136 POISONS I THEIR EFFECTS AND DETECTION. [§§ I 39 -I 4 I. 
probably be dangerous, especially if given to a person who had congestion or disease 
of the kidneys. 
Dr Jacobi 1 gives the following cases :— 
Dr Fountain, in 1858, experimenting on himself, took 29-2 grms. (7-6 drms.) of 
potassic chlorate; he died on the seventh day from nephritis. A young lady 
swallowed 30 grms. (7-8 drms.), when using it as a gargle ; she died in a few days 
from nephritis. A man, 30 years of age, died in four days after having taken 48 
grms. (12-5 drms.) of sodic chlorate in six hours. The shortest time in which the 
salt appears to have been fatal is a case related by Dr Manouvriez, in which a woman 
took 45 grms., and died in five hours. The smallest dose which has proved fatal is 
one in which an infant 3 years old was killed by 3 grms. (46-3 grains). 
Jacobi considers that the maximum dose to be given in divided doses during 
the twenty-four hours, to infants under 3, should be from 1—1*5 grm. (lo-4—23-1 
grains) ; to children from 3 years old, up to 2 grms. (30-8 grains) ; and adults from 
6-8 grms. (92-6-123-4 grains). 
§ 139. Elimination. —Potassic chlorate is quickly absorbed by mucous mem¬ 
branes, and by the inflamed skin, and rapidly separated from the body by the action 
of the kidneys. Wohler, as early as 1824, recognised that it in great part passed 
out of the body unchanged ; and, lately, Isambert, in conjunction with Hirne, 2 
making quantitative estimations, recovered from the urine no less than 95 per cent, 
of the ingested salts. Otto Hehner has also made several auto-experiments, and 
taking 2^ drms., found that it could be detected in the urine an hour and a half after¬ 
wards. At that time 17-23 per cent, of the salt had been excreted, and, by the end of 
eleven hours, 93-8 per cent, was recovered. It is then difficult to believe that the 
salt gives any oxygen to the tissues, for though it is true that in all the investiga¬ 
tions a small percentage remains to be accounted for, and also that Binz, 3 making 
experiments by mixing solutions of potassic chlorate with moist organic substances, 
such as pus, yeast, fibrin, etc., has declared that, at a blood heat, the chlorate is 
rapidly reduced, and is no longer recognisable as chlorate—yet it may be affirmed 
that potassic chlorate is recovered from the urine as completely as anything which is 
ever excreted by the body, and that deductions drawn from the changes undergone 
by the salt in solutions of fibrin, etc., have only an indirect bearing on the question. 
§ 140. The essential action of potassic chlorate seems to be that it causes a 
peculiar change in the blood, acting on the colouring-matter and corpuscles ; the 
latter lose their property as oxygen carriers ; the haemoglobin is in part destroyed ; 
the corpuscles dissolved. The decomposed and altered blood corpuscles are crowded 
into the kidneys, spleen, etc. ; they block up the uriniferous canaliculi, and thus the 
organs present the curious colouring seen after death, and the kidneys become 
inflamed. 
Detection and Estimation of Potassic Chlorate. 
§ 141. Organic fluids are best submitted to dialysis ; the dialysed fluid should 
then be concentrated and qualitative tests applied. One of the best tests for the 
presence of a chlorate is, without doubt, that recommended by Fresenius. The fluid 
to be tested is acidulated with a few drops of sulphuric acid, sulphate of indigo 
added sufficient to colour the solution blue and finally a few drops of sulphurous 
acid. In presence of potassic or sodic chlorate, the blue colour immediately vanishes. 
This method is capable of detecting 1 part in 128,000, provided the solution is not 
originally coloured, and but little organic matter is present. 
The urine can be examined direct, but if it contain albumen, the blue colour may 
disappear and yet chlorate be present; if too much sulphurous acid be also added, 
the test may give erroneous results. These are but trivial objections, however, for 
1 Amer. Med. Times, 1860. 
2 Gaz. Med. de Paris, 1875, No. 17, 35, 41, 43. 
3 Berlin. klin. % Wochenschr., xi. 10, S. 119, 1874. 
