spasms of the abdominal muscles and brisk purging of watery mucus, often tinged with blood;—that by and by the muscles become extremely feeble, so that the animal cannot support itself;—that coldness of the surface succeeds, together with spasmodic contractions of the throat, face, and extremities, but without any stupor;—and that finally the respiration and pulse gradually become extinguished, extreme prostration ensues, and death takes place in a fit of tetanic spasm. No particular morbid appearance was found in the dead body, and especially no sign of inflammation. Magendie found, that one grain in the form of acetate killed a dog in a few seconds when injected into the jugular vein, and in nine minutes when injected into the peritonæum; and that the principal symptom in such rapid cases was tetanic spasm.
Of Poisoning with Meadow-Saffron.
The Colchicum autumnale, meadow-saffron, or autumn-crocus, is a more familiar poison in this country than white-hellebore, and seems to possess very similar properties. Two parts of the plant are met with in the shops, the cormus or bulb, and the seeds; both of which are poisonous. Both have a strong, disagreeable, persistent, bitter taste. The seeds, and probably the bulb also, contain a bitter crystalline principle, called colchicina, which is soluble in water, neutralizes acids, and possesses intense activity as a poison.
A good physiological investigation into the action of colchicum as a poison is still wanting. Baron Störck found that two drachms of the dried bulb caused in dogs violent diarrhœa and diuresis, ending fatally.[1] Sir Everard Home observed that the active part of about two drachms dissolved in sherry, caused in a dog, when injected into the jugular vein, slow respiration, languor of the pulse, vomiting, diarrhœa, extreme prostration, and death in five hours.[2]—Geiger and Hesse, the discoverers of colchicina, gave a cat a tenth of a grain, which occasioned salivation, vomiting, purging, staggering, extreme languor, colic, and death in twelve hours.[3]
The effects of colchicum on man, like those observed in animals, rather associate it with the acrid than with the narcotic poisons.
In the Edinburgh Journal a case is briefly noticed of a man who took by mistake an ounce and a half of the wine of the bulb, and died in forty-eight hours, after suffering much from vomiting, acute pain in the stomach, colic, purging, and delirium.[4]—Chevallier has described a similar case arising from the wine of the bulb having been given intentionally as a poison. In a few minutes burning pain, urgent thirst, and frequent vomiting of mucus ensued; and death took place in three days.[5]—Three American soldiers, who drank by mistake a large quantity of colchicum wine prepared from
