Abstract
OBSERVATIONS have been published from time to time concerning the existence of alkaloid-like substances in exhumed corpses. These substances appear to be produced in organised matter which, after brief exposure, has been kept out of contact with air. A summary of these observations and a discussion on their bearing on toxicological examinations is given by Husemann in a recent number of Archiv für Pharmacie. Substances having different physiological actions appear to be produced at various stages of decay of flesh or vegetable matter. A substance resembling atropine in its action has been separated from an anatomical maceration fluid by Sonnenschein, and this same substance has been found in the bodies of persons who have died from typhus fever.
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Chemical Notes. Nature 23, 469–470 (1881). https://doi.org/10.1038/023469a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/023469a0