Anilinum

Volume IV — Appendix

ANILINUM.

Mcondaiy product ot coal tar, obtained by treating benzin with strong nitric acid and ammonia. CgHjNH,.

II. Peison'mgs. — i, A boy, cleaning an aniline vat, inhaled the nes^ and was suddenly seized with giddiness and became insensible % :e and body grew cold, pulse slow and almost imperceptible, action jJheart feeble, respiration heavy and laboured. After rallying a little complained of pain in the head and giddiness j his face had a purple as also his lips, mouth, and nails. This blue colour (as of a lent in the last stage of cholera) continued the next d. (Mackenzie, td, Ti/rus and Gaz., 1 862, i, 239.) 2. Man, aet. 39, was emptying about noon a carboy of aniline into Still, when it struck against the edge and broke, the whole contents pouring over him j none entered his mouth, but the fumes were freely uibaJed. About an h. after he broke out into a sweat, and felt quite giddy, and weak in head and stomach. At 1 1 p.m. he presented the roJJowing appearance : — Face and whole body of livid leaden hue j lips, 8'"ns, tongue, and eyes of a corpse-like yellow j he was gasping for •'feath, as though each inspiration would be his last. There were no "^nvulsions, and he was perfectly sensible and able to give a correct '^'^ount of his feelings ; pulse was extremely small and irregular. The •"'y pain of which he complained was in the head and chest. He (covered under stimulants, cold aFusion to head, and sinapisms to P- (Knaggs, Itid., p. 583.)

. 3* R. R — , set. 25, swallowed at 8 a.m. lOO — 120 grm. of a ixture of aniline and toluidine by mistake for coffee. He went to ^flc as usual without telling anyone of the accident, and it was not '9 •45 that his companions noticed that he was dull, immobile, and '^Cate of stupor. Interrogated, he stated what had taken place, and "plained of slight headache. Free emesis was induced, and patient ,''<»wn ; but 20 m. later grave nervous phenomena appeared. The tt lost consciousness, sank into a coma with general relaxation of "hole system, the head pendent and hanging backwards, the lips ^lack and the face of a violet colour. Contraction of the muscles >^ face followed, with risus sardonicus and trismus^ so that only great effort a few drops of milk could be introduced into the . There were no convulsions or contractions of the limbs ) ^ very feeble; coldness. At 10.30 a.m. a few drops of alcohol ** {}ut into the mouth, and this was followed by some reaction. At ^oment an increased quantity of alcohol and alcoholised tea was 1^ » In order to combat the cold, he was heavily covered with j^^s, and vessels of warm water placed around him ; the whole body K Cubbed with camphorated alcohol. The patient regained con* ^^ness, and the vomiting returned. At 12.30 p.m. two injections 5**1 were given. At 2 there was again loss of consciousness j th« ''^ was weak, and the cyanosis still persisted^ although in a less 8Tce than before. At 3 clonic spasms of the limbs and complete ^ of consciousness } the contractions of the face and jaw had disjfoi. IV. ^\

4^2

appeared. The patient was now admitted to the hospital. On his arrival the interne noticed that he was in the deepest coma -, the pupils were dilated, with only slight reaction. Two hundred grammes of a deep brown coloured urine were withdrawn by the catheter. Death was considered imminent. The coma lasted during the n,, interrupted by frequent convulsive attacks in the limbs. The face was of i violet colour during all this period. In the m. the patient wj» conscious, and complained only of a violent headache. The face, ind especially the lips, were still slightly cyanosed. The sensibility wu normal, except along the palate, where ticlding did not provoke iny reflex action. No paralysis. There was free urination ; the urine was still very dark, albuminous, and with an alkaline reaction, while that of the e. had been acid and non-albuminous. No pain in the abdomen ; no stool since the attack. There was a strong alkaline odour about the bed, which seemed to come from the patient's clothing. Treatment : — Milk, purgative, bath. On the following days the headache disappeared. The urine was still coloured, and but slightly albuminous. The patient left the hospital in a few d., without any appreciable remaining phenomena, except the anzsthesia of the arch of the palate. The blood examined the day after the poisoning did not present anything abnormal so far as the configuration of the red globules were concerned ; enumeration 4,200,000. The temperature on the sime day was 99*6°. The urine of the first day contained A. still unchanged i there was no trace of it in the m., and its alkalinity was due to the carbonate of ammonia. (Merklen, Afed. Centemp.^ 1S85.)

4, Mrs. W^, act. 64, took a teacupful of an acetous solution of A. She had intense burning pain in head and at stomach after swallowinz it, and " could not get her breath." She took salt and water, but di3 not vomit till 8 h. afterwards, when violent emesis and purgation set in, and continued until I saw her, when she vomited stringy mucus mixed with blood. She was almost exhausted ; extremities were icy cold, and head cold and clammy; intense pain on pressure over abdomen, which was hard and enlarged ; tongue pallid in centre, and very smooth and red at tip and edges ; eyes injected ; lower lids pufed ; the complained of burning pain in eyes, and said, ** Oh ! my head will burst •" pulse hard, 84 ; temp, normal j resp. laboured, 44. (AtlEif'i Encyclepeedia, x, 299.)

1. H, C-— , set. 23, sent for me Oct. 5th, 1886. He was in 1 state of partial collapse, sweating, and almost pulseless. He had vomited, and had severe diarrhoea, not in any way characteristic. He had been subject to dysentery abroad, and had been drinking on th< 2nd. I gave him a stimulant stomachic, with 2 gr. of gray, and 5 of Dover's powder, every 4 h. On seeing him next m., I found thai be had revived, and had been sick after every powder, vomiting some blue liquid, unfortunately thrown away. He now showed me an indelible aniline pencil, which he had used on the 3rd to push out a ^g of ■ tooth left after partial extraction on the ist. On the same d. Ik Wat seized with vomiting and purging, and just before I saw him wasa><i to have had an epileptic fit. He recovered in a few d., only »« weakness remaining. (Pearcb, Brit. Mtd. Jntrn.^ Oct, 23rd, 1W6J

2. Chronic poisoning by A., as observed in workmen in the aniline factories^ has been described by Charvet, LaboulbcnCjand Bergeron.

a. CHARVETspeaks of general nervous symptoms — vertigo, stupidity, muscular cramp and weakness in extremities, hyperxstnesia, anxsthesia, and neuralgic pains, occurring epidemically along with gastric symptoms, and disappearing on removal from the poisonous atmosphere without any other treatment. {^Ann. <fHyg. puhUy Oct., 1863.)

b. Laboulbbne speaks of a workman who after two months began to complain of pain in penis and scrotum \ these parts became swollen, and remained so for some time. One month after this he began to lose sexual power, and complained also of bitter taste in mouth and vertigo. The eyes were irritated. [N. Y. Med. Rtcordy x, 382.)

e. Bergeron speaks of hebetude, somnolence, vertigo, weakness ; sometimes epileptiform attacks, tetanic spasms, &c. In the end the workmen fall into a condition of profound anxmia, with discoloration of skin, lilac tint of lips, anorexia, gastric disturbances, &c. {Ibid.)

1. Lailler, in two cases, saw poisoning follow application of the hydrochlorate to patches of psoriasis.

a. In the first case a 10 per cent, solution caused, in t ^ h., vomiting, repeated 10 — 15 times during n. ; incontinence of urine, with a little tenesmus ; n. restless ; next m. face and nearly whole bodv cyanotic j pulse 116, small, regular ; slight rales in chest; severe pains in heels and calves. A later application of a 5 per cent. sol. caused, in 2 h., headache, irresistible drowsiness, coldness, and dyspnoea \ cyanosis very marked ; voice very feeble.

b. In the other a 2 per cent. sol. caused, in 4 h., loss of consciousness, lasting 5 m. ; deep cyanosis for 5 h., followed by great pallor and cold sweats ; resp. normal. Following n. was sleepless ; urine highcoloured. (Union Med.^ '873, No. 67.)

III. Experiments on animals.-^i. The experiments of Schuchhard, Bergmann, and Sonnenkalb leave no doubt on the point that, both in cold- and in warm-blooded animals, this poison acts like other narcotics, by altering the functions of the brain and spinal cord. Muscular con- Tactions and general convulsions, anxsthesia and paralysis of motion, re the symptoms thus caused. The excitability of the peripheral motor nerves, as well as of the muscles, remains intact. The action of the heart is only disturbed in a secondary manner, that is, in coiucquence of the affection of the muscles concerned in respiration, and the defective aeration of the blood induced by the paralysis. Experiments on frogs show that A. is not a poison to the heart. The question whether it exerts any special or specific influence on the nervous centres for respiratory movements has not yet been solved by any experiments which have been made, although they have proved that aniline death, in warm-blooded animals, happens through asphyxia. (Ziemssen's Cyckpadia^ xvii, 52I.)