Lead poisoning and lead absorption : $b The symptoms, pathology and prevention, with special reference to their industrial origin, and an account of the principal processes involving riskLegge, Thomas Morison, Sir
Science
Lead poisoning and lead absorption : $b The symptoms, pathology and prevention, with special reference to their industrial origin, and an account of the principal processes involving risk
Legge, Thomas Morison, Sir
Lead poisoning
The animal exposed to turpentine and lead acetate exhibited few
symptoms, but the same in kind as the animal exposed to turpentine
alone. The linseed-oil animal showed no signs of disease whatever. The
animals exposed to the metallic bases of the paint--namely, zinc oxide
or white lead--showed no signs of poisoning as long as the compound
itself was not thrown into the air in the form of dust; but when lead
dust was present in the air the animal rapidly showed the ordinary
signs of lead poisoning. The animal exposed to zinc oxide dust showed
very little sign of discomfort, but by prolonged exposure early kidney
disease was produced, and signs of chronic inflammation were detectable
in the lung.
It is interesting to note in this connection that Lehmann[7] describes
symptoms produced in cats when exposed to the vapour of turpentine.
The animals which I exposed to turpentine vapour exhibited the same
symptoms as those described by Lehmann. He gave no result of the
histological inquiry of the animals so exposed, but in no case,
apparently, was the animal killed after exposure. In my animals exposed
to the vapour of turpentine very definite disease of the kidney was
produced, the inflammation tending rather to the tubular than the
interstitial variety of nephritis. The tubules were found blocked with
débris, their contour irregular and destroyed, and their substance pale
and almost hyaline; whilst areas of cloudy swelling, together with
small hæmorrhages, were to be found scattered about the kidney. The
heart muscle was flabby, and the heart tending to dilatation; whilst
microscopically hæmorrhages could be found throughout the organ of a
minute capillary nature, and passing between and disturbing the muscle
bundles.
No changes of any sort were found in the tissues of the animals exposed
to the emanations given off from white lead paste. By analyses these
emanations were found to contain no lead, but traces of aldehyde,
formic acid, and CO₂. It follows, therefore, that the effect of
turpentine when inhaled by the painter must be to act as a contributory
cause of lead poisoning, and it is interesting in this connection to
recall the fact noted on p. 38, that Garrod has described gout as
occurring constantly among painters. The statement already quoted,
that gout is not common among workers in white lead factories, where
the exposure to lead is very much greater than among painters, points
to turpentine as the cause of the increased incidence of gout among
house-painters rather than lead absorption. The importance of dust
containing lead as a source of illness and lead poisoning in painters
must not be minimized, as in sand-papering, etc. (see p. 137). The
importance of lead dust inhaled in this way is perfectly understood. It
is, however, highly probable that the combined action of the turpentine
with the lead accounts for the fact that headache is a common symptom
of early disease in painters, which is not the case among white-lead
workers.
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