12 TECHNICAT^ BULLETIN 2 3 8, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE 
TAni.E 2. — Cliyiical response to thallium in treatment of ringworm 
Reference 
Dose per 
kilogram 
of body 
weight 
Patients' 
ages 
Patients 
Remarks 
Treated 
Poi- 
soned 
Ring- 
worm 
cured 
Davies (.57) 
Milligram 
4.6,6 
5 
5 
Yfnrs 
12, 14,35 
Number 
3 
4 
500 
Number 
3 
Number 
Mexican schools 
Old solution. 
Fresh solution. 
Derliu hospital. 
Drummond (67) 
4 
Peters (//«) 
Davics and Andrews (5S) 
C 7 1 
{ 1:1 
8 
{ S 
S 
8 
8-9 
( 8.5-9 
\ 8.5-9 
I 8.5-9 
g 
1 
1 
45 
30 
50 
100 
47 
74 
90 
16 
46 
1 
1 
Devane (60) 
11 
Seaston and Wilson (1,%) 
Buschke and Langer (27) 
5 
47 
Felden (7f) 
36 
Peyri (11 9) 
19 
78 
52 
Dowling and Kelman (6i, 6-5) 
Less than 3.. 
More than 3^ 
If? 
35 
Sollmann (138) concludes : " The therapeutic use (of thallium) has 
repeatedly caused severe poisoning and is scarcely justified." 
ANTIDOTES FOR THALLIUM POISONING 
No general antidote is known for thallium poisoning. Prompt 
use of the stomach tube and the induction of vomiting to remove any 
unabsorbed material in the stomach are indicated. As the iodide and 
chloride are less soluble than other thallium salts, potassium iodide 
or sodium chloride may be given, followed by gastric lavage or 
vomiting. The intravenous injection of sodium thiosulphate (38) 
gave indifferent results. Removal from exposure for several months 
should be adequate in cases of chronic poisoning. 
LABORATORY EXPERIMENTS 
METHOD ADOPTED FOR FEEDING EXPERIMENTS 
It was found that thallium salts fed in ordinary food were very 
toxic to rats {111)- In order to compare the toxicity with that of 
other rat poisons, a similar method of feeding became necessary. 
Some investigators dissolved the test substance in the animals' 
drinking water, but this method appeared too inaccurate for use in 
the work here reported upon. Other investigators have dissolved 
weighed quantities of a test substance in a knowm volume of water 
or other solvents and mixed the solution with w^eighed bulks of 
food, or administered the solution by pipette directly into the mouths 
of test animals. These methods appeared very cumbersome, even 
though somewhat more accurate in dosage. 
Experience in the feeding of other poisons to rats led to the adop- 
tion of the following method of preparation of the poisoned bait : 
The ordinary laboratory rat food was screened, and that portion pass- 
ing through a 20-mesh sieve (a sieve with 20 meshes to the linear inch, 
or 400 apertures to the square inch) used as a vehicle. Success in 
the use of this method is dependent upon the care used in finely 
pulverizing the poison and thoroughly mixing with a finely screened 
