_Symptoms._--Burning pain in mouth, throat, and gullet, strong acid,
metallic or alkaline taste; retching and vomiting, the discharged
matters containing shreds of mucus, blood, and the lining membrane of
the passages. Inside of mouth corroded. There are also dysphagia,
thirst, dyspnoea, small and frequent pulse, anxious expression, shock.
Death may result from shock, destruction of the parts--_e.g._,
perforation of stomach or duodenum, suffocation; or some weeks
subsequently death may be due to cicatricial contraction of the gullet,
stomach, or pylorus.
_Post-Mortem Appearances._--Those of corrosion, with corrugation from
strong contraction of muscular fibres, and followed by inflammation and
its consequences. The mouth, gullet, and stomach, and in some cases the
intestines, may be white, yellow, or brown, shrivelled and corroded. The
corrosions may be small, or may extend over a very large surface.
Sometimes considerable portions of the lining membrane of the gullet or
stomach may be discharged by vomiting or by stool. Beyond the corroded
parts the textures are acutely inflamed. The stomach is filled with a
yellow, brown, or black gelatinous liquid or black blood, and may in
rare cases be perforated.
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