In a case related by Vidal,[941] the Liquor Bellostii (or solution of mercuric nitrate) was ordered by mistake instead of a liniment. Although externally applied, it caused salivation, profuse diarrhœa, and death in nine days. The whole of the intestinal tract was found inflamed with extravasations, and mercury detected in the liver.
[941] Gaz. des Hôp., Juillet 1864.
In any case of external application, if death ensues directly from the poison, evidence of its presence will probably be found; but too much stress must not be laid upon the detection of mercury, for, as Dr. Taylor says, “Nothing is more common than to discover traces of mercury in the stomach, bowels, liver, kidneys, or other organs of a dead body.”[942]
[942] Taylor, Medical Jurisprudence, i. p. 288.
§ 852. Tests for Mercury.—Mercury, in combination and in the solid form, is most readily detected by mixing the substance intimately with dry anhydrous sodic carbonate, transferring the mixture to a glass tube, sealed at one end, and applying heat. If mercury be present, a ring of minute globules condenses in the cool part of the tube. If the quantity of mercury is likely to be very minute, it is best to modify the process by using a subliming cell ([p. 258]), and thus obtain the sublimate on a circle of thin glass in a convenient form for microscopical examination. If there is any doubt whether the globules are those of mercury or not, this may be resolved by putting a fragment of iodine on the lower disc of the subliming cell, and then completing it by the disc which contains the sublimate (of course, the supposed mercurial surface must be undermost); on placing the cell in a warm, light place, after a time the scarlet iodide is formed, and the identification is complete. Similarly, a glass tube containing an ill-defined metallic ring of mercury can be sealed or corked up with a crystal of iodine, and, after a few hours, the yellow iodide, changing to scarlet, will become apparent. There are few (if any) tests of greater delicacy than this.