300 VBTEEINAEY TOXICOLOGY 



material does not always permit of this being done. In 

 this event the history of the case is of great value in 

 diagnosis. 



Occuppence of Ptomaines. — In many cases the ptomaines 

 are relatively simple compounds, and their genesis from 

 proteins or other cell components may be readily traced. 

 Thus lecithin yields the base choline, which is harmless, 

 but passes into neurine and muscarine, which are both 

 very poisonous, betaine (harmless), and eventually trimethyl- 

 amine, the base characteristic of herring brine. 



Muscarine is also found in the fungus fly-blown agaric. 



The two-base putresceine (tetramethylene diamine) and 

 cadaverine (pentamethylene diamine) are both resolution 

 products of arginin and lysine, which are themselves 

 cleavage products of proteins. These two ptomaines are 

 non-toxic, but closely allied to cadaverine is the very 

 poisonous base sepsine, formed at an earlier stage of decay, 

 and passing very readily indeed into cadaverine. 



Ptomaine Poisoning'. — Ptomaine poisoning is attribut- 

 able to ptomaine bases contained in spoilt food, or to the 

 further activity of the bacteria of decay in the organism. 

 The latter view appears to be the more probable, although 

 instances of poisoning have ' been observed, in which bac- 

 teriological research failed to disclose the responsible 

 organism. 



Flesh poisoning may be due to the specific toxine of the 

 Bacillus botulinus, as in sausage poisoning, or to poisoning 

 by the very dangerous base sepsine produced in the early 

 stages of decay. Sepsine is likewise produced in the putre- 

 faction of brewer's yeast. It appears not unlikely that 

 many of the cases of illness and death from time to time 

 recorded, and ascribed to such foods as brewer's grains, 

 distillery sludge, and the like, are, in fact, of this nature. 

 Similarly cases of pig poisoning by the brine from salting 

 meat or herrings are possibly attributable to the same 

 cause. 



Cadaverine is the eventual result of sepsine poisoning, 

 and it is fairly stable and easily recognised. A good 



