Poisoning With the Lethal War Gases

The most important members of the group of lethal gases are chlorin, phosgen and chlorpicrin. These substances are alike in that they act on the respiratory tract, producing edema and congestion. Chlorin acts with extreme rapidity. The toxic action of phosgen is slower, probably because, to produce its effects, it must undergo chemical change. This fact has earned for phosgen the name of having a delayed action. Chlorpicrin appears to stand somewhere between chlorin and phosgen, both in regard to the type of influence provoked and in the rate of production of intensive edema. From an extensive investigation, on dogs and goats, of the acute effects of gassing, it is quite evident that the detrimental influence of these gases is confined to the respiratory tract and that all other effects must be regarded as secondary, since it has been impossible to determine the absorption of these gases into the blood