Note 250 — PART V.—MORE OR LESS VOLATILE POISONOUS SUBSTANCES CAPABLE OF BEING SEPARATED BY DISTILLATION FROM NEUTRAL OR ACID LIQUIDS. (continued 3)

The following case came under my own observation:—A stout woman, 35 years of age, the wife of a French polisher, drank, in a fit of rage, a solution of cyanide of potassium. It was estimated that about 15 grains of the solid substance were swallowed. She died within an hour. The face was flushed, the body not decomposed; the mouth smelt strongly of cyanide; the stomach had about an ounce of bloody fluid in it, and was in a most intense state of congestion. There was commencing fatty degeneration of the liver, the kidneys were flabby, and the capsule adherent. The contents of the stomach showed cyanide of potassium, and the blood was very fluid. The woman was known to be of intemperate habits.