part is quickly destroyed, and absorption prevented,—but that if the quantity be small, as in the mode practised by Roux, it will cause little local injury and readily enter the absorbing vessels.[1] Another unequivocal cause is pointed out by Harles in his treatise on arsenic. While treating of its therapeutic properties, and noticing the controversy that prevailed last century throughout Europe repecting the propriety of its outward application, he remarks that it may be applied with safety to the abraded skin, to common ulcers, to wounded surfaces, and to malignant glandular ulcers, even when highly irritable, provided the part be not recently wounded, so as to pour out blood.[2] The reason of this is obvious; the application of the poison to open-mouthed vessels is the next thing to its direct introduction into a vein. It is some confirmation of Harles's opinion, that Roux, whose patient was so easily affected, recommends that before arsenic is applied to an ulcer, a fresh surface be made by paring away the granulations; and that Küchler's patient had an ulcer which did not discharge pus, but serum, and was easily made to bleed.
In the cases related above it will be remarked that the symptoms vary in their nature. Sometimes the chief disorder is inflammation, spreading over and around the eruption or ulcer, sometimes inflammation of the alimentary canal, sometimes an affection of the nervous system. In general the sufferings of the patient both from the local inflammation and constitutional symptoms are very severe. But this rule has its exceptions. In Pyl's Memoirs there is the history of a child who died four days after an itchy eruption of the whole body had been washed with an arsenical solution, and signs of vivid inflammation were found after death in many parts; yet she appears to have complained only of headache.[3] Occasionally too, without exciting either inflammation of the part, or disorder of the stomach, or a general injury of the nervous system, it seems to give rise to partial palsy of the muscles adjoining the seat of its application. An extraordinary case is noticed in an American Journal, in which the prolonged use of an arsenical preparation for destroying a tumour on the right side of the neck, was followed by complete palsy of the muscles of the neck and arm of that side.
In the next place, poisoning has been perpetrated by introducing arsenic into the fundament with an injection.[4] Foderé has noticed a case of this kind, which happened in France, and was communicated to him by a physician of Thoulouse. A lady under medical treatment for some trifling illness, died unexpectedly under symptoms of poisoning; and it was discovered that her servant, after unsuccessfully attempting to despatch her by dissolving arsenic in her soup, had ultimately succeeded by administering it repeatedly in injections.[5] There is no doubt that by this mode all the usual effects of arsenic may be induced; and on account of the facility
