If the gastric compartments are perforated, an abscess may develop in the abdominal wall. The lesions are those of acute gastro-enteritis. The contents of the stomach exhales an odour resembling garlic. The parenchymatous organs—the liver, kidney, and heart—show fatty degeneration in chronic cases.
In prescribing arsenic, one should begin with small doses, which can gradually be increased as the animal becomes accustomed to the drug. Curative treatment consists in administering antidotes, such as hydrated oxide of iron, sulphate of iron, and calcined magnesia.
Haubner described a form of chronic arsenical poisoning produced in the neighbourhood of blast furnaces near Freiberg. Similar forms of poisoning may perhaps occur in the neighbourhood of chemical and smelting works in England.
PHOSPHORUS POISONING.
Though the chronic form is common in men, phosphorus poisoning only occurs accidentally in animals through eating phosphorus paste, used as a poison for rats, or as a consequence of excessive doses given medicinally. Some cases have been described by Maury.
The symptoms comprise salivation, loss of appetite, alliaceous odour of the buccal cavity, arrest of intestinal peristalsis, indigestion, colic, diarrhœa, exhaustion and death in a state of coma. Albuminuria and icterus also occur.
The lesions are the same as those of arsenical poisoning—viz., stomatitis, pharyngitis, and gastro-enteritis. The specific changes consist in fatty degeneration of the liver and kidneys, and the peculiar odour resembling garlic exhaled by the flesh.
Death is a consequence of deoxygenation of the blood, which appears black, and when spectroscopically examined reveals only the lines of reduced hæmoglobin.
Treatment. Oil and milk dissolve phosphorus and render it more easily assimilable; they should never be administered. Large doses (up to six fluid ounces) of essence of turpentine have been recommended. This prevents the phosphorus absorbing oxygen at the expense of the blood. Saline purgatives assist in eliminating the poison.