On the detection of strychnia as a poison : and the influence of morphia in disguising the usual colour-test / by John J. Reese.

  • John J. Reese
Date:
1861
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Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: On the detection of strychnia as a poison : and the influence of morphia in disguising the usual colour-test / by John J. Reese. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the National Library of Medicine (U.S.)

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    7 [Extracted from The American Journal of the Medical Sciences for October 1861.] ON THE DETECTION OF STRYCHNIA AS A POISON, AND THE INFLUENCE OF MORPHIA IN DISGUISING THE USUAL COLOUR-TEST. By JOHN J. REESE, M.D., OF PHILADELPHIA. The progressive increase in the number of deaths, within the last few years, occasioned by strychnia, used either for homicidal or suicidal pur- poses, is a subject demanding the careful consideration both of the toxico- logist and the medical jurist; and every circumstance connected with the detection of this most potent agent cannot fail to interest the medical profession at large. I have lately had occasion to investigate this subject very closely, in connection with a case of alleged poisoning by strychnia. A man was indicted for the murder of his wife, before the Court of Oyer and Terminer of Perry Co., Pa., at the April term of the present year. The woman died in December, 1860. Although the circumstances of her death were such as to excite suspicion at the time, no examination of the body was made until six weeks had elapsed, when the feelings of the community appear to have become sufficiently aroused to demand an investigation. The body was accordingly disinterred, and the examination was conducted by several respectable physicians of the place. They found the body still in a good state of preservation, but very rigid. The lungs were deeply engorged with dark blood, which escaped very copiously when they were cut into. The heart was healthy (although it was attempted to prove subsequently in the defence, that the woman was subject to cardiac disease); it was not empty and contracted, as has sometimes been found under similar circum- stances, but it contained a considerable quantity of blood. The brain and spinal marrow were not examined, which is to be regretted, inasmuch as these organs are almost uniformly found congested in cases of death resulting from strychnia. The stomach and a portion of the small intestine were carefully tied, and along with the adhering pancreas, were reserved for a chemical analysis. The removed viscera were brought to Philadel-