Chloroform Research Paper
History
Chloroform also known as trichloromethane, had been in use as an anesthetic since 1861 when the American Civil War. Chloroform quickly became the favorite for military doctors because it was non-flammable and it took action quickly. Chloroform was first made in 1831 by American chemist Dr. Samuel Guthrie,whose intention was to create a cheap pesticide. It was first used as an anesthetic in 1847 by a Scottish physician named Sir James Young Simpson. Doctors were all for the use of Chloroform, but patients weren’t all too thrilled with the idea of “being put to sleep”, which caused them to hyperventilate or hold their breath and get a concentrated lungful. This could lead to cardiac arrest and death. Using Chloroform was “as safe as ice skating or …show more content…
sea-bathing”.
In 1853, the drug was given to Queen Victoria for the birth of her son, after this the drug became more popular with the masses. Chloroform was used through the 1940’s ,it later began to decline as newer and safer anesthetics were introduced, Chloroform is no longer used in surgery today due to its unpredictable nature. Chloroform was used in a number crime fiction works such as A Tale of Two Cities and at least three Sherlock Holmes stories. Chloroform aided multiple crimes from incapacitating a person to rob or rape to murder. It became borderline cliche for criminal use due to its popularity in crime fiction. What made Chloroform more popular than other poisons was that there was no way to find evidence of it in a corpse. Chloroform has since gone out of style as a criminal aid.It is now used mainly in the preparation of fluorocarbons, used in aerosol propellants and refrigerants; it is also found in some cough and cold medicines, dental products, topical liniments and other
products.
Effects
Breathing about 900 parts of chloroform in a million parts of air for a short period of time can cause dizziness, fatigue, and headaches.When inhaled or imbibed Chloroform can affect the central nervous system(brain), liver, and kidneys. If touched to the skin Chloroform can cause sores. Chloroform can render a person unconscious or dead if a large enough amount is inhaled. It is unknown if Chloroform can cause harmful reproductive effects or birth defects in people, though miscarriages occurred in rats and mice that breathed air containing elevated levels (30 to 300 ppm) of chloroform during pregnancy and in rats that ate chloroform during pregnancy. The rats who ate food or drank water that had large amounts of chloroform for a long period of time ended up developing cancer in their livers and kidneys. It is unknown if humans would have the same effects.
Treatments
Chloroform leaves the body very quickly.Though there is no way to determine the level of your exposure, if someone is suffering from Chloroform poisoning they would go through a process of detoxification, to remove the toxins from the body. If a person is suffering from Chloroform addiction they would go through detoxification and lots of counseling and therapy.
Detection
You can measure the amount of Chloroform in the air you breathe out, and in blood urine, and body tissues, but you cannot determine how much Chloroform you have been exposed to. There is no way to detect Chloroform in a corpse, it makes doing an autopsy on Chloroform victim useless. With animals killed with Chloroform ,the compound could be detected in their tissues (in the brain) for a minimum of four weeks.
Chloroform also known as trichloromethane, had been in use as an anesthetic since 1861 when the American Civil War. Chloroform quickly became the favorite for military doctors because it was non-flammable and it took action quickly. Chloroform was first made in 1831 by American chemist Dr. Samuel Guthrie,whose intention was to create a cheap pesticide. It was first used as an anesthetic in 1847 by a Scottish physician named Sir James Young Simpson. Doctors were all for the use of Chloroform, but patients weren’t all too thrilled with the idea of “being put to sleep”, which caused them to hyperventilate or hold their breath and get a concentrated lungful. This could lead to cardiac arrest and death. Using Chloroform was “as safe as ice skating or …show more content…
sea-bathing”.
In 1853, the drug was given to Queen Victoria for the birth of her son, after this the drug became more popular with the masses. Chloroform was used through the 1940’s ,it later began to decline as newer and safer anesthetics were introduced, Chloroform is no longer used in surgery today due to its unpredictable nature. Chloroform was used in a number crime fiction works such as A Tale of Two Cities and at least three Sherlock Holmes stories. Chloroform aided multiple crimes from incapacitating a person to rob or rape to murder. It became borderline cliche for criminal use due to its popularity in crime fiction. What made Chloroform more popular than other poisons was that there was no way to find evidence of it in a corpse. Chloroform has since gone out of style as a criminal aid.It is now used mainly in the preparation of fluorocarbons, used in aerosol propellants and refrigerants; it is also found in some cough and cold medicines, dental products, topical liniments and other
products.
Effects
Breathing about 900 parts of chloroform in a million parts of air for a short period of time can cause dizziness, fatigue, and headaches.When inhaled or imbibed Chloroform can affect the central nervous system(brain), liver, and kidneys. If touched to the skin Chloroform can cause sores. Chloroform can render a person unconscious or dead if a large enough amount is inhaled. It is unknown if Chloroform can cause harmful reproductive effects or birth defects in people, though miscarriages occurred in rats and mice that breathed air containing elevated levels (30 to 300 ppm) of chloroform during pregnancy and in rats that ate chloroform during pregnancy. The rats who ate food or drank water that had large amounts of chloroform for a long period of time ended up developing cancer in their livers and kidneys. It is unknown if humans would have the same effects.
Treatments
Chloroform leaves the body very quickly.Though there is no way to determine the level of your exposure, if someone is suffering from Chloroform poisoning they would go through a process of detoxification, to remove the toxins from the body. If a person is suffering from Chloroform addiction they would go through detoxification and lots of counseling and therapy.
Detection
You can measure the amount of Chloroform in the air you breathe out, and in blood urine, and body tissues, but you cannot determine how much Chloroform you have been exposed to. There is no way to detect Chloroform in a corpse, it makes doing an autopsy on Chloroform victim useless. With animals killed with Chloroform ,the compound could be detected in their tissues (in the brain) for a minimum of four weeks.