448 
POISONING  BY  ANILIN. 
POISONING  BY  ANILIN. 
The  following  is  recorded  by  Samuel  Knaggs,  Esq.,  M.R.C.S., 
in  the  "Medical  Times  and  Gazette"  of  June  7th,  1852 : — 
The  man,  who  was  thirty-nine  years  of  age  and  healthy,  was 
employed  in  some  chemical  works  in  Huddersfield.  About  noon 
he  was  directed  to  empty  four  carboys  of  the  nitrate  of  benzole 
into   a  still ;  and  by  mistake  the  last  one  contained  anilin, 
which  is  made  from  the  nitrate  of  benzole.    On  lifting  this 
carboy,  it  struck  against  the  edge  of  the  still,  and  broke  :  the 
contents  poured  over  him,  and  into  the  ground  beneath.  None 
got  into  his  mouth,  but  the  fumes  were  very  freely  inhaled. 
Being  anxious  to  conceal  this  accident  from  the  knowledge  of 
his  employer,  he  worked  hard  to  remove  all  traces  of  it ;  but  in 
about  an  hour  he  was  compelled  to  desist,  for  «  he  broke  out  into 
a  sweat,  and  felt  quite  giddy  and  weak  in  the  head  and  stomach." 
He  then  sat  down  for  half  an  hour,  and  walked  into  the  open 
air  and  had  some  tea.    Afterwards  he  returned  to  the  still  and 
again  tried  to  scrape  up  the  spilt  aniline,  but  the  fume  was  too 
much  for  him.    He  felt  very  ill  and  unable  to  work  ;  but  he 
stayed  till  about  five  o'clock,  when  he  walked  across  the  road  to 
his  home,  and  went  to  bed  immediately,  "  feeling  very  bad  in  his 
head  and  chest."     He  gradually  got  worse,  and  about  nine 
o'clock  a  medical  man  saw  him.   At  11  p.  m.  I  received  an  urgent 
message,  begging  me  to  come  immediately,  as  he  was  dying. 
On  entering  his  cottage  I  found  him  in  bed  apparently  at  the 
last  gasp.    His  face  and  whole  body  was  of  a  livid,  leaden  hue ; 
the  lips,  gums,  tongue  and  eyes  of  a  corpse-like  bluish  palor  ; 
he  was  taking  a  gasping  breath,  as  I  thought  for  about  the  last 
time.  I  poured  instantly  two  ounces  of  brandy  down  his  throat, 
and  then  used  cold  affusion  liberally  with  very  good  effect. 
After  this,  I  had  his  chest,  legs,  and  thighs  covered  with  mus- 
tard plasters,  and  for  three  hours  he  took  ^ss.  of  brandy  every 
quarter  of  an  hour,  and  at  the  seventh  minute  a  strong  dose  of 
ammonia  and  chloric  ether  ;  whilst  with  every  third  or  fourth 
inspiration  I  made  him  inhale  strong  ammonia.  During  all  this 
period  there  was  no  convulsion  :  he  was  perfectly  sensible,  and 
able  to  give  a  correct  account  of  his  feelings,  and  of  the  acci- 
dent.   His  pulse  was  extremely  small  and  irregular ;  but  it  be- 
