Pathology of dichlorethylsulphide. 



149 



secondary infection with toxemia, or local conditions as laryngitis, 

 tracheitis, bronchitis and bronchopneumonia. It is also possible 

 that the entrance into the body of shell fragments carrying liquid 

 dichlorethylsulphide might cause a relatively speedy death through 

 absorption. 



At the site of subcutaneous injections there is found a local 

 eschar with demarcating hemorrhage, edema and inflammatory 

 infiltration; in the large veins into which injections have been 

 made, no changes have been found except occasional thrombosis. 



The general pathology of the injected cases presents a specific 

 pathologic picture in the intestinal tract in the form of a severe 

 mucoid, desquamative or necrotic enteritis, the intestinal epi- 

 thelium showing the most marked hydropic or mucoid degenera- 

 tion, even to liquefaction necrosis. Similar changes may be 

 found in the epithelium of the bile ducts. In a certain number of 

 cases the spleen, lymph nodes and hemal nodes show a marked 

 hemosiderosis, the hemosiderin being contained in large hemo- 

 phages. It is most probable that these evidences of increased 

 hemolysis are explainable by the extravasations and blood de- 

 struction occurring at the site of the injection. No specific 

 changes were observed in the blood-forming organs. In the 

 other organs no pathologic changes but congestion have been 

 found, with the rare exception of emboli or thrombi. 



Mode of Action. — The cause of death in intravenous and sub- 

 cutaneous injections would appear to be the direct action of 

 minute quantities of free dichlorethylsulphide or some poisonous 

 product resulting from its decomposition, upon the cells of the 

 central nervous system. It has been assumed that the pathologic 

 action of dichlorethylsulphide is due to its hydrolysis within the 

 tissue cells. The products of this hydrolysis, hydrochloric acid 

 and dihydroxyethylsulphide, when injected into the blood, do not 

 produce the same effects. Dihydroxyethylsulphide and hydro- 

 chloric acid, when injected into the circulation in much larger 

 doses than would result from the hydrolysis of the fatal doses of 

 mustard gas, are harmless. The effect upon the cells of the 

 central nervous system may, however, depend upon hydrolysis, 

 with the liberation of hydrochloric acid (Marshall), in these cells 

 of minute quantities of mustard gas in the circulation, or these 



