The symptoms of _chronic_ poisoning by arsenic are loss of appetite, a
silvery coating to the tongue, thirst, nausea, colicky pains,
diarrhœa, frontal headache, langor, sleeplessness, cutaneous
eruptions, soreness of the edges of the eyelids, emaciation, anæmia,
convulsions, and death. In some cases, when small doses have been
administered for many days in succession, with the intent to destroy
life, the symptoms have been masked by other substances. The most marked
results of this practice have been sickness and vomiting, pain in the
bowels, nervous irritability, and emaciation. The practitioner must be
careful not to mistake these symptoms for those due to simple gastritis
or enteritis.
Arsenic is not a poison that accumulates in the system, but is slowly
eliminated from it especially by the kidneys, but partly also by the
bile.
The local application of arsenic to the mucous membranes, to wounds, or
to surfaces deprived of their cuticle, produces constitutional effects
similar to those just described. The only difference is that the
symptoms show themselves more slowly. Not a few lives have been
sacrificed from the application by ignorant quacks of a mixture of
arsenious acid, realgar, and oxide of iron to ulcerating cancers.
Cases of compound poisoning have been met with. When arsenic is taken
mixed with opium, the symptoms produced by the former are masked.
_Post-mortem Appearances._—Arsenic appears to exercise a specific
influence over the alimentary canal, and more especially over the
stomach; for in whatever manner it may have been introduced into the
system, it is to this organ that we must look for its effects. These
effects consist in the signs of acute inflammation commencing in this
viscus, and often extending along the duodenum, small intestines, and
colon. In acute cases the stomach is the viscus most affected; but in
chronic cases the whole alimentary canal is found inflamed and
ulcerated, particularly the duodenum and rectum. When death has
occurred within five hours of taking the poison, the stomach has been
found intensely inflamed in an adult; while the same result was
witnessed in a child who died at the end of two hours. The stomach often
contains a dark grumous fluid, occasionally tinged with blood. On
removing the contents the mucous membrane is seen red and inflamed, the
inflammation being most intense around certain spots. On examining these
spots, particles of arsenic will probably be found adhering to the walls
of the stomach and surrounded by a zone of inflammatory redness.
Sometimes also blood is effused into the visceral walls, giving rise to
an appearance resembling gangrene. Ulceration of any of the coats of the
stomach is rare, and perforation is still more so.
In a few exceptional cases there has been no appearance of inflammation
in the stomach or bowels.
Putrefaction of the body is said to be remarkably retarded after death
from arsenic.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account