instances which occurred in the human subject. Among the rest he has described the cases of eight children who ate the roots instead of parsneps. Of those who were seriously affected one, a girl six years old, who ultimately recovered, had tetanic fits, followed by deep coma, from which it was impossible to rouse her for twenty-four hours. Two of them died. The first symptoms in these two were swelling in the pit of the stomach, vomiting or efforts to vomit, then total insensibility, involuntary discharge of urine, and finally severe convulsions, during which the jaws were locked, the eyes rolled, and the head and spine were bent backwards, so that a child might have crept between the body and the bed-clothes. One of them died half an hour after being taken ill, the other not long after *. According to Guersent, poisoning with the cicuta commences with dimness of sight, giddiness, acute headach, anxiety, pain in the stomach, dryness in the throat, and vomiting †. Mertzdorff has related the particulars of the inspection of three cases which proved quickly fatal with convulsions and vomiting. Nothing remarkable seems to have been found except great gorging of the cerebral vessels +. Of Poisoning with Hemlock Dropwort. The Dead-tongue or Hemlock Dropwort, the Enanthe crocata of botanists, a plant of the same family, and a native of this country, is even more active than the Cicuta. It has an abundant, milky, acrid juice. The plant, according to Godefroi, is apt to be mistaken for hemlock by collectors of medicinal vegetables,-a mistake of serious consequence; for even a single medicinal dose of the extract, taken instead of extract of hemlock, might prove fatal §. Symptoms in Man.-Orfila has collected a great number of fatal cases of poisoning with the Enanthe, from which it appears that the usual symptoms are heat in the throat and stomach, delirium, stupor, hardly ever proper coma, but generally convulsions, more or less violent ||. Mr Howell has mentioned Cic. Aquat. &c. 80, and 107. + Article Ciguë, Diction. des Sciences Méd. Journal Complémentaire, xvii. 361. § Journal de Pharmacie, viii. 170. Toxicol. Gén. ii. 206. the substance of eleven cases, which happened near Pembroke, and of which two proved fatal. The symptoms were convulsions, without any previous symptom or warning. Ray has described eight other cases, which arose from the dropwort having been mistaken for water-parsneps. Five of the people died, and were seized with convulsions suddenly without any warning symptom. Another became furiously maniacal, but recovered his senses next day †. Mr Watson has related an instance which proved fatal in three hours and a half, although the symptoms did not begin till an hour and a half after the poison was taken ‡. It seems to be the most energetic of the umbelliferous vegetables. In none of the fatal cases was life prolonged beyond three hours and a half, and in several death took place within an hour. One man was killed by a single spoonful of the juice of the root. Of Poisoning with Fool's Parsley. Another umbelliferous plant of great activity is the Fool's Parsley, or Ethusa cynapium. It has occasioned many acci dents by reason of its resemblance to Parsley,-from which, however, it is at once distinguished by the leaves being black and glistening on their lower surface, and by the nauseous smell they emit when rubbed. It contains an alkaloid, which crystallizes in rhombic prisms, and is soluble in water and alcohol, but not in ether. It was discovered by Professor Ficinus of Dresden §. Orfila found that six ounces of the juice, when retained in the stomach of a dog by a ligature, caused convulsions and stupor, and death in an hour . Symptoms in Man.-Some interesting information on the characters and properties of this plant is contained in the Medical and Physical Journal. Among other cases the writer relates those of two ladies who ate a little of it in a sallad, having Philos. Trans. xliv. 227. +Ibidem, xx. 81. Ibid. 1. 856. Lond. Philos. Magazine, N. S. ii. 392. mistaken it for parsley, and who were soon seized with nausea, vomiting, headach, giddiness, somnolency, pungent heat in the mouth, throat, and stomach, difficulty in swallowing, and numbness of the limbs *. Gmelin has related the case of a child, who died in eight hours in consequence of having eaten the æthusa. The symptoms were spasmodic pain in the stomach, swelling of the belly, lividity of the skin, and difficult breathing t. * London Med. and Phys. Journal, xiv. 425. + Geschichte de Pflanzengifte, 571. Rr CHAPTER XXXII. OF POISONS OF THE ORDER RANUNCULACEE. THE poisons of the natural order of Ranunculaceæ are most of them Acrid only in their action; but two of them possess distinctly the characters of the Narcotico-Acrids,—Monkshood and Black Hellebore. Of Poisoning with Monkshood. The Monkshood, or Aconitum napellus, is an active poison, and a true narcotico-acrid. Every part of the plant is poisonous. But its energy appears to vary in different countries. It contains a peculiar alkaloid, the Aconita, which was discovered. by M. Peschier of Geneva. It forms crystallizable salts with acids, and possesses the poisonous qualities of the plant which yields it *. The extract of the leaves, which is the preparation most generally known, varies very much in strength. Orfila found that half an ounce of one sample, prepared in the usual way from a decoction of the leaves, had no effect whatever on a dog; that two drachms of another specimen proved fatal in twenty-four hours, giddiness and starting being the chief symptoms; and that two drachms of an extract carefully prepared from the expressed juice occasioned death in two hours, with palsy of the hind-legs, great weakness, staggering, and convulsive twitches of the head, but without insensibility. Five drachms of the root killed a dog in twenty-one minutes. A drachm and a half of the extract of the juice killed a dog in three hours when ap plied to the cellular tissue. The common extract caused death through that channel more slowly, and in general excited spreading inflammation like the vegetable acrids. It is much more rapidly fatal when introduced at once into the blood, thirty-six grains of a weak extract having in one experiment caused death in four minutes +. * Trommsdorff's Neues Journal de Pharmacie, v. 84. Toxicol. Gén. ii. 211. Symptoms in Man.-Few cases of poisoning with Monkshood in the human subject have been recorded. But accidents with it are not uncommon; and Valentini has mentioned one case which occurred at Copenhagen of murder by poisoning with this substance *. Mr Brodie remarked, on chewing the leaves, a singular numbness in the lips +; and I have noticed a numbness and prickling of the lips from chewing a single seed. Some of the cases of poisoning to be found in authors have exhibited symptoms of a decided narcotic action; while in others, death took place under the characteristic effects of the pure acrid poisons. A very dangerous case, but not fatal, is recorded in the Philosophical Transactions. The symptoms were first tingling in the jaws, extending subsequently over the whole body, and accompanied with a sensation as if of swelling of the face, then twitching of the muscles, fixing of the eyes, locked-jaw, and failure of the pulse and breathing, but without any aberration of mind. Willis mentions a case of poisoning with monkshood, the chief symptom of which was maniacal delirium; and it proved fatal §. To the same class of cases probably belongs an extraordinary instance related by Matthiol, of an experiment he performed with the root of this plant on a criminal who was condemned to be hanged, but who consented to try the efficacy of a pretended antidote, on condition of being pardoned if he recovered. He took two doses of a drachm each, with an interval of an hour and a half between them. Three hours after the second, he was attacked with excessive weakness and weariness, and not long afterwards with a convulsive movement of the mouth, eyes, and neck, then with fainting and vomiting, and immediately with stupor, which was soon followed by death ||. The convulsions did not begin till the counter-poison was given, the nature of which is not mentioned. M. Pallas, in a thesis published at Paris in 1822, has related several distinct examples of the irritant action of monks* Pandectæ Medico-Legales, 14). + Phil. Trans. ci. 183. Phil. Trans. xxxviii. 287 § De Anima Brutorum, 289. |