Arsenicals are

chemical compound A chemical compound is a chemical substance composed of many identical molecules (or molecular entities) containing atoms from more than one chemical element held together by chemical bonds. A molecule consisting of atoms of only one element ...

s that contain

arsenic Arsenic is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol As and atomic number 33. It is a metalloid and one of the pnictogens, and therefore shares many properties with its group 15 neighbors phosphorus and antimony. Arsenic is not ...

. In a military context, the term arsenical refers to toxic arsenic compounds that are used as chemical warfare agents. This includes blister agents,

blood agent A blood agent is a toxic chemical agent that affects the body by being absorbed into the blood. Blood agents are fast-acting, potentially lethal poisons that typically manifest at room temperature as volatile colorless gases with a faint odor. ...

s and

vomiting agent Vomiting agents are chemical weapon agents causing vomiting Vomiting (also known as emesis, puking and throwing up) is the forceful expulsion of the contents of one's stomach through the mouth and sometimes the nose. Vomiting can be the ...

s. Historically, they were used extensively as

insecticides Insecticides are pesticides used to kill insects. They include ovicides and larvicides used against insect eggs and larvae, respectively. The major use of insecticides is in agriculture, but they are also used in home and garden settings, in ...

, especially lead arsenate.

Examples

Blister agents

Ethyldichloroarsine Ethyldichloroarsine, sometimes abbreviated as "ED" and "CY" and also known as ethyl Dick, is an organoarsenic compound with the formula CH3CH2AsCl2. This colourless volatile liquid is a highly toxic obsolete vesicant or blister agent that was use ...

Lewisite Lewisite (L) (A-243) is an organoarsenic compound. It was once manufactured in the United States, Japan, Germany and the Soviet Union for use as a Chemical warfare, chemical weapon, acting as a vesicant (blister agent) and lung irritant. Although ...

Methyldichloroarsine Methyldichloroarsine, sometimes abbreviated "MD" and also known as methyl Dick, is an organoarsenic compound with the formula CH3AsCl2. This colourless volatile liquid is a highly toxic vesicant that has been used in chemical warfare. History G ...

* Phenyldichloroarsine

Blood agents

Arsine Arsine (IUPAC name: arsane) is an inorganic compound with the formula As H3. This flammable, pyrophoric, and highly toxic pnictogen hydride gas is one of the simplest compounds of arsenic. Despite its lethality, it finds some applications in th ...

Vomiting agents

Adamsite Adamsite or DM is an organic compound; technically, an arsenical diphenylaminechlorarsine, that can be used as a riot control agent. DM belongs to the group of chemical warfare agents known as vomiting agents or sneeze gases. First synthesized ...

* Diphenylchlorarsine * Diphenylcyanoarsine * Phenyldichloroarsine

References

Arsenic compounds Chemical weapons Poisons {{Chem-compound-stub