Of Poisoning with Sulphuric and Nitric Ether.
Sulphuric ether and nitric ether are poisons of the same nature with alcohol. But the effects produced by them when taken in considerable doses are not very well known.
Orfila found that half an ounce of sulphuric ether introduced into the stomach of a dog and secured there by a ligature on the gullet, excited efforts to vomit, in ten minutes inability to stand, and in six minutes more, insensibility. In fifteen minutes more the animal revived a little, but soon became again comatose; and it died in three hours after the commencement of the experiment. The villous coat of the stomach was reddish-black, the other coats of a lively red colour.[1]
The effects of the ethers on man have not been accurately ascertained. From some observations published in the Journal of Science, sulphuric ether appears to act energetically even in small doses. In moderate quantity it produces a strong sense of irritation in the throat, a feeling of fulness in the head, and other symptoms like those excited by nitrous-oxide gas. A gentleman, in consequence of inhaling it too long, was attacked with intermitting lethargy for thirty-six hours, depression of spirits and lowness of pulse.[2] When long and habitually used, as by persons afflicted with asthma, its dose must be gradually increased; and it appears that considerable quantities may then be taken for a great length of time without material injury. I have been informed of an instance of an asthmatic gentleman about sixty years of age who consumed sixteen ounces every eight or ten days, and had been in the habit of doing so for many years. Yet, with the exception of his asthma, he enjoyed tolerable health.
An interesting case has been published which proves that nitric ether in vapour is a dangerous poison when too freely and too long inhaled. A druggist's maid-servant was found one morning dead in bed, and death had evidently arisen from the air of her apartment having been accidentally loaded with vapour of nitric ether, from the breaking of a three-gallon jar of the spiritus etheris nitrici. She was found lying on her side, with her arms folded across the chest, the countenance and posture composed, and the whole appearance like a person in deep sleep. The stomach was red internally, and the lungs were gorged.[3] The editor of the journal, where this case is related, says he is acquainted with a similar instance where a young man became completely insensible from breathing air loaded with sulphuric ether, remained apoplectic for some hours, and would undoubtedly have perished had he not been discovered and removed in time. Of Poisoning with the Oleaginous products of Combustion.
The physiological effects of these substances have not yet been extensively investigated. It has been already mentioned, that the
