PHOSPHORUS. 
§§ 298,299.] 
239 
when injected into the rectum, is also fatal; the animals exhale some of 
the gas from the lungs, and the breath, therefore, reduces solutions of 
silver nitrate. 1 
Brenner 2 has recorded the case of a man 28 years old, a phar¬ 
maceutist, who is supposed to have suffered from illness caused by 
repeated inhalations of minute quantities of phosphine. He was 
engaged for two and a half years in the preparation of hypophosphites ; 
his illness commenced with spots before the eyes, and inability to fix the 
attention. His teeth became very brittle, and healthy as well as carious 
broke off from very slight causes. Finally, a weakness of the arms and 
limbs developed in the course of nine months into complete locomotor 
ataxy. 
§ 298. Blood takes up far more phosphine than water. Dybs- 
kowsky found that, putting the coefficient of solubility of phosphine in 
pure water at *1122 at 15°, the coefficient for venous blood was -13, and 
for arterial 26-73 ; hence the richer the blood is in oxygen the more 
phosphine is absorbed. It seems probable that the poisonous gas reacts 
on the oxyhsemoglobin of the blood, and phosphorous acid is formed. 
This is supported by the fact that a watery extract of such blood re¬ 
duces silver nitrate, and has been also found feebly acid. The dark 
blood obtained from animals poisoned by phosphine, when examined 
spectroscopically, has been found to exhibit a band in the violet. 
§ 299. Post-mortem Appearances. —There are a few perfectly well 
authenticated cases showing that phosphorus may cause death, and yet 
no lesion be discovered afterwards. Thus, Tardieu 3 cites a case in 
which a woman, aged 45, poisoned herself with phosphorus, and died 
suddenly the seventh day afterwards. Dr Mascarel examined the 
viscera with the greatest care, but could discover absolutely no 
abnormal conditions ; the only symptoms during life were vomiting, and 
afterwards a little indigestion. It may, however, be remarked that the 
microscope does not seem to have been employed, and that probably a 
close examination of the heart would have revealed some alteration of 
its ultimate structure. The case quoted by Taylor 4 may also be 
mentioned, in which a child was caught in the act of sucking phosphorus 
matches, and died ten days afterwards in convulsions. None of the 
ordinary post-mortem signs of poisoning by phosphorus were met with, 
but the intestines were reddened throughout, and there were no less 
than ten invaginations ; but the case is altogether a doubtful one, and 
no phosphorus may actually have been taken. It is very difficult to 
give in a limited space anything like a full picture of the different 
1 Dybskowsky, Med. Chem. Untersuchungen aus Hoppe-Seyler's Labor, in 
Tubingen , p. 57. 
2 St Petersburg Med. Zeitschr., 4. Hft., 1805. 
3 U Empoisonnement, p. 520. 
4 Poisons, 3rd ed., p. 276. 
