This process, often employed in Europe, has given very satisfactory
results, and seems to deserve a good deal of attention. The mode
of proceeding differs in some particulars from the methods already
given; also the preparations used in this process are very different
from the others, although the principles upon which it is founded are
the same.
The solution employed as an injecting fluid in this process is as
follows:
Arsenious acid, 3 ounces.
Carbonate of soda, 4 ounces
Water, 3 quarts.
Dissolve the arsenious acid and soda in hot water, in a glass or
porcelain vessel, and, after solution, let the liquor cool off;
then add enough of water to make up a gallon of the mixture. In the
making and using of this preparation a great amount of care should
be exercised, as it must be borne in mind that arsenious acid is a
violent poison.
The stomach is then opened, as described in former chapters, and
emptied of its contents; the bowels, also, must be subjected to the
same process. The trachea is punctured, and the bronchial tubes
completely filled with the solution through the opening thus made.
The stomach and intestines should also be injected with the solution,
and also the surrounding parts.
The main point of injection is the common carotid artery. Before
injecting the stomach and bowels, and before replacing the intestines
into the abdominal cavity, the inferior vena cava is punctured a
little below the renal vein, and the flow of blood allowed to take
place in the cavity, from whence it may be either sponged or pumped
out.
The right carotid artery is selected as the point of injection,
instead of the left, for the following reasons: The right common
carotid artery is shorter than the left; it is also more anterior,
and, in consequence of proceeding from a branch instead of from the
main trunk, is larger than its fellow.
The common carotid artery in the neck is inclosed in a fibrous
sheath, which also contains the internal jugular vein lying to the
outer side of the artery, and the pneumogastric nerve, which lies
between and behind both; the sheath rests on the vertebral column.
To the inner side of the carotid is the trachea and larynx; to its
outer side, and inclosed in its sheath, the jugular vein. It may be
inferred from the above that the jugular vein in the neck is in close
proximity with the carotid artery, and great care must be exercised
in puncturing the artery not to injure the vein lying at its side.
After the injection has proceeded upwards, until the arteries of the
head and neck are filled, a very small puncture may be cut into the
jugular vein, and the blood allowed to escape at that point and for a
few minutes, until the flow decreases, when the vein may be tied up.
The nozzle of the injector is then turned in a downward direction,
and the injection continued until a sufficient quantity of the liquid
has been injected.
The artery is then tied up, and the wound neatly brought together
and sewed up. The blood which may have escaped from the vena cava
is taken out of the abdominal cavity, and the stomach and bowels
injected with the solution. Some of the same solution may also be
poured around the bowels before and after their being replaced in
their former position, and the opening in the abdomen is then closed.
Another preparation, which has been employed with some success, was
as follows:
Hyposulphite of soda, 12 ounces.
Sulphuric acid, 6 ounces.
Water, 1 gallon.
The sulphuric acid liberates the hyposulphurous acid, which
immediately decomposes into sulphur and sulphurous acid. It is to the
antiseptic properties of the sulphurous acid that this preparation
owes its preserving qualities.
A strong solution of bichromate of potash has also been used several
times for an injection, but the result has not always proved
satisfactory, as the liquid, when concentrated, is too much of an
oxydizing agent.