ON THE EFFECTS OF ACRID POISONS. 
229 
healthy, but rather injected. The bladder was contracted, and its mucous 
membrane a little injected, especially towards the cervix, where the 
veins were distended. 
The principal points of consideration which this case suggests are, 
1st, the greater rapidity with which death followed the taking the poison j 
2nd, the differences in the appearances observed after death, consisting 
in the more general diffusion of redness and injection, and in the ab¬ 
sence of plastic lymph 5 3rd, the different mode of treatment, consists 
ing in the use of the stomach-pump and the liberal use of emetics, to 
which may be ascribed the removal of the coagulable lymph, had it been 
thrown out, and the application of arsenic in solution to almost every 
part of the stomach instead of partially in a solid form. 
The contents of the stomach and small intestine of this patient were 
very carefully examined by R. H. Bretts, a pupil at Guy’s Hospital, who 
has devoted great attention to chemical research. I need not detail the 
process to which he had recourse. There was no difficulty in the dis¬ 
covery of arsenic in the stomach, from which some remains of the white 
oxide were taken. The presence of "he arsenic in the intestine was 
made certain, but not without considerable difficulty, and its quantity ap¬ 
peared to be very minute. On this I would lay some stress, as in the 
experiments which I have next to relate, the one on a dog, the other on a 
horse, no arsenic could be discovered in the intestines though carefully 
sought by equally practised analysts. 
No. 3. The next example of poisoning by arsenic which I shall relate 
is that of a dog, and here I would observe that I met with considerable 
difficulty before I succeeded in having a dog killed with this poison ; for 
although they do not at first refuse to take either liquid or solid food with 
which arsenic has been mixed, yet having taken it they readily reject it 
from the stomach, and then appear to grow suspicious and generally re¬ 
fuse further doses. I at length succeeded, with the assistance of T. Davis, 
by giving repeated doses, so small as to be disguised, at the intervals of 
an hour each to a hungry dog. He retained some of the doses for an 
hour and half or more. He vomited after each. He survived the first 
dose more than twelve hours ; but as he died in the course of the night 
when he was not watched, it is impossible to state the exact time. In 
the stomach of this dog, which was examined the following morning, the 
mucous membrane was found deeply reddened towards the cardiac ex¬ 
tremity and in other parts, to some of which the arsenic in substance 
was attached, being intermixed with the secretion, which in some re¬ 
spects resembled coagulable lymph and assumed the form of a false mem¬ 
brane. When this layer was fresh raised from the surface of the mem¬ 
brane the inflamed and reddened texture was of a bright colour. When 
the secretion had been previously separated, the membrane, coloured by 
injection or extravasation, presented a deeper hue. The viscid as well as 
more solid exudation from the surface of the stomach was somewhat 
tinged with blood, some of the particles of which were examined by my 
friend J. J. Lister; they had not wholly lost their form, but the regu¬ 
larity of their outline was considerably impaired. 
Though this blood had doubtless escaped from some portion of abraded. 
