Abstract
From the toxicological point of view, the 2 most important organs undergoing pathological changes in mercurial poisoning are the kidneys and the intestines, both exhibiting severe inflammatory and degenerative changes. It is well known, however, that the mercury ion produces a depressant effect on the circulation. According to Sollmann, 1 all metals produce a very marked fall of blood pressure, which is partly due to the paralysis of the blood vessels and partly to a direct action on the heart. The metals, for this purpose, may be divided into 2 groups, one group acting mainly peripherally on the blood vessels and the other group acting mainly peripherally on the heart. Mercury belongs to the latter group.
The writer has studied for some time the toxic effects on the circulation, and especially on the heart, of continual intravenous injections of various mercurial compounds, and the results, of considerable toxicological and practical interest, are here reported. The method of experimentation was simple. All the experiments were performed on cats and the technique followed was similar to that employed in the assay of digitalis by the Hatcher-Brodie cat method. The animals are kept under light ether anesthesia and a solution of a given mercurial is injected into the femoral vein from a burette at regular intervals, usually at the rate of 1 cc. a minute, and the effects upon the heart are carefully observed. When the inorganic salt, mercuric chloride, or bichloride of mercury, in concentration of 1:1000, is thus injected into the vein of a cat, the depressant effect of the mercury for the heart is manifested after a few minutes. Even after the injection of a small quantity of the solution, the heart-beat becomes feeble and the heart rapidly develops a block, after which, on continued injection of the drug, it goes into fibrillation and finally stops.
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