ACONITINE. 
§ 439 . 44 °•] 
375 
sions, and death in asphyxia. Vomiting is frequently observed, some¬ 
times salivation, and very often dilatation of the pupil. Sometimes 
the latter is abnormally active, dilating and contracting alternately. 
Diarrhoea also occurs in a few cases. Vomiting is more frequent when 
the poison is taken by the mouth than when administered subcutaneously. 
§ 439. Statistics. —During the five years ending 1916 there were 
recorded in England and Wales 7 accidental deaths from the various 
forms of aconite (4 males, 3 females), and 3 suicidal deaths (2 males, 
1 female) from the same cause, which makes a total of only 10. 
Eighty-seven cases of poisoning by aconite in some form or other, 
collected from European medical literature, comprise only 2 cases of 
murder, 7 of suicide, and 77 which were more or less accidental. Six 
% 
of the cases were from the use of the alkaloid itself ; 10 were from 
the root; in 2 cases children ate the flowers ; in 1, the leaves of the 
plant were cooked and eaten by mistake ; in 7, the tincture was mis¬ 
taken for brandy, sherry, or liqueur ; the remainder were caused by 
the tincture, the liniment, or the extract. 
§ 440. Poisoning by the Root. —A case of murder which occurred 
some years ago in America, and also the Irish case which took place in 
1841 {Reg. v. M'Coyikey), were, until the trial of Lamson, the only 
instances among English-speaking people of the use of aconite for 
criminal purposes ; but if we turn to the Indian records, we find that it 
has been largely used from the earliest times as a destroyer of human 
life. In 1842 a tank of water destined for the use of the British army 
in pursuit of the retreating Burmese was poisoned by intentional con¬ 
tamination with the bruised root of Aconitum ferox ; it was fortunately 
discovered before any harm resulted. A preparation of the root is used 
in all the hill districts of India to poison arrows for the destruction of 
wild beasts. A Lepcha described the root to a British officer as being 
“ useful to sportsmen for destroying elephants and tigers, useful to the 
rich for putting troublesome relations out of the way, and useful to 
jealous husbands for the purpose of destroying faithless wives.” From 
the recorded cases, the powdered root, mixed with food, or the same 
substance steeped in spirituous liquor, is usually the part chosen for 
administration. In IVTConkey’s case, the man’s wife purchased powdered 
aconite root, mixed it with pepper, and strewed it over some greens, 
which she cooked and gave to him. The man complained of the sharp 
taste of the greens, and soon after the meal vomited, and suffered from 
purging, became delirious, with lockjaw and clenching of the hands ; 
he died in about three hours. The chief noticeable post-mortem 
appearance was a bright red colour of the mucous membrane of 
the stomach. 
The symptoms in this case were, in some respects, different, from those 
met with in other cases of poisoning by tjre root. A typical case is given 
