TOXICITY OF STRYCHNINE TO THE MAT. 



days, varied from 20 to 50 per cent. The mortality from the ex- 

 periments on wild rats (Series D and E) falls within this range. 

 Moreover, the white rats received slightly Larger doses, since they 

 ordinarily possess much more body fat and have more material in 

 the gastrointestinal canal than the wild rats in captivity. Moreover, 

 the white rats used were raised under the best conditions, while the 

 skin of wild rats frequently becomes thickened and tough, which may 

 have had some part in delaying absorption of the drug. 



Table i. Toxicity of strychnine sulphate for rats administered suocutaneously 



in 0.1 per cent concentration. 





Ra<s. 



Light 

 anes- 

 thesia. 



Weight 

 range. 



Dose 



per 

 kilo. 



Survi- 

 vals. 



Fatali- 

 ties. 



Mortal- 

 ity. 



Series. 



Num 



her. 



Kind. 



A 



8 



2 

 10 



6 

 43 

 13 

 14 

 12 



5 



9 



Wild 



Wild 



White.... 



Wild 



Wild 



White 



White.... 



Wild 



Wild 



White.... 

 White 



Yes 



Yes 



No 



Yes 



No 



No 



No 



Yes 



No 



No 



No 



Grams. 

 140 to 290.... 

 168 to 300.... 

 251 to 284.... 



90 to 330... 

 140 to 290.... 

 175 to 370.... 

 203 to 290.... 

 126 to 404.... 



85 to 340... 

 200 to 354.... 

 200 to 296.... 



MiUir 



orams. 

 2.0 

 2.5 

 2.5 

 3.0 

 3.0 

 3.0 

 3.2 

 3.5 

 3.5 

 3.5 

 4.0 



8 

 7 

 2 

 8 

 5 

 26 

 3 

 4 

 1 

 1 





Per 

 cent. 



B 



C 



n 



E 



2* 



1 

 17 

 10 

 10 

 11 

 4 

 9 



(») 

 20 

 2 17 



F 



3 39 



G 



77 



11 



* 73 



I 



5 92 



J 



80 



K 



100 



1 No spasms occurred, but some animals were hyperexcitablc. 

 - Only two rats had spasms. 



3 These animals were used for disposal tests, vide infra. 



< Prespasm period, average 21 minutes; premortal period, 13 to 60 minutes, average 35 minutes. 

 Prespasm period, average 17 minutes; premortal period, 17 to 55 minutes, average 33 minutes. 



It is not evident that preliminary transient etherization played 

 any role in the prevention of fatalities. While there is a slight 

 difference in the total percentages between Series H and I, the other 

 experimental data of those succumbing in. both series show a re- 

 markable agreement. Series D and E showed the reverse, the mor- 

 tality being practically the same, but not the time relations. 



The only way to reconcile these slight differences is by regarding 

 the experimental error as sufficient to deceive the experimenter 

 unless he guards against a too strict interpretation of numerical 

 data. This factor of etherization was tested for the purpose of serv- 

 ing as a control to the stomach tube experiments, in which it was 

 necessary to employ this preliminary step. These experiments show 

 that etherization does not exert a lasting effect. If etherization is to 

 be used therapeutically, therefore, it should be tried simultaneously 

 with the appearance of spasms. 



Under the conditions of the experiments the usually certain lethal 

 dose is fairly constant and lies, within a narrow range, between 

 3 and 3.5 milligrams per kilo. The results obtained in experiments 

 70589°— 21 — -2 



