdered nux vomica are given by Kaufmann as follows : 



Horse 

 Ox 



Kg 

 Dog 



Stryclvnine. 

 30 to 4'5 grains 

 3-0 to 6-0 „ 

 0-15 to 0-75 grain 

 0-075 to 0-30 „ 



Nux Vomica. 

 300 to 450 grains 

 300 to 525 „ 

 60 to 90 „ 



7-5 to 15 „ 



The dose for a dog is thus roughly in ordinary fractions 

 between the xV ^^nd i of a grain. 



The relative sensibility is shown by Kaufmann's figures 

 displaying the number of milligrammes of strychnine per 

 kilogramme of body weight : 



The limits above set forth will probably with justice be 

 regarded as low, especially in the dog, where x^cr-grain doses 

 are given with caution to toy varieties ; indeed in modern 

 practice strychnine is given only in very small and care- 

 fully regulated doses to these animals. 



Hodgkins^ records typical strychnine convulsions and 

 death in a toy spaniel which ate an Easton syrup tab- 

 loid after a meal, the dose of strychnine being probably 

 ^ grain. 



Similarly, strychnine spasms followed by recovery have 

 been noticed in a fox terrier after two laxative pills for 

 human use found to contain /u grain each of strychnine.^ 



According to Bock* the injection into the jugular vein 

 of 10 c.c. of a glycerin solution containing 6 grains of 

 strychnine, destroys a horse in three to four seconds without 

 the convulsions witnessed when a water solution is em- 

 ployed. 



The dosage for birds is very erratic. Thus, Youatt* 

 records the administration of a total of 95 grains of strych- 

 nine in twelve weeks to an owl, the dose increasing from 

 ^ to f grain, when death resulted. 



Guinea-pigs and some monkeys appear to be remarkably 

 insusceptible to strychnine when given by the mouth. 



