of the alimentary canal free of disease. The tonsils, uvula, pharynx, and epiglottis, were gangrenous, the larynx spotted black, the gullet livid, the stomach very red, with numerous purple pimples, the whole intestinal canal red, and here and there gangrenous, especially at the rectum. The inner surface of the heart was bright red. The kidneys and brain were healthy.[1]
Of Poisoning with Chrome.
The next metal whose properties deserve notice is chrome. As it is now extensively used in the art of dyeing it is necessary to mention its effects, more especially as they are singular. They have been ascertained experimentally with great care by Professor Gmelin of Tübingen. He found that in the dose of a grain the chromate of potass had no effect when injected into the jugular vein of a dog,—that four grains produced constant vomiting, and death in six days without any other striking symptom,—and that ten grains caused instant death by paralysing the heart. Its effects, when introduced under the skin, are still more remarkable. It seems to cause general inflammation of the lining membrane of the air passages. When a drachm was thrust in the state of powder under the skin of the neck of a dog, the first symptoms were weariness and a disinclination to eat. But on the second day the animal vomited, and a purulent matter was discharged from the eyes. On the third day it became palsied in the hind legs; on the fourth it could not breathe or swallow but with great difficulty; and on the sixth it died. The wound was not much inflamed; but the larynx, bronchi, and minute ramifications of the air tubes contained fragments of fibrinous effusion, the nostrils were full of similar matter, and the conjunctiva of the eyes was covered with mucus. In another dog, an eruption appeared on the back, and the hair fell off.[2]
The effects of the salts of chrome on man have not been well ascertained, but seem to be peculiar. Dr. Schindler of Greifenberg relates the following case of fatal poisoning with bichromate of potash. A colourman having swallowed a solution of it, vomiting was brought on by warm water, soap and oil, and kept up until the discharges ceased to be yellow. The man got apparently well and passed a quiet night; but next morning he felt excessively weary, had stitches in his back and kidneys, passed no urine, and was affected with purging. A restless night followed. On the subsequent morning, he lay motionless and like one fatigued to the extremest degree; in which state he died, fifty-four hours after swallowing the poison. The stomach was healthy, the intestines reddish, the kidneys gorged with blood and marbled internally with dark-red patches, and the bladder empty.[3]—Mr. Wilson of Leeds has described the case of an elderly man who took the poison in the evening, and was found
