Belladonna Hyoscyamus And Stramonium

=Belladonna.=--The root, leaves, and berries, of the Atropa belladonna

are poisonous from the presence of alkaloid atropine.



Symptoms.--Dryness of mouth and throat, intense thirst, dysphagia and

dysphonia, quick pulse, noisy delirium and stupor. Strangury and

hæmaturia, and redness of the skin, especially of the face, like that

of scarlatina, have been noticed. Dilatation of the pupil occurs,

whether the poison be taken internally or applied locally to the eye.



Post-Mortem Appearances.--Congestion of cerebral vessels, dilated

pupils, red patches in alimentary canal.



Treatment.--Wash out the stomach freely; a hypodermic injection of

apomorphine as an emetic, followed by hypodermic injections of

pilocarpine or morphine. Tea, coffee, or tannin, to precipitate the

alkaloid.



Tests.--Atropine may be recognized by its action on the pupil. The

chloro-iodide of potassium and mercury precipitates it from very dilute

solutions.



=Hyoscyamus= (Henbane).--Hyoscyamus niger.



=Stramonium= (Thorn-Apple).--Datura stramonium.



Symptoms.--Identical with those of belladonna and hyoscyamus, the

post-mortem appearances and treatment being also the same.



=Cannabis Indica= (Indian Hemp).--When smoked, produces intoxication and

mania. Hashish, used in the East as a narcotic, may cause persons to



run 'amok' and commit murder.