70 
Scientific Proceedings (42). 
40 (565) 
Experiments with chloroform, administered by intratracheal 
insufflation, in strychnine poisoning. 
By T. S. GITHENS and S. J. MELTZER. 
[From the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology of the 
Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research^ 
Soon after the introduction of the method of intratracheal in- 
sufflation, experiments were begun to study the control of strych- 
nine poisoning by means of this method. So far three series of 
investigations were carried out. In the first series Shaklee and 
Meltzer employed, besides insufflation, curare and intravenous 
infusions of Ringer's solution. In these experiments it was first 
established that in intravenous injections, 0.4 mgr. of strychnine 
represents a reliable fatal dose per kilo dog. When using insuffla- 
tion, curare and Ringer's solution quite a large percentage of 
dogs were saved which received even more than the fatal dose. 
Out of 6 dogs which received 0.5 mgr. per kilo, 5 were saved, and 
out of 22 dogs which received 0.8 mgs. p. kilo 13 were saved. 
In a second series of experiments, carried out by the present 
authors and communicated at the last meeting of the American 
Pharmacological Society, ether was substituted for curare. 
Twenty dogs which received 0.8 mgr. strychnine per kilo, that is, 
twice the fatal dose, were subsequently treated by intratracheal 
insufflation, ether and intravenous injections of Ringer's solution. 
All these dogs survived, none died later from after effects and 
when finally killed the autopsy revealed no abnormal conditions 
in any of the animals. 
In medical practice chloroform is frequently employed in 
human cases of strychnine poisoning. We have therefore carried 
out a series of experiments in which chloroform was used instead 
of ether. We wish to present here the results of these experiments 
very briefly. Of 21 dogs which received intravenously 0.8 mgr. 
strychnine per kilo and were treated with chloroform and insuf- 
flation 12 survived and 9 died. The contrast to the series in 
which ether was used is striking. Furthermore, of these dogs 
only 11 received also infusion with Ringer's solution, 10 did not 
