662 POISONS : THEIR EFFECTS AND DETECTION. [§ 841 . 
of 227-5 mgrms. (or about 3| grains) would cause serious poisonous 
Symptoms ; although double or treble that quantity might in a single 
dose be swallowed and, if thrown up speedily, no great harm result. 
120 grms. of sulphate of copper have been swallowed, and yet the 
patient recovered after an illness of two weeks. 1 Lewin 2 mentions 
the case of an adult who recovered after ten days’ illness, although 
the dose was 15 grms. ; there is also on record the case of a child, 
4b years old, who recovered after a dose of 16-5 grms. (a little over 
half an ounce). On the other hand, 7-7 grms. have been with difficulty 
recovered from. 3 A woman died in seventy-two hours after taking 27 
grms. (7 drms.) of copper sulphate mixed with 11-6 grms. (3 drms.) of 
iron sulphide ; 56-6 grms. (2 ozs.) of copper acetate have caused death 
in three days, 14-2 grms. (0-5 oz.) in sixty hours. 4 
§ 841. Cases of Acute Poisoning. —Acute poisoning by salts of 
copper is rare : in the five years ending 1916, there were registered in 
England only 2 deaths from this cause—1 suicidal and 1 accidental 
(both females). The symptoms produced by the sulphate of copper 
are those of a powerful irritant poison : there is immediate and violent 
vomiting ; the vomited matters are of a greenish colour—a green 
distinguished from bile by the colour changing to blue on the addition 
of ammonia. There is pain in the stomach, and in a little time affections 
of the nervous system, as shown by spasms, cramps, paralysis, and 
even tetanus. Jaundice is a frequent symptom, if life is prolonged 
sufficiently to admit of its occurrence. 
One of the best examples of acute poisoning by copper sulphate 
is recorded by Maschka. 5 A youth, 16 years old, took an unknown 
large dose of powdered copper sulphate, mixed with water. Half an 
hour afterwards there was violent vomiting, and he was taken to the 
hospital. There were thirst, retching, constriction in the throat, a cop¬ 
pery taste in the mouth, and pain in the epigastrium, which was painful 
on pressure. The vomit was of a blue colour, and small undissolved 
crystals of copper sulphate were obtained from it. The patient was pale, 
the edges of the lips and the angles of the mouth were coloured blue, 
the surface of the tongue had also a blue tint, the temperature was 
depressed, the extremities cold, nails cyanotic, and the pulse small and 
quick. Several loose greenish-yellow evacuations were passed ; there 
was no blood. The urine was scanty, but contained neither blood nor 
albumen. During the night the patient was very restless ; the next 
morning he had violent headache, pain in the epigastrium, burning in 
the mouth and gullet, but no vomiting. The urine was scanty, con- 
1 Referred to by Bernatzic, on the authority of Ketli, in Encycl. d. ges. Heilkunde, 
xi. 433. 
2 Toxicologie, p. 133. 
3 Taylor, op. cit. 4 Sonnenschein, op. cit. 
5 Wiener rned. Wochenschr., 1871, Nro. 26, p. 628. 
