Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XI.djvu/354

 342 MEDICAL JURISPRUDENCE of the stomach, the duodenum, or the uterus, may produce symptoms similar to those of ir- ritant poisons. In seeking for the evidences of poison in a dead body, the first inquiry is as to the nature of the substance taken. It is a distinctive feature of the irritant poisons that they excite inflammation, in greater or less de- gree, in every part to which they are applied, and internally corrosions or perforations where the poisonous matter rests longest. The inflam- mation varies in extent and intensity. It is usually observed in the mouth, throat, and stomach, but may reach through the whole length of the digestive tube. The membranes are of various degrees of redness, sometimes accompanied by dark patches of extravasated blood, and sometimes also by ulceration. The traces of narcotic poisons are not so evident. Dr. Christison says even that the marked ap- pearances which they leave are insignificant. Certainly, it is not characteristic of this class of poisons, as is often supposed, that they induce putrefaction, or that the blood remains fluid. Often, however, the veins of the head are found gorged with blood, the lungs bear black and livid spots, and their texture is less dense. These same changes, both in the brain and in the nature of the blood, are produced by the narcotic-acrid poisons. For the purpose of charging innocent persons with murder, poisons have been in some instances injected after death. Orfila found that he could not reproduce in the dead body the appearances manifested b.y the living tissues. In the latter case, inflammation in graduated stages of intensity always attends the injury. But in his experiments there was always a per- fectly defined line of demarcation between the points to which the poison was applied and those adjacent. In examination of the stomach, it is to be remembered that the vascularity or redness of this organ may arise as well from nat- ural causes as from the influence of poisons. This appearance occurs, says an eminent au- thor, in every variety of degree and charac- ter, under every circumstance of previous in- disposition, and in situations where the most healthy aspect of the organ might be fairly inferred. Nor are marks of poisons to be confounded with those discolorations which may be produced by the liver and spleen. Ul- cers and perforations have sometimes been wrongly attributed to the effects of poison. What is called the self -digestion of the stomach has often been mistaken for poison. In this condition of the organ its coats are rendered thinner and transparent, and sometimes the destruction of them advances even to perfora- tion. These must be distinguished from those which are caused by corrosive poisons. The l:itti-r have clearly defined edges, and thick as the thickness of the coats which are pierced. These margins, too, are usually of a peculiar <>!' ir, according to the poison employed; for example, yellow with nitric acid, brown or black with sulphuric acid and the alkalies, and orange with iodine. Finally, in a case of MEDICI spontaneous erosion, there is generally a re- markable whiteness of the inner, wall of the stomach ; but in a case of poisoning there must be unequivocal signs of inflammation or of irritation. In reference to the application of chemical tests, it may be remarked that poison may be absorbed or decomposed, and in such cases it may be found by boiling the stomach and intestines, and subjecting the fluid to proper tests. Poisons which remain in the dead body may be affected by the chemical changes involved. By the ammonia disen- gaged during decay acids may be neutralized ; and by the action of the animal matter the mineral salts may be decomposed. Soluble poisons, as oxalic acid, disappear ; arsenic, opi- um, cantharides, and strychnia are not essen- tially changed. Among the most important of the irritant class, or usually arranged in this class, are arsenic, the salts of mercury, lead, copper, and some other metals; sulphuric, nitric, oxalic, and some other acids. Of the narcotic class may be mentioned opium, prussic acid, strychnia, and the oils of cedar, tanzy, and savin; but some of this class also cause nervous irritation. Insanity, in all its forms, is an important topic of medical jurisprudence. (See LUNACY.) MEDICI, a distinguished family of not well authenticated origin, though traced by some genealogists to the days of Charlemagne, and appearing in Florentine history since the close of the 13th century. In 1351 Giovanni de' Me- dici, at the head of only 100 men, relieved the fortress of Scarperia by forcing his way through a Milanese army then besieging the place. A few years later Salvestro de' Medici acquired great reputation by his firm resistance to the tyranny of the nobles. In 1378 he was chosen chief magistrate, and effected important re- forms in the government in spite of the com- motions raised against him by the nobility. His son Vieri held also a high rank in the state, and was very popular with the common people. The family were largely engaged in commerce, and accumulated great wealth. The most suc- cessful merchant of them all was a second Giovanni de' Medici, who, after serving for many years as a member of the seigniory and of the council of ten, was in 1421 twice chosen gonfaloniere, or chief magistrate, the term of the office being then two months. He died in 1429, leaving an immense estate to his two sons, Cosmo and Lorenzo. COSMO I., or Co- SIMO, called the Elder, was born in 1389, and even in the lifetime of his father had been deeply engaged in commerce, and had filled offices of state, having attained to a seat in the seigniory in 1416. The death of his father made him the head of the family, and he soon became the leading man in the state. His pow- er and that of his immediate descendants con- sisted in a tacit influence acquiesced in by the people, and not in any definite authority. The government of the republic continued to be di- rected by a council of ten and a gonfaloniere ;