POISONING  BY  COLCH1CUM. 
539 
in  sugar-water,)  which  was  taken  by  the  child  without  resistance. 
The  burning  sensation  in  the  stomach  and  the  colic  soon  subsided, 
and  the  presence  of  phosphorus  was  detected  in  the  stools  by 
their  white  vapors  and  their  lumination  in  the  dark.  After  eight 
hours  the  child  was  out  of  danger.  (Buchners  Neues  Bepert. 
1855.) 
POISONING  BY  COLCHICUM— TEST  FOR  COLCHICIN. 
By  Dr.  Casper. 
[Translated  and  abridged  by  J.  M.  Maisch.] 
In  Casper's  Vierteljahrsschrift,  III.  part  3,  the  poisoning  of 
four  men  is  related,  a  case  of  the  greatest  interest  to  physicians 
and  chemists,  as  cases  of  poisoning  by  colchicum  are  of  very 
rare  occurrence,  and  the  reactions  of  its  alkaloid,  colchicin,  are 
barely  known  ;  but  few  chemists,  in  fact,  having  ever  seen  it. 
On  the  20th  of  February,  last  year,  the  victims  took  from  the 
room  of  a  physician,  in  Berlin,  Prussia,  a  demijohn  containing  a 
brown  liquid,  which,  from  the  taste  and  smell,  they  supposed  to 
be  some  stomachic  bitters,  and  partook  of  it,  each  one  about  a 
wineglass  full.  A  girl,  who  took  a  little  of  it,  was  taken  with 
vomiting  and  diarrhoea,  but  recovered.  About  the  illness  of  the 
men,  Dr.  Casper  regrets  not  to  have  more  authentic  accounts, 
owing  to  their  not  being  supposed  to  be  poisoned,  physicians  were 
not  called  in  until  very  late.  The  symptoms  previous  to  death 
seem  to  have  been  nausea,  purging  and  vomiting,  pains  in  the 
stomach,  coldness  of  the  extremities,  face  very  pale,  lips  little  red, 
tongue  in  normal  condition,  no  delirium,  motility  and  sensibility 
as  usual,  pupils  not  dilated,  headache,  restlessness,  no  appetite, 
much  thirst,  death  under  symptoms  of  prostration, 
The  post  mortem  examinations  were  held  on  the  23d,  in  the 
presence  of  a  large  number  of  physicians  and  students,  attracted 
by  the  novelty  of  these  cases. 
The  examination  showed,  as  common  to  all  four  individuals : 
1.  Not  a  rapid  mortification,  as  is  very  often  stated  in  medical 
books  to  be  the  case  in  death  from  the  effects  of  colchicum.  2. 
Acid  reaction  of  urine  and  the  liquids  of  the  stomach.  3.  Blood 
thick  and  of  a  dark  cherry  color.  4.  Aorta  hyperemically 
filled.    5.  Kidneys  containing  much  blood.    6.  Bladder  more 
