Abridgment of effects of electric shock

This paper describes an investigation of the effects of electric shock on the central nervous system. A total of 286 rats was employed in the investigation. These were shocked at 110, 220, 500, and 1000 volts on both alternating- and continuous-current circuits for varying lengths of time. In each series the duration of the shock was increased until it was found impossible to resuscitate the rats. When possible, the rats were resuscitated by means of artificial respiration and kept alive for about a week. Then they were killed by an overdose of ether and an autopsy was immediately made. The rats reacted in entirely different manner on the two types of circuit; at the lower voltages the alternating current was deadlier than the continuous, but at the high voltage, the opposite was found to be the case. In many instances the rats were paralyzed by the application of the current and at autopsy in the majority of these animals gross hemorrhages were found in the spinal cord. All of the deaths that occurred as a result of the shock were caused by respiratory failure, which usually could be traced to an injury of the central nervous system. In some cases the electric current produced peculiar effects upon the rats.