Memoranda on Poisons

ERGOT OF RYE (_Spurred Rye_, _Secale cornatum_).--The grain of wheat, barley, oats, and rye is apt to be attacked by a parasitic fungus which imparts to it specific properties....

ARSENIC is by far the most important of metallic poisons, whether we consider the deadliness of its effects or the fatal frequency with which they are made manifest. Arsenic exi...

The chief _symptoms_ of poisoning by aconite are numbness and tingling in the mouth and throat, giddiness, abolition of muscular power, pain in the abdomen, with vomiting and pu...

OPIUM is the inspissated juice of the unripe capsules of the _Papaver somniferum_, or white poppy, and is a very complex substance. Its principal properties, however, are due to...

The first division of the Corrosive consists of the Strong Mineral Acids. In this chapter we have to review the effects, &c., of the acids commonly encountered, which are Sulphu...

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The anaesthetics which have hitherto been employed in the practice of medicine are chloroform, sulphuric ether (or a mixture of these), bichloride of methylene and nitrous oxide...

OXALIC ACID (_Acid of Sugar_).--This is one of the most important poisons with which we have to deal. From its cheapness and well-known properties it is frequently made use of i...

The chief characteristics of poisoning mentioned by authors of repute are, that the symptoms commence suddenly after taking any substance or fluid into the stomach, the individu...

When the practitioner is called in to a case of poisoning while yet there is life, he must set himself to preserve it in whatever way he best can; in this of course he must be g...

Of the preparations of mercury, corrosive sublimate is the most important to the toxicologist; for although they all possess in a greater or less degree poisonous properties, ye...

DIGITALIS PURPUREA (_Purple Foxglove_).--The seeds, leaves, and root of this indigenous hedge-plant are poisonous. _Digitalin_ is the principle which these parts contain. The of...

The detection of a poison is, in many instances, no easy matter; it should not therefore be rashly undertaken, except by one well skilled in the minutiae of the processes to be...

Two wineglassfuls of brandy proved fatal to a boy, seven years old, in thirty hours. Dr. Taylor mentions the case of a man who drank two bottles of port wine (containing eleven...

HENBANE (_Hyoscyamus niger_).--All parts of this plant are poisonous; but the seeds are more powerful than the root or leaves. In medicinal doses it is a feeble narcotic. It owe...

Lead, in its metallic state, is not injurious. It is, however, really acted on by acids, exposure to the atmosphere, &c., and converted into carbonate of lead. The chief compoun...

The second division of the class of Corrosives has now to be considered. It contains the Caustic Alkalies, and some of their Salts. Poisoning by any of these agents is rare.

much thirst, but perhaps inability to drink from spasm of the jaws; while the sufferer is quite conscious, is much alarmed, and is impressed with the idea that death is surely s...

This substance is sold in a pure state in small wax-like cylinders, which must be preserved under water. It is soluble in oil, alcohol, ether, and chloroform, and still more so...

TARTAR EMETIC (_Tartrated_ or _Tartarised Antimony_, _Potassio-Tartrate of Antimony_, _Tartar Emetic_).--Since the trials of Palmer, Dove, Smethurst, and Pritchard, poisoning by...

CARBONIC OXIDE is a much more dangerous poison than is carbonic acid, but poisoning with it in a pure state is rare. It constitutes an ingredient in most vapors produced by burn...

The plants which yield the alkaloid Strychnia are, the _Strychnos nux vomica_, a native tree of Coromandel, Ceylon and Bengal: the _Strychnos Ignatii_, which abounds in the Phil...

SULPHATE OF ZINC (_White Vitriol_, _White Copperas_.)--This is a very mild irritant, resembling in its appearance Epsom salts and oxalic acid. It is very useful as an emetic in...

Poisoning with the salts of copper is of comparatively rare occurrence; when it happens, it is generally the result of accident. The metal itself is not poisonous, but the actio...

POTASSIUM NITRATE or NITRATE OF POTASH (_Nitre_, _Saltpetre_, _Salprunelle_) is a more dangerous poison than is commonly supposed, provided the dose be large. It has ordinarily...

There is nothing more difficult in toxicology than to give a satisfactory classification of poisons, insomuch that some have fallen back on the no-classification, or natural his...

IODINE is obtained from kelp (the ash of marine plants) and is a bluish black scaly substance. It strikes an intense blue color with starch, and when heated gives off an irritat...

_Chlorine._--This gas has a greenish-yellow color, and a powerful suffocating odor. It is used to fumigate buildings, being a valuable disinfectant. Chlorine is employed by the...

This division of the class of simple irritants is an important one, on account of the substances composing it consisting in considerable part of ordinary remedies or drugs, whic...

This poison is well known, and is usually administered in the form of powder or tincture. Of the former, twenty-four grains have destroyed life; of the latter, one ounce. This p...

LABURNUM (_Cytisus laburnum_).--Every portion of this plant is poisonous. The seeds are frequently eaten by children, and give rise to vomiting and purging, with dilatation of t...