Two cases of poisoning by the respiration of carbonic acid gas, with a fatal issue in one, and recovery in the other / by John Davidson.

  • Davidson, John, M.D.
Date:
[between 1800 and 1899?]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Two cases of poisoning by the respiration of carbonic acid gas, with a fatal issue in one, and recovery in the other / by John Davidson. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The University of Glasgow Library. The original may be consulted at The University of Glasgow Library.

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    When the men entered the room there was no smoke or smell, and they continued reading for an hour before going to bed. W. H— retired to bed about a quarter of an before A. M—, and when the liitter got in he observed the door of the stove open, and nearly all the coals bright red; at this time, as far as he remembered, no smoke was issuing from the stove. W. H— lay down with his face to the wall, at the back of the bed, and fell asleep much sooner than usual. He, in general, lay on his back. A, M— lay down also with his face.towards the wall, at the front of the bed, nearest the stove, and lay awake for some time, but as far as he recollected, not nearly so long as he was accustomed to do. He never could sleep, ever since he remembered, unless his face was turned to the front of the bed ; he lay down, generally, with his face towards the back, but always turned himself towards the front before he fell asleep. There extended fi'om the top of the bed along its side to the bottom, a shelf fully a foot broad, raised about three feet above that part of the bed upon which W. H— lay. The men did not make their appearance at work next morning. They were seen in bed by a servant about 7 o'clock a.m. ; but she seems to have observed nothing to excite any suspicion. She saw them again at 9 a.m., and also at half-past 9, when,in consequence of her attempts to awake them having proved unsuccessful, sus- picions of danger were excited, and I was immediately sent for. On my arrival I found the door had been locked on the inside, which I instantly ordered to be burst open. During the time this was doing, I looked through one of the small windows, and saw them lying in bed, one apparently dead, the other slightly moving one of his arms. The air in the room seemed to be tinged with a pale bluish colour, quite different from its usual transparency. As soon as the door was broken up, I went in, but was compelled to come out again, in consequence of the powerfully suffocating odour of the air. I caused the largest window to be opened, and then I entered. W. H— was lying on his back, his face and lips perfectly pale, his eyelids closed, the eyes somewhat sunk; there was an immense quantity of fi'Othy mucus over the ower part of the nose, mouth, and extending down to the chest; the arms were folded across the abdomen, the thumb was turned into the palm of the hand, and the fingers were closely folded over it. The posterior as- pect of the neck was quite livid. The bed-clothes did not seem to have been discomposed or tossed about in the least degree. I was informed by the person whorequested my professional attendance, and who first gave the alarm, that he observed the froth Avorking out of W. H—'s mouth. 1 was, therefore, anxious to give him every assistance in my power. 1 removed the frothy matter from hie mouth, and dashed some cold water on his face, to endeavour to rouse him, but without effect, no sign of life being perceptible. On shaking him, he felt quite cold and stiff, the skin over the anterior part of the body was quite pale, but upon the posterior part exceed-