236 
FIFTH REPORT -1835. 
solution of arsenic, made by boiling distilled water with an ex¬ 
cess of arsenious acid and allowing it to cool, was thrown by 
means of a small syringe, at two o’clock p.m., into the femoral 
vein. For 3 minutes there was no obvious effect, but at the end 
of that time vomiting commenced, and a quantity of half-digested 
food was thrown off the stomach. The respiration then became 
hurried and the animal appeared faint. In 10 minutes there 
was great intestinal movement, the abdomen being frequently 
and forcibly drawn in. After 25 minutes, vomiting was renew¬ 
ed, paralysis of the hind legs came on, and the animal died in 65 
minutes. Examination was made on the next day. The limbs 
were rigid, the blood was fluid, the lungs were collapsed and 
had a rosy tint, but were not inflamed. The peritoneum was red¬ 
dish. The appearances of the stomach and small intestines 
have been already described. The large intestines contained 
solid fecal matter and were quite free from morbid alteration. 
There was no apparent change in the mucous membrane of the 
trachsea or bronchi, none in the inner lining of the heart, veins, 
or arteries, none at least in their larger branches. 
The points of interest in this experiment are, first, the absence 
of inflammation in so many tissues with which the poison must 
have come into contact; secondly, its action on the mucous 
membrane alone; thirdly, the predilection shown for the mucous 
membrane of the small intestines, and in this instance the limita¬ 
tion of its action to that part of the alimentary canal, where it was 
intense, the membrane being covered with a layer of tough mu¬ 
cus mixed with blood ; fourthly, a circumstance frequently ob¬ 
served in cases of poison, the rigidity of the limbs, the blood 
remaining fluid. 
A second drawing exhibited also the stomach and part of the 
duodenum of a dog poisoned with arsenic thrown into the veins. 
In this instance the mucous membrane both of the stomach and 
intestines was intensely red, the redness extending throughout 
the whole track of the intestinal tube. This experiment was a 
modification of the last, the difference consisting in the greater 
strength of the animal and a diminution in the quantity of the 
poison. An ounce of a saturated solution of arsenious acid was 
indeed here also employed, but the solution was filtered ; a thin 
floating pellicle of arsenic was removed from its surface. The 
solution was thrown into the femoral vein at 12 minutes past 1. 
The animal vomited almost immediately after the operation. In 
12 minutes solid fecal matter was passed from the bowels fol¬ 
lowed by tenesmus ; in 35 minutes dysentery was induced, and 
the animal made attempts at vomiting. These symptoms con¬ 
tinued with more or less severity about 3 hours, when death took 
