POISONOUS PLANTS 205 



sternum with neck muscles on non-affected side contracted, 

 the mouth closed, thick viscid saliva, suspended rumination, 

 constipation, paralysis of the limbs, loss of sensibility in the 

 skin, pulse small and weak. 



In the Indian vetch case the cause was a cake containing 

 lathyrus, and there was stiffness of the lower joints, 

 staggering, blindness, and other symptoms, as in the pre- 

 ceding case. 



With sheep and pigs paralysis of the hind extremities is 

 notable. 



Cornevin's researches on the dog, after hypodermic in- 

 jection, show trembling and spasmodic movements, begin- 

 ning in the hind extremities, and propagated eventually to 

 the muscles of the neck and front legs ; later nausea and 

 vomition, profound depression, and loss of power of the 

 hind limbs ; eventually complete motor paralysis and death 

 without convulsions from the twenty-fourth to fortieth hour. 



Post-Mortem Appearances. — In chronic lathyrism of the 

 horse there are thickened congested patches in the stomach 

 and intestines ; lungs engorged, and bronchi showing signs 

 of catarrh and congestion. The larynx shows irregular con- 

 gested patches, especially round the glottis. The intrinsic 

 muscles are paler and smaller on the left than on the right, 

 and show fatty degeneration. The bronchi, trachea, and 

 nasal passages are filled with bloody spume and froth. 



In the case of cattle^ the blood was thick and dark, the 

 cranium and anterior portions of the spinal canal con- 

 taining a large amount of bloody serum, the meninges, 

 deeply congested, forming a well-marked network over both 

 hemispheres, with black hsemorrhagic patches, extending a 

 considerable depth into the tissue. 



The only effective treatment beyond removal of the cause, 

 and rest, would appear to be tracheotomy. 



The chemical study of lathyrus has not succeeded in asso- 

 ciating its effects with any definite simple active principle. 

 Evidence as to the destruction or otherwise of the poison 

 by boiling is conflicting, but the point is of considerable 

 importance, for it is not impossible that further research 



