462 CHEMISTRY OF THE LEUCOMAINS. 



which was done by Brown-S^quard, d'Arsonval, and R. Wurtz. 

 The first two observers found that the vapors exhaled by dogs, when 

 condensed, and the aqueous liquid (20-44 c.c.) thus obtained was 

 injected into other animals, death was produced, generally within 

 twenty-four hours. The symptoms observed were dilatation of the 

 pupil, increase of heart-beat to 240-280 per minute, which may last 

 for several days or even weeks, while the temperature remains 

 normal ; the respiratory movements were generally slowed, and 

 usually paralysis of the posterior members was observed. Choleraic 

 diarrhoea was invariably present. As a rule, larger doses caused 

 labored respiration, violent retching, and contraction of the pupil. 

 A rapid lowering of temperature, 0.5° to 5°, was sometimes 

 observed. These same symptoms, apparently in aggravated form, 

 were obtained when the liquid had been previously boiled for the 

 purpose of destroying any germs that might be present. The appear- 

 ances presented on post-mortem were much like those observable in 

 cardiac syncope. 



The above work was confirmed in part by R. Wurtz, who, by 

 passing expired air through a solution of oxalic acid, obtained, 

 besides ammonia, a volatile organic base which was precipitated by 

 Bouchardat's reagent and by potassio-mercuric iodid. It is said to 

 form a platinum double salt crystallizing in short needles, and a 

 soluble gold salt. When heated to 100° it gives ofi' a peculiar odor. 

 This basic substance may properly be looked upon as a leucomain. 

 The possibility of its being an ammonium compound is not excluded. 



Dastre and Loye, Lehmann and Jessen, Geyer, and Merkel have 

 repeated the above experiments with wholly negative results. 

 Similar negative results were obtained by Hoffmann- Wellenhof and 

 by Russo-Griliberti and Alesi, who injected the condensed moisture 

 from expired air without effect. Ben, in 1893, studied the subject 

 of the toxicity of expired air. From about 3000 liters of his expired 

 air (eight hours) he obtained about 100 c.c. of condensed water hav- 

 ing a peculiar, not unpleasant odor. It gave a distinct reaction for 

 ammonia with NesslePs reagent, but contained no alkaloids. The 

 organic substance amounted to 5 mg., or for twenty-four hours to 

 15 mg. By repeating Wurtz's experiment with 500 and 700 liters 

 of expired air no alkaloidal reactions were obtained nor were any 

 effects produced in animals. From these and other experiments, he 

 concluded that the organic matter of expired air cannot induce acute 

 intoxication. The dyspnoea observed in confined spaces is due to 

 the lack of oxygen. Carbonic acid may give rise to dullness and 

 headache, but the amount may rise considerably and be harmless so 

 long as oxygen is not decreased too much. 



Billings, Mitchell and Bergey on examining the water of conden- 

 sation from expired air obtained traces of ammonia but no reactions 

 for alkaloids. The fatal results met with in Brown-S6quard's ex- 



