Pathology of Dichlorethylsulphide. 147 



When death takes place quickly, the symptoms are chiefly those 

 of an action upon the central nervous system, such as hyper- 

 excitability, rapid respirations, general convulsions, opisthotonos, 

 gradual failure of respiration and circulation, coma and death. 

 When the animal lives longer after small intravenous injections, 

 or after subcutaneous injection, there develops a characteristic 

 symptomatology of salivation, marked diarrhea, and fall of 

 temperature, with marked anorexia, emaciation and depression. 

 With subcutaneous injection of .015 to .06 c.c, death usually 

 takes place from the fourth to the tenth day. 



83 (1458) 



The pathology of dichlorethylsulphide (" mustard gas ") 

 poisoning. 



By Aldred Scott Warthin and Carl Vernon Weller. 



[Pathological Laboratory, University of Michigan, 

 Ann Arbor, Michigan.] 



The specific microscopic pathology of the local lesions of 

 dichlorethylsulphide poisoning consists in degeneration and 

 necrosis of the cells with which it comes in contact. The earliest 

 microscopic change is pyknosis of the nucleus and cell body, 

 followed by hydropic degeneration, liquefaction or coagulation 

 necrosis. In the skin, hyperemia, with regeneration of the dam- 

 aged cells, pigmentation, vesicle formation, desquamation of the 

 dead epidermis or eschar formation mark varying stages of 

 severity of the lesion. The degenerative changes extend deepest 

 in the hair follicles and sweat glands. In mild burns without 

 vesication the papillary layer of the corium may show a greater 

 degree of necrosis than the epidermis itself, thus explaining the 

 frequent occurrence of Nikolsky's sign. Large pigmented chro- 

 matophores may be the only living cells left in the papillary layer. 

 In severe burns the necrosis may extend entirely through the 

 corium. In the cornea, pyknosis and simple or coagulation 

 necrosis of the corneal epithelium and interstitial substance, even 

 to the endothelial layer, in extent varying with the degree of 



