On the detection of aconite by its physiological action : being notes of experiments made in connection with the trial of Dr. E.W. Pritchard / by Frederick Penny and James Adams.
- Date:
- 1865
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: On the detection of aconite by its physiological action : being notes of experiments made in connection with the trial of Dr. E.W. Pritchard / by Frederick Penny and James Adams. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. The original may be consulted at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.
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![Kidney.—The kidney yielded about the same quantity of antimony as the heart. It gave a marked quantity of mercury. Rectum.—The rectum gave antimony, but no mercury. Blood.—In the blood, antimony was detected in rather larger proportion than in the heart. No mercury was detected. Dried Contents of Intestines.—In the dried contents of the intestines, antimony was |fuund to the extent of -583 parts in 1000 parts by weight. It was partly present in a form soluble in water. No mercury was detected. The said con- tents were also carefully analyzed for aconite and morphia, but no evidence of the presence of these poisons were obtained. From a careful consideration of the results of the analysis and examination of the above-named articles I am clearly of opinion that they are conclusive in showing:—1st, That all the articles subjected to analysis contained antimony. 2nd, That the dried contents of the intestines contained the largest proportion of antimony; next, the liver and stomach; then the blood, and in less quantity in the heart, kidney, and rectum. 3rd, That part of the antimony in the con- tents of the intestines is in a form soluble in water. 4th, That the kidney was the only artiale in which mercury was detected. 5th, That neither the stomach nor the contents of the intestines contained aconite or morphia in quantity sufficient to be detected by known chemical processes. 6th, That the articles subjected to analysis contained no other metallic poison than antimony and mercury as reported above. To the truth of this report I hereby certify on soul and conscience. Glasgow, May, 1865. Feedekick Penkt. Rejyort of Analysis of certain Articles referred to in the case of Dr. Pritchard. Akdeksonian University, Glasgow, VJth May, 1865. On Thursday, the 13tli of April last, Alexander M'Call, Superintendent of Police, delivered to me, at ray laboratory, the following productions, having sealed labels attached, referring to the case of Dr. Pritchard:—A glass bottle, labelled Battley's Sedative Solution, [B.] A bundle of seven small paper packages, [C] A quart wine bottle, containing ginger wine, [D.] A small glass vial, containing a white powder, [E.] Three small vials, two corks, and one stopper, securely tied together, [F.] Six small vials and six coi-ks, attached with string, [I.] On the same day and occasion, John Murray delivered to me a paper package, having labels attached, marked A, and containing tnpioca. On Friday, the 21st April last, Alexander M'Call delivered to me a small glass phial, with label attached, marked G, and also a piece of cheese, marked H. On Thursday, the 11th inst., John Murray delivered to me a paper package, with label attached, marked K, and containing tapioca. In accordance with instruc- tions received from John Gemmel, Esq., Procurator-Fiscal, I have made a careful analysis and chemical examination of the contents of the several productions above enumerated. My experiments and investigations gave me the following results, which, for the facility of reference, are reported in alphabetical order:— This paper package [A] contained 2850 grains of tapioca. The presence of antimony, in the form of tartarized antimony, was unequivocally detected.^ Its amount was found to be equal to 4-62 grains in the pound of tapioca. Not a trace of mercury was detected. This bottle [B] contained one ounce and five drachms of a dark brown liquid, having the odour and general appearance of Battley's solution of opium. It was found to contain an appreciable quantity of antimony in a soluble form. The amount was equal to 1-5 grain per fluid ounce of the liquid. It contained no mercury. (I am at present engaged in examining it for other substances.) The seven paper packages [C] comprised in this pro-](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b2195379x_0030.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
