ZV tii LE Cee RN \ — Le WW \\ S YZ ZZ We jthesy _ \ . _. S RQ S RAW WW OOOuA CORNELL UNIVERSITY. THE Roswell P. Flower Library THE GIFT OF ROSWELL P. FLOWER FOR THE USE OF THE N. Y. STATE VETERINARY COLLEGE 18907 2757 Digitized by Microsoft® 59 19 ao. Library ii Veterinary medic | iil Digitized by Microsoft® This book was digitized by Microsoft Corporation in cooperation with Cornell University Libraries, 2007. You may use and print this copy in limited quantity for your personal purposes, but may not distribute or provide access fo it (or modified or partial versions of it) for revenue-generating or other commercial purposes. Digitized by Microsoft® Digitized by Microsoft® Digitized by Microsoft® VETERINARY MEDICINES THEIR ACTIONS AND USES Digitized by Microsoft® Printed at the Elinburgh Uwiversity Press By T. and A. Consras_e, OR DAVID DOUGLAS, LONDON SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, HAMILTON, KENT AND CO., LTD. CAMBRIDGE . MACMILLAN AND BOWES, GLASGOW. . . JAMES MACLEHOSE AND SONs. Digitized by Microsoft® VETERINARY MEDICINES THEIR ACTIONS AND USES BY FINLAY DUN FORMERLY LECTURER ON MATERIA MEDICA AND DIETETICS AT THE EDINBURGH VETERINARY COLLEGE, AND EXAMINER IN CHEMISTRY IN THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF VETERINARY SURGEONS EDITED BY JAMES MACQUEEN, F.R.C.V\S. ROYAL VETERINARY COLLEGE, LONDON @enth Edition Ee PRPS We > Vv oS. LIBRARY, | Be -/ 4, AN £/ & NC UNNE™ New York: WILLIAM R. JENKINS, VETERINARY PUBLISHER AND BOOKSELLER, 851 AND 853 SIXTH AVENUE. 1902. Digitized by Microsoft® Digitized by Microsoft® PREFACE TO THE TENTH EDITION A NEw Edition of this standard work on Veterinary Materia Medica has been wanted for some time. Prior to his lamented death, Mr. Finlay Dun, recognising the urgency of the demand, had commenced the preparation of the Tenth Edition, which, on the plans indicated by his ms. and marginal notes, has now been completed. Numerous important alterations, rendered necessary by the publication of the new British Pharmacopeia (1898), have been made and many new remedies have been inserted. The body of the work has been rearranged, and while every article has been revised, no change has been made in the principles enunciated by the author. To provide space for the various additions and alterations without enlarging the volume, the text in places dealing with the Chemistry of Drugs, has been curtailed. Revision has been carried out with a constant regard to practical utility, and in the hope that Dun’s Veterinary Medicines will continue to serve effectually the requirements of students and practitioners. The Editor desires gratefully to acknowledge his in- debtedness to Professor German Sims Woodhead, Cambridge University, for revising and extending the pages on bacteria and antitoxines; and to Professor John F. M‘Fadyean, Principal, Royal Veterinary College, for permission to insert the directions for using mallein, tuberculin, and_black- quarter vaccine. Much valuable information has been Vv Digitized by Microsoft® v1 PREFACE obtained from Guinard’s Thérupeutique et Pharmaco- dynamie (1899), Delaud and Stourbe’s Pharmacie et Toxicologie Vétérinaires (1900), Cagny’s Formulaire des Vétérinaires, Hale White’s Materia Medica (fourth edition), Squire’s Companion to the British Phurmacopwiu (1899), Martindale and Westcott’s Katia Pharmacopwia (ninth edition), Coblentz’s The Newer Remedies (1899), and Hare’s Practical Therapeutics. J. MACQUEEN., RoyaL VETERINARY COLLEGE, Lonpox, 10h April 1901. Digitized by Microsoft® PREFACE TO THE EIGHTH EDITION TuE First Edition of Veterinary Medicines was published in 1854, while I was Lecturer on Materia Medica and Dietetics at the Edinburgh Veterinary College. The work continues a text-book at the British Veterinary Colleges, is used by Veterinarians and Agriculturists, and meets with increasing demand in the United States of America and in the Colonies. The Seventh Edition, published in 1889, has for some time been out of print. The increased bulk of the present volume results from the introduction of the recently discovered antiseptics and antipyretics of the benzol series, and other new remedies; from details of various British and foreign experiments made with alkaloids and other medicines; and from fuller and more systematic treatment of the actions of various important drugs. As in previous editions, the general actions and uses of Veterinary Medicines, and the more important principles and practice of Pharmacy, are dealt with in the Introduction. This preliminary section has been arranged on the plan adopted by Dr. Lauder Brunton in his admirable work on Pharmacology, Therapeutics, and Materia Medica. The several drugs, discussed in alphabetical order according to their English names, occupy the bulk of the volume. Under each individual medicine the space allotted to preparation and properties has been curtailed, while careful revision has been made of the matter relating to the actions on the several domesticated animals, the curative uses, doses, and medicinal forms. vii Digitized by Microsoft® vili PREFACE The Index of Diseases and Remedies, which in former editions was little more than a list of drugs usually pre- scribed in different disorders, has been considerably enlarged, and an endeavour has been made to indicate the nature of each disease, the conditions which dictate the use of particular remedies, and the manner in which they relieve or cure. In preparing the present edition the following works have been consulted:—Dr. Lauder Brunton’s Pharmacology, Therapeutics, and Materia Medica; the late Professor Robertson’s Hqguine Medicine; Professor Williams’ volumes on the Principles and Practice of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery; and the Jowrnal of Comparative Pathology and Therapeutics. Hertwig’s Praktische Arznevmittellehre fiir Thierdrzte, and Moiroud’s Traité Elémentaire de Matiere Médicale et de Pharmacologie Vétérinaire—for many years the standard works on Veterinary Pharmacology in Germany and France respectively—have contributed matter to former editions. Further valuable information has been derived from the Lehrbuch der Arzneimittellehre fiir Thierirate, von Dr. Hugen Frohner, Professor an der K. Thierdrztlichen Hochschule zu Berlin (1890); Tracté Thérapeutique ct de Matiére Médicale Vétérinuires, par M. Kaufmann, Professeur de Physiologie et de Thérapeutique & UEcole Vétérinaire d Alfort (1892); Précis de Thérapeutique de Matiére Médicale et de Pharmacie Vétérinaires, par Paul Cagny, Président de lw Société Centrale de Médecine Vétérinaire (1892); as well as from Pathologie et Thérapeutique Spéciales des Animaux Domestiques, par MM. Dr. Friedberger de Munich et Dr. Fréhner de Berlin, tradwit de Vallemand par MM. P.J. Cadiot et J. N. Ries (1891). FINLAY DUN. Digitized by Microsoft® CONTENTS INTRODUCTION, I. THE ACTIONS AND USES OF MEDICINAL AGENTS, II. VETERINARY MEDICINES, THe ALKALINE Mertats, Ammonium, Porassium, Sopium, THe AuxkatingE Eartus, Catcium, Magnesium, Barium, ALUMINIUM, Tue Metats, Bismuru, Leap, Zinc, Coprer, SILVER, Tron, Antimony, ARsENIc, MERcuRY, Tue Non-Mertaus, PHospHorus, BRomMINE, CHLORINE, Topinz, SULPHUR, AcIpbs, Carzon Compounns, ALcoHoLs, ETHERs, II. MEDICINES DERIVED FROM THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM, : Mepiciyes DeriveD FRoM THE ANIMAL Kinepom, . IV. VETERINARY PHARMACY, INDEX OF DISEASES AND REMEDIES, INDEX OF MEDICINES, Digitized by Microsoft® PAGE 153 161 202 222 304 321 343 426 661 717 779 Digitized by Microsoft® VETERINARY MEDICINES THEIR ACTIONS AND USES INTRODUCTION VETERINARY Materia Mepica, in the extended sense of the term, treats of every agent which is used for the relief or cure of disease or injury, or for the preservation of health, among the domesticated animals. The full con- sideration of a subject so large and diversified would, however, fill several volumes, and the present work has been restricted to the description of drugs, their natural history, characters and properties, their pharmaceutical pre- parations, and their actions and uses among veterinary patients. Medicines or drugs, although derived from the mineral, vegetable, and animal kingdoms, possess many actions in common, and are prepared for use by similar chemical and pharmaceutical processes. In this work the first section is devoted to general observations on Pharmacology, which treats of the actions of drugs, and Therapeutics, or the application of remedies to the cure of disease. A description of the medicines, arranged according to their source, occupies the body of the volume, which is completed by a section on Pharmacy, or the preparation and dispensing of medicines, and an index of diseases and remedies, A Digitized by Microsoft® Secrion I The Actions and Uses of Medicines The general and medical management of the domestic animals has greatly improved during the past forty years. The laws of health, the causes and nature of disease, as well as the actions and uses of remedies have been more fully studied. The beneficent curative effects of fresh air, diet, suitable surroundings and good nursing are more thoroughly realised. Preventive treatment also receives more attention alike from stock-owners and practitioners. Disease accord- ingly is not only less prevalent, but it is generally less serious, and the attacks of shorter duration. In Great Britain such equine maladies as specific ophthalmia, canker of the feet, and mange, are now seldom seen, while colic and inflammation of the bowels are not nearly so common as they were forty years ago. Cattle plague, contagious pleuro- pneumonia, and sheep-pox have been exterminated. The prevalence of glanders or farcy, swine - fever, rabies and bovine tuberculosis should be greatly limited by the measures now being adopted in dealing with these disorders. Fuller and more definite knowledge of the actions of remedial agents has been obtained by systematic experi- ments and clinical observations not only on the lower animals but on man himself. Numerous illustrations might be adduced of the practical benefits of such investigations. Magendie’s experiments with the Java upas antiar and nux vomica demonstrated that these strychnine-containing plants violently stimulate the spinal cord, producing tetanic con- vulsions. In virtue of this stimulation of the cord, and its reflex functions, carefully regulated doses of this drug have been utilised to restore disturbed co-ordination of the gastro-intestinal functions, and to relieve some forms of paralysis. Experiments on animals also have demonstrated the action of digitalis and strophanthus as cardiac stimu- lants, and hence have led to their use in strengthening and Digitized by Microsoft® BACTERIOLOGY 3 steadying the weak and overtaxed heart. It has been proved in the same way that ergot of rye, and its active constituent, ergotin, have the power of causing contraction of the arterioles, hence their employment for the arrest of internal hemorrhage. Belladonna, and its active principle atropine, have been shown to diminish sensibility of the ends of the vagi and sensory nerves, and from this results their value in quieting cardiac irritability, diminishing ex- cessive bronchial secretion, and relieving certain forms of pain. When the precise action of medicines is recognised their practical use is obviously rendered not only safer, but more effective. The Study of Bacteriology within the last twenty years, has done much to throw light on the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of disease both in men and animals, and is apparently destined to do much more. A number of diseases classified as zymotic, and comprising anthrax, glanders, tuberculosis, rabies, strangles, swine - fever, tetanus, with typhoid, eruptive and other fevers, have been shown to depend upon the introduction into the body of micro- organisms belonging to the lower class of vegetable fungi which, in susceptible subjects, multiply rapidly, and pro- duce chemical ferments, alkaloidal poisons, and deadly albumoses. Pasteur, Koch, and others have investigated the life-history of many of these disease-producing microbes, the pathogenic conditions to which they give rise, and the methods by which their invasion may be averted or counter- acted. Microbes, when cultivated in media containing chemicals, or when repeatedly passed by inoculation through the bodies of certain animals, become weakened, and lose their virulence. Attenuated cultures or vaccines, properly em- ployed, confer on certain animals more or less protection against poisonous doses of the natural virus subsequently introduced by infection, or by experimental inoculation. In districts of France, Russia, Austria, and Switzerland, where anthrax abounds, cattle and sheep for many years have been vaccinated with attenuated anthrax virus, the mortality amongst the vaccinated is stated to be less than one-tenth of that which occurs amongst the unvaccinated Digitized by Microsoft® 4 PROTECTIVE VACCINES stock. Sterilised cultivation of hog cholera virus is used in America as a protective against swine plague. Immunity from fowl cholera, and from septicemia, has been similarly secured. Pasteur, by repeated injection of attenuated rabies vaccine, rendered dogs and other animals insusceptible to the action of lethal doses of rabies virus, and Pasteur’s method applied to persons bitten by rabid animals continues to afford protection against hydrophobia in 99 per cent. of the cases timeously submitted to this treatment. Pigeons inoculated with small doses of snake poison for periods of three months withstand seven times the ordinary fatal dose of snake poison. The modified black-quarter virus, obtained by drying and heating the muscle of an animal that has suffered from this disease also exerts a distinct effect in protecting even susceptible animals against attacks of this disease ; whilst cultivations of the swine erysipelas bacillus, when similarly modified by heat, have been used with great success as a protective inoculation agent against the ravages of swine erysipelas (Rouget du pore). The manner in which these vaccines etfect their protective powers has been variously explained, but the most satisfactory view is, that small repeated doses of the cultivated organism or its products modify the functions of the cells on which they specially act, and thus confer upon them a tolerance against deadly doses of the same or allied poisons (Bacteria and their Products, by G.Sims Woodhead, M.D.). Going further than this, however, it must now be recognised as a result of the observations of Behring, Roux, Ehrlich, and numerous later workers, that this tolerance is due in great part to the pro- duction, during the reaction between the cell and the toxine, of an antitoxine which at first stored in the cell, soon over- flows its boundaries and passes into the blood where it appears to be stored up in the fluid elements, always ready to combine with any toxine that may be produced in or introduced into the tissues. This is not the only factor in the resistance, but it is certainly a very important one. From the fact that these antitoxic substances are stored up in the fluid constituents of the blood it has been found possible to produce antitoxine in one animal, and then by Digitized by Microsoft® ANTITOXINES 5 drawing off its blood, and allowing the clot to separate from the serum to obtain a fluid containing a large quantity of antitoxine which injected into a second patient acts upon the toxine neutralising it just as surely and completely as if it were acting upon the original patient. This has gradually developed into a definite system of treatment—the anti- toxine treatment. It has been worked out most thoroughly in diphtheria in the human subject, and in tetanus in veteri- nary medicine ; whilst fair results have also been obtained using a similar method in the treatment of snake poisoning. In Diphtheria, the best results have been obtained (1) because the local lesion, i.e, the false membrane, &c., is usually well marked before the constitutional disturbances, i.e. the toxic effects, make their appearance; and (2) because the poison is not only formed slowly, but takes some time to produce its effects upon the nervous tissues to which it usually attaches itself. To produce diphtheria antitoxine all that is necessary is to inject. subcutaneously the toxic products of the diphtheria bacillus grown in slightly alkaline broth, or still better in broth containing a certain proportion of blood plasma into some animal, preferably a horse. This should be followed by a rise of temperature, and by swelling at the seat of injection. Unless this reaction is obtained no antitoxine will be formed. Gradually increasing doses of the toxine must be injected from time to time, care being taken to obtain a distinct reaction after each injection, and to make the fresh injection before the effects of the last one have completely passed away. After a time it will be found that it is very difficult to obtain a local reaction, or a rise of temperature, even when large quantities of toxine are injected. During the whole of this period it will be found that the antitoxic value of the blood is rising more or less rapidly, and at last there is sufficient antitoxine present to make it valuable for the treatment of diphtheria patients. The antitoxine in the serum injected into a patient suffering from the effects of diphtheria poisoning, combines with the toxine formed by the diphtheria bacillus, and so prevents it from exerting its deleterious action upon the tissues of the patient. The Digitized by Microsoft® 6 SERUM THERAPY diphtheria bacilli, with their poison neutralised, now behave like ordinary non-pathogenetic organisms, and are rapidly destroyed by the tissues, and the patient recovers. In tetanus the principle of production of antitoxine is the same as in diphtheria, but the treatment has not been so successful, because the disease in this case does not manifest itself locally in the first instance, the poison has already attacked the nerve centres before the necessity for treatment makes its appearance. The damage has already been done, and antitoxine, though it can neutralise the poison, and so prevent further damage being done, cannot make good the ravages already carried on. Tetanus antitoxine, however, like diphtheria antitoxine, acts as a most powerful prophy- lactic, and it is in this character that its greatest value as a therapeutic agent must be sought. Calmette’s antivenin has also been found to be of great use in the treatment of snake bite. It is prepared in the same way as are the other antitoxines. By treating a horse with gradually increasing doses of the mixed venom taken from various snakes—cobra, black snake and others, it is found that, if sufficient care be taken to give small enough preliminary doses, and to allow the animal to regain weight and condition after each injection, large doses may be given later; the horse then becomes not only immune against the action of these large doses, but his blood contains an anti- venin which, held in solution in the serum, may be injected into other animals where it acts not only as a prophylactic, but also as a curative agent against snake bite, even of the most virulent types. Serum therapy, or the treatment of disease with these various antitoxic substances, has now taken a recognised place in medicine, and a new vista has been opened up in connection with the treatment of specific infective diseases that are produced by poisons. The products of micro-organisms, however, have been utilised in other most important fashions. Tuberculin (which consists essentially of the products of the tubercle bacillus grown in beef peptone broth containing a five per cent. solution of glycerin, the bacilli destroyed and then Digitized by Microsoft® CLASSIFICATIONS OF MEDICINES 7 filtered out by means of a Pasteur-Chamberland filter, the whole concentrated by evaporation at a low temperature), is now used for the diagnosis of tuberculosis, as it is found that these products, when injected subcutaneously, appear to co-operate with the poisons already in the body, and to cause a reaction of the tissues, and a rise in temperature which, together, give evidence of the presence of a tubercular process. Exactly the same thing happens in the case of mallein, which is prepared in the same way from the glanders bacillus as the tuberculin is prepared from the tubercle bacillus. A small quantity of this substance in- jected subcutaneously in a healthy animal with a normal temperature gives rise to little or no local swelling, and a very slight rise of temperature, whilst a similar quantity in- jected into a horse suffering from glanders gives rise to a local swelling of considerable size, which goes on increasing up to the 18th or 24th hour, or even longer, and is accompanied by a rise of temperature to 104° F. In certain cases where the temperature is high to begin with, even where the disease—tuberculosis or glanders—is well advanced, no characteristic reaction is obtained; but in almost all these cases the diagnosis can be made without the aid of the specific products. It is evident, then, that bacteria are coming to play a greater and greater part in both diagnosis and treatment of disease, just as they have come to play such an important réle in our conception of its production. Classifications of Medicines Medicines are drawn from the three great natural king- doms, and are characterised by various physical and chemical properties: but these characters do not afford sufficiently accurate or definite indications of the actions of drugs on living bodies, and hence are not of much service in practical classifications. The atomic weights of inorganic elements are of little or no value in determining on what organs or in what way inorganic elements and their compounds act as medicines. The soluble salts of the heavy metals are Digitized by Microsoft® 8 CHEMICAL, BOTANICAL, AND certainly generally active poisons, though neither similar chemical composition nor similar chemical reaction neces- sarily confers similar physiological effects. Substances which crystallise in the same form, have, however, somewhat similar actions, and on this isomorphous basis the elements have been arranged into nine groups, in’each of which it is noted that the intensity of action increases with the atomic weight (Dr. Lauder Brunton). The same base, united with different acids, produces salts which exhibit very different actions, as illustrated in the several com- pounds of sodium and potassium. Equally diverse physio- logical effects are produced by compounds resulting from conjoining the same acid with different bases. Such irritant corrosive substances as caustic soda and sulphuric acid, entering into chemical combination, produce a neutral, com- paratively mild saline. Organic, like inorganic, bases are notably modified by the acid radicles with which they unite. Thus, amyl-hydride is an ancsthetic; when oxygen is introduced, as in amyl-alcohol, or amyl-acetate, spasm is added to the anesthesia; amyl-iodide notably increases secretion, while amyl-nitrite lessens arterial pressure. It is hence evident that the action of a compound medicine cannot be inferred from a knowledge of the action of the substances that combine to form it. On the contrary, a compound substance exerts special actions of its own, these depending on the proportion of its components, and upon its own physical qualities. Very important investigations have been made by Pro- fessors Crum Brown, Fraser, Schroff and Jolyet, in artificially modifying the chemical constitution, and thus changing the physiological actions of drugs. When strychnine, brucine and thebaine, which act upon the spinal cord as powerful convulsants, are converted by addition of methyl into methyl-strychnine, methyl-brucine and methyl-thebaine, they act upon the ends of motor nerves as paralysants. Indeed, methyl, when combined with other alkaloids, as quinine, morphine, atropine and codeine, renders these also powerful paralysers of motor nerves. The study of the natural orders of plants affords some Digitized by Microsoft® PHYSIOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATIONS 9 general information as to their physiological actions. Thus, the Ranunculacez furnish many acrid irritants, such as aconite, podophyllum and stavesacre. The Solanacez yield narcotics, such as tobacco and dulcamara; while the sub- order, Atropacee, are paralysers of involuntary muscles. The seeds of many Umbelliferee yield carminative volatile oils. These general botanical characters do not, however, afford sufficient data for the accurate classification of drugs. Edible as well as poisonous plants occur in many natural orders. Plants of different orders and genera sometimes closely resemble each other, while plants of the same genus may have very different properties. Thus, one species of Strychnos yields strychnine, which stimulates the motor centres of the spinal cord, inducing tetanic convulsions, while another yields curare, which paralyses the peripheral endings of motor nerves. But even the same drug some- times yields antagonistic active principles. From opium are obtained the soothing anodyne morphine, the convulsant thebaine, and the emetic apomorphine. Calabar bean yields eserine which depresses, and calabarine which stimulates the spinal cord. Jaborandi yields pilocarpine and its an- tagonist jaborine, the former stimulating, and the latter paralysing the ends of secretory nerves. The grouping of medicines according to their actions has not hitherto been of much more practical value than their chemical or botanical classification. The precise actions of many medicines are only now becoming definitely known. Many, moreover, have a variety of actions, and hence have to be included in several groups. Alcohol, for example, is stimulant, irritant, narcotic, and sedative, as well as nutrient, antiseptic, and antipyretic. Opium is narcotic, anodyne, and hypnotic; but it also stimulates certain patients, and tetanises others. Disregarding the classifications hitherto adopted, students and practitioners will find it advantageous to study the actions of medicines upon the chief organs and functions of the body. Adopting this method, Dr. Lauder Brunton de- votes a large section of his admirable work on Pharmacology, Therapeutics, and Materia Medica to an explanation of the Digitized by Microsoft® 10 ACTIONS OF MEDICINES actions of medicines on protoplasm, muscle, the nervous system, respiration, circulation, digestion, etc.; and following a similar plan this introductory section will be subdivided as under :— Actions of Medicinal Agents. I. Local and general actions: absorption and distribution. II. Elective affinity between drugs and particular tissues or cells: elimination. III. Effects on different classes of patients: IV. Modifying influences of Climate and Temperature, Habit, Idiosyncrasy, Disease, and Surroundings, etc. Curative Systems: Allopathy, Homeopathy. On Protoplasm, Blood, and Low Organisms. Antiseptics: Disinfectants: Deodorisers: Germicides : Antiperiodics. On the Surface of the Body. Counter-irritants: Rubefacients: Vesicants: Pustulants: Caustics: Setons: The Actual Cautery: Astringents: Styptics: Demulcents: Emollients: Diluents. On Muscles. Muscular Poisons: Muscular Stimulants. On the Nervous System. The Brain. Cerebral Stimulants: Exhilarants. Cerebral Depressants: Soporifics: Narcotics: Anodynes: Antispasmodics: Anesthetics. The Spinal Cord. Spinal Stimulants and Depressants. Motor Nerves. Stimulants: Paralysers. Sensory Nerves. Stimulants: Local Sedatives: Local Anesthetics. On the Eye and other Special Senses. Mydriatics dilate the Pupil. Myoties contract the Pupil. Digitized by Microsoft® ACTIONS OF MEDICINES 11 On the Respiratory Organs. Errhines or Sternutatories: Respiratory Sedatives: Ex- pectorants: Disinfectants. On the Circulatory Organs. Cardiac Stimulants: Vascular Stimulants: Mi Tonics : " Tonics: 5 Sedatives : - Sedatives. On the Digestive System. The Salivary Glands and Fauces. Sialagogues: Anti- sialics: Refrigerants. The Stomach. Gastric Tonics: Stomachics: Bitters: Antacids: Emetics: Anti-emetics: Gastric Sedatives. The Intestines. Purgatives: Carminatives: Intestinal Astringents: Antiseptics. The Liver. Hepatic Stimulants: Cholagogues: Hepatic Depressants : Worms. Athelmintics: Vermicides: Vermifuges. On the Skin. Diaphoretics: Sudorifics: Anhydrotics: Parasiticides. On the Urinary Organs. The Kidneys: Diuretics. The Bladder: Lithontriptics: Urinary Sedatives: Tonics: Astringents: Disinfectants. On the Organs of Generation. Aphrodisiacs: Anaphrodisiacs : Ecbolics : ; Agents acting on the Mammary Glands. : On Tissue Change and Temperature. Restoratives: Tonics: Hematinics: Alteratives: Antipyretics: Febrifuges: Blood-letting. Poisons and Antidotes. Mode of Administration. Doses: Manner of exhibition. Digitized by Microsoft® 12 PHYSIOLOGICAL AND THERAPEUTIC ACTIONS THE ACTIONS OF MEDICINES LOCAL AND GENERAL ACTIONS — ABSORPTION — ELECTIVE AFFINITY BETWEEN DRUGS AND PARTICULAR TISSUES OR CELLS—EFFECTS ON DIFFERENT CLASSES OF PATIENTS— MODIFYING INFLUENCES OF CLIMATE AND TEMPERATURE, HABIT, IDIOSYNCRASY, DISEASE, SURROUNDINGS, ETC. I, Every medicine is possessed of certain effects or actions on living animals, as distinctive as its colour, taste, or chemical properties. Such actions, when exerted in health, are termed physiological actions; when exerted in the treat- ment of disease they are termed therapeutic or curative actions. These actions cannot, however, be regarded as twofold or distinct, for the physiological action determines and is merged in the curative results. A horse eats some indigestible food, and in consequence suffers from spasm of the bowels, for which a dose of purgative medicine may be prescribed. The purgative exerts its physiological action by increasing intestinal secretion and peristalsis; the irritant is thus swept away, and spasm and pain are removed. A dose of physic prescribed for a horse with itching and swollen legs produces the physiological effects of emptying the bowels, and clearing the body of irritant waste matters with the curative result of relieving or removing the itching and swelling of the limbs. Hunting horses frequently, after a hard day, have stiff limbs, with puffy joints and tendons; diligent hand-rubbing and subsequent bandaging mechani- cally and physiologically stimulate the activity of the local circulation, with the therapeutic effect of restoring the parts to their normal state. All the physiological actions pro- duced by medicines may not be favourable to the curative result desired, but subsidiary, useless, or harmful effects may be diminished or neutralised by judicious selection and combination of remedies. Some medicines are chiefly local and direct in their action. A strong acid applied to the skin irritates and, it may be, destroys it. A hot fomentation or poultice in contact with a painful surface soothes it, and relieves local congestion and pain. The primary action of Digitized by Microsoft® ABSORPTION AND DISTRIBUTION OF MEDICINES 13 local irritants is frequently followed by secondary and remote effects. In sore throat the application of a blister directly irritates and inflames the skin, and reflexly, or through the nervous system, it relieves congestion and pain of the respiratory membrane. In horses a large cantharides blister, owing to absorption of the active principle of the fly, occasionally produces febrile symptoms, and congestion of the urinary passages by which the irritant is excreted. The general effects of most medicines are only produced when they enter the blood, and the more rapidly a medicine enters the circulation the more immediate and powerful are its effects. The short time required for absorption, distribu- tion, action and elimination is well illustrated in the rapidly fatal effects of such poisons as prussic acid and strychnine. Yellow prussiate of potash injected into the trachea was detected two minutes later in the jugular vein (Colin); injected into one of the jugular veins of a horse it appeared in the other in twenty-five seconds, and in a few minutes was exhaled from the mucous and serous membranes (Hering). Barium chloride traversed the circulation of a horse in twenty seconds, and injected into the jugular vein of a dog it reached the carotid artery in seven seconds. When the foot of an Albino rat was immersed for a few seconds in chloroform containing one per cent. of atropine, absorption occurred, and dilatation of the pupils followed in from two to five minutes (Waller). Medicines may be administered by injection into the sub- cutaneous areolar tissue, the trachea, veins, glands, muscles, rectum, uterus, udder, and large serous cavities; but the most frequent and generally the most convenient mode of administration is by the mouth, whence, speedily reaching the stomach and small intestine, medicines enter the circu- lation. Administered in a tolerably concentrated but soluble form medicines do not require to be acted upon by the ferment-containing secretions of the digestive canal; but the digestion of mashes and many restorative foods is pro- moted by the alkaline saliva, which also favours the hydration - and solution of some drugs. The acid, pepsin-containing, gastric juice dissolves proteids, as well as iron, mercurial and , Digitized by Microsoft® 14 ABSORPTION BY THE DIGESTIVE TRACT other salts. The alkaline bile emulsionises fats and resins; the pancreatic fluid furthers digestion of starch albumin and fats; and specially refractory substances are more thoroughly reduced by the alkaline intestinal juices. Medi- cines taken up by the vessels of the gastro-intestinal mucous membrane are conveyed to the liver where they may be stored up, detained for a time, neutralised or modified, eliminated in the bile, or passed unchanged into the general circulation. Absorption by the healthy buccal membrane is possible, but medicines introduced into the mouth are either quickly | swallowed or rejected, and consequently contact with its thick epithelium is too brief to permit of penetration. Gastric absorption varies with the species, the age of the animal, and the state of the stomach as regards contents, digestive phenomena, and freedom from disease. Very active in dogs and pigs, gastric absorption in cattle and sheep only occurs in the abomasum. In horses, absorption by the stomach has been doubted or denied since Bouley and Colin published the results of their experiments with strychnine. Bouley, after dividing the pneumogastric nerves, admini- stered lethal doses of strychnine without injurious effect. Colin found that after tying the pylorus, large doses of strychnine introduced into the stomach did not poison; but later experiments seem to prove that poisoning does not occur when after an interval the ligature is removed, and the contents of the stomach are allowed to pass into the bowel. Schiff considers that absorption of the strychnine is sufficiently gradual to allow of its being proportionately eliminated in the urine, and that the drug does not accumu- late in the blood in sufficient quantity to cause poisoning. The empty stomach is supposed to absorb more rapidly than the stomach filled with food: but the empty stomach is less vascular, and its corrugated lining is protected by a thick mucus, which probably retards absorption. Medicines given on a full stomach or mixed with the food are exposed to attenuation and the action of the secretions formed in the digesting stomach, and, if unstable, they may undergo rapid alteration, and fail to produce general effects. Medi- Digitized by Microsoft® ABSORPTION BY THE RESPIRATORY TRACT 15 cines intended to act directly on the stomach should be given to the animal fasting, and nutrients should be given either with the food or soon after feeding. In gastric impac- tion medicine given by the mouth seldom acts with the desired rapidity. It mixes with the ingesta, but owing to the movements of the stomach being either diminished or suspended, the food does not pass into the intestine, or the drug in sufficient quantity does not reach the absorbent surface, and in consequence its action is delayed. Absorption by the small intestine in all the domestic animals is very active. A strychnine salt injected into the duodenum produces its effects in three or four minutes, and ferrocyanide of potassium similarly used may be found in the blood in five to six minutes (Kaufmann). The cecum and large colon absorb rapidly, and in cases of tympany treated by puncture advantage may be taken of the canula to introduce medicines directly into the intestine. The rectum and floating colon rapidly absorb soluble medicines and nutrients introduced by the anus; and in gastric disease rectal injection is preferable to administration by the mouth. Anesthesia may be induced by chloral or ether thrown into the rectum, but this method is unsatisfactory. To ensure speedy absorption, and to prevent ejection of medicines introduced through the anus, the solution should be warm and concentrated to a few drachms. Larger quantities will be retained and absorbed, but the injection should not be bulky if immediate effects are desired. The respiratory tract furnishes probably the most actively absorbent mucous surface in the body. Long used for anzsthetic inhalations, it is occasionally employed for the administration of remedies in cases of purpura hemorrhagica, and parasitic bronchitis. Soluble drugs, introduced by in- sufflation, are absorbed by the nasal lining, and medicines in aqueous or alcoholic solution, not too concentrated, are well borne and very rapidly absorbed by the tracheal, bronchial, and pulmonary mucous membranes. Drugs dissolved or suspended in oil are less tolerated, although Dr. Levi, the chief authority on intra-tracheal administration, maintains that small injections of oil are absorbed. Emulsions, how- Digitized by Microsoft® 16 ABSORPTION BY THE SKIN ever, are safer, so long as the quantity is small and injec- tion is made slowly. Intra-tracheal injections are especially risky in bronchitis and pneumonia. Beyond a slight gain in time, intra-tracheal injection has no advantage over hypo- dermic administration, except in cases where direct or local action is required (Guinard). Although seldom employed in practice for the administra- tion of medicines, the female generative tract—the uterus, especially after parturition, absorbs very rapidly. Potassium iodide has been found in the urine in from two to four minutes after injection into the womb. The healthy vagina absorbs very slowly, but when congested its absorbent power is much increased. Absorption from the lining of the galac- tophorous sinus of the cow’s udder is fairly active. The absorbent power of the conjunctiva is well known. Cocaine appears to promote conjunctival absorption of solutions of atropine, eserine, and strychnine, and of other drugs. The peritoneum, pleura, and the synovial membranes of joints and tendons absorb very rapidly. Potassium prussiate injected into the peritoneal cavity was found six minutes later in the urine; and strychnine similarly used caused death in less than four minutes. Anesthesia can be readily induced in dogs by intra-peritoneal injection of chloral and morphine. Drugs, even when volatile, pass very slowly and im- perfectly through the unbroken skin, except when applied with the assistance of an electric current (cataphoresis or dielectrolysis), but absorption readily occurs from open wounds and abraded skin surfaces. Clean-cut fresh wounds, free from bleeding, absorb more rapidly than wounds which are irregular, bruised, or bleeding. Absorption by granulation tissue is less active, though occasionally undesirable effects follow the careless application of toxic antiseptics to wounds in process of healing. Drugs incorporated with oil or lard penetrate more readily than do ointments made with vase- line. Absorption of aqueous solutions is hindered or pre- vented by the sebaceous matter, but salts which are dissolved by the secretion of the skin may produce general effects. Experiments prove that agents which are soluble in sebaceous Digitized by Microsoft® SPECIAL AFFINITY FOR PARTICULAR ORGANS 17 matter, or which emit during their application vapour or gas, as guaiacol, alcohol, benzine, potassium iodide, mer- curials, carbolic acid, etc., pass more or less rapidly through the skin. But the intact epidermis offers considerable resistance to penetration; and in practice, lotions, liniments, or ointments, carefully used seldom endanger life. Slow absorption may occur, but owing to rapid elimination the drug does not accumulate in sufficient quantity to excite toxic symptoms. The subcutaneous areolar tissue absorbs nearly as rapidly as the respiratory mucous membrane. Hypodermic injections, properly prepared, are promptly taken up unchanged by the blood-vessels and lymphatics. IT. Between certain organs, tissues, or groups of cells, and certain medicines, there appears to be a special elective affinity. A medicine absorbed and in circulation, owing to its chemical affinity, becomes arrested in contact with cer- tain cell groups, where it fixes itself and tends to replace | some of the normal nutritive elements. From the common ; stream of blood each tissue takes up its appropriate nutrient materials, and, in like manner, it appears to select its own medicines. The characteristic effects are not developed until medicines come into actual contact with the special organs, or, it may be, the particular cells, on which alone they operate. Curare does not exert its paralysing power until it reaches the intramuscular endings of the motor nerves. Magendie found that strychnine does not excite its notable tetanic convulsions until it is in contact with the | spinal cord. Indeed, when a frog or other small animal, immediately after receiving a full dose of strychnine, has the spinal cord removed or broken down, tetanic symptoms do not occur. On the particular part on which they act—as, for example, on the nerve-centres or nerve-endings that control blood- vessels or glandular secretions—some medicines exert stimulant, others depressant or paralysing effects. These effects, as already indicated in the case of drugs acting locally, frequently produce reflexly indirect or remote effects. The same medicine sometimes acts differently when given in different doses. Thus, alcohol and ether B Digitized by Microsoft® 18 ACTION DIFFERENT ON DIFFERENT ANIMALS in small doses are stimulants, but in large doses are depressants, Within the living body most medicines not only effect ' changes, but themselves coincidently undergo changes, notably of oxidation or deoxidation. Thus, many salts of tartaric, acetic, and other organic acids are converted into carbonates. Morphine has its chemical constitution altered, and its soothing anodyne actions in part superseded, by nauseating and irritant effects. The activity of medicines depends materially on their solubility, the rapidity of their absorption, and the period during which they remain within the body. Some drugs, as lead, mercury, silver, and digitalis, are apt to be retained for a considerable period, and hence have more or less continuous or cumulative effect. Un- usual activity of such excreting channels as the bowels or kidneys hurries most medicines out of the body, and hence diminishes their action. In a variable but usually short period, medicines, generally in a modified form, are eliminated by the bowels, kidneys, skin, salivary and mammary glands, or pulmonary mucous membrane. Digitalis, for example, after exerting its action “mainly on the heart and arterioles, is removed by the kid- neys. Alcohol and its analogues are got rid of by the skin and kidneys, and also pass away through the respiratory mucous membrane. During their excretion medicines exert their in-contact effects on the excretory organ and passages. Thus, aloes and full doses of oils and neutral salts, after stimulating the secretion and movements of the bowels, are in part absorbed into the blood, and thence are returned into the bowels, causing further purgation. Nitre, and small doses of salines and ethers, chiefly removed through the kidneys, produce diuresis. Terebene and various balsams during their excretion by the pulmonary membrane or urinary passages exert their antiseptic and astringent properties. III. The several species of veterinary patients are differently affected by many medicines. These differences, however, are in degree rather than in kind, and depend upon differences in organisation and function. On the Digitized by Microsoft® SPECIAL ACTIONS ON HORSES 19 circulatory, respiratory, and urinary systems, which nearly resemble each other in man and the domestic animals, | medicines act tolerably uniformly. Thus, aconite, digitalis, and nitre produce very similar effects in men, horses, dogs, | and cattle. Greater diversity, however, occurs in regard to medicines acting on the nervous, digestive, and cutaneous systems, which differ considerably in the several species of animals. Rabbits and monkeys seem to possess a special | resistance to the action of atropine. Apomorphine, which } promptly causes vomiting in dogs, has no emetic action on. pigs. Morphine is an excellent hypnotic for the dog; but / in the cat and pig it causes excitement and convulsions. The more highly any organ or system of organs is de- veloped, the more susceptible does it become to the action of medicines, and, it may be added, to diseases also. This general law explains why the highly-developed human brain ° is specially susceptible to the effects of such cerebral medi- cines as opium and chloral, and why frogs, whose spinal system is better developed than their brain, are so sus- ceptible to strychnine, which acts specially on the cord. The human cerebrum, the seat of intelligence, is more than seven times the weight of the mesencephalon and cerebellum, which regulate motor energy. In the domestic animals the cerebrum is only five times the weight of the posterior parts | of the brain, whilst the cord is relatively larger than in man. These differences of development explain how such medi- cines as opium, chloroform, and chloral cause in man blunted intellectual function and deep stupor, while in the lower | animals, with less marked depression of brain function, they , conjoin more marked deranged motor function and con- vulsions. The Horse has a small stomach, and capacious, highly- | vascular intestines, adapted for absorption of nutriment from | bulky vegetable food. Nearly two-thirds of the water in the ingesta pass off by the bowels, while in man only 5 per cent. | is removed by this channel, and the amount is still less in dogs and cats. Vegetable purgatives, notably aloes, appear more suitable than mineral purgatives, and act chiefly on the small and large intestines. Except in very rare diseased Digitized by Microsoft® 20 SPECIAL ACTIONS ON CATTLE AND SHEEP states, and under the influence of large doses of aconite, attempts at vomition are not excited in horses. Tartar emetic, of which a few grains cause immediate emesis in dogs, has no such physiological effect on either horses or cattle. According to some authorities, this insusceptibility of the horse to the action of emetics is ascribable to an inaptitude of the vagus nerve to receive and convey the special irritation, but more probably it is due to imperfect development of the vomiting centre. Actual vomition in - horses is hindered by the small stomach not being readily compressed between the diaphragm and abdominal muscles, and by the stout band of muscular fibres which surrounds its cesophageal opening. Most substances which act as emetics on men and dogs are supposed to produce sedative effects when given to horses in sufficient doses; but the many sedatives available in human and canine practice operate uncertainly and imperfectly on horses, for which aconite is the chief reliable sedative medicine. The kidneys of horses are easily stimulated; in ordinary circumstances they remove about one-seventh of the fluid ingesta, while the same organs in man drain away 54 per cent, and in dogs nearly 50 per cent. of the fluid discharges. Sudorifics _are less prompt than in man, and are apt to act on the kid- neys, unless the animal be well clothed. In Cattle the peculiarities of the action of medicines are chiefly referable to the construction of their alimentary canal, and to their phlegmatic temperament. The stomach of these ruminants is quadrisected, is extensively lined with cuticular mucous membrane, and, as regards its first three divisions, is less vascular, and in function is less chemical and more mechanical than the corresponding portion of the alimentary canal of men, dogs, or horses. The first and third compartments always contain food, often in large quantity. These facts explain why cattle require large doses of all medicines, why considerable quantities of irritant and corrosive poisons can be given them with comparative im- punity, and why purgatives, unless in large doses and in solution, are so tardy and uncertain in their effects. Several times a day, for about an hour at a time, in animals of this Digitized by Microsoft® ACTION OF MEDICINES ON DOGS AND PIGS 21 class, the solid food is returned from the first and second stomachs for more thorough mastication and insalivation. Imperfect and suspended rumination is the chief cause, as well as a common effect of stomach disorders in cattle. Their kidneys and skin are less easily affected than the corre- sponding organs in horses; and their dull, phlegmatic dis- position resists the action of both stimulants and tonics. It is a very prevalent notion that medicines, when poured slowly down a cow’s throat, pass, like the ruminated food, direct to the fourth stomach. From observations made at the slaughter-houses on both cattle and sheep, I find, however, that neither animal can be induced to exert this voluntary effort in behalf of medicines, which in all cases, no matter how slowly they are administered, fall partly into the first and second stomachs, whence they shortly pass | onwards through the third and fourth stomachs, especially if given, as they always ought to be, with a considerable quantity of fluid. Sheep closely resemble cattle in the way in which they are affected by most medicines; they usually require about one-fourth of the dose suitable for cattle, and are best drenched by being backed into a corner, the head being | steadied between the operator's knees, while the medicine is | cautiously poured over. On Dogs medicines generally operate much in the same | way as on man; but to this rule there are some remarkable exceptions. Dogs, for instance, take six or eight times the | dose of aloes usually given to human patients, but are seriously injured by half as much calomel or oil of turpentine , as is prescribed for a man. The opinion generally held, that medicines may be given to dogs in the same doses as to man, cannot therefore be safely entertained without many reservations. In dogs, while the stomach is relatively large, the alimentary canal is short and straight, and purgatives consequently act with greater rapidity than in other veterinary patients. Another peculiarity is the facility with which they can be made to vomit. Indeed, vomition in dogs is often produced by their eating various grasses, by their swallowing nauseous or unpalatable matters, or by their Digitized by Microsoft® 22 CONDITIONS MODIFYING MEDICINAL ACTIONS overloading the stomach. To prevent dogs vomiting their medicine, it is well to keep the head raised for an hour after its administration; and this may be easily effected by attach- ing a chain or cord to the collar, and fixing it to any object at the requisite elevation. The kidneys are excited with more difficulty than in horses or cattle. On Pigs the effects . of medicines are similar to their action on men and dogs. Dr. Lauder Brunton points out several curious differences in the action of drugs on several of the lower animals. ' Morphine convulses frogs, but, even in large doses, has no effect on pigeons, except in reducing their temperature. Belladonna quickens cardiac action in man, dogs, and horses, by paralysing the vagus, which controls or restrains heart action. But in rabbits the vagus has hardly any appreciable effect in regulating the heart-beats, and these animals accordingly take large doses without having the rapidity of the circulation increased. The rabbit’s heart not being controlled by the vagus, a marked difference also occurs in the action of amyl-nitrite on rabbits as compared with dogs. Such observations are not only most interesting in them- _ selves, but greatly further the understanding of the actions of drugs. The action of medicines is influenced by the age of the patient, and as a rule very young animals are more sus- ceptible than adult animals. Kittens, however, seem to be able to withstand larger doses of morphine than fully grown eats. The young tolerate chloroform anesthesia better than the old, and poisons such as strychnine and digitalis may be _ given in larger doses to young animals than to adults. IV. Climate and Temperature modify considerably the actions of medicines. Heat increases the power of anti- septic solutions. Narcotics are generally believed to act more powerfully in warm than in cold climates. This fact, as well as other differences in medicines observed in hot as compared with cold climates, may depend upon slight differ- ences in animal temperature, and in the varying amount of excretion effected by the skin and kidneys. Moderate warmth favours chemical reactions and proto- plasmic movements—two conditions intimately connected Digitized by Microsoft® HABIT AND IDIOSYNCRASIES 23 with the actions of medicines. ‘Alexander von Humboldt first observed that warmth not only acted as a stimulant to the heart, increasing the power and rapidity of its contrac- tions, but noticed that warmth increased the rapidity with which alcohol destroyed the irritability of a nerve, and potassium sulphide that of a muscle. ... Many, if not all, muscular poisons act more quickly with increased tempera- ture... . Rabbits poisoned with copper or potassium salts also die more quickly when placed in a warm chamber than when left at the ordinary temperature’ (Brunton). On the other hand, however, narcotic poisoning by alcohol or chloral is retarded when the animals are in a warm atmosphere. Habit.—The continued use of a medicine sometimes alters the degree of its action. Caustics and irritants, which exer- cise only topical action, exhibit, on their repeated application, gradually increasing activity. But many medicines, when continuously administered, have their ordinary power con- siderably diminished. Thus, arsenic-eaters sometimes use with perfect impunity twelve or fifteen grains of arsenic daily—a quantity sufficient to poison three or four unhabitu- ated persons. A like tolerance is observable among horses which have been accustomed to receive arsenic. Opium, and most general stimulants, when administered for some time, gradually lose their effects. Virginian deer, from habit, are said to thrive on tobacco; some monkeys, feeding on strychnine-containing nuts, are stated to become insus- ceptible to strychnine (Wood). The tolerance thus induced by the habitual use of a medicine occasionally depends on retarded absorption or quickened secretion; sometimes, as in the case of many alkaloids, on the liver acquiring greater power for the detention, modification, destruction or excre- tion of the drug, while frequently the tissues, by repeated contact, become progressively accustomed to its influence, and more or less resistant. Idiosyncrasies, probably the result of reversion to ances- tral forms, which in the human subject render some poisons almost innocuous, and some simple medicines deadly poisons, are less frequent and notable among the lower animals. Those of most frequent occurrence among veterinary patients Digitized by Microsoft® 24 ACTIONS MODIFIED BY DISEASE are either an increased or a diminished susceptibility to the action of purgatives and diuretics. Most medicines act with greater certainty and effect upon well-bred animals, whether horses or dogs, than upon coarsely-bred mongrels. The prescription even of a blister or a colic draught demands con- sideration of the temperament, breeding, and condition of the patient. Diseases modify the actions of many medicines. Altered structure and functions, and increased temperature occur- ring in most serious disorders are important modifying factors. A congested or inflammatory condition of the alimentary canal, or even an overloaded stomach, retards absorption, and the consequent activity of medicines given by the mouth. Acute fever, on account of increased arterial pressure, is also unfavourable to absorption. When excretion is hindered, medicines, however, are usually retained longer in the system, and some accordingly act more powerfully. Conversely, when excretion is active, as in diuresis, diabetes, or diarrhea, such medicines as opium, belladonna, and alcohol, being rapidly got rid of, do not manifest their full activity. Influenza, low fevers, and any considerable inflam- mation of mucous or cutaneous surfaces, withstand reducing remedies badly, and require for their successful treatment the early exhibition of restoratives, tonics, and stimulants. Even the comparatively slight and temporary requirements for the changing of the coat render horses in spring and autumn notably less enduring and less able to stand lowering treatment. Blood-letting and full doses of sedative medicines induce less depression in acute inflammation than in health ; large quantities of opium and chloral hydrate have compara- tively slight effect in tetanus, enteritis, or other painful disease; while excessive doses of purgatives and stimulants are well borne in the apoplectic form of parturient fever among cattle, and in other cases in which there is depression of nervous force. The surroundings of the patient materially alter the action of remedies. Diseases, whether in horses, cattle, or dogs, occurring in large towns, and in filthy, overcrowded, and badly-ventilated premises, are notoriously liable to Digitized by Microsoft® CURATIVE SYSTEMS 25 assume chronic and untoward forms, and are apt to defy even skilfully devised curative measures. Medicines can only act effectually when seconded by proper sanitary arrange- ments, Over-heated, imperfectly ventilated stables lower the vitality of their inmates, by retarding excretion, and favouring absorption of noxious exhalations. Such facts demand consideration alike in the treatment and prevention of disease. Frequently a horse with influenza, bronchitis, or pneumonia, is thrown back for days by being senselessly stripped and taken out of his box in cold weather. One meal of coarse, indigestible food, even of moderate amount, sometimes retards recovery from gastric derangements, and, indeed, from most debilitating diseases. Constipation or torpidity of the bowels interferes with the absorption, and hence with the satisfactory operation of all medicines. Exposure to cold seriously injures patients which have received full aperient doses of salts or of turpentine, or which have been freely dressed with mercurial ointment. Foul air and disordered digestion retard the healing even of simple wounds. On the other hand, gentle exercise en- courages the action of most eliminatives; quiet favours the effects of soothing remedies; generous diet seconds powerfully the benefits of restoratives, tonics, and stimulants. Inflammatory disorders usually bear more prompt and actively depleting treatment in winter than in summer, in the country than in the town, in well-bred animals in good condition than in coarser subjects which have been indifferently nourished. CURATIVESYSTEMS: ALLOPATHY, HOMGOPATHY The difficult question is frequently asked—How do medicines cure disease? Endeavour is made, guided by biological laws, to adjust or restore to harmony any irregu- larity or deviation from health which may have affected the organism or aviy of its parts. The complex composition and diverse functions of the bodies of the higher animals are liable, however, to be altered and disturbed in many different ways, and such alterations or aberrations cannot Digitized by Microsoft® ea 26 ANTIPATHY—ALLOPATH Y—HOMGOPATHY be restored by any one curative system or formula. As already indicated, medicines have special actions on different organs or groups of cells, and affect them in very different ways, and hence would seem to produce their curative effects, not in one, but in many ways. The late Professor Headland taught that ‘the only general explanation we can give of the modus operandi of medicines in the cure of diseases is to say that they operate by various counteractions. Two such systems of counteraction have been propounded—(1) the antipathic, whereby medicines were believed to overcome morbid conditions or symptoms by a superior and antago- nistic force; (2) the allopathic, whereby effects are produced which, although they may sometimes be unnatural, overcome the disease. But diseases, it has been affirmed, may not only be cured by counteractions, but by similars. Upon the old saying that ‘like cures like, Homeopathy ' is based, and its votaries declare that diseases are to be treated by small doses of such medicines as in large doses produce symptoms 1 Homeopathy (duos, homoios, like or similar; and mdéos, pathos), was propounded by the German physician Hahnemann in his Organon der rationellen Heilkunde, published in 1810. This system teaches that the cure of a disease is effected by infinitesimal doses of such medicines as would induce, if given to a healthy subject in large quantity, symptoms similar to the disease. Cinchona is declared to cure such fevers as ague and inter- mittents, because it produces some such febrile symptoms when given to healthy individuals in considerable doses ; aconite is regarded as the appro- priate remedy for reducing inflammatory fevers, because in large doses it produces symptoms which are thought, by homeopathists, to resemble those of inflammation; while strychnine is selected as a remedy for paralysis, because in large doses it appears to produce paralytic symptoms. This doctrine, if sound, would stamp most disorders as hopelessly incurable; for it is only in a few exceptional cases that any similarity can be detected between the symptoms produced by large doses of the remedy and those of the disease for which it is given. No known medicines, for example, are capable of developing symptoms such as those of thick-wind, roaring, pleurisy, strangles, distemper, or rabies, yet fifteen or twenty remedies are prescribed homeopathically for each of these diseases. Mr. Dudgeon’s translation of the Organon of Medicine states that, ‘the symptoms of each individual case of disease must be the sole indication, the sole guide to direct us in the choice of a curative remedy.’ Now, symptoms, although sometimes requiring special treatment, are but the visible signs and results of derangement and disease; whilst their removal, which is all that is aimed at in homeopathic treatment, does not always ensure the removal of the conditions on which they depend. Thus, rheumatism, pleurisy, enteritis, wornis, and many other disorders, frequently remain unchecked after their symptoms have been relieved. Instead of thus vainly attempting Digitized by Microsoft® DOES LIKE CURE LIKE ? 27 similar to the disease to be cured. The pathological con- ditions which underlie and produce the symptoms, and which a rational cure generally aims if possible at removing, are ignored. The homeopathic dictum of similia similibus curantur does not bear investigation; at best it is only capable of narrow and occasional acceptance. The symptoms of ague and intermittent fever are certainly similar to those produced by cinchona bark, which is an accepted cure for ague, and the illustration on which Hahnemann founded his system. But many diseases exhibit no symptoms accurately similar, as the homeopathists insist they should be, to those produced by the medicine prescribed for their cure. Numer- ous drugs, moreover, cause symptoms wholly unlike those of the diseases in the treatment of which homeopathists use them. The homeopathic selection of so-called appropriate the removal of symptoms, it were therefore more rational to remove at once the morbid condition—the source of the evil. No curative system directing its efforts, as homeopathy does, merely against the symptoms of disease, can ever rest upon a safe or scientific basis; for it is notorious that, under varying modifying influences, the same diseases sometimes induce very dissimilar symptoms, and would consequently, according to this system, require dissimilar treatment. On the other hand, diseases essentially different sometimes manifest similar symptoms. Thus, stupor and vertigo result sometimes from an excessive and sometimes from a deficient quantity of blood sent to the brain ; difficulty of breathing from too much as well as from too little blood circulating through the lungs ; vomiting from irritation of the stomach, or from irritation of the vomiting centre; diarrhea from erudities in the alimentary canal, or irritant matters in the blood. Not only are the principles on which homeopathy is said to be based untenable, but the details of the system are inconsistent and ridiculous. The homceopathic doses are so small that they are often incapable of detection either by the microscope or by chemical analysis, and are sometimes so inconceivably minute that the mind can form no idea of them. It is admitted, even by homeopathists, that millions of such doses may be swallowed by a healthy individual without inconvenience: but in disease the body is stated to become so susceptible to their action that much risk is incurred by their insufficient dilution! Medicines such as charcoal, sand, and calcium carbonate, which, in doses of several drachms, have only slight mechanical effects, when given in fractional parts of a grain are thought to produce very powerful effects, and cause many hundred symptoms. The extraordinary powers supposed to be conferred on these and other medicines, even when given in doses of inconceivable minuteness, are chiefly ascribed to the magic influence of careful and continued triturations and often-repeated shakings, performed according to most precise directions. Some homeo- pathic authorities declare that there is little difference of activity between Digitized by Microsoft® 28 PROTOPLASM remedies, on the presumption that ‘like cures like,’ is based upon a fallacy, while the minute, finely triturated, and sub- divided doses are too attenuated to affect veterinary patients. The practice of homeopathy has, however, developed whole- some discussion, has suggested some useful experiments on the actions of medicines, has helped to show the evils of heroic and indiscriminate drugging, has taught the advan- tage of simple prescriptions, exemplified the power of nature to cure, when not too much interfered with, and demonstrated the powerful influence of diet and regimen in the successful treatment of disease. ACTION OF MEDICINAL AGENTS ON PROTOPLASM, BLOOD, AND LOW ORGANISMS ANTISEPTICS—DISIN FECTANTS— DEODORISERS—PARASITICIDES —ANTIPERIODICS. Recent studies of the life of the simplest animal struc- tures, and the manner in which they are acted upon by medicinal agents, have thrown much light on thera- different dilutions of the same medicine ; and it is said that, if the medicine be well selected, it matters little whether the tenth, hundredth, or thou- sandth of a grain be used (Gunther and Haycock). There is probably some truth in this observation, for, with most medicines, especially when ad- ministered to the lower animals, all the dilutions mentioned would be equally harmless. But homeopathists assert that, in spite of the errors which their opponents discover in the system, it is nevertheless very successful in the cure of disease. In judging, however, of homeopathy as a system of prac- tical medicine, it must be regarded as made up of two distinct parts :—lst, The original and peculiar part of the system, consisting in the use of medi- cines selected in accordance with a law embodied in the axiom similia stmilibus curantur, and administered in infinitesimal doses, usually varying from one grain to one-millionth of a grain, and carefully prepared according to certain precise directions ; and 2nd, Attention to diet and regimen—the only effectual and rational part of homceopathy, the true source of all its boasted cures, and that department of medical treatment which has always been insisted upon by rational and successful practitioners, of human and veterinary medicine. The value of medicines given homceopathically has never been satisfactorily shown, and never can be until two series of cases, as nearly as possible alike, be treated—the one in the usual homeopathic fashion, the other with the same attention to diet and regimen, but without the globules. In comparative experiments, made at the Edinburgh Veter- inary College, in the treatment of pleuro-pneumonia and other diseases, it appeared that those cases treated by diet and regimen alone were as speedily and effectually cured as those treated with the globules in addition, so long as the globules were given only in homeopathic doses. Digitized by Microsoft® PROTOPLASM AND BLOOD CONSTITUENTS 29 peutics as applied to the higher animals. The complex albuminoid material termed protoplasm, which is the ever- present constituent of living cells, is coagulated and pre- cipitated by heat, and dissolved by alkalies. It is precipitated by small quantity, and dissolved by excess, of most mineral acids. Organic alkaloids resemble acids in lowering the temperature at which heat coagulates albumin. Protoplasmic movements, as illustrated in the ameeba, are retarded or arrested by cold. Heat, slight electric shocks, and common salt, even in diluted solution, first quicken them ; but a higher temperature, a stronger electric current, or prolonged ex- posure to a saline solution, tetanises them, Protoplasm has the power of absorbing and storing oxygen; and the chemical energy developed from this oxidation is capable of conversion into mechanical energy and movements. Protoplasm has also the power of carrying and transferring oxygen to other substances, and appears to contribute largely to the diffusion of oxygen, and interchange of gases, constantly occurring between the blood, the intercellular fluid, and the cells, and constituting what is termed internal respiration. Leucocytes are affected in much the same way as ameebe. Their movements are, besides, notably arrested by the cin- chona alkaloids and beberine sulphate. Quinine injected into the circulation has been found to diminish the migra- tion of leucocytes from the blood-vessels. The red corpuscles pass out of the vessels when an excess of sodium chloride is introduced into the blood, while still more rapid extravasation is produced by the introduction of rattlesnake poison. The size of the red corpuscles is increased by oxygen, hydrocyanic acid, quinine, and cold, and dimin- ished by carbonic acid, morphine, and warmth. The important blood constituent hemoglobin, like proto- plasm, has great capacity for taking up oxygen, thus becom- ing converted into oxyhzmoglobin, which, however, holds its added oxygen loosely, and parts with it readily, as it slowly circulates through capillary vessels. The hemoglobin also combines with other substances as well as with oxygen—as with hydrocyanic acid and carbonic mon-oxide, forming tolerably stable compounds; which, however, neither take Digitized by Microsoft® 30 FERMENTS up oxygen from the air in the lungs, nor give it off in the tissues, which hence become asphyxiated. Addition to the blood of such drugs as alcohol, chloroform, quinine, mor- phine, nicotine, and strychnine, likewise, in various degrees, diminish the amount of oxygen absorbed, and of carbonic acid given off by the blood. ‘Uric acid and snake-poison had a contrary efiect, increasing the absorption of oxygen and the evolution of carbonic acid. Curare appeared to lessen the absorption of oxygen, but increased the evolution of carbonic acid. Mercuric chloride lessened the carbonic acid, but increased the absorption of oxygen (Dr. Lauder Brunton). Infusoria have both their rhythmical and ciliary move- ments increased by heat and diminished by cold. Weak saline solutions increase their movements; while strong saline solutions alter the amount of water they contain, and cause them first to shrivel, and subsequently to swell. Ferments determine the healthy nutrition of plants and animals, as well as their decay and many of their diseases. They are exemplified by the yeast which raises bread and converts the starch and sugar of barley into beer or spirit, the rennet which coagulates milk, the filamentous fungus which causes ringworm, and the bacillus which induces the deadly anthrax. Ferments are divisible into two classes :— 1. Organic ferments or enzymes contain carbon, are hence organic, though they are not organised or living. They are exemplified by diastase, which causes germination in barley and other seeds, ptyalin from saliva, pepsin from the stomach, trypsin from the pancreas, with histozyne, a recently discovered ferment present in blood, and believed to be the chief agent in the reduction of albuminoids. 2. Organised or formed ferments, such as yeast, mycoderma vini, moulds, and bacteria, are living vegetable organisms of parasitic habit. The reduction of complex carbon compounds into simpler forms is the work of both classes of ferments. Their effects are produced, it is believed, in one of two ways :—(1) By abstraction of water, as in the conversion of starch into sugar, or the splitting up of glucosides—changes chiefly effected by enzymes, and analogous to the effects of heat in Digitized by Microsoft® PATHOGENIC AND NON-PATHOGENIC BACTERIA 31 conjunction with diluted mineral acids or alkalies. (2) The breaking up of the fermentible body is sometimes effected by transfer of oxygen from its hydrogen to its carbon, as in alcoholic and lactic fermentations, and in putrefactive processes—a mode of reduction usually effected by the organised ferments. The organised ferments, which are the causes of putrefac- tion and of various diseases, have been classified as— 1, Yeasts, or sprouting fungi, which consist of ovoid cells, multiplying by budding, and represented by the torula cere- visie, mycoderma vini, and, according to most authorities, also include the aphthous patches of thrush found in the mouths of young animals. 2. Moulds, or filamentous fungi, occur in threads, which are agglomerated into masses or tufts, multiplying by budding and formation of spores, and exemplified by the common moulds which appear on moist objects, and by those which cause such skin diseases as favus and tinea. 3. Bacteria, Microbes, or Schizomycetes, are the lowest forms of vegetable life, but the most widely distributed, in air, earth, and water. They consist of round, oval, or cylindrical cells, so minute that they can only be examined with high powers of the microscope. They multiply chiefly by division, occasionally by spore formation. Their multiplication is effected with enormous rapidity, a single individual cell sometimes producing a million in twenty-four hours. Some are fixed, others are motile. For their formation and growth they require organic matter, moisture, salts, and a moderate temperature; some, further, need oxygen; some thrive with- outit. They speedily exhaust the nutriment obtainable from the substance on which they grow, or form in it matters inimical to their life; but where one species languishes and perishes, others frequently spring up and flourish. Bacteria are divided into two groups—(1) Non-pathogenic or saphrophytic. Many of these feed and live on dead animal or vegetable matter, and their great function is the conversion of complex into simpler forms. They are exemplified by the bacillus of hay infusion, the bacillus termo found in all putrid fluids, and the bacilli developing the saccharine and lactic Digitized by Microsoft® 32 BACTERIAL INVASION fermentations. (2) Pathogenic or parasitic bacteria live on or within the bodies of living plants or animals, and when in large numbers interfere with nutrition and cause disease. Their pathogenic power is proved beyond all question by taking cultures from any of the specific disease products, growing them in suitable media for several generations, and inoculating these on living subjects, when the original disease is reproduced. But pathogenic and non-pathogenic are only relative terms. The organisms, usually harmless, under certain conditions become harmful; while those that are pathogenic by cultivation and otherwise sometimes lose their toxic power, and live and reproduce themselves amongst dead vegetable and animal matter. The bacilli of anthrax, hog cholera, and tetanus illustrate these varying states of activity and change of habit. Microbes which have had their activity reduced or destroyed may, however, under certain conditions regain it. Both pathogenic and non-pathogenic bacteria are divided into three classes, each distinguished by the form assumed : (a) Micrococci or round cells, such as the sarcina found in the stomach, or the cocci which arrange themselves in clusters or in chains, and cause strangles in horses, rinder- pest in cattle, erysipelas and pus formations in all animals. (b) Bacilli or rod-shaped bacteria, as those of anthrax and glanders, as well as the short ovoid bacillus of pneumonia. (c) Spirilli or thread-like bacteria, as of relapsing fever in man and the comma-like organisms of cholera. Dr. T. Lauder Brunton states: ‘It is probable that bacteria are constantly entering the organs of man and animals from the lungs and digestive canal; but unless they are excessive in number, and virulent in their nature, they are quickly destroyed. When only a small number of pathogenic bacteria, such as the bacillus anthracis, is injected into the blood at once, they are destroyed in the organism, but when they are in larger numbers they have the best of the struggle, and the organism itself is destroyed.’ Fortunately in healthy subjects, under favourable conditions, the bacilli and their spores are attacked and destroyed by leucocytes, connective tissue cells, and probably other healthy textures. Bie Digitized by Microsoft® BACTERIAL PRODUCTS 33 Both organic and organised ferments, in breaking up complex vegetable and animal bodies, frequently produce substances of great activity. The emulsin—the ferment of bitter almonds—gives rise to a hydrocyanated oil. The myrosin of mustard seed develops the acrid mustard oils. The protoplasm of particular plants produces their respective alkaloids, some of which are active poisons. Certain mush- rooms produce the poisonous alkaloid muscarine; putrefy- ing yeast yields sepsin; from putrefied maize is obtained an extract which contains one substance which tetanises, and another which narcotises. Animal bodies invaded by bacteria undergo decomposition, and the bacterial cells, according to their kind, elaborate their respective alkaloids, some of which are poisonous. Under healthy conditions they are excreted, but if retained they are injurious. In the healthy muscles of living animals, after active exertion, there are found alkaloids allied to xanthin and creatin. During digestion of fibrin by pepsin an alkaloid is formed. Bouchard has stated that the alkaloids formed in the intestines of a healthy man in twenty-four hours would suffice to kill him if they were all absorbed and excretion stopped. The pathogenic, like the putrefactive bacteria, when they invade the bodies of higher organisms, act as ferments, cause disintegration of living tissues, and formation of alka- loidal toxines, and, besides, produce globulins or albumoses, often as deadly as the alkaloids. Special local effects are produced by the action of these poisons, notably congestion, inflammation, and necrosis; but the soluble poisons carried in the blood-stream further develop general efiects. Thus, the anthrax bacilli cause local malignant cedema or pustule, and further lead to nervous collapse. The diphtheria bacillus causes special throat lesions, while the toxine it develops, circulating widely, impairs the functions of the great nerve-centres. In relation to the prevention and cure of the diseases depending upon bacteria, it must be noted that these patho- genic organisms have their activity retarded or destroyed by exposure to high temperatures, by the action of chemical solutions, by being reproduced for several generations in the . 8 a : ¥ Digitized by Microsoft® 34 PROTECTIVE VACCINES bodies of certain animals, and in other ways. Anthrax virus is thus attenuated by heat; rabies virus by being grown in the bodies of rabbits. These attenuated viruses are used as protective vaccines. The vaccine of anthrax and rabies, as well as those of black quarter, swine and fowl cholera, when injected into the bodies of animals liable to these disorders, render the vaccinated subjects immune. This is demon- strated by the animals operated upon suffering no harm when subsequently inoculated with doses of the un- attenuated bacterium or its products, which would destroy unprotected animals. One class of these micro-organisms frequently modifies or arrests the action of others. Thus, the harmless earth bacillus has been found to protect mice and rabbits from anthrax, while a similar power is exerted by the products of blue pus. These important protective powers conferred by bacteria and their products appear to depend upon their exerting metabolic changes on the blood and tissues, with formation of special chemical agents. This immunity, like that produced by an ordinary attack of specific disease, may be more or less permanent. It may be so marked as to be hereditary. In some cases the blood of such immunes transfused into the veins of susceptible animals renders them also immune. Such investigations appear to foreshadow important developments in practical medicine. Vaccines exerting a curative as well as a preventive effect may also be obtainable. This is a justifiable expectation, for human patients who have been exposed to the contagium of smallpox, if promptly vaccinated with cow-pox lymph, have the smallpox attack favourably modified. Perhaps still more to the point are Pasteur’s experiments with rabies. He inoculated dogs and rabbits with lethal doses of rabies virus, and thereafter with repeated doses of vaccine. No serious results followed, although control animals inoculated with rabies virus, but not with the vaccine, died. Another important discovery connected with bacteria has recently been made. Brieger and Fraenkel have found that the bacteria of diphtheria produce not only a toxic, but also a protective substance. Drs. Klemperer, experimenting Digitized by Microsoft® ANTIZYMOTICS : 35 with pneumo-cocci, have obtained a pneumo-toxine and an anti-pneumo-toxine. Koch’s investigations with tuberculin also point to the conclusion that both a pathogenic poison and its antidote are formed by the tubercle bacillus. Ex- periments may show that others of these pathogenic bacteria also develop their several anti-toxines, and as the toxines have been isolated and cultivated, so, doubtless, also will be the respective anti-toxines. The general method of fighting these pathogenic bacteria at present at our command consists in strict isolation of animals affected by such specific diseases, and fully recognis- ing and acting on the fact that infected subjects and their discharges are apt to distribute the virus. Remedial measures must be adopted early—if possible, before the bacteria have multiplied, and before the toxines are produced. In such cases as rabies, which have a long incubation stage, there will be time for the protective operation of vaccines, which appear to confer on the tissues a tolerance of the bacteria, and enable them successfully to cope with the intruders and their products. Every endeavour must be made to maintain in its fullest vigour both the part primarily attacked and the system generally, with the view that the healthy tissues may, if practicable, destroy the parasites and their products. The excreting channels, moreover, will be maintained in healthy action, in order that waste and diseased materials, as well as the organisms themselves, may be re- moved, Disinfectants will continue to be used so that the bacteria and their spores shall be destroyed, and the spread of the disease prevented. Many agents inhibit or retard the action of ferments, and some effectually destroy them. These agents have been de- signated :— Antizymotics — substances which arrest fermentation. They act chiefly in two ways:—(1) Chemically, by direct or indirect oxidation. Chlorine, iodine, bromine, and potassium permanganate act in this way. (2) Arresting proliferation or catalysis of ferments; such is the mode of action of corrosive sublimate and many other metallic solutions, of carbolic, boric, salicylic, and benzoic acids, and of tempera- Digitized by Microsoft® 36 ANTISEPTICS—DISINFECTANTS—DEODORISERS tures above 200° Fahr. Antizymotics include antiseptics and disinfectants, and nearly allied to these are deodorants. Antiseptics are remedies which arrest putrefaction. They kill or prevent the development of those bacteria which pro- duce septic decomposition. Disinrecrants destroy the specific poisons of communi- cable diseases. Their special function is to kill, or arrest the development of, those germs or bacteria which produce disease. Deoporisers or deodorants destroy smells. Some of the most disagreeable smells, and those most injurious to the higher animals, result from putrefaction, hence their cause is removed by effectual antiseptics. Smells consisting mainly of sulphuretted hydrogen are neutralised by chlorine; those from ammoniacal gases by hydrochloric and nitric acids. Noisome odours may also be attracted and absorbed by freshly-burnt charcoal or dried earth. Enzymes or separable ferments generally have their action arrested or are destroyed more readily than the organised ferments, amongst which there is much difference in viability. Microzymes are more sensitive than bacilli. The bacillus anthracis is more easily killed than some others. The spores of all species are specially resistant, and for their effectual destruction require prolonged exposure to tolerably strong solutions of potent antiseptics. The action of watery solutions of various drugs on the several enzymes has been carefully examined by Wernitz, and his experiments corroborated and quoted by Dr. Lauder Brunton. Corrosive sublimate stands pre-eminent in the certainty of its effects, even in very diluted solution. The action of emulsin was arrested by 1-65,000th part, of diastase by 1-50,000th part, of ptyalin by 1-52,000th part, of pan- creatin by 1-21,600th part ; but it took 1-1766th part to arrest the action of pepsin, and 1-720th part to arrest that of rennet. Minute quantities of copper sulphate, chlorine, iodine, and bromine, and also bleaching powder and sul- phurous acid, readily destroy these organic ferments. Salicylic and benzoic acids and chlorinated lime are also effectual, usually in proportions of about 1-1000th part. Borax Digitized by Microsoft® RELATIVE ACTIVITY OF VARIOUS ANTISEPTICS 37 is effective generally with 1 to 100, although 1-3580th part arrests the action of the intestinal ferment invertin. Alumi- nium acetate, carbolic acid, and glycerin in the order men- tioned are weaker still. Chloroform, thymol, eucalyptol, and mustard oils have little, if any, action, even in saturated solution. A temperature over 125° Fahr. weakens or destroys the enzymes. Drugs act differently on different ferments. While 1-52,000th part of corrosive sublimate, as already indicated, arrests the action of ptyalin, 1 part in 720 is needful to arrest the action of rennet, which is, however, destroyed by 1-1000th part of borax, 1 part of which in 100 is required to destroy ptyalin. For destruction of rennet, bromine and chlorinated lime are specially effective. Creosote, although it has small effect on the enzymes, in solution of 1 part to 500 destroys yeast cells, and, in solution of half that strength, kills bacteria. The mould fungi are destroyed by the same agents which kill yeast and bacteria. Bacteria of different sorts exhibit some differences in their susceptibility to different antiseptics; indeed, the susceptibility somewhat varies in the same bacteria when raised in different media. It is more easy to prevent than to arrest development of bacteria As already pointed out, the spores have much greater resisting powers than the fully-developed bacteria. The fully-developed bacteria are destroyed by exposure for an hour to a temperature of 150° to 168° Fahr., but the spores require more prolonged ex- posure at 212° Fahr. Moist heat, having a greater power of softening and penetrating the spore envelope, is more effectual than dry heat. Milk containing the bacillus of tubercle or other specific disorder may be rendered inno- cuous by five minutes’ boiling. Experiments bearing on the power of different substances to prevent the development of bacteria in various stages and solutions, to kill them, or to arrest development and reproduction of their spores, have been carried out by many good observers. The plan of procedure has generally been to add to carefully prepared sterilised fluids in test tubes, known quantities of the disinfectant to be tested, and then Digitized by Microsoft® 38 KOCH’S EXPERIMENTS introduce a drop of liquid containing bacteria or their spores. Such experiments show that the agents which most promptly and effectually arrest the action of enzymes also prove the most destructive to bacteria. Of corrosive sublimate, 1-5805th part kills the developed parasite; 1-25,258th part prevents the development of bacteria taken from meat infusions; but it requires a strength of 1 in 2525 to prevent reproduction of spores in unboiled meat infusion, and still stronger solutions to penetrate and kill the spores. Chlorine, chlorinated lime, bromine, iodine, and quinine stand next in activity. Sulpho-carbolates and strychnine follow in order. Sodium sulphite is about 1-10th the strength of quinine. Compared with corrosive sublimate, it requires twenty times the amount of thymol, salicylic acid, or potassium permanganate to prevent development of bacteria, and sixty times the amount to prevent repro- duction of spores. Sodium hyposulphite has very little action. Carbolic acid did not stand so high as expected. The fresh blood of an animal just dead from anthrax must be mixed with its own bulk of a1 per cent. solution in order to destroy the bacilli, and enable it, without harm, to be injected into another animal. A half per cent. solution fails to destroy the bacilli. Koch’s experiments with anthrax spores constitute the most recent, extensive, and reliable tests of the value of disinfectants. Solutions of the several substances, of speci- fied strength, were placed in tubes, their mouths stopped, as is generally done, by cotton wool; and threads steeped in fluids containing bacilli and their spores were carefully introduced. Some of these threads were removed from day to day, and subjected to microscopic examination. Even after one hundred days’ exposure to the antiseptic, some threads still exhibited bacilli. Chlorine water, freshly made, bromine 2 per cent. solution, iodine 1 part in 7000, corrosive sublimate 1 per cent. in water, were found effectually to destroy these anthrax spores with which they had been in contact one day. Formic acid, specific gravity 1120, destroyed all spores after four days’ exposure. In five days all spores were killed by 5 per cent. watery solutions of chlorinated Digitized by Microsoft® LISTER'S PRINCIPLES OF ANTISEPTIC SURGERY 39 lime and ferric chloride. One per cent. of arsenic in water, and the same proportion of quinine in acidulated watery solution, were effective in ten days. Oil of turpentine took five days, ether thirty days. The results with carbolic acid were disappointing; a 1 per cent. solution had not much effect on the spores, even when exposure was prolonged for fifteen days; and a five per cent. solution was required to secure their destruction in one day. Like salicylic, boric, and benzoic acids, sodium chloride, and many metallic solutions, carbolic acid was thoroughly effectual in destroy- ing microzymes which had not formed spores, and from its volatility it is frequently more serviceable than fixed anti- septics. The infected threads, subjected to the influence of even the least active of those antiseptics, produced only scanty and retarded crops of bacilli. Such reliable anti- septics as corrosive sublimate, bromine, and iodine, when dissolved in alcohol, ether, or oil, were not nearly so effectual as when dissolved in water. The uses of antiseptics—In surgery, zinc and iron chlorides, pitch and tar, tinctures of myrrh, benzoin, and other balsams have long been used empirically both in human and veterinary practice. But Lord Lister has explained and systematised the antiseptic treatment, and rendered it both certain and successful. He studied fer- mentative processes, and the analogous actions of micro- organisms on living tissues; and in 1867 inaugurated the aseptic treatment of wounds. Two conditions, he insists, are essential in dealing with wounds, whether accidental or made by the surgeon: (1) Nothing septic must be left in them; and (2) Nothing septic must be allowed to get into them. Acting on these principles, wounds which for an hour or two have remained exposed, and into which the ubiquitous dust-particles and organisms have been intro- duced, should first be thoroughly cleansed of mechanical irritants, and then washed, and, if need be, syringed with a watery solution of corrosive sublimate, zinc chloride, or carbolic acid. The wound thus rendered aseptic, and the removal of discharges, if need be, provided for, it is to be protectedfrom ingress of organisms by antiseptic dressings. Digitized by Microsoft® 40 PRINCIPLES OF ANTISEPTIC SURGERY Wounds become septic not so much from the germs found in the atmosphere as from those found on the hands of the operator.—(Lord Lister.) Any wound from a clean knife, or howsoever produced, if it is perfectly aseptic, is as quickly as possible covered with the dressing. This consists of lint, tow, oakum, or other such absorbent substance, saturated with an effectual germicide solution of carbolic acid, which has the advantage of being volatile, of perchloride or biniodide of mercury, or of boric or salicylic acids. These dressings are removed daily, or as required, and are continued till healthy granulations cover and protect the wound. Further, to prevent wounds from being inoculated by septic germs, the knives, probes, ligatures, sponges, drainage tubes, and other appliances used in connection with them, should lie in an antiseptic solution until required, while the operator, whose hands should be most scrupulously clean, must repeatedly moisten his hands with a similar solution. Wounds kept strictly aseptic heal quickly; if otherwise properly treated inflammation rarely appears, inasmuch as the conditions determining irritation are avoided; pain con- sequently is slight and of brief duration; suppuration does not occur, its organismal causes being excluded; blood-clots are preserved from harmful decomposition, and are gradually replaced by new tissue; portions of damaged structure without hurt are removed; septicemia and pyzemia cannot occur when micro-organisms and their products have been destroyed or prevented from entering the protected wound. Serious operations, such as opening the chest or abdomen, exposing joints and tendon sheaths, can be undertaken with greatly diminished risk when proper antiseptic precautions are adopted. Carbolic acid is the antiseptic most frequently used in veterinary surgery. Its volatility carries it into the recesses of wounds, and thus in many cases increases its efficacy. Itis applied, according to circumstances, in the proportion of one part dissolved in twenty to forty of water; but besides watery solutions, liniments and antiseptic lints are used. It is em- ployed alone or in conjunction with corrosive sublimate. Digitized by Microsoft® ANTISEPTICS FOR INTERNAL, USE 41 As an effectual non-poisonous antiseptic and parasiticide, Professor Fréhner and other German authorities strongly recommend Jeyes’ creolin, which is a derivative of coal- tar. Salicylic acid destroys some ferments, but is not volatile; it is used especially for the dressing of ulcers and eczema. Boric acid is non-volatile, non-irritant, and is often serviceable for superficial wounds, where frequent dressings are unnecessary, where the more active carbolic acid has for some time been persevered with, and where granulations and growth of skin require encouragement. The watery solution of sulphurous acid is cheap and effectual. Chlorinated soda solution is sometimes used. ‘Sanitas,’ which consists of camphoraceous bodies and peroxide of hydrogen, is a non- poisonous and valuable antiseptic. Iodoform readily parts with its 90 per cent. of iodine, conjoins antiseptic and local anesthetic actions, and stimulates granulation. It is applied to ulcers and chronic foul wounds. Such poisonous dressings require, however, to be used with some care for dogs, as they are liable to lick them. Iodine tincture undiluted or diluted according to requirements, proves a useful stimulant and antiseptic ; zine chloride, chinosol, lysol, Izal, Formaldehyde, Naphthol, and Thymol are also employed. Antiseptics used internally are neither so certain nor so effective as when used externally. Bacteria within the living body are not easily reached or destroyed; and, moreover, medicines such as corrosive sublimate and carbolic acid, which readily destroy the micro-organisms, are also liable to poison the patient. Dr. Cash, however, has found that the continued administration of minute doses of corrosive sub- limate render animals capable of resisting the deadly effects of the subsequent inoculation of anthrax. Professor Polli of Milan found that dogs, which for five days previously had received daily doses of sodium sulphite, suffered compara- tively little inconvenience from the inoculation of fotid pus, which destroyed, with gangrene and typhoid symptoms, dogs not previously protected by the antiseptic. Mr. Crookes (Cattle Plague Commission, 1866) injected into the veins of a cow affected with cattle plague 105 grains of carbolic acid, dissolved in 6 ounces of glycerin and water. Not only Digitized by Microsoft® 42 METHODS OF DISINFECTION were no bad effects produced, but the cow steadily improved and recovered. But even more to the purpose, as showing the efficacy of the administration of antiseptics, is the ob- servation that cattle in plague-infected buildings receiving daily an ounce of carbolic acid along with their food, and having carbolic and sulphurous acid fumes frequently liberated in their sheds, did not contract the disease. Researches in this direction will probably lead to important results. To prevent decomposition of the contents of the digestive canal, allay irritation and vomiting, and relieve diarrhea and dysentery, such antiseptics as salol, dermatol, naph- thol, tannalbin, lysol, creolin, creosote, carbolic, salicylic, and sulphurous acids are administered. Alcohol, ether-oils, and other members of the fatty series of carbon compounds, are prescribed. Most of the bodies of the aromatic series are also antiseptics; but carbolic and salicylic acids are more active than salol, exalgin, thallin, and resorcin. Creolin and lysol are the antiseptics most frequently pre- scribed in Germany. The notable efficacy of mercurials in many gastro-intestinal disorders depends upon their anti- septic properties. In the treatment of phthisis in human patients, inhalation of spray, containing very minute quan- tities of corrosive sublimate, has been used with some success. The uses of disinfectants.—Perfect cleanliness of the animals and their surroundings, with sunlight and abundance of pure air and water, are the chief purifying agents re- quisite, so long as animals are in perfect health. When, however, contagious or zymotic disease occurs, it is necessary to destroy the specific micro-organisms produced, and prevent their diffusing and attacking healthy subjects. Pure air dilutes, but it also diffuses, and does not destroy these contagious organisms. Water, like air, mechanically dilutes noxious matters, and hastens their oxidation. Sewage freely mixed with running water is hence rapidly decomposed and robbed of injurious properties. Decomposing organic and contagious matters, insufficiently diluted with water, instead, however, of being Digitized by Microsoft® EFFICACY OF DISINFECTANTS 43 deprived of their activity, are apt to get distributed, and are liable to assume more dangerous forms. Hence, in purifying foul or infected places, solid accumulations should be mixed with some fitting antiseptic, and removed without the addi- tion of water. Infected stables, sheds, market-stances, trucks, and ships should be swept out, and, if need be, scraped; and dry or semi-solid filth, which proves so ready an absorbent of contagious virus, should be mixed with disinfectants, and cleared away. The partially cleansed surfaces should then be well washed with carbolic soap and water, or corrosive sublimate solution; brickwork subsequently lime-washed, and woodwork sprinkled with carbolic acid in the proportion of two ounces to the gallon of water. It is of paramount importance to attack the infecting micro-organisms as soon as they are produced, and before they have opportunity for distribution. Animals affected with contagious diseases should accordingly be immediately isolated, provided with attendants who shall have nothing to do with the healthy stock, their droppings at once dis- infected, their skin and feet washed daily with some disinfectant, whilst antiseptic medicine should be given internally. Sheds or stables occupied by infected animals should be fumigated with chlorine or sulphurous acid. The former is the more effectual, and is evolved gradually by treating bleaching powder with diluted sulphuric acid, or more freely by mixing common salt and black oxide of manganese with sulphuric acid. Half-a-pound of sulphur, mixed with about one-fourth part of charcoal, and placed in a chauffer or on a shovel of hot cinders, fumigates a shed about 100 feet long and 20 feet in breadth and height. Neither chlorine nor sulphurous gas, properly managed, should cause pulmonary irritation, either to the animals or their attendants. Carbolic acid in its impure liquid form is conveniently applied with a brush over the doors, walls, and mangers; and carbolic powder should be scattered daily over the floors and manure heaps. Rugs or sacks, wetted with a strong solution of the volatile carbolic acid, should be hung about the premises. The reporters to the Cattle Plague Commission adduced Digitized by Microsoft® 44 EFFICACY OF DISINFECTANTS many striking cases showing the efficacy of disinfectants. Mr. William Crookes and others used carbolic and sulphurous acids on many farms during the prevalence of cattle plague, and these herds, although within centres of contagion, escaped. Nay, more, individual animals breathing an atmosphere of carbolic acid, and receiving daily doses of the acid with their food, resisted the disease for weeks, although plague-stricken subjects were dying in adjoining standings. One herd of seventy-three animals in Cheshire was for months surrounded by cattle plague. The virus was eventually conveyed to them by one of the milkmen. Four of the cows milked by him sickened and died: twenty-eight younger animals, unprotected by disinfection, also perished ; but disinfection, continuously applied, effectually arrested further spread of the disease. From the end of February until the middle of April no new cases occurred. The disease abating in the neighbourhood, the forty-one surviving cows were turned out to grass; within, however, a few days of their removal from the protecting influence of the dis- infectants, they were, one after another, struck down by plague, and all died. Carbolic acid sprinkled about the boxes, sheds, and enclosures of the Jardin d’Acclimatation, in Paris, proved successful in preventing the spread of cattle plague in 1865. Similar treatment has secured the like immunity from attacks of contagious pleuro-pneumonia and foot-and-mouth disease. Repeated instances have come under my notice where foot-and-mouth disease has been arrested, after a portion of the herd has been attacked, by washing twice a week the walls, floors, doors, and other woodwork of the infected premises with carbolic acid, con- fining the animals for several weeks to their sheds or boxes, and keeping them surrounded by an atmosphere abounding in the tar acids, freshly evolved by sprinkling M‘Dougall’s powder daily over the floors and the manure. By similar disinfection, the progress of influenza and of strangles in large studs has frequently been arrested. Professor Nocard has shown that, when a cow aborts, whether from mechanical and accidental causes, or from virus introduced from subjects which have previously aborted, further cases of the mishap Digitized by Microsoft® SPREAD OF CONTAGION 45 may be prevented by corrosive sublimate injections into the vagina, washing the external organs with a similar solution, and disinfecting and burying or burning the aborted calf and membranes. Incalvers standing with those aborting should have the external organs and tail washed daily with an antiseptic solution. Burning is the only absolutely safe method of dealing with the bodies of anthrax subjects, from which removal of the hides is dangerous to persons employed or, it may be, to other animals. Cattle plague and swine fever subjects should be either burned or deeply buried; while for the diseased organs of tuberculous patients the furnace is the only safe tomb. A high temperature, as already indicated, destroys infec- tive particles. Koch, as above stated, found that the bacilli of anthrax and swine fever, even when bearing spores, were deprived of pathogenic power when exposed for four hours to a temperature of 216° to 220° Fahr.; while exposure for five minutes to boiling water, or, better still, to steam heat, is equally effective. The power of steam depends—(1) on its latent heat ; (2) on its moistening ; (3) on its condensing ; (4) on its penetrating. It is most effective when employed under pressure, and when its entrance into the chamber is occasionally interrupted, so that cold air in the interstices of bulky and non-conducting bodies may be displaced. Dr. Russell, Glasgow, exposed all infected washable articles, for three-quarters of an hour in a chamber, to steam heat, along with soap and soda, and found that this treatment destroyed bacilli of anthrax and swine fever, tuberculous pus, and also the ova of lice. This method should, where practicable, be adopted in the case of rugs and other articles used by infected animals. Conveyance of contagium by attendants is prevented by sprinkling their clothes with weak carbolic solutions. After handling animals affected by contagious disease, or making post-mortem examinations of such subjects, the hands should be cleansed first with soap and water, and then washed with a 4 per cent. solution of carbolic acid, or with a solution of 12-15 grains corrosive sublimate Digitized by Microsoft® 46 DISINFECTANTS FOR DIFFERENT PURPOSES to a quart of water, which very effectually destroys any adhering bacilli. So soon as the premises in which animals affected with contagious disease have lived can be emptied, more thorough disinfection should be carried out. To this end, doors and windows having been closed, chlorine or sulphurous acid should be freely evolved, and the place kept shut for several hours. Walls, floors, and woodwork should subsequently be scraped, and washed with corrosive sublimate solution or other disinfectant. Different disinfectants are suitable for different pur- poses. For putrefying or contagious matters mixed with water, the best are mineral salts, of which the most effective and cheapest are corrosive sublimate; zinc chloride, in the familiar form of Burnet’s fluid; and iron chloride, the active constituent of Ellerman’s deodorising fluid. For sewage disinfection, or where there is much water, aluminium sul- phate, followed by lime, can be recommended. Sulphites promptly remove smells, and are most effectual when con- joined with the tar acids. The mixture of sodium sulphite and carbolic or cresylic acid, although effectual for deodoris- ing, has a feeble power in preventing the putrefaction of night soil, for which Condy’s fluid is most useful. Common salt, although ineffectual in checking decay when once established, or in neutralising bad smells, is a cheap pre- server of many animal substances. It preserves and disinfects skins. For conserving for manure meat seized as unfit for human food, Coopeyr’s salts, consisting of refuse commercial chlorides, are cheap and effectual. Iodine is volatile and penetrating. It is used in many sick-rooms and hospitals, conveniently dissolved in the light diffusible pentane. The solution contains 20 grains to the ounce; an ounce suffices for four cubic feet of space; distributed by a spray producer, it volatilises rapidly ; it leaves, when freely used, a film of iodine, and effectually destroys smells and noxious organic matter. Its expense, however, precludes its general use in veterinary practice. The uses of deodorisers.— Bad smells, however unpleasant, are not necessarily prejudicial to health, and, although some- Digitized by Microsoft® DEODORISERS 47 times associated with, are perfectly distinct from, the micro- organisms of zymotic or contagious diseases. Objectionable smells are largely made up of sulphuretted hydrogen, phos- phuretted hydrogen, and nitrogen gases, with sulphurous and ammoniacal compounds. Still more injurious are the noisome exhalations from the skin and lungs of animals. Some popular deodorisers only cloak and overpower, instead of neutralising or destroying offensive smells. Of this descrip- tion are fumigations with aromatic and balsamic substances, such as camphor, cascarilla, and lavender, the burning of brown paper, the sprinkling of scents and essences. Odours depending upon gases are readily removed by effectual chemical neutralisers: sulphuretted hydrogen, by chlorine; ammoniacal emanations, by hydrochloric and nitric acids. Smells from decomposing organic matters are usually most effectually got rid of by arresting decomposition by suitable antiseptics. Noisome odours already floating in the air may be attracted and absorbed by freshly-burned charcoal, dried earth, or cotton wool; or altered and broken up by such gases as chlorine and sulphurous acid. For destroying the intolerable smell from cochineal dye-works, no deodoriser has been found so satisfactory as sulphurous acid. For deodorising the contents of privies, without detracting from the manurial value, a mixture of common salt and carbolic acid, or eight parts of calcined dolomite mixed with two of peat or of wood charcoal, can be recommended. Powerful mineral antiseptics, such as the zinc and iron chlorides, especially when used in concentrated solution, are not good deodorisers. They are apt to evolve disagreeable fatty acids. Not being volatile, they can only destroy the odorous particles brought into immediate contact with them. Iodine, dissolved in spirit, although an expensive, is an elegant and effective deodoriser. Cresylic and carbolic acids are good deodorisers, and are volatile, but have the dis- advantage, when used in concentrated form and in presence of much water, of evolving sulphuretted hydrogen. A mix- ture of dry sodium sulphite with carbolic acid is effectual, and moderate in cost, and should be placed in vessels about the premises. M‘Dougall’s disinfecting powder is also good, Digitized by Microsoft® 48 PARASITICIDES AND ANTIPERIODICS especially when charged with an extra quantity of carbolic acid; animals appear to have no dislike to the tar-like odour, and nothing answers better for removing the smell and arresting the decomposition of stable or other manure. Jeyes’ Fluid—one part in 80 to 100 of water—is largely used as a deodorant for cattle-sheds, stables, piggeries, and kennels, Chlorinated lime, in the familiar form of bleaching powder, although possessed of small antiseptic power, is a prompt and effectual deodoriser, can be employed either for solid or liquid impurities, gives off chlorine, and never causes any disagreeable combinations; but breaking up instead of pre- serving organic matters, it diminishes the value of manure with which it is mixed. It is applied as powder, or in solution containing from 2 to 5 per cent., to the walls, wood- work, and floors of the places requiring purification, or sheets soaked in the solution are suspended about the premises. Parasiticwes are killers of parasites, whether animal or vegetable. The group includes germicides, or killers of micro-organisms (p. 31), and vermicides, which will be sub- sequently noticed. They are referred to here as they mainly consist of antiseptics. The two varieties of ringworm pro- duced by fungi are destroyed by antiseptic solutions, by phenol oils, and tincture of iodine. Scab and mange caused by various acari are treated by sulphur ointments, solutions of carbolic acid, creolin, or arsenic, or by tobacco infusion. The strongylides invading the bronchial tubes of young cattle and sheep, and causing hoose or husk, are destroyed by inhalation of diluted sulphurous acid, or chlorine, or by turpentine, chloroform, or terebene, given intratracheally. Antireriopics are medicines which mitigate or prevent intermittent intensity of the symptoms of certain diseases. Such periodical recrudescence is less marked in the lower animals than in man, but is sometimes observable in the pyrexia of influenza in horses and distemper in dogs. These exacerbations usually occur in specific disorders, and are believed to result from the recurring development of fresh crops of micro-organisms or their products. Cinchona, quinine, iodine, arsenic, and salicin, are the most effective antiperiodics. Digitized by Microsoft® COUNTER-IRRITANTS 49 REMEDIES ACTING ON THE SURFACE OF THE BODY RUBEFACIENTS—VESICANTS—PUSTULANTS—CAUSTICS—SETONS —THE ACTUAL CAUTERY—ASTRINGENTS—DEMULCENTS— EMOLLIENTS —DILUENTS Irritants, or Counter-irritants, applied to the skin, produce nervous and vascular reaction, and reflexly induce certain remote effects. They relieve or remove congestion and pain, and, by stimulating functional activity, promote repair. It is not always easy, however, to explain how these curative results are produced. Heat and cold both relieve tension, and hence pain; but they produce their effects in different ways. Cold reflexly contracts arteries, and hence lessens the quantity of blood flowing to an inflamed part. Warmth dilates capillaries adjacent to the seat of inflammation, and hence slows the blood current. Cold lessens the amceboid movements of the white corpuscles, but to be effective it must be used in the earlier stages of inflammation, and continuously for a considerable time. Trritation or inflammation of the skin surface, as indicated, frequently relieves or removes congestion or inflammation, and pain of adjacent or deeper-seated parts. To effect such purposes blisters are applied, in most animals, in sore throat, bronchitis, pleurisy, inflamed joints, etc. Their curative actions are thus explained : When the chest walls are blistered in a case of pleuro-pneumonia, so soon as the skin becomes hot and tender, a stimulus is conveyed by the afferent nerves to the vaso-motor medullary centres, and thence is reflected by the vaso-motor nerves, causing the lung and pleural capillaries to dilate, and thus diminishing tension and pain. Dr. Lauder Brunton mentions that when ‘ cantharides collo- dion was painted repeatedly over the back of a rabbit for fourteen days, the vessels underneath the skin and the superficial layers of muscles were congested. The deeper layers of the muscles, the thoracic wall, and even the lung itself, were much paler and more anemic than those of the D Digitized by Microsoft® 50 RUBEFACIENTS—VESICANTS other side.’ A blister is thus believed to act in the same way as a warm poultice, viz., it dilates the congested or inflamed capillary network. Counter-irritants may occa- sionally, however, act reflexly, as cold does, and by contract- ing arterial vessels, relieve congestion, inflammation, and pain. But whether a blister dilates or contracts the capil- laries of affected parts, it certainly increases circulation through them, promoting cell growth and hastening absorp- tion. It thus restores healthy action in most inflamed organs, in swollen glands and joints. The several classes of irritants used externally differ materially in the intensity and duration of their effects. Ruseracients produce slight redness and vascular dilata- tion or congestion, and are represented by ammonia solu- tion, iodine, mild preparations of cantharides, and arnica; by alcohol, ether, and chloroform, if evaporation be prevented by oiled silk or other means ; by turpentine and other volatile oils, as well as by smart friction and moderate heat. The laundress’s smoothing-iron heated and pressed equably over the skin, either bare or covered with brown paper or flannel, proves a useful rubefacient in rheumatism and enlarged joints in delicate young animals. Owing to the colour of the skin and abundance of hair, reddening in veterinary patients is, however, less obvious than in man. Massage or friction with pressure, as in kneading or shampooing, exerts many of the effects of counter-irritants, and, moreover, assists in mechanically relieving overloaded lymph vessels and veins. In this way hand-rubbing reduces the swollen legs and joints of hard-worked horses. VESICANTs are more active; cause exudation of plasma, which, collecting under the epidermis, raises vesicles or blisters. Vesicles contain a fluid consisting of about 78 parts of water, 18 of albumin, with a little fibrin, and 4 of salts. Steam and boiling water rapidly produce a large amount of effusion. Blisters, by whatsoever agent raised, after some days generally dry up, protecting the parts until the new epidermis forms. Cantharides, mustard, acetic acid, turpentine, and strong ammonia, are the vesicants commonly used in veterinary practice. Digitized by Microsoft® PUSTULANTS AND CAUSTICS 51 Pustuzants inflame the deep-seated cutaneous tissues, especially the orifices of the sweat glands, cause exudation of leucocytes and raise pustules. These are the effects of euphorbium, croton oil, tartar emetic, mercury biniodide ; and also of cantharides, mustard, and other active vesicants, when applied with sufficient friction. Caustics combine with the water and albumin of the tissues, with which they are brought into contact, and cause the separation of a slough. Those producing extensive sloughing receive the title of escharotics. Caustics are exemplified by the concentrated mineral acids, glacial acetic, carbolic, and chromic acids, concentrated alkalies, antimony chloride, arsenic, bromine, and the soluble salts of the heavy metals. Caustics are used to destroy parasites or virus in wounds, and for this purpose penetrating fluid caustics are some- times preferable to solid. They are employed for opening abscesses, and for removing warts and other growths, especi- ally when so deep-seated and vascular that they cannot be safely extirpated by the knife. When employed to arrest hemorrhage from accidental or surgical wounds, they receive the special title of styptics. When thus used, the blood is removed by a piece of lint or a sponge, and the part lightly pressed, so that the blood-vessels may be more readily seen, and the caustic applied to them with precision, and with as little destruction as possible of surrounding textures. The effect of the styptic may be seconded by equable pressure and application of cold. (See Astringents and Styptics.) But besides these more direct and mainly chemical actions, they develop more complex and vital reparative effects. Applied, for example, to indolent or callous ulcers, they stimulate the trophic nerves and blood-vessels, promote healthy nutrition, and thus hasten healing. Lightly used, they condense soft, spongy, exuberant granulations, and hasten the cicatrisation of sinuses. These beneficial effects on morbid processes probably result, not only from direct action on the diseased tissues, but also from indirect reflex action on surrounding parts; in other words, from counter- irritation. Digitized by Microsoft® 52 THE ACTUAL CAUTERY Serons are sometimes substituted for blisters or firing, and are frequently preferred to firing on account of their being less apt to blemish. The seton consists of a- piece of tape or cord, and is usually inserted by means of a seton needle. To prevent slipping out, its ends are tied together, or knotted. It is usually moved daily ; and if severe effects are desired, it is smeared with blistering ointment. Setons act chiefly on the comparatively insensitive subcutaneous cellular tissues. They are serviceable in combating chronic inflam- mation of joints, and in relieving some forms of lameness. Placed in the dewlap, they have also been used as preventives for black-quarter in calves and young cattle; and the effects ascribed to them may result from their increasing the phago- cytes which destroy the specific bacilli. A rowel acts in much the same manner as a seton. A wound is made in the skin with a bistoury or rowel scissors, and is kept open by the insertion of a pledget of tow, or a disc of leather, which, to increase counter-irritation, is smeared with blistering ointment. Acupuncture is effected by needles three to six inches in length, introduced into fleshy parts, with a rotary movement. Occasionally anodynes are deeply injected into muscles for the relief of rheumatic pain. Tue Actuat Cautery is still much used in veterinary practice as a counter-irritant. It is generally applied at a full red heat, and the higher the temperature, the less the pain attending its application. It is employed for some of the purposes of active vesicants, and also of caustics. In the treatment of chronic inflammation of bones, joints, ligaments, and tendons, for which it is chiefly used, it modifies the nutrition of the diseased part. Deep cauterisation with penetration, as in pyropuncturing exostoses, increases the activity of the inflammatory process and hastens consolida- tion. Moderate cauterisation, as in linear or transcurrent firing, acts as a revulsive, and promotes absorption of exudate and resolution. The fired skin does not, as was once believed, form a permanent bandage around the parts; for a short time indeed after the operation the skin is corrugated and tightened, but it soon resumes its natural elasticity, and does Digitized by Microsoft® USES OF COUNTER-IRRITANTS 53 not embrace the subjacent parts more firmly than in health. The firing of healthy limbs, with the popular idea of strengthening and bracing them up, is now deservedly dis- countenanced, and any benefits apparently accruing really result from the rest which the operation necessitates. In nervous, excitable horses, firing occasionally produces irri- tative fever, especially if several parts are fired at the same time. Dry Cupping is occasionally employed as a derivant or irritant in the human subject, and is equally serviceable in the lower animals. The uses of counter-irritants——In influenza, bronchitis, and other depressing disorders of horses, in order to rouse the action of the heart and avert lung congestion, rube- facients, such as soap liniments or mustard paste, are some- times rubbed into the chest, abdomen, or legs, and when the surface is warmed, as it generally will be in ten to fifteen minutes, the dressing is washed off. Counter-irritants are in common use in certain stages of inflammation of the joints, air passages, intestines, and their investing membranes. They are more beneficial in laryngitis and bronchitis affecting the larger tubes, and in pleurisy, than in pneumonia. In the outset of inflammatory attacks, by reflex action, they lessen hyperemia, chiefly by stimulating the dilated paralysed capil- laries, thus favouring resolution. In more acute stages, when blood-plasma and red and white corpuscles are escaping through the walls of the distended vessels, fomentations and poultices are generally more suitable than irritants. When the urgency of the febrile symptoms has somewhat abated, counter-irritants are, however, again useful in promoting absorption of inflammatory products, and they frequently invigorate enfeebled, over-distended capillaries, and sub- stitute higher formative for lower debased action. Blisters act more powerfully on horses than on cattle, and require to be used with special caution on dogs, which are apt to bite and rub the blistered parts, and thus induce sloughing. For general purposes in canine practice, iodine is a most useful counter-irritant. The action of turpentine on the skin of horses is peculiar. Applied over a consider- Digitized by Microsoft® 54 CHOICE OF COUNTER-IRRITANTS able surface, it produces such intense irritation that some animals for a short time become unmanageable, a result the more remarkable as turpentine acts but slightly on the more delicate human skin. The choice of a counter-irritant and the mode of using it are determined by various conditions. Promptly to produce general revulsion, as in combating chill, rousing nervous depression, or overcoming such functional disturb- ance as occasions colic, mustard and other rubefacients are specially indicated. To act more permanently on parts in which nutrition has been more seriously impaired, cantha- rides is the appropriate counter-irritant. Where bone, cartilage, or ligament has been chronically affected, still more profound and permanent effects result from the use of mercuric biniodide ointment, the hot needle-iron, or setons. In inflammatory diseases of the chest in horses mustard is preferable to cantharides. In well-bred sensitive animals a pound of mustard flour made into a paste with water is rubbed into the sides and washed off in half-an-hour. In the heavier less sensitive breeds paper is laid over the mustard dressing, and the body-sweater loosely applied. Some horses show considerable restiveness, and even pain. So soon, however, as tenderness and swelling are notable externally, as they usually are in a few hours, the chest symptoms abate. No other remedy affords such prompt and effectual relief in these cases. Indeed, when mustard fails to produce its external irritant results, the patient’s chances of recovery are small. Professor Williams, how- ever, disapproves of the use of all blisters in chest diseases, urging that, besides causing needless pain, they aggravate the inflammation. He further states that they increase the liability to hydrothorax, while, when used in diseases of joints, he declares that the superficial inflammation they produce extends to the subcutaneous tissues, including even the periosteum and bones. These charges are inconsistent with physiological obser- vations, and are effectually disproved by the five following experiments, undertaken by Professor M‘Call in 1891 :-— 1, Post-mortem examination of the chest of a horse, Digitized by Microsoft® PROFESSOR M‘CALL’S EXPERIMENTS 55 which, three days prior to slaughter, had mustard as a counter-irritant applied. Inflammatory congestion of the skin and subcutaneous cellular tissue, with effusion very pronounced, but periosteum, ribs, and other tissues unaltered in colour or consistency. 2. Post-mortem examination of a chronically diseased hock-joint which had been pyropunctured, and thereafter blistered, about one week prior to slaughter. Inflammatory action produced in the skin, and markedly at the points of puncture on the superficial layer of subcutaneous tissue ; but all structures deeper placed not in the least affected or altered in appearance. 3. Post-mortem examination of chronically enlarged fore fetlock joints of a horse, which, three days prior to slaughter, had been blistered with cantharides ointment. Inflammatory action and effusion confined to skin and subcutaneous cellular tissue. 4, Post-mortem examination of a lady-toed worn harness horse, having a large splint or bony growth on the inside of each fore limb, with considerable thickening of the skin from brushing, and to which diseased parts cantharides blisters had been applied three days prior to slaughter. Inflam- matory action marked upon skin and cellular tissue, but no deeper. 5. Post-mortem examination of a horse which had a con- siderable growth of bone, involving the last row of small bones of hock, and head of large metatarsal bone on the outside, and which had been line fired, and thereafter blistered with cantharides ointment, three days prior to slaughter. Evidences of the effect of counter-irritation well marked, but confined, as in all the previous cases, to the skin and subcutaneous cellular tissue, and leaving the periosteum, bones, and deeper structures to the unaided eye unaffected and unchanged in colour. Before a blister is applied, the skin should be well washed with soap and water, and the hair, when long or thick, removed with scissors or razor. The effect of the blister may be hastened and increased by subjecting the part to smart friction, or the action of hot water, and by Digitized by Microsoft® 56 ASTRINGENTS CONDENSE LIVING TISSUES rubbing the agent well in, taking care to spread it over the surface of the part diseased. Violent, deep-seated action is seldom desirable. Better curative results are usually attained by moderate and continuous effects kept up by repeated applications. Counter-irritants may generally be applied directly over the inflamed area, when removal of fluid or inflammatory products is desired; but should seldom be applied to ex- tensive acutely inflamed parts, or to tissues immediately continuous with them. An inflamed joint is sometimes better treated by placing the blister above and around rather than upon the acutely painful spot. According to the late Dr. Anstie, the irritant, if applied over the spinal nerve trunk, from which the irritated nerve-branch issues, often produces reflex effects of a beneficial character. When vitality is low, or the skin irritable, blisters are apt to cause sloughing. When inordinate local irritation has been produced, it may be abated by fomentations, while undue constitutional excitement is removed by opiates, diluents, a mash diet, and salines. On the next or second day after a blister has been applied, the part should be dressed with zinc ointment, lard, vaseline, oil, glycerin, or acetate of lead lotion. Asrrincents condense the living tissues. Many pro- duce their effects by coagulating or precipitating albumin. These comprise alum, chalk, salts of the heavier metals, acids, and alcohol, with tannic acid, and such tannin-con- taining substances as oak-bark and catechu. All caustics used in small quantity, or diluted solution, are astringent. Agents, such as ergot, digitalis, turpentine and other volatile oils, and eucalyptus gum, have no coagulant power on albumin, but constringe the tissues, in virtue of their action on the walls of the nutrient arterioles. Gallic acid has hitherto been regarded as an astringent, but experiments made by Dr. Stockman (British Medical Jowrnal, 1886) show that it has no claim to any special coagulant action nor any effect in lessening, like ergot, the calibre of blood- vessels, either by peripheral or central action. Like all other acids, although in less degree, it possesses, however, Digitized by Microsoft® ~ STYPTICS 57 the power of diminishing the alkalinity of the blood, hence increasing its tendency to coagulate. The remote effects of vegetable, and probably of other astringents, have been over-estimated. So soon as their chemical aftinities havé been satisfied by union with a base or with albumin, they must evidently lose their power of coagulating or pre- cipitating albumin ; and it is therefore difficult to compre- hend how they can exert astringent effects upon either the respiratory or the urinary mucous membrane. Astringents are used to diminish excessive, and modify faulty, secretion, to combat congestion of cutaneous and mucous surfaces, and to arrest limited recent superficial inflammation. These results appear to be obtained in several ways. Heinz has shown that they prevent exudation of leucocytes. But, howsoever acting, some change is effected in the vascular walls, not always, however, by narrowing the vessels, for such notable astringents as alum and tannic acid dilate vessels; while silver nitrate acts on the cement sub- stance of the endothelium. Their efficacy is often well seen in circumscribed inflammation of the conjunctiva or fauces. Solutions of tannin, eucalyptus gum, or alum, in spray or gargle, or inhalations of turpentine vapour, mixed with air, arrest the inordinate secretion, and relieve the congestion of sore throat and bronchitis. Their application in disorders of the digestive organs will receive special notice under that heading. As injections and suppositories, they are used in irritable and inflamed conditions of the vagina and uterus. The uterus and rectum, when prolapsed, are washed with astringent antiseptics, in order to diminish their irritability and swelling, and to facilitate their safe return. They con- dense exuberant granulations, lessen and amend discharges from wounds and ulcers, which they usually coat with a pro- tective film of albumin. Sryvprics are astringents specially used to arrest bleeding. Some, like matico, tow, lint, or pressure, mechanically check blood-flow from superficial vessels; others, like most astrin- gents and caustics, coagulate albumin, and thus plug the leaking vessels; others, like ergot, digitalis, ice, ether spray, and antipyrine in tannic acid solution, contract capillary Digitized by Microsoft® 58 DEMULCENTS—-EMOLLIENTS vessels, while lead acetate probably acts in a twofold way, increasing coagulability of the blood, and also contracting arterioles. In serious internal hemorrhage, it is further desirable that the patient be kept quiet, and that his food be given cold. ; Demutcents soothe and protect parts with which they come into contact, act chiefly mechanically, and closely resemble emollients. They include gums, mucilage, linseed, cotton-wool and collodion, fuller’s earth, starch, treacle, gelatin, albumin, fats, oils, glycerin, and milk. They take the place of mucus and other natural demulcents, where these are deficient or wanting. They lubricate or defend abraded or irritable parts from external injury, acrid dis- charges, and poisonous matters. When absorbed, they exert, although in modified degree, remote demulcent effects. They are employed in solution, spray, draught, or enema, to relieve dry, irritable conditions of the skin, respiratory, digestive, and urino-genital membranes. Emo.uients soften, soothe, and relax the parts to which they are applied. They resemble demulcents, and include many of the articles specified in that class, as well as those substances which absorb and retain heat and moisture. They are represented by fomentations, poultices, and spongio-piline, and by folds of lint, flannel, or woollen cloth, wrung out of hot water, and covered with water- proofing. (See Poultices and Fomentations.) Fats, oils, lanoline, vaseline, paraffin, with soap and other liniments, are also emollients. Fatty emollients rubbed into the skin soften and supple it; and when applied with smart and continued friction, they also increase tissue changes, and hasten removal of deposits. In the form of watery vapour, simple or medicated emollients relieve irritability and congestion of the respiratory mucous membrane. Not only do they reduce tension and relax tissues to which they are immediately applied, but, acting on adjacent vaso-motor centres, they dilate collateral blood-vessels ; and mainly in this way fomentations and poultices relieve irritation and inflammation of the throat, lungs, and other deep-seated organs. In the earlier stages of inflammation Digitized by Microsoft® MUSCULAR STIMULANTS 59 they promote resolution; and in all stages they relieve heat, tension, pain, and spasm. Although serviceable for softening and cleansing wounds, they should not be used — for wounds in process of healing by first intention or adhesion. Ditvents are allied to demulcents and emollients, are liquid or solid substances used along with more active agents in order to diminish their activity. Water is generally their basis, and they include most demulcent drugs. They promote the action of diaphoretics, diuretics, and cathartics. MEDICINES ACTING ON MUSCLES MUSCULAR POISONS—MUSCULAR STIMULANTS Muscles possess extensibility and retractility. Heat renders muscles less extensible and more retractile; cold, and section of an important nerve, have the opposite effects. Fatigue and acids, notably lactic acid, one of the products of muscular waste, increase extensibility. Very dilute alkalies diminish extensibility. Irritability is increased by heat and physostigmine; while it is diminished by cold, curare, and other substances which cause muscular paralysis. Con- traction and relaxation of muscles, possibly consisting, like other forms of motion, in waves of vibration, appear to be connected with chemical changes in the muscle resembling oxidation; oxygen is used up, while sarco-lactic and sub- sequently carbonic acids are formed. These products, and the accompanying fatigue consequent on repeated violent contractions are removed experimentally by washing out the muscle with a current of blood. A saline solution, notably potassium permanganate, by ready oxidation, causes similar results, which likewise follow the use of a mere trace of veratrine. In practice, removal of these waste products is hastened by shampooing the muscles or massage, the effects of which, in overcoming fatigue, are fully recognised. In like manner thorough grooming and diligent hand- Digitized by Microsoft® 60 MUSCULAR POISONS rubbing of the limbs of horses after hard work lessen fatigue, and prevent subsequent stiffness and swelling of joints. Spasm consists of irregular purposeless contractions of voluntary and involuntary muscles, usually depending on faulty action of the higher co-ordinating centres. Spasm of involuntary muscles, as illustrated by that of the heart, blood-vessels, bronchi, or intestines, is antagonised by nitrites, such as amyl-nitrite and nitrous ether (see Antispasmodics). ‘Rapid alternation of contraction and relaxation, or tremor, may affect either—(a) a few bundles of muscular fibres; (b) a single muscle; or (c) groups of muscles’ (Brunton). Such tremor may occur when the muscle is at rest, or when it is in motion. This form of insubordination may probably result from the number of stimuli from the nerve- centre being either too few or too many. If the stimuli are insufticiently rapid, veratrine or calcium salts, which increase the duration of each individual contraction, are recommended. When a muscle, or its motor nerve, receives an abnormal number of vibrations, or is over-stimulated, instead of contraction being followed by relaxation, per- manent contraction or tetanus ensues. Muscutar Poisons are divided by Dr. Lauder Brunton into the following six groups :— 1. Leaves the irritability of the muscle unaffected, but diminishes the total amount of work it is able to do. This ‘group contains apomorphine, saponin, salts of copper, zinc, and other emetics. Antimony, arsenic, and large doses of iron have somewhat similar but weaker effects. 2. Diminishes the excitability of the muscle, as well as its capacity for work. This group contains salts of potassium, lithium, and ammonium, the cinchona alkaloids, chloroform, and alcohol, in large doses. 3. Diminishes the capacity for work, and produces marked irregularity in its excitability, and contains lead, emetine, and cocaine. Similar effects are also pro- duced by ptomaines. Digitized by Microsoft® MUSCULAR POISONS 61 4. Alters the form of the muscular curve, as exhibited by veratrine, and to a similar, although less extent, by strontium and calcium salts. 5. Increases the excitability, as is notably done by physo- stigmine. 6. Increases the capacity for work. The agents belonging to this group cause rapid restoration of the muscle after fatigue, and are represented by creatin, hypo- xanthin, caffeine, and glycogen. These substances must hence be regarded, not only as nerve stimulants, but as direct muscular restoratives. Voluntary muscles differ from involuntary, not only in structure, but in other particulars. Their contraction and relaxation are more rapid. The nerves in voluntary muscles terminate in end-plates, while the terminal twigs in involun- tary muscles form a plexus round the fibres. Small doses of curare paralyse the motor nerves of voluntary muscles, but much larger doses are required to paralyse the nerves of involuntary muscles. On the other hand, small doses of atropine paralyse involuntary muscles, while much larger quantities must be used to affect voluntary muscles. Striking illustrations of the different effects on striated and unstriated muscle are recorded by ‘Szpilman and Luchsinger, who found that atropine produces paralysis of the motor fibres of the vagi supplying the cesophagus, only in those parts of it where involuntary muscular fibre is present. Thus, the cesophagus of the frog and the crop of birds consist of in- voluntary muscular fibre, and atropine destroys the motor power of the vagus over them. The cesophagus of the dog and rabbit contains striated muscular fibre, and atropine does not paralyse the motor nerves. The csophagus of the cat contains striated muscular fibres in its upper three- fourths, and non-striated in its lower fourth; atropine destroys the motor action of the vagus upon the lower fourth, but not upon the upper part’ (Brunton). The paralysing effects of drugs upon muscles are believed to result from their disturbing the relations between the nerves and the muscular fibres which they excite. Digitized by Microsoft® 62 MEDICINES ACTING ON THE NERVOUS SYSTEM MEDICINES ACTING ON THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. On vtTHE BRAIN.—CEREBRAL STIMULANTS — EXHILARANTS — CEREBRAL DEPRESSANTS — SOPORIFICS —- NARCOTICS — ANODYNES— ANTISPASMODICS—AN ESTHETICS. On tHE Spina CorD.—SPINAL STIMULANTS AND DEPRESSANTS. On Motor Nerves. —STIMULANTS—PARALYSERS. On Sensory Nerves. —STIMULANTS—LOCAL SEDATIVES—LOCAL AN ESTHETICS—ELECTRICITY. The nervous system of the higher animals comprises :— I. The brain, which takes cognisance of external im- pressions, co-ordinates movements, and originates mental or psychical ideas. Relatively to other parts of the nervous system, the brain of man is more highly developed than that of animals, and most drugs, accordingly, act upon it more powerfully than upon the less-developed brain of the horse, ox, or dog. The cerebellum is chiefly concerned in the maintenance of equilibrium. II. The spinal cord conveys sensory impulses to the brain and medulla, and transmits motor impulses to muscles and glands. The cord, moreover, in several ways, transmits and regulates reflex move- ments. That part of the cord, or, indeed, of the nervous system, most essential to life, is the medulla in which are situated the respiratory, cardiac, and other vital centres. III. Nerves of sensation, distributed to all parts of the body, convey impressions to the brain or cord. IV. From the cerebro-spinal axis arise nerves which give motion to muscles, and convey other efferent impulses to glands. Concerning the functions and diseases of the nervous system much has still to be discovered, while the effects of medicines acting upon the brain and cord have only recently been thoroughly examined, and still require much investigation. Digitized by Microsoft® CEREBRAL STIMULANTS 63 ACTION OF MEDICINES ON THE BRAIN Medicines affecting the brain act either directly on the nerve-cells or on the general circulation. Blood flowing freely through the brain increases its excitability; insufficient circulation diminishes excitability. Many medicines, such as alcohol and ether, act both directly on the nerve-cells and on the general circulation. They stimulate nerve-cells, wherever found, act on most of the brain centres, and, according to the dose in which they are given, are stimulants or depressants. Full doses very frequently exert primary stimulant, and secondary depressant, effects. Such medi- cines as opium, alcohol, and ether, according to dose, are stimulant, narcotic, soporific, or anesthetic; and accordingly have the disadvantage of affecting functions which it may be undesirable to disturb. The cerebro-motor centres have their excitability lowered by alcohol, chloral, and cold. The depression caused by cold, unless extreme, or applied for a long period, is followed, how- ever, by reaction. Bromides of potassium and ammonium, without disturbing the relations of one centre to another, appear to have a marked effect in lowering general brain activity. Still more prompt and powerful are anesthetics which abolish all motor action. Atropine in small doses increases, but in large doses diminishes, motor excitability. The motor centres have their excitability increased by mechanical irritation, as by the point of a needle, which pro- duces epileptic convulsions. But similar convulsions also ensue when the vessels of the brain are surcharged with venous blood, as in asphyxia. Camphor causes excitement and constant movements, succeeded, after large doses, by clonic convulsions and death. The active principles of coculus indicus, cicuta virosa, and cenantha crocata, as well as cinchonidine and quinine, have similar convulsant effects. The action of these agents is not confined to the brain motor centres, but also extends to those in the medulla. CeresraL Stimunants.—The functions of the brain gener- ally are stimulated by a large group of agents, sometimes Digitized by Microsoft® 64 SOPORIFICS termed brain stimulants or exhilarants, and exemplified by alcohols, ethers, and oil of turpentine. A moderate dose of alcohol, in a somewhat concentrated state, by stimulating the sensory nerves of the mouth, throat, and stomach, promptly exerts a reflex action on the vessels of the brain. Further, but less direct and powerful, brain stimulation ensues when the spirit enters the circulation and increases cardiac action. When a large dose has been administered, the cerebral exhilaration is not, however, long continued ; the normal relations between one centre and another are disturbed, delirium ensues, followed by impaired action and depression. Ammonia vapour, liquor, or carbonate, applied to the nostrils, reflexly stimulates the cerebral vessels, and then acting upon the vaso-motor centres, also increases general blood circulation and pressure. Brisk exercise has much the same stimulating effect on the cerebral as on other arteries and capillaries. Mastication and sucking in young animals have been shown by experiment to increase circulation in the carotids and cerebral arteries. Chewing tobacco, betel-nut, or, indeed, anything else, smoking, sipping stimulants, or even tea, coffee, or cold water, have similar effects in dilating the human cerebral arteries. Placing the head on a lower level than the rest of the body favours brain circulation, and hence wards off syncope. The functional activity of the brain is lowered by large or repeated doses of stimulants, such as alcohol, which, after exhilaration, and, it may be, delirium, produce narcosis, sleep, and sometimes death. Bromides of potassium and ammonium, without preliminary excitement or disturbed function, diminish brain activity. Accumulation of lactic acid, and probably other elements of tissue waste, appears to have an effect similar to that of the bromides in lowering the activity of the nerve-cells. Soporirics or Hypnorics are agents which induce sleep. Many hypnotics lessen functional activity of the nerve-cells of the brain and spinal cord, while others impede the im- pressions transmitted through the nerves and special sense organs to the cerebrum. Full doses further depress the functions of the respiratory and vaso-motor centres in the Digitized by Microsoft® HYPNOTICS 65 medulla, as evidenced by slower respiration, dilatation of surface-vessels, and lowering of arterial tension. During sleep, certain parts remaining in a state of partial unregu- lated activity, induce the phenomena of dreams, which occur in the domesticated animals as well as in man. A perfect hypnotic has not yet been found even for human patients. Those prescribed are liable to be uncertain, and injuriously disturb motor, organic and trophic functions. Hypnotics act still less satisfactorily on the lower animals. Their effects do not appear to be so notably concentrated on the brain. Dogs and pigs are, however, brought under their influence more readily than horses or ruminants. Those most trusted are opium and morphine, chloral hydrate, croton chloral, hyoscyamus, cannabis indica, and bromides. Opium and morphine prove of special value, not only in depressing cerebral functional activity, but also in antagonis- ing pain and irritation which interfere with sleep. Bromides diminish conduction of impressions, and hence notably quiet cerebral excitement. Chloral is a powerful hypnotic, but in large doses it is irritant, and sometimes produces dangerous delirium and convulsions. It induces sleep mainly by its action on the brain, and by dilating vessels generally. Chloralamide is prescribed for human patients as a safe and effectual hypnotic. Some recently discovered substances of the fatty carbon series possess marked hypnotic action. Paraldehyde, even in full doses, has none of the disadvan- tageous secondary effects of opium or chloral, causes quiet sleep in dogs, but is rather nauseous, and not one-third of the strength of chloral. Sulphonal is more active, but being insoluble, hypnosis is slowly established. It has been used especially in cases of motor unrest. Large doses diminish excitability of the reflex functions of the spinal cord, and also of peripheral sensations. Trional is allied to sulphonal, but is more soluble and active; and in experiments on dogs it pro- duced sleep more rapidly. Hypnone, urethane, and amylene hydrate, recently brought into notice, are feeble hypnotics. Warmth to the body and legs, and comforting warm drinks withdraw blood from the brain, and hence favour the anemia which occurs in sleep. E Digitized by Microsoft® 66 NARCOTICS AND ANODYNES Narcotics are drugs which disturb the relation of the mental faculties with the external world. This disturbing effect is produced by full doses of alcohol, ether, chloroform, and most stimulants. After a variable amount of excite- ment, locomotor inco-ordination ensues, and the animal staggers in its gait. Where the effect is still further developed, fatal paralysis of the respiratory centre occurs. Opium and Indian hemp produce little vascular excitement, and their narcotic effects are stated to be due chiefly to alterations in the relative functions of the different parts of the brain. Belladonna and its analogues produce active delirium, perpetual movements associated with debility, and depending, Dr. Lauder Brunton states, on the combined stimulant action of these drugs on the nerve-centres in the brain and spinal cord, and their paralysing action on the peripheral ends of the motor nerves. Anopynes or analgesics are agents which relieve pain by diminishing excitability of nerves or nerve-centres. Pain may originate in the hippocampal region, which Professor Ferrier regards as the central seat of sensation, and some abnormal excitement of these nerve ganglia is believed to occur in hysteria. It may depend upon stimulation of the grey matter of the cord, through which painful impressions are conveyed. It may begin in the trunk of a nerve, but frequently its origin is in the peripheral endings of the sensory nerves. Pain, thus produced in various ways, requires diverse treatment. Its cause should, if possible, be discovered and removed. When merely local, it is combated by local anodynes, such as opium and belladonna, with their alkal- oids; by cocaine, veratrine, carbolic acid and other phenols ; by menthol and thymol, local blood-letting, heat and mois- ture as by poultices and fomentations, and by cold, in the form of ice or cold water. Counter-irritants also act reflexly as analgesics. When pain is not localised, general anoydnes are adminis- tered, either by the mouth or hypodermically. Many act mainly as sedatives or paralysants of the hippocampal centres. Chloral hydrate, Indian hemp, hemlock, bromides, Digitized by Microsoft® ANTISPASMODICS 67 and anesthetics are types of this class. But others, with less marked action on the brain, more notably diminish the conductivity of the sensory nerves, and are exemplified by atropine, cocaine, aconite, and veratrine. Opium and morphine, and indeed most effective anodynes, produce, however, their paralysant effects on all nerve-cells with which they come into contact, and hence act in both ways. Several of the newly-discovered bodies of the benzol or aromatic series conjoin antiseptic and anodyne properties. Such are salol, a salicylate of phenol; antifebrin, which controls many varieties of pain; while exalgin is still more generally effectual. Salicylic acid and salicylates have a special power of controlling the pain of acute rheumatism. Electricity applied along the course of the stimulated nerves, and, in acute rheumatism, nerve-stretching, are sometimes tried. Dividing the nerves supplying the seat of injury, as is done in navicular and some other diseases of the feet, prevents the feeling of pain, but of course does not arrest local inflammation or other mischief. In horses, as in other animals, a dose of physic is often an effectual anodyne, probably owing to its relieving irritability of the cerebro-spinal centres. AntiIspasmopics are agents which prevent or remove spasm, which is an irregular painful contraction of voluntary or involuntary muscles. In the medulla oblongata, where it joins the pons, is a centre which, when stimulated, causes general spasms. These are excited by direct irritation of the centre with chemicals, by contact action of such poisons as strychnine, nicotine, picrotoxine, and ammonia, by rabies and other animal toxines, as well as by the altered condition of the blood in asphyxia, and by sudden anemia of the medulla from copious blood-letting. This spasm centre appears to be in an abnormal state in epilepsy, when its inordinate action is directly controlled by bromides. The tonic spasms of tetanus, and strychnine-poisoning, are relieved by bromides, chloral hydrate, and nicotine. But spasms are more frequently local than general. They are defined by Dr. Lauder Brunton as a kind of insubordina- tion, in which the individual muscles or nerve-centres act Digitized by Microsoft® 68 TREATMENT OF SPASM for themselves, without reference to those higher centres which ought to co-ordinate their action for the general good of the organism. Spasm may be due, therefore, to an excess of action in the muscles or local centres, or diminished power of the higher co-ordinating centres. As a rule, it is due to diminished action of the co-ordinating or inhibitory centres, rather than to excess of action in the motor centres. It is, therefore, a disease rather of debility and deficient co-ordination than of excessive strength. Local irritation is frequently the cause of spasm. Excessive exertion develops in the muscles of locomotion, especially when employed in unwonted work, waste products, which produce spasm or cramp. Both cause and effect are frequently removed by smart friction. In the intestine, cramp may be due to the presence of a local irritant, which ought, in the normal condition, to produce increased peri- stalsis, and thus ensure the speedy removal of the offending substance. ‘From some abnormal conditions, the muscular fibres around the irritant contract excessively, and do not pass on the stimulus to those adjoining. From this want of co-ordination, painful and useless spasm occurs. In order to remove it we apply warmth to the abdomen, so as to increase the functional activity both of the muscular fibres and of the ganglia of the intestine. Peristalsis then occur- ring instead of cramp, the pain disappears, and the‘offending body is passed onwards and removed. Or we give, inter- nally, aromatic oils, which have a tendency to increase the ordinary peristalsis; or, yet again, we may give opium for the purpose of lessening the sensibility of the irritated part, and thus again bringing it into relationship with other parts of the body’ (Brunton). In the treatment of colic in horses, these several modes of attack are usually conjoined. A diffusible stimulant such as ether or alcohol is given to increase the powers of the higher nerve-centres, and thus bring the disturbed lower centres and the muscles into subordination; an opiate is associated to lessen local excit- ability; while a purgative is, besides, administered in order to remove the indigestible food, which is usually the cause of the mischief. Digitized by Microsoft® ANTISPASMODICS 69 The convulsions of epilepsy, as already mentioned, are warded off by bromides, while endeavour is also made to remove the conditions which produce them by the adminis- tration of salts of arsenic, silver, zinc, and copper. Chorea, depending probably upon some lesion of the sensori-motor ganglia at the base of the brain, is treated by arsenic and copper salts, and when the patient is anemic by iron and a generous oleaginous diet. Spasm affecting the heart is usually controlled by the judicious use of alcohol, ether, digitalis, or nitrites. These nitrites, exemplified by amyl- nitrite, nitro-glycerine, and nitrous ether, are pre-eminently relaxers of spasm of involuntary muscles. They relieve the heart and blood-vessels in angina pectoris of human patients, and the dyspnea of bronchitis, as well as intestinal cramp in all animals. In overcoming spasm of particular parts, it is, as already indicated, important to exalt the power of the controlling centres of the brain and spinal cord by such stimulants as alcohol, ether, camphor, and bromo-camphor, and thus regulate or co-ordinate the lower disturbed centres. This twofold stimulation of the higher central and lower topical centres is also exerted by valerian, asafcetida, musk, and volatile oils. Other antispasmodics as borneol and menthol, instead of exalting nervous excitability, lessen irritability, and paralyse motor, sensory, and reflex centres of the brain and cord, and thus often relieve spasm. In the successful treatment of spas- modic diseases which generally depend, as already indicated, on deficient and imperfect nervous power, restoratives, tonics, and good hygiene are essential factors. AvzsTHETIcs are substances that produce insensibility to pain, diminish muscular action and other phenomena. They are allied to anodynes, but act more promptly and powerfully. A state of brief and imperfect anesthesia may be induced by checking or arresting circulation of blood through the brain and higher centres, as by copious blood- letting, pressure on the carotids, or by inhalation of charcoal fumes, or other suffocating vapours. It may be produced locally. by firm pressure, or ligature impairing circulation in the part. These methods, however, cannot safely induce Digitized by Microsoft® 70 ANASTHETICS such profound or prolonged unconsciousness as is requisite for the performance of surgical operations. But certain volatile drugs, brought into contact with the nerve-cells, reduce or arrest for considerable periods their functional activity, probably in virtue of chemical action. Local anesthetics produce paralysis of the peripheral endings of sensory nerves. They include cocaine, eucaine, holocaine, ethyl-chloride, methyl-chloride, carbolic acid, antipyrine, iodoform, extreme cold, and aconite. Cocaine is generally preferred. The part is painted or injected with a solution of the hydrochloride, until the requisite insensibility is secured. Cocaine proves particularly serviceable in di- minishing irritability, and facilitating examinations of the eye and larynx, as well as for the performance of minor operations. Iodoform conjoins anesthetic and antiseptic effects, and is used for operations connected with the rectum and vagina. General anesthetics, when inhaled, are carried by the blood-stream to the centres of the brain and cord, which they paralyse. They comprise nitrous oxide gas, chloroform, ether, and other substitution compounds of the methane (CH,) and ethane (C,H,) series. Nitrous oxide produces its effects rapidly, induces a venous condition of the blood, with contraction of arterioles and rise of blood-pressure, and there is hence no risk of its causing syncope. In human practice, aneesthesia is sometimes induced by nitrous oxide, and sub- sequently maintained by chloroform or ether. Chloroform is generally used both in human and veterinary practice. It is the most effectual and, rightly used, the safest known anesthetic. It acts in smaller quantity, more rapidly, and with less excitement than ether. Ether, first employed in America, is preferred by many English practitioners, on the plea that it is less apt than chloroform to impair cardiac action. But it has the disadvantage of causing more irrita- tion and excitement than chloroform, while its administration requires the use of an inhaler. The A. C, E. Mixture consists of one part of absolute alcohol, two of chloroform, and three of pure ether. It is rouch used on the continent of Europe, and is stated to be Digitized by Microsoft® THE FOUR STAGES OF ANASTHESIA 71 more stimulant than chloroform, and less likely to depress heart action. A mixture of equal parts of ether and chloro- form is used in various parts of France and Germany. The Austrian Government has advised one part of chloroform with six of ether in winter, and with eight of ether in summer. Chloral hydrate is given by the mouth or rectum, or by intravenous injection. It depresses the heart and vaso- motor centres, and consequently the vessels dilate and blood pressure falls. Meraynenr (CH,Cl,), containing an atom more of hydrogen and an atom less of chlorine than chloro- form, causes more rapid anesthesia, but requires to be used in larger amount. The pure drug has also the disadvantage of being costly, and that usually sold is stated to be a mixture of chloroform and alcohol. Meruytat which has also been used, acts quickly and effectually on dogs without apparent injurious after-effects, and is also serviceable for local anzesthesia. Anesthesia is generally divided into four stages—I. Sti- mulant; II. Narcotic; III. Anesthetic; IV. Paralytic. I. The stimulant stage is characterised by symptoms of inebriation, more marked in the case of ether than of chloro- form ; excitation of cerebral and cardiac functions ; vigorous animals struggle; the special senses and general sensibility are blunted. This stage usually continues from one to three minutes, but is shortened when the drug is given quickly in full doses. II. The narcotic stage is marked by paralysis of the motor centres, the voluntary muscular system gradually becomes relaxed, the force and volume of the pulse are lowered, the functions of the higher brain centres are im- paired, but reflex functions are slightly if at all affected. This stage, usually reached in less than five minutes, is that suitable for anodyne and antispasmodic effects, and for moderating violent and irregular labour pains. III. The anzsthétic stage exhibits complete muscular relaxation, unconsciousness, and insensibility; the frequency and force of the pulse are increased, the functions of the cerebrum and spinal cord are paralysed, the oculo-palpebral reflex is impaired or abolished, but the centres of the Digitized by Microsoft® 72 THE HYDERABAD CHLOROFORM EXPERIMENTS medulla presiding over respiration and heart action are only slightly affected. This full insensibility may be safely main- tained for an hour or two by small doses of the anesthetic, and is the condition requisite for the performance of serious surgical operations. IV. The paralytic stage occurs when the functions of the medullary centres are abolished. It includes two distinct phases—suspension of respiration, and subsequently suspen- sion of cardiac action. Implication of the respiratory centre is indicated in animals by irregular sighing or shallow breathing, with long pauses between the respiratory move- ments. Up to this point the animal is in no serious danger. But if anzesthesia is further pushed, the heart centre is paralysed, the pulse beats very quickly then stops, and usually within two minutes heart action also ceases. The action of anesthetics has been very fully elucidated by two series of investigations undertaken at the instance of the Nizam of Hyderabad. The first, made in the spring of 1888, under the supervision of Surgeon-Major Lawrie, com- prised 141 experiments, chiefly on dogs; while the second, made in the later months of 1889, under the direction of Dr. Lauder Brunton, included 571 experiments on dogs, monkeys, horses, goats, cats, and rabbits. Chloroform, ether, and the A. C. E. Mixture were used. The investigations demon- strate that the action of these anesthetics is the same on man and on the animals mentioned; that lethal doses, of chloroform or ether, whether poisoning be slow or rapid, arrest the respiratory before the cardiac action; that the heart is never primarily or directly affected, but in uncom- plicated cases stops two to six minutes after respiration. Consequently, as was taught by Simpson and Syme, the careful observation of the respiration is the safeguard in the administration of anesthetics. Although the patient is safe so long as the anesthetic vapour continues to be eliminated by respiration, whenever the heart stops, unless artificial respiration is had recourse to, the chances of resuscitating the animal are small. This important practical point was established by numerous experiments. In the use of chloroform, and indeed of all anesthetics, Digitized by Microsoft® RESPIRATORY PRECEDES HEART FAILURE 73 in animals, these investigations emphasise the necessity of constantly watching the breathing, and, moreover, ensuring that nothing shall in any way interfere with it. The animal should be in the recumbent position—the head placed so that air passes directly into the lungs; no girths, straps, or pres- sure must interfere with respiratory movements. Monkeys, encased in plaster of Paris, or bound with abdominal bandages, died quickly. The paralysed tongue, dropping back upon the larynx of the unconscious patient, may cause suffocation. Respiratory failure is also hastened by having the limbs of the subject firmly bound; while struggling, or shallow, gasping breathing, by filling the lungs with the volatile vapour, intensifies its effects. Respiratory arrest was accelerated, and heart failure followed rapidly, when chloro- form administration was slow and prolonged, and when one- third of a grain of atropine was injected subcutaneously before inhalation. That chloroform has no direct paralysant effect on the heart was further demonstrated by the injection in some cases of ten, in others of twenty minims into the jugular vein, when only ordinary and safe anesthesia was induced. Deaths occurring during anesthesia, both in men and animals, have been ascribed to syncope, or surgical shock, and in order to elucidate this matter numerous experiments were made on dogs and monkeys. When full anesthesia was produced, teeth were extracted, nails evoluted, incisions made into the abdomen, portions of intestine ligatured, and the testicles sharply struck; but in no case was any marked effect produced on the heart action. To test the effect of chloroform on animals with enfeebled heart, dogs and monkeys were fasted, others were freely bled, while others were given grain doses of phosphorus during several days, in order to produce fatty degeneration of the heart muscle. But neither syncope nor heart-shock was observable when these subjects were deeply chloroformed ; respiratory failure invariably preceded cardiac failure ; and when breathing was stopped by full doses, the animals, like others in perfect health, were restored by artificial respiration. Occasionally, however, death occurs suddenly through paralysis of the Digitized by Microsoft® 74 USE OF ANESTHETICS heart; and experiments prove that healthy horses can be killed in a few minutes by rapid administration of concen- trated chloroform vapour. The post-mortem appearances of animals dying under anesthesia consist in general congestion of the lungs, liver, kidneys, and spleen, which is also puckered, and two or three times larger than usual. The left heart may be empty and the right heart distended with blood. Anesthetics are used in painful, delicate, or protracted operations, as in castration, neurectomy, excision of portions of the hoof, and other operations on the foot ; reduction of herniz, and removal of tumours; extraction of firmly-fixed teeth, especially in dogs and cats; in tetanus, and strychnine poisoning; in difficult parturition, especially in the mare ; and in destroying injured, useless, or old animals. Administration to horses may be made while the animal is standing, but more safely and effectually when he is cast and secured. A sponge or piece of lint, saturated with the anesthetic, is placed in a tolerably close-fitting nose-bag, which is adjusted to the head. Inhalers, bags or muzzles for the purpose have been designed by Mr. Roalfe Cox, Messrs. Carlisle & Bell, Mr. Gresswell, Mr. Dowell, and other veterinary surgeons. Many practitioners, when the horse -is cast, place the lint, moistened with chloroform, over one nostril, that on the upper side being preferable, while, to prevent undue evaporation, a napkin is laid over both nostrils. Endeavour is sometimes made to dilute the chloro- form vapour with about ten volumes of air. But as far as possible air should be excluded, as diluted chloroform vapour acts slowly, and the stage of excitement is prolonged. Un- due excitement and struggling can be overcome by giving the anesthetic freely or by previous subcutaneous injection of morphine. But chloroform anesthesia can be most satis- factorily induced in horses by slow administration. Be- ginning with half an ounce poured on a warm sponge and adding a drachm or two at short intervals until the requisite degree of insensibility is reached, which is ascertained by testing the conjunctival reflex. Small quantities of the drug suffice to maintain insensibility safely for an hour or more, provided a careful watch, as already stated, is kept Digitized by Microsoft® TREATMENT OF ANAZSTHESIA NARCOSIS 75 on the respiration. An ounce and a half to three ounces of chloroform properly given, without waste, will fully anes- thetize an average horse or ox in from five to ten minutes. Four times the quantity of ether isrequired. Young animals are more readily aneesthetized than old ones. Dogs are very susceptible to the action of anesthetics, but, with rational precautions, may be kept under their influence for an hour or longer. It has frequently been stated that chloroform is not so safe as ether; but the Hyderabad ex- periments seem to disprove this. The dog should be fasted for two or three hours. The drug may be placed on a sponge, or on lint, in a wire muzzle covered with a towel; or it may be given through an inhaler. During anesthesia free respiration by the mouth should be ensured by separating the jaws with a piece of wood. Savage dogs are coaxed into a kennel, or covered with a packing case, and pieces of cotton waste or blotting paper, saturated with the drug, are then intro- duced. Small dogs, cats, rabbits, etc., are speedily and safely anesthetized when placed under a bell jar or tin pail enclosing cotton wool saturated with chloroform. In dogs the last reflex is furnished by the upper incisor gum, which when irritated induces quick elevation of the lower lip. This reflex is abolished in complete anesthesia. The aspect of an animal perfectly anesthetized is that of an inert body, in which movements of the thorax and heart alone show that life is not yet extinct (Guinard). When anesthesia has been pushed too far, inhalation of the drug must immediately be stopped, and any im- pediment to breathing of fresh air removed. The mouth should be widely opened and the tongue pulled forward ; if breathing has ceased, artificial respiration must at once be adopted. But unless the lungs are surcharged with the anesthetic, as when it has been given in large quantity and for some considerable time, artificial respira- tion, properly employed within thirty seconds after natural breathing has ceased, will revive most animals in two or three minutes. In the Hyderabad experiments some animals were recovered fifty, but none sixty, seconds after natural breathing had stopped. In narcosis occurring in ordinary practice, recovery, however, need not be despaired of so long Digitized by Microsoft® 76 SPINAL DEPRESSANTS as cardiac movements continue. Artificial respiration should be persisted with for at least half an hour after natural breathing has ceased. Insuflation of air through a tube inserted in the trachea may be tried. Hypodermic injec- tion of ether, strychnine, or hot brandy, and a continuous galvanic current, the positive pole being placed in the rectum, and the negative moved rapidly over the chest wall, are recom- mended in the hope of stimulating the arrested respiratory movements; and bleeding from the jugular is enjoined to relieve the right heart. ACTION OF DRUGS ON THE SPINAL CORD SPINAL DEPRESSANTS—SPINAL STIMULANTS On the spinal cord different drugs act in various ways. Caffeine, injected into the circulation, was found by Dr. Hughes Bennett to paralyse the sensory columns of the cord, while morphine and chloral diminish its conducting power. Antagonising these are strychnine and other convulsant poisons, which so increase excitability that slighter stimulants cause increased effects. Reflex action is diminished by chloral and morphine, and is increased by strychnine and such other convulsants as nicotine and ammonia. Spina, Depressants such as methyl-conine, directly para- lyse; and others, as aconite and digitalis, produce paralysis indirectly, by impeding circulation. Pharmacologists classify spinal depressants as (1) those which depress without marked previous excitement, including hydrocyanic acid, methyl-conine, saponin, physostigmine, turpentine, the alcohol group, ergot, emetine, salts of antimony, zinc, and silver; (2) those which excite first and afterwards paralyse, comprising the morphine group, ammonia, cam- phor, carbolic acid, chloral, nicotine, veratrine, arsenic, and mercury. Sulphonal, with hypnotic effects, also diminishes activity of the reflex functions, and is given in motor unrest. Spinal depressants are prescribed to lessen increased excitability of the cord, as in tetanus, chorea, and some Digitized by Microsoft® VIBRATORY THEORY OF NERVE STIMULATION 77 forms of paralysis. By diminishing the conducting power of the grey matter of the cord, they impede the trans- mission of painful impressions. It is often, however, difficult to determine how the curative effects of agents like mor- phine and chloral are produced, inasmuch as they act in various ways on different parts of the nervous system, sometimes depressing, sometimes stimulating. Some of these differing results are believed to depend on the inhibitory or restraining power which certain of the nervous centres exert on other centres. But Dr. Lauder Brunton propounds a more satisfactory explanation of the nature of inhibition. He believes that nervous stimuli consist in vibrations in nerve-fibres or nerve-cells, analogous to the vibrations of light or sound. When two waves of light or sound fall upon each other so that their crests coincide: the intensity of the light or sound is increased ; but when they fall so that the crest of one wave occupies the trough between the two preceding or succeeding waves, such two waves of light cause darkness, or two such waves of sound cause silence. Moving the one wave forward or backward upon the other intensifies or diminishes the vibrations of light or sound. ‘Supposing nervous stimuli to consist of vibrations like those of light and sound, the action which any nerve-cell would have upon the others connected with it would be stimulant or inhibitory accord- ing to its position in relation to them.’ If nerve-force, as believed, consists of vibrations similar to those of light or sound, the relative position of nerve-cells in action will often determine a stimulant or inhibitory result. If one nerve-current meets another in such a way that the waves of which they consist coincide, the nervous action will be doubled, but if they interfere the nervous action will be abolished. If they meet so as neither completely to coin- cide nor to interfere, the nervous action will be somewhat increased, or somewhat diminished, according to the degree of coincidence or interference between the crests of the waves. The relation of these waves to one another may be affected by the distance each travels and the rate of transmission. Digitized by Microsoft® 78 SPINAL STIMULANTS This hypothesis seems to explain why different doses of poisons sometimes produce very different results. The phenomena of strychnine poisoning thus appear to depend upon the nervous vibrations being thrust crest upon crest, when intense convulsions occur; while, from one or another wave dropping half a length behind, the interval of rest or relaxation follows. In like manner may be explained the similar effects of cold and heat. Cold retards, while heat accelerates, transmission of vibrations, and either agent may thus alter one of the waves, causing coin- cidence and consequent stimulation, or separation by a half or a quarter of a wave and consequent inhibition or restraint. Spina, Stimutants increase the functional activity of the cord. They apparently act much in the same manner as mechanical irritation or electricity. They seem to increase conductivity through the nerve-cells. Small doses heighten reflex excitability; large doses cause tetanic convulsions; but such convulsions, as already indicated, also result from large doses of drugs which exert a sedative or paralysing action, as opium, morphine, and belladonna. Spinal stimu- lants include strychnine, brucine, and thebaine, as well as nicotine, calabarine, caffeine, absinthe, and ammonia. They are used in cases of general debility, in paralysis unaccom- panied by inflammation, and to rouse sluggish action, as of the bowels. ACTION OF DRUGS ON THE NERVES PARALYSERS—STIMULANTS—ELECTRICITY Nerves may be acted upon in various parts of their course ; in the nerve centres in which they originate; in their cords or trunks; or in their minute endings distributed in muscles or glands. Motor nerves have their excitability more readily disturbed or destroyed than sensory nerves. Injuries of compound nerves frequently arrest motor function, but leave the sensory function slightly, or only temporarily, impaired. The nerve trunks are much less susceptible than the end plates, and are only acted upon by strong solutions directly Digitized by Microsoft® PARALYSERS OF MOTOR AND SENSORY NERVES 79 applied to them. Many medicines, acting on the terminal nerve fibrils, also act on other parts of the nervous system. It is always, however, important to realise the order in which different parts are affected, inasmuch as the primary action frequently modifies those which may be subsequently produced. Different effects are often caused by the same drug when given in different doses, and many medicines, such as alcohol and ether, first increase and subsequently diminish nervous irritability. Paratysers of motor nerves have their most powerful representative in curare, which seems to destroy the con- ducting power of the minute nerve fibrils by acting on their cement substance at Ranvier’s nodes. Numerous other agents also paralyse motor nerves, of which the best known are conine, ammonium cyanide, and iodide, and the ammonium iodide compounds of ethyl, methyl, amyl, and phenyl. Increased excitability of motor nerves is more difficult to measure than paralysis; but, like the latter, it occurs in the nerve-endings, and is produced by aconite, camphor, nicotine, pilocarpine, and pyridine, and in warm-blooded animals by physostigmine. Alcohol, ether, and chloroform, applied directly to nerves, first increase and then diminish their irritability. Atropine applied in like manner diminishes irritability of the intra-muscular endings, and afterwards of the trunks (Brunton). Sensory nerves are readily affected by many drugs; their local effects are comparatively easy to determine; but when the drug enters the circulation many structures are liable to be affected, and definite results are difficult to obtain. Much trustworthy information has, however, been got by experiments on frogs, chiefly by ligaturing the sciatic artery of one leg, injecting into another part of the body the drug to be tested, and by pinching, pricking, heat, or electricity, noting the difference in sensation between the poisoned limb and the ligatured unpoisoned limb. By these and other ex- periments it has been demonstrated that nervous sensibility is diminished by aconite, belladonna and atropine, carbolic acid, chloroform and chloral, veratrine, with opium and morphine. Hydrocyanic acid exerts topical paralysing effects Digitized by Microsoft® 80 ELECTRICITY on sensory nerves. Notable reduction of the sensibility of sensory nerves is likewise effected by several members of the aromatic series of carbon compounds, such as exalgin (methyl-acetanilide), antifebrin (acetanilide), and antipyrine (phenazone). Diminishing excitability of sensory nerves, such agents relieve pain, and are accordingly anodynes. Some exert marked paralysing effects on the terminals of cutaneous nerves, temporarily destroy sensibility, and hence are useful local anesthetics. Amongst these are cocaine, ether spray, cold, in the form of ice or freezing mixtures, and carbolic acid. The irritability of sensory nerves is increased by topical irritants. Aconite, whether applied locally, or carried through the circulation, produces peculiar numbness and tingling of the tongue and lips, and indeed of all parts supplied by the fifth nerve. Veratrine causes similar sensations in the joints and extremities. Etecrriciry in the form of galvanism or faradism, is used in medical, and in veterinary practice. Faradism as ‘a galvanic current momentarily interrupted is most generally employed. Batteries, coils, and appliances for veterinary purposes are now manufactured by Messrs. Arnold, West Smithfield, London. Slight electric currents stimulate both motor and sensory nerves and muscles; more powerful or long-continued currents exhaust, paralyse, or tetanise. Like nux vomica and other excito-motors, electricity stimu- lates depressed nervous action, controls disordered action, and hence improves impaired nutrition. For strains of muscles and ligaments, after the primary inflammation and effusion are relieved by fomentations and rest, faradism over the seat of injury lessens pain and stiffness. A current of suitable strength applied for six or eight minutes, and repeated if needful twice daily, frequently benefits and some- times removes muscular rheumatism, and is also serviceable in chronic articular rheumatism, which has resisted other treatment. Paralysis depends upon various conditions, functional and molecular, and hence demands very different methods of treatment. Electricity, however, is often useful alike in Digitized by Microsoft® ELECTROLYSIS 81 diagnosing its exact seat and extent, and also in abating or removing the depressed or disordered conditions on which it depends. Torpidity of the bowels, resulting from im- perfect intestinal peristalsis, is sometimes overcome by fara- disation. To stimulate contractions in muscular atrophy one electrode is placed over the principal local nerve-centre, or nerve of the wasted part; while the other is moved over the altered muscles, for ten or fifteen minutes twice daily. Cases of roaring have thus been treated. One electrode is applied to the jugular furrow above the larynx, while the other is moved over the surface of the larynx and down the trachea. Only gentle, occasionally interrupted currents should be used. The application is continued for five to fifteen minutes, and repeated twice daily. Clonic spasms, represented according to their cause or site by trifling tremors or violent convulsions, are some- times treated by electricity. The current may be directed to the faulty centre in the brain or spinal cord, to the nerve trunk, the conductivity of which is morbidly affected, or to the local centres which are acting abnormally. Chorea in dogs, especially when of the chronic paralytic type, has been benefited by electric treatment. When insulated needles are placed in the tissues, and traversed by a galvanic current, decomposition ensues, and this process of electrolysis is occasionally employed for the removal of tumours. Cauterisation is sometimes effected by heating a platinum wire by a current, now conveniently derived from one of Faure’s portable accumulators. Electro-therapeutics as applied to the domestic animals deserves more extended practical study. The primary con- ditions for its rational and safe employment consist in a thorough understanding of the instruments used, and a knowledge of the strength of currents and their proper distribution to the parts to be influenced. F Digitized by Microsoft® 82 MYDRIATICS AND MYOTICS ACTION OF MEDICINES ON THE EYE In the local treatment of the cornea and conjunctiva the fitting astringents are zinc sulphate and silver nitrate. When the surface of the cornea is abraded, lead salts are unsuitable, as they form an insoluble albuminate, which may cause opacity; while alum and potassium permanganate are undesirable, on account of their tendency to dissolve the corneal cement. The antiseptics generally used are mer- curic chloride and boric acid, the latter frequently conjoined with an equal quantity of sodium sulpho-carbolate. The sedatives preferred are aqueous solution of opium, morphine, atropine, cocaine and eucaine. The sensitiveness of the eye is increased by strychnine. It is diminished, and local anesthesia produced, by cocaine, which, accordingly, is serviceable in some examinations, as well as in operations on the eyes. The lachrymal secretion is increased by such volatile oils as mustard and onion, and by physostigmine. It is diminished by atropine. The pupil is dilated by belladonna, atropine, homatropine, cocaine, daturine, and hyoscyamine. Such dilators are termed mydriatics ; they paralyse the ends of the third nerve. The pupil is contracted by calabar bean, eserine, opium, morphine, pilocarpine, and nicotine. They are termed myotics. Anzsthetics, and some narcotics in full doses, first contract, and afterwards from circulation of venous blood dilate, the pupil. The action of most mydriatics and myotics is purely local. Stimulation of the third nerve causes contraction of the pupil, while section of it causes the pupil to dilate. Stimulation of the sympathetic dilates, and its section contracts, the pupil. Mydriatics are used to allay irritation, inflammation, and pain, and in iritis to prevent adhesions. Dilating the pupil, they facilitate examination of the lens for cataract and of the retina. Myotics are used alternately with mydriatics to discover adhesions of the iris, and to break them down, to restrict the passage of light in painful diseases of the eye; and in the earlier stages of glaucoma to lessen intra-ocular tension. Digitized by Microsoft® THE RESPIRATORY FUNCTIONS 83 ACTION OF MEDICINES ON RESPIRATION ERRHINES AND EXPECTORANTS Respiration consists in the alternate enlargement and diminution of the cavity of the chest, whereby air is alter- nately inspired and expired. These movements, so essential to the life of all the higher animals, are chiefly presided over by a nerve-centre or group of ganglionic cells, situated in the medulla, posterior to the vomiting centre, and extending into the anterior part of the spinal cord. This centre is normally stimulated by venous blood, and inspiratory movements are thence co-ordinated. The diaphragm is drawn back, the intercostal, scaleni, and other muscles raise the ribs, and air enters the lungs, distending the elastic walls of the air-cells. In ordinary circumstances, almost passively, the chest, with little muscular exertion then contracts, and air is expired. Expiratory effort, although scarcely realised in ordinary breathing, is, however, evoked in coughing and sneezing, as well as in producing vocal sounds. Inspiration and expira- tion thus alternate, in healthy adult horses at perfect rest, from twelve to sixteen times, in cattle about fifteen to twenty times, in sheep from thirteen to eighteen times, and in dogs from fifteen to twenty times per minute. The respiratory centre is stimulated by heat, and by strychnine, ammonia, atropine, thebaine, apomorphine, sub- stances of the digitalis group, and salts of zinc and copper. It is first excited and then depressed by caffeine, nicotine, chloro- form, ether, alcohol, quinine, and saponin. Its activity is diminished, with consequent slow and shallow respiration, by cold, opium, physostigmine, and aconite. The vagus branches distributed to the lung (and, when slightly stimulated, all sensory nerves), are mainly nerves of inspiration, and when stimulated cause quickened shallower respiration. The expiratory nerves are the nasal branches of the fifth, the laryngeal, and the cutaneous nerves, particularly of the chest and belly. When these are stimulated, the respiratory movements become slower and deeper. When respiration Digitized by Microsoft® 84 ERRHINES is paralysed, as in narcotic poisoning, subcutaneous injection of strychnine is sometimes useful. Erruines or sternutatories, when applied to the nostrils, cause irritation, sneezing, and increased secretion. They include tobacco in a finely divided state, hellebore, ipeca- cuanha, euphorbium, and saponin. Errhines, although now seldom used, were formerly prescribed to cause counter- irritation in diseases of the eye and head, and to expel, by inducing sneezing, foreign substances lodged in the nostrils. facial sinuses, and respiratory passages. Exrecrorants facilitate the removal of secretions from the air-passages. The healthy respiratory mucous mem- brane is moistened and protected by a thin, slightly adhesive solution of mucin, which is gradually moved outwards by the cilia. Cold applied to the surface of the body, dust and foreign particles, and microbes, as in cases of influenza, readily excite irritation of the respiratory tract, and alter the amount and character of the mucus. While the irritated membrane is dry and vascular, as in the earlier stages of catarrh and bronchitis, the breathing of warm, moist air, diffused from a steam kettle, or nose-bag containing steamed hay, beneficially dilates the congested vessels, and promotes secretion. In such cases, and notably in laryngitis, heat and moisture should also be applied externally by means of poultices, or flannel or woollen waste wrung out of boiling water, covered with thin water- proofing, and kept in place by a properly adjusted hood. Further counter-irritation may subsequently be needful. In the dry stage of inflammation of the respiratory mem- brane, expectorants of a depressant type, lessening blood- pressure and increasing secretion, are indicated, such as antimonials, alkalies in small doses, ipecacuanha, lobelia, jaborandi, apomorphine, and potassium iodide, the last of which, moreover, increases and liquifies many other secre- tions. Frequently in chronic bronchitis, when the respiratory membrane is congested and blood stagnates in the lungs, good results follow the combination of depressant expector- ants with digitalis. The bronchial mucus, when superabundant, is diminished Digitized by Microsoft® DEPRESSANT AND STIMULANT EXPECTORANTS 85 by belladonna, opium, turpentine, and many volatile oils. When the secretion becomes thick and adhesive, and irri- tating cough is hence provoked, stimulating expectorants, which increase blood-pressure and diminish secretion, are indicated. The most trusted of these are acids, ammonium salts, nux vomica, senega, squill, balsams, terebinthinates, sulphur, sulphur oils, and saccharines. Terpine, oil of turpentine in a vaporised state, or the old popular remedy of the fumes of burning tar, prove effectual in moderating vascular congestion and profuse secretion in many cases of bronchitis. A relaxed throat generally indicates the exist- ence of a similar condition throughout the respiratory tract. An appropriate remedy is a combination of terebene and an acid given as an electuary, which exerts beneficial effects both topically and generally. Expulsion of the respiratory secretions is produced by increased activity of the cilia, which are believed to be stimulated by ammonia solutions, and by increased activity of the respiratory centre, which, as already stated, is also stimulated by ammonia salts, as well as by ipecacuanha, belladonna, and senega. Influenza colds, so common amongst horses, and notori- ously infectious, very probably depend upon specific micro- organisms, which attack the upper, sometimes the lower air-passages, and not infrequently also induce gastro-intestinal catarrh, and other complications. Occasionally such seizures may be checked or mitigated in their early stages by moistening the parts first affected with solution of carbolic or sulphurous acid or eucalyptus oil, applied in the form of spray, gargle, or inhalation. Similar treatment proves beneficial in the later stages, by lessening congestion or by exerting antiseptic effects. The washing out of the nostrils is conveniently done by an ordinary syringe, by Higginson’s enema apparatus or by Rey’s nasal funnel. Coven is a modified, usually involuntary, respiratory act, whereby gaseous, liquid and solid substances are forcibly removed from the air-passages. This sudden expulsive expiratory effort is brought about by faulty mucus or other irritant, lodged in the pharynx or larynx, by irritation of the Digitized by Microsoft® 86 THE TREATMENT OF COUGH lower air-passages, and reflexly, by impressions produced on surfaces other than the respiratory mucous tract, as by cold applied to the skin, or by nasal, buccal, pleural, gastric, or hepatic irritation. Soothing gargles and electuaries, even if they do not actually reach the seat of irritation, frequently abate cough. Mechanically acting mucilaginous or saccharine substances may be rendered more effectual by combination with mor- phine, which diminishes irritability of the respiratory centre, and decreases secretion of mucus. The latter result is still more notably effected by atropine. A combination of these alkaloids is hence specially valuable where there is trouble- some cough and profuse secretion of mucus. A somewhat different effect is obtained by conjoining morphine and apomorphine, which, with diminished excitability of the respiratory centre, produce increased bronchial secretion, and are hence serviceable where there is cough, and the membrane is dry, or coated with thick, sticky mucus. A comfortable loose box, with abundance of pure fresh air, at a temperature of about 60° Fahr., in several ways benefits the patient suffering with respiratory disease. More perfect aération of blood is secured, while the cool, pure air, moreover, contracts dilated vessels, combats congestion, and hence will often remove cough, especially when depending upon irritation of the larynx, trachea, or larger bronchi. But while in many stages of respiratory disease the breath- ing of cool air is grateful and beneficial, draughts and cold must be scrupulously guarded against, and the body and legs of the patient kept comfortably warm, with extra covering, in order to promote free circulation in the superficial vessels, and thus antagonise congestion of the internal organs. Experiments on small healthy animals show that ice applied to the surface of the belly immediately induces paleness of the respiratory membrane, speedily followed by congestion, and gradually developing venous lividity, accom- panied by increased secretion of mucus. Removal of the ice and substitution of a hot poultice gradually restore the parts to their normal state, and this acute congestion and gradual return to health may thus be alternately demon- Digitized by Microsoft® HEART STIMULANTS 87 strated. These effects of cold and heat strikingly illustrate the causation of congestion of the respiratory organs, and also an effectual manner of relieving the hyperemia. Cough depending upon gastric derangement, not un- common in young animals, is often relieved by antacids. Cough resulting from bronchial filarie is abated by the usual soothing remedies, and sometimes removed by tur- pentine administered in drench or intratracheally, or by inhalation of diluted chlorine or sulphurous acid, which is rendered still more effectual for destruction of the parasites when conjoined with carbolic vapour. In dogs with bronchitis or pneumonia, when the breathing is difficult, relief is often obtained by giving an emetic of ipecacuanha and squill. Venous congestion is overcome, and the state of the bronchial secretions improved. These good effects may often be maintained by the subsequent use of frequently repeated doses of ammonium carbonate, which is also serviceable earlier, or when the patient is too weak to justify the use of an emetic. In dogs recovering from acute attacks, or suffering from chronic bronchitis, cod liver oil is often useful, possibly on account of its furnishing readily assimilable nourishment for the delicate epithelial cells. ACTION OF MEDICINES ON THE CIRCULATION STIMULANTS—TONICS—SEDATIVES Many agents act in various ways on one or more portions of the circulatory system. An able authority on the subject —Dr. Lauder Brunton—divides them into agents acting on the heart and on the vessels, and again subdivides these two groups into three classes of stimulants, tonics, and sedatives. Heart Stimunants increase the force and frequency of the pulse in conditions of depression. The most important are ammonia and its carbonate, alcoholic solutions, ether, chloroform, camphor, oil of turpentine, and other volatile and aromatic oils, with heat and counter-irritants to the chest. They exert their effects in somewhat different ways. The alcohol group mainly stimulate the motor ganglia. Digitized by Microsoft® 88 HEART STIMULANTS Strychnine, physostigmine, and camphor are believed to act chiefly on the heart muscle, exciting it to pulsate rhyth- mically. Strychnine stimulates the cardiac excito-motor apparatus (Habershon). Ammonium carbonate and sal volatile, with turpentine and other volatile oils, chiefly stimulate the vaso-motor centres. Alcoholic, etherous, and ammoniacal solutions, especially when given in tolerably concentrated form, immediately stimulate the mouth, throat, stomach, and other parts with which they come in contact, and thus their effects often anticipate and increase the stimulation resulting from their actual conveyance in the blood stream to the heart and other organs. Cardiac stimulants are used to counteract failure of the heart’s action from shock, physical injury, overwork, or depression dependent on disease. Stimulants, when acting favourably, produce a more vigorous heart-beat—the pulse, previously slow, is accelerated ; or if quick, unequal, or weak, it becomes slower, stronger, and more regular. The heart pulsating more quickly, and propelling at each contraction a larger volume of blood, arterial pressure is increased. A combination of two stimulants, acting as indicated in more ways than one, is often more effectual than any single drug. Hence alcohol is frequently conjoined with ether, ammonia, or aromatic volatile oils. Strychnine is prescribed with caffeine; and in serious cases hypodermic injections may be needful. Heat used in the form of warm drinks, and also externally, as warm rugs, fomentations, or poultices, is a heart stimulant, especially when the applications are made to the chest. VascuLar Stimutants dilate the peripheral vessels, and thus accelerate the blood-flow through them. They do not increase the action of the vaso-motor centre, nor the con- tractility of the vessels, but, on the contrary, diminish their contractility and cause their dilatation. Prominent amongst remedies acting in this way are alcoholic solutions, ether, nitrous ether, amy] nitrite, nitro-glycerine, and nitrites, which, by dilating peripheral vessels, lower blood pressure. Alco- holic solutions, combining the twofold action of stimulating the heart and dilating arterial and capillary vessels, usefully Digitized by Microsoft® HEART TONICS 89 combat chill, equalise circulation, and prevent or relieve congestion. Horses brought in chilled and exhausted are frequently saved from congestion and inflammation of in- ternal parts by the timely use of a stimulating drink, the good effects of which are further ensured by an extra rug, and flannel bandages to the legs. More permanent dilatation of external vessels is effected by frequently repeated doses of nitrous ether and ammonium acetate, with which camphor may also be conjoined. In combating chronic inflammation, vascular stimulants are also serviceable, and their operation is further promoted by hot applications, friction, and counter- irritation. Heart Tonics produce their effects more gradually and slowly than heart stimulants. All are muscle poisons, and exert fuller effects on the heart than on other muscles, on account of its receiving much larger supplies of blood. Although large doses induce violent, irregular heart action, repeated moderate doses prolong the diastole, and render the contractions slower, stronger and more regular. Most, besides, contract the muscular coat of the arteries, and hence are vascular tonics. On the muscular coat of the digestive canal they are also liable to act, producing nausea, spasms, and sometimes diarrhea. Heart tonics comprise digitalis and its alkaloids, casca, and its active principle erythrophlcine, strophanthus, veratrine, convallaria majalis, squill, caffeine, nux vomica, and strychnine. Digitalis has hitherto been the heart tonic generally used, notwithstanding the disadvantage of its preparations being of irregular strength, and its so-called active principle, digita- lin, usually consisting of several bodies, differing consider- ably in their actions. Digitalis is prescribed where the left ventricle, from weakness caused by reducing disease, or from incompetence of the bicuspid or mitral valve, is unable to drive the blood into the aorta. In hard-worked horses compensating hypertrophy gives increased propelling power, and hence sometimes mitigates the results of valvular disease. When dilatation occurs, and the mitral valve is insufficient to close the orifice, blood is liable to regurgitate into the left auricle, retarding the blood flow from the lungs, Digitized by Microsoft® 90 VASCULAR TONICS and leading to general venous congestion. Heart tonics, notably digitalis, relieve this condition by imparting to the contractions the needful regularity and strength ; while, moreover, by slowing the beats, the ventricle is more com- pletely filled. In dilatation of the right side of the heart usually depending upon serious attacks of influenza, bron- chitis, or emphysema, heart tonics are seldom so beneficial as in mitral disease. In the various diseases for which digi- talis has been used, strophanthus, which is not cumulative, is now generally preferred, both in human and veterinary practice, on account of its solubility, and less liability to produce nausea and gastro-intestinal irritation. In heart failure, whether depending on nervous asthenia or on muscular weakness, strychnine in continued small doses is specially useful. Where there is marked irritability, it may be con- joined with cocaine, and, in anemia, with preparations of iron. Where there is cardiac pain, nitro-glycerine is pre- scribed. Where blood pressure is abnormal, it is usually desirable in vigorous subjects to relieve venous congestion by purgatives or diuretics before even the most cautious use of heart tonics is attempted. VascuLar Tonics cause increased contraction of arterioles and capillaries. They stimulate the vaso-motor nerves, and thus raise blood pressure, and also promote outflow and absorption of lymph. The most important are digitalis, iron, and strychnine, with friction of swollen, infiltrated parts, equable pressure of well-applied bandages, and exer- cise, which secures oxidation and muscular movements favouring removal of lymph and waste products. Vascular tonics are chiefly used to combat local edema, resulting mainly from changes in the walls of the capillaries, and general dropsy depending upon tardy removal of lymph, from the lymph spaces or serous cavities, upon a watery condition of the blood, or upon vaso-motor paralysis. Dropsy resulting, as it often does, from anemia is appropriately treated by iron salts. Inflammatory cedema or lymphangitis attacking usually the lymph glands and vessels of the hind limbs of the heavier breeds of horses, and occurring chiefly in well-fed, Digitized by Microsoft® VASCULAR SEDATIVES 91 hard-worked animals after a day’s rest, is probably caused by a toxine, and connected with imperfect oxidation, the con- sequent formation of sarcolactic acid, obstruction and con- gestion of veins, capillaries, and lymph vessels. The result- ing acute inflammation is combated by hot fomentations, a smart purgative, antiseptics, and saline diuretics, while the tediously chronic cedema, which is apt to follow, is removed by friction, vascular tonics, and stimulants, and regular exercise. Carpiac Sepatives lessen the force and frequency of the heart’s action. For such purposes aconite, gelsemium, vera- trine, and antimonials are chiefly prescribed. In veterinary patients aconite is most effectual, especially when given in small doses, at intervals of two or three hours. It is chiefly used in antagonising violent palpitating action of the heart, or lowering the quick, full, bounding pulse, and other febrile symptoms of laryngitis, laminitis, acute lymph- angitis, and other local inflammations. Vascu.ar Sepatives contract blood-vessels, lessen the flow of blood through them, and hence limit local inflammation, and arrest hemorrhage. They are represented by ergot, lead acetate, and opium, full doses of digitalis and other heart tonics, and topical application of cold. Ice or re- frigerant lotions applied to circumscribed spots contract the capillaries, and even considerable arteries, and thus relieve congestion, inflammation, and pain. In like manner, ice, when swallowed, arrests bleeding from the stomach, reflexly checks bleeding from the lungs, and, moreover, acts as a cardiac sedative. When the bleeding vessels cannot be reached, either directly or reflexly, ergotin is injected hypo- dermically. Digitized by Microsoft® 92 SIALAGOGUES MEDICINES ACTING ON THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM On tHE Sativary GLanps.—SIALAGOGUES—ANTISIALICS— REFRIGERANTS. On tHE Stomach. — ANTACIDS — GASTRIC TONICS — STOMACHICS — BITTERS —EMETICS—ANTI-EMETICS—GASTRIC SEDATIVES. On tHe InrTesTiInEs.— PURGATIVES — CARMINATIVES — INTES- TINAL ASTRINGENTS—ANTISEPTICS. On re Liver. — HEPATIC STIMULANTS — CHOLAGOGUES — HEPATIC DEPRESSANTS. On THE PancREAS AND SPLEEN. On Worms.—ANTHELMINTICS—VERMICIDES—VERMIFUGES. Suatacocues are drugs which increase the secretion of saliva. This alkaline fluid comes from the secreting glan- dular cells, which are replenished with fresh materials from the blood-vessels of the glands. The process of salivation is regulated by a nerve-centre in the medulla, and subsidiary nerve-centres in the several glands. By food or other sub- stances moved in the mouth, by irritation of the stomach, or even of the eyes or nostrils, stimulation is conveyed by their respective nerves to these ganglia, and reflexly salivation ensues. In this way the presence of food in the mouth and the movements of the jaws naturally provoke salivation. In like manner, through different nerves distributed within the mouth, acids, alkalies, ethers, mustard, ginger, and other pungent substances reflexly increase secretion of saliva. Tartar emetic and other nauseants exert similar effects re- flexly by acting on the stomach. Another group of siala- gogues, consisting of jaborandi, calabar bean, and their alkal- oids, with muscarine and nicotine, produce salivation when injected into the blood, stimulate the peripheral ends of the secreting nerves within the glands, and are termed specific sialagogues. Another group, including mercury, tobacco, and potassium iodide, induce their effects, partly by acting reflexly on the membrane of the mouth, and partly by absorption and stimulation of the secreting nerves. Digitized by Microsoft® ANTISIALICS AND REFRIGERANTS 93 The salivary and buccal secretions moisten the mouth and fauces, and hence facilitate mastication and swallowing, and lessen or prevent thirst. The ptyalin of the saliva, more- over, helps the solution of starch, and the alkaline fluid, when swallowed, promotes secretion of the acid gastric juice, and thus further assists digestion. Graminivora secrete propor- tionally large quantities of saliva for the moistening of the dry food, on which they chiefly live. The horse in twenty- four hours secretes 84 lbs. In all animals the fluid is more alkaline the larger the amount of the starch food. Antisialics are medicines which lessen the salivary secre- tion. Borax and potassium chlorate frequently remove the faulty irritable conditions of the mucous membrane, which lead to over-secretion. Opium and morphine diminish irri- tability of the nerve-centres, while atropine is the most effective paralyser of the peripheral endings of secreting nerves. The fermentative action of ptyalin is diminished by alcohol, alkalies, and acids, and checked by 1 per cent. solu- tions of carbolic acid. It is promoted by small quantities of quinine, strychnine, and morphine. Refrigerants, in contact with the buccal and pharyngeal membrane, induce a sensation of coolness, and allay thirst, which is locally manifested by dryness of the mouth and fauces. Thirst is quenched by washing out the mouth with water, or lubricating the dry throat with bland mucilaginous fluids, sucking portions of ice, which horses with sore throats soon learn to do, or swallowing slowly slightly acidulated drinks, which, by stimulating secretion of saliva, moisten the parched membrane. But thirst also depends upon a deficiency of fluid in the body, and excess of soluble or saline substances in the blood—conditions which are remedied by ingestion of water or other diluents. The extreme thirst which occurs in horses affected with polyuria, or diabetes insipidus, is best controlled by a combination of iodine and opium, the former probably exerting its anti- septic effect, the latter perhaps lessening excitability of the thirst-centre. Digitized by Microsoft® 94 GASTRIC ABSORPTION IN DIFFERENT ANIMALS ACTION OF DRUGS ON THE STOMACH The stomach of the horse is small relatively to his size; the cardiac portion is lined with stratified epithelium, and secrets no digestive fluid. The pyloric portion, which occu- pies about one-half of the viscus, is the active digestive part, and is lined with a vascular villous membrane, in which lie the gastric glands. Gastric absorption in horses has been questioned or denied since Bouley and Colin published their experiments with strychnine; but probably slow absorption does take place from the right sac in a normal condition. In ruminants, the first three compartments of the sub- divided stomach are lined with cuticular mucous membrane, are chiefly occupied in the reception, maceration, and sub- division of the bulky fibrous herbage, which constitutes their principal diet. This thick epithelial covering, and the amount of food always lodged in these three stomachs, ex- plain the tardy action of many medicines administered to ruminants, and their taking with impunity large doses of irritants. The fourth stomach is lined with vascular velvet- like mucous membrane, and secretes the gastric juice, while from its walls slow absorption takes place, In the dog and hog the stomach and digestive organs resemble those of man, and in both animals absorption commences in the stomach. Secretion of gastric juice is stimulated by gentle mechani- cal and chemical irritation, by introduction of suitable food into the stomach, and by administration of dilute alkalies, alcohol and ether. When indigestion occurs from pre- sumed insufficiency of the gastric juice, two modes of treat- ment are available—(1) dilute acids and a little spirit are given to stimulate secretion ; but (2) where, from reducing disease or other causes, the stomach is enfeebled, a substi- tute for the gastric juice should be given in the form of diluted mineral acid, conjoined, where the food is albumin- ous, with pepsin. Moreover in all such cases, the food must be readily digestible. For horses, well-prepared mashes are substituted for dry corn and hard fibrous hay; while calves Digitized by Microsoft® ANTACIDS 95 or foals, when their undiluted milk disagrees, should have it mixed with water, or, better still, with linseed tea, in order that the tough curd may be more easily broken down. In dyspepsia, acids and bitters are frequently conjoined, the latter being serviceable probably on account of their stimu- lating the movements of the stomach, and of their action on the liver. Awtacips.—Certain forms of dyspepsia depend upon, or are aggravated by, undue gastro-intestinal acidity, which is counteracted by antacids. These comprise the alkalies— potash, soda, and ammonia; the alkaline earths—lime and magnesia ; and carbonates and bicarbonates of these bases. The neutral salts which these alkalies form with vegetable acids, notably the tartrates and citrates, after acting primarily as salines, are converted in the blood into carbonates, and secondarily exert alkaline effects on the tissues and secretions with which they are brought into contact. It is thus that they are serviceable in rheumatism, eczema, some cases of pyrexia, and in counteracting acidity of the urine. As an antacid, the volatile ammonia is less permanent than the fixed alkalies. Potash and its salts are more active than soda and its corresponding salts. Lime salts, being soothing and astringent, are indicated in diarrhoea; magnesia salts, being laxative, are appropriate where acidity concurs with torpidity of the bowels. Lithium carbonate, present in Baden-Baden and Bath mineral waters, is prized in human medicine as a solvent of urinary calculi and deposits. Horses fed irregularly, or too closely restricted to dry food, frequently suffer from gastric acidity, instinctively lick the lime-washed walls of their stables, or eat earth, and are usually promptly relieved by antacids and suitable feeding. Calves carelessly managed manifest the same disposition to allay their discomfort by eating earthy matters. Antacids given before meals excite gastric secretion; given after meals they neutralise gastric and intestinal acidity. After pro- ducing local and direct effects on the digestive organs, they undergo absorption, and produce remote antacid effects on the blood and urine. Gastric Tontos or stimulants, sometimes called stomachics, Digitized by Microsoft® 96 EMETICS AND VOMITING aid gastric digestion and improve the appetite. Such results occur when, in experiments, the stomach walls are gently irritated, and are also produced by small doses of stimulants and bitters. In certain conditions of gastric irritation, stimulants or bitters are, however, unsuitable, and small doses of mineral acids, or of gastric sedatives, such as bismuth, strontium bromide, ammonium chloride, or prussic acid, are prescribed. Emetics are agents which cause vomiting. This is effected by firm compression of the stomach between the diaphragm and the abdominal muscles, and by the simultaneous con- traction of the longitudinal fibres which pass from the cesophagus round the gastric walls. When the stomach is thus compressed from behind, and drawn forward, the familiar spasmodic movements of retching result. When concurrently, however, with these movements, the cardiac orifice is dilated, the contents of the stomach are thrown up, and vomiting occurs. Dr, Lauder Brunton thus describes the phenomena of vomiting :—‘ Uneasiness is felt; the in- spirations become deeper; several swallowing movements are made, which sometimes carry down sufficient air to distend the stomach moderately. After several deep inspirations, there suddenly comes one which is deeper still. Then, instead of this being followed by expiration, the glottis shuts to prevent the escape of air; the diaphragm again contracts still more deeply into the abdomen, and pulling the ribs together, the abdominal muscles forcibly contract; the left half of the stomach is drawn upwards, and the cul-de-sac flattened out ; the cardiac orifice dilates, and the contents of the stomach are forcibly expelled. The pylorus remains firmly contracted, and allows but little escape into the intestines,’ The movements of vomiting are modified respiratory and ruminating actions, and are presided over by nerve-centres in the medulla. The ganglia regulating respiration and vomition lie close together. Certain cells probably take part in both actions, and are acted upon by the same agents. ‘Emetics usually quicken the respiration considerably be- fore they produce vomiting, and, if injected into the veins, they not only quicken the respiration, but prevent the Digitized by Microsoft® THE PHYSIOLOGY OF VOMITING 97 condition of apnoea being produced by vigorous artificial respiration. On the other hand, the desire to vomit may be lessened, to some extent, by taking frequent and deep inspirations, and narcotics which diminish the excitability of the respiratory centre also lessen the tendency to vomit’ (Brunton). That the vomiting centre, rather than the stomach itself, is the prime factor in the production of emesis, is evident from Magendie’s famous experiment of removing the stomach of a dog, attaching to the severed cesophagus a pig’s bladder filled with fluid, which, when tartar emetic was injected into the veins, was compressed between the abdominal muscles and the diaphragm, and emptied of its contents by vomiting. When the fauces of men, dogs, or other animals which vomit readily, are tickled with a feather, or when the interior of the stomach is irritated mechanically, or by a solution of mustard, the stimulus is conveyed by afferent nerves to the vomiting centre with which the special motor impulses are correlated. Many other parts of the body, through their afferent nerves, have communication with the vomiting centre, and hence vomiting is produced, not only by irritation of the fauces and stomach, but by irritation of the brain, lungs, liver, and gall ducts, the intestines, kidneys, and bladder, sometimes even by pain or injury of the extremities. Dogs, cats, and pigs vomit as readily as men. Indeed, in dogs, vomiting is induced by most disagreeably-tasted, nauseous, or acrid substances, and sometimes is brought on purposely by eating certain grasses which instinct readily enables them to discover. But horses, ruminants, rabbits, and guinea-pigs rarely if ever vomit, and are in- sensible to the action of powerful emetics. In horses emesis only occurs from extreme distension and spasm of the stomach, from dilatation of the lower part of the gullet, from complete obstruction of the intestines, and from the action of large doses of aconite, which, however, induce retching and discharge of excessive secretion of saliva rather than true vomiting. The insusceptibility of horses to the action of emetics is due apparently to some undiscovered peculiarity of the nervous mmechanis, concerned in vomi- G 98 HORSES AND RUMINANTS DO NOT VOMIT tion in most other animals. The horse’s inability to re- gurgitate matters from the stomach, even when attempts to vomit are excited, depends upon several conditions—on the smallness of the stomach, which prevents it, even when tolerably full, from being grasped and squeezed between the abdominal muscles and the diaphragm; on the strong horse-shoe-like band of fibres which guards the cardiac orifice; and on the greater length of that portion of the cesophagus between the diaphragm and stomach, which bends on itself, and thus more securely obstructs the cardiac orifice when the tube, under the influence of emetics, is shortened by the contraction of its longitudinal fibres. The contents of the horse’s stomach, even if discharged upwards, owing to the position and length of the soft palate, would pass out by the nostrils, and not by the mouth. As cattle naturally ruminate, it might be supposed that they might also readily perform the analogous act of vomiting; but the substances which cause emesis in other animals have no such effect on cattle or sheep. This, in part, depends upon the large size of the subdivided stomach, which cannot be grasped and compressed between the abdominal walls and diaphragm. In horses and ruminants, the arrangement of the digestive organs thus virtually pre- venting vomiting, the vomiting centre would not be required; if it ever existed amongst earlier races, it has become dwarfed or ineffective, as seems evident from the notable tolerance which horses have of tartar emetic. Pro- fessor M‘Fadyean suggests that in ruminants the power to vomit has perhaps been merged into the habit of rumination. Emetics are divisible into two classes :— (1.) Those which mainly act locally on the pharynx or stomach, such as copious draughts of tepid water, bitter infusions, solutions of salt, mustard, alum, and ammonium carbonate, with copper and zinc sulphates. (2.) Those which act, through the circulation, on the vomiting centre, such as tartar emetic, ipeca- cuanha and emetine, apomorphine, senega, and squill. Muscarine and digitalis are general emetics, although not used medicinally. Digitized by Microsoft® USES OF EMETICS 99 Emetics, acting locally, stimulate the vomiting centre reflexly from the stomach. Those of the second class may be carried direct to the vomiting centre; but many are also attracted to the stomach, and thus, in part, at any rate, act reflexly. Tartar emetic injected into the blood is believed thus to act in both ways. The effects of local emetics are not of long duration, ceasing usually when the cause of irritation is expelled, and leaving little depression. The effects of general emetics are more per- sistent, and are followed by nausea, depression, and increased secretion of saliva and sweat, as well as of mucus, alike from the digestive and respiratory tracts. Emetics are used on dogs and pigs for removing from the stomach foreign bodies, acrid, irritating, undigested food, and poisons. Where prompt and effectual results are desired, as in cases of poisoning, copper and zinc sulphates are most suitable. By relaxing the longitudinal fibres of the gullet, and exciting anti-peristaltic movements, they are also serviceable in expelling obstructions from the fauces and upper part of the esophagus. They expel bile from the gall ducts, and gall bladder, and force in- spissated mucus and small gall stones into the intestine, thus relieving jaundice resulting from obstruction. By clearing out both the stomach and biliary system, they remove biliousness, and, used at the outset, they thus mitigate distemper, and other febrile attacks, and some- times arrest epileptic seizures. In animals which vomit easily it is better that irritants lodged in the anterior parts of the digestive tube should be promptly got rid of by the mouth, rather than make the longer and more tedious route through the intestines, running risk of absorption, and thus probably doing further mischief. By stimulating the respiratory as well as the vomiting centre, emetics beneficially promote secretion and expectoration in the dry stage of catarrh and bronchitis, and sometimes in congestive as well as spasmodic asthma. In respiratory disorders, ipecacuanha and squill are often conjoined, and, where there is cardiac depression, ammonium carbonate is prescribed, alone or in combination. Relaxing muscular Digitized by Microsoft® 100 EMETICS AND ANTI-EMETICS fibre, they were wont to be given to assist in the reduction of dislocations, but for such purposes anzsthetics are much more effectual. Their paralysing effect on muscle explains why emetics in excessive doses often fail to cause vomiting. . Emetics are contra-indicated in gastric inflammation, cere- bral congestion, and hemorrhagic conditions, and require cautious use in pregnancy and hernia. A safe and convenient emetic for a medium-sized dog consists of a teaspoonful each of common salt and mustard dissolved in three ounces of tepid water. More prompt and certain effects are produced by two or three grains of copper or zine sulphate dissolved in a couple of ounces of warm water, rolled in a piece of meat, or mixed with other food. Greater depression follows the administration of three grains tartar emetic and ten grains ipecacuanha, given dissolved in three or four ounces of tepid water. Apomorphine, the most prompt and certain of emetics, acts by whatever channel it enters the body, and produces full effects on dogs in doses of one-tenth to one-fifth of a grain. To check vomiting, which occasionally proves trouble- some in dogs, three methods of relief are indicated—(1) the removal, by appropriate means, of the irritation of the fauces, bronchi, stomach, or other part which excites the reflex act; (2) lessening irritability of the gastric nerves by giving small pieces of ice, or cocaine, carbolic acid, creasote, silver nitrate, or hydrocyanic acid; (8) quieting over-activity of the irritable vomiting centre by morphine, atropine, chloral, potassium or ammonium bromide, or amyl-nitrite. ACTION OF DRUGS ON THE INTESTINES PURGATIVES—CARMINATIVES—INTESTINAL ASTRINGENTS AND ANTISEPTICS Purcatives or CaTHARTics cause intestinal evacuations by stimulating the muscular coat, and accelerating the peristaltic movements of the bowels; by increasing secre- Digitized by Microsoft® PURGATIVES 101 tion from the intestinal mucous membrane; and sometimes by limiting absorption of the intestinal fluids. Intestinal movements are dependent on the ganglia of Auerbach’s plexus, situated between the outer longitudinal and inner circular layers of muscle. Secretion is believed to be influenced by Meissner’s plexus, lying in the sub- mucous coat; but these ganglia, immediately regulating intestinal movements and secretions, are controlled by cerebro-spinal centres and nerves, notably by the vagi, which, when irritated, cause increased peristalsis, and by the splanchnics, which, although containing both stimulant and inhibitory fibres, generally diminish intestinal move- ments. When all the cerebro-spinal nerves, going to a portion of intestine, are divided, copious fluid discharges pour into the intestine; but Dr. Lauder Brunton and Dr. Pye Smith, who thoroughly investigated the subject, found that the nerves which specially restrain secretion are the inferior ganglia of the solar plexus, with the superior mesenteric offshoot from them. The blood-supply of the intestine is mainly regulated by the splanchnics, but also in part by the lumbar portion of the cord. Purgatives vary in the degree and method of their action. Some, like castor oil, act tolerably uniformly on the whole tract; podophyllum operates mainly on the duodenum; jalap and salines chiefly on the small intestine; the several species of rhamnus or buckthorn and aloes mostly on the large bowel. Purgatives are frequently classified as follows :— Laxatives or aperients, such as small doses of oil, mag- nesia, sulphur and treacle, with fruits, roots, and green vegetable food. Simple purgatives, such as full doses of oils, aloes, various species of rhamnus, produce more copious, softened, or fluid evacuations, and act mainly by increasing the intestinal secretions. Drastic purgatives, such as croton oil, colocynth, ela- terium, gamboge, and podophyllum, greatly increase both peristalsis and secretion ; violently stimulate intestinal con- tractions, causing more or less pain; promptly produce copious, fluid discharges; and in large doses may cause Digitized by Microsoft® 102 CLASSIFICATION OF CATHARTICS serious intestinal irritation and inflammation. Eserine and barium chloride exert similar effects. Hydragogues, such as elaterium, gamboge, croton oil, and other drastic cathartics, with large doses of the more active salines, excite copious intestinal secretions. Cholagogue purgatives, such as mercurial preparations, aloes, podophyllum, and euonymin, remove bile, and will receive special notice later. Saline purgatives consist of neutral salts of the alkalies and alkaline earths, such as magnesium sulphate and citrate, sodium sulphate, potassium tartrate, and bitartrate. The salines have been specially investigated by Professor Matthew Hay, Aberdeen University. His admirable observa- tions show that, without causing much increased peristalsis, they notably increase the alimentary secretions, and impede absorption. They do so chiefly in virtue of their specific irritant and bitter properties. They act especially on the small intestines, but only slightly increase the secretion of bile or pancreatic fluid. When the accumulated fluid mechanically distends and stimulates the intestine, some extra peristalsis is excited. Saline solutions weaker than 10 per cent. provoke little or no secretion in the stomach, and not much in the bowels. A 20 per cent. solution given to dogs or men rapidly increases secretion, which reaches its maximum in one to one anda half hours. But the larger the amount of fluid given with the saline, the more prompt will be the purgation. Magnesium and sodium sulphates are in part decomposed, their acid being more rapidly absorbed than their base. No increase of secretion is pro- duced, as was formerly taught, by the acid or salt, when, after absorption, it 1s excreted into the intestine; and neither of these salines excites intestinal secretion when injected into the blood, or subcutaneously. More inorganic than organic matters are removed by salines from the blood. The amount of fluid secreted has been measured by Dr. Lauder Brunton, who experimented on cats with con- centrated solutions of Epsom salt tied into a loop of intes- tine. In four hours he found that from 42 to 56 minims of serous fluid were outpoured for every inch of surface acted Digitized by Microsoft® PRECAUTIONS IN THE USE OF CATHARTICS 103 on. In cattle or horses upwards of 12 square feet of intestine must often be directly stimulated by even a moderate dose of physic. A secretion of 50 minims to the inch would give a discharge of nine pints of fluid. Such considerations illustrate the depurative and febrifuge effects of an active cathartic. The intestines of the horse are voluminous, presenting about 550 square feet of vascular mucous membrane. Purgatives and other irritants hence require to be used with much caution. For a day previous to the exhibition of a purgative, the animal, if possible, should be restricted to mash diet or green food. The dose should be moderate, and its effect may be accelerated and increased by administering it while the animal is fasting, by occasional gentle exercise, until it begins to operate, and by the repeated use of clysters. This last auxiliary, when properly employed with sufficient perseverance, is indeed so effectual in promoting the action of the bowels that one of the most successful of army veterinarians was wont to trust almost entirely to its use, seldom giving, except in extraordinary cases, any purga- tive medicine whatever. In serious, obstinate impaction of the large intestines, a flexible tube, six feet long, should be screwed on to a Read’s pump, and copious enemata introduced into the colon. For horses, aloes is the best cathartic. Linseed and castor oils are tolerably good, but less certain; while croton is much too drastic, unless in small amount, and largely mixed with some bland oil. Salines in cathartic doses are irregular, and sometimes act with unexpected violence. Senna, colo- eynth, buckthorn, and other drugs used as purgatives for men and dogs have little effect on horses. With a warm mash the previous night, and subsequent abstinence from solid food, a moderate dose of aloes given in the morning, assisted by further mashes and occasional draughts of tepid water, purges most horses in ten or twelve hours. Without this desirable preliminary preparation, purgation seldom occurs within eighteen or twenty hours. In acute febrile cases absorption is usually tardy, and the action of the purgative is hastened by combination with a Digitized by Microsoft® 104 CATHARTICS FOR CATTLE, SHEEP, AND DOGS small dose of calomel, nux vomica, or tartar emetic. A horse should never have purgative medicine when his strength is reduced as in the advanced stages of inflamma- tory disease of the air-passages, in influenza and other debilitating epizootics, and seldom when the bowels are con- gested or inflamed. I have known horses affected by bron- chitis die from superpurgation, induced by three and four drachms of aloes; and similar susceptibility to the action of moderate doses is also observable in influenza, purpura heemorrhagica, and laminitis. In cattle and sheep the magnitude of the quadrisected stomach, the large amount of food which it always contains, the relatively small size of the true digestive compartment, and, compared. with the horse, the greater length but smaller capacity of the intestines, explain the tardy, uncertain action of purgatives and some other drugs. For these ruminants saline cathartics are preferable, and their action is materially hastened by encouraging the drinking of water, rendered palatable by sweetening it with treacle. In obstinate constipation, or torpidity of the bowels, gamboge, croton, and calomel are often useful. Purgation may usually be produced in cattle in twelve to sixteen hours; but cases frequently occur where, in spite of treatment, the bowels remain unmoved for several days. The best purgatives for sheep are common and Epsom salts and castor oil, in doses of about one-fourth of those given to cattle. Calomel and croton are apt to act too violently. As sheep drink sparingly, their medicine should be given with a liberal quantity of fluid. The dog, on account of his small stomach and short alimentary tube, and the concentrated nature of his food, is peculiarly susceptible to the action of purgatives. Jalap, with a little calomel, or a mixture of equal parts of linseed and castor oils, is most generally approved of, and usually operates in from five to eight hours. Aloes acts more slowly and uncertainly, while saline medicines are apt to cause vomiting, or, if retained, to purge with undue violence. Pigs are acted on by cathartics much in the same way as men and dogs, and are best physicked by administering, Digitized by Microsoft® USES OF CATHARTICS 105 from a shallow spoon or bottle, three or four ounces of Epsom salt dissolved in water, or a like amount of linseed or castor oil. The uses of purgatives are numerous. Few medicines are applied to so many important purposes. (1.) They empty the alimentary canal of undigested food, feces, bile, some poisons, and worms. Sweeping away partially digested food, they diminish the amount of blood- making materials, and thus diminish plethora and obesity. In horses fully two-thirds of the fluid ingesta, under ordinary circumstances, is removed by the bowels, and this large amount is greatly increased when physic is given. They remove noxious gases and fluids, micro-organisms, ptomaines, and other intestinal toxic matters which are the causes of dyspepsia, colic, and diarrhea; and which, more- over, secondarily or reflexly produce nervous depression, skin irritation, and local hyperesthesia. Constipation is usually dependent in great part on deficient peristalsis, and hence, when of frequent occur- rence, is often advantageously combated by conjoining a little nux vomica with the cathartic. When the general vigour of the patient is defective, the aperient may be conjoined with iron or arsenic; and where there is venous stasis with belladonna. Horses restricted to dry food are frequently affected with constipation, and in such cases the diet should be varied with an occasional mash, a little linseed cake or green food, while water ad libitwm should be allowed at least four times daily. The bulky and comparatively indigestible nature of the horse’s food induces copious alvine evacua- tions, which are passed usually at intervals of four or five hours. Impaired intestinal action, or obstruction, hindering or arresting these frequent evacuations, causes more serious and rapidly fatal results in horses than in dogs, or ruminants, in which the bowels naturally act less frequently. Torpidity or obstruction which has resisted ordinary treatment is now usually relieved—even in horses—by the hypodermic injec- tion of a grain of eserine and one or two grains of pilo- carpine; or by intravenous injection of a solution of barium chloride. Constipation, troublesome in dogs kept Digitized by Microsoft® 106 PURGATIVES RELIEVE PYREXIA in the house, or on the chain, is best treated with a dose of oil, and prevented by attention to diet. Diarrheea, at its outset, is usually most effectually treated by a dose of oil, containing a little laudanum or hyoscyamus —a combination which removes the cause of irritation, and prevents irregular peristalsis and griping. When diarrhea depends, as it sometimes does, on diminished absorption of fluid from the bowels, a little ether proves serviceable. (2.) Purgatives, notably salines or hydragogues, increase the secretion of intestinal fluid, and hinder its absorption, and thus purge the blood of waste products, relieving febrile attacks, and lowering blood-pressure. The blood, thus left in a state of concentration, speedily recuperates itself, absorbs water and lymph from the tissues, thus relieving edema, dropsy, and lymphangitis. ‘To secure this special action, such salines as Epsom salt and alkaline tartrates are specially useful, and their efticacy is increased when they are prescribed in tolerably concentrated form, and given when there is comparatively little fluid in the alimentary canal. When catharsis caused by a saline has almost ceased, another concentration of the blood occurs, which has also an influence in reducing dropsical swellings. (3.) Purgatives lower fever temperature, but how this effect is produced is not definitely known. They diminish the force of the circulation, and may in this way lessen the production of heat, and, moreover, hasten removal from the body of waste or other deleterious matters, which are a frequent cause of fever. In animals in health purgatives do not, however, produce any appreciable lowering of tempera- ture. (See Antipyretics.)* CarMminaTives are agents which assist the expulsion of gases from the stomach and intestines. When digestion is in any way interfered with, the contents of the stomach are liable to undergo excessive or irregular fermentation, giving rise to large quantities of carbonic acid and hydrogen, which unite with sulphur, sometimes derived from the food, some- times from the bile, and produce the noisome sulphuretted hydrogen. Formation of these gases is favoured by accumu- lation of mucus on the walls of the stomach, and by venous Digitized by Microsoft® CARMINATIVES 107 congestion of the organ, both of which conditions interfere with the natural absorption of oxygen and excretion of carbonic acid. These gases cause uncomfortable distension, and often provoke spasm and pain. (See Antispasmodics.) Carminatives are closely allied to Antispasmnodics, and include the aromatic oils of the umbellifere, labiate, and other orders, with ginger, mustard, and peppers, alcohol, ethers, and chloroform. Carbonic acid gas is neutralised by ammonia preparations, sulphuretted and carburetted hydro- gen, and by solution of chlorine or chlorinated lime. They are used to expel flatus, relieve spasm, and pain, whether resulting from direct intestinal irritants, or, second- arily, from chill or other causes. Their effects mainly depend upon their controlling irregular peristalsis. They stimulate contraction of the distended stomach, and thus promote escape of gas by either the cardiac or pyloric open- ing. Regulating, in like manner, intestinal peristalsis, they displace and expel gases from other parts of the canal. They are usefully conjoined with purgatives. In cattle, owing to the large amount of food in the first stomach, it is some- times difficult to remove accumulations of gas, by either carminatives or antispasmodics, the use of a gag fixed in the mouth, or even by the probang. Where these means fail, and distension is so great as to interfere with breathing or circulation, it is necessary to remove the gas by opening the rumen, with either a trochar and canula, or a tolerably large knife. In serious distension, threatening rupture of the large intestines, in horses, the gas is liberated by puncture of the cecum or colon with a special trochar and canula. InrestivaL AstRiNcENTs diminish excessive or unduly fluid intestinal evacuations. They are specially used to antagonise various forms of diarrhea. Some, like opium and chloral, lessen the excessive peristalsis on which diarrhea generally in great part depends. Some, like antacids, neutralise acids which provoke both peristalsis and increased secretion. Some, like creasote, check fermentation and putrefaction, and thus arrest formation of irritants. Others, like catechu and tannin-containing substances, coagulate albumin, and Digitized by Microsoft® 108 INTESTINAL ASTRINGENTS consequently dry up both discharge of mucus and of blood. Others, like copper and iron sulphates, usually conjoin anti- septic and astringent actions. Coto-bark and its alkaloids, although devoid of astringency, exert antiseptic effects, and besides, by increasing absorption, remove superfluous fluid from the intestines. Mineral acids and metallic salts are specially indicated when the mucous membranes are relaxed and flabby. Drs. Lauder Brunton and Pye Smith experimented with various agents, with the view of discovering any which would arrest the copious discharges of cholera. The conclusion arrived at was that most cases of diarrhoea, whether continuous or alternated with constipation, were best checked by castor oil, administered with a few drops of opium tincture. Where the diarrheea still persists, opium in moderate doses is given. Where active peristalsis occurs after eating, drinking, or the excitement of quick work, as in some nervous horses and dogs, liquor arsenicalis is prescribed. Undue relaxation of the bowels, occurring in irritable horses during active work, is mitigated by careful attention to diet, by using the best food in digestible form, allowing water in small quantity at a time but frequently, and withholding water for several hours previous to putting the animal to quick work. Intestinal antiseptics or disinfectants are sometimes pre- scribed in the treatment of disorders of the bowels, and of diseases which are believed to depend on the presence of pathogenic bacteria or their toxines in the intestine. Naph- thol, salol, iodol, dermatol, lysol, creolin, carbolic acid, sali- cylates, iodine, iodides, tannoform, thymol, tannalbin, tannic acid, terebene and boric acid are the disinfectants generally employed. Experiments show that repeated small doses of beta-naphthol, salol, or creolin, rapidly diminish the number of micro-organisms expelled with the feeces ; and the admini- stration of these or other intestinal antiseptics in hemoglo- binuria, parturient apoplexy, South African horse sickness, some cases of tetanus, and in distemper and other infectious diseases, deserves further trial. To ensure full effects within the bowel, the agent selected should be given encased in kera- tin, which is unattected by the gastric secretion. A course of Digitized by Microsoft® FUNCTIONS OF THE LIVER 109 intestinal antiseptics may be preceded by a dose of purgative medicine, ’ ACTION OF MEDICINES ON THE LIVER HEPATIC STIMULANTS—HEPATIC DEPRESSANTS—CHOLAGOGUES The liver is the largest gland in the body. It not only secretes and excretes bile, but part of the bile, mingled with the food materials, is again taken up from the intestine and again excreted, and this circulation through the liver and back to the intestine is accomplished within five minutes. The liver, moreover, forms glycogen, and is concerned with the general metabolism of the body, the breaking up of the blood globules, and the formation of urea. Medicines taken up by the vessels of the small intestine enter the liver, where they may be retained, destroyed, or neutralised. Some are eliminated in the bile. Arsenic, copper, and mercury are retained, and morpine, atropine, strychnine, veratrine, antipyrine, cocaine, and other alkaloids, are detained and modified. It further acts upon peptones, and probably upon ptomaines and waste products (which, accumulating in the blood and tissues, prove injurious, and indeed poisonous), and forms them into sugar, glycogen, and simpler forms, which are stored, as it were, “in a coal-bunker,’ as Dr. Lauder Brunton aptly puts it, for the production of heat and muscular energy. This important power of the liver to destroy poisons, elaborated in the vital processes or intro- duced from without, is illustrated in Lautenbach’s experi- ments. One-twentieth of a drop of nicotine does not killa frog, but half that dose suffices when the liver has been removed. When the glycogenic function of the liver is impaired, retained or transformed toxic substances exert unexpected activity. In this way liver toxines formed in ill health affect nervous and other tissues, and produce tem- porary sickness, fatigue, and lassitude. The bile has various functions. It promotes absorption and assimilation of fats. Containing a diastatic ferment, it transforms starch and glycogen into sugar. It moistens the intestinal walls, and excites contraction of their muscular Digitized by Microsoft® 110 HEPATIC STIMULANTS AND DEPRESSANTS coat, thus acting as a natural laxative. The action of various medicines upon the liver has been ascertained chiefly by Rohrig, Rutherford, and Vignel, who curarised fasting dogs, ligatured the common bile duct, and inserted a canula through which the bile secreted was discharged and collected. Numerous drugs were experimented with, usually by injec- tion into the duodenum. As food increases the secretion of bile, the experiments were made on fasting animals. These experiments demonstrate that medicines acting upon the liver are divisible into three classes :— (1.) Hepatic Stimutants or Direct Cxotacoaues increase the functional activity of the organ and the formation of bile, and are represented by dilute nitro-hydrochloric acid, sodium phosphate, sodium sulphate, salicylate, and benzoate, corrosive sublimate, turpentine, podophyllum, euonymin, aloes, rhubarb, jalap, colocynth, colchicum, and ipecacuanha. Some of these drugs augment the quantity of bile without altering its quality; others, like sodium salicylate, increase the quantity and fluidity; others, such as toluylendiamine, increase the solid parts, rendering it so viscid that it cannot readily pass through the bile ducts, and hence becomes reabsorbed, and may produce jaundice. Podophyllum is a powerful hepatic stimulant, in small doses, but loses this effect when given in large doses, in which it causes purgation; and similar results occur when other hepatic stimulants are given in such doses as actively to move the bowels. Many aromatic bitters slightly increase bile secretion. Healthy dogs with biliary fistule, liberally fed with fats and oils, were found to secrete more bile than when freely fed on albuminoids or carbo-hydrates. (2.) Hepatic Depressants or AnTIcHoLAcocues diminish the quantity of bile secreted by the liver. Professor Rutherford found that calomel, castor oil, gamboge, and magnesium sulphate lessened the secretion probably by lowering blood- pressure in the liver; while these and other purgatives besides diminish secretion by sweeping out of the intestine bile which might otherwise be reabsorbed, and partially digested food which might furnish fresh bile. In this way cholagogues are also hepatic depressants. Digitized by Microsoft® CHOLAGOGUES 111 (3.) Inpirecr CHoLacocues remove bile from the body mainly by increasing intestinal action. Superfluous bile cannot be got rid of by a hepatic stimulant alone, which increases the secretion, nor even by a hepatic depressant, which diminishes secretion, for, as already indicated, excess of bile is apt to lodge in the small intestine, and become re- absorbed. Effectually to get rid of it, the bowels must be freely moved, preferably by a purge, which will produce sufficient fluid to wash out the small intestine. The drugs which effect this are calomel and other purgative mercurial salts, given with a cathartic, such as aloes, jalap, podophyllum, or sulphates of magnesium and sodium. Their effects are increased by active exertion. In dogs and other animals that vomit, emetics effectually remove bile by compressing the liver between the diaphragm and the abdominal muscles, diluting the bile with abundant mucus, and promptly dis- charging it by the mouth as well as by the rectum. Owing to the low blood-pressure in the portal vein, and also the low pressure at which bile is secreted, there is little vis a tergo to overcome obstruction in the gall ducts, and hence the bile flow is rather liable to stagnation, with conse- quent increased reabsorption. This is apt to occur in human patients living largely on albuminoid food, and not taking sufficient brisk exercise. It also occurs in cattle forced for exhibition, and in all animals as a concomitant of intestinal catarrh. It is frequent among horses suffering from in- fluenza, and the circulation of bile accounts not only for the yellow membranes, but also, in great part, for the dulness and languor characterising such complaints. The removal of this superfluous bile, with the waste products it has helped to neutralise, in these cases is suitably effected by half a dose of physic, or by some calomel or grey powder, followed by or conjoined with salines. Nitro-muriatic acid and iron salts, which experience shows to be subsequently serviceable, owe their good effects, at least in part, to their action on the liver. In jaundice, the late Professor Robertson prescribed a purgative, followed by salines, and subsequently administered twice daily a bolus of inspissated ox bile, alternately with aromatic spirit of ammonia. The pancreas phas;zbeepy teymed,@m abdominal salivary 112 AGENTS WHICH KILL OR EXPEL WORMS gland, but its secretion not only converts starch into sugar, but also digests proteids, and breaks up and emulsifies fat. Not much is accurately known regarding the action of drugs upon the pancreas. Its secretion is increased when ether is introduced into the stomach, and diminished in dogs by atropine and vomiting. Calomel and salicylic acid check decomposition of pancreatic juice. Few investigations have yet been made regarding the action of drugs on the spleen. MEDICINES WHICH KILL OR EXPEL WORMS ANTHELMINTICS—VERMICIDES—VERMIFUGES ANTHELMINTICs are agents which kill or expel intestinal worms. They include vermicides, which kill the parasites, and vermifuges, such as purgatives, which, without neces- sarily killing, detach them from the walls of the canal, and wash them away with the mucus in which they are usually imbedded. The parasites most frequently infesting the alimentary canal are—bots, the larvee of the cestrus bovis, found in the stomach of the horse; various tape-worms and round worms, occurring in the intestines and stomach of most animals; and fluke-worms, which invade the liver, gall-ducts, and in- testines of sheep, and occasionally of cattle and deer. The appropriate vermicides are— 1. For bots, green food, a combination of aloes, asafcetida, turpentine, and ether; iodine tincture, or carbon bisulphide. 2. For tape-worms, areca nut, male fern, kamala, kousso, pomegranate root bark, turpentine, and chloroform. 3. For ascarides, popularly known as round worms, the remedies used are teenicides, with santonin, bitters, arsenic, strontium salts, lysol, and creolin. 4, For strongyli or thread-worms, turpentine and essential oils, thymol, tannin, and tannin-containing substances, lysol, carbolic acid, naphthol, turpentine oil, with enemata of common salt, ferric-chloride, or lime water. 5. For fluke-worms infesting the liver and gall-ducts of sheep, and occasionally of cattle and other animals, the treatment consists in maintaining the patient’s strength by Digitized by Microsoft® BOTS AND TAPE-WORMS 113 good feeding ; furnishing common salt and soluble iron salts, which exert general tonic effects and limited vermicidal action, and giving a dose of physic, which hastens the re- moval of flukes which have migrated into the intestines. Prevention is ensured by keeping the flock on sound pastures, free from the developmental forms of the parasite. Bots in horses complete their larval stage in spring, and their discharge is then readily promoted by the laxative fresh grass. During autumn or winter they are dislodged with difficulty, and unless numerous, and causing much irritation, their removal is seldom attempted; but animals seriously infested with them require liberal feeding A considerable number of the larvee may be dislodged by giving, after twelve hours’ fast, two drachms each of aloes and asafcetida, dissolved in hot water, to which is added, when cold, half an ounce each of oil of turpentine and ether. The mixture is administered in gruel or linseed tea, and repeated on several consecutive days. Carbon bisulphide, in half-ounce doses, given for several days before feeding, and followed by a purgative, causes discharge of the dead bots; and iodine tincture one ounce diluted with two ounces each of glycerin and water kills bots lodged in the stomach. Tape-worms of the three species infesting horses are usually expelled by aloes, turpentine, and oil. Drs. Fried- berger and Fréhner place first on their list of tenicides three to five drachms of male fern extract. Professor John Gamgee (Veterinarian’s Vade Mecwm) recommends two drachms of asafcetida, a drachm each of powdered savin and calomel, with thirty drops of male fern, made up with treacle and linseed meal, given at night, and followed by a purge next morning. Mr. Robert Littler, both for tape and and other worms, gives for three or four consecutive morn- ings a ball containing two drachmns of copper sulphate, and follows this with a purgative dose of aloes. Whatever remedies are used, it is essential that the bowels be emptied as thoroughly as possible by twelve to fifteen hours’ fasting, or by a gentle aperient, in order that. the vermicide shall be brought into contact with the head of the worm. Dogs in some localities, in the proportion of fifty to every Digitized by Microsoft® 114 VERMICIDES hundred, are infested with tape-worms. The most effectual remedy is powdered areca nut; 15 to 20 grains, in half an ounce of linseed oil, is the dose for an animal 25 to 40 lbs. weight. Amongst other remedies are male fern extract, now reputed the most certain remedy for tape-worm in man ; pomegranate root bark, the flowers of the Abyssinian kousso, followed by a purge; the American remedy, emulsion of the pumpkin seed; tenaline, a registered preparation of areca nut; and kamala, obtained from a Euphorbiaceous plant, is effectually used in India. A drachm of turpentine in two ounces of castor or linseed oil is frequently used. Sheep, and especially lambs, are victimised by the Tenia expansa, which grows very rapidly, and sometimes does wide-spread mischief. Areca nut, or extract of male fern, in the dose suitable for large dogs, is most effectual. Poultry harbour various species, for which areca nut followed by a laxative is the best remedy. Ascarides are more readily removed than tape-worms. British practitioners usually treat the Ascaris nvegalocephala (which chiefly occurs in the small intestine of horses) with drenches containing one to two drachms of aloes, and half a drachm each of chloroform and turpentine, given fasting on two consecutive mornings, and repeating the treatment a week later. German authorities recommend three or four doses of one drachm of tartar emetic, conjoined with bitters, at intervals of three hours, or a drench of arsenic, aloes, or absinthe, thrice daily, either prescription being followed by an aloetic purge. The Oxyuris curvula, met with in the colon and rectum of the horse, is removed by similar prescriptions, and when confined to the rectum is still more readily dislodged by enemata of quassia decoction or other bitters, creolin solu- tion, lime water, or solution of common salt. The Ascaris marginata, the most common lumbricoid of dogs, is killed by three to five grains of santonin, the active crystalline principle of artemisia or wormwood. Turpen- tine and oil, gentian and other bitters, aconite and various other medicines also remove round worms. The effect of vermicides, as already indicated, is greatly increased by first Digitized by Microsoft® ASCARIDES AND STRONGYLI 115 emptying the intestines by fasting, or by a purgative, in order that the drug may act more directly on the parasite. Occasional doses of salines and mineral tonics remove super- fluous mucus, which shelters the worms. The spread of parasitism is prevented by isolating infested animals, de- stroying their excreta, and by keeping healthy animals in uncontaminated quarters, and supplied with pure water and sound food. The Strongyli include many species, two of which infest the horse, and, imbedding themselves in the mucous mem- brane usually of the large intestine, are difficult to expel. The S. contortus invades the fourth stomach of sheep and goats, and not infrequently concurs with the S. filaria, infesting the bronchi. Other species attack dogs, cats, pigs, and poultry ; while the S. pergracilis is the cause of disease in grouse. Empyreumatic coal-tar oils, lysol, creolin, thymol, and chloroform are the remedies used. Some cases of parasitism, unfortunately, are beyond the reach of anthelmintics. Trichine get immured in the muscles ; the palisade worms develop aneurisms ; Strongylus tetracanthus, which causes fatal enteritis in many horses, becomes encysted in the mucous coat of the cecum, colon and rectum, and is thus protected from the action of medicinal agents. Several species of Uncinaria burrowing in the mucous coat of the bowels of dogs and cats produce a pernicious anemia (Friedberger). The treatment of such cases is limited to a dose of aloes, with antiseptics, nutritive food, and tonics, to sustain failing strength. MEDICINES ACTING ON THE SKIN DIAPHORETICS—SU DORIFICS—ANHYDROTICS The skin, in the domesticated animals, besides being pro- tective and tactile, secretes sweat and sebaceous matter, exerts a modified respiratory function, and, on account of its constant and large secretion of fluid, is an important factor in regulating animal temperature. Sanctorius’s ex- periments show that of eight parts of food taken into the Digitized by Microsoft® 116 FUNCTIONS OF THE SKIN healthy body, about three parts leave it in the feces and urine, three by the lungs, and two by the skin. So important are the cutaneous functions that when they are impaired by covering one half the body of horses, dogs, or pigs with a gelatin varnish, the temperature falls, and there is much weakness. When these animals are wholly en- veloped in varnish, or when one-eighth of the body of a rabbit is similarly coated, the temperature rapidly falls, blood is imperfectly arterialised, and the animal gradually dies from loss of heat. The poisonous action of retained per- spiration is illustrated by Rohrig’s experiment of the injection . of 34 centimétres of freshly-filtered human sweat into the external jugular of a rabbit, which was nearly killed, the temperature promptly rising from 99:2 to 1043, the pulse mounting from 192 to 315, the respirations from 85 to 105. The sweat Glands, placed in the subcutaneous adipose tissue, number 2000 to 3000 on every square inch of the surface of men and horses. Their activity is regulated by the special centres which are situated in the spinal cord. The amount of natural perspiration depends mainly upon the dryness and temperature of the air. Sweating in men and horses begins, even while they are at rest, at a little over 80° Fahr. It is chiefly determined—(1) by increased circulation of blood through the cutaneous vessels; and (2) by increased activity of the sweat glands. The taking of food, the drinking of warm water or other bland fluids, the administration of strong tea and coffee, and active exercise, by raising arterial pressure increase blood circulation through the cutaneous vessels, and pro- mote perspiration, The sweat glands are stimulated by various aromatic and volatile substances which are excreted by them. The sweat centres are stimulated by ammonia salts, ipecacuanha, opium, camphor, nicotine, and antimony salts, by mental emotions and nausea, by a venous condition and high temperature of the blood, and reflexly by warmth to the surface, warm drinks, alcohol, and pilocarpine. Diaphoretics and sudorifics are agents which increase the skin secretions. They include (1) agents which stimu- late the sudoriparous glands, or nerves connected with them, Digitized by Microsoft® DIAPHORETICS 117 comprising jaborandi, physostigmine, and warmth to the surface ; (2) agents which increase superficial blood supply, including such vascular stimulants as alcohol, ethers, and ammonia acetate solution, vaso-dilators such as amyl-nitrite, sweet spirit of nitre, and such nauseants as ipecacuanha and tartar emetic. Diaphoretics are less prompt and certain in veterinary than in human patients. Horses are made to sweat more readily than cattle, while the skin of horses and cattle is more easily acted upon than that of sheep, dogs, cats, or pigs. In all animals the readiest way of pro- moting copious cutaneous secretion is by heavy clothing, warm diluents, and keeping the animal in a dry atmosphere of about 70°, and administering small and repeated doses of ammonia acetate solution, or sweet spirit of nitre. General stimulants in small doses raise arterial pressure, and hence usually increase skin secretion. When, however, blood- pressure is high, as in the early stages of acute inflammation, ‘sedatives, such as aconite, or blood-letting, by reducing the action of the heart and blood-pressure, notably increase cutaneous secretion. Friction or grooming with suitable brushes beneficially excites the action of the skin in all animals. Warm and vapour baths, at temperatures varying from 100° to 120° Fahr., are useful diaphoretics. Hydrotherapy affords a ready means of producing dia- phoresis in the lower animals, as well as in man. The patient may be enveloped in a sheet saturated with either cold or tepid water. Over this are placed three or four large horse-cloths. The legs should be subjected to similar treatment, or rolled in warm bandages. After the patient has been thus clothed for half an hour or an hour, he will steam and perspire very freely. The sheet and rugs should then be removed, and the animal dried by hand-rubbing, and comfortably clothed. This practice has been success- fully adopted both with horses and cattle. The evil effects of chills are thus counteracted, colds are cut short, and rheumatism, especially in gross subjects, removed. Hydro- therapy should not, however, be adopted unless with due consideration, and under competent supervision. Pro- tracted or violent diaphoresis, howsoever produced, proves Digitized by Microsoft® 118 DIURETICS debilitating. It removes from the body an undue proportion of its solids, and especially of its saline matters. Diaphoretics are used for the following purposes :— (1.) They restore checked cutaneous secretion, and hence equalise irregularities of circulation, counteract congestion of internal organs, and lower abnormal temperature. They are hence often serviceable in cutting short chills, colds, and simple febrile attacks, especially amongst horses. (2.) They remove injurious waste products, and other morbid matters, which are apt to accumulate, particularly in febrile, inflammatory, and rheumatic disorders. These depurative services are especially valuable when the eliminating functions of the kidneys, bowels, or pulmonary membrane are impaired. In such cases the skin may be made to undertake a vicarious duty, and excrete waste matters usually removed by other channels. Awxyprotics are drugs which lessen cutaneous secretion. Their effects appear to be induced (1) by diminishing the activity of the sweat glands; (2) by lessening excitability of the sweat centres; or (3) by acting on the circulation, usually by stimulating the respiratory centre, and thus overcoming that venous condition of the blood which in weakness and disease is a frequent cause of sweating. It is in this manner that belladonna and atropine, jaborandi, ipecacuanha, nux vomica, and salts of zine check sweating; but belladonna and its alkaloid, moreover, are effective by their paralysing the terminals of the secreting nerves of the skin. MEDICINES ACTING ON THE URINARY ORGANS ON THE KIDNEYS: DIURETICS Diuretics are agents which act on the kidneys and in- crease secretion of urine. The amount of urine is liable to much variation, depending mainly on the nature of the food, the quantity of water drunk, and the proportion of fluid removed by the bowels and skin. Horses during the twenty-four hours pass from Digitized by Microsoft® CONDITIONS MODIFYING SECRETION OF URINE 119 two quarts to two gallons, or on an average about ten pints. Secretion is augmented during digestion, especially when the diet is rich in proteids, by such food as heated oats or musty hay, and by vetches, particularly when animals are unused to them. More urine is passed during rest than when the horse at active work is losing fluid freely by the skin and lungs. Veterinary-Major Smith, from a series of examinations of the urine of horses, finds the specific gravity averages 1036, and that 3% ounces of urea are excreted in the twenty-four hours. Cattle pass 10 to 40 pints of urine per diem, the specific gravity ranging from 1007 to 1080. Sheep pass 10 to 30 ounces of alkaline urine having a specific gravity of 1006 to 1015. Pigs excrete 3 to 14 pints of urine, which may be acid or alkaline. The quantity of urine, 15 to 35 ounces, excreted by the dog depends upon the diet and the size of the animal. The specific gravity ranges from 1016 to 1060. The urinary secretion is increased by a variety of con- ditions, notably by raising the pressure of blood in the Malpighian tufts, by cardiac stimulation, as also by con- traction of the blood-vessels of other vascular areas, as when cold diminishes cutaneous activity. Irritation of the medulla in the floor of the fourth ventricle experimentally produced by mechanical injury, or naturally produced by circulation of venous blood, greatly increases secretion, owing, it is believed, to stimulation of the special vaso-motor centre which controls the renal arteries. Similar subsidiary centres are also found in the spinal cord, and in connection with the solar and mesenteric plexuses. The proportion of the several urinary constituents is altered by different conditions. Urea, uric acid, and hippuric acid are increased by nitrogenous food, by common salt, phosphoric acid, leucin, and glycocol, and are also augmented during the early stages of most acute diseases. They are diminished by alcohol, turpentine, arsenic, and large draughts of water. Horses at rest pass a maximum of uric acid and a minimum of the less per- fectly oxidised hippuric acid, but these proportions are reversed during and immediately after exertion, when dis- Digitized by Microsoft® 120 CLASSIFICATION OF DIURETICS integration of albuminoid tissues freely uses up oxygen and increases production of carbonic acid. Albumin is not a normal constituent of urine, but occurs in convalescence from febrile disorders, temporarily in horses receiving excess of albuminoids, and also in hemo- globinuria in horses, and red water in cattle. It appears where contraction of the renal arteries has been induced by digitalis or strychnine; and is likewise produced by full doses of cantharides, which also causes hematuria. Such exudation of albumin, more apt to appear suddenly and temporarily in horses than in man, is lessened by administra- tion of tannin, and by arbutin, the active principle of uva wrsi, and also by keeping the bowels and skin in proper action, clothing the patient comfortably, but avoiding active diuretics. Bile constituents are occasionally found in the urine of the lower animals, but sugar is rarely present. Classifying diuretics as refrigerant, hydragogue, and stimulant, Dr. Lauder Brunton presents the subjoined tabular view of their probable modes of action :— Digitalis. Increased action of the { Digitalis Erythrophleum. heart: ) Alcohol Strophanthus. Generally. : Squill. Contraction of vessels in intestines . ee and throughout the body : C rycomne . affeine. | Cold to surface. Raise Contract efferent) By action on arterial arterioles of glo-| vaso motor pressure, meruli, so as to] centres. raise pressure | By local action) Broom. in glomerulus, (on vessels or Turpentine. | The same as in J ' preceding list. ~- or lessen absorp- LT Locally in J tion in tubules pace Mae | Copter: kidney. or both : kidney itself. ? Cantharides. (Paralyse vaso- motor nerves, e Nitrites, 3 ae orinvoluntary , ek affer i ev iseulay fibre \ Alcohol. or stimulate | “T° vaso - dilating nerves. Increase water ex- Urea. ereied: Caffeine. Act on the secretory nerves : Calomel. or secretory cells of the, kidney itself. Increase solids ex. | Liquor Potasse. erated « Potassium Acetate, etc. . Other Saline Diuretics. Digitized by Microsoft® THE USES OF DIURETICS 121 The selection of a diuretic must in great part depend upon the purpose for which it is given. A diuretic ball, commonly used for horses standing for several days in the stable, or affected with swollen or itching legs, is made with half an ounce each of nitre, resin, and soft soap, and may be repeated daily for four or five days. The same ingredients dissolved in a pint of water make a diuretic drink for the cow. For a medium-sized dog, Stonehenge advises six grains of nitre, a grain of digitalis, and three grains of ginger, made into a pill with linseed meal and water. Another useful combination for dogs consists of thirty drops of sweet spirit of nitre and five grains of saltpetre in a little water. Diuretic effects are best ensured by conjoin- ing several drugs, by giving small and repeated doses, by encouraging the animal to drink water, thin gruel, or other bland fluids, and otherwise promoting excretion of the medicine by the kidneys rather than by the skin or bowels. Diuretics are used— (1.) To increase the proportion of water in the urine, thus preventing deposition of its solids in the kidneys or bladder, and mechanically washing out such solids when they have been formed. Along with medicinal diuretics, diluents in such cases are freely supplied. (2.) To hasten expulsion of waste products and poisonous matters from the body, as in febrile or rheumatic disorders, or where the kidneys are acting tardily. In these, as in other cases, a combination of diuretics is desirable, and digitalis, turpentine, or oil of juniper is often usefully conjoined with nitre. In human practice caffeine is pre- scribed. (3.) To remove excess of fluid from the tissues or serous cavities. When dropsy is connected with cardiac disorder, digitalis, and other drugs which act on the vascular system, are indicated, their efficacy being rendered more certain by combination with some saline diuretic, such as_nitre. Copaiba is added to the prescription when the liver is affected. In dropsy connected with chronic kidney disease, nitrous ether and oil of juniper are preferred ; but they should be used with extreme caution. Digitized by Microsoft® 122 URINARY DEPOSITS Calomel augments secretion of urea, and hence promotes secretion of urine. In excessive or too frequently repeated doses diuretics are apt unduly to stimulate the kidneys and urinary organs, and provoke strangury, inflammation and hematuria. In cystitis, urethral disease, or obstruction, to prevant alkaline decomposition of the urine, antiseptics, benzoic and salicylic acids, citrates and tartrates are prescribed. MEDICINES ACTING ON THEH BLADDER LITHONTRIPTICS—URINARY SEDATIVES, TONICS, AND ASTRINGENTS The movements of the urinary bladder are mainly regu- lated by a centre in the lumbar portion of the spinal cord, but in all the higher animals there is also a presiding centre in the brain, which may be set in action either voluntarily or reflexly. Most drugs influencing the bladder appear, however, to come into actual contact with it, and produce their effects reflexly. Some horses will not urinate while in harness; others will not while the rider is in the saddle. As with other animals, the desire to urinate is suggested, and the act facilitated, by seeing or hearing other animals stal- ing, or even by the sound of flowing water. If, as is often the case, the horse is in the habit of being whistled to when urinating, the act will be encouraged by whistling to him. Hard-fed and hard-worked horses are liable to suffer from urinary deposits, which are sometimes found in the kidney, but more commonly in the bladder, and in male animals in the tract of the long urethra. In horses, as in other herbivora, urinary deposits consist mainly of calcium and magnesium salts, sometimes derived directly from drinking water, from earthy matters mixed with fodder or grain, or from lime salts, abundant in clovers and other fodder, which unite with the carbonates produced by oxidation of the vegetable acids also present in the food. These calcareous deposits are sometimes in a finely-divided pulverulent state; sometimes they are aggregated into masses or calculi. Whether occurring as sediment, gravel, or stone, they cause Digitized by Microsoft® PREVENTION OF URINARY DEPOSITS 123 more or less difficulty, straining, and pain in urination; the stream is interrupted, and from irritation of the lining membrane of the passage the urine usually contains excess of mucus; while the portions last discharged are often turbid. When such symptoms are caused by a calculus in the bladder, medical treatment is unavailing. No medicine can be safely given in sufficient amount or sufficiently con- centrated to dissolve calcareous urinary deposits within the body. Hence a stone which cannot be naturally discharged can only be removed by a surgical operation. When small it may be extracted by lithotomy; when large or of awkward shape, it should be crushed and removed in pieces. Calcareous sediment can usually be got rid of in great part, or entirely, by giving liberal supplies of barley water, linseed tea, or other diluents; or with a syringe and flexible catheter the bladder may be filled with tepid water, and deposits thus washed out. Successive quantities of water may be introduced until they come away tolerably clear. LitHontriptics are defined as remedies which prevent deposit of solids from the urine, or cause their resolution. In veterinary patients, as already indicated, they cannot resolve calculi, although they may mechanically remove them, and may check their formation. Such preventive treatment.in the case of horses mainly consists in furnish- ing abundant, regular, and pure supplies of drinking water. Waters rich in calcareous matters are theoretically more liable to deposit such earthy constituents, especially under conditions where their carbonic anhydride is diminished. A weekly mash, containing any simple saline, somewhat lessens the tendency to these urinary deposits; and it is further important to remove conditions which interfere with regular urination or any obstruction to the outflow. It is accord- ingly advisable, from time to time, to wash out the horse’s sheath with soap and tepid water, and thus get rid of accumulating sabulous matter. Bulls and oxen, and still more frequently rams and wethers, when liberally supplied with albuminoid food, and having little or no exercise, are liable to deposits, chiefly of Digitized by Microsoft® 124 VESICAL SEDATIVES AND TONICS ammonio-magnesian phosphates, in the bladder and curved or tortuous urethra. Amongst feeding sheep, fatal uremic poisoning may thus be produced. The patients must be turned up, and endeavour made by manipulation to displace the deposits which block the urethra. Where these means fail to effect a passage, the vermiform appendage may be excised, or the canal may be opened, when a full stream of urine will be discharged, and with it a considerable amount of deposit. Prevention is effected by withholding or reducing the allowance of cake and corn, supplying soft laxative food, raising the sheep and moving them about at least thrice daily, so as to encourage urination, and by prescribing potassium bicarbonate. Dogs, when freely eating animal food, suffer occasionally from deposits of uric acid and acid urates, the tendency to which is combated by suitable diet, diluents, and salts of potassium and lithium, both of which form soluble salts with uric acid, but the lithium having a lower atomic weight, unites with a larger proportion of uric acid. VesicaL anD Urinary SepaTives are agents which lessen irritability of the bladder and urinary passages, and thus remove straining and pain. Diluents, such as linseed tea or other mucilaginous drinks, are often serviceable. Irritability when caused by the presence of calculi is diminished by administering calcium carbonate, and when due to acidity of the urine alkalies are beneficial. In cystitis, rugs wrung out of hot water and laid over the loins, and hot fomentations to the perineum, afford much relief. Irritability of the nerve- centres is soothed by opium, belladonna, and hyoscyamus. Chronic inflammatory conditions are relieved by such astrin- gents as uva ursi, buchu, and Pareira brava. Copaiba, sandal- wood oil, and terpenes are excreted in considerable amount by the kidneys, and exert their antiseptic and astringent effects throughout the urino-genital tract. Relaxed and hemorrhagic conditions may be treated by sulphuric acid and iron sulphate, alternated by salicylic acid. VesicaL anp Urinary Tonics are agents which increase the contractility of the bladder. Strychnine and cantharides strengthen the sphincter muscle and thus prevent involun- Digitized by Microsoft® APHRODISIACS 125 tary escape of urine. Belladona acts upon the regulating nerve-centres, and is believed to lessen their sensibility. MEDICINES ACTING ON THE ORGANS OF GENERA- TION AND THE MAMMARY GLANDS ~ APHRODISIACS—ANAPHRODISIACS—ECBOLICS, OR OXYTOCICS The sexual function is regulated by two nerve-centres which influence and react on each other. (1.) The cerebral is believed to lie in the crus cerebri, is stimulated reflexly by the special nerve of smell, sight, or hearing. (2.) The spinal centre, situated in the lumbar region, regulates the vascular supply of the erectile genital tissues. Irritation of this centre causes turgid rigidity. Erection is also produced reflexly by local stimulation of the genital organs, as well as by irritation of the bladder, prostate, and lower intestines. ApHropisiacs are agents which increase sexual desire. Deficient sexual activity usually depends upon want of general vigour, and the rational treatment consists in the administration of tonics—notably of iron and of strych- nine, which latter, in addition to its general action as a nervine tonic, has also a special effect in stimulating the sexual centres. Cantharides exerts aphrodisiac influences mainly by irritating the urinary mucous membrane, and hence is an unsafe remedy. Alcohol, although stimulating the cerebral sexual centre, appears to paralyse the lumbar vaso-motor centres, and hence interferes with the proper performance of the generative act. Awapuropisiacs are agents which diminish the sexual pas- sion. Some, as applications of ice, or cold water, act locally on the organs themselves; others, as potassium iodide, and bromide, purgatives, digitalis, and hemlock, act generally on the genital nerve centres. A spare diet and steady work exert anaphrodisiac effects. Irritation of the genital lumbar plexus is produced reflexly by distension of the bladder with acrid urine, by accumulation of filth around the prepuce, by ascarides, and even by feces in the rectum. Removal of Digitized by Microsoft® 126 AGENTS AFFECTING SECRETION OF MILK such causes of irritation accordingly diminishes undue sexual excitement. Ecszouics.—The involuntary muscular fibres of the uterus have the power of rhythmical contraction, but are besides controlled by higher nerve-centres in the lumbar portion of the cord, and in the brain. Experiments have demonstrated that stimulation of the cerebellum, crura cerebri, corpora striata, and optic thalami produces uterine contractions. Ecbolics cause expulsion of the contents of the uterus. They include ergot, hydrastis, savin, and thuja; but ergot is the only one in general use. It induces uterine contractions even when all nervous connections have been divided, but it also acts on the special centre. It is occasionally used in veterinary patients—particularly in the bitch—to hasten par- turition when no obstruction is present, but when expulsive power is deficient. As it induces persistent contraction of the uterus, with consequent arrest of placental circulation, it must be used sparingly and cautiously during parturition. It is serviceable, however, subsequently in promoting contrac- tion and checking hemorrhage. Prompt contraction of the flaccid uterus, with arrest of dangerous bleeding, is best secured by subcutaneous injection of ergotin, and also by injection of warm water. The local irritation of metritis and leucorrhwa can be relieved by injection of warm water, which is rendered still more effectual by addition of Condy’s fluid, creolin, or car- bolic acid. Suppositories of opium and belladonna may be subsequently introduced. AGENTS ACTING oN THE Mammary Gtanps.—A full stream of healthy blood passing through the mammary glands is essential to the abundant secretion of good milk. Animals which are to milk well must accordingly be well fed. Their diet must contain a sufficient proportion especially of albumi- noids and fatty matters, which furnish the casein and cream of the milk. There are no drugs of much practical value as galactagogues, or increasers of milk. Jaborandi exerts only a temporary effect. Many drugs, however, pass into the milk, communicating to it their flavour and medicinal pro- perties. Ether-oils promptly taste the milk of any animal Digitized by Microsoft® TREATMENT OF DISEASES OF THE UDDER 127 to which they are given. Fixed oils and salines administered to milking mothers, purge the sucking offspring. Acids, diuretics, opiates, potassium iodide, arsenic, and other active drugs given to suckling mothers frequently exhibit notable effects on their susceptible progeny. By careful selection of good milking breeds, and by suit- able management, the quantity of milk yielded by first-class dairy cows is many times that obtained from cattle in their natural or semi-feral state, which furnish only sufficient for the rearing of one calf. But the highly developed mammary organs of these improved dairy animals become increasingly susceptible to disease, and less amenable to treatment. Acute inflammation frequently attacks the udder, causing much constitutional disturbance, and necessitating the administration of purgatives, febrifuges, and antiseptics. In order to relieve its weight, the inflamed udder should be suspended by a broad web passed over the loins, and pro- vided with holes for the teats. The web will conveniently support the light poultice of spent hops, which is often advantageously applied. A teat-syphon is generally useful to withdraw the milk or exudate, and to introduce disinfec- ants. The inflamed parts are dressed with belladonna, which paralyses the terminations of the nerves, and diminishes lacteal secretion; and also relieves tension, and relaxes the sphincters of the teats. These desirable results are some- times obtained by the hypodermic injection of atropine. With the view of hastening the drying of cows, belladonna is sometimes applied topically to the udder, and is also administered; but the desired object is more practically attained by restricting the cow to dry food, milking her at gradually lengthening intervals, and, where the result has to be quickly secured, giving a dose of purgative medicine. Digitized by Microsoft® 128 RESTORATIVES REMEDIES ACTING ON TISSUH CHANGE RESTORATIVES—TONICS—HEMATINICS—ALTERATIVES— ANTIPYRETICS—BLOOD-LETTING The various structures of healthy animal bodies are con- tinually undergoing reconstruction, change, and devolution. Fresh materials or restoratives, in sufficient abundance, and containing in suitable proportion the constituents of the several tissues, are required. By digestion and assimilation, the food materials are prepared for their special uses. But these complex nutritive processes sometimes become de- ranged. Some fault occurs in the digestive enzymes; some want of activity or co-relation overtakes the presiding nervous centres; some delay takes place in the prompt and effectual removal of waste products by the bowels, kidneys, or skin. Hence arise muscular and nervous depression, expressed by dulness, debility, and diminished capacity for exertion. For such weakened, relaxed, unfit conditions, the appropriate remedies are tonics. Within the living organs and tissues themselves, further subtle reparative processes constantly occur, and certain drugs, termed alteratives, modify these remoter tissue changes in a manner not fully understood. The maintenance of a tolerably uniform temperature is essential to the performance of normal tissue changes in warm-blooded animals. In fever, however, the temperature is increased, and the remedies employed for its reduction are antipyretics, or febrifuges. Resroratives.—The bodies of all animals, especially when at work, undergo disintegration and waste, and their growth and repair hence require continual recuperation. Food must be provided in sufficient amount, of suitable quality, and with its several constituents in fitting proportion, to furnish appropriate nutriment for every tissue. Water, which constitutes four-fifths of the total weight of most animals, is being constantly removed by the lungs, skin, kidneys, and intestines, and, unless restored at short intervals, thirst and impaired health ensue. Not only are water and watery fluids requisite for the normal nutrition of the tissues, Digitized by Microsoft® DIETING OF SICK ANIMALS 129 and for dissolving and carrying away their waste products, but in sick animals they besides assist the removal of the products of disease. Even more imperative is the need of pure air to oxygenate the blood, maintain internal respira- tion and normal tissue change, and remove waste products. Animals require, either in the form of food or as restora- tive medicines, varying supplies of many constituents— phosphorus, specially for blood, bone, brain, and nerves; sulphur, for the skin and bile acids; fats, for cell-growth generally; iron, for the blood globules; salines, for the healthy restoration of the blood and most other parts. These requirements, essential in health, are even more important in animals affected by disease. Food then requires to be given with especial care, and in an easily digested form, for in all serious diseases the digestive func- tions are impaired. In many febrile complaints, of horses and cattle, the ordinary grains and dry fodder, being imper- fectly digested and assimilated, are apt to produce or aggra- vate gastric derangement. Animals suffering from febrile and inflammatory disorders should therefore be restricted to mashes, gruels, or cooked food, to which extra nutritive value can be given as required by addition of milk, eggs, or meat extracts. Food should never be allowed to lie long before a sick animal. If not promptly eaten, it should be removed, and in a couple of hours, or less time, replaced by a fresh supply. During and after attacks of debilitating diseases patients fed, as they should be, on small quantities of rapidly- digested fare, obviously require food more frequently than in health. With returning appetite a convalescent occa- sionally greedily eats more than can be easily digested, and against this contingency well-intentioned attendants require to be warned. Relapses of colic and lymphangitis sometimes occur by allowing horses, immediately after recovery, their full allowance of dry corn and hay. Unless when affected with diarrhea, dysentery, or diabetes, animals do not injure themselves by taking too much water or watery fiuids, but are often rendered uncomfortable by undue restriction. A supply of water should always be within the patient's reach. Cold water seldom does harm, Digitized by Microsoft® 130 HYGIENIC REMEDIES and is more palatable and refreshing than when tepid. Salines, chalk, and other simple medicines, sometimes given with the water offered to sick horses, should be sparingly added, or administered in some other way. Much mismanagement occurs with regard to the ventila- tion and temperature of the habitations of sick animals. Even for horses or cattle accustomed to comfortable boxes, a temperature of 60° to 65° Fahr. is sufficiently warm. Avoiding draughts, cool air should be freely admitted. No restorative or tonic is so effectual as cool, pure air, and it is especially needful in diseases of the respiratory organs and in zymotic cases. Sunlight is also an essential factor of health, especially in young animals. It increases the capa- city of the blood and tissues for oxygen, favours healthy excretion, and is an excellent disinfectant. A comfortable bed greatly conduces to the restoration of most sick animals. A sick, exhausted horse, who to his dis- advantage would continue to stand if kept in a stall, will often at once lie down and rest if placed in a comfortable box. In febrile and inflammatory attacks, and during recovery from exhausting disease, alike in horses and cattle, a warm rug or two, and bandages to the legs, help to main- tain equable temperature and combat congestion of internal organs; but at least twice daily these rugs and bandages should be removed, the skin wisped over, and the clothing at once replaced. In fever, when the skin is hot and dry, great comfort results, a natural moist state of skin is secured, and more active blood purification and restoration ensue, from sponging the body several times a day with tepid water acidulated with vinegar, quickly drying, and at once putting on the clothing. Attention to the position of the patient is frequently important in the treatment of disease. The debilitated horse allowed to lie long on his side is apt to suffer from congested lungs. The horse with severely injured knees is advantageously placed in slings. The cow, in the uncon- scious stage of milk fever, if permitted to lie on her side, speedily becomes tympanitic, and her chances of recovery are seriously impaired. In this and other cases, in which Digitized by Microsoft® MECHANICAL AND PHYSIOLOGICAL REST 131 she has to lie even for a few hours, she must be propped up in a natural position on her breast-bone. Mechanical and physiological rest are great restoratives. The pain accompanying most injuries and diseases, and greatly aggravated by performance of the natural functions of the part, instinctively enjoins as much rest as possible. Mechanical rest is frequently secured by splints and bandages, applied in all animals in cases of fractures of long bones of the limbs, and serious muscular and tendinous strains. Slings are also of similar service in horses suffering from fractures, open joint, and occasionally in laminitis, An inflamed part, when practicable, should be raised above the level of surrounding parts. Any pressure likely to interfere with circulation should be removed. To relieve irritation, pressure, and tension, the inflamed udder of the cow is suspended. In irritable and inflammatory states of the digestive organs, the simplest and most digestible food is given, and as little action as possible exacted from the stomach and bowels. When the kidneys are diseased, their work should be lightened, by promoting the action of the skin and bowels. Emollients and demulcents, as well as opium, belladonna, and other agents which paralyse the endings of sensory nerves, exert their curative effects mainly by ensuring physiological rest. But when acute disease has passed away, the gradual use of an affected part generally does good. Exercise in such circumstances proves a health restorer, improving appetite, and stimulating most of the bodily functions. The medicinal restoratives in common use are as follows: Linseed, in the form of gruel, tea, or cake, proves a soothing, palatable, digestible laxative combination of food and medi- cine. Cod-liver oil, especially in dogs and cats, conveniently supplies assimilable fatty matters. Iron salts, possessing tonic and hematinic, as well as restorative properties, are specially serviceable in anzemia; phosphates are prescribed for ill-thriving, weakly young animals; salines are indicated in skin eruptions and itching, often met with amongst hard- worked, liberally-fed horses; pepsin, liquor pancreatis, and malt extract, are sometimes administered to foals, dogs, and Digitized by Microsoft® 132 TONICS calves, when the natural digestive ferments are deficient or faulty. Kreochyle is an excellent restorative for dogs. Tontcs.— When digestion is enfeebled, nutrition impaired, circulation languid, or waste products not promptly removed, there is apt to ensue weakness, want of energy, and unfitness for work—conditions treated for the most part by tonics. They are defined as remedies which impart tone or strength to the parts on which they specially act. They are allied to nutrients and restoratives. They resemble stimulants; but their effects are more slowly and gradually produced, are more permanent, and not succeeded by subsequent depression. While stimulants usually call forth strength previously latent, tonics frequently give strength. They are also allied to astringents, but do not exhibit the same chemical power of coagulating albumin and constringing tissues. The same drugs, in different doses, often appear, however, in two or more of these classes. Alcohol, for example, is nutrient, tonic, and stimulant. Iron salts, according to their dose and the state of the patient, are nutrient, tonic, and astringent, but, used improperly, are sometimes irritant. Tonics exert their curative effects in one or more of the following ways :— 1. By influencing primary digestion, usually increasing gastric secretion. Gentian, calumba, chiretta, and other bitters are chiefly serviceable as gastric stimulants or stomachics. 2. By promoting secondary digestion, thus improving the chemical and physiological condition of the blood, secretions, and tissues. The most important members of this class are heematinics, noticed below. 3. By acting on other special organs and structures, notably on the heart, nervous centres, or liver. In using tonics it is accordingly essential to discover what part or organ is primarily and chiefly at fault. When diges- tion is enfeebled, gastric or intestinal tonics are prescribed. When the pulse is soft and weak, with a tendency to local congestion and cedema, cardiac and vascular tonics are used. When nervous functions are imperfectly performed, nervine tonics are appropriate. In the early stages of tuberculous Digitized by Microsoft® ALTERATIVES INFLUENCE METABOLISM 133 disease of the mesenteric glands, in cattle and horses, copper sulphate is often useful, probably on account alike of its tonic and antiseptic properties. Cold, in the form of baths, douches, and sponging, proves a valuable tonic, applicable for general as well as local purposes, relieving irritability, bracing up soft, flabby textures, and equalising circulation. Hezmatinics, or blood tonics, constitute an important group of tonics, which increase the quantity of red corpuscles and hemoglobin in the blood. ‘The red blood corpuscles are probably formed in the spleen, the medulla of bones, the liver, and possibly other parts of the body, from leucocytes, which lose their nucleus, take up hemoglobin, and alter their form to that of the red corpuscles’ (Brunton). These red corpuscles are in great part destroyed in the liver and spleen, and it hence appears probable that disorder of these organs is an essential cause of aneemia, which is very common amongst badly reared young animals. In order to restore iron and fatty matters which are deficient in anzemic blood, daily doses of soluble iron salts are prescribed, while easily assimilated fatty matters, such as boiled linseed, or linseed cake, are given to horses and cattle, and cod-liver oil to dogs. An improvement of general health is further effected by judi- cious feeding and comfortable quarters. The anemia result- ing from debilitating disease requires similar treatment. To ensure their good effects, tonics are generally given in moderate doses, two or three times daily, for six or eight days, and throughout their administration the bowels should be kept in a normal state. Atreratives are drugs which influence the amount and kind of tissue change going on in different organs and cells. Their results are usually readily recognised, but the way in which they are produced is difficult to explain. ‘They produce no marked corresponding changes in assimilation, circulation, or excretion. It is uncertain how they act; it is possible that they may alter in some way the action of enzymes in the body, but it is also possible that they act by replacing the normal constituents of the tissues, and forming compounds which tend to break up in a different way from those which are ordinarily present. Thus, chloride Digitized by Microsoft® 134 MODIFY TISSUE CHANGE of sodium, and nitrogenous bodies such as albumin are amongst the most important constituents of the body; and we find that among the chief alteratives are substances which will replace chlorine, sodium, or nitrogen in many compounds. Thus, we have iodine and iodides, and nitric and nitro-hydrochloric acids, which will displace or replace chlorine. We have chlorine itself, and chlorides, which may alter the proportion of the chlorides to other salts in the blood and tissues, and thus modify the solubility of various constituents of the tissues. We have salts of potassium and calcium, which may replace those of sodium; sulphur and sulphides, which may replace oxygen; phosphorus, hypo- sulphites, antimony, and arsenic, which may replace nitro- gen; mercury and its salts, which may replace calcium. Besides these, we have organic alteratives, regarding the action of which we can at present form no hypothesis, unless they influence the processes of digestion. Nitro-hydrochloric acid, taraxacum, and small doses of mercurials probably act either by modifying the digestion of food in the duo- denum and jejunum, or by modifying the changes which it undergoes in the liver after absorption’ (Pharmacology, Therapeutics, and Materia Medica). Sodium chloride, sulphate, phosphate, acetate, and biborate, potassium nitrate, ammonium chloride and carbonate, and probably all salts excreted by the kidneys, increase tissue change and the amount of urea excreted. Fats and fatty acids lessen decomposition of albuminoids and excretion of urea, but glycerin has no such action. Alcohol, in small or moderate doses, lessens, and in large doses increases tissue change. Benzoic and salicylic acids increase tissue change. Quinine lessens, iron appears to increase it. Mercury also causes a slight increase, but has a peculiar power of breaking up new deposits of fibrin, and hence is used to remove lymph deposits and prevent adhesions. Iodine, iodides, and pro- bably also chlorides, apparently act on the lymphatic system, promoting absorption. Potassium iodide arrests the progress of actinomycosis. In general malnutrition, without definite symptoms, mercurials, nitro-hydrochloric acid, and taraxa- cum are indicated, and especially when the liver appears to Digitized by Microsoft® ANTIPYRETICS LESSEN PRODUCTION OF HEAT 135 be at fault. Antimony, arsenic, and phosphorus exert their actions notably on the glandular, nervous, respiratory, and cutaneous systems, and large or continued doses affect the liver in a marked manner, producing fatty degeneration. Antimony is prescribed in acute disorders of the respiratory organs; arsenic, in chronic consolidations, which it probably softens, by fatty degeneration. Arsenic is also employed in chronic skin diseases, such as psoriasis, lichen, and eczema. Phosphorus and arsenic are prescribed in nervous debility. Antiryretics lower the temperature of the body in fever. They are sometimes termed antithermals, and correspond to the old group of febrifuges. Their effects are more notable when the temperature is abnormally high. Animal heat is chiefly produced by oxidation, in the muscles, both volun- tary and involuntary, and in glands, especially when they are ina state of activity. It is given off by the skin and lungs, in small amount by radiation; in still larger amount by contact with cold water or cold air, the latter abstracting heat with especial rapidity when it is damp or in motion. Owing to diminished activity of the cerebro-vaso-motor centre, and consequent dilatation of the surface vessels, loss of heat is greater when animals are asleep than when awake. Conversely, more heat is produced when the animal is in active motion, and blood circulates freely through the heat- producing apparatus of the muscles and glands. Small animals, having a cooling surface relatively larger than their internal heating appliances, are more rapidly cooled than large animals. A centre has been found in the corpus striatum, which appears to regulate the production of heat (thermotaxis), and certain antipyretics appear to develop their effects by stimulating this centre. Antipyretics are divided by Dr. Lauder Brunton into two classes—those which lessen production of heat, and those which increase loss of heat; and these again he subdivides as shown in the following table :— Digitized by Microsoft® 136 Antipyretics. ANTIPYRETICS INCREASE LOSS OF HEAT (Cinchona Alkaloids, Benzoic and Car- bolic Acids. Salicylic Acid. Salicylates. ‘Acting on Tissue Change: + Salicin. Camphor. Eucaly ptol. Thymol and other Essential Oils. Lessen pro- \Alcohol. duction of* heat. Antimony Salts. Aconite. Generally, Digitalis. | Veratrine. _Thallin. Local Blood-letting. Poultices. Blisters. Guaiacol. Acting on the Cir- \ culation: \ Locally By dilating cutaneous ves- | Alcohol. sels and increasing radia-- Nitrous Ether. tion : Antipyrine. Antimonial pre- parations. Opium and Ipeca- cuanha. Nitrous Ether. By increasing the loss of heat due to evaporation Cold Sponging. Wet Pack. Ice to the Surface. Cold Drinks. Cold Enemata. ‘By abstracting heat from \ the body : | | va ba ' action un- : Venesection. Modewt Purgatives. \ certain. The production of heat (thermogenesis) is lessened in rious ways:—Hydrotherapy, chiefly in the form of cold th or cold packing, diminishes abnormal thermogenesis. Water absorbs and parts with heat quickly; it is capable of application locally or generally, continuously or inter- mittently. Cold water, medicinally used, stimulates the ' Digitized by Microsoft® HOW HEAT IS LOST 137 cerebrospinal as well as the sympathetic nerve centres, increases the activity of healthy vital processes, notably metabolism, elimination, and leucocytosis, and thus conjoins antithermogenic and antipyretic actions. Cinchona and its alkaloids, antipyrine, and other drugs of the aromatic hydrocarbon group, the salicyl compounds and alcohol appear to act directly on the trophic nerves and nerve- centres, both central and local, and thus retard oxidation of protoplasm, and of red and white blood globules. Acids long used in the treatment of fever appear to reduce the alkalinity of the nutrient fluids, and in this way retard metabolism. Antimony, aconite, digitalis, and blood-letting probably lessen the production of heat by diminishing the volume and rapidity of the blood stream. Guaiacol, poultices, blisters, and local blood-letting exert similar effects topically. The notable effect of purgatives in checking pyrexia is probably somewhat complex, comprising a diminished force of the circulation, derivation, and increased excretion of those waste products and pathogenic germs which are fruitful causes of elevated temperature. The loss of heat (thermolysis) is increased, as set forth in the above table, chiefly in three ways :— (1.) By dilating the cutaneous vessels, and augmenting radiation of heat from the body, as is effected by alcohol, volatile oils, and antipyrine. These agents, it will be noted, exert a twofold action of lessening production and increasing loss of heat. (2.) By promoting secretion of sweat, and thus increasing cooling evaporation, as is effected by diaphoretics. (3.) By directly removing heat, as is effected by hydro- therapy, cold baths, cold affusion, ete. Antipyretics are used to lower abnormal temperature, whether caused by prolonged exposure to heat or by febrile disease. Cinchona and its alkaloids are the remedies most trusted in the treatment of the fevers of animals. They mitigate the pyrexia, cut short the attack, and prevent the exacerbations which characterise such cases. Antipyrine, although it has little action on the temperature of healthy animals, reduces abnormal temperature quickly, and usually Digitized by Microsoft® 138 BLOOD-LETTING permanently. For veterinary patients it is the best of the ‘new fever medicines. It has been successfully used in in- fluenza, and is given both by the mouth and hypodermically. Salicylic acid and salicylates are specially serviceable in com- bating the fever and pain of acute rheumatism. Alcohol, in its several forms, exerts a twofold effect, diminishing oxidation and also dilating cutaneous vessels, and thus accelerating cooling. Bleeding, both general and _ local, judiciously used, lowers abnormal temperature, by relieving alike local inflammation and symptomatic fever. Purgatives doubtless act in like manner, and in some cases, moreover, relieve gastric derangement, and remove disease products. Horses and cattle are sometimes quickly sponged with cold or tepid water, rapidly dried, and comfortably clothed. Heat is thus directly removed; the cooling functions of the skin, which are impaired in most febrile attacks, are re-established, and their action may be further stimulated by the admini- stration of ammonia salts, ethers, and alcohol. Very essential adjuncts for ensuring the effects of antipyretics are perfect rest, comfortable quarters, and a temperature of about 60° Fahr. Guaiacol applied locally acts on the peripheral nerve ends and reflexly on the vaso-motor centres, diminishing pro- duction of heat. But although reducing temperature in pyrexia connected with tuberculosis, it appears to have no effect on fever depending on local inflammation or septic intoxication. BLoop-LetTTine promptly and directly affects tissue changes. A full bleeding diminishes the activity of all vital func- tions, excepting the production of blood globules. The heart-beat is quickened, but its force is lessened; arterial tension is lowered; absorption is increased; sensibility to pain is diminished, owing to reduced activity of the peri- pheral centres. When blood is lost rapidly or freely, nausea, fainting, and convulsions ensue, and artificial anemia is produced. In healthy subjects, however, these effects quickly disappear, and the blood is rapidly restored to its normal state. Until within the last forty years, blood-letting was freely practised, and very generally abused. Venesection is now Digitized by Microsoft® PRECAUTIONS REGARDING BLOOD-LETTING 139 seldom employed even in cases of acute congestion and inflammation, which it is especially fitted to control. It may be practised either generally or locally. In robust animals suffering from acute congestion or hemorrhage from the lungs, especially when accompanied by venous stasis, blood- letting affords prompt and frequently permanent relief. Alike in horses and cattle, it is serviceable where fever is acute, with a firm, incompressible, or full, slow pulse, as in pleurisy and peritonitis, as well as in acute rheumatism. In lymphangitis, and in some cases of laminitis in horses it is also useful. Dogs are so readily brought under the influence of emetics and nauseants that bleeding is less needed in them than in horses and ruminants. Blood may generally be taken from full-grown horses or cattle to the extent of three or four quarts. The amount drawn should be accurately measured. The circumstances of the case materially affect the amount of blood to be drawn. It should flow freely until its abstraction has made a decided impression on the volume and strength of the pulse, or until the earliest symptoms of nausea and faint- ing are apparent. The jugular vein on either side is gener- ally selected as the vessel on which it is most convenient and safe to operate. Excepting in expert professional hands, the fleam is safer than the lancet, which in restive horses may make a ugly gash. When practicable, the horse should be bled with his head erect, for in this position the nauseating effects, which indicate that no more blood can be spared, are most noticeable. When sufficient blood has been taken, the edges of the wound of the skin are brought accurately together, and secured by a pin, round which is wound some aseptic thread, or tow. Blood-letting, although valuable in the earlier stages of acute inflammation in vigorous animals, is injurious in young or weakly subjects, in the later stages of disease, in epizootic and eruptive fevers, and, indeed, wherever the pulse is small, quick, or weak. A pulse of this character indicates debility, and bleeding in such cases increases exudation and effusion instead of preventing them, while it unnecessarily weakens the patient and retards recovery. Digitized by Microsoft® 140 POISONS AND ANTIDOTES While blood is being drawn, the finger should, in all animals, be placed upon a prominent artery, and if the pulse is observed to become rapidly weaker, it is evident that the treatment is unsuitable. Such mischance should, however, rarely happen, for when there is any question as to the pro- priety of blood-letting, such a reducing remedy should be avoided. Local blood-letting is not much practised among the lower animals. Lancing the tumid gums of teething horses is seldom necessary, especially if soft food is supplied, as it should be in such cases. In laminitis some practitioners pare the horny sole, and open the vessels of the sensitive sole, encouraging the flow of blood by immersing the foot in hot water or in a warm poultice; but in such cases the heat and moisture are generally of more benefit than the bleeding. Cupping and leeches are not used in veterinary practice. POISONS AND ANTIDOTEHS Antidotes are agents which counteract the effects of poisons. A poison is an agent which is capable of deter- mining definite modifications of protoplasm. It produces cellular death or cessation of cell action. In the popular acceptation of the term, a poison is a drug, whether animal, vegetable, or mineral, which, in small quantity, destroys health and life; but it differs from a medicine only in the degree or intensity of its effects. Indeed, many valuable medicines, when given in large doses, become active poisons, whilst many poisons, properly administered, prove valuable medicines. Antidotes may prevent the action of the poison, or may mitigate or arrest its effects. When a lethal dose has been swallowed, endeavour should be made, before it has time to enter the circulation, promptly to remove it by the stomach-pump, stomach syphon, or by an emetic. It is advisable, however, in all cases to empty the stomach, and thus remove unabsorbed portions of the poison, before giving any fluid which favours solution and absorption, or Digitized by Microsoft® PHYSIOLOGICAL ANTAGONISM 141 even before administering the antidote. Some antidotes, such as charcoal and demulcents, mechanically envelop the particles of the poison, or ensheath and protect the mucous surfaces, and thus retard absorption. Many enter into chemical combination with the poison, forming compara- tively insoluble inert compounds. Thus, albumin forms, with corrosive sublimate and other metallic salts, insoluble albuminates. Freshly precipitated ferric oxide converts arsenious acid into an insoluble iron arsenite. When poison has been introduced into a wound, as by the bite of a rabid dog, or by the fang of a serpent, a ligature, if possible, is placed so as to prevent or retard absorption, and the wound is forthwith thoroughly washed with antiseptics and cauterised or excised. The action of poisons, even after absorption, may, more- over, be controlled and counteracted by remedies which antagonise their lethal tendencies. Hypodermic injection of antivenomous serum neutralises the poison of cobra. Opium lessens the irritation and pain caused by irritants. Artificial respiration frequently sustains life throughout the stage of deadly narcosis induced by curare, prussic acid, or anesthetics. But still more definite antagonism occurs between certain drugs. The stimulant and convulsant effects of strychnine on the spinal cord are opposed by chloral hydrate and tobacco, which lessen the excitability of the cord. The fatal depression of the cardiac and respira- tory centres, produced by large doses of aconite, is antago- nised by alcohol, atropine, digitalin, and by strychnine. Between physostigmine and atropine the antagonism is very marked in their actions on the vagus, heart, muscular tissues, and iris, as well as on secretion. Two explanations are given of this antagonism—(1) By chemical action, the drug first given is supposed to combine with the tissues immediately acted on, and to this combina- tion the second drug may be added, developing another and less active compound; or otherwise, from such compound the second drug may displace the first. (2) The two ant- agonistic drugs may act independently of each other on the tissues, producing opposite effects —the one exciting, the Digitized by Microsoft® 142 POISONS AND ANTIDOTES other, it may be, paralysing. This latter physiological view seems to meet with most general approval (Brunton). In the case of poisons not rapidly fatal—such as lead, mercury, savin, or yew—an important curative measure consists in hastening their removal from the body by the organs through which they are chiefly excreted. Poisons Antidotes ee nee Chlorine cautiously inhaled. Ether, alcohol. Steam inhalation. Opium, starch. Chlorine, Bromine Iodine Vapour . Ammonia Vapour Vinegar vapour. Fresh air and artificial respiration ; transfusion. Artificial respiration; tongue drawn forward ; intermittent pressure over cardiac region if heart action failing. Nitrous Oxide Carbon Monoxide ‘4 Artificial respiration. Alternate warm and cold douches to the head and neck. Encourage circulation by friction. Coal Gas Charcoal Fumes Carbonic Acid . Marshes \Mustard plasters over surface, Alkalies; sodium or potassium bi- carbonate. Sulphuric Acid . | Magnesia: chalk: plaster, } a dil Hydrochloric Acid . } Soap; milk; eggs whisked, Nitric Acid .. . \ Olive or almond oil. Phosphoric Acid. | The alkalinity of the blood impaired by acids is restored by intravenous injection of sodium bicarbonate. Oxalic Acid and Ox- alates Tartaric Acid . Acetic Acid Chalk, whiting, or wall plaster, with water. Carbonates of lime and magnesia. Digitized by Microsoft® POISONS AND ANTIDOTES 143 (Alternate cold and warm affusions to the spine. Artificial respiration. Ether and camphor subcutaneously. Atropine injection, repeated every half-hour. Mixed salts of iron: ferrous sul- phate, ferric perchloride ;magnesia. Tracheotomy,. Hydrocyanic Acid Potassium Cyanide . Potassium hydrate and Carbonate : 23 Vinegar; lemon juice. sa ear ae Other dilute acids. “ae ° Milk: oil: acidulated drinks. ; ee imulants. Ammonia Solution phime Calcium Oxide Aconite Spirits: ammonia. Ether hypodermi- cally. Digitalis; atropine; warmth. Acorns ; Oak Shoots ; lou: salines: laxative diet. Fern ; J Strong coffee, and cold douches to the Alcohol . . { head. Camphor, ether, ammonia. Anzsthetics— Artificial respiration. Amyl-nitrite: Chloroform, ether, ammonia, etc. . : . (Cold douche to head and neck. In patients that do not vomit, wash : out the stomach with tannic or Antimony gallic acid, followed by milk, white of egg, or other demulcents. Wash out stomach with large amount of warm water, introduced by stomach syphon or pump. Give dogs zine sulphate or other Arsenic. ‘ -, emetic. Iron oxide, moist, made by precipita- tion of ferric chloride solution by sodium carbonate or ammonia. Milk; oil. Digitized by Microsoft® 144 Atropine— Belladonna Hyoscyamus Stramonium Barium Chloride Calabar Bean— Physostigmine Cantharides Carbolice Acid Creasote . Chloral Cocaine Colchicum Conium : Conine— Cicuta Virosa (nanthe Croton Oil Curare POISONS AND ANTIDOTES Stimulants and coffee: tannic acid. Caffeine, subcutaneously injected. Sustain action of motor centres by interrupted electric current, and occasionally moving the animal. Artificial respiration, if needful: animal charcoal. Physostigmine given cautiously. {Epsom salt. Glauber’s salt. : | Sulphuric acid diluted. { Stimulants: chloral. Atropine, strychnine. Lamafetal respiration, if necessary. Barley water, gruel, and other demul- cents. Avoid oils and fats. Oil: sodium sulphate. Saccharated lime: stimulants. | Sitohate of lime. Warmth. Keep patient moving. Strychnine and caffeine, subcutane- ously. (Chloral; amyl nitrite. ; { Inhalation of chloroform. Tannic and gallic acids: demulcents. : | Stimulants. Tannic acid. Potassium iodide. Srone coffee. Stimulants. Demulcents: stimulants. Artificial respiration. If there be a wound, ligature, if possible, above it, and incise and suck strongly. Loosen ligature from time to time, but avoid letting too much poison into the blood at a time. Digitized by Microsoft® POISONS AND ANTIDOTES 145 Digitalis— Tannin: stimulants. Dicitali Aconite, subcutaneously. Beier * (Perfect quiet. Ergot : ; . Tannin: stimulants. Substitute sound food: laxatives. Eucalyptol, menthol, other anti- septic volatile oils. Ether : stimulants : saline antiseptics. Fungus - infested or mouldy fodder or grain Atropine: stimulants. Gelsemium z wes sous Artificial respiration. { Insects’ Venomous ) Apply ammonia and oil. Solution of Stings . : ‘ | carbolic acid. Sal Volatile. Todoform . : . Stimulants: diaphoretics: hot baths. Alternate hot and cold douches to chest. Laburnum [aerate : coffee. Tannin: stimulants. Lobelia Strychnine, hypodermically. Potassium iodide: occasional dose of castor oil. Epsom salt: dilute sulphuric acid. Lead Salts ; Subsequently wash out stomach. Give demulcents. Milk and soap: treacle: magnesia: moist iron per- oxide. Foment: poultice. Morphine, if needful. White of egg, in large amount. Copper ‘ | Magnesia sulphate ; sodium sulphate. Lead : , ‘ | Sulphur: Mercury . ; . Potassium iodide; olive oil. K Digitized by Microsoft® 146 POISONS AND ANTIDOTES Empty stomach by syphon or pump; or wash out stomach with sol: potassium permanganate. Warm coffee: ammonia: emetics: alcohol. Maintain activity of motor centres by keeping patient moving, and by electric shocks: tannin: zinc sul- phate. Strychnine hypodermically sustains action of heart. Atropine in small doses subcutane- ously. Artificial respiration, if needful. Morphine— Opium Other Narcotics Stimulants. "J Alternate hot and cold douche. ‘| Artificial respiration. Nitro-Benzol Amyl-Nitrite Nitro-Glycerine Ergotin: atropine subcutaneously. {oa to head. Copper sulphate: emetics: charcoal. Phosphorus Oil of turpentine, old and oxidised. ‘(avoid fats, fatty oils, and alkalies. Picrotoxine: Cocculus) Indicus J -Chloral: potassium bromide. Pilocarpine : eer Atropine. (Tannic or gallic acid: coffee. uinine ae ie ne iB Q (Stimulants: artificial respiration. Sastn ; {Epsom salt; demulcents: ethereal | Stimulants. ae limb: excise wound, and ice bs sear with hot iron: antivenin. Artificial respiration. Chloroform: chloral: tobacco in- fusion: apomorphine for dogs. Potassium bromide: tannin. ee stimulants: ammonia. Strychnine: Brucine Nux vomica ‘| Digitized by Microsoft® DOSAGE 147 Warm stimulants. Tobacco -;Tannin: strychnine: solution of iodine. Turpentine Oil . Demulcents: Epsom salt. Veratrine— Stimulants: warm coffee: emetics. White Hellebore .| Perfect quiet; opium: tannin. Stimulants: laxatives: ammonia Yew acetate. Demulcents. Fics Sales... ae of egg: acetate of ammonia emetics. DOSES AND THEIR ADMINISTRATION The dose, channel of administration, and manner of using remedies demand consideration. The dose, or quantity of the medicine used, affects the degree, and sometimes also the nature of the action pro- duced. Thus, small doses of most salts of potassium, sodium, and magnesium are alterative and diuretic, while larger quantities are purgative. Aloes, in small quantity, is tonic, and in large, purgative. Alcohol and opium are examples of medicines in which variation in dose produces difference in effect. With topical remedies, an increase of the time during which the drug is applied is generally equivalent to an increase of dose, as illustrated in the case of mustard, cantharides, and concentrated acids. The period during which a drug remains in the body determines in like manner its activity. Hence increased action results from rapid absorption and prolonged retention within the body, while diminished action results from tardy absorption and quick excretion. Where prompt and full effects are desired, as in the case of such a sedative as aconite, or such a stimulant as ether, carefully regulated doses are given every hour or oftener. Where continued effects are Digitized by Microsoft® 148 ADMINISTRATION OF MEDICINES desired, as in the case of tonics or alteratives, small doses repeated three or four times daily are preferable to larger doses given at longer intervals. Stimulants, which are evan- escent in their effects—such as alcohol, ether, and ammonia —are usually beneficially repeated every two or three hours, or, in critical cases, oftener. The dose of a medicine, and the desirability of its repetition, intermission, or suspension, taust frequently be determined by the manner in which the patient is affected by the first dose or doses. The doses mentioned in this work under the head of each drug, unless otherwise stated, are those suitable for adult animals of medium size. But, as already indicated, the size, weight, and environment of the patient require consideration in fixing the dose. In the lower animals, differences of sex do not materially affect dosage; although, on account of their larger size, extra doses are required for stallions, bulls, and rams. Doses inust be adapted to the age of the patient. It is generally estimated that a one-year-old colt requires one-third the quantity of any medicine given to an adult horse; a two-year-old, one-half; a three-year-old, two-thirds. A somewhat similar ratio is applicable to cattle. Medicinal agents are used to produce either local or general actions, or a combination of both. Locat Actions are produced by applying the agent to the surface of the skin, to the mouth or throat, the eye or ear, and also by injection into the rectum, bladder, vagina, uterus, udder, and substance of muscles. Agents thus used, besides acting locally, may pass into the general circulation, and produce general effects, or by reflex action develop secondary or remote effects. Generat Actions are usually produced by the introduction of the medicine into the circulation. Injection may be made directly into the veins as in the treatment of collapse and acute anzimia, and occasionally into the arteries, for purposes of experiment. When transfusion is undertaken the fluid should be watery, and of the specific gravity of blood-serum. Drugs injected into serous cavities are very rapidly absorbed. They are also quickly taken up from abraded skin surfaces. Digitized by Microsoft® BY THE MOUTH AND TRACHEA 149 The channels by which medicines are administered are :— (1.) The digestive tract, generally by the mouth. (2.) The pulmonary mucous membrane, by inhalation. (3.) Intratracheal injection. (4.) Intravenous injection. (5.) The skin:—(a) Epidermically by inrubbing; (b) En- dermically by inunction after removal of the epidermis. (6.) Hypodermically, by injection into the subcutaneous cellular tissues. 1. The mouth is the channel by which medicines are most frequently administered, for they immediately pass into the stomach and intestine, whence they are readily and rapidly absorbed. To avoid their admixture with food, and conse- quent impaired and delayed effect, they should generally be given after the patient has been fasted for several hours. Nutrient oils, iron salts, arsenic, and other irritants are, how- ever, given along with food, or immediately after eating. When it is desired that they shall be quickly absorbed, and thus act promptly and certainly, they should be given in the fluid state, and this is especially requisite in ruminants. The time, labour, and patience of attendants may be saved, and high-spirited, nervous animals preserved from injurious struggling, if they can be persuaded to take their medicines voluntarily. This may sometimes be accomplished where comparatively concentrated, tasteless, or pleasant- tasted drugs are used, by mixing them with palatable food, or disguising them in gruel, milk, or even in water. Dogs and cats will often bolt concentrated drugs rolled up ina piece of meat. Although absorption is not so active from the posterior portions of the digestive tract, soluble medicines introduced into the rectum enter the circulation. 2. The pulmonary mucous membrane has a superficies of fifty times the extent of the skin surface, and actively absorbs substances in the gaseous form. By this channel are administered anesthetics, when their general effects are required; watery vapour; balsams and anodynes to relieve morbid conditions of the respiratory passages; diluted sul- phurous and chlorine gases to destroy bronchial filarie, Digitized by Microsoft® 150 INTRATRACHEAL INJECTION But other volatile drugs may thus be introduced into the body, while others, in a finely divided state, can be inhaled along with watery vapour, or such a readily diffusible volatile body as chloroform. 3. InrrarracHEaL insection has lately been adopted both in this country and abroad. Tolerably bland fluids in consider- able quantity can, with impunity, be introduced into the trachea, and agents too bulky to be used hypodermically can thus be absorbed into the blood more quickly and directly, and with less risk of having their activity impaired than when administered through the digestive tract. Various experiments on dogs, made at St. Petersburg, indicate that the effects of curare, strychnine, and cocaine were frequently produced in ten seconds, and more rapidly than when these drugs were injected subcutaneously. Turpentine by this channel exerts its lethal action very effectually on the bronchial parasites which attack cattle and sheep. The injection is effected with a syringe of somewhat larger size than that used for hypodermic purposes. Intratracheal injections intended to produce general effects should not con- tain oil or fat, and the quantity should not exceed half an ounce. Beyond aslight gain in time, intratracheal injections, other than those intended to act locally, have no advantage over hypodermic injections. Drugs have occasionally been injected directly into the lungs. 4. Intravenous injection of medicines is resorted to when immediate effects are desired. In this way salt-solution, barium chloride, silver colloid, and a few other remedies have been injected into the jugular vein. The injection should be diluted, non-irritant, and introduced slowly with strict attention to antiseptic precautions. The introduction of air, the formation of clots, and septic contamination must be avoided. 5. On the skin many medicinal agents are applied, most of them—such as counter-irritants, caustics, and poultices— for the production of local effects, or of reflex actions exerted on adjacent or distant parts. The skin, protected by epidermis, although it absorbs oxygen and other gases, excretes carbonic acid, and takes up water from baths or Digitized by Microsoft® HYPODERMIC ADMINISTRATION 151 from wet clothing, especially if there is a deficiency of fluid in the body, does not absorb drugs unless they are dissolved in chloroform or other agent which promotes penetration (see p. 16). Drugs, whether in alcoholic or watery solution, are absorbed through the unbroken skin only in very small amount and tardily; but when the epidermis is removed by a blister, the true skin readily absorbs drugs placed on it. By this endermic method, morphine was wont to be used for the production of its general anodyne effects, but the hypodermic method is more convenient, and is now generally preferred. 6. The hypodermic administration of drugs consists in their injection in solution into the subcutaneous cellular tissue, or occasionally into the substance of a muscle. They thus enter the blood-stream unaltered by contact with the contents or secretions of the digestive canal. They escape the changes which many substances undergo in the liver, and hence act more certainly and rapidly. Hypodermic injection is specially indicated— (1.) Where rapid energetic effects are required, as in poisoning, internal hemorrhage, threatening col- lapse, paroxysms of acute pain, and convulsions. (2.) Where it is desired that the drug shall act promptly and directly on the diseased part, as in neuralgia, rheumatic pains, and mammitis in cows. (3.) Where local and general ettects are desired to be conjoined, as in reflex spasms. (4.) Where administration by the mouth is difficult, impossible, or unadvisable. The drugs thus used should be neutral, non-irritant, and soluble in alcohol, water, or glycerin. Many veterinarians now use morphine, atropine, ergotin, physostigmine, and other active drugs hypodermically for arresting or controlling the spasms of colic and chronic cough, the sharp twinges of rheumatism, the inflammatory pain of enteritis and pleurisy, as well as for combating the effects of poisons. Where pain is to be counteracted, the injection is made deeply near the affected spot, or over the nerve which is believed to be con- veying the disordered impression. With active agents it is Digitized by Microsoft® 152 < HYPODERMIC INJECTION unwise, without careful trial, to inject subcutaneously more than one-fourth of the dose which would be given by the mouth. The drug is thoroughly dissolved in water, alcohol, or other perfectly bland fluid. There is less risk in veterinary than in human patients of subsequent local irritation, but intramuscular injection of ether and of other drugs occa- sionally causes temporary motor or sensory paralysis. The hypodermic syringe has a glass barrel, on the nozzle of which a hollow needle is fitted. It is essential that the syringe be perfectly clean, and the needle sharp. Hypo- dermic injection is very simple. Choice is generally made of a situation where the skin is thin, and the subcutaneous tissue loose, as behind the elbow, or at the lower part of the neck. A fold of loose skin is taken up between the finger and thumb of the left hand; the needle, detached from the syringe, is passed through the skin, and carried about an inch obliquely under the surface. The nozzle of the filled syringe is then attached to the needle, the piston slowly pushed home, and the instrument cautiously with- drawn. The injection of air can be prevented by seeing that the packing of the piston is sufficient, or by arresting the piston before the contents of syringe have been wholly expelled. The puncture requires no plaster or dressing. Convenient tablets or pellets of the various drugs used hypodermically are now obtainable. Digitized by Microsoft® Section IT. Inorganic Materia Medica WATER Aqua. Hydrogen Oxide or Monoxide. H,0. WATER exists in the solid, liquid, and gaseous forms. It is transparent, neutral, colourless, odourless, and tasteless. A minim weighs ‘91 grain; a fluid ounce, 437°5 grains. It is the standard of comparison for specific gravities of liquids, its specific gravity being represented as 1 or 1000. It solidi- fies, freezes, or crystallises at 32° Fahr., expanding and giving out latent heat; it reaches its greatest density at 39°2 Fahr.; it slowly volatilises at all temperatures; at 212° Fahr. it boils, rising in steam, and increasing in bulk 1700 times. A cubic inch of water becomes a cubic foot of steam. When the solid ice melts, heat is absorbed or becomes latent ; when the liquid water boils, or gives off gas, still more heat is absorbed. A cubic foot of water expanding into steam renders latent 900° of heat. The melting ice and evaporating water, thus abstracting heat from bodies in contact with them, are valuable refrigerants. Water is a universal solvent; it readily dissolves many mineral matters, gases, and organic substances. From soils and rocks through which it passes it takes up salts, espe- cially of calcium, magnesium, and sodium, and occasionally of lead. It absorbs atmospheric air, carbonic acid, and other gases, some adding to its sparkling, refreshing, and palatable qualities, others rendering it disagreeable and unwholesome. Gases are more soluble in cold than in hot water; solids, conversely, are generally more quickly and freely dissolved by hot than by cold water. Organic matters are present, especially in river and marsh waters, causing them to spoil rapidly when kept, and sometimes to produce diarrhea and dysentery in animals drinking them. Surface drainage and Digitized by Microsoft® a 154 HARD AND SOFT WATERS sewage are apt to introduce vegetable and animal parasites, spores and ova, which give rise to dangerous diseases in animals as well as in man. Even in potable waters the nature and proportion of the solid constituents differ materially. Glasgow derives from Loch Katrine the purest water supply of any large city in the world, containing only three-fourths of a grain of organic and one and a half grains of inorganic matters to the gallon. The water of the Thaines, supplied to part of London, contains about three grains of organic and sixteen grains of inorganic matters to the gallon. When the mineral constituents, consisting of salts of calcium and magnesium, exceed =,,th part, the water is said to be hard, and is un- suitable for many pharmaceutic and domestic purposes; it curdles or precipitates soap, instead of forming with it a froth or lather; it forms a brown encrustation on the kettles or furnaces in which it is boiled; it is not so well liked by animals, and is apt to cause diarrhcea and other digestive derangements, especially in subjects unaccustomed to it. When the salts do not amount to ;j5;th part the water is considered soft. The presence of the more dangerous organic and organ- ised impurities are discovered by several simple tests— (1) Half a pint of the water is well shaken in a clean, wide- mouthed bottle; when sewage is present an offensive smell will be perceived on removal of the stopper or cork. (2) In a tumbler of water two or three drops of sulphuric acid are placed, and sufficient Condy’s red fluid to render the water pink. When allowed to stand for fifteen minutes, the water, if containing organic impurity, will have become colourless. (3) Sewage contaminated water usually contains common salt, which may be discovered by silver nitrate producing milkiness (AgCl), which is not removed by a few drops of nitric acid. For purifying water various methods are adopted. Sub- sidence and decantation get rid of grosser mechanical par- ticles. Filtration through sand, charcoal, gravel, or spongy iron removes coarse and organic impurities. Alum, even in minute amount, clears turbid water. Oxidation gradually Digitized by Microsoft® WATER 155 destroys disagreeable or dangerous foulness; hence a run- ning stream, contaminated even by sewage several hundred yards lower down, may again become clear and whole- some. Alkaline permanganates, by similar oxidation, promptly destroy organic contamination. Boiling destroys most noxious vegetable and animal matters, drives off car- bonic acid gas, and thus throws down calcium carbonate, the cause of temporary hardness. Sodium carbonate, or lime, as in Clarke’s process, diffused through hard water, which is then allowed to settle, abstracts carbonic acid gas, and causes subsidence of calcium and magnesium carbonates, and also reduces the permanent hardness produced by calcium sulphate. For chemical and pharmaceutical purposes, aqua destillata is requisite, and distillation leaves behind all im- purities except a trace of organic matters, and one to two per cent. per volume of air. Such distilled or other pure water is understood to be used when ‘water’ is ordered in pre- scriptions. Mineral waters are unfit for general use on account of their undue proportion of mineral matters or gases, or from their being at a higher temperature than that of the locality in which they are found. The most common mineral waters are those containing iron and salines. Sea water has a specific gravity of 1027; an imperial pint contains about 312 grains of solid matters, of which about 240 grains are common salt. Actions anp Usts.— Water is nutrient, diluent, antipyretic, diuretic, and detergent. Introduced into the body in excess of its requirements, it is removed usually within six hours, chiefly by the kidneys, and in less amount by the skin and bowels. When given cold, the kidneys perform the main excretory office; but when used hot, water is an adjuvant diaphoretic, cathartic, and, in dogs and other carnivora, an emetic. Water applied topically, as in the form of hot fomentation, or the familiar water-dressing, is emollient and anodyne, abates congestion of circumscribed inflamma- tion and wounds, and its beneficial effects are also reflexly propagated to adjacent parts. At high temperatures water is an irritant. But steam mixed with air is emollient and Digitized by Microsoft® 156 NUTRIENT, DILUENT, AND ANTIPYRETIC soothing. Cold water is refrigerant and tonic. Ice is a prompt and effective refrigerant ; it controls congestion and inflammation, especially of the throat, and arrests hemorrhage from the stomach, lungs, and other parts. Baths are used not only for comfort and cleanliness, but for the cure of disease. (See Pharmacy.) Water constitutes from fifty-five to eighty per cent. of the weight of the higher animals, and is essential for digestion, absorption, secretion, excretion, and indeed for every vital process. It is largely present in every kind of food, facili- tating its digestion and assimilation, and replacing the loss of fluid constantly taking place by the skin, lungs, and kidneys. Insufficient and excessive supplies are alike injuri- ous ; but animals in health, and with constant free access to water, rarely take more than is good for them. Excepting for a few hours previous to any great exertion, and when hungry, overheated, and prostrated, the horse in health should not be restricted in his water supply. Indeed, in many well-managed modern stables a limited amount of water is constantly at the horse’s head, and the daily quan- tity thus drunk is actually less than when the animal is allowed to slake his thirst three or four times daily. Although a moderate amount of water is essential for digestion, an excessive quantity injuriously dilutes the intestinal contents, and favours acid fermentation. Horses, especially if tired and hungry, before having a little hay—which, being eaten slowly, is in such circum- stances preferable to grain—should receive some water, or, better still, a gallon of gruel. In some cab and carrying establishments, each hard-worked horse, on his return to the stable, is provided with a supply of oatmeal gruel, which is found not only to help condition, but to diminish attacks of colic and other gastro-intestinal derangements. A copious draught of water, taken immediately after a rapidly-eaten meal, hurries the imperfectly digested food too rapidly into the intestines, where it is apt to set up colic and inflamma- tion. Very cold water, freely drunk, especially by hungry, exhausted horses, is a frequent cause of gastro-intestinal disorder; and in many establishments throughout winter Digitized by Microsoft® WATER 157 steam or hot water is introduced into the horse-troughs, or the buckets are filled and brought into the stable several hours before they are required for use. Water, judiciously used, is a valuable diluent, febrifuge, and evacuant, serviceable in febrile and inflammatory diseases. When given moderately cold, it is more palatable and satisfying than in the tepid state in which it is some- times presented to sick horses. Rendered feebly bitter with a little cascarilla or quassia infusion, secretion is encouraged and thirst is more effectually quenched. Small portions of ice placed in the mouth are sucked by most animals, and promote secretion, abate thirst, and also relieve congestion and irritation. Horses greedy of water, and especially those with defective wind or liability to acidity or diarrhwa, should be supplied frequently with small quantities, while, further to relieve thirst, the food should be damped. After a cathartic dose, and until the physic has ceased to operate, even moderate draughts of cold water in many horses cause griping. Calves and lambs, feverish and purging, some- times die if they have free access to water. As a diluent, water mechanically relieves choking and coughing; dilutes corrosive and irritant poisons; assists the action of diaphoretics, diuretics, and purgatives. Tepid water is a convenient auxiliary emetic for dogs and pigs. Injected into the rectum, warm water allays irritability of the bowels and urino-genital organs, and promotes the action of the bowels. Water, whether cold or hot, checks bleeding ; but is most effectual at a temperature of about 120° Fahr. Injected into the vagina, it stays the discharge of leucorrhea. A good scrubbing with tepid water and soap is a very essen- tial preliminary to the successful treatment of mange or scab. It removes scales and dirt, abounding especially in inveterate cases, and hence facilitates access of the special dressings to the burrows of the parasites. Water is the important constituent of emollients (p. 58). Hot fomentations moisten, soften, and relax dry and irritable textures, and relieve tension, tenderness, and pain. Applied early, and continued for several hours, they control or relieve congestion and inflammation of strains and Digitized by Microsoft® 158 DETERGENT, EMOLLIENT, AND COUNTER-IRRITANT contused wounds, Their external application, by retlex action, often soothes irritated or inflamed internal parts. In this way fomentations allay the pain of colic and inflamma- tion of the bowels. Steaming the head and throat in like manner often relieves catarrh, sore-throat, and strangles. Professor Williams insists on the value of steaming, and hot fomentations in laryngitis, and bronchitis, and prefers fomentations to counter-irritants in pneumonia and pleurisy. Soothing watery vapour, medicated, if need be, with laudanum, belladonna, ether, vinegar, sulphurous acid, or alkaline hypochlorites, is readily evolved from a steam-kettle, from a well-made bran-mash placed in a roomy nose-bag, or from a bucket containing freshly-steamed hay. Water-dressings, consisting of several folds of lint or tow, saturated with hot water, and covered with oiled skin or mackintosh cloth to retard evaporation, or a sheet of well- soaked spongio-piline, are frequently substituted for fomentations and poultices, and are usually preferable, especially to poultices, on account of their lightness and cleanliness. Water, nearly boiling, is a prompt and powerful counter- irritant, especially useful in cattle practice. When applied to the chest or abdomen of horses or cattle, several folds of thick woollen horse-rug are sometimes placed round the patient, and hot water from time to time poured on the folds. Counter-irritation thus rapidly developed, in careful hands, does not blemish, and frequently proves of service in the first stages of pneumonia and pleurisy, in colic, enteritis, peritonitis, and obstinate constipation, alike of horses and cattle. Cold water is a useful refrigerant. When the acute con- gestion, heat, and tenderness of bruises, strains, and wounds have been so far abated by hot applications, cold exerts wholesome refrigerant, tonic, and constringing effects. Linen bandages, constantly wetted, relieve chronic strains, jars, and windgalls of the legs of horses. Cold water is also service- able, after disinfection, in broken knees, synovitis and arthritis, open or closed, and other injuries of the limbs. Continuous irrigation is readily effected through a small indiarubber pipe, connected with a water tap, or brought Digitized by Microsoft® WATER—ICE 159 from a supply tank on a higher level. Cold water similarly supplied keeps at low temperature the swabs around the coronets and feet of horses suffering from laminitis. Rugs dipped in cold water and applied to the chest walls, are successfully employed in acute congestion of the lungs, brought on by over-exertion, and especially in hot weather. Cold water dashed over the head and neck is a powerful stimulant, serviceable in megrims, sunstroke, phrenitis, con- vulsions, syncope, and the comatose stage of milk fever in cattle, as well as in poisoning with alcohol, chloroform, opium, and prussic acid. The shock is increased when very cold water is used, and when it falls on the patient from a height of several feet. Such cold affusion must not, however, be long continued, as it quickly abstracts animal heat. Equally effectual results are more safely attained by alternately douching with cold and warm water. Ice in small pieces, placed in the mouth, is readily sucked by most animals, and often relieves congestion of the throat, and irritability of the stomach, especially in dogs. Applied usually in a bag or bladder, it is serviceable in inflamed and prolapsed uterus and rectum, in piles, herniz, in hemorrhage, which sometimes occurs shortly after parturition, as well as in phrenitis and parturient apoplexy in cows. Two parts of ice mixed with one of salt form a powerful freezing mixture of the temperature of 4° Fahr. Snow or ice is applied to retard the sudden rise of temperature and con- sequent gangrene in frost-bite, to arrest circumscribed congestion and inflammation, to check bleeding and convul- sions. Ice maintained in contact with the skin for six or eight minutes diminishes sensation, and facilitates the performance of a few minor operations; but for inducing local anzesthesia, cocaine is preferable. OXYGEN Oxygen is a colourless, odourless gas, slightly heavier than atmospheric air, and forming about one-fifth of its volume. Twenty-five volumes of water dissolve one volume of oxygen. It has a wide range of chemical affinities. Digitized by Microsoft® 160 OXYGEN— OZONE Actions anp Usrs.—Oxygen has slight effect on the unbroken skin, but stimulates denuded skin and mucous surfaces. Oxygenated solutions have been applied to atonic wounds and ulcers. Such solutions, when swallowed, aid oxidation of waste products in the alimentary canal. The breathing of the gas has been recommended in asthma, pneumonia, and various respiratory difficulties, as well as in cardiac failure. Six gallons inhaled by human patients have, however, no notable eftect. Only limited quantities can be retained by the blood; the serum, when saturated, retains one-fifteenth of the amount the red globules can take up, and hence it is very doubtful whether tissue oxidation can be effected by inhalation of oxygen. Dr. Lauder Brunton states that small animals confined in jars of oxygen become excited, tetanised, and die (Pharmacology). OZONE When electric sparks are passed through air, the molecules of oxygen, represented by two atoms (O,), are split up, and rearranged in triad atoms, constituting ozone (Q,). It is also produced by the slow oxidation of phosphorus in the pre- sence of water, and by the action of protoplasm. It is unstable, being readily converted info oxygen. It is distin- guished by its peculiar smell, and by its decomposing potassium iodide solution, and when mixed with damp starch, producing the blue starch iodide. Actions anp Uses.—It oxidises more actively than oxygen, destroys the coagulability of albumin, decomposes many organic substances, and kills micro-organisms. In virtue of its chemical actions it is a powerful irritant. When inhaled it induces excitement, succeeded by exhaustion and some- times by convulsions. It has been used for most of the cases in which oxygen has been given, notably for the de- struction of micro-parasites in diphtheria and other similar diseases (Brunton). Digitized by Microsoft® AMMONIUM SALTS 161 AMMONIUM AND ITS MEDICINAL COMPOUNDS Ammonii Chloridum. Sal-ammoniac. Chloride of Am- monium. NH, Cl. This salt, from which most ammonium compounds are derived, may be formed by neutralising crude solution of ammonia or ammonium carbonate with hydrochloric acid, and purifying the product (B.P.). The salt thus prepared occurs in inodorous colourless crystals, or in translucent, tough, fibrous masses. It has a saline, acid taste, a slightly acid reaction on colouring matter; is soluble in one part boiling, or three of cold water, and in 60 parts alcohol (90 per cent.). During solution it abstracts much heat, and is consequently an ingredient of many freezing mixtures. Heated it sublimes unchanged. Mixed with lime or potash it evolves ammonia. Actions anp Uses.—Expectorant, cholagogue, diuretic and refrigerant. Large doses exhibit the stimulant and subse- quent paralysing effects of ammonium salts. Two ounces given to a horse caused muco-enteritis (Moiroud); two drachms destroyed a small dog in an hour. The alimentary mucous membrane was found congested and swollen (Orfila). The symptoms described as occurring in dogs are ‘muscular weakness, slow breathing, violent action of the heart, and tetanic spasms’ (Christison). Mepictnat Doses stimulate the alimentary and respiratory mucous membranes, promote their secretions, and relieve gastric as well as bronchial catarrh, especially in patients where pyrexia has not been serious, or has abated. They are also recommended in torpidity of the liver and in rheu- matism. Doses.— Horses, 3ij. to Zjv.; cattle, Zjv. to 3j.; sheep and pigs, grs. xxx. to 3j.; dogs, grs. iii. to grs. x. In bolus, pill or drench. One part of chloride dissolved in ten to twenty parts of water or spirit is used as a stimulant gargle, and refrigerant lotion for inflammatory swellings, bruises, and sprains. A Digitized by Microsoft® 162 LIQUOR AMMONIA cooling mixture, stated to lower the thermometer from 50° to 10° Fahr. (Pereira), is made with four ounces each of sal- ammoniac and nitre, dissolved in eight ounces of water ; but for ordinary refrigerant purposes, ‘six or eight times this amount of water may be used. Liquor AMMONIZ Fortis. Strong Solution of Ammonia. Caustic Ammonia. Hartshorn. An aqueous solution containing 32°5 per cent. by weight of ammonia, NH, It may be obtained by heating a mixture of ammonium chloride, and slaked lime, and passing the resulting ammonia into distilled water (B.P.). Traces of ammonia exist in the air, and in rain. It occurs in the excretions of living animals, from the breaking down of their nitrogenous tissues, and is evolved from the putrefaction and destructive distillation alike of vegetable and animal matters.. But the coal beds are the great com- mercial source of ammonia and its compounds. Coal, when distilled in the making of gas, leaves a waste liquor, which if treated with hydrochloric acid, yields ammonium chloride or sal-ammoniag. Prorerties.—The liquor ammonie fortis is colourless, pungent, and caustic. Specific gravity 0891. One fluid drachm contains 15°83 grains of gaseous ammonia. Purity is ensured when the sample, diluted with four times its volume of distilled water, gives no precipitate with solution of lime, ammonium sulphide, or copper ammonio-sulphate, and, when treated with an excess of nitric acid, it is not rendered turbid by silver nitrate or barium chloride. It is very strongly alkaline, and unites with fats and oils, form- ing soaps and liniments. For most medicinal and pharmaceutical purposes the liquor ammoniz fortis is too concentrated, and a diluted solution is made by adding to one measure of liq. ammon. fortis, two measures of distilled water. This medicinal solution is entitled liquor ammoniz, contains 10 per cent. by weight of ammonia NH,, and has the specific gravity 0.959. A spirit of ammonia of corresponding strength, contain- Digitized by Microsoft® ACTION OF AMMONIUM SALTS 163 ing 10 per cent. of gas in rectified spirit, is recognised by the U.S.P. Aromatic spirit of ammonia, popularly known as sal- volatile, is a solution of liquor ammonie fortis and am- monium carbonate in rectified spirit and water, flavoured with oil of nutmeg and lemon. Generat Action or Ammonium Satrts.—They resemble potas- sium and sodium salts, but being more volatile are more prompt and powerful. Unlike caustic potash and soda, liquor ammoniz does not dissolve the epidermis, and consequently does not cauterise, but if evaporation be pre- vented, it passes through the epidermis, irritates the dermis and vesicates. Dr. Lauder Brunton thus describes their actions :—‘ Am- monium is considerably modified by the acid radicle with which it is combined. All the ammonium salts have an action on the spinal cord, motor nerves, and muscles, and, in advanced poisoning, paralyse these structures. They do not, however, affect all these structures with equal readiness. The organ first affected, and consequently the symptoms of poisoning, vary with the salt employed. Some salts affect the spinal cord first, others the motor nerves, ... They appear to form a series, at one end of which the members stimulate the spinal cord, and have no marked paralysing action on the motor nerves; while those at the other end have no marked stimulating action on the cord, but, on the contrary, have a marked paralysing action both on the cord and on motor nerves. At the stimulating end of this series are ammonia and ammonium chloride, and at the paralysing end ammonium iodide; whilst the bromide, phosphate, and sulphate lie between.’ In their primary stimulation and secondary paresis, ammonium salts resemble the mono-hydric alcohols and ethers; but they act more markedly on the cord and motor centres, and less on the higher cerebral centres. Their antidotes are dilute acids, milk, and oils. Ammonium salts increase the secretion of the bronchial and intestinal glands, and also of the sweat glands and kidneys, by which they are mainly excreted. In the blood of mammals ammonia is con- Digitized by Microsoft® 164 AMMONIA LIQUOR verted almost entirely into urea, in the blood of birds into uric acid. It increases the formation of glycogen in the liver, and of acidity in the urine (Brunton). Actions anp Uses or Ammonia.—Ammonia causes topical irritation. Tolerably concentrated solutions abstract water from the tissues, dissolve their epidermal or epithelial scales, liquefy their albumin, and saponify their fats. They hence act as caustics. Full doses stimulate the spinal cord, motor nerves, and muscles, and subsequently paralyse the cord, but, unlike ammonium chloride, do not markedly paralyse motor nerves. Ammonia gas entering the air-passages causes suffocation. Strong solutions swallowed produce gastro- enteritis, while, from absorption, paralysis of the brain centres and coma occasionally ensue. Reflexly, when applied to the nostrils or stomach, it stimulates the vaso-motor centre, and raises blood-pressure, and, after absorption, directly stimu- lates the circulatory and respiratory nerve-centres, and promotes secretion alike from the mucous surface and skin. It is administered as an antacid, diffusible stimulant, and antispasmodic, and used externally as a stimulant and counter-irritant. Toxic Errecrs.—Hertwig found that half an ounce of the strong solution, given diluted, had no bad effects on horses, but that one ounce proved fatal in sixteen hours, and three ounces in fifty minutes, the latter quantity causing violent cramps and difficult breathing. Half a drachm introduced into the stomach, and retained by tying the esophagus, destroyed a dog in twenty-four hours, causing much uneasi- ness, agitation, and stupor, and leaving after death slight redness of the mucous membrane of the stomach (Orfila), The most effectual antidotes are vinegar and other diluted acids, with diluents and demulcents. Mepiciwat Uszs.—Its antacid and stimulant properties recommend ammonia in indigestion, tympanites, and spas- modic colic in ruminants. Stimulating the vaso-motor and respiratory centres, it is valuable in antagonising syncope in influenza and similar complaints. As in human practice, ammonia fumes are occasionally used to rouse animals from shock, collapse, or chloroform intoxication, but must be used Digitized by Microsoft® MEDICINAL USES AND DOSES 165 cautiously, lest excessive irritation of the respiratory mucous membrane be produced. It is a promptly-acting antidote in poisoning by opium, aconite, digitalis, and other narcotic and sedative drugs. It may be administered much diluted in the usual way, injected subcutaneously and intravenously, and also applied externally in the treatment of snake-bites ; but its success is uncertain, especially in the case of the cobra and other venomous snakes. On account of its promoting bron- chial secretion, and assisting in its expulsion, ammonia is serviceable as a stimulating expectorant. To develop its more general effects, it is frequently prescribed with alcoholic stimulants, as in the convenient form of aromatic spirit of ammonia. ExrernaL Uses.—In the form of liniment of ammonia, or of compound liniment of camphor, ammonia proves a useful counter-irritant for muscular strains and rheumatism, for stiff joints, for sore throat and bronchitis, for maintaining the stimulation provoked by mustard or cantharides in pneu- monia, pleurisy, and influenza, and for preventing the rapid chilling of fomented surfaces. A pledget of lint saturated with ammonia, applied to the skin and covered with oiled silk quickly vesicates. It relieves the irritation caused by nettles, and by bites and stings of insects. Doses, etc.—Of liquor ammonie as a diffusible stimulant and antispasmodic, horses take f3ij. to fZiv.; cattle, fZiv. to £31; sheep and pigs, f3ji.; and dogs, ML v. to Ml x. The aromatic spirit is given in proportionally larger doses. In order to sustain their transient effects they require to be repeated at intervals of two or three hours. On account of their pungency, they must be largely diluted with water, or, better still, with cold gruel or mucilage. A useful stimulant draught, either for horses or cattle, is made with half an ounce each of liquor ammoni, sweet spirit of nitre, and tincture of gentian, given in a quart of ale or of cold gruel. For colic and indigestion in horses, a draught composed of half an ounce of solution of ammonia, with four or five drachms of aloes, given in water, has been recommended. For external application the liquor ammoniz is gener- ally used, mixed with five to ten parts of oil. A convenient Digitized by Microsoft® 166 AMMONIUM CARBONATE stimulating liniment is made with one part each of strong solution of ammonia, oil of turpentine, and water, mixed with four to six parts of linseed oil. A drachm of liquor ammoniz fortis, with half a pint of soap liniment, makes a useful stimulant embrocation for sore-throat. The B.P. liniment of ammonia consists of one part solution of ammonia (10 per cent.), one part of almond oil, and two parts of olive oil, The popular ‘White Oil’ is made with one ounce of camphor, four ounces of rectified spirit, a pint of olive oil, and two ounces solution of ammonia. AMMONII CARBONATE. Carbonate of Ammonia. Ammonium Carbonate. A variable mixture of Ammonium hydrogen carbonate, NH, HCO,, with ammonium carbonate, NH, NH, CO,, pro- duced on heating ammonium sulphate or chloride with calcium carbonate (B.P.). It occurs in colourless, translucent, fibrous, crystalline masses, with a pungent alkaline taste, and a strong am- moniacal odour. Soluble in four parts of cold water; rather less of tepid water; in two hundred of alcohol; and in five of glycerin. Decomposes in boiling water, with evolution of ammonia and carbonic acid; sublimes when heated, and when exposed to the air becomes opaque, friable, and covered with a white efflorescence. Actions anp Uszs.—The carbonate closely resembles liquor ammonie, but is less volatile, less powerful, and rather more permanent in its effects. Large doses produce, however, the same primary stimulation, and secondary paralysis of the spinal cord and motor centres. Orfila records that two and a half drachms given to a dog caused gastric inflammation, tetanic convulsions, and death. Mepicina, Uses.—It is given to all animals in atonic dyspepsia; conjoins the actions of an antacid and diffusible stimulant ; in small doses promotes secretion of gastric juice, and in larger relieves flatulence and spasm. and z45 grain atropine sulphate are convenient. The ointment is composed of atropine, grs. 10, oleic acid, grs. 40, and lard, grs. 450. Homatropine hydrobromide, as already indicated, is sometimes substituted for atropine sulphate for internal administration, and still more frequently for eye cases. To dilate the pupil, a solution, containing grs. iv. homatropine hydrobromide, to the ounce of water or castor oil, is employed. CAFFHRINE Carretna. An alkaloid usually obtained from the dried leaves of tea, Camellia thea, or the dried seeds of Coftea arabica. C,H,,N,O,,H,O. (B.P.) Nat. Ord.—Ternstri- miacez or Rubiacee. Caffeine and theine are now considered identical, and the same alkaloid is also got from the seeds of the Guarana or Paullinia Sorbilis, the leaves of Ilex paraguayensis, as well as from the Kola nut. Caffeine is homologous with theo- bromine, which is obtained from the nibs of the Theobroma cacao, and chemically is methyl-theobromine. Caffeine occurs in colourless, inodorous, acicular crystals, soluble in seventy parts cold water, in one of boiling water, seven of chloroform, and in forty of alcohol. Treated with a crystal of potassium chlorate, and a few drops of hydrochloric acid, and the mixture evaporated to dryness in a porcelain dish, a reddish residue results, which becomes purple when moistened with ammonia, Caffeine citrate, obtained by adding caffeine to a hot solution of citric acid, is a white, inodorous powder, with an acid taste and reaction. It is soluble in thirty-two parts of water, and in twenty-two of alcohol. Actions anp Usts,—Caffeine stimulates and subsequently paralyses the nerve-centres of the cerebrum, cord, and medulla. In dogs, cats, rabbits, and rats, full doses, hypo- dermically injected, do not, as in man, act prominently on the brain, but chiefly affect the spinal cord, exalt reflex excitability, and cause muscular rigidity, convulsions and tetanus (Phillips). Large doses swallowed by dogs, Digitized by Microsoft® CANNABIS INDICA 489 moreover, sometimes cause vomiting, and gastro-intestinal irritation. Like theobromine, it exerts a restorative effect on both voluntary and involuntary muscles, enabling them to perform increased work. On account of its stimulating the medulla and cardiac centres, moderate doses increase respiration and pulse rate, and raise blood-pressure, and, resembling strychnine and veratrine, antagonise heart and lung inability and paresis. They hence steady and strengthen the quick action of the weak heart in exhausting diseases, thus acting like digitalis, but more promptly and with more notable diuresis. As a nerve stimulant, caffeine has been given in indigestion in horses, milk-fever in cows, and to dogs prostrated with distemper. It is excreted in the urine, increasing alike the amount of the urinary solids and fluids. It is prescribed by German practitioners in cardiac, hepatic, and renal dropsies. It is used as an antidote for the cadaver alkaloids and ptomaines, for the paralysis of curare, and the neuroses of morphine, chloroform, and alcohol. Topically applied, it paralyses the peripheral endings of nerves. Coftee is not identical in action with caffeine, for besides 0°50 of the alkaloid, it contains aromatic oils and tannic acid. Tea, well diluted with milk, is sometimes serviceable for horses, and still more so for foals, calves,and dogs reduced by acute disease. Doszs, etc.—For horses and cattle, grs. v. to grs. x.; for dogs, according to size, gr. ss. to grs. ij. When swallowed, caffeine is liable to produce gastro-intestinal irritation, and hence should be given hypodermically in the minimum doses mentioned, dissolved in water containing half a grain of sodium benzoate or salicylate to each grain of caffeine. CANNABIS INDICA Inp1an Hemp. The dried, flowering, or fruiting tops of the female plant of Cannabis sativa, grown in India, from which the resin has not been removed. (B.P.) Nat. Ord,—Cannabinee. The Cannabis sativa cultivated in India, and also in the southern states of America, attains a height of four to ten Digitized by Microsoft® 490 CANNABIS INDICA feet. The stalks, leaves, female tops, fruit, and exuding resin are used in making the extract, the preparation generally prescribed. The most active extract is stated to be obtained from the resinous juice, cannabin or churrus, which, although exuding from various parts of the plant, appears to be more potent when got from the female flowering tops. Churrus, mixed with tobacco and treacle, is smoked in the East as an intoxicant, producing dreamy narcosis. The larger leaves and fruit, with adhering resin, constitute bhang, which is sometimes given to horses on long journeys Gunjah consists of the leaf-stalks, with adhering brown leaves, dried, flowering, and fruiting tops and resinous exudate. Haschisch is an Arabian preparation obtained from the tops of the female plants after flowering. In India, bhang and gunjah are given to vicious horses when being shod, or when undergoing surgical operations. Indian hemp, for pharmaceutical use, occurs in compressed, rough, dusky green masses, consisting of the branched upper part of the stem bearing the leaves and pistillate flowers or fruits, matted together by a resinous secretion. The upper leaves are simple, alternate, 1-3-partite, the lower are opposite, and digitate. The fruit is one-seeded, and supported by an ovate-lanceolate bract (B.P.). The composition of cannabis indica is still uncertain, but the following constituents have been obtained :— Cannabin, a glucoside; cannabinol, an oil which is said to be the active principle; cannabene, a volatile oil; tetano- cannabine, and a resinous body cannabinon, insoluble in water, soluble in alcohol, ether, chloroform, fats, and volatile oils. The extract is directed to be prepared by exhausting Indian hemp in coarse powder, with alcohol (90 per cent.), by percolation, and evaporating the percolate to the con- sistence of a soft extract (B.P.). Actions anp Usts.—Indian hemp is a deliriant-narcotic, hypnotic, anodyne, and antispasmodic. Bhang is used in India by all classes as a pick-me-up, and in larger amount to induce pleasing, dreamy narcosis. Similar effects are stated to be produced in horses; the flagging appetite is improved, Digitized by Microsoft® ACTIONS AND USES 49] capacity for exertion increased, exhaustion and restlessness are overcome. Gunjah is a more active anodyne and narcotic. It has long been used in India to dull sensibility during surgical operations. Sir Robert Christison stated that for energy, certainty, and convenience, Indian hemp is the next anodyne to opium, and often equals it. Mr. Rutherford, Edinburgh, for several years in India used gunjah largely in the treatment of equine colic, and he informed me that it relieves spasm and pain as quickly as opium, and without arresting the action of the bowels or producing delirium. American practitioners sometimes prescribe it in diarrheea, occasionally conjoining it with chloroform and aromatic ammonia. Veterinary-Major Smith prescribed the extract, in the treatment of colic, enteritis, laminitis, and other painful affections, with excellent results. In India Veterinary-Major Rutherford administered the extract in graduated doses of one drachm to an ounce, in bolus, to twenty-six geldings and mares of various stamps and temperaments. Eight animals received one drachm; in about one to two hours, usually after a little preliminary excitement, they became sleepy, but were readily roused; there was no uniform effect on the pulse or breathing. The appetite was not affected. In geldings the penis was drawn. A prominent feature was excitement when trotted, most moving as if drunk. Usually within six or eight hours the effects passed off. Two drachms administered caused no preliminary excite- ment. The temperature usually receded about one degree, the pulse fell in one subject 8 beats per minute, respira- tions were reduced about two movements. Food was neglected, trotting was very unsteady. Two hours later drowsiness appeared, the eyes were heavy, the lower lip pendulous, the penis drawn sometimes as much as four inches. The effects continued ten or twelve hours. Several animals receiving three drachms of cannabis extract, and others six drachms, manifested very similar symptoms. The dulness and sleepiness, however, came on more quickly, and were more marked, than when smaller doses had been given. When moved, the subjects showed Digitized by Microsoft® 499 CANNABIS INDICA unsteadiness on the fore-limbs, staggering, inability to trot straight, the penis protruding. The feeces were discharged at unduly long intervals, and in reduced amount. The eftects continued from twenty to twenty-six hours. Eight drachms in bolus with linseed meal were given to a nervous, kicking five-year-old. For two hours he tossed his head incessantly, subsequently stood very quiet, but when touched became excited, ate grass slowly, but left portions between the lips. By the seventh hour he became very sleepy, took no notice of any one, he was unsteady on his fore-legs, the body swayed backwards and forwards, the muscles about the elbow and flank quivered, the penis was drawn about nine inches. There was no movement of the bowels for sixteen hours. By the twenty-fifth hour he brightened up; and in thirty hours was again normal. A second horse received eight drachms cannabis extract; in three and a half hours he became sleepy, with penis drawn three to four inches. An hour later the head was down, the eyelids almost closed, the lower lip pendulous. He was unsteady on his legs, swayed backwards and forwards, took no notice of flies on face or body, when trotted, did so sideways and very unsteadily, the pulse and respiration were lowered. For six hours he remained in the same quiescent sleepy state, noticing nothing, and did not lie down during the night. By the twenty-fourth hour he got brighter, but was still unsteady on his limbs. No dung was passed for thirty hours, when some dry, small pellets were discharged. Although continu- ing quiet, he gradually became lively, and in thirty-five hours was perfectly recovered. Professor Hobday states that doses of ten grains to two, drachms of extract, adminis- tered to dogs, although quickly causing stupor, with paralysis of the hind-limbs—which might continue one or two days—had never proved fatal, these effects gradually passed off, and their removal was expedited by cocaine. Indian hemp has proved serviceable in abating the delirium occurring in some cases of parturient apoplexy, and in tranquillising the involuntary spasms of chorea in dogs. In the form of suppository it is sometimes substituted for opium in the treatment of irritable or painful conditions Digitized by Microsoft® NUX-VOMICA 493 of the rectum and urino-genital organs. Major Smith and other practitioners bear evidence to the narcotic and analgesic effects of the thick, treacle-like, semi-solid extract obtainable in India. An ounce, it is stated, very shortly renders the horse so sleepy that he can be roused with difficulty, and may be severely pricked with a needle without wincing. The Indian extract is devoid of the excitant effects which opium exerts on many horses. Doszs, etc.—Of the extract, horses and cattle take 3j. to Biv.; dogs, gr. j. to grs. iij. in bolus or pill. Larger doses may be given without danger. Veterinary-Major Smith prescribed one ounce, sometimes two, three, or more ounces of the extract, for horses affected with colic, enteritis, or laminitis. It is often advantageously conjoined with chloral hydrate. The BP. tincture is made with one ounce of the extract and a pint of alcohol (90 per cent.). It contains one grain of extract in twenty-two minims. The tincture is inconvenient to use, as water precipitates the resin. It may be given to horses in doses of 3]. to Ziv., or more, mixed with mucilage, a drachm to the ounce of tincture, before adding water or other vehicle. NUX-VOMICA Nux-Vomica. The dried ripe seeds of Strychnos Nux- Vomica. Nat. Ord.—Loganiacee. STRYCHNINE. Strychnina. An alkaloid obtained from the dried ripe seeds of Strychnos Nux-Vomica, and other species of strychnos. (B.P.) The Strychnos nux-vomica grows on the southern coasts of India, in many islands of the Indian Archipelago, and in the northern parts of Australia. It is a moderate-sized tree, with crooked stem, irregular branches, tough white wood, known in commerce as snake-wood; grey or yellow bark— the poisonous, false Angustura bark; a globular berry, about the size of an apple, containing, amid soft gelatinous pulp (which birds are said to eat with impunity), five round, disc- shaped, ash-grey seeds, about an inch in diameter. The Digitized by Microsoft® 494 NUX-VOMICA, STRYCHNINE, AND BRUCINE seeds have a central scar or hilum on one surface, are covered with short satiny hairs, have an intensely bitter taste, and are tough and horny. Nux-vomica contains two poisonous alkaloids—strychnine and brucine—each present to the amount of about one per cent.; the soluble, amorphous strychnic or igasuric acid, which is allied to malic acid; sugar, fat, loganin, and igasurine. Strychnine (C,,H,,0,N,) is prepared by splitting the nux- vomica seeds, steaming and reducing them to powder, which is digested with spirit and water. The spirit is recovered by distillation. To the watery extract lead acetate is added, which precipitates acid and colouring matters. The filtered solution is treated with ammonia, which precipitates the alkaloids. Strychnine occurs in trimetric prisms, is colourless and inodorous; it requires for solution 5760 parts of cold water and 2500 parts of hot water, but its intensely bitter taste is appreciable even when diluted with 30,000 parts of water. It is soluble in 150 parts of spirit, and in 6 parts of chloro- form, and nearly insoluble in ether. It is not coloured by nitric acid, and leaves no ash when burned with free access of air. It forms crystalline, colourless, intensely bitter salts, of which the hydrochloride is official. It is readily recognised. On a white plate a crystal is dissolved in pure sulphuric acid without change of colour, but when the dissolved alkaloid is made to mingle with a drop or two of an oxidising solution, such as that of potas- sium permanganate, there is produced a characteristic violet coloration. Its extreme bitterness, and the tetanic spasms produced in frogs and other small animals by solutions con- taining the ;;'ypth part of a grain are valuable corroborative tests. Brucine or Brucia (C,,H,,N,0,.4H,0) is associated with strychnine in the seeds. It occurs in colourless prismatic crystals; is almost as bitter as strychnine, but is more soluble in water. It is reddened by nitric acid and chlorine. Strong sulphuric acid colours brucine a rich rose, but on adding potassium permanganate, the play of colours observed with strychnine is not produced. Digitized by Microsoft® STIMULANTS OF MOTOR CENTRES 495 Actions anp Uses.—Nux-vomica, strychnine, and brucine are stimulants of the motor centres of the spinal cord, and of other motor centres. Full doses produce tetanic convul- sions, which cause death from asphyxia, or from subsequent paralysis and exhaustion. Medicinal doses are antiseptic, gastric, vascular, and nerve tonics, and anti-paralysants. They destroy enzymes and other vegetable and animal organisms. General Actions.—The alkaloids differ from each other and from nux-vomica mainly in the degree of their action. Strychnine is fully fifty times as active as the powdered nux, and nearly fifteen times as active as brucine. The St. Ignatius’ bean yielded by the Strychnos Ignatia—a tree grown in the Philippine Islands—contains strychnine and brucine. Akazga, the ordeal plant of the West Coast of Africa, belongs to this order, and yields akazgine, which is analogous to strychnine. Other trees of the order also yield tetanising poisons. Allied to this group are thebaine and some other opium alkaloids ; gelsemine, the alkaloid obtained from the rhizome and rootlets of yellow jasmine; and pic- rotoxin, a neutral principle prepared from the seeds of Anamirta paniculata (Cocculus indicus). The methyl com- pounds of strychnine and brucine, instead of stimulating spinal and motor centres, and producing convulsions, re- semble curare, and paralyse the ends of motor nerves. Strychnine lessens oxidation of protoplasm and of blood, and checks fermentation, but not nearly so eftectually as quinine. Low organisms, wetted with weak watery solutions, have their activity increased; wetted with strong solutions, their activity is diminished and they are destroyed. It stimulates the grey matter of the spinal cord, exalting its reflex excitability, and also stimulates other reflex nerve centres (Brunton). Small to moderate doses promote secre- tion of saliva, improve appetite, stimulate the intestinal muscular coat and increase peristalsis, and hence assist in overcoming constipation. They stimulate the respiratory, cardiac, and vaso-motor centres, and hence increase the rapidity and depth of the respirations, the number and force of the pulsations and raise blood-pressure. Larger doses Digitized by Microsoft® 496 NUX-VOMICA AND STRYCHNINE cause muscular twitching, hypereesthesia, greater acuteness of the special senses, and clonic convulsions. The extensor muscles usually overcome the flexor muscles, producing opisthotonos. Death results from asphyxia, occurring during a spasm, or from paralysis and collapse, occurring during a period of relaxation. Strychnine is absorbed rapidly from the small intestine and rectum, and still more rapidly from the bronchi and cellular tissues. It has been detected in the spinal cord, brain, liver, spleen, and blood. It is tardily excreted unchanged, or as strychnic acid, in the urine, in which it has been found an hour after ad- ministration, and has also been detected forty-eight hours later. Owing to its slow elimination strychnine should be regarded as a cumulative medicine. Toxic Acrions.—Poisonous doses within a few minutes produce in all animals trembling and twitching of voluntary and also of involuntary muscles, and violent spasms, usually lasting one to two minutes, gradually becoming more frequent and severe; and from their involving the glottis, diaphragm, and other muscles of respiration, cause death, usually by asphyxia. The symptoms (and mode of death) resemble those of tetanus, but are suddenly developed, intermittent, and more rapidly fatal. The temperature is raised some- times two degrees. The several classes of animals differ in their susceptibility to the actions of strychnine. Horses and cattle are not so readily affected as men and dogs. Poultry are said to be less easily affected than other birds; while guinea-pigs and some monkeys seem quite insusceptible to its action, at least so long as it is given by the mouth (Dr. H. C. Wood, Treatise on Therapeutics). Horses after swallowing six grains of strychnine had twitch- ing of the muscles, and were poisoned by twelve grains in about twelve minutes (Tabourin). Five grains in bolus pro- duced, after six hours, abdominal pain, laboured breathing, acceleration of the pulse from 42 to 60, excitement when touched, and tetanicspasms. Twelve hours later the pulse was 96, and subsequently rose to 120. Blood-letting and fomen- tations gave no relief, and in a convulsive paroxysm the horse Digitized by Microsoft® TETANISING POISONS 497 died. The membranes of the brain and cord were injected, the lungs engorged (Veterinarian, 1856). Given hypoder-’ mically, the toxic dose is stated by Fréhner and Kaufmann to be three to six grains. Halfa grain, given hypodermically, induced in half an hour general muscular rigidity. Ten drachms of nux-vomica in powder caused muscular tremors but in solution proved fatal in ten hours (Hertwig). Pro- fessor Coleman gave a mare two ounces in a drench; within an hour, and after the animal had drunk some water, she had violent tetanic symptoms, and died half an hour later. Ounce doses, given a glandered horse, caused tetanic spasms, but were not fatal. Moiroud states that the fatal dose for a horse is one to two ounces, Cattle withstand larger doses than do horses when the poison is given by the mouth, whether in solution or bolus. Mr. Macgillivray, gave an old cow thirty grains strychnine, and, shortly after, sixty grains, both doses in solution, with the result of a few spasmodic tremors, which continued for about twenty minutes (Veterinarian, 1870). I gave a small red cow, affected with pleuro-pneumonia, grs. xv. strychnine, suspended in two ounces of oil, at 12 o'clock. At 12.80 the pulse had risen from 70 to 78, regurgitation was ob- servable in the jugular veins, quivering and twitching affected the facial muscles, particularly during inspiration. At 12.45 the pulse numbered 84, and the symptoms were aggravated. Grs. ij. were given, dissolved in diluted acetic acid; and in a quarter of an hour the animal was very un- easy, and attempted to vomit; the pulse was 94, full and strong; the pupils much dilated. At 1.30 the nausea and efforts to vomit were much increased, the breathing more laboured; the animal lay down, and the pulse shortly fell to 58. At 2.15 the nausea was diminished, and the pulse 92. Grs. xxx. were then given in acetic acid and water. At 2.20 the pulse was 100, sharp and distinct. The muscles were affected by frequent spasms. At 2.25 the pulse was 140, and the animal very sensitive to light, sound, and external impressions. It reeled and fell. At 2.30 the pulse had risen to 160, the limbs were very rigid, the eyes protruding, involuntary spasms more general, frequent, and severe. 21 Digitized by Microsoft® 498 NUX-VOMICA AND STRYCHNINE Two minutes later she died quietly. Much smaller doses are fatal when strychnine is quickly absorbed. When given hypodermically, Kaufmann states that the toxic dose for cattle is five or six grains. Tabourin records the death of a cow in twenty minutes from four grains placed in the areolar tissues. Sheep are destroyed by half an ounce nux-vomica in about thirty minutes, but goats appear to be less susceptible. Pigs were violently convulsed by fifty grains of nux-vomica (Tabourin), and poisoned by } to ? grain of strychnine (Kaufmann). Dogs are destroyed in two minutes by gr. } strychnine, and in twelve minutes by gr. } (Christison). An English terrier was poisoned in twenty-four minutes by gr. 4; a greyhound in one hour and a half by grs. iij.; another greyhound in thirty-three minutes by gr. ss. (Dr §S. Macadam). Kaufmann fixes the toxic dose at 34 to 4 grain. Dogs have been poisoned with grs. viij. of nux- vomica, and cats with grs. v. Dogs moan and whine, are uneasy, nauseated, sometimes vomit, tremble, have muscular twitchings and general spasms, during which the head is drawn upwards and backwards, and the rectal temperature is raised 2° to 4° Fahr. The tetanic convulsions continue one to two minutes, cease for several minutes, but recur with increased force until death results. Post-mortem appearances vary with the severity and dura- tion of the case. Asphyxia renders the blood dark-coloured and unusually fluid ; there is venous engorgement ; congestion of the lungs and of the cerebral and spinal meninges; dila- tation of the vessels of the medulla, and sanguineous extravasation into the grey matter. When the patient has survived for several hours, the intestines occasionally present patches of redness and congestion. Where spasms have been severe and rapidly fatal, the left side of the heart is firmly contracted, and contains little, if any, blood. The tetanised muscles quickly undergo rigor mortis, which sometimes continues longer than usual. In dogs destroyed with 4 grain of strychnine, I found the buccal mucous membrane blanched; the left auricle, and also the intes- Digitized by Microsoft® GASTRIC, VASCULAR, AND NERVE TONICS 499° tines, continued to contract for nearly an hour after death, while the cerebral and intestinal vessels were con- gested with dark venous blood. Anripotes.—The stomach should be emptied with as little delay as possible; if convulsions have begun, the patient should be anwsthetised, the stomach well washed out, and chloral hydrate given. Professor Hughes Bennett first shewed the antidotal power of chloral hydrate. He found that the minimum fatal dose of strychnine for rabbits was risth er. per pound of body-weight. Twenty rabbits received more than this poisonous dose; fifteen of these, to whom chloral was given, recovered. But a few days later, on re- ceiving the dose previously given, without the chloral, all died. French authorities advise the chloral to be given intravenously. Strychnine tetanus is also antagonised by tobacco, and, less effectually, by such motor paralysers as curare, conium, opium, and calabar bean. Mepicinat Uses.—As bitter tonics, nux-vomica and strych- nine are prescribed in atonic dyspepsia. Their good effects probably depend upon their checking irregular fermentation, diminishing excessive secretion, as in catarrhal conditions, and perfecting co-ordination between the several functions of digestion and assimilation (Brunton). It is probably mainly in this way that they relieve many cases of broken- wind. Small doses, especially when combined with acids, are often effectual in checking chronic relaxed and hyper- secreting conditions of the bowels, where these are not complicated with irritation. Larger doses, increasing peri- stalsis, overcome chronic constipation, whether connected with acute indigestion, inflammation, or febrile attacks, and are usually prescribed with aloes or salines. They are bene- ficial in weak, dilated conditions of the heart; during their excretion they stimulate the urinary organs, while aphro- disias is occasionally produced. In convalescence from acute disease they improve appetite and general tone. Strychnine, subcutaneously injected, is sometimes serviceable in main- taining activity of the respiratory and heart centres in collapse and narcotic poisoning. Digitized by Microsoft® 500 NUX-VOMICA AND STRYCHNINE Nux-vomica and strychnine are prescribed in paralysis, whether of the limbs, intestines, or bladder. They are most beneficial in chronic motor paralysis, caused by irritation or congestion, but are unsuitable in cases accompanied by hemorrhage and compression. They frequently relieve paresis resulting from falls or other injuries, from lead- poisoning, influenza, acute indigestion, or rheumatism. It has been stated that paraplegia, even when depending upon softening or wasting of nervous textures, may sometimes be arrested by strychnine dilating the capillaries, determining a fuller stream of blood, and promoting nutrition. Strych- nine, subcutaneously injected, has been recommended for roaring. French veterinarians prescribe it in amaurosis. Cerebro-spinal meningitis, probably from climatic pecu- liarities, is greatly more common in America than in Great Britain. Often it occurs as an epizootic. Mr. Alex. Lockhart, New York, informed me that he has seen two hundred horses almost simultaneously affected in one tram-car stud, and has had eighty patients in slings at one time. It attacks horses of all sorts, and under every description of manage- ment. Blood-letting and physic, he believes, hasten and increase mortality ; under such reducing treatment half the cases die. It is unsafe to give more than half a dose of physic; oil is preferred to aloes. Although the cerebral form is very hopeless, Mr. Lockhart assures me that 95 per cent. of the patients able to stand recover if at once treated with a grain of strychnine, repeated twice or thrice a day. In these cases Professor Robertson recommended Easton’s syrup. In cattle practice, nux-vomica and its alkaloids are used, in indigestion and in chronic paralysis. Mr. David Aitken, Loughborough, who prescribed them with success, informed me of several typical cases. Two bullocks suffered from chronic paralysis, one had to be carted home from the grass field. He was dull; his pulse 55, and rather weak; his hind extremities and tail had lost their power of movement, their sensation was impaired; the sphincter ani was relaxed, and both fseces and urine were passed involuntarily. Purgative medicine was given, and operated next day, without, how- Digitized by Microsoft® ANTI-PARALYSANTS 501 ever, any abatement of the paralysis. Two drachms nux- vomica were prescribed night and morning for ten days; but little improvement being notable, the dose was increased to three drachms thrice a day. This treatment being con- tinued for ten days, the patient was able to walk round the house in which he was confined, and rapidly re- covered. The other bullock exhibited similar symptoms, was treated in the same manner, and with like satisfactory results. A week or two before parturition, cows, especially if in low condition, occasionaily lose the power of their hind limbs, and are unable to stand. Little can then be done besides propping the patient in a suitable position, turning her several times daily, and allowing laxative, nutritive diet. Within two or three days after parturition, most of these cases gradually regain the use of their limbs; but when defective nervous power continues, nux-vomica or strych- nine is used with success. The pathology of milk fever is still uncertain, but death appears to result from respiratory or cardiac failure, which might be warded off by subcutaneous injections of strychnine. In canine practice, strychnine is a valuable tonic in atonic indigestion, in some cases of asthma and chronic bronchitis, in convalescence from exhausting disease, in chorea, and in paralysis resulting from distemper or other causes. It is frequently conjoined or alternated with iron salts, or pre- scribed in the form of Easton’s Syrup, or syrup of phos- phate of iron, with quinine and strychnine: one drachm of which contains 1 gr. ferrous phosphate, 4 gr. of quinine sulphate, and 4; gr. of strychnine. Strychnine is used for the destruction of rats, mice, and other vermin, and for the poisoning of wolves and other wild animals. It constitutes the active ingredient of various “infallible” insect and vermin destroyers, which are usually made up with starch, sugar, and about ten per cent. of strychnine. Doses, &c.—Of the powdered nux vomica, horses take Jss. to Bj.; cattle, Ji. to Zij.; sheep, grs. x to grs. xl.; pigs, grs. x. to grs. xx.; dogs, gr. ss. to grs. ij. The powder has the dis- Digitized by Microsoft® 502 CALABAR BEAN advantage of not being very soluble. The extract, contain- ing 5 per cent. of strychnine, is six to eight times as active as the powder. The B.P. standardised tincture is sometimes used. It contains } gr. strychnine in 110 minims. Strychnine is greatly more uniform and more readily absorbed than the crude drug, and is fifty times more power- ful. The hydrochloride, on account of its solubility, in 35 of water or 60 of alcohol, is preferable to the alkaloid. The dose for the horse, except in special cases—when much more may be given—is gr. i. to grs. ij.; for cattle. grs. ij. to grs. v.; for sheep, gr. } to gr.i.; for dogs, gr. jy to gr. wo. The B.P. Liquor Strychnine hydrochloridi contains one grain of strychnine hydrochloride in 110 minims. Strychnine, although conveniently given by the mouth, is more prompt and active when adininistered hypodermically, and when thus used the minimum doses, dissolved in about 100 parts of a mixture of distilled water and alcohol, should first be tried. Nux-vomica and strychnine are generally given twice a day, and as anti-paralysants the doses may be cautiously and gradually increased, until slight muscular twitchings are produced. Tablets and lamels containing ~,th and 35th gr. of strychnine sulphate are convenient for hypo- dermic injections. Strychnine arsenite has been recom- mended in some of the Continental veterinary schools for the treatment of persistent nasal discharges. CALABAR BEAN PHYSOSTIGMATIS SEMINA.—The ripe seeds of Physostigma Venenosum. Nat. Ord.—Leguminose. PHYSOsTIGMIN®Z Suipuas. —(C,,H,,N,O,),, H,SO,, «H,0. Eserine Sulphate. The sulphate of an alkaloid obtained from Calabar bean. Western Africa (B.P.). Calabar bean is a large reddish-brown, oblong, reniform seed, usually about an inch long, three-quarter inch broad, and half-an-inch thick. The testa, hard, thick, and rough, encloses two cotyledons, between which there is a large cavity. The bean has no characteristic taste, and no Digitized by Microsoft® GENERAL ACTIONS 503 odour (B.P.). Its activity depends upon the presence of two alkaloids—(1) Physostigmine or Eserine, occuring in colourless crystals, soluble in alcohol, benzol, chloroform, and diluted acids, and partially in water. It paralyses nerve centres, and stimulates muscular fibre. (2) Cala- barine, soluble in water and alcohol, but not in ether. It causes strychnine-like convulsions. Kserine Sulphate occurs in yellowish-white minute crystals, becoming red by exposure to air and light, having a bitter taste, highly deliquescent, very soluble in water and in alcohol (90 per cent.). The aqueous solution is neutral to litmus, and, applied to the eye, causes contraction of the pupil. Eserine sulphate contains about 70 per cent. of the alkaloid. Solutions keep better when mixed with a grain or two of salicylic acid. GeneraL Acrions.—Calabar bean and its chief alkaloid stimulate voluntary and involuntary muscles and paralyse nerve centres. Hserine exerts no topical action on the skin or mucous membranes. It relieves obstruction by stimulating the muscular coat of the stomach and intestines. Given by the mouth, or applied locally, it contracts the pupil and diminishes intraocular pressure—effects due to irritation of the third nerve, or of the circular fibres of the iris, or of both. This myosis results in horses in twenty-five to thirty minutes; and in less than half that time in carnivora; but is not produced, even by conjunctival injection, in birds, frogs, and fishes. Excessive doses paralyse muscular fibre, especially tho unstriped variety, and also sensory and, later, motor nerves. Moderate doses have little effect on voluntary muscles, but full doses induce local twitching, best marked at the elbow and stifle, followed by general trembling and spasmodic contractions; at the same time the animal sweats, salivates, blows, strains, and discharges feeces and urine, and all his organs provided with unstriated muscle participate more or less in the clonic convulsions. Its stimulant effect on unstriped muscle in part explains its action on the circu- lation. Small to moderate doses contract minute blood- vessels, and reduce the force and frequency of the heart Digitized by Microsoft® 504 CALABAR BEAN movements. Kaufmann mentions that a single full dose reduces the pulse of the dog from 100 to 40 beats per minute. Professor Thomas Fraser believes that its action on the heart is threefold—(1) it stimulates peripherally the cardio- inhibitory branches of the vagus; (2) it depresses the cardiac motor ganglia; and (3), in large doses, it paralyses the car- diac muscular fibres. Respiration is temporarily quickened, apparently from stimulation of the vagi in the lungs, but in fuller doses is slowed from paresis of the medullary respira- tory centre. Moderate doses stimulate the liver, the invol- untary muscles of the bronchial tubes, uterus, and bladder, and increase gastric and intestinal peristalsis, quickly causing free and fluid evacuations from the bowels, and besides, inducing in man and carnivora retching and vomit- ing. The secretion of saliva, sweat, and mucus is increased. Poisonous doses disturb voluntary motility and paralyse the spinal cord, the posterior column being affected earlier and more fully than the anterior. Hence results the char- acteristic curare-like paralysis affecting motor and retlex functions, which, involving the medulla, kills by respiratory arrest (Brunton). According to Professor Fraser, death sometimes results from cardiac paralysis, the heart stopping in diastole. Convulsions occasionally occurring from the use of the bean and commercial physostigmine are due to the presence of calabarine. The brain in most animals appears to be irritated, cats and guinea-pigs poisoned exhibiting cerebral excitement, becoming timid, and run- ning wildly about. It is rapidly absorbed and quickly excreted mainly in the bile, saliva, and gastro-intestinal fluids. Between physostigmine and its analogues interesting points of contrast are noted. It resembles pilocarpine in its action on the heart, eye, and glandular secretions, but it does not cause such profuse flow from either the salivary bronchial, skin, or intestinal glands. Physostigmine pro- bably induces secretion by acting on the secreting cells, while pilocarpine, and also muscarine and nicotine, stimulate the peripheral endings of secretory nerves. While physo- stigmine causes intestinal movements by contracting the Digitized by Microsoft® STIMULATES INTESTINAL MUSCULAR FIBRES 505 muscular fibres, muscarine does so by stimulating the nerves. Atropine is its physiological antagonist, paralysing muscles, stimulating the respiratory and cardiac medullary centres, and dilating the pupil. Physostigmine, in virtue of its promptly and effectually stimulating the muscular fibres of the intestines, is of great value in the treatment of obstruction and obstinate constipation. This was first pointed out by Dieckerhoff, and has been fully demonstrated by Majors Fred. Smith and Charles Rutherford, of the Army Veterinary Department, who made an important series of observations on horses, using physostigmine freed from the convulsant calabarine. From the Veterinary Journal 1888, the following observa- tions are extracted :— ‘The earliest indications we have of the action of the drug are loud intestinal murmurs, passage of flatus, with slight colicky pain; shortly this is followed by evacuation of the contents of the rectum, and the motions then pass at intervals of a few minutes, each becoming gradually softer, more watery, less formed in balls, until we reach the stage when the evacuations are moist and fluid, exactly representing cows’ feces. All this time the »bdominal disturbance has become greater, the animal lies down, but seldom rolls, the intestinal murmurs are louder, the passage of flatus almost continuous, straning marked, feces are voided with great rapidity, often ejected with force, and several ounces of a brown-coloured fluid will at this time accompany each motion. About two to two and a half hours from the time of injection the effects are commencing to pass off, and during this short time an almost incredible amount of faces will have been excreted. Details on this point will be given below. Those who have had no previous experience of the drug, and the results obtained, will regard it as magical and marvellous. ... . ‘A horse received 14 grains of eserine (physostigmine), subcutaneously ; it acted in twenty-five minutes, and produced in the first hour seven evacuations, in the second hour seven, the effect passing off in two hours and ten minutes. ‘A horse received 14 grains of eserine, hypodermically, which took twelve minutes to act, producing seven evacuations in the first hour, and then terminating. ‘ Another horse received 14 grains of salicylate of eserine, hypodermi- cally, producing a free action of the bowels in one hour. This case ter- minated fatally from ruptured stomach ; and thus it was demonstrated that eserine could act upon the large intestines, in spite of the shock to the abdominal nervous system which a ruptured stomach causes. ‘A pony received 1 grain of eserine, hypodermically ; three evacuations were produced in fifty minutes, and in eighty minutes from the time of injection eight evacuations had occurred. The case was a fatal one, the cause of obstruction being due to a small diaphragmatic hernia. Had the gut not been nipped so tightly, there is reason to believe the increased peristalsis might have withdrawn it. ‘A horse received a few drops of a solution of eserine into the con- Digitized by Microsoft® . 506 CALABAR BEAN SERVICEABLE IN junctival sac; it shortly produced contraction of the pupil, which lasted fully two days. ‘A horse received 14 grains of eserine by injection into the trachea ; it took seventeen minutes to act, and produced in the first hour twelve evacuations, weighing 11 1b. 18 0z., and a considerable quantity of flatus. The action then passed off. “A horse received 1 grain of eserine, hypodermically ; it took forty-two minutes to act, and produced only one evacuation in one hour, accompanied by a considerable quantity of flatus. ‘The same horse received 1 grain of eserine and 3 grains of pilocarpine by injection into the trachea ; it took twenty-one minutes to act. In the first hour, counting from time of injection, it produced fourteen evacua- tions, weighing 30 lbs. 6 oz. ; in the second hour four evacuations, weighing 7 lbs. 64 oz.; and in the third hour two evacuations, weighing 2 Ibs. 134 02. ; in three hours a total of 40 lbs. 10 oz. of ingesta. ‘In comparing these two cases, the value of pilocarpine as an addition to eserine is clearly demonstrated. ‘A horse received 14 grains of eserine by the trachea ; it acted in forty- one minutes, and produced in the hour five evacuations ; during the second hour four evacuations. The weight was unfortunately not obtained, but the quantity of ingesta completely filled a stable bucket. The case was one of most obstinate constipation, and had previously received 6 drachms of aloes, which acted at the expiration of the usual time. ‘ Another horse received by the trachea 1 grain of eserine with 3 grains of pilocarpine, and this combination acted in one and a half hours, producing, in two and a half hours from time of injection, eight evacuations, weighing 26 lbs., exclusive of loss. The pilocarpine produced its salivating effects in four minutes from the time of injection.’ Mr. R. Rutherford, Edinburgh, gave a horse, weighing about 950 lbs., 5 grains commercial eserine, which within half-an-hour caused profuse perspiration, convulsive breath- ing, with violent action of the diaphragm. About two hours later, when the symptoms were abating, he gave 3 grains more, and death followed in half-an-hour. Kaufmann records that on opening the abdomen of a horse which had received a full dose of physostigmine, energetic contractions of the large intestine were seen. Animals poisoned exhibit pallor, contraction, and hardness of the large intestine; the urinary bladder is empty and contracted, and the uterus also contracted. Awtipores.—As the bean is not very soluble, the stomach should be evacuated either by an emetic or the stomach- pump. Ipecacuanha has been recommended as an antidote. Physostigmine is antagonised by moderate doses of atropine. Professor Fraser found that rabbits, receiving one and a half the lethal dose, recovered, if atropine was given, simultane- ously in doses of gr. 3 to gr.i. While small doses act as Digitized by Microsoft® INTESTINAL TORPIDITY AND IMPACTION 507 antidotes, larger hasten a fatal result. ‘The atropine specially counteracts the cardiac paralysis. Toa less extent physo- stigmine antagonises the poisonous action of atropine; chloral also somewhat opposes physostigmine. MepicivaL Uses.— Physostigmine is myotic, anodyne, expectorant, and a gastro-intestinal stimulant. The observa- tions of Majors Smith and Rutherford testify to its value in combating intestinal torpidity and impaction. They ad- minister physostigmine hypodermically and intratracheally, preferring the latter method on account of its enabling more fluid to be introduced, oceasioning less loss of the drug, and causing less inconvenience to the patient. Cases of intestinal obstruction in all animals may be safely treated by eserine, conjoined with pilocarpine and anodynes, by enemata, and abstention from solid food. French and German practitioners have arrived at similar conclusions. Dieckerhoff, Nocard, and Kaufmann, recommend physostigmine as an ‘intestinal anemiant’ in congestion, atony, colic, and torpidity of the digestive tract, especially of the large intestine, and also for the expulsion of concretions and foreign bodies. They further note its use to determine contraction of the uterus. Eserine has been given, subcutaneously and intravenously, to cattle affected with gastric impaction, but although causing considerable, sometimes painful, disturbance of the bowels, it does not produce copious evacuations. It has been tried in tetanus, but the relief afforded is merely transient. Recoveries attributed to the use of eserine should only be accepted with reserve. The extract and eserine sulphate or salicylate have been prescribed in epilepsy, chorea, and other spasmodic nervous affections, and, as an antidote, in poisoning by strychnine and atropine. They should not, however, be given to pregnant animals, in which untimely stimulation of the uterus may lead to premature expulsion of its contents. In solution eserine is applied as a myotic to relieve congestion and inflammation of the conjunctiva and cornea, and, alternated with atropine, to prevent or break down ad- hesions caused by iritis. In chronic dropsical conditions of the joints and burse of tendons in the horse, after Digitized by Microsoft® 508 HEMLOCK evacuation of the fluid by an aspirator, or a trocar and canula, Stottmeister, instead of the iodine solutions frequently used, recommends injection of a grain to a grain anda half physo- stigmine dissolved in Tl 80 to Tl 160 of distilled water, apply- ing subsequently, for two or three days, ice or refrigerant lotions to abate inflammation (Jour. of Comp. Path. and Therap., 1889). Dosts, etc.—The bean is given to horses and cattle in doses of grs. xv. to grs. xxx.; to dogs, gr. $ to gr. }. As already indicated, the diverse character of the two alkaloids present in the extract, as well as in the bean, renders it desirable to use physostigmine, which is conveniently employed in the form of sulphate, of which the dose per orem for horses is grs. il. to grs, ili, and for dogs, gr. 345 to gr. yy. Intratracheally, gr. ss., in M1 to Tl lx of water ; and subcutaneously, gr. j. to gr.jss., in MI Lx to Tl lxxx of water. In intestinal obstruction more prompt and certain effects are obtained by addition of 2 to 3 grains of pilocarpine. The hydrobromide and salicylate of eserine are sometimes used. An anesthetic collyrium may be made with cocaine hydro- chloride grs. iv., eserine sulphate grs. ii., and distilled water 3). Eseridine (C,,H,,N,0,), an alkaloid obtained from Calabar bean, has similar properties to physostigmine, but only one- sixth its activity. HEMLOCK Hemuock Leaves. Conii Folia. The fresh leaves and young branches of Conium maculatum, collected when the fruit begins to form (B.P.). Mat. Ord.—Umbelli- fere. Hemiock Frurr. Conii Fructus. The dried, full-grown, unripe fruits of Conium maculatum (B.P.). Hemlock grows wild in hedges and waste places in most parts of Europe. The flowering stem is two to five feet high, round, hollow, jointed, smooth, branching towards the top, and covered with purple spots. The large bi- or tri-pinnate leaves are glabrous and dark-green, have clasping petioles of varying length, a nauseous, bitter taste, and a strong, Digitized by Microsoft® CONINE 509 peculiar odour, which is characteristic of all parts of the plant, and aptly compared to that of mice or of cats’ urine. The fruit resembles that of anise, is of a brown colour, about one-eighth of an inch in length, broadly ovate, the two mericarps, generally separated, each marked with five ribs. Nine pounds of fruit produce an ounce of conine, which, with a bitter oleo-resin and a non-poisonous volatile oil, is found stored chiefly in cubical cells in the endocarp. The leaves gathered in June, when the fruit begins to form, are rapidly dried in stoves at about 120° Fahr., and preserved in tins, bottles, or jars, excluded from light. By drying, they lose three-fourths of their weight, and one- half of their volatile principle, of which scarcely a trace remains after they are kept twelve months (Royle’s Materia Medica). Long keeping of the fruit and leaves, and their exposure to temperatures exceeding 120° Fahr., account for the inertness of many hemlock preparations. In addition to the active principle, conine, hemlock contains varying proportions of methyl-conine, which acts on the spinal cord, paralysing reflex action, conhydrine, which is said to be inert, and coniic acid. Pure conine (C,H,,HN) may be obtained from the fruit or leaves by distillation with caustic potash. It is a yellowish, oily liquid, with an intense odour of mice, and a peculiar acrid taste. Specific gravity *885. Soluble in 100 parts of water; and readily dissolved by alcohol or ether. Nitric acid dropped on conine produces a blood-red colour, sul- phuric acid a purple-red, passing to olive-green. Its chief salt is the hydrobromide, which contains about 60 per cent. of the alkaloid. It is soluble in two parts of water and in three of rectified spirit (Squire). Pure conine, like curare, paralyses the endings of motor nerves and of the vagus, and, later, the motor centres of the brain and cord. The leaves and fruit of hemlock are distinguished by their appearance, and, if triturated with diluted caustic potash solution, evolve the characteristic odour of mice. Fool’s parsley (Aithusa cynapium), water hemlock or cowbane (Cicuta virosa), the fine-leaved water hemlock (Phellandrium aquaticum), the water parsnip (Cinanthe crocata), are Digitized by Microsoft® 510 HEMLOCK—CONINE Umbelliferee with physiological actions similar to those of conium maculatum, and when freely eaten have poisoned many of the domestic animals. Of wholesome dietetic Umbelliferee, parsley, parsnip, and celery are illustrations. The natural family is rich in aromatic carminative seeds. Actions anp Uses.—Hemlock and its alkaloids, applied to mucous or denuded skin surfaces, diminish sensibility, and are analgesic. When absorbed they paralyse the endings of motor nerves and of the vagus, and are sometimes prescribed to quiet motor irritability. GenEraL Actions.—Hemlock was the state poison of the Athenians, the death-potion of Socrates. It has paralysant effect on sensory nerves, as exhibited when applied to mucous and delicate skin membranes, and when absorbed paralyses (without the preliminary stimulation exerted by nicotine or pilocarpine) the extremities of motor nerves, and those vagus endings which inhibit the heart and lungs. It increases the secretion of the sweat, bronchial, and intestinal glands. Full doses paralyse the motor centres of the brain and spinal cord, and cause a weak and staggering gait, the hind extremities being first affected. Convulsions occasion- ally occur in warm-blooded animals, depending upon the presence of methyl-conine, which, as indicated, acts upon the spinal cord and paralyses reflex action. Death results from paralysis of the muscles of respiration. It is excreted mainly by the kidneys, possibly in part by the lungs. It acts more powerfully on man and carnivora than on graminivora or herbivora. Goats with impunity eat con- siderable quantities of the fresh leaves (Kaufmann). Its physiological antagonists are nux-vomica, strychnine, and other tetanisers. Toxic Actions.—Dr. John Harley and Mr. Frederick Mavor gave a two-year-old thoroughbred colt six, eight, and twelve ounces of succus conii without appreciable effect. Sixteen ounces produced in twenty-five minutes dulness and stu- pidity, drooping and swollen eyelids, but no change in the pulse or pupils. A few minutes later the colt went down upon his knees, appeared to require special efforts to keep himself on his legs, stumbled, and walked slowly when led ; Digitized by Microsoft® TOXIC EFFECTS 511 but in two hours the symptoms had entirely disappeared (Old Vegetable Newrotics, 1869). Moiroud poisoned a horse with half a pound of the dried leaves given as a decoction, and observed nausea, spasmodic twitching of the muscles of the extremities, cold sweats, dilatation of the pupils, and dulness. In Italy asses eating hemlock have sometimes been so thoroughly paralysed that, supposing them to be dead, the peasants have begun to remove the skin (Matthiolus). ~ Cattle poisoned lie as if lifeless, with slow, feeble pulse, cold extremities, and dilated pupils (Veterinarian’s Vade Mecum). Sheep become giddy, listless, and sometimes die. When other food is scarce lambs will crop hemlock with fatal results, as noted in the Veterinary Record for July 1893. Fifteen grains of the succus injected into the blood- vessels of a full-grown mouse produced, in half an hour, paralysis, continuing for five hours. Christison found that an ounce of the extract swallowed by dogs proved fatal in forty-five minutes; ninety grains applied to a wound had the same effect in an hour and a half; while twenty-eight grains caused death in two minutes, when injected into the veins (On Poisons). Gerrard, of Market Deeping, records (Veterinarian, 1873) the poisoning of pigs which strayed into an orchard and ate growing hemlock. They lay prostrate and unable to rise, pulse imperceptible, the body cold, the eyes amaurotic, and when left alone they lapsed into a comatose state. There were no convulsions, and no pain was apparent when they were pricked with a pin. In fifteen hours two died, and two a few hours later. Examination discovered the blood throughout the body, and especially in the large organs, dark-coloured and fluid, the result of the fatal asphyxia; the intestines distended with gas; the mucous coat of the stomach, particularly its cardiac portion, much congested, while similar spots of congestion were observed throughout the intestines. Conine is generally used in the form of hydrobromide. One drop applied to the eye of a rabbit arrested respiration in nine minutes; three drops in the eye of a cat killed it in a minute and a half; five drops swallowed by small dogs Digitized by Microsoft® 512 HEMLOCK—CONINE began to operate in thirty seconds, and proved fatal in one minute. Still smaller quantities injected into the veins poisoned with even greater rapidity (Christison On Poisons). The antidotes are tannic acid, the cautious administration of coffee, and other stimulants, ammonia to the nostrils, stimulating enemata, enforced exercise, and artificial respiration. Mepicivat Uses.—Hemlock is occasionally given to relieve the muscular spasm of chorea. It is of no avail in tetanus in horses, nor, as demonstrated by experiment, in strychnine poisoning. Spasmodic cough connected with muscular irri- tability, such as occasionally occurs in epizootic sore-throat and bronchitis in horses, is sometimes relieved by inhalation of steam medicated with hemlock, or by swallowing slowly an electuary of succus conii, glycerin, and ammonium acetate. Injections and suppositories are applied in irritable, painful conditions of the urino-genital organs. Conium ointment, made with two ounces of succus conii and three-quarter ounce of lanoline, is applied as an anodyne in acute mammnitis of the cow. Doszs, etc.—Neither the dried leaves nor the fully-ripened dried fruit are to be depended upon. The fresh leaves and young branches, and preparations promptly obtained from them without heat, are, however, reliable, of which the best is the succus. Three parts of juice are mixed with one of recti- fied spirit, allowed to stand for seven days, and then filtered and bottled. This succus has a dark sherry colour, an agree- able odour, and acid reaction ; one fluid ounce yields thirty grains of soft extract. Horses and cattle take fi). to fZiv.; sheep and pigs, f3ss. to £3j.; dogs, f3ss. to f3j. Its analgesic and antispasmodic effects are increased by using it with opium or chloral-hydrate. Conine employed hypodermically by Dr. Harley and Mr. Mavor, frequently produced irritation, which hindered its absorption. For subcutaneous or intra- tracheal injection the hydrobromide, which contains 60 per cent. of conine, should be used. Doses—horses, gr. i. to grs. ii.; dogs, gr. 34, to gr. 3, dissolved in 20 to 60 minims of water containing a few drops of alcohol. Digitized by Microsoft® HENBANE 513 HYOSCYAMUS Hyoscyamus on HEensane Leaves, The fresh leaves and flowers, with the branches to which they are attached, of Hyoscyamus niger; also the leaves and flowering tops, separated from the branches, and carefully dried. Collected from the flowering biennial plants (B.P.). Nat. Ord.—Solanacee. Henbane grows wild in most parts of this country, and is cultivated at Mitcham and Hitchin. The large, sinuate, usually decurrent yellow-brown leaves are rough, hairy, and clammy, with a foetid, narcotic odour, and a nauseous, bitter taste. There are two varieties, an annual and a biennial; the latter alone recognised by the B.P., is larger, stronger, more branched, clammy, and active. One hundred pounds of the fresh plant when dried weigh 14 lbs. and yield about 4 lbs. of extract. The active principle, hyoscyamine (C,,H,,NO,), in its im- pure form is an oily liquid, becoming brown on exposure, but it can be slowly crystallised into colourless, translucent needles. It is soluble in 120 of water, and readily dissolves in alcohol, chloroform, and dilute acids. It resembles. daturine, the active principle of Datura stramonium, is identical with duboisine, the active alkaloid of Duboisia myoporoides, and is isomeric with atropine. It is decom- posed, and its physiological action neutralised by caustic alkalies. Henbane also contains hyoscine, which is a cere- bral and spinal sedative, and an oil. Actions anp Usts.—Hyoscyamus closely resembles bella- donna and stramonium. Locally applied, it paralyses the endings of sensory nerves. It dilates the pupil, although not so certainly and fully as atropine. Full doses of the drug or its alkaloid stimulate the cerebral centres and paralyse the ends of motor nerves. There are produced dryness of the mouth, general convulsions, paralysis, and stupor, alternated with a peculiar form of delirium, in which a constant desire for action is accompanied by lassitude, failure of the action of the heart, and of breathing, and death from asphyxia (Brunton). Digitized by Microsoft® 514 COCAINE Toxic Errecrs.—Horses receiving an infusion made with three to four ounces of the leaves have dilatation of the pupils, spasmodic movements of the lips, acceleration and subsequently depression of the heart-beats, but no symptoms of acute poisoning. Dogs are acted on exactly as by bella- donna. Cats become dull and drowsy, the mouth and nose dry, the pulse accelerated, the pupils dilated, and the power of walking or springing impaired (Old Vegetable Newrotics). Meoiciwat Usts.—Hyoscyamus is prescribed with cathartics to prevent their griping. It is mainly excreted by the kid- neys, and occasionally is used as an anodyne in irritable conditions of the kidneys and bladder. It is prescribed in human practice in cases of mania and nervous or muscular excitement, and has been used with some success in epilepsy and chorea in dogs. It is occasionally substituted for opium as a topical anodyne. Doszs, etc.—Of the succus and tincture horses and cattle take £3)].; dogs, Mx. to Mlxl The extract is six times the strength of the succus or tincture. Hyoscyamine, usually prescribed as the sulphate, which is freely soluble in water, is one hundred times more active than the extract, and is sometimes used hypodermically. COCAINE Cocaina. An alkaloid obtained from the leaves of Erythro- xylum Coca and its varieties. Cocain® Hyprocuioripum. The hydrochloride of an alka- loid obtained from Coca leaves. C,,H,,NO,HCl. Nat. Ord.—Linee. The alkaloid, of which the leaves yield 26 per cent., is pre- pared by agitating an acidulated alcoholic extract with ether. It occurs in colourless prisms, almost insoluble in water, insoluble in glycerin, soluble in ten parts rectified spirit, and in twelve of olive oil. The hydrochloride, in colourless acicular crystals, or crystalline powder, is readily soluble in water, alcohol, and glycerin. Insoluble in olive oil, and nearly insoluble in ether. Its watery solution has a bitter taste, Digitized by Microsoft® ACTIONS AND USES 515 producing on the tongue a sensation of tingling, followed by numbness, and when applied to the eye dilates the pupil. It gives a yellow precipitate with gold chloride, and a white precipitate with ammonium carbonate, soluble in excess of the re-agent. Cocaine is associated in the plant with coca- tannic acid, and with two other alkaloids—cocamine and cinnamyl-cocaine—and a volatile constituent which gives aromatic fragrance to the fresh leaves. Actions anp Uses.—Cocaine paralyses the sensory nerves with which it comes in contact, and is thus a local anesthetic. It is also antiseptic. Small to moderate doses are stimulant and tonic, and diminish metabolism. The South American Indians, on long marches, not only chew coca leaves, but give them to their horses, with the effect of diminishing thirst, hunger, and sense of fatigue. Although topically anesthetic and anodyne, large doses, swallowed or injected subcutane- ously, paralyse the nerve-centres, impair co-ordination, causing aimless gyrating movements, muscular spasms, and death from respiratory failure. GeneraL Actions.—Solutions of 4 to 10 per cent., applied to a mucous surface, within one minute cause pallor and vascular contraction, and two or three minutes later local anesthesia lasting ten minutes. A few drops of a5 per cent. ‘solution, placed within the eyelids, paralyse the conjunctiva and iris, and dilate the pupil. This dilatation is more notable in men and dogs than in horses and cattle (Frohner). When swallowed, it slightly stimulates the stomach. It ‘diminishes the sensations of hunger and thirst. Large or repeated doses quicken circulation, increase blood-pressure, breathing, and temperature, and heighten reflex irritability. Still larger doses cause trembling and timidity, impair co- ordination and equilibrium; animals cannot walk straight, have muscular trembling and rotatory convulsions, and dic from paralysis of respiration. It is excreted by the kidneys; does not appear, however, to alter the proportion of the urinary constituents, but exerts antiseptic effects on the urine and other secretions. Applied to the mammary gland it diminishes secretion of milk. Horses receiving 60 to 80 grains injected subcutaneously, Digitized by Microsoft® 516 COCAINE or about 005 gramme per kilogramme of body-weight, according to Frohner, are restless, paw with the fore feet neigh, and exhibit timidity and excitement, the pulse rises to 90-96, temperature is increased, salivation occurs, the bowels are frequently moved, and the pupil dilated. After fifty minutes the animal is in a state of frenzied excitement, with greatly augmented reflex activity. Two hours elapse before these effects disappear. In cows like effects were produced by hypodermic injection of similar doses. One drachm is stated to have produced excitement bordering on. madness, and continuing for four hours, but gradually pass- ing off, and leaving no injurious effects. In dogs, doses consisting of ‘015 to 02 gramme per kilogramme of live-weight produce psychical excitement, muscular spasms, rhythmical contractions of the skeletal muscules, tetanic and clonic spasms, epileptic fits, rolling, loss of co-ordination, and dyspnea. The spasms and more- prominent symptoms do not, however, occur when potassium bromide, ether, or amyl-nitrite have previously been given.. Large doses paralyse the central nervous system, implicating first the brain, then the corpora quadrigemina, the spinal cord, and lastly, the medulla. Injected hypodermically,. twelve to fifteen grains kill small dogs in ten minutes. (Hobday). Mepicinat Uses.—Cocaine hydrochloride is a convenient. and effectual local anesthetic. Its effects are confined to. the skin or mucous surface moistened with it, are more easily regulated than those of ether spray, are unaccompanied by pain, and may be kept up for considerable periods without injuriously affecting the nutrition of the parts. Anesthesia. may be produced within five minutes, and, when insensibility is secured, :t usually continues for twenty to thirty minutes. For application to the skin cocaine should be dissolved in. oil of cloves which ensures deeper penetration. Twenty minims of a 4 or 5 per cent. solution dropped into the eye within ten minutes diminish sensibility, so that a thorough examination can be made of the organ; the irritability and pain of conjunctivitis, iritis, and ulceration of the cornea are abated ; chaff or other foreign bodies imbedded in the cornea. Digitized by Microsoft® HOLOCAINE 517 can be removed without provoking pain or reflex movements ; warts can be excised, torn lids stitched, and injuries of the eye painlessly treated. Indeed, after several applications of the cocaine solution, the eyeball of the horse has been removed, without symptoms of pain, and without the necessity of casting the patient. In examinations and operations in con- nection with the larynx, cocaine is equally serviceable, and for such cases a stronger solution is generally used. Applied to the skin, along the course of the plantar nerves, and still more effectually when injected subcutaneously, it abolishes sensibility sufficiently for the painless performance of neurectomy. Mr. Richard Rutherford, Edinburgh, after closely clipping or shaving the hair, finds that half an ounce of a 20 per cent. solution, in fifteen or twenty minutes anesthetises the limbs even of irritable horses sufficiently for the performance of firing without casting, and for the painless insertion of setons. It is serviceable in the opening of abscesses, the removal of tumours, and in operations on the uterus, vagina, and rectum. Subcutaneously injected, it has been used to allay rheumatic and other irritative pain, and to assist in the diagnosis of lameness. In order to preserve cocaine hydrochloride solutions, which, when long kept, are liable to spoil, 1-200th part of boric acid should be added to them when freshly made. The B.P. injectio cocaine hypodermica, is made with 33 grains cocaine hydrochloride, 4 grain salicylic acid, and 6 drachms distilled water. One hundred and ten minims contain about 10 grains of cocaine. The ointment consists of 20 grains cocaine, 80 grains oleic acid, and 400 grains of lard. Tablets containing =~, and % grain are now obtainable. Holocaine, a cocaine substitute, obtained by combination of phenacetin and paraphenetidin, is employed as the hydro- chloride, which is soluble in one hundred parts of water. In ophthalmic practice a few drops of a 1.per cent. solution produce anesthesia in fifty seconds, the effects lasting for five to fifteen minutes. The solution is antiseptic but does not dilate the pupil. Acoin, derived from guanin, is less poisonous and acts longer than cocaine. It is antiseptic as well as anesthetic. A solution for hypodermic injection is Digitized by Microsoft® 518 COCAINE composed of one part acoin, eight parts of sodium chloride, and a thousand parts of distilled water. Tropacocaine, employed as the hydrochloride, occurs with cocaine and other bases in Java coca leaves, and is prepared synthetically by Liebermann. It is a white crystalline powder readily soluble in water. Used in solution (2 to 3 per cent.) it is a powerful local anesthetic, more rapid and less toxic than cocaine. The hydrochlorides of alpha-eucaine and beta- eucaine are also employed as substitutes for cocaine. Eucaine-a is soluble in ten parts of water and is not decomposed on boiling. As a local anesthetic it is seldom used in eye cases owing to its irritant action on the conjunctiva. Eucaine-b is more active and much less toxic than cocaine. Readily soluble in water it is free of irritant action. Solutions can be sterilised by boiling without undergoing decomposition. A 2 per cent. solution is employed as a local anesthetic for minor operations. Solutions of 5 and 10 per cent. have been used. A mixture of equal parts of eucaine-band cocaine has been recom- mended as the best and safest local anzesthetic. Orthoform (methyl-para-amido-meta-oxybenzoate), another cocaine substitute, occurs as a white, odourless and tasteless powder, slightly soluble in water. According to Guinard and Souliere, Orthoform is more analgesic than anesthetic. Applied to wounds only a small part is dissolved by the discharge. Absorption does not occur or is exceedingly slow, so that local applications may be regarded as non-toxic. When swallowed, or injected subcutaneously, it is quickly absorbed and acts as a powerful nerve depressant, blood pressure being lowered and heart action and respiration much increased. Large doses given to dogs, hypodermically or by the mouth, cause nausea and vomiting. Orthoform is employed as a local anesthetic; and as an anodyne and antiseptic in powder or in ointment (10 to 20 per cent.) made with lanoline. Mixed with collodion it is used as an antiseptic adhesive protective for small wounds. The hydro- chloride (soluble in nine parts of water) is not generally applicable for ophthalmic or subcutaneous use (Newer Remedies, 1899). Digitized by Microsoft® JABORANDI—PILOCARPINE 519 JABORANDI JABORANDI Foura, The died leaflets of Pilocarpus Jaborandi. (B.P.) Nat. Ord.—Rutacex. PrtocarpInE Nitrate. Pilocarpine Nitras (C,,H,,N,O,HNO,). The nitrate of an alkaloid obtained from Jaborandi leaves (B.P.). The shrubs yielding jaborandi are natives of Brazil. The leaflets have a slightly aromatic odour and a bitter, pungent taste, and when chewed they increase secretion of saliva. The leaflets are about four inches long, and contain an acrid resin, an essential oil consisting in part of a dextrogyrate terpene (C,,H,,), and an amorphous, liquid, colourless alkaloid, pilocarpine (C,,H,,N,O,), which is soluble in alcohol, ether, chloroform, ammonia, and dilute acids, and forms crystal- lisable salts, the nitrate being chiefly used. Another alkaloid, jaborine, occurs in much smaller proportion, is stated to be a basic decomposition product of pilocarpine, and antagonistic to it in its actions. Pilocarpine nitrate, is a white, crystalline powder, soluble in nine parts of water, and in fifty parts of cold alcohol (90 per cent.), Actions anv Uses.—Pilocarpine and jaborandi leaflets have no notable in-contact effect on the skin or mucous membranes, ° but when absorbed they stimulate glandular secretion more promptly, energetically, and generally than any other known drugs. The salivary, lachrymal, bronchial, intestinal, urinary, and mammary secretions are increased. The cutaneous per- spiratory glands are not so actively stimulated in the lower animals as in man. They, moreover, slightly and temporarily excite and then paralyse the efferent nerves of involuntary muscles, while large doses impair the irritability of voluntary muscles and motor nerves (Brunton). They are prescribed as eliminatives in catarrhal, pneumonic, and rheumatic cases, and in torpidity and obstruction of the bowels—in these being conjoined with physostigmine. Jaborine has actions entirely opposite to those of pilocarpine. It is an anti-secretory and a paralysant of involuntary muscles, thus closely resembling atropine. Its presence in jaborandi and in commercial Digitized by Microsoft® 520 JABORAN DI—PILOCARPINE specimens of pilocarpine hence interferes with their characteristic actions. Genera. Actions.—Pilocarpine stimulates the peripheral terminations of efferent nerves going to glands and to involuntary muscles, and also excites the nerve centres presiding over secretion. In the lower animals secretion of saliva is early and prominently increased. Horses sub- cutaneously injected with three to four grains in two or three minutes are freely salivated; within one hour three and a half pints of saliva have been collected; during the next hour about half that quantity, but an hour later the secretion was nearly normal (Kaufmann). The nasal and lachrymal secretions are augmented. So much bronchial mucus is outpoured that a distinct rale is audible, and in poisonous doses the accumulation of fluid and cedema of the membrane cause dyspnea, which is sometimes fatal. The intestinal glands are stimulated, rendering the dejections more abundant, soft, and shortly semi-fluid. Small and moderate doses increase the secretion of urine, and also of milk. In man pilocarpine produces profuse sweating, but in the lower animals even full doses only render the skin moist. By its stimulation of the skin growth of hair is said to be encouraged (Fréhner). Pilocarpine temporarily stimulates the peripheral termina- tions of the efferent nerves distributed to involuntary muscles, and secondarily, and especially in large doses, paralyses them. Given by the mouth, or injected locally, the circular fibres of the iris are contracted, but frequently the pupil is sub- sequently dilated. The muscles of the stomach and intestines are in a state of active peristalsis, occasionally accompanied by vomiting, colic, and diarrhea. The bladder contracts, and urine is passed at short intervals. Contractions of the uterus and movements of the spleen are also produced. After slight and temporary stimulation, heart action is slowed and blood-pressure lowered. The temperature, which at first rises, subsequently falls several tenths of a degree. Froéhner states that a single dose in from two to four hours will reduce the weight of a horse by forty to sixty pounds. Horses receiving two to four drachms of the leaves infused Digitized by Microsoft® GLANDULAR STIMULANTS 521 in hot water, in fifteen to twenty minutes exhibited profuse salivation, continuing for three hours, but without notable diaphoresis, altered circulation, or increased temperature. Carriage horses to which I gave two to four drachms, in fifteen minutes salivated abundantly, and the discharge continued for two or three hours; very slight diaphoresis occurred for twenty minutes; no change was noticeable in the pulse, temperature, or quantity of urine excreted. Mr. William Dollar injected hypodermically 1} grains pilocarpine in ten parts water into the shoulder of an aged horse 15} hands; in six minutes marked salivation set in, the saliva pouring out of the mouth; the secretion from the buccal glands also appeared to be augmented. These effects con- tinued for fully an hour and a half; the pulse was lowered in force, and was slowed two to three beats; the skin previously dry, became moist, but there was no distinct sweating. Major Fred. Smith of the A.V.D., reports that in horses, in about ten minutes after a subcutaneous injection of three grains, there is constant ‘champing of the jaws, whilst saliva flows from the mouth, sometimes in quite a stream. There is no attempt at sweating; the sweat glands of the horse are perfectly insensible to the action of pilo- arpine. The involuntary muscles of the intestinal canal are stimulated, and the rectum is repeatedly emptied... . In one case I observed a gulping sound in the throat, resembling the effect produced by aconite’ (Veterinary Journal, 1888). Horses are poisoned by the subcutaneous injection of five grains (Kaufmann). Cattle, however, tolerate much larger quantities. Feser subcutaneously injected a cow and a bull with doses ranging from three to eighteen grains. The larger doses produced abundant secretion of viscid saliva, frequent, short, laboured respiration, tympanites, intestinal irritation, colic, and profuse diarrhea, but only slight and temporary diaphoresis. Still larger doses increased the cedema of the lung and paralytic tympany of the rumen, and also weakened heart action. But much larger doses, reaching to forty-five grains, were tolerated when given by the mouth. Compared with physostigmine, pilocarpine, although stimulating more Digitized by Microsoft® 522 JABORANDI—PILOCARPINE powerfully intestinal glandular secretion, had much less effect on intestinal muscular fibre, and two to four times the dose is stated to be required to produce purgation in cattle (Jour. of Comp. Path. and Therap., 1889). Dogs and cats are more sensitive to the drug than horses or cattle. A dog of 25 lbs. weight was prostrated for two days by three-quarters of a grain, and Frohner records that. this dose killed by pulmonary cedema a dog weighing 132 lbs. Half a grain caused profuse salivation, continuing for six hours, and increased action of the bowels and kidneys. Half a drachm to a drachm of the leaves, infused in water, produced in English terriers, of 20 to 25 lbs. weight, abundant salivation, but no notable diaphoresis. The physiological antagonist of pilocarpine is atropine, which arrests glandular secretion and paralyses the nerve endings of involuntary muscles. It is hence the appropriate antidote in poisoning by pilocarpine. Mepicina, Usts.—The prompt and general eliminative action of pilocarpine has suggested its use for the absorption of pleuritic and other effusions, and the removal of products. of tissue waste. It has been prescribed for rheumatism, especially when affecting muscles, and in chronic eczema. Kaufmann testifies to its value as an expectorant in catarrh, pneumonia, and complaints resulting from exposure to cold. In such cases it may be usefully combined with other expectorants. Friedberger and Fréhner advise its. subcutaneous injection in acute brain inflammation, hydro- cephalus, and laminitis. In nephritis it beneficially removes by other channels the albuminoid waste usually got rid of by the kidneys. In virtue of its increasing alike intestinal secretion and peristalsis, it is serviceable in torpidity and obstruction of the bowels, and may even relieve volvulus and invagination. In these gastro-intestinal cases it is conjoined with physostigmine, which stimulates muscular contractions more powerfully than pilocarpine. Doszs, etc.—Of the fresh leaves, horses or cattle take 3ij. to Ziv.; sheep, pigs, or large dogs, Jss. to Ji., given as an infusion. But pilocarpine nitrate or hydrochloride is more certain and effective, and is prescribed, hypodermically or Digitized by Microsoft® ‘CURARE 523 intratracheally, to horses and cattle in doses of grs. ij. to grs. iv.; to dogs, gr. =} to gr.4, dissolved in water, 1 grain of the salt to 20 minims of water containing a drop or two of alcohol. CURARE Curara. Wourara. Wourali. Urari. The South American arrow poison. An extract from one or more species of Strychnos, mixed with some mucilaginous juice, and owing its activity to an alkaloid, curarina (C,,H,,N;). (Not official.) Curare is a black-brown substance, with a very bitter taste, and imperfectly soluble in water. It appears to vary some- what in composition, and two varieties have been described. The drug, and its twenty-times more active alkaloid curarina, by whatever channel they enter the body, paralyse the peripheral endings of motor nerves. The nerves of the voluntary muscles of the limbs are first affected, then those of the trunk and head; but later, and with large doses, they involve the endings of sensory nerves, and also of the vagus, enfeebling, and, it may be, arresting respiration. Intelligence and consciousness remain unimpaired. Horses are poisoned by 15 to 30 grains of curare, dogs by about one-tenth of these doses. Nikelski and Dogiel’s investigations demon- strate that the poison affects the protoplasm both of nerves and muscles; that paralysis is removed when the drug is washed out of the muscle; that it acts less powerfully on the vaso-motor system of rabbits and cats than of dogs; applied to the conjunctiva it dilates the pupil of birds, but not of mammals; while the reverse obtains in the case of atropine. Although the blood becomes charged with car- bonic acid, the motor nerves are so paralysed that convulsions do not occur. The heart continues to beat after the breathing ceases, but the poison is quickly eliminated by the kidneys, and artificial respiration persisted with accordingly prevents death, even when lethal doses have been given. The rapid excretion of the poison, unchanged, by the kidneys is strikingly illustrated by the fact that the urine of a frog, poisoned by Digitized by Microsoft® 524 DIGITALIS curare, injected subcutaneously into a second frog, paralyses it, and its urine will even paralyse a third (Brunton). It is allied to hemlock and conine, and to methyl- strychnine, methyl-brucine, and methyl-thebaine. Some of its effects are antagonised by strychnine. It has been given in chorea and epilepsy; but in neither of these has its efficacy been established. In tetanus it deserves further trial. The doses for horses and cattle are from gr. ss. to gr. j.; for dogs, gr. ; to gr. 3. It acts much more powerfully when injected intravenously, hypodermically, or intratracheally, than when swallowed. Any considerable amount of food in the stomach retards and minimises its effect, when given per orem. DIGITALIS Foxetove. The dried leaves of Digitalis purpurea. Col- lected from plants commencing to flower (B.P.). Nat. Ord.—Scrophulariacez. Digitalis grows wild in this country and in many parts of the Continent, on gravelly, sandy soils, in young plantations, on hedge sides, and hill pastures. Other species have probably the same properties as the D. purpurea, recognised by the B.P. It is herbaceous, biennial or perennial, with numerous drooping, purple -spotted, occasionally white flowers, an erect stem one to five feet high, and large alter- nate ovate-lanceolate, crenate, rugose leaves, downy, especially on their paler lower surfaces, and tapering into winged foot-stalks. The leaves are dried in baskets, in darkness, over stoves, and are then of a dull-green colour, with little smell, but a nauseous, bitter, slightly astringent taste. They should be used when fresh; twelve months’ keeping greatly diminishes their activity. Both the roots and seeds are bitter, and probably active. Digitalis yields several active principles :— (1) Digitalin, or digitalinum, a bitter glucoside, almost insoluble in water, but readily soluble in alcohol. Pure digitalin and the commercial variety are topical irritants and muscle poisons, and hence notable cardiac poisons. The Digitized by Microsoft® DIGITALIS GLUCOSIDES 525 four undermentioned non-nitrogenous substances have also been isolated. (2) Digitoxin is a crystalline body, insoluble in water, but soluble in ether, chloroform, and alcohol. It is the most active of the several glucosides which constitute digitalin. (3) Digitalein is bitter and amorphous, and readily soluble both in water and alcohol. Insoluble in ether and chloroform. Digitoxin and digitalein act in the same manner as digitalin. (4) Digitonin is soluble in 600 parts of water, and in 50 parts dilute alcohol; resembles saponin, the active principle of quillaia, the Chili soap bark; is a powerful irritant, local anesthetic, and muscular paralysant; and hence is in some degree antagonistic to digitalin, digitoxin, and digitalein. (5) Digitin appears to be physiologically inert. These five non-nitrogenous bodies, in variable proportion, are obtainable from the plant grown in different climates and circumstances, and also from different preparations, depending chiefly upon differences in their solubility in water and alcohol. The tincture contains the first three, and appears to be most suitable as a heart tonic, while the infusion, containing more digitoxin, is stated to be more active as a diuretic. They readily yield products of decom- position, especially when exposed to high temperatures, and several of these products are convulsants like picrotoxin. Actions anp Usts.—Digitalis and digitalin are topical irritants and contractors of muscle, especially of the un- striped variety. Medicinal doses are vascular and cardiac stimulants and tonics, and are prescribed to increase the force and co-ordinating power of the heart, and relieve con- gestion of veins and capillaries. They are diuretic. Large doses are muscle poisons: they contract spasmodically and even tetanically the heart and other muscles, and kill usually by cardiac paralysis. Genera Actions.—Digitalis owes its action chiefly to digitalin, which, in contact with living tissues, is an irritant. Injected into the skin or trachea it irritates and inflames. Placed in the mouth, besides a sensation of bitter- Digitized by Microsoft® 526 DIGITALIS ness, it causes salivation and redness. Introduced into the stomach and bowels, it induces irritation and nauséa; in carnivora, vomiting, colic pains, and diarrhea. It is absorbed slowly, and contracts muscular fibre, notably of the heart and arterioles. Properly regulated doses strengthen and prolong the cardiac diastole, both auricles and ventricles are more fully dilated, systole is more vigorous, and conse- quently the heart is more perfectly emptied. The muscular fibres of the arterioles have their tonicity increased. Blood- pressure accordingly is raised. Such doses, while increasing the volume of the pulse, diminish the pulse-rate of healthy horses three to five beats, and of dogs ten to fifteen beats per minute, and these effects last from six to twelve hours. The action on the heart is more notable on the dog and sheep than on the horse and ass. The action on the circulation is divided by Schmiede- berg into the following four stages, and this division has been adopted by Dr. Lauder Brunton :— (1) Medicinal doses cause a fuller stream of blood to be thrown into the circulation, blood-pressure rises, the pulse is usually slowed, but increased in volume. These effects, depending chiefly on contraction of muscular fibre, are intensified by stimulation of the vagus roots in the medulla, and of the nerve-endings in the heart itself. (2) Continued rise of blood-pressure. The pulse, pre- viously slowed from stimulation of the vagus roots and cardiac nerve-endings, owing to paralysis of the vagus end- ings, now becomes quickened. (3) Larger or more frequently repeated doses increase or maintain the high pressure, and gradually cause direct cardiac paralysis, inducing irregularity of the heart action and pulse rate. (4) Still larger doses produce rapid fall of blood-pressure, sudden stoppage of the heart, and death. The heart usually stops before the respiration. Neither digitalis nor digitalin has any direct action on the brain or spinal cord, nor any marked effect on sensory or motor nerves. They temporarily quicken, and more notably and permanently slow, respiration. By increasing general Digitized by Microsoft® AND ITS ANALOGUES 527 blood-pressure, a fuller stream of blood passes through the kidneys, the renal as well as other arterioles are’strengthened and contracted, and thus diuresis is tardily produced, usually with increase of the urinary solids. No direct irritation of the kidneys occurs; but large doses, dilating arterioles, diminish renal excretion, and, the drug consequently being longer retained, its general effects are intensified, and its so-called cumulative action developed. The following drugs resemble digitalis, and, like it, most of them contain an active glucoside :— Liliacee. . . Urginea Scilla. Squill. Contains the active neutral body Scillitoxin. Convallaria majalis. Lily of the Valley. Convallamarin. Ranunculacee. Helleborus niger. Helleborein. Adonis vernalis. Adonidin. Leguminose. . Erythrophleum guineense, which yields the African poison casa, or doom. Erythrophleine. Broom. Sparteine. Apocynacee. . Strophanthus hispidus, and the variety S. Kombé. Strophanthin. Nerium odorum (oleander). Neriin. Apocynum cannabinum. Canadian hemp. Apocynin. Toxic Actions.—The toxic dose of the powdered leaves is thus stated by Kaufmann :—For horses, six to eight drachms ; for dogs, one to two drachms; for cats, thirty grains. The toxic dose of amorphous digitalin for horses is one and a half grains; for dogs, one quarter grain. A horse was poisoned in twelve hours by two ounces of dried powdered leaves (Moiroud). One ounce, and in some cases six drachms, given to horses in bolus, caused, in three to ten hours, loss of appetite, frequent urination, fluid feces, sometimes tinged with blood, a pulse at first full and increased, but afterwards small, slow, and irregular, contrac- tion of the pupil, difficulty of breathing, languor, and, after twelve or sixteen hours, death (Hertwig). Messrs. Bouley and Reynal, administering large doses to horses, observed quickened circulation, abrupt and energetic heart - beats Digitized by Microsoft® 528 DIGITALIS characterised by a vibratory thrill, and subsequently by a bellows murmur, with intermittence, the pulse, as death approached, numbering 120 to 140. Smaller doses, after slight acceleration, lowered pulsations 20 or 25 beats per minute, and rendered the several cardiac sounds particularly distinct. The following cases, in which I gave full medicinal doses of digitalis to healthy horses, illustrate its effects on the heart, its nauseating action, and its irritation of the digestive organs. In February 1856, powdered digitalis was given to three horses in good health, and receiving daily 12 lbs. hay, 5 Ibs. oats, and 5$ lbs. bran. On the 20th they each received a drachm of the powder at 12 noon, and another drachm at 6 p.m. ; on the 21st and 22nd one drachm at 6 a.M., at 12 noon, and 6 p.m. ; and on the 28rd a drachm at 6 a.M.—in all, nine doses of a drachm each in three days. No. 1. Brown Mare, 3 years old :— Feb. 20, 12 noon, pulse 38, respirations 8. 21; 6. ” ” ” 7 ” ” 22, ” ” 28, ” 7. ”, 23, ” ” 8, ” 7. On the evening of the 22nd she became dull and refused her feed. 23rd, 10 a.m., still dull, without appetite, pupil contracted, passing flatus, with small quantities of fluid feces: 4.30 p.m., pulse 32, more distinct than at noon, pupil considerably contracted, rather less dulness. On the 25th, two days after the medicine was withdrawn, the mare was eating and perfectly well again. No. 2. Bay Gelding, 3 years old :— Feb. 20, 12 noon, pulse 36, respirations 7. ” 21, ” bi % ” 8. » 22, ” » 30, ” 6. » 28, ” » 32, ” 6. 23rd, 12 noon.—Pulse, both yesterday and to-day, slightly irregular ; no appetite, very dull and stupid, with the pupil somewhat contracted. 4.30 P.m., pulse 34, tolerably firm, but unequal ; eating a little, and scarcely so dull. No more digitalis being given, the animal recovered its appetite, and by the 26th was well again. No. 3. Brown Mare, 3 years old :— Feb. 20, 12 noon, pulse 38, respirations 8, 33 ” 21, ” ” ? ” he » 22, ” » 34, ” 73. » 23, 55 » 120, » 20. 24, 5 120, 25. ” > 29. Towards the evening of the 22nd the mare became dull and would not feed. 23rd, 10 a.m., very much nauseated ; nose, mouth, and ears cold; abdomen tympanitic, with colicky pains, and occasional pawing; pupil somewhat contracted; pulse firm at axilla and heart, but not very perceptible at jaw. Had four drachms of carbonate of ammonia and clysters occasionally, the stimulant being repeated at two o’clock and four. At 4.30 p.m. she was down, much pained, attempting to roll; pulse 82, but unequal. 24th, 12 noon, pulse, imperceptible at jaw, about 120; respira- tions 25, and very much laboured ; lips retracted and saliva dripping Digitized by Microsoft® MEDICINAL USES 529 from the mouth ; enormous abdominal tympanites and much pain ; rapid sinking ; died on 25th, at 11 a.m. Post-mortem examination made next morning at 9.30. Voluntary muscles unusually pale ; spots of ecchymosis found in the areolar textures, between the muscular fibres, and in places underneath the skin. Lungs and pleure healthy ; anterior extremity of lungs contained more blood than posterior ; venze cave contained the usual amount of dark non-coagulated blood ; bronchial tubes inflamed for about six inches along their anterior ends ; windpipe inflamed half-way up the neck, and containing flakes of greenish pus mixed with mucus; no froth here or in bronchi. Heart pale, friable, containing a small clot of blood in its left ventricle, and about five ounces of non-coagulated blood in the right ventricle. A rent of eight inches long was found in the inferior curvature of the stomach, through which food had passed into the omentum ; the mucous membrane of the stomach was quite healthy ; the organ itself very large, but col- lapsed, in consequence of the rupture ; the intestines were pale and flaccid, and contained enormous quantities of food and gas, but their mucous membrane was quite healthy. The kidneys and generative organs, with the brain and spinal cord, were perfectly healthy. Dogs receiving one or two drachms were nauseated, and, when vomiting was prevented, moaned and exhibited abdominal pain, green-coloured fluid dejections were passed, the pulse was feeble and indistinct, breathing irregular and distressed, spasmodic efforts were made to empty the bladder, muscular debility preceded death (Tabourin). Pigs poisoned by decoction of the leaves are reported to be languid, attempt to vomit, strain, and pass small quantities of feces; whilst after death the mucous coat of the stomach and small intestine is inflamed, the kidneys slightly con- gested, the bladder empty (Veterinarian, 1872). In poison- ing with large doses the power of the muscles to lift weight is diminished, and their tetanic contractions persist until post-mortem decomposition sets in. Mepicmvat Uses.—Dr. Ringer believes that digitalis exerts its curative effects in one or more of the following ways— first, by strengthening the action of the heart; second, by reducing the strength of the beats of a heart acting too powerfully ; third, by lessening the frequency of the heart- beats; fourth, by correcting irregular action of the heart. When the heart is enfeebled or acting irregularly, as in horses suffering from influenza or other exhausting disease, in cattle convalescing from pleuro-pneumonia or rheumatic fever, in dogs debilitated by distemper or over-work, digitalis imparts co-ordination and expulsive power to the heart, 2. Digitized by Microsoft® 530 DIGITALIS and tone to relaxed capillaries, rendering the quick, weak irregular pulse-beat slower, stronger, and steadier. Difti- culty of breathing and dropsical effusion resulting from imperfect action of the heart are usually relieved, and general as well as cardiac nutrition is improved. In such cases digitalis is usefully conjoined with potassium chlorate or nitrate, or with alcohol, or ether. Palpitation in horses resulting frem unwonted over-exertion, or from fast work performed shortly after a full meal, occasionally persists for several days; the violent, irritable impulse of the heart, accompanied by lifting of the flanks, comes in paroxysms; repeated doses usually control such inordinate, tumultuous, functional disturbance. In the more violent of these cases Professor Robertson conjoined with the digitalis small doses of aconite, and in other cases prescribed it with belladonna. In dilatation of the heart, with insufficiency of the mitral valves, carefully regulated doses of digitalis abate the dyspnea, cold extremities, venous pulse, and edema. In dilatation or hypertrophy of the left ventricle—common in hard-worked, aged horses—even when accompanied by slight valvular disease, the full, strong, intermittent pulse is usually moderated, its unduly forcible impulse quieted, and the breathing relieved by digitalis. In such cases of hypertrophy, when the pulse is full and strong, one or two small doses of aconite may first be tried. In pericarditis, after the more acute symptoms have been subdued by salines, digitalis frequently lessens the embar- rassed breathing and the friction sound. In endocarditis, occurring occasionally in cattle, it renders the heart-beat more regular, and gives fulness to the small thready pulse. Quieting and regulating cardiac action, and contracting arterioles, it is recommended in hemorrhage, especially from the lungs and stomach. In equine pneumonia, especially in the second stages, digitalis frequently relieves engorgement, probably by pro- pelling blood in fuller stream into the abdominal and other vessels. Promoting circulation, it moreover aids arterialising of blood, and hence is also useful in congestion and purpura. It is a frequent constituent of cough mixtures. Digitized by Microsoft® DOSES AND PREPARATIONS 531 Professor Dick’s recipe for thick and broken wind con- sists of thirty grains each of calomel, digitalis, opium, and camphor, and its efficacy in great part depends upon the calomel regulating the bowels, while the other drugs abate the cardiac irritability so notable in such cases. Where the medicine must be persisted with daily for a week, or longer, the professor advised omission of the calomel. Digitalis relieves many cases of dropsy by regulating faulty heart-action, stimulating dilated capillaries, as well as by inducing diuresis. In pleuritic effusion, Professor Robertson gave horses digitalis, grs. xx. to grs, XxXx.; potassium nitrate, 3ij.; powdered cantharides, grs. iv. to grs. x., made into bolus, and repeated twice daily for a week. Diuresis is determined by prescribing digitalis with salines—a combination often useful in cardiac dropsy. The chief indications for the use of digitalis are an enfeebled, irritable, jerking, or irregular heart, deficient arterial pressure, venous engorgement, and scanty secretion of urine. It is more suitable for chronic than acute cases, for combating functional rather than organic mischief. As with other tonics, it is best tolerated in those weak and irritable states of the heart in which it is most serviceable. It is of little use in difficulty of breathing or dropsical con- ditions chiefly dependent on lung disease. It does harm in aortic disease or in hypertrophy, where the pulse continues strong, firm, and regular; or in enfeebled circulation dependent on advanced fatty degeneration. Nausea or irritability of the digestive organs, coldness of the extremities, unwonted force of the pulse-beats, indicate that the medicine should be stopped, or given in reduced amount. The effects of over- doses are combated by alcohol or other stimulants, and by keeping the patient perfectly quiet. Doses, etc.—Of the powdered leaves, horses take grs. xv. to grs. xxx.; cattle, 3ss. to 3j.; sheep and pigs, grs. v. to grs. x. ; dogs, gr. i. to grs. iv., in bolus or pill. These doses may be administered daily for a week, and are advantageously con- joined with potassium iodide, caffeine, or arsenic ; but digitalis is not very soluble or readily absorbed, and being moreover an in-contact irritant, should be used in a fluid form. Digitized by Microsoft® 532 STROPHANTHUS The infusion is made by digesting for fifteen minutes 60 grains of dried leaves with 20 ounces of distilled water. The tincture is made by maceration and subsequent perco- lation of 24 ounces dried leaves with one pint alcohol (60 per cent.), B.P. -It contains 543 grains to the fluid ounce, is about sixteen times the strength of the infusion, and is the most suitable preparation for cardiac cases. Horses and cattle take {Jii. to fZiv.; sheep, f3ss. to £3j.; dogs, MLij. to TILx. In commerce four varieties of digitalin are met with— (1) Homolle’s, or French ; (2) the German; (3) Nativelle’s and (4) digitalin-kiliani. Digitalin is upwards of five hun- dred times the strength of the tincture, and the dose for the horse is gr. #4; to gr. i. The several preparations are adminis- tered per orem. Even when diluted they are apt to irritate if given hypodermically or intratracheally. They are not always of uniform strength ; this depends upon the varying activity of the plants grown under different conditions, pro- longed keeping, variations in the method of preparation, and differing proportions of the active constituents. It is hence desirable, when using unfamiliar specimens of the drug, or its preparations, to begin with moderate doses, and narrowly watch their effects. STROPHANTHUS The dried ripe seeds of Strophanthus kombé, freed from the awns (B.P.). Nat. Ord.—Apocynacer. The ripened follicles contain upwards of a hundred oval acuminate seeds, about three-fifths of an inch long and one-sixth of an inch broad, covered with silky hairs; odour characteristic, taste very bitter. They contain 8 to 10 per cent. of an active, bitter, crystalline glucoside, strophan- thin, which is soluble in water and rectified spirit, insoluble in chloroform, or ether. Similar seeds are got from the S. hispidus. A paste prepared from strophanthus seeds is used in Africa as an arrow poison. Actions anp Usts.—The seeds and their active principle are muscle poisons. They augment the contractile power, Digitized by Microsoft® MEDICINAL USES 533 especially of striated muscles. They resemble digitalis and the bodies of that group. They are prescribed as cardiac tonics and diuretics. Professor Thomas Fraser has carefully investigated the actions of strophanthus and digitalis. The former, he reports, is more soluble, and hence more rapid in its actions; but it is also more quickly eliminated, and its effects are hence less durable, and the cumulative results credited to digitalis are not observed. Its efficacy does not, however, seem to be impaired by repetition. Full doses produce less gastro- intestinal disorder and less marked vascular contraction. Strophanthus acts more notably on striated muscle, digitalis on unstriated; strophanthus has less diuretic action, and may with safety be given more frequently and in larger doses than digitalis. Both increase the length and power of the heart systole, and hence strengthen and co-ordinate enfeebled or irregular action. Comparing the active prin- ciples, Professor Fraser found that a solution of ;),,5th digitalin paralysed the heart of a frog, but sg53.g5cth stro- phanthin was equally powerful. Strophanthin is therefore the most potent known heart tonic. Fréhner has experimented on various animals, and con- cludes that the lethal dose of strophanthus tincture is about half a gramme (74 minims) per kilogramme of. body-weight. Horses tolerate 100 grammes, dogs 10 to 20 minims of the tincture. Full doses, he states, are irritant, narcotic, pro- ducing hemorrhagic gastro-enteritis, colic, diarrhea, cramp, with some stupor. The cardiac action manifests two stages— (1) diminution of pulse-rate, with rise of temperature; (2) increase of pulse-rate, with diminution of temperature. Mepicivat Uses.—Strophanthus is prescribed to slow, strengthen, and steady feeble or faulty heart action. Com- bining cardiac tonic and diuretic effects, it is commended by Frohner in valvular disease, hydrothorax, hydropericarditis, ascites, and chronic nephritis. Dostrs.—Of the tincture, made with one part of seed to forty of alcohol (70 per cent.), horses and cattle take fZiv. to f3vi., and dogs Tv. to Mxv. Digitized by Microsoft® 534 SQUILL—BROOM SQUILL Seria. The bulb of Urginea Scilla, divested of its dry, membranous, outer scales, cut into slices, and dried (B.P.). Nat. Ord.—Liliacee. The large bulbs of this Mediterranean plant, when sliced and dried, have a faint odour and disagreeable, mucilaginous, bitter, acrid taste. The slices are easily reduced to powder. The active principle is a glucoside—scillain or scillitoxin— which is soluble in water, acetic acid, and alcohol. Actions, Uses, anp Doses.—Squill and its active principle, in full doses, are irritants, causing vomiting and purging; absorbed into the blood, they lower the pulse-rate and raise blood- pressure ; they are expectorant and diuretic. They resemble digitalis in paralysing voluntary muscle, acting as heart tonics, and producing diuresis. Large doses, or small doses too long continued, induce urinary irritation and hematuria. Squill is prescribed chiefly in those catarrhal and bronchial cases in which secretion is defective. Professor Robertson gave horses the syrup in fZiv. doses; dogs take Tx. to TLxv., conjoined, as the exigencies of the case require, with digi- talis, ammonium acetate solution, or camphor electuary. The vinegar and tincture are used in about half the dose of the syrup. Powdered squill is sometimes added to electu- aries. Horses may be given Ziv. to 3]. BROOM Scopartt Cacumina. The fresh and dried tops of Cytisus scoparius (B.P.). Mat. Ord.—Leguminose. The tops and other parts of the shrub contain a natural glucoside, scoparin (C,,H,,0,,), which has diuretic pro- perties and a volatile, oily, poisonous alkaloid, sparteine (C,,H,,N,), which resembles conine in some of its actions. Like digitalin and strophanthin it increases the force of the heart, and acts as a diuretic. Kaufmann states that it relieves inordinate heart action, regulates rhythm, and raises blood-pressure. The sulphate and periodide of sparteine, as well as the succus prepared from the fresh broom tops, are Digitized by Microsoft® BUCHU—UVA URSI—PAREIRA 535 occasionally prescribed in dropsies connected with heart disease, the dose of the succus for horses being f3j.; for dogs, Txx. to TLxxx. BUCHU Bucuu Foura. The dried leaves of Barosma_ betulina (B.P.). Nat. Ord.—Rutacee. Buchu is a shrub two to four feet high, and a native of the Cape of Good Hope. The leaves are smooth, dull yellow- green, with a strong, penetrating odour, a bitter aromatic taste, and varying in different species from half an inch to an inch and a half in length. Oil glands are distinctly visible in the leaves, especially near the margin. They con- tain a volatile oil, a bitter substance, and mucilage. Actions anp Uses.—Buchu is a mild, stimulating bitter, expectorant, and diuretic, and a disinfectant of the urino- genital mucous membrane. The oil or active principle is excreted by the kidneys and bronchial mucous membrane. Professor Robertson gave it to allay irritability in cystitis, using it either alone or along with borax or benzoic acid. The tincture of buchu—made with one of buchu to five of alcohol (60 per cent.)—is seldom prescribed. The dose of the infusion for horses or cattle is Zi. to Ziv. ; for dogs, 3]. to 3ij. The infusion is made with one part leaves and twenty parts of boiling water. Animals readily take this infusion when it is mixed with linseed tea or barley water. It is sometimes advantageously conjoined with belladonna, opium, hyoscyamus, potassium bromide, or saline diuretics. Bearberry leaves—the leaves of Arctostaphylos Uva-ursi —contain the bitter neutral extractive arbutin, which within the body is in part converted into hydroquinone, and is employed as a diuretic astringent, and antiseptic, in chronic vesical irritation. Pareira—the root of chondrodendron tomentosum, con- taining the active principle buxine, although not very reliable, is also used for the same purposes as buchu and uva-ursi. Digitized by Microsoft® 536 ACONITE The root of Collinsonia canadensis— stone or knob root— has been largely used in America as a remedy in inflam- mation of the urino-genital mucous membrane, and in spasmodic colic in men and animals; and Dr. T. Oliver, Newcastle-on-Tyne, with 15 grains of extract, repeated thrice daily, gradually reduced the pus in several cases of cystitis in man, which had defied other treatment (Lancet, 1888). ACONITB AconITE—Monkshood. Wolfsbane. Blue Rocket. Aconi- tum. The root. of Aconitum Napellus. Collected in the autumn from plants cultivated in Britain, and dried. Nat. Ord.—Ranunculacee. AconitTina.—Aconitine. An alkaloid obtained from Aconite Root, and having the formula C,,H,,NO,. (B.P.) Botanists have numbered twenty-two species, and upwards of a hundred varieties of aconite, which are common throughout the cooler mountainous countries of both hemi- spheres. Some species are eaten as vegetables, some are bitter tonics; but others, as the Aconitum ferox, Sinense, and Napellus, are sedative poisons. The last of these, the common officinal species, is a doubtful native of Britain, but often grown for its flowers in gardens and shrubberies. Its several varieties are herbaceous, with perennial, tapering, carrot-shaped, brown roots, with lateral rootlets, from which after the first year’s growth, are formed one or more oval tubers, at first nourished by the decaying parent root; several annual, erect, glabrous stems two to five feet high ; numerous alternate dark-green leaves ; long-stalked, helmet- shaped blue or purple flowers, which form loose terminal racemes, and appear in June or July; and dry, black, angular seeds, which ripen about the end of August. Aconite root, from which the tincture, liniment, and alka- loid are prepared, varies from two to four inches long, and from half an inch to nearly an inch thick at the crown, which is: knotty ; is brown externally, but pinky white within ; conical, rapidly tapering, prominently marked, with the bases of the rootlets, and of an earthy odour—characters which Digitized by Microsoft® ACTIONS AND USES 537 distinguish it from the larger, longer, more uniformly cylindrical, white, pungent, bitter root of horse-radish, for which aconite root has sometimes been fatally mistaken. According to Professor Schroff, Vienna, the root is six times as active as the other parts, and should be taken up after the plant has flowered in autumn, when it is in perfection, or before the new stem rises in spring, cut into small pieces, and dried at a low temperature. The leaves are less active than the root, but more so than the flowers, fruit, or stem. Any part of an active aconite, when slowly chewed, produces a peculiar sensation of tingling, and numbness of the lips and tongue. The chief active principle—aconitina (C,,H,,NO,,)—is obtained by a tedious process from the powdered root. It occurs in colourless, hexagonal rhombic prisms, nearly in- soluble in water, but readily soluble in alcohol, chloroform, and ether. Its salts are crystalline. Two other alkaloids, Benzaconine and Aconine, have been obtained from aconite root. In the plants the alkaloids are united with aconitic acid (C,H,O,), and according to Cash and Dunstan neither the composition nor the constitution of the chief alkaloid, -aconitine, can yet be regarded as settled. Actions anp Uses,—Anodyne and sedative, acting specially ‘on the peripheral endings of sensory nerves, on the heart, and on respiration. Aconite kills by respiratory arrest. Its physiological actions as a cardiac and respiratory sedative render it a febrifuge ; it is also diaphoretic and diuretic. It is prescribed in acute febrile conditions, and in the earlier stages of acute local inflammation. It is used topically to relieve pain. Generat Actions.—Locally applied, in virtue of its action ‘on sensory nerves, aconite produces first irritation, tingling and twitching, and subsequently numbness and anesthesia. Aconite tincture is rapidly absorbed and quickly passes into the tissues, as is shown by the blood of a poisoned dog, five minutes after the drug has been administered, being trans- ferable into the veins of another dog without producing the physiological action of the poison. Full medicinal doses administered by the mouth induce Digitized by Microsoft® 538 ACONITE salivation, champing of the jaws, movements of swallowing, and nausea, and cause in dogs and cats vomiting, and in horses, ruminants, and rabbits retching and eructation of frothy mucus. The topical irritant action is exerted not. only on the stomach, but sometimes on the bowels, which are affected by spasms and diarrhea, while the secretions of the skin and kidneys are also increased. Within fifteen to- twenty minutes the strength and frequency of the heart- beats are reduced, and blood-pressure is lowered. These effects on the circulation appear to depend upon paresis of the motor ganglia in the heart, as well as of the vagus roots. in the medulla, and of the vaso-motor centres. From the impaired circulation, the skin secretion is increased, tempera-. ture is lowered, and general muscular weakness ensues. Kaufmann records that subcutaneous injection of aconitina, in moderate doses in dogs, lowered the temperature from 38'5° Cent. to 367° Cent.; while intravenous injection in horses reduced the temperature from 37-4° Cent. to 371° Cent. (Traité de Thérapeutique et de Matiere Médicale Vétérinaires). Partly from the reduced circulatory force, and partly from the drug directly depressing the respiratory centre, breathing is slow and deepened, and exhibits a dis- tinct expiratory effort. When large or repeated doses have been given, cardiac action becomes irregular, and often quickened, but tension remains low; the breathing becomes. still slower, shallower, and more laboured ; after every two or three respirations there is a distinct pause in expiration. Convulsions, mainly due to asphyxia, sometimes precede death, which generally results from failure of respiration. The brain and special senses are unaffected. The pupil, which in the earlier stages of poisoning is sometimes. dilated and sometimes contracted, during the later stages. remains dilated. Aconite is removed from the body chiefly in the urine, augmenting both its solid and fluid parts. Toxic Errects.—Aconite exerts tolerably uniform effects upon all animals, especially when injected hypodermically. Horses have been poisoned within two or three hours by 120 to 150 minims of Fleming’s tincture, given by the mouth. Cattle, however, sometimes receive large doses without fatal Digitized by Microsoft® EXPERIMENTS 539 effects. Dogs weighing 40 lbs. are killed usually within half an hour by 50 to 60 minims of Fleming’s tincture ; cats by 10 minims. But half these doses are liable to produce alarming symptoms. Full medicinal doses sometimes leave untoward effects; pulse, blood-pressure, and breathing may continue reduced for ten or twelve hours, while nausea and impaired appetite may remain for several days. The following experiments on horses were made at the Edinburgh Veterinary College many years ago by my lamented friend, Mr. Barlow, and myself :— A black mare, 154 hands high, previously used for slow work, and in good health, got, at 12.40 p.m, one fluid drachm of Fleming’s tincture of aconite. At 1 she was nauseated, had eructations of frothy mucus, with attempts to vomit, which increased till 1.30, when she went down. The pulse, which was 35 before administration of the poison, was now 60, and very weak ; she continued down till 7 p.m, when she was destroyed, in consequence of being unable to stand. An aged chestnut cab horse, 16 hands high, and useless from quittor, was tied up for ten minutes, to ensure perfect quietude. The pulse was then found to be 56, and the respirations 12. The animal had a good appetite and regular evacuations. At 10 o’clock he got ninety minims of Fleming's tincture of aconite in a linseed meal ball, the head being still kept tied up for fifteen minutes. In half an hour he fed greedily on potatoes and beans, but no change was observable. At1 p.m. he got fifty minims of the same tincture in four ounces of water. At 1.15 he appeared to be making continual efforts to swallow something ; his mouth was closed ; and, after such attempts at swallowing, air and fluid were regurgitated up the gullet, causing a rattling noise, as of air-bubbles mixed with water. At 1.20 the pulse was 50; symptoms of actual nausea appeared ; the muscles on the side of the neck and throat were contracted, the muzzle brought near to the breast, the lips retracted, and the mouth slightly opened. Fits of retching came on every two minutes, and increased in violence during the next ten or fifteen minutes. 1.30.—During each paroxysm of retching the mouth was opened, the lips retracted, and four or five ounces of frothy mucus discharged on the ground. The pulse had fallen to 40, and become weak. On account of the retching, the respirations could not be counted. Sweating broke out over the body ; the mucous membranes of the mouth, nose, and eyes were pallid, and there were fibrillary twitchings of the muscles, especially about the head and neck. 2 Pp.m.—Pulse 38, and weak ; the respirations not easily counted, but probably about 9 ; in other respects no change. The animal passed feces and urine freely ; and, shortly after taking a pint of cold water, lay down somewhat relieved, with the retching scarcely so frequent. At 2.30 the pulse was somewhat weaker ; the breathing irregular, interrupted, and sighing; and the animal unable to rise. The labial and nasal muscles were contracted, causing retraction of the lips, and disclosing the gums blanched, and the teeth covered with frothy mucus. Two bottles of strong ale were given, with half an ounce of spirit of ammonia. At 3 p.m. the pulse was 35, and still weaker than before ; respiration was somewhat accelerated, probably owing to the animal being down ; profuse sweating continued and the retching, though somewhat subsided, still came on about every ten minutes. The animal remained down without much change until about 6, when the nausea was somewhat Digitized by Microsoft® 540 ACONITE POISONING diminished, but the pulse so weak as to be scarcely perceptible. He was raised with difficulty, and stood, blowing much, for fifteen minutes. At 7 there was little change ; the pulse remained imperceptible, the respirations about 20, and there was no appetite for food or drink. He was left with the expectation of finding him dead next morning, but at 7 a.m. he was up and eating. His pulse was 65, his respirations 10, and his appearance very haggard and reduced. He continued in much the same state for a week, never regained his former look or appetite, for two days was unable to rise or stand, and became much wasted. He was destroyed by six drachms of prussic acid ; but, on post-mortem examination, every part except the lungs seemed healthy. These organs, more especially the right one, were extensively studded with patches of extravasated blood about the size of walnuts, which, in those parts connected with the pulmonary tissue, were more or less softened, and emitted an odour characteristic of heated, decomposed blood. The rusty fluid produced from the softening had in various places passed into the bronchi, imparting to their frothy mucus a brown colour. The following experiments on cats and dogs were made at the Edinburgh Royal (Dick’s) Veterinary College many years ago :— A cat of average size got seven minims of Fleming’s tincture of aconite. In two minutes severe retching came on, with a copious supply of saliva, probably arising from paralysis of the fauces ; and in five minutes painful vomiting and involuntary muscular contractions of a most active kind, with perverted action of the voluntary muscles, causing the animal to leap up the wall and turn somersaults backwards. In this, as in most other cases, the pupil, at first somewhat contracted, ultimately became dilated. The pulse was reduced in volume and strength, shortly becoming very weak ; the breathing was gasping. The vomiting and inordinate muscular action continued until within two or three minutes of death, which took place twenty minutes after the administration of the poison. No morbid or peculiar post-mortem appearances were observable. A medium-sized Scotch terrier got thirty minims of Fleming’s tincture. In five minutes painful and active vomiting came on, which must have effectually emptied the stomach. The retching and vomiting continued, however, for half an hour, when the animal was so exhausted and paralysed in its hind extremities as to be unable to walk, except by supporting itself on its fore-limbs and dragging the hind-quarters. It gradually recovered, however, in about two hours. In some cases a drachm of Fleming’s tincture has destroyed dogs with as much rapidity as an equal quantity of prussic acid. After death the lungs are collapsed, and contain little blood; the trachea and bronchi contain excess of frothy mucus, accumulating owing to paralysis of the respiratory muscles and glottis; the cavities of the right heart are greatly distended with blood; the left heart is nearly empty ; there are ecchymoses of the lungs, pleura, and endocardium ; the digestive organs are normal. Awntipores—If the patient is seen immediately after Digitized by Microsoft® MEDICINAL USES 541 swallowing the poison, endeavour should be made to empty the stomach by an emetic or the stomach-pump. Alcoholic and ammoniacal stimulants are given. Ether, digitalis, or atropine should be used hypodermically to antagonise the sedative effects of aconite on the heart and breathing. Warmth, and infriction of the chest-walls with stimulating liniment also assist in maintaining cardiac and respiratory action. Mepicinat Uses.—Aconite is more used by British than by German practitioners. Fréhner states that there are other safer febrifuges. Cagny indicates its more general use in France, and characterises it as the grand vaso-motor sedative, slowing the circulation in acute fever. Kaufmann designates it a very precious febrifuge in the early stages of all internal inflammatory maladies, especially of the air-passages. Medi- cinal doses, as already stated, within ten or fifteen minutes reduce the number and lessen the force and tension of the pulsations, lower abnormal temperature, and relieve pain. The arteries being dilated, the capacity of the vascular systein is increased, and, as Dr. Fothergill aptly puts it, ‘the patient bleeds into his own vessels,’ sometimes with conse- quent relief of limited inflammation. In virtue of these physiological actions, carefully regulated doses are beneficial in fever and acute inflammation in robust patients, as in the earlier stages of pleurisy, enteritis, peritonitis, mammitis, lymphangitis, laminitis, and acute rheumatism. Pharyngitis in horses, accompanied by high fever, is sometimes controlled by a moderate dose, followed at intervals of an hour by half- doses, repeated until five or six have been given. In the more common epizootic sore-throat of influenza, aconite is useless, and indeed injurious. Although serviceable in pharyngitis, laryngitis, and pleurisy, it is too reducing a remedy to be used in most cases of bronchitis or pneumonia. Professor Williams recommends it in equine pleurisy and pneumonia, where pyrexia is considerable, but does not find it so serviceable for these complaints in dogs (Principles and Practice of Veterinary Medicine). Conjoined with a purgative, aconite is sometimes prescribed in spasmodic colic. In enteritis in horses, Mr. Hill states Digitized by Microsoft® 542 ACONITE that, within five minutes after aconite tincture is swallowed he has repeatedly found the pulse fall from 100 to 70 beats per minute, and this notable effect is usually succeeded by gradual abatement of fever and pain (Veterinarian, 1871). Professor Robertson prescribed in enteritis Mv. Fleming’s tincture, and 3ss. each of camphor and powdered opium in a pint of gruel (Zquine Medicine). Mr. Richard Rutherford informs me that he finds aconite specially useful in laminitis. The patient, he urges, should be hobbled and thrown, especially when all four feet are affected. A full dose, followed by four or five half-doses, given at intervals of one to two hours, abates violent cardiac action, fever, and pain. In acute rheumatism it usually relieves both febrile symptoms and local pain. Mr. Connochie, Selkirk, in the treatment of acute rheumatism, after a dose of physic conjoined with opium, recommends thrice daily, for either horses or cattle, T|x. Fleming’s tincture and a drachm of nitre. Repeated small doses are beneficial in the outset of metro-peritonitis in cattle; and some flockmasters use aconite tincture with success during the lambing season, giving it with gruel to ewes which have a hard time, begin to blow, or show febrile symptoms. Conjoined with perfect quiet and a dose of physic, small doses of aconite have been used in the earlier stages of tetanus by Mr. Thomas Dollar and Mr. Macgillivray (Veterinarian, 1871). In small, frequently repeated doses, either alone or with hemlock, it usually controls and steadies tumultuous, excessive, or irregular action of the hypertrophied heart, especially in plethoric patients. Although administered for other pur- poses, it frequently leads to the expulsion of intestinal worms. Paralysing sensory nerves, aconite is used externally as a local anodyne in neuralgic and rheumatic affections, and for swollen and painful joints. As with other anodynes, it is more effective in combating irritative than inflammatory pain. It frequently relieves the itching of dermatitis and eczematous eruptions in horses and dogs. More rapid absorption and greater anodyne effect are secured by adding a little chloroform to the aconite tincture or liniment. The Digitized by Microsoft® DOSES AND ADMINISTRATION 543 external application of aconite, it must be remembered, demands, however, almost as much care as its internal use. Dosss, etc.—The plant is not used in the crude state. The extract, unless very carefully made from an alcoholic solution, is apt to be of defective or irregular strength. The B.P. tincture (1 in 20), now made with two-fifths of the proportion of root ordered in the B.P. of 1885, is convenient alike for internal and external use. For horses, the dose varies from Txxv. to 3j.; for cattle, f3ss. to fZiss.; for sheep and pigs, Mx. to Mxx.; for dogs, Tlij. to Mx. Fleming’s tincture (1 in 14), still used in veterinary practice, is very much stronger than the B.P. tincture, and, on account of its concentration, requires to be used carefully. The dose for horses is from Tv. to T|xx.; for cattle, from Tx. to T[xxx.; for sheep, Mlij. or MLiij.; and for dogs, from Mss. to Tj. Hither tincture should be given in several ounces of cold water. The effects of full doses sometimes continue for twelve or fifteen hours. Small and repeated doses are preferable to larger doses at longer intervals. The first may be a full dose, and may be followed by five or six half-doses, repeated, as the case appears to require, at intervals of from half an hour to two hours. The antipyretic effects which should thus be produced are usually kept up by salines and other treatment. Used hypodermically, less than half the above quantities suffice. Professor Walley taught that the activity of aconite is increased by giving it in combination with alkaline carbonates. The liniment of aconite (1 in 14), made with powdered root, camphor and rectified spirit, is occasionally used. It should not be applied to a wound. Aconitine is one of the most potent of sedative poisons. Dr. Headland (Lhe Action of Medicines) records that 345th of a grain in solution in water suffices to destroy a mouse; zioth of a grain kills a small bird after a few minutes, and zoth almost instantaneously; =y4th to j~,th kills cats, the latter quantity in twenty minutes or half an hour. Half a grain, given to a shepherd’s dog weighing 30 lbs., began to operate in three or four minutes, and proved fatal in sixty- five minutes. The lethal dose for an adult man is ~,th grain. Mavor and Burness subcutaneously injected over the Digitized by Microsoft® 544 IPECACUANHA scapula of a horse th grain, and noted in a few minutes champing of the teeth, salivation, fits of retching, and reduced number and force of the pulsations (The Action of Medicines). Majors Smith and Rutherford, of the Army Veterinary Department, kindly placed at my disposal the unpublished notes of four experiments made on healthy horses with aconitina. One grain of the alkaloid was dissolved in one ounce of water, and 10 minims, containing ;,th grain, were injected hypodermically into the anterior region of the chest of two geldings. Within ten minutes there were produced biting and licking at the site of puncture, persistent shaking of the head, yawning, pawing; increase of pulse in one sub- ject to the number of ten beats, in the other of two beats; no change of temperature occurred. The effects disappeared in one and a half hour. Two horses had injections of 15 minims of the above solu- tion with 15 minims of water, the dose containing A,nd grain aconitina. The same effects resulted ; but pawing and move- ments of the head were more marked ; both subjects coughed and sneezed; while one occasionally belched, ground its teeth, and showed indications of pain; the pulse, previously 38 and soft, rose to 52 beats, and was firmer; there was no change of temperature, and no increased secretion from skin, bowels, or kidneys, and in about two hours the symptoms passed off. These and other experiments indicate that for hypodermic use zyth to jth grain of aconitine is a sufficient dose for the horse. As with other preparations, administered either hypodermically or otherwise, the effects may be increased and maintained by repeating half the dose three or four times, at intervals of half an hour or an hour. IPECACUANHA IpEcacuanHa. Ipecacuanhe radix. The dried root of Psycho- tria Ipecacuanha (B.P.). Nat. Ord.—Rubiacee. The Psychotria Ipecacuanha is a Brazilian shrub two or three feet high. The root, the only officinal part, occurs in Digitized by Microsoft® MEDICINAL USES 545 twisted, knotted pieces, two to four inches in length, of the thickness of a quill. The tough, white, internal woody matter is inert; the brittle brown bark, marked with un- equal rings, contains the active principle. The powder is grey-brown, has an acrid, bitter taste, a faint, nauseous odour, and communicates its properties to hot water, alcohol, and diluted acids. Besides other plant constituents, it con- tains an odorous volatile oil, the amorphous red-brown tannin called ipecacuanhic or cephaélic acid, and the alka- loids emetine (C,,H,,0O,N,) and cephaeline (C,,H,,N,0O,). Emetine is a colourless powder, slightly bitter, soluble in ether, alcohol, and chloroform, but not in caustic potash. Neutralises acids, forming crystalline salts. A volatile alka- loid has also been isolated. Actions anp Uses.—Ipecacuanha and emetine are topical irritants and emetics. When absorbed they dilate blood- vessels, reduce blood-pressure, increase secretion, notably from the bronchi, intestines, skin, and liver. They are used as expectorants and diaphoretics, and occasionally, in small doses, as stomachics. Ipecacuanha powder, and emetine, like tartar emetic, when applied locally, irritate the skin and mucous membranes. When swallowed by dogs or other carnivora, they produce similar in-contact irritation, stimulate the ends of the vagus, causing vomiting, and when absorbed into the blood like- wise produce emesis by irritation of the vomiting centre. Full doses induce gastro-enteritis, with congestion, and cedema of the respiratory mucous membrane and lungs. Professor Rutherford found that 60 grains of ipecacuanha powerfully stimulated the liver of dogs; 3 grains given to a dog weighing 17 lbs. produced no purgation, but increased the mucus secreted from the small intestine. Bracy Clark states that 3 ounces kill a horse. It is more active when given in solution than in bolus. It is eliminated by the kidneys, intestinal mucous surface, and the skin (Binz). Mepicivat Uses.—As an emetic for dogs, cats, or pigs, it acts more slowly and gently than zinc or copper sulphates, and is less nauseating than tartar emetic. As an anti- emetic, drop doses of the vinum, conjoined with morphine 2M Digitized by Microsoft® 546 IPECACUANHA—EMETINE or chlorodyne, are sometimes serviceable in dogs. Given in doses insufficient to cause emesis, or used in horses or other animals which do not vomit, it promotes secretion of bron- chial mucus, and hence is serviceable in the dry stages of catarrh and bronchitis. Mr. Thomas A. Dollar frequently gives a drachm of powdered ipecacuanha with an ounce of ammonia acetate solution, in ten ounces of water, repeating the dose several times daily. Following the practice of human medicine, American practitioners prescribe it as a remedy for dysentery, in half-drachm doses, for horses and cattle, and Professor Robertson also recommended it in these cases, in conjunction with opium. Doszs, etc.—Of the powder, as an emetic, dogs take grs. xv. to grs. XXV.; cats, gYS. V. tO grs. X11; P1gs, BTS. XX. tO OTS. Xxx., given in tepid water, either alone or with half a grain to a grain of tartar emetic. Mr. Mayhew recommends for the dog,—ipecacuanha, gers. iv., tartar emetic, gr. }, with anti- monial wine, f3j. to f3ij., dissolved in tepid water, f3j., and repeated every half-hour until vomiting takes place. Some practitioners use Dover’s powder, or its pharmaceutical imitation, made by triturating together one part each ipeca- cuanha and opium, and eight parts potassium sulphate. Of this expectorant and diaphoretic, horses and cattle take Ji. to Zij.; sheep, grs. xxx. to Ji.; dogs, grs. x. to grs. xv.; cats, grs. li. to grs. v., repeated several times daily, the patient supplied with plenty of diluents, and kept comfortably clothed, and in an atmosphere of about 60° Fahr. The wine is prepared with an ounce of the liquid extract of ipecacuanha and ten fluid ounces of sherry. Emetine, when inhaled even in minute amount, irritates the mucous membrane of the air-passages, and induces symptoms analogous to hay-fever. Two grains swallowed by a dog caused violent vomiting, increased secretion of mucus from the respiratory and alimentary membranes, in- flammation of the stomach and intestines, stupor, and death in twenty-four hours (Magendie). It is eliminated by the mucous membranes and liver, increasing secretion of bile. large doses lower temperature, relax voluntary muscles, and kill by cardiac paralysis (Dr. A. E. D. Ornellas, Pharma- Digitized by Microsoft® VERATRINE 547 ceutical Journal, 1874). Emetine hydrochloride (or hydro- bromide) has been prescribed as a gastric stimulant for cattle and sheep, and as an emetic for dogs. Doses—Cattle, grs. lil. to grs. vi.; sheep, gr. i. to grs. ij.; dogs, gr. + to gr. i. Administered subcutaneously. For hypodermic use the emetine salt is dissolved in equal parts of water and alcohol. VERATRINE Veratrina. An alkaloid, or mixture of alkaloids, obtained from Cevadilla, the dried ripe seeds of Schcenocaulon officinale (B.P.). Nat. Ord.—Liliacez. It is prepared from Cevadilla by precipitation with ammonia. It is pale grey, amorphous, odourless, bitter, and acrid, insoluble in water, but soluble in spirit, in ether, and in diluted acids. In nitric acid it dissolves, yielding a yellow solution, and, warmed with hydrochloric acid, pro- duces a blood-red colour. Commercial specimens are said to consist of veratrine and two other alkaloids, cevadine and cevadilline, resembling jervine, an alkaloid of green hellebore. Actions anp Uses.—Veratrine is a topical irritant and subsequent paralysant, especially of the heart and other muscles, and is sometimes used to relieve rheumatic and neuralgic pains, and as a parasiticide and vermin-killer. Genera Actions.—Rubbed into the skin or placed upon a mucous surface, it causes irritation and then numbness, similar to that produced by aconite, and depending upon irritation, followed by paralysis of sensory nerve endings. When inhaled it induces violent sneezing ; when swallowed in considerable doses it causes gastro-enteritis, followed by col- lapse. It isa nervo-muscular poison, first exciting, afterwards depressing and paralysing the peripheral terminations of motor, sensory, and secretory nerves. It produces prolonged mus- cular contraction, followed by paralysis. Minimum doses increase muscular power. Its effect on the heart muscle is similar to that on voluntary muscles. Under the influence of large doses the heart’s action becomes slower and weaker, then irregular and intermittent, and finally arrested. Its actions closely resemble those of Veratrum viride and V. album. Digitized by Microsoft® 548 VERATRINE Toxic Errects—Magendie found that one grain of veratrine acetate killed a dog in a few seconds when injected into the jugular vein, and in nine minutes when injected into the peritoneum. One or two grains swallowed by dogs caused great uneasiness, nausea, vomiting, violent purging, slow- ness of respiration, slowness and irregularity of circulation, extreme prostration of strength, spasmodic twitching, and subsequently paralysis of the voluntary muscles, especially those of the extremities, and death from respiratory arrest, usually amid convulsions. Horses swallowing five or six grains, or one-fifth of these doses hypodermically, are sali- vated, sweat profusely, have trembling of external muscles, and violent contractions of the gastro-intestinal muscles, with efforts to vomit. Similar doses in cattle produce emesis (Kaufmann). The appropriate antidotes are stimulants, warm coffee, potassium carbonate solution, and perfect quiet; tannin, acetate of ammonia, and opium. MepicivaL Uses.—For its febrifuge and analgesic actions it has been prescribed in such febrile diseases as acute pneu- monia, pleurisy, peritonitis, rheumatism, and laminitis; but it must be used with extreme caution. In persistent cases of shoulder rheumatism in horses Friedberger recommends 4 to 1} grains, dissolved in alcohol, to be deeply injected into the affected muscles daily, beginning with the smaller amount, and gradually increasing it, intermitting the treat- ment every fourth or fifth day, and walking the patient after each injection until the general excitement produced abates. Kaufmann prescribes it in muscular atony and in chronic intestinal catarrh. Muller recommends it hypo- dermically in locomotor paralysis; and Berre considers it is the best gastric stimulant for cattle. Externally, the ointment, made with 1 of veratrine, 4 of oleic acid, and 45 of lard, is used to relieve rheumatic and neuralgic pains, and as an insecticide. Doszs, etc.—Horses per orem take gr. i. to grs. ij., but hypodermically not more than gr. i, at least for a first dose; cattle (hypodermic injection), grs. 24 to grs. 4 in 60 to 100 tainims of alcohol. Dogs take per orem gr. J,th; hypoder- mically, not more than gr. gyth, in weak spirit. Digitized by Microsoft® VERATRUM (VIRIDE AND ALBUM) 549 VERATRUM (VIRIDE AND ALBUM) VeratriI Viripis Ruizoma. Green Hellebore Rhizome. The dried rhizome and rootlets of Veratrum viride. (Not official.) Veratri ALBI Ruizoma. White Hellebore Rhizome. Dried rhizome and rootlets of Veratrum album. (Not official.) Nat. Ord.—Colchicacez or Melanthacee. The Veratrum viride is a native of North America, the V. album is indigenous in many parts of Continental Europe. Both have a bitter acrid taste, excoriate the mouth and fauces when chewed, and produce sneezing when the powder is inhaled. They contain about a half of one per cent. of the several alkaloids—jervine (C,,H,,NO;), pseudo-jervine, cevadine, with traces of veratrine. Actions anp Uses.—Both the viride and album are motor depressants, closely allied in physiological action to vera- trine, and resembling aconite and tobacco. They slow and weaken the action of the heart, and cause muscular weak- ness; nausea, and in men and dogs vomiting. Fuller doses induce extreme rapidity, weakness, and imperceptibility of the pulse, partial unconsciousness, and collapse. The album is more powerful than the viride. Professor H. C. Wood states that jervine depresses the functions of the spinal cord and cardiac ganglia, producing muscular and cardiac weakness, while concurrently it irri- tates the motor centres of the brain, inducing convulsions. Death ensues from paralysis of respiration. Toxic Errecrs.— Waldinger states that two ounces vera- trum album caused in horses increased salivation, efforts to vomit, and relaxed bowels. Rytz declares that one ounce induces purgation and gastric derangement. Mr. Miller (Edinburgh Veterinary Review, 1863) records that a three- year-old filly accidentally ate about two ounces of the powdered root, and in half an hour was in much pain, frothing at mouth, attempting to vomit, heaving at the flanks, with a full pulse, numbering 40; painful spasms, involving especially the muscles of the neck, injection of the Digitized by Microsoft® 550 VERATRUM (VIRIDE AND ALBUM) mucous membranes of the nostrils and eyes, stiffness in walking, and, after a few hours, partial paralysis of the hind limbs. The filly was bled, and had drachm doses of tannin given in starch gruel. In three hours the symptoms abated, gradual recovery took place, and in four days she was again at work. Dogs are liable to suffer from absorption of strong dress- ings. Mr. Howard records that liberal application of vera- trum ointment causes nausea, sometimes vomiting, accelerated and weakened action of the heart, short, catching, and moan- ing respiration, prostration, with death sometimes in four hours. Congestion of the mucous membrane of the stomach, lungs, and heart was notable post-mortem (Veterinarian, 1873). The antidotes consist of demulcents, diffusible stimulants to counteract cardiac depression, and morphine to relieve nausea and gastric irritation. Infusions of tannin form insoluble compounds with the unabsorbed alkaloids. Mepicina, Uses.—As a sedative in acute inflammatory diseases veratrum was highly spoken of by Percivall and Morton, who prescribed it for horses in doses of 20 to 30 grains, repeated every four or five hours. But its actions are irregular and uncertain. For neuralgic and rheumatic cases it has been superseded by tincture of aconite. For the destruction of lice, for setons, and as an addition to blisters— objects for which it is still occasionally used—there are more fitting agents. Active preparations have the disadvantage of sometimes being absorbed and producing untoward con- stitutional effects. Doses, etc.—Of the powdered rhizome horses and cattle take 3ss. to 3j.; sheep and pigs, grs. xx. to grs. xxx.; dogs, gr. zy to gr. 3, given in bolus, or dissolved in dilute alcohol, and repeated at intervals of three or four hours. It is used externally in the several forms of powder, watery decoction improved by a little spirit, and ointment made with one part of veratrum to eight of vaseline or lard. It is occasionally applied with tar or sulphur dressings. Digitized by Microsoft® CINCHONA BARKS 551 CINCHONA Rep Crycnona Bark. Cinchone Rubre Cortex. The dried bark of the stem and branches of cultivated plants of Cin- chona Succirubra. Wat. Ord.—Cinchonacee (Rubiacez), QUININE SULPHATE. Quinine Sulphas. The sulphate of an alkaloid obtained from the bark of various species of Cinchona and Remijia (B.P.). QUININE HypROCHLORIDE. Quinine Hydrochloridum. The hydrochloride of an alkaloid obtained from the bark of various species of Cinchona and Remijia (B.P.). The evergreen trees or tall shrubs which yield the medicinal barks were originally grown on the slopes and in the valleys of the Andes, but are now cultivated in British India, Ceylon, Java, and Jamaica. The bark, in 1639, was brought from Peru to Madrid, distributed by the Jesuits, and hence received the names of Peruvian and Jesuits’ bark. Of thirty-six known species, there are many varieties, yielding barks distinguished as pale, yellow, and red. The pale cinchonas, some of which are got from the stem and branches of the Cinchona officinalis and C. condaminea, are usually in single and double rolls, and yield more cinchonine than quinine. The yellow barks yielded by the C. calisaya and other species are commonly met with in flat pieces, eight to fifteen inches long, two to three wide, and two to four lines thick. They consist mostly of liber, are furrowed and brownish- yellow externally, fibrous and yellow-orange within. The transverse fracture shows numerous short fibres; the powder is cinnamon-brown ; the odour aromatic; the taste bitter without astringency. Good specimens yield 5 to 6 per cent. of quinine. The official or red bark is the produce of the C. suc- cirubra; imported in quilled or more or less in-curved pieces, two to twelve inches long, one-tenth to one-fourth inch thick. The pieces are red, rough, wrinkled, and coated with epiderm externally ; finely fibrous, with granular fracture, aud brick-red or deep red-brown internally; no marked Digitized by Microsoft® 552 CINCHONA— QUININE odour; taste bitter and somewhat astringent. It yields 5 to 6 per cent. of alkaloids. The cuprea barks from the Remijia—a genus nearly allied to cinchona and cascarilla—are now largely imported ; are dense, with a thin, longitudinally striated epidermis, and a smooth pale red inner surface; and besides quinine and quinidine, contain a special alkaloid, cinchonamine, but no cinchonidine (Phillips). Prorertizs.—The cinchona barks occur in quills, stripped. from the smaller branches, and curled into single or double rolls, and in flat pieces from the larger branches or trunk. They are dried in the sun, or on hurdles over fires. Their colour varies from deep yellow to red-brown, and is deepened by moisture. They have a faint odour, and a bitter, usually astringent taste. They are soluble in cold and hot water, and in alcohol; their best solvents are alcohol (70 per cent.), and diluted acids. The tests of quality and value are the general appearance, fracture, colour, odour, taste, and per- centage of the alkaloids, which are the active principles. Composition.—Besides ordinary plant constituents—lignin, starch, gum, resin, mineral matters, with traces of a volatile oil—cinchona bark contains (1) a series of active alkaloids ranging from 3 to 5 per cent.; (2) chinic and chinovic acids, with which the alkaloids are naturally united, but which have no very marked physiological actions; (3) tan- nins, recognised as cincho-tannic acid, constituting 1 to 3 per cent. of the bark, and conferring astringency; (4) a glucoside, chinovin; (5) a colouring matter, cinchona red. Quinine (C,,H,,N,0,) is present in all the Cinchona and Remijia barks. It is in the form of sulphate that quinine is generally prescribed in this country. From a watery solution of the sulphate the alkaloid may be precipitated by ammonia. It occurs in delicate acicular crystals, inodorous and intensely bitter. It requires for solution 900 parts of cold water, but is readily soluble in alcohol, ether, chloroform, ammonia, and diluted acids. It forms colourless, bitter, crystallisable salts, remarkable, like the alkaloid, for tonic and febrifuge properties. Quinine and its salts turn a ray of polarised light to the left. Aqueous solutions, acidulated, Digitized by Microsoft® ALKALOIDS AND SALTS 553 even when extremely diluted, exhibit blue fluorescence. Treated with chlorine or bromine solutions, and then with a drop of liquor ammonia, a green coloration is produced. Quiniping, is isomeric with quinine, but crystallises in larger prisms, is dextro-rotatory, and its salts are more soluble and of nearly the same activity. Crncnonine (C,,H,,N,O), is present in the bark of various species of Cinchona and Remijia. It is obtained from the mother-liquors, after crystallisation of sulphate of quinine. Like quinine, it is used in the form of sulphate, which occurs in hard, colourless prisms, having a feebly bitter taste. It is anhydrous, dextro-rotatory ; soluble in alcohol, and in thirty parts of water; its acidulated watery solution exhibits no fluorescence. It is the least active of the cinchona alkaloids, requiring to be given in double the dose of quinine. CincHonmpine, an alkaloid isomeric with cinchonine, is obtained from the mother-liquors of the crystallisation of sulphate of quinine. Like the other alkaloids, it is used as a sulphate, and is considerably more active than cinchonine. Quinine and cinchonine, when heated with excess of a mineral acid, are converted into amorphous isomeric alka- loids, termed respectively quinicine and cinchonicine. Quinine SupHare [(C,,H,,N,0,),, H,SO,],, 15H,0, contains 743 per cent. of the alkaloid. In filiform silky white crystals of an intensely bitter taste. Soluble in about 800 parts water, entirely soluble in water acidulated with a mineral acid, and in alcohol. Quinine Hyprocutorwe (C,,H,,N,0,, HCl, 2H,O) contains 83 per cent. of the alkaloid. In crystals resembling those of the sulphate but somewhat larger. Soluble in thirty-five parts cold water, and in three parts cold alcohol (90 per cent.), and very soluble in boiling water. Acw Quinine Hyprocatorme, is a white crystalline powder, soluble in less than its own weight of water, yielding a some- what acid liquid (B.P.). Actions anp Uses.—Cinchona bark is astringent from the presence of tannin, and antiseptic, tonic, and antipyretic owing to its alkaloids. These alkaloids have in concentrated form the several actions of the crude drug, but not its Digitized by Microsoft® 554 QUININE astringency. They differ only in the degree of their action. Quinine is the most powerful and most generally used. Small doses stimulate, large doses depress the functions of the organs with which they are brought into contact. Generat Actions.—Quinine and its salts combine with albumin, and have antiseptic properties nearly as marked as those of carbolic, benzoic, and salicylic acids, camphor, eucalyptol, or chloral-hydrate. One part to 830 hinders, one part to 625 prevents, development of anthrax bacilli (Koch). It diminishes fermentation, especially when depending upon such organised ferments as the alcoholic, lactic, or butyric. It checks oxidation, and lessens protoplasmic and amceboid movements. Similar antiseptic effects doubtless occur when quinine is administered, and afford explanation of most of its curative eftects. Quinine in the mouth, from its bitterness, reflexly in- creases the flow of saliva. Small or moderate doses stimulate the stomach and increase appetite; but large doses impair appetite, and may induce nausea and vomiting. Its effects on intestinal secretion and movement are unknown; but it does not increase secretion of bile. It is absorbed from mucous, serous, and areolar surfaces, especially when in perfect solution, and its effects are notable fifteen to twenty minutes later. Small doses stimulate, large doses depress. Small to moderate doses reduce the calibre of the blood-vessels, and increase the strength of the circulation, but large doses weaken cardiac action and diminish blood-pressure. Moderate doses quicken respiration, large doses slow and_ eventually paralyse it. Death results from respiratory failure. The brain functions are stimulated by small, but depressed by large doses. Sensory and motor nerves are affected only when the drug is locally applied. Tissue change is diminished. Experiments on dogs have shown that less oxygen is taken up, while less carbonic acid and albuminoid waste materials are excreted. Tem- perature, notably in febrile cases, is lowered. These effects may depend upon the antiseptic action of quinine, and may be connected with its property of increasing the size of the Digitized by Microsoft® MEDICINAL USES 555 red globules while diminishing their capacity to give up oxygen, and on its diminishing the number, contractility, and movements of the white blood-corpuscles. It diminishes all secretions except the urinary, which is increased. Repeated full doses contract the spleen and also the uterus, sometimes exciting abortion. This may result from large quantities causing gastro-intestinal irritation. That the drug has no specific ecbolic action appears to be proved by Dr. H. C. Wood’s experiments on healthy pregnant cats (Practitioner, 1879 and 1881). The headache, impaired sight and hearing, and other symptoms of cinchonism pro- duced in man by large or repeated doses, have not been distinctly recognised in the lower animals. Cinchona bark as a bitter tonic resembles cascarilla bark, calumba root, and hydrastis, the rhizome and rootlets of Hydrastis canadensis, or golden seal, which yields the alkaloids berberine and hydrastine. The antiseptic and febrifuge properties of quinine ally it to various substances of the aromatic carbon series, while the anti-malarial actions resemble those of arsenic. Mepicivat Usts.—The bark and its alkaloids are prescribed for all classes of patients as bitter stomachics and tonics. They improve appetite, check abnormal gastro-intestinal fermentation, and counteract relaxed conditions of the intes- tine and accumulations of mucus, which prove favourable to the development of worms. In troublesome cases of atonic indigestion in horses, where alkaline treatment has failed, Professor Robertson frequently gave 20 to 30 grains of quinine sulphate, with half a drachm to a drachm of nitric or hydrochloric acid. Weakly foals and calves affected by relaxed bowels, after a dose of oil, are often much benefited by a few doses of cinchona bark, hydrochloric acid, and spirit. Few tonics are so effectual as bark or quinine in im- proving appetite and muscular strength, and hastening convalescence from debilitating disease. In anemia they are advantageously joined with iron salts. They are service- able in the earlier stages of tuberculosis, in septicemia, and pyemia in all animals; in influenza, protracted cases of strangles, purpura, and other similar diseases in horses, in Digitized by Microsoft® 5456 CINCHONA—QUININE septic metritis in cows and ewes, and in lingering cases of distemper in dogs—their beneficial effects in these and other diseases probably depending on the action of quinine on micro-organisms or their products. | Drachm doses, con- joined with iron salts, repeated night and morning, are certainly the most effectual treatment for purpura. The sulphate, in doses of 240 to 350 grains, repeated if requisite, is strongly recommended as a remedy for red water in cattle (Veterinarian, 1900). In malarial diseases, which in various regions attack the lower animals as well as man, no remedies prove so effectual. Not only do they mitigate the febrile symptoms and cut short the attack, but full doses, given one or two hours before a periodical seizure, frequently prevent it. The antiseptic pro- perties of the drug explain this remarkable power. Mr. R. W. Burke, A.V.D., has successfully used drachm doses of quinine in malarial and other fevers affecting horses and cattle in India, and, where febrile symptoms run high, reports that the medicine, within an hour after administration, reduces the temperature 1° to 3°, and when persisted with prevents its subsequent rise (Veterinarian, 1887). It is often useful in rheumatism, being given either by the mouth or hypoder- mically, frequently conjoined with salicylic acid or potas- sium iodide. Mr. T. A. Dollar has successfully treated cases of rheumatism and sciatica in horses, which have resisted other remedies, by hypodermic injection into the affected muscles of half a drachm of quinine sulphate in solution, and has not found undue irritation or abscess follow the operation. Like other bitters, when administered with cathartics, it generally increases their activity. Alternated with cod-liver oil and iron, quinine is the best tonic for weakly dogs and those suffering from chorea. The alkaloids are seldom used as antiseptics for wounds, but occasionally in the form of spray or gargle are applied to relaxed or suppurating throat. Doszs, etc.—Cinchona bark is prescribed in the following doses:—For horses, 3ij. to Ziv.; for cattle, 3i. to 3ij.; for sheep and pigs, Ji. to Ziv.; for dogs, grs. xx. to Bi, repeated twice or thrice daily for several days. If nausea or vomiting Digitized by Microsoft® DOSES AND ADMINISTRATION 557 supervene, as occasionally happens in dogs, the dose should be considerably reduced or intermitted for a day or two. It is administered in bolus, pill, or solution, and is often con- joined with camphor, gentian, ginger, spirit, or ether. The infusion is made by digesting one part red bark with one- fourth part aromatic sulphuric acid and twenty parts water, and straining. The tincture, now standardised, is made by maceration and percolation of 4 ounces red bark in one pint of alcohol (70 per cent.). It contains 1 per cent. of alkaloids. The compound tincture, made with tincture of cinchona, orange peel, serpentary, cochineal, saffron, and alcohol (70 per cent.), is standardised to contain a half of 1 per cent. of alkaloids. The liquid extract of cinchona, contains 5 per cent. of alkaloids. The salts of quinine are prescribed in the following doses:—Horses and cattle, grs. xx. to 3i.; sheep and pigs, grs. v. to grs. xx.; dogs and cats, gr. i. to grs. viij. Cinchonine sulphate is given in double these quantities. These doses, in bolus, pill, or solution, are administered two or three times daily. Given in the fluid form, their solubility is increased and their bitterness diminished by prescribing them in an acidulated solution. They are also conveniently exhibited in milk. Any tendency to nausea or vomiting is abated by combination with hydro- bromic acid. Intratracheal injection, horses, grs. ii. to grs. viij. in two drachms distilled water. For hypodermic or intratracheal injection, a convenient solution of the sulphate (80 grains) is made with tartaric acid (40 grains) in 4 drachms of distilled water. Another equally useful hypodermic solu- tion is made with 15 grains quinine hydrochloride and 2} drachms distilled water, containing a minim of diluted hydrochloric acid. Quinine lactate, which is soluble in ten parts of water, is sometimes preferred for hypodermic administration. The cinchona alkaloids form comparatively insoluble compounds with bile, and hence before their ad- ministration any excess of bile should be cleared away by a laxative. They are often conjoined with other bitter tonics, and with capsicum, camphor, valerian, or salts of iron. The citrate of iron and quinine is sometimes used in canine Digitized by Microsoft® 558 SALICYLIC ACID practice, but it is better to prescribe a reliable quinine salt with a salt of iron. The tincture of quinine, made with the hydrochloride and the tincture of orange, contains one grain of the salt in 55 minims. The ammoniated tincture of quinine, made with the sulphate, solution of ammonia, and alcohol (60 per cent.), contains about one grain in 55 minims. Quini-chloral, a thick oily mixture of quinine and chloral, soluble in water and in alcohol, is stated to be superior, as a microcide, to corrosive sublimate. SALICYLIC ACID—SALICIN AND SODIUM SALICYLATE Acipum SauicyLticum. A Crystalline Acid, C,H,OH‘COOH, obtained by the interaction of sodium carbolate and carbonic anhydride; or from natural salicylates, such as the oils of winter-green (Gaultheria procumbens) and sweet birch (Betula lenta). (B.P.) Salicylic acid was originally prepared from salicin, a crystalline glucoside obtained from willow and poplar barks. It can also be extracted from the stems, leaves, and rhizomes of violets. In these plants, and in the volatile oils of the winter-green and various Spireas, it occurs asa methyl salicylate. But the commercial source is sodium phenol, through which carbonic acid gas is passed for several hours. The mixture is raised to 482° Fahr., the residue is dissolved in a limited quantity of water, and treated with hydrochloric acid, when salicylic acid is precipitated, and is subsequently crystallised. Com- mercial specimens frequently contain cresotic acid. Prorerties.—Salicylic acid, occurs as a soft, light, colour- less powder, consisting of minute acicular crystals; but it may be crystallised in bold four-sided prisms. It is odour- less, but when inhaled irritates the nostrils. It has a taste at first sweet, but subsequently bitter. It is soluble in 538 parts of water, 120 of olive oil, 200 of glycerin, 34 of rectified spirit, 2 of ether, and 8 of lard; and its solubility is in- creased by admixture with sodium borate or phosphate. It fuses at 311° Fahr., volatilises without decomposition below Digitized by Microsoft® ACTIONS AND USES 559 392° Fahr., but above that is decomposed into phenol and carbonic acid gas. Sodium salicylate may be obtained by the interaction of salicylic acid and sodium carbonate. In small, colourless scales, or in tabular crystals; odourless, taste sweetish and saline; soluble in water, and in 6 parts of rectified spirit. Actions anp Uses.—Salicylic acid belongs to the benzene or aromatic series of carbon compounds, and in chemical constitution and physiological action is allied to benzoic acid. It is antiseptic, antiperiodic, antipyretic, irritant and astringent, and is specially useful in the treatment of rheu- matism. The acid, its alkaline salts, and salicin have similar actions, but salicin is now little used. Geverat Acrions.—Salicylic acid, as an antiseptic, is less penetrating, but rather more powerful than carbolic acid or ereolin. It prevents fermentation and putrefaction. Watery solutions are more active germicides than the alcoholic or oily; they have no appreciable action on the intact skin, but on a mucous membrane, or a wound, they irritate, and coagulate albumin. Full doses of the powder or concentrated ‘solutions are in-contact irritants, provoking, when inhaled, sneezing and coughing, and when swallowed vomiting in carnivora and diarrhea in all animals. Sodium salicylate, until the acid is liberated, is devoid of irritant action and also of antiseptic power. Although not very soluble, the acid and its salts are tolerably quickly absorbed. In the blood the acid occurs as an alkaline salt, and its antiseptic power must hence be neutralised. Both acid and salt slow the pulse and breathing, lower blood-pressure, and diminish excretion of urea. In most men and dogs full, continued doses further cause nausea, occasional vomiting, and giddi- ness—symptoms which resemble those of cinchonism. In healthy animals the temperature is not affected, but in rheumatic and malarial fevers abnormal temperature is reduced, sometimes to the extent of several degrees. This antipyretic effect Frohner ascribes to an excess of carbonic anhydride, liberating salicylic acid. Clinical experience, however, does not indicate that carbonic anhydride abounds in cases in which the salicylate treatment reduces tempera- Digitized by Microsoft® 560 SALICYLIC ACID ture. Professor Rutherford found that the acid and its soda salt, like benzoic acid and benzoates, are hepatic but not intestinal stimulants, and render the bile watery. They are eliminated more quickly in vegetable than in flesh feeders (Fréhner). They are excreted in the perspiration, saliva, and urine, in which they appear as salicylates, and in com- bination with glycol, as salicyluric acid. They communicate to the urine a brown or green coloration, and retard its decomposition. Toxic doses are borne better by graminivora than grani- vora. Fréhner records that a healthy horse, weighing 1000 Ibs., received during three days 300 grammes (about 9} ounces). Slight dyspepsia resulted from irritation of the alimentary mucous membrane, but no toxic symptoms. A healthy sheep of 70 lbs. during three days had 50 grammes (14 ounce), but remained perfectly healthy. The like negative results also occurred in the case of a sheep o 65 lbs. which received in three days 65 grammes (2 ounces) of sodium salicylate. Dogs are not so tolerant; toxic effects were produced by 1 gramme (15:04 grains) for each 5 kilogrammes of body-weight. A dog 10 lbs. weight received 0°8 gramme in repeated doses during six hours; he vomited, had muscular trembling, and weakness of the hind limbs. A dog of 60 lbs, had 4 grammes, in divided doses, which caused weakness and cramp of the hind-quarters. A dog of 10 lbs. had 5 grammes sodium salicylate subcutaneously, and ex- hibited dyspneea, irregular pulse, dilated pupils, dulness, vomiting, lameness of the hind-quarters, convulsions, and fatal paresis. A dog of 18 lbs. was fatally asphyxiated by eight grammes injected into the rectum (Arzneimittel- lehre fiir Thierdrzte). Mepiciwat Uses.—The acid and its alkaline salts are service- able in arresting dyspeptic fermentation and diarrhcea in young animals. As bitters they are also gastric tonics. When administered in cases of gastro-intestinal irritation, the sodium salicylate, not being irritant, is preferable to the acid. The salicylate treatment is almost a specific for acute rheumatism in human patients. It frequently relieves the pain before the temperature or fever is abated. The Digitized by Microsoft® ACTIONS AND USES 561 beneficial results have been ascribed to the breaking up of lactic acid products. But British veterinarians have not found the treatment so effectual either in horses or cattle. In animals such attacks are chiefly of a chronic type, on which salicylic acid has not such marked effect as in the acute cases, and it may be that the doses prescribed have not been large enough, or given with sufficient frequency, or for a sufficient period. Mr. E. Price, Birmingham, is, however, satisfied with the effects on horses, and prescribes 10 grains, repeated every two hours, gradually increased to a drachm, and reports the disappearance of the rheumatic pains in forty-eight hours (Veterinarian, 1888). Fréhner uses both the acid and the sodium salt in muscular and arthritic rheu- matism in all animals, and states that chronic cases are benefited by continued doses, that good results need not be despaired of until the drug has been persisted with for ten or fifteen days, while to prevent relapse the administration is continued for some days after the symptoms have been relieved. Dogs are benefited especially where the joints are prominently affected. Mr. J. Gresswell adopts similar treatment in rheumatic arthritis and bad cases of foot- and-mouth disease in sheep (Veterinary Pharmacology and Therapeutics). In horses, as in human patients, a few, frequently repeated doses arrest attacks of acute catarrh when given in the earlier stages, and appear to have a similar power in gastro-intestinal and urinary catarrh. Froéhner recommends it in cystitis. Professor Robertson used it in equine influenza accompanied with gastro-intestinal symptoms. Other practitioners testify to its value in purpura and also in strangles. In zymotic and malarial fevers it is not so effectual as quinine. Feser and Friedberger have shown that it exerts no antipyretic effect in septic or pyeemic fever. Conjoined with tannic acid it is prescribed for obstinate diarrhcea in calves. In antiseptic surgery, salicylic acid is sometimes substi- tuted for or alternated with carbolic acid or creolin. It is serviceable in the treatment of canker and open joint, for abating the itching and discharge of eczema, for dressing sores on the teats of cows, washing out the uterus in metritis, 2N Digitized by Microsoft® 562 SALICYLIC ACID and with alcohol as an injection in otorrhea. Its antiseptic effects are increased by admixture of boracic acid. Doses, etc.—Horses and cattle take Ziv. to Jviij.; sheep and goats, 3j. to 3ij.; swine, grs. xxx. to grs. lx.; dogs, grs. v. to grs. xv. of the acid, every two to four hours, mixed with an equal quantity of borax to ensure solubility, and administered with mucilage or glycerin, in bolus, electuary or drench. Sodium salicylate and salicin are used in similar amounts. The larger doses are given in fevers; the smaller, repeated more frequently, in rheumatism, in the muscular form of which a solution may be injected deeply into the affected part. For surgical purposes convenient solutions are made by dissolving one part each of salicylic acid and borax in thirty to fifty parts of water. Ointments and liniments are prepared with one part acid, mixed in a heated mortar, with twenty to twenty-five of vaseline or bland oil. Salicylic cream, employed as a pigment for surgical wounds, is com- posed of two parts salicylic acid, and ten parts of glycerin. The B.P. ointment consists of one part acid, and forty-nine parts of white paraffin ointment. Lint, cotton-wool, or jute, soaked in 4 to 10 per cent. hot, watery solution, made with borax to ensure solubility, absorbs the acid, and is used as an antiseptic covering for wounds and burns in the same manner as carbolic, boric, or ‘Sanitas’ lint. Being unirritat- ing, salicylic lint is applied directly to abraded surfaces without the intervention of any protective. Iron salicylate, is antiseptic and astringent. Dithion, or di-thio-salicylate of sodium, a greyish-white powder, freely soluble in water, is antiseptic and antipyretic. In foot-and-mouth disease it has been given internally, and applied externally as a dusting-powder, and as a lotion (23 to 5 per cent.) to the sores of the mouth, feet, and udder (Lancet, 1892). Aspirin, formed by the action of acetic anhydride on salicylic acid, is a crystalline powder, soluble in 100 parts water, and in dilute alkalies. It passes through the stomach unchanged, and in the bowel is split up, salicylic acid being liberated. It is used as a substitute for sodium salicylate. Digitized by Microsoft® GENTIAN 563 GENTIAN GENTIAN& Rapix. The dried rhizome and roots of Gentiana lutea. (B.P.) Nat. Ord.—Gentianacee. The Gentiana lutea, or yellow gentian, has a perennial, often forked root, and an annual herbaceous stem, which rises three or four feet, and bears axillary whorls of yellow flowers. It abounds in most parts of temperate Europe, thrives best between 3000 and 5000 feet above the sea-level, and is extensively cultivated in the mountainous districts of the Alps, Vosges, and Pyrenees. All parts of the plant are bitter and tonic, but only the rhizome is officinal. It occurs in cylindrical, usually more or less branched, often twisted, pieces, or in longitudinal slices, marked by transverse annular wrinkles and longitudinal furrows, and varying in length and thickness. It has a peculiar aromatic and rather disagreeable odour, and a taste at first sweet, but afterwards bitter. When moist, it is tough and flexible; when dry, brittle, and easily pulverised. The powder is yellow, with a shade of brown, and readily yields its bitterness to water, alcohol, and ether. Gentian root contains gentianose, a sugar, which, in Southern Bavaria and Switzerland, is fermented into a drinking spirit; a large amount of pectin, a little volatile oil and fat, the yellow crystalline gentianin, or gentianic acid (C,,H,,0;), which is inert; and about 0:1 per cent. of an intensely bitter glucoside, gentiopicrin (C,,H,,O,,), obtain- able in colourless crystals, which are soluble in water and alcohol. In its actions gentiopicrin is nearly allied to quinine. Roots of other Gentianaceze are frequently mixed with those of G. lutea; but this is not of much importance, since all are possessed of similar properties. Admixture, however, sometimes occurs of poisonous roots, such as monkshood, belladonna, and white hellebore, which may be distinguished by the absence of the pure bitter taste and bright yellow colour so characteristic of true gentian. Gentian powder, especially that met with abroad, is stated to be occasionally adulterated with yellow ochre, easily detected by heating the Digitized by Microsoft® 564 GENTIAN suspected specimen with a little sulphuric acid, filtering, and testing for iron. Actions and Uses.—Gentian is a pure bitter, and is pre- scribed as a stomachic and tonic for all veterinary patients. It resembles calumba, chiretta, quassia, and hydrastis cana- densis, or golden seal. As a gastric tonic it has been considered little inferior to cinchona; it is devoid of astringency. Mepicivat Usts.—Gentian improves the appetite and general tone. In atonic indigestion it is particularly use- ful amongst young animals, and in such cases is often conjoined with ginger and sodium bicarbonate. In relaxed and irritable states of the bowels, and where intestinal worms are suspected, after administration of a laxative, gentian and hydrochloric acid are often serviceable. For horses suffering from simple catarrh few combinations are more effectual than an ounce of powdered gentian, two drachms nitre, with two ounces Epsom salt, dissolved in a pint of water, linseed tea, or ale, and repeated night and morning. In inflammatory complaints, after the acute stage is passed, such a prescription also proves serviceable. Where the bowels are constipated or irregular, or febrile symptoms are insufficiently subdued, two drachms of aloes are sometimes conjoined with the gentian. Where more general tonic effects are sought, iron sulphate is alternated with the gentian and salines. An ounce of gentian, with an ounce of ether or sweet spirit of nitre, given three or four times daily in a bottle of ale, proves an excellent stomachic and stimulating tonic in influenza and other epizootics, helps convalescence from exhausting disorders, and is a useful restorative for horses, jaded, overworked, or suffering from loss of appetite or slight cold. For cattle the above prescriptions are as serviceable as for horses, but require to be given in somewhat larger doses. For sheep gentian is a very useful stomachic, and when prescribed with salt arrests for a time the progress of liver- rot. Next after quinine it is the best vegetable tonic for dogs prostrated by reducing disorders. Dosss, etc. —For the horse, Zss. to 3i.; for cattle, Zi. to Zij.; Digitized by Microsoft® CALUMBA-—CHIRETTA 565 for sheep, Ji to Ziij; for pigs, 3ss. to Bi; for dogs, grs. v. to grs. Xx., repeated twice or thrice daily. The carefully-pre- pared Pharmacopeeia extract, infusion, and tincture, flavoured with orange-peel and aromatics, are frequently used in veterinary practice. The powder is prescribed in bolus, prepared with treacle, glycerin, and meal, or in infusion, made by digesting the powder during several hours in hot water, and decanting off the clear fluid. A small addition of diluted alcohol ensures more thorough solution and better keeping. CALUMBA CaLump&® Rapix.—The dried sliced root of Jateorhiza Columba; growing in Eastern Africa (B.P.). Nat. Ord. —Menispermacez. Calumba root occurs in irregular, flattish, circular or oval slices, with a yellow centre and a brownish-yellow cortex. The fracture is short, odour feeble, taste bitter (B.P.). It con- tains a crystalline, neutral, bitter principle, Calumbin; an alkaloid, berberine; Calumbic acid ; and 33 per cent of starch. Actions anp Uses.—Calumba is a bitter, gastric stimulant and carminative. It promotes secretion of gastric juice and improves the appetite. As it contains no tannin it is devoid of astringency and may be prescribed with preparations of iron, Like quassia, calumba infusion may be used to destroy worms in the horse’s rectum. Doses, etc.—Of the infusion (one of calumba to 20 of cold water) horses and cattle take ij. to Ziv.; dogs 3ij. to 3j., twice or thrice daily. The tincture, made with one of calumba root to 10 of alcohol (60 per cent.) is also pre- scribed. The doses are about one-third of those of the infusion. Chiretta, the dried Indian plant, Swertia Chirata, collected when in flower, is closely allied in actions and uses to calumba. It contains an active bitter principle, chiratin, but no tannin. The infusion and tincture of chiretta are prescribed in the same doses as calumba or gentian. Digitized by Microsoft® 566 CASCARILLA—-OAK BARK CASCARILLA CascaRILL& Cortex. The dried bark of Croton Eleuteria (B.P.). Nat. Ord.—Euphorbiacee. Cascarilla bark is principally imported from the Bahama Islands in quills about the size of a drawing pencil, and varying from two to four inches in length. Its outer surface is fissured, and usually covered with a light-coloured lichen ; its inner surface is smooth and light-brown. It has a strong, pungent, rather nauseous taste; its aromatic odour is increased by heat, and recommends it as a constituent of fumigatory pastilles. It contains the neutral crystalline bitter cascarillin (C,,H,,0,), 15 per cent. of two resins, tannin, and 15 of a pungent volatile oil, one portion of which is isomeric with oil of turpentine. Actions anp Uses.—Cascarilla is an aromatic, bitter stomachic, and carminative, allied to cusparia (Augustura bark) and resembling cinchona, but less active, and occasion- ally used in indigestion, diarrhea, and convalescence from exhausting diseases. , Doses, etc.—For horses, 3ij. to Ziv.; for cattle, Z1.; for sheep and swine, Zi. to 3ij.; and for dogs, grs. x. to grs. xl, given in bolus, infusion, or tincture, which is made with one of cascarilla to five of alcohol (70 per cent.). OAK BARE QueERous CorTex. The dried bark of the smaller branches and young stems of Quercus robur (Q. pedunculata). Collected in early spring from trees growing in Britain. (Not official.) Nat. Ord.—Cupulifere. Bark from smaller branches of young trees is more astringent than thicker pieces of older growth; the interior finer fibrous portions than the external rougher cortical. Oak bark contains a bitter crystalline substance, quercin, and owes its astringency to 10 or 15 per cent. of querci- tannic acid, which differs somewhat from gallo-tannic acid, and does not, by oxidation, yield gallic acid. The infusion Digitized by Microsoft® QUASSIA WOOD 567 has a powerful astringent taste, reddens litmus, gives a blue- black precipitate with ferric salts; and with gelatin solution a white flocculent precipitate, which resists putrefaction better than that of gallo-tannic acid. Acorns—the fruit of the oak—are collected in many parts of England for feeding sheep and pigs, are credited with a nutritive value approach- ing that of beans, but on account of their astringency require to be used sparingly. Actions anp Usrs—Oak bark is astringent, resembling galls and catechu. It is prescribed to check chronic otorrhea, diarrhea, dysentery, and other excessive mucous discharges. For weakly, scouring calves the infusion is given once or twice daily as required, with warm starch gruel, to which may be added aromatics, gentian, spirit, ether, or chloroform, or where there is griping, laudanum. It lacks the tonic properties of cinchona and gentian, and constipates when given too frequently or freely. Infusions are applied to dry and constringe hyper-secreting and relaxed surfaces, and to relieve piles in dogs. Dosss, etc.—Horses take 3ij. to Siv.; cattle, Zss. to Zij.; sheep and pigs, 3ss. to 3ij.; dogs, grs. x. to grs. xxx, administered in infusion made with one or two ounces of bark to the pint of water. QUASSIA WOOD Quassi# Lianum. The wood of the trunk and branches of Picreena excelsa (B.P.). Nat. Ord.—Simarubacee. The dense, tough, white quassia wood, the produce of a handsome tree, is imported from Jamaica and other West Indian islands in billets of varying length, and is met with in yellow-white chips or raspings. Quassia has no odour, but an intensely bitter taste, dependent on a neutral crystalline principle, quassin (C,,H,,0,). It contains no tannin. Actions anp Usrs.—Quassia is a bitter stomachic and tonic. It resembles gentian and calumba. It is prescribed for the several domestic animals in dyspepsia, loss of Digitized by Microsoft® 568 TARAXACUM appetite, and convalescence from debilitating disorders. Although it has no appreciable vermicide effect when given per orem, when used as an enema it destroys both ascarides and lumbrici. Large doses are irritant. The infusion is a narcotic poison for flies and other insects, and is said also to kill fish. Dosts, etc.—The B.P. infusion, prepared by macerating one part of chips for fifteen minutes with one hundred parts cold water, is administered alone, or with salines, acids, or iron salts, with which, unlike most vegetable bitters, it mixes without decomposition or discoloration. Of the infusion, horses and cattle take £3ij. to fZiv.; sheep and pigs, f3iv.; dogs, f3j. The tincture is not used by veterinarians. TARAXACUM Taraxact Rapix. Dandelion Root. The fresh and dried roots of Taraxacum officinale, collected in the autumn (B.P.). Nat. Ord.—Composite. The tap-shaped root is about six to twelve inches long, half an inch to an inch thick, is dark-brown externally and white within. It breaks with a short fracture; from the fractured surface a milky juice exudes, which is inodorous, but has a bitter taste. Its active principle is the bitter taraxacin. Other constituents are, taraxacerin, inulin, asparagin, resins, and salts. Actions, Uszs, anp Doszs.—Taraxacum has had a popular reputation as a blood purifier, liver stimulant, and remedy for jaundice. But Professor Rutherford’s experiments accord to it only a very feeble power of stimulating the liver. In virtue of its bitterness, it is a mild stomachic, although seldom so serviceable as either gentian or calumba, and it has also slight laxative and diuretic effects. The fresh succus is the best preparation, and the dose for the horse is about £32j.,and for dogs, f3ss. to f3ij. Digitized by Microsoft® MUSTARD 569 MUSTARD Srvapis. The dried ripe seeds of Brassica nigra and Brassica alba, powdered and mixed (B.P.). Nat. Ord.—Crucifere. The mustard plants are annuals, one to two feet high, with yellow cruciform flowers, and pods containing several brown seeds. They are indigenous in most parts of Europe and extensively cultivated in Durham, Yorkshire, and Lin- colnshire. An abundant wild variety, familiarly known as charlock and kellocks, is sometimes used for adulterating the better sorts. The black mustard seeds are red or greyish-brown, about the size of millet; the greenish-yellow powder has a pungent oily taste, and when triturated with water yields a pungent odour. The white mustard seeds are double the size of the black, and lighter in colour. Inodorous when entire or powdered, and almost inodorous when triturated. Black and white mustard seeds contain about 25 per cent. of a yellow, tasteless, non-drying fixed oil, similar to that of rape, and consisting of olein, stearin, and glyceride of erucic or brassic acid; 20 per cent. of mucilage, chiefly found in the epidermis; 4 of inorganic matters, and 10 to 15 of myrosin, a ferment similar to diastase or the emulsin of bitter almonds, usually more abundant in white than in black mustard seeds, and coagulated and rendered inactive when heated above 140° Fahr. Black mustard, besides, contains about 24 per cent. of the crystalline potassium myronate or sinigrin; white mustard contains an allied _principle, sinalbin. When dissolved in water, as in making roustard flour into paste, the fermentescible myrosin decom- poses the crystalloid bodies, and there are produced two acrid, irritant oils—the pungent volatile oil of mustard, allyl-isothiocyanate (H,C,NCS) from the black mustard, and the fixed oil—acrinyl-isothiocyanate—(C,H,NSO) from the white mustard. Actions anp Uses.—Unbruised mustard-seeds, being only partially and gradually digested, have little effect when swallowed. When the ground seeds are mixed with water Digitized by Microsoft® 570 MUSTARD the pungent, acrid oils are evolved; large doses of the flour are accordingly irritant; medicinal doses are stomachic, carminative, and stimulant. It is, however, rarely used internally, excepting as a local acting emetic for the dog, cat, or pig. For this purpose a dessert-spoonful of mustard flour is given, dissolved in several ounces of water. It is slightly laxative and diuretic. As an external irritant, mustard is much used as a rubefacient and vesicant. The paste made with water, and rubbed into the skin of the horse, within twenty minutes causes congestion, heat, and tenderness, with subsequent swelling. Reflexly, the activity of conterminous and subjacent partsisroused. In two to six hours vesication occurs; twenty- four hours later some of the vesicles will have run together, others being ruptured. From repeated, prolonged, or injudi- cious use in irritable states of the skin, there occasionally ensue active inflammation, sloughing, and destruction of the hair-roots. Compared with cantharides, mustard acts more promptly, but unless used freely or repeatedly it is less permanent. It is used to control functional disturbance rather than to repair structural damage; it causes more swelling of sur- rounding parts, but less exudation of serum; applied re- peatedly, especially to the extremities of the horse, it is more apt to affect the skin deeply, and hence produce sloughing; unlike cantharides, it has no tendency to act upon the kidneys. It is almost as prompt, and is more rmoanageable than very hot water. For horses it is less irri- tating and burning than oil of turpentine. It is not so severe or so apt to cause suppuration as euphorbium or. croton oil, For cattle it is an excellent blister, often acting promptly when other agents have slight or tardy effect, and seldom causing injury or blemishing. On dogs and sheep it. acts powerfully, and must be used with caution. Mepiciwat Uses.—lIn all veterinary patients suffering from catarrh, sore-throat, laryngitis, bronchitis, pneumonia, and pleurisy, mustard, applied in the early congestive stage, lessens pain and relieves difficult breathing. It is more serviceable in chronic than acute bronchitis. In pleurisy, Digitized by Microsoft® MUSTARD DRESSINGS 571 mustard liniments alternated with fomentations are often applied at intervals throughout the attack, but are specially indicated after the tenth day, when such counter-irritation seems to promote absorption of exudate. During the later stages of pneumonia mustard is of little use; but occasional dressings are sometimes serviceable in sustaining the action of the heart and promoting absorption. It is frequently rubbed over a considerable area immediately external to the congested, painful, or inflamed parts; in about fifteen minutes it is washed off, and in an hour or two, if required, another application may be made. Mustard dressings are serviceable in acute indigestion, colic, and enteritis, especially among horses. Mustard is of service in chronic rheumatism, especially amongst cattle, in the second stages of inflammation of joints and tendons, in enlargement of glands, and occasionally as a stimulant in chronic scurfy skin diseases. Flying blisters, applied over the chest or abdomen, or below the knees and hocks, especi- ally when the limbs are cold, arouse vitality and overcome congestion in the later stages of pneumonia, in parturient apoplexy of cattle, and in poisoning by narcotics. With stimulants administered internally, mustard is rubbed over the region of the heart to counteract syncope. Applied over the kidneys, it promotes diuresis. It is occasionally used for maintaining or increasing the effects of cantharides, but in horses considerable caution is necessary in applying the one irritant soon after the other. Mustard is specially indicated where extensive counter- irritation has to be speedily produced and stimulation of the kidneys avoided. Cantharides or mercuric iodide ointment is preferable in chronic diseases of joints, and where struc- tural changes have occurred in bone, cartilage, or tendon. Neither mustard, nor indeed any blister, can be directly applied to parts extensively or deeply inflamed without causing much irritation, and probably sloughing. Doses, etc.—If used as a stomachic, carminative, or mild stimulant, horses take Ziv. to 3vi.; cattle, Zss. to 2j.; sheep and pigs, 3j. to Sij.; dogs, grs. x. to grs. xx. To prevent irritation of the fauces, it is given in the form of pill, Digitized by Microsoft® 572 SAVARY'S LIQUID SINAPISM bolus, or electuary. Larger doses, especially in solution, act as emetics in dogs, cats, and pigs. Externally, it is used generally as a paste made as for the table, with tepid water. Hot water or admixture of spirit, acid, or alkali coagulates the ferment, or impairs its action. A mustard paste made with water produced, in six minutes, effects similar to those produced in fifty minutes with mustard mixed with vinegar. Extra activity is secured by using black and white mustard seeds, in about equal amount, ground unmixed with bland ingredients, or by adding to the paste made from the mustard of the shops a little oil of turpentine. The freshly-made paste is usually applied directly to the skin, with friction; after fifteen or twenty minutes it may be washed off with tepid water, and, if required, again applied three or four times. Such repeated moderate external warming is usually more serviceable than one violent dressing, whether for diminution of congestion, relief of pain, or even for removal of exudate. For veterinary patients little use is made of plasters prepared by spreading mustard upon calico or paper; of leaves consisting of powdered mustard seeds and gutta- percha solution spread upon cartridge paper and dried; or of poultices usually made with equal parts of mustard and linseed meal, well stirred with four parts of hot water. A tincture of the essence, in the form of Savary’s liquid sinapism, has been used hypodermically in France. In chest affections, 15 to 30 drops are injected at three or four points on each side of the chest. The resulting cedema appears within ten minutes, but is said to be less painful, and to cause the patient less disturbance than mustard in the usual form. No untoward local or general effects are observed. Such injections have also been used in the neck, in vertigo, and ophthalmia; under the belly in the gastro- intestinal forms of influenza; and also in colic, enteritis, and umbilical hernia. The BP. volatile oil of mustard, distilled from black inustard seeds after maceration with water, is antiseptic and antipyretic, and one of the most poisonous of the volatile oils. Soluble in alcohol, and in fifty parts of water. Rabbits Digitized by Microsoft® MYRRH 573 are killed in two hours by a drachm, in fifteen minutes by half an ounce, with symptoms of gastro-enteritis, loss of sensation and muscular power, difficult breathing, and collapse. Diluted and applied externally, it is a prompt and powerful vesicant. MYRRH Myrrua. A gum resin obtained from the stem of Bal- samodendron Myrrha and probably other species (B.P.). Nat. Ord.—Burseracee. Myrrh is imported from the coasts of the Red Sea. With olibanum or frankincense it has long been used in making incense, perfumes, holy oils, and unguents for embalming. It exudes spontaneously, as a yellow-white oily substance, from perforations or cracks in the cortical layer of the trunk or branches of several species of the shrubby thorn- like balsamodendrons. The best sorts are in irregular- shaped, semi-translucent, red-brown tears, or masses of tears, which deepen in colour when breathed on. They are brittle, and easily powdered; their fracture is irregular, shining, oily, and occasionally dotted with opaque white markings. Myrrh has a slightly bitter, acrid taste, and an agreeable aromatic odour. When heated, it softens, froths up, and burns, leaving a dark spongy ash. Powdered with water, it forms an emulsion, but it readily dissolves in rectified spirit. It consists of 50 to 65 per cent. of soluble gum, chiefly arabin ; 23 per cent. of a resin, myrrhin, soluble in alcohol, ether, and acetic acid, and 2 per cent. of a pale yellow volatile oil, myrrhol (C,,H,,O), isomeric with thymol and carrol, and some bitter substances. Actions anp Uses.—Its antiseptic volatile oil and slightly irritant resin render myrrh a topical stimulant. When swallowed it increases the secretions of the gastro-intestinal glands, producing stomachic, carminative, and mild laxative effects. During elimination it stimulates the mucous lining of the respiratory and urinary tracts, and is hence prescribed as a disinfectant, expectorant, and diuretic. It is sometimes Digitized by Microsoft® 574 PEPPERS used as an antiseptic, mildly astringent vulnerary, and a flavouring agent. It resembles the fragrant gum resin oli- banum, produced by several species of Boswellia, and the concrete resin of the Elemi tree imported from Manilla. It is less stimulant than the balsams and foetid gum resins. Doses, etc.—Horses and cattle take 3ij.; sheep and pigs, 3ss. to Bi; dogs, grs. x. to grs. xx., repeated several times daily, in bolus, decoction, or tincture, used with vegetable tonics, or with aloes. The tincture of myrrh is thus pre- pared :—Macerate 4 ounces of myrrh in 16 ounces of alcohol (90 per cent.), for seven days in a closed vessel; shake fre- quently, filter, and add sufficient alcohol to make one pint. PEPPERS The black and white peppers in daily domestic use are obtained from the brown wrinkled berries of an East Indian perennial climbing plant—the Piper nigrum, of the natural order Piperacee. They are imported from the Malabar coast, the islands of the Indian Archipelago, and the West Indies. The pendulous spike, bearing twenty to thirty berries, is gathered as it begins to redden, shortly before ripening, and is dried in the sun. The berries rubbed off, and ground without separating their outer covering, yield black pepper. To prepare the milder white pepper, the best and soundest ripe berries are steeped in water, and stripped of their pungent outer covering before they are ground. Long pepper, the produce of Chavica Roxburghi, is brought from Singapore and Batavia, and consists of small, closely-attached berries, arranged on cylindrical grey spadices one or two inches long. The peppers when ground have a hot, pungent, spicy taste, and owe their properties to 16 to 22 per cent. of a volatile oil—isomeric with oil of turpentine (C,,H,,), a soft, pungent resin, and 2 to 3 per cent. of the colourless, crystallisable, neutral piperine (C,,H,,NO,), which is isomeric with morphine, and when boiled with caustic potash yields an active oily alkaloid, piperidine (C,H,,N). Digitized by Microsoft® ACTIONS AND USES 575 Cubebs, or Cubeba, is the dried, partially ripened fruit of the Piper Cubeba, cultivated in Java and other islands of the Indian Archipelago. The berries are stalked, and lighter coloured than those of common pepper, are globular, rough, and wrinkled, with a strong odour, and pungent, aromatic, bitter taste. They contain a volatile oil, a resin, and the neutral crystalline cubebin, which is devoid of any marked action. Piper angustifolium, a shrub found in moist regions throughout Brazil and Peru, yields matico leaves, much used in America as a styptic dressing, and also occasionally administered for the arrest of internal hemorrhage. Pimenta, pimento, Jamaica pepper, or allspice, closely resembles the true peppers; is the dried, unripe berry of Pimenta officinalis, an evergreen West Indian tree of the natural family Myrtaceze, The berries are about the size of those of the Piper nigrum, have the same penetrating aromatic odour, and hot, pungent taste, but are more truly aromatic and less acrid. They contain an acrid fixed oil, and about 6 per cent. of volatile oil, with traces of an alkaloid, having the odour of conine (Fliickiger). Oil of pimento contains about 70 per cent. of aphenol, eugenol, and is sometimes substituted for oil of cloves. Capsicum—the dried ripe fruit of Capsicum minimum— is also known as Chili pepper, chillies, Guinea or pod pepper. The red pods are filled with numerous small round or ovoid red-brown seeds. Both pericarp and seeds are pungent, and when ground constitute the familiar Cayenne pepper, which owes its pungent acridity and irritant properties to an acrid volatile substance, capsaicin (C,H,,0,), and an alkaloid, capsicine, resembling conine in odour. Actions anp Uses.—The peppers are irritants, stimulating stomachics, carminatives, and rubefacients. Large doses, especially in carnivora and omnivora, are irritant poisons, inflaming the alimentary and sometimes also the urino- genital mucous membranes. That they are especially poisonous to pigs is a popular error. Properly regulated doses promote salivary and gastric secretions, are stomachic and carminative, and during their excretion stimulate the Digitized by Microsoft® 576 GINGER urino-genital mucous membrane. Rubbed into the skin they cause redness, irritation, and swelling. The several peppers differ in the intensity of their action. The black is more active than the white and long peppers, which are of nearly equal strength. Pimento is less active, while capsicum is more irritant than black pepper. In virtue of its stimulant effect, and its rendering the urine anti- septic, cubebs checks irritation and discharges from the urino-genital mucous membrane. Black pepper (the variety chiefly used in veterinary prac- tice) is administered in simple indigestion, and for obviating the disagreeable taste and nauseating effects of various drugs. It is not now given as a sialogogue, nor for the object of increasing sexual appetite, which, when defective, may usually be restored, not by irritating drugs, but by measures which improve general vigour. It ought not to be used for blistering ointments, or for setons, nor introduced into the rectum of horses exposed for sale—a barbarous practice, apt to induce serious intestinal irritation. Doszs, etc.—Of black pepper, as a stomachic, horses take about 31.; cattle, ij; sheep and swine. grs. x. to 3ss.; dogs, grs. v. to grs. x., repeated two or three times a day, given in bolus, dissolved in water or spirit, or suspended in well-boiled gruel, The tincture of capsicum is made with one of capsi- cum and twenty of alcohol (70 per cent.). GINGER ZINGIBER. The scraped and dried rhizome of Zingiber offici- nale (B.P.). Nat. Ord.—Zingiberacee. The Zingiber officinale, grown in many tropical countries, has a biennial, creeping, fleshy, and nodulous rhizome, which gives off numerous descending short radicles, with several ascending annual leafy stems, reaching three or four feet in height, invested with alternate elliptical leaves, and termi- nated by spikes and racemes of purple flowers. For making green or preserved ginger, the rhizomes are gathered while still soft and juicy, and when about three months old. For other purposes they are taken up when about a year old, Digitized by Microsoft® AN AROMATIC STIMULANT 577 when the aerial stems have withered, but while the rhizome is still plump and soft. They are scalded to check vegeta- tion, usually scraped to remove the brown wrinkled epider- mis, and dried in the sun. Properties.—Several sorts are recognised. The Jamaica, in plump, flat, pale pieces or races, the bark stripped of epidermis, producing a light-coloured powder of superior quality; Malabar or Cochin China, a little darker, but usually good; Bengal and African, imported both coated and uncoated, and generally cheap and excellent; Barbados, in short thick races, retaining its brown corrugated epider- mis. The unstripped descriptions are sometimes termed black gingers. The several varieties are in flat, irregular- lobed, knotted, zigzag pieces, two to four inches in length, externally pale yellow, striated, and fibrous, breaking with a mealy, short, somewhat fibrous fracture, having a strong, agreeable, aromatic odour, a warm, pungent taste, and dis- solving in water and alcohol. Ginger owes its taste to a pungent resin, its aroma to a volatile oil, and its medicinal and flavouring properties to both constituents, which are chiefly found in the delicate felted layer of skin lying between the starchy, mealy paren- chyma and the brown, horny, external covering. As a condi- ment and medicine Great Britain annually imports about 300 tons of ginger. Actions anp Uses.—Ginger is an aromatic stimulant, and is used as a stomachic and carminative for all pens notably for cattle and sheep. Blown into the nostrils it increases nasal discharge ; chewed, it reflexly augments the flow of saliva; administered internally, it promotes gastric secretion, digestion, and appe- tite. It is prescribed in atonic dyspepsia, often along with antacids and laxatives. Conjoined with purgatives, it dimin- ishes their tendency to nauseate and gripe, and also somewhat hastens their effects. Doszs, ete.—For the horse, Ziv. to 31; for cattle, Zi. to ai for sheep, 3i. to 3ij.; for pigs, Jss. to Hi.; for dogs, gers. x. to grs. xxx. A bolus is made with any suitable excipient; an infusion is used sometimes sweetened with treacle or sugar; 20 Digitized by Microsoft® 578 CINNAMON the B.P. tincture is prepared with two ounces powdered ginger to a pint of rectified spirit by maceration and sub- sequent percolation. A syrup of ginger, made with a strong tincture and the B.P. simple syrup, is occasionally prescribed. An oleo-resin, obtained from ginger, and known as gingerin, may be substituted for ginger in dispensing purgatives. CINNAMON CINNAMOMI CoRTEX. Cinnamon Bark. The dried inner bark of shoots from the truncated stocks of Cinna- momum zeylanicum. Imported from Ceylon, and dis- tinguished in commerce as Ceylon cinnamon (B.P.). Nat. Ord.—Laurinee. CINNAMOMI OLEUM. The oil distilled from cinnamon bark (B.P.). The bark occurs in rolled quills, is thin and brittle, yellow- brown externally, darker brown on its inner surface, with a fragrant odour, and a warm, sweet, aromatic taste. Besides mannite, resin, and other vegetable constituents, the bark contains tannic and cinnamic acids, but its aroma and medicinal properties depend upon the presence of about one per cent. of a volatile oil (C,H,OH), which, when fresh, is bright yellow, but becomes cherry-red when kept. Its constituents are eugenol (also found in cloves), cinnamic aldehyde, and a terpene. An inferior oil is extracted from the leaves. Actions anp Uses.—Cinnamon bark is aromatic, carmina- tive, and astringent, and is used for flavouring. The oil resembles that of anise, caraway, coriander, pepper- mint, and of other Umbelliferze and Labiatz. It is antiseptic, carminative, stimulant, and hemostatic, and is useful in all animals affected with indigestion, flatulence, or diarrhea. Mr. Richard W. Burke, A.V.D., thus testifies to its merits : ‘After a long trial I have found there is no more efficacious remedy in the treatment of diarrhea in the dog, especially in that form of the disease which is noticed during the rains in India. It will check diarrhea when opium, chlorodyne, and other remedies Digitized by Microsoft® ASAFGTIDA 579 usually employed have been found to produce no effect in allaying the symptoms. I have also employed the tincture of cinnamon in doses of one or two drachms for smaller animals. It is nearly, if not equally, as rapid in its effects as the oil of cinnamon bark’ (Veterinarian, February 1888). The tincture is made with 4 ounces of bark to a pint of alcohol (70 per cent.). Doss, etc.—of the bark, horses take Jiv. to Zi.; dogs, Jss. to Ji. Of the oil, horses take Txx. to [3i.; dogs, Ti. to MLiv. administered on sugar, or in syrup, mucilage, or spirit and water. ASAFGOTIDA A Gum Resin obtained by incision from the root of Ferula feetida, and probably other species. Imported from Bombay (B.P.). Nat. Ord.—Umbelliteree. The Ferula fcetida, or Narthex asafcetida, has a massive perennial root, black externally, white within. When the plant is four years old, the leaves and stems are removed, and, six weeks later, a slice is cut from the upper part of the root; the slicing is repeated several times at intervals, when the plant is exhausted, after yielding from a half pound to two pounds of a fcetid milky juice, which concretes. The yellow- brown tears are mixed with soft earth and made into irregular masses, which are red-brown externally, and within are opaque and milk-white, but gradually change to a dull yellow-brown. Asafcetida has a strong, persistent, alliaceous odour, and a bitter, acrid taste. It is pulverised with difficulty, forms an emulsion with water, is dissolved in rectified spirit, and also in potash and ammonia. Its active constituents are resin, gum, and about 5 per cent. of an acrid volatile oil containing allyl sulphide (C,H;),S. A good sample of asafcetida should contain about 65 per cent. of matter soluble in rectified spirit. Actions anp Uses.—Asafcetida is a mild stimulant, expec- torant, carminative, antispasmodic, and vermifuge. It is speedily absorbed, its disagreeable odour indicating its general distribution; it is eliminated from the pulmonary Digitized by Microsoft® 580 ARNICA mucous surface, the skin, and kidneys, gently stimulating their secretions. Professor Robertson used asafcetida, with aloes and nux vomica, in constipation and torpidity of the bowels in horses, and in flatulent colic prescribed the tinc- ture along with oil of linseed and of turpentine. The spiritus ammonie foetidus, made with 14 ounce asafcetida, 2 ounces strong solution of ammonia, and sufficient alcohol (90 per cent.) to make one pint of the spirit; and the tinc- ture of asafoetida, are sometimes prescribed in colic and chronic cough. Like other substances containing odorous. volatile oils, asafcetida is a vermifuge, but its action is. uncertain. It is allied in some of its actions to valerian,. and to sumbul, and closely resembles the two gum-resins,,. ammoniacum and galbanum, which are scarcely so active, and are chiefly used for making charges and plasters. Doses, etc.—Horses take Zij. to Ziv.; cattle, 3j.; sheep, i. ;. and dogs, grs. x. to grs. xx. It is given several times a. day ; may be made into bolus with camphor and ammonium carbonate ; is frequently prescribed in draught with watery or alcoholic solution of ammonia; and, to prevent their misappropriation, it may be added to alcoholic and ethereal preparations intended for veterinary patients. ARNICA Arnic# Ruizoma. The dried rhizome and roots of Arnica montana (B.P.). Leopard’s Bane. Mountain Tobacco. Nat. Ord.—Composite. Arnica montana is a perennial, growing in the mountainous. parts of Central and Southern Europe, and also in Asia and America. It has a hairy stem about one foot high, com- posite yellow flowers, used in America for making the tinc-. ture, obovate leaves, and a cylindrical, contorted, brown root,. one to three inches long, two or three lines thick, distin- guished by a peculiar, aromatic, offensive odour, and a bitter,. peppery, acrid taste. It contains mucin, extractive matter, two volatile oils, and an active, bitter, yellow, amorphous principle, arnicin. Digitized by Microsoft® ACTIONS AND USES 581 Actions anp Uses.—Arnica is irritant and stimulant, has been credited with alterative properties, and is used exter- nally as a stimulant for strains, bruises, and wounds. Viborg gave a horse six drachms of the flowers in infusion, and records production of quickened circulation and diuresis. Professor Williams recommends one to two ounces of the tincture in congestion of the lungs and lymphangitis in horses, stating that it stimulates cutaneous circulation. Other practitioners have administered it in the second stages of pleurisy, in weakness of the loins, in muscular strains, and in rheumatism. Mr. Dollar, London, has, how- ever, repeatedly tried it, without benefit, in horses suffering alike from acute and chronic rheumatism. In the several forms of rheumatic lameness in dogs, and in stiffness pro- duced from over-exertion, it has been employed empirically both externally and internally. It is a favourite homeopathic remedy. Externally, arnica is a popular vulnerary for strains, bruises, and wounds, and especially for broken knees and sore shoulders. An ounce of the tincture is dissolved in twelve to twenty ounces of cold water. A more efficient lotion is made with a drachm of arnica tincture and one to two drachms of zinc sulphate or lead acetate, diluted with ten or twelve ounces of water. For painful or irritable wounds the tincture is employed with chloroform, bella- donna, or laudanum, diluted with water according to cir- cumstances. Along with liberal feeding and tonics, a drop of arnica tincture placed daily within the eyelids is one of the remedies for those troublesome ulcerations of the cornea which affect weakly dogs recovering from distemper. Arnica has, however, been over-estimated; the evidence of its value as an internal remedy requires confirmation, while the heal- ing properties ascribed to it appear to depend on the other drugs, spirit, or cold water with which it is generally used. Doszs, etc.—Horses take fJiv. to £31. of the tincture; cattle, double that quantity; dogs TMLv. to Mviij., mixed with water, ale, or gruel. The flowers, leaves, and root are occasionally used powdered, especially in poultices; the Digitized by Microsoft® 582 ANISE tincture is made with an ounce of the root in powder (No. 40) to a pint of alcohol (70 per cent.). Watery infu- sions can be of little efficacy, for neither the arnicin nor volatile oil is soluble in water. Arnica opodeldoc consists of white soap four parts, rectified spirit ten; tincture of arnica five and camphor one. It is used as a local stimulant. ANISE AnisI Fructus. Anise fruit. The dried ripe fruit of Pim- pinella Anisum. Nat. Ord.—Umbellifere. OxLeum Anist. Oil of Anise. The oil distilled from anise fruit; or from the fruit of the Star anise, [licium Verum (B.P.). The natural order Umbelliferee yields many aromatic fruits, such as anise, caraway, coriander, dill, and fennel, as well as the aromatic gum-resins, asafcetida, galbanum, and ammoniacum. These aromatic umbelliferous fruits, like the fruits, leaves, and other parts of various plants of such orders as the Myrtacez, Labiatz, and Coniferz, owe their medicinal value chiefly to their yielding volatile oils. These oils possess certain properties and actions in common, and the student should be familiar with their group characters. Volatile oils are readily diffusible; their in-contact effects are produced, not only when they are applied topically, but when they are absorbed and distributed in the blood stream. When concentrated they are local irritants; when diluted they paralyse peripheral nerve-endings, and hence are anodyne, carminative, and antispasmodic. They are also expectorant, antiseptic, and parasiticide. When absorbed they stimulate circulation and secretion. As with other stimulants large doses paralyse the heart. They reduce inordinate reflex activity of the spinal cord. They are eliminated chiefly—(1) by the respiratory mucous mem- brane, increasing bronchial secretion, and counteracting septic conditions of the membrane; and (2) by the kidneys, in moderate doses producing diuresis and antisepsis through- Digitized by Microsoft® MEDICINAL USES 583 out the urinary tract, but in large doses causing over- stimulation and strangury. Anise is chiefly imported from Spain, Germany, and Southern Russia. It is an ovoid, oblong, grey-brown fruit, one-fifth of an inch in length, and covered with minute hairs. Like other fruits of this order, it is separable into two symmetrical mericarps, each of which is encircled by five slender ridges, while its transverse section exhibits about fifteen vittz, which elaborate the oil. Both anise fruits yield about 5 per cent. of a mixture, in nearly equal proportions, of a fixed oil, and a volatile anethol or camphor-like body, common to the Umbelliferz, and some other plants, and having the formula C,,H,,0. It is believed to be a phenol derivative, with some of its hydrogen atoms displaced by methyl and allyl, and having the rational formula C,H, C,H; OCH,. It is colourless, but becomes yellow on keeping; exhibits intensely the characteristic aromatic odour and taste of the fruit, and is soluble in alcohol and ether. The oil from the pimpinella solidifies at from 50° to 60° Fahr.; that from the star-anise at about 36° Fahr. Actions anp Uses.—Anise is an aromatic stimulant, stom- achic, and carminative. It is used to relieve indigestion and flatulence, to communicate an agreeable flavour to many medicines, and to diminish the griping of purgatives. Doszs, etc.—Horses receive about Zi.; cattle, Zi. to 3ij.; sheep and swine, 3ij. to Ziij.; dogs, grs. xx. to grs. L, given powdered, repeated several times a day, often conjoined with ginger or other aromatics, and conveniently administered in ale or in spirit and water. Oil of anise, like oil of caraway, or coriander, is a diffusible stimulant, antiseptic, carminative, and antispasmodic. For such purposes cheaper remedies are generally, however, employed ; but it is occasionally used as a flavouring ingredient, more especially for ball masses, and, mixed with a little spirit and bland oil, for the destruc- tion of lice in pet dogs and other small animals. Caraway, cardamoms, coriander, fennel, and fenugreek resemble anise in their actions and uses, and may be given in similar doses. These seeds are sometimes used by feeders Digitized by Microsoft® 584 EUCALYPTUS of pigs, sheep, and cattle, and by waggoners and others, for improving the coat and condition of their charges. Fenu- greek especially is prized for such purposes, is a constituent of various ‘drinks, and, with ground peas, maize meal, locust bean, and linseed meal, forms several vaunted condiments or ‘nourishing foods.’ HUCALYPTUS Oxeum Evcatypri. Oil of Eucalyptus. The oil distilled from the fresh leaves of Eucalyptus Globulus, and other species of Eucalyptus (B.P.). C,,H,,0. Eucatypt1 Gummi. Eucalyptus gum, a ruby - coloured exudation from the bark of Eucalyptus rostrata, and some other species of Eucalyptus. Imported from Australia (B.P.). Mat. Ord.—Myrtacee. The leaves and flower-buds of various Myrtacez, such as cloves, pimento, myrtle, and cajuput, as well as eucalyptus yield, when distilled, aromatic, antiseptic, volatile oils. The rapidly-growing eucalyptus trees, indigenous to the Australian colonies, are now largely cultivated in many temperate regions with the view of preventing malarial fevers. The dried leaves yield about 70 per cent. of eucalyptol, a colourless or pale, straw-coloured, liquid volatile oil, darken- ing by exposure, of an aromatic odour and spicy, pungent taste, and soluble in about its own weight of alcohol. Its antiseptic powers increase as it undergoes oxidation by keeping. Other constituents are a crystallisable resin, tannin, and an oil, cineol, which crystallises at 30° Fahr. Eucalyptus, or red gum, occurs in grains or masses. It is tough, and has a very astringent taste. Cold water dissolves 80 to 90 per cent., forming a neutral solution. It is soluble in alcohol (90 per cent.). Red gum contains kino-tannic acid, catechin, and catechol. It resembles kino, which is less soluble in water. Actions anp Uses.—The oil possesses in marked degree the Digitized by Microsoft® ACTIONS AND USES 585 group characters of volatile oils. When freely used in concentrated form it is an in-contact irritant. It is power- fully antiseptic and disinfectant, destroying the lower forms of animal life. Locally applied it impairs sensibility. It is readily absorbed, increasing cardiac action, and is hence a stimulant and antispasmodic; and as it passes out of the body it increases the activity of the excreting channels, chiefly the respiratory mucous membrane and the kidneys. Its antiseptic properties confer some anti-malarial action; but it cannot, as has been suggested, take the place of the cinchona alkaloids. Eucalyptus oil is used as a stimulant and antiseptic gargle, inhalation, and spray to diminish excessive quantity and feetor of nasal, pharyngeal, and bronchial secretions. It is adminis- tered in protracted cases of strangles, influenza, and purpura in horses, septiceemia in all animals, and in distemper in dogs—in such cases being usefully combined with quinine, ether, and alcohol. Arloing and Thomas state that solu- tions containing one ;8,th part destroy the virus of black- quarter. As an antiseptic it is three times as powerful as carbolic acid, for which it is sometimes substituted in sur- gical cases. Eucalyptus gauze is unbleached cotton im- pregnated with one part oil of eucalyptus, three of dammar resin, and three of paraffin wax. Eucalyptus wool contains 5 per cent. of the oil. In feetid uterine discharges, eucalyptol injections or pessaries are useful. The gum is astringent, and styptic. As a desiccant, mixed with starch and zinc oxide, it is used for superficial wounds. Occasionally red gum is prescribed for diarrhea in dogs. Dosss, etc., of the oil—Horses and cattle take f3i. to f3iv.; dogs, Mii. to Mx., in diluted spirits, mucilage, or milk. For parasitic skin affections and other external purposes it is dissolved in oil or cocoa butter, and is often usefully con- joined with iodoform. Eulyptol, consisting of equal parts of eucalyptol, carbolic acid, and salicylic acid, has been recommended as an intestinal antiseptic. Digitized by Microsoft® 586 JUNIPER JUNIPER OLeum JunrreR!. Oil of juniper. The oil distilled from the full-grown, unripe, green fruit of Juniperus communis. SPIRITUS JUNIPERI. Spirit of Juniper. A solution of the oil in alcohol (90 per. cent.) (B.P.). Nat. Ord.—Coniferee. The junipers are shrubby evergreen trees, growing in most. temperate countries. Their leaves are dark-green, linear and arranged three in a whorl. Juniper berries are bluish-purple, furrowed, of the size and appearance of currants; have an aromatic, terebinthinate odour, and a warm, sweet taste, followed by bitterness. For flavouring gin about two pounds of the berries are added to one hundred gallons of spirit. They owe their distinctive properties to about 2 per cent. of a mixture of two volatile oils, one of which is polymeric with terpene (C,,H,,). The fresh and dried tops of Juniperus sabina yield oil of savin, which is sometimes used as an ecbolic. From the wood of the Juniperus oxycedrus, and occasionally from that of the communis, the brown empyreumatic oil of cade is got by dry distillation ; is used in France and other con- tinental countries for most of the purposes of oil of tar, and is recommended in scaly skin diseases. Actions anp Uses.—The fruit, oil, and spirit of juniper are topical irritants, and when absorbed are stimulant, stomachic, carminative, and diuretic. They resemble the turpentines, and thuja, or arbor vite. Two ounces of the berries given to horses and cattle have little notable effect; but three or four ounces induce diuresis. The fruit and oil are occasionally given as diuretics, stomachics, and carminatives in indigestion and flatulence, and are stated to diminish the evil effects of bad fodder and marshy pastures, and to aid alike the prevention and cure of ascites in sheep. The oil mixed with lard and applied to exposed wounds, prevents irritation from flies. Doses, etc.—Of the fruit, as a stomachic, horses and cattle take 3i. to Zij.; sheep, ij. to Ziv.; dogs, grs. xx. to grs. xl., Digitized by Microsoft® PEPPERMINT—-MENTHOL 587 repeated twice a day, in electuary or bolus. The fruit is readily eaten by most animals, especially by sheep. A decoction, made from the fruit, is occasionally prescribed, and also used as an external stimulant. As a diuretic the oil is the best form. Horses and cattle take 3i. to 3ij.; dogs, Tv. to Mlx., which may be repeated at intervals of three hours till diuresis is induced. Of the spirit, as a carminative and stomachie, cattle and horses take Ziv. to 3j.; sheep, 3ij. to Ziv.; dogs, Mxx. to 3j., in oil, or mixed with other medicines. PEPPERMINT OLeEuM MeEnTH#® Piperirz. Oil of Peppermint. The oil distilled from the fresh flowering peppermint, Mentha piperita (B.P.). Nat. Ord.—Labiate. The natural family Labiatz furnishes peppermint, spear- mint, pennyroyal, lavender, rosemary, marjoram, and thyme; and from these plants, when fresh flowering, aromatic, antiseptic, volatile oils are obtained. Similar oils are extracted from the leaves of various Myrtacez, from the petals of roses, from the flowers and fruit of various Rutacee, and from the seeds of various Umbelliferze. Of the Labiatz volatile oils peppermint is the most com- monly used. The fresh plant yields 1 to 1:25 per cent. of the colourless or pale yellow oil, characterised by its warm aromatic taste and subsequent sensation of coldness. It consists of two isomeric oils—the fluid menthene (C,,H,,), and the crystalline menthol (C,,H,,'OH), which is homologous with thymol, obtained from the volatile oil of thyme. Actions anp Uses.—Oil of peppermint is a typical volatile oil; it is an antiseptic, topical stimulant and anesthetic, carminative, antispasmodic, and parasiticide. It is more active than the oil from Mentha viridis, or spearmint, or M. pulegium, or pennyroyal. Diluted solutions arrest the de- velopment of bacilli as effectually as carbolic acid, or euca- lyptus oil, and are hence used as dressings for wounds, and Digitized by Microsoft® 588 CHAMOMILE FLOWERS as sprays or gargles for ulcerated throat. It destroys veget- able and animal parasites infesting the skin. After stimu- lating, it paralyses the ends of sensory nerves with which it is brought into contact, and hence relieves gastro-intestinal, neuralgic, and other pains. Painful surfaces are gently rubbed with a pencil of menthol, solution being promoted by wetting with a little spirit. Increased anesthesia is secured by diluting the menthol with eight or ten parts of ether, or mixing it with an equal part of thymol, carbolic acid, or butyl chloral-hydrate. Peppermint oil is used to prevent the nausea and spasms sometimes produced by purgatives; to ‘ flavour medicinal preparations, or cover their unpalatable taste, Doszs, etc., of the oil—For horses and cattle, M[xx. to T|xxx.; for dogs, Tliii. to TLv., given on a piece of sugar or in spirit and water. Peppermint water contains one of oil in one thousand of water. The spirit consists of one part of oil to nine of alcohol (90 per cent.). CHAMOMILE FLOWERS ANTHEMIDIS FLores.—The dried expanded flower-heads of Anthemis nobilis. Collected from cultivated plants (B.P.). Nat. Ord—Composite. Chamomile flowers are extensively cultivated in the warmer parts of England, are gathered during dry weather, exposed for a short time on trays in the shade, and carefully stored and kept very dry. Both varieties, but especially the single, have a hot, bitter taste, and a strong aromatic odour. They contain bitter extractive matter, soluble both in water and alcohol; a small quantity of tannin ; traces of the bitter anthemic acid; a crystallisable, soluble base, anthemine; and 0°60 to 0°80 per cent. of volatile oil, obtained by distillation. The oil is of a pale-blue or green colour, gradually becoming yellow-brown, and consisting of a mixture of esters, chiefly of the angelates and valerianates of butyl and amy]. Digitized by Microsoft® VALERIAN 589 Actions anp Uses.—Chamomile flowers are mildly stimu- lant, aromatic, stomachic, and carminative; full doses produce emesis in dogs. The infusion is sometimes given in atonic dyspepsia and diarrhcea. Horses and cattle take one to two ounces; calves, sheep, and swine, a drachm or more. The flowers are occasionally used for fomentations and poultices. Like other volatile oils, that of chamomile lowers reflex irritability, and hence is useful in dyspepsia, diarrhea, and spasmodic cough. VALERIAN VALERIANZ Ruizoma. The dried rhizome and roots of Valeriana officinalis. Collected in the autumn (B.P.). Nat. Ord.—Valerianacec. The officinal valerian consists of a short, yellow-brown, tuberous rhizome, about the thickness of the little finger, with attached radicles, shrivelled, brittle, and of an earthy- brown colour. It has a penetrating odour, becoming strong and even fetid by keeping, and a camphoraceous, unpleasant, rather bitter taste. It contains 1 to 2 per cent. of a strong- smelling, active volatile oil, isomeric with oil of turpentine (C,,H,,), and the oily, acrid valerianic acid (C,H,.CO,H), which is also present in the berries of the guelder rose, in cod-liver oil, and decaying cheese, and may be obtained artificially by distilling amylic alcohol, and treating the distillate with caustic alkali. Actions anp Uszs.—Valerian and its volatile oil are topical irritants, stimulants, and antispasmodics. In large doses they paralyse the brain and spinal cord, lower blood- pressure, and slow the pulse. Valerianic acid has no special stimulant action, but is said to resemble acetic acid. The valerianates accordingly do not exhibit the action of valerian or of the volatile oil. Mepicwwat Usrs.—Valerian resembles asafcetida, the other gum-resins, camphor, and sumbul or musk-root imported from Russia and India, and produced by an umbelli- ferous plant. It has little effect on horses or cattle, even in Digitized by Microsoft® 590 TURPENTINES doses of several ounces. It is occasionally given to dogs to allay nervous irritability, and relieve chorea and epilepsy ; but little dependence can be placed on it. It attracts and excites cats, developing by its suggestive odour their amatory propensities. The volatile oil abates the convul- sions of strychnine poisoning, is an anthelmintic, and is excreted by the lungs, skin, and kidneys. Doses, etc.—Used for horses or cattle, valerian may be given in quantities of 3]. to 3ij.; for dogs, grs. x. to 3j.; for cats, grs. v. to grs. Xxx., given in powder or infusion several times daily, conjoined with ginger, gentian, or camphor, or dissolved in spirit of ammonia. THE VALERIANATES, aS above indicated, exhibit the actions of their bases, but not those of valerian. Where it is desired to conjoin the physiological action of valerian with iron, zinc, or other metallic salt, or with quinine, the oil of valerian should be prescribed with a suitable salt of the metallic or vegetable base. The valerianates have been used for dogs and cats in epilepsy, chorea, and nervous excitability, in doses of grs. ij. to grs. v. TURPENTINES TEREBINTHINE. Nat. Ord.—Conifere. The Conifere yield the following drugs— I. Oleo-resinous juices exuding spontaneously or from incisions made into the trunks or branches, consisting of common and Venice turpentines, Canada balsam, frankin- cense, and Burgundy pitch. II. Oil of turpentine (C,,H,,)—the volatile or essential oil procured from turpentines by distillation. Ill. Hydrates of turpentine —terebene, terpene, and ter- pinol, prepared by acting on oil of turpentine with acids. IV. Resins—the residue of the distillation of turpentine. V. Tar and black pitch—got by subjecting the roots and wood to destructive distillation. Wood wool prepared from pine wood. Digitized by Microsoft® BORDEAUX AND VENICE TURPENTINES 591 I. Tot TURPENTINES OR CONIFEROUS OLEO-RESINS. The terebinthinate juices while recently exuded are fluid, or nearly so; but exposure to the air volatilises and oxidises their essential oil, and they solidify. They have a peculiar, pungent, bitter taste and odour, are scarcely soluble in water, partially soluble in rectified spirit, dissolving readily in oils, ether, and alkaline solutions; are inflammable, and leave, when burnt, a finely-divided residue of carbon or lamp black. Several of the more important varieties demand notice. Common Turrentine is obtained throughout the Southern States of America, from Virginia to the Gulf of Mexico, chiefly from the Pinus Teda and P. palustris, australis, or swamp pine, a tree sixty or seventy feet high, having bright green linear leaves about a foot in length, and collected into bundles like those of the Pinus sylvestris, or Scotch fir, from which, throughout Northern Europe, turpentine is also procured. Borpeaux Turpentine, chiefly produced in the south-west of France, from Pinus maritima and P. pinaster, is got by bleeding or hacking the bark, and conducting the juice into suitable vessels placed at the foot of the tree. Turpentine from different sources differs somewhat in appearance; the American is dextro-rotatory, the French levo-rotatory ; it is semi-fluid, its consistence varies with the temperature; it gradually solidifies from escape and oxidation of the volatile oil; it has a yellow colour, an aromatic odour, and a warm, pungent taste. Unless melted and strained, it usually contains impurities. Water acquires its flavour, but separates only traces of its active principles. Rectified spirit and ether dissolve it; eggs and mucilage form with it emulsions convenient for administration. The crude American variety, when recent, yields 15 to 25 per cent. of volatile oil. Venice Turrentine (Terebinthina Veneta) is chiefly ob- tained in the Tyrol, Switzerland, and Piedmont, from the common larch, Larix Europza—a lofty tree with graceful Digitized by Microsoft® 592 TURPENTINES drooping branches, and leaves at first in fascicule, like the pine tribe, but afterwards becoming solitary by elongation of the twigs. Venice turpentine is tenacious, rather opaque, and fluorescent; less apt than common turpentine to concrete with keeping; has a pale yellow colour, an acrid, bitter taste,. a disagreeable terebinthinate odour, and contains 15 per cent. of oil of turpentine. The Venice turpentine of the shops. almost invariably consists of about three parts of common resin dissolved in one part of oil of turpentine. This artificial mixture is distinguished by its strong odour, and its more quickly evaporating, and leaving a varnish on a sheet of paper, on which the natural Venice turpentine remains viscid. Canapa Batsam, chiefly brought from Lower Canada, is obtained by puncturing the vesicles lying between the bark and wood of Abies balsamea. It is a pale, greenish-yellow oleo-resin of the consistence of thin honey, has an agreeable terebinthinate odour, and a slightly bitter, feebly acrid taste. On exposure it dries slowly into a transparent adhesive varnish, and solidifies when mixed with one-sixth of its weight of magnesia and water. It contains 15 to 18 per cent. of oil, is much used by varnish-makers, opticians, and microscopists, and, with collodion and castor oil, constitutes flexible collodion. It is sometimes improperly termed Balm of Gilead, which, however, is derived from an Arabian balsamodendron. Strasburg turpentine is a fluid, citron- smelling oleo-resin obtained in the vicinity of the Alps from Abies picea. Chian or Cyprus turpentine, from the island of Scio, nearly resembles Canada balsam in its properties and uses; it is a greenish-yellow, liquid oleo-resin from the Pistacia terebinthus, a tree of the mastic order. Frankincense, or Thus Americanum, is the semi-opaque, soft, concrete turpentine scraped off the trunks of Pinus palustris, P. Teeda, and other American Conifer. On keep- ing it becomes dry, brittle, and darker in colour. A similar concrete turpentine comes from the south of France under the name of gallipot or barras. Bureunpy Pircn is the resinous exudation from the stem of Picea excelsa, or spruce fir, melted and strained. It Digitized by Microsoft® IRRITANTS, STIMULANTS, AND ANTHELMINTICS 593 consists of an amorphous resin, oil of turpentine, and other isomeric oils, and abietic acid. It occurs in semi-opaque red-brown masses, breaks with a shining conchoidal fracture, and has an empyreumatic turpentine odour and aromatic taste. The substance sold as Burgundy pitch is generally made by melting resin and palm oil and stirring in some water. True Burgundy pitch and its imitations spread upon leather are used for stimulant and adhesive plasters, applied in swellings of joints, chest affections, and rheumatism. Actions anp Usts.—The turpentines are topical irritants. When swallowed they are speedily absorbed, act as general stimulants, and are discharged by the kidneys, bronchial membrane, and skin, stimulating these channels of excretion. Their uses resemble those of their more active constituent, oil of turpentine. In percentage of oil, and hence in activity, they stand as follows: Canada balsam, Venice turpentine, common turpentine, and frankincense. They are occasionally used as stimulants in indigestion, colic, and general debility ; as laxatives, especially when in combination; and as anthelmintics, diuretics, and expectorants. Externally applied, they are stimulants, astringents, and antiseptics, and are used for making up diuretic and stimulant balls. In the south of France the resinous vapours of the Conifer have been employed for the relief of bron- chitis, phthisis, and rheumatism in human patients. The growing pine forests, and the oleo-resins extracted from them in presence of oxygen, evolve antiseptic camphoraceous oils and peroxide of hydrogen, which purify the air and destroy disease germs. Doszs, etc.—Horses and cattle take 3j. to Ziij.; sheep, 3j. to Ziij.; pigs, 3j. to Zij.; dogs, grs. xx. to grs. lx. The maximum doses are stimulant and antispasmodic; the minimum, frequently repeated, are diuretic and expectorant. They are administered with milk, oils, linseed gruel, mucilage, eggs, or about =,th part of magnesia. For external purposes they are made into liniments and ointments. 2P Digitized by Microsoft® 594 TEREBINTHINZ OLEUM II. Or or TuRPENTINE. Oleum Terebinthine. The oil distilled from the oleo-resin, obtained from Pinus sylvestris, and other species of pinus. The crude turpentines when heated, as they usually are, by steam, yield 15 to 25 per cent. of oil of turpentine, sometimes improperly called spirit of turpentine. It is a mixture of several hydrocarbons having the composition C,,H,,. It is limpid, with a strong, peculiar odour and a pungent, bitter taste. It commences to boil at about 320° Fahr. According to its source, it varies in its odour, specific gravity, boiling point, and effect on polarised light. It is very inflammable, burning with a heavy yellow flame and producing much smoke. It is insoluble in water, soluble in 64 of alcohol, and readily dissolved in ether, chloroform, glacial acetic acid, fixed and volatile oils. It is a valuable solvent for wax, resins, fats, many alkaloids, iodine, and phosphorus. It is the representative of a large group of terpenes, including the volatile oils of chamomile, caraway, juniper, lemons, pepper, savin, thyme, tolu, and valerian—all of which have the formula C,,H,,. In common with other terpenes, it is convertible into isomerides, oxidises on exposure to air, forming camphoric peroxide; with water produces crystalline hydrates; and with hydrochloric acid forms crystalline compounds. By this action of hydrochloric acid on turpentine artificial camphor is produced. Terebene (C,,H,,2H,O), a mixture of dipentene and other hydrocarbons, obtained by agitating oil of turpentine with successive quantities of sulphuric acid, and then distilling in a current of steam; is less disagreeable and acrid to the taste, and optically inactive. It has the same medicinal properties. Actions anp Uses.—Oil of turpentine has the group actions of a volatile oil. It is an antiseptic topical irritant and disinfectant, and is used as a rubefacient and vesicant. Large doses are irritant and narcotic. Medicinal doses are antiseptic, stimulant, especially of mucous and skin surfaces, antispasmodic, hemostatic, anthelmintic, and antiparasitic. It is also prescribed as an adjuvant cathartic, diaphoretic, and diuretic. Digitized by Microsoft® ANTISEPTIC AND GENERAL STIMULANT 595 Genera. Actions.—Like other volatile oils, it is an active antiseptic. In destroying bacteria spores, Koch found it more effective than alcohol, ether, chloroform, or benzol. It poisons lice, acari, entozoa, and other parasites, whether lodged in the skin, bronchial tubes, or bowels. Applied to the skin it irritates, and, if evaporation be prevented, vesicates, and even ulcerates. When swallowed it is rapidly absorbed, diffused, and excreted, and may be speedily detected in the sweat, breath, and milk, and in the urine, to which it imparts the odour of violets. Small doses stimulate, large doses weaken heart action; and according to Binz the white corpuscles of the blood are increased in number. Full doses first stimulate and then paralyse vaso-motor centres. According to dosage and stage of action, it thus produces a rise or fall of blood- pressure, quickening or slowing of the pulse, rise or fall of temperature; but respiration throughout is generally quickened. It is eliminated by the lungs, acting as a stimulating antiseptic expectorant; by the skin, promoting diaphoresis; by the kidneys, inducing diuresis; while full doses, especially in combination with laxatives, are cathartic. Toxic Errecrs——Large doses when inhaled irritate the respiratory mucous membrane, and reflexly cause difficult ‘breathing. Large doses when swallowed cause irritation, and occasionally ulceration of the bowels. A large dose quickly ‘swallowed, as in the case of alcohol, produces brief primary stimulation and prolonged subsequent paralysis of the central nervous system. Rabbits and kittens were paralysed by in- jection of turpentine emulsion into the stomach. The motor centres are implicated in the same order as in poisoning with members of the alcohol series, those of the brain being first affected, those of the cord later, and those of the medulla last. A dog receiving two drachms, intravenously, staggered, was convulsed, circulation and respiration failed, and death occurred in three minutes (Christison On Poisons). During excretion large doses cause congestion of the urino- genital organs, diminish or arrest secretion of urine, and induce strangury and sometimes hematuria. Mepiciwaz Uses.—In indigestion, flatulence, and atonic Digitized by Microsoft® 596 TEREBINTHINZ OLEUM diarrhea, it checks undue fermentation and acts as a car- minative and gastro-intestinal stimulant and astringent. Although an uncertain cathartic when given alone, like many other volatile oils it promotes the action of cathartics, with which it is usefully conjoined in flatulent colic, and in such cases it is also used in enemata. Alike in flatulent and spasmodic colic in horses, it is frequently given combined either with linseed oil or with mucilage and aloes, and in spasmodic cases is conjoined with opium. As a cardiac and general stimulant it is not so effective as alcohol or ether. But stimulating vaso-motor centres and contracting arterioles, it checks excessive or faulty mucous discharges. Thus, in chronic bronchitis and nasal gleet, terebene gargles and turpentine emulsions and inhala- tions prove useful, especially when seconded by turpentine liniments applied externally. The astringent hemostatic effects are also serviceable in purpura, and in passive hemorrhage from the lungs, stomach, or bowels, as well as from the kidneys, although in renal cases the drug must be used cautiously and in small doses. In purpura in horses, ounce doses are prescribed, with the same quantity of ferric chloride tincture, in milk, twice or thrice daily. This prescription, with two drachms potassium chlorate, is useful in many cases of hemoglobinuria. Chronic rheu- matisin in all classes of patients is frequently relieved by conjoining turpentine with salines, and in such cases it is also usefully applied externally. Turpentine, well kept and fully oxidised, as the French variety generally is, contains formic, acetic, and carbonic acids, and is an antidote in poisoning with phosphorus. Phosphorus in repeated doses produces in animals fatty degeneration; but neither this nor other forms of phos- phorus poisoning occurred when the drug was given with French turpentine (Kohler), Personne gave phosphorus to five dogs, and all died. To five others, an hour or two after similar lethal doses, he gave turpentine, and only one died. Of five dogs to which he gave turpentine immediately after deadly doses of phosphorus, only one died (Dr. Ringer’s Handbook of Therapeutics). Digitized by Microsoft® ANTHELMINTIC AND PARASITICIDE 597 In cattle practice full doses are valuable in hoven. Chronic diarrhceea and dysentery, especially when accom- panied by flatulence, are usually benefited by small doses conjoined with lime-water, aromatics, or opium. When contagious pleuro-pneumonia was subjected to curative treatment, two ounces were sometimes prescribed several times daily. In parturient apoplexy it is given with ammonium carbonate; in peritonitis with laudanum, and in such cases it is also applied as an external stimulant. Mr. A. G. Macgillivray, Banff, in post-partum hemorrhage in cows, gives three to five ounces, with eggs and ginger (Veterinary Journal, 1888). Frequently repeated doses, conjoined with iron salts, check that form of hematuria in cattle popularly known as red-water. For the destruction of intestinal worms oil of turpentine is generally conjoined with a laxative, and given after the bowels have been emptied by a cathartic, and the patient has been fasted. Although it removes round worms,’it is not in horses a certain remedy for tape-worms, but its efficacy is increased by combination with male fern. A tolerably good teniacide for the horse consists of two ounces of turpentine and one ounce of male fern extract, dissolved in a pint of linseed oil. For tape-worms in dogs, areca nut, imale fern, and cusso are more effectual than turpentine. For destroying strongyles infesting the air-passages of calves and lambs, turpentine has been widely used. In some sheep-breeding districts of England, thriftless, cough- ing lambs, throughout the summer months, at intervals of a week or ten days are given turpentine drenches, with the view of killing both thread and tape worms: and such treatment certainly greatly diminishes the scouring and mortality to which lambs in some localities are liable. Six-month calves take half an ounce, lambs of the like age a drachm, of oil of turpentine, conveniently mixed with milk, and administered by the mouth. Two or three doses, at intervals of two or three days, usually effect a cure. Turpentine inhalations, although fairly effectual, are troublesome to manage. For calves intratracheal injection of turpentine has been introduced by: Mr. J. Hutton, of Digitized by Microsoft® 598 OIL OF TURPENTINE Kelso, who makes a small incision in the skin, half-way down the neck, and between two rings of the trachea, and with a suitable syringe injects f3i. to f3ij. oil of turpentine, with f%ss. each of carbolic acid, chloroform, and glycerin, which ensures solution of the carbolic acid. No serious irritation results. A few paroxysms of coughing occasion- ally occur. Brought into actual contact with the parasites, the vermicide promptly destroys them (Veterinarian, 1885). Gapes in poultry, caused by the Syngamus trachealis, is successfully treated by a similar mixture, used diluted with four or five parts of milk or bland oil, two or three drops being placed in the mouth of the ailing fowl. A similar dressing is sometimes applied around the throat, but, al- though in part absorbed, is not so effectual as when swallowed. Externally, oil of turpentine is used as an antiseptic, stimulant, and counter-irritant. Rubbed undiluted into the skin-of horses, it quickly causes topical irritation, restless- ness, and much excitement, continuing for twenty or thirty minutes, and, if used largely and repeatedly, it vesicates, and may blemish. Cattle are not so sensitive to its irritant effect, and for them it is sometimes employed to increase the activity of other vesicants. A piece of flannel wrung out of hot water, and sprinkled with turpentine oil, is frequently applied as a counter-irritant. A continuous moderate action is more serviceable than a single violent effect. For inveterate eczema and psoriasis, after removal of the scales with soft soap and water or alkaline dressings, turpentine, diluted with one or two parts of oil or glycerin and water, sometimes beneficially stimulates the hyper- trophied, weakened skin, and promotes cure. It is used as a stimulant for rheumatic swellings, more particularly of cattle and sheep; for sprains and bruises after the first pain and tenderness have been subdued. by fomentation; for controlling congestion arising from frost- bite, which is not uncommon in the limbs of horses used for night work ; for promoting absorption of small cysts; for healing the troublesome chronic sores occurring about the heels of draught-horses ; for arresting necrosis of dogs’ ears, Digitized by Microsoft® DOSES AND ADMINISTRATION 599 and for relieving tedious foot-rot in sheep. For such cases it is usually mixed with two or three parts of vaseline, oil, or glycerin. A similar mixture destroys lice and other skin vermin, as well as the fungus of ringworm. An occasional sprinkling over dogs’ beds keeps them free of fleas. It is often added to stavesacre, tobacco, and other antiparasitic dressings. It enters into the composition of various mix- tures used by shepherds to protect their flocks from flies, and to kill maggots. For such purposes three ounces oil of turpentine, one ounce each of sweet oil, common salt, and mucilage, and half a drachm corrosive sublimate, are mixed in a quart of water. Dosgs, etc.—For horses and cattle, as a stimulant and dntLapacmedlt: the dose is £3]. to fZij.; as a diuretic, fZss. to f3j. As an adjuvant cathartic or anthelmintic the dose is about fZij., combined with aloes in solution, with castor or linseed oil, with iron salts, quassia, gentian, or other bitters. Full-grown cattle take double these doses. Sheep and pigs receive f3j. to fZiv.; dogs, Mxx. to f3j. It is administered dissolved in bland oils, shaken up with linseed gruel or milk, or made into an emulsion with mucilage or eggs. Aromatics, bitters, or ethers are sometimes added. Intratracheally, 3j. to 3ij., mixed with an equal measure of olive oil, may be administered to horses affected with catarrh. For inhalation half a bucket of boiling water is placed under the patient’s nostrils, and an ounce of turpentine placed in it; or it may be introduced into the steam-kettle, which is almost as serviceable in the treatment of bronchitis in animals as in man. For enemata, turpentine is usually diluted with fifty or sixty parts of oil; or it is mixed with two or three parts of oil or mucilage to ensure solution, and then added to the soap and water. In diarrhcea or dysentery it is conjoined with laudanum and starch gruel. For external purposes it is usually applied with linseed oil, soft soap, or ammonia liniment. Convenient stimulant dressings are made with equal quantities of oil of turpentine, bland oil, and soft soap, or two to three ounces of oil of turpentine are added to a pint of soap liniment. As a stimulant for rheumatism, equal parts of oil of turpentine Digitized by Microsoft® 600 OIL OF PINE—TEREBENE—TERPENE-HYDRATE and laudanum are mixed with two or three parts of linseed oil or soft soap. For dogs, an active embrocation is prepared with an ounce each of oil of turpentine and medicinal ammonia, and six to ten ounces of olive oil. Om or Scorcu Fir (oleum pini sylvestris) is prepared by distilling the fresh leaves of the Scotch fir or Pinus syl- vestris. It has most of the properties, and is applied to many of the uses of oil of turpentine. TereBENE being less acrid than oil of turpentine, and less liable to act on the kidneys, is sometimes substituted for it, especially as an internal stimulant and antiseptic in excessive mucous discharges, and for relieving flatulence. Externally, it is applied as a stimulant, antiseptic, and deodoriser. On or Pine, oleum pini (pinol or pumuline), the oil dis- tilled from the fresh leaves of Pinus Pumilio, is used as an inhalation in bronchial catarrh and in laryngitis. TerPenE Hyprate (C,,H,,2HO), prepared by passing a current of air through a mixture of four parts oil of tur- pentine, one part nitric acid, and three parts rectified spirit. It is crystalline, has an agreeable balsamic odour and taste; is soluble in 220 parts of cold water, twenty-two parts of warm water, and very soluble in alcohol, ether, turpentine, and oils. Its general actions resemble those of oil of turpentine. One to two drachms may be swallowed by small dogs with- out causing gastric derangement; two to three drachms, quickly produce intoxication with restlessness, uncertain gait, impaired vision, and dreaming, followed in a few hours by sound sleep. It has been prescribed in bronchitis, especially in dogs, to stimulate secretion in the earlier stages, and in the later chronic stages to liquefy and diminish excessive discharges. The doses for horses or cattle are grs. xxx. to 3ij.; for dogs, grs. x. to grs. lx., re- peated two or three times daily, and given with alcohol, glycerin, or syrup, in drench or in the patient’s food. Terpinol, prepared by boiling terpene in water acidulated with sulphuric acid, is a mobile liquid, with a strong aromatic odour; insoluble in water, but soluble in alcohol and ether. It actions are similar to those of terpene. Digitized by Microsoft® RESIN 60] III. Resin, Rosin, REsina. The crude turpentines contain 75 to 90 per cent. of resin or colophony, developed by a process of oxidation. Crude turpentine, when distilled with a little water, which the resin retains, leaves a residue of yellow or white resin. When the water is removed, the resin becomes transparent, and when more strongly heated is still clearer, and is known as black or fiddler’s resin. These turpentine resins are types of a considerable group of resins, derived chiefly from the vege- table kingdom, distinguished by their appearance, fusibility, inflammability, acidity to test-paper; burning with a smoky flame; insoluble in water, and soluble in alcohol, volatile oils, and alkalies. They unite with fats, wax, and spermaceti, and are largely used in the manufacture of yellow soap. Resin has the formula C,,H,,O, Coarsely powdered, and shaken with warm dilute alcohol, it undergoes hydration, and yields 80 to 90 per cent. of abietic or sylvic acid (C,,H,,0,). Bor- deaux resin or gallipot contains, besides the isomeric, pimaric acid. Actions anp Uszs.—Resin is a gentle stimulant, astringent, and diuretic. Two to four ounces, swallowed by horses or cattle, cause diuresis. It is added to diuretic masses to increase their consistence. Externally, it is used as a stimu- lant, astringent, and styptic. In castration, a pinch applied to the severed cord, and melted by the hot iron, helps to seal bleeding vessels. It is largely used to impart firmness and adhesiveness to stimulant plasters. Resin ointment is made with eight parts each of resin, yellow wax, and olive oil, and six of lard, melted with gentle heat, strained while hot through flannel, and stirred constantly while it cools. This simple ointment is much used as a lubricant, and mild stimulant for wounds, ulcers, blistered surfaces, and for giving bulk and consistence to other ointments. IV. Tar, Or. oF Tar, anD PitcH. Tar, or Pix liquida, is a thick, viscid, brown-black, aromatic liquid, obtained from the wood of Pinus sylvestris and other pines by destructive distillation. Mineral or Barbados tar Digitized by Microsoft® 602 TAR, OIL OF TAR, AND PITCH has already been noticed. Coal tar, obtained from the destructive distillation of coal, is a by-product in the manu- facture of gas. Two descriptions of wood tar are in use— one got from hard exogens, such as oak, birch, and ash, as a. residual product in the making of charcoal for gunpowder ; and the other an empyreumatic variety imported from Stockholm, Archangel, and America, is got by roasting billets. of the roots, branches, and refuse coniferous timber stacked. in shallow pits dug on a bank or inclined plane. This old process is now superseded by distillation of the refuse wood in cast-iron stills, whereby nearly double the yield of tar is. obtained ; 14 per cent. is got from air-dried stems, 16 to 20 per cent. from roots. When wood is thus distilled the con- densed products separate into two layers, the upper a mixture of methyl-alcohol, pyroligneous acid, acetone, etc., in water ; the lower wood tar. Tar is soluble in alcohol, ether, oils, and alkaline solutions,. but not in water, which, agitated with it, acquires, however, its odour, taste, and brown colour, and constitutes tar water,, once regarded as a valuable medicine. Tar consists of pyro- ligneous acid, methyl-alcohol, creosote, and various phenols,, with toluene, xylene, and other hydrocarbons. Tar when distilled yields oil of tar (oleum picis liquide), an empyreumatic acid liquid, which, although colourless when first distilled, speedily becomes yellow or brown, and is. soluble in alcohol. It contains the more volatile hydro- carbons of the tar. There remains in the retorts pitch, or pix nigra, a black, bituminous substance, solid and brittle, with a shining fracture, dissolved by the same solvents as tar, and consisting of modified resin, and a colourless, in- odorous, crystalline substance, melting at 194° Fahr., called retine (C,,H,,) (Flickiger), Actions anp Uses.—Tar is antiseptic, stimulant, diuretic, diaphoretic, expectorant, and parasiticide. Its active prin- ciples being diffusible phenols, it acts not only when applied externally, but produces most of its effects when given inter- nally. The urine of horses receiving tar water keeps un- changed for several days. It is still occasionally prescribed. for horses with chronic cough and bronchitis, where the Digitized by Microsoft® TAR AN ANTISEPTIC STIMULANT 603 discharges are copious. It is used both internally and exter- nally as a cutaneous stimulant and antiseptic in the squam- ous stages of grease and other forms of eczema, in psoriasis, and in pityriasis, the scaly surfaces being coated daily with undiluted tar, the dressing after several days washed off with soft soap and water, and any refractory spots dressed with mercurial ointment. In chronic eczema one part of tar is usefully added to four of zinc oxide ointment. Tar water is a popular but serviceable lotion for indolent ulcera- tions and hemorrhoids. For thrush and canker of the horse’s foot tar is used either alone or with copper sulphate, sulphuric or nitric acid, and other agents. Mixed with equal parts of fatty matters or soft soap, to impart proper consistence, it forms an excellent stopping for horses’ feet, keeping the hoof moist and soft. As a hoof dressing, Mr. Miles, in his useful pamphlet on the Foot of the Horse, recommends a quarter of a pound each of tar, bees- wax, and honey, a pound and a half of lard, and three ounces of glycerin ; the lard and bees-wax are melted together, the lard, tar, and glycerin stirred in, and stirring continued until the mass begins to set. For foot-rot in sheep, tar has the several advantages of stimulating healthy growth of horn, deodorising, and preventing attacks of flies. It is used in securing wounds, binding broken horns, and making adhesive plasters. Oil of tar is sometimes used instead of oil of turpentine. Its empyreumatic constituents confer antiseptic properties ; it cures mange and scab, destroys other parasites, is some- times added to sheep dips, but has the disadvantage of discolouring the wool, does not mix well with the other ingredients, while large doses or strong solutions are apt to poison. It is applied in both varieties of ringworm, but is seldom so successful as iodine. Pitch is used as a mild stimulant in thrush, canker, and sand-crack in horses; in foot-rot in sheep; and to give adhesiveness to plasters and charges. Digitized by Microsoft® 604 ARECA—ARECOLINE ARECA ArEcH Semina. The seed of Areca Catechu. Betel-Nut. Nat. Ord.—Palmace. (Not official.) The catechu or betel-nut palm is a straight, slender tree, forty or fifty feet high, growing on the Coromandel and Malabar coasts, and throughout the warmer parts of Asia. Within a fibrous fruit lies the hard, ovoid, red-brown seed, of the size and appearance of a nutmeg. _ When ground, the powder is brown, astringent, and partially soluble in hot water and spirit. It contains besides tannin, the alkaloids, arecoline, arecaine, arecaidine, and guvacine. Arecoline (C,H,,NO,), the chief alkaloid, is strongly alkaline, liquid, colourless, and volatile, soluble in water, alcohol, ether, and chloroform. With acids it forms salts, of which the most important is the hydrobromide. Actions anp Usrs,—Arecoline is a powerful sialogogue, dia- phoretic, intestinal stimulant and vermifuge. In physio- logical actions it is allied to eserine, pilocarpine, and pelletierine. Like eserine it contracts the pupil and stimulates peristalsis. Exerting more energy than pilo- carpine it stimulates the secretory nerves of glands, and under its influence the salivary, skin, and intestinal secre- tions are much increased. It stimulates unstriped muscle and promotes the discharge of urine. Large doses act on striated muscle, causing twitching and spasm, followed by partial paralysis. Medicinal doses diminish the force and number of the pulsations, and excessive doses paralyse the heart. In horses respiration is increased by small doses, while large and repeated doses lessen the activity of the respiratory nervous centre inducing dyspneea and suffoca- tion. Arecoline has been used with excellent results in the treatment of acute laminitis and colic in horses and of constipation in cattle. Its value as a remedy for laminitis —first ascertained by Fréhner—has been well attested by Schumacher, Paimans, Gobbels, and others. Froéhner con- siders that it produces a true deviation of the blood and promotes resorption of the inflammatory edema, and Schumacher asserts that it shortens the duration of the Digitized by Microsoft® ARTEMISIA 605 disease. In colic and fecal impaction it is almost as power- ful as eserine, and stronger and more rapid than pilocarpine though not so lasting in its effects (Veterinarian, 1896-98). Areca nut is an astringent resembling catechu, and, when freshly powdered, an effective vermicide, especially for dogs, proving destructive alike to tape- and round-worms. Its effects on horses and cattle are less satisfactory. Mr. Hanley (Veterinarian, 1862) records the case of a greyhound bitch, which passed in fifteen minutes, after a dose of the nut, a tapeworm 13 yards and 2 feet long. Such rapid expulsion of tapeworms is not, however, always attainable, and it is © usually desirable to conjoin with the areca Tx. to T|xv. of male fern extract. This combination Professor Williams states is the most effectual remedy for tapeworm in dogs. If the parasites are not removed a second dose of the mixture should be given two or three days later. Tenaline, a registered liquid preparation containing the teniafuge prin- ciples of freshly ground areca nut, is a convenient and efficient vermicide. Doss, etc.—Areca nut. Dogs, grs. x. to 3ij.; horses, Ziv. to Zvi. The dose of the powder for the dog is about 2 grains for every pound of the animal’s weight (Mayhew). It is administered in linseed oil, soup, mucilage, or milk. Arecoline hydrobromide. Horses, gr. 3 to grs. 1}; dissolved in 160 to 190 of distilled water, and injected subcutaneously or into the jugular vein. In laminitis the dose is repeated daily for four or five days. In colic a single injection may suffice. To contract the pupil a 1 per cent. solution of the hydrobromide may be employed. ARTEMISIA ARTEMISIA ABSINTHIUM. Wormwood. (Not official.) Artemisia Maritima. Santonica. Nat. Ord—Composite. SanTonin. A crystalline principle prepared from Santonica. (B.P.) The Artemisia are low shrubby plants, characterised by their aroma and bitterness. They belong to the natural order Composite, which comprises the familiar southern- Digitized by Microsoft® 606 SANTONIN wood and tansy, the mildly anodyne lettuce, and the harm- less dandelion. The dried Artemisia absinthium contains a volatile cam- phoraceous oil, absinthol, and a bitter extract, yielding the neutral crystalline absinthin, which is a narcotic poison and spinal stimulant, causing in dogs and rabbits trembling, stupor, and epileptiform convulsions, which may prove fatal. In medicinal doses, it is an aromatic bitter tonic, and a popular remedy for worms. It is the chief active constituent of the liqueur absinthe. Santonin. The wunexpanded minute flower-heads of Artemisia maritima contain a volatile oil, a resin, and about two per cent. of a crystalline neutral principle, san- tonin (C,,;H,,0,). It is almost insoluble in cold water, soluble in four parts chloroform, in boiling alcohol, fixed oils, and alkaline solutions, and hence in the intestinal juices. It is rendered yellow by sunlight, and gives a violet colour when added to a warm alcoholic solution of potassium. It imparts a blood-red colour to the urine. Large doses cause in dogs giddiness, vomiting, and convulsions. It is a vermi- cide, without effect on tanize, but destructive to round and thread worms—given for the former by the mouth, for the latter by enemata, and most active when combined with castor oil. It is less effective in horses than in pigs and dogs, for which the dose is 3 to 10 grains, conjoined with aloes or jalap. Half an ounce mixed with the food serves as a vermicide for fifteen young pigs. As in human practice, it is effectual in checking incontinence of urine in young patients, for this purpose being equal to belladonna and superior to nux- vomica. The B.P. santonin lozenge containing 1 grain of the drug, forms a very convenient worm medicine for some canine patients. Santoninoxim is derived from santonin, for which it is sometimes substituted, as larger doses may be given without much risk of paisoning. It is said to kill the worms outright. Digitized by Microsoft® STA VESACRE—CUSSO 607 STAVESACRE SHEDS STAPHISAGRIE Semina. The dried ripe seeds of Delphinium Staphisagria (B.P.). Mat. Ord.—Ranunculacee. Stavesacre, or larkspur, is a stout biennial herb, two to four feet high, growing throughout the south of Europe. Its officinal oily seeds are brown, wrinkled, irregularly triangular, about a quarter of an inch long and scarcely so broad, and have a bitter, acrid, and nauseous taste. They contain about one per cent. of several alkaloids, soluble in ether and acetic acid, the most important being delphinine, which resembles aconitine and veratrine, slows the pulse and. respiration, and paralyses the spinal cord; and staphis- agrine, resembling curare, paralysing the motor nerves and arresting respiration. Actions anp Usss.—The seeds are used for the destruction of lice, and hence have been popularly termed louse seeds. Their action is also exerted on the acari of mange and scab. For such purposes one part of bruised seeds is boiled for two hours with twenty to thirty parts of water, making up the water to the quantity originally used. Such a solution rubbed into the skin not only kills pediculi, but also destroys their eggs. Ointments and liniments are made with one part of powdered seeds heated with six or eight of vaseline or oil. Strong preparations too freely applied, absorbed from denuded surfaces or licked, as they are apt to be by dogs, are liable to nauseate and prostrate. Occasionally they are conjoined with sulphur and tar. CUSSO Kousso. Brayera. The dried pannicles of pistillate flowers of Brayera anthelmintica (B.P.). Nat. Ord.— Rosacez. Kousso consists of bundles, rolls, or clusters of pannicles of small reddish-brown flowers. Its active principle is koussin— a neutral crystalline glucoside, with a bitter taste, insoluble in water, but soluble in alcohol and alkaline solutions. It also contains resin, gum, tannic acid, and a volatile oil. Digitized by Microsoft® 608 MALE FERN Actions anp Uses.—It narcotises and kills intestinal worms, and in fasting dogs, two consecutive doses, given with an interval of two hours, and followed by a purgative, bring away tape-worms. Although it scarcely causes catharsis, full doses nauseate dogs and cats, and sometimes excite colic. Doses—sheep, 3jv. to 3j.; lambs, grs. Ixxx. to gers. cl.; dogs, according to their size, take grs. xl. to to Ziij., usually given in infusion, most effectually used unstrained, sweetened with honey or treacle, and the taste veiled by a little peppermint water. Koussin is occasionally given to dogs in doses of grs. v. to grs, xx. MALE FERN Firix Mas. The rhizome of Aspidium Filix-mas. Collected late in the autumn, divested of its roots, leaves, and dead portions, and carefully dried. Should not be kept more than a year (B.P.). Nat. Ord.—Fikcine. The male fern grows wild throughout most temperate regions, on the sides of roads and in open woods, especially where the soil is light. Its root stock is perennial, about a foot long and two inches thick; is scaly, tufted, greenish- brown, and firmly fixed in the ground by numerous black root fibres. The dried root has a disagreeable odour, and a sweet, astringent, nauseous taste. Besides the usual plant constituents, it contains about 4 per cent. of resin, 6 of a green fixed oil, a small amount of volatile oil, with 8 per cent. of the crystalline filicic acid (C,,H,,0,), which is its most active constituent. The root is preserved in stoppered bottles, and the supply renewed annually. Deterioration from keeping, and the substitution of the roots of inactive ferns, in great part explain the depreciatory accounts sometimes given of its efficacy. The green parts are most active, and should alone be used. Actions anp Uses.—Male fern is irritant, vermicide, laxative, and in large doses causes hemorrhagic gastro- enteritis. It is one of the most effectual remedies for tape- worm, especially in dogs, and Kuchenmeister considers it quite as poisonous to the genus Bothriocephalus. Dr. John Digitized by Microsoft® EU PHORBIUM 609 Harley believes that, like ergot, it stimulates the involuntary muscular fibres of any hollow viscus in which it is placed, and thus explains the vomiting and intestinal peristalsis which full doses produce when swallowed, and the contrac- tions induced when it is injected into the urinary bladder. Professor Fréhner made various experiments with the ethereal extract. He poisoned a small dog with Tl xxx., a dog of 40 lbs. with f3v., a sheep of 88 lbs. with f3vi, a cow of 660 lbs. with about f3iij. Doszs, etc.—The powdered male fern rhizome is given to horses and cattle in doses of Ziv. to 3vi.; sheep, 3j. to Ziv.; dogs and cats, Zi. to Zii. But the powder is inconveniently bulky, and less certain than the BP. ethereal or liquid extract. The dose of the extract for horses or cattle is £3ij. to {3vi.; for sheep and pigs, fJi. to {Hij.; for dogs or cats, Tx. to {3j. It is given sometimes with half a dose of turpentine in a little oil, milk, or gruel, flavoured with ginger or pepper- mint, when the bowels have been emptied by a laxative and several hours’ fasting. Professor Williams states that the extract, with half a dose of areca-nut, constitutes the most effectual remedy for tape-worm in dogs. If the parasite is not expelled, the medicine may be repeated in three days. Kaufmann recommends doses to be given in the morning, at noon, and at night. The worms narcotised, relinquish their hold, and are swept out by a laxative, administered a few hours after the last dose of extract. EUPHORBIUM An acrid resin obtained from Euphorbia resinifera (Berg.). Nat. Ord.—Euphorbiacez. (Not official.) The Euphorbiacez include the shrubs yielding croton and castor oil, the Brazilian tree producing danda or assu juice, and cascarilla bark. The cactus-like plants yielding medi- cinal euphorbium grow in the kingdom of Morocco and in the region skirting the Atlas range. From incisions made into their angular, jointed, prickly stems and branches, an acrid, milky, resinous juice exudes, and concretes in irregular, 2Q Digitized by Microsoft® 610 HELLEBORE dull-yellow tears, which are gathered in September, are about the size of large peas, often hollow, and perforated with little holes. Euphorbium has an acrid, persistent taste, is without odour, but is so irritant that a mere trace of the powder in contact with the nostrils provokes immediate violent sneezing. The powder is grey, and insoluble in water ; but its active resinous principle dissolves in alcohol, ether, and oil of turpentine. When heated it melts, swells up, and burns with a pale flame and an agreeable odour. It contains 38 per cent. of an amorphous, acrid resin (C,,H,,0,), 22 of the colourless, tasteless euphorbon, allied to lactucerin, a constituent of lettuce (Fliickiger and Hanbury). Actions anp Uses.—Euphorbium is an energetic irritant, vesicant, and pustulant. Introduced into the stomach or areolar tissues, rubbed into the skin, or inhaled into the nostrils, it causes violent and sometimes fatal inflammation. Two ounces given internally caused fatal gastro-enteritis in a horse; four drachms retained in the stomach of a large dog had the like effect in twenty-six hours (Orfila). So intensely irritating is euphorbium, that the workmen employed in grinding it, although wearing masks or handkerchiefs over their faces, often suffer severely from headache, inflamma- tion of the eyes, and sometimes even delirium. It is occasionally added to blisters, but the ordinary ointment made with fatty matters is apt, especially in horses and dogs, to inflame the deeper layers of the skin, destroy the hair roots, and induce sloughing and blemishing. Kaufmann states that a tincture containing one part to sixteen of spirit may, however, be used as an energetic vesicant for horses without injuring the hair roots. Unlike cantharides, it has no tendency to act on the kidneys. HELLEBORE Biack HELLeBore. Dried rhizome and rootlets of Helleborus niger, Nat. Ord.—Ranunculacee. (Not official.) The Helleborus niger, Christmas rose, or bear’s foot, is cultivated in this country, and is indigenous to many parts of Continental Europe; the chief supplies come from Germany. Digitized by Microsoft® KAMALA 611 It has a perennial, black, knotted, scaly rhizome, one to three inches long and scarcely half an inch thick, from which descend numerous dark-coloured rootlets, having a faint, unpleasant odour, and an acrid, bitter taste. The plant generally is acrid, but the rhizome and rootlets are most active. The rhizomes of Helleborus viridis and fcetidus, often mixed with those of the niger, are very similar in action. Hellebore contains a bitter, neutral, non-volatile, irritant glucoside, helleborin (C,,H,,O,); a slightly acid, irritant glucoside, helleborein (C,,H,,0,,); other crystalline principles, and an organic acid, probably equisetic (Fliickiger). Actions anp Usts.—Black hellebore is an acrid irritant, but scarcely so active as veratrum album, or white hellebore. It is emetic, drastic purgative, anthelmintic, and parasiticide. Full doses produce in all animals gastro-enteritis, with cardiac depression. Two drachms swallowed by a medium-sized dog killed him in a few hours, and smaller quantities have proved fatal in a shorter time when applied to wounds (Christison). Two or three drachms produce in horses colic and enteritis ; two or three ounces cause death in forty to fifty hours; one to three drachms induce similar effects among sheep and goats (Hertwig). It is not prescribed in regular practice. Even as a constituent of blistering ointments, it must be used with caution, as it is liable to act with unexpected violence. An ounce of powdered hellebore and two ounces of alum, dissolved in a gallon of hot water, are used to destroy caterpillars infesting gooseberry, rose, or other trees. KAMALA A powder consisting of the minute glands and hairs obtained from the surface of the fruits of Mallotus philippinensis. Nat. Ord.—Euphorbiacee. (Not official.) The granular, brick-red, resinous powder, which constitutes kamala, is obtained from the capsules of an evergreen small tree indigenous to Australia, India, and Abyssinia. It yields an active yellow crystalline substance—rottlerin. Actions anp Uses.—It is a drastic purgative and vermi- cide. For the destruction of tape-worm it is nearly as active Digitized by Microsoft® 612 ERGOT OF RYE ag areca-nut and male shield fern. The dose for a dog is 3ss. to 3i., administered in thick gruel, treacle, or linseed oil. ERGOT OF RYE Ercora. Spurred or Horned Rye. Ergot. The sclerotium of Claviceps purpurea, originating in the ovary of Secale cereale (B.P.). Nat. Ord.—Graminacer. Ergot attacks not only rye, but the other Graminaces, the Cyperacez, and palms. The earliest symptoms occur about the time of blooming, when the ears of the rye exhibit drops of yellow, sweet, fungous slime, called honey-dew, which attracts ants and beetles, and which after a few days dries up. The soft ovaries of the grains attacked are meanwhile covered and filled by white, spongy, felted-together cells—the mycelium (or spawn) of the Claviceps purpurea. The grain is disintegrated ; at its base the mycelium cells separate, swell, solidify, and form a compact, dark violet body, which, as it grows in a curved, horn-like shape, protrudes from the pales, and constitutes the ergot. The further history of this biennial fungus, investigated by Tulasne, shows that it reaches its fully-developed sclerotium or ergot state in July; it should be gathered in August or September, before any putrefaction appears; it usually remains in a quiescent state during winter; on moist mould, in March or April, it pro- duces fruit heads of the perfect fungus, the Claviceps purpurea, which, after a few weeks, is again ready to distri- bute its earlier spores. Close, damp weather and undrained soils favour development and distribution of these ergot spores as of other fungi. The injury done to the rye crop by ergot varies much; sometimes only a few grains in each head are diseased, sometimes scarcely one is altogether sound; five to ten on an average are affected. It abounds both in grain and grasses in various parts of the United States of America, where it is stated that as much as 1 lb. has been got from 100 lbs. of hay. It should be collected before the plants are cut. Properties.—Ergot of rye is cylindrical, or somewhat triangular, curved, resembling a cock’s spur tapering towards Digitized by Microsoft® STIMULATES AND CONTRACTS MUSCULAR FIBRE 613 the ends; it varies in length from one-third of an inch to an inch and a half, and in breadth from one to four lines; is marked by a longitudinal furrow on each side, often irregularly cracked; has at one end a pale-grey, fragile excrescence, the shrivelled remains of the style, and is covered by the grey, powdery conidia or spores. It is dark violet- black externally and pinkish-white within. Its odour is peculiar and disagreeable; its taste, at first sweet, becomes bitter and slightly acrid. When dry it is inflammable, hard, and brittle; when moist, or long exposed, it becomes soft, darker in colour, and covered with acari. Its structure is made up of felted thread-like cells, amidst which lie drops of oil. Ergot should be free from mustiness ; it deteriorates by keeping, and by exposure to damp (B.P.). Infused in boiling water, it forms a claret-coloured solution, retaining the odour, taste, and actions of ergot. Ergot consists of about 30 per cent. of a non-drying fixed oil, which has no special action; a peculiar sugar termed mycose; lactic, acetic, and formic acids; colouring matters ; and, according to Kobert, of Strasburg, three active principles —an alkaloid, cornutine, and sphacelinic and ergotinic acids. Another base, ergotinin, has been described; but is inert. Amine and ammonia bases are formed normally, and are also produced by decomposition. Actions anp Uses.—Ergot, cornutine, and sphacelinic acid stimulate and contract involuntary muscular fibre, and hence diminish the blood-stream passing through the arterioles. Large or continued doses thus produce ergotism. Medicinal doses are given to contract the uterus, and also the blood-vessels in cases of hemorrhage. Genera Actions.—The physiological effects of the three active principles of ergot are thus described by Dr. Lauder Brunton :— Cornutine causes spastic rigidity in frogs, lasting many days, even when given in very minute doses (,, of a milli- gramme). In warm-blooded animals half a milligramme causes salivation, vomiting, diarrhea, and active movements of the uterus, which are clonic and not tonic. The vessels are contracted and blood-pressure raised. Digitized by Microsoft® 614 ERGOTISM Sphacelinic acid causes at first great spasmodic contrac- tion of the blood-vessels, with rise of blood-pressure, and subsequently gangrene. The heart is unaffected. Tetanus of the uterus is produced. Cornutine and sphacelinic acid are evidently the principles which cause uterine contraction (Kobert). Ergotinic acid causes ascending paralysis of the spinal cord and brain both in frogs and mammals, with loss of voluntary motion, paralysis of the vaso-motor centre, and fall of blood-pressure, while respiration and reflex irritability continue. It does not appear to have the power of increasing uterine contractions, and hence cannot be regarded as the most important constituent of ergot. The fresh extract, injected into animals, causes inco- ordination, cutaneous anemia, anesthesia, and paralysis, and in large doses death due to paralysis of respiration. The voluntary muscles are unaffected ; the motor nerves are not paralysed, but, on the contrary, have their power some- what increased; the sensory nerves are paralysed; but it is uncertain whether this action is central or peripheral. The spinal cord is paralysed (Brunton). The action of the heart is weakened; the pulse-rate slowed. Blood-pressure is first lowered and then raised. Respiration in dogs is first quickened, but in most animals it is slowed from the beginning. All unstriped muscular fibre is contracted ; the calibre of blood-vessels is hence diminished, as may be readily seen in the web of the frog’s foot; the iris is contracted ; intestinal peristalsis is increased; the urinary bladder is emptied, and the contents of the pregnant uterus expelled. The contractions of the uterus are continuous and tetanic, are usually produced in fifteen or twenty minutes, and last about an hour. They result mainly from general contraction of unstriped muscular fibre, but are also believed to be in part determined by stimulation of the uterine centre in the spinal cord. Ergot, given experimentally in large or continued doses, or the protracted use of ergoted grain, causes ergotism, which is characterised by gastro-intestinal derangement, nausea, diarrhea and vomiting in animals capable of emesis, Digitized by Microsoft® CHRONIC POISONING 615 and from the impaired circulation and nutrition affecting different areas, subsequently assumes two forms—(1) dry gangrene, chiefly involving the extremities, ears, and tail; (2) inco-ordinate spasms, and sometimes epileptiform con- vulsions. This latter form is believed to result from irritation and paralysis of the sensory centres of the spinal cord. Ergot of rye, resembles maize ergot—a fungus occurring on Indian corn, recognised by the U.S.A. Phar., and probably containing the same active principles as ergot. Savin and thuja also cause uterine contractions. Digitalis and its analogues contract the involuntary fibres of arterioles. The physiological antagonists of ergot are ethers and amyl-nitrite. Toxic Errrecrs are not so marked on horses, cattle, sheep, and rabbits as on men and dogs. Thirty cows amongst them took daily with impunity 37 lbs. for three months; two milk cows had between them 9 lbs. daily, with no further evil effect than that the butter was badly tasted. Twenty sheep amongst them ate daily for four weeks 9 lbs. without injury (Phebus and Pereira). Dogs receiving six to twelve drachms suffered from vomiting, tenesmus, pro- stration of muscular power, enfeebled pulse, convulsive twitchings, spasms, and coma (Tabourin). Three ounces proved fatal to a terrier bitch in twenty hours. Chronic poisoning occurs especially in patients placed in unfavourable sanitary surroundings. Dr. Samuel Wright (Edinburgh Medical and Surgical Journal, vols. lii., liii., and liv.) found that ergot, given for several weeks to dogs and rabbits, caused nausea, impaired appetite, a weak, irregular pulse, soon becoming intermittent, diarrhea; excessive foetor of the secretions and excretions, paralysis, particularly of the hind extremities, enlargement of the liver, contraction of the spleen, impairment of the special senses, wasting, and general debility. Gangrene of the extremities is not, however, produced so readily as in man. Dogs, cats, and rabbits showed great aversion to it, even when it was mixed with sound grain, or considerably diluted with water; and, although pressed by hunger, would scarcely eat it of their own accord. Ergot of maize, according to Digitized by Microsoft® 616 ERGOT AN ECBOLIC Roulin, is common in Columbia, and its continued use is stated to cause shedding of the hair, and even of the teeth, both of man and beast. Mules freely fed on it lose their hoofs, and fowls lay eggs without shells. Abortion attributed to ergoted grasses occurs amongst cows, ewes, and deer in many grass districts of England and Ireland, especially in wet seasons. The hay from pastures subject to ergot is seldom, however, so injurious as the grass, for it is generally cut before the fungus is matured. Cows abort from this cause more frequently than ewes or deer; for they are more prone to eat the coarser, longer ergoted grasses, and, moreover, are often pregnant in the later months of summer, when ergot occurs. Experi- mentally, abortion has been produced in guinea-pigs, sows, bitches, cats, cows, and ewes, rabbits, and poultry (Stillé, Therapeutics). Youatt declared that he had never known ergot fail in its action on the pregnant uterus either of monogastrics or ruminants. The negative results obtained by some experimenters may be explained by their having used ergot which had been too long kept. Mepicinaz Uses.—As a parturient, ergot is seldom needed in the lower animals. The foal or calf, coming naturally at the full period, if assistance is requisite, is generally brought away by judicious traction. It is sometimes useful in uterine inertia, where the throes are languid and occurring at long intervals, where the animal has been in labour for some considerable time, where no obstruction is present, and where the os uteri is considerably dilated. It is un- suitable where there is malformation either of the mother or foetus, where the position of the foetus prevents its ready expulsion, and sometimes also in first pregnancies, where the uterus, roused to continuous tetanic contractions, is more liable to be injured or torn. After parturition, if the uterus remain flaccid, and especially if hemorrhage occur, as occasionally happens both in cows and ewes, ergot effectually contracts the organ, and thus arrests the bleeding. In such cases it may be given by the mouth, or, where prompt effects are sought, it is injected subcutaneously, or into the -substance of a muscle. It is sometimes prescribed to remove Digitized by Microsoft® SAVIN 617 uterine cysts and hasten expulsion of the foetal membranes, which in the lower animals may usually, however, be readily removed by the hand. Given either by the mouth or injec- tion, it is useful in all animals in hemoptysis, and sometimes in hematemesis and other hemorrhages. It is of no avail in purpura. Professor Robertson recommended it in cerebro- spinal meningitis in horses; and several practitioners have tried it, but without much success, in parturient apoplexy in cows. The reduction of fibroid and other tumours has sometimes been effected by injecting them with ergot. In addition to the powdered drug the following official preparations are used:—Extractum Ergot (Ergotin); Ex- tractum Ergote Liquidum; Infusum Ergotz (1 to 20 of boiling water); Tinctura Ergotzee Ammoniata; and Injectio Ergotz Hypodermica (made with ergot-extract). Doses, etc.—Ergot freshly powdered, as an ecbolic for the mare or cow, 3ss. to Z1j.; for sheep about 3ij.; for swine and bitches Jss. to 3j.; Extract of Ergot (Ergotin), horses and cattle, grs. xxx. to grs. lxxx.; dogs, grs. v. to grs. x.; in drench or electuary, and repeated as may be required. The liquid extract may be prescribed for horses and cattle in doses of TLlx. to 3ij; for dogs Mx. to Mxxx. Of the tincture horses and cattle may be given Ziv. to Zj. or more. The B.P. hypo- dermic injection of ergot contains 33 grains of the extract in 110 minims. For the mare or cow the dose is M60 to TL100 injected subcutaneously or into the substance of the gluteal muscles. The smaller dose should first be tried. SAVIN Sapinaz Cacumina. Fresh and dried tops of Juniperus Sabina, collected in spring from plants cultivated in Britain. Nat. Ord.—Coniferee. (Not official.) Juniperus Sabina is an evergreen shrub, common through- out Middle and Southern Europe, and cultivated in this country. The tops or young branches, with their attached leaves, when fresh are green, but become yellow when kept; Digitized by Microsoft® 618 SAVIN have a strong, heavy, disagreeable odour, and a bitter, acrid, resinous taste. They communicate their properties to water, spirit, and the fixed oils, and owe their activity to about three per cent. of a colourless or pale yellow volatile oil, prepared from the fresh tops by distillation, isomeric with oil of turpentine (C,,H,,), and associated, as constantly occurs in plants, with a more oxidised oil (C,,H,,O). From the berries ten per cent. of these oils is said to be obtained (Phillips). Actions and Uses.—Savin is a topical irritant, antiseptic, rubefacient and vesicant. Administered internally, moderate doses are anthelmintic, and diuretic; they increase appetite, promote digestion, and stimulate the urino-genital organs. Large doses produce gastro-enteritis. Excretion occurs by the skin, pulmonary membrane, and kidneys. Savin re- sembles the turpentine yielding conifers, and especially the other junipers. Toxic Errects.—Hertwig gave horses half a pound twice daily for six or eight days without effect; Professor Sick administered small doses for half a year without notable symptoms; but these observations probably underrate its activity. Mr. Rose records the poisoning of five horses, of which one died immediately, and two after five days; the others recovered, after suffering from diarrhcea, intense thirst, quickened pulse and breathing, with great prostration (Veterinary Record, 1850). Two drachms kill rabbits in a few hours, producing extreme congestion of the intestines, kidneys, and bladder. Orfila records that four drachms destroyed dogs in thirteen hours, when the gullet was tied to prevent vomiting; and similar effects followed when powdered savin was applied to a wound or introduced under the skin. Vomiting, purging, gastro-intestinal inflamma- tion, and collapse were produced. The kidneys and bladder were irritated, usually causing copious discharge of bloody urine. The uterus is also irritated, and savin has been ignorantly used to produce abortion and hasten parturition. Two cases of abortion in mares heavy in foal are recorded in the Veterinarian for 1855. In these cases the continued use Digitized by Microsoft® COLCHICUM 619 of savin destroyed both foals, and, being still persevered with, caused their expulsion apparently ten or twelve days later. Mepiciwat Usrs.—Savin cannot be safely used to produce abortion or hasten parturition. Unlike ergot, it does not directly contract the muscular fibres of the uterus. It stimulates the uterus, and expels its contents only as a result of irritation of the intestines and urinary organs. It is occasionally used chopped with fodder for the destruction of intestinal worms; but other remedies are safer and more certain. If used at all, the best form is the essential oil. Infusions of the tops in an alkaline ley, and the essential oil, are occasionally applied as antiseptics and stimulants to warts and indolent wounds. Doses, etc.—Of the volatile oil as an anthelmintic—the only purpose for which savin is administered—horses or cattle, £Hilj. to £Ziv; dogs, Mii. to Mv. dissolved in any mild fixed oil or in mucilage. For external application, infusions and ointments are used. Equal parts of savin and verdigris ointments form a popular stimulant dressing for foot-rot in sheep. An infusion, one of savin to one hundred of water, is sometimes injected into the uterus to promote expulsion of retained foetal membranes. COLCHICUM Concuicrt Cormus. Colchicum Corm. The fresh corm of Colchicum autumnale. Meadow Saffron. Collected in early summer; and the same, stripped of its coats, sliced transversely, and dried at a temperature not exceeding 150° Fahr. Coxcuict SEmiInsa. The dried, ripe seeds of C. autumnale (B.P.). Nat. Ord.—Colchicacee. The meadow saffron grows wild throughout Middle and Southern Europe, and on English lawns and coarse, wet pastures, in mild, moist localities, and is cultivated in gardens. It has an annual stem; lilac or purple flowers, numerous round, red-brown, bitter, acrid seeds about the size of millet; Digitized by Microsoft® 620 COLCHICUM and a bulbous root, which when about a year old, reaches the size of a walnut, and matures in July. The corms are used both fresh and dried. Dried slices are kidney-shaped, about one and a half inch long, and an inch broad, are greyish-white, dry, firm, and starchy, with a bitter, acrid taste. They yield their active principles to alcohol and vinegar. They contain about 70 per cent. of water, and 18 of starch and gum, with ~,th of 1 per cent. of a bitter, erystallisable, poisonous alkaloid, colchicine (C,,H,,NO,). It is conjoined with gallic acid, is present in other parts of the plant, and is nearly a hundred times more active than the fresh bulbs. Soluble in water and alcohol, slightly soluble in glycerin; with acids, forms crystalline salts. Sulphuric acid colours it yellow-brown, nitric acid dyes it violet, passing through various hues to yellow. The corms also contain traces of the allied alkaloid veratrine. Actions anp Uses.—Colchicum irritates most textures with which it comes into contact. Large doses are gastro- intestinal irritants and cardiac depressants. Medicinal doses are emetic, cathartic, and cholagogue. Its diuretic and diaphoretic actions are uncertain. It resembles Veratrum album, V. viride, and cevadilla. Toxic Errects.—The corm, whether used green or dry, the seed, any active preparation, and still more notably colchicine, are in-contact irritants. Owing to the active principle being slightly soluble they have little action on the sound skin. When swallowed, a sense of acridity is produced in the mouth and throat, and the flow of saliva is increased. Passing into the stomach and bowels they cause colic, tenesmus, and diarrhcea, and in carnivora nausea and vomit- ing. Absorption, however, is slow. The gastro-intestinal irritation is succeeded by cardiac depression, resembling that caused by veratrine and aconite, while full or frequently repeated doses induce collapse. The brain, motor nerves, and muscles are unaffected; the spinal cord and sensory nerves are paralysed. Mr. Broad in the Veterinarian, 1856, records two cases of horses dying from eating with their hay the stalks, leaves, and seeds of colchicum. Colic, tympanites, and great dulness Digitized by Microsoft® AN IN-CONTACT IRRITANT 621 supervened, with death in twenty-four hours, and on post- mortem examination ‘inflammation and patches of erosion’ were found in the mucous membrane of the stomach. Mr. Broad also mentions the poisoning of eight two-year-old in- calf heifers, which suffered from hoven, purging, feeble pulse and coma. Three died in about twenty hours, and the mucous ‘membrane of the stomachs exhibited patches of inflammation and erosion. M. Barry (Recueil de Médicine Vétérinaire, 1862) records the case of a cow and heifer in Aisne, which ate some cut grass containing a considerable amount of meadow saffron. In a few hours they had violent colic, profuse and bloody diarrhoea, tenderness of the abdomen, coldness of the surface, and prostration, The cow recovered; the heifer died from irritation and exhaustion in three days. A number of cows ate small quantities of colchicum, suffered from colic and diarrhoea, but recovered when treated with emollient drenches and mild saline mixtures. Three cattle having eaten colchicum are reported (Veterinarian, 1864) to have suffered from dulness, stupor, grinding of the teeth, dilated pupils, imperceptible pulse, relaxed bowels, cold extremities, and thirst, but no griping pains, or quickened breathing. They were successfully treated by laxatives and stimulants. Dogs and cats are more susceptible than horses or ruminants. Two drachms of the dried bulb caused in dogs vomiting, bloody evacuations, diuresis, tremors of the limbs, depression of the heart action, and death in five hours. A tenth of a grain of colchicine given to a cat occasioned saliva- tion, vomiting, purging, staggering, extreme languor, colic, and death in twelve hours. Rabbits, as well as frogs and other cold-blooded animals, are stated to be less susceptible to the drug. As antidotes the stomach must be emptied; full doses of tannin form an insoluble compound with the colchicine; white of egg and other demulcents are freely given, and stimulants if there be collapse. Mepicinat Usts.—The fresh corm given in large doses by Professor Rutherford to fasting dogs, and its expulsion by vomiting prevented, increased secretion of bile, and also Digitized by Microsoft® 622 CAMPHOR purged powerfully. But action on the liver and gastro- intestinal membrane is more safely effected by other medicines. Small doses, conjoined with alkalies or salines, are occasionally given to horses in rheumatism and influ- enza, especially in subacute cases in which the inflammation appears to move from joint to joint. Foreign authorities prescribe it in constitutional ophthalmia. Professor Williams has used it, conjoined with potassium iodide, in pleurisy, in rheumatic pericarditis, and sometimes in pneumonia when the kidneys were torpid. It is excreted in great part by the kidneys, and when not quickly removed by the bowels it increases, alike in health and disease, both the organic and inorganic constituents of the urine. Doses, etc.—The powdered corm or seed as a diuretic for horses, 3ss. to 3j.; for cattle, 3j. to 31j.; for sheep, grs. x. to grs. xxv.; for dogs and pigs, grs. ij. to grs. viij., given with salines. A convenient solution is made with one part of colchicum, six or eight of vinegar, and a little spirit. Col- chicine dissolved in 100 parts of water and alcohol may be given hypodermically or intratracheally in doses of gr. i. to gr. ij. to horses, and gr. 1th to gr. 4th to dogs. The tincture is made with four ounces of colchicum seeds to the pint of alcohol (45 per cent). CAMPHOR CampHora. A white crystalline substance obtained from Cinnamomum camphora, purified by sublimation (B.P.). Nat. Ord.—Laurinee. The camphor laurel is a tall, handsome evergreen, cultivated in Japan and China, and in many European conservatories. Its wood and leaves evolve a characteristic odour when bruised, and yield about =4,th of their weight of camphor, which is sometimes extracted by dry distillation. In Formosa, whence comes most of the camphor imported to this country, the branches are cut into chips and boiled with water in wooden troughs; along with the steam the volatile camphor rises and condenses in earthen pots placed Digitized by Microsoft® ANTISEPTIC, STIMULANT, AND ANALGESIC 623 over the troughs, and on reaching this country is purified by mixing with a little charcoal, sand, lime, and iron filings, and re-subliming. Properties.—Camphor occurs in solid, colourless, trans- parent, crystalline pieces, of tough consistence; also in rectangular tablets or pulverulent masses known as ‘flowers of camphor’ (B.P.). It has a bitter, pungent, cooling taste, and a strong, peculiar, aromatic odour. It floats on water, its specific gravity, varying with the temperature, is about 0995. Exposed to the air, it volatilises; heated, it sublimes without residue, and burns readily with a bright but smoky flame. It is dificult to powder, unless when mixed with alcohol, ether, or chloroform. It dissolves readily in ether, in about its own weight of rectified spirit, in one-fourth part of chloroform, four parts olive oil, two parts oil of turpentine, eight times its weight of milk, and in 700 times its weight of water. Camphor (C,,H,,O) is an oxide of terpene (C,,H,,)— the chief constituent of oil of turpentine, chamomile, carda- moms, cloves, hops, juniper, savin, or valerian. Associated with the terpene in these oils is an oxidised product or stearoptine corresponding with the colophony of turpentine. Continuously heated with nitric acid, camphor oxidises, and is converted into camphoric acid (C,,H,,0,). Triturated with chloral hydrate, menthol, phenol, or thymol, it forms a liquid. Borneo camphor (C,,H,,O) is an alcohol derived from the wood of Dryobalanops aromatica, and is distinguished from laurel camphor by its softness, friability, and opacity, its higher density, and its somewhat alliaceous odour. From Borneo, Formosa and other parts of China, fluid camphor oils are obtained from several different trees. Artificial camphor (C,,H,,HCL) is got by the action of hydrochloric acid on oil of turpentine. Camphora monobromata (C,,H,,BrO) resembles bromine rather than camphor in its actions, is sometimes used instead of the bromides, but is not so efficient. Actions and Usts.—The camphors in large doses are irritant and narcotic. Medicinal doses are antiseptic, stimulant, antispasmodic, anodyne, aphrodisiac, and dia- Digitized by Microsoft® 624 CAMPHOR phoretic. Externally, they are occasionally employed as antiseptics, parasiticides, counter - irritants, and to relieve itching in various skin diseases. Genera, and Toxic Errecrs—The camphors, physiologi- cally, are volatile oils. Like other bodies of the group they are topical irritants, and large doses stimulate and sub- sequently narcotise the central nervous system. They frequently produce convulsions. Those which contain the most hydrogen, as the Borneo, the monobromata, as well as menthol (C,,H,,0), are least convulsant. In fine powder or solution they are quickly absorbed; are oxidised in great part into camphoric acid; stimulate the brain, spinal cord, heart, and respiratory functions: and are excreted by the skin and bronchial membrane, and in less amount by the kidneys (Bartholow). Moiroud records that two ounces pro- duced in horses convulsive movements and acceleration of the pulse, unaccompanied, however, by fatal results. Hert- wig mentions that two to four ounces given to horses and cattle, two to four drachms to sheep, and one to three drachms to dogs, accelerate respiration and pulsation, communicate a camphoraceous odour to the breath, heighten sensibility, and occasionally induce convulsions. Dogs, besides, exhibit imperfect power of controlling the movements of their limbs, and when the doses amount to three or four drachms in- sensibility and death ensue. The vapour of cainphor destroys fleas, bugs, moths, and spiders, exciting, enfeebling, and stupefying them. It has considerable antiseptic power. Koch found that one part to 2500 of water hindered development of anthrax bacilli. Mepiciva, Uses.—Camphor is a nervine stimulant, and hence usefully controls reflex excitability in gastro-intestinal, respiratory, urino-genital, and cutaneous irritability. It is used, especially in young animals, as a gastric stimulant and antiseptic. In diarrhea it is given with aromatics and a few drops of hydrochloric acid, or with ether and laudanum. Professor Robertson prescribed it with opium in enteritis in horses. Many veterinarians give it freely in catarrhal cases presenting increased secretion and dyspnea, conjoining it with salines, ammonia salts, or belladonna. Digitized by Microsoft® A NERVE AND GASTRIC STIMULANT 625 In chronic bronchitis in horses, Professor Robertson pre- scribed it with squill, and in convalescence from catarrhal complaints used a bolus consisting of a drachm each of camphor, gentian, ginger, and myrrh. For influenza and other exhausting diseases, whether in horses or cattle, a stimulating draught is often made with two drachms each of camphor and ammonium carbonate, and an ounce of ether, given in ale or cold gruel. Sore-throat and irritable, spasmodic cough are relieved by placing on the tongue, at intervals of two or three hours, or as required, an electuary made with equal parts of belladonna extract, borax, and camphor, reduced to a paste with ammonium acetate solu- tion, and mixed with eight or ten parts of honey or treacle. Small doses prescribed with belladonna lessen urino-genital irritability, resulting from cantharides or other causes. Its aphrodisiac effects are not very notable in veterinary patients. It does not, as has been popularly believed, diminish the lacteal secretion. For dogs, a mixture containing grs. v. each of camphor and belladonna extract, with f3j. of ammonium acetate solu- tion, in two ounces of water, is prescribed to relieve cough and bronchial irritation. Professor Williams recommends camphor and sweet spirit of nitre for allaying the restless- ness and convulsions of chorea. Externally, it is applied either in oil, or weak spirituous solu- tion, to allay itching inchroniceczemaand urticaria. Dissolved in oil or mixed with vaseline, it is used to destroy skin parasites, and to prevent attacksof flies. It is aconstituentof soap,opium, belladonna, chloroform, turpentine, and other liniments. Aqua Camphore is made with 70 grains of camphor dissolved in four drachms of alcohol (90 per cent.), and added to one gallon of water. Camphorated oil consists of one part of camphor in four of olive oil. Compound liniment of Camphor is made with twenty parts camphor, forty strong solution of ammonia, one of oil of lavender, and 120 of rectified spirit. Spirit of Camphor consists of one part camphor dissolved in nine parts alcohol (90 per cent.). 2R Digitized by Microsoft® 626 SANITAS Doses, etc.—For horses, 3}. to 3ij.; for cattle, Bij. to Biv. ; for sheep and pigs, grs. xx. to grs. xl; and for dogs, grs. v. to grs. x. When used for anodyne purposes, it is con- veniently made into an emulsion with eggs, or dissolved in milk or oil. For external use, it is dissolved in ten parts of alcohol, in diluted acetic acid, linseed oil, or oil of turpentine. SANITAS Sanitas occurs in the form of oily and watery fluids, pre- pared by oxidation of oil of turpentine, and containing camphoraceous bodies and hydrogen peroxide. A current of air is driven by an engine, for about 120 hours, through a series of Doulton’s stoneware receivers, surrounded by vats of water, maintained by steam at a temperature of 140° Fahr. In each receiver are placed thirty gallons of American, Russian, or Swedish oil of turpentine, and about double that amount of water. The oil gradually becomes darker in colour, its specific gravity and boiling point are raised, and it acquires a balsamic odour resembling camphor and peppermint. As the process continues, the turpentine (C,,H,,) is oxidised, producing camphoric peroxide (C,,H,,03), which is gradually converted into another antiseptic camphoric substance (C,,H,,0,), and the soluble hydrogen peroxide which passes into solution in the water. The several essential oils of the terpene series (C,,H,,), as well as cymene (C,,H,,) and menthene (C,,H,,), undergo similar oxidation, and give rise to the same products. In this way pine forests, especially during sunshine following rain, render the atmosphere not only pleasantly balsamic but antiseptic, more highly oxygenated, and curative for throat and lung complaints. The Eucalyptus globulus in like manner pours forth these antiseptic and highly oxy- genated volatile products, which are antidotes to malaria, and sometimes, it is said, even arrest the progress of pul- monary consumption; while, on a smaller scale, every plant or flower producing an essential oil exerts similar oxygenat- Digitized by Microsoft® SANITAS AND HYDROGEN PEROXIDE 627 ing and purifying effects (Nature's Hygiene, by C. T. King- zett, F.LC., F.CS.). When the manufacture of Sanitas is completed, there floats on the surface of the aqueous solution a yellow-brown, dense, oxidised oil of turpentine, consisting chiefly of cam- phoric peroxide, which is stated to have an oxidising strength equal to that of a ten volume solution of hydrogen peroxide. This Sanitas oil, mixed with a suitable mineral or other basis, constitutes a useful disinfecting and deodorant powder. It is introduced into various soaps, conferring disinfectant properties, and, mixed with vaseline, oils, or fats, forms serviceable antiseptic liniments and ointments. Melted with Dammar resin and paraffin wax, a mixture is obtained which is used to impregnate muslin, forming an antiseptic gauze. Disinfectant desiccants are prepared by admixture with chalk or starch. The watery solution, cleared by filtration, and known as Sanitas fluid, consists chiefly of thymol, a proportion of the camphoraceous constituents which characterise the oil, and hydrogen peroxide. The B.P. Solution of Hydrogen Peroxide is a clear, odour- less liquid, with a bitter taste. It is readily soluble in water, and should contain from nine to eleven volumes of available oxygen. It is a powerful oxidising agent, and a valuable antiseptic for abscess cavities, ulcers, and suppurating wounds. A five to ten per cent. solution in water has been employed to disinfect the facial sinuses after trephining, and to irrigate the uterus after extraction of retained foetal membranes. Actions anp Uses.—Sanitas oil and fluid are volatile, oxidis- ing, non-poisonous antiseptics, disinfectants, and deodorants. Their several constituents in various ways attack and destroy organised ferments, and the lower forms of vege- table and animal life. Sanitas preparations have an agree- able aromatic odour, are not corrosive, and do not stain or injure clothing or other textile fabrics. Their power of checking fermentation has led to the administration of the fluid to calves fed on milk, and suffering from dyspepsia or diarrhcea ; an ounce is prescribed with six ounces of water, and may be conjoined with spirit, ether, or chloroform, Digitized by Microsoft® 628 SANITAS OIL AND FLUID Useful antiseptic lotions for wounds, ulcers, and bruises are prepared with one part of the fluid, diluted, according to circumstances, with four to ten parts of water. Ointments and liniments are prepared with about the same proportions of oils and fats. When wounds, for ten days or longer, have been treated with carbolic or other irritant dressings, granula- tion and skin growth often proceed more satisfactorily with the substitution of the milder Sanitas. In sore-throat, catarrh of the sinuses of the head, aphtha, and foot-and- mouth complaint, solutions and sprays are often useful, and, being devoid of irritant effects, are also serviceable for rectal, uterine, and vesical injections. Sanitas solutions and soaps not only cleanse and disinfect, but gently stimulate the skin, abate itching, remove scurf, and promote healing in prurigo, chronic eczema, and similar skin complaints. Sanitas fluid, diluted with twenty to fifty parts of tepid water, is serviceable for sponging febrile patients, and for disinfecting animals affected with contagious disease. In canine practice, the fluid diluted with four to six parts of water, is used in canker of the ear, ulceration of the mouth, eczema, and as a uterine injection after parturition. Sanitas oil destroys the parasites of scab and mange, as well as lice, fleas, and maggots, and arrests the cryptogamic growth of ringworm. Even in con- centrated form, there is no risk of its exciting undue irrita- tion, or inducing from its absorption injurious constitutional effects, such as are apt to follow the free use of strong carbolic preparations. Sanitas powder and sawdust are used with good effect for disinfecting and deodorising stables, kennels, cow- sheds, and piggeries. Sprinkled upon the floors, they also purify the air of slaughter-houses, menageries, manufactories, and exhibitions; while on shipboard they destroy unpleasant odours, and substitute their own camphoric aroma. These preparations are largely used in hospitals and by medical officers of health. Digitized by Microsoft® THYMOL 629 THYMOL THyMoL—a crystalline substance, obtained from the volatile oils of Thymus Vulgaris and Carum Copticum. Purified by recrystallisation from alcohol (B.P.). Thymus vulgaris (Nat. Ord.—Labiate) is a bushy ever- green shrub found in dry situations throughout Southern Europe. It derives its aroma from an essential oil separable into two parts—(1) the fluid thymene, which is isomeric with oil of turpentine (C,,H,,); and (2) the solid thymol (C,H;.C,H,.CH,.0H). Thymol occurs in large oblique prisms, with a pungent, aromatic taste. It requires for solution 1500 parts of water, 190 of glycerin or two of olive oil; and is freely soluble in alcohol, ether, and chloroform. It sinks in cold water, but heated to 110° to 125° Fahr., it melts and floats on the surface. Actions anp Uses.— Thymol is antiseptic, disinfectant, diaphoretic, diuretic, and vermicide. Large doses paralyse the nerve centres of the cord and medulla. It has most of the characteristic properties of a volatile oil. Dr. Lauder Brunton states that its physiological actions place it between oil of turpentine and carbolic acid. Solutions of one per cent. destroy bacteria and prevent reproduction of their spores. Applied to the skin or mucous surfaces it causes irritation, followed by anesthesia. When swallowed it is slowly absorbed. Dogs weighing 20 pounds and rabbits weighing 7 pounds, receiving respectively 60 and 30 grains injected hypodermically, exhibited lowered blood- pressure and muscular weakness, paralysis of respiration, and coma; but the fatal effect of full doses was frequently averted by artificial respiration. The respiratory mucous membrane was congested, the lungs were congested and sometimes consolidated, the kidneys inflamed, the urine albuminous, occasionally bloody. In chronic poisoning tissue metabolism appears to be impaired, and there is fatty de- generation of the liver, as in phosphorus poisoning. It is excreted chiefly by the lungs and kidneys, imparting to the urine a green colour by direct, a brown by transmitted light. Digitized by Microsoft® 630 TOBACCO Compared with carbolic acid, thymol is not so irritant, caustic, or poisonous; when absorbed it does not cause preliminary excitement, but from the first paralyses the nerve centres; as an antiseptic it is stated to be more power- ful and permanent. Its high price precludes its use as an ordinary antiseptic. Concentrated solutions damage in- struments. Mepiciwat Uses.—It has been prescribed in vesical catarrh, horses taking grs, x. to grs. xxx.; dogs, gr. ss. to grs.v. As a vermicide in strongylosis of foals, grs. 10 to grs. 15, dissolved in glycerin and alcohol, suspended in milk or mucilage, or made into a bolus coated with keratin, are given daily for four or five consecutive days, and followed by a laxative. But its chief use is in antiseptic surgery. Notwithstanding its greater cost, it is sometimes substituted for carbolic, salicylic, and boric acids. For allaying irritation and remov- ing scales in chronic eczema and lichen, 1 to 2 grains are dissolved in an ounce of diluted spirit, or of potassium car- bonate solution. For such purposes an ointment is also used, made with 10 to 40 grains to the ounce of vaseline. As a stimulating antiseptic in sore-throat and ozzna, it is used in the form of gargle, spray, or inhalation. It is the active constituent of Volekmann’s antiseptic fiuid, which, with one part thymol, contains 20 of alcohol, 20 of glycerin, and 960 of water. This solution prevents the development of pyogenic organisms. TOBACCO Tapact Foura. Tobacco Leaves. The dried leaves of Nico- tiana Tabacum. Nat. Ord.—Solanacee. (Not official.) Tobacco derives its name from tabac, the instrument used by the American aborigines for smoking the leaf, from the island of Tobago, or from the town of Tobasco in New Spain. It appears to have been cultivated from time immemorial in America, and is now grown largely in the region watered by the Orinoco, in the United States, and in many temperate and sub-tropical countries of both hemispheres. It was unknown in the Old World—at all events in Europe—until Digitized by Microsoft® TOBACCO AND NICOTINE 631 after the discoveries of Columbus; and was first introduced into England by Sir Francis Drake in 1586. The Nicotiana Tabacum, which yields the Virginian and several commercial tobaccos, is an herbaceous plant, three to six feet in height, with a branching fibrous root, a tall annual stem, funnel-shaped, rose-coloured flowers, and large, moist, clammy, brown leaves, mottled with yellow spots, covered with glandular hairs, and distinguished by a strong, peculiar, narcotic odour, and a nauseous, bitter, acrid taste. The leaves readily communicate their properties to hot water and alcohol. The plant is cut down in August, and the leaves dried, twisted, and carefully packed, with great compression, in hogsheads. For many purposes the midrib is removed, and occasionally the leaf is fermented, in order to remove albuminoids, which, when smoked, give rise to oils and unpleasant products. Sugar and liquorice are sometimes added to impart mellowness and pliability. Commercial tobaccos contain about 12 per cent. of mois- ture, 20 to 25 of lignin, and about the same amount of inorganic matters, chiefly salts of potassium and calcium. The chief active principle is nicotine (C,,H,,N,)—a colour- less, volatile, inflammable, oily alkaloid, with an acrid odour and taste. It occurs in combination with malic and citric acids, constituting 5 to 7 per cent. of the dried leaf. It is soluble in water, alcohol, ether, the fixed and volatile oils. Tobacco also yields, when distilled with water, a crystalline volatile oil—nicotianin, or tobacco camphor—produced from oxidation of the nicotine. Tobacco slowly burned, as when smoked, is decomposed, and the smoke contains volatile fatty acids and ethers, traces of hydrocyanic acid and am- monia, while the nicotine in great part is converted into alkaloids of the benzine series—pyridine (C,H,N), collidine (C,H,,N), picoline (C,H,N), and lutidine (C,H,N.). Actions anp Usts.—Tobacco and nicotine are in-contact irritants. They stimulate and then paralyse the spinal cord, the motor nerves of muscles, especially of involuntary muscles, and the nerves of secreting glands. They enfeeble circulation, cause trembling, staggering gait, convulsions, and death from respiratory failure. Tobacco is rarely pre- Digitized by Microsoft® 632 TOBACCO AND NICOTINE scribed internally, but is used externally as an antiparasitic. Nicotine and Nicotianin are antiseptic. Genera Actions.—Strong solutions are in-contact irri- tants of mucous and denuded skin surfaces. Partly from this topical irritant action and partly from stimulating motor nerves they cause vomiting in carnivora. Large doses in all animals induce gastro-enteritis with collapse. Nicotine is quickly taken up from absorbing surfaces. Dogs dressed with concentrated decoctions frequently suffer from nausea and vomiting, while human patients have been poisoned by enemata. Small doses cause muscular tremors ; larger, produce strychnine-like clonic spasms, affecting espe- cially the involuntary muscles of the intestines, bladder, and uterus ; still larger doses are followed by muscular paralysis ; death results from paralytic asphyxia. Small doses stimulate the sensitive fibres of the vagus roots, and also its endings in the heart and lungs, slowing the pulse, reducing blood- pressure, and causing dyspnea. But larger doses both peripherally and centrally paralyse the vagus, quickening the pulse, and increasing blood-pressure. The cardiac gan- glia, however, are not paralysed as by atropine. Twofold stimulant and paralysant effects are likewise exerted on the vaso-motor and secretory systems. Small to moderate doses increase the secretions of the skin, bowels, and kidneys. Toxic Errecrs are produced in horses by 9 ounces of tobacco ; in cattle by 1 1b.; in sheep by 1 ounce; in dogs by 1 to2drachms. The poisonous dose of nicotine for horses and cattle is 5 to 6 minims, for dogs 1 to 3 minims. One- tenth part of these doses used hypodermically is dangerous (Frohner and Kaufmann). MHertwig gave horses half an ounce to an ounce of the powdered leaves, with the effect of lowering the pulse three to ten beats per minute, and render- ing it irregular and intermittent; while a repetition of such doses increased evacuation both of feeces and urine. Large doses, especially intravenously injected, accelerated the pulse, increased the action of the bowels and kidneys, and caused irritability and restlessness. A healthy middle-aged cow received two ounces dissolved in water, in divided doses, but given within two and a half hours. The temperature of the Digitized by Microsoft® MOTOR PARALYSANTS AND PARASITICIDES 633 skin was heightened: the pulse raised from 65 to 70; the breathing quickened and somewhat oppressed; the pupil dilated, while perspiration was abundant. Next day the animal continued dull, but by the third day she was per- fectly well. An ox consumed about four pounds of tobacco leaves, and speedily became very restive, ground his teeth and groaned, lay with outstretched limbs and distended rumen, passed quantities of thin foetid feeces, and died in eleven hours in convulsions. The leaves were found in the alimentary canal, and the mucous membrane, especially of the fourth stomach, was red and eroded, particularly where in contact with the tobacco. Hertwig further mentions that goats are similarly affected by one or two ounces, and generally die in about ten hours. Orfila administered to a dog five and a half drachms powdered tobacco (rappee), ensuring its retention by ligature of the cesophagus. There ensued violent efforts ‘to vomit, nausea, purging, tremors of the extremities, giddiness, accelerated respiration, quickened pulse, convulsions, stupor interrupted by spasms, and dependent on imperfect oxygena- tion of the blood, and in nine hours death. A decoction containing half a drachm, injected into the rectum of a dog, produced similar symptoms, but was not fatal. Two and a half drachms, applied to a wound, destroyed a dog in an hour. The pupils are contracted, and in fatal cases are insensible to light. A single drop of nicotine destroys small dogs and rabbits in five minutes, producing convulsions and general paralysis. Post-mortem discloses appearances of asphyxia; and in cases where the crude drug has been swallowed, and has not been immediately fatal, the gastro-intestinal tract exhibits evidences of irritation. The treatment of poisoning, when the crude drug has been swallowed, consists in the use of the stomach-pump or emetics. Tannin renders nicotine insoluble. Keeping the patient warm, and the cautious administration of stimulants, antagonise nausea and depression; while artificial respiration, and the careful hypodermic injection of strychnine, overcome the tendency to death by asphyxia. Digitized by Microsoft® 634 TOBACCO AND NICOTINE Tobacco is allied to several other motor depressors of the Solanacez, notably to dulcamara and belladonna; but it does not produce that peculiar disturbance of the locomotor centres, and consequent irregular movements, which char- acterise belladonna, while it increases, instead of diminish- ing, cutaneous and other secretions, and contracts instead of dilating the pupil. It resembles lobelia or Indian tobacco— the dried flowering herb of Lobelia inflata, which is some- times prescribed for the relief of spasmodic asthma in dogs as well as in human patients. Tobacco is more limited in its paralysant effects than hemlock, prussic acid, or physostigmine. Mepiciwat Usrs.—Tobacco is now seldom administered in- ternally. There are many much better emetics than the quid of tobacco sometimes given to the dog, and numerous more effectual remedies for intestinal worms. Tobacco smoke enemas were formerly used to relieve the spasms of colic; but chloroform, chloral hydrate, opium, and other anodynes are more effectual. A one to two per cent. decoc- tion, used as an enema, brings away ascarides lodged in the rectum. An infusion made with four ounces black tobacco and a pint of boiling water, strained and cooled, has been used successfully as an antidote in strychnine poisoning. Externally, it is used to kill the acari of inange and scab, and also lice, fleas, and ticks, but it does not effectually destroy the ova of these parasites. Strong solutions, liberally applied, are apt to cause nausea, trembling, spasms, and sometimes death, but there is no danger in the careful use of decoctions made with thirty or sixty parts of water. For such purposes the leaves are boiled for half an hour with a limited quantity of water, and the decoction diluted as required. For sheep dips and washes two to five per cent. solutions are used, their efficacy being increased by addition of soft soap, potash, tar oils, and occasionally arsenic or corrosive sublimate. Unless, however, the refuse juice of the manufactory can be procured, tobacco is too costly for sheep dips. Law’s sheep dip is made with tobacco, 16 lbs., oil of tar 3 pints, soda ash 20 lbs., soft soap 4 lbs., water 50 gallons. Macerate the tobacco in three successive portions of water and add be spther a er ats to, e fluid. CATK.CHU 635 CATECHU PaLE CatEecuu. Catechu pallidum. An extract of the leaves and young shoots of Uncaria Gambier (B.P.). Nat. Ord. —Rubiacee. Biack or Brown Catecuu. Catechu nigrum. The aqueous extract of the wood of Acacia Catechu, of Acacia Suma, of other Leguminose, and of plants of other natural orders. (Not official.) The Uncaria Gambier, producing the pale catechu (cate, a tree; chu, juice), is a stout climbing shrub, inhabiting the islands of the Indian Archipelago, and cultivated for its astringent juice. A decoction made of the leaves and young shoots is evaporated, worked into red-brown, earthy-looking masses or cubes, with surfaces about an inch square. The black or brown catechu, chiefly brought from Bengal and Burmah, is derived from several trees, largely from the Acacia Catechu, a native of India and Africa. The Acacia Suma, a large tree growing in Bengal, Burmah, and Southern India, has a white bark used for tanning, and red heart-wood, from which catechu is also made. The wood of these and of other trees is cut into chips and boiled with water, the decoction concentrated either by fire or the heat of the sun, and the extract cut or moulded into square cakes or masses. The pale and black catechus are very similar in com- position and properties; are porous and opaque; brittle, breaking with a granular fracture; under the microscope exhibit minute, needle-like crystals; are without odour, but have a sweet astringent taste. They are soluble in alcohol and ether, partially soluble in cold water, entirely dissolved by boiling water, with which they form red-brown solutions. They consist of about 40 per cent. of catechu-tannic acid, which is soluble in cold water; and of catechin or catechuic acid (C,,H,,0;), which is also a modification of tannic acid, deposits in acicular crystals from boiling watery solutions of catechu, and is soluble in alcohol and ether. They further contain the yellow colouring matter quercitin. Actions anp Uszs.—Catechu is astringent, acting by Digitized by Microsoft® 636 CATECHU contact only. It forms insoluble compounds with albumin and gelatin, and, like other tannin-containing substances, is used in making leather. It is less astringent than oak bark or galls, but more astringent than kino, the inspissated juice obtained from incisions made in the trunk of Pterocarpus Marsupium; than rhatany, the dried root of Krameria Triandra or of K. Argentea ; than logwood, the sliced heart- wood of Hematoxylon Campechianum; or than bearberry or uva-ursi leaves (p. 535). Catechu is administered to the several domestic animals for the arrest of chronic catarrhal discharges and hemor- rhage, especially from the throat and alimentary canal. The insoluble catechin beneficially exerts its astringency on the relaxed, over-secreting surfaces alike of the small and large intestines. In persistent diarrhea and in dysentery it is conjoined with aromatics to allay flatulence ; with opium to relieve irritability and spasm; with alkalies, magnesia, or chalk, to counteract acidity. A convenient prescription for such cases consists of three ounces each of catechu, prepared chalk, and ginger, and six drachms of opium, made, as is most suitable, into either mass or draught. This will make eight doses for a horse, six for a cow, and eight or ten for a calf or sheep. For the horse the dose is given in bolus; for the ruminant, suspended in starch gruel. Catechu is occasionally applied to sluggish wounds and ulcers, to excoriations on the udder of cattle, and for the several purposes of a vegetable astringent. Doses, etc.—For horses, Ji. to 3iij.; for cattle, 5ij. to Zvi. ; for sheep and swine, 3i. to Jij.; and for dogs, grs. iv. to grs. xx. These doses are administered three or four times a day, with sufficient mucilage or gruel to cover their astringent taste. An infusion is readily prepared for veterinary purposes by pouring boiling water over coarsely-powdered catechu, digesting by the fire for an hour, and straining. Flavouring ingredients may be added as required. The B.P. orders the tincture to be made with catechu, in coarse powder, four ounces; cinnamon bark bruised, one ounce ; alcohol (60 per cent.), one pint. Compound powder of catechu, is composed of catechu, 4 ounces; kino, 2 ounces; Digitized by Microsoft® GALLS 637 krameria root, 2 ounces; cinnamon, 1 ounce; and nutmeg, lounce. All powdered and mixed. For external purposes the powder, infusion, and an ointment are used. GALLS GaLLta. Oak Galls. Excrescences on Quercus infectoria resulting from the puncture and deposition of an egg or eggs of Cynips Galle tinctorie (B.P.). Nat. Ord.— Cupuliferee. Home-grown galls from the common oak (Quercus robur) are in some seasons abundant throughout the southern and midland counties of England, but seldom contain more than half the tannic acid found in the foreign. The best commercial variety, known as Levant galls, is imported from Syria, Smyrna, and Constantinople; the light, hollow Chinese, Japanese, or East Indian galls, are yielded by the Rhus semialata; large Mecca galls, called Dead Sea apples, are imported from Bussorah. Galls vary from the size of a bean to that of a hazel-nut, are round, hard, and studded with tubercles; of a bluish- grey colour externally, and yellow within. An inferior variety, from which the larva has escaped, are smoother, of lighter colour, lower density, and less astringency. Galls are easily reduced to a yellow-grey powder, devoid of odour, but having an intensely astringent taste. The active principles are dissolved by forty parts of boiling water and still less of diluted alcohol. Ferric salts, added to a watery solution, slowly precipitate the dark-blue or black iron tannate, the basis of writing ink. An aqueous solution of gelatin throws down a grey flocculent precipitate of tanno-gelatin. These reactions, and other important properties, depend on the presence of tannin or tannic acid, which, according to the quality of the galls, ranges from 15 to 70 per cent., and is associated with about 3 per cent. of gallic acid. Tannic Acrp, or tannin (C,,H,,0,.2H,0), is the glucoside to which oak bark, galls, logwood, and many vegetable astrin- gents owe their properties. The tannic acid from these several sources has, however, somewhat different charac- Digitized by Microsoft® 638 TANNIC AND GALLIC ACIDS teristics, and generally receives such special designations as gallo-tannic, cincho-tannic, catechu-tannic acids. Gallo- tannic acid is prepared by softening powdered galls by keeping them for two days in a damp place, digesting them for several hours simultaneously with water, which dissolves the tannic acid, and with ether, which dissolves colouring matter and gallic acid. The mixture, filtered and allowed to stand, forms into two layers, and the lower, carefully evaporated, yields tannic acid. It occurs in pale yellow vesicular masses, or thin glistening scales; has a strongly astringent taste and an acid reaction; is readily soluble in water, dilute alcohol, and slowly in glycerin; very sparingly soluble in ether. The aqueous solution gives an olive-brown precipitate with ferric-chloride, a yellow-white precipitate with gelatin, and a red coloration having a blue fluorescence with alkalies. It is also precipitated by, and hence is incompatible with, most metallic salts, the mineral acids, and the vegetable alkaloids. In several ways tannic acid may be decomposed, yielding gallic acid and glucose, and hence is termed a glucoside. Gauuic Act, or tri-hydroxy-benzoic acid (C,H,(OH),. CO,H,H,O), may be prepared by the action of diluted sul- phuric acid on tannic acid or powdered galls, It occurs in acicular prisms, or silky needles, which are colourless or pale fawn. It requires for solution about one hundred parts of cold water, three of boiling water, and twelve of glycerin ; but is more soluble than tannic acid in alcohol and ether. Its aqueous solution gives a blue-black precipitate with ferric salts. Unlike tannic acid, it is not precipitated by isinglass, albumin, hydrochloric, or sulphuric acid. Lime water browns tannic acid slowly, browns gallic acid immediately, and with pyrogallic acid yields a purple red, which becomes brown as it absorbs oxygen (Attfield). Actions anp Uszs.—Galls and tannic acid differ only in the degree of their action. They are astringent and antiseptic. Galls have about one half the activity of tannic acid. As gallic acid does not coagulate either gelatin or albumin, it is scarcely entitled to be considered an astringent. Tannic acid may be taken as the type of the group which Digitized by Microsoft® ACTIONS AND USES 639 includes galls, oak bark, catechu, kino, and rhatany. It has little effect on the unbroken skin; but on abraded, atonic, and hypersecreting skin and mucous surfaces it coagulates albumin, causes dryness and tanning, with some contraction of the soft textures. But, unlike salts of lead, silver, or other mineral astringents, it does not contract capillary vessels. It paralyses sensory nerves, and diluted solutions hence relieve irritation. It coagulates blood and arrests bleeding. In the digestive canal it combines with albuminoids and alkalies, precipitates pepsin, and neutralises bacterial secre- tions and toxines. It is slowly and partially absorbed, as gallic acid or as an alkaline tannate, but when thus neutral- ised it can have little astringent or hemostatic power. It is excreted as gallic acid, or as some oxidised product thereof. Meprctwat Uses.—Tannic acid and galls, in powder, solution, or spray, are applied in stomatitis, and relaxed conditions of the pharynx and nasal passages. In diarrhcea and dysentery the slowly dissolving catechus and kino are sometimes pre- ferred to tannic acid, as they reach the intestines and exert their in-contact effects before they are neutralised. They are frequently prescribed with chalk, acids, aromatics, and opium, and given either in bolus or mucilage. For arrest of internal hemorrhage, neither tannic nor gallic acid is so effectual as ergot, ferric-chloride, or lead acetate and opium. Dr. Stock- man’s investigations, reported in the British Medical Journal, 1886, show that gallic acid, even in full doses, has no special general astringent action. Both tannic and gallic acids are used as antidotes in poisoning by alkaloids; but in combating metallic poisoning they are not so serviceable as eggs, or suitable chemical antidotes. Externally, tannic acid is used with glycerin and water in the weeping stages of eczema; as an astringent wash with opium in prolapsus of the uterus and rectum; while it also checks the discharge and allays the irritability of otorrhea, which is common in dogs. Tannic acid and antipyrine, ten parts of each, with 100 of alcohol, form an excellent applica- tion for soft, ulcerating, bleeding surfaces. For piles in dogs, gallic acid is used in substance, or as an ointment, opium being added if there is much irritability ; and such applica- Digitized by Microsoft® 640 TANNIC ACID, PREPARATIONS AND DOSES tions are often advantageously alternated with calomel ointment. Tannic acid is useful for burns mixed with boric ointment and sometimes with opium. For nasal catarrh it may be used mixed with starch, or iodoform, as an insuffla- tion. Doses, etc.—Of tannic acid horses take grs. xxx. to 3ij.; cattle, Ziij; sheep and large pigs, grs. xv. to 3ij.; dogs, grs. ij. to grs. x. Gallic acid is used in the same doses; powdered galls in about double these doses. Glycerin of tannic acid, made by stirring one part of acid with five of glycerin, is a soothing antiseptic astringent, used diluted with water as required. Gall and Opium ointment is made with 37 grains powdered galls, 15 grains opium, and 148 grains of benzoated lard, or with vaseline. A styptic colloid may be prepared with one of tannin and eight of alcohol, mixed with four of collodion. Pyrogallic acid is an antiseptic, astringent, and caustic, recommended in cases of psoriasis and ringworm, and for tanning and shrivelling carcinomatous growths. Jarisch’s ointment for psoriasis consists of 60 grains pyrogallic acid to 1 ounce of lard. Tannalbin, a dried albuminate of tannin, has been much used in the treatment of diarrhea and dysentery in young animals. It is a light brownish powder, without odour or taste, insoluble in water and unaffected by the gastric juice. In the intestine it is slowly dissolved, exerting an astringent-disinfectant action on the mucous membrane. It contains about 50 per cent. of tannin. Doses,—horses and cattle, 3]. to Ziv.; foals and calves, grs. xx. to grs. xl; three times daily, in gruel, milk, or electuary. Tannigen (di-acetyl- tannin), prepared by the action of acetic anhydride on tannin, dissolved in glacial acetic acid, is a yellowish-grey powder, odourless and tasteless, insoluble in water, freely soluble in alcohol. Passes through the stomach unchanged and acts as an intestinal astringent. Recommended as a remedy for parasitic intestinal catarrh in foals. Doses,—grs. xx. to 3j., in boiled milk or linseed tea. Digitized by Microsoft® BENZOIN 641 CHRYSAROBIN Ararosa. Crude Chrysarobin. Goa powder, A substance found in cavities in the trunk of Andira araroba, dried and powdered, and imported from Brazil. Nat. Ord— Leguminose (B.P.). Chrysarobin, obtained from Araroba by extracting with hot chloroform, evaporating and powdering, occurs as a crystalline, brownish-yellow powder, insoluble in water, but soluble in chloroform, and slightly soluble in alcohol. By oxidation it yields chrysophanic acid, C,,H,O,, which is a constituent of rhubarb, stains yellow, and is less irritant than chrysarobin. Both chrysarobin and chrysophanic acid are irritant and parasiticide, are seldom given internally, but are applied, usually in the form ot a2 to 5 per cent. ointment, in the second squamous stages of eczema, and in psoriasis and ringworm. BENZOIN Benzornum. A balsamic resin obtained trom Styrax Benzoin and probably from other species of Styrax (B.P.). Nat. Ord.—Styracee. The styrax benzoin abounds in Siam, Sumatra, and Borneo. Incisions are made into the bark, when the thick, white, resinous juice exudes, and concretes in tears, which are subsequently made into larger masses, and imported in wooden cases. The colourless or reddish tears are imbedded in an amber-brown transparent resin. Inferior qualities are dark-brown or nearly black, and devoid of amygdaloid structure. Benzoin is brittle and easily pulverised, softens readily when warmed, and when further heated yields fumes of benzoic acid. It is slightly heavier than water; soluble in alcohol and in solution of potassium hydroxide. Besides traces of volatile oil, benzoin contains about 80 per cent. of three resins, distinguished by differences of solubility, and from 14 to 20 of the acrid, crystalline, benzoic 28 Digitized by Microsoft® 642 BENZOIN—-BENZOIC ACID— BENZOATES acid, HC,H,O,. Some samples contain as much as 10 per cent. of the allied cinnamic acid. Benzoic acid is obtained from benzoin by sublimation. It may also be obtained from toluene, from hippuric acid, and from other organic compounds (B.P.). It occurs in light, feathery crystals, which are soluble in 400 parts of cold or seventeen parts of boiling water, in three parts alcohol (90 per cent.), five parts glycerin, seven of chloroform, and in the fixed and volatile oils; also in solution of the-alkalies and of calcium hydroxide forming benzoates. Ammonii benzoas is a crystalline salt produced by neutralising benzoic acid with solution of ammonia. Soluble in six parts of water, twenty-two of rectified spirit, and in eight of glycerin. Sodii benzoas, obtained by neutralising benzoic acid with sodium carbonate, is soluble in two parts cold water, and in twenty-four of rectified spirit. Actions anp Uses.—Benzoin, benzoic acid, and its salts are stimulant, expectorant, diuretic, antiseptic, and anti- pyretic. Benzoin, although less frequently employed now than formerly in the treatment of disease of the air passages, is still useful as an antiseptic expectorant in bronchitis and especially in chronic catarrh of aged dogs. It may be administered by the mouth or added to the steam-kettle and used as an inhalation. It is excreted mainly in the urine, part of the benzoic acid being converted in the kidneys into hippuric acid. Freely applied to recent bleeding wounds, it forms an antiseptic coagulum and serves the purpose of a temporary styptic dressing. Benzoin is extensively used in the form of Friar’s balsam, or its pharmaceutical imitation, tinctura benzoini composita, which is thus prepared:—Take of benzoin, 2 ounces, storax, 14 ounces, balsam of tolu, $ ounce, socotrine aloes, 160 grains, alcohol (90 per cent.), 16 ounces: macerate for two days, filter, and add sufficient alcohol to produce one pint. This tincture is an excellent stimulant and antiseptic for wounds, simple ulcers, and various skin complaints in all classes of patients. Benzoated lard is made with 210 grains of benzoin to each pound of lard. Digitized by Microsoft® STYRAX—-TOLU AND PERU BALSAMS 643 Benzoic acid lowers abnormal temperature, promotes the elimination of incompletely oxidised matters, renders alkaline urine acid and disinfects the urinary tract. It is used in the treatment of influenza and similar conditions, and as an antiseptic diuretic in cystitis. Sodium benzoate is less irritating and more soluble than the acid, for which it is sometimes substituted. Commended as a remedy for joint disease in foals, it abates the fever, and reduces the swelling of the limbs in strangles and pneumonia, According to Dr. Rutherford, it is a powerful hepatic stimulant. It is excreted in the urine as a soluble hippurate. A 2 per cent. solution is a good preservative for scalpels, forceps, needles, etc., in daily use. Instruments may be kept in the solution for months without oxidising. Dosss, etc.—of benzoin for horses and cattle, Ziv. or more; dogs, grs. v. to grs. x.; in bolus or electuary. Benzoic acid, horses and cattle, grs. xxx. to grs. lx., dogs, gr. i. to grs. v., in bolus, pill, or drench. Hypodermically, horses may be given grs. vi. benzoic acid dissolved in two drachms of a solution of equal parts of alcohol and water. Intratracheally, two drachms to half an ounce of a one per cent. aqueous solution may be used. Benzoate of sodium is prescribed in considerably larger doses, and generally in drench. Styrax or Prepared Storax, a balsam obtained from the trunk of liquidambar orientalis, and purified by solution in alcohol, filtration and evaporation. Contains styrol, cinnamic acid, styracin and various resins. Storax is a constituent of the compound tincture of benzoin, and is occasionally employed as a mild stimulant, expectorant and parasiticide. For mange, lice, or fleas in dogs, it is used mixed with an equal part of sweet oil. Balsam of Tolu.—The product of the myroxylon toluifera, contains a volatile oil, various resins, benzoic and cinnamic acids. Soluble in alcohol, benzol and chloroform. It is stimulant and expectorant. Balsam of Peru, obtained from myroxylon Pereire, contains about 60 per cent. of a volatile oil, various resins and acids. It is insoluble in water and olive oil; soluble in alcohol and in chloroform. It is an expectorant and Digitized by Microsoft® 644 BARLEY parasiticide. The volatile oil is toxic to the acari of mange for which a dressing is made with one part balsam of Peru and eight of lard. MARSH MALLOW ROOT ALTH@A Rapix. Dried root of Althea officinalis. Nat. Ord.—Malvacez. (Not official.) The Malvacee are rich in mucilage, and several yield tenacious fibres, from which cordage is obtained. The species Gossypium have their seeds surrounded by delicate, flattened, twisted hairs, which constitute raw cotton, and the seeds by expression yield the bland cotton seed oil often substituted for olive oil. The marsh mallow grows both in this country and on the Continent, generally in the neighbourhood of rivers and salt marshes. Mucilage is yielded by most parts of the plant, notably by the two and three year old roots, which contain about 35 per cent. each of mucin and starch, and a little uncrystallisable sugar. Actions anp Uses.—Marsh, and also common mallow roots, are digested with boiling water, and the mucilage thus extracted, which resembles that of linseed, is used as a demulcent. BARLEY Horprum. Pearl Barley. Malt. Yeast. Nat. Ord.— Graminacee. Barley (Hordeum distichon) is used as food for most of the domesticated animals; and, when stripped of its outer husk, is recognised as pearl barley. Ground to meal, it is used for making poultices and infusions. Good barley-meal contains 68 per cent. of starch, 14 glutin and albumin, 2 fatty matter, 2 saline matter, and 14 water. When moistened and exposed to a temperature of about 100° Fahr., barley ger- minates, the starch in great part being converted into dextrin and sugar, and, if the process be arrested by drying, malt is formed. Decoctum Hordei, may be made by boiling one part of washed pearl barley with 15 parts water for twenty minutes, and straining. It is nutrient and demulcent, Digitized by Microsoft® GUM ACACIA—TRAGACANTH 645 Malt—a sweet, mucilaginous substance, which is more easily digested, but weight for weight is rather less nutritive than barley—forms a palatable and digestible article of diet for sick or convalescent horses, and is used for making poultices and demulcent laxative drinks. Barley-water, infusions of malt, and soft mashes prove especially serviceable in febrile cases, both in horses and cattle. Malt extracts are occasionally prescribed for dyspeptic calves and foals, and when well prepared are rich in diastase, and hence useful in aiding digestion of starch. When a solution of malt is fermented, as in the prepara- tion of beer, ale, or porter, there rises to the surface of the liquor a yellow-brown frothy scum, known as yeast or barm, readily putrefying when moist, but when carefully dried remaining for a long time unchanged, and owing its repro- ductive properties, and its characteristic power of converting cane into grape sugar, and thence into alcohol, to the presence of ovoid, confervoid cells of Torula cerevisiz. Yeast is occasionally used as a purgative, especially for cattle, and is given in quantities of about a pint. Antiseptic and deodorising poultices are made by stirring together one part each of boiling water and yeast with two parts of bran or linseed meal, and allowing the mixture to stand near a fire until it rises, when it is fit to use. GUM ACACIA—-TRAGACANTH Acaciz Gummi. A gummy exudation from the stem and branches of Acacia Senegal, and of other species of Acacia (B.P.). TRAGACANTHA. Tragacanth. A gummy exudation obtained by incision from Astragalus gummifer, and some other species of Astragalus (B.P.). Nat. Ord.—Leguminose. Gum is obtained from many plants, notably from various species of Acacia. These are stunted, withered-looking trees, occurring in tropical countries, most prolific when old and stunted, and during dry, hot seasons. In June and July, from natural cracks or artificial incisions in the bark, a viscid juice exudes, and concretes into round masses or tears vary- Digitized by Microsoft® 646 GUM ACACIA—-TRAGACANTH ing in size from a pea to a walnut, brittle, usually shining, colourless, yellow or brown, odourless, and of a bland, sweet taste. Gum dissolves in water, forming an adhesive, viscid fluid or mucilage. Gum acacia, or gum arabic is chiefly collected in Kor- dofan, in Eastern Africa, and forwarded from Alexandria. When imported, it is picked and sorted, usually into three different qualities, distinguished by the size, colour, and transparency of the tears. It is soluble in about its own weight alike of hot and cold water, is insoluble in and incom- patible with alcohol, ether, and oils. Boiled with dilute sulphuric acid, it is converted into gum sugar; oxidised by nitric acid, it is converted into mucic acid. It consists of arabin, or arabic acid (C,,H,,0,,), which occurs in gum as arabate of calcium, magnesium, and potassium. Gum senegal is similar to gum arabic, but less brittle, and requires four or five parts of water to dissolve it. The Kast Indian gums are generally dark-coloured, more difficult of solution, and less valuable. The gums of Australia and the Cape, now imported in considerable quantity, are also inferior to gum arabic, Tragacanth is collected in Asia Minor, mostly exported from Smyrna, and occurs in thin, semi-transparent, tough, horny, white-grey or yellow lamelle or plates, and marked with arched or concentric ridges. It is tasteless and odour- less. Although readily soluble in boiling water, it is sparingly soluble in cold water, which swells it into a jelly containing starch, as is indicated by the iodine test. Tragacanth con- tains a neutral gum, bassorin, which, gelatin-like, swells up, is not dissolved either by hot or cold water, but is soluble in alcohol. British gum or dextrin (C,H,,0,) much used in calico printing, is made by treating starch with dilute nitric acid, drying it, and heating it to about 240° Fahr. Actions anp Uszs.—Gums are the least nutritive of the carbo-hydrates; when swallowed, they are dissolved by the alimentary secretions, and in part converted into sugar. They are occasionally prescribed for ensheathing the mucous surfaces in catarrh and diarrhea, and as demulcent injec- Digitized by Microsoft® OLIVE OIL 647 tions in inflammation of the bowels and bladder, but for veterinary purposes are usually superseded by well-boiled linseed or starch gruels. For making emulsions, electuaries, and boluses, gums have the disadvantage of speedily drying and hardening. Doses, etc.—Gums may be taken almost ad libitum. Horses and cattle may have Zij. to Ziij; foals, calves, and sheep, Zi.; and dogs, grs. xx. to grs. xl. An ensheathing mucilage is made with one part gum to six of water. OLIVE OIL OLEuM Otiva. The oil expressed from the ripe fruit of Olea Europea (B.P.). Nat. Ord.—Oleacez. Several varieties of the evergreen Olea Europea grow abundantly in the countries bordering the Levant and Mediterranean. From the stem a resinous juice once used in medicine can be got; the leaves are bitter, astringent, and tonic; the olives are oval, succulent, purple drupes, about the size of damsons, and containing a single seed. The ripe pericarp yields about 70 per cent. of oil, of which the finest, imported from Provence and Florence, is obtained by mode- rate pressure of the freshly-gathered fruit. Inferior qualities are got from stale or damaged fruit, or by extra pressure of the pulp. Prorertiges.—Olive oil is one of the fixed, fatty, or expressed oils which produce on paper or linen a greasy stain, not removed by heat, and are glycerides of an acidulous radical, oleic, palmitic, or stearic acid, and the basylous glyceryl or propenyl. Olive oil contains about 72 per cent. of fluid olein or tri-olein, C,H,(C,,H,,0,),, holding in solution about 28 of palmitin and allied fatty matters. It is of the consistence of syrup, unctuous, transparent, odourless, and of a bland taste. When pure it is pale greenish-yellow ; when impure, yellow or brown. Specific gravity 0-914 to 0919. At 50° Fahr. it is liable to become of a pasty consistence ; and at 32° Fahr. to form a solid granular mass. It is not miscible with water, is scarcely soluble in alcohol, but dissolves in one Digitized by Microsoft® 648 LINSEED and a half parts of ether. It is a capital solvent for cantha- ridin, atropine, and morphine. Exposed to air, it oxidises, thickens, and slowly becomes rancid, but does not dry up. Actions anp Uses.—Olive oil is nutrient, laxative, and emollient. Like other bland oils, small quantities are easily digested and assimilated, aid cell development, and by oxi- dation support animal heat. Larger quantities, such as one to two pints for horses or cattle, and two to three ounces for dogs, are laxative. An ounce each of olive oil and castor oil form a mild laxative for the dog. Like other fluid fats, when injected into the veins, it fatally obstructs capillary circulation. Half an ounce injected into the jugular speedily destroys a dog. As a demulcent and emollient, it is used in poisoning by irritants and corrosives; it antagonises the action of alkalies by forming soaps, and retards solution and absorption of arsenic. Small doses are occasionally given to horses and other animals to soothe the irritable mucous membrane in chronic catarrh and bronchitis, and to dissolve the cholesterin of gall-stones. Not drying or readily becoming rancid, it is a soothing protective for irritable or abraded surfaces, but for such purposes the cheaper rape, lard, or linseed oil, and vaseline, are usually substituted. LINSEED Linum. Flax or Lint Seeds. The dried ripe seeds of Linum usitatissimum (B.P.). Nat. Ord.—Linacee. Linum Conrusum. Crushed linseed. Linseed reduced to a coarse powder (B.P.). LinsEED Orn. Oleum Lini. The oil expressed from linseed at ordinary temperatures (B.P.). LiysEED Cake. The residue left after expression of the oil. LinsEeD Meat. Farina Lini. The Linum usitatissimum, or common flax, cultivated in Britain and other European countries, yields several im- portant articles. The stem affords lint and tow; the seeds, crushed, and subjected to hydraulic pressure, yield linseed Digitized by Microsoft® LINSEED OIJ. 649 oil; the residual cake is a valuable feeding stuff, and when reduced to powder constitutes linseed meal. The fibrous stem is utilised by steeping in water, generally used hot; starch and cellulose are got rid of by scutching; the fibres are hackled and carded—the shorter, coarser portions forming tow; the finer, when bleached, are made into linen. Soft, loosely woven linen, when scarified, and the cut fibres scraped into gauzy down, constitutes surgeons’ lint. Both lint and tow, as well as jute (the prepared fibre of hemp), are employed as protectives for wounds. When saturated with hot or cold water they prove cleanly sub- stitutes for poultices. For cleansing wounds they are pre- ferable to sponges, which are apt to retain and distribute septic germs, while the rag, lint, or tow is thrown away after use. These fibrous materials, saturated with carbolic or other antiseptic solutions, are used for antiseptic dressings. Oakum, consisting of detached fibres of old ropes, when treated with Stockholm tar, is also a cheap antiseptic . dressing. Lint seeds are about two lines long, smooth, and shining, of a brown colour and oval shape, flattened laterally, and pointed at one extremity. They are inodorous, but have an oily, mucilaginous taste. They consist of about 20 per cent. of mucilage, wholly present in the envelope of the seed, and hence only properly extracted by prolonged steeping or slow boiling; 20 of albuminoids, a little sugar, 25 to 30 of oil, contained in the albumen and embryo; 5 to 6 of mineral matters, chiefly phosphates, mostly stored in the husks; 5 to 8 of fibre, and 8 to 10 of water. Crushed linseed should yield not less than 30 per cent. of oil when exhausted by carbon bisulphide. The seeds, ground and pressed without the aid of heat, produce about 25 per cent. of oil of the best quality; steam heat extracts 25 to 35 per cent. The residual linseed cake, or oilcake, con- tains 10 to 18 per cent. of oil. Linseed oil is viscid, has a pale-yellow colour, a faint but distinct odour, and a bland taste. Specific gravity 0-930 to 0940. It consists largely of olein, or of a variety recognised as linolein. Although it does not solidify until Digitized by Microsoft® 650 LINSEED cooled to —15° or —20° Fahr., at ordinary temperatures it oxidises and becomes viscous, hence receiving the title of a drying oil. This drying property is much increased by boiling, or heating it with litharge or black oxide of manganese. It is insoluble in water, soluble in ten parts alcohol (90 per cent.), in one and a half of ether, and in oil of turpentine. Boiled with alkaline solutions it forms soaps. Mixed with an equal quantity of lime water it forms Carron oil, a useful dressing for burns and scalds. Exposed for some time to a high temperature it becomes a dark, tenacious mass, which, when mixed with lamp-black con- stitutes printers’ ink. It is sometimes adulterated with rapeseed oil, but is more commonly of inferior quality from rancidity, from preparation at a high temperature, or from presence of impurities. Actions anp Usrs.—Linseed and linseed cakes are valuable feeding stuffs for cattle and sheep, and, in restricted amount, for horses. As fat producers they represent about two and a half times the value of starch or sugar. They are emul- sionised mainly by the pancreatic and biliary fluids; they are absorbed chiefly by the lacteals, and their combustion develops heat and force. In moderate amount they favour assimilation alike of carbohydrates and proteids, with which they are generally given. Well-boiled linseed gruel, or crushed linseed cake digested in hot water, is a palatable, digestible nutrient for horses, cattle, and sheep, not only in health, but notably in catarrhal and other inflammatory attacks, in tuberculosis, rheumatism, chronic skin complaints, and during convalescence from re- ducing disorders. In such cases it proves both food and medicine. In febrile cases many horses will sip cold linseed tea when they will scarcely eat or drink anything else. Where the patient is exhausted, the linseed tea is given with milk, eggs, or beef-tea, or with alcoholic or other stimulants. Horses that are bad feeders, with unthrifty coats, and horses affected with roaring or thick wind, are usually much benefited, especially while living mostly on oats and hay, by about a pound daily of broken linseed cake. For healthy hunters and carriage horses the con- Digitized by Microsoft® NUTRIENT, MUCILAGINOUS DEMULCENT 651 tinued use of linseed cake proves, however, too fattening and often causes itching. Young herbivora reared on skim milk frequently have linseed gruel mixed with it to furnish requisite fatty matters, and also to prevent the formation of tough, indigestible curd. Linseed gruel, or a few ounces of crushed cake given daily to calves or lambs, as soon as they will eat it, not only economically favours growth and early maturity, but is tolerably effectual in warding off attacks of diarrhea, dysentery, and anemia. A mucilaginous, demulcent decoction, made with about one part of steeped seed to fifteen or twenty parts boiling water, is useful in irritable conditions of the throat, respir- atory passages, bowels, kidneys, and bladder; in poisoning with irritants and corrosives; and as a convenient vehicle for the administration of nauseous or acrid medicines. Crushed linseed makes good poultices, especially when mixed with an equal quantity of bran or oatmeal; but the bruised linseed cake is cheaper, less apt to become rancid, and equally effectual in retaining heat and moisture. The common mass employed for making up balls and pills usually consists of equal quantities of linseed meal and treacle. LinszEp Or has been used dietetically; but neither for cattle nor sheep does it serve so well as properly prepared linseed or linseed cake. It has the disadvantage of being too laxative, and it increases rather than diminishes the quantity of ordinary food consumed. As an adjuvant feed- ing stuff for animals in health, I have found it inferior to linseed cake, beans, or oats. One to two ounces repeated daily are, however, often beneficial, in sore-throat and bronchitis in horses, and especially for subjects that will not take linseed gruel or mashes. Linseed oil, in quantity too large to be digested, acts as a cathartic; it is also emollient. It closely resembles rape- seed, almond, and other fixed oils; but is scarcely so actively cathartic as castor oil. As a laxative it usually produces tolerably full and softened evacuations, without nausea, griping, or super- purgation. It is prescribed for young and delicate horses, Digitized by Microsoft® 652 LINSEED OIL LAXATIVE AND EMOLLIENT and pregnant mares, and for all subjects in influenza, pur- pura, and other debilitating disorders; in diarrhcea, hernia, and irritable states of the intestine, as well as in over- loaded, torpid bowels, where aloes and other active purga- tives, especially if repeated, might cause dangerous symptoms. It is serviceable in warding off attacks of lymphangitis, hemoglobinuria, edema and itching of the limbs, which are liable to occur when hard-worked horses have several days’ rest. In the treatment of colic it is generally com- bined with a stimulant and anodyne. A draught in common use consists of one pint of linseed oil with an ounce each of ether and laudanum, both being doubled in acute cases and in large horses. In colic, aloes, however, generally acts better than linseed oil; but for laxative enemas the oil is preferable. Two or three ounces of linseed oil, or of a mixture of equal parts of linseed and olive oils, given daily in mash, often suffice, with the use of enemata, to maintain the bowels of horses in a sufficiently relaxed state throughout catarrhal and other febrile attacks. This treatment is also specially suitable in inflammation of the kidneys and bladder, when it is desirable to rest these organs, and promote excretion by the bowels and skin. An ounce or two of oil combined with lime-water given daily to broken-winded subjects often advantageously relieves the distressing breathing. In cattle and canine practice linseed oil is much used as a purgative, especially for young and weakly patients, in advanced pregnancy, in gastro-intestinal derangements, in irritant poisoning, where saline or other active purgatives have been given, and their repetition is inexpedient, and as a convenient menstruum for the administration of croton oil and oil of turpentine. For calves and lambs it is milder and safer than salts. For dogs, especially when young, when the digestive organs are in an irritable state, and exhausting disease has reduced strength, it is a suitable laxative, and more effectual when mixed with an equal amount of castor oil. As a lubricant and emollient linseed oil is useful in choking; mixed with well-boiled starch gruel, and injected into the rectum, it allays irritation; softening the hard, Digitized by Microsoft® LIQUORICE ROOT 653 cracked, or scaly skin, it is applied, with an alkaline solution, in psoriasis, impetigo, and eczema. Its analgesic effects are increased by admixture with lead acetate solution. For emollient dressings, to be used for a considerable time, vase- line and benzoated almond, or cocoa-nut, oil are, however, preferable, as they are not drying or prone to rancidity. The drying properties, possessed in common with poppy and cod- liver oils, render linseed oil less suitable than lard or olive, almond, rape, or colza oil, for making ointments and lini- ments. Friction with oil often reduces swollen joints and burse. Flannel, soaked in hot linseed oil, is sometimes applied for the relief of rheumatism. The ‘black oil’ used in many parts of England for bruises, strains, and wounds, is made with a pint of linseed or other oil, two ounces oil of turpentine, adding six drachms diluted sulphuric acid, and leaving the bottle unstoppered until the heat evolved by admixture of the acid has passed away. Doses, etc.—As a cathartic, horses take Oss. to Oj.; cattle, Oj. to Oij.; sheep and pigs, fZvi. to £3x.; dogs, £31. to £3). ; cats, f3i.; administered shaken up with linseed gruel, mucil- age, milk, treacle, lime-water, or spirit and water. For horses or cattle it is sometimes mixed with a well-made bran mash. LIQUORICE ROOT Giycyrruiz® Rapix. The peeled root and peeled subter- ranean stem of Glycyrrhiza glabra and other species. (B.P.). Nat. Ord—Leguminose. The perennial herbaceous plants yielding liquorice grow in the temperate countries of Continental Europe. Their roots and underground stems arrive at perfection about the third year, and produce a yellow powder having a sweet taste, and soluble in water, and, to a less extent, in alcohol. Besides asparagin, gum, starch, sugar, malic acid, and a resinous oil, to which it owes its sub-acrid taste, liquorice contains about 6 per cent. of a sweet, yellow glucoside, termed glycyrrhizin. The natural juice or watery infusion, concentrated until it becomes solid, forms the extupet, gx black sugar. 654 STARCH Actions anp Usrs.—Liquorice resembles sugar and treacle in its dietetic and medicinal uses. Powdered, it is oc- casionally used as as a demulcent in irritation of the pul- monary mucous membrane, for making up boluses and covering the disagreeable taste and odour of various drugs. The laxative compound liquorice powder, composed of senna, liquorice root, fennel, sulphur, and sugar, is some- times prescribed for calves, lambs, and dogs. The dose is Jj. to Biv. STARCH Amytum. The starch procured from the grains of common wheat, Triticum sativum; maize, Zea Mays; and rice, Oryza sativa (B.P.). Nat. Ord.—Graminacee. Starch is an important member of that dietetic series of carbo-hydrates, including gums and sugars, which contains at least six carbon atoms with hydrogen and oxygen in the proportion to form water. Starch is largely present in the cereal grains, in the stems of many plants, and in tubers, being stored in the seeds and tubers for the nourishment of the young plants. Wheat flour contains about 70 per cent. of carbo-hydrates, chiefly starch, which receives the special title of amylum, 10 of proteids with water, and ash. Oat- meal contains 63 of starch and about 12°6 of proteids, with traces of a bitter amorphous alkaloid; barley, 64 starch, 12 proteids; rice, 83 starch, 5 proteids; potatoes, 21 starch, 28 proteids. From any of these sources pure starch is got by fine division of the grain or root; sometimes facilitating separation of other plant constituents by fermenting; wash- ing the starch granules from fibrous matters, straining, and drying. The white starch used for medicinal and dietetic purposes is dried in powder or granules. The blue preferred for the laundry is in blocks, splits as it dries into columnar masses, is coloured by addition of a little indigo, and generally contains about 18 per cent. of water. Arrowroot is the starch of the Maranta arundinacea; sago, the granular starch from the sago palm; tous-les-mois, the large ovular granules from the rhizomes of several Digitized by Microsoft® A NUTRITIVE CARBO-HYDRATE 655 species of Canna; tapioca or cassava is prepared from the expressed juice of the roots of Manihot utilissima. Corn flour or Oswego is the flour of Indian corn deprived of gluten by a weak solution of soda. Starch consists of round or oval granules comprising a cell-wall enclosing concentric layers of granulose. The large grains from potatoes are about 33th of an inch in their long diameter, the small rounded grains of rice measure scovth of an inch. Starch grains from various sources differ in appearance when examined under the microscope. Wheat starch presents a mixture of large and small granules, which are lenticular in form, and marked with faint concentric strize surrounding a nearly central hilum. The maize granules are more uniform in size, frequently polygonal, smaller than those of wheat, having a very distinct hilum, but without evident concentric strie. Rice granules are extremely minute, and nearly uniform in size, polygonal, the hilum small and without striz (B.P.). Starch is insoluble in cold water, has the specific gravity 15, and hence is deposited when mixed with water. The cell-wall consisting of cellulose and the contained granulose are isomeric, having the formula usually given as C,H,,0,. When mixed with water above 120° Fahr., the starch grains burst; the granulose, escaping, occupies twenty to thirty times its previous volume, and forms the viscid gelatinous mucilage used by the laundress. A solution of starch when cold gives the characteristic blue compound with solution of iodine. Starch, when boiled with diluted sulphuric or nitric acid, is converted into the isomeric but more soluble dextrin or British gum, one variety of which is coloured red by iodine. With further action of a weak acid and heat, dextrin takes up water and is converted into maltose (C,.H., O,,-H,0), and eventually into dextrose (C,H,,0,). When starch foods are eaten the salivary and intestinal ferments gradually crack the granules, and quickly convert the starch through several forms of dextrin into maltose, and eventually into dextrose. These changes are also readily produced by mixing starch paste with crushed malt, the diastase of which develops the fermentative changes. 6 Giastase oF Winiized by Microsoft® 656 STARCH DEMULCENT AND EMOLLIENT Animal starch, or glycogen (C,H,,0,), present in the liver, in blood, and in muscle, exhibits most of the characters of vegetable starch. Actions anp Usts.—Starch foods are rapidly digested, especially when cooking or fermentation has cracked the starch cells, or when they have been thoroughly insalivated. Like other such proximate principles, pure starch cannot, however, alone support life for any lengthened period. A properly balanced dietary for horses or cattle should con- tain one part of proteids and five to eight parts of starch or other carbo-hydrates. Active exertion, as in the case of hard-worked horses, or abnormal secretion, as of heavily- milking cows, causes great expenditure of albuminoids, which must be replaced by the food. Growing animals, in order to build up their tissues, require relatively larger supplies of albuminoids than suffice for adults. The starches—mostly converted into sugar—are consumed in the body more quickly and fully than fats. During their oxidation they are the great source of animal heat, especially in herbivora. They prevent wasteful consumption of the more costly albuminoids and fats. Under favourable conditions, carbo- hydrates, in excess, are also believed to be directly concerned in the formation of fat, and Pasteur states that they furnish glycerin—the basis of neutral fats. For nutritive purposes seventeen parts (Voit) to twenty-three parts (Rubner) of carbo-hydrates are equivalent to ten parts of fat. As a demulcent and emollient, starch mucilage protects and softens irritable surfaces. In diarrhea and dysentery it is used about the consistence of cream, at the temperature of 100° Fahr., either alone or with laudanum, sugar of lead, or other astringent, and is given both by the mouth and rectum. It is an antidote to excessive doses of iodine. Dry starch readily absorbs water, and hence is a desiccant for wounds, forming a protective covering. Mixed with equal parts of zine oxide, it dries and soothes the weeping earlier stages of eczema. Conjoined with carbolic acid, or boric acid and iodoform, it forms a convenient desiccant antiseptic. One part of starch, heated with five of glycerin and three of water, make a soothing demulcent. Starch is used for mix- Digitized by Microsoft® SUGAR 657 ing and subdividing medicines, and as a vehicle for their administration. It is employed to stiffen bandages for fractures and other surgical purposes. SUGAR: Sugar exists in many plants; is prepared in France and Germany from white beet, in Asia from various palms, and in America from sugar maple (Sorghum saccharatum), and maize. The sugar used in this country is chiefly got from the sugar-cane (Saccharum officinarum), which is extensively cultivated in the West Indies, has a perennial root, and a jointed annual stem six to twelve feet high. These canes are crushed between heavy rollers; the pale green expressed juice, which contains nearly twenty per cent. of sugar, is mixed with a little slaked lime to neutralise acids and precipitate albuminoids, and concentrated in shallow vacuum pans at a temperature not exceeding 140° Fahr.; the coagulating albumin, entangling impurities, is skimmed off; the syrup is cooled in wooden vats, and dried in the sun, yellow dark-brown crystals of raw sugar are formed, and there drains away a variable quantity of brown uncrystallised molasses. A hundredweight of raw sugar yields about 80 pounds refined sugar and 16 pounds treacle. There are two classes of sugars—(1) the Sucroses or Sac- charoses, which, when dry, have the formula C,,H,,0,,, and (2) the Glucroses, with the formula C,H,,0,. Sucrose, saccharose, or cane sugar (C,,H,,0,,), like sulphur and arsenious acid, has an amorphous and a crystalline form, its crystals are monoclinic prisms; specific gravity 1:606; it phosphoresces in the dark, and is dextro-rotatory. It is hydroscopic, soluble in one-third of its weight of water at 60° Fahr., but insoluble in absolute alcohol. A strong solution, evaporated and heated to 320° Fahr., fuses, and the vitreous mass can be moulded into barley-sugar. Between 356° and 374° Fahr. sucrose parts with two molecules of water, loses its sweet taste, acquires a dark colour, and becomes caramel, which is used by confectioners and distillers as a colopring Seyi pean 658 SUGARS Sucrose in plants is gradually built up from the simpler glucose (C,H,,0,), and, conversely, when acted on by dilute acids or by ferments, such as diastase or yeast, it is again converted into glucose. Sucrose undergoes this change before it yields alcohol. Maltose (C,,H,,.0,,.H,O) is prepared by grinding starch with water, warming it until it gelatinises, and heating with crushed malt, the diastase of which sets up fermentation, causing three molecules of starch to appropriate one of water, and yield one molecule of maltose and one of dextrin. Maltose is also formed during the digestion of starch by the ferments of the salivary, intestinal, and pancreatic juices. It is soluble and readily fermented. Lactose, or milk sugar (C,,H,,0,,,H,O), is prepared by evaporating whey to a syrup, and crystallising. It occurs in translucent, greyish-white, hard cylindrical masses of rhombic prisms. It is gritty, and, being less soluble, is not so sweet as the vegetable sugars. It is not directly fermentable. Homeopathic chemists use it for subdividing medicines. Glucose, dextrose, or grape sugar (C,H,,0,), is the variety present in grapes and other fruit, and in honey. It is obtained by boiling cane sugar, or acting upon it with alcoholic solution of hydrochloric acid, is formed when starch is boiled with water acidulated with sulphuric acid, and is the variety occurring in blood and urine. It is produced when glucosides, such as salicin, amygdalin, digi- talin, ete, are boiled with diluted acid. It is neither so sweet nor so soluble as sucrose, crystallises in six-sided scales, is not charred by sulphuric acid, but forms with it sulphosaccharic acid. It produces a readily crystallisable compound with common salt. Levulose, also termed fructose, is isomeric with dextrose, and is associated with it in most fruits. By keeping, and especially by exposure to light, the more soluble levulose in fruits and syrups is gradually converted into the more crystalline dextrose. These two sugars are distinguished by the manner in which they turn a ray of polarised light. Leevulose is sweeter than dextrose, and less fermentable. Molasses, treacle, theriaca, or sacchari fex, is the un- Digitized by Microsoft® NUTRITIVE, LAXATIVE, DEMULCENT, ANTISEPTIC 659 crystallised, fermentable, syrupy residue from the prepara- tion and refining of sugar. It has a brown colour, a pleasant sweet taste, and a specific gravity of about 1-4. Molasses is the drainings from the raw sugar; treacle the darker, thicker residue from the moulding process. Honey or mel, the saccharine secretion deposited in the honeycomb by the hive bee, when first collected is yellow, translucent, and viscid, and consists of variable proportions of sucrose and levulose. The popular household expectorant oxymel is made of eight parts of honey, liquefied by heat, and mixed with one part each of acetic acid and water. Actions anp Uszs.—The sugars are members of the carbo- hydrate series of dietetic substances, are digestible and nutritive; their important function in all the higher animals is the support of animal heat ; they moreover economise the proteids and fats, and directly contribute to the deposit of fat. They are laxatives, demulcents, and antiseptics, and used pharmaceutically as excipients. One or two pounds given to horses or cattle, eight to twelve ounces to sheep or dogs, eight to ten drachms to poultry, increase the amount and fluidity of the feces, and usually also augment secretion of urine. As a demulcent sugar is used in the dry stages of catarrh, in poisoning with salts of mercury and copper, and as a domestic remedy for wounds, and for removing specks from the cornea. Its antiseptic properties recommend it for pre- serving many vegetable and some soft animal substances, and for making up various medicines. It increases the solubility of calcium salts and retards oxidation of ferrous -compounds. The syrupus of the B.P. used for flavouring, preserving, and suspending medicines, is made by dissolving, with the aid of heat, five pounds refined sugar in two pints distilled water, and adding after cooling, sufficient water to make the weight of the product 74 lbs. Specific gravity 1:330. Molasses and treacle are often substituted for sugar. They are palatable, digestible, laxative articles of diet, useful for sick and convalescent animals. They are con- venient auxiliary purgatives, and valuable for hastening the action, preventing the nausea, and covering the disagree- able flavour of active cathartics. When full doses of physic Digitized by Microsoft® 660 PETANELLE have been given, and their repetition is inexpedient, large and repeated doses of treacle encourage the action of the purgative, especially in cattle and sheep. As a soothing antiseptic gargle for horses, three or four ounces of treacle and an ounce of borax or of potassium nitrate or chlorate are dissolved in a pint of water, and a few ounces slowly administered every hour or two. When cough is trouble- some an ounce of belladonna extract may be added. Treacle is a convenient antiseptic excipient for ball masses, impart- ing a proper consistence, and preventing their becoming dry, hard, or mouldy. The common mass, so largely used as an excipient, is made by thoroughly mixing with gentle heat equal weights of treacle and linseed flour. Doses, etc.—Of sugar and treacle, as laxatives, horses and cattle take lb.i.; sheep, Zv. or Zvi.; pigs, Zij. to Zvi.; dogs, Zi. to 3ij., administered with aromatics and salines, usually dissolved in water, milk, or gruel, or mixed with a mash. PETANELLE Petanelle wool fibre, powder, and hygienic clothing, for veterinary use, are manufactured by Messrs. Paté, Burke & Co., London, Paris, and Rheims. The fibre extracted by a patented process from red or moss peat, is sterilised, under pressure, by means of moist heat at a temperature of 134° Cent., and then dried. It is aseptic, antiseptic, and deodorant, and is used as a wound-dressing in place of carbolised tow or other similar absorbent. The fibre is eminently porous, very compressible and elastic, and a powerful absorbent of liquids and gases. It is not putres- cible; and it is said to undergo no change in whatever medium it may be placed. Applied to wounds it promotes healing, and frequent renewal of the dressing is unnecessary. Petanelle powder is disinfectant and, according to Professor Bayne, Royal Veterinary College, London, it is especially useful as a deodorant. The rugs, saddle-cloths, and bandages for horses, and the blankets and cushions for dogs remain free from offensive odour after long use (see Veterinary Record, 1900). Digitized by Microsoft® SUBSTANCES DERIVED FROM THE ANIMAL KINGDOM 661 CANTHARIDES Cantuaris, Blistering or Spanish Fly. The dried beetle —Cantharis vesicatoria. Class— Insecta. Order — Coleoptera. Cantharides flies are found in most parts of Southern Europe, Germany, and Russia, and occasionally along the south coast of England. They settle on such trees and shrubs as the olive, lilac, privet, ash, elder, honeysuckle, and rose. During May and June, after nightfall or before dawn, the collectors, with their faces protected by masks and their hands by gloves, shake or beat the insects from the trees on which they feed, kill them by exposure to the fumes of oil of turpentine, or by immersion in boiling water or vinegar, and quickly dry them in the sun or by artificial heat. The flies used in this country were formerly brought from Spain (and hence their vernacular name of Spanish flies), but are now chiefly imported from Hungary, St. Petersburg, and Messina, usually packed in barrels or cases containing from 100 to 200 lbs. Properties, etc.—The insect is from three quarters of an inch to an inch long, and a quarter of an inch broad, with two long elytra or wing-sheaths of a shining coppery-green colour, under which are two thin, brownish, gauze-like, membranous wings. The body, especially along its under surface, is covered with grey-white hairs; the head is large; the antenne or horns are black and thread-like. The insect, which lives eight to ten days, deposits its larve in the earth, leaving them to be hatched by the heat of the sun. It has a resinous, acrid taste, and a disagreeable, penetrating, fetid odour. Powdered cantharides is freely soluble in boiling water, alcohol, ether, acetic acid, and fixed and volatile oils. The active principle being volatile, no cantharides prepara- tion should be heated beyond 200° Fahr. Its distinguishing tests are its vesicant action, and the brilliant green appear- ance of the wing-sheaths. Cantharides, besides animal matters, acetic and uric acids, contains a bland oil, a fotid,Zacrid, volatile oil, and about Digitized by Microsoft® 662 CANTHARIDES 2 per cent. of a fatty crystallisable principle cantharidin (C,,H,,0,), which is confined to the soft parts of the body, and is present particularly in the blood and female sexual organs. It is slowly deposited, when an alcoholic solution of cantharides is concentrated. When pure, it crystallises in colourless scales or prisms, melts at 482° Fahr., is in- soluble in water, but soluble in alcohol, acetic acid, ether, chloroform, and oils; 73; of a grain suffices to blister. Impuriries—As the powdered cantharides sold in the shops sometimes contains euphorbium and various cheap irritants, it is advised that the flies be purchased entire. Other insects are sometimes mixed with them. The species of mylabris sold as Chinese blistering flies have two orange- coloured bands and spots on the wing-covers. Activity is sometimes impaired by damp, long-keeping, and attacks of mites, moths, and beetles—parasitic attacks which are pre- vented by keeping the fresh flies in closely-stoppered bottles, with a few drops of acetic acid, or a few grains of camphor or ammonium carbonate. Actions anp Uses.—Cantharides is an irritant, and pro- duces its effects on any part with which the free cantharidin is brought into contact. Applied externally, it stimulates and vesicates, and is used as a counter-irritant. When swallowed it irritates the digestive mucous membrane; large doses produce gastro-enteritis. The active cantharidin is absorbed, and in the blood forms a non-irritant albuminoid, but in the kidneys is again liberated, developing its charac- teristic irritation—small doses stimulating the urino-genital tract, causing diuresis, and in some animals increased sexual desire; full doses inducing inflammation, strangury, and hematuria. GeneraL Actions.—According to the strength of the pre- paration, or the period during which it is applied, cantharides produces redness, vesication, or sloughing of the skin or mucous surfaces. An ordinary vesicant dressing causes con- gestion, elevation of local temperature, and, usually within three to twelve hours, formation of blisters, which, after a variable but generally short time, burst, and discharge a yellow, serous fluid, which dries into scurfy cicatrices. When Digitized by Microsoft® AN IRRITANT POISON 663 freely or continuously used, the deeper-seated skin tissues are inflamed, and ulceration, and sloughing with suppura- tion ensue. When the true skin has thus been seriously inflamed, the hair bulbs are injured; the hair is removed, and permanent baldness and blemishing may result. Asa vesicant it is most powerful on horses and dogs, and less powerful on cattle, swine, and poultry. Toxic Errecrs.—Orfila found that ‘three drachms of the tincture, with eight grains of powder suspended in it, caused the death of a dog in twenty-four hours, if retained in the stomach by a ligature on the gullet, insensibility being the chief symptom; and that forty grains of the powder killed another dog in four hours and a half, although he was allowed to vomit. When administered by the stomach, that organ was found much inflamed after death ; and if given in the form of powder, fragments of the poison were generally discernible. When applied to a wound, the powder excites surrounding inflammation; and a drachm will, in this way, prove fatal in thirty-two hours, without any constitutional symptom except languor ’ (Christison On Poisons). An ounce of powdered cantharides administered to a horse caused death in eighteen hours; and fatal effects are reported to have occurred where only one drachm was given (Morton). The treatment of the gastro-intestinal or urinary irritation consists in the free use of mucilaginous drinks with opiates. Oils and fats are inadmissible on account of their favouring solution of any unabsorbed poison. When constitutional irritation has resulted from absorption of the cantharidin from a blistered surface, this should be dressed with soothing remedies. Mepicinat Usts.—Small, repeated doses are occasionally prescribed in chronic catarrh. In such cases Professor Robertson gave it with copaiba. It is sometimes serviceable in chronic cystitis; while giving tone to the bladder, small doses prevent involuntary escape of urine. In some parts of Germany it is given to cows which are tardy in coming to service; but its aphrodisiac effects on either sex are un- certain, and seldom produced except by dangerously large doses. When administered for some time, small vesicles Digitized by Microsoft® 664 CANTHARIDES sometimes appear on the skin, depending on the excretion of cantharidin cutaneously. Exrernat Appiications.—Cantharides, in small amount and diluted, stimulates the capillaries and trophic nerves of the part to which it is applied, and thus increases the blood supply and functional activity of the skin and hair bulbs. It hence induces a healthier condition of the dermis in some chronic scaly diseases, and promotes growth of hair; ulcers and tardily-healing wounds are stimulated, and their repair encouraged. Inflammatory products are liquefied and absorbed—an effect familiarly illustrated by the action of a blister on the swelling remaining around a bruise, or on the fulness and thickening resulting from a strain. The bene- ficial effects of a cantharides blister in arresting inflam- mation and removing effusion were often exhibited when blood-letting was the rule, and phlebitis of the jugular vein of the horse was not infrequent. Blistering ointment, well rubbed in along the course of the vessel, removed the tense, corded, inflammatory swelling. Cantharides blister is usefully applied in cases of open joint or bursa, where the wound is small, to prevent escape of synovia. It is also applied in umbilical hernia in foals and calves; and while it mechanically prevents the descent of the intestine, it gradually obliterates the opening in the abdominal wall. Similar effects are sometimes obtained by moistening the adjacent skin with sulphuric acid. Cantharides is much used as a counter-irritant. The external irritation reflexly relieves tension, inflammation, and pain of adjacent or deep-seated parts. Blisters applied experimentally to the chest or loins of dogs and rabbits, while producing external congestion, cause anemia of the pleura and lungs, or of the deeper-seated muscles of the back. Professor Robertson has recorded that in pleuritic and other cases a blister so notably modifies morbid action, and relieves painful tension, that temperature is reduced 2° to 3° Fahr., and the pulse ten beats per minute. He preferred cantharides to mustard, believing it to cause less irritation and pain, and to produce more permanent curative effects. Professor Williams, however, maintains that cantharides Digitized by Microsoft® USES AS A COUNTER-IRRITANT 665 and other blisters unnecessarily irritate most horses, and, in acute diseases of the respiratory organs, are neither so certain nor so satisfactory as hot fomentations (p. 700). In many cases of catarrh and sore-throat, heat and moisture are certainly more effectual than blisters; but tedious, irri- table conditions of the larynx, inducing coughing, are often relieved by a cantharides dressing. In the outset of roaring, counter-irritation is often useful. In acute bronchitis, when mainly affecting the larger tubes; it is serviceable, in con- junction with inhalation of steam, and after stuping the parts with hot water. But Professor Robertson also speaks favourably of fly blisters in cases where considerable exuda- tion blocks the smaller tubes. Their efficacy is seldom so obvious in pneumonia, especially when involving a consider- able area. In pleurodynia and most stages of pleurisy, cantharides is specially useful; in the earlier stages it moderates acute inflammation, while later it checks or removes effusion. It is the counter-irritant usually applied in inflammation ot the pericardium. Although occasionally used, it is never of much value, in either colic or enteritis. In peritonitis it is seldom so effectual as in pleurisy, but was advised by Professor Robertson in chronic cases. Where acute inflammation extends over a considerable area of the peritoneum, it is desirable that the blister be applied some little distance to the side of and not directly over the closely underlying inflamed spot. Professor Williams and other good authorities recommend cantharides blisters in encephalitis and myelitis, as well as in chronic paralysis. Cases of paralysis in cows depending upon parturient apo- plexy are usually benefited by moderate counter-irritation, maintained for a week or ten days. In rheumatism, in all patients, advantage frequently results from a fly blister which is maintained active by repeated application. Irritation and inflammation of joints, burse, ligaments, tendons, and bones are combated, and effused products removed by blisters properly used. When external surfaces or comparatively superficial textures are to be directly stimulated, the cantharides application must be mild, and not too long applied. When deeper-seated parts are to be Digitized by Microsoft® 666 CANTHARIDES acted on, more powerful preparations are needful, and their effects may be maintained by repetition. It is seldom advisable to apply cantharides directly to any part which is hot, tender, or inflamed. In applying blisters to inflamed joints or bursie, it is judicious to place them, not immediately upon, but somewhat above or below, the affected spot. Where continued effects are desired, mercury biniodide ointment is alternated with cantharides, or substituted for it, or the actual cautery is used instead of blisters. Owing to its liability to become absorbed and irritate the kidneys, it is an unsuitable counter-irritant in inflamma- tion of the urinary organs, In common with all other causes of irritation, it must be avoided in tetanus. Unless on a very limited surface, and freely diluted, cantharides must not be used in weakly, exhausted subjects. It should not be applied to any portion of the skin in a highly vascular or sensitive condition, or where there is tendency to erysipelas. In dogs, special caution is required, as they are apt to rub the blistered parts, and cause sloughing. Cantharides some- times acts with unexpected violence on the skin of well-bred horses, and for such subjects strong blisters are not advisable, and their application over considerable surfaces should be avoided. No horse should have all four legs blistered at one time. In some excitable subjects even a moderate blister causes much constitutional disturbance. Dosss, etc.—For horses, grs. iv. to grs. xx.; for cattle, grs. x. to grs. xx.; for sheep and swine, grs. ij. to grs. viij.; for dogs, gr. ss. to grs. 1j., repeated once or twice a day, usually given with aromatics and bitters, in the form of bolus or tincture; administration suspended if urinary irritation or any untoward effects occur. Cantharides is used externally in the form of powder tincture, vinegar, ointment, liniment, and plaster. Powdered cantharides is principally used for maintaining irritation, and for scattering over mustard poultices and other stimulant applications to increase their activity. Tinctures of cantharides are made of varying strength. The B.P. tincture (1 in 80), and other alcoholic preparations, used in human medicine are too weak for most veterinary Digitized by Microsoft® PHARMACEUTICAL PREPARATIONS 667 purposes, One ounce of coarsely-powdered flies, macerated for seven days with fifteen or twenty ounces of alcohol, 60 per cent., forms a useful tincture of medium strength. The activity is augmented by addition of liquor ammonie, or oil of turpentine. The tinctures in common use act speedily, but their effects are less powerful and permanent than those of the ointments. Though producing considerable irritation, they seldom cause blistering, unless applied repeatedly at short intervals. In using them, it is not essential that the hair be removed, nor even that the animal be kept idle. They may be applied repeatedly to the same spot without fear of blemishing. Vinegar of cantharides made with one part of powdered flies and ten of acetic acid—forms a prompt counter-irritant. The B.P. Acetum Cantharidis is prepared with two parts cantharides, and 10 parts each of glacial acetic acid and water. Ointments of cantharides are much used. Their olea- ginous constituents ensure solution of the cantharidin, and render them easy of application. Many contain a number of ingredients, but the simplest are usually the best. A useful’ ointment of medium strength consists of one part of powdered cantharides to six of benzoated lard, palm oil, or vaseline. A stronger ointment is made with one ounce each of mercury biniodide and cantharides, and eight ounces of vaseline or benzoated lard. Such an ointment, when well made and applied with smart friction, acts effectually. Another excellent ointment is made with one part each of powdered cantharides, Venice turpentine, and resin, with four parts of vaseline, palm oil, or lard. The powdered flies are digésted with the oily matters in a covered vessel, over a slow fire or a water-bath, for twelve hours, and the vessel placed in boiling water for fifteen minutes; any wax or resinous matters used to give consistence are then melted and stirred in, any volatile flavouring oil added, and the mixture, if required, strained through muslin, French, German, and Belgian practitioners frequently, however, add other irritants to their cantharides blisters. Digitized by Microsoft® 668 CANTHARIDES Degive, of the Veterinary College, Brussels, states that numerous experiments convince him that the best vesicant is made of ten to fifteen parts each of cantharides and corrosive sublimate dissolved in one hundred parts of vaseline. The part is prepared by clipping the hair, and washing with soap and water. The ointment is rubbed in for ten minutes, and, if needful, six hours later the surface may be simply anointed. Swelling and vesicles appear usually within a few hours; the vesicles are as large as pigeons’ eggs; but by the second day inflammation subsides, and blemishing, it is said, does not occur (Jour. Comp. Path. and Therap., 1890). In cattle practice, counter-irritation is generally produced with mustard paste or blister, but some powder, or strong ointment, of cantharides, mixed with the mustard, greatly increases its effects. For dogs, a convenient ointment is made with an ounce each of powdered cantharides and oil of turpentine, and twelve to twenty ounces of lard. To ensure full vesication, the hair should be removed, the skin washed with soap and water and dried, and the ointment then well rubbed in. The extent of surface to be covered must obviously depend upon the nature, seat, and extent of the malady. To prevent the blister, when liberally applied, from spreading beyond the desired limits, the blistered area may be surrounded with an edging of resin ointment. The blister, while acting, often causes considerable irritation, and the animal, if permitted, will rub or bite the blistered part. In the horse this should be prevented by securing the head to the rack, putting on a cradle, or, when required, tying up the tail; in the dog, by the use of the muzzle. On the next, second, or third day, the blistered part should be dressed with zinc oxide ointment, oil, lard, vaseline, or Carron oil. If sufficient effect has not been produced, a little more of the blister may then be applied. Liniments of cantharides are merely liquefied ointments, and, in respect of activity, usually occupy a place between ointments and tinctures. They generally consist of one part of cantharides and six to ten parts of rape or linseed oil. Digitized by Microsoft® COD-LIVER OIL 669 Oil of turpentine is sometimes added. The BP. Liquor epispasticus is made with ten of cantharides and twenty of acetic ether. Plasters of cantharides are made in the same manner as ointments, but rendered more strongly adhesive by the addition of yellow wax, soap plaster, and resin or pitch. To prevent displacement they are usually applied in the melted state, immediately covered by a little tow or teased lint, and enveloped in a suitable bandage. COD-LIVER OIL OLEuM Morruvu#. The oil extracted from the fresh liver of the cod, Gadus morrhua, by the application of a temperature not exceeding 180° Fahr.; and from which solid fat has been separated by filtration at about 23° Fahr. (B.P.). The chief supplies of cod-liver oil come from Newfound- land. An oil called candle-oil, prized by the Indians as a tonic, and used along the Pacific coasts, is obtained from the oslachan or boulican, which inhabits the waters of British Columbia and Vancouver's Island. Good samples of cod-liver oil have a pale yellow colour, and an oily, fishy taste, which becomes, however, less obvious to those accustomed to take it. The dark colour and nauseous flavour of indifferent specimens result from exposure to high temperatures, or from the oil being extracted from stale, putrid livers. Specific gravity, 0920 to 0:930; ether dissolves it readily ; cold alcohol dissolves 2 to 3 per cent. ; hot alcohol, 8 to 7 per cent. It consists of olein (85 per cent.), varying proportions of palmitin, myristin, and stearin; traces of four volatile and two fixed alkaloids, morrhuic acid, with biliary and other organic bodies containing phosphorus, iodine, bromine, and chlorine. , borax ; 120 ;, carbolic acid 676 », lodine 316 »» pepsin 681 »» starch : 676 ,, tannic acid 640, 676 Glycerina 701 Glycoformal 387 Glycyrrhize radix 653 Glycyrrhizin . . 653 Golden eye-ointment . : 304 Golden seal 126, 555, 564 Goose grease . ‘ 672 Gossypium 644 Goulard’s extract 232 Grape sugar 658 Green vitriol . 256 Gregory’s mixture 455 Grey powder . 290 Guaiacol 411 Guarana 488 Gum acacia 645 ammoniacum 580 Arabic. 645 Bassorin 646 benzoin , 641 British . 646, 655 Cape é 646 resins 710 Senegal 646 tragacanth 645 Gun cotton 361 Gunjah 490 787 PAGE Hazit modifies the action of medi- cines, 23. Hematinics—blood tonics, 23, 123, 133, 252, 255, 258, 259. Hematoxylon (logwood) 636 Hemoglobin . 29 Hemostatics, 57, 234, 236, 344, 355, 383, 409, 530, 596, 616, 639. Hartshorn’ 162 Haschisch 490 Heart, medicines acting on (see Cardiac), 87. Heat . 45 and moisture 708 a disinfectant i 45 a stimulant . 49, 701 Hellebore, black 610 green 549 white 349 Helleborin , 611 Helleborein 527, 611 Helleborus niger 527, 610 Hemlock 508 succus . 512 Henbane or hyoseyamus 513 Hepatic depressants . 110 stimulants (see Cholagogues), 110, 300, 333, 429, 449, 450, 453, 455, 546, 560, 621. Hoffmann’s anodyne . 361 Hollands 347 Holocaine 517 Homatropine hydrobromide, ‘477, os Homeopathy . Honey or mel. 659 Horse, action of medicines on (see p. 779), 19, 20. alteratives 134, 182 anesthetics é 70 anodynes 67 antipyretics . 135 cathartics, 103, 428, 436, 441, 443, 652, diuretics 121 sedatives 65 stimulants 64, "350, 364 tonics . 133 vermicides 113 Hordeum 644 Horses do not vomit . 20 Hot fomentation 157 Hot iron 52 Huile de cade. 586 Hyderabad—chloroform experiments, 72, 369, 370. Hydragogue cathartics 102 Hydrargyri bichloridum 298 chloridum 292 cum creta 290 emplastrum 290 iodida . 302 Digitized by Microsoft® 788 INDEX OF PAGE Hydrargyri linimentum 289 nitratis 304 unguentum 288 oleas : 289 oxidum flavum 292 nigrum . 291 rubrum . 292 perchloridum 298 pilula ‘ 291 subchloridum . 292 unguentum 288 Hydrargyrum. 285 Hydramel or pentane ‘ 46 Hydrastis Canadensis 126, 555, 564 Hydrobromic acid . : 335 Hydrochloric or muriaticacid 330 Hydroctarnine ‘ 459 Hydrocyanic or prussic acid . 418 Hydrogen peroxide 627 Hydronaphthol 393 Hydrotherapy 117 Hy droquinone 390 Hygienic remedies 130 Hyoscine $ 513 Hyoscyamine . 513 Hyoscyamus niger 513 Hypnone . 65 Hypnotics produce sleep, 64, 374, 379, 380, 490. Hypodermic injections, 17, 152, 377, 382, 385, 396, 437, 461, 467, 475, 481, 487, 489, 502, 508, 512, 514, 517, 518, 522, 543, 544, 547, 548, 557, 605, 617, 622, 643- Hypodermic syringe . 152 Hypochlorite of calcium 208 Icke. 159 Ice-bag 159 Ichthyol 681 Idiosyncrasies 23 Indian hemp . 489 tobacco 634 Infusion of catechu 636 cinchona 557 ergot 617 gentian 565 opium . 476 tobacco 634 Infusions 702 Infusoria 30 Inhalations, 87, 149, 328, 372, 396, 410, 599, 642, 712. Injections, intramuscular, 501, 548, 562, 617. intratracheal, 15, 87, 150, 284, 378, 383, 405, 411, 482, 508, 512, 522, 557, 597, 622, 643. intravenous, 150, 218, 376, 378, 429, 605. rectal . ‘i . 15, 149 MEDICINES PAGE Injections, subcutaneous (see Hypo- dermic), 17, 151, 200, 284, 461, 475, 487, 489, 502, 508, 512, 517, 521, 544, 547, 548, Injectio apomorphine hypodermica, 61, atropine hypodermica 487 ergotz i 617 morphine 5 475 Inoculations . 4, 5, 6, 7 Insecticides (see Antiparasitics), 48, 192, 607. Intestinal antiseptics and disinfect- ants, 108, 223, 224, 308, 389, 390, 391, 393, 405, 409, 412, 414, 417, 562, 585, 630. astringents, 107, 387, 640 stimulants 216, 502, 519, 604 Iodide of copper 245 iron 255 lead 232 mercury 302 potassium 177 starch . 311 sulphur 316 Iodine - 310 ointment 316 solutions 315 tinctures 316 Iodism 178, 313 Iodoform 415 Iodoform substitutes, 381, 391,417, me Todoformal 418 Iodoformin 418 Iodoformogen . 418 Todol . 2 417 Todum . 310 Iodo-salicylic acid 418 Ipecacuanha . 544 Tron and its salts 2 251 and quinine citrate 255, 557 arsenate ‘ 255 carbonate 256 chloride 260 hydrated peroxide 259 iodide , ‘ 259 phosphate 255, 501 saccharine carbonate . 256 sulphate 256 salicylate 562 tincture 260 Isinglass 674 Itrol 250 Izal 415 JABORANDI 519 Jaborine 519 Jalap . 448 Jamaica, ginger 577 pepper . 575 James’s powder 263 Digitized by Microsoft® INDEX OF MEDICINES PAGE Jasmine 495 Jervine ‘ 549 J esuits’ bark . 551 Jeyes’ fluid 412 Jonah’s gourd 439 Juniper tops and berries 586 Juniperus communis . 586 sabina . 617 oxycedrus 586 Jute : 649 KAIRINE 396 Kaladana purgative seeds 448 Kalium or potassium salts 169 Kamala a vermifuge 114, 611 Kaolin 4 é 22% Kelp 310 Keratin 679 Kermes mineral 263 Kidneys 119 Kino . 636 Koch, Professor 3, 38, 299 Kousso a vermifuge 607 Krameria triandra 636 Kreosote or creosote 408 LABARRAQUE’S soda disinfecting fluid, 201. Lactose or lactine 658 Lanoline 673 Lanthoptine 459 Laudanine 459 Laudanosine . 459 Levulose—left-handed sugar, 658 Lapis infernalis 3 246 Lard 671 Larkspur or stavesacre ‘ 606 Laudanum or tincture of opium 476 Laughing gas . 70 Lavender ‘ 587 Laxatives, 101, 175, 186, 211, 290, 314, 319, 438, 458, 646, 651, 659, 678. Lead and its compounds 225 “acetate - 232 carbonate 231 iodide - 232 oxide 231 oleate 231 plaster - 231 poisoning with 226 antidotes for 231 sugar of 232 white 231 Leopard’s bane or arnica 580 Leucocytes 29 Lime, burnt 203 carbonates 205 chloride 208 chlorinated 208 hydrate 204 789 PAGE Lime, phosphate 207 saccharated 205 water : 204 Liniment of ammonia 166 belladonna 487 camphor 625 cantharides 669 croton . 445 lime 205 mercury 289 opium . 477 soap 679 turpentine 599 Liniments, 166, 205, 231, 407, 445, 474, 477, 487, 543, 599, 625, 667, 689, 706. Linseed 648 cake 649 meal 649 oil 649 Lint. 649 Linum usitatissimum . 648 Liquor ammoniz fortis 162 acetatis 167 arsenicalis 284 arsenici et hydrargyri iodidi, 284. atropine sulphatis 487 calcis 204 carbonis detergens 425 chlori ‘ 309 ethyl nitritis 362 ferri perchloridi 260 are! aan 301 iodi . 316 pancreatis 681 picis carbonis . 425 potasse 171 trinitrini 386 Liquors 702 Pane root 653 sugar 653 Litharge—oxide of lead 231 Lithium salts . 169 Lithontriptics . 123, 172, 174 Liver, drugs acting on . 109 stimulants, 109, 110, 333, 429, 449, 450, 455. Lobelia—Indian tobacco 634 Logwood an astringent dye . 636 Long pepper . 574 Loose box 130 Loretin 418 Losophan 418 Lotions, 179, 181, 184, 186, 235, 237, 240, 245, 301, "326, 329, 332, 333, 338, 342, 407, 422, 474, 562, 628, 677, 702. Lubricants 425, 601, 652, 673 Lunar caustic . A : 247 Lysol . 415 Digitized by Microsoft® 790 INDEX OF MEDICINES PAGE PACE M‘CaLL, PRoressor, experiments Mercurial ointments, 288, 292, 297, with counter-irritants 302, 308, 304. Macdougall’s disinfectants . 44, 398 pill ‘ i 291 Magnesium and its compounds 210 plaster . 290 calcined 210 | Mercurialism . 287 carbonate 211 | Mercuric salts 285 oxide 210 | Mercurous salts 285 sulphate 212 | Mercuro-zinc cyanide 302 Maize starch . 654 | Mercury and its compounds . 285 Male fern 608 ammoniated ; 302 Mallein 684 chlorides 292, 298 Mallows 644 corrosive sublimate 298 Malt extracts 645 iodides . 302 Maltose 655 liniment 289 Mammary glands, arugs act- nitrate . 5 304 ing on 126, 127 nitrate ointment 304 Mandrake : 449 ointment 288 Mange and scab dressings (see oleate 289 Parasiticides) 48 oxides . 291, 292 Marjoram 587 pill : 291 Marsh-mallow 644 poisoning 286 Mass, common 651 plaster . 290 Massage 50 with chalk 290 Materia Medica, definition of 1 | Methylated spirit ; 347 Matico leaves . , 575 | Methyl alcohol 347 May apple or podophyllum 449 chloride 347 Meadow satfron 619 conine - 509 Measures, pharmaceutic 714 morphine 459 domestic 715 strychnine 8, 495 Meconic acid . 459 violet é 2% 391 Meconidine 459 | Methylal s 71 Medicated spirits ; 712 | Methylene , 71 Medicines, absorption of, 13, 14, 15,16 blue 392 acting by counter- action, 26 | Metric weights and measures 716 acting generally 148 | Microbes 3, 32 acting hypodermically. 151 | Milk sugar 658 acting intratracheally . 150 | Milk of sulphur 317 acting locally . 148 | Mindererus spirit 168 acting by mouth f 149 | Mineral Kermes 263 acting by Peon oils 705 membrane 149 | Mixtures ; ; 703 acting by rectum 149 freezing ‘ . 159 acting by skin . 150 | Molasses—treacle 659 circumstances modify- Monkshood 536 ing . . ‘ 22 | Morphine 459 classification of 7, 10, 11 acetate . 460 curative action of 25 compared with atropine 480 doses 147 hydrochloride . 460 elective affinity : 17 muriate 460 on different patients, 18, 22, tartrate 475 269, 275, 287, 352. Morrhue oleum 669 physiological action of 12 | Mortars ; 709 therapeutic action of . 12 Motor depressants (see Paralysants), Mel—honey : ‘ 659 62. boracis ‘ 191 Mucilages 646, 703 Mentha piperita 587 | Muriate of ammonia ; 161 pulegium 587 antimony : 264 viridis 587 mercury 292, 298 Menthol 587 morphia 3 460 Mercurial compounds 285 soda. 2 195 liniments 289 | Muriatic or hydrochloric acid 330 Digitized by Microsoft® INDEX OF MEDICINES PAGE Muscarine . 98 Musk 3 704 Muscle poisons 60 relaxers 59 stimulants, 56, 59, 499, 503, 507, 522, 525, 547, 548, 614, 619. Muscles, drugs acting on 59 Mustard 569 applications 570 black 569 compared with other irritants : 570 oil of 569 white 569 Mydriatics, dilators of the pupil, 82, 478, 485, 515. Myotics, contractors of the pupil, 82, 503, 507, 605. Myricin 683 Myristin 669 Myrosin 569 Myrrh ‘ 573 tincture of 574 Myrrhol 573 NaPHTHALIN . 392 Naphthalol 393 Naphthas 423 Naphthols 392 Narceine 459 Narcotics 66 Narcotine 459 Nataloin i 435 Natural orders of plants : 8 Nauseants 5 ‘ 98 Neriin. i 527 Nerve paralysers 63, 79 stimulants . 63, 80 tonics . 79, 247, 494 Nervous system, drugs acting on 62 Neurotics 62 Neutral organic principles 690 Nicotiana tabacum 630 Nicotine 631 Nicotianin . 631 Nightshade, deadly 477 Nitrate of mercury 304 potash 179 silver 246 soda 198 Nitrates 180 Nitre or saltpetre 179 sweet spirit of . 362 Nitric acid i 332 Nitrite of amyl 348, 384 Nitrite of ethyl Z 362 Nitrite of sodium 386 Nitro-glycerin 386 hydrochloric acid 334 Nitrous ether . 362 oxide gas 70 791 PAGE Nut-galls ‘ ; 637 Nero 129, 646, "650, 654, 659, 670. Nux vomica 493 alkaloids of 494 poisoning 496 Oak bark 566 galls 637 Oakum 649 Oatmeal 654 Cinanthe crocata 509 Oil, almond 651 anise 582 black 653 cake 649 Carron . 650 castor 439 chamomile 588 cod-liver 669 croton . 442 drying . 650 expressed or fixed - 647-703 linseed . F ‘ 649 olive 7 647 volatile 582, 704 of cade . 586 cinnamon 578 ergot 613 eucalyptus 584 juniper . ‘ 586 mineral 424, 705 mustard 572 myrrh . 573 peppermint 587 pine. 600 poppy . 456 Scotch fir 600 rapeseed 651 Oil of savin 584 tar : 602 thyme . 629 turpentine 590 Valerian 589 vitriol . 324 wine. 361 Ointments, how made, etc. 705 Ointment, blistering . 667 cantharides 667 carbolic 408 citrine . 304 iodide of sulphur 316 iodine . ‘ ‘ 316 mercury 288, 304 red iodide : 302 resin 601 savin . 619 silver nitrate 249 simple . 601 sulphur 320 zinc oxide 237 Digitized by Microsoft® 792 INDEX OF Oleates ‘ 236-289, “06 Oleate of lead Oleo-resins 578, 591, as Oleic acid 340 Oleum etherum 361 anisi 582 anthemidis 588 crotonis 442 ergote . 613 juniperi 586 lini ‘ 649 menthe piperitze 587 morrhuze 669 olive 647 picis 602 ricini 439 sabine . 618 terebinthine 590 tiglii 442 Gidbwaun or frankincense 591 Olive oleum 647 Olives . 647 Olive oil 647 Opium . 456 alkaloids 459 ammoniated tincture . 476 Opium antidotes 469 camphorated tincture . 477 compared with belladonna 480 Egyptian 457 enemas 475 English 458 European 458 extract 477 Indian . 457 liniment 477 poisoning by 465 preparations of 476 purity and strength of 458 Smyrna 457 test for 459 tinctures of 76 Turkey 457 Ordeal bean of Calabar 502 Organic animal extracts 690 Orphol : 224 Orthoform 518 Ossein 674 Oxalic acid 340 Oxide of antimony 263 calcium 203 iron 259 lead 231 magnesia . 210 mercury 291, 292 zine A 236 Oxygen 159 Oxymel 339 Oxymorphine . 459 Oxytocics or ecbolics Ozone . 126, 612, 617 160 MEDICINES PAGE Pain relievers (see ee) 66 Palma Christi ; 439 Papaverine 459 Papaver somniferum . 456 rheas . 456 Paraffin oils 425 Paraldehyde . 65, 380 Paralysants, 60, 61, 63, 64, 67, 71, 76, 79, 91, 340, 351, 384, 386, 419, 422, 484, 510, 515, 523, 542, 547. Paramorphine ‘ 461 Parasiticides (see also Insecticides and Vermicides), 48, 112, 192, 208, 248, 280, 301, 304, 309, 315, 316, 319, 327, 338, 389, 392, 406, 411, 414, 417, 441, "547, 550, 628, 634. Pareira 3 535 Parturients 126 Pastes 224 Pearl ashes 172 barley 644 Pennyroyal 587 Pentane 46 Peppers . 574 Pepper, Cayenne 575 cubebs . 575 Peppermint 587 oil 587 spirit 588 water 588 Pepsin 680 Percolation 71 Periodate ‘ 418 Permanganate of potash 184 Peroxide of hystegen: 627 iron 259 Peru balsam . 643 Peruvian bark 551 Petanelle 660 Petrolatum 425 Petroleum benzin 389, 424 vaseline 5 425 Petroleums 423, 424 Pharmacology 1 Pharmacy 687 Phenic, or carbolic, acid 397 Phenacetin 393 Phenol 397 -acetamide : 383 -salicylate 67, 391 Phenazone (antipyrine) . 80, 381 Phenyl hydrate 397 Phlebotomy . 139 Phosphate of iron 255, 501 lime. ‘ 207 Phosphoric acid 334 Phosphorus 304 Physic masses 434 Physiological actions of medicines 12 rest. 131 Physiology of vomiting 97 Digitized by Microsoft® INDEX OF MEDICINES PAGE Physostigmatis semina 502 Physostigmine sane 502 Picrotoxin . 67, 495 Picric acid 332 | Pigs acted on by medicines much in the same way as men and dogs, 22, 104, 197, 266, = 468. Pill, blue 291 how made 291 Pilocarpine nitrate 519 Pimento or allspice 575 Pimpinella anisum 582 Pines . 591 Pinus Sylvestris 591 Piper album . 574 Chili 575 cubeba . 575 longum 574 nigrum 574 Piperazin 394 Piperidine 574 Piperine 574 Pitch . 603 Pix Burgundica 592 liquida . ‘ 603 Plasters, adhesive 221, 232, 683, 706 anodyne 487 blistering 552, 572, 669 glue : 674 lead or sticking ; 231 Plasters, how made, etc. 203, 706 Plumbi acetas ‘ 232 emplastra 231 iodidum 232 oxidum 231 Plumbi carbonas 231 Plumbism 226 Plumbum ‘ 225 Podophyllum . 449 Poisons and antidotes, 140, 142, 144, 146. Pomegranate root bark 112 Poppy heads . 456 oil 7 456 petals . 456 seed cake 456 Porter 348 Position, restor ative . 131 Potash salts 169 Potashes or pearl ashes 172 Potassii acetas 186 aqua or liquor . 171 fusa or caustica 171 Potassium and its salts 169 acetate 186 bromide 179, 307 carbonates 172 caustic . 17) chlorate 182 citrate . 186 fusa 171 793 PAGE Potassium hydrate 171 iodide . 177 nitrate . 179 permanganate . 184 soaps 677 sulphate 176 sulphurata 175 tartrates 186 Potash alum 219 Poultices 707 bran 707 charcoal : 344 linseed 651, 707 mustard : 572 yeast 645 Powder, antimonial ‘ 263 Dover’s 476, 546 Dr. Gregory's 455 James’s 263 Powders, how made, etc. 709 Precautions with anesthetics 369 Precipitated chalk 205 Precipitated sulphur . 317 Prepared chalk 205 Prescribing 687 Prescriptions . 687 Pressure 50 Preventive inoculation 4,6 Proof spirit 346 Protargol 250 Protective vaccines . 34 Protectives 361, 362, 372, 425, 677 Protopine 459 Propane 423 Prussic acid 418 antidotes for 42] poisoning with 420 Pulvis antimonii 263 Doveri . 476, 546 rhei compositus 455 Pumpkin seed a vermifuge 114 Pure air ‘ 129 Purgatives (see Catharties and Laxatives) . 100 Purpura heemorrhagica 179, 184 Pustulants 51, 265, 443 Pyridine 396, 631 Pyoktanin : 391 Pyrocatechin . ‘ 390 Pyrogallic acid 390, 640 Pyroligneous acid : 337 QUANTITIES of medicines 147 Qualities of medicines 688 Quassia 567 Quassin 567 Quercin 566 Quercus cortex 566 Quicklime 203 Quicksilver . 285 Quinine hydrochloride 553 Digitized by Microsoft® 794 INDEX OF PAGE Quinine 552 sulphate 553 hydrochloride 553 valerianate 590 Quini-chloral . 558 Quinidine 553 RAPESEED oil . 651 Rectified spirit 346 Red cinchona bark 551 Red ointment 302 Refrigerants, 93, 158, 161, 169, 200, 340, 356, 357. Remedies, hygienic 130 Remijia barks 552 Resin or rosin 601 Resins 601, 710 Resinate of copper 245 Resolvents 314, 680 Resorcin 389 Respiration, medicines acting on 83 Rest a restorative 131 Restoratives, 128, 195, 200, 207, 348, 489, 584, 645. Retine 602 Revulsion or derivation 49 Rhamuus catharticus 438 Frangula 438 Purshianus 438 syrupus 438 Rhatany 636 Rheum 454 Rhceadine 456 Rhubarb 454 compound powder of 455 Rice starch 654 Ricini oleum . 439 Ricinus communis 439 Rosemary 587 Rosin or resin 601 black or fiddler’s 601 yellow . : 601 Rowel or issue ‘ 52 Rubefacients (see also ‘Counter- irritants), 49, 50, 355. Rum 347 Ruminants, medicines acting on, 21, 94, 104, 123, 168, 197, 233, 265, 269, 275, 287, 468, 487. Rye, ergot of . 612 SABADILLA or Cevadilla 547 Sabina or savin 617 Saccharated lime 205 Sacchari fex . 658 Saccharin 390 Saccharoses 657 Saffron, meadow 619 Sago starch 654 Salacetol 391 MEDICINES PAGE Sal-ammoniac 161 Salicylates ‘224, 558 Saline purgatives 102 Salol . 42, 391 Sal-prunelle 180 Sal-volatile 163 Salicin 558 Salicylate of iron 562 sodium 559 Salicylic acid 558 Salt, common 195 Epsom 212 Glauber 191 Saltpetre 179 Salt poisoning 197 Sandal-wood oil 124 Sanitas 626 Sanoform 418 Santonica 605 Santonin 606 Sapo durus 677 Saponin 525 Savery’ 8 liquid sinapism 572 Savin . ; 617 Scammony 448 Schmidt’s treatment of parturient apoplexy, a Scilla . 534 Scillain 534 Scillitoxin 534 Scoparin 534 Secale cereale . 612 Sedatives or depressants (see Paralysants), 64, 91, 383, 422, 518, 537, 550. Semina crotonis 442 ricini 439 Senegal gum 646 Senna leaves . 449 Setons 52 Sham pooing 50 Sheep, actions of medicines on, 21, 94, 104, 123, 197, 269, 275, 287, 352. cathartics for, 104, 431, 441, 443, 449, dips. 280, 634 precautions in dipping 283 Sialogogues 92, 183, 520 Sieves 709 Silver and its compounds 246 citrate . 250 colloid . 249 lactate . 250 nitrate . 246 oxide 249 Sinalbin and sinigrin . 569 Sinapisms or mustard applications, 50, 571, 572. Size-weak glue : F 674 Skin, medicines acting on 115, 175, 194, Digitized by Microsoft® INDEX OF MEDICINES 795 PAGE PAGE Smelling-salts é ‘ 167 | Spirit of wine . ‘ 346 Smoothing-iron ; : 50 | Spirit, proof . ; 346 Soaps . 677 rectified : 346 Castile . ‘ 678 | Spirits or essences. ; 346 glycerin ‘ 678 | Spiritus etheris a 361 hard or soda 677 ztheris nitrosi s 362 medicinal 4 678 compositus . - 361 Soap liniment ; 679 Mindereri ' : 167 soft or potash . : 678 rectificatus < 346 Socaloin : ; ‘ 435 | Spongiopiline . 5 158 Socins’ paste . ‘ 240 | Sprays : . 247, 339, 627 Soda salts. ‘ 187 | Spurred rye . j ‘ 612 Soda water . 188 | Squill . é : 534 Sodium and its compounds ‘ 187 | Squire’s chemical food 255 bicarbonate . 188 | Staphisagrine 3 607 biborate F 190 | Starch . : 654 bromide 308 iodide of : 311, 655 carbolate 7 408 | Stavesacre seeds ‘ 607 carbonates ‘ 188 | Steam a disinfectant 45 chlorata z 201 | Steam kettle . , 84 chloride ‘ : 195. | Steaming horse’s head 158 ethylate solution ; 187 | Steel, tincture of : 260 hydroxide or caustic soda 188 Sternutatories ‘ 84 hyposulphite . : 192 | St. Ignatius bean ; 495 iodide . 2 177 | Stibium (antimony) . 262 liquid, Labarraque s 201 | Stimulants, 64, 350, 364, 473; 389, nitrate . ‘ 198 | 390, 393, 404, 411, 489, 495, 575, Sodium nitrite ; : 386 | 577, 579, 582, 583, 586, 593, 596, phosphate 191 624, 642, 662, 678, 681. soap. ‘ 677 bronchial ‘ . 85, 164 sulphate 4 3 191 cardiac. . 88, 484, 489 sulphite 192 cerebral 5 63, 77, 358 thiosulphate , 192 diffusible, 63, 167, 349, 358, Soft soap ; : ; 678 360. Solutio arsenicalis ‘ 284 gastric, 95, 189, 272, 331, 507, chlori . : 309 548, 565, 573, 605, 624, 680, plumbi diacetatis 232 681, Solutions : : é 702 glandular, 92, 177, 358, 520, Solutol 415 | 565, 573, 604. Solveol ‘ ‘i ‘ 415, intestinal, 216, 502, 519, 604. Soporifics : 64 liver, 109, 191, 300, 333, 429, Southernwood ‘ é 605 449, 450, 455, 545. Sozoiodol 3 ‘ 418 motor 59, 80, 217, 505, 520 Spanish flies : ‘ 661 nervine, 63, 78, 79, 349, 495, Spasm . A . 60, 68 501. Sparteine , 534 respiratory . 83, 167, 489 Spatule ‘ 3 706 skin and mucous surfaces, 117, Spearmint 585 319. Species of patient differently affected urino-genital . 120, 125 by drugs. 18 vascular ; 88, 90, 167 Spermaceti—cetaceum : 682 | Stomachics (sce also Carminatives), Sphacelinic acid ‘ 613 106, 195, 199, 455, 555, 564, 565, Spinal depressants. . 76, 307 566, 568, 570, 575, 577, 578, 584, stimulants 78, 495, 501 585, 587, 588, 589, 596. Spinal hot-bag 2 & 701 Stopping for horses’ feet ‘ 603 ice-bag . : s 701 | Stramonium . ‘ 480 Spirit of ammonia. ; 162 | Strongyli ‘ : p 115 chloroform 373 | Strophanthin . 532 ether . 361 | Strophanthus Kombé. ‘ 532 salt i 330] Strychnine . ‘ 495 turpentine : s 590 arsenite ; : 502 Digitized by Microsoft® 796 INDEX OF PAGE Strychnine poisoning . 496 Styptic colloid 640 Styptics (see also Astringents and Hemostatics), 51, 57, 220, 233, 261, 326, 397, 412, 601, 639, 640. Styrax i 643 Subcutaneous injections (see Hypo- dermic) ‘ 151 Succi . 699 Sucrose 657 Sudorifics 116 Suet 672 Sugar . 657 Sugar, cane 657 grape 658 liquorice 653 of fruits 658 of lead . 232 of milk—lactose 658 Sulphate of alumina and potash 219 copper . 243 iron 256 magnesia 212 potash 176 quinine. 553 soda 191 zinc 237 Sulphates : 176 Sulphite of soda 192 Sulphur 316 anhydride 327 flowers of 317 iodide . 316 liniments of 320 liver of . 175 milk of . 317 ointments of 820 precipitated 317 roll or stick 317 sublimed 317 vivum . 317 Sulphide of antimony 263 potassium 175 Sulpho-carbolic acid 408 carbolates 408 phenic acid 408 Sulphonal 65, 379 Bulphuretied bydrogen 318 Sulphuric acid 324 ether 357 Sulphurous acid 327 Sumbul or musk root. ‘ 589 Sunlight . 42, 130 Suppositories . 698 Surgeon’s lint. ; ; 649 Surroundings modify actions of medicines 24 Susceptibilities, special 19 Sweat glands, action on 116 Sweet spirit of nitre 362 Synergists 687 MEDICINES PAGE Syringes, enema A : 698 Syrups, 255, 378, 455, 501, 534, 659, 710, 711. Syrup simple . 659, 711 iodide of iron . ‘ 259 Easton’s 255, 501 Squire’s 255 Syrupus chloral 378 rhamni. 438 rhei 455 Tabxes of weights and measures, 714 Tablets F é 152 Tannalbin 640 Tannigen 640 Tannin or tannic acid 637 Tannoform 387 Tansy . 606 Tapeworms 113 Tapioca starch 655 Tar < 5 425 Barbados 424 coal 425 oil of 602 ointment 603 Rangoon 424 Taraxacum 568 Tartar, cream of 186 emetic . 264 Tartaric acid . 339 Tartarised antimony . 264 experiments with 267 Tartrate of potash 186 Teniacides 112 Tea. 488 Temperature modifying ac- tions of medicines . 22 high, destroys micro- organisms 45 of stables 130 Tenaline 605 Terebene 3 594 Terebinthine . 590, 591 oleum 594 Terpene 600 Terpinol ‘ 600 Tetanus antitoxine . 6 Thallin . 42, 395 Thebaine 461 Theine 488 Theobromine . 488 Therapeutic action of ‘medicines 12 Theriaca (treacle) : 658 Thermometers 716 Thioform 224 Thiol . 681 Thirst . 93 Thus (Frankincense) 592 Thyme 629 Thymol 629 Tinctura aconiti 543 Digitized by Microsoft® INDEX OF MEDICINES PAGE Tinctura aloes 434 arnice . 582 Belladonnze 487 benzoini composita 642 calumbze 565 cannabis indice 493 cantharidis 667 cascarille 566 catechu 636 chiratee i 565 chloroformi et mor- phine composita 373 cinchone . 557 colchici 622 digitalis 532 ergote ammoniata 617 ferri perchloridi 260 gentianze 565 iodi . ‘ 316 », decolorata 316 », oleosa 316 myrrh 574 nucis vomice . 502 opii 476 i ammoniata 476 Zingiberis 578 Tinctures, how made, etc. 711 Tobacco 630 alkaloids 631 enemas. 634 Tolu balsam 643 Tolerance of medicine 23 Tonics, 132, 133, 238, 245, 248, 255, 256, 259, 260, 272, 278, 325, 330, 433, 438, 499, 555, 564, 670. Tonics, blood, 23, 133, 252, 255, 256, 259. gastric, 95, 132, 334, 336, 495, 501, 504, 507, 548, 555, 565, 573, 624, 680, 681. heart and vascular, 89, 90, 479, 495, 529, 533, 534. nerve . 79, 1383 Tow . ; 649 Tragacanth 645 Treacle 658 Trichine 115 Tropacocaine . 518 Tropeines 478 Tuberculin 685 Tumenol 682 Turkey opium 457 Turkish baths ‘i 691 Turpentines 590, 591, 592 Turpentine, oil of . 594 Tuson’s disinfectants . 258 Unauenta, 407, 424, 425, 488, 512, 517, 601, 628, 640, 683, 705. Unguentum cantharidis cupri acetatis . 665 246 797 PAGE Unguentum galle cum opio . 640 hydrargyri . 288 hydrar-iodidi rubri 302 uitratis. 304 iodi 316 resine . : 601 simplex 601, 683 sulphuris : 320 veratrine 548 zinci oxidi 237 Upas antiar 2 Urari or curara 523 Urethane 380 Urinary deposits ‘ 122 disinfectants, 391, 392, 394, 535, 536. sedatives 124, 485, 514, 625 tonics . 124, 500, 664 Urine, secretion of ; 119 Uva ursi 537, 636 VACCINES 4, 33, 34 Valerian i 58 8 Valerianic acid 589 Van Swieten’s solution 301 Vapour bath . 691 Vapours or inhalations 712 Vascular depressants. 91, 453, 538 stimulants 88, 484, 526, 585 tonics, 90, 479, 495, 529, 533, 534. Vaseline 425 Vehicle 688 Veins, injection into . 150 Venesection 138, 140 Venice turpentine 590, 591 Ventilation 130 Veratrine 547 Veratrum album 549 viride 549 Verdigris 245 Verdigris liniment 246 Vermicides and vermifuges, 112, 113, 244, 256, 296, 392, 393, 424, 432, 453, 568, 579, 5938, 597, 604, 606, 608, 609, 611, 612, 619, 629, 630, 634. Vermin-killers 501 Vesicants (see Counter-irritants), 50, 288, 662. Veterinary Pharmacy 687 Vienna paste . 172 Vinegar ; 337 of cantharides . 339 of colchicum 622 of opium 476 Virginian tobacco 631 Vitriol, blue 243 green 256 oil of 324 of copper 243 Digitized by Microsoft® 798 Vitriol, white. Volatile oils Volckmann’s antiseptic Vomica, nux . Vomiting, how produced checked : Vulneraries Wash, black . 291 yellow . 301 Water 2 153 impurities 154 actions and uses 155 dressings 158 hemlock 509 lime 204 mineral. 155 of ammonia 167 tar 603 Watering of horses 156 Wax 683 Weights and measures 4 713 Wet pack 136, 158 Wheat flour - 654 Whisky 347 White arsenic 271 hellebore - ‘ 549 lotion . 235, 239, 240 mustard seed - 569 | pepper 574 vitriol 237 wax 683 INDEX OF PAGE 237 704 630 493 96 100 574, 581, 641 MEDICINES Whiting Wines . Wintergreen . Wolfsbane Wood charcoal naphtha or pyroxylic epi tar _ Wormwood : Woorara or curara poison Wounds XEROFORM YEAST. Yellow cinchona bark resin wash wax Zinc and its compounds acetate . bromide butter of carbolate carbonate chloride oxide . sulphate Zingiber officinale Zingiberis tinctura Printed by T. and A. ConsTaBLe, (late) Printers to Her Majesty at the Edinburgh University Press Digitized by Microsoft® ‘ 61, 523 31, 645 PAGE 205 347 558 536 343 347 347 425, 602 605 40 224 551 601 301 683 235 240 308 239 239 237 239 236 237 576 578 WILLIAM R. JENKINS’ VETERINARY BOOKS 1902 (*) Single asterisk designates New Books. (**) Double asterisk designates Recent Publications. ANDERSON. ‘Vice in the Horse” and other papers on Horses and Riding. By HE. L, Anderson. Demy, SVO; (COUN Ae 64 aias chee ea ereneas a hoaaerae vs 2 00 — “How to Ride and School a Horse.” With a System of Horse Gymnastics. By Edward L. Anderson. GOP BV Os recess einer Sou dei aia ne ianee sowne a oees 1 00 ARMSTEAD. “The Artistic Anatomy of the Horse.” A brief description of the various Anatomical Struc- tures which may be distinguished during Life through the Skin, By Hugh W. Armstead, M.D., F.R.C.S. With illustrations from drawings by the author. Cloth oblong, 125 K10......... cee eee eee 3 75 BACH. “How to Judge a Horse.” A concise treatise as to its Qualities and Soundness; Including Bits and Bitting, Saddles and Saddling, Stable Drainage, Driv- ing One Horse, a Pair, Four-in-hand, or Tandem, ete. By Captain F,W. Bach. 12mo, cloth, fully illustrated, $1 00; paper........... qiatnaiaie seeniqunataeiaes grantudigraberkewiais 50 Digitized by Microsoft® 2 Veterinary Catalogue of William R. Jenkins (“)BANHAM, ‘Anatomical and Physiological Model of the Horse.” Half life size. Composed of super- posed plates, colored to nature, showing internal organs, muscles, skeleton, etc., mounted on strong boards, with explanatory text. By George A. Banham, F.R.C.V.S. Size of Model 38x41 in...10 00 — ‘Tables of Veterinary Posology and Therapeutics,” with weights, measures, etc. By George A. Banham, F.R.C.V.S. 12mo, cloth..................00005- 1 00 BAUCHER. ‘‘Method of Horsemanship.” Including the Breaking and Training of Horses............ 1 00 (*)BELL. “The Veterinarian’s Call Book (Perpetual).” By Roscoe R. Bell, D.V.S., editor of the American Veterinary Review. Revised for 1902, A visiting list, that can be commenced at any time and used until full, containing much useful informa- tion for the student and the busy practitioner. Among contents are items concerning: Veterinary Drugs; Poisons; Solubility of Drugs ; Composition of Milk, Bile, Blood, Gastric Juice, Urine, Saliva; Respi- ration; Dentition; Temperature, etc., etc. Bound in flexible leather, with flap and pocket ........... 1 25 (BRADLEY. ‘‘Qutlines of Veterinary Anatomy.” By O. Charnock Bradley, Member of the Royal Col- lege of Veterinary Surgeons; Professor of Anatomy in the New Veterinary College, Edinburgh. The author presents the most important facts of veterinary anatomy in as condensed a form as possible, consistent with lucidity. 12mo. Complete in three parts. Part I.: The Limbs (cloth).................05. 125 Part II.: The Trunk (paper) .............0000. 125 Part Iil.: The Head and Neck (paper).......... 1 25 THE SET COMPLETE ..........cceeeeeeeeee ohare 3 50 Digitized by Microsoft® 851-853 Siath Avenue (cor. 48th St.), New York, 8 CADIOT. ‘Roaring in Horses.» Its Pathology and Treatment. This work represents the latest develop- ment in operative methods for the alleviation of roaring. Each step is most clearly defined by excellent full-page illustrations. By P. J. Cadiot, Professor at the Veterinary School, Alfort. Trans, Thos, J. Watt Dollar, M.R.C.V.S., ete, Cloth..... 75 — “Exercises in Equine Surgery.” By P. J. Cadiot. Translated by Prof. A. W. Bitting, M.D.,V.S.; edited by Prof. A. Liautard, M.D.V.S. 8vo, cloth, illus- GR ALO ssctecciastctacraema utara kee pase one etc Se 2 50 (*)—** A Treatise on Veterinany Therapeutics of the Domestic Animals.” By P.J. Cadiot and J. Alvary. Translated by Prof. A. Liautard, M.D.,V.S. 2 Parts ready. Part I, Vol. I, 8vo, 93 pages, 45 illustrations,..... 1 00 Part II, Vol., I, 8vo, 96 pageS...........cceeeeee 1 00 (Part ITT, in preparation, to be ready March, 1902. (*)—** Clinical Veterinary Medicine and Surgery.» By P. J. Cadiot. Translated, edited, and supplemented with 49 new articles and 34 illustrations by Jno. A. W. Dollar, M.R.C.V.S. Royal 8vo, 619 pages, 94 black and white illustrations................. cee eee eee 5 25 See also ‘‘ Dollar.” (*}\CHAPMAN. ‘Manual of the Pathological Treatment of Lameness in the Horse,” treated solely by mechanical means. By George T. Chapman. 8vo, Cloth; 124 pages. cicaGeelee Sel Gee Messe ae eee eee ss 2 00 CHAUVEAU. ‘The Comparative Anatomy of the Domesticated Animals.” By A. Chauveau. New edition, translated, enlarged and entirely revised by Geo, Fleming, F.R.C.V.S. 8vo, cloth, 585 illus..,6 25 Digitized by Microsoft® 4 Veterinary Catalogue of William R. Jenkins CLARKE. ‘Chart of the Feet and Teeth of Fossil Horses.”? By W. H. Clarke.................... 0. 25 CLEMENT. ‘Veterinary Post Mortem Examina- tions.’ By A. W. Clement, V.S. Records of autopsies, to be of any value, should accurately represent the appearances of the tissues and organs so that a diagnosis might be made by the reader were not the examiners’ conclusions stated. To make the pathological conditions clear to the reader, some definite system of dissection is necessary. The absence in the English language, of any guide in making autopsies upon the lower animals, induced Dr. Clement to write this book, trusting that it would prove of practical value to the profession. 12mo, cloth, ilHustrated........... a advaishatslece's ielada le ois 15 CLEAVELAND. “Pronouncing Medical Lexicon.” Pocket edition. Cloth............... ec cece cece eens 75 COURTENAY. ‘‘Manual of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery.” By Edward Courtenay, V.S. Crown, 8vo, Cox. “Horses: In Accident and Disease.” The sketches introduced embrace various attitudes which have been observed, such as in choking; the disorders and accidents occurring to the stomach and intestines ; affection of the brain ; and some special forms of lame- ness, etc. By J. Roalfe Cox, F.R.C.V.S. 8vo, cloth, fully Wustrated ............ cee cece ween eee «-.01 50 CURTIS. ‘Horses, Cattle, Sheep and Swine.” The origin, history, improvement, description, characteris- tics, merits, objections, ete. By Geo. W. Curtis, M.S.A. Superbly illustrated. Cloth, $2 00; half sheep, $2.75; half Morocco, ...,...eeeeve vege ee eD G0 Digitized by Microsoft® $51-853 Sixth Avenue (cor. 48th St.), New York. 5 ("“)DALRYMPLE., “Veterinary Obstetrics.” A compen- dium for the use of advanced students and Practi- tioners. By W. H. Dalrymple, M.R,.C.V.S., principal of the Department of Veterinary Science in the Louisiana State University and A. & M. College; Veterinarian to the Louisiana State Bureau of Agriculture, and Agricultural Experiment Stations ; Member of the United States Veterinary Medical Associations, etc. 8vo, cloth, illus............. 2 50 DALZIEL. “The Fox Terrier.” Illustrated. (Monographs on British Dogs). By Hugh Dalziel............. 1 00 — “The St. Bernard.” LIllustrated...............eceeee- 1 00 — “The Diseases of Dogs.” Their Pathology, Diagnosis and Treatment, with a dictionary of Canine Materia Medica. By Hugh Dalziel. 12mo, cloth............. 80 — “Diseases of Horses.” 12mo, cloth.............00s eee 1 00 — “Breaking and Training Dogs.” Being concise directions for the proper education of dogs, both for the field and for companions. Second edi- tion, revised and enlarged. Part I, by Pathfinder; Part II, by Hugh Dalziel. 12mo, cloth, illus....2 60 — “The Collie.” Its History, Points, and Breeding. By Hugh Dalziel. Illustrated, 8vo, cloth..... seeceeed 00 — “The Greyhound.” 8vo, cloth, illus............ seeionants 1 00 DANA, “Tables in Comparative Physiology.” By Prof. OC. L. Dana, M.D...........0c eee peer erre 25 DANCE. ‘Veterinary Tablet.” Folded in cloth case. The tablet of A. A. Dance is a synopsis of the diseases of horses, cattle and dogs, with the causes, symptoms AN CULES ic bids cae eas eee R ee ew wesie Redes se eieiaeieele 76 DAY, “The Race-horse in Training.” By Wm. Day, BVO Wee e es cece eeeeeenereeeerereeserenceresesend OQ Digitized by Microsoft® 6 Veterinary Catalogue of William R. Jenkins (*)DE BRUIN. ‘Bovine Obstetrics.” By M. G. De Bruin, Instructor of Obstetrics at the State Veterinary School in Utrecht. Translated by W. E. A. Wyman, Professor of Veterinary Science at Clemson A. & M. College, and Veterinarian to the South Carolina Experiment Station. 8vo, cloth, 382 pages, 77 illustrations............ 5 00 Synopsis of the Essential Features of the Work 1. Authorized translation. 2. The only obstetrical work which is up to date. 3. Written by Europe’s leading authority on the subject. 4, Written by a man who has practiced the art a lifetime. 5. Written by a man who, on account of his eminence as bovine practitioner and teacher of obstetrics, was selected ee Prof. Dr. Fréhner and Prof. Dr. Bayer (Berlin and jenna), to discuss bovine obstetrics, both practically and scientifically. 6. The only work containing a thorough differential diag- nosis of ante and post partum diseases. 7. The only work doing justice to modern obstetrical surgery and therapeutics. 8. Written by a man whose practical suggestions revolu- tionized_ the teaching of veterinary obstetrics even in the great schools of Europe. 9. The only work dealing fully with the now no longer obscure contagious and infectious diseases of calves. 10. Absolutely original and nv compilation. 11. The only work dealing fully with the dificult problem of teaching obstetrics in the colleges. 12, The only work where the practical part is not over- shadowed by theory. . . . A veterinarian, particularly if his location brings him in contact with obstetrical practice, who makes any pretence toward being scientific and in possession of modern knowledge upon this subject, will not be without this excellent work, as it is really a very valuable treatise. It contains nearly 400 pages, numerous illustrations, and is put together in Jenkins’ best style. — Prof. Roscoe R. Beil, in the American Veterinary Review, Dec., 1901. In translating into English Professor De Bruin’s excellent text- book on Bovine Obstetrics, Dr. Wyman has laid British and American veterinary surgeons and students under a debt of gratitude. The work represents the happy medium between the booklets which are adapted for cramming purposes by the student, and the ponderous tomes which, although useful to the teacher, are not exactly suited to the requirements of the everyday practitioner . . . I1 contains seventy-seven excellent illustrations . . . Both translator and pu- pblisher have done their work in a way that deserves praise, and we can strongly recommend the work to veterinary students and practi- tioners.— The Journal of Comparative Pathology and Therapeutics, December, 1901. See also ** Wyman,” Digitized by Microsoft® 851-853 Siath Avenue (cor. 48th St.), New York. 7 ()DOLLAR. “A Surgical Operating Table for the Horse.”? By Jno. A. W. Dollar, M.R.O.V.S..... 0 90 (*)— ‘*Clinical Veterinary Medicine and Surgery.” By P. J. Cadiot. Translated, edited, and supplemented with 49 new articles and 34 illustrations by Jno. A. W. Dollar, M.R.C.V.S. . Royal 8vo, 619 pages, 94 black and white illustrations.................ceeeeeeee 5 25 _: + «, This work, containing as it does the ripe exper- ience of the author, who may be considered one of the foremost surgeons and clinicians of the day, contains a vast amount of exact scientific information of the utmost value to the busy workaday practitioner, while for the student of either human or comparative medicine, no better book could be placed in their hands, that will give them a clear insight into the many intricate problems with which they are daily confronted. . . .—American Veterinary Review, New York, August, 1901. (*)— “A Hand-book of Horse-Shoeing,” with introductory chapters on the anatomy and physiology of the horse’s foot. By Jno. A. W. Dollar, M.R.C.V.S., translator and editor of Méller’s ‘ Veterinary Sur- gery,” ‘“‘An Atlas of Veterinary Surgical Operations,” ete.; with the collaboration of Albert Wheatley, F.R.C.V.S. 8vo, cloth, 433 pp., 406 illustrations . .4.75 DUN. “Veterinary Medicines.” By Finlay Dun, V.S. New revised and enlarged English edition. 8vo, cloth.3 75 DWYER. “Seats and Saddles.” Bits and Bitting, Draught and Harness and the Prevention and Cure of Restiveness in Horses, By Francis Dwyer. Illus- trated. 1vol., 12mo, cloth, gilt................. 1 50 FLEMING. “Veterinary Obstetrics.” Including the Accidents and Diseases incident tv Pregnancy, Parturi- tion, and the early Age in Domesticated Animals. By Geo. Fleming, F.R.C.V.S. With 212 illustrations, New edition revised, 226 illustrations, 758 pagesg...6 26 773 pages, 8vo, cloth (old edition)......++...+....3 50 Digitized by Microsoft® 8. Veterinary Catalogue of William R. Jenkins FLEMING. ‘Operative Veterinary Surgery.’’ Part I, by Dr, Geo. Fleming, M.R.C.V.S. This valuable work, the most practical treatise yet issued on the subject in the English language, is devoted to the common operations of Veterinary Surgery; and the concise descriptions and directions of the text are illus- trated with numerous wood engravings. 8vo,cloth.2 75 (Second volume in preparation, to be ready March, 1902). — “Tuberculosis.” From a Sanitary and Pathological Point of View. By Geo. Fleming, F.R.C.V.S. .......... 26 — “The Contagious Diseases of Animals.” Their influence on the wealth and health of nations. 12mo, paper....25 — “Human and Animal Variole.” A Study in Comparative Pathology. “Papers sctsiswsiee saievievaeeeagadsueciner 25 — “Animal Plagues.” Their History, Nature, and Prevention, By George Fleming, F, R. C. V.S., ete. First Series. 8vo, cloth, $6.00; Second Series. 8v0; Clothi.csniwnsiersssvsieeesdes CORRE AWRDS 5 3 00 — ‘Roaring in Horses.” By Dr. George Fleming, F.R.C.V.S. A treatise on this peculiar disorder of the Horse, indicating its method of treatment and curability. 8vo, cloth, with col. plates ...... 1 60 FLEMING-NEUMANN. “Parasites and Parasitic Diseases of the Domesticated Animals.”