Table 2 Comparative table between symptoms of absinthism and alcoholism according to animal experiments of Amory (1868) [38].
From: Absinthism: a fictitious 19th century syndrome with present impact
Absinthism (Injection of pure wormwood extract (0.8–4.5 g) into the stomach of different animals) | Alcoholism (Injection of alcohol (0.8–5 g) into the stomach of different animals) |
|---|---|
Animal perfectly well for fifteen minutes, at the least after the ingestion; with the exception of a few muscular twichings and a slight uneasiness. | In a very few minutes symptoms of inebriation resulting in torpor. |
Musuclar agitation, commencing in the anterior portion of the body. | Paralysis, commencing in posterior extremities, and then extending to the anterior. |
No paralysis. | Paralysis of both posterior and anterior extremities in succession. |
Epileptiform convulsions and rigidity, resulting in a rapid death. | No convulsions. Stupor, coma, resolution and a gradual death. |
No apparent lesion, except, perhaps a slight cerebral congestion, showing the cause of death to be intoxication of the poison. | Lesions of the brain and of the alimentary canal; gastritis and enteritis might have supervened, had the animals lived long enough for their development |