An autopsy case of acute selenium (selenious acid) poisoning and selenium levels in human tissues

A case of fatal suicidal ingestion of "Super Blue (Gun Blue)" (gun-blueing) is presented. Post-mortem examination of the patient revealed pulmonary edema with pleural effusion and congestion of the kidney. Necrosis of proximal tubules was found in the kidney by histological examination. "Super Blue" contains 4% selenious acid and 2.5% cupric sulfate in HCl. Levels of selenium and copper in tissues of the toxic case and normal individuals were determined. The selenium levels of tissues of the patient were 9-90-fold higher than that of normal subjects, whereas concentrations of copper were about 2-fold compared to that of control levels. The highest levels of selenium in the tissues of the patient were found in the lung, kidney and stomach contents.