ALDEHYDE.
Hydrate of oxide of acetyl.
J. Y. Simpson, M.D., Pharm. Journ., vol. vii, 1848, p. 517.
Out of five of us that attempted to inhale Aldehyde, very carefully
prepared and purified, four were driven to suspend the respiration of it in consequence of
the coughing and insufferable feelings of dyspnœa which it immediately induced. The
sensations of difficult respiration and constriction in the chest which the vapor produced,
resembled precisely those of a severe fit of spasmodic asthma. In the fifth case, the
experimentalist, after perseveringly breathing the Aldehyde for a minute or two, became
entirely insensible; the state of anæsthesia lasted for two or three minutes, during which
the pulse excessively small and feeble. On recovering, the bronchial constriction and
coughing, which had disappeared as the anæsthesia was induced, returned immediately, and
was annoying for some time.® 2000
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