108 The Post-Mortem Imbilition of Poisons. (February, 
referring to the results of the experiments by the writer, it will be 
seen that arsenic was recovered from the drazu of the animal into 
which this poison had been introduced. The fact that a poison, 
introduced after death, can penetrate through the various tis- 
sues and saturate the great nerve centers, protected and sur- 
rounded as they are by a bony casing, must be looked upon as 
an astonishing as well as an interesting fact. Upon this point Dr. 
Reese (Transactions of College of Physicians and Surgeons, 
1877), observes: “It is scarcely conceivable that a poison intro- 
duced into a body after death could penetrate by imbibition 
within the cavity of the cranium and spinal cord.” 
In the experiments of Dr. Vaughn, the following explanation is 
offered for having found arsenic in the brain, viz., “ In injecting 
the solution into the mouth, the syringe used clogged up, and on 
attempting to force it free, a portion of the fluid was observed to 
flow from the nostrils, some of this fluid probably adhered to the 
pharynx.” 
In the writer's experiments, when the dog employed was being 
placed in the box,a small amount of fluid was observed to trickle 
from the nostrils. Whether the presence of arsenic in the brain 
was due to the foregoing accident or not is uncertain. In a 
series of experiments on “ Post-Mortem Imbibition of Poisons,” 
Dr. Geo. McCracken introduced the three poisons, viz., arsenic, 
tartar emetic and corrosive sublimate, and subsequently recovered 
them by chemical analysis from several organs. ; 
Though always allowable, it is not our purpose to nenit to 
draw positive deductions from the facts adduced, but rather to 
allow our own results, which have been gained by a strictly scien- 
tific process, fo speak for themselves, In conclusion, however, it 
may be remarked that the hypothesis that arsenic through the 
process of post-mortem imbibition from the alimentary canal is, 
by careful chemical analysis, discoverable in the brain, receives 
entire confirmation from the P researches. 
Ae RESO reap eT Sg 
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