Forensic Toxicology
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History of Toxicology 525 History of Toxicology
HISTORY OF TOXICOLOGY 525 HISTORY OF TOXICOLOGY A Aggrawal, Maulana Azad Medical College, and legend of poison have been linked to hunting, New Delhi, India crime, punishment, politics, romance, and, of course, ß 2005, Elsevier Ltd. All Rights Reserved. medicine and the development of antidotes. Toxicology has been known from very early times in all cultures. According to Indian mythology and tra- Introduction dition, the origin of poisons is attributed to Lord Brahma, who is one of the Holy Trinity of Indian The word ‘‘poison’’ immediately conjures up images of gods (the Hindu Holy Trinity comprises Lord cloak-and-dagger conspiracies, diabolically sneering Brahma, the creator of the universe; Lord Vishnu, poisoners, unfaithful and murderous wives, mad and the preserver; and Lord Shiva, the destroyer of the cruel kings, and greedy nieces and nephews. No other universe). It is said that after the creator of the uni- single subject has a history as full of intrigue and ro- verse was offended by a devil (asura) named Kaitabha, mance as that of poison. As is the case with every he created poison to kill him. He was, no doubt, subject, the study of the history of poisons provides successful in destroying the demon with his new weap- valuable insights. The oft-quoted maxim ‘‘those who on, but its evil spread over the whole world. So much do not study history may be condemned to repeat it,’’ so that, to minimize its bad effects, Brahma had to applies very aptly to poisons. distribute it through the vegetable, animal, and miner- What exactly is a poison? A poison can be defined al kingdom and also create its antidote. -
Managing Uncertainty in the Academy and the Courtroom
Managing Uncertainty in the Academy and the Courtroom Normal Arsenic and Nineteenth-Century Toxicology By José Ramón Bertomeu Sánchez* ABSTRACT This essay explores how the enhanced sensitivity of chemical tests sometimes produced unforeseen and puzzling problems in nineteenth-century toxicology. It focuses on the earliest uses of the Marsh test for arsenic and the controversy surrounding “normal arsenic”—that is, the existence of traces of arsenic in healthy human bodies. The essay follows the circulation of the Marsh test in French toxicology and its appearance in the academy, the laboratory, and the courtroom. The new chemical tests could detect very small quantities of poison, but their high sensitivity also offered new opportunities for imaginative defense attorneys to undermine the credibility of expert witnesses. In this context, toxicologists had to dispel the uncertainty associated with the new method and come up with arguments to refute the many possible criticisms of their findings, among them the appeal to normal arsenic. Meanwhile, new descriptions of animal experiments, autopsies, and cases of poisoning produced a steady flow of empirical data, sometimes supporting but in many cases questioning previous conclusions about the reliability of the chemical tests. This challenging scenario provides many clues about the complex interaction between science and the law in the nineteenth century, particularly how expert authority, credibility, and trustworthiness were constructed, and frequently challenged, in the courtroom. * Institute for the History of Medicine and Science “López Piñero,” Palau Cervero, Plaça Cisneros, 4, 46003 Valencia, Spain; [email protected]. This essay was part of a larger study on nineteenth-century toxicology supported by the Spanish government (HAR2009-12918-C03-03). -
Page De Garde
Raymond François Denis Pontier (1788-1854) Tribulations d’un médecin militaire de haut lignage * par Pierre VAYRE ** Chirurgien militaire du Premier Empire, Restauration et Second Empire, R.F.D. Pontier est né à Uzerche le 9 octobre 1788. Son acte de baptême a été détruit par le grand incendie de la mairie d’Uzerche. Son père est Jean IV Pontier (1749-1804), avocat, fils de Pierre III Pontier et Marie Jarrige de Lamorélie. Sa mère, Jeanne Besse du Peyrat (1758-1801), est fille de François Besse du Peyrat, écuyer, conseiller du roi, greffier en chef du bureau des finances de Limoges (Haute-Vienne) et de Henriette du Burguet de Chauffaille. C’est Jeanne Besse du Peyrat qui apporte dans la famille le célèbre “château Pontier” qui était auparavant “la maison des Besse du Peyrat”, forteresse du XVème siè- cle utilisée lors des guerres de religion. R.F.D. Pontier est le sixième enfant d’une fratrie de huit dont : - Henri-Joseph, receveur des finances à la Châtre, qui a été le propriétaire de Château Pontier jusqu’à son décès en 1851. - Martine-Rose (1780-1852), qui se marie le 7 août 1805 avec Pierre IV Brugère né le 8 novembre 1781 à Saint-Martin Sepert (Corrèze) dont les descendants sont le docteur Paul Brugère et son neveu, le général Henri-Joseph Brugère. - Louise Pontier, épouse de Barthélémy Materre qui fut blessé de jambe à Eylau, soigné par Dominique Larrey et dont le fils Joseph est le cousin germain du docteur Paul Brugère (1818-1897), oncle du général Henri-Joseph Brugère, chef du cabinet militaire du Président Sadi Carnot. -
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i Compound Histories © Lissa Roberts and Simon Werrett, 2018 | doi 10.1163/9789004325562_001 This is an open access chapter distributed under the terms of the CC-BY-NC License. ii Cultural Dynamics of Science Editors Lissa Roberts (Science, Technology and Policy Studies (STePS), University of Twente, The Netherlands) Agustí Nieto-Galan (Centre d’Història de la Ciència (CEHIC) & Facultat de Ciències (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain) Oliver Hochadel (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Institució Milà i Fontanals, Barcelona, Spain) Advisory Board Miruna Achim (Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana–Cuajimalpa, Ciudad de México, CDMX) Warwick Anderson (University of Sydney) Mitchell Ash (Universität Wien) José Ramón Bertomeu-Sánchez (Universitat de Valencia) Paola Bertucci (Yale University) Daniela Bleichmar (University of Southern California) Andreas Daum (University of Buffalo) Graeme Gooday (University of Leeds) Paola Govoni (Università di Bologna) Juan Pimentel (CSIC, Madrid) Stefan Pohl (Universidad del Rosario, Bogotá) Arne Schirrmacher (Humboldt Universität zu Berlin) Ana Simões (Universidade de Lisboa) Josep Simon (Universidad del Rosario, Bogotá) Jonathan Topham (University of Leeds) VOLUME 2 The titles published in this series are listed at brill.com/cds iii Compound Histories Materials, Governance and Production, 1760-1840 Edited by Lissa L. Roberts Simon Werrett LEIDEN | BOSTON iv This is an open access title distributed under the terms of the CC-BY-NC License, which permits any non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, pro- vided the original author(s) and source are credited. Cover illustration: “The Dissolution, or The Alchymist producing an Aetherial Representation.” An alchemist using a crown-shaped bellows to blow the flames of a furnace and heat a glass vessel in which the House of Commons is distilled; satirizing the dissolution of parliament by Pitt. -
Durham E-Theses
Durham E-Theses The analytical chemist in nineteenth century English social history Campbell, W. A. How to cite: Campbell, W. A. (1971) The analytical chemist in nineteenth century English social history, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/9525/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk THE ANALYTICAL CHEMIST IN NINETEENTH CENTURY ENGLISH SOCIAL HISTORY Thasis presented for the degree of Master of Letters in the University of Durhan W. A. CAMPBELL, M. Sc. ,F. R. I. C. Newcastle upon Tyne July 197I The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be published without his prior written consent and information derived from it should be acknowledged. 1 Acknowledgments. It is a pleasure to record thanks to those who have helped in this study, particularly to Dr. -
Arsenic in France. the Cultures of Poison During the First Half of the Nineteenth Century
Arsenic in France 131 Chapter 5 Arsenic in France. The Cultures of Poison During the First Half of the Nineteenth Century José Ramón Bertomeu Sánchez This essay reviews the movement of poisons across different popular, medical and legal cultures during the 1830s and 1840s in France. Many French people at that time felt that they were living in a “wave of poisoning crimes”, mostly per- formed by using arsenic, which was regarded as the “king of poisons” during the nineteenth century. Poisons such as arsenic were common materials employed in everyday life for different purposes in agriculture, industry and medicine. They were also frequent protagonists in popular literature, folk tales, theater plays, and other forms of popular culture. At the same time, many poi- sons were both objects and tools of inquiry in medicine and science. Their composition and deleterious properties had attracted the attention of doctors and natural philosophers since ancient times. With the development of ani- mal experimentation, poisons were increasingly employed as tools for research, whose dramatic physiological effects were employed for investigating the vital functions. From a legal point of view, poisons were criminal tools for perform- ing silent murders, which were very difficult to prove in court. The testimony of regular witnesses was useless due to the secret nature of poisoning crimes, so judges frequently requested the advice of experts in medicine and chemical analysis. Prompted by unexpected situations and puzzling questions, nine- teenth-century toxicological research developed along with criminal investi - gations during poisoning trials.1 The toxic effects of arsenic largely depended on the nature of the compounds, the ingested quantity, the nature of the vic- tim and the dosage (from acute to long-term poisoning). -
History of Forensic Science Kavya Hemanth, Maithri Tharmavaram, and Gaurav Pandey*
3 1 History of Forensic Science Kavya Hemanth, Maithri Tharmavaram, and Gaurav Pandey* Gujarat Forensic Sciences University, Institute of Research and Development, Sector 9, Gandhinagar, 382007, Gujarat, India 1.1 Introduction In ancient world, the king used to decide the culprit and punish them, which were very cruel in nature. These punishments were applied in favor of their exist- ence, just to show how powerful they are. Gradually everything changed; the man with knowledge replaced the king, and punishments were given with respect to the intensity of the crime the culprit had committed. Now when a crime occurs, the court of law decides the culprit, and punishment are based on the evidence and statements produced by the authorized officials in front of the court. During the time of Romans, the incident was narrated in front of the pub- lic. The culprit and the victim were given a chance to deliver their words based on their side of the story to prove their innocence and escape from the punish- ment and further procedures or consequences of committing a crime at that time. The individual with the best argument would win the debate of proving the crime, and based on the points of argument, the public or the people with higher power determine the outcome of the case. Our ancestors applied forensic science in various fields, without knowing the science behind it. Now, forensic science has turned into a wide branch, which is used to solve crimes and in other purposes also. In this chapter we are mainly dis- cussing about the main branches of forensic science that include forensic chemis- try, forensic toxicology, and forensic behavioral science, questioned document, fingerprint forensics, digital forensics, cyber forensics, forensic anthropology, criminology, forensic biology, forensic ballistics, forensic serology, and so on. -
Arsenic in France. the Cultures of Poison During the First Half of the Nineteenth Century
Arsenic in France 131 Chapter 5 Arsenic in France. The Cultures of Poison During the First Half of the Nineteenth Century José Ramón Bertomeu Sánchez This essay reviews the movement of poisons across different popular, medical and legal cultures during the 1830s and 1840s in France. Many French people at that time felt that they were living in a “wave of poisoning crimes”, mostly per- formed by using arsenic, which was regarded as the “king of poisons” during the nineteenth century. Poisons such as arsenic were common materials employed in everyday life for different purposes in agriculture, industry and medicine. They were also frequent protagonists in popular literature, folk tales, theater plays, and other forms of popular culture. At the same time, many poi- sons were both objects and tools of inquiry in medicine and science. Their composition and deleterious properties had attracted the attention of doctors and natural philosophers since ancient times. With the development of ani- mal experimentation, poisons were increasingly employed as tools for research, whose dramatic physiological effects were employed for investigating the vital functions. From a legal point of view, poisons were criminal tools for perform- ing silent murders, which were very difficult to prove in court. The testimony of regular witnesses was useless due to the secret nature of poisoning crimes, so judges frequently requested the advice of experts in medicine and chemical analysis. Prompted by unexpected situations and puzzling questions, nine- teenth-century toxicological research developed along with criminal investi - gations during poisoning trials.1 The toxic effects of arsenic largely depended on the nature of the compounds, the ingested quantity, the nature of the vic- tim and the dosage (from acute to long-term poisoning). -
Tracing the Invisible
Tracing the Invisible The gathering and circulation of forensic knowledge in nineteenth- century Dutch cases of criminal poisoning Master Thesis Cultural History 2014 Amber van Geerestein Student number: 3503925 Supervisor: Willemijn Ruberg Utrecht University 2 Abstract This thesis deals with knowledge practices in nineteenth-century Dutch cases of criminal poisoning involving arsenic. Using theories from Science and Technology Studies, it examines the production and circulation of forensic knowledge. Starting off with a praxiographic approach to the chemical and medical practices involved in these cases, this thesis examines how arsenic was made visible and how it was enacted. Forensic toxicology in particular plays a part in making the invisible visible through science. Applying Mol’s concept of enactment to the forensic investigatory methods will show what arsenic is in the locality and context of a judicial investigation. Subsequently the issue of expertise is addressed; denoting the expert as a social and cultural construct. The expert and the Dutch law both play an important role in the circulation of forensic knowledge; an inhibiting as well as a beneficial one. When examining the circulation of knowledge, this thesis will make use of the STS concepts of ‘contact zones’ and travelling knowledge. 3 4 Content Abstract ................................................................................................................................................... 3 Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... -
Ascanio Sobrero Theodore G
Lessons Learned: Milestones of Toxicology Steven G. Gilbert1 and Antoinette Hayes2 1Institute of Neurotoxicology and Neurological Disorders and 2Pfizer Research, Contact information: Steven G. Gilbert at [email protected] – More information and interactive (clickable) version at www.toxipedia.org – © 2006-2010 Steven G. Gilbert Shen Nung Ebers Papyrus Gula 1400 BCE Homer Socrates Hippocrates Mithridates VI L. Cornelius Sulla Cleopatra Pedanius Mount Vesuvius 2696 BCE 1500 BCE 850 BCE (470-399 BCE) (460-377 BCE) (131-63 BCE) 82 BCE (69-30 BCE) Dioscorides Erupted August 24th Antiquity The Father of Egyptian records Wrote of the Charged with Greek physician, Tested antidotes Lex Cornelia de Experimented (40-90 CE) 79 CE Chinese contain 110 use of arrows religious heresy used observational to poisons on sicariis et with strychnine Greek City of Pompeii and 3000 BCE – 90 CE pages on anatomy Sumerian texts refer to a medicine, noted poisoned with venom in the and corrupting the morals approach to human disease himself and used prisoners veneficis : law and other poisons on pharmacologist and Herculaneum and physiology, toxicology, female deity, Gula. This for tasting 365 herbs and epic tales of The Odyssey of local youth. Death by and treatment, founder of as guinea pigs. Created against poisoning people or prisoners and the poor. Physician; wrote De destroyed and buried spells, and treatment, mythological figure was said to have died of a toxic and The Iliad. From Greek poison hemlock; active modern medicine, named mixtures of substances prisoners; also could not Committed suicide with Materia Medica, basis for by ash. Pliny the Elder recorded on papyrus. -
Histoire De Marie Lafarge
L'amour à l'arsenic DU MÊME AUTEUR A l'aube du féminisme. Les premières journalistes, Payot, 1979. Secrets d'alcôve. Histoire du couple de 1830 à 1930, Hachette, 1983. LAURE ADLER L'amour à l'arsenic Histoire de Marie Lafarge DENOËL Collection DIVERS FAITS © by Editions Denoël, 1985 19, rue de l'Université, 75007 Paris ISBN 2-207-23179-8 Pour Rémi « Avant qu'elle se mariât, elle avait cru avoir de l'amour; mais le bonheur qui aurait dû résulter de cet amour n'étant pas venu, il fallait qu 'elle se fût trompée, son- geait-elle. Et Emma cherchait à savoir ce que l'on entendait au juste dans la vie par les mots de félicité, de passion et d'ivresse qui lui avaient paru si beaux dans les livres. » GUSTAVE FLAUBERT, Madame Bovary. Elle est brune, belle, adorable. Un visage d'un ovale parfait, un teint d'une blancheur exquise, une voix sublime. Elle est intelligente, cultivée, douée d'un désir fou de vivre et d'aimer. Elle rêve d'un amour total, violent, éternel, un amour qui transfigurerait sa vie. Élevée dans un milieu huppé, à l'abri des adversités, elle imagine son avenir comme une longue suite radieuse de bals éblouissants et de promenades romantiques au bras de son prince charmant. Les hasards de la vie en décideront autrement. En fait de prince charmant, elle sera vendue à un petit- bourgeois inculte et épais. Vendue pour son argent et vendue rapidement. Car Marie, à vingt ans passés, a eu le tort, dans la France bourgeoise de 1840, de n'être toujours pas mariée. -
Mechanisms of Chemical Generation of Volatile Hydrides for Trace Element Determination (IUPAC Technical Report)*
Pure Appl. Chem., Vol. 83, No. 6, pp. 1283–1340, 2011. doi:10.1351/PAC-REP-09-10-03 © 2011 IUPAC, Publication date (Web): 16 March 2011 Mechanisms of chemical generation of volatile hydrides for trace element determination (IUPAC Technical Report)* Alessandro D’Ulivo1,‡, Jiří Dědina2, Zoltan Mester3, Ralph E. Sturgeon3, Qiuquan Wang4, and Bernhard Welz5 1National Research Council of Italy (C.N.R.), Institute of Chemistry of Organometallic Compounds, C.N.R., Via G. Moruzzi, 1 56124 Pisa, Italy; 2Institute of Analytical Chemistry of the ASCR, v.v.i., Veveří 97, 602 00 Brno, Czech Republic; 3Institute for National Measurement Standards, N.R.C. Canada, 1200 Montreal Road, Ottawa, ON K1A 0R6, Canada; 4College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, Key Laboratory of Analytical Sciences, Xiamen 361005, China; 5Department of Chemistry, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianòpolis-SC 88040-900, Brazil Abstract: Aqueous-phase chemical generation of volatile hydrides (CHG) by derivatization with borane complexes is one of the most powerful and widely employed methods for deter- mination and speciation analysis of trace and ultratrace elements (viz. Ge, Sn, Pb, As, Sb, Bi, Se, Te, Hg, Cd, and, more recently, several transition and noble metals) when coupled with atomic and mass spectrometric detection techniques. Analytical CHG is still dominated by erroneous concepts, which have been disseminated and consolidated within the analytical scientific community over the course of many years. The overall approach to CHG has thus remained completely empirical, which hinders possibilities for further development. This report is focused on the rationalization and clarification of fundamental aspects related to CHG: (i) mechanism of hydrolysis of borane complexes; (ii) mechanism of hydrogen trans- fer from the borane complex to the analytical substrate; (iii) mechanisms through which the different chemical reaction conditions control the CHG process; and (iv) mechanism of action of chemical additives and foreign species.