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.
- Frederick Penny
- 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 University of Glasgow Library. The original may be consulted at The University of Glasgow Library.
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![all, and that is, that while these poisons are shown to act in a particular way in the case of rabbits, yet the experiments, after all, do not teach us a great deal of how the human subject is affected by these poisons. I do not wish to detract from the importance of these experiments so far as they go, and some points may yet be expiscated by Dr. Adams which will give us some information with regard to the action of these poisons upon the human subject. There were one or two facts in the medical evidence that were exceedingly interesting. One of these was the curious contraction of the hands which took place in the case of Mrs. Pritchard, and of which I can find no explanation in any book that it is in my power to consult. Now, we all know that Dr. Pritchard had in his possession ten grains of strychnine, to which no reference has been made; and it would be a curious thing to know whether, if strychnine had been mixed with these poisons, it would have modified the action of the aconite. We know that aconite produces paralysis of the muscular system generally, and of the heart, and so produces death; whereas, on the other hand, strychnine produces, to a certain extent, a con- trary effect. Now, how far the symptoms of either of these two poisons would be modified by their admixture is, I think, a point worthy of Dr. Adams' attention. There is little doubt, from the evidence, thfit Mrs. Taylor died from opium. I tliink it was the opium unquestionably, in her case, that seemed to produce the symptoms that were observed. But in the case of Mrs. Taylor there must have been a lai-ge dose of aconite, as we know it was mixed with Battley in this large proportion, because evidence was led to show that she got this bottle (capable of containing five ounces of Battley's solution) filled in Edinburgh before coming down to Glasgow, and it was filled on the Monday preceding her death, and found half empty at the time of her death. Now, the quantity of the Battley that she took in this way must have been very large, and if it contained even five per cent, in every drachm of the Battley, with five per cent, of Fleming's tincture of aconite, that would be equal to something like three minims of Fleming's, or eighteen minims of the ordinary tincture of aconite. Besides, the probability is that she did not content herself with a drachm or anything like a drachm, so that we naturally conclude she must have taken a large quantity of the aconite. Another point in the case was the action upon the pupil. There is no doubt that when Dr. Paterson saw Mrs. Taylor, her pupil was contracted to a point, and we know that aconite has the very opposite effect. It tends to paralyze the eye, so as to cause dilatation of the pupil; and in these experiments made by Dr. Adams I find that it produced contraction of the pupil till the animal was about dead, or altogether dead. That certainly is different from the symptoms as observed in the human body. I may say I made the selection of the bottles which were examined by Dr. Penny, and there was a very large quantity of conium in Dr. Pritchard's repositories. I do not know how far that may have been administered in this case. The chewing and twitching of the mouth is a curious symptom in these rabbits. We know that aconite produces a very curious feeling in the mouth—a tingling of the lips and tongue. It would be a very odd thing if, when injected into the back, it produces a similar sensation. I certamly would be disposed to think that the sensation is due to ttie immediate application to the lips and tongue; but is it possible that it will give rise to the chewing and twitching, even when injected under the skin? JJr. Crairdner—I entirely concur with Dr. Macleod in the tribute which he nas pau to Dr. Penny and Dr. Adams' experiments, as explained in court. No nftViafo -1 1 , •' ^'g v^uiMutcu. JL lie auiuirauie cnaracter oi tnat evidence, and the experiments that Dr. Adams announced, rather led rhan hl^K^ r':^..^^* them tending to exph than >ioak 1 1 ■^'5 mciii leiiiuug lo explaiii moi'e Swi ^^'y '^^'^ th^t occurred in the case of Mrs. riccnara. ] must confess that I am almost as much puzzled now as then to](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b21468084_0031.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
