DETECTION  OF  STRYCHNINE  IN  CASES  OF  POISONING.  273 
strychnine  was  administered  to  a  young  dog,  in  any  other  analysis 
beyond  the  contents  of  the  stomach,  and  had  utterly  failed  to 
obtain  any  indication  of  its  presence  in  the  urine  of  patients 
taking  strychnine,  while  Drs.  Wrightson,  Letheby,  Ogle  and  Mr. 
Herapath,  as  well  as  himself  and  Mr.  Girdwood,  had  never  ex- 
perienced the  slightest  difficulty  in  separating  strychnine  from 
all  parts  of  fluids  of  the  body  subjected  to  analysis. 
He  further  observed,  that  he  did  not  consider  the  manner  of 
their  applying  the  test  of  sufficient  delicacy  to  detect  the  minute 
quantities  of  strychnine  that  could  be  obtained  from  the  tissues 
and  fluids  of  the  body,  it  being  frequently  necessary  in  such 
cases  to  apply  sulphuric  acid  containing  a  minute  quantity  of 
chromic  acid,  by  means  of  a  glass  pen,  to  obtain  the  distinctive 
color  ;  the  conclusions  derived  from  his  own  researches  were, 
that  strychnine  is  not  decomposed  in  the  body,  and  can  always 
be  discovered  if  a  proper  method  of  analysis  is  employed. 
Should  any  Member  of  the  Society  wish  to  repeat  the  author's 
experiments,  he  would  be  happy  to  show  him  the  methods  of 
analysis  adopted  by  himself  and  Mr.  Girdwood,  and  was  per- 
fectly certain  that  strychnine  would  be  readily  found. 
Mr.  Bastick  thought  that  Dr.  De  Vry's  question  had  not  been 
answered  by  the  two  last  speakers,  namely,  can  strychnine  be 
detected  in  the  urine  of  a  patient  who  does  not  die  from  its  effects  ? 
Mr.  Eodgers  said  he  had  detected  it  in  such  cases. 
Mr.  Redwood  thought  it  of  the  highest  importance,  if  Dr.  De 
Vry's  conclusions  were  erroneous,  that  they  should  be  corrected 
as  early  as  possible.  He  concurred  with  Mr.  Rodgers  in  think- 
ing that  the  method  described  in  Dr.  De  Vry's  paper  for  applying 
the  test  for  strychnine  was  not  the  most  delicate  method.  He 
had  found  a  solution  consisting  of  one  grain  of  chromic  acid  in 
500  grains  of  oil  of  vitriol,  the  best  form  in  which  to  apply  the 
test  where  quantities  of  strychnia  to  be  detected  were  very 
minute.  Failure  often  arose  from  the  use  of  too  much  of  the 
oxidizing  agent,  in  which  case  the  effect  was  so  rapid,  that  the 
eye  failed  to  follow  it. — London  Pharm.  Journ.,  March,  1857, 
18 
