812 
EXPERIMENTS WITH CARBOLIC ACID. 
curved. He lay in this state until 9 a.m., when he sat up 
and drank a little water, but again fell over, and lingered until 
2 p.m., when he died. A 'post-mortem was made at 5 a.m. 
The brain was covered with serous effusion, and vessels 
gorged with fluid blood. The vessels of the spinal cord were 
also gorged, and on cutting across the cord, in several places 
numerous red points were seen. The thoracic and abdo¬ 
minal viscera were distended with dark fluid blood, and the 
intestines (lower) contained dark faeces. 
Summary .—Having commenced these experiments with 
the view of ascertaining the maximum safe dose of this acid, 
and its action on the system when given in large doses in¬ 
ternally, I think I have gone far enough to satisfactorily 
settle these points; but when, in the course of my labours, I 
saw results somewhat contrary to what authors have ascribed 
to carbolic acid, I was led to give the details of the trials, so 
that others interested in such investigations might themselves 
judge of my conclusions. This, I beg, may be accepted as an 
excuse for having imposed on them the uninteresting accounts 
of each dose exhibited. I will now endeavour to give my 
opinion of the physiological effects of this most powerful and 
valuable drug, so far as I have been able to satisfy myself as 
to its action. All the experiments have been with crystal¬ 
lized acid. 
First, then, as to the dose. At the commencement I 
began with a very small dose, and gradually increased it drop 
by drop, and it was not until I had given fifteen minims 
three times a day that I noticed any particular effect. After 
the third of such doses, given on the same day, there was 
noticed some heat and irritability of the mouth and stomach, 
as shown by the dog putting his nose into and lapping 
water, but yet in a manner that showed he was not thirsty. 
Twenty minims, thrice daily, caused decided agitation, 
which, however, wore off in a short time, and any increase on 
this dose was attended by more and more severe symptoms, 
up to perfect insensibility, with stertorous breathing, blood¬ 
shot, eyes, dilated pupils, and loss of muscular power, but 
even these symptoms wore off within the hour if the dose 
was not fatal. The smallest fatal dose was half a drachm, 
given to a half-grown puppy (dog No. 9) and to dog No. 
5, which killed them within ten minutes; whilst forty minims 
killed dog No. 8 in the same time. This was the shortest 
period in which death occurred. It will have been seen 
from my first cases that if the dose was very gradually in¬ 
creased, a tolerance of the drug resulted, and as much as a 
drachm might be given with merely evanescent symptoms. 
