the middle of April; and that about the middle of June he was again seized with violent salivation, of which he died. It was rendered very improbable, that during the interval between the two salivations any more mercury had been taken medicinally. The question then was, whether the original ptyalism could have reappeared after so long an interval, without the fresh administration of mercury? The witnesses for the prosecution, gentlemen in extensive practice, said it could not. But one of the prisoner's witnesses, Mr. Bloomfield of the London Lock Hospital, said he had repeatedly known salivation reappear after a long intermission; that it was quite common for hospital patients to have a second salivation, when thought well enough to go out the next dismissal day;[1] that in one case the interval was three months; and that one of his patients was attacked periodically with salivation at intervals of six weeks or a month for a whole year. Mr. Howard, another surgeon of the Lock Hospital, deposed to the same effect; and the prisoner was acquitted, apparently upon their evidence.[2]
Notwithstanding what was said by these gentlemen, I believe the recurrence of mercurial salivation after so long an interval, without the repetition of mercury, is exceedingly rare. Dr. Gordon Smith, in alluding to the trial of Miss Butterfield, has mentioned a case which occurred to the late Dr. Hamilton of this University, and used to be related by him in his lectures. The interval was so great as four months.[3] Mr. Green of Bristol has lately described another unequivocal case, where the interval was six weeks.[4] Dr. Mead says he met with an instance where the interval was six months;[5] and Dr. Male mentions another where mercury brought on moderate salivation in March, and after a long interval excited a fresh salivation in October, of which his patient died in a few weeks.[6] M. Louyer-Villermé met with a case, where, in consequence of exposure to cold, a sudden attack of salivation was caused a twelvemonth after the removal of syphilis by mercury.[7] Some other cases not less wonderful have been recorded by M. Colson in his paper on the effects of mercury. He quotes Dr. Fordyce for the case of a man who had repeated attacks of salivation, with metallic taste, which lasted for three weeks, although mercury had not been taken for twelve years; and Colson himself knew a surgeon who had a regular and violent attack of all the symptoms of mercurialism eight years after he had ceased to take mercury.[8] It is impossible to attach credit to such marvellous stories as the last two. Granting the ptyalism to be really mercurial, it would require much better evidence than any practitioner could procure, to determine the fact that mercury had not been given again during the supposed interval. This objection indeed will apply more or less even to the instances where the alleged interval did not exceed a few months.
- ↑ The exact time is not mentioned.
- ↑ Trial by Gurney and Blanchard, pp. 39, 47.
- ↑ Principles of Forensic Medicine, 2d Ed. 118.
- ↑ Trans. of the Prov. Med. and Surg. Association, ii 262.
- ↑ Mead's Medical Works, p. 202.
- ↑ Male's Juridical Medicine, 89.
- ↑ Archives Gén. de Méd. xl. 254.
- ↑ Ibid. xii. 100.
