132 
PROPERTIES OF NITROBENZOLE AND ANILINE. 
was quick or slow. The vessels of the brain and its membranes were extremely turgid; 
the cavities of the heart were full of blood ; the lungs were but slightly congested; the liver 
was of a deep purple tint, and the gall-bladder distended with bile; the stomach was natural, 
without sign of local irritation; and the blood all over the body was black and unco¬ 
agulated. Whenever the progress of the case had been quick, and death had taken 
place within twenty-four hours, the odour of the nitrobenzole was clearly perceptible in 
the stomach, the brain, and the lungs; and there was always unmistakable evidence of 
the existence of aniline in the organs of the body. In the slower cases, the odour of the 
poison had often entirely disappeared ; but generally there were distinct traces of aniline 
in the brain and urine, and sometimes in the stomach and liver; occasionally, however, 
no poison was found. 
It has appeared to me that the facts which are here elucidated are very remarkable; 
for they not only indicate a rare circumstance in toxicology, namely, that a poison may 
be retained in the system for many days without showing its effects, but also that the 
poison may be changed into an entirely different substance. The importance of these 
facts cannot be overrated ; they are alike interesting to the chemist, the physiologist, 
and the medical jurist; for without dwelling on a very possible occurrence,-—namely, the 
criminal administration of this poison, with the knowledge that the effects would be de¬ 
layed, that the s} mptoms would correspond to those of natural disease, that the progress 
of the case would be lingering, and that there would be either no discovery of poison in 
the body, or the discovery of a thing different from that administered,—it will be mani¬ 
fest that the study of these facts by the medical jurist is of public importance. To the 
physiologist they are also interesting, insomuch as they indicate a reducing power in the 
animal body by the conversion of nitrobenzole into aniline. I have endeavoured to as¬ 
certain whether this is due to a living or a dead process. In the first place, I find that 
dead and decomposing organic matter will effect the change alluded to; for when nitro¬ 
benzole is placed in the dead stomach, or is kept in contact with putrid flesh for several 
hours, there is a partial reduction of it into aniline. This may be the source of the poison 
found in the dead body ; but, on the other hand, there is a great similarity in the phy¬ 
siological effects of nitrobenzole and those of aniline. 
When aniline is given to dogs and cats in doses of from twenty to sixty drops, it 
causes rapid loss of voluntary power. The animal staggers in its gait, looks perplexed, 
and falls upon its side powerless. Its head is drawn back, the pupils are widely dilated, 
there are slight twitchings or spasms of the muscles, the breathing is difficult, the action 
of the heart is tumultuous, and the animal quickly passes into a state of coma. From 
this it never recovers, but remains upon its side as if in a deep sleep, and so dies in from 
half an hour to thirty-two hours. 
The post-mortem appearances are much the same as the last: the brain and its mem¬ 
branes are turgid, the cavities of the heart are nearly full of blood, the lungs are but 
slightly congested, and the blood all over the body is black and uncoagulated. In every 
case the poison was easily discovered in the brain, the stomach, and the liver. 
While, however, there seems to be a probable conversion of nitrobenzole into aniline 
in the living animal body by a process of reduction, there is also undoubtedly a change 
of an opposite character going on upon the surface of the body, whereby the salts of 
aniline are oxidized and converted into mauve or magenta purple. Some remarkable facts 
illustrative of this have been brought under my own notice, and have been the subject 
of clinical observation. 
In the month of June, 1861, a boy aged sixteen was brought into the London Hospital in 
a semi-comatose condition. He had been scrubbing out the inside of an aniline vat, and 
while so doing he breathed an atmosphere charged with the vapour of the alkali, and 
became insensible. He did not suffer pain or discomfort, but was suddenly seized with 
giddiness and insensibility. When he was brought to the hospital he looked like a 
person in the last stage of intoxication : the face and surface of the body were cold, 
the pulse was slow and almost imperceptible, the action of the heart was feeble, and 
the breathing was heavy and laborious. After rallying a little, he complained of pain 
in his head and giddiness. It was then noticed that the face had a purple hue, and 
that the lips and lining membrane of the mouth and the nails had the same purple 
tint. The next day, although the narcotic effects of the poison had passed away, he 
was still remarkably blue, like a patient in the last stage of cholera. 
In the early part of last year, sulphate of aniline was given in rather large doses to pa- 
