Hot dog? Toxicological concerns and The Hound of the Baskervilles.
The terrifying dog in the Hound of the Baskervilles is described as having 'blazing eyes' and a 'luminous muzzle', appearances attributed by Watson and Holmes to the application of phosphorus. Review of the toxicity and flammability of white phosphorus make this improbable. It is suggested that Conan Doyle's description was probably influenced by knowledge of the recent and much publicized discovery of luminescence due to the radioactivity of uranium salts.
Department of Toxicology, University of London, London, UK. a.dayan@toxic.u-net.com
Anthony D
AD
Dayan
D000818:Animals; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000266:history*; D004285:Dogs; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D008093:Literature, Modern; D049449:Luminescence; D008513:Medicine in Literature; D010758:Phosphorus / Q000266:history* / Q000633:toxicity; D011851:Radioactivity; D017974:Uranium Compounds / Q000266:history / Q000633:toxicity
D017974:Uranium Compounds; D010758:Phosphorus