On animal alkaloids : the ptomaines, leucomaines, and extractives in their pathological relations ... / by Sir William Aitken.

  • William Aitken
Date:
1887
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: On animal alkaloids : the ptomaines, leucomaines, and extractives in their pathological relations ... / by Sir William Aitken. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by Royal College of Physicians, London. The original may be consulted at Royal College of Physicians, London.

    36/150 (page 18)
    III. An Unclassified Group—According to thkir Sources. From the urine.—A uride—allantoine—and a base— karnine—already known, a second alkaloid Las been discovered with the formula C'H^N^O^ From the blood and important viscera.—Alkaloids have been met with in appreciable quantities. From the breath.—Du Bois-Eaymond has obtained a poisonous alkaloid which he has named Anthro- potoxine.* From thymus or testicle.—A proteid intoxicant by Dr. Wooldridge. From the spleen.—M. Morel, of LUle, has obtained an alkaloid isolated in dehquescent crystals. From the intestines.—A base which seems to belong to the pyridic group isolated from choleraic dejections. From the saliva.—Gautier has determined the exist- ence of an alkaloid in human sahva. The venoms of certain snakes and hatrachians as well as from certain mollusca and fishes. From this latter class Breiger has identified an active princi]3le in the mytiloxin and given its formula as Cff^NO^. So much for the purely bio-chemical aspect of these researches ; let us now consider : — 2. The clinical, pathological and practical aspects. As to the poisonous character of both ptomaines and leucomaines there is no doubt; for when injected into birds and other animals even an extremely minute dose has been sufficient to cause death. Moreover, the symptoms, which preceded death in these experiments were thoroughly characteristic of poisoning by putrid ♦ Lancet, April 6th, 1889, p. 710.