A TOXICOLOGICAL STUDY OF SOME ALCOHOLS, WITH ESPECIAL REFERENCE TO ISOMERS

¹ From the Pharmacological Laboratory, the Johns Hopkins University

1. The toxicity of the normal alcohols—methyl, ethyl, butyl and amyl—increases with their place in the aliphatic series, as indicated by the lethal dosage for cats, and by their effects on isolated frogs' hearts and plain muscle preparations.

2. The secondary propyl, butyl and amyl alcohols were found to be less toxic than the corresponding primary alcohols.

3. In discussing the toxicity of alcohols, a distinction should be made between the acute or immediate, and the secondary or remote effects of the drugs, as is well illustrated by the studies on methyl and benzyl alcohols.