Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: Medical jurisprudence / by Alfred Swaine Taylor. 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.
940/968 (page 926)
![Page 69. Si/mptoms of poisoning hi/ Phosphorus.—I am in- debted to Mr. Parsons of Bridge-water, for a case of poisoning by phosphorus, wliicli adds something to our knowledge respect- ing the insidious and unexpected manner in which life mav be destroyed by this poison. On the 20th .April 18G1, agirl swal- lowed a quantity of phosphorus paste. 'When seen soon after- wards by Mr. Parsons, her lips as well as parts of her dress were smeared with this substance, and there was a strong odour of phosphorus in her breath. Her countenance was tramjuil : her pulse regular: there was no sickness or nausea, and she com- plained of nothing but slight thir.-t. Her symptoms were so slight that they excited no suspicion that the girl had swal- lowed the poison. She passed a restless night, and the next day she complained of heat in the mouth and tliroat, and of a slight sensation of nausea and retching. There was no pain or tenderness in the region of the stomach—the pulse was regular but -weak. On the 22nd she dressed herself and -was able to ■walk about the ward: she left the hospital and wert home. Laving walked a mile : she had her tea as usual at night, and ■went to bed. On the following day, — the 2.3rd. slie com- plained of pain in her bowels with diarrhosa and sickness. These symptoms continued to become worse. On the 2.ith there was pain in the bowels which were tender on pressure, and slightly tympanitic. 'J'he pulse was intermittent, and the girl was fast sinking. She died on the 2fith, having sur- vived the elfects of the poison nearly a week, and no well- marked symptoms having set in until the fifth day. \n inspec- tion of the body was not iiermitted, and the only fact obsprM'd after death was a rapid tendency to jmtret'action. The whole of the body became speedily livid, and the finger-nails were blue,—a condition noticed by a witness to have existed before death. It will be perceived that, in reference to the delay in the ap- pearance of symptoms—their slightness taken as a whole—and the time at w hich death occurred, this case is similar to one noticed at page '.» of the text — a case of poisoning by lucifer matches. If it were not for the peculiar character of the circumstantial evidence, these cases might easily throw a practi- tioner oir his guard in forming an opinion. The odour ( f the brealh and the ajipcarance of phos]>liorus smeared over tne dress attacted the notice of Mr. Parsons. Other witnesses deposed that whatever deceased touched wish lier hand, seemed to take fire, and that when she drank water to allay her thirst, a kind of smoke issued from her mouth. Her hand.s and dress were luminous in the dark. PiKjcs and SCi. Jtrdiirlion-prorrss for arfrnir. — In the text the use of soda-llux for arsenious acid,— and of a mixture of](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b21935221_0940.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
