PTOMAINES 115 



their name ' cadaveric alkaloids ' implies. It has long 

 been known that the products of putrefaction, especially 

 those formed in putrefying fish, are extremely poisonous. 

 As early as 1814, Burrows in this country described a 

 poisonous body as occurring in decomposing fish, and in 

 1820 Kerner described a poisonous alkaloid resulting from 

 the decomposition of albumin. In 1856 Panum obtained 

 a substance from putrid animal matter which he thought 

 was derived from albuminoid matter by the agency of 

 bacteria. This substance, to which he gave the name 

 ' sepsin,' was found very fatal to dogs. 



From this date many extended researches upon these 

 bodies have been made by various investigators, among 

 whom may be mentioned Bergmann, Schmeideberg, Zuelzer, 

 Sonnenschein, Hager, Stas, Brieger, Gautier, Koux, Frankel, 

 Vaughan, Martin, and others. 



A number of the ptomaines have been built up arti- 

 ficially, without the aid of micro-organisms, by purely 

 chemical synthetical methods. Trimethylamine, dimethyl- 

 amine, and pentamethyline diamine (cadaverine) may be 

 obtained from the products of the putrefaction of the 

 animal body, and also may be prepared by the chemist 

 synthetically. 



In their physical and chemical characters the ptomaines 

 present a very close resemblance to the vegetable alkaloids. 

 The liquid ptomaines have a penetrating and persisting 

 nauseous or cadaveric odour. This characteristic corpse- 

 like or musky odour is frequently to be met with in bone 

 caverns of the Stone Age, in guano beds and in other seats 

 of ancient putrefactions. The solid ptomaines are generally 

 crystal lisable, colourless, soluble in water, but insoluble in 

 alcohol, chloroform and benzene. All the liquid ptomaines 

 are soluble in ether-alcohol, amylic alcohol, and in some 

 cases chloroform. 



8—2 



