Citation

No Author(s) Listed. Buffalo medical and surgical journal 1880; 20(4): 165-167.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1880)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

36667305

PMCID

PMC9461878

Abstract

Most persons who hold any theory concerning the toxic action of arsenic, still believe the doctrine first propounded by Liebig. Arsenious acid according to this theory, has a great affinity for albuminous substances, and tends to form with them solid compounds. In other words the arsenic coagulates- the soluble albumen. In this condition it cannot take part in the vital functions, and hence these functions cease. In this way the so-called corrosive action of arsenic on the coats of the stomach was explained, although it is well known that arseni ous oxide has at most only a feeble, caustic action. This theory, which was originally propounded to explain the poison ous action of both arsenious oxide and corrosive sublimate, is wholly false, as far as the former of these is concerned. By ex periment it is found that solutions of albumen are not coagulated when treated with arsenious compounds,' as they are when treated with corrosive sublimate. In fact, arsenious acid does not have a precipitating effect on any of the liquids of the body, stronger than that of carbonic acid, and yet carbonic acid is not poisonous. Liebig himself, later, saw the fallacy of his theory, and renounced it, without, however, substituting another in its place. The fact that arsenical poisoning, with the usual stom ach symptoms, could be produced by dropping arsenical com pounds into the eye without hurting the eye itself, was alone fatal to the early Liebigian theory. Late investigations, carried on by Binz and Schulz, {Archiv fuer Exper. Path, and Pharma^), have developed a new and much more rational theory. Post mortem investigations have shown that those tissues which specially come in contact with the oxygen of the blood, and utilize it, are those which suffer most in arsenical poisoning.

Language: en