CONTRIBUTIONS  TO  TOXICOLOGY. 
323 
morning  the  remaining  two  complained  of  intense  burning  in  the 
throat,  thirst,  colic,  tenesmus,  pains  in  every  limb,  dizziness, 
coolness  of  the  skin,  livid  lips  and  nails,  and  died  with  fall  con- 
sciousness  in  the  course  of  the  day. 
Autopsy  86  hours  after  death. — Calm  expression  of  face,  eye- 
lids open,  pupils  normal ;  nails,  hands  and  some  parts  of  the 
skin  blue ;  digestive  organs  no  ulceration,  no  inflammation  in 
pharynx  and  oesophagus ;  stomach  and  intestines  contained  little 
gas,  but  much  of  a  turbid  liquid  ;  mucous  membrane  softened, 
somewhat  red-spotted,  without  ulceration ;  liver  full  of  blood ; 
gall  bladder  a  moderate  quantity  of  bile  ;  kidneys  contained 
much  blood,  bladder  a  little  urine,  its  membrane  with  some  red 
spots  ;  heart  flabby,  with  little  black  blood  and  fibres ;  vena 
porta  and  vena  cava  inferior,  enlarged;  all  blood  gelatinous; 
lungs  healthy,  no  hypostasis ;  in  the  pleurae,  pericardium  and 
peritoneum  no  serum  ;  brains  and  spine  considerably  injected  ; 
meninges  vividly  red,  a  cut  through  the  ventriculse  ejects  blood  ; 
the  spinal  cord  is  softened. 
All  muscles  are  of  a  free  red  color,  hard  and  without  any  sign 
of  decomposition.  The  analyses  of  the  vomited  matter,  stools 
and  serum,  showed  to  contain  tinct.  sem.  colchici,  by  comparison 
with  the  reactions  of  other  liquids  mixed  with  the  same.  Dr. 
Roux  thinks  colchicum  destroys  human  life  by  its  action  on  the 
cerebrospinal  system,  and  not  by  producing  inflammation  of  the 
digestive  organs. — (Union  Medicate,  1855.) 
Note. — The  French  officinal  tinct.  sem.  colchici  is  prepared  by  macerating 
100  grms.  of  the  seeds  in  400  grms.  of  alcohol  of  5G  per  cent. 
Method  to  discover  Phosphorus.    By  Prof.  E.  Mitscherlick. 
The  most  delicate  test  for  phosphorus  is  the  distillation  of  the 
suspected  substance,  especially  flour  paste,  with  a  little  sulphuric 
acid  and  water.  The  apparatus  is  a  simple  one  ;  it  consists  of  a 
flask,  (a  retort  is  objectionable,)  to  which  is  attached  a  long  glass 
tube,  connected  with  a  glass  cooler,  which  consists  of  a  cylinder, 
through  the  bottom  of  which  reaches  the  cooling  pipe  into  a 
bottle  ;  a  stream  of  cold  water  is  conducted  to  the  bottom  of  the 
cylinder,  displacing  the  warmer  water  at  the  top.  Where  the 
aqueous  vapors  from  the  flask  reach  the  cooling  tube,  a  lumina- 
tion  is  constantly  observed  in  the  dark,  usually  a  luminous  ring. 
