Gaseous Poisons
=Carbon Dioxide.=--Carbon dioxide is a product of combustion and
respiration, and is generated in many ways during fermentation. It is a
constituent of choke damp due to explosions in coal-mines, and is
given off from lime-kilns, brick-kilns, and cement-works. It is often
met with in dangerous quantities in wells and in brewers' vats. From 10
to 15 per cent. in the atmosphere would prove fatal, but even 2 per
cent. inh
usually present in air is 0.04 per cent.
Symptoms.--Inhalation of the pure gas causes spasm of the glottis,
insensibility, and death from asphyxia, at once; diluted, causes sense
of weight in forehead and back of head, giddiness, vomiting, somnolence,
loss of muscular power. Insensibility, stertorous breathing, lividity of
face and body, and death from asphyxia. Convulsions occasionally.
Post-Mortem Appearances.--Face swollen and livid, or calm and pale;
lividity is most marked in eyelids, lips, ears, etc.; limbs usually
flaccid, abdomen distended; right side of heart, lungs, and large veins,
gorged with dark-coloured blood. Brain and membranes congested.
Treatment.--Pure air, cold affusion, stimulants, artificial
respiration, galvanism, inhalation of oxygen, venesection, transfusion.
=Carbonic Oxide.=--This is one of the most poisonous of gases. It is
evolved in the process of burning charcoal and coke in stoves or
furnaces. Water-gas, obtained by passing steam over heated coke,
contains 40 per cent. of the substance, the remainder being chiefly
hydrogen. It forms the chief part of the deadly 'choke damp' after an
explosion in a mine. Two per cent. in the atmosphere is immediately
fatal.
Symptoms.--When in large amount, insensibility comes on at once;
when in very small amounts, headache, giddiness, noises in the ears,
nausea, and vomiting, with prostration, insensibility, and coma. There
may be convulsions. Even in cases which recover, permanent impairment of
the brain may result.
Post-Mortem Appearances.--The blood is bright red in colour, due to
the interaction of carbonic oxide with hæmoglobin. A rosy hue of the
skin-surface and viscera is often noticed. Bright red patches of colour
are found over the surface of the body. The spectrum of the blood is
characteristic.
Treatment.--Ammonia to the nostrils, inhalation of oxygen, cold douche
in moderation, artificial respiration, transfusion of blood.
=Coal Gas.=--Coal gas contains light carburetted hydrogen or marsh gas,
olefiant gas, ammonia, sulphuretted hydrogen, carbonic acid, carbonic
oxide, free hydrogen, and nitrogen. Coal gas has an offensive odour,
burns with a yellowish-white flame, yielding water and carbonic acid.
Cases of poisoning often due to escape of gas into the room.
Symptoms.--Headache and giddiness, foaming at mouth, vomiting,
convulsions, tetanic spasms, stertorous breathing, dilated pupil. The
breath smells of gas; there is profound stupor; the patient, if alive,
exhales gas from the lungs when removed into a fresh room or into the
air. Smell of gas in the room and in patient's breath.
Post-Mortem Appearances.--Pallor of skin and internal tissues; florid
colour of neck, back, and muscles, if much CO present in the coal gas;
fluid florid blood; infiltration of lungs.
Treatment.--Fresh air, artificial respiration, cold affusion,
diffusible stimulants; inhalation of oxygen freely.
=Sulphuretted Hydrogen= is characterized by its odour, like that of
rotten eggs. It is extremely poisonous.
Symptoms.--Giddiness, pain and oppression in stomach, nausea, loss of
power; delirium, tetanus, and convulsions.
Post-Mortem Appearances.--Fluid and black blood (sulph-hæmoglobin),
smell of H{2}S on opening the body; loss of contractility of muscles,
rapid putrefaction.
Treatment.--Fresh air, stimulants, inhalation of chlorine.
Tests.--Acetate of lead throws down a brown or black precipitate
according to the quantity of the gas.
=Sewer Gas.=--Cesspool emanations usually consist of a mixture of
sulphuretted hydrogen, sulphide of ammonium, and nitrogen; but sometimes
it is only deoxidized air with an excess of carbonic acid gas.
Symptoms.--If poison concentrated, death may ensue at once; if gas
diluted, or exposure only short, insensibility, lividity, hurried
respiration, weak pulse, dilated pupils, elevation of temperature to
104°, tonic convulsions not unlike those of tetanus.
Treatment.--Fresh air, oxygen, with artificial respiration.
Stimulants, hypodermic of strychnine, and alternate hot and cold douche.
=Irritant Gases= are--(1) Nitrous acid gas; (2) sulphurous acid gas; (3)
hydrochloric acid gas; (4) chlorine; (5) bromine; (6) ammonia. They have
the common property of causing irritation and inflammation of the eyes,
throat, and air-passages, and may cause spasm of the glottis,
bronchitis, and pneumonia.
=Sulphurous Acid Gas.=--One of the products of combustion of common
coal.
=Hydrochloric Acid Gas.=--Irrespirable when concentrated, and very
irritating when diluted. Very destructive to vegetable life.
=Chlorine.=--Used in bleaching, and as a disinfectant. Greenish-yellow
colour, suffocating odour. In poisoning, inhalation of sulphuretted
hydrogen gives relief.
More
-
Barium Salts
=Chloride of Barium= occurs crystallized in irregular plates, like magnesium sulphate, soluble in water and bitter in taste. =Carbonate of Barium= is found in shops as a fine powder, tasteless and colourless, insoluble in water, but effervescing w... 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.... Blackmailing
There are in London and every large city scores of men and women who live by blackmailing or chantage. There are many different forms of this industry. There is the man who knows something about your past life, which he threatens to reveal to your... Camphor
The liniment, oil, and spirit have been poisonous in large dose. Symptoms.--Odour of breath, languor, giddiness, faintness, dimness of vision, difficulty of breathing, delirium, convulsions, with hot skin, flushed face, and dilated pupils. Fa... Cantharides
=Cantharides.=--Spanish fly, or blistering beetle, is the basis of most of the blistering preparations. It is sometimes taken as an abortifacient or given as an aphrodisiac, but whether it has any such action is open to question. It acts as an irr... Carbolic Acid
=Carbolic Acid, Phenic Acid, or Phenol=, is largely employed as a disinfectant, and is often supplied in ordinary beer-bottles without labels. Symptoms.--An intense burning pain extending from the mouth to the stomach and intestines. Indication... Cause Of Death In The Foetus
The death of the foetus may be due to--(1) Immaturity or intra-uterine malnutrition, or simply from deficient vitality; (2) complications occurring during or immediately after birth, which may either be unavoidable or inherent in the process of pa... Chloral Hydrate
It was formerly largely used as a hypnotic, and many fatal consequences ensued. It is prepared from alcohol and chlorine. Symptoms.--Deep sleep, loss of muscular power, diminished or abolished reflex action and sensibility, followed by loss of c... Chlorate Of Potassium Etc
=Chlorate of Potassium= produces irritation of stomach and bowels; hæmaturia; melæna; cyanosis, weakness, delirium, and coma. Post-Mortem.--Blood is chocolate-brown in colour, and so are all the internal organs; gastro-enteritis; nephritis. ... Cocaine
=Cocaine.=--Any dose above 1/2 grain applied to a mucous membrane or injected hypodermically may give rise to alarming symptoms. These are intense pallor, faintness, giddiness, dilatation of pupils, paroxysmal dyspnoea, rapid, intermittent, and we... Conium And Calabar Bean
=Conium Maculatum= (Spotted Hemlock).--All parts of the plant are poisonous, often mistaken for parsley. Contains the poisonous principle coniine, a volatile liquid alkaloid with a mousy smell; insoluble in water; soluble in alcohol, ether, and ch... Contused Wounds And Injuries Unaccompanied By Solution Ofcontinuity
If a blow be inflicted with a blunt instrument, there is produced a bruise, or ecchymosis, of which it is unnecessary here to describe the appearance and progress. A bruise may be distinguished from a post-mortem stain by the cuticle in the former... Copper And Its Preparations
Poisoning with copper salts is rare. The most important are the sulphate, subacetate, and arsenite. =Sulphate of Copper= (bluestone, blue vitriol) in half-ounce doses is a powerful irritant. Has been given to procure abortion. =Subacetate of ... Crimes
Forensic medicine is also called Medical Jurisprudence or Legal Medicine, and includes all questions which bring medical matters into relation with the law. It deals, therefore, with (1) crimes and (2) civil injuries. 1. A crime is the voluntar... Death By Drowning
Death by drowning occurs when breathing is arrested by watery or semi-fluid substances--blood, urine, etc. The fluid acts mechanically by entering the air-cells of the lung and preventing the due oxidation of the blood. The post-mortem appearances... Death By Hanging
In hanging, death occurs by asphyxia, as in drowning. Sensibility is soon lost, and death takes place in four or five minutes. The eyes in some cases are brilliant and staring, tongue swollen and livid, blood or bloody froth is found about the mou... Death By Strangulation
This differs from hanging in that the body is not suspended. It may be effected by a ligature round the neck, or by direct pressure on the windpipe with the hand, in which case death is said to be caused by throttling. Strangulation is frequently ... Death By Suffocation
Signs and Symptoms.--There are usually three stages: 1. Exaggerated respiratory activity; air hunger; anxiety; congested appearance of face; ringing in ears. 2. Loss of consciousness; convulsions; relaxation of sphincters. 3. Respirations f... Death From AnÆsthetics Etc
The coroner in England and Wales and Ireland must inquire into every case of death during the administration of an anæsthetic. The anæsthetist has to appear at the inquest, and must answer a long series of questions relative to the administratio... Death From Cold Or Heat
=Cold.=--The weak, aged, or infants, readily succumb to low temperatures. The symptoms are increasing lassitude, drowsiness, coma, with sometimes illusions of sight. Post mortem, bright red patches are found on the skin surface, and the blood rema... Death From Lightning And Electricity
The signs of death from lightning vary greatly. In some cases there are no signs; in others the body may be most curiously marked. Wounds of various characters--contused, lacerated, and punctured--may be produced. There may be burns, vesications, ... Death From Starvation
The post-mortem appearances in death from starvation are as follows: There is marked general emaciation; the skin is dry, shrivelled, and covered with a brown, bad-smelling excretion; the muscles soft, atrophied, and free from fat; the liver is sm... Definition Of A Poison
Though the law does not define in definite terms what a poison really is, it lays stress on the malicious intention in giving a drug or other substance to an individual. It is a felony to administer, or cause to be administered, any poison or othe... Delivery
The signs of recent delivery are as follows: The face is pale, with dark circles round the eyes; the pulse quickened; the skin soft, warm, and covered with a peculiar sweat; the breasts full, tense, and knotty; the abdomen distended, its integumen... Dementia: Acute Chronic Senile And Paralytic
In dementia the mental aberration does not occur until the mind has become fully developed, thus differing from amentia, which is congenital or comes on very early in life. =Acute Dementia.=--This is a condition of profound melancholy or stupor,... Detection Of Blood-stains Etc
Stains may require detection on clothing, on cutting instruments, on floors and furniture, etc. The following are the distinctive characters of blood-stains: (a) =Ocular Inspection.=--Blood-stains on dark-coloured materials, which in daylight m... Detection Of Poisons
Notice the smell, colour, and general appearance, of the matter submitted for examination. The odour may show the presence of prussic acid, alcohol, opium, or phosphorus. The colour may indicate salts of copper, cantharides, etc. Seeds of plants m... Digitalis
All parts of the plant Digitalis purpurea (purple foxglove) are poisonous. Contains the glucoside digitalin and other active principles. Symptoms.--Nausea, vomiting, purging, and abdominal pains. Vomited matter grass-green in colour. Headache, g... Duration Of Pregnancy
The natural period of gestation is considered as forty weeks, ten lunar months, or 280 days. A medical witness would have to admit the possibility of gestation being prolonged to 300 days, and if this time were not very materially exceeded it woul... Duty Of Practitioner In Supposed Case Of Poisoning
If called to a case supposed or suspected to be one of poisoning, the medical man has two duties to perform: To save the patient's life, and to place himself in a position to give evidence if called on to do so. If life is extinct, his duty is a s... Evidence Of Poisoning
It may be inferred that poison has been taken from consideration of the following factors: Symptoms and post-mortem appearances, experiments on animals, chemical analysis, and the conduct of suspected persons. 1. Symptoms in poisoning usually co... Evidences Of Live Birth
The signs of live birth prior to respiration are negative and positive. A negative opinion may be formed when evidence is found of the child having undergone intra-uterine maceration. In this case the body will be flaccid and flattened; the ilia p... Examination Of Persons Found Dead
When a medical man is called to a case of sudden death, he should carefully note anything likely to throw any light on the cause of death. He should notice the place where the body was found, the position and attitude of the body, the soil or surf... Examination Of Persons Of Unsound Mind
The following hints with regard to the examination of patients supposed to be insane will be useful: The general appearance and shape of head, complexion, and expression of countenance, gait, movements, and speech, should be noted; the state of th... Feigned Diseases
Malingering in its various forms is by no means uncommon, and by many is regarded as a disease in itself. It is necessary, however, to distinguish between those cases in which it is feigned for some definite purpose--for example, to escape punishm... Foeticide Or Criminal Abortion
This consists in giving to any woman, or causing to be taken by her, with intent to procure her miscarriage, any poison or other noxious thing, or using for the same purpose any instruments or other means whatsoever. It is a felony to procure or a... Gaseous Poisons
=Carbon Dioxide.=--Carbon dioxide is a product of combustion and respiration, and is generated in many ways during fermentation. It is a constituent of choke damp due to explosions in coal-mines, and is given off from lime-kilns, brick-kilns, and ... Gunshot Wounds
These may be punctured, contused, or lacerated. Round balls make a larger opening than those which are conical. Small shot fired at a short distance make one large ragged opening; while at distances greater than 3 feet the shot scatter and there i... Hydrochloric Acid
=Hydrochloric Acid=, muriatic acid, or spirit of salt, is not uncommonly used for suicidal purposes, being fifth in the list. Method of Extraction from the Stomach.--The same as for sulphuric acid. As hydrochloric acid is a constituent of the ga... Hydrocyanic Acid
=Prussic Acid= is the most active of poisons. The diluted hydrocyanic acid of the Pharmacopoeia contains 2 per cent. of hydrocyanic acid, Scheele's 4 per cent. It is a colourless liquid, feebly acid, with odour of bitter almonds. =Cyanide of Po... Idiocy Imbecility Cretinism
=Idiocy= is not a disease, but a congenital condition in which the intellectual faculties are either never manifested or have not been sufficiently developed to enable the idiot to acquire an amount of knowledge equal to that acquired by other per... Impotence And Sterility
In the male, impotence may arise from physical or mental causes. The physical causes may be--too great or too tender an age; malformation of the genital organs; crypsorchides, defect or disease in the testicles; constitutional disease (diabetes, n... Incised Wounds And Those Accompanied By Solution Of Continuity
These comprise incised, punctured, and lacerated wounds. In a recent incised wound inflicted during life there is copious hæmorrhage, the cellular tissue is filled with blood, the edges of the wound gape and are everted, and the cavity of the wou... Infanticide
Infanticide, or the murder of a new-born child, is not treated as a specific crime, but is tried by the same rules as in cases of felonious homicide. The term is applied technically to those cases in which the mother kills her child at, or soon af... Inheritance
In order to inherit, the child must be born alive, must be born during the lifetime of the mother, and must be born capable of inheriting--that is to say, monsters are incapable of inheriting. There is a mode of inheritance called 'tenancy by cour... Inorganic Irritants
=Nitrate of Potassium (Nitre, Saltpetre)--Bitartrate of Potassium (Cream of Tartar)--Alum (Double Sulphate of Alumina and Potassium)--Chlorides of Lime, Sodium, and Potassium.=--All these are irritant drugs, and give the usual symptoms. ... Iodine--iodide Of Potassium
=Iodine= occurs in scales of a dark bluish-black colour. It strikes blue with solution of starch, and stains the skin and intestines yellowish-brown. Liquid preparations, as the liniment or tincture, may be taken accidentally or suicidally. Sym... Lead And Its Preparations
=Acetate of Lead= (Sugar of Lead).--A glistening white powder or crystalline mass. Soluble in water, with a sweetish taste. It is practically the only lead salt which gives rise to acute symptoms, and only when taken in large doses. Symptoms.--... Legitimacy
A child born in wedlock is presumed to have the mother's husband for its father. This may, however, be open to question upon the following grounds: Absence or death of the reputed father; impotence or disease in the husband preventing matrimonial ... Mania
Under the term 'mania' are included all those forms of mental unsoundness in which there is undue excitement. It is divided into general, intellectual, and moral, and each of the two latter classes again into general and partial. =General Mania... Marriage And Divorce
Marriage may be accomplished in many ways: (1) By the publication of banns; (2) by an ordinary licence; (3) by a special licence; (4) by the Superintendent-Registrar's licence; (5) by a special licence granted by the Archbishop of Canterbury in co... Medical Evidence
On being called, the medical witness enters the witness-box and takes the oath. This is very generally done by uplifting the right hand and repeating the oath (Scottish form), or by kissing the Bible, or by making a solemn affirmation. 1. He ma... Mental Unsoundness
The presumption in law is in favour of a person's sanity, even though he may be deaf, dumb, or blind. The terms 'insanity,' 'lunacy,' 'unsoundness of mind,' 'mental derangement,' 'madness,' and 'mental alienation or aberration,' are indifferent... Mercury And Its Preparations
The most important salt of mercury, toxicologically, is corrosive sublimate. Other poisonous preparations are red precipitate, white precipitate, mercuric nitrate, the cyanide and potassio-mercuric iodide. Calomel has very little toxic action. Met... Modes Of Sudden Death
There are three modes in which death may occur: (1) Syncope; (2) asphyxia; (3) coma. 1. =Syncope= is death beginning at the heart--in other words, failure of circulation. It may arise from--(1) Anæmia, or deficiency of blood due to hæmorrhage... Nitric Acid
=Nitric Acid=, or aqua fortis, is less frequently used as a poison than sulphuric acid. The fumes from nitric acid have caused death from pneumonia in ten or twelve hours. Method of Extraction from the Stomach.--The same as for sulphuric acid. ... Nux Vomica Strychnine And Brucine
=Nux Vomica= consists of the seeds of the Strychnos nux vomica. From these strychnine and brucine are obtained. The symptoms, post-mortem appearances, and treatment, of poisoning by nux vomica are the same as for strychnine. =Strychnine= is a p... Opium And Morphine
=Opium.=--The inspissated juice of the unripe capsules of the Papaver somniferum. As a poison it is generally taken in the form of the tincture (laudanum), which contains 1 grain opium in 15 minims. Opium is found in almost all so-called 'soothing... Oxalic Acid
=Oxalic Acid= is used by suicides, though not often by murderers. The crystals closely resemble those of Epsom salts or sulphate of zinc; oxalic acid has been taken in mistake for the former. It is in common use for cleansing brass, in laundry wor... Personal Identity
It is but seldom that medical evidence is required with regard to the identification of the living, though it may sometimes be so, as in the celebrated Tichborne case. The medical man may in such cases be consulted as to family resemblance, marks ... Petroleum And Paraffin-oil
Cases of poisoning by petroleum and paraffin are common, and occur chiefly in children. =Petroleum= is a natural product, and is a mixture of the higher saturated hydrocarbons. The crude petroleum is purified by distillation, and is then free f... Phosphorus
=Phosphorus= is usually found in small, waxy-looking cylinders, which are kept in water to prevent oxidation. It may also occur as the amorphous non-poisonous variety, a red opaque infusible substance, insoluble in carbon disulphide. Ordinary phos... Poisonous Fungi And Toxic Foods
=Fungi.=--Of the poisonous mushrooms, the Amanita phalloides and the fly agaric, or Agaricus muscarius, are the most potent. The active principle of the former is phallin, and of the latter muscarine. The Amanita phalloides is distinguished from t... Potash Soda And Ammonia
=Caustic Potash= occurs in cylindrical sticks, is soapy to the touch, has an acrid taste, is deliquescent, fusible by heat, soluble in water. =Liquor Potassæ= is a strong solution of caustic potash, and has a similar reaction. =Carbonate of Potas... Pregnancy
The signs of the existence of pregnancy are of two kinds, uncertain and certain, or maternal and foetal. Amongst the former class are included--Cessation of menstruation (which may occur without pregnancy); morning vomiting; salivation; enlargemen... Presumption Of Death; Survivorship
=Presumption of Death.=--If a person be unheard of for seven years, the court may, on application by the nearest relative, presume death to have taken place. If, however, it can be shown that in all probability death had occurred in a certain acci... Ptomaines Or Cadaveric Alkaloids
Every medical man, before presenting himself to give evidence in a case of suspected poisoning, should make himself thoroughly acquainted with recent researches on the subject. Ptomaines are, for the most part, alkaloids generated during the proce... Rape
Rape is the carnal knowledge of a woman by force and against her will. The resistance of the woman must be to the utmost of her power, but if she yield through fear or duress it is still rape. The woman is a competent witness, but her statements m... Sale Of Poisons; Scheduled Poisons
The sale of poisons is regulated by various Acts, but chiefly by the Pharmacy Act, 1868, and by the Poisons and Pharmacy Act, 1908. Only registered medical practitioners and legally qualified druggists are permitted to dispense and sell scheduled ... Signs Of Death
(1) Cadaveric appearance; ashy white colour. (2) Cessation of the circulation and respiration, no sound being heard by the stethoscope. Cessation of the circulation may be determined by (a) placing a ligature round the base of a finger (Magnus' te... Sulphonal Trional Tetronal Veronal Paraldehyde
These are dangerous drugs. The ordinary symptoms of the group are noises in the ears, headache, vertigo, inability to stand or to walk properly, insensibility, and cyanosis. The most interesting point is the condition of the urine. In cases of ... Sulphuric Acid
=Sulphuric Acid=, or oil of vitriol, may be concentrated or diluted. It is frequently thrown over the person to disfigure the features or destroy the clothes. Parts of the body touched by it are stained, first white, and then dark brown or black. ...