3. Present in the fat and bones, with traces in the liver, fæces, and urine.
4. The period required for its complete elimination from the vital organs varies from fifteen to thirty days.
In other words, the presence of antimony in the stomach and intestines points to the recent administration of the poison; and its absence from those organs, and presence in the others above mentioned, to a more remote period of administration. It has been suggested that in some cases the poison may be eliminated by the mucous membrane of the stomach. This assumption has been proved to be correct, for it has been shown that antimony may be found in the stomach after the inhalation of antimoniuretted hydrogen.
Fatal Dose.—It is impossible to state with certainty the exact amount of antimony—tartar emetic—which may prove fatal, as recoveries have taken place even after an ounce had been taken. Large doses are uncertain in their effects, as the severe vomiting which they produce generally helps to get rid of the poison. In small doses, death may result from the depressing action which it exerts over the heart.
Fatal Period.—From a few hours to several weeks, and even months.
Treatment.—Promote vomiting by the administration of warm water, or warm greasy water, or the stomach may be washed out with a syphon tube, unless the chloride of antimony is the poison, and then give tannic acid in drachm doses in warm water, or any vegetable infusion containing tannin—viz., tea, oak bark, or cinchona bark. Demulcent drinks may be administered, and warmth applied. Opium may be given to relieve pain, and stimulants for the depression.
The Detection of Antimony
Prepare the solutions of the liver and other solid organs, and also the contents of the stomach, as described under the detection of arsenic, using tartaric acid instead of hydrochloric acid. Through a portion of one of the solutions, obtained by filtration or dialysis, pass a current of sulphuretted hydrogen, which will produce, if antimony be present, an orange-coloured precipitate of the sulphide of antimony. The precipitated sulphide is dissolved by hot hydrochloric acid with the evolution of sulphuretted hydrogen; and if the resulting solution be poured into water, a white precipitate is formed of oxychloride of antimony, soluble in tartaric acid. Chloride of bismuth is precipitated when poured into water, but the precipitate is turned black by sulphide of ammonium, the antimonial orange-red; the precipitate of bismuth is not soluble in tartaric acid, the antimonial is soluble.
Marsh‘s and Reinsch‘s processes may also be used for the detection of antimony. The former is, however, open to the objection that antimony, when present in any quantity, rapidly precipitates on the zinc in the form of a flocculent black deposit, while the issuing gas is found to contain only traces of the metal.
Reinsch‘s process is, however, very delicate, and its application is in every respect similar to that in use for the detection of arsenic. The acid liquid should, however, be boiled down to a small bulk with the copper, before a conclusion is drawn as to the entire absence of the metal.