243 
YEW POISONING. 
By Edwin Taylor, M.R.C.V.S., Bury St. Edmund’s. 
I have perused, with much interest, the cases of yew 
poisoning related hy Messrs. Gerrard and Bower, and also 
Professor Buckman’s opinion. I do not attempt to deny that 
the leaves of the yew produce a narcotic action upon the 
system, but I am inclined to the opinion that the narcotic 
action is not the sole cause of death, but that death arises 
from mechanical obstruction in the stomach and lungs. For, 
when the leaves of the yew are taken into the stomach, and 
mixed with the other ingesta, fermentation is quickly set up 
to a great degree, a very large amount of gas is generated 
producing distension of that organ, which, pressing upon the 
diaphragm, causes congestion of the lungs, asphyxia, and 
death. Having had some experience in cases of poisoning 
by yew, I am forced to come to this conclusion. I will now 
relate them. 
In the year 1867 I was summoned early one morning to 
see some bullocks on a farm five miles distant; the man 
stated that four were found dead by the yardman when he 
came in the morning, before my arrival; I found eight more 
in the yard. I was informed they had all broken out of their 
pasture during the night, and had got into a plantation in 
which were several yew trees, and some of the beasts were 
found dead in the plantation; all of those which I saw were 
enormously distended with gas. I immediately made a hurried 
post-mortem upon two or three of them, and found large 
quantities of yew quite undigested in their stomachs, and to 
those I attributed the cause of death. The symptoms of the 
others were dull, dejected appearance, staggering gait, in¬ 
jection of the visible mucous membranes, with quick, heavy 
breathing. Two of the beasts had distension of the stomach 
to an enormous degree, probably from having taken more of 
the plant than the others had, and they also laboured more 
in their breathing; I immediately introduced the trocar into 
the rumen of each of them, which gave exit to a large quan¬ 
tity of gas, relief immediately followed, and to all of them I 
administered Magnesia Sulph. 1 lb., with Carb. Ammonia 5ij ; 
the others not showing any symptoms of distension, I did not 
introduce the trocar, gave orders that no food should be 
allowed all day, but in the evening they were drenched with 
gruel; the next day the medicine had operated well upon all 
of them, and they required no further treatment. 
