624 POISONS : THEIR EFFECTS AND DETECTION. [§§ 792 - 793 . 
of an animal twenty-one days after the administration of the poison had 
been suspended. According to Pouchet’s 1 experiments on dogs and 
rabbits, antimony in chronic poisoning accumulates in the digestive 
tract, and is found in only small quantities in the organs of the body. 
§ 792. Antidotes for Tartar Emetic. — Any infusion containing 
tannin or allied astringent principles, such as decoctions of tea, oak-bark, 
etc., may be given with advantage in cases of recent poisoning by tartar 
emetic, for any of the salt which has not been expelled by vomiting may 
in this way be decomposed and rendered harmless. The treatment of 
acute poisoning which has proved most successful has been the encourag¬ 
ing of vomiting by tickling the fauces, giving strong green tea and 
stimulants. 
§ 793. Effects of Chloride or Butter of Antimony. —Only a few 
cases of poisoning by butter of antimony are on record : its action, 
generally speaking, on the tissues is like that of an acid, but there has 
been considerable variety in the symptoms. Five cases are recorded 
by Taylor: three of the number recovered after taking respectively 
doses of 7-7 grms. (2 drachms) and 15-5 grms. (4 drachms), and two 
died after taking from 56-6 to 113 grms. (2 to 4 ounces). In one of 
these cases the symptoms were more like those of a narcotic poison; in 
the other fatal case there was abundant vomiting with purging. The 
autopsy in the first case showed a black appearance from the mouth to 
the jejunum, as if the parts had been charred, and extensive destruction 
of the mucous membrane. In the other case there were similar changes 
in the stomach and the upper part of the intestines, but neither the lips 
nor the lower end of the gullet were eroded. In a case recorded by 
Mr Barrington Cooke, 2 a farmer’s wife, aged 40, of unsound mind, 
managed to elude the watchfulness of her friends, and swallowed an 
unknown quantity of antimony chloride about 1.30 p.m. Shortly after¬ 
wards she vomited several times, and had diarrhoea ; at 2.30 a medical 
man found her lying on her back insensible, and very livid in the face 
and neck. She was retching, and emitting from her mouth a frothy, 
mucous fluid, mixed with ejected matter of a grumous colour ; the 
breathing was laboured and spasmodic ; the pulse could not be felt, and 
the body was cold and clammy. She expired at 3.30, about one hour 
and a half from the commencement of symptoms, and probably within 
two hours from the taking of the poison. The autopsy showed no corru¬ 
gation of the tongue or inner surface of the lining membrane of the 
mouth, and no appearance of the action of a corrosive upon the lips, 
fauces, or mucous membrane of the oesophagus. The whole of the 
mucous membrane of the stomach was intensely congested, of a dark and 
almost black colour ; the rest of the viscera were healthy. Chemical 
analysis separated antimony equivalent to nearly a gramme (15 grains) 
1 Comjpt. Rend., 1901. 2 Lancet, May 19, 1883. 
