not only 11.23 oxygen, but 11.23+ 11.23 14.97, a quantity which is sixteen times greater than the 0.926 of oxygen which pure water can dissolve in the same circumstances, that is to say, in contact with atmospherical air. And further, if we allow with Magnus that venous blood, on reaching the lungs, still contains about one-half of the oxygen originally dissolved in the arterial blood, the whole quantity which the latter ought to contain at its exit from the heart will be, first, 14.97 destined to be used up in forming carbonic acid and water, plus 7.48 remaining in the venous blood; in all 22.45, a quantity which would require us to suppose that, in contact with an atmosphere of oxygen, 100 of 100 arterial blood could take up 22.45 × = 106.9, or more than its own volume of the gas. Such a capacity in arterial blood for dissolving oxygen, though not impossible, would require proof. Magnus explains the change of colour in venous blood entirely by the loss of carbonic acid in the lungs. But it is not proved that venous blood exhales carbonic acid in the lungs; and then, if it were, the quantity of carbonic acid which it does not give off, according to Magnus, is still so great in comparison with what it does eliminate, that it appears impossible to explain by a difference in quantity relatively so small, any change of colour so remarkable. It is therefore obvious, that the theory of respiration, advocated by Magnus, has as yet no sure foundation, and that the chemical phenomena of this vital act require to be discussed anew. M. Gay-Lussac, with M. Magendie's able assistance, proposes to go over the ground of the theory of respiration. ON MOVING MOLECULES IN THE INTERIOR OF CELLS. (From the Provincial Medical and Surgical Journal, June 5, 1844.) In a letter from Mr. Addison, so favourably known to the medical profession for his numerous and valuable microscopical researches in anatomy, to Dr. Streeten, the editor of the Provincial Journal, the former gentleman states, among other matters, that he has discovered, by employing a magnifying power, from 700 to 1000 diameters linear, an essential distinction between cells having moving molecules visible in their interior, and a disposition to discharge or liberate them; and those which have apparently passed through or have been arrested in the progress of what appears to be a vital and normal change. The letter contains the result of a more minute and critical examination of the objects circulating in the blood of the part, or discharged in the frequent and unimportant affections of the skin and mucous membranes, with especial reference to these active, moving, or living molecules, so numerous within the blood, the saliva, and the pus-cells. The paper is accompanied by a drawing which gives a faithful representation of the appearances exhibited in the colourless blood and in the pus-cell-for further information we beg to refer to the original paper. MATERIA MEDICA AND PHARMACY. ON THE POISONOUS PROPERTIES OF THE BARK OF THE LABURNUM-TREE. By ROBERT CHRISTISON, M.D. (From the Edinburgh Medical and Surgical Journal.) A farm servant, named Gordon, 18 years of age, being on bad terms with his fellow servant the cook, administered to her in some broth a portion of the bark of the Cytisus Laburnum, or common laburnum tree; this he did for the purpose of exciting vomiting. The cook soon became very ill, and in five minutes was attacked with violent vomiting. After the first attack of vomiting, which occurred at three in the afternoon, the retching and vomiting continued incessantly throughout the entire evening, night and subsequent day; there was at the same time shivering, general pain in the belly, especially in the stomach, and such feebleness from the moment she first took ill, that she with difficulty walked to her bed; severe purging also occurred on the morning of the second day. It was some days before she was able to resume her work. The sickness, vomiting and purging, however, continued to recur, in some degree, daily; pains throughout the abdomen; she rapidly fell off in looks, flesh, and strength; about six weeks after she first took ill, she was forced to give up service; her complaints went on without any intermission, except in degree for about seven months, when she was first visited by Dr. Ross, who was sent on the part of the law-authorities to investigate the particulars of the case, He found her labouring under symptoms of marked gastro-intestinal irritation, such as vomiting, especially after food, pains in the abdomen increased by pressure, diarrhoea with tenesmus and slightly sanguinolent stools, flatulent distension of the belly and the like. There was great debility, impaired appetite, hurried and laborious respiration, a rather frequent and easily excitable pulse, strong bellows' sound over the roots of the large vessels of the heart, a pale countenance, bloodless lips, and a pale, glazed tongue. The patient recovered very slowly. This woman having enjoyed robust health previous to the administration of the Laburnum-bark, it cannot be doubted, that if the bark caused the first symptoms, it must also have occasioned all the subsequent illness. ON ARSENIC AS A POISON; ITS TESTS AND ANTIDOTE. By E. J. SHEARMAN, M.D. Rotherham. Read before the Sheffield Medical Society, March 7, 1844. (Abridged from the Provincial Medical and Surgical Journal, April 3rd, 1844.) In order to show the existence of arsenic in a court of justice in England, we should be able to prove the following facts so satisfactorily, that a jury may not only see, but perfectly understand them. 1st. The metal should be produced either from the contents of the stomach, intestines or urine, if the patient should survive; or, if dead, from these and some part of the body. 2nd. We should be able to prove that the animal substances experimented upon were the excretions, and parts of the patient's body only; unmixed with any other matter. 3rd. We must also prove that the tests we use to shew the existence of arsenic have not a particle of arsenic in themselves; and this requires great caution, because a skilful advocate might make a guilty prisoner appear innocent, owing to the omission. 4th. As antimony, bismuth, tin, zinc, lead, tellurium, cadmium, selenium, and potassium, sublime in a somewhat similar manner to arsenic, and may be mistaken for it; it is quite necessary for an inexperienced eye to guard against such a mistake. When the contents of the stomach, or a decoction of the stomach, liver, &c. in distilled water, are to be operated on, the most efficacious manner of proceeding is that recommended by Christison. The first point is to get rid of the animal matter. When a clear solution is obtained, with but a small portion of animal matter in it, the ammoniacal nitrate of silver gives a lively lemon-yellow precipitate -the arsenite of silver. The ammoniacal sulphate of copper gives an apple or grass-green precipitate—the arsenite of copper. And the transmission of sulphuretted hydrogen gas through this solution, previously neutralized, and then slightly acidulated with acetic acid, throws down an abundant sulphur-yellow precipitate -the sulphuret of arsenic. It is the best plan to boil the last precipitate in the solution a few minutes, which drives off the excess of sulphuretted hydrogen gas, and allows the whole of the sulphuret of arsenic to deposit. This is to be collected in a filter; dried on a watch-glass; introduced into the bottom of a bulbed tube, and covered with black-flux, or, what is better, freshly-ignited charcoal. The tube is then to be heated by a spirit-lamp, first at the part just above where the flux is, and then gradually below, so as to sublime the metallic arsenic all around the tube; which forms a brilliant polished metallic appearance, that cannot be easily mistaken when once seen. The metallic arsenic should afterwards be oxidized by the heat of the spirit-lamp and the oxygen of the air, and driven up the tube, so as to allow it to form octohedral crystals of arsenious acid, with triangular facettes. The other mode of obtaining metallic arsenic is by Marsh's hydrogen test-the objection to this method is the necessity for using zinc, which itself often contains arsenic. The next method is that of Mr. Ellis of University College, London, for which we refer to the paper itself. There is another test which Dr. Shearman thinks deserving of attention-viz. the decomposition of distilled water by galvanism, to which the suspected solution is added, with pure sulphuric acid, collecting the hydrogen from the negative pole, igniting it, and examining the stain left in a glass-tube open at both ends. If there is the least particle of arsenic, the hydrogen will combine with it, and you then have a stain of metallic arsenic with rhomboidal crystals; which you may oxidize, collect and dissolve in water; go through the fluid tests, reduce the sulphuret in a tube, and sublime it into arsenious acid again. This is the most delicate test. The most likely substance to be mistaken for arsenic by any of these tests is antimony, because antimony sublimes into the same kind of crystals as arsenic does. Attention to the following rules will enable us to distinguish. Metallic arsenic sublimes at 356° without liquefying into rhomboidal crystals; arsenious acid sublimes at 380° into octohedral crystals; metallic antimony sublimes not under 810°; and cooling, acquires a highly lamellated texture, and yields octohedral crystals like arsenic. After you have obtained a deposit of the suspected metal in a glass tube, if you heat the tube gradually by a spirit lamp, should the metal be arsenic, it sublimes on the cool part of the tube into octohedral crystals; which can be dissolved in water, and tested by the three fluid tests. If it is antimony, it first produces dense white fumes, and an amorphous white powder is deposited; and the heat being kept up, the tube is lined with a white crust, insoluble in water. The question then comes-how can a witness swear most positively that a substance is arsenic, and nothing else? and how can he convince an unscientific jury of that fact? I think only thus: 1. By producing the metal and showing its crystals. 2. Reducing it to the oxide and showing its crystals. 3. From these crystals going through all the fluid tests. 4. Reducing the sulphuret again to its metallic state, then to the oxide, and again going through the fluid tests. 5. And if this be shown clearly, it will be impossible for any advocate to mislead a jury. With respect to antidotes, Dr. Shearman has found the moist hydrated peroxide of iron to be the most efficacious. A table spoonful to be given in plenty of water, every five minutes to an adult. This is perfectly inert, if kept dry. I. LECTURE ON THE STATE OF PHARMACY IN ENGLAND, AND 11S IMPORTANCE ΤΟ THE PUBLIC, WITH REMARKS ON THE PHARMACEUTICAL SOCIETY. By J. LLOYD BULLOCK. II. PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. Edited by Jacob Bell. June 1, 1844. The object of this lecture of Mr. Bullock is to impress upon the minds of the rising generation of Pharmaciens the indispensable necessity of making themselves thoroughly acquainted with the principles and practice of Chemistry. In the course of the lecture, however, Mr. Bullock takes occasion to allude to certain acts and proceedings of the Pharmaceutical Society, of which he disapproved so very much, that he actually withdrew from that body. The reasons for his withdrawal he states in very plain, intelligible terms. In the first place he says that "the Society, if established for the benefit of Pharmacy, should have kept to a strictly honorable course." Mr. Bullock considered that the Council of the Pharmaceutical Society deviated from this honourable course, when they held out an expectation, that members of this Society only would be held legally qualified to pursue Pharmacy, whilst persons who should not become members would lose this important privilege. Now, really taking every thing into consideration, we cannot go all the way with the learned Lecturer in accusing the Council of having deviated from the "strictly honorable course," because, forsooth, among the other inducements to become members of the Society, one was made to consist in making people believe that the privilege of practising Pharmacy was to be conceded exclusively to those who should enrol themselves among its members. The Council were desirous that the Chemists and Druggists should do that which would raise their character and respectability, and to induce them to do so, they held out a sugar-plum ut pueris olim dant crustula blandi Doctores, elementa velint ut discere prima. We think we might dispose of the other charges brought against the Society in a somewhat similar way. The Council of the Society, as men of sense and men who possessed a knowledge of the world, well knew that different individuals are induced to adopt the same measures by different motives-some must be coaxed, some frightened, some irritated into the adoption of certain plans; accordingly they very properly acted on the hint Irritant, mulcent, falsis terroribus implent. With respect to the distribution of the diploma to the members of the Society, we can see no harm in it. We all know that a man likes to have something to look at, and to shew for his money. There is one charge made by Mr. Bullock, which we cannot at all understand; we mean that of obliging every member and associate to pay for the Pharmaceutical Journal, instead of permitting its transactions to be published in "the proper channels." We cannot, for the life of us, see a more proper channel than the Pharmaceutical Journal for the publication of pharmaceutical subjects, and we believe that, until the establishment of the present Pharmaceutical Journal, we had no other journal whatever exclusively devoted to that purpose. VETERINARY PHARMACY. Veterinary Pharmacy, and indeed veterinary practice altogether, were, until some few years back, in a truly deplorable state. Analogy seems to have been the almost only guide in the selection and employment of horse-medicines formerly, it being the general belief that most medicines had a similar effect on horses and on the human subject. Mr. Bracy Clark, in his Pharmacopoeia Equina, has shewn that many remedies in constant use for the human subject, have a very slight action, and, in some cases, no apparent action whatever, on the horse. Among the purgatives he enumerates jalap, elaterium, gamboge, and colocynth, as producing no laxative effects on the horse, although administered to such an extent as to occasion the death of the animal. Among the publications which have tended to promote the advancement of veterinary medicine we may notice the Veterinarian, commenced in 1828, by Mr. Percival and Mr. Youatt. This journal is intended to supply the place in the veterinary department, which is occupied by the Lancet and Gazette in the medical profession. THERAPEUTICS. ON THE READY CURABILITY OF THE MORE ACUTE FORM OF HYDROCEPHALUS, IN ITS EARLIEST STAGE, UNDER ACTIVE TREATMENT; WITH A CASE. BY ALEXANDER HARVEY, M.D. (From the Northern Journal of Medicine, June 1844.) The writer, after stating the various opinions now generally entertained by the profession with respect to the degree in which hydrocephalus in its more acute form is amenable to remedies within the first two or three days from its outset, very justly observes that the settled convictions of our minds in regard either to the curability of the disease or the diagnosis of it, in its early stage, will very materially influence our conduct in this department of practice. And accordingly it will be found that those who entertain a confident persuasion of the ready curability of the disease, at the period already mentioned, and are impressed with the importance of being satisfied, in judging of the diagnosis, with indications much short of certainty, are at once prompt and energetic in their practice; that those who are more or less sceptical as to its curability, or require rather clear evidence of its existence, are so far influenced thereby, in cases at least which are at all doubtful, as to decline or defer any very active treatment; and that those who, though agreeing generally in the views of the former class, are less confident in their apprehension of them, and less sanguine as to the general efficacy of bold and energetic practice, are proportionally less prompt and decided in their treatment. The principle which guides Dr. Harvey in his treatment of this disease is, that hydrocephalus, in its more acute form and in its earliest stage, is readily amenable to active treatment, and that its diagnosis may in general be then made out with sufficient confidence to warrant such treatment. The evidence in favour of this principle he declines adducing for the present, but gives a case which is strongly illustrative of its truth. It was that of a youth, 14 years of age, one of a family of which three had died of hydrocephalus, and who himself was predisposed to the disease. This boy, after being confined to the house for a slight cold, began to complain of pain in one of the temples, with a quick and sharp pulse; for these he was briskly purged with temporary relief-the pain however returned with increased severity-restless nights-the pain darted through his head in twinges, and was greatly aggravated on moving--heat of head increased he was bled to 12 oz. hair removed, and cold applications to headagain briskly purged-the pain of head still remaining, he was again bledpurging still kept up-the patient recovered. In this case the inflammatory appearance of the blood drawn strengthened the suspicion that the case was one of inflammation within the head, in its first stage, a suspicion fully confirmed by the effects of treatment. |