172 DRS CRUM BROWN AND FRASER ON THE CONNECTION BETWEEN 



The autopsy was immediately made. The heart was found contracting, in 

 normal rhythm, at the rate of eighty-five per minute, and its spontaneous 

 contractions did not cease until eight minutes; and the intestinal peristalsis 

 was active. The sciatic nerves were exposed four minutes after death, and 

 stimulated with weak and strong currents of interrupted galvanism, but no 

 muscular contractions were thereby caused. The muscles themselves readily 

 contracted when the poles were applied directly to their surface, and continued 

 to do so for more than fifteen minutes after death. There was no appearance 

 of rigor mortis one hour and five minutes after death, and the muscles were, at 

 this time, alkaline in reaction. 



We administered to the rabbit, which had survived the administration of eight 

 grains of iodide of methyl-thebaium (Experiment LXIL), a fatal dose of the 

 thebaia from some of which the methyl compound had been prepared. The 

 striking contrast in the symptoms that were produced will be seen from the 

 following account of the Experiment. 



Experiment LXVI. — We injected one-fifth of a grain of thebaia, dissolved in 

 very dilute hydrochloric acid, into the subcutaneous cellular tissue of the rabbit, 

 which had been subjected to an experiment, some days previously, with eight 

 grains of iodide of methyl-thebaium. The injection did not appear to cause 

 much annoyance, as the animal jumped about naturally for forty minutes after it. 

 Soon after, however, its movements became more constrained and cautious, and 

 occasional twitches occurred in the muscles of the back. These gradually became 

 more marked and powerful, and in forty-eight minutes, they assumed the character 

 of spasmodic starts. In forty-nine minutes, a touch, even when very gentle, of 

 any portion of the skin excited a violent spasmodic jump, and in fifty- two 

 minutes, a spontaneous violent opisthotonic convulsion took place, and continued 

 for forty-five seconds. The rabbit now lay on its side ; every respiratory move- 

 ment provoked a short fit of tetanus, while, occasionally, a violent and prolonged 

 fit occurred. This condition lasted for two minutes, when, at the termination of 

 one of the more violent of these fits, death occurred, — fifty-four minutes after the 

 administration of the poison. 



It was found, in the autopsy, that the sciatic nerves retained their motor con. 

 ductivity for at least fifteen minutes after death. A certain degree of muscular 

 rigidity was observed at twenty-eight minutes, and rigor mortis was perfectly 

 established at forty minutes, when all the muscles were acid in reaction, although 

 the temperature of the abdominal cavity was as high as 9b° F. 



The internal administration of iodide of methyl-thebaium was effected in the 

 same way as we have described for the corresponding strychnia and brucia com- 

 pounds. It was found that, with this substance also, so large a dose as thirty 

 grains could be introduced into the stomach of a rabbit without any effect. Well- 

 marked symptoms were produced in the same animal by three, and, on another 



