Antimony

“ It is therefore astonishing that any instances should occur of patients who have been deserted by physicians, and afterwards found a remedy in antimony, administered by quacks, who do not so much as pretend to any degree of medicinal knowledge.
[19]
But the arguments drawn from the example of giving antimony in large quantities to horses, do not prove its innocence in the human body. The crocus metallorum is used by farriers to the quantity of an ounce or two in the day, yet a few grains of this preparation produce in men the most violent and dangerous effects. ”

“ But I would [21] not advise any person to give crude antimony to the human race, as a medicine, for he that would use it with safety and success, must first know the method of preparing it, in which the greatest part of the mystery consists ”

“ When you gave your opinion that Cook died from the effects of antimony had you any reason to think that an undue quantity had been administered?—I could not tell. People may die from large or small quantities; the quantity found in the body was no criterion as to how much he had taken.
May not the injudicious use of a quack medicine containing antimony, the injudicious use of James’s powders, account for the antimony you found in the body?—Yes; the injudicious use of any antimonial medicine would account for it. ”

“ Have you not said that the quantity of antimony you found was not sufficient to account for death?—Certainly. If a man takes antimony he first vomits, and then a part of the antimony goes out of the body; some may escape from the bowels. A great deal passes at once into the blood by absorption, and is carried out by the urine.
Can you say upon your oath that from the traces in Cook’s body you were justified in stating your opinion that death was caused by antimony?—Yes perfectly and distinctly. ”

“ If antimony be melted or boiled with a fixed alkali, a precipitate is made by [Pg 123] cooling, called kermes mineral, formerly used in medicine. The antimonial preparations that are now most in use are antimonial wine and tartar emetic. The wine is made by infusing pulverized glass of antimony in Spanish wine some days, and filtering the clear fluid through paper. The emetic tartar, or antimonial tartar, is a saline substance, composed of acid of tartar, vegetable alkali, and antimony partially calcined. ”

“ So far as we could ascertain, there could not have been more than one, or at the most two grains of tartarised antimony in the arrow-root, of which not much more than three parts was eaten. I cannot account for the violent action of so small a quantity. I have frequently administered much larger doses in cases of inflammation of the lungs without ill effect. Two grains is by no means an unusual dose when intended to act as an emetic; but the action of antimony varies greatly with different constitutions. ”

“ This opinion, contradicted by the general voice of mineralogical and chymical writers, since it is not supported by more convincing proofs, should not have been published in a book intended for the use of every pupil in pharmacy; if the prevailing opinion of the poisonous quality of antimony should be erroneous, it cannot affect the lives of mankind, but if it is well founded, what words can express the dangerous tendency of a false doctrine so universally propagated! ”

“ I shall be the first, says he, to protest and exclaim against those, who, being [22] ignorant of the method of preparation, give poisons to mankind, for mercury, orpiment, and antimony are poisonous, and will ever remain so, unless they are fitly prepared [15] : and again, If antimony is given without being prepared, it will quickly kill the patient [16] . ”

“ The antimony, which enters into the composition of many fire-works, is not to be understood to be the metallic, or regulus of, antimony, unless so expressed; but the crude antimony of the shops. Crude antimony is a combination of antimony and sulphur, and is usually met with in fine powder. That both antimony and its sulphuret have a powerful effect in modifying the flame of gunpowder, and all compositions, in which nitre and inflammable substances form a part, is evident from the many cases, in which it is employed, and from the effects that thereby result. ”

“ There is, in many instances, a strong analogy not only between antimony and orpiment, but the more virulent poison of white arsenic; and those who have been bold enough to use that poisonous mineral as a medicine, have found, in its preparations, a more certain and efficacious remedy than in those of antimony. ”

“ When steam is made to pass over ignited antimony, the decomposition of the water is so rapid, as to produce a violent detonation. At a white heat, it burns, and forms a white coloured oxide, called the argentine flowers of antimony. Its oxides are various, some of which, possessing acid properties, are called acids. The protoxide is gray, the antimonious acid, white, and antimonic acid, of a straw colour. The crocus of antimony, and the glass of antimony are oxides of this metal, but in particular states of combination. ”

“ Among the delusions of the present age, one of the most dangerous is the universal belief of the perfect innocence and superlative efficacy of antimony. The extensive use of this mineral demands our particular attention, since it not only obtains among regular physicians, but has been generally adopted in domestic practice. But if its reputation shall appear to have been raised by falsehood or misrepresentation, it becomes us to resist that tyrannical fashion by which it hath been established. ”

“ For example, in making some experiments on the properties of antimony, or stibium, as it was then called, it was found that when given to the swine in their food it increased their fatness with surprising rapidity. But when it was administered to some half-starved monks the poor fellows were every one killed. Hence the modern name of antimony, from anti, against, and moine, a monk. It may also be added that antimony, whether used as a medicine or in the composition of printer's type for the dissemination of truth is equally unhealthy for sectarian bigots of every description. ”

“ In fact, antimony has the appearance, lustre, and many of the characteristic properties of the metals. Its oxide, Sb2O3, exhibits the earthy appearance of rust or of lime, and has distinctly basic properties, although it corresponds with nitrous and phosphorous anhydride, and is able, like them, to give saline compounds with bases. At the same time antimony presents, in the majority of its compounds, an entire analogy with phosphorus and arsenic. Its compounds belong to the type SbX3 and SbX5. It is found in nature chiefly in the form of sulphide, Sb2S3. ”

“ Hydrogenium antimoniatum, L. A gaseous compound of antimony and hydrogen, prepared by dissolving an alloy of antimony with a large excess of zinc in hydrochloric or dilute sulphuric acid. It has never been obtained pure, a variable proportion of free hydrogen being always present. It burns with a bluish-white flame, giving rise to dense fumes of teroxide of antimony, and when conducted through a red-hot tube, or the flame is thrown on a cold surface, as a porcelain plate, metallic antimony is deposited. This gas is a deadly poison when inhaled. ”

“ Antimony is a mineral made of the vapour of the Earth changed into water, which spiritual syderal Transmutation is the true Astrum of Antimony; which water, by the stars first, afterwards by the Element of Fire which resides in the Element of Air, is extracted from the Elementary Earth, and by coagulation formally changed into a tangible essence, in which tangible essence is found very much of Sulphur predominating, of Mercury not so much, and of Salt the least of the three. ”

“ Antimony is prepared in a state of greater purity by heating with charcoal the oxide obtained by the action of nitric acid on the impure commercial metallic antimony. This is based on the fact that by the action of the acid, antimony forms the oxide Sb2O3, which is but slightly soluble in water. The arsenic, which is nearly always present, forms soluble arsenious and arsenic acids, and remains in solution. The purest antimony is easily obtained from tartar emetic, by heating it with a small quantity of nitre. Metallic antimony also occurs, although rarely, native ”

“ Basil Valentine, if he really lived in the Middle Ages, and is not merely a name for a writer of the early sixteenth century, as modern historians seem inclined to think, suggested the use of antimony for the removal of the materies morbi from the body that has so much obsessed physicians for many generations. Antimony continued to be used down to the nineteenth century. ”

“ But this matter is very differently represented by Basil Valentine himself. Let mankind, says he, be instructed, that antimony not only purifies and refines gold, and frees it from all metals and every foreign matter, but accomplishes the same in men and cattle by its innate virtue. I shall explain this by a rude experiment. If a farmer should set apart any animal, a hog for instance, to be fed, let him give the animal half a drachm of antimony, for two or three days, mixed with his food, so that he may be purged, by which he will not only acquire an appetite and become sooner fat ”

“ Chymical Dictionary on the Ores of Antimony.
[33] Cronstedt’s Essay toward a System of Mineralogy, translated by Da Costa. London, 1772.
[34] Compare Glauber’s account of the effect of orpiment cups, in page 31, with that of essence of antimony in the fourth section.
[35] Mais quelquefois il se (antimoine) rencontre avec des sels acides qui l’ouvrent, (dans l’estomach, et dans les intestines) luy donnent une nouvelle fermentation, et lui sont produire des super-purgations incommodes. Traîte de l’antimoine, par M. Nicholas Lemery, p. 7.
[36] Dr. James’s, in his Dispensatory, page 285. ”

“ No further particulars being given us, we were left to suppose that he had not died a natural death. There was no natural cause to account for death, and finding antimony existing throughout the body, we thought it might have been caused by antimony. An analysis cannot be made effectually without information.
You think it necessary before you can rely upon an analysis to have received a long statement of the symptoms before death?—A short statement will do. ”

“ The simple infusion of crocus, glass, or regulus of antimony in wine, if not more efficacious, is at least less dangerous than those preparations which are made by more elaborate chymical processes, since the accuracy and attention of those who prescribe it, will not so readily be defeated by the carelessness or ignorance of an operative chymist. But though it may be given with greater safety than other antimonials, yet the extravagant encomiums bestowed upon it are contradicted by the testimony of the faithful, attentive and judicious Sydenham. ”

“ But much prudence and skill are requisite in conducting the operation of these compound medicines. For tho’ no danger were to be apprehended from joining antimonials with emetics or purgatives, yet, by unskilful combinations, [68] the peculiar efficacy of antimony may be destroyed; and by opiates those virulent particles may be retained, and prove noxious, which would have been carried off, without any other inconvenience than what might arise from the violence of their operation. ”

“ ANTIMONY is a compact metallic substance of brilliant and slightly bluish white colour, destitute of ductility, and about seven times heavier than water.
Its texture is laminated, the plates crossing each other in almost every different direction. It is as hard as silver, and so brittle that it may easily be reduced to powder, in a mortar.
In the state of the Connecticut, North America, it is said that antimony, in a pure metallic form, is found in such abundance that, in some places, large masses of it may be seen lying on the surface of the ground. ”

“ Antimony Trioxide occurs ready formed in nature as white antimony or antimony bloom. It is very simply prepared by burning the metal in air, when it forms soft needles with a silvery lustre. It is only necessary to heat melted antimony to a little above its melting point in a crucible placed in a slanting position, when the metal takes fire and burns with a blue flame. Nitric acid converts metallic antimony very quickly into antimony oxide with a copious evolution of brown fumes. ”

“ Crocus of antimony is made by deflagrating equal parts of antimony and nitre: it operates as a violent emetic when given from two to six grains. A preparation of this kind, recommended to the London College of Physicians by one of their own members, [52] under the title of milder crocus of antimony, as a medicine of mild operation and eminently efficacious, was inserted in their Dispensatory ”

“ And that the order in which these substances heat and cool, is antimony, bismuth, tin, lead, silver, zinc, gold, copper, emery and iron, in which there are two things that do not appear to perfectly agree with the order of fusibility.
First, Antimony, which, according to Newton, should heat and cool slower than lead, since by his experiments it requires ten degrees of the same heat to fuse, of which eight are sufficient for lead; whereas by my experiments antimony is found to heat and cool quicker than lead. ”

“ When metallic antimony is fused upon charcoal, and the metallic bead raised to a red heat, if the blast be suspended, the fluid bead remains for some time at this temperature, giving off opaque white fumes, which are at first deposited on the surrounding charcoal, and then upon the bead itself, covering it with white, pearly crystals. The phenomenon is dependent upon the fact, that the heated button of antimony, in absorbing oxygen from the air, developes sufficient heat to maintain the metal in a fluid state, until it becomes entirely covered with crystals of antimonious acid so formed. ”