Am.  Jour.  Pharm. ) 
August,  1883.  J 
The  Ptomaines. 
405 
and  to  show  that  if  the  experts  must  always  expect,  from  the  production 
by  dead  bodies  of  these  alkaloids,  to  meet  with  arguments  which  are 
often  specially  contrary  to  their  conclusions,  they  can  happily  settle  the 
difficulty  in  the  majority  of  cases,  and  establish,  by  a  summary  of 
peremptory  proofs,  the  existence  of  vegetable  poisons  administered 
with  criminal  intention. 
The  ptomaines  are  substances  which  are  most  frequently  amorphous, 
oxygenated  or  non-oxygenated,  fixed  or  volatile,  of  an  alkaline  nature, 
which  form  with  acids  crystalline  salts,  and  show  a  deportment  in  their 
general  properties  lik'e  that  of  the  alkaloids  of  vegetable  origin.  Like 
the  latter  they  precipitate  certain  reagents,  and  like  them  they  exercise, 
especially  when  in  the  free  state,  an  action  which  is  in  general  toxic 
upon  the  animal  economy,  with  the  manifestation  of  certain  symptoms, 
among  which  predominate :  dilatation  of  the  pupil  with  consecutive 
contraction,  sometimes  convulsions  often  followed  by  muscular  flac- 
cidity,  a  diminution  of  activity  of  the  heart,  the  loss  of  cutaneous 
sensibility  and  of  muscular  contractility  even  under  electrical  excite- 
ment, which  is  not  produced  by  any  vegetable  poison  (Corona),  with 
the  exception  of  muscarine  (Gautier).  They  differ  from  the  vegetable 
alkaloids  and  from  certain  natural  toxic  substances  by  the  instantaneous 
reduction  of  ferricyanide  of  potassium,  with  the  produ(;tion  of  Prussian 
blue  after  the  addition  of  ferric  chloride ;  but  this  reaction  is  not  abso- 
lutely characteristic  of  them,  as  certain  alkaloids,  not  a  large  number, 
it  is  true,  morphine,  veratrine,  apomorphine,  hyoscy amine  and  musca- 
rine, give  the  same  result.  However,  in  the  absence  of  the  above- 
mentioned  poisons,  this  reaction,  studied  by  Brouardel  and  Boutmy, 
retains  its  practical  value. 
The  name  of  ptomaine,  which  has  been  assigned  to  these  compounds 
by  Selmi,  proceeds  from  the  fact  that  the  larger  number  of  them  are 
volatile  or  of  great  alterability,  at  first  in  contact  with  the  air  disen- 
gaging various  odors,  urinous,  cadaverous  or  virous  ;  but  especially 
under  the  influence  of  acid  reagents,  they  develop,  on  the  contrary, 
agreablee  odors,  recalling  those  of  orange  flowers,  musk,  and  hawthorn. 
These  substances  are  produced  by  the  putrefaction  of  nitrogenized 
organic  materials,  and  must  consequently  appear  in  cadavers  more  or 
less  rapidly  after  death,  according  to  exterior  circumstances ;  thus  cold 
is  one  of  the  agents  which  best  opposes  their  production.  This  origin 
from  dead  bodies  has  been  known  from  most  ancient  times;  but  it 
results  from  the  researches  of  G.  Pouchet,  A.  Gautier  and  Etard  that 
