[Fatal arsenic trichloride poisoning (author's transl)]

Report on a 24-year-old chemical engineer who committed suicide by means of arsenic trichloride. The clinical course and the autopsy findings are discussed briefly. The results of the toxicological examination leave no doubt as to an acute arsenic poisoning. In addition to this, extreme corrosion was found, especially in the region of the oesophagus. If an anamnesis on this patient had not been present one would probably have been satisfied with a diagnosis of acid poisoning and the possibility of intoxication by arsenic would not have been taken into consideration. This case indicates that especially where persons come into contact professionally with chemical and drugs, the chemo-toxicological examinations cannot cover too braod a spectrum.