Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  \ 
January,  1896..  / 
Rhus  Poisoning. 
19 
pain  directly  between  the  eyes.  These  were  invariably  symptoms 
of  the  results  to  follow."  The  Japanese  employ,  as  a  treatment,  the 
flesh  and  juices  of  a  fresh  giant  spider  crab,  Macrocheira  Kaempferi, 
applied  freely  to  the  parts.  He  recommends  free  applications  of  a 
solution  of  sodium  hyposulphite,  y2  ounce ;  glycerin,  3  ounces ; 
carbolic  acid,  60  drops;  water,  10  ounces. 
Prof.  C.  S.  Sargent3  considers  that  the  Rhus  Michauxii,  a  rare 
.shrub  of  North  Carolina  and  Georgia,  is  the  most  poisonous  of  the 
North  American  species  of  Rhus. 
E.  G.  Lodeman4  writes  of  his  personal  experience,  and  states 
that  the  disease  reappeared  in  his  own  case  in  childhood  for  six 
years,  consecutively,  about  the  same  time  after  being  poisoned,  and 
without  subsequent  exposure  to  the  plants.  An  attack  of  typhoid 
occurred  in  the  seventh  year,  and  he  then  escaped  the  disease  for 
several  years  until,  thinking  himself  exempt  from  the  influence,  a 
part  of  a  leaf  was  rubbed  on  the  back  of  the  hand,  and  again  for 
several  years  the  recurrence  of  the  disease  at  the  same  period 
occurred.  He  reports,  as  a  painful  concommitant  of  ivy  poisoning, 
the  appearance  of  boils  after  each  attack,  and  the  more  severe  the 
poisoning  the  greater  the  number. 
Prof.  T.  J.  Burrill5  again  directs  attention  to  his  statement  made 
in  1882,  attributing  the  poisonous  properties  of  Rhus  to  the  action 
of  bacteria,  but  admits  that  the  particles  in  the  latex  of  the  plant, 
first  mistaken  for  micrococci,  are  constituents  of  the  latex.  While 
he  admits  that  proof  of  the  bacterial  character  of  the  poisoning  must 
be  considered  as  wanting,  the  apparent  period  of  incubation  and 
activity  of  the  exudation  are  thought  to  be  arguments  in  favor  of 
the  bacterial  theory  of  cause. 
This  writer  has  evidently  overlooked  the  investigations  of  Prof. 
J.  M.  Maisch,  in  1865,6  which  proved  conclusively  that  the  poison- 
ous action  was  due  to  a  peculiar  volatile  acid,  which  he  named  Toxi- 
codendric  acid.  The  later  arguments  advanced  in  favor  of  the  bac- 
terial origin  theory  might,  with  equal  force,  be  applied  to  such  vesi- 
cants as  cantharides,  mustard  and  croton  oil. 
3  Garden  and  Forest,  October  9,  1895,  p.  404. 
4  Garden  and  Forest,  October  2,  1895,  p.  398. 
5  Garden  and  Forest,  September  11,  1895,  p.  368. 
,;  American  Journal  of  Pharmacy,  1866,  p.  4. 
