POISONOUS CYANIDES. 
§ 277.] 
225 
left lung partly of the same colour ; the parenchyma presented the same hue as the 
surface ; on section of the lungs a whitish froth exuded from the cut surface. In 
the cellular tissue of the trachea, there were extravasations 5 mm. in diameter ; the 
mucous membrane of the air-passages was pale ,- the right ventricle and the left 
auricle of the heart were filled with coagulated and fluid dark red blood ; liver and 
kidneys normal; the blood dark red and very fluid, becoming bright cherry-red on 
exposure to the air ; blood corpuscles unchanged. Cyanogen was separated, and 
identified from the lungs and the liver. 
Cyanuric acid (C3O3N3H3), one of the decomposition products obtained from urea, 
is poisonous, the symptoms and pathological effects closely resembling those due to 
liydric cyanide. In experiments on animals, there has been no difficulty in detecting 
prussic acid in the lungs and liver after poisoning by cyanuric acid. 
Reid Hunt 1 has determined the toxic dose of many nitriles when subcutaneously 
injected into mice. The nitriles were either dissolved in water or in diluted alcohol. 
The results may be seen from the following table :— 
• 
Molecular weight. 
Fatal dose in mgrs. 
per gramme animal. 
Fatal dose com¬ 
pared with HCN 
taken as 1. 
Fatal dose in terms 
of molecular weight 
taking HCN as 1. 
Prussic acid . 
HCN 
27 
0-005 
1 
1 
Aceto nitrile . 
CH 3 CN 
41 
0-7 
140 
92-2 
Formal cyanhydrine 
CH 2 (OH)CN 
57 
0015 
3 
1-42 
Chloral cyanhydrine 
CCl 3 CH(OH)CN 
174-5 
0023 
4-6 
0-66 
Benzo nitrile . 
c 6 h 5 cn 
103 
0-18 
36 
9-5 
Benzyl nitrile . 
c 6 h 5 ch 2 cn 
117 
0-032 
6-4 
1-47 
Mandelic nitrile 
C 6 H 5 CH(OH)CN 
133 
0-023 
4-6 
0-93 
Diethylaminoaceto nitrile 
hydrochloride 
,CN 
ch 2 < 
x N(C 2 H 6 ) 2 HC1 
CN 
148-5 
0-031 
6 
1-09 
Diethylaminoaceto nitrile 
iodo methylate . 
/ 
ch 2 ch 3 
\/ 
X N(C 2 H 5 ) 2 
\l 
,CN 
254 
0-25 
50 
5-31 
Diethylamino-lactic nitrile 
CH3CH 
X N(C 2 H 5 ) 2 
CN 
126 
0-022 
4-4 
0-94 
Diethylamino-lactic nitrile 
iodo methylate . 
/ 
CH3 CH ch 3 
\ / 
x N(C 2 H 5 ) 2 
\ 
X I 
.CN 
268 
0-4 
80 
8-1 
Phenylaminoaceto nitrile 
ch 2 
x nhc 6 h 5 
132 
0-055 
11 
2-25 
1 Arch. Jnter. de Pharm. et de Therapie, xii., 1904. 
15 
