MORPHINE. 
313 
§ 37 2 -l 
a moderate dose, probably of laudanum, although the quantity of blood 
operated upon was over a pound in weight, and every care was taken, 
the results were entirely negative. In poisoning by laudanum there 
may be some remaining in the stomach, and also if large doses of 
morphine have been taken by the mouth ; but when morphine has 
been administered hypodermically, and in all cases in which several 
hours have elapsed, one may almost say that the organ in which there 
is the least probability of finding the poison is the stomach. It may, 
in some cases, be necessary to operate on a very large scale—to examine 
the faeces, mince up the whole liver, the kidney, spleen, and lungs, and 
treat them with acid alcohol. The urine will also have to be examined, 
and as much blood as can be obtained. In cases where all the evidence 
points to a minute quantity (under a grain) of morphine, it is decidedly 
best to add these various extracts together, to distil off the alcohol 
at a very gentle heat, to dry the residue in a vacuum, to dissolve again 
in absolute alcohol, filter, evaporate again to dryness, dissolve in water, 
and then use the following process :— 
§ 372. Extraction of Morphine. —To search specially for morphine in 
such a fluid as the urine, it is, according to the authors’ experience, best 
to proceed strictly as follows :—The urine is precipitated with acetate of 
lead, the powdered lead salt being added to the warm urine contained in 
a beaker on the water-bath, until a further addition no longer produces 
a precipitate ; the urine is then filtered, the lead precipitate washed, and 
the excess of lead thrown down by SH 2 ; the lead having been filtered 
off, and the precipitate washed,the urine is concentrated down to a syrup 
in a vacuum. The syrup is now placed in a separating tube (if not acid, 
it is acidified with hydrochloric acid), and shaken up successively with 
petroleum ether, chloroform, ether, and, lastly, with amylic alcohol (the 
latter should be warm) ; finally, the small amount of amylic alcohol left 
dissolved in the liquid is got rid of by shaking it up with petroleum 
ether. To get rid of the last traces of petroleum ether, it may be neces¬ 
sary to turn the liquid into an evaporating dish, and gently heat for a 
little time over the water-bath. The acid liquid is now again transferred 
to the separating tube, and shaken up with ether, after being made 
alkaline with ammonia ; this will remove nearly all alkaloids save mor¬ 
phine,—under the circumstances, a very small quantity of morphine may 
indeed be taken up by the ether, but not the main bulk. After separat¬ 
ing the ether, the liquid is again made slightly acid, so as to be able to 
precipitate morphine in the presence of the solvent; the tube is warmed 
on the water-bath, at least its own bulk of hot amylic alcohol added, and 
the liquid made alkaline with sodic carbonate, and the whole well shaken. 
The amylic alcohol is removed in the usual way, and shaken with a small 
quantity of decinormal sulphuric acid ; this washes out the alkaloid 
from the amyl alcohol, and the same amyl alcohol can be used again and 
