1340

ELEMENTS OF MATERIA MEDICA.

root was left; so that two had been eaten at dinner, the greater part (perhaps one ° r jf r ,and a half roots) by the husband. About three-quarters of an hour a , rierPrescott complained of burning and numbness of the lips, mouth, and throat, aiiusoon extended to the stomach, and was accompanied with vomiting- ^ n „matters ejected were first his dinner, and afterwards a frothy mucus ; t>ut ))ttime was any blood brought up. The vomiting was very violent and

ent

one

lor an nour, anu continueu more or less until within halt an hour 01 , . nl ie

A11 emetic was swallowed at a quarter past four o’clock ; and, therefore, the su . bs . hi*vomiting may be ascribed, in part at least, to this. His extremities were cold, j 0#chest was warm : the head was bathed in a cold sweat. His eyes, to use the exp 1 atl J

of his neighbour, were “ glaring.” He complained of violent pain in the . ’ or of

trembled excessively. The last symptom might, perhaps, be in part owing to his tethe mistake he had committed. The lips were blue. His mental faculties were n° T Je-dered: 011 this point I made particular inquiry, and I was assured that he wasnei ha 1 *

lirious nor sleepy, but was quite conscious until within two minutes of bis death- )t ]y

no cramp, spasm, orcouvulsion: the only approach to it was trembling. He * re ” vcr theput his hand to his throat. Though exceedingly weak he did not lose his power ®. n(! evoluntary muscles; for within a few minutes of his death he was able, with the a»si»of his neighbour, to walk to the water-closet. His bowels were acted on once 0,1 |,aildinner, and that on the occasion just mentioned, which was about an hour after q,,taken the emetic and some castor oil. His breathing was apparently unaffecte ■ . e j,his return from the water-closet he was put to bed, and within a few minutes e Papparently in a fainting state. Death occurred about four hours after dinner.

Mrs. Prescott was affected in a similar way. She had the same burning and j 3ness of the lips, mouth, throat, and stomach, and violent vomiting. She ex P erie iVC rcfcurious sensation of numbness in the hands, arms, and legs; and she lost the P° (s toarticulating, so that she was unable to tell the address of her son. Herspeak were attended with unintelligible sounds only. She experienced great mdebility, and was unable to stand. I11 this respect her condition differed from tha _j„g,husband, who could both stand and walk. She felt stiffness of, and difficulty n>jj, e retoher limbs. She had no cramps, spasms, or convulsions. The only approach |,erwas the stiffness of the muscles when she attempted to put them in action, a*attempts to wipe her face. Some of the external senses were disordered: thus,

her own expression, though her eyes were wide open, her sight was very dim, “"Ajjit/rounding objects were seen indistinctly. The hearing was unaffected. The 3ens t() ucli'of the body was greatly impaired ; her face and throat were almost insensible lV jSShe felt very giddy, but was neither delirious nor sleepy. For the most part s all dconscious, but at times scarcely knew what was passing around her. Her b° I „atextremities were cold. She was frequently pulling her throat about, but she r e-

' aU si * 1 ' 1

why. Five or six hours after dinner she began to recover, and her natural warturned. The remedies employed were an emetic, c&stor oil, pediluvia, rum a 11and some “ warm” medicine given her by a neighbouring practitioner. . sW

The child was similarly but more slightly affected, except that she evincedtendency to sleep. Like the others she was constantly putting her hands to her

i rn° st

Mr. Shervven (Lancet, March 25, 1837, p. 13) has published a ^interesting case of a female poisoned by the alcoholic tincture 9root. About five minutes after swallowing it, she was seized " 1 . 1 ,-pricking and tingling down her arms and lingers, and a painfulness across the wrists; the tongue and mouth next felt the sal ”^ 0 pefthe legs and feet; and in less than ten minutes her facefeelings to be swelling and the throat growing tight. She felt sick-

many efforts to vomit.

c; l_> w -I ^ 1

Her legs failed, she was almost blind, ^

conscious of her plight. When seen by Mr. Shervven her eyes vy cre aI1 dand protruded, with contracted pupils; countenance livid; J a "fauces rigid; arms and hands quite cold and pulseless; the lCo^^;trunk much in the same state ; breathing short, imperfect, and la b tc llwhile the heart fluttered feebly. She was sufficiently sensible ^ 9how the accident occurred. In an attempt to administer an e ua ,strong convulsion occurred. Copious vomiting afterwards took 1 ^Five hours after she had taken the poison the pulse was becoiuiiio