ARG. NITROester. Zeitschrift.
COMPARE WITH.
Alumen, Alumina, Natr.-mur., Phosph., Argentum-fol.
ANTIDOTES.
Merc-cor., Natr-mur., Nitr.-ac._large doses are antidoted by kitchen salt dissolved in water, and taken in large quantity; afterwards mucilaginous drinks are to be given.
RATIONALE OF ITS ACTION.
M. Poumarede has related an instance of poisoning with an ounce of the Nitrate of Silver in solution. A few hours afterwards the individual he was found insensible, with the eyes turned up, the pupils dilated, with jaws locked, and the arms and face agitated by convulsions. In two hours there was some return of consciousness, and an abatement of he convulsions, but still complete insensibility of the limbs, with redness of he feature, s and pain in the stomach. In eleven hours he could articulate. For thirtysix hours he continued subject to fits of protracted coma but he eventually recovered. Sixteen hours after taking the poison he vomited a large quantity of Chloride of Silver. Esquirol mentioned a case in which Nitrate of Silver was given freely during a period of stomach as found destitute of the mucous coat over one-half of the inner surface, with several points of corrosion down to the peritoneal coat.
PATHOLOGICAL ANATOMY.
IN MEN AND ANIMALS. Dark rose-colored, or bluish red, or blackish red, black spotted, or blackish green lungs; the posterior portions of them are affected in particular, and either equiformly, or in places only. Condensation of the lungs, blackish blood in the lungs. Crepitating, Anaemic, almost emphysematous lungs. the heart appears bluish black, and is distended with a of the arteries of the heart. Much black blood in the veins. Contraction and smallness of the stomach. Paleness of the mucous membrane of the stomach. Small black spots, of the size of the pin’s head, wear the pylorus, consisting of corroded portions of the mosquitoes membrane, and forming true perforations giving the affected portion a sprinkled appearance.
Transformation of the gastric mucous membrane into a soft pulp; whitishgrey eschars near the pylorus, cherry redness and inflammation of the stomach in several spots, with very great thinning, even of he muscular coat in others. Dark cherry red q;coloring and softening of the mucous membrane of he duodenum. Thickening of the walls of the bladder. Metallic silver has been found in the choroid plexus, the pancreas bons, and skin.
EXPERIMENTS ON THE HEALTHY.
Schaebert experimented on himself with Nitrate of Silver; he first took oneeight of a grain in one halfounce of distilled water, in the morning, while fasting, a nd only observed a very unpleasant metallic taste and slight burning in he throat; several repetitions of the same experiment only produced like results. After taking onefourth gain, the burning in the throat was somewhat more persistent; after taking three halfgrain doses, in the course of three days, the burning sensation became decidedly severe, stool and pulse were not altered, the tongue acquire de dark bluish color in a few places, there was an increased feeling of warmth in the stomach, and slight nausea, disappearing after eating. AFter the lapse of a few days, he took one grain, one and a half hours after dinner, and experienced an intense burning in. the throat, attended with nausea and retching, without actual vomiting, but with a paroxysmally increased feeling of warmth and some spasm in the stomach; the tongue has a dirty brown coating for several days, and a slight diarrhoea occurred towards evening and continued the next day, relieving the pains in the stomach entirely. besides this, he experienced annoying and dull pains in. the head, attended with a peculiar dejection of spirits, and restlessness. In three days all these symptoms diapered; but eight days afterwards he took one and a half grains in the morning, fasting the nausea n inclination to vomit which ensured were immediately relieved by hearty eating, but he felt unwell the whole day, and had dull pains in his head.
Frank took small doses of the Nitrate while he was in perfect health; he soon become indisposed derangement of he stomach, heartburn and waterbrash set in, and lasted several days after he discontinued the Silver, he had never suffered in this way before. These symptoms disappeared, but a neuralgic pain in the left in front as region gradually developed itself, and lasted the whole winter;l the pain was persistent, and generally not very severe, but occasionally to would become quite severe for a few moments. Simultaneously the action of the heart became somewhat irregular; at times there would be an intermission of its beats, with an evident and unpleasant feeling in the chest; if this attention was strongly directed to his point, the action of the heat became still more irregular, but exercise in the open air did not affect it.
He had, at the same time, a constant feeling of fullness in the epigastrium. sudden and violent exercise of his muscles such as jumping, or going fast upstairs, and some mental emotion, would produce rather violent palpitation of the heart; and all the above symptoms were apt to be increase at night while in bed. sometime afterwards, Frank took four doses a day, for one day, for two days more; then three tenths, four one day; then fivetenths, threefifths, fourfifths, one grain, and one and onefifth gains, each four times a day, for one day, when he become so unwell that he had no further inclination to pursue his experiments. he became and remained inclination to pursue his experiments. he became and reminded constipated for eleven days; on the tenth day he began to have an aching sensation of fullness in the stomach, a after very light meals of bread and milk; his whole abdomen became very much detained on the eleventh day; on the twelfth, violent headache was added to the above symptoms, and it was with the greatest difficulty that he could force himself to take any food; his nights were restless, so that he could not stay in bed of after four, a.M. On the thirteenth day there was still greater disgust for food, with foulness of taste fond
tongue; on the fourteenth day he again had violent headache, m without feeling otherwise unwell, but this night was o disturbed that he was obliged to rise at three o[clock; he would only force down one glass of milk during the whole of the next day, during which the very violent headache continued, without nausea; finally, he was much relieved by taking two cups of strong black coffee, his supper tasted quantities of food, on account of heartburn. His desire for food and drink was very slight.
In another series of experiments, Frank took onefourth of a grain mixed with three grain of sugar of milk; he experienced a very bitter taste, with warmth on the gone and in the throat; drinking a little distilled water caused light eructations, and sensations such as attend a catarrh of he pharynx and larynx. A few hours after, the same dose was taken, solved in one drachm of detailed water, followed by a sweetish taste and sense of warmth in the mouth; an hours afterwards he took half a grain, solved in one drachm of distilled water, and experienced the same sensation in a somewhat great degree; a scratching sensation in the larynx, which caused him to hawk and cough in a quarter of an hour more he felt a warmth between the shoulder blades and breastbone (probably the oesophagus). which gradually changed into slight aching in the epigastrium, attended with insipid eructations; one pain doses, in one ounce of water, r only caused a very bitter taste and transient nausea.
ON THE VASCULAR SYSTEM On the blood.
Nitrate of Silver acts on the system at large through the circulation of its absorption, or rather of the absorption of the metal in one form or another, there can be no reasonable doubt.
Dr. Dreyer, or Moscow, thinks that it possesses a certain peculiar and specific power of curing the fibrin of the blood of more energetic vitality, by consolidating its parts, while Kopp found when he let blood from a vein flow into a solution of eight gains in one once of water, that it coagulated with great rapidity and quite firmly. Frank concludes that it coagulates the Alumen of the blood; also that it diminishes of prevents the absorption of oxygen; it prevents the putrefaction of organic substance of he decomposition of the blood by preventing, or very much limiting the formation of sulphuretted hydrogen.
According to Mr. Blake, the Salts of Silver, when directly introduced into the blood, do not act on the heart, but operate by causing obstruction of the capillary system. If they are objected into the sorts, the systemic capillary are obstructed, the nervous system is consequently oppressed, respiration is erected, through the medium of this nervous oppression, a nd death taken place by asphyxia; the heart continuing to beat vigorously. If, again, they be injected into a great vein, immediate obstruction of the pulmonary capillaries takes place, so that the blood cases to be transmitted to the left side of the heart.
