448 POISONS : THEIR EFFECTS AND DETECTION. [§ 554 . 
for the purpose of suicide, 16 granules of digitalin. Two hours later 
there was shivering and giddiness, so that she was obliged to go to bed. 
In the course of the day she had hallucinations. In the evening at 
8 p.m., after eating a little food, she had a shivering fit so violent that 
her teeth chattered ; there was cold sweat, and difficulty in breathing ; 
she became gradually again warm, but could not sleep. At 1 a.m. the 
difficulty of breathing was so great that she dragged herself to the 
window, and there remained until 3 a.m., when she again went back to 
bed, slept until 7 a.m., and woke tolerably well. Since this attempt at 
self-destruction had failed, she took 40 granules. After one hour she 
became giddy, had hallucinations, chilliness, cold sweats, copious vomit¬ 
ing, and colicky pains ; there was great muscular weakness, but no 
diarrhoea. Towards evening the vomiting became worse. There was 
no action of the bowels, nor was any urine passed ; she felt as if her 
eyes were prominent and large. The sufferings described lasted during 
the whole night until five o’clock the following day, when the vomiting 
ceased, whilst the hallucinations, chilliness, and cold sweat continued ; 
and the thirst, sick feeling, and weakness increased. The next morning 
a physician found her motionless in bed, with pale face, notable double 
exophthalmus, dilated pupils, and cold skin, covered with sweat; the 
pulse was small and intermittent, sometimes scarcely to be felt (46 to 
48 per minute) ; the epigastrium was painful on pressure. She passed 
this second night without sleep, and in the morning the pulse had risen 
from 56 to 58 beats, but was not quite so intermittent. There was 
some action of the bowels, but no urine was passed, nor had any been 
voided from the commencement; the bladder was not distended. The 
following (third) day some red-coloured, offensive urine was passed ; the 
skin was warmer, and the pulse from 60 to 64, still somewhat inter¬ 
mittent. From this time she began to improve, and made a good 
recovery. 1 
§ 554. Physiological Action of the Digitalins. —Whatever other 
physiological action this group may have, its effect on the heart’s action 
is so prominent and decided, that the digitalins stand as a type of heart 
poisons. The group of heart poisons has been much extended of late 
years, and has been found to include the following :—Antiarin, an arrow 
poison ; helleborin, a glucoside contained in the hellebore family ; a 
glucoside found in the Apocynaceoe, Thevatia neriifolia, and Thevatia 
iccotli ; the poisonous principle of the Nerium oleander and N. odorum ; 
the glucoside of Tanghinia venenifera ; convallamarin, derived from the 
species of Convallaria ; scillotoxin, from the squill ; superbin, from the 
Indian lily ; strophantin, from the seeds of Strophanthus hispidus ; 
euonymotoxin, from Euonymus atro-purpareas ; urecthin and urechi- 
1 Related by Ducroix, De VEmpoisonnement par la Digitale et la Digitaline , 
Paris, 1864. 
