Treatise on Poisons: In relation to medical jurisprudence, physiology, and the practice of physicChristison, Robert, Sir
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Treatise on Poisons: In relation to medical jurisprudence, physiology, and the practice of physic
Christison, Robert, Sir
Medical jurisprudence; Toxicology
This method of investigation gives extremely precise results, because it
presents the poison successively in three distinct forms, as sulphuret,
metal, and crystallized oxide, all of which possess very prominent and
characteristic external properties. It is also a method which is capable
of detecting very minute quantities of oxide of arsenic. And it has the
advantage over the process by liquid reagents of being applicable to
organic fluids. It was accordingly followed in most medico-legal
researches until the recent discovery of the methods of Marsh and
Reinsch.
In order to render it quite satisfactory, it is necessary to go through
the steps of the analysis at the same time with distilled water, lest
any of the reagents used should accidentally contain arsenic.
_Process of Marsh._—This method consists in disengaging arsenic from the
solution in the form of arseniuretted-hydrogen gas, burning the gas in
such way as to obtain either metallic arsenic or oxide of arsenic, and
subjecting the product to various tests.
I have called this beautiful method of analysis Marsh’s process, because
it appears to me that injustice has been done its discoverer both by
himself and those who have since investigated the subject, when they
denominated it merely a test. Medico-legal analysis stood in no need of
a new test for arsenic, but very much of an easy and infallible method
of detaching minute quantities of it in a state of purity from simple
and compound fluids, so as to admit of its being accurately examined. It
is this important object, and not strictly speaking a new test, that has
been attained through means of the discovery of Mr. Marsh.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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